Thud.

Thud.  

“That’s it, Liesl! Keep striking, keep moving.” The tenor of Rowan’s voice was one of excitement, of encouragement as he watched from the side. His fists were even balled and moved slightly with each word, as if he had to restrain himself from punching the air around them.

Liesl, however, was out of breath. Her arms were on fire, her feet felt like they were wearing not one, but two pairs of heavy, armored boots. And yet, she persisted. She kept persisting because she’d been at it for hours already. With gnashed teeth, she gripped the hilt of the training sword so hard her knuckles were turning white. Which…you know, meant that she was holding it way too tight. Also evident by how her next blow traveled up her arms uncomfortably, jolting the joints of her elbow and further onto her shoulders.

Of course, it didn’t help that her target was a wooden facsimile of a man or woman or…beast. Harder to tell when it didn’t have a head! But it did have something approximating arms, and that was currently what Liesl was doing her best to avoid while she tried to stab at its center. Those and the shield hung from one side as if it held it to block those same blows.

Relax, Liesl. Breathe and remember what you’ve learned so far.

“Stay light on your feet, come on. Around the back, give me a slash…”

Rowan kept barking instructions, giving her specific points to hit so she always had to shift before striking. The slashes were easier, thankfully. Not easy , but easier. And though the sword now weighed as heavy as it ever had, her thrusts were growing sluggish. No longer were they the quick jabs from the start, but at least it was taking longer and longer to reach this point each day.  Besides, it was the colors she truly dreaded. But Liesl couldn’t dwell on that now, and the blow she landed on the wood caused it to splinter slightly. As for the sword? Well, it couldn’t get any duller.

“Good, good! Hit and move, look for an opening.”

She moved around to the front thereafter as her sword was pulled back into a guard, which must’ve been exactly what Rowan was waiting for.

“Blue!”

Ugh, fucking colors…

The wooden target was painted with five bright marks. Blue, yellow, red, green, and purple. All in different spots on the torso or arms. Well, “painted” was probably a generous description, and it was clear that Rowan was a soldier, not an artist.

Liesl shifted on her back foot and pulled the hilt toward her body before leveling the tip at the target. She aimed carefully and then sent it forward in a rush. Not as fast as she could because she had to control it, had to get it around that damn shield. The tip sailed past the edge, on the way to the blue mark painted where the upper right shoulder would be on a Hylian. Unfortunately, the tip embedded itself just inside, closer to the sternum, and outside the mark.

“Precision,” Rowan sighed. “You have to find the weakness in the armor or else you’re going to rattle your arm and blunt your weapon.”

Shit!

“I know,” Liesl muttered before slamming her eyes shut and letting the sword tip rest against the wooden chest as she took in deep, ragged breaths. “Even an inch can be the difference between my death and theirs. A wayward swing can kill me just as easily as rock on the ground.” She repeated the bits of knowledge one by one, all the knowledge and pitfalls he’d been teaching her over the preceding weeks. Goddesses, she even dreamed about these fucking lessons; they were so embedded in her head. “I know!”

With a final, exhausted grunt, she let her head hang, and the sword finally hit the floor with a clang. At first, Rowan didn’t say anything. Probably because he was standing off to the side, trying to figure out what to say.

“Of course, you do.”

A moment later, he stepped up with a goblet in his hand and reached for the hilt of the sword. Even though the water was markedly lighter, Liesl’s arms still shook with strain as she brought it to her mouth for a sip. The cool water felt heavenly as it ran down her throat and coated her lips, which had dried from her heaving breaths.

“Thank you,” she said before looking up at him with a sheepish expression. Now she’d yelled at him twice, and as soon as the fire of her frustration dimmed, shame rushed in. “And… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset.”

“It’s alright, Liesl,” Rowan assured her. “I told you I was going to push you hard, harder than I ever would a normal recruit.” He shifted the blade to his other hand and then brought the now free one up to gently grasp her shoulder. “But I also said I knew you could handle it.”

“Because I was meant to handle it,” she snorted in frustration.

“Words on paper don’t make you a strong warrior, Liesl. Neither does the blood in your veins. Hard work does.”

And she had been working so damn hard. Every day, she was down here becoming familiar with the sword or hardening her muscles. It was nothing short of a slog, and the only thing that made it bearable was returning to Zelda at the end of the night for the…uh, healing.

“I suppose you’re right,” Liesl admitted before taking in a deep breath and sighing it out. “And we haven’t even added a shield or gotten to any other weapons.” Goddesses, when would this get easier?

“Yes, there is still a lot of work to do,” Rowan nodded before shifting his hand from her shoulder to touch the cup. “So, break time is over.” Following his assertion, the sword came back around, ready for her to take.

Great. So thoughtful! And even if she was tired and cranky, the image of Zelda being pulled away in that church made her reach for the sword and start anew.

“Good. Now… red “

—

When Liesl returned, she found Zelda lying in bed instead of sitting at the table. Their dinner remained on the cart, untouched and apparently forgotten. Not that Liesl cared. She was so damn tired that all she wanted to do was crawl right into bed and not leave it for a week.

Zelda must’ve felt Liesl’s weight displace her slightly because her eyes opened as soon as her friend crawled on after her boots thudded on the carpet.

Liesl found them as she crawled toward the middle and settled next to her friend where she had fallen short of the pillows. Naturally, she found a smile on Zelda’s lips too, but Liesl could also see the exhaustion plain on her face. She was down for only a moment before Zelda shifted closer, worming herself into Liesl’s arms before shutting her eyes once more and humming her contentment.

“Rough day?” Liesl asked before tightening her arms around her beautiful invader.

“Always,” Zelda admitted. “You?”

“You could say that. I…yelled at Rowan again.”

“You did!?” That got Zelda’s attention, and she leaned out far enough to look up and catch Liesl’s eyes. “What happened? Did he hurt you?” If she hadn’t been bound in Liesl’s arms, she had no doubt the princess would’ve immediately started an inspection to answer the question herself.

“No, no,” Liesl assured her with a shake of her head. “I was just frustrated, that’s all. And stupid…so stupid. He’s doing everything he can, and I’m getting an attitude.”

“Teenagers.”  Zelda must’ve been exceptionally pleased with her quip because Liesl could feel her shake with giggles before stilling a moment later. “But really, you’re not stupid, Liesl. You’re doing your best.”

“I’m trying.”

“You’re succeeding, ” Zelda countered. “You went from never having touched a sword to swinging one around in only a few weeks.”

“Any fool can swing around a weapon, though.”

“Mm, true. However, you’re not just any fool. You’re my fool. My sweet, strong fool that will protect me no matter what, right?”

Well, that question got Liesl to lift as if in surprise. “Of course, I will! I won’t let anything happen to you!”  

“I know you won’t…” Zelda’s words were soft and tapered off as she shifted in Liesl’s arms to invade the space created. What was she doing? Getting closer, that’s what. A second later, the princess craned her neck up and planted a kiss right on Liesl’s jaw, just near where it curved up toward her ear. Those lips lingered for a second, but then almost as soon as she did so, she was retreating and leaving a thoroughly heated Liesl in her wake.

At first, she only blinked before realizing she wasn’t breathing. Goddesses, what was that!? And more importantly, Zelda was so close. Just an inch or two to the side, and that could’ve been a very different kiss. Oh, how that made her heart race in a way it hadn’t in these weeks. As their touches became the norm instead of the exception. “And I’m so lucky for that.”

“What?” Liesl asked as she came from her mind. “Oh…yes. Me too.” It took a moment for the words to come back around a hasty breath to ensure further words weren’t shaky. “Lucky to have someone to take care of me.”

“Speaking of which,” Zelda started before resting her head back on the pillow. “I need to rest before I can heal you any…”

“Don’t push yourself,” Liesl assured her. “I think I’m mostly okay today. No cuts or bruises.”

“See? You are getting better.”

“Perhaps. But what I really need is some relaxation.” Peace and warmth to rest her tired muscles.

“Well, I can do that much…” Zelda had no doubt been enjoying cozying up to Liesl, but now she backed away enough that she could separate and push herself up on her elbows. The missing warmth was immediately noticeable, and Liesl even scrunched her face in disapproval. However, the princess ignored it if she noticed and climbed high enough in the bed that it was Liesl she towered over for a change.

One hand landed on Liesl’s shoulder then, and the other slowly intertwined in that golden hair. Zelda used that leverage to silently pull her in until she was resting against her friend for a change. That warmth. The gentle rise and fall of Zelda’s chest while she played with her hair. Goddesses, what was this but perfect?

“Relaxed?”

“Yes…” The word was barely above a whisper, so quiet she wouldn’t be surprised if Zelda didn’t hear her. But any louder and she risked disturbing that tranquility.

“Good.”

Another few moments of silence passed, but then she felt Zelda take in a particularly deep breath. A new noise followed, a soft hum that steadily built and vibrated in her chest. The tune reached its peak before falling down, settling low, weaving a soft melody that filled her heart with warmth and released the last bit of tension from Liesl’s muscles. It was beautiful, Zelda was beautiful, and this moment? Well, no word could accurately describe it anymore.

But then something strange happened, a novel sensation filled Liesl, seeping into her being and her tired limbs. It wasn’t dissimilar to heat, but there was something else, too. Like an odd tingling of sorts. Then she sensed the light building around them, and soon, the two were covered in a blanket of light so bright that Liesl eventually had to shut her eyes once more.

Naturally, such a strange phenomenon caused Zelda to immediately stop her humming, taking the glow with her. “What? What’s happening!?” She sputtered the words and then looked around the room as if something else had been the cause.

But Liesl’s eye shifted to her hand instead, where the strain no longer stung as bad. Then it dropped to the muscle of her forearm, where it felt a little less heavy. “Zelda,” she said, though she didn’t look up at her friend.

Of course, the princess’s attention immediately returned at hearing her name, only for her brows to narrow and her eyes to focus on the hand Liesl held up between them.

“I feel…better.”

“Yes, I’m sure cuddling makes you feel better, but–”

“No,” Liesl interrupted with a shake of her head. “I feel…reinvigorated. Well, at least a little.” It was true, unlike the healing that had occurred previously, Liesl felt renewed in a way she hadn’t before.

“Reinvigorated?”

Liesl could hear the way Zelda rolled the word over her tongue as her gaze became distant. “That’s never happened before…so, why now?”

Why now, indeed.

“I don’t know,” Liesl freely admitted. “We’ve lain here together so many times now.” What was different? The position? Did it matter so much that it was reversed this time?

“The humming,” Zelda said suddenly as her eyes refocused. “That must be it!”

But how could humming make a difference? “I don’t understand,” Liesl said with a shake of her head. “What was that song?”

At first, Zelda shrugged before a smile slowly spread on her lips. “I don’t know, it was…something my mother used to hum to me when I was little. It always calmed me down, so I thought it would be a good choice.”

“An excellent choice, apparently.”  

“Yes, but… it’s so strange. Was it the melody or the humming itself? And would others work?” Oh, Liesl recognized those questions and the look in Zelda’s eyes. Yes, she had a feeling she knew what the next few hours would entail. Experiments, and lots of them. No doubt Zelda would want to try out various songs, positions, and anything else she could think of. In fact, Liesl began smiling at the thought of it.

“What?” Zelda asked before smiling. “Oh, you already know what’s about to happen, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Right, well…dinner first. Then we get to work.”

Oh no, more work? Poor, poor Liesl.