Hero by Heart

Chapter 58

Link stood frozen in anticipation, surrounded by friends, as they watched the ongoing battle between the princess and the Gerudo warrior.
Of course he had taught her much of her skills himself, but he had never gone full out when sparring. He was always careful to keep her safe, and to improve her confidence rather than to tear it down.
Right now, though, Reeza threw everything she had at Zelda, really trying to get past her defences.
     To Link's surprise, the princess really stood her ground, and managed to return some blows that the Gerudo had to jump to avoid.
     The longer the fight lasted, the more anxious Link grew.
     Zelda was doing great, but it was obvious that she lacked the experience that Reeza had. She didn't have the natural comfort with her sword, and her blows became slower and clumsier with every passing minute.
     Still, the princess stubbornly refused to give up, and was now dripping in sweat and panting heavily, as she jumped back and immediately pushed forward again, forcing Reeza to step back.
     The Gerudo herself did not have it easy either, having already fought an intense battle before. She was panting hard and had her teeth clenched together in grim concentration.
     For almost twenty minutes Link stood staring at them, his eyes wide and his fists clenched together tightly, uncertain how this would end.
     It seemed very unlikely that Zelda would really beat her friend, stubborn and strong as the Gerudo was, but she didn't seem likely to give up very soon either.
     Link knew both women well enough to realize they would go to the absolute limit, going on with willpower and stubbornness alone.
     The other fighters around him cheered excitedly at every well-delivered blow, and for any step that they forced each other back, making absolutely no difference in who they cheered for.
     The commotion had attracted the attention of other people around them, who were done training for the day and came to watch this interesting display of skill and determination.
     Link started to see Zelda's mouth twitch in irritation, as her attacks kept being blocked, no matter how hard she tried.
     She bit her lip hard, and Link knew that she had come to the same conclusion he had. She would not win this fight.
     The following minutes the princess started to show more and more signs of exhaustion. She sighed a few times, and kept readjusting the grip on her sword. Her feet barely moved anymore, as she became too tired to lift them.
     Link inhaled sharply, wishing she would just step back and admit defeat, before she really got hurt.

Eventually Reeza's blow found its way past Zelda's defence, and came slashing down tantalisingly close to her face.
     Link saw the white of her eyes, as Zelda opened them wide in shock, before stepping back, way too late.
     She then smiled grimly and pointed her blade to the ground, holding up her free hand in surrender.
     Link sighed in relief, feeling like he could finally breathe again. It was over.
     He watched Reeza stepping closer and embracing the princess, saying something as she smiled contently.
     Zelda smiled too, albeit a little less enthusiastically, her pride hurt ever so slightly. Still, she took the praise of the bystanders with graceful dignity, and congratulated the Gerudo on her fine skills.
     Finally, she was done with all the pleasantries and came towards him.
     Not caring about the public, or her sweat-soaked body, he hugged her tightly.
     'You were amazing,' he whispered, his voice slightly trembling with emotion.
     Zelda chuckled softly, and patted him on the back. 'Thank you, Link.' She stepped back and looked at him with a kind smile. 'Most of it was thanks to you and your patience during training.'
     Link shrugged it off modestly, but Zelda shook her head. 'I mean it, Link. If you hadn't taught me so much, I would never have lasted a minute.'
     He smiled, deciding to take the compliment. He was not in the mood to argue with her about this right here.
'Let's go get some rest,' he said, grabbing her hand to lead her away.
Zelda merely nodded, letting him take her to the inn. On horseback it took them only a few minutes to get there, but that was just enough for the real fatigue to settle in.
When Link helped Zelda down to the ground she stumbled, almost unable to hold up her own weight, and Link smiled in amusement.
He put his arm around her shoulders and gently guided her to her bed, where she lay down and refused to move any further.
'Everything aches,' she groaned, as Link kindly pulled off her boots.
He chuckled. 'You'll feel better after some rest. Maybe a little sore in your muscles.'
Zelda sighed. 'I'll tell you, just when I'm tired and full of pain, the enemy will be on our doorstep.' She chuckled dryly, but Link heard a hint of actual fear in her voice.
'It'll be alright,' he said, offering her his water flask. 'Just rest up for now. We'll deal with that if it actually happens.'
Zelda smiled at him, before returning the flask and dropping her head to the pillow. 'Wake me up for dinner,' she said, only half joking.
Link smiled down at her, and gently stroked some stray hairs from her brow.
Before he even had time to get back to his feet, she was already deep in sleep, her face completely relaxed as she forgot about her worries.
For a minute he kept looking at her, noticing how much younger she looked now, when she wasn't carrying the weight of a kingdom on her shoulders.
He sighed softly, pressed a kiss on her forehead, and exited the inn, leaving her to dream of happier times.