Courage of a Hero

 Link held his shield up as multiple arrows plunked against it. He peered around , taking a few steps forward and brushing his blonde hair from his face.

"Long range weapons are cheating," he hollered at his opponent.

The slender ninja warrior dropped her bow and dove to the side to avoid being slashed with Link's sword. Sheik pulled the first sword she could reach off of the weapons rack, a rapier. Link scoffed at her choice as she took on a more formal stance as opposed to her usually close to the ground style. It threw the hero off a bit. Sometimes he forgot that she had more than double the experience on him when it came to combat.

"Don't get cocky," she laughed. "You never know what your enemy plans, so always be alert."

Her reminder made Link roll his blue eyes. He shot forward leading with a sword jab, thinking to surprise her with speed for once. As if she knew his moves, she spun to the side and slid her rapier under his arm.

"You shouldn't be so eager. Speed works more to my advantage than yours. Your shield gives you a better chance at defence. But you can also use it to attack without risking yourself."

Link was tired of the repeated lecture.

"I've been training here for three and a half years," he grumbled. "I don't want to train anymore, I want to bring peace back to the land."

"You're barely fifteen," Sheik points out. "And are you really going to complain about training to me? I haven't stopped my training for ten years. I was being trained before the kingdom was even taken over."

"Yeah, yeah, but still. People are suffering."

Sheik took a deep breath. "Don't you think I know that? But you aren't ready. That's that." She set the rapier back on the weapons rack as Link sheathed the Master Sword.

"Just because you're four years my senior doesn't mean you can tell me when I'm ready or not. I'm ready now. I'm not a child any more."

Before Sheik could put him in his place, a deep bell tolled loudly across the Sheikah compound. Her heart dropped like a ton of bricks.

"I hope you are ready," she whispered. "The battle has started."

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Impa and the Sheikah elders were already in the command tent when Sheik and Link arrived. They spoke about hitting the castle. Sheik couldn't help but speak up.

"Are you serious?"

Impa turned to her student with a stern look.

"It is not your decision to make. We have very little options right now. The evil king's forces are closing in on us from all sides. If we don't take the castle, we may not live to try again. It could be our only chance to stop him. His army grows everyday and we don't have a lot of time."

"But Link isn't ready! We're not prepared! We need more time before we try something so daring."

Impa placed a gentle hand on Sheik's shoulder.

"Lala," she said softly, using the young woman's childhood nickname. "I wish there was another way or even more time, but we cannot hold our ground here. We must put an end to this war."

Sheik gazed into the eyes of the Sheikah tribe leader and nodded. Impa sent the two of them out so the council could finish discussing tactics.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Link smiled, giving Sheik's arm a playful hit. He laughed when she had his hand pinned up behind his back a second later. Though he couldn't see her mouth, he knew she was smirking.