hylianqueen | a pirate's cove

Zelda had spent the past several days searching for a suitable door in which she could learn how to swim. Perhaps it would be better to learn in the indoor pool but Erik seemed incredibly confident in his skills to teach her and Zelda wanted to be by the sea more than anything else. She felt that this would make him happier too and that strangely was something she wanted to see; she had never been fascinated by a man quite as much as she was fascinated by Erik.

The door that was carved with a ship opened to a stretch of beach and a little cave with a boat moored outside it, a fine boat with large black sails. Zelda knew very little about boating but she thought this would be something Erik would want to see and she could hardly wait to find him and show him what she'd found.

She asked the desk which room he'd taken and was given the perplexing answer that Erik had refused lodging within the hotel. Strange, very strange. Still...he had seemed to like the gardens that she had shown him on his first day and Zelda took a chance that he might be there. She found him on the edge of them, set up into a camp beneath the shade of several trees.

"I've found something you might find interesting. Both the sea and a boat."

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From:

hylianqueen

Zelda slid her hand in his and walked to the water. She slipped off one of her slippers and touched her toe to the water, pleased to find it warm.

"Oh, it's quite warm. Hardly a chill at all when I touch it. I think this will be excellent for swimming."

From:

highland_hawk

Erik told himself, repeatedly, that he wasn't staring at her bare feet. Not at all. Instead, he focused on his own footwear and stepped out of the high leather and sighed when his toes touched the grass beneath them and then the water lapping at where they stood, waiting for the bitter chill. He frowned when he didn't feel it.

"That's goin t'take some gettin used to, I think," he commented. The water was something closer to bath water than any ocean he'd ever seen.

From:

hylianqueen

"It is downright balmy," Zelda agreed. "I hope that isn't a disappointment? I really wanted to find something to please you and remind you of home even if I couldn't find the door back to Scotland for you."

From:

highland_hawk

"Hard to be disappointed with the sea in my nose again," Erik said, quick to correct her misconception. "And believe me, I'll be even more pleased not t'have t'submerge m'self into a near on t'freezin loch. When I say I'll have t'get used t'it, tis like getting used t'meat after a month of dry biscuits."

He took her hand, squeezed it softly. "This is brilliant, lass, thank ye."

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda smiled, cheeks tingeing pink at the praise. She had hoped to please him even if it was just a simple thing to find a door with a stretch of white sand and ocean behind it. It was the least she could do for him after he got trapped in the Nexus along with her and away from his duty.

"You are quite welcome. I am merely glad to bring a smile to your lips."

From:

highland_hawk

"Ah, lass, yer startin t'do that by just showin me that beautiful blush," he commented and then raised a hand to brush his fingers across her cheek. "Now we need t'get ye into the water and see how well ye float. Probably be better if I get in first and test the depth." Also to make sure there wasn't anything of the biting variety in the water, not that he had any intention of telling her that.

The last was said almost to himself as he released the pin fastening his plaid and the lot of it dropped to the ground. The rest followed and then he took a few long strides and dove in. Oh, but it was glorious to be back in the water again. He couldn't resist submerging and swimming a few lengths completely underwater before surfacing and shaking the excess from his head. "Ye've found me a treasure, Princess. It's perfect."

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda had never really been bothered by her own nudity because, as princess, few dared to look. The few times she had been naked in front of anyone it had only been to change into a new gown and she had never been naked in front of a man before. Still, she did not want to get her gown wet while she swam and there was nothing to do but come out of it and lay it against the sand before easing herself into the water.

"I am far shorter than you," she warned. "My feet barely touch the bottom here."

From:

highland_hawk

Erik had meant to turn his back and give her privacy. But then it had happened so fast he hadn't had a chance to turn. Or that's what he'd say if asked. In reality, he feasted his eyes and was thankful the water was murky enough to hide most of the damage if she stayed far enough away. With half his mind set on reminding the rest of his body that ravishing royalty was likely to lose him a head, or something else he valued, he stepped closer to where she stood and held his hand out to her above the water.

"Then we'll go to where ye feel more secure. For now I just want ye t'stand and get a feel fer the current, the waves, the feel of the water. Move yer arms around a bit, feel the resistance of it."

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda took his hand and gripped it tightly when a wave swelled and knocked her off her feet. "Erik! Don't let me drown!"

Perhaps she had very little faith, considering the blood of the goddess flowed through her veins but she did not wish to use magic in front of someone who did not seem familiar with it, even if it was to save her own life.

From:

highland_hawk

"Careful now, I've got ye," Erik chuckled as his hands easily spanned her waist and kept her in place. "The waves'll do that to ye if ye don't learn t'move with them."

Still holding her tight, but well away from his own body, he raised and lowered her with each swell, lifting her easily above the whitewater.

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda laughed on the third pass, jumping with the swell of the wave this time instead of letting it crash against her. "All right, I think I understand the rhythm of it now, at least a little. I have to work with it and not against it, yes?"

From:

highland_hawk

"That's the right of it, lass. There's no more powerful force out there than water on a mission. It's goin t'go where it wants and there's little ye can do t'stop it, but ye can learn how t'make it work for ye, too. That'll come in time."

He'd taught enough of his clansmen t'swim, he knew what came next. It was goin t'be bloody torture, but it was the most important lesson of them all. "When ye feel ready, we'll see if we can get ye floatin."

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda waited a few beats before nodding. "We can try it now. You promise you won't let me sink? I have to trust you, Erik, please don't let me drown."

From:

highland_hawk

Erik decided to take his life in his hands and turn her to face him on the swell of the next wave. When he managed that without bursting into flame, he leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead lightly. "Yer safe with me, lass, I promise ye. I won't let ye go below the surface. I swear it on m'clansmen."

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda hopped up a bit with the next swell. "All right, help me to float, then? I should try to get on my back, should I not?"

She was not unaffected by the kiss to her forehead but she tried not to call attention to it save for the unconscious desire to blush. This was about learning to swim, not...other things.

From:

highland_hawk

Erik swallowed and steeled himself. "Aye, ye should, but it can be a trick when yer not used t'trustin the water yet. I can help ye there."

Deftly, and mind on teaching...and nothing else, he slid one hand to the middle of her back and used his leg to sweep hers from under her. Within a second, she was in the cradle of his arms. "I've got ye, Princess. Now it's up to you to stretch out and let yer body float. It helps if ye try t'not tense up."

Good plan for both of them, but he knew his chances of success were pretty slim.

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda tensed a bit but tried to fight that and relax, letting the water hold her up. "You do not think I will sink, do you?"

With his arms beneath her she doubted it but he might eventually move them away and then she would be in a predicament.

From:

highland_hawk

"You won't sink," Erik promised her and then followed either his glands or his instincts, but either way it was the perfect solution to taking her mind off the fear of falling beneath the surface. "Relax, Zelda," he said softly, his face close to hers as he said her name for the first time. "I won't let you sink."

Then he touched his lips lightly to hers.

From:

hylianqueen

The shock of being kissed was enough that Zelda did not think about the fact that she was in the water or that the next wave could tumble her underneath the surface. She had never kissed anyone before and even though this was simply a touch of his lips to hers, it was something new and novel.

"You won't let me sink," she echoed, letting out a slow breath. "All right, I believe you can move your arms now. I am willing to try it."

From:

highland_hawk

"Nay, lass, I won't." His mouth still tingled from the kiss. It was no more passionate than the one he'd given Christina MacLeod's cheek, but that didn't stop his skin from feeling too small for his body and make him wish he'd not let it pass so quickly, especially now that given the way her body floated, her breasts were clear of the water and just a few tantalizing inches away. It took every ounce of effort he had to look away.

"I'm right here if ye feel uneasy," he said, voice rough, and removed his arms from under her.

From:

hylianqueen

Zelda took in a sharp breath as she floated and concentrated every fiber of her being on simply not sinking. She did well for the most part but when a high wave crested, she lost her balance and flailed a little.

"Erik! A little help?"

From:

highland_hawk

"Right here, lass," Erik responded, his voice right next to her ear and hands spanning her waist again. "I told ye I wouldn't be far from ye while ye floated."

From:

hylianqueen

"I think I'm getting a little better," Zelda said, turning to face him. "But there is something I would like to ask of you, if you do not mind?"

From:

highland_hawk

"I'm at yer service," Erik responded with a nod. He was also, apparently well on the way to sainthood. Which would have the other members of the Guard laughing themselves into early graves.

From:

hylianqueen

"Why did you kiss me?" Zelda asked, forcing herself to remain regally calm and not color with a blush at that particular memory. It had been a pleasant kiss, even if it was entirely too brief, and she wondered what had inspired him to do so. Nobody else had ever shown an inkling of interest at doing that to her and he was the first to breach all of her reserve and take one from her. It felt exhilarating.

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