a pirate's cove

[hylianqueen]

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."

Comments

[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?"

[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.

[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.

[highland_hawk]

Erik considered before he answered. "I could be all noble an' tell ye it was t'help ye relax. T'take yer mind off yer fear of fallin under by givin ye somethin else t'focus on." He let that statement sit between them for a moment or two. "An' that's true enough, but I also kissed ye because yer a beautiful woman and I couldn't stop m'self."

[hylianqueen]

And there was the blush that she had tried so hard to resist. "I have never had anyone express such interest in me before. I apologize, it is quite a new experience for me."

Zelda had been told that she was beautiful before, of course, but only in the sense that a cold winter's day was aesthetically pleasing. She had never been desired before.

[highland_hawk]

Erik somehow doubted that he was the first to every find an interest in the lass' beauty, but felt it was possible that she'd simply never noticed it. She came from war; that wasn't entirely unheard of. "No need t'apologize, m'lady."

Because he couldn't resist, he reached up to touch the reddening cheeks. "Though I should warn ye. Now that I've tasted ye with the salt on yer lips, I may start thinkin about doin it again. Ye can slap me if ye'd rather I didn't."

[hylianqueen]

"It would be rude to slap you," Zelda said gently. "I would not be offended if you wished to kiss me again, I merely do not know what to do with the knowledge that someone desires me for some reason other than my crown or my wisdom."

It was very novel indeed and something Zelda thought might be fun to pursue even if it was far from the duty she had always devoted herself to.

[highland_hawk]

"Trust me, Zelda," Erik replied and reached up to brush a bit of hair behind her ear. "My wantin t'kiss ye has nothin t'do with crown or wisdom and everythin t'do with ye bein one of th'most beautiful women I've seen in m'life." He paused and leaned a little closer. "And that yer lips taste like ambrosia, even with just the brief taste I got."

[hylianqueen]

Zelda bit her lip a little, hard enough that the pain kept her from revealing emotions that she did not want to show for fear of getting hurt. "I am flattered," she assured him. "And intrigued, of course, but I do not wish to be hurt."

[highland_hawk]

"And ye think I'll hurt ye?" Erik asked, trying not to focus on the way her lip caught in her teeth even though it was clear the action was not one of coy flattery but something else entirely.

[hylianqueen]

"Possibly without meaning to. I can imagine I attach much more significance to our interactions than you would simply by virtue of my inexperience. It would be easy for me to forget my head and convince myself there is something between us when you do not feel the same way."

Zelda watches him with a steady gaze. "And yet, I find that I wish to be burned by that fire all the same. It is a predicament."

[highland_hawk]

Erik was well aware that they were bobbing in the ebb and flow of the water - well, she was, his feet were firmly on the ocean floor - and that they were both stark naked. A fact his cock was reminding him of near constantly, and insistently. He was old enough, however, to not be led around by it any longer. "I'm not in the habit of ravishing virgins, Zelda, but I'm not all that experienced with maids, either. M'eye usually trains t'lasses well versed in their wants. I won't say I don't want ye, because I'm not in th'habit of lyin. I will say I'd be happy t'see where what I'm feelin for ye might lead, at whatever pace yer comfortable with."

[hylianqueen]

"I do not lie either, which is why I wanted to be forthright with you. The last thing I want is to ruin a friendship because expectations were made unclear," Zelda said, smiling a bit. "And whatever there is between us, I would like to be your friend. It has been a long time since I have had anyone even come close to being a friend or companion to me. A princess leads a very lonely and isolated life, for the most part, and my father forbid me to play with children below my station."

[highland_hawk]

"As does a sailor, and a man without lands. Ye don't garner close companions, but rather ones ye trust and ones ye don't and never really know fer certain which group is which."

He slipped a hand behind her neck. "And if I do somethin t'hurt ye, Zelda, ye've only t'tell me, or slap me with m'full permission t'do so, and without me thinkin yer rude." Because it seemed the perfect thing, he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda smiled at him, a bit sheepish. "I did not mean to tell you not to kiss me. I simply wanted to be certain expectations were clear between us. I am ruled by logic and the idea of something that has to do with passion is new and a bit unsettling for me."

[highland_hawk]

"And I'm ruled by instinct," Erik grinned, cupping her face in his hands. "Should be fun."

[hylianqueen]

"How do you not blow away on the winds of passion, then?" Zelda asked, honestly intrigued by the concept of being ruled by instinct instead of wisdom. It seemed very much like something a follower of Din would do and that was something she'd only experienced in the negative. Still, there were positive aspects to passion and instinct. There must be.

[highland_hawk]

"How would ye feel about lettin those winds through yer own hair for a bit, see how they feel?" Erik asked, without answering hers. "Maybe ye'll feel a little of how I find it s'easy t'let the winds pull me where they will?"

He'd seen a small sailing skiff when they'd arrived and he was pretty sure he could pilot it well enough alone.

[hylianqueen]

"I think I can trust you," Zelda said. If nothing else, she felt like she could trust him to hold her best interests at heart; he hadn't let her drown beneath the waves and he'd listened when she voiced her hesitations at being taken advantage of. Erik MacSorley seemed like an honorable man and she was happy to put her trust in him.

"Will you show me?"

[highland_hawk]

"Aye, but first we'll be needin t'find our way back into our clothes," he smirked, already walking her towards the shore, "I'm a strong man, but I'm not strong enough t'take ye out on th'open water with such a beautiful distraction pullin m'focus away."

He stopped when solid ground was beneath her feet again and, reluctantly, removed his hands from her hips.

[hylianqueen]

Zelda blushed a little. "I had forgotten I wasn't wearing anything, to be quite honest. I do apologize for being so forward."

Zelda walked back to the beach and slid back into her gown before pulling her damp hair over her shoulder to braid it quickly.

[highland_hawk]

"I would like to say that I hadn't, but I was enjoyin the view too much t'not notice." He watched that beautiful body disappear behind the gown and sighed. He would have to arrange for more swimming lessons. Soon.

For now, though, it was time to teach a princess how to let the wind flow through her hair.

Erik was back into his plaid in moments and held out a hand to her. "Follow me, m'lady."

[hylianqueen]

Zelda took his hand, sliding her fingers in with hers. "Yes, absolutely. I want to learn what it is like to stand on the deck of a ship and let the wind and the waves take me where they will. But I will require more swimming lessons soon," she said, grinning at him. "I want to become proficient."

[highland_hawk]

Erik could hear the other members of the Guard, especially Viper, giving him no end of hell about walking hand in hand with a woman, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. At all. Her hand felt wonderful and soft in his and he wasn't about to let it go if she was agreeable. "Then I will endeavour to make m'self available t'yer whims, m'lady. For now," he said, and trailed off as they reached the simple skiff and he held tighter to her hand.

"Climb aboard and I'll see if I can't tease us out a wee bit of wind."

[hylianqueen]

Zelda stepped up into the skiff and looked at the workings of the boat. "So how does this work? I would like to know how to sail a boat all by my lonesome too. All knowledge is worth having."

It was something she had always told herself and a principle she lived by.