央 / hyrule castle

@王┊kim jungeun Now Sooyoung was not, in any means, out of practice, but she rarely got the chance to be able to fight to her heart's content recently, what with new younglings rising up to take the path of the sword and becoming (surprisingly) good with handling it. She wouldn't deny the excitement she felt as she waited for the hero to accept her challenge. It had been quite a while, after all, and what was a better warm-up than fighting the great hero herself? Granted, there was a high possibility that she would be defeated — this was the chosen one, after all, but she had never been the type to back down.

It had always been her duty to make the impossible possible.

The way Sooyoung fought was wild and lacked the grace the royals would have expected from someone of her position. She poised herself, bending her knees a little while she flexed her sword to her side. She let her tongue run over her lips, and she moved her dominant hand to her back, the sunlight glinting over her blade, her other hand held forward. "Here I come!" In a flash, she was gone, her movements extremely quick as she ran toward the hero, planted her foot forward before she swung her sword forward with a speed that didn't seem to be possible with its weight.

@影┊park sooyoung There was a frown on the Hero’s forehead as she looked at the other woman, one she didn’t know well but heard great things about. Sooyoung was, after all, the representative of the Sheikah Tribe and was most likely the best warrior in her tribe. It made Jungeun a tad nervous, anxiety bubbling up in her chest because, yes, Jungeun has slain monsters and defeated members of the Yiga Clan many times, but it had been ages since she had duelled with another person, let alone someone of such high status. She had found herself in a difficult position, but she knew her pride depended on it if she rejected the fight. It would have to be something she had to do, that she /wanted/ to do. Jungeun was never a gung ho, egotistic person. Especially recently, Jungeun doubted her skills a lot.

She hoped that she wouldn’t disappoint the latter. Maybe she would deem her unfit for wielding the Master Sword and would tell the king, taking away her status. Isn’t that what she would rather, though? Being free from this expectation that she can take on anyone, especially the evil that the kingdom feared most…

Jungeun did nothing but nod, taking out her Master Sword once more and readying it for the duel. She stood in her ready position, holding the blade perpendicular to her face, ready to take on any blow or swing the Sheikah woman may give.

@王┊kim jungeun Sooyoung watched the woman with unfiltered interest as the latter swung her sword. She found herself quite... enamored by the way Jungeun moved, as there was always a certain beauty some swordsmen and women held in the way they would wield their swords. It was the very reason why she'd developed a fascination with blades when she was younger, and she had wanted that beauty — took it within her hands. It was how she'd worked her way up to the position she held right then, but watching Jungeun, she supposed that Jungeun's beauty was something that no one else could ever replicate.

But as Sooyoung walked through the entrance of the courtyard, her massive sword secured by her back, there was only adrenaline running through her veins, a rush of excitement she hadn't felt in a long time spreading throughout her body. She stopped a good distance away from the hero, and the murmurs of their audience reached her ears. She paid them no mind as she clapped her hands, smiling cordially like usual. "That was a splendid performance, hero." Her clapping stopped, and she ran her tongue over her lips. She drew her sword from her back — the weapon was heavy, but years of experience allowed her to wield such a massive blade with ease.

"Let's have a duel, hero," she said, aiming her sword at the other lady with a single hand. "I'd like to test your skills myself."

@影┊park sooyoung A huff leaving Jungeun's lips came when she swung the sword at the air. The Master Sword, the king called it, was supposed to be created perfectly for Jungeun. Even so, it felt heavy in her hands. Not in the way that she got sore afterwards, or where her cuts were clumsy, but in the way that rested on her shoulders and in her mind. There was no other sword Jungeun had held that seemed so comfortable yet so burdensome.

She swung at the air in the courtyard, away from the outside world she wanted to be back into, away from the King and his booming voice. She swung, practicing the parries, lunges, ripostes... Until the sweat on her forehead beaded down to her neck and wet her red tunic. She stood straight, sheathing her sword, sighing exhaustedly. The sword was definitely the best weapon she ever had, almost as if she was wearing the wrong shoe size her entire life... But still, there was a spark within it that she didn't know what it was except that it made her shoulders feel heavy and the breath in her lungs be stagnant. What was it?

She heard the footsteps, her long ears twitching at the sound of heels against the stone floors, she turned her head to the entrance of the courtyard and saw Sooyoung, the Sheikah Protector. She tilted her head to the side and nodded in acknowledgement to the other woman.