An Invitation to a Ball || #ATMasqueradeHall

"What's that?"

The Sheikah craned her head to glance at the paper in the Gerudo's hands, a sigh escaping her companion as he placed the letter down. "In invitation to a masquerade ball... it says to bring a partner."

Zelda sat down next to her companion. "A partner? As in, a romantic partner?"

"I would think so..."

"Where are you going to find one of those?"

Ganon rolled his eyes, a slight smile on his face. "I could go alone, or..."

He trailed off, a glimmer of light in his eyes and a skirk slowly creeping up. He was scheming something, and when he glanced at the Sheikah it was immediately clear what he was thinking. "No. Not happening."

"C'mon Zel! It could be fun!"

"No. Not only is there the chance that it will be a miserable experience, it asked for you to bring a partner- I hardly qualify as one."

The Gerudo's smirk did not dare fall as he said, "Ah, but it doesn't necessarily say it has to be a romantic partner. We came to that conclusion on our own."

Zelda sighed, placing her fingers on the bridge of her nose. "You're not going to let me say 'no', are you?"

"If you really don't want to, I won't force you. I still think it could be fun."

Silence hung between the two as Ganon continued to read the letter, with Zelda staring at the strange symbols of the Hylian language before eventually whispering: "...I can't dance."

Ganon flinched at the sound of his companion's voice, slowly smiling and letting out a small laugh. "And you think I can?"

"You are royalty. Surely you were taught something resembling dancing, but the Gorons do not do anything of the sort."

"Well, I suppose I do know how to dance a bit, but nothing like what you see at these formal events."

Zelda tilted her head, her voice firm as she asked, "Can you show me?"

The boy nodded, slowly standing before raising his arms above his head. He closed his eyes and started nodding his head, lightly humming a tune before moving. Zelda watched as he glid across the ground, steps light and quick and his arm movements wide and expressive. He certainly was right: this was no formal dance, it was one for when no one else was around and you wished to have fun.

With a flourish of his wrist Ganon completed the dance, a smile on his face as he took deep breaths in and out. He turned his head to Zelda, his smile refusing to drop as he said, "Your turn, Zel."

"What are you saying?! I-I can't!"

"Can't is just a word used to say you never tried!"

"Gohkra. Roll into a pike." The Sheikah slowly stood, raising her arms in a fashion that mimicked Ganon. "Now what, Kyetvera?"

"Just let the groove move you."

Zelda rolled her eyes before closing them, focusing on her memories of Goron festivals and the music played through them. Drum beats played in her head, accompanied by soft chants she knew the words to by heart.

Kahtya sehruum... Imdech eikhru...

Her left arm bent at the elbow, her right leg lifting from the ground as she pivoted on her left heel. With each beat of the drum she shifted position, her movements far more grounded than that of her companions and yet the same feeling came from her dance; she was having fun.

Let's be merry... let joy come our way...

When the girl finished, she turned to Ganon with a wide smile on her face. "Well, Kyetvera?"

The Gerudo smiled back, jovially exclaiming: "I think I have my partner for this ball."

The Sheikah rolled her eyes at the statement, her smile refusing to fall.

Hullo Zelda Amino!

Guess who's participating in the Art Training Hall collab again?

Instead of using Miki like I did for the Halloween and Christmas collabs, I decided to use my AU versions of Ganon and Zelda for this- just gives me another chance to write their personalities and interactions with each other.

I also address this in story but these two wouldn't ever be romantic partners, and I wanted to highlight this because you never really see the other kinds of love around Valentine's Day. Give me a Hallmark movie about these two friends that choose to spend time with one another than getting a romantic partner dammit.

Anyyywayyy I hope you enjoyed!

#ATMasqueradeHall