Another short... "Maybe Not so Ever After"

Sighing, Toran kicked at a pebble on the dirt path and watched it skitter away. Realizing he might have made a critical error, the dirty blond head jerked up, darting from side to side to see if he had been spotted. Ten years ago, it would have just been Toran, kid with unruly hair and hazel eyes kicking a rock in the palace gardens. The worst thing that could have happened would be Impa finding him there and reaching the, generally correct, assumption that he was returning from sneaking into Zelda's room. But now it was no longer Toran kicking the stone... it was Lord Toran exerting his will over a pathetic nuisance, probably a symbol of how he wanted to go to war with the Zora, or maybe levy an extra tax or two on the Hylian citizenry. This whole ruler thing was confusing...

All that he had ever wanted was to be with Shiek... just to hold the woman he loved in a world he had saved from darkness. And for awhile it had been that way. But Shiek morphed into Princess Zelda, and Princess Zelda had become Queen Zelda about a year ago. That, in turn, had transformed Duke Toran into Lord Toran. Toran had been informed by the Sages (more than once), that at a mere twenty three years, he was far younger than any other Lord or King of the Hylian Empire. that, in their minds, made him the least qualified ruler ever. Toran was inclined to agree, though not necessarily over his age.

Lords, queens, wars, taxes, laws... he was beginning to hate all of it. Of course, Zelda was actually the one in the Royal House, and so by law was the technical ruler of Hyrule. However, Toran predecessor, and his wife's father, had taken a much more commanding role than his Royal House wife durning their rule. this had apparently set a precedent for Toran to actually be pulling the strings of the government... a precedent he would have preferred to not exist.

Things didn't change for the wishing though, something Toran had learned over his almost equally rough childhoods. Only one thing had really helped him get through the nightmare that was Palace Life... and that was the very thing that had brought him into it.

Zelda.

Toran knew she had seen how much stress kingship caused him, and the wonderful girl really did go out of her way to help him. Over the year he had been lord, Zelda had certainly gone out of her way to take on many, many of the ruling duties. Toran didn't mind; Zelda actually seemed to enjoy statecraft to a degree, and it was her right after all. She also tended to require a strong massage after particularly stressful sessions in the throne room... massages Toran was more than willing to give. Still, having Zelda as the Queen could be rough as well. She had talked down to him on more than one ocation in front of emissaries, and in all honesty she rarely took his advice on anything relating to the kingdom anymore. And it seemed as though they never just talked anymore... Even when they had been running from Gannondorf, fighting for freedom, and awakening the sages, he and Zelda had always made time to just sit and talk. Even the times they had nothing to say, at least Toran had been able to look into the deep blue eyes and see love shining back out at him, the arrogant, little, "I so totally have you," smirk pulling at her mouth. If air had disappeared in a single second, it still would be nothing compared to how much he missed those days.

Sighing, Toran turned to walk towards the palace. He did need to get back inside before he was missed... Damn, Link really had lucked out!

Toran approached the terrais steps, but paused when he saw someone standing there... It was her, dressed in the ornate, complicated dress of the Royal Hylian women. She was starring out away from him, over the gardens, walls, and trees, at the sinking sun, as red as blood and larger than Toran had ever seen. Stepping softly, Toran approached the queen that was his wife.

He remembered the day when she would have spun at the sound of his approach, but the years of the Shiekah training had been long ago. Now she did not stiffen until his hand actually came to rest on her shoulder, causing her to take in a surprised breath. She glanced over her shoulder at him, an absent smile on the thin lips. Relaxing slightly under his hand, Zelda turned, reaching up to wrap her arms around Toran's neck.
"You're not supposed to be out here..." she whispered, as though there might actually be someone other than themselves on the terrace. Smiling back, Toran let his arms encircle the queen's thin waist.
"You're not supposed to be here either," he replied, placing a light kiss on the top of Zelda's head. He started to pull her in a little tighter, but she dropped her head down, and hung back rather than bury herself into the hug. Toran felt a twinge hurt. He knew she didn't mean to, but Zelda was so much like her father sometime. Hyrule was her duty, and duty came before everything else.

"Sorry, Toran, but we can't do this right now... I have to get back to the audience room..."
"Zel, it's been a long day already... shouldn't you be getting some rest?"
"Later maybe," she whispered into his ear, before slipping away into the palace. Toran knew all too well what that promise meant. In between his meetings with the War Council, and Zelda's domestic audiences, neither of them would see each other until late into the night, maybe even scant hours before dawn.

Sighing, Toran walked into the War Chamber, nodding to the Paladins, Sages, and Battle Mages that sat around the long table.
"Sir, it has become necessary to raise more money for the continued occupation of the Deku Swamp Teritories, we risk losing infulance in the southlands should we not..."
"Money better spent at rebuilding Clock Town's walls that were brought down in the last Zora revolt!"
"Defense is nothing while the foe is allowed to rebuild in their fortresses... it has been too long since the Hylian forces shed blood on Zora soil rather than Turminian..."

Sighing, Toran held up a hand to retake command of the room.
Gannondorf died, and they all lived happily ever after... the line ran through his mind with a grim chuckle that sounded like the old wizard himself.