Queen Zelda Hyrule swung her crossed heels from where she sat on the edge of the loft; in between ink wells, quills and bound but mostly blank books. She knew she should have worn pants for this, but being queen means wearing gowns and only gowns. The loft was in Impa's house, now the Kakariko village library. Below her were apparently her most dissident citizens, while standing beside her (even if it meant bending beneath the ceiling) was Impa.

Zelda spoke as loudly as she could without appearing to be yelling. "Please, no good will come from our addressing your concerns if no one can hear us."

Impa had no such qualms. "Everybody, shut the Twilight up! The next one to disrespect the crown, I'll toss out into the street and not necessarily through the door!"

The room quieted instantly. The queen raised an eyebrow to her attendant. Impa simply bowed and slid to the stairs so that she may stand straight.

"First, let us to thank the inhabitants of Kakariko Village for allowing us this time in trying days. We'd like to thank you all for the courtesy you've shown.

"Secondly, please allow us to make a few remarks before taking questions. We have come to Kakariko Village today to allay your concerns over Monarchial Proclamation Three:Mayoral Mandate. This mandate is expressly in accordance to our first mandate:that the Kingdom of Hyrule be returned to a state well past her former glory. It is an organization of labor so that the most can be made of the people's expertise, while rewarding as many hard working citizens the most that is possible. We hope that your efforts benefit you, yourselves, more than anyone else. And when individual Hylians - and Sheikah - agree that their lives are what they want them to be, the crown can agree that our first proclamation has been satisfied."

"Now, you sir. What is your concern?", the Queen finished.

The man she pointed to nearly spoke. Then he glanced over to Impa. Impa waved her hand toward Queen Zelda to give her consent.

The man then voiced, "The Chief Carpenter came to me and said he was gathering a crew to move Castle Town. He said he could because he was one of these new 'mayors'. He doesn't get to just draft us off the street, does he?"

The queen listened carefully and nodded. "Thank you for your question. We wanted to clarify a few issues and this allows us to.

"First, no-mayors don't get to draft anyone. You, as citizens, get to work with the mayors. Obviously, those that sign on with Mayor Talon now are going have the easiest time choosing the land they would homestead in Ordon. Yes, farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers would become land owners in exchange for feeding the kingdom. But more directly to the point-May we ask you what your profession was before the Imprisoning War?"

The man nodded furiously. "Of course, Your Highness. I was a mason."

Zelda continued. "And what occupation have you held for the past few years?"

The man appeared somewhat defeated and looked at his shoes.

Zelda jumped on it. "Exactly. This is what we're going to end up avoiding. The chief knew you had intrinsically valuable skills to the project. You now get to practice those unused skills in service to your country. A freshly built castle can not only serve as fresh temporary housing for those at work in the first step of rebuilding Castle Town, but a central capitol citadel. And when businesses move into Castle Town to be close to the capitol, you will have adept skills and an intricate knowledge of the cities planning to build at those business' requests. You become a valued venture capitalist, new businesses get expert labor and the country's capitol grows all in the same step.

"The same with agriculture and science. As we've stated prior: Those Talon entreats to aid in Ordon will become land owners. They will benefit themselves in direct correlation to their efforts, while providing great service to the kingdom. Artisans, craftsmen, scholars and researchers who choose to remain in Kakariko will be just that: surrounded by a cacophony of intellectuals of all stripes. That will advance our culture and endow these individuals with greater opportunity.

"Secondly, the chief isn't one of the mayors...per se. Castle Town will be under the direct authority of the crown without an intermediary step. The distance between provinces is the greatest reasons for entitling proxy authority. The choice of mayors was made after careful considerations of their individual talents.

"Next question."

Once the people present felt that the queen was taking their concerns seriously, they stopped being halfway to a mob and started respecting themselves as they respected her. While several raised their hands to ask after their own concerns, they didn't try to overshadow the woman Zelda pointed to.

"With that type of distance, how will Hyrule remain a single kingdom?", she asked.

Zelda barely had to answer. At that very moment, the man nearly everyone had seen pass them by in a blur entered in his new uniform.

"Postman, why are you here so early? We expected you in a few hours time.", the queen stated.

The postman shrugged. "I just like beating my own times, ma'am. I mean, Your Highness. I promise, as Postman information will spread faster than the plague."

The queen appeared taken aback a bit. "Erm...Interesting choice of metaphor. But in answer to the question...Creating a position of postman creates a federal responsibility for keeping the kingdom connected. No matter what community a citizen settles in, they will have no doubt that the Kingdom of Hyrule is a single and whole functioning society.

"Anyone else? Yes, you sir."

A young man raised his voice. "This is all well and great for everyone that was up and around back in the good old days. But what about those of us who grew up during the war? There weren't any apprentiships for us. What are we going to do when none of the mayors recruit us?" Several younger people around him agreed vocally.

"We understand your concerns.", the queen told him. "We understand as well as anyone how scarce educational opportunities were during the war. In all our proclamations, we hope to use every investment to benefit both the kingdom and its peoples."

Zelda then picked up the book beside her and turned to the first blank page. She started writing as well as speaking, "Hence, Monarchial Proclamation Four: Recondition of the Hyrule Defense Force. In exchange for service in the HDF, soldiers will not only recieve a country that is defended but training in any number of tasks that a military must perform to maintain itself. These skills range from blacksmithing and other equipment maintenance to accounting the allocation of resources throughout what will be the largest operating organization in the kingdom.

"Furthermore, this also helps to jump start the economy. Taxpayers defraying the cost of the HDF will be gaining national and personal security that would cost a private citizen a fortune, businesses will be gaining skilled labor and another means of combating the surplus of talent our country has to offer at the moment. But this combined with the Castle Town project also allows funds to flow from the government through those it employs to the market place. This in turns allows the businesses that employ private citizens to grow beyond their tax burdens, thereby employing an expanding labor force.

"So, for those of you who feel the HDF is the right opportunity, please report to General Impa at her earliest convenience.", Zelda finished. Impa, who previously rested against he wall and listened mostly to make sure none disrespected Zelda, started at the entitlement. Turning to the queen, she was met with a wink of an eye.

Smiling, the queen amended, "Yes. General Impa is returning to her former duty after literally a lifetime of service."

The only hand that remained in the air was that of a man who seemed to be surrounded by a horn. "You sir. What is your question?"

"When is the windmill getting fixed from the damage that meddling kid commited?", he asked with a certain ferocity.

"We apologize, sir. We had witnessed the windmill turning with the wind as we entered the village. Also, we were told that there is no mill in the town. So with the well now filled, we had assumed nothing was the matter. Please, what is malfunctioning?", Zelda asked with empathy.

"Everything!", the man told her. "It's all that kid's fault too."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Would that 'kid' be Link, the Hero of Time? Saved all the lands? Is the only reason any of us are alive?"

The man nodded his head feverishly. "Yeah, that's the punk. He needs what's coming to him."

"And, pray tell, what exactly would you like to see done?", the queen inquired.

The man blew up. "You're all making fun of me! You're got it in for me! I'm going back to my windmill!"

"Sir? Sir?", the teen aged girl called after him. "Well then.", Queen Zelda dismissed.

"If there are no further questions, we'll be taking our leave with General Impa. She and the mayors will meet with everyone who wishes to partake of the opportunities they offer as expiditiously as possible. Thank you, and good day.", Zelda summed up.

The queen slid off the loft to the floor below. While everyone shared a friendly smile with her, no one attempted to stop Zelda or Impa from taking their leave.

The two did manage to catch one Hylian in particular, before she could dart away. "Malon?", Zelda called.

The peasant girl looked around half-worried, half-hopeful that someone else named Malon was around. Seeing that that was not the case, she turned to the queen and now general with a curtsy.

"Your Majesty.", Malon began, not raising her gaze from the grass. "I understand how valuable a gift an audience with Your Highness is. I was hoping to save it for a true need."

"Malon look at me?", Zelda asked softly. Impa whispered to use the royal plural and was met with a quick hush. Malon hesitantly raised her gaze to the queen.

Only then Zelda continued. "Consider this my asking you for an audience then. I understand that it is you who raised and donated the mare that aided the Hero of Time. I just wanted to thank you for helping him, and the nation."

Malon blushed. "Oh! That's quite alright, Your Majesty. Link saved me from...well, Ingo's not all that evil but...um...Link saved me is all. He saved me. Epona is the least I could have given him. And now that he's gone, Epona's back with us as if she never left. She'll be of great help in Ordon."

The queen nodded. "I'm glad you feel that way. About Ordon, I mean. You're a fine citizen and I hoped not to offend you by transferring your family's heritage to a federal level when I used eminent domain on Talon and Malon R...er, Lon Lon Ranch. Making Talon mayor was meant to be more of a reward and I doubted I communicated that. And, goddess forbid, anything were to happen to your father, I hope you would accept the title as a reward and not an added burden as well."

Malon was flabberghasted. "But...but, Your Highness. I'm no noble. I'm just a maiden."

"I'm just a maiden.", Zelda repeated. "So is the head of our military, as of a moment ago. Just because you turn a few heads when you bring supplies to Kakariko doesn't neutralize every other talent you have or automatically dismiss you from government service."

Malon continued to flush. The other teen placed a silken gloved hand on her arm. "Breathe, child. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up so soon. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was thanking your family, not robbing them. Your father nearly tripped over himself at the celebration, promising tribute as fast as he could. You suffered under Ganon, we all did. I understand that...

"Just-thank you. And if you want to talk about anything, not just affairs of the state...well, I don't really have any girl friends my own age either."

Malon curtsied again. "Of course, Your Majesty. I'm so happy to be of service."

After leaving Malon the two walked calmly and slowly through the streets, with serene near smiles on their faces. No one approached close enough to hear what they were saying to one another.

Zelda asked Impa. "Did I just enslave a girl because I was lonely? I did just wanted to thank her. And being friends with her would help us both gain some normalcy in our lives after seven years of war."

"I'm really scared.", Zelda told Impa. "You're right. I shouldn't be able to balance the gross domestic product of Hyrule against the Domain and Death Mountain in my head, let alone forecast all three over the next score years. There's no way I should be able to deduce that one of the most complex devices in the kingdom is actually useless. What if I become like Gannondorf? What if I'm corrupted? Who'll stop me? Link? Ganon!?"

"We, Your Majesty.", Impa reminded. "Your corruption is impossible. Since you were a babe, all you could ever think about is the welfare of everyone else. I remember a certain little girl that set the boy of her dreams on a quest to save the land rather than keep him all for herself.

"If you turn into an all consuming monster, I'll just take you over my knee as if you were four again. With Your Majesty's permissions, as Mandate Four gives me full authority to take emergency actions for national security interests."

The two turned to gaze upon a woman who accidentally wandered to close. The woman froze then fell into a curtsy. They gave her a smile and continued on their way, as if simply taking a break from their federal responsibilities and were talking about the whether.

Impa continued. "If Your Highness really wants something to worry about, there's always Nabooru. That thieving concubine's so in love with the Dark King that she'll not just forgive him for all his crimes. She'll damn us all if she gets half the chance, just because she thinks he'll enjoy it."

Zelda gave the slightest shake of her head. "She may somehow 'love' him. But Nabooru hasn't been in love with him for quite some time, and not just because of her enslavement. You see...