...We Could...

Fumi Forty-Five!

Zelda sighed as she trudged along the snow covered bank. Would winter ever end? It felt to Zelda like it should have been spring by now.

She stopped with a sigh and looked up at the gray clouds. Christmas had passed, with the only gifts being helping hands and the occasional home-made gift. Dastan's birthday consisted of running around in the desert they had discovered and enjoying a time without fights and without the cold. The four siblings had spent a quiet day on their parents' birthdays, with the rest of the children letting them do their own thing. With Kadi's kids being so great in number, it seemed as though they were constantly taking a day off to shower the child with attention. Now it was creeping into spring, but the snow had no sign of giving way before the twin's birthdays.

Zelda sat in the snow against a tree and curled up against the chill. "Preuss hates snow... I sure hope it melts before his birthday."

"You could go to the desert like you did with Dastan," a voice chimed.

The redhead smiled and looked up at Junpei. "We could. It would just be nice if we could run around on the rocky cliffs."

He smiled. "If they day is sunny, I think we could use a little magic to clear away the snow."

Zelda returned the smile. "That's a wonderful idea, Junpei."

He held out a hand. "I have a study in my castle. Would you like to go there to plan your brother's birthday?"

She took the hand and allowed to be gently pulled into his embrace. "That would be lovely, Junpei. And I'm sure that once he finds out that you helped, he'll think differently of you."

The older man's eyes softened. "I hope that you're right."

Zelda let out a contented sigh as she took Junpei's arm and was lead across the thick snow into his dwelling. The doors magically opened for them, and closed again behind them as they walked across the brilliant stone floor. Zelda felt like a princess as she was hurried up the spiral staircase into the second floor, where there they went down the windowed hall to the grand study.

Zelda's eyes danced as she hurried forward to the shelves, her fingers slipping along the books. "How did you manage to get all these...?" she wondered.

Junpei chuckled, pouring himself a drink and sitting on the couch. "I conjured them up using magic. No, I didn't summon them," he corrected at Zelda's accusing gaze, "I just re-created them. Basically, I just pictured every library I had been to and re-wrote the books. Some I have yet to read, but Magic knew the words of the pages."

Zelda eyed him and took a book off the shelf to hold it up to him. "Have you read this?"

He shook his head. "Not one to read romance," he told her. "I prefer having the lady in front of me, and not unattainable behind pages."

She felt her cheeks turn rosy as she flipped through the pages to find the least-known placement of the book. The letters swam before her eyes before settling down and becoming Farsi, enabling her to read it.

As her eyes flicked across the words, she nodded her head in approval. Every single letter was correct. Satisfied that the books were, in fact, perfect copies, she slid the book back into place among the others before joining Junpei on the couch.

"You're sure that you can melt the snow?" Zelda asked, worried.

"Among the rocky cliffs I can," he confirmed, settling his arm around her. "I can't warm it very much, though."

She smiled. "That's quite alright. I'll be sure to bundle everyone so they're warm."

He chuckled. "So motherly..."