a/n: I've brought this back for the lack of having any new work. This has been a very lazy summer...haven't felt much like writing but at least I found the time to clean up the sloppy fics I've posted here.
The Princess Sees Green
He woke up to another perfect day of sunshine and peacefulness, in a place considered nothing more than fantasy, and his callow existence inside a world of digital sets created in vivid colors and various levels of special effects. Actually the levels were creatively astounding, yet perceived as being made up of sugarcoated mountains, lemony-lime coins floating in the air, the big round sun with an off-center crosshatch, and a bunch of little spotted-head people just standing around waiting to talk to Mario.
That was another small problem.
It was Mario, the elder brother, who could do no wrong in the real world. Matched against Bowser to free the Mushroom Kingdom Princess was a given, and he did so with tactical grace and conviction, always with a smile on his face, never afraid.
Of course, being revered as a hero proved more than enough to maintain marketability, young and old, rich, and yes, even poor. Then again, who was the hero? Certainly not the one who appeared only on occasion and even then wasn't thought to be very strong or the least bit clever, but fearful, dense, and perpetually naïve. Furthermore, this younger brother had no true place of his own, no great accomplishments, no known history of being anything other than the taller, skinnier brother of an industry's noble pioneer. The green one, as opposed to the one in red, had nothing more to claim as his own than a few dollars and some stray Goombas left behind for him to beat ever so often. Player number two, second fiddle, the sidekick, had not even been given the role of saving his own girlfriend, Daisy, because Mario was always the hero, the winner, the real number one.
Only someone very close to him could have known the truth; no one else cared. Truth didn't matter because it was a made-up world of sheer happiness twenty-four hours a day, or at least for however long the system was left up and running. But little did anyone know how much of a real world it really was, complete with objects that could be touched and moved, people who worked, children who played, and a ruler of that kingdom who just happened to be Mario's truest love....
"I didn't think you would come here."
"Anything for you, Princess. You should know that by now."
"Promise me you'll stay?"
"Yes, anything for you..."
The next morning she is awakened by a knock at her door. She opens her eyes and sits up, then notices the doors to her balcony are open, and a green cap is on her bed. Suddenly, without warning, her bedroom door opens, and she grabs for the cap then stuffs it under her pillows. Toad steps into the room and makes an announcement, "Princess, Mario is here!"
"Hello!" says Mario as he enters the bedroom and takes off his red cap to greet the princess. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm...uh...fine. Mario." she says nervously and scoots back, hoping the green cap is still well hidden beneath the pillows. "I wasn't expecting you to come so soon."
"Oh. Don't you remember, Princess? We are going to the big premiere of Luigi's Mansion today."
The princess says not a word.
"Are you alright, Princess? You'll have to hurry and get ready. I promised Luigi we would be there, you know. And you know how he is about being on time."
......yes....Luigi's right on time.... the princess is thinking.
"I'll go downstairs and wait for you," said Mario. "And I'll call Luigi just to let him know we will be there soon as we can."
Peach and Mario arrive at the Luigi's Mansion premiere arm in arm. The Mushroom Kingdom paparazzi snaps photos and the press talks to Mario about the show.
"My brother's waited a long time for this!" says Mario. "And believe me, he won't let you down!"
"Mario!" one of the reporters calls out. "So where is your brother today? Aren't you expecting him to show up at his own premiere?"
Mario's caught off guard. "Luigi? He's not here? But that can't be. This is one of the most important moments in his life...aside from the launch of Super Mario Brothers... And he's not here?"
Suddenly the princess is worried but doesn't let it show.
meanwhile....
Luigi's back home and leaps out of bed when he realizes he's overslept five hours.
"Oh no!" He struggles into his overalls and shirt, then reaches for his cap on the bedpost-- "Ohmygod. My cap! I left it at.....oh my...."
He thinks about calling the castle but then realizes he can't do that because it would be too risky, and he looks at the clock on his nightstand, seeing that he's way late for the most important moment of his life and curses himself for picking last night--of all nights-- to sneak over to the castle to keep the princess company....although it was probably the most enjoyable six hours she'd ever had in a very long time...
The phone rings. He answers. Cringes when hearing who's on the other end.
"Hey, Luigi... Brother, what are you doing there? Me and Peach are at the premiere and the press is here and everybody and we're all wondering why you aren't!"
"...You...?" Luigi stutters. "..and...uh....the princess are there?"
"Yes, and here, she wants to speak to you."
"But, No--"
"Luigi?" comes her soft voice over the phone. "They need you here, and don't forget your cap."
He immediately picked up on the hint. "Thank you, Princess. You have it?"
"Yes." she answered flatly.
Luigi lowers his voice just to be safe. "And so he doesn't know?"
"Of course not." she says cheerfully, as not to tip anyone off to the true nature of their conversation. "I'll see you, Luigi....." there was a long pause before she spoke again. "...hopefully again tonight." she whispered, and she was gone……
...Luigi?..
A firm touch woke him right up.
"I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Mario asked me to come over and do a little straightening up for him."
At first it didn't seem possible, but when Luigi pushed himself up in the recliner, he realized that a young woman was standing over him. He stood immediately and backed away, fully awake now, and suddenly aware that the woman was Ariella Star, Mario's next door neighbor.
"If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here anyway?" she asked politely.
This woman-Ariella--was an angel. Really. Luigi knew all about the gossamer wings that appeared only at night and soft tufts of clouds she slept upon.
"That's exactly what I was going to ask you." he said. "I imagine my brother has given you permission to be in his home while he's gone?"
The gorgeously angelic woman smiled. "Of course he has," then she held up a small silver object. "He gave me his key to come and go when I want."
Luigi took a second to think...then couldn't imagine it. He just couldn't. Was his brother actually cheating on the princess?
"Yes."
He snapped to attention after the angel had spoken. "Yes...what?"
"Yes, your brother is cheating on the princess." said Ariella. "And that's fine with me because Mario is a very wonderful man.....in many ways. Besides, the princess and Mario can't possibly belong to each other when you're having these dreams about her."
He'd almost forgotten Ariella's superb ability to read minds and dreams as well.
"It really complicates things, Luigi." she added. "You care very deeply for Princess Peach, perhaps more than you know how to handle--"
"Oh..oh no..." Luigi shook his head and gestured a final no with his hands. "That was just a dream nothing else! There is nothing between me and this princess....Mine is in Sarasaland."
The angel frowned. "So why aren't you there now?"
He broke into an embarrassed smile. "Because I am here, of course!"
"Not funny." said Ariella. "What if I told you that you love her?"
He wasn't smiling anymore. In fact Luigi had turned bitterly angry on the spot. "Ok, time to go..." he said, making a sweeping motion toward the front door. "I'll tell Mario you dropped by... You can come back tomorrow. I'll be gone by then."
After getting Ariella out of the house, Luigi stood with his back against the door and thought hard about the princess.....Peach.....no....wrong one. For some reason he couldn't make himself stop wondering where she was and what she was doing... they were just friends. Good friends, but just friends nevertheless....couldn't keep punishing himself like this--had to go home.