He scowled at the colourful shop front across the street, as if it was the shop's fault he was in this predicament. The bouquet of flowers in the front window sat innocently, ignorant of his glare.
He half-wished that the pink and blue flowers in the shop's display window would burst into flame, if only to amuse him. It wouldn't help, but it would be entertaining, at least for a moment.
Truth be told, the flowers were more than simply a target for his glare. They were a possible answer to an awful and perplexing question that had been playing through his mind for days now.
What does one do for the woman they love?
"They should sell fewer varieties," he grumbled. "It would make this far easier."
"Ganondorf?" came a familiar voice from the crowd. He turned to see Captain Falcon watching him, confusion and amusement written on the visible half of his face. "What did that flower shop do to you?"
"Go away," Ganondorf rumbled, turning away. As he turned, another display in the flower shop window caught his eye.
Unfortunately, Captain Falcon followed his gaze. His confusion turned into a smirk.
"Flowers? Really?"
Ganondorf didn't even dignify that with a response, turning to return to the Mansion. Before he could begin to push through the crowds, Falcon grabbed his arm.
"Hang on! I was just kidding! You're not really looking at flowers at all, are you?"
"Let go of me, Falcon," Ganondorf growled, sending a spark of magic down his arm. Falcon pulled away, cursing, and Ganondorf left.
As he stomped his way through the crowd, he heard a high, sweet voice behind him. "Hello, Captain Falcon!"
"Hey, Peach. Out for a walk?"
"Just doing a bit of shopping."
Thank the Goddesses for small mercies. While Falcon was distracted, Ganondorf crossed the street and entered the flower shop.
He was the King of Evil. He could do what he wanted, even buy flowers.
Oddly, that thought didn't make him less nervous.
"Hello! Welcome to Smashville Flowers!" said the girl at the front counter, looking up from her book with a smile that didn't falter upon seeing who was entering the store.
He nodded distractedly and crossed the shop to a bucket of red-petaled flowers.
The whole shop was filled with buckets of all sizes and colours, all filled with different species of flowers. A myriad of different scents warred in the air around him. All in all, the effect was pleasant, but distracting and confusing.
"Would you like some help?"
Ganondorf looked down to find the girl from the front counter craning her neck up at him with a smile. She gestured around the shop. "It's a little much for first-time flower buyers, I know. Do you know what you're looking for?"
Ganondorf said nothing for a moment, then sighed. "No."
"Okay. Who are you looking to buy for?"
"A woman."
"What's her favourite colour?"
"… I believe it is pink."
"Okay. Hm…" She began pacing around the shop, looking for ideas. "Should we go for the classics? Roses always go over well… Maybe carnations? Those are usually for Mother's Day… Does she have a garden at home?"
"I have heard she has extensive gardens at her home."
"Then are flowers really the best choice?" she murmured, then shook her head. "A girl with a garden will love flowers. What's she like?"
"She is kind to everyone, and very friendly."
"So, your total opposite." She grinned. "Just kidding."
"Is all this muttering supposed to be helping?"
"It helps me think. Here. Try those." She pointed him to a bucket of pink roses. "I'm assuming you're looking to woo this girl?"
He looked at her with a deadpan expression.
"Ookay… I'm guessing that means yes. Well, pink roses symbolize love and romance. And pink is her favourite colour, so bonus points!"
He examined the flowers for a moment, then nodded, satisfied. He hefted the bucket onto the counter and spent a few moments choosing the blooms that were well-shaped and had no blemishes.
The shopgirl wrapped the flowers in bright paper and tied them with a ribbon. As he left the shop, he heard her wish him luck.
He ignored her. To get through this with his dignity intact, he'd need more than luck. He'd need a miracle.
A few feet away from his door stood a table with a vase of white silk roses. The roses had seen better days – for example, when Ganondorf had arrived at the mansion for his first Smash tournament – but the vase and table were in excellent condition, free of dust and polished bright.
After Ganondorf walked by, however, the silk roses lay on the tabletop and the vase had migrated to Ganondorf's desk, now filled with the flowers he had just bought.
Now that I have them, he thought, what am I to do with them?
He considered giving them directly to her, but discarded that idea. He was a King, and an evil king at that; he would not act like a lovesick puppy. He knew what that looked like; both Heroes had looked like that in the presence of their respective Zeldas. Bowser, too, looked at Peach like that when Mario and his brother were not looking.
Some small, irrational part of himself wondered if he'd ever looked like that, but he dismissed it immediately.
He couldn't think of anything, so for the moment, he left the flowers on the desk and left the room.
That night at dinner – the only event besides Team tournaments and the end-of-tournament gala when all the Smashers were forced to be together, unless they had other commitments – Ganondorf overheard a conversation between Peach, Zelda and Palutena at the end of the table. They were discussing something the Hero had done for Zelda recently.
"He gave me a flower," Zelda said. "A Hylia Lily. I have no idea where he could have gotten one."
Peach giggled. "Master Hand was complaining that someone had trampled the tulips. They grow right beside some Hylia Lilies, don't they?"
"Oh." Zelda rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her fond smile.
Peach giggled again, then sighed dreamily. "I wish someone would send me a flower."
"What about Mario?" Palutena asked.
"No, we're just friends. I think Toadsworth expects us to court eventually, but I just don't think it would work out." She smiled at Zelda. "You're lucky. You and Link have that kind of a connection."
"You'll find someone, Peach."
"I hope so."
Ganondorf ignored the rest of the conversation, having had a brainwave. Just one flower…
As ideas go, it will do.
The next morning, Peach left her room to get breakfast and found on her doorstep a single pink rose with a note attached to the stem. The note read 'Princess Peach' and nothing else, not even the name of the sender.
Peach picked up the rose and took it back into her room, intending to study it for a few moments. The note was written on good-quality card paper, in a bold but neat script she didn't recognize. As she had noticed a moment before, there was nothing on it to indicate the writer or sender.
Peach looked at the rose. It was beautiful, finely shaped and a soft pink colour that she absolutely adored. She smiled.
She had an admirer, and a secret one at that! It was so romantic!
She practically skipped down to the dining room for breakfast, sitting beside Zelda and giggling. "Zelda! Did you see the rose?"
"Yes, I saw it. Did the note say who it was from?"
"No, it just said my name. Do you know what this means?"
Zelda knew exactly what it meant, but she let Peach burst anyway. "I have a secret admirer!" Peach giggled again. "It's so romantic!"
"I wonder if we could find out who it was somehow. Do you have the note?"
"No, it's on my desk."
"We'll look at it after breakfast."
Zelda examined the note carefully, flipping it over several times. She noticed something about the back side of the note.
"There's an indent in the paper. See? The writer must have pressed hard with their pen."
"You're right! Maybe my admirer has big hands? But there's lots of people here with big hands, so that doesn't narrow it down much. It's not Bowser's writing, though, I know that much."
"That still doesn't narrow it down… but it's good to know."
"Maybe there will be more, and we can figure it out from them," Peach offered hopefully.
"Maybe."
The next few days were taken up with a round-robin singles tournament. None of the Smashers could get much time to themselves, but Peach managed to sneak an hour to bake a cake. When she did so, she noticed another rose with her name on it placed next to the sugar. She smiled.
"Maybe I'll use rose water in this cake!" She giggled at her own little joke.
The next flower came after her fifth match, in front of the change room door. She came out of the change room with a grin at her victory, and the smile only widened as she spotted the rose on the floor, note attached to the stem as usual.
"I can't believe my admirer is thinking of me even during a tournament!"
The fourth rose didn't come until after the tournament was over, and it was dropped in front of her door again. The next few flowers came the very same way, placed at all times of the day so the delivery didn't become routine.
Once they had five separate notes, Zelda and Peach put their heads together to try and figure out the identity of her admirer. They couldn't figure out much more than they did from the first note: the admirer wrote with a heavy hand on their pen, they were probably male, and the capital letters were very large compared to the rest of the letters, indicating a strong personality.
"Maybe it's Ike?" Peach suggested.
"Maybe…"
"I don't really like not knowing," Peach admitted. "I mean, it's sweet that they care enough to send flowers, but it would be nice to know who it is, you know?"
"I know what you mean," Zelda agreed.
"Maybe… Maybe I'll write a return note! I should invite my admirer for lunch or dinner and find out who they are!"
"Do you think they'll agree?"
"There's no harm in trying!"
Ganondorf could not believe his eyes.
She… wanted to go on a date?
He knew rationally that it was only because she didn't know his identity – that if she did know it was him sending the flowers, she wouldn't get within ten feet of him – but some small part of him couldn't help rejoicing at the idea.
Peach wanted to have dinner with him!
He wrote a reply on another piece of card and attached it to another flower, glancing at the vase as he did so. He still had a dozen or so roses; they would do as a bouquet to give to her at the date.
Ganondorf grinned.
He had a date!
Peach smiled bright as she opened her door to see another rose. This one had the same piece of card attached, but instead of her name, the note read: As you wish.
Peach let out a small squeal of joy and dashed off to tell Zelda.
She had a date!
On the day of the date, there were no battles that involved Peach, so she spent the day getting ready. She decided to wear a dress that matched the exact colour of the roses her admirer had given her, with white lace trim. It was a little more elaborate than her usual dress, and she hoped her admirer would notice. She matched it with rose quartz jewelry around her neck and in her ears, and blue eye shadow to bring out her eyes.
Zelda helped her braid some of her hair back so that it almost looked like a crown around her head. She'd be going without her crown today, so this would be a stand-in. They decided to weave in a pink ribbon that matched her dress, as well.
"Nervous?" Zelda asked with a small smile.
"A little," Peach said. "But I know it'll turn out just fine."
"I'm sure it will." Zelda finished tying back Peach's plait. "There. You look great."
Peach smiled at herself in the mirror, pleased with the effect. "Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around Zelda, then quickly let go. "I should get moving. I don't want to be late!"
The day of the date finally came. Ganondorf decided to forego his usual armor, opting instead for a black suit with a navy blue po
cket square – he would have gone for pink, but he didn't have a pink pocket square, and it would have clashed with his hair.
He also took his hair out of its usual tight coils, pushing it back from his face to be held loosely by his crown. His topaz gem went into its slot on the crown, and he glanced in the mirror. He looked good, if he dared say so himself.
But would it be enough to impress her?
Ganondorf waited outside the restaurant for his date to arrive – he was fifteen minutes early, and he knew it, but he still couldn't help but worry that she would be late, or worse, would stand him up. He wasn't sure if his currently-fragile dignity could take that.
Especially since he knew there were pictographers in the bushes, just waiting to get a picture of him and his date. If she never showed, they'd have a field day.
Finally, finally, a pink car arrived at the front door of the restaurant, and Ganondorf stood straight. She'd said to meet her at exactly this point at this time… what would she say now?
The Toad driver opened the back door to reveal Princess Peach. As she stepped out of the car, Ganondorf found his breath stolen away.
She was beautiful, a vision in a pink dress that set off her features perfectly. Her hair was braided back and her head was devoid of her usual crown, but he found that he appreciated that. Her crown was cutesy; without it, she looked like a grown woman.
He recovered his brain just as she looked towards him. He reached out, flowers in his hand.
"For you."
A micro-expression of surprise flashed across Peach's face, but then it was gone, and she smiled warmly. "Thank you! They're beautiful!" She brought them to her nose, closing her eyes and breathing in their scent. Ganondorf enjoyed the smile on her face as she did so.
"Shall we?" He held out his arm and she placed her hand into the crook of his elbow.
"We shall."
They enjoyed a nice dinner together, chatting about inconsequential things at first, but moving into more serious topics as they started on the entrees. Over desserts, Peach finally asked the question that he'd been expecting since her car door had opened.
"So… may I ask why you did all this?"
Having expected the question didn't make the answering any easier. "I… I care for you. A great deal. And I wanted to tell you, somehow." He cursed his stumbling tongue. How dare it make him sound like a lovesick boy?
Peach smiled softly, looking down at her plate with a blush gracing her cheeks. "I'm glad you did. This has been a wonderful night. I didn't know you very well, and, well… well, I wasn't expecting this from you. It's been a wonderful surprise."
He held his breath, and held out his hand, palm up. She reached out and placed her hand in his. He let out the breath, slowly, and smiled.
Peach unexpectedly let out a little laugh. "You have a very nice smile! You don't show it often enough."
"Well, I am the King of Evil," he replied dryly, and she laughed again.
When dinner was finished, Ganondorf offered to escort Peach back to the mansion.
"I'd love that."
Ganondorf gestured to the valet, who went to prepare his horse. Peach watched this with interest. "You have a car?"
"I do not. I have a horse."
"Oh! I love horses!"
He smiled slightly. "Good."
The valet returned in a few minutes, leading Ganondorf's massive steed by the reins. Ganondorf tossed the man a coin and took hold of the reins. He turned back to Peach to find her gaping at the horse.
"His name is Sandstorm," he offered lightly.
"Sandstorm," she murmured, drawing closer. She reached up to pet him. The horse bent his great head down to meet her, and she stroked her hand lightly over his neck with a smile.
"You're a nice horse, aren't you?"
"He is an excellent mount, and a good traveling companion."
Peach turned back to Ganondorf. "We're going to ride him home?"
"No, I was thinking we would walk him home." Peach laughed.
"May I?" Ganondorf offered, indicating his intent. At her nod, he took her by the hips and lifted her into the saddle, then mounted so that he was sitting behind her.
"Comfortable?"
"Oh yes," she replied slightly breathlessly. Then she giggled. "It's nice to be this tall!"
"I have always enjoyed it."
She giggled again. Ganondorf touched his heels to Sandstorm's flanks, and the horse brought them out of the restaurant courtyard and into the street.
When they reached the entrance to Smash Mansion, Ganondorf stopped Sandstorm, then looked down at Peach. "Would you like some help getting down?"
"Yes, please."
He dismounted, then held out his arms to serve as a support for her to slide off of the saddle. She landed lightly on the ground in front of him and smiled up at him.
"Thank you for the wonderful night," she said.
Was it just him, or was she leaning up…?
It wasn't just him, apparently, because the next second, she jumped up and landed a kiss on his cheek. With that, she headed off toward the door, looking back with a wink before she entered.
Ganondorf stood there, hand pressed to his cheek where she'd kissed him and a goofy smile plastered on his face, for some time. Finally, he gathered his scattered thoughts, mounted Sandstorm, and made for the stables.
She was… good.
