Two figures were outlined by the light of a single candle in a dark room. The candle's flame danced in the draft from the open window, swaying to and fro. A drop of white wax fell to the bottom of the golden candle holder. The wind howled outside. Another storm raged on. It was late autumn, so the amount of thunder and lightning storms increased greatly. By now, Luigi had gotten used to the bright flash of lightning and the loud thunder that followed. It didn't bother him as much as it used to. His eyes darted from the candle's flame to the woman across him. Her features were barely visible in the dim light, but he had seen her enough times to know exactly what she looked like.

They were both quiet. It took ten minutes before someone could break the silence.

"I know you're upset with me, but we need to put those feelings aside and get down to business."

Luigi ran his tongue across his teeth and breathed out through his nose. "Upset is quite the understatement. You lied."

"What you don't know won't hurt you."

"But I found out, and of course I was hurt. It isn't very nice to lead someone on like that."

"Luigi, is that the first thing that you expect from a woman? A romantic relationship?"

He looked down for a second. His hands started to feel like pins and needles. He looked back up at her, "I've given up on romance."

The woman tilted her head, confused. "Have you now? Why is that?"

Luigi's voice rose a little, "I just have."

There was a long pause. The clock in the other room was audible from where the two stood. Another flash of lightning lit up the room for a brief second. The woman pressed her hands together and put them against her mouth, mulling over the past they shared. It wasn't close to a romantic one, although she knew that Luigi almost wanted it that way. The woman didn't lie to him, but she didn't openly admit the truth either.

"That's fine and all," the woman moved her hands slightly away from her mouth, "but it doesn't make up for lost time. I need you again."

The plumber looked at her once more. The flame began to flicker, and soon enough, it went out. The wooden boards below them creaked and the candle was turned back on again. The woman was closer to him – perhaps a little too close.

"I'm sure that you do, but I'm not going back there."

The woman's calm gaze mixed with slight anger. It became a subtle glare. She titled her head slightly to the side again, "Why not?"

The flame was brighter than before, and her figure was better seen. Luigi studied her face, noticing a small mole on the side of her right eye. "You've lied to me once. I may not be the superstar in this world, but I'm no fool. I'm not going to let my heart get crushed again."

"I never lied."

"You never told me anything," Luigi's voice rose again, a little higher than before, "And that is why I can't trust you when you say that you need me."

Luigi failed to notice that the woman had stepped closer to him. She looked away and sighed. "It's an honor if a princess asks for your hand in marriage," her eyes darted back to him, "But it is an embarrassment if that man refuses."

"Well I'm not one to share. Excuse me if you require two husbands to be happy in life."

"You saved my life," her voice rose, "The least I could do was offer you a position in the kingdom!"

"And I didn't want a position in the kingdom."

"Is it because you didn't have any feelings for me?"

"Of course I did." He hesitated with his next words. "I-I just, I just don't want to stay there." Luigi began to feel uncomfortable. He couldn't tell whether it was because the woman stood so close to him or because he was at a loss for words.

She knew that she began to intimidate him. It was fun to see him slightly stand back, but she ignored it, trying to get down to business. "I came here tonight because I thought it would be best if you took up a position in the royal court."

"And again, I'm saying no."

Anger welled up in the woman's voice, "Why is that?"

"Because I do not want to be there and because I don't want to deal with the likes of you or your husband."

"Is it because –"

"It's because you wanted to marry me and him at the same time!"

The woman's jaw dropped. She closed it and looked away, turning her head away from his. It had been some sort of tradition to marry two men in her kingdom. It was some sort of fallback technique – if one died, the other would take their place. The minute Luigi had found that out, he had lost all hope in forming any relationship with the woman. He convinced himself that she didn't have feelings for him anyway. It was because he saved her – that was why she wanted him in the kingdom. He had considered it before, but walking in those castle doors and watching the two kings rule over the land and their shared wife would probably make him sick. It wasn't the tradition that got to him; it was the fact that he could have been one of those men.

"I'm sure that it's not that," the woman knew she was lying through her teeth. "I'm sure it's because you've had feelings for another and you just couldn't bear to live with me when you could have been with someone else." She faked a chuckle, feeling as if she had taken that line out of a storybook. "There was this one girl you were talking about, yes? What was her name? It sounded much like a flower. Daisy, was it?"

Another roll of thunder shook the house ever so slightly. This one was much softer than the last. The storm was slowly making its way out of the kingdom. "Daisy doesn't have to be dragged into this conversation."

The woman nodded. "Ah, I see. Have you two –"

"No," Luigi snapped, "I already told you I have given up on romance, so please, drop the subject."

She assumed it was because the plumber had his heart broken many times before, but it was all purely because Luigi was afraid of rejection. It was a common fear in most men, but he had found a way to avoid it by avoiding romance all together.

"Very well," she muttered, unhappy with the response he had given. "If it isn't romance keeping you here, then why can't you join me?"

"I don't want to join you."

"That is no answer."

"It is."

"Luigi," the woman stepped closer, "Look around you. No one in this kingdom knows your name. If you come with me, I promise you a life of glory. You will be praised like no other god is praised. Everyone will keep you in the utmost highest respects. You have done much for us in the past, so it's time you let us do something for you."

He pondered this for a moment. It sounded like a fair deal. He just couldn't put the past behind him. The woman had lied once, who knows when she would lie again.

On the other hand, sometimes Luigi wanted to be just as glorified as his brother. He had gone on the same adventures with him and had done the same things as him. He deserved the glory, too.

His greed got the best of him. Luigi learned to forgive the woman for her lies (or, as she put it, "lack of information") and considered taking up a position in her royal court.

"Éclair, I –"

Then his alarm clock rang.

This was a small class assignment that I received a few days ago. Needless to say, I got a B plus.

. . .

. . .

The following is for those who don't understand this one-shot:

The lesson was on writing dream sequences. We had to write something realistic, but add in a subtle hint that it was all a dream at the end. Luckily, my teacher is a huge Mario maniac and simply adored this piece.

Basically, Luigi's adventures in the Waffle Kingdom were never really proven to be true. I took the idea of it all being a dream - a desire to do what Mario does - and incorporated a few twists of my own. For all we know, Princess Éclair (and the rest of the Waffle Kingdom) could just be a figment of Luigi's imagination, thus making it a perfect idea to center my dream sequence around.

All reviews are welcome and I'll return to my other stories when I get the chance!

- Great Mistake