A/N: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been inactive on here for quite some time, almost a whole year now… well, I'm hoping to be much more active starting now!
For those waiting for an update on High School With The Koopalings!: A Trilogy, it's coming soon! Hopefully before the end of the year, but we'll have to wait and see. For now, here's a small update featuring my characters Aureus Sarasa, Venus Toadstool, and others. It's super short but hey, it's something! I wanted to give a bit of backstory to them - not too much though, since I'll most likely go over it in the actual story.
I really hope you guys enjoy it - I'm slowly getting the hang of writing once again. While I work away on chapter two of the trilogy, have fun reading this!
Disclaimer: I don't own any Nintendo characters; I only own Aureus, Venus, Valentina, and the overall plot of this oneshot.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The near-silent sound of the clock was the only thing to fill the room. You may think that there wasn't anyone in the room, not a living soul, but that was not the case.
There was one.
He stood at the window, cerulean eyes just barely high enough to peek through. His small hands supported himself as he stood on his tiptoes - he was eager, nervous, and shaking with anticipation.
Hundreds of people were down below, at the front of the castle. There were dozens of cars, and many, many expressions on the faces of the owners. He couldn't help but try to glance at each and every person. Overall, they seemed cheery and happy - he hoped that their positive attitudes would be contagious.
The young boy let out a soft sigh before gasping - two loud knocks were heard on the huge door. "Aureus, you in there?" He couldn't even reply before the door swung open, revealing his mom, the queen of Sarasaland.
She strolled over to him, dressed in only her best orange gown for the party. "Hey champ, what are you doin' in here all by yourself?" Her arms extended to him and he rushed into them, a sweet hug. "C'mon buddy, we gotta go greet the guests! It's the big double-digits after all, everyone wants to see how big you're getting!"
His mom ruffled his hair and he frowned before taking her hand as she led him away. He nervously fixed his olive-green tie, something he really didn't even know how to fix. It just felt right, like he had to do something minor in this situation.
Not before long, he found himself standing right at the front of the commotion, and everyone noticed him right away.
"Oh my, is that little Aaron?"
"I thought his name was Alex - oh, look at how big he's growing!"
"He's growing up to be so handsome, just like his father!"
Voices rang out and he suddenly felt very shy - he could feel his tan cheeks turning a bright red. He knew this party was for him, yet he felt out of place. He longed to run up to his room and hide, maybe have a tea party with his stuffed bears.
"Sweetie?" His mom nudged him gently. "Come on, let's go say hi to everyone." She gave him a big grin and he returned it to a smaller extent.
He met many people that day, including some distant cousins he could swear he never met. "Awh, Aureus, you're getting real big, aren't ya?" His aunt Peach smiled down at him, one of the only people to speak to him directly and not just fawn over him to his parents. He nodded, smiling softly at her, before glancing at her two children.
His mother claimed he was once friends with the blonde twins when he was only a few years old, but he couldn't remember it at all. They didn't seem to remember him either, but still smiled politely anyways.
The party went on through the afternoon, and as time went by, Aureus felt more and more distanced from the party. He felt as though even though it was for him, it wasn't for him. People used this as a chance to catch up with each other, and eventually he was left all alone, sitting down on a flight of stairs with a single piece of cake.
He poked the cake gently, not finding it very appetizing. He preferred chocolate cake to vanilla. Turning to set it behind him, he stopped in his tracks once he saw a pair of light pink shoes. He looked up a bit to see the small smile of one of his cousins - Venus, Valentina? He wasn't quite sure which one this was.
"Hi," She said a bit quietly, but not shyly - she was sure of herself. "May I sit with you?"
"Okay." He murmured, scooting over a bit to make room for her. He wasn't quite sure what to say. Part of him wished she would go away, yet the other part of him was happy that someone went out of their way to spend time with him.
She didn't say a word at first, just looking at him. She was the same age as him, ten years old, albeit a few months older. Softly, she spoke up, "I like your tie."
He smiled, glancing down at it himself. "Thanks, me too."
"Do you like green?" She asked him, and he nodded quickly, his light brown hair falling in his eyes. "Me too! I like green a lot, but I like every colour!" She smiled happily and he just smiled back, too shy to say anything else.
Silence fell over the two once more, but the blonde wasn't as content with it this time. "You don't say much, do you?" She giggled a bit, not intending it in a rude way at all. He slowly nodded - he'd been shy pretty much all his life. It wasn't that he had nothing to say, he just wasn't good with actually saying things. He'd stutter, mumble, or jumble up entire sentences.
The girl smiled once more and then looked away. "That's okay, I can do the talking if you'd like!" Some may see that as a self-centred sentence, but Aureus' heart warmed at it. He was glad that someone still wanted to talk with him, even if he wouldn't say very much.
Like she said, the girl began rambling on and on about various topics - how her own kingdom was, what her favourite hobbies were, who her friends were. To his surprise, they had been talking for hours. Time seemed to finally go by quickly now that he was having a good time, but of course, all good things had to come to an end.
"Venus?" Peach poked her head around the corner, a gentle smile on her face. "Come on honey, it's time to go." She extended her hand and the girl - which Aureus now knew was Venus - took it. She turned her head back to her cousin and smiled, "Bye Aureus! I'll see you again soon, okay?"
He waved at her as they walked away, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He wondered if things went as well when they were younger, because even after spending a whole evening with her, he couldn't remember anything about her. It was like meeting a stranger. This evening, though, he vowed to himself that he would never forget her - they had to keep in touch, for he felt like he finally had a friend other than his parents (and his teddy bears, of course).
On this same summer day, a few years later, he found himself in the same position as always. He stood at his window, staring down at the guests that arrived. Smiles, laughter, exchanged grins. The cheeriness should have been contagious, yet Aureus felt tired.
He was tired, year after year, of having strangers show up. He was tired of them still not acknowledging him as a person, but just something to gawk over. If it were up to him, he would rather have a small birthday party filled with only close family members - however, seeing as he was the Prince of Sarasaland, he had a reputation to uphold, and that meant having an extravagant party.
Two knocks echoed through the room, and Aureus turned around just in time to see his mom - who he was now towering over - poke her head in. "Hey sweetie - you ready to go?" Chipper as ever, how could he say no?
The two made their way to the same place as always, the front of the castle where everyone was headed inside. He saw his father outside greeting various guests, or as many as he could. He also noticed his mom had split, most likely running off to help out some workers with the party.
Aureus sighed and leaned against a wall before quickly straightening up - as a Prince, he wasn't really supposed to have bad posture or a bad stance. Apparently it came off as rude, which wasn't the impression his family wanted to give others.
Guests passed him by, smiling politely and he returned it, yet never started conversations. He still felt out of place with all of these people, that had never changed from his childhood. The parties seem to have gotten worse, in his opinion, yet he always managed to feel better by talking with his now-best friend, who he was looking for in the crowd. Fashionably late, as always…
"Aureus!" A voice rang out, and he immediately turned his head in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, there was Venus, running towards him. "Venus, slow down!" He heard Peach scolding her daughter lightly for acting so rambunctious, but Aureus expected nothing less.
He opened his arms and his cousin ran right into them, laughing hysterically. With a light cough from her mom behind her, she pulled away and straightened out her light pink dress before grinning up at him. "How have you been?! It's your sweet sixteen oh my gosh you look so much more mature than last year! How has your writing been going? Oh! How's your novel going?"
"Um, sweetie?" Her father, dressed in red, chimed in behind her. "You might wanna give the rest of us a chance to greet Aureus!" He smiled warmly and Venus rolled her eyes jokingly with a quiet 'If I must…' before moving to the side.
Mario gave Aureus a tight hug and a pat on the head, "Happy birthday champ!", before allowing his wife Peach to give Aureus a hug of her own.
She smiled up at him, strikingly similar to Venus. "Wow, you're just getting taller and taller, huh? It's such a delight to see you - oh! I can't wait to see you nearly everyday once school starts up!" Her blue eyes lit up and Aureus nodded.
"Yeah, I'm excited too."
"You've never been to a public school, right?" Valentina asked him, crossing her arms. She had never been close to Aureus, but the two get along fairly well. He nodded, and she smiled. "Well, it'll be one hell of an experience for you."
"Valentina! Language!" Peach scolded her and Valentina rolled her eyes. In all honesty, Aureus was very excited to start enrollment at Mush High. He had been homeschooled all his life, but he wanted his senior year to be at a public school - what better school to go to than the one run by his favourite aunt?
Of course, this meant that he would have to move to the Mushroom Kingdom, along with Luigi - who was a teacher at Mush High himself! And, as per usual, his mom would be living in Darklands for her coaching job at Koopa Troop Academy.
He would never admit it, but he considered enrolling in Koopa Troop Academy instead, so he could spend time with his mother. However, he decided it'd be far too out of his comfort zone.
With that, most of the Toadstool family went off to go socialize with the other guests - except for Venus of course. The two of them went into a seperate room to spend time catching up, they only got to see each other once a year of course, what with their busy schedules and all. Speaking of which, "How's it going, being the heir and all?" Aureus asked his blonde friend, who frowned at the question. She sighed, sitting down on a random chair, her glued to the floor.
"Busy," She pondered over what to say. "It's just getting more and more busy. I wish I could be focusing on something I love doing but instead, here I am taking lessons on how to rule a whole kingdom."
Aureus frowned, he was the heir of Sarasaland but the expectations for him weren't as high - not even close. Venus sighed, shaking her head. "Let's not talk about that right now, if that's alright."
He nodded, it was perfectly okay with him. "You excited for school?" He asked her, knowing it would cheer her up.
Sure enough, she grinned happily. "For sure! Oh, I'm beyond excited. I want to get amazing grades, so I'll have to work extra hard, but I'm more than fine with that! I'm also hoping to join many clubs - maybe student council, ooh! Maybe cheerleading!"
With that, she began to ramble on and on about how excited she was for senior year and what all her plans were. She promised to show him around too, which he looked forward to. She even joked that she would point out all the cute people to him, and he went bright red. Relationships, huh… he never really even thought about it.
He couldn't help but be excited for his senior year at Mush High. With all this talk about friends, relationships, club… who knows what might happen?