Thank you AlteaAuroraRia, Sergeant Daniel and Souldin for your guys' reviews! I really appreciate it! Much love.
xOxIxOx
"WHAT?" Peach screeched, slamming her hands on the table, rattling her tea cup and the porcelain plates. It was dinner time in the Smash Mansion dinner hall and Zelda had just finished filling in Peach of the cruel and unusual punishment the Master Hand had bestowed upon her and Ike.
"YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS," Peach added through gritted teeth, half excited, half flabbergasted. Other Smashers near their table turned their heads to see what the commotion was about.
"Peach!" Zelda stood up with her hands up in attempt to calm her friend, "Quiet down! You're making everyone send weird looks over here." Peach smoothed out her pink evening dress before slowly sitting down, huffing. Zelda did the same. Then there was a moment of awkward silence between the two princesses as they just stared at one another.
"Zelda…" Peach began. "Peach, I don't want to hear it," Zelda interrupted, rubbing her slender fingers on her temples, "I have already dealt with enough things with this day alone already. I don't need any more lecturing."
Peach frowned, "I wasn't going to lecture you. I was just going to give you a piece of advice."
Zelda's slim eyebrows slightly raised, "And what is that?"
"Don't get him cross again," Peach warned, "I don't want you getting hurt like today. And frankly, I, too, along with Master Hand, would want you to set things straight with Ike. If you're getting hurt because of your quarreling, I want it to stop." Peach really did look worried. Realizing this, Zelda sighed, and then gave Peach a small smile.
"Don't worry about me, Peach," Zelda said, "Even though I can't stand him, I guess I will just try."
"Yes," the pink princess said, smiling but then turned solemn, "Just make sure Link doesn't find out. He'd be worried sick. He gave Ike a hard time right before dinner in the training grounds. Now both of them don't seem to be friends anymore."
"Is that so?" At least now she had Link on her side. Whenever Ike and her would fight or have a disagreement, Link would have hard times picking a side, due to being friends with both. He would play as the peacemaker between the two, although his attempts didn't do much.
"Yes," Peach continued, "But I have to go Dear, Mario wants me to help him out with something after dinner. I'll see you back at our room later tonight, yes?" Peach got up and straightened her dress and puffed up her hair.
"Yes, of course," Zelda replied and with that, Peach left in a skip out of the dinner hall. She was now alone on their table. It was just usually her and Peach, but Samus, Jigglypuff and Link would sometimes join them on other occasions.
Sitting there, absentmindedly playing with the food on her plate, Zelda thought of what was possibly going to happen on her week alone with Ike. The part she worried most about was the everyday teamwork activities the Master Hand mentioned. She could never imagine herself working together with the man she hated most.
"How is this going to work?" Zelda frowned, mumbling as she eyed a piece of broccoli on her fork, twirling it as if to observe every detail of the vegetable. She frankly didn't want to be left out of the next tournament, but she honestly didn't want to be on "good" terms with the cretin of a mercenary.
She looked around the dinner hall for the first time since she entered for dinner. King Dedede and Bowser were having a contest to see who could eat the most before either passed out with a small crowd of other smashers around them cheering. Samus and Snake were having a serious conversation at one table in a corner. All the Pokémon and the Pokémon Trainer were sitting at one in the center, hungrily chowing down. Everyone else was dispersed, doing their own thing.
Then her eyes laid down upon Ike, who was sitting at a table with Marth, arms crossed. They both seemed to be absorbed into their conversation. Marth was the only one talking; Ike seemingly the listener. Zelda felt the heat in her slowly rise. The mere sight of Ike made her want to break something. There was no way in hell that she can spend a week…alone… with him.
Marth, out of the corner of his eye, caught sight of Zelda looking their way and leaned in a bit to whisper something to Ike. Eyebrow raised, she wondered what he was saying, not catching Marth noticing her gaze on them. Right then, Ike raised both his eyebrows and looked in Zelda's direction. Before she could turn away, their eyes met.
He smirked. Oh, how she hated the smirk. That handsome, attractive, masculine…
'WHAT AM I THINKING!' Zelda yelled in her head. She furiously shook her head and with one last, single second glance at Ike's and Marth's direction and grabbing hold of her dress, she stormed out of the dinner hall. Ike laughed after the large doors closed shut in a hurry.
"What is up with her?" Marth said, confused, "I've never seen Zelda that fazed before."
"It's called irresistible charm, my good friend," Ike said coolly leaning back with his hands on the back of his head, with a sly smile on his face, "Simply irresistible charm."
xOxIxOx
Zelda sighed as she dragged her Hyrulian suit-case like bag down the Great Hall in the middle of the mansion. She had packed in a hurry last minute in the morning, forgetting last night to gather her things.
It was close to noon and all the other smashers were heading to the cafeteria about to eat their hungry souls away. Zelda, more than anything at the moment, wished she could join them; she hadn't eaten breakfast that morning and it made the horrible feeling in her stomach even more unbearable. She continued on walking, rubbing her empty stomach in vain of hoping that it would make her feel better.
In the center of the Great Hall was a circular platform that the Smashers used to get to and from other worlds in a blink of an eye, simply called the Transporter. While she was frantically packing, a letter had been slipped under the slim crack of her dorm's door. Opening the letter by carefully removing the shiny, smash ball seal, she read the letter, "Noon. 12:00 pm. Great Hall. Transporter. Tardiness will result in extended punishment." Zelda sighed. The Master Hand really had a thing for being blunt.
When she reached the bottom platform, she heavily sat down in a huff, not caring if she wrinkled her dress. She laid her head on her hands and gazed at the clock. It read 11:58. She looked around the Great Hall and saw no sign of Ike. She sneered a little bit, thinking that if he was late he'd be the one to deal with an extra punishment. She thought too soon.
11:59.
"Ready for a week of hell, Princess?" a voice behind her suddenly said. She snapped her head around, caught by surprise. There was Ike, standing on the other side of the Transporter with his arms folded and a small sneer on his face. Right beside him was his own possessions in a brown parcel. She glared at him and quickly stood up.
But before Zelda could say something back, the Master Hand appeared in a flash of light in front of the two.
"Now, now," the Master Hand boomed, "I would like you both to try to get along for the next ten minutes…at least while I'm around. Gather your things and step onto the Transporter." Zelda and Ike obeyed without saying a word. They stood next to each other, parcels in hand and waited for the Master Hand to continue.
"Now, the Transporter will take you up, deep in the mountains just north of the mansion. You two will share living quarters and up there, you will find everything you need…well, mostly everything." Both raised their eyebrows. Mostly everything…?
"Anyway," Master Hand continued, "Like I have said yesterday: everyday, you two will be given a task that involves working together as a team. Those tasks WILL be completed. For every failure, the harder the trip home will be." Ike interrupted him, shaking his head.
"Wait, what?" he said incredulous, "What do you mean for every failure, the trip home will be more difficult?" The Master Hand chuckled.
"Of course, the place you will be staying at does not have a Transporter and I have made it so, on purpose. But, we'll get to that subject later. Now, along with those everyday tasks, there will also be periods of bonding. You two are required to dine with each other, participate in various exercises to get to know each other to the smallest detail, and as ridiculous as it may sound, take a walk with one another everyday in the morning. The other times, you are free to do what you wish."
'Master Hand, you've totally outdone yourself this time,' Zelda thought spitefully, folding her arms. His cruel and unusual punishment had just gotten crueler, when she thought it couldn't get any worse.
"No off you go. When you get there and after you've settled in, you'll receive your first task," Master Hand said. Suddenly, a bright ring of light engulfed the circular platform, blinding Zelda and Ike. She covered her eyes with her arm and felt the usual wind of the Transporter. The light and wind died down and Zelda opened her eyes.
They found themselves in front of what looked like smaller version of Smash Mansion. It was just like it, but the size of a single story mini house. Surrounding it were tall, large assortments of trees and fern bushes. In the distance, the splashing and rush of a river could be heard. West of the house stood a magnificent view into a valley, with the river snaking its way through it. Birds chirped while the slight breeze swayed the trees. Zelda actually found a liking to it. She smiled as she took in the fresh air, 'This is just like back home.'
Ike, not really caring for the beautiful surroundings, picked up his parcel and made his way to the front double doors. He put his hand on one of the knobs and turned to Zelda who was busy enjoying the fresh air.
"Hey Princess." She turned to him and glared, snapping out of it, "What?" Ike nodded towards the double doors, "Better get in here before I lock you out." The princess growled under her breath and picked up her bag and swiftly, but elegantly made her way towards him. Ike turned the knob, opening the door and the pair made their way in.
The interior, like the exterior, looked exactly the mansion, well the decorations and furniture anyway. There was only a small kitchen with a dining table and living room with two couches facing a screen on the wall, large windows on every wall except for one, where only one door stood.
"Wow," Ike said. Zelda looked around for another door, but there wasn't one. "If there's only one door…then that means…," she thought aloud, getting a weird look from Ike, "Oh no…" She dropped her bag and ran towards the only door in the house. She roughly opened it and looked inside. There were two twin beds right next to each other and in the middle a bedside table with two lamps.
Zelda shrieked as she clutched the door frame. Ike came rushing over, hearing her scream, "Holy crap, Princess, what the in the blazing hell happened?" He looked to where her eyes were seeing and smirked.
"Sharing a room? I sure hope you don't snore like a bullhorn, Princess." Zelda grabbed Ike's red cloak, "There is no way in HELL that I am going to share living quarters with YOU!" Ike took hold of her wrist and wrenched off her grip on his cloak.
"Easy, Princess," he glared at her, "It's not like I'd want to be anywhere near you anyway." He walked over to one of the beds, the one on the right, threw his parcel beside the wooden frame and jumped onto the mattress, landing on his back.
Zelda fumed as Ike just closed his eyes and laid back with his hands behind his head. Zelda went to pick up her bag that she had dropped and went back inside the room. She placed it on top of the other bed and opened it to unpack. On the other side of room were two closest, both open with hangers on the rail. Zelda began to place her other clothes and things in the closet, ignoring the mercenary laying on his bed.
"You know," she heard him say behind him, "There really isn't a point in putting all your stuff in the closet. We're only going to be here for a week, not a year." Zelda looked over her shoulder to see him sitting up, with his elbows resting on his thighs, watching her.
"I very well know that, and thank the goddesses that I only have to deal with you for a week and not a year, but I wish to keep my things organized," she said flatly, continuing to unpack.
"Allllright then. Whatever you say Princess," Ike said getting up and stretching, taking off his cloak. Ike scratched his back as he walked over to the big window that almost took up the entire wall. He looked out and saw a view of the valley outside. It was gorgeous, he had to admit. He continued to gaze out the window while Zelda was finishing unpacking.
Suddenly a beeping sound came from the living room that caught both of their attention. They rushed into the living room and saw the screen on the wall flashing a dark blue. 'New Mail' it flashed, while still beeping.
"What are we supposed to do?" Ike turned to her with a questioning look; he was never really tech-savvy. Zelda looked around and saw a remote on one of the maroon couches. She quickly grabbed it and scanned the buttons and her instincts automatically made her press the "ENTER" button. But of course, it was only a guess.
With much luck, the screen blanked to a white and a message a few paragraphs long appeared. Zelda and Ike moved in closer to be able to read it.
"Dear Princess Zelda and Ike,
Your rehabilitation begins now. Down in the following, I will give you your first task. But first things first, I know that both of you will have already found out that you will be sharing a room together and are probably, most likely, upset by it. But I am trusting both of you not to murder each while sharing living quarters… and I also trust you both to not…engage in other 'actions'." Zelda growled while Ike merely glared at the screen, "Continuing, you will find all you need to eat in the kitchen and everything you need in the bathroom. Out back, you will find a shed that is filled with tools that you both will need later, seeing earlier that neither of you brought your weapons."
"Were we supposed to bring them?" Zelda asked, more to herself than to Ike. He shook his head as they read on, "He didn't say anything about that before."
"Now, onto your first task. Today, you will be both participating in the simplest task that I will give you during your week of rehabilitation. At precisely 2:00pm, be present at the back of the house, ready. I advise you both to wear anything that you can run in and in thin layers. So Princess Zelda, no dresses and Ike, no cloaks or capes. I mention this for you will be retrieving something for me. It's quick on its feet and has amazing agility. You may use anything in the shed to your liking, but I warn you that they might not help in any way at all. Be quick on your feet and be alert. I wish you both the best of luck.
Yours sincerely,
Master Hand.
P.S. Remember, when one eats the other eats, when one sleeps the other sleeps, and when one wakes the other wakes. So when one fails, the other fails. But not in the case of succession."
"I hope that last bit doesn't also apply to bathroom purposes," Ike muttered, before going back to the room. Zelda stared at the screen.
The Master Hand was serious. He was totally serious about the everyday task. She shut down the screen and placed the remote on the table in front of one of the couches. Then she made her way back into the room where she found Ike laying on his bed again in the same position, shoes off.
"Hey," Zelda started to say before Ike interrupted her, looking at her with one eye open, "What? What do you want? If you haven't noticed I'm trying to get some shut eye. So if it isn't important, keep whatever you're going to say to yourself." She glared at him.
"Look, do you want to pass this task or not? Because you heard what Master Hand had said," Zelda hesitated, "Well, I don't know what exactly he meant but it bodes ill for both of us."
Ike sat up and laid his head on his palm, looking at Zelda tiredly, "Okay, I'm listening. You don't seem to want to keep your mouth shut." Zelda glared at him again with more fire, but let the comment slip.
"We need a plan if we want to make this work," she said sternly, "I don't know about you, but I'd like to make this week smooth. We need to complete all our tasks because personally, whatever the Master Hand said about heading home, I would like it to be easy. But first, we need to conquer this first task."
"Alright alright, I get what you're saying," Ike sighed, "Master Hand said that we were to catch something, and it's fast."
"Sonic?" Zelda thought out loud. The name Sonic always tied in with the word 'fast' to her.
"No, it can't be him. I don't think anyone's allowed up here but us."
"It must be an animal, then."
"A puma? Jaguar? Tiger? Fox?"
"None of those animals live up here, idiot," Zelda said, shaking her head.
"Whatever," Ike layed down again and faced his back to her, "Whatever it is we're going to have to catch, it'll be a cinch. Wake me up when we need to go." Ike didn't say anything more and Zelda just gave a big sigh in reply.
'So…what am I going to do for an hour?' she thought.
xOxIxOx
Yay! Done with part 1 for Day 1. Hope you guys enjoyed it! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, review! Any comments, suggestions, or concerns are welcome!
