Damn. I'm a lazy sumbitch, ain't I? Time to end Part One.
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Part One: The Bride
Chapter Two: Announcement and Denouncement
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"Shall I continue?" Mr. Game & Watch waited for Ness, who was suffering from the flu, to respond. The previous reading kept him occupied, but he thought that that couldn't have been the best the story could be. He had to hear more. If it took all day, he had to hear more.
"Yeah, go ahead," Ness managed to say before a brief coughing spell.
"Okay then."
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"I'm really not seeing the specialty of what he did," Popo said. "He fed them. A 3-year-old could do that with the same skill." This was post-dinner. The family was alone once more.
"They must have taken a liking to him. Once, I had a bird, and it would only chirp when I fed it. Same deal," Nana deduced. She scraped the remainders of the stew into a bowl. "Speaking of feeding, Samus." She gave her daughter the bowl. Link was waiting in the back. Samus took him his meal.
"Well?" she said.
Link accepted, nodded, headed for the stump to feast.
"Get your ass back here." Link turned around, but didn't move. "I don't like how you're treating Yoshi. Actually, I don't like how you're not treating him. Clean him. Tonight. Shine his shoes. Tonight. Tend to any eggs he lays and make sure his stable is polished and Shy Guy free. ASAP. I want him to shine, and if he doesn't by morning, that's your ass."
"As you wish."
Samus slammed the door shut. He was left in the dark to eat.
"Yoshi's doing fine. He would've told you by now if something was wrong," Popo pointed out.
Samus stayed silent.
"You okay?" Nana asked.
"I guess I'm just…out of it. After all that happened. I'm gonna sleep the excitement off." Samus headed upstairs slowly.
"Good. Horrible things can happen when you're tired. Look who I married." Score thirty-four for Nana. Popo threw a pea at her.
Samus went to her room. She plopped onto her bed. She closed her eyes.
The Countess was staring at Link.
Samus got up. She undressed. She washed a bit. She put on her nightgown. She slipped between the sheets, got settled in, and closed her eyes.
The Countess was still staring at Link.
Samus kicked off her sheets and went downstairs. She poured herself a glass of water, quickly gulped it down. She poured another glass and rolled the coolness across her forehead. She still felt feverish.
But why? She felt fine; granted, she'd been better, but still. She drank a mouthful, pouring out the rest in the sink. She marched back to her room, firmly shut her door, laid back down, closed her eyes.
The Countess couldn't pull herself away from Link!
What the hell? Why would a woman as prominent, as perfect as Countess Princia be interested in…him? Samus groaned and stared intently at the ceiling. There was no sugar-coating that look - she was definitely interested. Samus tried to think. There had to be something. Something that caught her attention in a vice grip. What was it?
Link had eyes like the sea, but what moron would care about eyes that much? He was also a golden blond, if that mattered. And his shoulders were kind of broad, but not much broader than the Count's. And of course he was muscular, but that came from the slaving. And his skin was tan enough, but, again, that came from all the slaving. And he was barely taller than the Count, though his stomach was flatter, thanks to youth.
Samus sat up. It had to have been his teeth. She had to admit, his teeth were exceptional, and they complimented his face very well.
What else could it have been? Samus thought some more. The girls in the village always followed him when he was making deliveries, but they were idiots. And they were always ignored, because once he opened his mouth, they'd find that that was all he had: great teeth. He wasn't very bright, after all. Those clothes…what kind of idiot would wear that?
It made little to no sense that a woman as beautiful and slender and willowy and graceful, a being as perfectly packaged, as supremely dressed as the Countess would be so into teeth. In any case, Samus finally had it all figured out, crystal clear. She closed her eyes, sunk into her bed a bit, got all nice and comfy, and prepared for a nice long you know damn well that that bitch wasn't staring at his teeth.
Samus jumped out of bed and let loose a stream of angry swears in her head and paced her room. Who did she think she was, looking at him like that? If she was older and unmarried, it would've been much worse, but this was still very, very bad, only because their ages were so close together. The Countess. With her ridiculous hair and her unrealistic figure and those nauseating colors. She flung herself back onto her bed and lay there, angry. If only she had the suit…
The entire night was spent in anger. And mild suit-searching.
Pre-dawn. Samus was outside his hovel. She knew he was already awake; she heard him. She knocked, rather loudly. He opened the door and stood there. Behind him, she could see some lit candles, a few open books, and several open milk bottles. She didn't question the latter. She barely looked at him. He was the sun right now.
Too hot.
"I'll try to make this…quick," she managed to say. "I love you. Don't think this is a joke, because it's not. I've loved you for a couple of hours now, and as time passes, it just gets more and more intense. The sentence I just ended? My love for you then compared to now is like comparing a brick to a country. Now it's like a country versus a planet. A planet against a galaxy. A galaxy against a universe. A universe against all of existence. And it just gets more significant with each passing second."
The sun was rising behind Samus. It gave her drive. So much so that she looked directly at him, and continued:
"It's gotten to the point where every thought is eclipsed by you. My entire being can't be without you now. I know that the Countess is formidable competition, and she has everything on me, but there's one huge difference between me and her, Link."
She loved saying his name. She looked into the sea that was his eyes.
"I'm here."
With that, Link slammed the door in her face.
Not a word.
Not a sound.
Silence, then a slam.
Samus ran, recycling the angry stream of swears out loud, and with a touch of sadness added. She tripped over a small rock and almost fell. Any other day, she would've simply blasted it to ash, but she kept running. She ran all the way to her room and locked the door, where she could do her best to mend her broken heart.
Not a word. He lacked the decency for even a syllable. "No" would've been cold, but it would've been something. "Too late" would've been devastating, but it would've been closure, and, again, something.
Why? She thought of a reason. An answer quickly arose. He didn't talk because him plus talking equals the end. What would he have said?
"Huh!"
That summed it up right there. Maybe even a "Hyaaaaaaah!" thrown in.
Samus half-chortled. There's a reason for everything, and the most blatantly obvious ones are often the most overlooked. Don't stress yourself over it. It was just a brief little thing, not meant to go any further. Get on with the morning. She straightened her room up, made her bed, combed a tad, sighed, and smiled. Then she punched a groove in the wall behind her.
There was a difference between blatantly obvious and just plain stupid.
Link wasn't dumb. She could pretend all she wanted. Degrading him for his false faults was easy. The truth was that he was smart. And the reason he didn't say anything was because there was nothing to say.
The feeling wasn't mutual.
The rest of the day was spent in a deep chasm of anger and sadness. This anger was different; she wouldn't run up to some poor random soul and rip him/her/it a new one as she would that morning; it was dormant, yet present. The sadness had changed; she couldn't cry anymore, yet her eyes were moist, as if dammed. At 17, she'd made countless boys wither, but the one time it mattered...
It was that evening, as the sun was calling it a day, that her door knocked. She straightened herself up. It knocked again. "What do you want? I mean, who is it?"
"Link."
Samus frowned. "Oh, now you decide that you have a voice, huh? You're lucky I don't kill you right now." She went to her door, unlocked it, and opened it with a jerk. She scoffed. "Well? I guess you're here to deliver the finishing blow. As long as it's confirmation, it's fine, but after you tell me, I suggest you run far away from me, because I'll be likely to-"
Link cut her off. "I'm leaving."
There was brief silence. Samus' left eye twitched. "What?"
"I'm here to bid you farewell-"
"Wait. This..." Samus let it sink in for a few seconds, got her act together, and continued: "Is this because of...?"
Link nodded.
Samus faked a chuckle. "Figures. I'm always frightening people in one way or another. Yeah, I get it. Whatever. Just keep this in mind: when that slut's had her way with you, expect no mercy from me. None, got it?"
Link blinked. (Admire the rhyme.) Samus tried to add on, but that ending was perfect for the time being. She waited for a response instead.
"I'm going to Mute City. To make that money. A ship leaves in a few from Vermilion. I'm going to make it. I've been training myself. I've learned not to need oxygen for extended amounts of time. I've fine-tuned my fighting abilities to the maximum. I barely need sleep anymore. I'll work 22 hours a day, saving everything I get from any jobs I get except for the occasional meal. With the money, I'll buy a new farm with a big house and-"
"You actually think she needs all that? Really?"
"Do you mind leaving the Countess out of this? Jeez. She gets enough attention already."
Samus stared.
"Do you even know what's going on?"
Samus slowly shook her head upon realization. Link smiled. "You're usually quicker than this."
"...Are you saying you love me?"
"That's a gross understatement. With an emphasis on 'gross'. If your love was a blade of grass, mine would be several universes of overgrown lawn. Corny, right?"
Samus was getting a bit excited, but only showed enough for Link to notice. "No, not at all..."
There was a long period of affectionate staring. As time passed, the volume of passion in the room seemed to slowly intensify. Then Link spoke again:
"I don't know if you noticed, but every time you requested something of me, every time I responded 'As you wish', you heard me wrong. I was actually saying-"
"I know now, and I hear you loud and clear. I love you too, more than even I know, and will continue to for the rest of my life."
Link took a step back in slow-motion. "I have to go. I'll send for you."
"I'll wait as long as it takes."
Link still moved in slow-motion. "As much as I hate to leave you, the ship leaves soon, and it's a hell of a trip to get there."
"I understand."
Link held out his left hand. "Good-bye. For now."
Samus tried to take a deep breath, but failed. She clasped his hand with her own. "Yes. Only for now."
The hands separated in slow-motion. Link turned and walked about 5 steps.
"Link."
He stopped, didn't turn.
"Get your sexy ass back here."
(insert hyper-intense, ultra-romantic kiss here)
xxx
The morning following Link's departure, Samus couldn't help but mope. She had just gotten with her one true love only yesterday, and...well, that was messed up. But after .6812094 seconds of that, she began to think about the fact that Link was nearing Vermilion City; what if some gorgeous girl decides she wants a piece of that while she was there waiting? Or even worse, what if he made it to Mute City and made that money and got the suburban farm with the big house and when she arrived he said, "Ew. What happened to you? You turned so hideous! I can't be seen around you anymore; the beauty ratio is completely thrown off. I'm marrying that guy."
Samus went to her bathroom mirror and observed her state. "He's not gonna stand for this. And neither am I." She rushed downstairs to where her short parents were arguing (12 to 10.5 with Popo in the lead). "I'd like your advice, guys," she interrupted. "What would you say I could do to improve my appearance?"
A scroll smacked her in the nose.
"That's a start," Nana said.
Samus stared at the two in resentful disappointment before heading back upstairs. It was time to do work.
Every morning she awoke to get all the chores taken care of. She had to, now that her beloved workhorse had departed. Yoshi helped when he could, as he hadn't been getting too much attention. All the work pushed Samus' self-improvement movement to the brink of the afternoon.
It was then that she did work. She kicked it off with a nice bath. While her hair dried, she focused on fixing whatever she saw wrong with her figure (some sit-ups, a couple of push-ups, body fat adjustments here and there). Then brushing. Mucho brushing.
Her hair was the color of sunflowers, and brushing it took a damn long time, but Link would be happy when he saw how neat and clean it was possible for it to be. Her skin was pleasant and tan, and every last centimeter of it was squeaky clean. Getting it that way wasn't much fun, but wouldn't Link be surprised when he had seen how clean she'd become.
This was the blossoming. The most beautiful woman in a few centuries was being born.
It took 2-and-a-half weeks for Link's first letter to arrive from Vermilion. It was almost 4 full pages long, and it helped Samus bloom. Like the most gorgeous flower, some people could only stare at it. The ones that could formulate greetings found that she had become much warmer and much more likable than ever. The boys ceased teasing. The girls could stand her now, and some even talked to her. Those who did usually asked about Link. The answer always involved the words "perfect", "adorable", "sweet", "milk", "fortune", and "forever", and all attempts not to talk too much failed. The village girls' concentration was heavily tested with her. It wasn't her fault. She loved him too damn much.
Alas, the reason his death struck her the way it did. Oh yeah.
How'd this happen? Link had written right before he set sail for Mute City. Then there was nothing, which was expected. Then there was the news, delivered by the short parents one day after milk delivery. They were...well, depressed. And short. Really short.
"He had just 50 miles left," Popo whispered.
"It was at night," Nana added.
Samus raised an eyebrow.
"Pirates," both minute parents said.
Samus quickly sat. Brief silence. Then:
"Prisoner?" Samus asked.
They both shook their heads.
"Kaptain K. Rool," Popo affirmed.
"Oh." Samus slightly shuddered with the comment. "The one that leaves no...?"
Brief silence. Then she went upstairs to her room.
For about 3 weeks, that room became her habitat. Her parents tried luring her out, to no avail. They resorted to leaving food outside her bedroom door. She took itty-bitty scraps; enough to live, basically. One would think that there wasn't a room behind that door, as it was as silent as darkness. No noise came out from it. No crying. No cursing.
When she finally emerged, her eyes were round deserts. Her parents looked up from their dreary breakfast and stared at her. They began to rise before Samus stopped them.
"Don't worry, I got it." She got some food as her parents watched.
Even with the suit on, she was still as beautiful as she'd been. This new woman was different; with increased wisdom, decreased weight, and a world of sadness. This one had pain.
This was the veiled flower, the most beautiful woman in several centuries, and it all mattered none."You okay?" asked Popo.
Samus drank some orange juice. "I'm fine."
"You sure?" asked Nana.
"Positive." There was a half-minute worth of a pause. "But I'm not falling in love again."
Her word was her bond.
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"And thus ends Part One."
Mr. Game & Watch cleared his throat and awaited Ness' commentary on the developments of the story.
"That didn't take too long."
"What didn't?"
"It got better. Really quick." Ness lightly coughed.
"Eh? What'd I tell ya?
"He's not dead."
Mr. Game & Watch stared at Ness. He seemed to be highly anticipating a follow-up. Ness turned to the narrator.
"There's no way the story can advance with the male lead out of the picture. There's just no way."
Brief silence.
"Well? Keep reading. When you know the hero prevails, the intriguing part is how."
"You're absolutely right. Let's just get right into Part 2."
Ness chuckled and half-coughed.
"What's wrong?" asked the flat one.
"Link was wrong..."
Mr. Game & Watch chuckled in response, and turned the page.
...Uh-huh. Vermilion City, Mute City, and Kaptain K. Rool. Don't look at me like that. Well, time to get to work on something else. Like...something else.
