The two hurriedly ascended the labyrinth of stairs and hallways, Marth trying to lose her and Samus trying not to get lost.
He abruptly stopped and turned around to say something, but no words came out. Frustrated, he restarted his quick pace before turning around once again.
"If you're going to stay here, you better make yourself useful."
"What… do you mean?" Samus demanded guardedly, slowly moving her hands up defensively over her body.
Discerning her body language, Marth quickly put his hands up in an X shape and shook his head violently in defiance, making the gold extensions of his jewelry to rattle like a percussion symphony. "No, I-I didn't mean it in that way," he began.
Bull's-eye, Samus thought to herself with a triumphant smile. Mentally mentally commanding the Powersuit to turn off, she moving closer with promiscuous strides in her Zero-suit, and looked up at him with lustful eyes.
"Then what kind of service can I possibly give to the emperor?" she inquired as she walked her fingers up his chest. She could feel his body tensing up. Good. To add to his discomfort, she insinuatingly pushed her breast onto his upper arm. "Tell me what to do. C'mon, don't make me beg," she moaned into his ear.
By force of will, Marth pushed her away, mustering all his strength to keep up his regal demeanor and to keep something else down.
"What? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that," she taunted with a grin, feeling accomplished that she got back at him.
The king cleared his throat as aloofly as he could and continued his way up the stairs with his hands folded behind his back.
This is gonna be fun, Samus noted with a devilish smirk.
"I have a demonstration scheduled this evening," Marth informed, much calmer now as they arrived at the ground floor.
"What kind of demonstration?"
Marth avoided eye contact as he answered, "Well, it shows different types of technologies..."
"Can't you be a little more specific?"
He took a deep breath. "… it's… It's mostly a lightbulb demonstration."
Samus stifled a laugh and asked, "A lightbulb show? Daaaamn, you guys are really behind. Kids back in my world make full on engines for their science projects."
"I knew this would happen," the king muttered under his breath, and continued with a dignified façade. "This world is still in the process of modernization, and according to data, at a faster rate than your world did. Regardless, you will be the guest of honor. Your job is to explain some concepts of the important guests. Do you have any experience in public speaking?"
"Besides from promotions for the Smash Bros Tournaments, nada."
"It will suffice," he said as he ushered over a servant. "I'm sure you know well of the other inventions, but just to make you sound smarter, here are some key pointers."
He roughly handed her a packet of papers held together by a large clip. Flipping through it, she saw manuals and guides to the gun, train, tractor, refrigerator, etc.
"What, not even a cellphone?" she snickered. "You'll never be able to catch up like this."
"Shut up. I want modernization to be a step-by-step process."
"Whatever. I'm off," the bounty hunter said and strutted off. Not walked, strutted.
"Wait!" the king called out, causing her to turn back. His expression seemed pleading, almost desperate. "You will be there, right?"
"Yeah, sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."
"Please don't do anything stupid. This is really important."
Samus flashed him one of her mischievous grins. "No promises."
Marth stood there, biting his lower lip, not sure if he made the right decision of inviting her.
Several palanquins and carriages entered the courtyard, shuttling noblemen and noblewomen in all their luxurious splendor. The men wore elaborate tunics, robes, and capes while the ladies were garbed in colorful dresses, complimented by various jewelry and hair accessories. The servants were bustling about, bringing refreshments and adding finishing touches to the vividly decorated courtyard. Rows of lanterns were set along the walls, an elongated collection of tables supported profusion of food, guards remained in their stationary positions, and an orchestra of palace musicians played a lively tune.
Samus tapped the side of the table impatiently. She was waiting in the main building of the palace, which led directly to the courtyard. She could clearly hear the music, bustling, and laughter from outside.
Marth hurried into the room, fixing his outfit with his trailing servants. He wore a blue vest-like garment over a black shirt and decorated leather armguardst. His bottom half was attired with black pants and boots. He almost clumsily adjusted his blue headband that was embroidered by a golden symbol in the middle. His servants industriously unfolded creases and made sure that his hair was perfectly in place.
Samus whistled. "Not bad. You actually look like a man today. What's the occasion?"
"There's been a slight change in plans," he answered, obviously too nervous to answer her properly. "And remember not to come out until I give you a queue."
Samus lazily stood up, flexing the joints of her Powersuit. "What do I do then-?"
"You stick to your part," Marth interrupted and advanced to the door, then turned to her. "Is there anything on my face?"
She smirked playfully flicked his forehead with an index finger. "It wouldn't matter anyways."
The king creased his eyebrows as he rubbed his forehead. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hail, Emperor Marth!" a loud voice boomed from outside. Now Marth's eyes were full of anxiety as he exhaled slowly. This was the first time Samus had seen him so uneasy. She slapped his shoulder with a boyish smirk.
"Go get 'em, tiger."
Strangely, he felt more composed with her encouragement and stepped out into the fray. Samus noticed something different in his eyes, something close to sincerity.
Hm. Maybe I won't screw around tonight.
"Bow before his majesty!" the voice commanded.
The guests dutifully knelt as in unison they greeted, "Hail, his majesty."
"Arise," he commanded. Subtly taking a deep breath, he began his speech. "It touches my heart to see that so many of you have accepted my invitation. I thank you, my loyal subjects, for arriving with such devotion and you, my friends, who have come a long way from neighboring lands…"
As he went on, Samus let out a great yawn and checked her Arm Cannon.
"Without further adue, I shall present to you the technology that will revolutionize out world!" Marth announced as a group of servants wheeled in a large metal frame with strips of lightbulbs along its sides. In their seats, people stared and pointed at in wonder, trying to decipher with this strange contraption could do. "The lanterns shall be put out for a moment, so do not be alarmed."
Marth nodded to his magician, who commanded the lights to extinguish. There were some gasps of surprise and the crowd waited in uncertainty.
"In the next second, I shall brighten this courtyard by tenfold, not through magic or trickery, but by only flipping a single switch. Subjects and friends, I present to you, the lightbulb!"
The switch was flipped and 36 bright lightbulbs flashed to life, awing the guest with their light. The guest clapped as the intensity of the lights dimmed to a reasonable level.
Proudly, the king gestured to the framework. "Each of these round mechanisms are a lightbulb. Just one of these can shine more light than ten lanterns or lamps, and do not require a match or flint. All that is required is a hand to push a button o flip a switch…"
As he explained the workings of the lightbulb, scientists and engineers busily scribbled into their notebooks, eager to absorb all the information.
"Despite the wonders that is machine is capable of, there is technology that transcends even the lightbulb. Far away, in another world, there exists beorcs* and other intelligent species exploring the stars and colonizing planets. Today, I have invited someone from such a world. Guests, I present to you, Samus Aran!"
The doors opened and a fully-armored bounty hunter exited, occasionally waving a hand to the applauding crowd. The people gazed in amazement and murmured excitedly amongst themselves as the stranger stood next to the emperor.
"Tonight, this guest of honor shall assist me in explaining the other inventions that I have prepared."
He introduced antibiotics, the pencil, the railroad, the automobile, the telephone, and the typewriter. Next came the gun. Many women yelped in surprise at the BANG of the semiautomatic rifle, while it fascinated the men at how it easily penetrated the heavy plate armor. The guest politely clapped while the king readied his next performance.
"You may be impressed by the sheer power of the rifle, but it is eclipsed by the terror of the machine gun," he explained and loaded an M16 and aimed at a squad of armored dummies. "Ladies, I advise you to cover your ears."
After waiting for the moment of tension felt by the audience, Marth fired the weapon, spraying the targets with bullets. When the shooting stopped, the sets of armor were covered in bullet holes. Dumbfounded, the audience only stared for a while before a few claps escalated into a cascade of ovation. Marth breathed out his tension and smile in relief, pride, and accomplishment. The corner of Samus's lips also curved up when she saw his first genuine smile.
He should smile more like that, Samus thought to herself as she too, joined in the applause.
After the crowd died down, Marth introduced the last product: coffee. Servants brought them each a cup of the hot beverage along with a small cup of milk and sugar.
"It's popular in many other worlds," Samus explained. "It's made in a similar way to tea, except ground coffee beans are used instead. It contains caffeine, a stimulant that temporarily gets rid of drowsiness, which should be taken in moderation. For some people it's bitter, so they add milk, sugar, or cream."
The guests reacted approvingly of the drink as they experimented with it. Once the coffee was cleared, Marth ordered the food to be served.
"Music!" he commanded in a content tone and went back to his seat. When he saw Samus looking around awkwardly, he motioned her to the seat beside him. "Sit, sit."
She sat in the chair and was about to say something, but suddenly a corpulent man apparently popped out of nowhere and bowed almost too deeply to Marth and lavishly praised, "Your majesty, your demonstrations left me utterly speechless! You have opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of possibilities. I sincerely thank you for gracing me with such knowledge."
"The pleasure is mine, Lord Priam."
With a smile that accentuated his cherry-red cheeks, Priam faced Samus.
"Oh. Samus, this is Lord Priam, head of all engineering projects of the royal palace," Marth put in. "But he's absolutely infatuated with astronomy."
The portly man let out short, bashful laugh. "I am merely a man of a minor noble-house who does what he does best. It is a great honor to meet you, Lady Samus Aran. I have been deeply intrigued by you ever since you walked out those doors. Might I ask you a few questions?"
"Errr, sure."
"Splendid!" he cried out and pulled out his notebook and a quill. "What is space like?"
"Well, it's really quiet out there."
"Is air absent in space?"
"Yeah."
"Ha! Just as I hypothesized!" he exclaimed in glee and scribbled eagerly. "Do the planets revolve around the sun?"
"Yeah," Samus answered, still trying to reason to herself that this wasn't common knowledge in this world.
"Another point for you," Marth applauded and took a bite of his portion of beef.
"Is the diameter of space 200 000 rei?"
"200 0000 what?"
"About 700 000 kilometers," the emperor translated.
"We still didn't find an end to it."
Priam's eyes bulged. "No end?! Truly?"
"So far, no end."
The noble looked at the sky fanned himself as he tried to register the information. "This is groundbreaking! Who would have thought?"
Turning back to Samus, he shook her hand vigorously and said, "I cannot thank you enough for this information, milady. I shall repay this debt in kind. Simply request something and, if it is in my power, I shall grant it."
"Gee, thanks," Samus thanked, not sure what she'd want from a round, middle-aged man.
"May I ask just one more question?" he inquired hopefully.
"Shoot."
He cocked his head and furrowed his brow.
"I mean, yes."
"People of your world, do they all look like you? Very metallic, I mean."
Samus chuckled and pulled off her helmet. "They're humans, just like you. This is just armor that I'm wearing."
When Priam did not answer, she noticed that he was staring at her as if in a trance. "By the gods, you're… absolutely beautiful, milady."
Slowly drinking his wine, Marth dryly stated, "Hmmmm. Then you must see her figure."
"I can only imagine, your majesty," Priam said blissfully. "Lady Samus, we must meet again. I will be in my homeland, Gra, for three weeks time, but we shall meet again upon my return."
"Suuure," Samus said, creeped out.
"If I stay for any longer, I may fall for your alien charm," he continued and tightly held one of the bounty hunter's hand his both of his own. "Farewell, Lady Samus, your majesty."
"Ugh," Samus remarked as she brushed off the invisible Priam-germs off of her hand. "Chef Boyardee's pushing it. My policy's look, but don't touch."
Marth chuckled and poured himself another cup. "He means well; it's just that he's been lonely since his wife died."
She felt a poke of guilt. "How long was that ago?"
"Around the same time my wife died, during the Great Plague. That's when we grew close," he answered and carefully downed another cup.
Before Samus could ask more questions, a servant announced to the guests, "The sword dance demonstration now begins!"
With a tired sigh, Marth got up and walked out to the open space in the middle of the courtyard, where several other young men in almost the exact same outfit joined him. Instead of being gold, the symbol on their headbands was less ornate and made of simple metal. All held a sword in a lacquered sheath and saluted Marth in the Akaneian way as he neared. Taking his place in front of them, the king received Falchion from a servant and stood at the ready. A large war drum began to beat a strong, simple rhythm. The warriors drew their blades in perfect unison and held a battle stance. Other drums joined the first, and the swordsmen executed a series of graceful and gradual swing and thrusts, impeccably matching the beat. The drum rhythms escalated and became more complicated; the warriors also perform more sophisticated attacks and footwork, weaving through one another and spinning with fluidity. The choreography included acrobatic midair attacks and tumbling techniques, all implemented with perfection. The water-like sword dance went on for five minutes, until the drums finished with a cohesive "boom " and the swordsmen took their last swing. The audience clapped in endorsement and the swordsmen sheathed their swords and bowed, except for Marth, who was an emperor. He returned to his seat while they returned to theirs. He only downed another cup of wine and whispered something to his servant and walked up the stairs of the main building.
"Hey, where you going?" Samus asked as she walked after him.
"I'm tired," he answered and walked through the doors.
With a shrug, she went back to her seat. While Samus was eating, a familiar voice greeted, "Hey! Samus, it's been a while!"
Roy was grinning from ear to ear as he held out his arms invitingly. Samus lightly jabbed his stomach, making him cave in. "You idiot, you could have at least contacted us once during the Brawl tournament," she said with a grin of her own. "Damn, you've grown! Are you even taller than Marth now?"
"Hope so," he replied cheekily, grinning even wider at the thought.
"Hey," Ike greeted as he approached them, standing a few inches above his friend.
"Ike? You too? What are you guys doing here?" Samus asked, glad to see more friends.
"Wellll, we're supposed to be here as ambassadors for our kingdoms and try to get Akaneia to trade with us," Roy explained slyly. "No strings were pulled," he added with a wink.
"How long are you guys going to be staying here for?"
"We're scheduled to go to some meeting about the sea trade routes in Talis tomorrow, but we'll be back here in two weeks, if all goes well," Roy informed. "Say, where's Marth the Grouch?"
"He said he's tired and went back to his room."
Roy scoffed in disbelief. "And he doesn't even say hello to his best buddy who he's never seen in a year. Some friend he is. Anyways, why are you here?"
Samus's expression soured in disgust. "I'm supposed to be his bodyguard. Maser Hand made me sign up for this."
"Does he even need a bodyguard?"
"Maser Hand said that more and more people want him dead, so I have to babysit him."
Roy pondered on this. "To make Maser Hand intervene in this kind of stuff; this might actually be more serious than you think."
"Well, nothing's happened yet," Samus remarked. "This party would've been a perfect opportunity to take a stab at him."
"Just keep a look out," the redhead warned. "Marth might need someone to watch his back."
The blonde snorted and shook her head. "Princess doesn't need any help. He said so himself."
"Sure sounds like him," Roy said with a sigh.
"But I really don't want to stay here," Samus confessed. "Do you guys have a way to get back to the Mansion?"
"We both have one of those teleporter things at home. I can have a ship arranged to take you there."
"She's coming with me," Ike suddenly stated.
They both gave him strange looks.
"I mean, if she wants to," he put in with a hint of panic. "You got yours from the Melee tournament, so it might be outdated. And I'm planning on going back home a lot earlier, so she can tag along."
"You are?" Roy asked, bewildered. "But you just got here!"
"There's a lot to do back home."
"But the Fire Emblem trio!" Roy protested childishly.
Shoving his face away, Samus asked Ike, "When's the earliest I can leave?"
"In two weeks, when I return from the conference."
"Is there any way I can leave any sooner?" she inquired hopefully.
He seemed to stall on the question. "I don't think that's a good idea. It could take weeks for another ship to come in, even if we send for one today."
"Well that sucks." Samus muttered disappointedly. "Anyways, thanks for helping me out."
"Don't mention it."
A stern-looking, elderly man approached the three and cleared his throat. The two swordsmen made faces like a skunk farted.
"Lord Roy, Lord Ike. A word," he beckoned austerely and walked away, not even acknowledging Samus's presence.
Roy leered at his departing back, and then gave Samus an apologetic smile. "We gotta go now. That old fart's probably gonna borrow us for the rest of the night. Have fun for another two weeks!"
He waved goodbye and followed the senior. Ike rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, looking like he wanted to say something.
"I… umm, I'd like to stay here with you, you know, in case you get lonely."
Samus playfully gave him a grim smile. "It's fine. I just need to avoid Marth for two weeks. That won't be so hard."
Ike laughed, an action much more natural than before." Don't be so eager to get on his bad side."
"I'm pretty sure that I can take care of myself."
"I have no doubts. Take care, Samus."
In a good mood from socializing with friends, the bounty hunter soon realized that she was utterly alone in the sea of strangers. Some guests looked discerningly at her or murmured amongst themselves while stealing quick glances at her. With nothing to do and stuck in this discomfited situation, Samus walked back to her complex with a porcelain bottle of wine she took from a table. She lit the room's lamp with a matchstick and slumped into a chair. Hopefully this place will switch to lightbulbs soon. She took a swig of the wine and rested her eyes.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Marth walked in with a wine bottle, only that this one had golden carved across the side.
"Hey," she greeted nonchalantly, opening one eye.
"Did I wake you?"
"No. What are you doing here?"
He stopped in front of the table and confessed, "I…. wanted to properly thank you for helping me out tonight."
"No prob," she replied and nodded towards the wine in his hand, "What's that for?"
"Well…" he trailed off.
"You want a drinking buddy, don't you?"
"Consider it a gift," the king muttered and gesticulated to the exit. "Let's go outside. It's stuffy in here."
Samus pulled herself up from the chair and followed him out. "You got a place in mind?"
He nodded. "Where I always go."
Lithely, he jumped onto the roof and took a seat.
"Wait, you were on my roof?"
He scowled down at her. "Don't flatter yourself. Just roofs in general."
"Why? It's perfectly fine down here," the blonde replied, feeling lazy.
"Just come up here and you'll see," he told her with a hint of annoyance.
Sighing, she hopped onto the roof and looked around. "There's nothing special-"
Marth tapped her shoulder and pointed. Samus turned to the indicated direction and almost gasped. The full moon illuminated everything under its gaze with a unearthly, but beautiful, pale light, like a sun of the night, allowing onlookers to gaze in awe.
"It's so close," Samus breathed as she slowly sat down, not taking her eyes off the beauty of nature.
"I knew you'd like it," the blunet said with a grin of accomplishment.
He noticed that the woman's sights were totally fixed on it. Snapping his fingers in front of her, he said, "Hey. Aran. Snap out of it."
She snapped out of the trance. "What? Oh, sorry. I guess I just zoned out."
"No harm done. I've had the same reaction I first saw her," Marth said as he too, admired the moon.
"Her?"
"Well, there's the goddess of the moon and the god of the sun. The moon gives light when the sun cannot."
He held the bottle of wine up to her. She took it and examined it. "What's with the gold?"
He gave her a secretive smile and leaned over as if telling her classified information. "This is wine reserved only for the king. Try it."
Samus gave a short scoff. "Can't be much different from regular wine."
She swallowed a mouthful. "That's good stuff. How do they make this?"
"Even I don't know."
She handed the bottle to Marth, who took a good gulp of it.
"What? No cups?"
He looked at her curiously. "Wine's always shared like this between friends. Don't tell me your one of those people who freaks out about germs."
She shrugged. "I guess the culture could be different here. Wait, did you just call us 'friends?!'"
"Why? You don't want us to be friends?" he asked as he passed her the wine.
The bounty hunter looked at him scrutinizing. "Are you already drunk?"
"Was there something amusing in my words?" the king inquired a little more hostilely.
"You've never called me 'friend' before," she answered and gulped down more alcohol. "Damn, this is pretty strong."
"I haven't," he admitted. "I've judged you too harshly at first, Samus. Apologies."
She hit his arm good-naturedly. "'Apologies,'" she mimicked in a derpy-er way. "Come on. We're friends. Stop talking so formally."
He managed a small smile at the demand. "I guess it's just built into me now."
"I've had bad impressions of you as well," Samus confessed and handed him the half-empty bottle. "You're actually not so bad for a palace brat."
He laughed and received the wine. "Compliments from Samus Aran? I'm on a roll today."
"Don't get so cocky," she warned with a chuckle of her own.
They exchanged words and wine for a little while more until the alcohol ran out.
"Damn, and I was hoping it was some magical bottle that never runs out," Samus slurred disappointedly as she shook the upturned wine bottle.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Marth asked, gazing at the moon.
Samus looked at it a little more judgmentally. "Yeah, but it looks pretty ugly up close; dull and grey and full of craters. It just reflects the sun's light."
Marth gave her a thin smile, wisdom in his eyes. "But both rely on each other to make this light; the moon needs the sun's rays, and the sun needs the moon to reflect its light during the night."
"It still looks ugly up close," she grumbled.
"If we try to find the imperfections in anything, the faults are endless. Life's too short to dissect the ugliness of things."
"I guess so."
He smiled almost lovingly at the spherical celestial body. "It's just the sun's shadow, but nevertheless, it's beautiful in its own right."
"How poetic," the blonde smirked.
"Samus... you were great today," he complimented, giving her a warm smile for the first time.
She felt a little heat rising as the lurid light reflected off his tender expression. "It's nothing, really."
She almost jumped away when Marth collapsed onto her shoulder.
"Woah! We're not that friendly, cowboy," Samus notified as she tried to push him upright, only to make him fall the other way.
"I haven't slept in five days," he murmured tiredly, eyes closed.
"Hey! You can't just sleep on my roof," she snapped, shaking him.
He was already deep asleep.
Shaking her head, the bounty hunter said, "What am I gonna do with you?"
Groaning at her new responsibility, Samus pulled Marth onto her back Piggy-back style and leaped off the roof.
"God damn it. Where was his room?" she growled, attempting to recall the location of the king's large complex.
The blonde wandered through the palace, retracing the breadcrumbs of her memory. She finally came across her destination and hurried to the entrance, wanting to get rid of her load as quickly as she could. Luckily, the entrance wasn't locked, so she had no trouble bringing the king upstairs to his bed. She threw him onto the covers and huffed in annoyance. Then something in his sleeping face softened the bounty hunter, leading her to gently tuck him in.
She herself was getting quite tired. She yawned and plopped down onto the mattress in the opposite direction.
This thing's getting uncomfortable, she thought to herself and shifted her weight uncomfortably in her Power Suit. I'll just take a nap for five minutes.
She commanded her suit to turn off and closed her eyes. Only five minutes, Samus.
"Your majesty, it is almost noon," a voice called from outside the bedroom. When there was no reply, the royal attendant said, "Your majesty, forgive me, but I shall enter."
Head lowered modestly, the middle-aged man walked into the room and gingerly closed the door behind him. His eyes seemed to pop out of his sockets at what he saw and almost stumbled back.
"Y-your majesty!"
Marth's face twitched a little as he awoke with a foot in his face. He pushed the foot away as if it were a minor annoyance and hauled himself up to sit.
Was that a foot? And where it all the blanket go?
He lazily rubbed his eyes and gaped at what, specifically who, was sprawled out in front of him. A snoring Zero-Suit Samus hogging the blanket had her limbs stretched unsightly out on the bed, one hand hanging over the side, another scratching the side of her nose, one leg bent in and the other repositioned on Marth. Quickly throwing the leg off of him as if it were a sewer rat, the king exclaimed," What the hell are you doing here?!"
Samus jumped at the sound and screamed as she unnecessarily pulled the covers over her already clothed body. "What are you doing here?! Get out of here, pervert!"
"ME?! You get out, pervert! This is my room!"
Samus froze. "What?"
She turned to the attendant. "Is it?"
He only managed to nod, still looking at the scene with shock.
Then it all came back to her. So much for five minutes. Nobody moved. This was pretty embarrassing.
"Umm, sorry," she muttered and dashed out of the room and out the complex faster than Sonic.
Marth glared after her trail and turned his glare to the attendant. "Nothing happened."
"Yes sir."
Back in her complex, Samus groaned and moaned at her stupid mistake and even slammed her head against the table several times, which didn't do much to the Power Suit that she recently activated. Then someone knocked on her door.
"Oh, god. Please don't let it be him, don't let it be him, don't be him," she chanted as she approached the door and poked her head out.
"Yes?" she greeted sweetly with a wide, plastic smile beneath her helmet.
Outside was an armored man probably in his mid-thirties with hair as unnaturally red as Roy, but shorter and combed down. Maybe the strange hair colors are a Fire Emblem thing. "Are you Samus Aran?"
"Yes. Why?" she asked with growing anxiety. "Am I in trouble? Cuz what happened back there, it 's all a misunderstanding. I can explain everything."
He looked befuddled. "Forgive me, milady. I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about."
"Oh, good. Nevermind then," the bounty hunter sighed in relief.
Trying to break from the awkward start, the man cleared his throat. "I am Captain Kain of the royal guards. I have come to deliver a message from the Maser Hand. He demands that you listen to it."
Samus suppressed a groan. "What does he want now?"
"It will be more appropriate once we meet his majesty," he said and motioned with a hand. "Shall we?"
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she asked grimly.
"I'm afraid you don't," he said apologetically.
They returned to the scene of Samus's "crime" and found Marth on the first floor, frowning as he read over one of the many documents in front of him.
"Your majesty, I mean, Emperor Marth, I bring important news."
He barely glanced up from his work. "Speak."
"The Maser Hand wishes to speak to you."
The blunet tossed the scroll onto the table and leaned back in stress. "First you act beyond your orders and now you're a spy for a floating hand. When will you stop chewing at my hide?"
"I have no relation to this request," Kain replied with an edge of defensiveness.
Marth sighed in irritation. "Very well. When is the best time?"
"Now," the captain answered and produced a small, half-a-cylinder metal device. He placed it on the table and gave a small bow. "I shall take my leave now."
The device projected a small hologram of the Maser Hand. "Hey, kids."
Marth rested his chin on a hand and Samus walked closer to have a better look.
"What is it now?" the king demanded impatiently
"Well, I've been thinking over making Samus your bodyguard. Snake's back from his mission earlier than usual, so I was thinking about sending him over instead. What do you say?"
So the bounty hunter's surprise, Marth answered, "I don't mind having her here, but if she wants to go, she may."
The entity seemed surprised. "Really? What could have possibly changed your mind?"
"Don't I have a say in this?" Samus interjected.
"Yes, yes. But I already know that you want to go home-"
"I'm not so sure now," she admitted. "This job's pretty much a vacation and all…"
Marth blinked in astonishment
"Wow. What happened between you two?" the Maser Hand wondered.
"NOTHING HAPPENED!" they both yelled at the miniature hologram.
"Okay, okay. If you two are fine with this, then I'll go along with it."
He turned his attention to Samus. "If you're going to take on this job, make sure to take it seriously. And you, mister, just don't be mean to her. Just tell Captain Kain if you change your minds."
The hologram faded and Marth handed the device to Samus before going back to his work. "I have no use for it."
She placed it in a small compartment in her suit and sat down in a chair.
"What are you doing?" the king questioned, still reading through the parchment.
"Doing my job," she answered simply.
"Assassins don't jump out in the middle of the day. You can go enjoy yourself now."
"You're just gonna kick me out? I thought we had a bonding time yesterday night."
"You mean before I fell asleep or after?"
"I didn't do nothing to you!"
"I hope so. Are you still going to stay here?"
"Why do want me out so bad? Are you reading ye-olden-day porn or something?"
"What I'm reading would probably bore you."
"What is it?"
"Drafts and appeals for judicial, education, political, and economic reforms."
Samus picked out a random document and skimmed over it. "Can't you get other people to do this for you?"
"I don't trust them."
The bounty hunter thoroughly read through the document, finding clear errors with the author's petition; for one, privatizing the ports under one lord was a one-way ticket to a monopoly, even if it would initially grant efficiency. She picked out a thin brush and began to write a reply.
Marth stopped reading and asked almost accusingly, "What are you doing?"
"Doing my job," the blonde replied as she continued to write. "It's my job to make sure you don't get hurt, and overworking can get you sick."
He scowled and went back to reading. "You better not screw around. These are important."
After Samus was about halfway done with her letter, Marth's suspicion/curiosity got the better of him. He deftly snatched the letter, making her shout, "Hey! I'm not done with that!"
"What in the world did you write?" he muttered.
He perused through it with laser eyes, then laughed out loud once he got to the end of it.
"You made some good points in this, but adding swear words to rebuke this scheme won't get you anywhere. You need to do it with finesse," he commented as he hand back the letter.
"You could have just asked for it," she grumbled.
"You could have been planning to sabotage me for all I know."
"You know, you have major trust issues," Samus observed as she crossed her arms.
"I do not!"
"Getting defensive here, are we?"
"I wasn't getting defensive!" he yelled and slammed his hands on the table as he rose.
The bounty hunter raised an eyebrow dubiously.
He sighed and rested his head on his palms after he calmed down back in his chair. "Okay, fine. Maybe I do get suspicious a little easily."
"More like paranoid."
Marth glowered at her.
"I wasn't always like this," he snapped angrily.
"Imagine that," she returned sarcastically.
"If you're here to patronize me, I suggest you should get out."
Samus put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I give. I'll just go back to doing my thing," she said and picked up her quill.
The two resumed to work in silence.
After a long while, the king set down.
"Sorry… for not trusting you. It was wrong of me."
The bounty hunter ignored him and flipped through another sheet.
There was a knock on the door. "Your majesty, it is time for the hearing."
"Very well," Marth replied and started for the door before looking back at the blonde. "Aren't you coming?"
"I'm invited to this thing? I thought you 'didn't trust me?'"
"My, my. I never suspected you to be so stingy."
"At least I'm not paranoid of my so-called friends."
"I thought I already apologized for that," he answered, starting to grow irritated.
"Is there a problem, your majesty?" the attendant asked from outside.
"Not at all. We'll be out in a second."
"Your majesty, are you all right?" a new voice asked. "I hear argument."
The king grit his teeth and whispered to Samus, "Come on. I can't be humiliated in front of that guy."
She turned away, indifferent.
"Please," he begged, hands held together.
Reluctantly, she stood up.
