Today was day 9 and it hadn't started well. Luigi had been out of the coma long enough to be throughly bored with being a patient. He found Dr Toadsworth, the brother of Peach's long serving retainer, trying his patience with his nagging about being up and walking several times a day and his reminders about taking a flask with him for every trip to the bathroom.
"We need to monitor your fluid balance Luigi."
Dr Toadsworth had said on day 2, much to Luigi's annoyance. He was, however painfully aware that there were few physicians in the Kingdom who had experience with human patients, and fewer that were human.
"The injuries which Dr Toadia recorded on you when you were admitted were consistent with being tied up for hours at a time, lack of food and water and regular beatings."
He went on to say. "The damage to your muscles has flooded your body with poisons which is why we need to keep an eye on your kidneys. You have unusual patterns of healing - looks like you had some medical attention in that the flesh wounds are mostly healed, but it is the damage to your tendons and internal organs which we are most concerned about."
This was the tone for most of his time with Dr Toadsworth. It seemed that each visit he had bad news and soon became a bird of ill omen. It was a relief in a way when he signed over care to Dr Toadia, who had come a long way from being a shy medical student and President of Luigi's fan club, which in its heyday had numbers almost in double figures. Still, she had a decent bedside manner.
Back to today - Daisy is coming to visit alone. Luigi felt he should be pleased but he felt a knot of tension in his chest. It has been 6 weeks and a lifetime since he'd last seen her. She had the bad luck to visit on the day of his awakening and had panicked and not returned until she was sure he was alive and moving.
The constant poking and prodding - how much of it is necessary? This stupid diet - not until next week could he eat real food, its all chicken soup and ice cream for now.
It's hard to muster up much enthusiasm right now. Since following Dr Toadia's advice abut not using teashrooms for sleep as they are addictive, he seldom get through the night without flashbacks. Last night he was back in that awful dark cell, the ropes twisting and burning my wrists and ankles. Turned out it was his arm stockings bunching up that set it off. Mario had spent the rest of the night in bed with him after that.
Earlier, he had awoken to find his brother fixing breakfast. Luigi downed the glass of water by the bedside only to gag on a mouse corpse.
"MARIO what the HELL!?"
"Sorry bro - forgot to move that glass, didn't think you would be awake. I was defrosting mice to feed to Waluigi's present - your pet piranha plant"
"DAMN IT!"
Mario bought in the tray with chicken soup and a luminous yellow vitamin drink. However, there was a slice of chocolate cake on the tray.
"You didn't see me give you this and you are definately not going to eat it bro" he said with a wink. That at least raised a brief smile. Luigi felt bad about shouting at Mario - but he was the nearest and this whole ordeal has been hard on him too.
"You looking foward to seeing Daisy?" Mario enquired.
"Oh yes, its been ages."
Luigi sighed. He was more nervous about seeing her now than when he first officially met her father. The thought of getting married seems as real as flying to Jupiter, since his main achievements right now were dressing unaided, weeding the garden and having a bath without drowning. Dr Toadia does try to point out the progress he had made but it just takes so damn long!
On this thought, he took the first volume of the "Laws and Ordinances of Sarasaland" and turned to page 1.
"Luigi? LUIGI!"
Hrnnnkr?
Damn it! Fallen asleep trying to read - got as far as page 4 then nodded off. Not that he could can remember much now.
"Mario?"
"Daisy is here bro."
"DAMMIT! You should have woken me earlier - I'm still in my nightshirt!
Mario and Daisy come into the room. Mario says "I'll leave you two alone - got to go out on a job now"
He sat up and wiped his face. Daisy comes in with an enormous smile.
"I've missed you SO MUCH. That refuge I was in until yesterday was an example of 1% terror 99% COMPLETE BOREDOM! I'm almost envious you slept through it."
Bless her, tact was never her strong point, he thought. But I'm not wanting to marry her for her tact.
She came up, sits on the bed and gives him a quick hug. She saw the volumes of the "Laws and Ordinances of Sarasaland" and her face twitches like ripples in a pond.
"WHAT THE HELL are THOSE doing here?! It is strictly forbidden to remove those from the reference library!" She exclaimed.
"Your father bought them here 2 days ago - didn't you know?"
"But the state of emergency was lifted only yesterday. My father THE HYPOCRITE!"
"Daisy!"
She has a strange look of anger and puzzlement but with a grin that keeps trying to break through.
"Luigi this is wonderful! My parents are in effect saying that they want you to marry me! Although my father would sooner stick his tongue in a waffle maker than admit it. He has not let my other suitors set eyes on these books. How far have you got?"
"Urrrh, I only got them two days ago. I got as far as the Preface on Page 4. But the index alone makes me nervous - I didn't know that there were so many things I would have to do as a Prince Consort"no
Luigi had got far enough to find out what his title woukd be. Kind of a relief that it would not be King.
"Well you have made a start at least- "
Luigi interjected nervously.
"I mean I flicked though and there are all these different things I have to do if we go to the other states such as Chai and Birabuto. Will I actually have to run around the palace gardens there within a time limit or get executed? Or go through the trials of the fire ants in Muda?"
"Luigi, you are overthinking this - there will be time enough for this - we are not getting married next week, we haven't had the official announcement of engagement! There's no need to-"
"But Daisy, I am not ready!" Panic rose in Luigi's voice
"Will I ever be ready? I...I'm a plumber from Brooklyn, not even a sparky 'cause I got scared once! I'm not someone who knows the correct way to address the tribal chieftains brother when meeting for the first time! Or the layers of etiquette at the Imperial Palace in Chai! I...I dunno If I can do this. Daisy! Please!"
"But sweetie-"
"I can barely dress myself, I can hardly walk and I need a stick!"
She takes my chin in her hand and says "Luigi, we have plenty of time -"
He froze, his eyes turning to pinpricks, this gesture being imilar to what someone else did either as a prelude to or after a backhand to the face, or pulling him up by the hair to taunt him yet again. He collapsed onto the bed and started to cry.
He tugged off the bandages on his arms. He sobbed.
"Can you love this?"
He pulled up his nightshirt to reveal the welts on his back
"And this?"
Daisy didn't say anything, she held him close, and let him sob into her shoulder. Then she gently took his hands and kissed them and the scars on his wrists. He kept on sobbing while she held him close.
"Oh Weege I love you!"
Luigi gasped. He blinked.
"Are you mad woman?! How can you love this?"
He pulled his cap off, revealing a stubbly strip on my crown a palm's width on which the pink scar from the Floro sprout and the two lines from the tear in his scalp were plainly visible.
"I don't care" Daisy said says, starting to cry herself.
"I always thought you were great. I know everyone says what a complete dork you are but I like it. You have always been yourself. You are a gentle man, which is more important than being a gentleman, even though you are one too"
"But I have no idea how long it is going to be before I can do the things I could!"
"Luigi, Nastasia told me about what happened with you and Dimentio. I am not going to do anything or have anything happen until you are ready. I had a lot of time with my parents and there was a lot of talking. My mother said a royal marriage is still a marriage, only that kingdoms become unhappy if the marriage is unhappy too. My father said that what he wants most for his daughter is a man whom she is happy in his company and isn't out for the prize the title of Regent"
"Regent?! I Hope not!" Luigi blurted out.
"You see, you have a grasp about how involved this is, but not a desire for power - those are good qualities"
Luigi hadn't thought that he might be expected to take on that level of resposibility. That filled him with as much dread as meeting King Richard. Luigi rubbed his face.
"Daisy, I'll have a shower and get dressed. Would you walk with me around the garden? This morning might have been garbage but we still have the afternoon"
"Of course. I would like that - it would be good to get out of here"
Luigi sat on the floor of the shower and let the tepid water cascade. He wasn't done with sobbing yet. So much to do, so overwhelming, that and that it hurt to stand for long. It was not the first time he had hidden in the shower to cry but the time for hiding must be over.