After Rose looked at Fiamo, the group decided that it was probably best if we all had a good night's sleep before taking on King Boo. I walked into the room Daisy and I had stayed in last we were here, and the room was still arranged as it was. I yawned softly and sat on the edge of my bed. Luma flew out of my hat, asking for bedtime story. I smiled and told him to get into his sleep clothes before story time. He flew off into to the restroom, and came back, wearing a little light blue nightgown and matching sleep cap. He turned to me, and complained that the bedtime story couldn't be told if I were wearing day clothes. I laughed lightly, and grabbed my navy blue ones I had left here by accident. Walking into the restroom to change, I heard the bedroom door open. I stood still for a moment, and realized it was Fiamo and Brian. They were speaking softly to one another as I got changed. When I came out, Luma gave me a hug, and I kissed him on the head. Brian waved to me, and I noticed that his grey and black shirt was gone. He was wearing a pair of slacks and his white, long-sleeved undershirt. His bandana was nowhere to be seen and his platinum blond hair was messy and all over the place. Fiamo was wearing a black wife beater and black slacks. His red hair was no longer spiked; it was wet and lying in his eyes.
"Did you come to crash the bedtime story?" I asked softly.
Brian shook his head. "I'll leave that to you. Fiamo and I were talking, and wanted to know if he could stay in the same room as you."
"Sure. I don't mind."
"Story." Luma demanded.
"Well, it sounds like I am interrupting Luma's story time, so I will leave you three for the night. Thank you again, Luigi." Brian said.
He left, and Fiamo looked around in confusion, peeling his hair back and out of his eyes. I saw the sadness in them. Luma sat down on my shoulder, asking for the story again. I tucked him in the little box bed he had, and balanced it on my lap. After asking what story he wanted to hear, Luma said that I could tell any story that I wanted to, but it had to be a good story. I closed my eyes, thinking deeply. Fiamo sat next to me, and looked at Luma in the box.
"Have you heard the story of the Rainbow Castle?" he asked Luma.
When he piped 'no', Fiamo smiled.
"There once was a castle in the sky." Fiamo started. "It sat on the clouds and it was so tall that it could touch the stars. Every one hundred years, a rainbow comes from the castle and cascades the pretty colors onto the earth below."
"There was a handsome prince who lived in this castle." I picked up. "He was very lonely up there all alone in his castle on the clouds. He hoped that one day someone would find that they could use the rainbow as a path to the castle and come and visit him."
"The only friend that he had was a star named Bip. He was a very tiny Star, and he would keep the prince company by singing little songs and doing little dances. The Prince and Bip would talk for hours and hours. When Bip saw that something was bothering him, he asked the Prince if something was wrong."
"The prince didn't want Bip to worry about him so he would always tell the star he was fine and not to worry. The star did worry however. Bip was smarter than the prince gave him credit for and he knew that his company wasn't enough. The star knew that the prince needed a more human friend as well. Bip decided that once the prince fell asleep that night, he would fall to the earth below as a shooting star to find his friend someone new to keep his company."
"So that night," he continued, "he flew down the tower and safely got to the ground. The grass tickled his little feet as he flew across the ground, looking for a friend for the Prince. The area around Bip was dark, and very scary. He often thought about the Prince and how lonely he must be, so Bip braved the night. He soon came to a clearing and found a girl. He flew up to her, and noticed that she was crying."
"Wondering what was wrong, Bip flew up to the girl. Through her tears she saw the star. She was a bit taken aback, explaining that the kingdom hadn't seen stars like him in centuries. Bip asked the girl why she was crying. Between small sobs, the girl told him of how she was a princess and that an evil wizard had taken over her family's kingdom. Her parents and all who allied with them had been locked in the castle dungeon. She had been the only one to escape. Seeing as how she was a princess, the wizard didn't chase her considering her not much of a threat. No one would believe her if she told them about this as she was quite young. She hoped to free everyone from the dungeon, but she knew that she would need all the help she could get. Bip sang lightly to calm the girl down, letting his light shine upon her face warming her tear soaked cheeks. He said he knew a prince who would believe the girl and that she should follow him to the castle. The princess agreed saying she had nowhere else to go and the forest was a dangerous place at this time of night."
"Poor Princess…" Luma piped sleepily.
"Bip and the Princess decided to go deep into the forest, in case any bad guys were looking for them." I carried on. "In the forest, they came across a stone block. Bip sang to the rock, and the most beautiful rainbow went from the stone to the tower. Bip explained that the rainbow was a bridge to where the prince lived. A little scared, the princess followed the star up the bridge. Once they got there, the prince was awake and crying. He thought that he had lost Bip forever. The star explained that he had left on a journey to find a new friend for him, and introduced the princess to the prince."
"The princess curtsied and began to explain her predicament. The prince bowed saying he would help her. Having no army and no desire to wage war on a kingdom he didn't even know existed until moments ago, the prince hoped the wizard could be reasoned with."
"So all three of them went down the rainbow and walked to the castle where the princess lived. The guards were watching the trio at every turn!"
"Spooky." Luma yawned.
"Once they got to the castle doors," I spoke softly, "they were greeted by the wizard. He was old, scary, and had a long, white beard. The prince walked up to the wizard slowly and introduced himself, and asked if they could make a deal. The old man said nothing, and watched the prince with his yellow eyes. His voice trembled as he spoke about the Rainbow Castle, saying that it was filled with gold. The wizard quickly agreed that he would give the castle back for the one the Prince lived in. So, the prince, Bip and the wizard all walked back to the Rainbow Castle. The old wizard walked up the rainbow bridge. Just as he got into the castle, the prince destroyed the rock so that the wizard could not come back. The prince returned to the princess's castle, and lived happily ever after."
I looked down at Luma, and he was fast asleep in his box. I kissed him lightly and set him on the bed next to me. Fiamo said good night and went back to his own bed. I stretched out on my own bed, and felt tears swell. I closed my eyes, trying to fight against them. I turned away from Fiamo and curled into a ball. I took slow deep breaths, trying not disturb him (is he asleep already?). I opened my eyes, and my vision was blurred with tears. I finally got up and walked into the restroom. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and almost broke there. Slowly I turned on the water and splashed it on my face a few times. A towel was handed to me, and I noticed that it was Fiamo.
"I'm sorry." I whimpered.
"Care to talk?" he whispered.
I shook my head. "There is nothing you can do about it. There is nothing anyone can do about it at this point…"
I lost myself in the fight to not cry out loud. Fiamo draped his hand across my shoulders, and I was too upset to deny it. He walked me out of the room and into the Conference Room. He handed me my handkerchief, and I buried my face into it, giving my crying a voice. I have no idea how long I had been crying, but when I looked up again, Fiamo was resting his hand on my knee, trying to calm me down. I sniffed, and explained to him that I missed Daisy. Slowly, he handed me a pink rose.
"If you are hitting on me, I won't take it." I whispered.
"No, take it." Fiamo said offering it to me again. Slowly, I held onto it. "Imagine that this flower is the symbol of the relationship you hold with Princess Daisy. See how it is fragile and looks like it is about to break?"
I nodded slowly. He took the rose away and handed me a different one; this one was in full bloom and red.
"It is still fragile, but it is elegant. This is your heart." Suddenly he clapped the bud, not only startling me but destroying the flower all together. "This is your heart now. It is weighed down with worry and fear for the one you love. You must believe and trust that she will be alright or this will happen." He proceeded to pull the petals off one by one, waiting for each one to hit the floor before pulling another. "It will slowly decay until it is a pile of misery on the floor. Once it is there, it is not possible to rebuild the rose that you and Daisy have made together. Try to keep the rose in full bloom so that hers can stay as well. If, however, hers is in a messy pile on the floor, gently pick up each petal one by one, and love them as much as they were when they were the flower."
I nodded, trying to calm down. He gathered the petals and stem, and placed them in the trash bin. He ushered me out of the room and made sure I got into my own bed before he went into his.
"You know, Fiamo." I spoke lightly. "You're a pretty nice guy for a pirate."
"Thanks…I think." He responded after a few minutes.
I turned out the end table light, and closed my eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.
When I opened my eyes, it was still dark in the room. Confused and still tired, I sat up and read the clock on the wall, which read about 4am. Frustrated, I stood up and wandered over to the restroom. My hand rested on the door handle when I heard a sound. I stayed still and the sound came again. Footsteps. I waited for a few minutes then quietly crept towards the bedroom door. I slowly and silently opened it and saw a shadow turning the corner. I followed quietly and stealthily behind the person. The black cloak he was wearing whipped the corner when he turned again. Seeing a flash of silver, I knew things were about to get serious. I continued following, and noticed that the man was picking the lock to Peasley's bedroom. I got in arm's reach before he opened the door and walked in. I stood by the door, uncertain what to do. When I saw that flash of silver again, I realized in horror that it was a blade. I felt the panic fill me as he got closer to the bed where Peasley was sleeping peacefully. Knowing that I had to do something, I formed a small ball of fire in my hand. The bed drapes were pulled back, and the silver was shown again. Before anything else happened, I screamed at the top of my lungs as I threw the fireball towards the murderer's direction.
Peasley bolted upright and dodged my fireball as it slammed into the guy's arm. The blade he was holding fell from his grip, and the prince rolled off the other side of the bed, sliding under it to greet me. We both charged out of the room, the cloaked man hot on our trail. I could tell that Peasley was still fighting sleep, so I literally threw him over my shoulder as I turned a sharp corner. In the process, I accidently broke one of the vases on display in the hall. It crashed to the floor, alerting the people who were nearby. I reached the stairs and instead of running down them, I slid down the handrail. Once I hit the floor, I set the disoriented prince back on the ground. The man jumped the entire set of stairs and landed in front of us.
"It's cute how your boyfriend came to rescue you, my lord." He haunting voice spoke behind the shade of his hood.
"He's straight." Peasley responded. "He's my guardian."
Wait…I'm his guardian? Better than his boyfriend I guess.
The man laughed as he charged for him. I used my fire to block his path and gave Peasley an opportunity to grab his sword. The man laughed again as darkness cloaked his hands. The power broke through my barrier and hit me square in the face. I went flying back, but managed to catch myself. I stood up and powered up again. He charged at me again, and I jumped out of the way when all the sudden an arrow stuck itself into his shoulder. The arrow was green and the end of it was a red rose. Another came, and the man dodged that one with ease. I grabbed the arrow that was dodged, and held it in my hand as the man charged towards the stairs. Fiamo jumped off the handrail, shooting two more at him. He joined me and Peasley on the floor.
"I alerted the others." He spoke grave as I handed him the arrow. "All of the guards are asleep; probably a gas of sorts."
I nodded as a wave of wind knocked the enemy flat on his ass. The flames that were in my hands turned into electricity, and I shot it at the wind. A loud crack echoed through the chamber as the lightning hit its target. Rose used her power to gently send Brian and Mario on the ground while she and Waluigi ran down the stairs.
"Who are you?" Peasley shouted. "And what do you want?"
The man stood up, and bowed graciously. "My lord," he greeted. "I am a minion of the darkness."
"Do not mock me!"
"Mocking? I am not mocking; I am showing respect. It is you who should watch your tone, sire."
"You tried to murder him." I spoke. "What is your name?"
He faced me. "Ah, the gay guardian speaks." I rolled my eyes. "Why are names important?"
"So we don't call you smart-ass or other profanities when we address you." Brian hissed.
The man laughed. "Well, if you must call me something, call me Mr. E."
"Interesting name." Mario spoke. "Why are you after Peasley?"
He faced Mario. "He has…information."
Fiamo jumped in front Peasley. "I'm not afraid of you!"
He faced the pirate, and darkness cloaked his hand. "Are you sure?"
Brian jumped into the mix. "Neither am I! You, sir, are dealing with the other guardians of Prince Peasley, the ruthless pirates from the SS Teacup."
"Oh, I'm so scared." He mocked. His power grew in size. "Have at you!"
The dark power encompassed the trio in a circle, preventing them from escaping. All three had their weapons drawn as Mr. E entered the darkness with them. Rose slammed her fists on the ground, causing an updraft of wind from under their feet. Mr. E was sent flying across the castle lobby while the other three landed with ease next to us. Mario threw flames at him; trying anything he could to prevent the enemy from coming.
"Peasley!" I shouted over the flames. "What information do you have?"
"Not now, Luigi!" he responded.
"You need to say it, or he won't leave us alone."
The prince sighed as we dodged darkness. "It seems it is already happening. There is an ancient legend that was passed down through my family for generations. In a small nutshell, a revival will occur, and the first sign of the revival was that ice would bathe the land."
Mr. E shouted in anger and frustration, knowing very well what Peasley was doing. We both sprinted out of the room and into the Throne Room. While we were both blocking the door, Peasley spilled the entire legend to me in one breath, giving me only the basic information. The door shattered, and we were both sent flying back. Before I could move, Mr. E had Peasley pinned to the floor. The flash of silver came again, and I realized in panic that I couldn't move; the darkness was holding me to the ground. I tried to pull free; I fought with everything I had, but it wouldn't budge. I watched as Mr. E pulled out the blade.
Two well-aimed arrows hit his hand as well as his face. He hissed in pain as the darkness released me and Peasley threw the man off of him.
"Not too shabby." He laughed as blood dripped from his hand. "Looks like I will let you go this time. Congratulations on passing my test." He disappeared within his own shadows.
"Does anyone need medical attention?" Rose went into her nurse mode. "Peasley, I want to check on you if you don't mind."
"Go on ahead." He answered sitting up and hissing in pain. "I hope I don't have any broken bones."
"Luma got scared." He piped softly flying into my arms. "Woke up, and no Mama."
"Hey, Mario," I addressed my brother. "Did you hear what he said?"
"Mr. E? He spoke quite a lot tonight…well, this morning, rather. Why?"
"He said something that scared me."
"He said a lot of things that scared me." Waluigi entered out conversation. "Killing the prince is serious."
"Not that, Waluigi." I sighed. "He said 'Have at you'."
Mario's face turned from concern to scared understanding.
"Peasley." I turned to him. "Please explain the legend."
