Glace's eyelids began to flutter. "L-Luigi?" He perked up, and then he helped her sit up against the tree better. "Are you okay, Glace? How do you feel?" "M-My head hurts…" She rubbed her head, messing her hair up a little, and inquired, "What happened?" "Well, um…" He shifted a little, trying to come up with a good description. "Well, we went to your mother to propose our idea, but she wasn't really pleased with it. Then she sent her army after us, and you tripped and hit your head…"
Suddenly, she developed a really dejected face. "She… won't ever listen to me. Never. She never does." Glace clapped her forehead and sighed. "I just don't get it. Why? Why does she seem to judge our knowledge based on our age? Snowden always gets his way over me, and she won't listen to any fiscal proposals I make. Seriously, Snowden has made some pretty dumb decisions regarding the government, and she just blissfully accepts them. Why can't I just be listened to for once?"
"I'll listen to you." Luigi put his hand on her shoulder. "I don't understand Queen Crystalrose either. She really confuses me. Even our own monarch will listen to the Princess and the advisory council and even Toad children. Your mother is really unfair to you. I perfectly understand your perspective, and I fully support it."
"Thank you, Luigi." She smiled up at him, and then they heard a bark. They stiffened, thinking maybe some foxes had been sent to locate them, but it was simply Sparky. He sniffed the ground, following the scent trail they had left, and looked up with his big blue eyes. "Arf!" He pranced over to the two and snuggled in Glace's lap. "Oh… Hi, Sparky." She rubbed his head and scratched behind his ears. "Why did you follow us?" Sparky simply barked several times. "You were worried about me? Oh, you're so sweet…" "You can understand him?" Luigi asked. "Of course. They're our pets." "We can't even understand our pets' language!" "Well, that's just plain pitiful." She continued to stroke her pet fox, and then she gently nudged him off and stood up. "Oh, we need a new plan…"
Luigi began to think. How could they possibly get into the hostile Ember Kingdom without a powerful enough invasion force? Two foreigners with no military experience would have no chance of getting anywhere. They'd be eaten alive!
"I don't think we have any choice, Luigi." Glace sighed and looked up at him. "We have to invade ourselves. There's no other way." "W-What?! B-But we have no-" "LUIGI." She forced herself right into his face. "We can't save your brother if we don't try. We may not have an army, but maybe we can luck out. We really don't have any other choice, now do we?" Luigi was frozen for a moment, but then he sighed. "I-I guess you're right… My brother fights better than our entire army, so they won't be much help. Worth a shot, isn't it?" She nodded, and then got out of his face. "You can surely overcome your supposed fear of everything for your brother, so we have nothing more to worry about. Come on!"
Glace began to walk forward, and Luigi followed. It wasn't long, though, before a cute bark was heard and a bundle of cold fur rubbed up against Luigi's leg. "No, Sparky, no…" She picked the young fox up and stroked it. "You can't come with us… It's too dangerous." He whimpered and nuzzled her hand. "No… Sparky… Please… Go back to the Frost Kingdom where it's safe..." He whimpered again, and then gave her huge puppy dog eyes. "No, Sparky, it's not safe... Don't give me those eyes..." She took his paw and stared intently into his eyes. "Go back to where it's safe..." Noticing the disappointment in the animal's eyes, she added, "I love you, and that's why you need to go back. Go back for me, okay?" The fox looked down, and then nodded, turned back, and disappeared into the forest.
"That was a good decision," Luigi reassured her while she stared down in contemplated her decision. "Thank you. I hope he gets back safe." She smiled up at him, and then the two strode off deeper into the forest.