Chapter 13: Exile of the Prince

Luigi awoke the next morning to the gentle rocking of the boat and the creaking of the planks. A few beams of sunlight filtered through knotholes in the deck. One fell directly on Maverick's forehead. Luigi gently held him and stroked his head. Maverick must have curled up with him after he had fallen asleep. The little boo yawned and looked up at him. A small grin appeared on his face before he floated up and licked Luigi on the cheek. Somewhere across the room, professor Gadd's snore met his ears.

Luigi laughed and wiped his face. "Your tongue is cold, little buddy." As he climbed out of his hammock, he took the liberty of noticing that Maverick had gotten a bit bigger. Not very much, mind you, but he had indeed gotten bigger. Luigi was a master at catching the slightest differences. He walked forward and patted his little friend on the head. "See? And Daisy and I thought you weren't going to get better.

"Nyack!" Maverick Blurted, following Luigi as he climbed, squinting, onto the sunlit deck.

"Mornin' Weege!" Breaker called out. He and Hammer were eagerly pushing mops across the deck.

"Hey, what'cha guys doing?" Luigi asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Swabbin' the decks!" Hammer chirped. Luigi gave them skeptical looks, "You two doing work willfully?" He put his hands to his face in comical surprise, "I never would have guessed."

"Don't count your chickens, Weege," Breaker reprimanded, "Syrup said she'd throw a line out the back and let us drag along the bottom." He grinned. "So it's not without reward."

Luigi shook his head. "You two are nuts," he said with a smile.

"Mornin' sunshine!" the familiar voice of Captain Syrup floated across the ship. She came out of the captain's cabin carrying a bundle of something, Luigi couldn't make out what.

"What're those?" He asked. He was cut off as Syrup threw him a small parcel of clothes. "Put these on. You'll look more like a pirate and not like a tourist."

Luigi blushed angrily, "I do not look like a tourist…"

Syrup smirked, "I know, I was just giving you a hard time."

Luigi frowned as he stepped into a room to change. His look turned to one of interest as he looked through the clothes she had provided him with. He had long since discarded his overalls, but he found the clothing to his liking. He quickly changed into the black 'buccaneer's blouse,' as he called it; a thick, forest-green vest that seemed to be made out of some sort of dragon-skin, brown traveling pants- slightly baggy at the knee, which were easily tucked into a pair of leather boots. He admired himself in the mirror as he took The Key from its place in his bag and strapped it around his waist, with the blade lying horizontal across the small of his back.

Taking one last glance in the mirror to make sure the dagger was somewhat concealed from the front, he returned to the deck, where several members of the crew were busy either sunning themselves, or lazily strolling about the deck.

Syrup beamed at him. "Hmm, hmm, see? You look like a pirate now." She smirked, her fierce dark eyes boring into his. Luigi returned the look, a smirk of his own tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Think fast, M'boy!" The professor's voice rang out as Kalliel appeared where Syrup stood a split second ago.

"Agh! Ha!" He grunted. Swiftly drawing the knife from its scabbard and parrying a blow from the lady captain's massive scimitar. His arm ached as a jolt ran up its length. "Geez, you're strong…" he murmured, twirling the knife.

Kalliel smiled. "You're getting more confident. Now it's time for some more coaching." Luigi nodded.

"Oooh, Ooh!" Breaker and Hammer squawked seeing the two combatants square off, "We wanna watch, too!" Luigi tossed something at them. Breaker quickly snatched it out of the air and looked at it. "Hold it for me, will ya?" Luigi ordered. The item in the young Hammer Bro's hands was his captain's trusty hat.

"What's the lesson for today?" Syrup casually asked the ghostly defender. Kalliel thought for a moment, his hand to his chin. "Ah…yes. Luigi, you will be faced by opponents who are much stronger than you, you realize this correct?"

"Aye…" the young plumber nodded.

Kalliel shrugged, "You're a smart lad, give it your best shot," he said with a wink. Luigi stared blankly at his mentor momentarily before it dawned on him. "…Oh…"

"Kyaaa!" A shrill battle cry came from the lips of the Corsair as she advanced.

"Um…" Luigi hesitated, trying to remember things from the crossing voyage to Rougeport. "Woah!!" Came his exclamation as she swept at him. "You're gonna kill me!"

"Relax, babe! I'm not aiming at you." Syrup paused. "Maybe you should just try hitting the sword for now. Let's start with the basics. You're not a real pirate unless you can fight. So… try to loosen up first, you're so stiff, just swing, but remember to attack with the blade-defend with the flat part, 'kay?"

Luigi sighed with relief. At least she would be easier on him.

He began to change his thoughts several hours later. It was late in the afternoon when they decided to stop. By that time, Luigi's arm felt like it was going to fall off. She was holding back, but at least she wasn't trying to beat the snot out of him.

He finally sunk against the mast, his nose and cheeks sun burnt. "Oy…" he sighed. Syrup handed her huge scimitar to the Bosun, who took it silently off to her quarters to put it away. "You did good 'hon." She sighed, patting him on the left shoulder. (He groaned whenever anything touched his right shoulder.)

Luigi grunted his reply. "I kind of feel like I'm not getting anywhere… just spinning my wheels."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, lad," Kalliel said, helping him to his feet. "You are making improvement. You don't notice it, but we do." Syrup nodded.

Kalliel continued. "You are just unsure of your limitations. You are a great fighter, no doubt about that, but you just need to figure out what your limitations are. Once you do that, things will go a lot smoother."

Luigi's eyelids drooped. "Yeah…" he said wearily. He gave a huge yawn before perking up, "So when's dinner?"

The inky-black water stirred as Pyewacket struggled to keep a good hold on the mossy rocks at the cliff's base. He took huge gasps of air as he fought to keep his head above the choppy water.

Panting furiously, he managed to secure his hold on a rocky crag and using his tail as a rudder, swung himself around and hauled himself out of the icy water. He lay panting on the shore for a few long moments before hoisting himself back onto his feet. He plodded off down the beach, back towards the smell of smoke from the tribe's campfires. His wings dragged haphazardly along side of him as he stared down at his feet.

After about an hour of this, he fell into a crumpled heap in the center of the peculiarly darkened camp, only to be set upon by several brawny tribal guards. He clawed and kicked, trying to protect his already injured wings. After a few seconds, they seized his arms and lifted him off the ground. The captain held a torch up to the young dinosaur's face and sneered.

"'S just Pyewacket… Falling asleep on the job, eh? Ever since you moved up to a lookout things for this tribe have gone from bad to worse!" He bellowed in his face. Pyewacket cringed.

"Wassn't my fault!! Dey get me from behind!" He screamed angrily.

"If you hadn't been nappin', none of this would have happened! Half-the village has been destroyed!"

"What's all de commotion ova 'ere?!" The chieftain called, hustling over to the group. He stood rigid when he saw his son in the clutches of his soldiers. "Unhand 'in at once!"

They dropped him. In his weakened state, he couldn't break his fall. His father reached down and helped him up.

"Dey sneak-a up on me… had no chance…" He panted.

"You still fell asleep!" Scolded the captain.

The chief held up a taloned paw. "That ees enough." He then heaved a sigh, suddenly appearing weathered and weary in the dim torch lights. He turned to the captain. "We have no proof that this was his fault."

The orange yoshi bared his teeth, "no!" he barked. "You know the tribe's rules, sah! He fell asleep on post. If he was the only one, then that only means that he was solely responsible for the safety of the village!"

The chieftain's mouth opened and closed like a fish's as he tried to form words. "But… But… He's just a fledgling," he said weakly. The other scoffed. Another guard piped up, "Perhaps if we exile him, these things will go away!"

"That's the law anyway. He failed to protect the village, therefore he must be exiled."

"No!" Pyewacket barked. He desperately looked to his father and kicked against the guard's grasp. The captain brandished his spear, "half of the village is destroyed because of you, whelp!" He suddenly whipped around, slamming his tail against the prince. The young yoshi screamed as he was sent flying. His father gritted his teeth and shut his eyes before barking, "Run, boy! Get away from here before dey hurt you!!"

Clutching his bleeding shoulder, the exiled prince bolted up the rocky hill away from the village.

The captain of the guard's face softened as he approached the stoic chief. "Sah…. It… it's for the best…"

The chief snarled before retreating into the central hut. The captain sighed, looking at his men before turning his gaze up the path the injured prince had taken. Dark spots of blood were smeared amongst the leaves.

"Perhaps I went too hard on him…"

Another soldier walked up and placed a paw on his shoulder, "If ye don' mind me sayin' sah… it was for the best."

"Maybe…"

Seven more days passed pretty uneventfully for the crew of the Teacup. Luigi spent half of the days relaxing, helping out with the chores, or recuperating from the day's lessons. Every other day was spent practicing with the crew members and little by little, Luigi could definitely notice a change in himself. He felt stronger, braver.

"Thanks, guys… food's great!" Luigi hollered one night as he shut the door to his cabin. The boys were already in their hammocks while Maverick dove in and out of his bed's covers.

Luigi sat down at the small desk in the corner and casually lit the candelabra with a small spark from his hand. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out the letters from daisy, a quill pen, some ink and some slightly yellowed parchment. The candles cast a warm glow over the desk as he eagerly tore opened the letters and read the contents. He took the large piece of parchment and dipped the pen in the ink before beginning his letter:

Dear Daisy,

Life's been pretty rough out here on the high seas. The Captain and Kalliel have been teaching me all sorts of things… many of which end with me on my butt in pain. It's kind of lonely out here without you. I'm looking forward to the return trip. Who knows, I might actually have some muscle on me by then, ha ha.

How are things in the kingdom? Give Peach and Toadsworth my regards. Oh, and say hi to my dorky brother for me, 'kay?

I love you so much and am looking forward to the day I see you again (God, was that mushy or what? Heh)

With much love,

Luigi

He read it over once more before pulling out an envelope from the drawer, scribbling an address on it and carefully stuffed the letter inside. He sealed it with a small glob of melted wax before taking it up onto the deck.

Captain Syrup leaned casually against the railing, staring up at the stars. She turned when she heard Luigi's footsteps. "Ah, good evening, me bucko!" She said with a wide grin.

"Hey Cap'n," he retorted. "Is there anyone on deck with wings by any chance?"

"Is that your way of asking can anyone deliver mail?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, uh- yeah…" he sighed, scratching his head. Syrup nodded and put two fingers to her mouth. She blew, releasing a strong, piercing whistle. A lone paratroopa came barreling out of the quarters, a large canvas bag strapped around his waist. He sported a large, blue shell, a pair of white, feathery wings sticking out of the back. He gave a quick salute, "Aye!"

"This is Raaj; he's the fastest paratroopa I've ever seen. He prides himself with making the trip from Isle Delfino to Mushroom city in a single day."

Luigi gave a slow, low whistle, "That's saying something." He handed the letter and a couple of pieces of silver to Raaj, who took it and disappeared off into the heavens.

"Will he be back before we reach the island?" Luigi questioned, leaning against the rail. Syrup shrugged silently, continuing to focus on the waves.

"So… what's my lesson for tomorrow?"

Syrup gave him a smirk. "Efficiency in the use of magic, of course. You know how to use it," she looked down to his white-gloved hands. "I'll have a present for you tomorrow, if you're good." She cast a sly look in his direction.

"What's that supposed to mean? I've gotta beat you at your own game?"

"Yes."

Luigi looked up at the stars, "Well," he said with a yawn, I'm going to turn in."

"Mmm, goodnight," Syrup said with her own yawn.

"Oh, one more thing. How fast does this ship go?"

"We're going about 55 knots," She said, amusing herself at the look upon Luigi's face.

"That's fast."

She gave a final nod before retreating to the captain's quarters. Luigi in turn retreated to his room.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Pyewacket stopped running. More liked collapsed, actually. The smell of running water had brought him to a small stream running through heavily forested area. He drug himself to it and buried his head in the pristine waters, taking huge gulps in desperation to compensate for the loss of blood.

He drew his head out with a gasp, resting his head upon a rock for a while before gently washing the cut. His leg muscles ached and burned from the constant running and his sides hurt from the heavy breathing.

After he had cleaned his cut and drank his fill, he crawled over to a patch of soft grass and curled up into a ball, resting his head upon his tail.

A sob escaped his lips as he stared up at the sky.