Chapter 16:
Freaky Fortunes….
Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been busy with projects and holiday shopping…and yes, another mild case of Writer's Block. Thanks for all your delightful reviews and Happy Holidays!
Disclaimer: I don't own Mario characters. Self-explanatory.
"Princess?"
"Zzzzzz…"
"Princess?"
"Zzzzzz…"
"DAISY!"
Two blue eyes openly the slightest bit, glancing around the area. Weakly, she sat up from her laying position, her vision a bit blurred.
"Déjà vu," she muttered under her breath, rubbing her eyes. Suddenly she realized something else. She wasn't on the train. It wasn't that red Toad talking to her. Instead, she found herself on the ground in front of where the explosion had taken place, two pairs of blue eyes staring anxiously down at her.
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" cried the first voice, one she recognized to be her cousin's. "I was so worried when I saw you collapse…I was half tempted to take you back to the hospital…"
She felt herself immediately embraced and helped up, and as hard as it was for her to keep her balance, she somehow succeeded, with the help of her cousin's shoulder for support.
The other pairs of eyes simply stared in concern. "You alright, Daisy?" the voice asked, a bit shaky.
The accent triggered something, and immediately, Princess Daisy found herself more concerned with the ransom note then her health. She immediately stood up on her own, letting go of her support. "Yeah, I'm fine…but the note…the bomb…what happened?"
"The bomb exploded not even a moment late," her cousin hastily explained. "Only you were a tad bit too close to it when it did. I'm not sure what happened, but you somehow fainted on the spot. You had us so worried, Daisy! Please, don't ever pull a stunt like that again!"
"Yeah," the other voice said which belonged to a green-capped plumber. "You had us all panicked!"
Daisy sighed. "I know, I know…I won't!" she said, hating the feeling that she was being lectured. "But we have to get going guys! What time is it? We got to figure out what to do! This can all wait!"
"Daisy…" her blonde-haired cousin nearly whined. "I would prefer if you had someone examine you. The hospital is only just a few short blocks down the road-"
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?" asked Daisy, examining her burnt glove. She sighed. Oh the lecture she'd have to go through when she got home and tell them that had to be replaced.
"We're only worried, that's all, and Daisy…" the plumber explained. "You were 'knocked out' for a pretty long time…"
"As long as you're…sure you are alright…" continued her cousin, the Mushroom Kingdom's very own princess. "We do have to…somehow figure out what to do."
The trio all heaved a sigh at different times their selves, staring out into the vast distance where the bomb had blown up; staring at the setting sun. Time was running low.
Soon enough, the pink and orange sky would be replaced with a black one, meaning that night had fallen over the humble little kingdom. Only this night wasn't going to be one that was very peaceful; no, no…every member of Daisy's little group felt a cold dark feeling that something was going to go wrong.
With what the letter told them, there was more then enough proof the night was going to be the setting for trouble. Besides, at first glance, the night sky may look pretty but what happens in a busy city like the Mushroom City itself could be pretty…horrible. The night was the time for a crime to take place; and all three knew very well that one was already in progress.
They slowly retreated back to the green convertible that had gotten them to the dump in the first place, less panicked and yet more so. The plumber turned the key in the slot and began to drive back on the busy highway; with little conversation taking place. A sigh came from Princess Peach, as her blue eyes stared out at the traffic surrounding them. They weren't really thinking too much about what their destination should have been. All they knew were they were driving back to the city, preferably back to the start of the crime. Where were they driving back to? The Mushroom City V.I.P. hotel.
It was slow and long ride, or so Daisy observed as she stared between the driver and the other passenger. It was quite boring too. It was one of those times she wished those darling little Yoshis from the movie she had seen on the train were there with her; entertaining her with their plights and romances; entertaining her with their joys and sorrows.
While Luigi, the careful driver, kept his eye on the road, obeying all the traffic laws unlike Daisy had before him, the two princesses kept to their selves, until Daisy, on the verge of her so-called 'hysteria' couldn't take the silence anymore. She broke it, quickly and quietly.
"Are we there yet?" she nearly whined, her impatience taking control of her for a minute. "And where are we going anyway?"
"Luigi and I thought it'd be a good idea to backtrack," Peach explained, while running one of her gloved hands through her long, luscious, blonde hair. "Since you told me you were staying at the Mushroom City hotel, I thought we may be able to find some answers there…"
"Maybe…" Daisy replied, yawning out of boredom and lack of sleep. Suddenly, that hospital option didn't seem like so much of a bad idea anymore...
The rest of the ride was silent. Princess Daisy napped the rest of the way, while her cousin kept to herself. Luigi kept on patiently driving, until they finally arrived at the famed resort.
He parked in the parking lot, the sudden stop waking Daisy up from her sweet reverie, complete with Yoshis and long train rides, along with good horoscopes.
Horoscopes…that WAS the cause of all this, wasn't it? Darn her horoscope…leading her and her friends to this little 'path of destruction'…what WAS with it anyway? It was always so positive and now…
Were the people writing it insane!? She didn't know, but all she felt was complete rage that her precious horoscope had let her down. She kept her thoughts to herself, as the trio headed inside the hotel and back up to her room, Peach being the first to remark on the interior.
"Oh, it's so lovely!" she exclaimed, glancing around. No wonder Daisy had nicknamed it 'the Peach suite'…
"They got some pretty nice rooms here," Luigi was the second to comment.
Daisy sighed and boredly plopped back on top her bouncy bed. What now? Was there going to be another mysterious note?
"Is anyone hungry?" she asked, suddenly noticing her craving for some dinner. "I could get room service…"
"Well," Peach glanced over at the clock. "I suppose we could all use a bit to eat…"
Luigi nodded. "I would really like a pepperoni pizza!" he said, his somewhat-Italian accent really sticking out.
The two princesses laughed, while Luigi simply fixed a befuddled look on his face. He didn't see what was so funny with his pronunciation or what he said.
"Yeah, I hope no one tries to poison us," Daisy nearly muttered, with a slight frown, grabbing the phone and dialing room service. She ordered a meal for each of her friends and then hung up.
Eventually the food arrived, and the auburn-haired princess tipped the Toad who had delivered it. She closed the door and brought the cart in, smelling the mouth-watering aroma of the freshly-baked food. She set the food on the coffee table near the TV, and the three sat on the pink couch in front of it.
"Do you think it is a… good idea to eat it?" Peach asked, with a small frown, feeling the slightest bit ridiculous.
"Why would a five star hotel poison us?" asked Luigi, taking a bite of his. The two girls stared anxiously, waiting for him to faint, or at the worse, fall down dead.
Nothing happened. Luigi took another bite of the concoction. Still…nothing. Maybe it wasn't poisoned after all.
Daisy took a bite of her meal with precaution, tasting a bit of the delicately prepared food. No awkward taste…just…food. She glanced over at Peach, who nervously took a bite of her chicken salad, chewing it slowly.
Still…none of them fell down poisoned. "This stuff is pretty good!" Luigi raved, now nearly digging into his food. All three of the trio ate their food a bit faster, noticing no unusual side effects. Soon enough, they had finished their main course, only the fortune cookies that had come with the meal left before.
"Think we should open ours?" Daisy asked.
Peach nodded, taking her cookie and opening it slowly, reading her fortune, a bit perplexed. Luigi and Daisy took theirs, opening it as well. There was something funky with their fortunes.
"Umm…guys…" Daisy said. "Is it just me or did we all get wacked-out fortunes?" she laid her down, glancing down at the scribbled writing. It was hard to make out, that was for sure. But at the same time…it looked pretty familiar.
Peach placed hers down, examining the two with curiosity, along with Luigi, who placed his down as well. Separated, they looked like some foreign language. But together, the three fortunes read a single message. The fortune read:
bEwArE dA gReEn pLaCe aT 12pM. hE wIlL gEt yOu iF yOu dOn'T.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daisy asked, pretty befuddled. "This is just too freaky! First the two ransom letters, now this!"
"The green place?" Peach asked, reading over the note once again. "I wonder where that is…"
"And who's 'he'?" Daisy asked, with a shrug. "The Boogie Man?"
Peach giggled. "I-I don't know," she said, unsure what to think. "It could possibly be. We shouldn't be laughing though…this is serious!"
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Daisy asked. "Take this kiddie warning seriously?"
Luigi frowned. "You don't think the green place means my car, do you ladies? I've been in it at twelve before and nothing that bad happened…."
"But did something?" Daisy asked, her eyes widened.
"Well, no…" Luigi thought for a minute. "Actually, nothing really happened at all…"
Peach and Daisy exchanged confused glances and then looked back at the note.
"What should we do now?" Peach asked, her eyes trailing from Daisy to Luigi, and then back.
"It's still a little early," Daisy said, frowning. "We should just hang here…and figure this note and everything else out."
Luigi shrugged, glancing over at Peach, who nodded.
"I suppose," the princess replied to Daisy, glancing back down at the quickly-written fortune. Though deep down she didn't think it was the best thing to do, it was the only logic thing. Until everything was figured out they were stuck in one place; in a way, 'super-glued' to it. They couldn't go back, and yet they didn't know how exactly to go forward or get 'unstuck'. Besides it was only 7 o'clock…lovely 7 o'clock. The night was still pretty young…there was still plenty of time. Plenty of time indeed….
Final Notes: No cliffhanger this time! I'm sorry for all the mistakes I may have made. I read over it and ran it through spell check. The rest an author just can't catch. That's for the editor to do. Please review! I probably won't add another chapter unless you do!