Chapter 17:

A 'Changed' Princess

Author's Note: I finally wrote the last chapter of this story! Hoorah! I'm sorry for the confusion that may result from it, I didn't have Daisy's 'plan' fully planned out myself. It was a joy writing this and I'm sorry for the delay. I'm not so sure if I like the direction my other story is going and I thought if I finished this story I may have better luck writing it. Thank you for all that have read and reviewed. Who knows? Maybe I'll write another story about Daisy someday!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Mario characters. Shame, isn't it?

Darkness filled the Mushroom City, as the clock read 11:57. Three shadows were headed down an alley within the more wild part of town-where the most weren't asleep-no, no. To the people that lived in the outskirts of the city, the night was just starting.

"Are you s-sure about this?" a high-pitched voice, seeming somewhat distressed let out; one of the taller shadows of the three.

"Of course I am!" a girly voice let out, seeming carefree. "I've done this plan like, one thousand times back at home." It was a lie. She really hadn't. The 2nd voice, belonging to Princess Daisy of Sarasaland, was only trying to give the rest of her 'party' some reassurance. Clutched in her white gloved hands was a bag tied with a red ribbon. It appeared to have quite a bit of weight, as the princess had to pull it up every now and then, to prevent it and its contents from falling.

The third shadow, trembling with fear, stood behind the two, trying to stay away from the action.

"Luigi!" the princess barked, bringing the bag back up. "You're supposed to be behind the corner! You remember the plan!"

"Oh err…y-y-yeah…" he stuttered, scurrying off to leave the two ladies to their selves. He was terrified. That was obvious. The alleyway the three were standing in weren't like most. Instead of the three being trapped, there was a small exit from the café that led to it; thus providing an opening and a wall for another to hide in, much like a tunnel.

"Don't you think we came a little early?" the first voice asked, now nearly trembling herself. The consequences of Daisy's plan failing weren't exactly pretty.

A smirk appeared on the other girl's face. "Hardly," she replied, remembering how horrible it had been for her before to be late. "We don't want to be tardy!" she announced, raising her head with pride.

"…" There was a brief silence, as the minutes slowly passed by. "They should be here," the first voice whispered, letting out a soft whimper. "They're late…"

Daisy couldn't help but be nervous as well. She did her best to hide it. "Maybe their watches are slow…" she lifted the bag back up. "Man, this is REALLY getting heavy."

"What did you put in there?" inquired the first voice once again.

"What do you think Peach? Exactly what they told me to."

Princess Peach Toadstool's face turned as pale as a Boo. "You didn't!"

"Maybe I did," Daisy winked. "Don't worry. I have EVERYTHING under control…"

"Somehow I doubt that." Another whimper sounded from Peach, as she sank down a bit. Suddenly, the two original shadows were greeted by two more.

They took the shape of two Toads, each holding two figures tied up. The two figures, struggling to get loose or speak, caught the attention of both princesses.

"Toadsworth!" cried the Mushroom Kingdom's princess.

"Eddy!" cried the princess of Sarasaland.

"You ladies got the cash?" one of the Toads asked, his voice sounding hoarse. Daisy easily recognized him. It was the creep that drove the stalking taxi.

"Got it," Daisy replied, holding onto the bag. "But I'm not giving it to you until I get some answers."

"Hey, we're the ones that get to ask the questions," the other Toad barked, one that wasn't too familiar. The only thing that made him seem like the first was the vest it wore, which also had the taxi's company's logo on it.

It was obvious the Mushroom City taxi company was responsible for all of this…or at least, it seemed obvious.

"You want the money or not?" asked the princess, swinging the bag from side-to-side, in a taunting way.

"Fine, ask away, babe." The first Toad rolled its eyes. "Better be good. We ain't got all night."

Her blue eyes rolled. "Neither do we. First of all, who sent you here?"

"Why don't you ask 'em yourself?" the second taxi-driver asked, shaking his head. "Hey, boss! Got over here!"

One more shadow appeared, its tall form being very familiar.

"Waluigi!" cried Daisy, identifying the freaky 'spider-legs' at once. No one else had them; that was for sure. "You…you…you CREEP!" she exclaimed, clutching her bag tightly.

"Watch who you're callin' creep," replied the scary plumber, in what Daisy thought was his 'ugly' voice.

Princess Peach stared in surprise, covering her mouth. "I-I…" She suddenly looked a bit faint.

Daisy, noticing the look on her cousin's face, decided she should continue to do 'the talking'. She hesitated for a moment, unsure how to phrase her question. "So what's the real deal here?" she asked, crossing her arms. "How did you get a hold of the taxi company?"

"How'd you think? I OWN the taxi company," Waluigi stated.

"How did you get the funds?" stuttered Peach, from behind. Her mouth covered with her hands, she could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"I ain't dirt poor, you know." Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Easy bargain."

"Whatever," said Daisy, shaking her head. "WHY did you buy the taxi company?" she said, staring down at her heels for a minute.

"Why? All the people in 'dis city travel by taxi. Gives me exclusive kidnappin' rights and cash." Waluigi shook his head. "You especially."

"What did you want with me?" she asked, growing somewhat tired of his money-related responses. "Were you going to put me up for ransom too?"

"Nah," Waluigi answered. "I wanted ya for a different reason."

"What's that?" Oh, I know! Because you think I'm cute. Daisy giggled, still wearing a smirk.

"Whatcha laughing at?"

"Something."

"If I were you I'd tell him, darlin'," said the taxi driver that had driven her earlier.

"Well, if you REALLY want to know…" Daisy said, winking. "Oh Luiggggggiiii!" she called, in a sweet yet carefree fashion.

The green plumber rushed out, still trembling a bit. "D-Daisy?"

She tossed the bag over to him, smiling. "If you want the money I suppose you'll need to take it from him now won't you?"

Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Easy…that wimp don't stand a chance."

"Want to bet?" chirped a high-pitched voice, another form appearing from the shadows. A pink Toad from before, wearing a pretty black dress smiled. "Toss it to me, Mr. Luigi!"

The plumber tossed the coin bag over to the Toad, taking a step back.

"I'm Toadette, and trust me; I may be small, but I'm pretty fast!" She opened the bag staring inside. "Wow, that's quite a bit of cash!"

Waluigi started towards her, but as soon as he did, the bag was tossed over to Peach.

"Over here!" taunted the Mushroom Kingdom's princess, wearing a small smile.

"Why you little-" the purple-capped plumber started towards her, but the bag was tossed back to Daisy.

"Oh Waluigi!" Daisy said, smiling. "If you want the money, go ahead and take it." She walked over to him and handed him it. "But this isn't exactly a no strings attached deal," she said, admiring the ribbon.

He stared at the bag and then back to where Daisy was, only to find she was gone.

"Uhh…Boss?" asked one of the Toads, suddenly noticing their hostage was gone and all that was left was the ropes that had tied them up. "Is it just me or is somethin' ticking?"

BOOM!

An explosion sounded, and Princess Daisy still close enough to see the sight, simply stared from the front of the great Luigi's car. "Expect the unexpected, Waluigi," she said, tilting her head. "Bad things are headed your way!"

Several police cars rushed up, Toadette calmly walking towards them, cell phone in hand. Daisy stared back at them and then to Toadette, waving and winking. Her plan had worked. As soon as Officer Henry and the rest of the squad saw the evidence Toadette would provide, Waluigi was sure to have a nice place reserved in jail.

"Oh Daisy, that was amazing!" let out her cousin from the back of the car, Eddy and Toadsworth seated between her.

A grin appeared on Princess Daisy's face as she glanced over at Luigi, who was steadily driving. "No, we're amazing!" she corrected, so happy she could barely contain herself. "Wait until I tell everyone back at home!"

Toadsworth stared over at Daisy and nodded. "I must admit that was a very…sly plan. I don't think any of our guards would have been able to come up with anything quite like that."

Daisy nodded. "Thank you," she said, tilting her head. "But next time I come to the Mushroom Kingdom, I think I may bring one…escort. If I had had security in the first place, none of this would have probably happened."

"Oh Princess Daisy, don't be silly!" Toadsworth said, shaking his head. "You hardly need security. You proved to me how responsible you can really be."

"Y-y-yeah," stuttered Eddy, now conscious. "T-thanks for s-saving us."

"Oh, it wasn't just me," Daisy smiled. "Peach and Luigi helped…and not to mention Toadette. You should thank her next time she brings you peaches."

"I-I will," replied Eddy, nodding.

The rest of the ride to Peach's castle grounds, the Mushroom City hospital, and finally, back to the Mushroom City V.I.P. hotel was full of thank yous, wows, and other exclamations of amazement.

It was almost 2:00 in the morning when Luigi's green convertible pulled up in front of the hotel Daisy was staying in. She got out, Luigi following, wearing a nervous smile. The two stood at the darken entrance, simply staring for a moment.

"Y-y-you really were a-amazing, Daisy," Luigi said, deciding it was a good time to finally tell her what he meant to earlier.

"You too Luigi," she cheerfully replied, tilting her head. "You and Toadette untied Eddy and Toadsworth in record time! You amazed me!"

"Y-yeah," Luigi nodded, staring at Daisy, still wearing the same anxious smile.

"You're entering the tennis tournament, aren't you?" she asked, tilting her head. "Those fast reflexes come in handy when you're hitting a tennis ball!"

Luigi nodded, still a bit shaky. "Peach said she was going to postpone it until Mario felt better,"

"Oh," Daisy giggled. "Isn't that classic? I knew Peach would do that for her sweetheart…"

"Yeah, about that…" A nervous laugh came from Luigi, as he put his hand behind his head. "D-d-daisy,"

"Yes?" Daisy asked, suddenly realizing that Luigi was trying to tell her something that was…serious.

"Wha-what I meant to t-tell you earlier, at the hosp-hospital…" he continued, now really trembling.

"Luigi?"

"Daisy, I l-l-love you…" he finally let out, still staring there.

Princess Daisy, taken by surprise, simply did all that she could think of. She reached over at gave Luigi a kiss on the lips, the only reasonable way to get her message across.

He stood there, his cheeks bright red. "D-d-do y-you f-feel the same?"

Daisy giggled. "Of course I do, silly!" she said, winking. "I wouldn't kiss just anyone! Good night, my little bravey wavey, story-telling plumber." She smiled, thinking back on Grace and Henry, Peach and Mario, and every other couple she had been envious of before. She walked into the hotel a changed princess, leaving the green capped-plumber standing there more surprised then anything.

The stars shined above the city, leaving Princess Daisy with a better moral than what her daily horoscope would give her in a lifetime. The next morning, when she woke up, the Mushroom Kingdom Gazette would arrive along with her breakfast, carrying the same forgotten section known as 'Horoscopes'. And when she looked at it, her fortune would read:

Sagittarius(November 22-December 21): Like a rainbow shining after a long rain, amazingly good things are bond to happen. Smile, great archer! A pot of gold is headed your way!

Whether she was going to believe that though, was a completely different story.

Final Note: Thank you so much for reading, I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes and any of that...stuff. My 'romance' may seem silly, but believe me, it was to me too. My first time writing it, so please give me some credit. I hope you enjoyed Horoscope Girl! Though horoscopes may not always come true, it's always fun to snag a peek! Buh-bye!