Mist took little Lucina's hand and bid her parents good-bye. She was a little sad to be going: She could tell at a glance that Elincia had taken to Ike's friends almost immediately. Still though, she guided Lucina out of the tent and back down the path back to her home.
Zelda was still playing her harp as she passed by, but this time she had company. A younger, blonde boy dressed all in green was leaning up against the tree beside her, playing on a ocarina.
"Oh!" Lucina said. "Link!" Mist looked down to see that Lucina was straightening her blue hair with her fingertips. Smiling, she bent down and smoothed out her hair for her.
Zelda looked up at them and smiled, but the boy kept on playing his Ocarina. His eyes were closed as he played, but the music that came forth was warm and somehow magical. Mist had never seen such a young talent.
"Oh, Lucina." She said. The boy stopped playing and looked up at them. He smiled and waved at Lucina. She blushed, and waved back.
"Hello Zelda." Mist said. "And who is this?"
"This?" Zelda gestured to the boy at her side. "Is Young Link." She had the air of introducing someone very grand and important. "He's from Hyrule too."
"Oh really?" Mist was intrigued. She was quick to notice that Link shared the same pointy ears that Zelda had. Clearly that was the mark of a Hylian. "Is he a member of your family?"
Zelda laughed, but it was a hollow, awkward sound. "Uh, maybe?" She said. She shook her head and looked at him. "What do you think, Link?"
He lowered the Ocarina.
"Families." He said. "Do not need to share blood."
He raised the ocarina back to his lips and continued playing. Mist stared.
"Don't mind him." Zelda said, scoffing. "Anyway where are you headed?"
"Lucina wanted to meet my kids, so I thought I would introduce them."
At this Link lowered the Ocarina and stood up.
"Oh, do you want to go too?" Zelda asked him. He nodded. Lucina tried, rather poorly, to hide the excitement on his face as he approached.
"Lucina." He said. "It's good to see you."
"A-and you. "
He turned up to look at her. Mist found herself again surprised by the eyes. They had an unusual, sharp quality to them. She could not for the life of her place where she had last felt this way. The closest she could recall was those times when she encountered a far superior soldier in battle.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Mist." She said, smiling.
The harshness in his eyes seemed to settle somewhat. He smiled up at her.
"Oh, Ike's sister!" He said. "Wow." He sounded much more like a child than he had before. Mist found herself relaxing somewhat.
"Are you coming too, Zelda?" Mist asked, looking up at her.
"I think I may as well." Zelda said, sighing, as she got to her feet. "I need to make sure that Link doesn't get in trouble."
Mist half expected him to retort, but he said nothing. Zelda smiled down at him affectionately as she ruffled his hair with his hand.
"Anyway, Lucina." Zelda began, as they set off. "Is your baby sister here too?"
"Yes, she is!" Lucina responded, sounding very cheerful. "She's being looked after by Lissa."
"Lissa's here too?" Zelda asked, surprised. "How many people did you bring?"
"Well, Lissa… Robin and his wife Anna… Maribelle, Tharja, Priam…."
"Priam?" Zelda shook her head, casting a look at Mist.
"And my little cousin Owain!" Lucina finished, beaming up at them.
"Owain's here?" Link said. "We need to find him."
"He's exploring the Village, I think." Lucina told him. "With Ness and Paula."
"Ness brought Paula?" Zelda looked shocked for a moment. "He brought his GIRLFRIEND?"
"Yes."
Zelda was in a bad mood for the rest of the trip. ("Unbelievable… am I the only single person here?") Until they came to a stop outside of her home. As she had thought, Marcus and her kids were out playing. They were quick to notice them, and eagerly run over to them.
"Link! Lucina!"
The kids were eager to get the new arrivals involved in their game. Once Mist instructed them to return to the Village by Sunset, they were off.
"Wild things, aren't they?" Zelda said, laughing a little bit.
"A little." Mist admitted. She was still thinking about the boy in green.
"It makes me wish I was a little kid again." Zelda admitted, as they walked off down the path together. "Most everyone else is too old for me to hang around."
A man in a dark brown cloak approached them. Zelda stopped.
"Simon!"
The man raised a hand to his hood and lowered it. A fierce, almost glowering face with long, flowing blonde hair had been under it.
"Princess." He said. "And… friend." He tipped his hand to her politely.
"This is Mist." Zelda said. "Ike's little sister. Mist, this is Simon Belmont. Vampire Hunter."
"I have come for the wedding." Simon said. His voice was somewhat deep and menacing. "I wish the married couple happiness. Have you any idea where they are?"
"Ike is meeting with Chrom right now." Mist told him. "I'm not sure where Samus is, though…"
"I think she's exploring the area." Zelda said. "She tends to do that a lot."
"So if we walk around we may run into her?"
"Probably."
"Allow me to join you." Simon said. And they set off together. Simon, although menacing, did not seem to be all that bad of a person. Although his presence led to Zelda doing most of the talking.
"Have you still not gotten married yet, Simon?"
"I have not."
"Thank goodness. I'm not the only one…."
"You are very young."
"Not THAT young…" She said, pouting. "Mist, when did you get married?"
"I was quite a bit older than you are now." Mist said, surprised.
"But you KNEW Boyd for years before that." Zelda stressed. "Sure you didn't fall in love with him right away, but he was always there. I don't have anyone like that."
"Perhaps you could marry Roy."
"Roy?" Zelda snorted. "That playboy? He'd talk to any girl that stood near him long enough."
"Chrom has a big entourage of people with him, right?" Mist recalled. "Does he have any family members, or….?"
"He has the little sister." Zelda said. "Lissa. But her son Owain is really-"She stopped herself and shook her head. "Excuse me." She said, a little bit quickly. "I probably shouldn't speak ill of… um. Chrom's family."
"What were you going to say?" Mist asked, a little intrigued. Zelda grimaced.
"Forget I said anything." She said hurriedly. She clearly wanted to change the topic. "But anyway I'd want to marry someone in the Smash Brothers. Like Samus is."
"Your options are somewhat limited." Simon said gravely. "How many bachelors do we even have left?"
"Well, we have Roy… The older Link… Eleven… Mario…."
"Ganondorf." Simon suggested wryly.
"Don't even joke about that please." Zelda said immediately. "Ryu… and Little Mac. I think that's all."
"Little Mac is about your age."
"He's way too short for me." Zelda said quickly.
"Did you say an older Link?" Mist asked. "Like… you have another Link?"
Zelda flushed.
"Yes." She said, her voice becoming somewhat dreamy. "We do."
"Three, actually." Simon told her. "It's a very common name in Hyrule."
"A name for heroes." Zelda said.
"So you like this older Link, then?" Mist inquired.
"Yes." Zelda said immediately. "He's the one I want."
"What's so special about him?"
Zelda let out an audible sigh.
"He's perfect." She said dreamily. Mist looked to Simon for elaboration. He shrugged.
The three of them found searched the roads, chatting amicably throughout all of it. They occasionally passed by other guests, most of whom were minding their own business. Diddy Kong was sleeping in a tree, his hat drooped over his eyes. Banjo and Kazooie were walking the roads as well. Banjo greeted them, seemingly very glad to see them, but Kazooie fired off an angry remark about Mist's hair, only to be admonished by Banjo. It was not long after they parted ways that they found Cloud and Tifa, sitting under a tree. Tifa was giggling happily as Cloud whispered something into her ear. They fell silent, embarrassed, as Mist and the others passed.
"They're so happy together." Zelda commented. "They've known each other forever."
Mist nodded. She barely knew them, but she could see it.
Their search for Samus proving fruitless, it was decided that they would head back to the village. They stepped back into the clearing, expecting to see the same little houses that had been placed there up until that point.
Instead Mist felt her breath fade away.
She barely registered the houses: What now stood towering over the clearing was the most beautiful castle she had ever seen in her life. Bright pink in color, ornate windows adorned with the depiction of a beautiful blonde woman looked out over the rest of the village.
"Princess Peach." Zelda noted, taking in Mist's shocking expression. "She, uh, has money to spend."
"I'll say." Mist said, looking up at the castle in horror. How did they construct such a thing so quickly?
"She's probably throwing a party by now." Zelda said. "For some reason or another. Samus has to be there."
She confidently strode up to the front door of the castle. Mist cast a distressed look at Simon, and then followed her.
Zelda raised her hand and knocked on the door politely. Mist stopped behind her, a little bit apprehensive. She knew enough about etiquette to know that you didn't just march up to a castle. She doubted that even she would be allowed to walk up to Elincia's Castle, even though they were good friends. But there hadn't been a guard posted, and they hadn't been stopped…
The door opened.
"Oh, Zelda!"
"Daisy!"
The woman who had answered the door leaned up against it, smiling at them. Her hair was a beautiful brown, and her eyes sparkled with a mischievous warmth.
"We've only just arrived." She said. "Peach is letting us stay with her… We're having a little party, care to-"
She stopped as her eyes fell on Mist.
"Oh, this is Mist." Zelda explained. "Ike's little sister. Mist, this is Daisy. The Princess of Sarasaland."
"Nice to meetcha." Daisy said, smiling warmly, reaching out her hand. Mist took it faintly, staring at her as she took her hand. She found herself wincing at her grip. It was incredibly strong. She was a Princess?
Daisy led them into a room that seemed full of strange things and people. A large plant with teeth stood by the door, munching steak that people threw into its mouth. A rather feminine, bespectacled boy stood conversing with a girl with pure white hair. When she smiled her teeth looked oddly sharp and pointed. A creature that seemed to be a large, blue frog stood leaning against the wall, watching the proceedings.
"Where's Mario and Luigi?" Zelda asked, as they crossed the threshold. Daisy opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted.
"Mommy!"
Daisy bent her head as a small girl in green threw herself against her leg. She bent down, laughing, and picked the child up.
"Rosie." She said. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Daddy won't let me have ice cream!"
Daisy's eyes flickered upwards. A mustached man in green approached them, laughing sheepishly.
"She hasn't eaten her real dinner yet." He explained. "She doesn't need ice cream before…"
"Your father's right." Daisy said immediately, eyeing her daughter sternly. The girl pulled back, rather sheepishly. "Have some dinner first, and then you can have ice cream. Okay?"
"But if I eat other things, I won't be able to eat as much ice cream as I want!" Rosie said, pouting.
"If you don't eat we won't let you have ice cream at all." Daisy said firmly.
"Fiiiiine." Rosie poutede. "Put me down, mom." She sounded annoyed. Daisy frowned at her. She raised her arms and to Mist's horror she threw the girl five feet in the air. Rosie let out a scream as she rose, and then fell, before Daisy's hands clasped over her again.
"Daisy!" Daisy's husband said, sounding shocked. "You could have hurt her!"
Rosie laughed. "Do it again, Mom!" She shouted. She sounded positively thrilled.
Daisy obliged her, this time throwing her a little bit higher. Rosie let out a pleased scream as she flew up, and then back down into her Mother's arms.
"I think that's enough." Daisy said. "Go and have dinner now, okay?"
"Okay!"
Daisy set the child down and she scurried off. Daisy's husband sighed and shot her an exasperated look. She chuckled, grinning at him sheepishly.
"It got her to forget that she was mad at me, right?"
"That's not going to work forever, you know." He told her. 'She's going to get too big for that soon…"
"Oh she'll be fine." Daisy said dismissively. "You worry too much."
"But I…"
He seemed to want to push the argument further, but upon seeing Zelda and Mist's faces his face fell. It seemed that he didn't want to start an argument in front of guests.
"Hello!" He said, trying to sound cheerful. "I'm… Luigi… You've probably never heard of me…."
He laughed sheepishly, rubbing his head. Mist couldn't quite explain it, but something about the man struck her as quite pathetic.
"Hello." She said. "A pleasure to meet you."
"You're Ike's sister?" Luigi asked. She recoiled in surprise and stared at him.
"I am. How did you know?"
"Oh, I just thought you would be dropping by." He said. "Everyone's been really happy to meet you… Samus has been talking about you a lot."
"Is she here?" Zelda interrupted. "We were just looking for her…"
"Yes, she's having tea with Peach." Luigi said, nodding at a door to their side. "But I wouldn't disturb them… Peach is training Samus for the wedding."
Zelda groaned. "Just our luck. Mist, that could take hours."
"We could wait out here for her." Mist suggested, eyeing the food on the table. "And speak with everyone."
"I suppose." Zelda said. "Everyone's dying to meet you… but I suppose you've met a lot of people already…"
"There are lots of people here that I haven't met yet." Mist said, eyeing the room. "Let's talk to everyone."
Zelda shot her a surprised look, and then smiled. "Alright, if that's what you want." She said. "Luigi, send Samus our way if you see her, alright?"
