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No Author's Note:

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the story idea and any OC(s).

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Chapter 22:
A Change of Heart

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Luigi grunted as he rubbed his sore arm. He only been training with Roy for two days and he was already aching all over his body. As much as he admired the purple koopa's help for pushing him, he was also glad for his day off tomorrow. As soon as he gets back to his room, he was going to take a nice long soak before turning in early. He might even sleep through morning.

As great as that plan sounded in his head, Luigi's attention was easily drawn away by the sound of singing. The green plumber paused from his walk, looking for the source of that singing. His blue eyes settled on the opening up ahead, over on the balcony.

Curious, he silently approached the balcony, wondering who the singer was. He gasped when he saw who it was and quickly hid behind the wall, hoping he wasn't seen or heard. When no one confronted him, he peek his head out from the behind the wall and glance at the singer once more.

Leaning against the balcony wall, singing a small tone was Wendy. The pink koopa appeared to be distracted. She has been like this for the last few days now. As she sang, she mindlessly fiddled with the necklace Luigi gave her.

Luigi just stood there, silently listening to her. He had never heard her sing before. It was actually quite nice.

"Spying on her, uh? Very mature,"

Luigi jumped and quickly turned around. Ludwig stood behind him. He had his arms cross and an amused look on his face.

"Ludwig?" Luigi stumbled. "W-What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Just passing by when I saw you; thought I'll check out what you're doing." He got a glimpse of the balcony. "Now, I know."

Luigi didn't say anything. He glances over to Wendy again. She still haven't notice their presence.

"You know," Ludwig said, "You could go over and talk to her instead of hiding behind here like a peeping tom."

Luigi frowned. "I don't want to bother her,"

He shrugged. "Whatever; do what you want." Ludwig turned and started walking away. "By the way, Kanary thanks you for her gift."

Luigi blushed as he turned back to Ludwig. The blue koopa continues walking down the hall. In addition to Wendy's gift, he had also brought something for Kanary. He had left it in front of their bedroom door the next morning. Ludwig must have figured out it was him.

Luigi return his gaze on Wendy. He started debating on whether he should appear or not. After thinking about for a few minutes, he decided to come out.

He stepped out from behind the wall and approached the balcony. He paused when he was only a few feet away from Wendy. But even so, the pink koopa fail to notice his presence. It wasn't until she had finished singing her song that Luigi made his appearance be known to her.

"You have a beautiful voice,"

Wendy jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly turned around. Luigi mentally hit himself and focus his gaze to the floor. He apologized for scaring her.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scary you."

Wendy narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

The plumber rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I just got out. I was heading to our room when I heard you singing." He glanced up at her slightly concern. "Is everything alright? You seem sort of...distance."

Wendy sighed and turned away from him. "I'm fine. Just thinking,"

Luigi nodded although she couldn't see it. Wendy cased her gaze onto the horizon, losing herself in her thoughts once more. Luigi simply stood there, unsure what to say or do next.

"Your singing was wonderful, by the way." He finally said.

"Uh?" Wendy blinked out of her thoughts and turned back to him.

"Your singing was wonderful," He repeated. "It was light and gentle," He smiled kindly. "I like it."

"Oh, that," She said nonchalantly. "It's nothing really; just something I do from time to time."

"You should do it more often." Luigi encouraged. "It's not every day I hear a great voice like yours."

Wendy felt herself going red. The plumber just knows what to say to make her go rosy. She shook her head slightly to rid the color from her face.

"Thanks," she said softly. "At least, someone likes my voice."

Luigi raise a brow in confusion. "What do you mean? Who doesn't like your voice?"

"Kalvin apparently," She sighed and turned back to the balcony. "I'm starting to think he never really like me as much as I had liked him."

"Oh," Luigi frowned sadly. So that was it; Wendy was still upset about her relationship with Sir Kalvin. He didn't know how close the two were, but from what he saw Wendy had liked him a lot.

Taking several steps, Luigi started to close the distance between them. He paused when he was standing right next to her. Wendy kept her gaze up front; however, she did notice the plumber's presence beside her. The two stood in silence until Luigi decided to break it.

"I like you," He said suddenly. "And I'm glad to have you, even as a friend."

Wendy turned her head to him with a curious brow. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yes. There are some things I admire about you, Wendy; and I'm not just saying that to help make you feel better. You're a great koopa and a beautiful one too. Plus you're a princess. I may not know much about Sir Kalvin but I know he hasn't been treating you right, regardless of our...reunion. You're still a princess, and like all princesses, you must be treated with respect. If he doesn't respect you then...well, you deserved a lot better."

Wendy grew silent at the plumber's words. She turned her gaze to the ground, rethinking her thoughts about Sir Kalvin. In the beginning, the black koopa had been great...No – better than great; he was wonderful. Smart, handsome, ravishing; basically everything she wanted from a koopa.

However, soon after he found that she was no longer available, he became cruel and cold-hearted. The charming koopa she thought she knew simply disappeared and was replaced by this less pleasant one. It was like she didn't matter to him anymore, like she was no longer…useful.

Wendy frowned. Had she been useful to him when she was still single? If so, why? What could he have gain from that?

The answer was pretty simple - one Wendy figured out seconds later.

As great as Kalvin was, he was rather self-centered; talking often about himself. Not only that, he seem pretty concern about his status and those of equal or greater class to his own. Wendy was a princess, one of the highest titles around; of course he'll be interested in her.

'That jerk; he never interested in me, just my status,' She thought angrily. 'He was only using me to get his own title up. And to think I actually fallen for him. Well, guess what? I'm not going to be your little tool any longer.'

"You know what, Luigi; you're right." She said. "I do deserve better. I'm a princess after; I deserve the best there is."

"Right," Luigi smiled, glad to see her spirit back up again. "Although you are stuck with me,"

"Nah, you're a work in process," She shrugged. "Which, by the way, how is your training been going? I'm sure Roy's been pushing you,"

He nodded. "Yeah, he's really determined to get my strength up."

"Well, what can I say? He sees potential in you."

Luigi tilted his head. "Potential? For what?"

"A new sparring partner," Wendy answered. "He thinks if he can get your strength up, you'll be able to spar with him and the others during practice. And considering the number of times you fought with him in the past, he thinks you'll be a good match up."

"Really?" Luigi frowned. "Well, he's going to have to wait a while, because it's going to take some time to build my strength up to match his or any of the others."

"Maybe, maybe not; we'll see in the end results."

"I guess you're right." Luigi yawned, recalling how tired he was. "I'm going to go take a bath."

Wendy sniffed. "Good, you need it."

Luigi didn't say anything to that and turned to head back inside. Wendy stood where she was, intending to stay a little longer. He paused by the doorframe and turned back to her.

"Oh, and Wendy?"

"Uhm?" She glanced back at him.

He smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better, you always looked lovelier with a smile on your face."

"Just...get out of here," Wendy blushed; she was too flushed to yell at him.

Luigi beamed and quickly disappeared behind the stone wall. Wendy sighed and shook her head lightly.

"Damn that plumber... for a nervous wreck, he has a sure way of words." She sighed. "Still... I hate to say it, but I'm starting to like having him around."

She glanced down to her necklace and held it rather fondly. She smiled. Luigi may not know it, but she was very happy with his gift. She turned back to the balcony and lightly fiddled with it as she stared back into the horizon.

"Kalvin wasn't the only guy I've been thinking about,"

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No Ending Note:

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