AN: Summer break has finally started for me, meaning it will be prime time for me to focus on stories once again. I had the hardest time with this chapter though. The first half I was able to get done in a sitting or two, but the second half I had to rewrite at least five times before I felt okay with it. And even then, I still think it's not quite that good.

But don't let that deter you from reading! I insist that you do! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 19: "The King's Force"

"Your Highness, I deeply apologize for disturbing you at this most inopportune hour."

"It's quite alright Lakilulu. I know you would never do such a thing without plausible reason. You have news concerning my daughter already?"

"Yes Your Highness. I was keeping a watchful eye over her as you ordered, and discovered that Her Majesty has taken a strong liking to a commoner boy in Toad Town by the name of Luigi."

"...Go on."

"She went out with him to a restaurant Sire, and I observed the two of them kissing just outside of it at one point."

"..."

"The most disturbing fact about this, Your Grace, is that, in a conversation that took place just prior to the act, Her Highness openly admitted that she had no interest in Prince Peasley whatsoever. She revealed to Luigi everything about herself, the visit, the planned marriage, and described that he was the only one on her mind the entire time she was in the Beanbean Kingdom. He seemed quite unchanged by the details though, all due to the simple fact that Daisy told him she had feelings for him and not Peasley. I do not think he will be deterred from seeing her further at all, despite everything she said."

"..."

"...Your Grace?"

"...To think, not a full day after the visit came to an end, that girl had the gall to outright defy me..."

"...Your Highness...?"

"After all the planning, everything I've put myself through to ensure that she had a hopeful future as queen of this land someday. I bent to her will to please her, let her do as she wished without question, all in return for a promise that she would take my place at the throne alongside a suitable king... It's quite evident I've made several fatal mistakes thus far however... But I'll see to it that every one of them is corrected..."

"..."

"Lakilulu. Return to Toad Town and retrieve my daughter and this...commoner boy of hers as soon as possible. I would like to have a few words with them both. Personally."

"...Yes...Your Majesty... Right away..."

–

"In Loving Memory..."

"Beloved Father..."

"Caring Mother..."

"Wonderful Son..."

Were those people really everything their tombstones made them out to be? This guy died at the age of twenty-six... "Cut down in his prime due to a tragic car accident." Really now? What exactly were the details of that accident?

Did he slam into another car? Did another car slam into him? Did he hit some miscellaneous idle object? Was he hit while not even in a car? Was he drunk at the time? What were the finer details of this "tragic" accident? Anything could have possibly happened... But, like tombstones always did, that message left everything out in favor of granting the deceased a positive spin. Was this guy really worth those kind words that would summarize his life and death so briefly? Or was the world just better off without him?

Waluigi found himself wandering about the cemetery quite often those days. He wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't like he knew anybody that resided there. Not like he had anybody to visit...

Or, perhaps...did he?

Were there tombstones in that graveyard that positively described people he had a connection with? People that he knew, but didn't remember? People that, perhaps, left him behind without ever taking the time to get to know him, or care about him?

No. No, there probably weren't.

What would his tombstone say though? "Here lies Waluigi, a wandering soul that was stricken down before he had his chance to shine." Heh. Yeah, that so accurately described him. He didn't have his chance to shine because he was busy sneaking around, stealing, and wondering why his parents abandoned him. But nobody would know that when they read his tombstone. Nobody would know that at all.

Look at him. He was sitting there thinking about death. Was he "that guy"? That guy who didn't care about anything because he couldn't. That guy who felt he could never find any real meaning in his life. That guy that willingly accepted the idea of death, and felt ready to die at anytime. ...Was Waluigi that guy who may as well simply not exist at all?

Well, what was his reason for living? To meet his real parents? Sure, he wanted to know who they were and possibly see them face to face, but he doubted it would be the most pleasant of experiences. Help Wario raise cash for that bike? Sure, that could occupy Waluigi for a time, but it became evident that Mona wanted to help with that and, really, he just couldn't stand being around her...

What was keeping Waluigi tethered to life? He wasn't scared of dying, but he couldn't think of anything that he had to truly live for... So...why?

Why...?

"I'll find a reason someday..." Waluigi muttered to himself with a sigh as he stood up straight from his leaning position underneath a tree. That was all he could do to keep himself going. It had become his saying, his motivation to continue forward. It was a very simple, very uncertain motto, but, somehow, it worked. It was all Waluigi had to cling to so he could force himself to get out of bed those days. That saying pushed him to live, and to see just what the future would bring him.

Finally, after two hours of wandering the grounds of the graveyard, Waluigi decided it was time he return home. The afternoon was beginning to set in and he had to get back before the weekly movie began. It was one of the few things he seemed to find some amount of joy in. He didn't know why he liked sitting in that dark room, surrounded by talkative, obnoxious little kids that often prevented him from hearing the movie. There was just some odd attraction in being able to look into the life of someone else, even if that life was completely artificial and unrealistic in every way. But to be a character in a movie...where life passed by within a mere hour and a half, and, usually, turned out for the best. Characters always got everything they set out for in the end-

"I didn't even realize it was gone until this morning," a nearby female voice spoke up, its carrier a fair distance in front of Waluigi, heading in the opposite direction of him. He didn't bother to look and see exactly who it was, but couldn't help but listen to what little he could get from the conversation.

"Hope you didn't have anything really important in there," the second, male voice then spoke just as it prepared to pass Waluigi by.

"Nope, I didn't put anything in there but some lip gloss," the first voice replied. "I only carried that thing because my aunt wanted me to bring something 'womanly' for the date. She thought you might like it."

"Honestly, I was kinda surprised you brought it..."

As the voices faded out of Waluigi's earshot, he decided to glance over his shoulder and take a look at who exactly was talking. And, sure enough, it was the very couple that Wario and Mona had set out to rob just the previous night, holding hands and smiling brightly as they continued on their path down the road, like the couple of characters they were.

On the universal stage, those two were obviously the pair of lovers that stood at the center and made the show shine. One, a strong, witty princess. The other, an ordinary yet lovable boy. Their meeting: unexpected, yet fated. Their friendship: steadfast, yet almost obsessive. Their statuses in society: staggeringly opposite, yet set aside in favor of happiness. Walking hand-in-hand, they achieved their goal to be with one another, and even avoided a possible disappointment by sheer happenstance, for Wario was likely highly upset that a purse that belonged to someone of such high status carried nothing but a bit of lip gloss. They were the definition of a couple that existed only in movies. And yet, they very likely didn't even notice. They lived in blissful ignorance of the truly exceptional position they managed to get themselves into.

But, of course, the only part that mattered was that they were blissful. They had happiness. They had what they wanted. And that was all that was important in life. A fair number of people found what made them happy in their lives at one point or another. And, as Waluigi figured, all he could do was keep pressing on until it was his turn to find what would put a smile on his face and bring a warmth to his heart. 'Til then, he would have to turn back around and continue forward. One step at a time.

However, little did Waluigi know that the two characters would soon face an unexpected occurrence that would put a damper on their perfect (and perfectly clichéd) lives. Daisy could soon feel a vibration coming from her pocket, the source of which could only be her cell phone. Taking it out and opening it would show her a text message from her uncle that would give her heart a fair jolt, though she didn't exactly know what purpose lied behind it.

"I know you planned to have Luigi over today, but DON'T come home yet. Go to the castle. They won't be able to look for you there."

"...What does that mean?" Luigi asked after a moment of silence wherein both he and Daisy simply stared at the message, a gradual feeling of worry coming over them as they read it for a second time.

"I don't know..." Daisy admitted, though she felt she had a faint understanding of just what might be going on. It was a bit too hard to believe though..

"But that sounds like a good idea doesn't it?" Daisy suddenly asked, shaking off the negative feeling as she forced a warm smile onto her face and looked over at Luigi. She closed her phone and tucked it back into her pocket before looking off toward Mushroom Castle resting in the distance. "The castle's open to the public, so we can walk on in whenever we want to," she informed as Luigi looked off toward the castle too, having never actually been there before.

"I always did wonder what the inside of the castle looked like," Luigi murmured almost to himself just before Daisy grabbed his hand and pulled him forward with a smile, leading him off down the road.

"Then let's go," she ordered happily, looking back at a stumbling Luigi. Though he was used to it, he was surprised by Daisy's sudden burst of energy. It just seemed odd how easily she could rebound to her usual upbeat self after having just read such an ominous message. She felt that she had to turn the situation positive though. That would be the only way that she could ensure that Luigi wouldn't feel worried about anything. And it was the only way that she could convince herself that everything was perfectly okay.

Even though that would soon be proved untrue.

The moment Daisy turned back around to make sure it was okay to head across the street, a conspicuous black limo rolled to a halt right in front of her and Luigi. Before either of them knew what was happening, all three passenger doors on the vehicle flew wide open, and from them emerged five Nokobons, the black-shelled Sarasan cousins of Koopas. Each of them wore a pair of dark sunglasses, all of which contained the same small, silver symbol: a slim, stylized "S" that rested embedded in the top right corner of the glasses.

Luigi was quite taken aback as three of the Nokobons wedged themselves between him and Daisy, forcing them to disconnect their clasped hands as Luigi's were forced behind his back. At the same time, Daisy was being roughly pushed toward the limo by the other two.

"On behalf of the royal family of Sarasaland, you are under arrest!" one of the Nokobons crowding Luigi informed gruffly as his two comrades hastily forced a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists. Luigi could do nothing but look about, bewildered.

"What!? But-what did I do!?" he stammered with wide eyes, his hands fastened together behind his back, as he began to be pushed toward the limo just as Daisy was. There was no way he could have possibly known what in the world was going on. Daisy did though. She understood almost as soon as she saw the first Nokobon emerge from the car. Nokobons made up the majority of her family's servants. They were a rare sight outside of Sarasaland, and, seeing them suddenly appear in mass, their mission apparently to find her and Luigi, made it blatantly obvious what was happening. Her father, being control freak he was, somehow caught wind of her date with Luigi, and actually sent out a search party to find them and bring them back to Sarasaland by force...

Well, she wasn't about to let her father have his way so easily.

Whipping around with surprising alacrity, Daisy bent her leg back in preparation to slam her foot into the side of one of the Nokobons that was daring enough to push her. Pounding his shell like a soccer ball, Daisy succeeded in sending the Koopa wannabe flying backwards and straight into one of the Nokobons that surrounded Luigi. Daisy would be lying if she said that kicking a Nokobon's shell that hard didn't hurt like hell, but it provided just the distraction she was looking for.

The remaining three abductors were shocked to see their princess do such a thing and they all made the mistake of letting down their guards for a brief moment as they stared at their two assaulted comrades. That one lapse in attention was all Daisy needed in order to rush forward, grab Luigi by his handcuffs, and being rushing off down the sidewalk. She wobbled a bit as her dash began, the effects of her kick obviously showing through, but she was quickly able to regain her composure. Luigi, however, wasn't quite so lucky, and he didn't have the chance to make his traveling any easier.

Forced to stumble over himself constantly as he ran backwards as best he could in order to keep up with his speeding girlfriend, he noted that the Nokobons were quickly getting over the sudden attack and began to give chase. One could only be grateful they were slow as sin and had no chance whatsoever of catching up with them, even with Luigi running backwards like he was. However, they soon appeared to give up, knowing they would never match the two humans' speed, and they all turned back. This allowed Luigi a chance to calm down, if only a little bit, and ask Daisy if she could let him turn around for the sake of making his running much smoother.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Daisy apologized as she let go of the link between his cuffs. Almost falling over thanks to his attempt at turning around while keeping up his speed, Luigi had to rely on Daisy to grab his collar and pull him back erect before his face became acquainted with the pavement below. Forced to slow herself down a bit so she wouldn't outrun her compromised boyfriend, Daisy began to wonder just what the two of them could do. They were already found. Mere moments after they were warned, they'd been discovered, and her father's servants were able to follow them.

And, to make matters worse, those Nokobons weren't the only ones sent to find them. The second they got back into their limousine to better give chase, they informed the rest of the team spread out all over Toad Town sent to find Luigi and Daisy. A force that consisted of an additional twenty Nokobons and one particular Lakitu that acted as the ringleader of it all.

"They have been discovered, heading south from the cemetery," Lakilulu informed her group of Nokobons, who all immediately sprang to action and climbed into their own limousine park in front of the household of Daisy's family. "Please detain them quickly," she called to her underlings just before the limo's doors closed. "I do not wish to make this into a scene."

"Yes ma'am," one of the Nokobons answered just before closing his passenger door. Lakilulu watched in silence as they pulled away from the curb and headed into town. And, just behind her, stood the scowling prince of Sarasaland.

"Lulu, why are you doing this?" he asked with an exasperated voice as the Lakitu turned herself around to face him, though she couldn't look him in the eye, causing her to looking downward instead.

"The king has ordered me to-"

"Orders," Jeff cut her off with a sharp scoff, causing Lakilulu to flinch slightly as she let her gaze fall further. "Orders, orders, orders. 'Anything and everything for the sake of the king' right? Do you even know what you're doing right now Lulu!?"

The timid Lakitu floated back ever so slightly, shocked that her prince was raising his voice at her. He'd never done such a thing in the past, and it was frightening to be the brunt of his anger.

When she never answered, Jeff let out a sigh in an attempt to control his emotions. He folded his arms firmly across his chest before he spoke once again, using a softer, less angered voice.

"Daisy moved out here with us so she could learn what it's like to just be normal," Jeff started, leaning back against his front door, looking off to the right as Lakilulu continued to look downward. "She wanted to see how life was to grow up as a normal kid. And part of being a normal kid is meeting all sorts of people. She just made her first group of good friends last week, and she was able to find a boyfriend too, right when we thought she'd never meet anybody. She was just starting to realize what it was like to be in a relationship, and it made her happy. I've never seen her smile so brightly as she did after she came home last night. And you're gonna take that away from her just because Sarasa already picked out someone for her? Heck, if you want me to be perfectly honest, I think Luigi's much more suited for Daisy than Peasley would ever be. But that's beside the-"

"King Sarasa is afraid Princess Daisy will turn out like you, Your Highness," Lakilulu spoke up with a quiet, nervous voice, causing Jeff to fall silent immediately. He blinked several times in quick succession, greatly taken aback.

"...Like me?"

"His Majesty...always had his reservations about letting Daisy live with you," Lakilulu continued, not daring to look Jeff in the eye as she spoke. "He allowed her to dwell here simply to appease her. In the beginning, he was certain she would soon yearn to return to him and the castle, but, when she never expressed any urge to come back, he began to worry...

"His Highness, I regret to say, is ashamed of you," she pressed on, her voice seeming to grow smaller and her head seeming to hang lower with each passing word. "He proclaims that you abandoned the family and shamed its name when you decided to marry a commoner... He no longer considers you to be his brother...

"I do not wish the same to happen to Princess Daisy Your Highness." Jeff appeared to freeze into his position, seeming to look off into nothing as Lakilulu spoke. "Princess Daisy is the heir to the throne." His own brother, casting him away like that... "If she were to fall for a commoner, the king would not stand for it." How many years had passed by wherein Jeff continued to hold his brother with the highest regard? "I cannot let the kingdom lose its heir. It is my duty to serve the royal family, and, if I must interrupt in Princess Daisy's happiness to do so...then, despite regretfully, I must follow orders." Only to find out he wasn't even considered to be a part of the family anymore? "I am deeply remorseful about what I must do...but the fact remains that I must do it, else there may be no continuance of the Sarasan royal family..."

As Jeff continued to stare at nothing in particular, Lakilulu felt something rumble from a compartment in her cloud. Jumping slightly at the sudden vibration, she reached down to retrieve her personal phone, answering it shortly thereafter.

"We have them in our custody ma'am," a voice from the other end spoke up. "We are rerouting to the castle immediately."

"Good... I will meet you there," Lakilulu returned before shutting off her phone and returning her attention to Jeff with a heavy heart. The human stared back at her, rather blankly, appearing to wait for her to say something. And, after a small sigh, she decided it was time to give her farewells.

"I must return to Sarasaland," she informed, reverting back to her quiet, nervous voice immediately. "The princess and the commoner have been detained..." A small hint of vitality came back to Jeff's featured as he seemed to remember that Daisy was his primary concern at the moment. Before he could say anything however, Lakilulu continued on. "I understand if you are inclined to follow us back to the castle...but I strongly advise against that. You see...I hate to..." She stopped in order to give a deep sigh and regain her composure. Those words felt like some of the hardest she ever had to impart, especially to someone so close and important to her. Over the years, Jeff was among the kindest, most friendly people she ever had the pleasure of contacting on a regular basis. And now... "His Highness has declared you and your family undesirables within the kingdom," she forced herself to say. "You are disallowed to cross the border into Sarasaland, or else you will be treated as outlaws."

...Undesirables...? Outlaws...? Jeff wasn't even allowed to enter the very kingdom that his own family ruled over, just because he chose to marry a woman who didn't have a heritage of nobility?

…

"I promise I'll come back some day Sarasa. Hey, don't forget about me while you're up here being all kingly alright?"

…

"You know Julie, I need to introduce you to my brother someday. He's a pretty cool guy. I think he'd like you."

…

"Sarasaland's the most beautiful kingdom in the world Ilys... It's got deserts, beaches, an ocean, and a wonderful city at the foot of the castle... When you're older, I promise we'll go there someday... We'll see everything... And you can meet your uncle... He's the king you know... The king of all of Sarasaland..."

All those promising...all those hopes of returning to his home someday, to the place he remembered being so majestic and full of boundless beauty...he wasn't even allowed to set foot onto that land anymore? He couldn't ever return...?

"I am very sorry Your Highness," Lakilulu apologized after several long seconds of very tense silence. Over time, she'd unconsciously floated her cloud so low to the ground that it nearly rested on the ground below. "I wish the circumstances were different, and that I would not have to deliver such sour news, but..."

"It's alright Lulu," Jeff spoke up, doing a remarkably good job of masking the tremendous amount of disappointment he felt at the moment, though it would be safe to say that some of his true emotion seeped through. "It's not your fault."

"...Be that as it may, I cannot help but feel responsible... But...I must now depart," she continued, forcing herself to look Jeff in the eye for the first time after giving a very deep bow. "I fear this will be the last time we may meet like this... With Daisy returning to the castle, I doubt I will be able to return..."

"Lulu," Jeff interrupted her nervous speech with a slight smile on his face. Though he tried to appear unhurt by the situation, he couldn't help but let a hint of melancholy slip through in his features and his voice as he spoke. "Take care of yourself, alright? And look after Daisy for me."

"...Your Highness... I will," Lakilulu promised, feeling all the more remorseful with each passing second. Jeff's calm acceptance of it all just seemed like too much for her to bear. He should have been angry, livid even, but he was just so collected about everything. That was just how he was...and, somehow, it only made it harder on Lakilulu than it would have been had he raised his voice and yelled at her... Like her king often did when he was in a foul mood...

"I must depart," she continued, floating back a small distance before coming to a halt once more. "Farewell, Prince Juno." Jeff immediately spread a smile across his face.

"You know I hate that name Lulu," he said with a soft chuckle that caused Lakilulu to let out her own smile.

"And you know how I so hate being called 'Lulu'," she returned with a light, playful tone. "I suppose we are now even."

With that, Lakilulu floating upward and away, leaving behind Jeff to watch her go with a smile. That silly old Lakitu. Never would Jeff have guessed she'd leave on such a note. But he couldn't deny that he was glad she did...

It assured him that he had at least one friend waiting for him when he headed for Sarasaland himself that night...

Footnote: I originally planned this chapter to be much longer, but I figured that this was a good stopping point so I could avoid making it too long. As you can see, things are going south pretty quickly for our characters and, as a result, a lot of things are taking place at once. That's a big reason why I had such a hard time with this chapter; I couldn't figure out how to accurately get everything I wanted to across without sacrificing substance. Hopefully, I'll be able to pull it off though. Anyway, see you in the next chapter!