Hey there everyone. I just wanna let you know this chapter's a fair bit heavier on the dialogue than normal. Just hope it doesn't detract from the reading experience at all. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 22: "Giving Up"

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a beautiful, fair maiden. Her name was...and she was loved far and wide by was a kind princess. Her heart was pure as gold.

This isn't me...

She led an infinitely peaceful life alongside her father, the good King...who was equally as loved and respected as his daughter. Throughout his rule, the king's vast kingdom was as prosperous as ever. The future of the land looked very bright.

This isn't what happens...

However, one day, dark clouds loomed ominously over the horizon. The people were frightened as a sense of foreboding washed across the land. A dark force was quickly approaching, and it caught the attention of the king and the princess immediately.

This isn't real...

"What does this forebode Father?" the princess asked worriedly, clasping on to the king's robes as the winds picked up to a violent velocity.

"I do not know," the king answered. "But we must be prepared for anything."

Lightning crashed down from the heavens, striking violent gashes into the earth as helpless citizens screamed in panic. Thunder clapped with enough force to topple buildings nestled below. Gusts of wind blew by at such a rapid pace, some unfortunate villagers were swept away into its unforgiving strength. Pure chaos overran the streets just as quickly as the clouds shrouded out the sky.

This storm was no natural disaster. It was commanded by the infamous warlock...driven by pure evil to kill relentlessly and seek out the princess of the land.

Stop it...

"Ah, Princess... I have found you at last!" the warlock cackled evilly as he stood over the frail maiden who lied over her fallen father in a vain attempt to protect him from any further harm. "I suggest you forget about the dirty old man. You have much more dire matters to worry about you know!"

The princess was gone. The town was destroyed. The king was dead. All within the matter of a single afternoon. The few survivors that made it through the attack were either too traumatized to move or busily searching the wreckage for family and friends they would never find. It was a truly dismal scene.

The next day, a new figure appeared, approaching the town from the far horizon.

That's enough...

He came forth, atop a shimmering white steed.

I said that's enough...

He was a knight, adorned in the most majestic armor one would ever see.

Shut up!!

The scene disappeared immediately as Daisy stepped forward, out of the mass of darkness in which she was forced to idly listen and watch. She couldn't take another word of that horrid story. That tale of lies.

"There is no 'long, long time ago' okay!? There's no fair and gentle king, no golden-hearted princess, no evil warlock! There's no such thing as a knight in shining armor! None of this is real! None of this is true about my life at all!"

Daisy cried as she stood there, feeling utterly helpless for the first time in a very long while. She was desperate. She wanted to be heard. But no one was there to listen.

"I don't want to be a character in a story," she muttered, her rage being quickly replaced by loneliness and an odd feeling of fear. She unconsciously folded her arms across her chest, holding herself tightly as if she were trying to protect herself. "I don't want to be a golden-hearted princess who has to rely on a knight to save her. I don't want to be the stereotype everyone expects me to be."

She slowly lowered herself to the unseeable ground, wrapping her arms around her bent legs as he rested her forehead against her knees.

"I just want to be me. I don't want my life to be another love story."

Why not? a familiar voice asked. Whoever spoke up sounded as if they were very near Daisy, but she didn't bother to see who was speaking as she thought about the question.

"Why not?" Daisy repeated, as if asking herself the question. "Because I don't wanna be just like those girls in fairy tales," she began. "Because love doesn't always make everything turn out for the best. Love can hurt sometimes. It can hurt a lot. And something always happens to love. It dies. It proves to be untrue. It fades away. And you're left feeling insecure about everything, about yourself, about life in general-"

It sounds to me like you're only thinking about the negatives, the voice cut her off matter-of-factly, though Daisy wasn't about to deny the claim. Love can bring a lot of good too.

"It can," Daisy agreed with little conviction. "But that doesn't mean it always will. Chances are, it won't."

Why do you say that?

Daisy lifted her head slowly and looked directly in front of her, her face stained with the tears that weren't soaked into her jeans. She rested her chin on her knees now as she gave her answer.

"Love is blinding," she responded with a quiet voice. "It makes people believe in things that aren't real. That such a feeling can exist forever, though it rarely seems to last longer than a year or two. And even if it did last...that doesn't mean that we do.

"Nobody's immortal. All of us have to give up those feelings in the end. And those of us that are left behind when a loved one leaves are stuck with sadness that feels impossible get over. Why should I put myself in danger of feeling that pain if I can easily be happy on my own?"

You make a good point, the voice agreed whole-heartedly, though Daisy could tell its next word would either be "but" or a variation thereof. Love is a finite feeling, and our lives are finite as well. But couldn't you use that same argument as a means of promoting love just as easily?

Maybe. Daisy figured she was about to find out how that was possible.

Because our lives do have to come to an end some day, why don't we try our best to make the most of it? Yes, the end of love can leave you a shattered person, but the feeling it gives you while it persists is insurmountable. Why settle for a life of comfortable familiarity when you have the opportunity to take a chance and uncover something that's so much more?

Take a chance... Why did those words instill so much fear in Daisy?

She didn't want to take a chance. She didn't want to put herself on the line if it meant she might be hurt in the end. Not if it meant feeling the same way she felt when she witnessed her own mother die before her very eyes.

"I don't want that to happen to me again..." Daisy muttered, her voice small and weak like it was so many years ago as more tears escaped from her watery eyes. "I don't want to feel that pain anymore..."

The holder of the voice slowly faded into Daisy's vision as she attempted to wipe her tears away. The boy who favored green stood before her, his melancholic eyes gazing down at the weeping princess as she stared back up at him through blurred vision. He stepped forward and knelt down before her, extending what was meant to be a comforting arm that was soon pushed away.

"Don't touch me," Daisy commanded, a small amount of strength returning to her voice as the boy retracted his arm, hurt by her rejection. She looked away from him, unable to take in his saddened face as she spoke. "It was a mistake, letting myself fall for you like I did. How do I know that you won't end up breaking my heart too?"

Daisy-

"Just leave me alone," she cut him off. "You're not my knight. You're not my savior or my guiding light, you're not anything. You're just an unlucky boy who I'm sorry to have gotten wrapped up in my life."

Are you just going to give up?

"Maybe... Maybe I am," Daisy answered, lowering her forehead back to her knees. "Maybe that would just be the best thing to do..."

Luigi's image began to fade away as Daisy spoke, disappearing further and further as she continued to push him away.

"I don't have any control over my own life," she continued without noticing that the boy was escaping her. "I fight so hard, but, in the end, I don't have anything. And I can't change anything. So why should I bother trying anymore? Why should I care?"

She hadn't heard Luigi say anything for a while now. She expected him to interrupt at some point. Why was he being so quiet all of a sudden?

...Oh. He was gone... No matter where Daisy looked, she couldn't spot him anywhere. Well, that was a good thing right? She wanted him to leave didn't she? She wanted him to disappear. Yet, she couldn't keep herself from feeling remorseful.

She hugged her legs closer and rested her head on her knees once more. She was alone. She was helpless. And she'd given everything up.

–

"Do you think Daisy's gonna be okay?" Luigi asked, a great amount of concern reflected in his voice as Lakilulu undid his handcuffs just inside of the cell in which he'd be held. Both she and Luigi had been completely quiet for the duration of the ten-minute journey down to the dungeon, and it was quite apparent what was occupying both of their minds.

"I trust the princess will be well. She is in the care of this castle's own medical staff after all," Lakilulu answered with a deadpan voice as Luigi's wrists clicked free, allowing him to finally stretch out his aching arms. "I must now detain any items you currently possess on your person. Hold your arms out from your sides," she commanded. Luigi followed orders and allowed the old Lakitu to begin the process of frisking him. He didn't appear to mind in the least as she extracted his cell phone and wallet however, for Daisy remained prominent in his mind.

"Hey um, could you do me a favor?" Luigi asked as Lakilulu ended her search and tucked the liberated items away into her cloud. "I mean, if it's not too much to ask."

Lakilulu couldn't help but give the boy an odd look as she floated back out of the cell, slid the metal door shut and locked it. He was behaving in an oddly calm manner despite his situation. He didn't seem to care at all that he was being held in a prison underneath the castle. And he seemed awfully casual about asking for a favor.

However, as she continued to look at him, she recalled his selfless demeanor in the face of the king. He was genuinely more concerned about the princess than he was about himself. And, without knowing it, he earned himself a fair amount of merit from the Lakitu.

"What is your request?" she asked, prompting a sudden uncontrollable smile from Luigi that disappeared almost instantly.

"Could you visit Daisy and tell me how she's doing?" he requested.

Lakilulu's mouth hung slightly open as she forgot to give her answer and instead began to think about Luigi's motives. Why did he continue to care so much about the princess despite his situation?

"That is within my realm of possibilities," she responded, floating a bit toward the stairs but stopping before the metal bars ended. "But, you do understand that you may never see the princess again. It has been outlawed by the king."

Luigi let out a small grumble as he held his left shoulder, massaging it as best he could while he gazed down at the ground, remembering the sad fact. If he was caught even looking at Daisy again, he'd end up right back in that cell. He'd put himself at risk if he tried to even get close to her again...

"Well, yeah, I know," he muttered with a sigh as he leaned on his side against the wall. "But Daisy means a whole lot to me. I mean, she's the first girl that's ever actually cared about me. She made me feel confident about myself, and every time I see her-er, well, saw her at least, I felt lucky. Lucky that I was ever able to meet her in the first place.

"I care about her. I really, really want her to be okay. And I want to know that she is. Even if I can't see her anymore, I just want to know."

Lakilulu simply looked at Luigi for several silent moments as Luigi appeared to stare at the wall opposite of himself. Lakilulu could see that his eyes were filled with worry, and it was quickly evident that every word he said, he meant with every fiber of his being. And it would be the least Lakilulu could do to fulfill his wish.

"I will return momentarily," Lakilulu informed shortly before floating away toward the stairs, leaving Luigi behind to continue his distant stare as memories overrode his mind. And there were so many of them to recall. It was hard to believe he'd just met her a little over a week ago.

Before he could reminisce for very much longer though, he could hear a terrible racket coming from the stare. Snapping out of his trance-like state, Luigi stepped over to the bars of the cell and peered down the hall as far as he could.

Barely making out the slumping figure of a grunting, panting man collapsed on the ground, Luigi could tell he'd fallen down the stairs. Or been pushed rather, as was made evident by the snarky, gruff voice that followed from above the stairs.

"Hah, never thought I'd get ta do that to a member of the royal fam'ly," the voice spoke up with a snicker as the man on the floor began to gather himself up.

"Glad I could...be there to see you fulfill that lifelong wish of yours," the man responded sarcastically through panting, pained breaths. "Brings my heart joy...to witness folks live out their dreams."

"Jus' shuddup will ya?" the second voice spat as he approached the foot of the stairs, making sure to bother himself with a kick to the first man's gut, making himself double over once more and extend a weak arm out to hold himself up against a wall. "I try ta enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you go an' ruin it by pretendin' ta like it more'n me."

"My apologies. I'll be sure to be...utterly miserable. Just for you," the first man replied, stumbling forward as the second pushed him roughly, bringing them both fully into Luigi's sight. He was quite surprised to see exactly who it was that was being beaten towards the cell opposite of his.

"Jeff?" Luigi absently spoke up, causing both of the men to look over at him. Jeff smiled instantly upon seeing the boy, whereas the human behind him simply scowled.

"Well, hey there-"

Jeff was cut off by a fierce strike to the side of the head that sent him crashing into the bars of his cell and would cause Luigi to step back in fear. As the brutal guard continued to try his best to demean his prisoner while locking him within the confines of his cell, Luigi couldn't help but wonder why in the world they treating him so badly. He obviously must have come to see Daisy, but he was the king's brother wasn't he? So why was he so bloody and bruised and currently being locked up in the opposite cell?

"Hope ya like yer stay here. We'll be seein' a lotta each other,"the guard grumbled sarcastically as he went to leave. He made sure to shoot a nasty glare at Luigi that succeeded in making the boy flinch before he returned back upstairs.

Once the guard was out of sight, Luigi approached the cell bars once more and looked over at his new dungeon mate with a concerned gaze. He wished he could help him in some kind of way, but Jeff actually proved to retain much more strength than his poor outward condition let on.

After lying on the ground for some seconds, Jeff made relatively easy work of dragging himself back to his feet. He stumbled a bit once he was fully erect, but, after standing perfectly still for a while, he appeared to be fine. Well, as fine as he could be in his condition.

"How come he was treating you like that?" Luigi asked as Jeff made his way over to his small, hard bed and took a seat. He soon began to examine his many various wounds as he gave Luigi his answer.

"I'm not exactly welcome around here anymore," he responded with a light tone as he checked out both of his bruised elbows and a small, bleeding cut on his left arm. "And, apparently, the guards around here don't exactly like most of us royal family members. They sure like beating me up at least."

Jeff took a moment to glance over at Luigi, who continued to look quite worried about his battered appearance. He figured he probably wasn't helping much by inspecting his own wounds and decided to simply relax.

"But don't worry about me. I've been through worse."

He actually hadn't, but anything to help Luigi calm down a bit.

"What about you?" he asked, leaning back against the wall casually as if he were simply speaking with a roommate. "This has to be kinda scary for you doesn't it? Bet you never imagined you'd end up in a place like this."

Following Jeff's example, Luigi too seated himself on his equally as uncomfortable bed, leaning forward as he clasped his hands together and looked toward the floor as Daisy reentered his mind.

"I was scared at first," he admitted, "But I'm more worried about Daisy than anything. I'm waiting for the Lakitu lady to come back and tell me how she is."

A Lakitu lady huh? So Lakilulu was gonna be down there pretty soon.

"When that lady comes back, would you mind just pretending I'm not here?" Jeff asked, causing Luigi to look over at him in confusion. "She's an old friend of mine," the prince began to explain as he stood back up and leaned against the back corner of his cell. "I don't want her to see me all beaten up like this. It'd just get her even more worried."

It wasn't long before the two of them could hear the odd, pulsating murmur of a Lakitu's cloud approaching them, and Jeff soon took his eyes off Luigi and looked toward the wall standing right next to him, employing an "I don't see you, you don't see me" mentality in hopes that it would work effectively as Lakilulu made her return. Luigi was quick to switch his attention to her as soon as she came into his vision, and, thankfully, he was all she noticed within the dungeon.

"The princess is well," she informed Luigi, bringing a contagious smile to his face that reflected in Lakilulu's own features without her notice. "She rests in the recovery ward at the moment. It is estimated she will reawaken tomorrow."

"Good," Luigi muttered with a relieved sigh, allowing his tensed shoulders to finally relax. "I'm glad she's okay."

With a nod, Lakilulu figured it was time to leave the temporary prisoner to his own devices. He found out what he wanted to know, and her job was done concerning his welfare.

As she began to float away though, she couldn't help but feel a sudden emergence of compassion for the young man. It wasn't his fault at all that he was in such an unsavory position. All he wanted to do was be with a girl he held certain feelings for, and he was being punished for it. He was brought to that dungeon unfairly, and, even with his current situation in mind, he continued to only think of the princess. Lakilulu felt that she had to do something to make it up to him somehow. He deserved something better than what he'd received upon entering the castle.

It wasn't long before Lakilulu turned around and returned to Luigi's cell, prompting him to look over at her once more.

"If you would like," she began rather quietly, "I can speak with His Highness on your behalf and attempt to arrange an audience with Princess Daisy for you when she awakens. So you may see her one last time."

"Really?" Luigi spoke up, his smile growing brighter than ever as he rose from his seat and approached the bars. "That'd be great! Thank you!"

"It is no trouble at all," Lakilulu responded, once again imitating Luigi's effervescent smile. "I will speak with His Majesty right away."

With that, Lakilulu departed, and Luigi looked after her for as long as he could before she disappeared up the stairs and out of his sight. Once she was gone, he looked back over at Jeff, who'd already taken his place back on his stone slab of a bed. He chuckled as he observed Luigi's overjoyed smile.

"Must be the first good news you've gotten all day," he spoke up as Luigi returned to his bed as well, leaning back against the wall as he began to think about Daisy's smiling face.

"I hope I get to see her again," he said. "Do you think she'll be able to convince the king to let me see her?"

She probably couldn't, considering the king was already having a mental breakdown. He was hard enough to deal with when he was perfectly sane, but, mostly thanks to Jeff's unexpected appearance, it was doubtful he'd be willing to show anyone any mercy at all.

But telling that to Luigi wouldn't do him very much good now would it?

"If anyone could convince Sarasa into doing something, Lulu's the one," Jeff answered carefully, not promising that she would succeed, but avoiding downright telling Luigi that she would fail at the same time. "He's a pretty hardheaded guy, but he'll listen to what she has to say. Usually."

The dungeon filled with silence for several moments as both of its residents appeared to think rather deeply about their current situation and everything that was going on around them. Everything that happened that caused them to be there, and everything that could possibly happen in the future.

Luigi would be released soon, but could only wonder what things would be like with Daisy out of the picture. She alone brought him a certain joy he'd never felt before she made herself a part of his life. What would it be like to give that up? Without any hope that he'd be able to ever even see her again? What would it be like to be forced to just leave Daisy behind...?

"You know Luigi," Jeff suddenly spoke up, breaking the solemn silence and attracting Luigi's attention immediately. "Ever since Julie and I first met you, we knew you were gonna turn out to be someone pretty special to Daisy. I think Ilys even saw it too; she certainly started calling you 'Uncle Luigi' quickly enough."

Luigi couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle as he remembered playing with Ilys back in Toad Town. He didn't think he could have so much fun with a little four year old girl. It felt like it had been years since he'd last seen her.

"Daisy was already a pretty happy-go-lucky girl," Jeff continued, "But when she met you, it seemed like something about her changed. Somehow, you made her happier than she already was. She seemed to have more fun doing just about anything, and, whenever you weren't around, it was pretty common for her to talk about you and describe something you said or did that day that made her smile or laugh. Julie and I never thought we'd see the day she'd start doing something like that, but it was nice to see her acting all giddy like she was. And we always looked forward to having you visit us. It was beginning to feel like you were a part of the family already."

"Really?" Luigi asked, feeling quite honored to be considered a member of the family, even if it only lasted for a short while. Jeff simply nodded in response with a smile.

"Daisy obviously did a good job of picking out a boy to bring home," he continued, feeling that he knew that Daisy had good judgment enough to wait for someone that was worthy of her instead of jump into the dating world blindly. "I think she's pretty lucky to have found you. If I remember correctly, teenage boys don't exactly come in your make and model very often.

"I am trying to get to a point here," Jeff informed as if reminding himself that he didn't start the subject for the sole purpose of making Luigi feel good about himself and his relationship with Daisy. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to give up on her. You're a pretty rare guy Luigi, and I don't think you and Daisy should be split up because her father wants her to be with some guy he picked out for her. I've met Peasley before, and I doubt Daisy would be able to put up with him for very long without going insane."

"But what can I do?" Luigi asked meekly, his smile and overflowing joy disappearing almost immediately as the thought of the overbearing King Sarasa standing between him and Daisy invaded his mind. "Daisy's father is a king. What could I possibly do to stay with her if he made it illegal for me to even see her?"

"I'm still trying to figure that part out," Jeff admitted, bowing his head as he delved into his mind in an attempt to formulate some kind of plan for him.

Luigi began to think as well. To go against the will of a king in order to continue a relationship with his daughter... He never thought he'd find himself in a situation quite like that. But, if only one thing was clear in his mind, it was knowing that he had to follow Jeff's words. Daisy was among the most important people in his life, and, apparently, he meant just as much to her as she did to him.

Luigi knew that he couldn't allow himself to simply give up.