AN: Rain, rain, go away, come again another day! What secret does Andie's dream hold?
Chapter 9: War
It was not a good day for Luigi.
Why did Master Hand have to send him to buy the groceries? With a sigh, he dragged his feet across the wet ground. It just had to be raining. He tightened his grip around his umbrella. Could this day get any worse? Thunder boomed, taking Luigi by surprise. A strong gust of wind blew his umbrella away, causing the unfortunate plumber to reached out helplessly as his umbrella was carried away by the wind.
Luigi hugged himself, suddenly aware of how cold it was. He shivered and his teeth were chattering. Why did they have to run out of food in the middle of a storm? He forced himself out of his thoughts and continued walking to the mall. Halfway through the trip, the clouds darkened and it rained harder. Luigi looked up at the sky with a deadpan expression. Seriously? He prayed to whatever god out there that this would end sooner or later. He preferred sooner.
This time, he ran to the mall, immediately halting in front of its doors. He panted heavily, tired by all the running he did. With slight confusion, he realized that he was more exhausted than usual. Heck, he ran a lot more during his training in the mansion. Shrugging, he entered the mall, preparing his grocery list.
Luigi felt a lot better, having been resting for about half an hour. He stood up and stretched, picking up the groceries and heading outside. To the plumber's dismay, the storm only grew more violent during his stay in the mall. He opened the doors reluctantly, bringing out his new umbrella. He kept a tight grip on it, seeing as the wind had grown stronger. He squeaked as a sudden rush of unnaturally cold wind made him loosen his grip, allowing his-new!-umbrella to be blown away. When the rain doused him once more, he sighed.
After walking for only a few minutes, his legs were already feeling like jelly. He grew more sluggish after each step, and he was starting to feel his arms getting sore from carrying the groceries. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked, soon followed by the strongest gust of wind he had ever felt. He was caught by surprise as he was lifted off his feet. The wind blew him around like a ragdoll, but eventually, he caught sight of a tree and desperately hung on to its branches.
"Help!" he cried. He clung to the branch as if his life depended on it, and honestly, it felt like it did. The mansion was just five more minutes away! He squeaked as the branch began to break off.
"Somebody, help, please!"
Line B-R-E-A-K
Andie followed princess Peach as she walked through the halls, the latter chatting enthusiastically about her kingdom. "You know, my kingdom's inhabitants are mainly toads. Not baby frogs, no, they're mushrooms. I have this really sweet toad in the castle named Eddy. He's so cute! Did I mention his cousin, Blue? She's the kingdom's royal scientist. Oh, there's also Toadsworth, he's-"
By now, the warlord blocked her voice out. "Do you know that it's rude to not listen to people while they're talking?" Red asked. Andie sighed. Out of all the times to talk, why now? Did you know that it's a terrible idea to talk to irritated warlords, she retorted. Red snorted at her.
"Fine, just calm down. What's got your mood turned sour though?" she asked.
The rain, she thought. Red looked at her strangely. It has rained many times in Immorta, and she never seemed to get bothered by it. "Since when has rain ever bothered you?" she asked. Andie rolled her eyes. Red was so nosy. She bit her lip. Did she really want to tell Red about the dream? It might be nothing, after all…
Mentally sighing, she thought, Well, you see, I had a dre-
Andie stopped her conversation with Red and Peach stopped talking.
"Somebody, help, please!"
The warlord and the princess rushed to the nearest window. Andie looked at the man, who clung onto the branch like his life depended on it, with a blank expression. Peach looked at him, concerned, and put a hand on her chest. "We should help Luigi," she said. Andie looked at the man, Luigi, with a raised eyebrow. So that was what the "L" on his cap meant. Andie heard Red snicker.
Before the two girls could make a move though, the wind gave one last push, and Luigi was sent flying into the sky. Andie stared at Peach and Peach stared back. The princess giggled while the warlord shook her head. "Do you think we should tell Master Hand?" Andie asked. She heard a small "duh" from Red. Rolling her eyes, she looked back at Peach. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she shrugged.
"Probably," she said. Andie nodded in agreement and the two started walking to Master Hand's office. They walked in silence, comfortable for the warlord while uncomfortable for the princess.
"What's your kingdom like?"
Andie paused. What was her kingdom like? Most of the things she would say might make the princess uncomfortable. "I don't think you will like what I'm going to say," she muttered. Peach shook her head.
"It's okay! I'll listen, promise," she assured. The warlord looked at her unsurely. Princess Peach looked at her with wide eyes and a small pout. Andie could only release a defeated sigh as Red laughed.
"All right," she said. Peach smiled happily at her. "My kingdom is called Immorta. It is… not the most peaceful one out there, but I assure you, it's very enjoyable. As for our problems, well, our land is constantly plagued by war. It's not a very pretty sight. Although people work hard for peace, it just never seems to end," she said, looking away from the princess.
Princess Peach silently looked at the floor. She then took a deep breath."Why do you guys have wars?" she asked.
Andie looked at her, slightly surprised. Why did they have wars? She hummed as she searched for an appropriate answer. "Maybe the rulers don't get along well. It might also be because of wanting to gain more power. I don't know the exact answer, to be honest," she explained. Peach nodded, gathering the information in her brain.
"Why don't you just talk to each other? You know, solve the problem peacefully," she asked. Andie could feel Red shake her head at the princess's innocence. She mentally glared at the dragon.
"We do that, but sometimes it doesn't work out very well. War is natural in our land. We get used to it. Most rulers are stubborn and insist that things go their way. I've already fought at least seven wars in my four years of serving the king. Peace is not that easily obtained, princess," Andie muttered sadly. Peach bit her lip.
"You're wrong! We can all achieve peace if we all try hard enough," she argued. Andie looked at her coldly.
"That's easier said than done. Greed and power can easily corrupt one's mind, especially those of kings and queens. They are too hard-headed to do things peacefully. They take things by force. No matter what we do, war will always come back. Everyone has darkness in their hearts that would eventually take over. Don't you understand? Peace is something obtained by unity, and that is something most places do not have," she said.
Peach stared at her, shocked. "How could you say that?! If you could only convin-"
"War is war, princess. We all have to fight, whether we like it or not."
Princess Peach looked at the floor, hands clenched at her sides. "War is something we can avoid if there is good in our hearts. Don't you believe that there is good in everyone's hearts? If so, then why can't you just help them bring it out? Why resolve to war when you could have done something much better? I don't understand…"
Andie stared at Peach and stopped walking. Her features softened and she put a hand on Peach's shoulder. She offered her a small smile.
"You remind me of someone," she said. Peach looked at Andie with teary eyes.
"I remind you of whom?" she asked. Andie's smile grew wider.
"Her name is Lily. Princess Lily. She believes in peace just as strongly as you do. She's a very stubborn girl," Andie said with a light laugh. "She would often try to convince her father to solve thing peacefully. Some people think that she's mad, but she only wants the best for everyone. She hates war with such passion that nobody expected her to befriend me, a warlord. She has a big heart and a kind attitude. You really do remind me of her," she said.
Princess Peach found herself smiling at the warlord. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," she said. Andie shook her head with a soft smile.
"No. I'm sorry."
Andie offered Peach her best smile, and the princess returned it happily. "I think we should go tell Master Hand already," Andie reminded. Princess Peach gasped.
"Right! Oh, how could we forget?" She sped off with Andie following suit. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have new friends.
AN: I am TERRIBLE at writing arguments. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Did you get the part where Andie thought, "so that was what the "L" on his cap meant"? No? Okay. But seriously, leave a review and fav! I don't really think that the title suits this chapter.