Here's To Hoping
Chapter 4
Hello all! Sorry for not updating anything in a while, but at least I can give you a new chapter before I zoom off on holiday!
Also, I'd like to thank ZarroWWolf for their amazing review! It really made my day!
I'll stop keeping you. Read on!
"Sugar Rush Grand Prix. That's it. That's our way in."
Vanellope looked up from her cereal at the man who had slammed the poster down in front of her. He looked older than he had been when Vanellope first met him – lines were beginning to appear around his eyes: smile lines from smiles long forgotten. But the blue eyes themselves still glimmered with youth and intelligence, looking down at her triumphantly.
"The Grand Prix?" She repeated. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, dimwit. It's the only way that you'll get the racers to actually respect you. If you just joined in at any race, they're going to try and push you out. They'll want you gone, so you can't be a threat to their favour with the king. But if you win the Grand Prix – then, then you'll have to be accepted. They can't not accept the Grand Prix winner. I remember in my first Grand Prix, a girl won it, and it took everyone by surprise. No one had expected her to make it." His voice died a little at this point. Vanellope, who had been looking at the poster, glanced up at him, and caught him staring into the garden. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Anyway, as per the rules of the Prix, they made her a racer. It's guaranteed." He sighed.
Vanellope frowned slightly, unable to comprehend him. But she brushed it off – Reese often did things she didn't understand. "You mean you think I can actually win the Grand Prix?" She asked uncertainly.
"No." Reese replied plainly, ignoring her dirty look. "That's why we're going to keep practicing until you can."
"You are aware it's only a week away, right?" The girl asked, tapping the paper with her short fingernails. "That's not really much time to become a pro." Reese laughed faintly, a secretive look dancing through his eyes. "That's why we're going to go train at the hardest track in the arcade."
Reese refused to answer Vanellope's questions as he grabbed his bag and began to mount the stairs, telling her only to pack a bag for a few nights. Sighing, she went over to her candy cane tree home and shoved some toiletries and clothes into a satchel. Then, they hopped into Reese's car and drove away.
Vanellope was surprised when Reese drove them outside of the game. She had never been to Grand Central Station before – she was aware that there were other games, but she had never imagined how colourful, how exciting, how different they'd be from her own. Reese laughed at the look of pure wonder on her face as he carefully manoeuvred the car around the station with the easy grace of one who'd been driving for years.
They pulled into the tunnel of a game Vanellope missed the name of. She babbled on, pelting Reese with questions as they drove down the electric tunnel, but she stopped in shock when they came out the other side.
If she had thought the other characters and the tall white hall were shocking, she was completely awed by this new world. Everything was so different to her own – the taste of the breeze, the bright colours of the landscape, the shape of the trees, hills, and rivers.
"Welcome," Reese said, turning to face her, "To the Mushroom Kingdom."
They drove down, following the path that led to the castle nestled in the centre of the town. Vanellope couldn't help but to gape at all the people walking past – little men and women with mushroom hats, dinosaurs of every colour, tall big-nosed creatures wearing hula skirts. It was quite a relief to see another human when they were admitted to the castle and brought to see the princess.
"Princess Toadstool." Reese bowed politely, Vanellope curtseying clumsily. "Oh Reese, how many times have I told you to call me Peach?" The princess laughed, sitting on her throne behind her desk. She got up to shake their hands, then offered them a seat. "And who's this?" She asked in her sweet voice, smiling at Vanellope.
Reese glanced at Vanellope, whose eyes were darting between him and the princess. Was she actually … shy? This snarky little girl, who had a response for everything, shy? "This is Vanellope. She's my …" He frowned. What was she? "Protégée." He decided. Vanellope gave him a weird look, then glanced back over to the princess.
She was, to be frank, the most beautiful person Vanellope had ever seen. And she wasn't even trying to be polite – she had literally never seen a more beautiful person. Her long blond hair, bright blue eyes, flawless skin, rosebud lips … the programmers really did a good job on her. And not only did she look and sound really sweet, she was. Vanellope felt so awed by her, that she couldn't seem to concentrate at all.
"How lovely." The blond princess smiled. "So I'm guessing you'd like to use the tracks?" Reese flashed her a smile. "If it's alright with you…"
"Of course! I can't exactly say no to one of my oldest friends, can I?" With a warm smile, she wrote them two guest passes letters that would allow them to move around the game freely – as quaint as it looked, the Mushroom kingdom hid plenty of security. She then told them they could stay in the palace guest rooms, and after having a brisk chat with Reese whilst Vanellope stayed quiet, looking between the two others, she saw them out with dismay.
"Do join me and Mario for dinner tonight, we can't let you go unfed. Oh, he will be glad to hear that you're here!" She smiled, closing the door.
"We will!" Reese chuckled. He turned to Vanellope with one eyebrow cocked. "You don't exactly seem yourself, squirt. You okay?" He asked, with a glimmer of genuine concern in his eyes. "She's … she's really pretty. And nice." Vanellope replied, her hand going to her own ponytail, bedraggled from the drive, wispy bits floating around her face. Reese laughed as they began walking out to the car. "Peach's perfection got you stumped, did it? Yeah, she is great. The first time I came here was when our game was first plugged in. I wasn't doing well, and I was so shy when I first met her too. She's just got this kind air about her, you want her to like you. But don't worry," he said, biffing her shoulder. "You'll get used to it soon."
"Why did you first come here?" Vanellope asked, as they left the palace. Reese didn't reply for a while, until he said "I needed to get out of Sugar Rush. It was just after the incident with my sisters, and I was still supposed to be living with my parents, although most of the time I ran off and camped in the forest… a bit like you, actually." He said, mumbling his last sentence as he opened the car and handed her her bag. "And then, I saw some karts racing each other into here. I couldn't resist, so I followed them. But you should see the security around this place," he shook his head. "It's mad. Luckily, Peach and Mario, who were the ones racing around the station, managed to get a word in before they threw me out. I told them my story and they let me stay for a while. They're my oldest friends, really. Eventually, I went back to our very own game, but I still spend a lot of time here."
Vanellope nodded as they walked back into the castle, Reese guiding her easily. She could see already just how much time he spent here – everyone they met came up to talk to him excitedly, and he knew the place like the back of his hand. But from the way their faces shone as they saw him, it was obvious that it had been a while since he came.
"Did you stop coming for a while?" She asked as a little woman with a mushroom cap left, having finished telling Reese about her new job. "Yeah, I haven't been in a few years actually." He replied. "Why?" Vanellope frowned. "Why not see your oldest friends?"
Reese flashed her a half-smile. "I had someone else I needed to take care of. They could do without me, but you couldn't." He smiled, nudging her gently with his elbow before pointing at her room and going into his. Vanellope took a second for his words to sink in, and then a smile gradually filled her face.
"Oh, but you remember how we raced, back in those days." Mario said contently, leaning back into his chair. Reese laughed. "Yeah – you were the only one who could ever compare to my skill." He boasted. "And me!" Peach chided, smiling with amusement. "More potatoes, anyone?"
"Please!" Mario replied, leaning forwards with his plate. Vanellope could hardly believe the different between Peach and her partner. Mario was as small as Peach was tall, as dark as she was light, and as outgoing as she was reserved. The little racer still felt a little shy, but it was slowly disappearing with every second she spent in the couple's company.
"Of course then, he disappears for about eight years, with only phone calls and birthday cards reaching us!" Mario chuckled as he dug his fork into his potatoes. "Yes, something along the lines of: I've got a small child to take care of now, won't be seeing you in a while. Merry Christmas." Peach chimed in, smiling conspiratorially at Vanellope, who gave a little grin in return.
"Oh stop it, you're not my parents." Reese moaned, pouring himself more wine. "Old enough to be." Peach returned cheekily. Reese rolled his eyes. "Oh come off it Peach, I don't even think you age. You don't look a day over twenty one."
"You see this? Just blatantly flirting with my fiancée while I'm sitting right here!" Mario grinned at Vanellope, who laughed. "Well, I can't blame him," the man in the red hat continued, putting his arm around the pink princess, "After all, who wouldn't want to flirt with you?" He smiled softly, as she gazed back at him. Reese let them hold their gaze for a few moments, and Vanellope thought she saw a flicker of something in his eyes – jealousy? But it died away as quickly as it came, and he cleared his throat. "Well, I hate to interrupt this awfully romantic moment, but we should be heading off to bed. Want to be up as early as possible, you see." He said, and Peach nodded.
"Of course. Can't have you going on to the tracks half awake!" She replied, and she and Mario got up to walk them to their rooms. The adults chatted and joked with one another all the way, and Vanellope could see why Reese was such good friends with them. They balanced him out – Peach had the cheek to match his sarcasm and Mario had the jolliness to round off his pessimism. It was obvious that he loved them both – she had never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at them.
Finally, they got to their rooms, and Vanellope bade everyone goodnight first before going into her room. But she didn't go directly to her bag; instead, she hovered around the doorway, listen carefully to what was being said outside.
"Well she does seem like a lovely girl." Peach's voice said. "And looks like she's got the makings of a good racer, if you've brought her here!" Mario's warm voice joined in. "Yeah, she's a real firework usually. I've never seen her so shy before." Reese's voice chuckled.
There was a slight hesitation, and Vanellope could tell that they all knew what question they were waiting for. Eventually Mario's voice penetrated the silence, lower than before "Have you told her about Petunia?"
She heard Reese sigh. "No. I guess she'll find out if she becomes a racer, but until then … I think some things are best left buried."
There was a short pause, then, recovering their joy, they all bade each other goodnight and she heard Reese's door clicked shut.
She wandered into her room, pulling on her pyjamas then rolling into bed.
Who was Petunia?
Who expected Peach and Mario? Not me!
To be honest, I had no idea where I was going with this except for 'training'. So let's roll out the Mario Kart!
This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!