As he walked into the opulently decorated hall, Ike's mind kept straying from his surroundings. All he could think about was how Marth was being taken advantage of. It made his fists clench compulsively and his mask of amiability falter once or twice.
But as soon as he walked into the banquet hall, all thoughts were driven from his head. As peach had obviously planned. All thorough the hall, as far as they eye could see, there was pink. It covered the walls, dripped from the chandeliers, and was strewn about on the tables. It took the form of flowers, wreaths, wallpaper, bows, frills, ties, and every other sort of fabric. It was overpowering. Ike, who much preferred blue, or teal, for that matter… felt more than a bit intimidated. He stood quietly in the corner, watching the others enjoy themselves, a drink in his hand.
Peach breezed up to him, a smile plastered on her face, her blonde hair perfectly coiffed, her dress, as per usual, as pink as her surroundings. Without a word she pulled him into the crowd, thrusting into the middle of an animated conversation.
He was soon engrossed in the topic of the moment: a breakdown f the battle, as they discussed Marh and Ike's strengths and weaknesses. Or, more accurately, a tribute to Marth. Compliments on him were raining down from their mouths.
"I didn't know a pretty boy like that could be so good! I would never have thought that a pampered little prince could fight like that! I can't imagine anyone standing against him!"
"No offense, man," Said Snake to Ike "but you didn't stand a chance. That kid was amazing. The way he moved! It was like flowing water, and so fast! Did you see when his tunic slipped up…?" the man trailed off, a slightly pained expression on his face. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was thinking of, and Ike felt his blood boil. Was there any man here who didn't want to get in Marth's pants?
His attention was suddenly diverted by a disturbance at the entranceway. There were several gasps, and one or two wolf whistles. The crowd surged forward, and Ike was left at the back of the crowd. He pushed his way forward, to see Meta Knight retreating.
"Hey, what's going on?" asked Ike, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Well… it seems that there's a new person. It's strange, because she just suddenly showed up, accompanied by Sheik. Everyone's a little flustered, and of course they want to meet her. She is very beautiful, "he said in an afterthought "Like Prince Marth but with longer hair." He realized what he had just said and quickly backed away. Ike was left confused. Was it possible that there could be someone as beautiful as Marth?
He pushed his way to the front of the crowd, to see a very flustered Peach and a smugly smirking Sheik. Then his eyes fell on her. She stood, off to the side, seeming very awkward. Her dress was a deep burgundy, and it complimented her long blue hair perfectly. She wobbled a bit on her heels, and without thinking he reached out to steady her. His hand made contact with her long, slender arm, and he felt soft skin, pale as milk, without a flaw. He felt a wave of electricity go through him, and he looked into her sapphire eyes. They were large and he saw them widen at his gaze. He saw flicks of violet deep in the blue depths, and the oddly dark blue ringing the pupils. They were fringed with thick, black lashes, and she looked up at him through them, surprise on her face.
"I…Ike?" her voice had the strange tone to it, strangely low for a girl, but seductive none the less.
"How do you know my name?" His hand automatically went higher, to caress her exposed shoulder, while other went around her slender waist. He pulled her slightly closer, until she had to tilt her head up comically high to look into his face.
"What? Don't…don't you recognize me?" She looked up in confusion, and he noticed something on her head. It was a tiara. A delicate, beautiful thing, much like the person wearing it. And he recognized it. Shock flowed through him, and he stiffened.
"Marth?"
"What? You didn't recognize me? Who did you think I was? How could you think I was a girl? And…and you were hugging, no, embracing a girl you didn't even know? I thought I saw something in your eyes during the battle… but obviously I was wrong. You'd be with some random chick you don't even know? My god!" with that, the newly revealed male ran off, tripping on his high heels.
After he had disappeared, Ike looked up, straight into Sheik's shocked gaze.
"What… was that?"
"I…I thought…" she looked down awkwardly. " I thought that it would be fun to dress him up as a girl, since we weren't going to the party, and he ended up looking so good that I just had to show him off. I thought it would be funny when you guys found out that he was a guy…"
"And Marth was fine with that?" asked a very angry Link. Ike resisted the urge to punch him in the face.
"I…I said that there was someone who would really enjoy him like this… and he assumed that he knew who I was talking about. " she looked at Link accusingly. "I meant you! But he thought it was him!" she pointed at Ike angrily. All Ike did was stare sadly at where Marth had disappeared.