Sorry for the longer break guys. Schools been getting to me ^^; Anyway back to the story!

I could only let out a sigh as the mist of the waves hit my face, the ship speeding across the waves. Soon after finishing lunch I had been the first one to the door when my Parents said that we were leaving. Normally I would wait inside the ship with my Parents but this time I had decided to stay on the deck to watch the scenery. Feelings of both fear and excitement plagued my mind. But my thoughts were cut short as the Mushroom Kingdom suddenly came into view.

There it was…..

Meeting back up with my Parents I hastily got off the ship eager to make our way to the Castle however Mother and Father told me to stay with them. As we walked through Toad town, everyone seemed to be buzzing excitedly. Sports events were a big deal in the Kingdom as EVERYONE would be present at the events. Finally the Castle came into view and we made our way in. Immediately we were greeted by King Mario and Queen Peach. I gave a smile as I caught sight of Angela, Ilario and Azalea they also returned the smile.
"Great to see you Yoshi, Birdo" Queen Peach said. I couldn't help but smile at the excitement and kindness that was always in her voice. King Mario said something to Father as King Luigi and Queen Daisy entered the room. While eager to talk with my Friends I stayed next to my Mother's side. "Good afternoon Shelly" Queen Peach replied her cheery voice making my heart jump. I looked up at her.
"Good afternoon Queen Peach" I answered gently, my voice a little strained. Queen Peach smiled at me, while Mother glanced down at me and smiled. While my Parents continued to talk I made my way over to my Friends.
"How's it going Shelly?" Ilario asked as I joined them.
"Okay….." I answered slowly, some part of me didn't want to break the news to them.
"Hey wanna go out to the Garden and play?" Azalea asked, turning to me.
"Sounds great" I answered eager and full of energy. We all started to make our way towards the door.
"Great cuz I saw the Guards placing some new trees in the Garden….Great for hiding in….you guys aren't gonna find me this….." Azalea had started,
when Mother suddenly caught me by the arm.
"Whoa, where are you going Young Lady?" she replied. I looked up at her.
"You Children aren't going to have time to play right now, we have the Tournament to prepare for" Queen Peach replied to Ilario and Angela, Queen Daisy nodded at Azalea. We all gave slight groans of disappointment.
"We have to make sure all preparations are being made" King Mario replied also turning to Ilario and Angela. I gave a slight wave to my Friends as they fallowed their Parents out of the throne room.
"Shelly, your Father and I need to get some things done, you can go into Town" Mother started, just as I was about to walk away, Mother caught me by the arm again. "Make sure to be back here in an hour" she finished, giving me a serious expression.
"Okay" I answered nodding.
"Try not to get lost while we're gone" Father joked as he turned to me as well. I snickered in response.
"Yeah yeah…..I'll try" I answered. Both my Parents turned to leave and I rushed out of the Castle into town. Now I had the task of choosing my Doubles partner, And I knew JUST who to ask…

_

"WOW so they're FINALLY letting you participate?" Dash laughed as he admired my Racket. I couldn't help but snicker at Dash's smart aleck remark, which WAS true.
"Yeah…kinda blew me away when they broke the news to me at breakfast…." I answered to him. Dash continued to looked my Racket over.
"Nice Emblem…." he replied staring at my Emblem, my face grew a tint of red. Dash noticed the change in color of my face. "That was a Compliment, Relax" he chuckled, pointing at my blushing face. I turned away for a second.
"Yeah thanks…." I answered, looking back at him. I suddenly caught sight of his own Racket that he had bought himself a year back. "Yours is neat too" I finished. Dash turned to look at his.
"Yeah if only I could put it to good use" he laughed unenthusiastically. I didn't answer him for a minute as he got up to grab his Racket. His emblem had the letter "D" Painted in Light Green and a few dash marks near the front of it signifying his Fast and Speedy nature.
"Well…my Mother DID have an exception…." I replied slowly. At that remark Dash quickly turned to me.
"Geez how protective can she get" he teased. My face started to turn red again.
"She said I could ONLY Participate in Doubles….." I finished slowly, giving him a quick glance, HOPING he knew where I was going with this. To my surprise he didn't seem to catch on, he seemed to be thinking. "Now WHO in this town could be my Doubles Partner" I asked out loud trying to be as obvious as possible. Dash suddenly jumped and stared at me shocked.
"You're kidding!" he laughed out of breath. I let out a laugh, totally enjoying his reaction. "You're asking ME to Participate with you?!" he asked loudly half laughing half of him NOT believing what he was hearing.
"Why'd ya think I came down here to talk to you?" I asked shaking my head in a face palm moment. Dash raised an eyebrow.
"To tell me that you were going to participate…..You've told Ilario, Angela, Azalea and everyone else and you didn't ask them…." he replied. He hesitated for a minute, just as I was about to open my mouth. "Did you….?" he asked a little nervous. I laughed at his rare show of uneasiness.
"Actually I haven't told anyone else yet that I'm participating…." I answered, shaking my head. "The only ones who know are my Parents and You….." I stopped myself for a second. "And King Mario and Queen Peach….if my Parents told them….." Dash unexpectedly jumped to his feet. I jumped in response to his unexpected movement. "So is that a Yes…..?" I asked slowly.
"Are you KIDDING me?! Do you have ANY idea what this means?" Dash asked loudly, I winced at his tone. "Me Participating with the Kid of two of our Kingdom's GREATEST Idols" my face turned red again at his statement. Dash suddenly elbowed me. "It's a DREAM COME TRUE!" He almost shouted, at this point I laughed as I knew he was just being funny.
"Thanks for that Dash…." I mumbled trying to sound not confident but my laughing ruined it.
"C'mon Shelly you're JUST as Great as they are" Dash laughed elbowing me again. "You've creamed ME Every time We've played and I'M the Best Tennis player in Toad Town" I laughed at Dash's overconfidence. "We'll show them what we're made of!" I shook my head. "TOGETHER WE'LL TRUMP THOSE GUYS!" he shouted.

"DASH DEAR, PLEASE LOWER YOUR VOICE"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing as Dash's Mother's voice rang up the stairs. Dash's face turned a bright red.
"Okay…Mom…" he answered, suddenly shoving my arm, as I continued to laugh. "Shut up Shelly" he laughed. I gave a sigh as I struggled to stop laughing. Dash and I talked for a few minutes about our plan of action when suddenly.

"Shelly Dear, someone is here for you"

Dash and I both exchanged confused looks as Dash's Mother's voice sounded.
"Who'd be here for you?" Dash asked quietly. I shrugged.
"Dunno…..my Parents are back at the Castle" I answered. As we came down the stairs we were met with Dash's Mother and Toad.
"Shelly, your Parents asked me to come and bring you back to the Castle" Toad replied looking up at me, I gave him a confused look.
"O-Okay…but wh…." I started, but my eyes suddenly bolted to the clock. I felt the air in my lungs vanish. CRAP it was Ten after Eleven I was suppose to back at the Castle by Eleven! "Aw…I am SO sorry….Toad" I mumbled covering my face with my hand. Toad smiled a bit.
"Stuff happens" he laughed "Shall we?" he asked, I went to fallow him.
"You coming Dash?" I asked, Dash jumped while his Mother seemed confused.
"HECK YEAH!" Dash said loudly quickly running up the stairs and quickly coming back down with his racket. His Mother gave him a confused glance. "Shelly and I are gonna be Doubles Partners" he replied noticing his Mother's confused look. His Mother looked shocked for a minute but smiled.
"Shelly we really need to get back to the Castle" Toad voice sounded a little urgent. I turned back to him.
"Okay sorry" I quickly turned to Dash's Mother. "Thank you for letting me stay a while" I replied nodding respectfully. Dash's Mother smiled.
"You're Welcome Shelly Dear, now you'd better start heading back for the Castle" she answered, I smiled and fallowed Toad out the door Dash quickly fallowing.

Okay I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter (Err... well it was technically 2 at one point )

Mario related material Property of Nintendo

Story and O.C's (Shelly, Dash, Princess Angela, Prince Ilario, Princess Azalea) Property of ME ^.^ MCGoldYoshi