Time Jump From Previous Chapter: Five years.
Mario looked down at the kitchen table, which was littered with what seemed like a never ending pile of bills. Letting out a huge heaving sigh in preparation for what he was about to do, he slumped down in a chair and began sorting through the papers. Electric bills, water bills, costs for food. It seemed never ending and relentless with taking what little money they had worked for in a month's time. There was almost never anything left over. It worried him. With their stepfather gone, and only him and his brother running the business now, what would happen to them? Their mother couldn't work. She was too sick now. If they had ever been short by just one job…
It pained Mario to think about it. The stress was enough to kill him sometimes. Luigi was so blissfully unaware, and that's how he preferred it. He didn't want his younger brother to share in the financial burden. If they could land just….one….single steady job, their worries might've been delayed. Far from over, but at least…delayed to some extent…
"Brooo!! You'll never believe what just happened! I can't even believe it myself!"
Mario was jerked out of his reverie and he quickly stacked the bills and shoved them to the side of the table. "Hm?" He murmured.
"I just….got…a phone call." Luigi continued, in a rather dramatic way. He paused, to continue the effect and awaited his brother's signal for him to continue.
Mario sighed, too tired and stressed to truly care, but for his brother's sake nodded with an eye-roll which seemed a good enough sign for Luigi as he continued eagerly.
"It was from the castle. THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM'S CASTLE."
That was enough to catch Mario's attention. "The…castle?" he repeated in disbelief.
"YES. The castle! You'll never believe it…" Luigi paused to catch his breath. "All of the pipes in the castle's underground were frozen over due to a draft coming from a crack in the cement. Well during the winter, they froze and backed up, and in the spring when all the snow melted and they warmed up, the pipes were so frozen a few of 'em cracked and started leaking! The whole concourse is flooded!" He waved his arms around, as if to signify the seriousness of the problem.
Mario mulled it over, opting to reflect silently for a few moments, which caused Luigi to become restless. "Uhh, HELLO? The CASTLE needs OUR help! They heard that we're the best in the villa! Don't you care? They're gonna pay us and everything!"
"Of course I-a care. This is…this is-a big news…" He was taken aback but the almost sudden answer in their prayers. They desperately needed this money and here it was, all neat and packaged and floating down from the heavens above! He felt like dancing!
Instead, he reached over to grab his red cap off of the coat rack and slipped it over his head.
"Lets-a-go!"
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Luigi was almost bounding at his brother's side, clearly excited about being INSIDE of a castle, even though most of their time spent would be in a basement. Mario's gut was wrenching in nervousness. He'd never set foot on the castle grounds. It felt strange, but he was willing to do almost anything for a job, even if it meant sucking up his apprehensions and putting on a confident front. The brothers reached the castle gate, and were then halted by a small Toad in uniform garb.
"What is the nature of your influx?" He inquired.
Luigi shrunk back visibly, as he was never good with speaking to other people.
"We're-a here about a plumbing job." Mario offered on Luigi's behalf, as the guard was awaiting his answer. Luigi nodded, swallowing nervously.
The Toad smiled and pleasantly waved them on, as he ordered the other guard to raise the gate.
'That wasn't so hard…' Mario mused to himself, expecting the patrol to be much harsher. Grabbing Luigi by his sleeve, he yanked him onwards through the gate, as he was still frozen to the spot.
"Th-thanks bro." Luigi whispered out, and finally got his legs to start working again. The two brothers continued down the castle trail, through the impressive gardens and onto the cobblestone bridge leading to the front doors.
Luigi's excitement had morphed into restlessness as they neared the castle doors and he was almost tempted to run back to the gate and forget the whole thing. Mario's grip on his sleeve made him rethink the idea however.
"B-bro…"
"Just keep-a yourself composed. Ok?" Mario said in a hushed tone, hoping that Luigi's nerves would die down. He wouldn't want anything to happen that might change their mind about the job.
Gazing up at the extraordinary building, of which the size itself was enough to impress anyone, Mario inhaled and knocked on the door stridently.
The door almost immediately opened, and the brothers were ushered in by a little Toad maid. Luigi was beyond himself, and could almost not see anything at all, as well as being vaguely aware that he was IN the castle or at least the lobby anyway. The two were asked to wait at the bottom of the main stairs, which left them shuffling uncomfortably, and gawking at the beauty around them. Luigi's jaw had dropped during the midst of gawking, and Mario pinched his arm sternly.
"Keep-a-your wits about you, Luigi." Mario advised, even though he himself was taken aback by the fanciness of the décor. It was impressive.
"Ahh, there you gents are." A large booming voice greeted them from the top of the stairs, and Luigi almost fell backwards craning his head up to see.
"My, I just called less than an hour ago, and here you are, all prompt and what, what." An older Toad with glasses and a mustache to rival Mario's strolled down the staircase. He had a fancy looking cane, and he was sharply dressed. His face was kind though, and his eyes seemed to be filled to the brim with a high spirit.
"Well you can believe how horrified we were when we found out the bottom half of our castle's gone for a swim, and you can imagine with the Queen being so busy, we didn't have time to lark about! We needed some REAL gents not short of the best to help us out, what what." He chuckled. His presence had sort of a calming effect, and Luigi found himself tittering along.
"Well you came-a-to the right gents." Mario said. "We don't know-a-much, but we're the best at-a-plumbing, that's-a-for sure!" He gave Luigi a strong pat on the shoulder.
"Oh ho ho! Splendid then! I can see that you gents are a good team right from the start. I'm sure you'll fix us up in no time flat!" He began to walk to the front doors, gesturing behind him. "This way, come along, gents!" The brothers exchanged glances and began to follow behind.
"Erm, you know what? I've forgotten to introduce myself! How impolite and discourteous of me! The name's Toadsworth! Advisor to the Queen, at your service!"
"Well I'm-a-Mario and this is-a- Luigi, at YOUR service." Mario countered brightly.
Toadsworth chuckled and nodded. "I suppose today, yes, you'd be at my service. Not used to anyone being at my service per say. So gents, that's a rather interesting accent you have there. Where about are you from?" He continued to lead the brothers down the castle trail across a secondary drawbridge. "Watch your step, this is new, gents."
"Oh, ah, we're from-a-the villa." Mario answered, the bridge feeling sturdy enough to him.
"Really? You don't say? Sounds like a tough place to be living nowadays. I do feel for the villagers down there. "Toadsworth began twirling his cane in thought.
Luigi almost tripped over himself while crossing the bridge but managed to step off without falling. He faintly heard Toadsworth's words, as he began day-dreaming himself.
"It is. Our-a-mother is sick." Mario said quietly, seeing that the conversation had taken a dim detour.
"Sorry to hear that, gents." Toadsworth frowned, and Mario could see that he was bothered by the information. Quickly thinking, he changed the subject, "So this-a-castle seems to be undergoing a lot of-a-repairs."
"Hmm? Oh yes, quite a lot of refurbishing, gents! The Queen has wanted the castle to have some more trimmings as I'd like to call them. If you ask me," He continued in a hushed tone. "It's a bit frivolous really. Such a waste of the people's taxes. But, I digress gents." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled secretively at them as he led them down a ramp into the moat area. "As you can see, we've had to drain the moat so that the castle doesn't sink." He chuckled. "Good news is, the water level isn't more than a few feet so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle."
He craned his head around to look at Luigi who still seemed in a daze. "The green one doesn't talk much, does he?" Mario smiled, pinching Luigi's arm once more to snap his attention back to reality. "He's a bit-a-shy." He explained, while Luigi rubbed his arm embarrassingly.
"Nothing wrong with being reserved. It's a pleasant change from all the rubbish that's out there and what, what!" Toadsworth affirmed, smiling at Luigi. Toadsworth unlocked the rusty metal door leading into the basement and he pushed it in. It creaked loudly, in dire need of new hinges.
"That's-a-funny…" Mario mulled.
"The door you mean? Funny place for it, eh?" Toadsworth said, realizing instantly what he meant. "Seems like a strange place, but it's actually quite safe. The door doesn't open from the outside what with all the water pressure that normally surrounds it." He tapped his temple and winked, walking inside the dimly lit area.
Luigi swallowed, wringing his hands. "M-mario?" He stuttered out, seeing his older brother following Toadsworth.
"Oh come-a-on Luigi. I'm-a-right here!" He said firmly, waving him inside.
Sighing in defeat, he chased after him, not exactly thrilled about being in an enclosed, spooky and musty smelling concourse.
"Watch yourself, gents. As you can see, upkeep's been a bit lax these few years. You don't have to worry about lighting, the torches are lit."
The flooding has receded since the draining of the moat, and it left only a few inches of water behind, coming up to reach Mario's ankle. Luigi hated the feeling of water seeping into his dry comfortable shoes, and even though he had tried to tip-toe his way down the corridor it had been no use and his shoulders slumped again in utter defeat.
The three sloshed their way through the concourse until they came across rows of piping at the far wall.
"As you can see, some of the pipes are in bad shape. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to stop the problem before it got worse. If you gents are as good as I think you are, you'll be able to get them back in tip-top shape!"
"Course,it's-a-no problem!" Mario said confidently, adjusting his cap. "Just leave it to us!"
"Well by golly, I'll leave you to it, Mister Mario and Mister Luigi!" He saluted both of them, and Mario returned the favor cheerfully. Luigi waved in an awkward fashion and watched the older Toad about face and leave through the passage they entered through.
"Mario, can we really fix it?" Luigi asked apprehensively.
"There's-a-nothing we can't fix, Luigi. Just remember that." Mario assured him, unclasping his tool belt.
"Looks pretty bad though, bro…"
"It's-a-nothing we can't fix." Mario turned to his brother and threw the belt at him. Luigi had trouble catching it and almost dropped it in the water. As he wobbled up with the heavy load clutched in his hands, his older brother's eyes were on him. "There's-a-nothing we can't do, Luigi."
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
As the last pipe was secured, Mario clapped his hands together, his gloves stained with the dirt from the pipes.
"And voila." Mario said, turning back to look at his brother, who smiled at him.
"Wow, bro. I don't think anything could leak outta those…" Luigi said, gazing up at them.
"Just have to know what-a-works. One of these-a-days you're going to be more than an apprentice, Luigi. You'll run-a-the business." Mario took off his cap, wiping his brow off on his sleeve.
At the mere mention of being made in charge, Luigi paled, securing the last tool into Mario's belt. "Erm…dunno about that, bro…"
"It's all about-a-confidence. How many times do I have to-a-tell you, hm?" He slid his cap back into place and dusted off his gloves on his overalls.
"Oh, about a million and one more times." Luigi said with a small smile.
Mario merely grinned back, taking the tool belt from Luigi and looping it around his own waist.
"You gents sure accomplished that quick! Why look at it! Such fine work."
Both brothers turned around to find Toadsworth shuffling through the passageway. "I was coming to check up on you, but now I see you two are a couple of professionals!" He was beaming at them.
"Grazie…" Mario bowed his head, always opting to let his work speak for himself as opposed to gloating.
"Eh?" Toadsworth cocked his head.
"Oh, means-a-thank you. In-a -my stepfather's language." Mario corrected himself.
"Oho! How wonderful. Eh heh, grazie, I'll have to remember that one, Mister Mario!" He smiled, gazing up at the pipes. "Such a wonderful job. Remarkable. You gents sure are skilled." Luigi smiled in appreciation. "This certainly clears up a lot of worry on my part."
"Glad to have helped." Mario chimed in.
"Well you gents sure deserve a reward for your work. Come with me and we'll certainly see what we can do to thank you." Toadsworth couldn't have been more pleased. The three walked out of the corridor and headed up to the castle once more. Toadsworth left them in the lobby and told the brothers to wait until his return. The two sat on chairs that were provided for them.
Leaning over, Luigi whispered, "Mario, what do you think the reward will be?"
Mario shooed him away. "Don't-a-be greedy Luigi. You'll jinx it!" Luigi pouted. "I won't jinx it! You did do a really good job though, bro. I hope it's worth it."
"It's-a-worth anything we can get." Mario answered. He anxiously turned his attention off of the possible reward and chose to instead look around at his surroundings. Who'd know when they'd ever get to be in the Queen's castle again.
"Excuse me…are you…the Mario brothers?" A small sweet voice chimed in. Mario spun around in his seat to answer but was not expecting to see whom he did.
She was beautiful. Long silky blonde hair, cerulean eyes, a porcelain face, and a sweet smile. She wore a long pink gown that fell down to the floor, complete with ruffles and trim and custom-made jewels. Long white gloves covered the length of her arm.
"Whooooaaaaaa." Luigi drawled out, obviously star struck.
Mario barely had time to react himself, and instead reached over to pinch Luigi's arm roughly.
"Y-yes…"Mario answered, never seeing someone so beautiful before in his entire lifetime. "That's us. Me and-a-my brother."
She offered them a small smile and could stop any man in his tracks and giggled. "I apologize that the Queen herself could not come down to see you, but she's very…busy. I'm her daughter though, and I've heard about the wonderful job you've done on our concourse pipes!" Upon hearing of her status as the Queen's daughter, both brothers abruptly stood up, ripping off their caps.
The princess giggled. "No need to be so proper! After the hard time you must've had down there you deserve something really special. You really are jacks of your trade aren't you?"
"Not Jacks, Mario and-a- Luigi, Your Highness." Mario piped up, wringing his cap.
His misunderstanding of her statement made her giggle again. "Of course. Mario and Luigi. The best plumbers in the land. I'd like to thank you, by inviting you to our annual ball, and of course by paying you for your services!"
"B-ball?" Mario stuttered out, being caught completely off guard.
"What?" Luigi choked out, strangling his cap between his fingers.
"Well of course! I've never been to the basement, but I've heard about the damage, and for you two to have been able to fix it up so easily deserves some recognition. I'd be absolutely thrilled if you joined us." She smiled kindly.
"O-oh…princess…that's-a-so very nice of you. But we've-a-never been to a ball! We could never accept such-a-honor…" Mario trailed off, for once being incapable of articulating.
She sensed his apprehensiveness and nodded to Toadsworth who'd come down in the midst of conversation.
"Oh come on gents! The annual ball is by invitation only, and we'd be thrilled just as the princess says! You should be proud!"
Mario swallowed thickly and glanced to Luigi, who was of no help to him, as he was too busy strangling his cap to death.
"O-oh, well-a-you see…we don't-a-have….appropriate…a-attire…" He was having trouble making eye contact with the princess, as she was so beautiful, and he was so…ordinary, and of course filthy from being underground.
"That's quite alright. Clothes will be provided for you." The princess insisted.
"C-clothes? We could never accept so much-"
"Mister Mario, you simply have to come. I won't take no for an answer. You too, of course Mister Luigi."
Luigi reddened under her soft gaze and raised his scrunched cap to his chest.
"Please…" She looked to Mario, smiling. "I want to thank you properly for your wonderful work. I'd feel awful if I didn't."
Mario could bear it no longer, and without Luigi to back him up, as if he would've anyway, he was left defenseless against her soft, beautiful nature! He couldn't say no to her! Not when she asked him so…so…kindly. What was he supposed to do when backed against the wall? Quite literally might he add, as he felt his back hit the stone wall. He hadn't realized he was even moving backwards!
"E-erm…" His eyes darted back and forth to Toadsworth's grinning face, and the princesses hopeful smile and he broke down.
"Sure…"