Chapter Four
The night had flowed relatively smooth. As more guests piled through the entrance dressed to the nines, the princess grew fatigued. Her cheeks were starting to ache from smiling so much. It was part of the job, upstanding royalty and all, but it was also demanding. She didn't know how her mother managed, and with such finesse. Guests would approach her, each opting to take up her time instead of a simple, polite 'How do you do?' It instead ranged everywhere from 'Princess, what do you make of the impending economic downfall?' to 'Your gown is fabulous! Who does your tailoring?' Peach was growing wearier by the second.
"You know, I can always tell when you're exhausted." Peach turned stiffly, her hand still grasped tightly by a mayor hailing from Poshley Heights. Her smile lightened. "Daisy, please. I don't know what you mean." She murmured to the auburn haired girl who'd somehow sidled next to her through the crowd.
"Oh you know exactly what I mean. Your face looks like it's about to fall off." Daisy replied haughtily. She was also royalty hailing from Sarsaland, a desert region that neighbored the Mushroom Kingdom. For years, their parents had reconciled, creating a peace pact and both girls after several visits with one another had taking a liking to the other. Daisy had always been the more headstrong of the pair, opting to speak whatever was on her mind regardless of what effect it had on anyone else. Peach admired that about her.
The mayor eventually released her hand and allowed her to turn fully to face Daisy, only for the auburn haired girl to make the decision to leave for her as she looped her arm through hers.
"Come on." Daisy insisted, pulling her through the crowd, "I'll help you make your escape." Daisy grinned over her shoulder as she tugged, finally reaching the stairs. "So."
Peach's eyes scanned the crowd of guests below as they began their ascent. "Hm?" She murmured in a distracted manner. Daisy swung her towards the powder room, sitting Peach down onto the plush cushion along the settee. The princess let out a relieved sigh as she slumped further into her seat. "My feet are killing me…" She groaned, her brow knitted. Slowly she peeked up at Daisy who'd been staring down at her, hands propped on her hips. "What…?"
"You neglected to mention to me, that you took the liberty of inviting two incredibly handsome, foreign men."
It took a moment for Peach to fully register what she meant, "I….I'm not sure who you're referring to."
"Uhm, it's not like they're hard to spot! Everyone here is either a different species or up to my waist. Now spill it, why would you choose not to tell me? ME, your best friend in the entire kingdom, ME who thought nobody eccentric would be here and simply took to wearing her boring old yellow dress instead of coming in something devastatingly GORGEOUS." Daisy ranted on.
Peach blinked, examining the other's dress for a moment, poking the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "Well…Daisy…all of your dresses are yellow. I don't think it would've made a huge difference if you came in a different one." Daisy gaped at her for a moment before huffing, turning towards the mirror.
"….You're missing the point ENTIRELY. Studly men from exciting and foreign backgrounds and you oh so CASUALLY neglect to tell me. I mean, I'm sure I could've picked out something classier to wear had I been FORETOLD. Where did you meet them anyways?"
Peach sighed, dropping back against the couch, staring up at the soft, white pasty color of the ceiling. "I'm still not even sure who you're talking about. I haven't purposely plotted against you, Daisy. I mean besides, technically EVERYONE here is foreign to this place, wasn't that the whole point? My mother wanted to meet with other countries' dignitaries."
"You're soooo avoiding the subject! I'm talking about the men with those mustaches and the funny accents!"
Peach's eyes widened slightly, her pale cheeks tingeing a slight coloration true to her name. "Oh. You must be referring to…the brothers."
"I knew they were related! Pretty handsome too. Where are they from?" Daisy looked back at her from the vanity, lightly touching up her makeup.
"Uhm…I'm not sure. I think Toadsworth mentioned they were from the…from the villa."
Daisy's eyes grew large for a moment before she abruptly turned to face Peach. "You met them THERE? Please tell me you didn't go careening through town again- you know if your mother catches you sneaking out to mingle with townspeople she'd have your head. I mean…at least don't give yourself away by inviting guys you MET there to your castle!"
"I did NOT meet them there. Not that it's any of your business, Daisy." Peach crossed her arms, flashing her a slightly annoyed look. "But if you insist upon knowing, they did a job for me, thusly why I invited them."
"Ohhhh, a job you say. Alright." Daisy winked and let out a loose chuckle, causing Peach to redden under her scrutinizing gaze in the mirror.
"If you MUST know, it was a plumbing job!"
"Wait wait wait, they're plumbers? As in…they fix toilets for a living?" Daisy capped her lipstick, abruptly dropping it into her clutch purse.
"I'm sure they fix many things, Daisy." Peach replied, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, I'm not judging!" Daisy waved her hands in front of her defensively. "Many great men come from…uh…odd professions. I guess. Just look at where Toadofsky was before he became a master composer. Playing his violin for coins in the street! Yeah, great men can come from anywhere. ALRIGHT!" Daisy spun in the velvet chair, facing Peach in a determined manner. "Time to go introduce me!~"
"Pardon?"
"Oh come on, you can't hog them all to yourself. You HAVE to introduce me!"
"Ah- can't I rest a few hours or so…?" Peach rolled to her side, mumbling into the fabric. Daisy stepped over to her, hooking her arms around her waist and pulling Peach onto her feet.
"Steady on your feet soldier!" Daisy said, a mischievous grin on her face. "We have some sentry men to swoon."
"Swoon? Since when do you swoon anyone Daisy? As I recall, you've scared most of your gentlemen callers away." Peach stifled a laugh, Daisy's scornful gaze tearing through her.
"It's called playing hard to get! It makes men all the more crazy about you if they think you're utterly repulsed by them! It's a fool-proof method."
"And who exactly, is the fool?" Peach stuck out her tongue in a playful manner, causing Daisy to huff in frustration and tug at her wrist, pulling her out the door.
Peach allowed herself to be led onwards down the stairs and into the main ballroom where guests were mingling and dancing about the center. It was easy to spot the brothers, standing awkwardly to the side, watching everyone from afar and murmuring the occasional embarrassed, yet humble 'hello' to guests who passed by them.
Daisy continued to tug on her resiliently, her beeline course never altering direction- that is until a tall figure emerged from the crowd right into their path. Daisy almost rammed into him, and Peach too. Daisy glared up at the figure who'd so rudely gotten in their way, only to look into a darkened face, dark bags outlining the area just underneath the rich, ruby red eyes, which in turn glared back at her. Both girls found themselves lost for a moment, gazing up at the tall, sinister looking figure. He'd been foreign most certainly, and judging by the gaudy jewelry hanging around his neck and wrists, further proved he was indeed of a royal form. It was hard to tell anything else notable apart about the strange creature, for its entire body was black. There was also a black headdress positioned around its head but it was difficult to tell where the crown ended and the head began. Protruding from either side of the headdress were two long jackal-like ears, perfectly perked. Underneath his long canine-like snout, he wore a huge smirk.
His long ebony tail swished slightly, as he raised a palm to them, bowing slightly. "Ahhh, well well well. It if isn't the hostess. And the unimportant acquaintance of the hostess." He shot a cocky glare to Daisy who looked about ready to haul off and punch him. "I do declare Princess Toadstool, you always look so…" He trailed off, seeming to search for an appropriate word, and his arrogant grin widened upon finding one. "Ravishing.~"
Peach glared daggers at the foreigner, being no stranger to just who he was. The reason she hadn't recognized him sooner was because this particular figure had a most impressive, and powerful ability. He was a shape shifter, able to take on many forms, due to his 'body' being comprised of a magic sand. His voice and particularly annoying character however, were unmistakable.
"Ramsie." She spat out, being none too fond of him. "You stoop so low to disguise yourself to get in?"
Ramsie's grin dropped off of his face, his eyes glowing eerily as his charade was clearly through."Ah, keen eye, Princess. I must say, you're getting better." His figure distorted slightly, it becoming more apparent that he was comprised of sand now that he no longer needed to keep up his appearance.
Daisy crossed her arms impatiently, " Eck- YOU again? What, your sand castle get knocked over by the wind?~"
"NO." He replied snootily back to her. "…Actually that hasn't happened in a while. But anyways, I was kinda miffed I wasn't invited to your 'Shroom Ball. What, you hate me that much?~"
"If you weren't so rude and you controlled yourself maybe our kingdoms would be on better terms." Peach replied in a low voice.
"Or maybe it has nothing to do with our kingdoms. Maybe it's personal, eh Princess?" Ramsie grinned horribly. "Go ahead, show everyone just how benevolent you are, and tell everyone here how much you hate me because I wouldn't sign your kingdom's treaty."
"If you were a truly wise king as you claim to be, you should have no problems with being on peaceful terms with other kingdoms." Peach whispered, not wanting to cause a further scene. "This is not the time or the place to be discussing this. You need to leave."
"Yeah- don't drop piles of yourself on the way out you sack of dirt." Daisy spat at him. "Don't truck your traitorous hide around here anymore. And don't think I'll be as nice as Princess Peach next time I see you. I remember what you did to MY castle- remember the sandstorm you unleashed INSIDE of it?"
Ramsie backed away, "Okay, okay! I'm leavin', don't rupture something." He turned over his shoulder, giving both ladies a sinister grin, "It's always a pleasure, ladies.~ Maybe you'll visit me in Dry Desert."
"Ugh, in your dreams." Daisy scoffed at him, her face beet red from pending up so much hostility. Once he appeared to vanish within the crowd, she looked back to Peach. "He's such a creep. I can't STAND him."
"He's just so…unpredictable." Peach replied, in a quiet tone. "His castle's always shifting to other regions. No one can get him to alliance." She seemed troubled by it, but too young to fully understand the feeling. Something about him just wasn't right though. The way he flitted around, mentally unbalanced. He had powers that sorcerers of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't even dare to dream of. And his past, his history, it was all a mystery of how he came to be such a force.
"Well whatever. If he doesn't realize he's the odd one out soon, every kingdom's going to attack him to bring him down. Not that they'll gain much territory if they did. He claims he owns the entire desert region. Hah!" Daisy snorted through her nose, grabbing for Peach's wrist again. "Enough of the little creep though, he interrupted my whole schedule!"
Peach barely had time to react as she was whisked away towards the brothers, who hadn't moved from the original position too greatly. Luigi was tugging at his collar in an overly nervous way. The two ladies approached them, Mario stiffening immediately as his eyes locked with Peach's.
"Erm…h-hello-a Princess!" Mario chimed, Luigi automatically doubling over in an overly gracious bow. Mario elbowed him in the side to alert him to stop; Daisy grinning at the younger's anxious and overly dramatic behavior.
"Hello, Mario. Luigi." Peach nodded to both, a small smile on her face. Daisy abruptly elbowed her, luckily for Peach the padding of her dress absorbing most of the sharp pain. "Ah, I wanted to introduce you both to my dearest friend, Princess Daisy of Sarsaland."
"PLEASURE to meet you both." Daisy belted out, springing forward like a cat on its vermin prey. Both brothers hesitantly shrank back at her boisterousness, Luigi's adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he gazed at her with a pale face.
"Ah…t-the pleasure is…" Mario gulped, outstretching a hand to take hers, grasping at words to form his sentence.
"All yours, I know." Daisy winked, giving his hand a gentle pat with her other. She turned to Luigi, who was shaking far too much to offer a somewhat coherent greeting. "And what about you, mm? Haven't you ever greeted a lady before?"
Luigi's mustache twitched ever so slightly- what a time for his cap to be at home! He would've wrung the thing to shreds by now!
"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-i- ni-" He looked as though he were about to have a panic attack, his heart swelling in his chest, "Nice ta-ti-to muh-muh…."
Mario saw that his brother was sinking fast and gently offered the words for him to repeat "Make your acquaintance."
Luigi nodded despairingly, his cheeks tinged red. "M-make yuh-your acquaintance."
Daisy looked on in amusement as the younger male finally excused himself with a squeak, running off in search of the nearest bathroom.
"He's a shy one, eh?" Daisy asked Mario, who merely rubbed at his head.
"Always-a been on-a the quieter side. He means-a well."
"I'm sure. Well….since your brother's run off how about you give me a dance?"
Mario stiffened once more, blood rushing to his cheeks. He'd never really danced before- there was that one time at his cousin's wedding but that had hardly counted. He wasn't about to trip over a princess and cause her to land flat on her face!
Peach look just as surprised as Mario did, but for a different reason entirely. She glanced at the auburn-haired girl who was awaiting Mario's answer. For what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, Peach finally cleared her throat. "That sounds wonderful, you both should certainly dance, get a chance to converse." She nodded to them, Mario gazing at her as the princess in pink turned, silently and gracefully stepping away. Mario continued to stare, his mouth parting slightly as if he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure of what, or why he'd felt the need to say anything at all. He thoughts were short-lived though, as Daisy grabbed him by his arm with surprising strength and pulled him out towards the dance floor, Peach wavering in between the crowds until not a trace of her could be seen at all.