Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Mario or its franchise; it belongs to Nintendo and their affiliates. I just am really grateful to its creators for giving me such a wonderful game and media series to write about!
Chapter Eleven
The mall was definitely her favorite place. The way it was just bustling with people, all kinds of people, reminded her of home in Sarasaland. There were four kingdoms and four unique cultures all in one country. This mall was like a mini-country all in itself. The food certainly seemed to represent different regions, she remembered Luigi telling her about them. Her only regret was that she hadn't had time to go home and change into something more appealing than her uniform outfit; she and Alicia had left work and come straight over.
"Where do you wanna' eat at?" Alicia asked.
She was southern, Daisy recalled their conversation on her first days of work. Alicia was from a place called Louisiana and had the dialect to prove it. She brushed a curl out of her face, tucked it behind her ear, and glanced around. Daisy did the same. There were so many places.
"How about Mandarin?" Alicia suggested.
Daisy remembered that place and nodded enthusiastically. Alicia laughed.
"Mandarin it is," She stated.
The way the girl walked was deliberate, eye-catching. Daisy had yet to see Alicia out of work attire, but she had a feeling her choice of dress was incredibly stylish. She certainly had the body for it.
Do I have that kind of body? She wondered for a moment. She knew she had all the appeal her friend did, there were heads turning to confirm that, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy in regards to the other woman. Not the vindictive sort of jealousy, but the kind that made a girl look at herself and sigh a certain way.
"Put that away," Alicia spoke when Daisy pulled out her wallet. "I told you I got this."
"You don't have to," Daisy started, but Alicia gave her a stern look and she quieted.
"I told you, pay me back by jumping that fine plumber's bones." She smirked, then asked, "He is a plumber, right?"
"He works at the pizza place now." Daisy told her.
The young women picked a table once they'd gotten their food and ate quickly. Daisy enjoyed the exotic chicken and rice just as much as she had the first time around. While she washed it down with soda, Alicia clapped her hands together.
"Alright, this is the plan: we hit up Vic's Secret last," She announced, "mainly 'cause I don't think you're quite ready for that yet."
"Vic's Secret?"
"Lingerie."
"Ah."
"Told you," Alicia said, "not ready. But that's cool. You just gotta' ease into this experience."
"Experience?" Daisy echoed, donning a smirk.
"This is an experience." Alicia explained matter-of-factly. "Now let's go!"
Daisy smiled, not minding in the least when Alicia stood and took her by the hand that wasn't holding her drink. She let the other woman lead her and thought of how good inside it felt to be here, in the mall with a friend. She thought on her cousins.
Did they make any friends? Danny's so reserved, and Meech, well, he's a bit more open. I hope they have. It would be good for them to have someone other than each other to spend time with, she mused.
Suddenly she coughed. Her thoughts had occupied her while her friend guided her deep into a department store. She hadn't been prepared for the myriad of scents that suddenly assaulted her, though. Taken individually, they might have been pleasing, but as it was, the conglomerate of smells made her head spin.
"Sorry," Alicia winced, "it's a lil' strong over here. Come on. Try this out."
"What is it?" Daisy asked in reference to the fancy pink bottle.
It looked like something Her Majesty Peach would have in her possession. Very girlish and innocent.
Not quite my style, Daisy figured, but she let Alicia puff a bit of spray on her wrist anyway. It smelled like sugar and cotton candy. She shook her head.
Three jars later, she found the one. It came in a tall burgundy container and smelled like cinnamon and spice. She smiled and nodded. Alicia approved.
"Smells hot. Sexy."
At that Daisy blushed, but held onto the perfume still. At the same place Alicia ferreted out some neutral lip gloss and eyeliner for her. They paid for the items and headed towards a tiny shop with jewelry in it.
"What's in here?" Daisy asked curiously.
"Nail polish." Alicia said, gesturing to her own navy blue fingernails.
They walked in and were out much more quickly than they'd been with the perfume. Daisy hadn't taken long to settle on vials of clear and white paint.
"You ready for this?" Alicia asked as they approached their last stop.
Daisy looked inside and let the corner of her bottom lip slide between her teeth. She nodded, so in they walked.
"Let's find a robe first." Alicia spoke confidently.
She led the way over to a section with dozens of them. Daisy was torn between the lily white one and the ruby red, but one glance at Alicia made her second guess herself.
"What?" She asked uncertainly.
"Get this one," Alicia seemed to insist more than suggest.
In her hands was a midnight-black silk robe, cut more like a man's dress shirt than anything. She glanced at her friend warily.
If Luigi saw that, he'd…she really didn't know how he'd react, but the longer she stared at it, the more she wanted to find out.
"Okay." She acceded.
And the poor girl thought she was done. But then Alicia brought her over to the actual lingerie section and Daisy colored.
"Don't worry," Alicia calmed her, "You don't have to get anything too scandalous."
"Which of these isn't?" Daisy countered, fighting back a nervous, giddy smile.
Most of the bras looked clownish in their largeness to her; how much help did one need in that department? Surely not that much. Large chests in Sarasaland, especially in Chai Kingdom, were seen as a curse. Apparently here they were glorified.
"Why don't you go with some plain black lace?" Alicia advised, "You can never go wrong with that."
"I guess so."
The black lace ensemble was chosen and paid for. Daisy still didn't know if she'd have the gall to actually put it on, though. She supposed she could at least try this out, since Alicia went through the trouble of paying for it all.
"Thanks again for this," Daisy told her. I think?
"We're not done yet, Missy." Alicia smiled deviously, "Is your boyfriend home?"
They were in the parking lot, heading towards Alicia's BMW. It was after dark. She knew where Luigi was at this time.
"No. He's at work."
"Perfect."
Her brothers thought he was nothing but trouble. Just a ruffian. A boy up to no good, out to break her heart and steal her virtue. Of course she didn't think so, but when he came back to their favorite haunt bearing two small knives, she doubted her own beliefs; if only for a moment.
"What are those for?" She asked cautiously.
Munson only flashed his usual charming smile, the genuine one he only donned for her. He sat across from where she was and crossed his legs.
"You look amazing today." The young man complimented.
"You always say that," She pointed out.
"It's true every time I see you," he told her quickly.
She felt a bit assuaged, for at first she thought he was only repeating his praise to keep her buttered up or something. She had, in fact, chosen her outfit in the hopes that he would like it so that also dispelled any sort of suspicion of his motives; she knew from what he said that he was particularly fond of her turquoise snake-skin pants, so she wore them now. In addition to that, she'd spent hours tailoring the white blouse to its current design. The girl put her hands in her lap and studied Munson.
"What are you looking for?" She asked, seeing him search.
He had a satchel strapped around his neck and was digging through the oak-colored thing. From it he pulled a pair of large round fruit. With that removed, Munson closed his satchel and straightened his clothes; a fine, thin red shirt that was pushed up on his forearms and a pair of black pants. He handed a knife and one of the fruit to his girlfriend.
"Huh?" Wendy spoke in question.
Munson smiled gently at her and said, "Watch me. This is called a pomegranate. Have you never had one?"
"I never have," She affirmed.
The dark-haired boy grinned. "I can't believe it. They're popular around here."
"Hm." She remarked, "That would explain it. I just moved here, remember?"
"Right." Munson noted. "Here, hold the knife like this."
He covered her slim hand with his larger one and positioned the rough handle of the blade under her thumb. Once she had it, he showed her how to carve along the fruit's natural ridges.
"Make sure you don't press too hard," He instructed, "It'll break the seeds inside."
The cuts were made, so Munson then peeled his pomegranate open and she followed suit. The girl's eyes widened upon seeing the bright, juicy little seeds piled inside.
How peculiar, she thought, I wonder how it tastes?
She glanced at Munson and tore the paper-thin, honeycomb-like skin to free the seeds. Hesitantly, she popped one into her mouth. It was sweet, but not too much so.
"You picked a bad day to wear white, I'm afraid." Munson chuckled, "If this gets on your garments, it'll stain terrible. Here."
He shrugged out of his vest, the brown one over his red shirt, and handed it to her. She took it and fixed it backwards over her so that it would catch anything she spilled.
"What if it stains your clothes?" She asked.
Munson shrugged.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
He would've eaten as well, but he was too engrossed in the fifteen-year-old across from him. He didn't want to be rude or lecherous, but she was a thing of immense beauty to him and he couldn't help himself. He watched her stick three or four seeds past her candy-pink mouth at once and, as anticipated, some dark red juice slipped down the corner of her bottom lip. He reached forward and rubbed his thumb over the smudge. Wendy stiffened.
He's so close, she acutely noticed.
The two locked eyes, with Munson leaning towards her on his knees. He dropped the hand he'd smudged her mouth with slowly and, with no great haste, pushed a kiss onto her stained lips. Munson held both sides of her face and pulled back, gauging her reaction. When he saw no sign of aversion or resistance, he bowed his head and kissed her again, more deeply. Wendy smiled against his moving lips, feeling a lightness swell within her head and heart.
"Wendy, I have to tell you something," Munson whispered.
His breath warmed her flushed lips. She was a little dizzy. This was only the second time Munson had kissed her, well, the third. She still wasn't used to it.
"What do you have to tell me?" She asked softly.
"Yo, Wen!"
No
"Wen, where you at?!"
No, no, no!
Panic flared in Munson's sea-green eyes, but only for a second. He pulled back from Wendy and smiled wryly.
"I better get lost." He said, "Wouldn't want a repeat of last time."
"Munson, don't..." She pleaded.
"No, it's okay." He insisted. "We'll meet again."
And he stood and brushed himself off. Munson gathered his vest back, more for her sake than for his actually wanting it back, but left her his knife.
"What am I gonna' do with it?" She asked with a tugging smile.
He smirked and said, "Remember me by it. Until we see each other again."
She grinned at that and pocketed the knife, then watched her boyfriend leave. He was only gone for a few seconds before Roy and Morton Junior came tearing through the shrubs into the little area where she was sitting under that grand tree. She was not glad at all to see them. Neither had even bothered to sport their hinges: Roy had his pink hair showing and MJ's star-shaped scar was in plain view. They wore all black, black t-shirts and pants that fit tight enough to show off their sculpted bodies. She scoffed to herself.
If Ludwig wants to be fair, he should make them stop wearing tight clothes, too, not just me, she thought.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"Why are you out here?" Roy asked, scrunching up his face. "The little weasel ain't with you, is he?"
"He has a name," Wendy frowned.
"Do it look like I care, yo?" Roy countered, then asked again, "Is the punk here?"
"Do you see him?" Wendy snapped in answer. "What do you want?"
"Ludwig wants to know why you didn't come to training this morning." MJ told her.
"Because I didn't feel like it." She replied curtly. "Figures he'd send his lapdogs to come and fetch me."
"Lapdogs?" MJ echoed, more amused than offended.
She asked harshly, "Do you always do what he tells you?"
"Pretty much." Roy shrugged, shameless.
She rolled her eyes. She knew how Ludwig operated, if he had to come into town and get her himself, she'd never hear the end of it. Munson was gone, there was no point in staying. She made up her mind and stood languidly.
It didn't take long for her brothers to escort her back to the palace. The whole while, Wendy dreaded her impending encounter with her eldest sibling. She didn't care for his bossing and his rules. She was fifteen, and in her mind that granted her some control over her own life. She walked with Roy and MJ down to the training room and frowned when she saw Ludwig leaning on the wall, looking characteristically bored. She met his sharp emerald eyes and then looked away. He unnerved her.
"Why don't you ever listen to me?" Ludwig asked her at once.
She crossed her arms and ignored him. Instead she chose to follow her brothers with her eyes as they sauntered over to the corner of the room where the weights were. MJ could easily lift four or five times her size in pounds at least.
Good for him, she thought with a scowl.
Ludwig let out a small, exasperated sigh. He pushed himself off the wall and approached his little sister. She made a point of turning her head away. He tried to turn her head towards him with two fingers but she jerked away.
"Wendy, look at me." He commanded firmly.
"What?" She ground out, glaring at him.
"I asked you to start training down here with your brothers." He began slowly.
"I told you I didn't want to." She retorted.
"That's irrelevant." He clipped, "So since you won't do as I say, you're not to leave this palace again until further notice." He ordered.
Her expression grew incensed.
"You can't do that! I'm not a kid you can just ground here!" She protested.
"If you'd stop acting like a spoilt little child, I wouldn't have to treat you like one." He rationed calmly.
Wendy balled her fists and accused, "You don't punish Roy or MJ, and they're way more immature than me."
Ludwig said, "This isn't a matter of maturity on that level. Rather, it's a matter of obedience."
"Right." She huffed, "because you're king now and I'm 'sposed to just be your mindless little slave."
"Don't be so dramatic," He chided.
"I'll be what I want!" She said petulantly. "This isn't about me training, you just don't want me to see Munson anymore."
"Who?" Ludwig frowned slightly.
"Ugh, stop playing dumb! You know who!" She cried. "This is so unfair! You can't make me do anything. It's not right."
"Are you done?" Ludwig asked patiently. "You can complain all you want, but you will begin your training in the morning. Understand?"
The hell I will, Wendy thought vehemently.
The girl had heard enough. She turned on her heel and stomped up the stairs, heading for her room. Once there she slammed her door and locked it, daring Ludwig to come near her for the rest of the evening. She couldn't stand him lately.
"Is all this necessary?" Daisy asked with a smile she couldn't quite smother.
"Absolutely," Alicia replied. "You need to go the whole nine yards; no half-stepping."
"If you say so," Daisy relented.
She was up to her neck in the tub, encased in a lavish bubble bath that her friend had drawn for her. While she soaked, Alicia sat on the commode and prettied her nails. It wasn't just a paint and go affair, either. Alicia had taken the time to file and clip and buff and everything. The end result was turning out wonderful.
"French manicures are so tricky," Alicia stated, "You have to get the white part just right or else it all looks amateur."
"Ah." Daisy hummed, pretending she understood.
"I'm almost done though." Alicia announced. "Make sure you don't get your hair wet!"
Daisy was reclining in the tub, but she paid her friend's words some mind. It had taken well over an hour for Alicia to work her curling iron through the lot of Daisy's tresses. She didn't want to mess up her handiwork.
"You know your boyfriend's gonna' thank me, right?" Alicia smirked.
"We'll see." Daisy grinned, closing her eyes.
When she opened them again, some time had passed. She had to get out of the tub and get dressed in the lacy black creation that was lying on the bed waiting for her. It didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought it would. She just felt so exposed.
"It looks good on you," Alicia praised in the bedroom.
Daisy glanced down at herself and saw the way the lace barely hid her pale skin. There were so many little holes in the fabric that it didn't leave much to the imagination what was behind it. Alicia came up behind her and started taking the pins out of her hair. Like a pile of rocks down a hill her curls came tumbling down her shoulders.
"Look at me," Alicia instructed.
Daisy did and her brown-skinned friend applied a coat of gloss to her already red mouth. She was careful in lining the tops of Daisy's lids in black liner, too.
"I was gonna' get mascara, but you really don't need it." Alicia told her.
"Mascara?"
"For your lashes," Alicia explained, "to make them look thicker. Where did you say you were from?"
"Sarasaland." Daisy replied, seeing no real reason to lie.
Alicia then asked, "And they don't have makeup over there?"
"Not this kind." Daisy responded.
A dab of perfume later there was a knock on the door. Daisy felt her heart jump and she instantly looked at the clock on Luigi's dresser; he wasn't due back for another hour and a half. Who could be at the door then, she wondered.
"I got it," Daisy said in response to Alicia's cocked brow.
She pulled on the black robe and went to the door, opening it just an inch.
"Yes?" She asked.
It was Tanya.
The copper-haired young woman was dressed modestly in a pair of khaki capris and a navy polo shirt. Her hair was clipped to the side on the right and her eyes were hard to read. She was looking at Daisy with a slight twinge of defeat.
"Did you need something?" Daisy asked softly, trying to be civil.
Tanya said in a voice just as quiet, "I was looking for Luigi."
"He's at work." Daisy told her.
"Ah." Tanya noted. "Well um. Okay."
"I'll tell him you came." Daisy added in the awkward silence that followed.
Tanya shook her head and said, "No. Don't."
Another silence pervaded the moment.
"I'm gonna' go then." Tanya mumbled, stepping back and heading to the left.
Daisy watched her go and felt an uneasy feeling rise within her. She didn't know what it was. Pity? No. Guilt? Not quite. She knew that Luigi had told her of this girl's feelings for him, she could imagine that they hadn't gone away or else she wouldn't have come by.
"Who was it?" Alicia asked, coming from the bedroom.
"A friend of Luigi's."
A/N: Nothing much to say. I hope you liked this update, please review and such. I don't know if you know this, but your reviews saved this story: I got so many people asking for an update that I had a change of heart. So don't hesitate to leave your comments!
Until next time,
~DymondGold~