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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!

I also don't own anything related to Harry Potter, all that belongs to J.K. Rowling, but thanks go to her as well because, using her wonderful work, I can expand this story to make it more interesting :)

Chapter Thirty-One

"It's not so high."

"It's pretty high."

"It's only twenty feet."

"That's about nineteen too many."

"Luigi."

I glanced from the glimmering white toadstool to Daisy. She, like me, wore a long white cloak that hid what she was wearing underneath. She had her hair done for the wedding that was about to take place in a few minutes, whenever my brother and future sister-in-law decided to grace us with their presence. I think they were still in the palace taking care of some last minute details. Or maybe they're just nervous. I knew I was. It helped to know that so was everyone else: the dancers were all shifting from foot to foot or shaking their legs in anticipation or doing some kind of breathing exercises. They were wearing huge smiles, but they still looked jittery as they stood in formation in front of the float in front of the palace. The musicians were no better as the tuned their instruments and went over their scales and flipped through their notes and fingerings. They were gathered on the deck of the float, around the stump of the toadstool. I wish I could be among them, but no; my place was at the top of the thing, perched precariously on a gilded throne with my brother and girlfriend and future sister.

"Luigi." Daisy called my name again.

I glanced at her and she smiled widely. It was evening time, just around sunset. There was a faint breeze to accompany the orange glow in the sky. It was lovely weather for a wedding. Daisy stepped right up to me behind the float and held out her hands. I put mine on top and she gave them a squeeze.

"Just relax, okay?" She coaxed. "It's gonna' be alright. It's not that high up, and the ride will be over before you know it."

"Right." I said anxiously.

I hated this, hated feeling like a weakling wimp while my own girlfriend had guts of steel. She was confident in the way she climbed each rung of the thing I affectionately dubbed 'the metal death trap'. When she got to the top, she turned and waved me up.

"Come on!" Daisy encouraged, "Mario and Peach will be here soon."

"Yeah. Right. I'm coming." I said.

Only I wasn't.

I was looking at the height of the thing and trying to keep from tossing my breakfast, lunch, and dinner onto the ground. My stomach gave a funny twist when I wrapped my fingers around the metal bar, then it gave a lurch when I brought my foot onto the one below it. Still I climbed, focusing not on the increasing distance between my body and the ground but instead on Daisy's lovely face. Her smile grew bigger the closer I got to her, and when I reached the top she clapped.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked.

I couldn't respond for the overwhelming sense of vertigo that washed over me at the sight of the ground so far below me. I swayed on my feet and shut my eyes.

"Are you alright?" I heard Daisy ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I gritted out, letting the wave of nausea pass.

I figured sitting down may help matters, so I took a seat in my chair. I knew it was mine because it had my name on it in flowing green ink. Daisy's was written in the same cursive, in an orange hue, on the chair to the right of mine, on the end. At the other end written in pink was Peach's name, and next to that one was Mario's, drawn in bright red. When I sat down, Daisy came to join me. I sat on the edge of my seat and dropped my head in hands, still trying to get my body to stop feeling so sick.

"Luigi," Daisy spoke softly, resting her hand on my back. "We don't have to do this if it's bothering you so much."

"No, I'll be alright." I told her, not looking up.

Get yourself together, I urged myself. You faced the Dark King, punched him in the jaw and didn't flinch when he had you in his dungeons. This is nothing. Just a bit of height. Get it together!

"Just a bit of height," I murmured to myself, "just a bit of height."

I chanced a glance over the edge of the top of the toadstool and my head swam. Quickly I averted my eyes to Daisy. She looked highly concerned. I tried to smile but I was almost positive it looked more like I was trying not to vomit.

The ground level erupted in applause. The royal couple had arrived. They soon joined Daisy and I in their own white cloaks and took their seats. I'd never seen a happier pair of people. Mario was grinning from ear to ear and Peach was absolutely glowing. Even with the cloaks on, her and Daisy were both stunning.

"Lookin' sharp, baby brother!" Mario winked.

I rolled my eyes, but was genuinely glad for his presence. It did calm me greatly. His congenial personality and all-around friendly disposition just had a way of easing stress and tension, even when it was internal like mine. I took a few deep breaths and felt Daisy reach over and take my hand. Now that everyone was in their place, the drivers for the float set the white horses that pulled it into motion and, with a rock and a jerk, we started to move. At first all I heard was the blood rushing in my ears and the creaking of the wheels against the pavement.

Why are the wheels grinding like that? Is that normal? Is this thing about to fall to pieces?

Images of my brains smattered all over the ground after I'd taken a pretty nasty tumble from this height flashed in my mind unbidden and I choked back a gag. Daisy's head snapped over to me and I shook mine, trying to shake off her worry.

The musicians started playing as soon as we took off at a leisurely pace. If I didn't think about the height, if I just focused on Daisy's cool hand in mine and the upbeat music flowing from below us, the ride was bearable.

Soon the sun finally set and it started getting dark. The music changed from upbeat, happy, and vibrant to slow and romantic. There were lanterns all along the ground in the main road at Toad City, lighting the way with their reddish flames. I saw all the people gathered on both sides of the street and started panicking again.

God, I hope I don't hurl in front of all these people, was what I kept thinking.

Daisy must have sensed my nervousness because she gave my hand a tug and made me glance at her. I smiled and she did, too. Our ride stopped amidst the crowd and the four of us descended. My hands were shaking with each step down, but only when my feet were back on solid ground did I feel my heart begin to slow to a normal rate. Under our feet was a long sheet of white silk, like a veritable red carpet, that went on for at least a mile. There were rose petals scattered along the area where we had to walk. With Daisy on my arm, I followed my brother and Peach around the side of the float and walked down the road towards a small altar.

There were two white pillars and an arch above a marble podium. Behind the tall podium was a set of steps, presumably for the diminutive elder Toad who stood atop them. Beside me, Daisy walked with her head held high, looking every bit the princess that she was. I smiled a little, though she didn't notice for her straight-forward gaze.

"Psst...psst."

I dared glance to the side and sighed inside because it was Peasley who fought for my attention. He was dressed just as finely as I and had both his twin companions hanging on each arm. He shot his pea-green eyes between me and Daisy and then made his eyebrows jump suggestively. I faced forward.

If he makes me trip, I swear I'll never forgive him, I vowed.

Luckily I didn't. I came to stand on the left of the altar near my brother while Peach and Daisy stood to the right. Once we were all there in place, Mario gave the nodding signal for us to shed our cloaks. I let mine slide off my shoulders and draped it across the crook of my elbow like Mario did. I saw that his outfit, the decorated navy jacket and navy pants, were different from mine. He had medals and ribbons on his coat and had smooth white gloves on. It looked like he was in uniform. My outfit was nothing more than a suit, a glorified three-piece black suit that fit me more like a set of robes than anything. I had no gloves, so my pale clammy hands were on display for all to see.

"Princess, Master Mario, so good to see you again." Came a wizened old voice.

I looked over at the podium and saw that the old Toad had spoken. He was dressed in the typical open vest and pants ensemble that was common for his people, and sported a healthy white mustache and thin spectacles. I remembered him, but only vaguely.

"It's good to see you again, too, Toadsworth." My brother greeted kindly.

Peach nodded and said, "Yes, it is."

Oh yeah. Toadsworth. Peach's old retainer. Worry-wart, that one was. It would seem he hadn't aged a day since I'd seen him last, not that there was much room on his tiny face for more wrinkles. He nodded at me.

"Master Luigi, I trust you've been well?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Right then. We can begin then." Toadsworth spoke in his cultured accent.

I couldn't help but let my eyes wander over to Daisy. She and Peach had on the same dress almost, given there were small differences. The front was the same, with white satin material forming a simple sweetheart neckline over their collarbones and cap sleeves hanging off their shoulders. While Peach's skin was a little paler and pinker than Daisy's, it mixed well with the back of the dress; there was nothing but lace covering her upper and middle back, and woven cleverly into the material was a giant pink rose. Her golden hair was swept up in an intricate style of curls and was decorated with jeweled pins with tiny roses studded on them. There were roses piercing her ear lobes as well, a nice touch along with the diamond tiered necklace. Daisy, being tanner skinned and having a bit more in the endowment category naturally seemed to be curvier in her dress. Not only was that swollen flesh peeking temptingly above the white neckline, rising and falling with her every breath, but her entire shape seemed to be accentuated by the cut and tailoring of the dress. The rose on her back was colored orange instead of pink and gave me a hint of a view of her creamy back. I wanted to touch her, to trace the covered skin there until I reached the area where lace met satin at the base of her spine. She had her hands clasped primly at her waist and was watching the princess keenly, as was everyone else, I presumed. I reluctantly paid attention to the wedding again.

Mario was speaking, telling Peach the vows he'd swear to honor until death did the two of them part. His vows were personal and honest, which surprised me. I'd been to a grand total of zero weddings in my lifetime; my only experience was through television, and those always seemed so incredibly cheesy. This was nothing like t.v.

"Peach," My brother spoke firmly, "I promise to love you. To take care of you to the best of my ability, to be all that you want me to. I promise to be your hero when you need me and to respect your intelligence and independence when you don't. I vow to listen to you when you want to talk, to stay away from the liquor cabinet...mostly...and to treat each day with you like it's our last together. I promise to cherish you like a power-up on the last lap of kart racing, I vow to honor you as my one true love and as my queen, as my soul mate and as my wife, whether you're healthy as an ox or sick as a dog, whether we've got the palace or a paper box over our heads, 'til death or some strange twist of fate do us part."

I blinked again at my brother's candidness and watched him stare unwaveringly at the princess. She had tears in her eyes and her voice trembled twice as she took her turn to say her vows. Hers were more traditional, but were just as passionately spoken. During her speech, I saw Daisy looking at them with a strange expression on her face. But it could have been the firelight playing tricks on my eyes.

And now that I was looking at her, I got entranced once again. She was just so beautiful. It didn't take the expensive dress or the many ornaments embellishing her dark hair to make me see that, though they were nice touches. I watched Daisy blink a few times, her long lashes brushing against her cheeks briefly. She had her hair down in a combination of braids and flat locks with white ribbons weaved in here and there. Again I wanted to reach out and touch her. This was so surreal, both my brother getting married and my own relationship with this enchanting girl.

"And, now that the vows have been exchanged," I heard Toadsworth declare, "You may kiss the bride!"

That was it. Seeing my brother and now my sister-in-law embrace each other just filled me with an unnamed emotion and I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped past them, took hold of Daisy's face gently and kissed her. She was surprised, I could tell that much when she stiffened a bit. But she almost instantly relaxed and put her hands on top of mine and kissed me back. The crowd was clapping and cheering and shouting and I didn't know if it was for me or my brother. I pulled away from Daisy with no great haste and gazed at her, especially her mouth.

"What was that for?" She asked me, smiling bemusedly.

I shrugged and said, "I love you."

She colored a little and softened. "Oh, Luigi."

The royal guard were doing a short performance with their black rifles, much to the delight of the crowd. I watched them and was reminded of the style of the soldiers back home. After they were done, people began to rush towards the street to congratulate the newlyweds, to admire the float, and to just mingle. The musicians were at it again, playing something light and festive in lieu of the atmosphere. Now that all was said and done, I really was glad I came.

I should never have come here

He knew that as soon as he laid eyes on her. Her, in that dress; his mind had gone awry with thoughts that didn't belong to him. He knew he should have found someplace else to look but the entire time the wedding had gone on, his eyes were stuck on her. And then he'd nearly lost his mind when the plumber kissed her.

Of course he kissed her, they are a couple, he reasoned, but that hardly registered in another part of his mind. A person just wasn't meant to have dual consciousness and it was really taking its toll on him. So that was why, as soon as the ceremony was over, Ludwig had turned to his siblings and issued his next command.

"We're leaving."

Consequently, there was a slew of whines and complaints. He narrowed his eyes, not liking their minor insubordination one bit. Ludwig tilted his head, making his sleek navy hair fall over the shoulder of his jacket, and leveled each of his siblings with a hard stare.

"Ludwig, that's not fair." Wendy dared speak up.

Of course not, I'm just a cruel, unjust tyrant, he thought wryly. He gazed at his sister and waited for her to continue. He had to admit, he'd had significantly less trouble out of her over the course of the past few days. The cynical part of him was convinced the girl was up to something. He scrutinized her for a moment, but there was not a blonde hair out of place today; her demeanor seemed as inconspicuous as her fresh and clean baby blue button-down dress.

Even the way she dresses has changed...but why, he wondered in suspicion.

Wendy wasn't privy to her brother's reservations towards her improved mood and attire, and put her hand on her hip: the one that wasn't holding onto to little Junior's, that is. She glanced down at the child before speaking.

"Ludwig, you may not know this but Junior's been very depressed lately." She announced.

"...And?" Ludwig prompted tonelessly.

Wendy said, "And the festivities are about to begin; there's to be horse riding and games and food. If we stick around just a little while longer, it may cheer him up."

Now that she'd resolved to leave with Munson, Wendy started paying attention to the things that went on around her, namely Junior's detached behavior and Ludwig's dismissal of it. It bothered her, the unofficial patron saint of the cute, young members of their household.

Ludwig glanced down uncaringly at the five-year-old near his sister's waist and said, "Wendy, that's not my concern. We're leaving."

"But what about the games?" Larry cried, "We're leaving right when all the fun stuff is about to go down!"

Beside him, Iggy chose to speak, having been silent up until now. He settled his lime eyes on his eldest brother although it was Larry he addressed.

"Oh don't you know?" He asked, "Ludwig abhors fun. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he delights in our misery-"

"Enough, Ignatius." Ludwig chided in a sigh. "We're going and that's the end of it. I don't want to hear another word. Now come on, back to the inn."

Very quickly Larry asked, "Can we at least say goodbye to Luigi?"

"And Daisy?" Roy added with unusual interest.

MJ snickered and whispered something to him that made Roy narrow his eyes and color a bit. Ludwig, who might have granted this last request, changed his mind once he heard the girl's name.

"No." He said instead. "Let's go."

As they left, his siblings sucking up their whines and holding back their grumbles, Iggy nudged his brother Larry. A very quiet, 'what did I tell you?' was passed between them.

In the midst of the partying, Daisy and I were sought out by Peasley and his companions. He had that devilish smirk on his face so I knew he wanted something from me.

"Gorgeous night isn't it?" He spoke in greeting.

I said, "What is it?"

"What do you mean?" He asked innocuously.

"I know you want something, Peasley." I stated.

My friend just laughed and said, "The only thing I want is to invite you to spend the next few days with me in Bean Kingdom."

Mina, the twin with the curls said, "It's the Spring Festival!"

"It's coming up next week!" Her sister Nina finished eagerly.

"If you'd like," Peasley told me, "You two could stay at the palace in the meantime."

I looked at Daisy, who was quickly becoming intrigued. I really didn't plan on staying this long, but honestly, I couldn't see the harm in lingering for one more week. Well, we did have jobs to worry about. Yeah, that's right, jobs. Work. Bills. Life. I turned to Daisy.

"If you want to go, we can probably work something out," I told her.

She nodded and said, "I would. It sounds like fun."

"Excellent!" Peasley exclaimed.

"We just have to go home first," I told him. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Mina and Nina clapped their hands and Peasley gazed at me solemnly. At the waist he bowed, keeping his eyes locked onto mine.

"I shall await your return most ardently." He professed.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "How much is a ticket to your kingdom?"

"Ticket?" He asked, coming out of his bow.

Daisy supplied, "A train ticket."

Peasley waved his hand and said, "You needn't pay for anything, I'll just have my men tell the conductors that my friends are coming. It'll be taken care of by the time you get there."

"Thanks," I said, speaking for both me and Daisy.

Peasley tilted his head and said, "Oh, but Luigi, you should know I would do anything for you."

I gave him a deadpan expression and he faltered, his solemn expression giving way to a brilliant smile. He and Daisy laughed but I could see just the barest hint of...something. There was something bothering Peasley and I had a feeling it had a lot to do with the red mark peeking out on his hand from under his glove.

A/N: Another chapter out, hope there's not too many mistakes, hope you guys enjoy it.

Next chapter should be named, 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' because some drama will be going down. And some tensions will be resolved, only to give way to more problems; let me shut up, haha. No one likes a spoiler but let me just say this: it will be one of the more eventful chapters.

Just out of curiosity, who thinks the Dark King is dead? Who thinks he's alive? Who thinks his presence is just a red herring? Who thinks there's an even greater threat to the Mushroom World? Who doesn't care and just wants me to pipe down and update sooner?

I'd love to hear your guesses and/or predictions.

Anyway, that's it for now, I'll see you readers next chapter! Until then...

~DymondGold~