-
Luigi examined himself in front of the full-length mirror. His tuxedo actually fits. The Troopa sewing team had made a few alterations to go by his measurements. It was no longer loose on him, and almost felt a bit snug on his body, but he was still able to move around in it.
“How do I look?” Wendy stepped from behind the dressing screen. Her new silvery blue gown came all the way down to her ankles, and had plenty of material cut away to reveal the start of her cleavage. It was far from revealing and the trip on the short and puffy sleeves sparkled in the light.
“You look beautiful,” Luigi took one of her hands into his own. The material used for her ballroom gloves had to be strong enough to stand up against her claws, but it felt soft as silk to Luigi. “Did the Troopa sewing team make this, or was this Kammy’s work?”
“A little bit of both,” she said. She did not wear too much make up, just pink gloss on her lips, a little blue shadow with silver liner on her eyes. Her cheeks and chest sparkled from the little bit of body shimmer she had applied. “I can see they fixed your tuxedo.”
“It is more comfortable,” he placed a kiss on the back of her hand before he returned to the mirror. He still had to make sure his hair is in place. “It doesn’t appear that anything is hanging.”
“Nothing that shouldn’t be hanging,” she adjusted the silver tiara on top of her head. “You don’t think this is too much?”
“The tiara?” He shook his head. “Of course not. You are a princess, it fits you.”
“My regular necklace would clash, and I can’t wear my pearls. Wait, I know what would be perfect.”
“Don’t have to worry too much about matching,” Luigi stared at the cuffs on his suit jacket. The silver cufflinks shone under the light and matched with her gown.
While she searched for a suitable necklace he picked up the brush and ran the bristles through his hair, once he made certain everything was nice and neat, he used a comb and some gel to make sure everything was in place. He took the tiniest dab of hair gel, massaged it into his talons and slicked his mustache back.
“There is no question about it,” Wendy returned holding a necklace made out of white beads with light blue droplets. “You are the most handsome reptile in all of Dark Land.”
“Thank you,” he turned back to the mirror. “I wonder if I should have polished my shell.”
“Your shell is very glossy,” she held up her necklace. “You don’t mind getting the clasp?”
“I don’t mind at all,” he clipped the clasp at the back of her neck and noticed the segments were carved out of coral. “This is a beautiful necklace, where did you get it?”
“From Tethys.”
“I think we are ready, we certainly don’t want to be late,” he held out his arm for her to take.
-
“We just need to give these guys some time to cool,” Daisy said as she pulled out another baking sheet covered with cookies from the oven. “Then we can decorate them.”
“We are the super frosting brothers,” Orville held up the plastic knife, nearly flinging pink frosting onto the floor.
“Do not wave that knife about,” Shivers said. He had half a cantaloupe in one hand and a melon baler in another. “Knives are not toys, they are dangerous.”
“This aint a real knife,” Orville protested. He floated next to his brother as Henry finished shaking sprinkles onto the previous batch of cookies.
“You still shouldn’t play with it,” Daisy lectured. She still had to make the punch; so far everything else had been prepared.
“Not to mention it is improper behavior,” Shivers added. “Miss Daisy, may I have a word?”
“Yes?” She had already gotten out the cans of fruit juice she wanted to blend together.
“I simply need to ask about the state of the snacks.” He pointed to the spread of food that had been laid out on the dining room table. “You have caviar and pate on whole wheat crackers, next to the plate of pizza rolls.”
“Is there something wrong with it?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Certainly not,” Shivers shook his head. “There just doesn’t seem to be any consistency to it. You have the caviar, the melon balls wrapped in porchutto, and the stuffed grape leaves and then you have food like chicken wings, fried cheese sticks and pizza rolls. There is even a dividing line between them, they are all mixed up.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with mixing up the fun food with the fancy food,” she poured the juices into the glass bowl. “There is no theme or any special way to have fun.”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get that,” Shivers set the melon down on the counter.
“You stay here and watch the boys,” she placed the bottle of seltzer water down. “I want to be the one to greet all the guests.” She ran through the halls towards the door, passing through a few of the ghosts.
“Hello,” Daisy beamed as she opened the door. “Welcome to-“ she froze when she saw who was on the doorstep. Instead of the toads and Yoshi she was face to face with Ludwig von Koopa and a female Koopa she had never seen before.
“Did my brother not tell you he invited us?” Ludwig asked. He was dressed in an eggplant hued shirt and black slacks. The female wore a dress in the same shade of purple.
“No he didn’t,” Daisy turned her head. “Iggy, your brother is here with his girlfriend.”
“I’m his wife,” the female said in a tart tone.
“Which one?” Iggy asked.
“Ludwig,” she felt a new fear start to rise. “How many did you invite?”
“Just Ludwig and Lemmy, Morty and Roy are a bit uncouth for this event,” Iggy approached her, followed by Madam Clairvoya. “Larry is still out of town and Junior is too young.”
“Not too mention he would never leave Daddy’s side,” the female continued to use that superior tone of voice.
“Hey Ludwig, Dru,” Iggy waved his fingers. “Where is Lemmy?”
“He’s actually going out to meet with his lover,” Ludwig said. His eyes widened at the sight of Clairvoya. “These ghosts are more interesting than what we have at the castle.”
Daisy remembered herself. “Come on in, the ghosts can show you around. The main event will be in the ballroom; the waiters are setting up the tables for the buffet. Please make yourselves at home.”
-
Luigi barely heard the guard checking for invites when he handed the two paper slips over. He was still spellbound by the site of not only Nimbusland, but also the palace. Shone with a pearly sheen from the sunlight. The tops of the turrets and the trim were a bright pink, resembling frosting from a cake.
“Don’t just gawk,” Wendy grabbed him by the wrist. “It is time to build stronger relations between our two kingdoms.”
“I thought you and your father would want to just take over,” Luigi said as they once stepped on the strip of bright red carpet. The material was just as soft as the cloudy ground they walked on, just not as fuzzy, or as damp. It was almost like walking barefoot through the grass at morning.
“I prefer to take over through words, play the political chess game,” she stopped in front of a golden statue of what may be the king of the cloud people. “May rely on patience, but it is less messy work, and involves less money.”
“Unless it involves bribery?” He tried to seek out Mario and Peach amongst the fluffy white faces. There were a few frogs that stood on their hind legs and were dressed nice.
“There is always that,” she winked.
“I’ll let you mingle and discuss politics,” Luigi slipped away. “We’ll meet up once the ball actually begins.” Where was Mario? He felt so out of place in the castle. He didn’t know anyone. He managed to pick up some snippets of dialogue from the various guests. Some were about the events that were rolling around Nimbusland, some were about the kingdom below the castle, someone was even spreading gossip that Valentina as pregnant with Booster’s child.
“Ugh,” Luigi shuddered. That was a bit of information he did not need to know. Booster looked like a totem poll with his large mouth and while Valentina had a nice and slender figure, her head was shaped funny, being flat with wide placed eyes.
He wiggled his way through the other guests and paused when he reached five statues. The statue on the right of the middle resembled Mario, with Peach on the right of it. There was also a statue on the far left of Bowser. The other two, Luigi did not recognize. The one in the middle was of a cloud child, most likely, prince Mallow, and the fifth figure looked odd. It resembled a human wearing a cloak, but it’s thin arms and legs seemed to be held together by cog like joints. Its face even resembled a wooden puppet.
“Dedicated to the heroes who saved our King and Queen and saved the star road,” Luigi read from the plaque.
“I’m almost getting sick of seeing my face on a statue,” Mario approached him. He was dressed in a similar tux as Luigi, except his cummerbund was red and not green. He also had ruby studded coat pin. He had also slicked his hair back.
“How many statues do you have?” Luigi asked. He felt a bit of twang of jealously whenever Mario went on another adventure and left him behind, not too mention all the credit and glory Mario had received.
“I think I may have lost count,” Mario took a sip of champagne from his glass. “Hey, don’t give me that look. You got a few of your own.”
“I only have the one,” Luigi said, referring to the brass figure of him that stood next to Mario’s statue in front of Peach’s castle.
“Three,” Mario corrected. “Don’t forget the Yoshi’s built statues of us on Dinosaur Island and I am pretty sure the Waffle kingdom created one of you, of course none of them really look like you anymore.”
“They will when Gadd has finished his machine,” he noticed a young cloud approach them. By the size it appeared to be an adolescent and he was dressed in a regal jacket, slacks and also wore a cloak. “We are about to get some company.”
“Who?” Mario spun around and came face to face with the young cloud. “Hey Mallow.”
“Hello Mario,” the prince smiled. “Mother and Father are about to start the party.”
“I think we are both ready,” Mario gestured to Luigi. “Mallow, I want you to meet my little brother.”
“Nice to meet you,” Luigi gave the cloud prince a polite bow.
“Wow, you are Luigi?” Mallow blinked his dark beady eyes. “Mario has told me a lot about you. He even said you were a better jumper.”
“He did?” Luigi felt a new form of admiration for his brother. He never new Mario would have mentioned such words about him.
Mallow nodded. “He didn’t mention that you were both different species, but I understand. The frogs at Kero pond adopted me.”
“This is because of a spell,” Luigi pointed to his face and flicked his tail.
“Are you going to get cured?”
“I’m not certain,” Luigi frowned. “Being a Koopa is not a disease.”
“I’m sorry,” Mallow blinked. “I need to work better on being a diplomat. Maybe when the Mushroom world council meets.”
“Your parents are sending you?” Mario asked in surprise. He waited for Mallow to nod. “But you are a little young.”
Mallow shrugged. “I heard rumors about King Nougat of Sugar Land is going to be there, and he is only fifteen years old.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a deep voice echoed through out the room like distant thunder. “We are pleased that you all were able to make it.” The speaker was a plump cloud person with an amber colored hair and matching handlebar moustache. He was dressed in what appeared to have been pajamas colored in dark blue and light blue stripes and a ruffled collar. “We are graced by the presence of the wonderful heroes who freed us from Valentine and brought our son home, Mario and Peach.”
“He asked me for another autograph,” Mario whispered.
“I know you don’t want to stand around all day and listen to us chat,” a female cloud addressed the people. She wore a pink gown with a green, long sleeved robe and a smaller crown with a train. Her hair was the same shade of pink as Mallows. “We should let the festivities begin.”
“And this is my cue to find Peach,” Mario rubbed his elbow against Luigi’s arm. “Wish me luck.”
“Wish you luck for what?” Luigi raised his eyebrows.
“You’ll see,” Mario winked.
“He never tells me anything,” Luigi sighed before he turned to Mallow. “Excuse me, I need to find my wife.”
-
Daisy was pleased with herself. The spread of food looked delicious and she couldn’t help but feel proud that she helped prepare half of it.
“Daisy, can we have a word?” Toad poked her in the shoulder.
“Is something wrong,” she watched as Biff floated over to the table’s centerpiece to examine the lilies.
“I just want to know why they were invited,” Toad pointed at Ludwig and Dru as the two Koopas made their way down to buffet table.
“Iggy was the one who invited them,” Daisy placed her hands on her hips. “And the professor gave them the green light.”
“Ludwig isn’t too bad,” Toadette took a sip from her glass of punch. “Dru is rude. She acts like she is better than everyone.”
“They are Iggy’s family, and he is working hard,” she had come across both the young Koopa and Gadd fast asleep at the table. She didn’t want to move them, but she did place a blanket across their shoulders and asked Shivers to watch over them.
Dru grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite. “Hmmm, these are fresh baked, you can tell.”
The head of Henry popped up from the cookie tray. “Orville and I decorated them.”
Dru nearly dropped her cookie and leaned against Ludwig.
“I’d pay to see that again,” Toadette giggled.
“Attention,” Mrs. Whirlinda floated towards the piano, Melody was at. “It is now time to dance.”
“Play something smooth for us Melody,” Mr. Whirlinda joined his wife. “A good ballroom waltz to start us off.”
“And this is my cue to step out,” Iggy walked backward towards the other end of the room, only stopping when he felt the chilling presence of Mr. Whirlinda behind him. “Uh hello?”
“What is wrong boy?” The ghost scowled down at him. “You don’t like the waltz?”
“The music is nice,” Iggy tugged on his collar. “I just don’t know how.”
“Don’t worry,” the spirit held up a hand. “We can teach you.”
“Well the thing is. I never learned to dance at all.”
“No,” Mr. Whirlinda’s eyes widened. “We will have to fix it.” He floated towards his wife. “Ginger, we have a problem. We have a young fellow who doesn’t know how to dance.”
“He doesn’t know how to dance?” Mrs. Whirlinda repeated.
“Not at all,” her husband shook his head. “We are going to have to teach him.”
“Of course,” Ginger nodded. “He first needs a partner.”
“A partner?” Iggy swallowed.
“I’ll be your partner,” Daisy grabbed his hand.
“Everyone take a partner,” Mr. Whirlinda commanded. “This will be a dance lesson for everyone.”
“Madame Clairvoya,” Gadd turned to the fortuneteller. “You won’t mind dancing with an old man?”
“I would be delighted,” she placed her transparent hands on top of his.
“Now the first step should be easy,” Ginger held up a finger. “You grab each others hands and sway your hips, then take one step to the right side, and then step back, and then a step to the left.”
“I feel so awkward,” Iggy confessed. “My hands are sweating up a storm.”
“Your hands are dry,” Daisy reassured. “Then again I am wearing gloves.”
“Now twirl your partner, likes this,” Mr. Whirlinda spun Ginger out a few inches in front of him without letting go of her hand after a second he pulled her back. “Now you try.”
Daisy released one hand and spun around, she quickly spun back to the arms of Iggy. “That wasn’t so bad.”
“No,” Iggy smiled. “It wasn’t.”
-
The music was coming to an end, and that also meant their dance. Luigi drank in the moment, the feeling of Wendy against his chest, her sweet and natural scent, the sounds of her sighs, and the taste of her lips when they kissed.
“That was nice,” Wendy said as soon as the dance as over.
“Being with you is always nice,” Luigi brushed his fingers underneath her chin. “I almost wish this night will never end.”
“It will end and tomorrow will be even more special.”
“What does that mean?” Bowser had also said the day after the ball was going to be a special day, and some of the others in the castle were also talking about it. He even heard Dru say that this time she was not going to spray on some of her blocking mist.
“You will see,” Wendy kissed him again.
“Attention,” Mario clapped his hands. “Attention everyone.” He jumped up, until several heads turned his and Peach’s way.
“Mario, what are you doing?” Peach asked.
“I want everyone to see that I am with the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Most beautiful human, maybe,” Luigi snorted and placed an arm around Wendy’s shoulders.
“This wonderful woman, is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Mario lowered himself until he was standing on one knee.
“Is he doing what I think he is doing?” Wendy asked.
“Princess Peach, the fairest of them all,” Mario said softly. “Will you do me the honor and make me the luckiest guy in the kingdom?” He pulled a small jewelry box out from his pocket and opened it, revealing a tiny sparkling ring.
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me this for a long time,” Peach smiled. “And I do.”
-