Chapter 2

Several weeks earlier…

In a lot of ways, he reminded me of my dad. You know the type: stick-straight, always serious, never finding any humor of joy in anything. He was always in his room, alone, doing who-knows-what, only venturing out for food or when it was his turn for a match, or so I've heard.

Well, I don't care if he is Prince Marth the Wonderful, he has to have something of a sense of humor under all that hard dexterity! I got through to my own father… getting through to him shouldn't be a problem, right? Right?!

Sheesh, I've only been here for a few hours and I'm already obsessed with someone!

I couldn't help but stare over at him, from all the way over on the other side of the loooong dinner table. I admit, my end was a bit more crowded. Probably because I was new. Everyone so far seemed so friendly, well, with the exception of a few, but either way, I blended right in.

But… Marth… that was his name, wasn't it? I overheard Peach calling him that while trying to convince him to stay downstairs and eat with everyone else. Anyway, he was all the way on the other side, as far away from the group as he could get, his dark eyes fixed on his food (which, mind you, there was still a lot of) as if bound and determined to break the cheerful atmosphere of the dining room.

"Hey, whatcha looking at?" a voice suddenly came out of nowhere. I quickly whipped around, finding Roy, whom had been gracious enough to let me sit next to him, looking over my shoulder, trying to figure out what I was so fascinated with.

"Huh? Eh… nothing. Just…"

"…You weren't looking at Marth, were you?" he questioned.

"Uh," my cheeks turned red. Wait, what?! Am I… I am! I'm blushing! Why the hell am I blushing?! "Well, yeah… why?"

"Eh, no reason. You just keep looking at him."

"But… why is he alone?"

"Marth? He's always alone. He prefers it that way." I paused and watched Roy take the biggest mouthful of food I'd ever seen.

"Why is that?" I questioned further. I don't know why I was so interested in Marth the Great, but I wanted to know more about him for lord-knows-what reason. Roy shrugged and swallowed. Obviously I wasn't going to get much more out of Roy… I'd have to ask the others a bit later. Resolved, I turned my attention back to my dinner.

"So Clover," I heard Zelda begin. I looked up, my mouth still full. "Where exactly did you say you were from?" I quickly swallowed.

"The other side of the planet, for starters?" I replied.

"Exactly where on the other side of the planet?"

"A small town in the middle of a forest. Nothing big. Although, I did live in Bronze City for a while," I explained.

"Bronze City?" Peach piped up, "Isn't that where that big racetrack is?"

"Huge," I said, taking another mouthful of pasta.

"So you've been to it? I heard it's pretty well-known," Zelda inquired.

"Been to it? Heh, I worked in it. And believe me, working in a stadium that packed with people can wear you down fast."

"Wait, were you one of the racers?" Link jumped in.

"Actually, yeah. I was on one of the lesser known teams, though, which is probably why no one's really heard of me," I shrugged, "No one really cares much for the minor leagues. I eventually got tired of it, so I quit and now here I am."

"Why did you quit?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be pretty much the same here as it was there?" Roy added, "Big crowds, loads of pressure, near death experiences…"

"Lumpy mattresses," I joked, which I'm glad to say got a decent laugh.

I pretty much spent the evening doing more of the same. Talking, joking, getting to know, and recalling past experiences. It was all good fun talking with the other Smashers, but for some reason, my thoughts kept returning to Marth. And oddly enough, the one thing I kept wondering was why was he still downstairs?

I mean, you'd think that if he really was the loner that everyone else seemed to make him out to be, he'd have gone up to his room hours ago! I'm pretty sure I heard Peach telling him that he spent way too much time locked in his room. And I'm also pretty sure that Roy said he liked his solitude. And if he's anything like my dad, he'd way rather be up in his room, hidden from the world to brood on whatever men like him brood on, rather that sitting nearby a bunch of giggling fools.

Yet there he was, off to the side, not looking up, not saying a word… was he even breathing? But suddenly he stood up, turned around and quickly left. Well, that philosophical moment was short lived. He was one tough cookie, alright. Tougher than those stale snicker doodles I found in my drawer that time. Those things tasted terrible!

But you know something? I don't care how tough or creepy or scary he is, anyone who wears a big, jeweled headband like he does has to have some kind of sense of humor! Right?

My curiosity was going to kill me.

Kiri: Well, for some reason, introduction chapters are always the hardest to write. Sorry this one sucked... and sorry for the lack of description, too. I'll get to that later.I am experiencing a severe lack of inspiration for some reason, so we all better hope to crap that my muse returns to me sometime within the next century! And reveiws tend to help, too! So until next time... (singing) So long! arewell! Untill we meet again...!