I'm such a horrid person D:

I'm sorry, so very sorry for such a long delay :(

Please forgive me (again)! I hope you all will be placated with this chapter… ._.

Also, I just want to thank you all for supporting me, and for the kind encouragement you all gave me!
Thank you~

Looking out the window of my bedroom, I saw that the pure white moon was already shining in full swing. Stars littered the rest of the soft black sky, some trying their best to outshine the moon. But they were unsuccessful; only the unique radiance and unadulterated beauty of the moon could hold the attention of the celestial ballroom and intruding spectators, such as myself.

It was two nights ago. Two nights ago that I had that chance encounter with Prince Marth in the dining room. Two nights ago, and still nothing was different. Not that anything should be different; it's just… that meeting seemed significant. To me, at least.

I mean, it's not like I suffered an epiphany and suddenly know what I'm going to do for the rest of my life, but… somehow… that small talk with Marth… feels…

…kind of special in my heart.

Don't take it the wrong way though. Like I've said before, I will —for sure— never have feelings for him. It's just… I've never gotten the chance to speak with Prince Marth alone, that's all. People can be very different when there isn't a crowd around them, and, it was simply a pleasant surprise to know that Marth was still quite a gentleman even while not being watched. That's all there is to it.

However…

…I have been thinking of him rather differently, as of late. I've been having such strange thoughts. Never before have I experienced such thoughts and they do the strangest things to my heart. Like, they seem to make it speed up, and… I always feel so oddly elated when I think about him. I wonder if I'm coming down with an illness…

Hmm… I sighed. What should I do? These thoughts about him are a bit troubling. I'm not too sure how to deal with this…

I jolted upright on my bed as a sudden soft knocking pierced the heavy silence in my room and totally scared me out of my thoughts. Heart beating frantically and thoughts scattering, going this way and that, I waited for another set of knocks. In that pause, I felt something odd about my face. Touching a hand to my cheek, I noticed that it was warm, very warm.

…I was blushing.

Noticing that I was blushing only caused me to blush harder. Why was I blushing? Why? I mean, it's not like I was thinking pervertedly, was I? Was I? Or do I just feel embarrassed of my thoughts about Marth? Well, there's nothing wrong with them, is there? I mean, they're just thoughts, nothing more. It's… It's not like I… have feelings for that prince. Never! I was just thinking about him! There's nothing wrong with that! I mean, I think of my dear friend Samus many times, along with that fool, Ike. But it doesn't mean I like them! Not at all! No sir-ee!

Another series of quick raps on my door once again shook me out of the safety of my mind. This time, the knocks were followed by a whispering voice. "Princess Peach, it's me!"

"Me, who?" I asked quietly, as to not wake up Yoshi and Link, both residing (and sleeping soundly) in the rooms to the left and right of mine, respectively. I genuinely did not know who it was. The clock told me midnight was approaching in another half hour, and no one's ever visited me so late.

Was it Marth? I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought, butterflies fluttered pleasantly in my stomach. No, it couldn't be him, I immediately reasoned, squelching the small bit of hope that grew. There's no purpose for him to be here.

But then another thought, spurred from the non-believer, popped out. What if he wanted to see you?

That thought was crushed when the person replied with a cocky and falsely sweet, "It's me, Peachy! Ike, your honey!"

I clenched my jaw.

Ike. What in HEAVEN'S NAME was he doing here!? That annoying little…! Getting my hopes up just like that!! I just might hurt him…

But before I could think of the various ways to immensely torture the irritatingly arrogant mercenary, said mercenary barged into my room uninvited.

"Oh, well, what do you know!" He grinned roguishly, his hand still on the doorknob. "The door was unlocked!"

I hissed at him with displeasure. He smirked and pinched my cheek, bringing his face down to mine. "You don't look so cute with that face on, Peachy," he inspected my face for another second. "No, you definitely do not." He concluded with a cheeky grin, nimbly dodging the slap I had directed at his face.

"Ike!" I yelled, though I immediately covered my mouth as I had shouted quite loud. In a quieter voice, I continued. "Ike! Get out of my room!"

He just stood there, staring at me with a satisfied grin on his face, like he was seeing something no one else had ever seen before. Self-conscious, I looked down at my body. There didn't appear to be anything wrong, I was wearing a nice pink silk nightgown, and nothing seemed to be exposed…

Ike saw my puzzled look, and chuckled, still grinning that annoyingly satisfied grin. I really had the urge to knock the lights out of him. "Don't worry, princess, you look fine. Really fine," he said, apparently trying to reassure me. "In fact, I was admiring just how fine you look. And especially how well your nightgown suits you, that's all." He looked me over again, that arrogant grin ever present.

I turned red from head to toe. Then, I punched him in the guts. A satisfying whoosh of breath escaped his lungs and a rather pained expression flashed across his face.

Ah… revenge could be so sweet.

I was so absorbed in my moment of victory, that I didn't notice Ike suddenly retaliate by grabbing my arm in a grip of iron. He then tried to forcibly pull me down.

I automatically reached for my frying pan, but found air instead. Ike grinned at my confused face. A bit panicked, I raised my free arm and tried to slap the mercenary in the face. My attempt failed miserably as Ike easily caught my hand in his. "You've got to be faster than that, princess," he whispered into my ear and smirked. His smile only widened as he dragged me down onto my bed, which seemed to be conveniently there for him to land me on.

I took a fraction of a second to analyze my situation. So, I was currently in my room… on my bed… pinned underneath Ike.

Not such a pleasant situation, I think.

Since I could not fight back without someway of making an ugly hole in my lovely walls and having Ike fly through a bunch of rooms, I calmed myself down, and decided I would ask why Ike was being so horribly ill-mannered.

"Okay, Ike, you win for today. Now please…" I said as coolly as I possibly could, anger boiling in the back of my head. "Get off of me." I seethed through clenched teeth.

Ike smiled at me in a way that was meant to be seductive. "And why should I? I'm just getting comfortable…" he purred.

Ike purring is quite scary indeed. Scary, and disturbing too. "Ew, Ike! Don't say such things!" I scolded him with a disgusted look while trying to slip out of his grip.

I was about to chide him some more, but something changed in Ike's expression just then. He was no longer joking, or teasing around. His eyes looked so serious about something, and yet they seemed so confused at the same time.

But most of all, he looked like a lost man. He looked like he didn't know what to do. "Ike…" I said gently. "Ike, what's wrong?" And if the reason's good enough, I might just forgive you for doing such a thing.

It was then that Ike released me from my unpleasant position underneath him. He sat up right, his back towards me, legs planted on the plush white carpet of my room. Obviously, what he was going to say was something quite difficult to get out.

"…Peach… you know I think of you as a sister, right?"

"Um, sure I do…" I was confused. What in the world was he trying to say? "What's your point?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to clear up any, um… misunderstanding between us…" Ike said hesitantly. I could just tell he was blushing, even though I couldn't see his face.

I sighed tiredly. "Ike, you know, the only one who causes a misunderstanding between us is you…"

He turned around to face me. "Well, yeah but—… Oh, you're right." He blinked his eyes in wonder, as if just realizing it.

Jeez, this guy could be so dense sometimes… "If I may ask, Ike, but just why did you attack me like that? It's very rude and quite unsettling. Had it been anyone else but you, you would be dead right now!" I reprimanded him, previous anger once again flaring up. "In fact, I really want to strangle you right now…"

Ike just shrugged. "I like creating tension between us. Besides," he grinned at me. "Your reactions are very entertaining." He winked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, displeasure and frustration continuing to build up inside me. "It may be amusing to you, Ike, but you really trouble me sometimes… Please, try not to act on your whims all the time."

Ike looked at me solemnly, silently conveying the message that he would at least try. "Actually, Peach, I came here to talk about something... something that's been troubling me for the past couple days…"

Ahh… I get it now… I stretched myself out on my bed, got comfortable, and put my legs onto Ike's lap. "Is it about Samus, dear Ike?"

The mercenary blushed painfully. "Y-y…" He cleared his throat and said confidently, "Yes, it's about Samus."

My eyes softened; my heart had already forgiven Ike long ago for his sudden attack on me. My forgiving nature baffles even me sometimes… Or maybe it's just because I consider Ike to be such a close friend of mine.

I nudged him with my toe. "Well, go on. Spit it out, Ike." I smiled reassuringly.

Ike gulped, and then looked at me, hesitant to continue. "You can trust me, Ike. I swear it."

He sighed, and ruffled his hair, a habit of his when he gets nervous. "Well… you see…. I… I tried talking to her the other day, and…" he paused, a bit flustered.

"And…?" I enquired when he did not continue.

He scratched the back of his head, blushing madly. "And… I made a total fool of myself…" This being said, he looked down, sad and embarrassed. "I was only trying to say 'hi' but I ended up… ended up prattling on about body armour…Body armour!" He repeated painfully. "Of all things, why body armour?!?" He put his face in his hands.

I felt my heart twinge a bit in sympathy for Ike. Getting into a cross-legged position, I gently patted his shoulder. "Oh, Ike…" I comforted him. He looked up shyly and I met his eyes and smiled warmly. "It's alright. We all do embarrassing things once in a while. And I'm sure she'll forget about it!"

Ike then averted his gaze. "Maybe… But, Peach…" He reburied his face into his hands, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm… I'm just not good at these things… things like 'romance' and 'love'… I can't….I-I've never… been in such a predicament before…"

Well, Ike, my dear, I haven't either.

Judging by the slump of his shoulders, Ike, it seemed, was giving up. A small fire lit into my eyes, and I proceeded to give the mercenary a noogie.

"Ah! Hey, Peach!" Fussed Ike, clawing at my hands. "What are you doing? Stop that!"

I stopped, and then slapped my hands onto the sides of his face, so I was holding it in my hands. "The Ike I know would never give up just because his first attempt failed!" I told him aggressively. "He would keep on going, no matter what, until he reached his goal." I paused, and took the moment to search his eyes. They held confusion, a whole lot of sadness, but still a tiny glimmer of hope. That would be enough; all I had to do was feed it.

"And you know what?" Ike stared at me, questioningly, as I continued. "He always reached his goal." I smiled, and kissed his forehead as a blessing to him.

He stared at me, astonished. Then, he hugged me fiercely. "I'm never letting you go, Peachy," he warned into my ear. "Never." And so, he kept his hands wrapped around me.

I'm not usually hugged by men; in fact, I think I've only ever let Ike hug me. Though, I wouldn't mind if Prince Marth wrapped his arms around me…

Peach! Just what nonsense are you thinking?!

I pushed Ike away from me, startled by my own thoughts. Ike looked surprised, and a little hurt too. I exhaled, and smiled at Ike, masking my confusion and embarrassment. "You have to let go of me, Ike." He opened his mouth to speak, but I continued. "How can you catch a beautiful butterfly if your net has a dirty stone in it?"

Ike paused to contemplate this, then he blushed for some reason. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Did I say something wrong?

It seems I did say something wrong, for Ike tripped over his own tongue to clear something up. "Wait, Peach, what you just said has two meanings to it—" He paused, seeming unable to continue. I stared at him inquisitively.

"Two meanings?" I repeated, a bit confused. "All I meant was that you can't be hanging on to me if you want to go after Samus."

"That's it!" Ike whisper-shouted. "Th-the way you said it… it just… it just sounded like… you thought I… I…— Oh never mind…"

I pinched his arm. He let out a satisfying "Ow!" of pain. "Oh, Ike, now you have to tell me!" I pressured him. He turned away and stood up, not facing me. "Come on, Ike! Complete the sentence, would you?"

"No," he said wearily. He looked back at me, and just then could I see the fatigue on his face. "I'm really tired, Peach. I think I'll turn in now." He bent forward and we looked each other in the eye. "Thanks for the encouragement… princess," he said with his former cockiness, his arrogant grin coming back to life.

I jabbed a finger forward, meaning to stab him in the eye. But it seemed he wasn't quite as tired as he claimed to be, as he nimbly dodged it, got up, and sent me a flying kiss as he walked out the door a split second later.

It baffles me sometimes, how Ike and I became good friends. Maybe it was because we were so different from each other, yet so similar at the same time. Though, I don't really know how.

It also appears I might have to do something in order to get Ike together with Samus...

I looked at the clock. Half-past twelve. Maybe it's time to sleep; otherwise, I won't be able to wake up in the morning. I switched the lights off, and flumped into my bed, letting sleep overtake me immediately.

"Zelda, would you please stop staring at yourself in the mirror?" I asked her, irritated.

My Hylian companion didn't reply. She just continued to look at herself, checking her face at every angle imaginable for any possible blemishes on her pristine face. Actually, it was more conceivable that she was currently sighing inwardly at her flawless beauty.

I sighed, irked once again by her narcissistic behaviour. It was a little known fact, but Princess Zelda of Hyrule was a major closet-narcissist. She tries her best to hide it in public, but she usually just can't seem to stop staring at herself when she sees her reflection in the mirror. We —Samus and I— try our very best to direct Zelda away from any place that may hold mirrors whenever possible.

However, sometimes going to the bathroom is just unavoidable…

"Oh, give me some more time, Peach," hushed the other princess. "Very so rarely, do I get the chance to see this beautiful, enchanting, and absolutely enthralling visage," cooed Zelda, stroking her face lovingly. "Oh, my… I think I… I just might faint at my stunning beauty…"

I stared at her, mouth wide open, aghast with her behaviour. It's really hard to watch such a majestic princess coo at herself without twitching an eye muscle.

Though she looked so serene and perfect on the outside, she was truly something different on the inside. Not all princesses are what they seem, especially her… And me, too, I suppose…

Though I am glad I wasn't born a narcissist. I'm very glad. In fact, I should be grateful that such a horrid condition never cursed itself upon me—

"Peach!" Zelda exclaimed, surprise lifting her words. "Is that a… a blemish?!?" She scrutinized her left cheek, pressing her forehead up against the bathroom mirror. A moment later, she withdrew and screamed staggeringly. "OH MY GOD, IT IS!!" The Hylian princess then began to poke at the aforementioned blemish. "Why you horrid thing…" she mumbled to her zit. "If you weren't attached to this beautiful face of mine, I'd send the wrath of the goddesses upon you!" She continued to curse at her boil, poking it while doing so.

I sighed and grabbed Zelda's hand. "Zelda, don't poke at it, you'll only make it worse," I told her while taking some makeup out of her bag. "Now… I'm pretty sure you can use these things to cover it up, right?" I asked her, holding up some pencils in my hand. "I really do wonder though… The only bit of make-up that I am familiar with is lipstick! How can you use so many different tools just on your face?"

Zelda ignored my question and snatched her makeup from my hands. She then hurriedly, yet carefully, covered up the blemish. It was quite expertly done, I must say. I couldn't even tell where it originally was!

I watched our reflections in the mirror, Zelda once again fawning at herself, and me looking curiously back into my own eyes. Zelda and I were quite different looking. I was… well, sort of childish looking, like I was meant to appeal to children, while Zelda was the definition of an endearing, graceful young woman. She definitely had the face that was meant to charm grown men. Zelda looked so attractive, with her elf-like features. If only she wasn't so self-absorbed, she would be the most perfect princess…

"Aha ha hah!"

My head snapped up. Frantically, my eyes searched for the owner of that laugh.

"Princess Peach, are you feeling alright?" Princess Zelda looked at me quizzically, obviously wondering why I had so suddenly panicked like that.

I let my tense shoulders relax. "Oh, it's nothing of concern, Zelda," I assured her. "I just thought… I heard… his laugh…" I murmured to myself.

Father's laugh. What a cruel sound it was.

Zelda peered at me suspiciously for a few moments, until a playful smile graced her face. "His laugh, you say?" Zelda said teasingly, but with curiosity in her voice. "And to what handsome young man does this "voice" belong to, my dear Peach?" asked Zelda, eyebrows raised.

Handsome? Hardly. "No, Princess Zelda, it's not something like that, I—"

"Oh, like I'd fall for that, Peach," cut in Zelda, rolling her eyes. "Just tell me whose voice you're clearly hearing in your head!"

"But it's not like that—"

"Oooh! Is it one of the tournament participants?"

I began to blush, for a certain male's face popped right into my mind at her words.

The Hylian princess saw my blush and squealed in pure feminine delight. "Oh, Peach, you just have to tell me!" She grabbed both of my hands and clasped them together. "Come on, Peach! You can tell me! We always share these sorts of things, right?" She smiled warmly. Even though Zelda was very self-centred, she could be quite a great friend, too. And she is most certainly a great woman; I mean, it takes a lot of effort to hide that much self-obsession constantly from the general public.

I blushed even more. I could now vividly see the person's face in my head, and it was not helping.

Trying to find something calming to focus on, I stared at the bathroom's navy tiles.

Just like the colour of his hair…

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of him (and his hair). Oh no! What kind of reaction is that?

I cleared my throat, yet my voice slightly trembled. "Z-Zelda, you have clearly mistaken me… I could not harbour such sort of thoughts for anyone…" I tripped over my words out of embarrassment. Why was his face still lingering in my mind? This is absurd! Such thoughts are so strange…

Zelda took a step back and inspected my blushing face and my hunched figure. "Princess Peach…" she started slowly, carefully, as if trying not to scare me off. She looked at me curiously. "Have you… ever been in love?"

I blinked at the word 'love'. Have I ever been… in love? That was the question, wasn't it?

"Have I ever been in love…" I trailed off. I scratched my head, and thought about it for a moment.. "No."

"No, no, no, no, Princess Peach!" Zelda stared at me, aghast. "You… you've never been in love?!" She took a step back, seeming to be shocked beyond belief. "You claim to be such a romantic… and, not to mention, you are a highly successful matchmaker, yet… you've never even been in love?!"

"Well, I suppose that's true."

Zelda just sighed.

Love… I have wished to be in love with someone before, but I've yet to experience it… And, what exactly is it? The feeling of being in love? I don't really believe it to be anything similar to what I have read and seen in the media. There has been no accurate representation, at least in my opinion, of what love is. I'm sure it is a lovely feeling that causes your heart to react, but, I also don't believe it can happen all at once. I don't believe that a person can suddenly fall in love, which is what I see in books. Love is supposed to come gradually, over years of time, and…

Zelda watched me fall into deep thought. She sighed and then pulled my arm, leading us to the exit. "Come on, let's go. Love can be a bit tough to grasp if you've never felt it before." That being said, she looked over herself once more, smiled happily at her beauty, and then flew out the bathroom door, towing me along.

"Let's go find Samus, shall we?" Zelda looked at me for a confirmation.

I nodded silently in acceptance. Perhaps I could subtly put in a few good words about Ike while we were there. "Of course, but what will we be doing?"

The Hylian princess grinned. "I was thinking of arranging a night out. A women's night out. What do you think? Sounds great, doesn't it?"

I thought about it for a second. It was quite unusual for Zelda to arrange these things, or even bring them up, since that was usually what I did.

When I did not reply (because I was busy thinking), Zelda continued, as if to explain. "Well, we've all been rather busy as of late, with the annual tournament coming up. Not to mention, we all have our own personal problems that seem to consume a chunk of our lives… So, I thought why not take a small break from it all? Go to a grand party! Or a "club", as it is known in this universe," Zelda looked at me again, this time with a bit of uncertainty. "Is it not a good idea, Princess Peach?"

I smiled reassuringly. "It is a good idea, Zelda! I was just… contemplating the strangeness of you bringing up such a thing first!"

She laughed at that. "Oh, that's alright, then." We smiled at each other and headed towards Samus's room.

Silence wafted into the hallway; only the clack clack clack of our heels stabbing the hardwood floor could be heard. Sunlight pierced through the chapel-like stained glass windows, kissing our skin with light and warmth. We were about to turn the corner, but Zelda stopped just before the turn. She narrowed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating on something. Then her eyes widened suddenly, and she pulled me into a nearby alcove.

I opened my mouth in protest, only to have it clamped shut by Zelda's delicate, gloved hand. I glanced at her for an answer. She leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "I hear footsteps."

I tilted my head to one side quizzically, my eyebrows raised in puzzlement. Why are we hiding though?

Zelda seemed to have something else in mind because she then whispered, "And those footsteps… they belong to…" she took a small pause, as if trying to control her excitement. "Prince Marth!" She all but squealed.

My mind blanked for a moment. The words "Prince Marth" seemed to have stumped me. Or at least, stopped my brain from functioning.

I scrambled to remove Zelda's clamp over my mouth. "But, why are we hiding from Pr… Pr…" I blinked. My lips just didn't want to say his name. "…Him?"

To my very surprise, Princess Zelda blushed. That's right; she blushed.

"W-well… it's a long story…" she whispered reluctantly.

…What?

Prince Marth and Zelda have a history?

"Tell me, Zelda!" I whispered urgently. I really wanted to know what it was, that was between them. Or at least, why Princess Zelda blushed. Oh, and why she wants to hide from Prince Marth. That answer is also quite necessary.

Zelda twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. "I… I'd rather not say," she whispered shyly, suggesting that, quite contrary to what she said, she in fact did want to say. Not to mention she was blushing profusely.

I was about to force the whole story out of her, but before I could even wrap my hands around her neck, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.

Turning around, my heart lurched forward as I found myself face to face with none other than him. Prince Marth.

He looked at me, or should I say, us, with curiosity. "Princess…es?" He seemed at a loss for words. "… What are you doing?"

I could feel my jaw slowly unhinge. Marth was looking impeccably handsome, as usual. I couldn't help but admire his beauty for a fraction of a second. Thus, I was in no state to answer Prince Marth coherently, since my thoughts themselves were once again scattered all over the place because of him.

Zelda, however, metaphorically tripped over the hem of her dress to initiate conversation with Prince Marth.

"Prince Marth!" She burst out excitedly, her face still tinged red. "How lovely to see you!!" She squeaked with delight.

Marth smiled that heart-racing smile of his. I noted it was directed at Zelda. "Likewise, dearest princess."

Zelda blushed some more. Nervous, she twirled a lock of her smooth brown hair. Though it was probably unintentional, the move was rather flirtatious.

I felt something twist anxiously inside my body. It… It was not a pleasant feeling. I looked at both Zelda and Marth. Standing together, they seemed to belong to each other. They seemed to match. Like they were meant to be…

Prince Marth.

Zelda.

Prince Marth… Zelda…

Prince Marth… and Zelda…

…together…?

…That twisting sensation in the pit of my stomach became stronger, and more unpleasant. Was there a snake inside my stomach? I don't recall ever having eating a snake in my life…

Also, for some reason, I had the uncontrollable urge to tell Zelda to get away from Prince Marth. Why was that? Perhaps my subconscious is somehow alerting me of imminent danger? No… Prince Marth is an honourable man, and I have heard only good things about him and his kingdom…

So why, then? Why did I want Zelda to get away from Prince Marth? There must be some deeper meaning to these feelings… Oh, if only I knew…

Love.

Whoa! Where'd that word come from? Love? It can't be love! That's illogical! Love is something that happens gradually, over a long amount of time. As I've probably stated before, it's not something that can be felt immediately!

What I mean is, that encounter with Marth in the dining room a couple of nights ago was perhaps one of the very few times I have actually ever made direct contact with Marth. Plus, I never gave him a second thought before! Well… I mean, I did wonder what kind of person he was ever since the day I met him a couple of years back. But that was mere wonder. It's not like I wanted to know everything about him!

I really doubt I fell in… in love with Prince Marth. It wouldn't make sense if I did. As I have already said, love is a gradual thing, right? So it would take at least, from what I think, a year to fall in love with someone. Therefore, I can NOT be in love with Prince Marth.

After all, there's no such thing as love at first.

"… did you and father fall in love at first sight?"

"Us? Love at first sight?" She laughed cruelly for some reason. Then she leaned down and pinched my childish, chubby cheeks hurtfully. "Love at first sight doesn't exist in the real world, daughter. Leave it for the fairytales." Her expression turned bitter as she inspected my face; there was some hate in her eyes. "And never, ever, expect such a thing to happen to you. Especially you."

"…Ahh, she's at it again." Laughter. "Wandering off into her own world. And with such lovely company, too!" A masculine voice...

More laughter. "Well, that's my darling Princess Peach for you!" A feminine voice…

Zelda… and Prince Marth…

Someone tapped my shoulder. "…Princess Peach?"

…

I sighed internally. Looks like I did it again.

I looked Zelda in the eye as she was the one who had "awoken" me. "I apologize for my impoliteness, Zelda…. Prince Marth," I said with a tight smile. It felt weird to say his name.

"No problem!" Zelda said happily. She was absolutely glowing with joy. Looks like she was having quite the conversation with Marth.

Acting like his usual courteous self, Prince Marth bowed slightly. "Apology accepted, dear lady." He looked up at me through his navy-blue bangs, his pretty eyes sparkling wondrously with life. "And I believe we didn't greet each other properly. In any case, it's good to see you too, Princess Peach." He smiled at me, as if he was happy just to see my face.

I was about to stutter and blurt out a couple of words, but—thankfully—restrained myself. Instead, I nodded, and smiled politely.

"Anyway, Princess Peach," Zelda hasted to say. "Prince Marth and I were just discussing how lovely the weather was. And, I thought, well, since it's so nice out, why don't we all go for a nice, light stroll in the garden! It would be good for our bodies to get some clean fresh air, don't you think?"

"But I thought—" we were going to see Samus, was what I was going to say, before I saw Zelda looking at me with such pleading eyes, as if she just had to go on a stroll with Prince Marth.

"Oh… that's sounds good, then." It didn't really. "But… I'm a bit busy…" I wasn't. "So… why don't you two go on ahead without me? I'm sure it will be just as enjoyable!"

Zelda looked surprised, but content. "W-well, that's just unfortunate, Princess Peach," she said as solemnly as she could. Her eyes betrayed her words, though; she was clearly pleased by the fact that she could have the chance to be alone with Prince Marth.

"Yes," echoed Marth, wistfully. "Quite the misfortune, indeed…" He eyed me curiously, as if he knew half the story.

Truthfully, I really wanted to go with them, but I had already said those words… "Then, I shall be off. Have a lovely afternoon, you two!" I managed to say cheerfully. I walked away from the well-suited couple. It took a notable amount of willpower to turn my back on Prince Marth and Zelda, but I did it.

"So, Prince Marth, we should get going, shouldn't we?" I heard Zelda ask with restrained excitement as I walked farther away from them.

There was a tiny, almost non-existent pause before Marth answered her. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't have noticed.

"Of course, my lady."

Then again, maybe I was imagining things.

So, there you have chapter 3 of Prim and Proper. Hope you enjoyed it :D

Oh yeah, just to explain how Zelda knew the footsteps belonged Marth. Well, I've always thought Zelda could feel a person's presence (and as you know, everyone has a distinctly different presence). This being said, she would be able to identify the presences of the people close to her. Since Marth isn't exactly close to her, I'm sure Zelda just did her best to memorize the feeling of Marth's presence. So, yeah, hope that made sense :3

And, I'm really sorry about the three, four, five month delay. School just got really hectic, and even now, in summer, I'm really busy with summer school… so, I deeply apologize! ('Cause I know how it feels to wait for a story too) I was really hoping not to make you guys suffer through that agonizing pain, but looks like I did :(

Hope you can forgive me for that…

Well, until next time! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Bye!

(And why don't you leave me a nice treat too, hm?) :]