A/N: So here it is! My first Mario fanfiction! I must confess though, I really don't know anything about the recent Mario games... I'm an old school gamer. I think the most recent games I've played aside from the Party, Karting, and Smash Bros. games would have been Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. So please excuse any mistakes in the story!

I don't own any characters mentioned.

Brave New World

Chapter one: Secret Encounter

"Hey Luigi-this letter just came for you from the Princess," Mario looked skeptical as he handed the letter over to his younger brother.

The Princess? Luigi was just as confused as Mario as he accepted the letter and ripped open the top. It wasn't that he didn't get along with Princess Peach; they were good friends. But that was about as far as it went. Mario was the one who she would go to if she needed anything, whether it was a vacation on some faraway island, or saving from the Koopa King. He opened the letter and read it once, then again.

Luigi,

Please meet me at the castle gates at 10 o'clock tonight.

-Daisy

Now it made more sense; the note was from Princess Daisy.

"Well? What did it say?" Mario asked, leaning over slightly to get a better look at the note.

Luigi carefully folded up the note and stuck it in his pocket, away from Mario's prying eyes, "Princess Daisy wants me to meet her at the castle." Luigi explained. He could feel his cheeks light up as his brother patted him on the back with a grin.

"Great job little bro! So when does she want to see you?"

Luigi considered telling Mario the truth but decided against it, figuring that if Daisy wanted to see him at such a late hour that it was an important and private matter. "Tomorrow afternoon," he answered, hoping that Mario hadn't gotten a good look at the note.

"That's perfect! Maybe I'll go with you and visit Peach." Mario told him. Luigi nodded absentmindedly and made his way into the kitchen to prepare lunch, his mind preoccupied with Daisy's request.

"I cannot allow this!" The king of Sarasaland shouted again, pacing around the throne room. His Nokobon guards scurried to and fro, attempting to stay out of their king's path.

"Your Majesty, the letter you requested has been sent to Princess Daisy. She should arrive promptly." One of the guards explained to the frantic king.

He paused for a moment to stare down at the Nokobon that had spoken up before resuming his pacing. "She's had two days already; I'm sure King Toadstool would have provided adequate transportation."

His daughter's rebellion surprised him. He thought that she knew her place in the kingdom, and was prepared to run it sometime in the near future. Perhaps he had been too relaxed in raising her.

With that thought, he suddenly changed his course and headed towards the door. "Have my bags packed. If she will not come here, then I will go to her myself." That said, he stormed out of the room, leaving the stunned Nokobons to stare after him.

That night Luigi waited in bed for Mario to fall asleep. He was oddly excited about sneaking out for this secret rendezvous. Once Mario's breathing had evened out, he slowly got out of bed and crept towards the door.

"…Luigi…?" Mario's groggy voice asked from the top bunk. The younger plumber froze mid-step and turned to look back at his brother.

"M-Mario! J-Just going to the bathroom…" Luigi explained. Mario grumbled something that Luigi couldn't understand, and he took it as a sign that he could escape. He wasted no time while changing into his clothes and leaving the house.

As he walked down the dimly-lit street he let his mind wander. Why couldn't Princess Daisy wait until tomorrow to meet with him? He would have to go back to the castle now anyway after the lie that he told Mario. It was an odd time to meet, and he couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten herself into some kind of trouble again. He hoped that wasn't the case as he arrived at the gates of Princess Peach's castle.

Glancing around, he didn't spot Daisy anywhere. Maybe she had meant for him to come tomorrow? It was just like her to dash off a note and not even bother to get the time or date right. He couldn't even count the number of times she'd shown up late to a tennis match or a karting race. They would often have to reschedule events due to her impatient nature, since she tended to overlook simple facts like the time of the event.

"Luigi!"

Luigi yelped, pulled unexpectedly from his musings. He spun around to find Daisy, who came stumbling out of the bushes. She tugged her dress out of the grasp of a twig, then smiled at him.

"Princess Daisy!" Luigi exclaimed and took a step toward her to help. She waved him off, then straightened herself. Luigi noted her missing crown and gloves, and the fact that she had showed up through the bushes. Something was definitely up here, he thought warily.

"I'm so glad you came, Luigi," Daisy's voice faltered, and she paused to take a deep breath. "I need your help."

Luigi tried to find some sort of emotion on her face, but she seemed oddly stoic as she continued. "I-I don't know who else to go to. When that letter came… I… I thought that I had some sort of plan, but now, well… I don't know what to do…"

"…Look, Princess, why don't you start from the beginning? I don't understand," Luigi said gently, afraid that she might start crying. He didn't think he could handle the situation if that happened.

Whatever this was, she was obviously torn up about it. Daisy was usually so strong-willed that nothing got her down. To see her looking so frightened and lost made Luigi realize that there might be more to the princess that he thought he knew.

She seemed a bit more composed as she started again. " Yesterday I received a letter from my father. He's… he's set up an arranged marriage for me… to P-Prince Peasley!" Now she did start crying, much to Luigi's dismay. "Oh, Luigi! I don't want to marry that stupid bean prince!" She threw herself against Luigi's chest and wrapped her arms around his slender waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Luigi stood frozen in the embrace, unsure of how to comfort her. He settled for awkwardly rubbing her back to try and soothe her.

"I… I'm sorry, Daisy. What can I do to help you?" He asked, his formality dropping out of concern for her. Daisy pulled away from the embrace and wiped her eyes before looking at him.

"Help me run away."

Luigi stared blankly at the Princess as she walked back to the bush that she had been hiding in. After a bit of struggling with the twigs, she managed to produce a small yellow and orange suitcase.

"I can't go back to Sarasaland… I can't marry Prince Peasly…" she explained. "So I've decided to go somewhere my father will never find me." She tossed the suitcase in Luigi's direction, and he clumsily caught it before it hit the ground. "You'll help me, won't you?"

Before he knew what he was doing, Luigi found himself nodding at the princess before him.

A/N: UPDATE: First of all, I just want to tell you all that if you're worried about the whole Peasley and Daisy plotline, don't worry! This story's nothing like Not Another Love Story. I just used that to get the story going; Peasley doesn't really have much of a role in this story at all. :P

I'm really excited about this story, and although I'm not making any promises, I hope I'll have the next chapter up soon. Any ideas you have for me will also be taken into consideration! So please review!