Prologue: The Desert Flower

She stood there. Watching. Watching anxiously as the red stranger defeated the purple alien king. She tried to thank him, but the gag in her mouth prevented proper words to come out.

"Here," he said. "Let me untie you first."

She held still as the red man freed her from the heavy metal shackles that chaffed and rawed her skin.

"Thank-you very much...um..." she looked at him awkwardly.

"Mario," he supplied. She nodded and smiled, reluctantly. "It was no trouble, Princess."

She held up her hand in protest. "No, I would rather you call me Daisy, please."

He blinked, slightly stunned, and then smiled.

"Of course, Daisy, I'd be happy to." She smiled contentedly, but then her face dropped, her eyes far-off. He saw she was troubled.

"What's the matter, Daisy?" he asked. She looked hesitantly at him.

"As much as Sarasaland would be honoured to have its saviour stay, I'm afraid my intuition tells me that your princess is in danger."

"Really? That's horrible! I'd better leave, but I'm so tired, and I don't have any more power-ups or 1-ups," he said warily.

"Of course, Mario, we wouldn't leave you empty handed upon your return to the Mushroom Kingdom. You may head to the supply room for some power-ups and 1-ups. I also have a package for you to give to Peach." She handed him a feeble looking brown package.

He looked at it and began to open it, curious to what was inside. Daisy stopped him.

"This is for the eyes of the Princess only. Sorry." He looked up to see her face grim.

They headed to the supply room to settle on things Mario would take with him. Ambassador Chai came up to them hurriedly.

"We've just received word from the Mushroom Kingdom that they require assistance. Princess Peach has been kidnapped."

Mario looked from the blustered ambassador to the calm, but grave looking princess. She was right, he thought, amazed.

"Mario, please hurry and help Peach," she said, turning to him.

He nodded. "Thank-you for the power-ups, they'll come in handy."

"Don't mention it. They were gathering dust here anyway." He turned to leave. "Oh, and Mario," she said. He turned to look at her. "Thank-you and good luck."

4 Years Later

Beads of sweat rolled down from Luigi's temple, down near the corners of his mouth. He licked his lips and wiped his brow with his sleeve. He looked back to see his brother shield his eyes with his arm as he looked up at the sky, tightly clutching the ball in his hand. This is it, he thought.

They were so close. The score was at Deuce, but Peach was tired and her partner, whoever she was, couldn't hold out for both of them much longer. Luigi and Mario had gone over the game plan earlier.

"Whose Peach's partner again?" Luigi asked for the fifth time.

"That doesn't matter right now," Mario snapped with irritation. Luigi huffed. "Now remember, these girls are good, but Peach isn't high on stamina, and sooner than enough she'll rely more on her partner's strength, and that's when you strike, 'kay?" Luigi nodded excitedly. The competitive bug was catching.

"But her partner is also tricky, so watch out, got it?" Luigi nodded again.

They headed out onto the clay court and took position. Peach tightened her ponytail. Her partner, who had shoved a lock of hair behind one ear, had caught Luigi's eye.

She was quite pretty. She had wide, innocent, ocean green eyes, tan skin and sun freckles on her cheeks. Her lips were red and lush. Her hair was a dark, brownish-orange, which was tied up in a messy bun, her hair in a disarray. She had a good build, reminding Luigi of Amazonian warriors he used to read about. Her legs were toned, and her arms strong.

Her innocent eyes held the look of intensity, like how some professionals looked right before a game. She adjusted her white tennis cap, which had a daisy symbol on it. It matched the white accent on her yellow tennis dress and white tennis shoes.

The referee then came in. He called Luigi and the girl to the front of the net. "Okay, you two, are you heads or tails?" Luigi answered heads. The girl smiled slyly, like she wanted that.

"No, no wait. I mean tails," he fumbled. She frowned.

"Okay, you two, shake hands now," They reached over the net. Luigi felt her soft skin and it sent an odd tingle up his spine. Her handshake was firm, though, proving his earlier comparison to a warrior.

The coin was flipped and the referee caught it. "Sorry bud, it's heads. Should have kept your first guess. This team's serve."

The girl caught the balls and headed to the baseline. Luigi stared in disbelief. He saw Peach mouth the words, "Did you bluff him?" and saw the girl smile brilliantly. His eyes were still wide as he headed to the baseline.

Mario caught his sleeve. "I told you she was tricky."

He was ready now. She was heaving hard, having kept the ball away from her low-stamina partner, Peach.

He was serving. They were on the advantage now. He hit the ball hard, imagining it smash into the ground. Peach spun for momentum and hit it hard, Mario ran up to it and volleyed it to the side. The girl dove and tipped it over the net. Mario hit it again and the girl ran and whacked it, sending to the far corner. Luigi saw his chance.

He shook his racket and began to spin, gaining momentum as green sparks whirled around him. His racket met the ball with a deafening crack, sending it from his corner to the other diagonally across the court.

Mario ducked and the girl dove for it, but she was too far left. Peach missed it, having been on the other side of the court.

A deafening roar from the crowd sounded as Mario ran to hug his brother. "We won! We did it!"

"Good job, buddy." Luigi turned toward the silky sound to see the girl coming up to him, all smiles.

"Gee, thanks," he blushed. "You were really good out there."

"Thanks, you too," her smooth voice said.

"Are you coming for the after party?" Luigi asked.

"No, I've got to get home and I have to deal with some issues there. But I'll see you around sometime."

She turned to leave. "Hey!" Luigi yelled. She turned back to him.

"What's your name?"

"Daisy. Daisy Salzwell," she replied.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you again, Daisy," they shook hands in farewell.

To Be Continued...