Fallen For You: Prologue

Fallen For You

Prologue: Meet


The sun creeps up in the east, setting the horizon on fire in a vast display of color for yet another peaceful spring day. I sit alone, watching the wind blow through the flowers in Peach’s garden, sending their alluring fragrances in my direction. The breeze does what it can to dishevel my short, blue hair, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s almost soothing, really. The sun’s golden rays illuminate my untouched breakfast, but do nothing to make it more appealing to me. I haven’t had an appetite in quite some time.

I can hear a small commotion as the other Brawlers make their way out of the mansion to begin their training, but I know that no one will join me here, in the gazebo.

They all know better.

I sit here, and I wait; for what, I’m not sure. Zelda has relieved me of my responsibilities until sundown. She told me that I needed a break. That I hadn’t yet come to terms with what happened. She felt that it was in my best interests to be alone with my thoughts, so that I may come to terms with that which I refused to even think about.

The flowers, shining with dew, bob their heads happily, enjoying the breeze. Another perfect day in Mushroom Kingdom, taunting me. I look out at the field that stretched out to the west of the Mansion. The gazebo iselevated, and has a perfect view of the rolling plains below.

“Look at the field, Ike! The grass moves in waves! Isn’t it beautiful?”

His voice. It hurts to even think about it; heartbreaking how clear it rings in my mind, even after all these years.

"You think everything's beautiful."

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Hey, will you lay down with me, please? I want to watch the clouds.”

“Homesick?”

“No, it’s just a beautiful day.”

Just another beautiful day without you, my Angel. Not even the view of that same  field can cheer me up. At the far end, something yellow catches my eye. I see brown hair, blowing softly in the wind, so it must be Princess Daisy, here to visit with Peach, and perhaps have tea. But as she gets closer, I recognized her.

“Mist?”

She smiles and brakes into a run. She isn’t a little kid anymore, but she still has her energy. This makes me smile.

“Ike!” she calls, making her way into the garden, and up the steps into the gazebo. I open my arms, and meet her at the entrance. She embraces me tightly, whispering, “I’ve missed you so much!”

“I missed you, too.”

“It’s been eighteen years,” she exclaimes, silence forgotten, and pulls away just enough to give me a peck on the cheek.

“I know. You’ve grown up. I hardly recognized you at first.”

She giggles. “If it wasn’t for your hair and headband, I probably wouldn’t have recognized you either.” She looks me in the eyes and her smile slightly falters. I may be able to fool a lot of people, but never Mist. I have no doubt that she can see the pain that I still harbor, deep down, but instead of pointing it out right away, she turns to the Mansion. “Is this where you’ve been living?”

I nodd. “Yeah, it’s great. A lot more than I need, but it’s home.”

Her smile returns to its full radiance. “I can see why you left. This place is so nice,” she said, looking around the gazebo, taking it all in.

“This place is so big! I believe even my Goddess would be comfortable with such accomidations!”

I do my best to drown the memory before it could fully surface. Hearing his voice was hard enough, but seeing his face in my mind’s eye might be more than I can bear.

“You’re welcome to stay for a while,” I say, mostly to distract myself from my thoughts. “I hope that you didn’t hop dimensions just to say ‘hi’ and go.”

“Oh, I’m staying for a while! It will be at least a month until Soren can reopen the portal between our worlds, so you’re stuck with me.”

“Oh, the luck,” I say with a smile. “It’s good to know that Soren’s well.”

“Mm-hm. You know that he wanted to go with you, when you left, but the invite was very strict about how you, and only you, would be allowed to come to this dimension. We always figured you would come back, but after so many years, we didn’t think you would.” She looks up at me, her eyes pleading for me to tell her that I had every intention of returning to her.

“I wanted to come back, but… so much has happened.”

She must have sensed the hurt in my voice, because she movs on, “I know what you mean. I actually planned on visiting you a lot sooner, but then I had Hale, and it didn’t feel right to leave him, because I didn’t know if I would be able to return.”

“Wait a minute, are you saying that I’m an uncle?”

“Yes, you have two nephews, both grown enough to take care of themselves. Boyd stayed back to take care of them, anyways. He said that he wanted me to go, because you’re my brother, and he’s just your friend. He thought it was important that I see you, because the stress of not knowing if you were alive or dead was starting to wear on me,” she gives a light chuckle to try and cover the fact that she had been seriously concerned for me. So I give her a light hug.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big boy, and I can take care of myself.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” she laughs. “So, what about you?”

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. It’s been eighteen years! Haven’t you met someone by now, or is there no one in this dimension to catch your interest?” she looks up at me. I thought that I was keeping my expressions under control, but she sees right through the façade and sobers immediately. “Ike?”

It just seems that everything comes back to him. There are no exceptions; even though he is no longer here, I find him everywhere, and I can’t dodge it anymore. I sigh. “Yes, there is someone…” I trail off, because it's so hard to go on.

She sees my pain too well, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know, we don’t have to-“

“No,” I cut her off. “I think I should. I haven’t even talked about it with anyone, and it’s all well that you would be the first. We could always talk to each other about anything, and this will be good for me.” ‘I think.’

She nods. “Okay, please tell me. I want to know what happened to you.”

“It’s a long story,” I warn.

She shrugs. “I have all month.”

But I only have until sundown. I guide her over to the gazebo’s padded bench. She sits, and looks out at the field with me. I struggle to find a beginning to my story. “This will probably shock you,” I warn again.

She's unfazed. “I’ll love you no matter what. You’ll always be my brother.”

I take a deep breath, and try to put my ideas into words. “Mist, I never thought I was different. I always thought I was just every other guy, but, something just- I don’t know. When I saw-“ I sigh and stop my ramblings. Mist is patient, and waits for me to find my place. I want to start at the beginning, but that would involve saying his name, and I don’t know if I can. I begin anyways, figuring she would continue to understand even if I ramble again. “Okay, this all started when I met-” ‘I can’t do it; I can’t.’

“Ike?”

“Hey, are you new here too?”

“…Yeah, I guess so…”

“Well, it’s so nice to meet you! … um…”

“Ike. I’m Ike, and you are?”

“Oh, my name is”

“Pit.”