Sarasa Nightmare

Chapter 3-3

"So tell me, how'd you end up here in Sarasaland?" Daisy leaned forward as she sat across the table from him after they finished their meal.

"It's hard to explain..."

"Try me, I'm a good listener, or I can be."

"I've lived in my big brother's shadow all my life, never quite good enough to be my own person. I had to get away from it."

"You think I wouldn't understand being in a shadow. That's been my whole life. Except I'm not in a shadow of a person, instead I'm in the shadow of an expectation. People look at me, and they don't see Daisy. They don't see the girl who loves to play tennis and likes to sleep in late. They don't see the girl who is a fighter. Instead, they see THE Princess Daisy. They see a damsel in distress. They see someone polite and sweet and... totally not me. But it's who I am, according to them. Trust me. I get being in a shadow."

"That's not really the..."

Daisy cut him off. "Don't even try to tell me that it isn't the same. It's exactly the same."

His brows furrowed as he thought about it before he let out a slightly shocked chuckle. "I suppose you're right, at least in the broad spectrum of it."

"Still, if you moved here to avoid that shadow, I can't help but wonder what are you doing in this castle – trying to rescue the maiden and save the world?"

Luigi scowled. "I don't know if I could explain it."

"It's hard to walk away from expectation, isn't it?"

His scowl deepened as he refused to respond, not liking how easily she seemed to see through him.

Daisy smiled bitterly, almost as if to say she had been there and already had the t-shirt.

After a moment, she stood up, wiping her skirt off. "Come on, walk me back to bed."