A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 36: Little Luigi, Big Luigi

"There you go! A stack of Dry Bone Pancakes!" Luigi said as he placed the stack of pancakes next to the orange juices and bacon in the center of the table. Luigi didn't wait as he got used to being big again, getting used to the heaviness of his body as it reminded him of the days back in the walls of Peach's castle. It was rough those first few days, but with his joyful mindset and getting back into his old routine, this was nothing but a workout.

"Yay!" Junior said as he grabbed a few off the stack as Luigi started to serve himself breakfast. It was just the two of them this morning, as it's been a while since they spent some time alone. Junior has been playing with Peach and the others, trying to get along with everyone as they stay here. It was nice to see him getting along with everyone, especially Mario. Luigi won't have to worry about leaving the Darkland if all goes according to plan.

"So what do you want to do today, Junior? Visit some shops in town? Ask your dad for some karts? Plan out some pranks to do?" Luigi asks as he fixes his bandanna so it doesn't get dirty as Junior eats his breakfast. He was quiet, thinking about what he wanted to do. He could think of so many things they could do now that Luigi was taller than him, even though it was only a few hours until he had to get more medicine to keep him big. Junior swallowed his food before answering Luigi.

"Can we go into town and visit the fair?" Junior asks as Luigi takes a sip of his orange juice.

"A Fair? At this time of year?" Luigi asked. Sure, the Mushroom Kingdom had a fall fair where people could get pumpkins, but that was when it was starting to get cold but not too cold, and you didn't have to wear a winter coat. It was already over halfway through fall. Maybe it's because it's still warm in the Darkland that they can have a fair so late in the year, even with the rain that's been coming and going.

"Yup! It's called the Blue Shell Fair! Since we don't get snow like the other kingdoms, we like to have a fair to show our winter Cheer." Junior explains as he grabs more pancakes.

"But it's in the middle of Fall, won't the fair be held in winter make more sense?" Luigi asks, trying to understand how this fair works.

"Yeah it would." Junior said as he took a bite of his pancake before talking with his mouth full, "But it's always hard to tell when it will be Winter. Dad once told me a story about how one year when he was a little older than me that they didn't have the Blue Shell fair because one of the Koopa that came back from another kingdom said that there was no snow there. It wasn't till Winter passed that Dad found out that Koopa had come back from the desert, and it hardly ever rains in the desert!"

"That does sound awful - don't talk with your mouth full," Luigi said as he grabbed a napkin to clean Junior's face as Junior swallowed his food.

"Sorry. But after that, they decide that they will have the Blue Shell Fair on whatever day the snow falls in the mushroom kingdom, and it will be the week we have the fair. So the next year, after Dad missed the Blue Shell Fair, the mushroom kingdom had its first snowfall. We didn't know that snow had come early and melted the same day. All we know is that when snow falls, and we keep it like that. Even after we all found out that that happened in the fall."

"Now that makes more sense on why it's held so early." Luigi said as he started to clean up the empty plates.

"Yeah, so can we go?! Dad never wants to take me; Grandpa is always the one that takes me, but he always gets tired after only half an hour."

"Why doesn't he want to take you?" Luigi asks as he washes the dishes, his hands feeling heavy and getting dark from the water.

"He said that all the Koopa get sacred around him, but every year, they all ask if Dad is coming this year," Junior said as he dropped his plate over, grabbing the stepping stool to help Luigi clean up. Luigi remembers Bowser saying something like that back when they watched the fireworks, how he doesn't do so well at parties. Maybe that was the case, but things have slowly changed over the months, and Luigi knows that the Koopa are very kind when they are not ordered to do something evil.