Kirby Dee spent the afternoon wandering around the castle, thinking of all that had happened the past weeks. It was hard to believe that just a couple of months before, back in spring, she had been a normal Waddle Dee. She wondered when the monster she had to fight would get here, who the 'friends' that would go with her were, whether she would be able to do it.

She pulled her plain sword out of the leather sheath on her back she used to carry it around. She hadn't been wearing it last night during her little prank on the king, even though Meta Knight had given it to her expressly for the purpose that she wouldn't be confused with a regular Waddle Dee. Of course, she had taken it off expressly for the purpose that she wouldn't be recognized. She sat down against the wall and studied it, fascinated, but then she grew sad. Would she be able to use it as an actual weapon, when it came to that? She had never actually hurt anyone with any weapon, except for once when she had hit herself in the head with this sword's hilt. She had had Warp Stars floating in front of her eyes for hours.

Am I really the one meant for this quest? I guess I am the only girl Waddle Dee, but still. I'm... scared, she thought to herself. As a Waddle Dee passed her and gave her a strange look, she started to cry softly. And now I'm a stranger, an outcast, among my own kind. I miss the way things used to be.

She sat there sniffling, until she heard thumping inside the wall. It sounded just like two sets of small feet. "Those two," she huffed. "They're probably going to try to get me in trouble again. Well, not this time. No sir-ee."

Sure enough, Kirby and Bandana Dee snuck out through a nearby hole in the wall and waddled over to her. "No. Don't even ask," she ordered before they had a chance to get a word out. "I'm too old and mature for playing pranks."

Bandana Dee touched his forehead to hers. "You weren't last night. Now, don't worry. We won't let you get caught this time."

"No," she repeated. "Meta Knight's right. I'm going to be a hero, I shouldn't be playing dumb tricks on other people. And you guys are heroes, you should know better."

Kirby stuck his tongue out at her. "Stick-in-the-mud, poyo."

She glared at him. "Whatever."

"Whatever," Bandana Dee agreed, still touching his forehead to hers. "We'll just have some fun without you, Mini Knight."

"Mini Knight? What's that supposed to mean?" she humphed.

Kirby giggled and fist-bumped Bandana Dee. "Good one, poyo." He pointed at her. "You Mini Knight, poyo." With a snicker, they ambled off.

She stood up and sheathed her sword. "I should probably follow them and try to keep them out of trouble." She sighed. "Mini Knight. Is that like 'teacher's pet?' I think?"

She decided to practice stealth by following them silently. "I wish I had Meta Knight's cloak," she whispered. "It would be a really cool effect." She didn't really need it though, they probably thought she was still back sulking in her corner. They weren't really paying attention to their surroundings, she observed.

Not much later, they stopped outside the throne room. They turned around, and she barely had time to leap behind a potted plant. Peeping out, she watched as they silently stood by the large oak doors, looking almost like they were standing guard. "What are they doing?" she whispered, her eyes narrowed.

Finally, the doors swung open, and Escargoon walked out, followed by a few Waddle Dee. "Having me go to get his supper from the kitchen. What does he think I am, a pathetic Waddle Dee?" he huffed. "Ow, that was my foot!" he suddenly turned and spat at a Waddle Dee that hadn't even touched him. "Why am I even keeping company with you squirts?"

She glared at him, glad he couldn't see her. "How do they put up with that?" she hissed indignantly.

Suddenly, she noticed Bandana Dee and Kirby were gone. "Where'd they go?..." she whispered.

She didn't have to wonder for long. Dropping off the top of the door, they landed on Escargoon's shell. "Ride 'em, poyo!" Kirby shouted gleefully.

"AAAAAH! Kingy, help me!" Escargoon yelped. "Kirby and a Waddle Dee are attacking me!"

"Those... cream puffs," she muttered angrily. "What do they think they're doing? We never actually physically tortured anyone last night! I don't like Escargoon, but these two should know better."

"What are you talking about, you thick-as-a-brick snail?" she heard DeDeDe thunder as Escargoon slugged crazily around the room, speeding around like a thick-as-a-brick anything but a snail.

"Get 'em off me!" Escargoon cried, tears flying comically out of his eyes. "They're attacking me!"

She ran up to the snail. "You two get down from there!" she shouted at them, completely ignoring Escargoon.

"And now the creepy talking Waddle Dee is yelling at them, but they aren't listening!" Escargoon bawled. "Help!"

DeDeDe stomped out, giant hammer in hand. "You two marshmallows get off my chief advisor, or you're going to be, um, mushed marshmallows!"

Kirby and Bandana Dee looked at him in amusement, clearly enjoying their ride around the room via the Escargoon Express. Kirby pulled a funny face, sticking his tongue out. "No. Fun, poyo!"

"They're acting like little kids," she snorted. Then she realized... Bandana Dee was a lot younger than she was, and she could actually remember the day Kirby arrived, which meant it wasn't that many years ago. "They are little kids," she whispered. "They need someone to show them what to do. I wonder why Meta Knight hasn't yet?..." Suddenly she understood what Bandana Dee had been talking about the night before. "I taught him to think out of the box... I'll bet I helped take care of him awhile back, before he became an outcast."

There wasn't any more time to ponder these things at the moment. She jumped up and somehow managed to inhale both of them at once. Then she took them to an empty, dusty sitting room where she spat them out onto the carpet. "Why did you do that?" she asked them in irritation.

"Bored, poyo," Kirby huffed, glaring at her like she had eaten his last piece of strawberry shortcake.

"Well, torturing other people, even if they are royal jerks, isn't a good way to have fun. I'm really sorry for joining you last night, and I know I set a bad example, but that's no excuse," she reprimanded them. "Now, I know you two are young, so I'm giving you a warning. Behave, or be sorry."

Bandana Dee indignantly touched foreheads with her. "You're not our mom."

"Maybe not, but I am essentially your older sister," she told him.

He sighed. "I guess. That's right, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to be your mom, in fact, I think I'd hate that. Besides, I'm way too young to be a mom. I'd love to be your friend. But please, you two really should know better. Don't go doing that again. Now go find something constructive to do." She pretended to look around and make sure no one was watching, then whispered confidentially, "I saw a batch of strawberry shortcake in the kitchen earlier, better go eat it before DeDeDe finds it."

They nodded excitedly, and Kirby gave her a hug. "Still friends, poyo?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded. "Of course," she told him, a smile in her voice.

"Okay," Kirby grinned, and walked with his buddy out of the room.

"That was very mature of you," Meta Knight said moments later, flying down with the bat-like wings from his cloak, arriving from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Eep!" she squeaked in surprise. "How long were you up there?"

"Only the past minute or so. I heard someone was torturing Escargoon, but by the time I got there, it was over. Escargoon told me you saved him," he chuckled. "I think he thought they were going to eat him, or something else along those lines."

She laughed, then grew serious. "Why don't you yell at them when they do things like that? I think I remember them always being like that."

He shook his head in irritation. "They will not listen to me."

"They're kids," she sighed. "Listening isn't really their strong suit."

"You are perfectly capable of listening. Are you not a child as well?" he pointed out.

"Actually, I'm not. I'm somewhere between sixteen and twenty years old, but I'm not sure," she answered.

"Is that so?" he asked, his eyes a deep green of surprise. "I thought you were probably around twice Kirby's age."

She shook her head. "Nope. I remember taking care of a few of the smallest Waddle Dee the day Kirby arrived, which means I must've already been at least... fourteen-ish? then."

"I see," he muttered, still surprised. "I always thought you were a child, which is why I called you 'little one.'"

"I thought you just called me that because I'm little. Although, I'm bigger than Kirby, and Bandana Dee too, so that doesn't even make much sense."

"I never noticed that," he mused. "Which is strange, I do not usually miss things like that."

"Well..." she shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."

He thought for a moment, then requested, "Would you do me the favor of continuing to be a role model for those two? Maybe they will learn from you, what they refuse to learn from me."

"I can try," she nodded, closing her eyes and tilting her head in a Waddle Dee 'smile.'

He laughed and turned to leave. "I will leave you alone now. Enjoy the rest of your evening off."

"Wait. First, come to the library. There's something I want to show you," she told him.

"All right," he nodded, obviously a bit confused.

In the library, she hopped up to her shelf and picked a book. She jumped back down to the ground, opened it, and looked happily at him. Then, she cleared her throat and began to read, slowly but accurately.

"When I was a-walking, I looked up in a tree. Within there was a bird, as tiny as could be. It sang a little ditty, so very cheerily. I know it was a little child, a child just like me," she finished proudly.

He stared at her in surprise. "Did you do that from memory?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. Every night before falling asleep, I've been teaching myself how to read."

He nodded, his eyes a happy blue. "That is very good. But, to make sure you're actually reading..." he pulled out a random book and pointed to a passage. "Read this."

She took the book. "Many years ago, there was a penguin. This penguin put up statues of himself, in order to attempt to convince everyone he was king. And yeah,-"

"Yea," he corrected.

"Yea," she started again, "this attempt worked, for indeed, he is our king now." She laughed and asked, "Is that true?"

He nodded. "That is indeed how King DeDeDe came to power, even before I got here."

She sighed in amusement and put the book back on the shelf. "Thank you for your time, Sir Knight."

"Thank you for your company." He bowed, and left.

She sighed, and after taking a curtain off a window and dusting it, then using it as a blanket, she picked up a book and continued to quietly practice.