Heroes of Dreamland Rewritten, Book 1: Stars Amidst Lightning

Chapter 26

Bandanna Dee | バンダナーヂィ

"There was a King who had a Dee and Waddle was its name-oh: W-A-D-D-L-E, W-A-D-D-L-E, W-A-D-D-L-E and Waddle was its name-oh..." Clacking the pole of my spear against the ground in time to the song I hum in my head as I walk, I rack my brain for any songs I haven't already sung to myself. When that fails, I start hunting for any songs I haven't sang twice, and manage to think of one that fits that description right away.

"The eyes are connected to the face spot. The face spot's connected to the puffball. The puffball's connected to the paws and feet. Now there's the makings of a Dee..." The work tunes I've grown up on are strangely reassuring, even if I don't care for the context I learned them in at all. Spending your earliest years learning how to cook and clean and mind a castle for someone who doesn't even like you is hardly a fun pastime, after all. Luckily enough, at least I got out of the total servitude part fairly young. I was probably six, maybe seven when the King picked me to be his assistant. And a few years later, I got brave enough to just start ignoring him and living my life the way I want. Poor Sakura had to keep putting up with him until she was practically full-grown.

But like I said, even if the context for the memories isn't great, at least the songs themselves are handy for when you're really anxious but trying to keep yourself calm. After thinking of one I haven't sang yet due to the fact that it takes forever to finish, I finally give in and start in on that one. "99 bottles of milk on the wall, 99 bottles of milk. Take one down and ship it to town, 98 bottles of milk on the wall..."

By the time this one's finished, if I still haven't gotten anywhere closer to the patch of light I've been pointlessly chasing after for the past couple hours, I guess I'll know for sure that I'll never get out of this stupid cave. And before you start accusing me of exaggeration, let me assure you that most Waddle Dees have an inherent, surprisingly accurate sense of time. It's almost like I have a clock hidden somewhere in the back of my mind. I almost always can guess what time it is and be right within a quarter of an hour, and it's easy for me to estimate how much time has elapsed from any given point within a few minutes or so of accuracy. Sakura's one of the glaring exceptions to this rule, though. Even as a normal Dee (or as close to normal as she's ever been) she was always running late for things or spending way too much time on any given task. The others tended not to be too sharp with her about it, but I know they totally couldn't stand it.

Another dripping sound goes off for the umpteenth time, but even though I'm mostly used to it by now, it still takes everything in me not to jump and point my spear directly at it. I'm a brave Waddle Dee, sure, but even a brave Waddle Dee is still not a lion-heart or anything. Clenching my spear tighter, I sigh internally and continue plowing determinedly ahead. I wish I knew how the others were doing. Even better, I wish we were all at home. Me and Kirby could explore the castle and prank the King, Sakura could read to us, Meta Knight could be grumpy at everyone, we could all eat shortcake. It'd all be good. But no. We have to be off on some dumb quest, risking our lives to save everyone else's once again, only to go home and not even get a single 'thank you' from anybody.

If you can't tell, work without recognition has always seriously rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it's because I grew up practically as a slave, I dunno. But in my opinion, if you do something for someone else, especially if you do it without pay, they owe you a 'thank you' at least. You'd think by now I'd be used to the fact that most heroes go without respect or thanks around here, but it still drives me nuts... At least Kirby and Meta Knight are known by everyone else as heroes. I'm always just kinda... there. I wonder which group Sakura will end up a part of when this is all over.

That is, if I ever manage to make it out of this stupid cave.

A few pebbles clatter off one of the walls and down onto the floor, making me jump straight up in the air and grab my spear in both hands, ready to defend myself. The second I realize it was just a few loose rocks, I mentally groan at myself and relax the tiniest bit again. I'm getting more jumpy all the time, it seems. It's been too long; something's gotta happen sometime to prove this tension right or wrong, right? I sure do hope that the others are out of here by now, though I hope they haven't been for too much longer than me by the time I make it out. If I'm way behind the others, Kirby'll think I'm such a wimp, and I'd hate that. Maybe I'm the older of us two, but he's definitely the coolest, and I'm definitely the sidekick. Honestly, I don't mind too badly, though, I guess. I just like having a friend.