A Heart of Stone
By General Luigi
Author's Notes
Not much has been revealed by Nintendo about the life of King Bowser, so any future revelations about his past should be ignored for this story to be fully enjoyed. Much of Bowser's life will be based on the life of a very famous ruler. With enough information, you should be able to figure out who it was. Anyway, this is just the prologue. Considering that I'm also working on two other stories, it might be a while before the plot fully develops, not to mention it might also be a while before I finish the first chapter. I recently received word that in Japan, Bowser's wife was named Clawdia. Be that as it may, the name of Bowser's wife in this story will not change. Finally, 1881 is the year I chose for the date of Mario's victory over the Shadow Queen. Most of the story takes place in Bowser's past, but every now and then I will go to the present for a conversation between Bowser and his children. The prologue is an example.
Prologue—1881
Bowser walked down the familiar halls of Koopa Castle, occasionally glancing at a picture hanging on the wall or a bust or statue guarding a door. Turning down to go to his chambers, he passed through the Hall of History. There, every past King and the single Queen were immortalized in heavily decorated paintings and statues. The Hall had been arranged so that the Rurikoopas were on one side of the Royal Chambers while the Koopanovs—Bowser's line—were depicted on the other side. Bowser continued down the hall, starting with the first Koopa King, Franz I. The procession continued—Johann I, Ludwig I, Wolfgang I, Anna I, Johannes I, Frederic I, Richard I, Franz II, and Georges I. He was about to go in when he saw his youngest son, Bowser Jr., in the Hall, looking at one of the portraits.
Bowser went toward his son, passing the pictures of his ancestors—Aleksandr, Nikolai, César, Modest, Mily, and his father—Morton. He stopped and saw Bowser Jr. looking at the picture of his father. However, Bowser looked not at himself but at the Koopa shown in his arms. The picture had only recently been placed in the Hall, but the memories made it seem as if the picture were as old as he was.
"Is that my Mama?" Bowser Jr. asked.
"Yes…" Bowser said. "I'm sorry I lied to you."
"Did you not like her?"
"Junior… I loved her more than life itself. I never talked about her because it made me miss her."
"What happened to her?"
"She died… you hatched a month later."
"Is that why you wanted Princess Peach to be my Mama?"
"No… Peach could never replace Kato. I wanted Peach to get rid of my painful memories. I was stupid to think I loved her. I just wanted the pain to go away."
"Was Kato her name?" Junior asked.
"No; it was her nickname. Her full name was Yekaterina, which is Koopsian for 'Katherine.' It was a beautiful name for a beautiful lady, and she was… perfect."
"What about my siblings? Did they know her?"
"Larry and Morton were too young to remember her by the time she died. As for Wendy, Iggy, and Roy, they probably remember a little about her. Lemmy and Ludwig remember plenty, though. They were almost as sad as I was…" Bowser felt a tear come to his eye.
"What was she like?"
"Perfect…"
"How?"
"It's getting late. Remind me in the morning, and I'll tell you about her. Something tells me your siblings will also want to hear our story. Now, go off to bed."
Junior headed down the hall and to his chambers. Bowser walked into his chambers and took off his shell and clothes, getting into his night robe. Before tucking himself in and going to bed, he reached into the drawer of his bedside table and took out the picture of his wife that he had not seen in years. Blowing the dust off of it, he placed it on the table.
"Forgive me," he said to the picture. "I never should have tried to forget you." He then turned out his light and went to bed.