Princess Peach smiled sadly to herself as she removed the well-worn sparkly pink diary from its hiding spot behind the painting of a cottage on the mantle place. Yesterday she bid on an expensive piece of art during a fundraiser for the Mushroom Kingdom Board of Educators, and to her delight she had won. She knew that the warm colors of the acrylic would fit in perfectly above the hearth, and in the process of replacing the old painting she uncovered her childhood diary. Peach gently flipped open the cover and skimmed the first page. It read:
September 3,
I wint to furst grad. It wus fun.
She laughed at the misspellings and backwards letters that served as a reminder of her past self. Although it was so long ago, she remembered the day in vivid detail...
"Mommy, I'm scared." Peach had whined in the plush back seat of one of her father's many expensive cars. This was the first time she was to be left alone in a new environment full of strangers. She was terrified.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Her mother said off-handedly from the passenger side. She never drove, not only because she was an unskilled driver, but also because she loved the glamour of having a chauffer. Her platinum blonde hair was styled in a complicated up-do, signaling that she would be attending an imperious event after accompanying her daughter on the drive to school. She spoke in a hushed voice into the phone that was cradled to her ear, but despite her secrecy Peach could still make out her conversation.
"I know, dreadful thing. I can't believe the superintendent's audacity to let those people in and put the Mario family on the wait-list! I told you we pulled some strings... Mmmhmmm. No one has a better standing in the kingdom! Of course, you know how Queen Ruby is. She would give anything to be respectable, trying to cover up the fact of who they are... Undeniably. I would love to chat but I have to go, it's my youngest's first day of school. Yes, I will visit this evening. Ta-ta." With a muted tap she hung up the phone, and turned around to face her daughter in the back seat. "Never interrupt me while I'm on the phone." She said sternly, before turning back around to watch the wealthy neighborhoods stream past outside.
All too quickly they arrived at the school, which Peach perceived as an evil dragon waiting to gobble her up once she stepped inside. Her mother held her hand tightly as they walked through the dragon's mouth and entered into its throat. Within its guts churned door after door which they walked past, each denoted with a series of numbers. At the end of the hall they came to one marked as 'Room 129.'
"This is your classroom," Peach's mother told her patiently. "You'll come here when you are dropped off, understand? The chauffer will pick you up later today. Be good." And with a brisk hug she turned on her heel to strut elegantly out of the dragon, leaving her helpless daughter inside to be digested.
Peach remembered being led into her first grade class by her teacher, Ms. Merriweather, who had a friendly smile which slightly dulled Peach's panic. After everyone arrived, hasty introductions were made before their teacher granted them permission to play and explore the room a bit before they began their learning. Once her initial hesitation wore off, Peach nervously wandered towards the bin full of blocks in the corner that had caught her eye. She began to assemble the colorful pieces into little towers and citadels around her. Soon she became so enthralled in her construction that she temporarily forgot her separation anxiety. Peach delicately placed a triangular block on top of a stack of square ones, when from behind her she heard the tell-tale wooden clatter of falling blocks. She turned around to see a large, mean-looking boy standing over them, flanked by two other boys with wicked grins on their faces.
The leader of the group was unlike any person that Peach had ever seen in the Mushroom Kingdom. His body vaguely resembled a turtle's, however he had jaw-length red hair that sprouted from his head, spikes on the shell that adhered to his back, and sharp little claws that grew from his hands. His friends looked the same, but with brown hair. Although their appearances were intimidating, Peach's anger surpassed her feelings of fear.
"Hey! Did you knock my blocks over?" She asked, accusingly.
"I guess I did." The ring-leader said smugly.
"Then you need to say you're sorry!" Peach responded, indignantly. It was beyond her how someone could admit to wrongdoing without apologizing.
"I don't need to say sorry to anybody." The boy said haughtily. "I'm a prince." He laughed.
"Well, I'm a princess." Peach refuted, enjoying the brief shock that flashed across her adversary's face.
"Well, I'm going to be a king of the Darklands." He declared.
"Eventually I'll be queen of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Peach argued, choosing to omit the fact that her sister, Rosalina, would be queen first.
"The Mushroom Kingdom's stupid!" He yelled, changing tactics.
"My kingdom's not stupid, and you need to say you're sorry right now!" Peach screamed, besting him in pitch and volume.
A look of appreciation flashed across the boy's face. She could tell he was impressed. He looked her over once, up and down, before he spoke again.
"Alright fine." He conceded. "I'm sorry. I'll even help you rebuild your tower."
"Thank you." Peach said simply, as he knelt beside her and carefully stacked the pieces on top of each other.
"Look, Bowser's playing with a girl!" One of the brown-haired boys mocked.
"It's Prince Bowser to you, and if you keep that up I'll punch you so hard you won't be able to talk anymore!" Bowser roared before the other boys left silently.
"My name's Bowser by the way." He said tamely, still building alongside Peach.
"I'm Peach." She told him. She wanted to chide him for his threat, but she decided to rest on her prior victory instead of starting another fight. Peach also noticed that even after Bowser reconstructed the fallen edifice, he continued to build new structures, adding to her city. He certainly wasn't her preferred company, but since she had no other opportunities for socialization she didn't complain.
"Hey, after this do you want to play with me at recess?" He inquired.
"Why?" Peach asked. She hadn't intended to be rude, but was simply acting with the inhibition that comes with childhood.
"Because we're friends now." Bowser answered simply.
"Ok then, I'll play with you." She agreed. They smiled at each other, and Peach's former anxiety was replaced with a warm gooey feeling brought on by making a new friend. Statistically speaking, he wasn't phenomenal friendship material; he was rude, conceited, and entitled, but Peach could see that he could also be protective, opportunistic, and thoughtful. Maybe, with time, he would prove to be-
The clock on the wall chimed three times, pulling Peach back to the present. Realizing that she had spent too long reminiscing, Peach swiftly closed the diary and finished hanging her new-found artwork above the fireplace. After a moment of thought she decided to return the book to its former hiding spot behind the painting that rested on the mantelpiece. Then she headed towards the powder room, to begin the arduous process of getting herself ready for the diplomatic conference that she would be attending later in the day. But her mind was addled. No matter how hard she tried, Peach couldn't seem to shake the ghosts that lingered on the edge of her memories. She spent the rest of the afternoon struggling to decide on her dress, messily styling and re-combing her hair, and applying her makeup again and again, desperately trying to forget her first friend who still occupied a sliver of her heart.
A/N: Hello! This is my second fanfiction that I have written, and hopefully it is just as good if not better than my last one! Technically speaking this story is a sequel to my first fanfic: Into The Fire. However, I am purposely writing this so that it can stand independently of its predecessor. Even though this isn't my first rodeo, I still am pretty self-conscious of my work, and acknowledge that I still have a lot of room for improvement as a writer. That being said, please please please let me know what you think of my writing. Each piece of feedback warms my heart and I am deeply grateful for any bit of attention that I receive from a reader! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Much love, Guardian.