The Lesson

By SelenityK

AN: Once again, I do not own any characters appearing in this story, although I wish I did. These characters belong to Nintendo and are being used without their permission. This story is rated PG-13 for random acts of violence. You read it, you review it! J

Chapter One

     Peach woke up from dreamland with a shock. She looked out of the window; it was the middle of the night. The moon was full, and her light shone gently into Peach's bedroom.

     Peach could feel drops of sweat trickle down her forehead. Slowly, bits and pieces of the nightmare returned to Peach's conscious mind. It was the same dream every night: Bowser would kidnap her (that was no dream, it occurred in real life.), and throw her in a dungeon. Mario would not rescue her this time.

     An overwhelming sense of fear filled Peach's body and soul, but quickly became something more twisted: anger. Peach had never felt true anger before. Everyone that Peach knew always considered Peach to be the kindest of souls. It was evident in the way that she ran her kingdom, with love and care.

    Peach had never even been angry at Bowser before. Until now. He always attempted to kidnap her and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, but Bowser had never succeeded, thanks to Mario.

     The more Peach dwelled on this fact, the angrier Peach became. Another thing that annoyed Peach was that some people considered her a bimbo, helpless, and weak, just because she managed to get kidnapped by Bowser every time. She'd certainly show them!

     Peach's eyes widened as a new idea came into her mind. Her aquamarine eyes were glowing with surprise, then they lowered and a most un-Peach look came across Peach's face. Peach wouldn't get any sleep that night. Instead, she stayed awake, formulating plans, keeping the good ones and discarding the bad ones.

                             ***********

     Peach had stayed up all night and when the morning arrived in all of its glory, she definitely did not look like her normal self. Peach saw her face in the mirror and it nearly scared her. Her strawberry-blond hair flew in every direction, her eyes had lost some of their luster, and her skin did not have the peaches-and-cream complexion that it was famous for.

     Peach locked the door to her room and crawled back into bed. She wanted an hour of sleep; it would do well for her mind and her complexion. When Peach reawakened, her body burned with such rage. These emotions were new to Peach; she didn't know how to control them. Being impulsive and having a passionate nature did not bode well for Peach. She was sure to do something that she would regret (maybe) later on.

     Peach grabbed a large black bag from a shelf in her closet. It looked like one of the old doctors' bags, except it was much larger. She filled the bag with various tools and equipment. Peach wrapped her black cloak around her body and pulled the hood over her head.

                           *************

     Toad had spotted Peach walking down the hallway. Peach seemed…different this morning. Her face was stony with determination and her eyes were blank. Toad said "Good morning, your highness," to Peach timidly but cheerfully. Peach walked past him, not taking a glance backwards.

     Toad stared after Peach with wonder, and then shrugged his shoulders. Peach never stayed in a bad mood for long. Whatever it was, Peach would probably talk it out with him later on, or sit in the castle gardens and sort the problem out until it fixed itself. Toad took one last look at Peach and continued with his duties as Retainer of the Mushroom Kingdom.

     Peach continued her walk to the Castle Garage. Peach got into a nondescript gray van, started the engine, backed the van out of the garage and left the castle. She'd be paying an important visit to Vista Hill.