"So...Is this the place?" The girl whispered to herself, studying the card in her hand. "I t, think I have the right address..." Her brown orbs looked ahead at the building standing before her. "But...I didn't e, expect it to be a castle..."
Picking up her backpack and her staff, the young girl sighed as she walked towards the front doors of the giant castle. Her medium-length black hair was tied into two low pigtails, with her bangs going straight across, nearly covering her brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black shorts, a simple blue and white layered tank-top, black cuffs around her wrists, and knee-high white socks with a pair of ankle black boots. She knocked gently on the door, biting her lip softly awaiting a reply from the other side. She flinched when the doors were opened, and standing in the door way as a girl in a pink dress with blond, wavy hair.
"Oh! Hello there!" The girl greeted with a bubbly attitude, "Are you the new fighter we've been expecting?"
"Y, yes...You've been waiting for Annabelle Roland, c, correct?" The girl asked, avoiding eye contact. The blond nodded eagerly.
"Yes! We have been! It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Annabelle!" She shot her hand out, "My name is Peach!"
"Oh, so y, you're the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom?...It's an honor." Annabelle bowed, giving her a weak smile. "Y, you're very beautiful in person."
"Thank you!" Peach giggled, grabbing Annabelle's hand and shaking hands with her gently, "There's no need to bow! A simple hand shake would be enough! Come on in! I don't want you standing in the cold for so long!" She ushered the girl inside, shutting the door behind them. "Follow me, I'll bring you to your room!"
With a small nod, Annabelle followed the Princess up the large staircase, and down the hall. The girl lowered her gaze to the ground as they walked past a few people, while Peach waved to them and greeted them with much enthusiasm. They went up yet another staircase and onto the third floor, where Peach lead her down the hall to the left. At the end of the long hall stood a dark colored wooden door, with a golden star drilled into it. There was a word carved into the golden star, followed by a set of numbers.
"Room 56..." Annabelle read aloud, absentmindedly. Peach giggled and opened the door, leading her inside.
"This will be your room!" Peach smiled, pointing to a small bed in the corner, "I hope you don't mind you'll have a roommate." She gestured towards another bed on the other corner of the room. "I promise she's very nice though! Go ahead and set your stuff down here. I'll give you a grand tour of the place and introduce you to everyone! They've been waiting to meet you too!"
"O, okay..." The girl said, setting her stuff down on the neatly made bed. She glanced around at her surroundings. The room was a standard sized bedroom that would be found in a house. On the far right corner of the bedroom was another door that,Annabelle assumed, led to a bathroom. The bed across the room was neatly made as well, with light blue bed sheets. The walls were painted a simple peach color, while the ceiling was painted white. Beside each bed was a small wooden table, colors matching the doors. Each side of the room had a small wooden dresser, and there was one closet that the roommates would have to share.
"Annabelle?" Peach tilted her head, breaking the girl out of her thoughts, "C'mon! Let's go and meet everyone!"
"S, sorry about that!" She replied quickly, dipping her head. Peach sighed with a small smile, taking the girls hand gently.
"Don't apologize." The princess said, "There's nothing to be sorry about, okay?" Annabelle nodded. "Good! Now let's go~!"
Peach led the new comer throughout the castle, giving her the grand tour. She showed her several different media rooms, each containing a giant TV, one couch, loveseat, and a few lounging chairs. Each media room varied in wall color with different colored furniture to match, such as red, blue, green, and white. Peach also showed her the ballroom, kitchen, dining room, medical room, the gardens outside, and lastly the library.
As the two walked into the library, Annabelle's mouth opened in shock. The room was fairly large and had shelves lining the walls, packed tight with books. Each shelf stood at least seven feet tall and 5 feet wide, towering over the young girl. In the middle of the room had more shelves that were much wider, full of books with different colors, lengths, and widths. A small table was positioned at the side of the room, with simple wooden chairs surrounding it.
"This is our library. Sometimes people come in here to relax and read. Although it's rare to find someone actually reading in here. We usually just take the books back to our rooms." Peach explained, "We have all sorts of books here. Comics, history, language, fantasy...You name it! If you have trouble looking for a book...Our librarian here will help you." She motioned her gloved hand over to a wooden desk set near the door.
At the desk sat a very short looking mammal, who wore what appeared to be a white hat with yellow polka-dots on it. His eyes were small and beady behind thick-rimmed glasses. He wore a worn yellow suit that matched the colors on his hat, with a faded red bow-tie. The librarian turned his attention to the two girls and have a small wave.
"Hello, Princess." He said, his voice scratchy, "Who do you have with you?"
"This is the newcomer to the mansion, Annabelle Roland! I'm showing her around!" Peach explained, her smile never leaving her lips. Annabelle gave the mammal a small, shy wave.
"Well, well. Welcome here Ms. Roland. I'm the librarian here, like the Princess explained. Never hesitate to ask me any questions you have when you're here. I hope you have a lovely time in his library! If we don't have a book you want, I can always set up an order for you, free of charge." He gave her a warm smile.
"T, thank you very much!" The dark haired girl said, putting her hands together, "I'll be s, sure to visit often!"
"We have to be on our way, Mr. Toadler!" Peach waved to him before leading Annabelle out of the library.
"T, that was amazing." Annabelle said meekly, looking at the Princess. "It was the b, best library I've ever seen..."
"I'm glad you like it! Mr. Toadler is a really nice person, and he's always looking for someone to talk to about books. I think you two will get along great!" Peach chimed.
"W, what is Mr. Toadler anyways? Not to sound rude..." Annabelle questioned, "He looks..Unique."
"He's a Toad!" Peach giggled, "Not the frog kind though. They're found all over the Mushroom Kingdom! Very sweet little boys and girls. Are you ready to be introduced to everyone?" She tilted her head slightly.
"O, oh...Yes...Please, lead the way."
The princess led her from the top floor of the castle, down multiple sets of stairs and onto the 2nd floor. Heading down the hallway to the right, Peach stopped halfway, standing at one of the doors. Giving a small nod to Annabelle, she reached towards the door and knocked.
"Zelda?" Peach asked, continuing to knock on the door, "Are you in there? The newcomers here and I want to introduce you!" She continued knocking, awaiting a reply. Eventually the door opened and Peach pulled her hand away, smiling.
A tall, slightly pale woman stood at the door, a white gloved hand rested on her hip. Her long blond hair was partly tied back, with loose strands hugging the sides of her face. She wore what appeared to be a necklace across her forehead, and gold triangle-like earrings dangled from her long, pointy ears. Her blue eyes were filled with slight irritation, with her soft pink lips curved into a frown.
"Peach, you know I hate it when you keep knocking. One knock would be enough." She sighed, looking over at the girl standing next to the other princess. "Oh! You must be Annabelle! My name is Zelda, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. We've all been eager to meet you." She shook hands with her. "I hope you have a fun time here! I'll be looking forward to your first fight."
"I, It's nice to meet you M, Ms. Zelda." Annabelle replied, "T, thank you for your kind words..."
"Zelda's one of the nicest girls here." Peach giggled, "Her and I are very close friends. Her specialty is magic, and she's full of wisdom. If you ever have an issue or need to talk to someone, she's the girl to go to!"
"Thanks for that, Peach." Zelda laughed, "But she's right. I'm always here to talk to if you need me."
"T, thank you." Annabelle muttered, "I, I'm glad to have your support."
"Zelda and I are roommates...So we'll both be here to help you! Sorry to jet Zelda, but we have plenty of other people to meet~!" Peach gave her an energetic wave before dragging the newbie down the hall once more.
/
Peach dragged Annabelle throughout the castle, stopping at each room to see if someone was in it. Throughout her small adventure, she had met various creatures of different species or race. Everything was overwhelming her, and she was having a difficulty keeping track of the different names she had to remember. Meeting knew people wasn't easy for her, and she hadn't done it often.
"Okay, let's see..." Peach slowed to a stop, counting on her fingers. "You've met...Fox, Falco, Ness, Mr. Falcon, Pichu, Pikachu, Samus, Link, Mewtwo, Popo, Nana, Young Link, Mr. Game and Watch, and Donkey Kong. That leaves just a few more people to go and then we'll be all done and you can wander around by yourself!"
"Umm...How many more people e, exactly?..." Annabelle asked shyly, fiddling her thumbs.
"Hm...I think about nine or ten more people. Although, there are some you really shouldn't meet." Peach frowned, gripping her dress gently. "Some people here aren't exactly...nice. And they won't treat you well." Turning to her, she smiled once more. "But let's go and introduce you to the nice ones!"
They walked down the stairs and into the main room. Peach rested a hand on her hip and looked around, as if in thought. Grabbing Annabelle's hand, she then led her to the garden outside. They wandered around aimlessly, making Annabelle unsure of Peach's sense of direction. The princess suddenly halted to a stop, nearly making the girl trip.
"Mariooo~! Luigi!" Peach shouted to the two men sitting on the garden bench by the fountain, "Come on over here~!"
The two jumped to their feet and walked over. They both wore long sleeved shirts with hats, gloves, and dark blue overalls. However, the shorter of the two wore a red hat with an "M" on it, while the taller, more slender one, wore a green hat with a "L".
"Hello Princess'a Peach!" The one in red greeted, tipping his hat to her. His voice was thick with an italian accent, "What'sa going on'a?"
"This is the newbie!" Peach replied, "Her name is Annabelle. Annabelle, this is Mario and Luigi. Mario is the older brother, and he wears red. Luigi is the younger one, and he wears green."
"H, Hello." Luigi muttered shyly, a small smile on his face. His accent wasn't as thick as his older brothers, but it was still very clear that he had one. "It'sa nice to meet you..."
"I hope you'a enjoy yourself'a Annabelle!" Mario said cheerfully, "This'a place is'a full of fun things!"
"I, I'm enjoying myself already." She smiled, "T, thank you..."
"Sorry to leave so quickly Mario, but we gotta go meet everyone else! It's already the afternoon!" Peach said, hurrying her words. "Come on Annabelle! See you later Mario~!" She grabbed the girls hand once more, and dragged her back into the castle.
/
"Okay! You've met everyone else, besides...Marth and Roy! I know exactly where they are! Hurry, hurry!" Peach giggled, running down the stairs of the 3rd floor. Annabelle quickly followed behind, as they both hurried down the left hallway of the second floor.
At the end of the hall was a polished, black wooden door. Muffled voices were on the other side, the words completely inaudible as the sounds of metal clashing on metal were heard. Peach threw open the door, everything falling silent. Two boys in their late teens stood in the center of the room, their swords clashed against each other.
"Oh, hello Princess." The boy with blue hair said, standing up straight. "Not to sound rude but...We're kind of in the middle of something..."
"But this can't wait, Marth!" Peach grinned, "The newcomer is here and she NEEDED to meet you two!"
"The newcomers here?" The redhead peered over Marth's shoulder, "She doesn't look like much of a fighter to me."
"Roy, please." Marth sighed, "Now isn't the time for that." He smiled at Annabelle, "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. My name is Marth, and this is my friend Roy."
"H, hello..." Annabelle quietly replied, "It's n, nice to meet you."
"Speak up, I can barely hear you." Roy said, crossing his arms. "Are you sure she's the one we've been waiting for?" Marth elbowed him gently.
"She's obviously a bit shy." Marth said, gently. "And it's completely understandable. This place is huge and everyone is so unique. I was the same way when I came here." He smiled softly, "Don't let anyone intimidate you. We all want to be your friend."
"Except for Bowser and Ganondork." Roy cut in, snorting. "They'll beat you to a pulp if you're not careful."
"Mm, yes...Those two." Marth frowned, "But I'm sure you'll stay clear of them, right Miss Annabelle?"
"Of course she will!" Peach said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I chose not to introduce them to her, because they're huge jerks..."
"Can you two discuss this at a later time?" Roy asked, resting his blade on his shoulder, "Marth was teaching me some awesome fighting techniques that I can use in my next fight."
"Oh, yes~! Sorry for butting in! Good luck with your techniques, Roy! And thank you for allowing us some time!" Peach replied, "See you two later!"
"G, goodbye." Annabelle smiled weakly before following Peach out the door.
"You're probably really tired now, right?" Peach asked as they walked down the hallway, "I'll bring you back to your room and you can rest for a little while."
"That would be nice..." She replied weakly, with a small sigh. "I'm v, very overwhelmed..."
"I hope you had fun though, meeting all those new faces and exploring! Your time here will be memorable, I promise!" Peach cheered, leading her up the stairs and to her room. "And you'll definitely become more social."
"I...I don't know about that..." The girl frowned, averting her gaze to the floor as she entered her room. "Thank y, you for everything today Peach..." She gave the blond a shy smile and a goodbye before closing the door.
Throwing herself onto her bed, Annabelle closed her eyes while her entire body relaxed. The entire tour took all the afternoon, and it had completely drained the girl of her energy. She wondered to herself what the next day would bring her, as she slowly fell asleep.
/
AN: Sorry for the lame name given to the librarian Toad. I couldn't think of a better name that had the word "Toad" in it...Thankfully he's not a major character so we won't have to fuss over his name much...