Ch. 2 my friends. This is what it would be like if Zelda tried watching Koopa Kids when they are mellow.
"So…you're awake." Bowser said with amusement in his voice as the princess opened her eyes and groaned in pain.
"Wh..Where am I?" Zelda moaned.
"You're in the Darklands now my dear and you do well to remember that."
Zelda's eyes widened when she saw who was talking. The massive dragon beast that attacked her was talking! "You talk!" she cried bolting up from the bed she was laying on and scooted away quickly from the creature that was sitting on the bed beside her.
"What? Do Koopas in your world not talk?"
"What's a Koopa?" she asked with a frown.
The Koopa King simply hmphed in amusement. "I saw my son had really taken a liking to you when he was stuck out in that awful field so I decided you will stay here."
"But..I need to get home, my father will be worried." the young princess said anxiously struggling out of the bed and heading for the door.
"You're not going anywhere." he said standing up.
"You can't keep me here against my will!" she cried in anger flinging open the door and making a run for it. She looked down and noticed that her sopping dress had been replaced with a simple gown of light green and her feet were now bare. The castle was a labyrinth! Its long halls seemed to stretch on forever and massive statues that looked like the creature in the bed room back there snarled and laughed down at her. She was so busy checking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't gaining on her that she bumped into someone and fell on top of them.
"Gah!" a voice cried. "Watch out!"
"I am so sorry." she said without thinking seeing papers fly everywhere. "Oh dear me. I will help you with that. I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." she said not even seeing who she was speaking to gathering papers in her hands. She looked up when her face locked on with another reptilian monster making her cry out and fall back.
"Stop that! You will ruin my music scores!" the monster said snatching the papers out of her hands. "Oh.." he paused when looking at her face. "You must be father's newest guest." he said standing. "I am Ludwig Von Koopa." He said with a bow, though his eyes were glistening with malice.
"I.. I'm Zelda." she had only uttered the name before she saw a dark shadow cover her from behind.
"Ludwig go find the other children." The Koopa King's voice said from behind her. Once he left Bowser smiled at the maiden who nervously glanced behind her. "Well now that you met two of my children, I think its about time you met the rest seeing as how you are going to be here for awhile."
"I don't want to be here! Link will come to save me!" she cried in anger, outraged at just how hopeless this was.
"Who?" he asked frowning. "Oh, the hero from your realm no? Well, be that as it may you got here through a portal which is now closed so he has no way of getting here and you have no way of getting back." He grinned, his white fangs glistening as he grabbed her roughly by the upper arm and led her further into the castle. They finally approached a massive set of doors and he stopped. "Since you have taken such a liking to my little boy I will leave him in your care. Take good care of my offspring and I will see you at dinner." He smiled shoving her into the room and closing the door.
"No wait!" Zelda cried trying to catch him before he closed the door but was too late. She turned around to find herself in what looked like a play room, most of it was littered with toys but there were couches in the corner which surrounded an odd box that was showing flashing lights and pictures. The walls were dark grey brick with a rich red rugged floor and a single massive window towards the back. A desk with papers covering it was in the far corner and scattered through out the room were small reptilians like the one she had bumped into in the hall.
"Momma!" a voice cried out in joy and Zelda felt tiny arms wrap around her legs so tightly she almost fell.
"So this is the girl the stupid brat was going on about." a female voice said with boredom from one of the couches.
"She looks like Peach!" another voice said.
"Well obviously she isn't terd for brains!" the girl snapped.
"I'm Lemmy." a voice said and Zelda glanced down upon feeling a tug on her skirts to see another Koopa with a rainbow colored mohawk balancing on a colorful ball.
"I'm Zelda." she said softly. She barely had time to speak before the small koopaling claiming her to be his momma shoved her in a chair that was several sizes too small at a small round table. The little Koopa pulled up a chair and pushed it so close they were crammed together and he began to color a picture.
"Thank stars! Finally someone to get him out of my hair!" the girl Koopa sighed. "I'm Wendy O. Koopa." she said with a smile. "You remember that sweetness and we will get along just fine." she smiled turning back to the odd picture box. "Oh yeah that's Junior by the way since he is too big of a baby to tell you that himself."
Zelda sat quietly with her hands folded in her lap as the children continued to play. Junior had presented her with a picture of what she guessed was him and her. The figures looked like sticks and her ears looked like a donkey's ears rather than Hylian ears. She thanked him and sighed she had learned the names of all the children and got a good feel for their personalities in the short few hours she had been stuck in the room with them. She stood picking up Junior who started stomping and crying when she stood and held him on her hip. The princess stretched as best she could with the Junior in her arms and made her way towards the window just barely avoided a shiny glass marble that sailed past her head and shattered the window.
"Get out of here you stupid Yoshi!" Roy shouted throwing another marble at the odd creature that had been peeking in through the window. "Get out!" he bellowed and the creature yelped as one of the tiny glass orbs struck it in the nose.
"STOP IT!" Zelda yelled running to the window to find the little creature had vanished. "Why would you do that?! How cruel!" she asked utterly horrified that anyone could be so mean to such a gentle creature. "What a naughty child!"
"Humph! King Dad would be proud." he huffed crossing his arms. "Useless dinos have no place in our kingdom."
"Why would your father be proud of such cruelty?!" she sneered storming up to the Koopa.
"Um…have you met our father? He is the most evil king in the land." Ludwig shrugged. "We are suppose to be bad."
Zelda felt her cheeks redden in anger. "And you? I thought you were a gentleman. Are you in agreement with Roy?"
"I am no gentleman my lady." He smiled. "I'm just a little more civilized than these dull witted brutes."
"Dull witted!" Roy shouted in rage. "Come over here and say that to my face!"
"I don't fight dull wits." Ludwig turned his back and began to collect his papers.
"Useless crap wipe!" Roy bellowed sending a marble hurling and hit the Koopa in the back of his head making him stumble.
Roy was heading for Ludwig and stepped on Iggy's foot, making the child shove him. "You going to mess with me too lardo?"
"Roy! Iggy! Stop!" Zelda cried running and trying to pull the two brawling Koopas apart grabbing Roy by in his shell and shoving Iggy back to create distance between the two. Zelda's arm slipped as Roy lunged forward and she cried out when the spikes on his shell cut her arm open making blood pour from the gash.
"Look what you did you idiots!" Wendy yelled punching Iggy in the head and hurling Roy into the wall. "Call Kamek Lemmy." she ordered guiding the wounded princess back to the table.
Zelda found herself being led down dark halls by an odd cloaked figure, only Wendy's presence kept her from being afraid. He reminded her of a Wizrobe, a nasty creature in Hyrule that liked casting spells and eating children dumb enough to wander out alone in their domain. The children eating part was most likely Impa trying to scare her into being good, but there was no doubt Wizrobes were dangerous.
"So what did you say happened?" the robed creature asked.
"Roy and Iggy being idiots." Wendy rolled her eyes. "Roy's shell."
"Damn those shells." the wizard sneered. "She will be fine with me my child, go back and tell your father she might be late to dinner." the wizard waited until the girl was gone before leading Zelda through a wooden door in the dark hall and closing it behind them.
"Are you a wizrobe?" Zelda asked quietly as the wizard started moving around his odd lab gathering items to treat her. The lab looked like both a living and a working quarters which was littered with a combination of comfy couches, old clocks, dusty books and a variety of odd glass containers that came in various shapes and sizes each storing different colored liquids that bubbled and steamed within their containers. A cache of odd wonders the princess had never seen even in her wildest dreams.
"A what?!" he gawked unloading the tools in his arms on the table in front of her.
"It…it is a monster in my world." she said feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden.
"Hmph monster. Such a vague term." he snorted. "I am Kamek wizard Koopa extraordinare." he huffed proudly. "But these monsters…..perhaps you could tell me more of them." he said dabbing the blood off her arm. "I understand you have bat like creatures…"
"Kesse." she answered.
"Kesse, yes." he nodded. " What would you say is the scariest monster in your world?"
"Skultullas for sure..and I hear Moblins are big."
"What do these Moblins look like?" Kamek asked curious all of a sudden.
"Oh they are horrid big beasts that carry giant spears. I've never seen one but Link said he fought one and it was scary."
"Hm…maybe we could meet again and discuss all your monsters." Kamek smiled widely putting the final touches on the bandages. "There you are. Now," he said standing. "I shall escort you to dinner."
Zelda was led to a long table to find all the Koopas were staring at her, not one had touched a bite of food.
"Ah so you're here." Bowser greeted gesturing to a seat beside him. "The runts here were not allowed to eat a bite until you came, and that is only the beginning of their punishment." Bowser glared at Roy and Iggy who lowered their heads. He waited until Zelda nervously sat beside them before smiling and declaring dinner officially served.
Zelda looked around at the meal. Meat of every kind littered the table, just meat. Zelda grimaced, true she loved meat but she could tell that if meat was all these monsters ate, a lengthy captivity was going to play havoc on her digestion. She looked around and frowned when she realized that there were no forks or knives, only snarling creatures eating with their hands and wiping that meat juices off their snouts with their bare arms.
"Eat momma!" Junior ordered grabbing a large mutton joint and putting it on her plate. "Mommies eat food." he smiled watching her.
Zelda reluctantly picked up the piece of meat, making sure she held it by the bone and avoided getting juice on her hands as much as possible and took a bite. The rest of the meal went on without event and Zelda tore the meat into smaller pieces before eating it, trying to look as much like a princess as one could when eating with nothing but her hands. When the meal had ended she looked questionably at her hands that were dripping with juices, How to get rid of it… she watched the others lick their fingers and rub them on the table cloth and she bit her lip. I suppose if everyone is doing it.. She discreetly wiped her hands on the table cloth hoping no one saw. Life here is going to be very odd indeed if this is how they ate and lived, then again these were creatures and suppose the rules don't apply. If that was the case, what is his plans for me? She frowned unsure of this Bowser's the level of bestial habits, nor what he did with 'his newest guests'. Someone will rescue me. Even this strange land must have a valiant hero to rescue a damsel in distress.
