Ok, first of all I'd like to say that I'm making a soundtrack for this series which can be found on my profile. If you think of a song, tell me!!! R&R please!

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Chapter 1: New King

When Peach returned to the palace, her eyes were red from crying and her hands shook. Her dress was stained by grass and her hair had fallen out of its bun to layer across her delicate face.

She rushed up to her bedroom and washed her face in her bathroom. When she looked as normal as possible, she changed into a soft short-sleeved yellow dress that went to her shins with a pink star on the chest and pink flats. She studied her bracelet once more before taking it off and putting it on her dresser. If she continued to look at it, she'd cry again.

Going back downstairs, she went to the kitchen. In the fridge was an apple, which she grabbed out of the fruit drawer and bit into with eagerness. She hadn't eaten yet this morning and she was starving.

As she sat down at the little kitchen table, toad chefs gradually started piling in, starting to prepare her and her father's dinner. She asked one of them what they were making.

"Roasted Cheep Cheep, Piranha plant salad, and Ice cream Luma Cake." He said, and went back to cooking.

Suddenly not feeling very hungry, Peach left the kitchen and went back upstairs. She laid down on her bed and watched the clouds roll by outside her window. She found shapes.

A hippo…

A flower…

A star…

A turtle---

Peach felt more tears welling in her eyes. She rolled over, her back to the window, and tried to fall asleep.

Eventually, she succeeded, and as sleep slowly overtook her, a small tear slid slowly, solitarily, down her porcelain cheek.


When Peach awoke the next morning, she was starving again, so she rushed downstairs to get some breakfast.

As she settled down to eat at the kitchen table, she felt much better than the night before.

"Princess! Princess! The king wishes to speak to you immediately!" A young toad maiden called to Peach as she finished her breakfast of pancakes and sausage.

She stood and followed her to her father's study. The maiden bowed and scrambled away, leaving Peach alone to knock on her father's door.

He opened it on the 3rd knock, and ushered Peach in.

"You wished to speak with me, Father?"

He nodded and motioned for her to take a seat on one of the love seats. She did, a bit nervous. Her father was acting strange.

"Peach, a new king has recently been appointed to a neighboring kingdom." He said slowly.

Peach was confused.

"So?"

The King rubbed his temple and sat down on the love seat across from his daughter.

"He wishes to meet with you and has asked to speak with you on a multiple of occasions."

This caused a bit of hope to form in the back of Peach's mind, saying it could be him, but she quickly silenced it. No point in getting her hopes up for nothing.

"Okay, so why haven't I been informed of this before?" She asked, finding it a bit suspicious. Her father sighed, frustrated.

"Sweetie, you don't understand." He croaked, his voice cracking with stress. "He's not… uh… he's not like…US…"

With each word, the hope grew in Peach's chest, and it was getting harder and harder to silence it. She asked one last question, one she hoped she knew the answer of.

"Which Kingdom?"

Her father looked at her, and with a quivering voice, replied.

"Peach, my dear, dear, daughter," He began, standing up once more.

"Have you ever heard of… the Darklands?"


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