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Shards of Love: REDUX!
Shard II: Revelations
Peach finds out unfortunate news about the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as Bowser's supposed plans for her, causing her to flee back home. Once at her castle, she stumbles upon several unfortunate ancient Koopan prophesies—which may explain her history of being kidnapped—while noticing the strangeness concerning her parents' disappearances, as well as the behaviours of Mario, Daisy, Luigi and others.
Chapter VII
Lavender's for Lovers True
Infuriation rushes through Peach; she can't bear that castle any longer, not with the current crisis occurring in her kingdom. What would her subjects say about her if she stayed for longer than she did even without the aid of Mario? What would happen if she was "sold" to someone? Was that why Bowser kept her and used some random koopa lore from centuries ago as an excuse?
As the princess traverses deeper into the Dark Land woods, so too do the worrying thoughts coupled with the most nagging of questions: why didn't Mario come to save her? Why didn't he show up?
"I can do this. I saved Mario once."
Despite those words engraved in her head, a shiver overcomes her. Due to her spike of adrenaline from the panic-induced exercise, Peach's warmth endures against the harsh air temperature, much to her surprise.
By contrast, the trembling wasn't a result of cold, but from fear. As she ventures deeper into the untamed, eerie woods, she affirms a supernatural squall-like sensation. A sinister strait's shaping up; nothing's natural about the suspenseful occurrences. The light scarcity bestows a dim luminosity, creating a brutal situation for the princess to comprehend.
"Isn't it ironic. Hours ago I was happy about the new moon. Now because the moon's invisible, I can't see where I'm going. And now some supernatural spirit will kill me. Fun vacation!"
She may be overthinking concerning the bizarre nature of the woods; nonetheless, such an accusation comes together. She's uninformed about these forests, and according to Mushroomer lore, Dark Land's a cursed terrain which bore the brunt of numerous cold-blooded regimes, genocides and conflicts. Throughout the commotion, she cannot doubt the possibility of a vengeful spirit finding its way into the wooded wilderness.
She continues on in silence, hoisting up an arm before her to prevent smacking her head on the numerous trees' branches. Not long after, Peach senses the woods' concentration decline until she arrives at a barren plain.
"I think those plains lead to Pipe Land," Peach attempted to exclaim, envisioning the return home; about showering. Instead, the excitement's disguised in the fatigued feeling she's exhibited for hours.
Peach needs to sleep, here and now. She couldn't believe that just earlier this morning, she woke up in her archenemy's stronghold, kidnapped for the umpteenth time during her supposed honeymoon. Even as a princess, the confrontations, tours, dinners and hangouts with her archenemies exhaust her.
Realising the overbearing drowsiness, Peach lies on the grass. At this point, neither bugs nor dirt covering her dress bother her; if she were any more alert, she'd throw a fit about creeping, crawling things climbing on her, but her current situation prevents her from acting unthankful.
As her eyes beg to close, she still sees the remarkable sky. The same sky she looked at on top of Bowser's castle. Staring at the sky, she ponders: even in the most corrupt, desolate places, the skies above will be the same, albeit different luminosities. These stars—they're the same stars Mario's able to gaze upon, and she also hopes they're the identical stars her parents observe.
Unlike most mornings, Peach rises before the Sun. She's unsure of the duration of her sleep, but considering she stayed at the castle until well after dusk, Peach figures she didn't rest long enough.
Ever since her earliest memories, camping affected her in a peculiar manner. On the seldom times she camps, she'd snooze a few hours maximum before she'd wake up. Of course, grogginess tends to still overtake her, but her eyes would also be too sore to close.
Noticing she's still outdoors, Peach sighs. She's not even close to the Mushroom Kingdom from her estimates, but at least she's far enough from Bowser that she won't need to worry about him coming. Of course, she hopes he won't chase her at all.
She also gasps in disbelief as she studies her wedding dress. Wearing the dress for 48 hours straight, running through the woods and then sleeping on the damp ground put a toll on the fabric. The trees tore off several sections of the dress while stains from the semi-muddy grasslands surrounding the woods manifest themselves throughout the dress.
"My dress!" Peach sobbed, still looking at the destroyed dress. She always learned that, just like the marriage, the wedding dress should always be preserved, else ill-fated luck will happen, "I wanted to keep this as a reminder of the happiest day of my life!"
She wants to mourn the loss of her symbol of love but Peach also yearns to continue the journey home. She's on her own through this, and the sole way she'll set foot back in the Mushroom Kingdom is if she stands back up and continues moving.
Peach stands up, stretching as she lets out a yawn. The sun peeks over the horizon before coming out in full-force. The princess looks around at the landscape, mesmerized; this may be Dark Land, but an entire field of wild lavender lies in front of her, complete with a lake in the distance. Due to the sheer show of nature from the lack of the volcanic air's effects, she figures she's close to Pipe Land and the Pipe Maze.
"Well, time to walk. Probably to the lake."
Peach continues walking east, hoping she won't be dehydrated until she arrives at her destination. The walk proves to be far more relaxing; she prefers strolling through lavender rather than dodging trunks and branches of trees in the Dark Land Woods in the dark.
As she approaches the lake, Peach sights smoke brewing from the north bank. At first, she thinks part of the field caught fire until a modest, wood-and-brick house becomes more apparent. People live here? She understands why due to the land's beauty, but this area's at least hours from the nearest civilization.
Peach can't judge people on the decisions; this one made her life easier. She should check if the cabin's resident will offer her food. Having been hours since her last bite, she's able to think only with her stomach.
Another ten minutes of walking and she stumbles upon the front door of the building; throughout that time, the desire for food intensifies. Peach hopes whoever's present in the cabin will be generous enough to take her in and supply her necessities.
Crossing her fingers on one hand, Peach knocks on the door with the other.
"Grr, I told them I'd give it to them next week when I'm in town!" a shout came from behind the door. The door then opened, revealing an elderly toad; perhaps this is her forever-retirement home. That conclusion makes more sense regarding the isolation, "I told you to-"
The toad pauses her yelling brigade as she sights Peach.
"Oh, my my my, I'm sorry for the shouting, sweetie," the woman greets Peach before cupping her palms over her mouth, "Oh my! Look at you, you poor thing! You've got to tell me why you're in a wedding dress! And a dirty one at that!"
"Well, uhh," Peach replied, "It's a long story."
"Long story? Then come on in! I insist! I won't take no for an answer! Make yourself at home! Long stories deserve a meal and some tea!" the toad invited in, "By the way, the name's Ella."
Peach smiled before saying her name, "And I'm Peach."
Dawn approaches the Koopa castle, and the then-quiet fortress now bustles with busy baddies. Some servants had to open the multiple offices in Kastle Koopa while the obligation of preparing breakfast for the royal family fell upon the shoulders of others.
Joining in on the bustle, Bowser leaves his room and enters the dining area where Ludwig, Larry, and Lemmy—the so-called Breakfast L-Gang—enjoy a stack of pancakes at the table. In all honesty, he'd be surprised if any of the other four koopalings came down for breakfast while the staff still served it; the other four hate waking up early more than they even hate Mario. Bowser should've been stricter on them in that regard, but Wendy, Roy and Morton are grouchy enough with adequate sleep, and he doesn't want to deal with them.
"Hey Dad!" Lemmy greeted. Bowser smiles and waves at his kids.
"Good morning. I see the typical morning 'L-Gang' is still going strong," he replies as he sits at his usual spot at the table. Quick as the Sun, a servant places a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of the king, who thanks him before continuing, "Anyway, I can't be long today, I have a deal with selling one of the older doomships."
"Vhich vun?" Ludwig questioned, hoping it wasn't his or any of his siblings'. He's always had an attachment to his ship and his siblings'; Ludwig built five of them from scratch. Although he didn't build Iggy's or Lemmy's, he's repaired and renovated them to the point where the current designs fail to relate to the original designs. Sure, the newer models that he and Iggy constructed fly better, but they still haven't been battle-tested.
"One of the old ships in my fleet. I swear an idling car accidentally left in Drive instead of Park goes faster than that thing. The guy wants endurability rather than speed."
"Nice," Larry nodded, "So you're upgrading your ships now?"
"Mhm," Bowser mumbled as he takes a large bite out of the stack of pancakes, "Ludwig and Iggy already upgraded the ships for all seven of you, as well as my main, speedy one. The rest still need to be done."
"Ve are vorking on it, even as ve speak, Fazzer," Ludwig reassured, "But ze engineers and technicians have zeir annual leaves ze next two weeks."
"No worries, son, I just hope war doesn't start up between now and then," Bowser mumbled with the last bites of pancake and bacon in his mouth, "But I should be off now, don't want to be late. Stay good, and maybe check on Peach around dinner time if I'm not back by then. She probably had a long night last night too and needs all the rest she can get, so don't check beforehand."
"Sounds good, Dad," Lemmy waved, "Bye!"
"Now, dear," Ella told Peach after she gives her a bowl of lemon-parmesan pasta and a mug of lavender tea. Despite such a dinner-like breakfast, Peach nods in gratitude before voicing out a thank-you.
Despite the great hospitality Ella gave her, caution arises in Peach; she isn't too sure on whether to give the entire truth of the story or to shave off the part about both her husband and her kidnapper being royal. Toadsworth always cautioned her about the toads living in Dark Land; they may be the same species, but they tend to have more loyalty towards the Koopa Kingdom than the Mushroom Kingdom. She doesn't know a speck about Ella, after all.
With Toadsworth's warning in mind, Peach approaches the latter option.
"I was getting married to my now-husband. During the reception, all went well, until I just passed out. I don't even know how I did," Peach explained her story to the toad.
"You suddenly passed out? Dear, that's quite the fright!" the elderly toad gasped in suspense, "Was it a medical issue? Those aren't good when you're trying to start life, no no!"
Peach shakes her head. She remembers a gassy cloud before passing out, but before it spawned, she heard a scream out in the distance; one of a woman. Could it have been her parents? Did Bowser take her parents too?
No… He couldn't have. Peach remembers them being with her when the scream occurred.
"That's the part that gets me too," Peach answered, "I didn't know how I passed out. But that's when the next part of the story comes into play."
Rather than uttering a comment, the toad pays rapt attention to the princess, genuinely interested in the princess' tale.
"I woke up in a room, originally thinking I was on vacation with my husband. However, it happened to be the house of my husband's enemies in Dark Land," Peach explained. She's better off not telling the toad that Bowser's the enemy. Darklandian toads may have more of an allegiance to the Koopa Troop than the Mushroom Royalty, after all.
"Wow! Oh Lord Toady!" the toad gasped, "That's scary! What did you do after?"
"Well, he warned me that my husband is evil. I, of course, didn't believe him, but I sort of got… Attached to his family," Peach thought back to yesterday, "I mean, it's pathetic! I only spent one day with them! And, well…"
"Well what?"
"I would continue living with them until Ma—" Peach once again refrained from mentioning more personal information, "My husband rescued me, but… Getting attached to the family of your husband's enemy is bad enough; I wanted to get away from that. That itself was reason for me to run away, but I also caught him talking about selling something. I was thinking it was me, or at least some other girl, so I ran."
"Oh Peach, dear, I'm so relieved you got out of that horrifying environment!" Ella gasped, "You know how the King of the Koopas can be like! It's a scary place to put yourself."
"Yeah, scary but oddly comfortable in some way-" Peach attempts to pause before saying those words, but it's too late. The toad played a trick on her in order for Peach to reveal herself, and the plan came with success, "I mean-"
"I knew all along you were Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom," Ella explained, "I heard from the Mushroom Kingdom news that you defected from the Mushroom Kingdom, and you allied with Dark Land, wedding dress and all. Not everyone wears wedding dresses on their day-to-day activities, hun."
Peach doesn't know whether to be surprised that Ella knew who she was, or that a rumor about her joining the Koopa Troop started. Both of those revelations leave a gaping, bottomless pit in her stomach.
"But don't worry, dear," Ella pats Peach's back, seemingly aware of her anguish, "There's a reason I moved to Dark Land's countryside. It's so I can get away from those intolerant toads in the Mushroom Kingdom, while at the same time, isolating myself from any koopa settlements due to their intolerance against toads. This was the best fit. In no way am I part of the Koopa Troop, so don't fret."
Peach nods her head in understanding. She's relieved Ella won't do anything, but the rumors of her joining in on the Koopa Troop had her upset. Is this why Mario decided not to rescue her? She has several questions for him once she arrives home.
She continues eating the tangy, yet satisfying pasta while sipping on the lavender tea. The tea's taste matches the fantastic aroma, although the smell reminds her of her Castle's laundry room. Amid the nice smell, she couldn't take the thought of dirty clothes from out her mind, or dirtiness in general. Not being able to enjoy the tea in its fullness, Peach sets the tea down and stands up.
"Well, I should make my way to Pipe Land. I should be able to get a pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom there," Peach excused herself, "Mind if I get some water first?"
"Oh, go ahead! There're some water bottles in the fridge, dearie," Ella nodded before offering advice, "Anyway, dear, all will work out. However, things tend to get worse before they get better, so keep that in mind."
"Thanks for everything. I feel relieved now."
"Anytime, dear!" the mushroomer replied as she guides Peach outside, "If you're around these parts for whatever reason, always feel free to visit!"
