Fragment 29


I wasn't surprised to find Princess Peach up before dawn. When I arrived at the main safe-room, the candles in the iron ring hanging from the ceiling had already been lit. This place was her bolt-hole during times of crisis. Although she'd had it decorated with tapestries and plush furnishings, the small barred window high in the wall gave away its original purpose. Still, this part of the castle had proved to be an effective hiding place from Bowser's attacks in the past.

She stood at the head of the polished meeting table, leaning forward on her hands as she surveyed the maps of her kingdom. "Even if Mario's journey has gone to plan," she said, "the earliest he'll be back will be tonight." She looked at me, her features sharpened in the dim light. "I'm worried that we're running out of time."

I sat down in the chair closest to hers. She chose that moment to sit down with me, a signal that I could drop formalities. "Good morning to you, too," I said, patting her hand. "Luigi is a resourceful man, you know. Don't lose hope."

But we didn't need to admit that our hope for Luigi's survival had dwindled fast over the past four days. For Bowser to snatch him instead of our princess was bizarre, to say the least. And there seemed no other reason for him to take Luigi other than to kill him. We had to be realistic.

Resting her head in one hand, the princess traced with her finger the route she expected Mario to take to Professor Gadd's abode, in the middle of Boo Woods. One of the few areas of the Mushroom Kingdom that was not connected by warp-pipes, it had to be travelled on foot. Even with a Yoshi, the journey there would have taken the best part of two days.

"What of Princess Daisy?" I asked.

She slid a small note out from under the map. "This arrived an hour ago. There's a giant sandstorm reported in the Easton region. If it doesn't pass by the time Daisy is due to reach the Mushroom-Sarasaland pipe, I suppose she'll have to have to make camp and wait it out. I've put a sentry Sarasa-side to report on weather conditions."

I wouldn't have expected less, of course. Communication is our people's strength. We may appear defenceless when King Bowser takes our princess, but for every one successful kidnapping, four more are thwarted, and this, we owe to our army of messengers and our extensive network of hidden pipes.

The morning wore on, with the princess taking reports from all over the kingdom, as she had done ever since Luigi's disappearance. It was usual for the Koopa King to flood our land with soldiers when the princess had been captured. But this time, koopa activity had dwindled to nearly nothing. I didn't like the sound of it at all. Mario couldn't return soon enough.

As it turned out, the weather in Sarasaland delayed Princess Daisy and her entourage only until the early evening. Princess Peach ordered that they were to be marched straight from the Mushroom-Sarasaland pipe to the castle, to be briefed on the situation. I felt a pang of pity for Princess Daisy. Her weariness from the day's trek across the desert to reach her side of the pipe, would not help ease the shock of learning of Luigi's abduction. But our news for her paled to insignificance compared with the shock she had for us when she entered the castle gates.

Headed by a troop of her winged, insect-like Bunbun soldiers, Princess Daisy's company always looked an impressive sight as it processed through the courtyard. An exotic mix of purple-robed, round-faced Pionpi attendants, leonine Gao, and luggage-laden Yoshi, they formed an impenetrable defence around the princess of Sarasaland. But this time, she wasn't riding a Yoshi with her head held high. Dressed in plain travelling robes and with a veil over her face, Princess Daisy walked alongside a stretcher, which two of the Bunbun guards carried.

From the shape of the swaddled body lying on it, it could only have been Luigi.


Everyone in the castle sprang into action. Dr. Toadley was called. Servants converted one of the old cells into a medical room. While Toadley's team examined the body, I took the two princesses to my own safe-room and did my best to calm them while we waited for for the doctor's conclusion.

To my relief, we didn't have to wait long. Unknown and powerful drugs had given the appearance of death, but with the help of a stimulant administered by Dr. Toadley, Luigi had expelled the toxins from his digestive system in the violent and unpleasant way humans do. But it would take longer for the poisons to leave his blood system, longer than Princess Peach was prepared to wait. As soon as Luigi was lucid enough, Dr. Toadley gave his reluctant agreement for us to question him. But his mind was still addled with chemical pollutants; we could not get any sense from him as to what had happened, or how he'd come to be found in the deserts of Sarasaland.

With no choice but to wait until morning, we barricaded ourselves in our safe-rooms, for what I expected to be a quiet and uneasy night. And it was, for a few hours at least, until the emergency bell tolled.

Bowser! I leapt from my bed and pulled on my clothes, although I knew it would make no difference. What could an old Toad do to stop hordes of koopas storming the castle? I put my eye to the peephole in my door and peered out to the commotion in the corridor. Dozens of Princess Daisy's guards swarmed past, towards the keep's entrance. Holding my breath, I unlocked my door and leaned out.

The cold night air rushed in through the keep's great doors, but there seemed to be no sign of the Koopa King and his army. I grabbed my stick and hurried out as fast as I could, to see Daisy's insect soldiers take off from the courtyard to the air. I followed the line of their flight. Luigi stood on the battlements of the castle's outer wall, holding Princess Daisy as if she were his hostage. As the guards closed in, he released her, jumped out across the moat, and was gone.


Of all the humans I know, Princess Daisy is most Toad-like. She speaks her mind, she dismisses the contradictory non-verbal communication they use, and as a result, I find her easy to understand. Even in a highly emotional state, as she was when I led her to Princess Peach's safe-room, she was able to give us every detail we asked.

"He's very much worse," she said, her eyes shifting from Peach, to Dr. Toadley, and then to me. "He didn't recognise me. He doesn't remember us coming to see him. His eyes had no pupils. He spoke..." Daisy looked down at her clasped hands. "He spoke perfectly, but with an accent I've never heard before. It was like he was possessed by another person!"

Peach closed her eyes for a moment. I could see she was struggling to keep her emotions at bay, too. "Did he hurt you?"

Daisy shook her head. "He wanted the World Map. I told him there was a copy in the Museum Library. I'm... I'm sorry, Peach. He had me trapped in that medical room with him and he was frightening. I didn't know what else to do."

I watched Peach pale and twist her fingers together. I didn't have to guess what she was thinking. The description bore all the hallmarks. She looked over at Dr. Toadley. "Doctor," she said, "I'm afraid we have an L situation."