Chapter 12 Aqua's Little Angel

If there was one thing Aqua never imagined herself doing, it was using a cap to possess a rat. Being a mouser was probably the weirdest sensation that Aqua had ever experienced. It felt as if her back was coated with germs. Her new nose was constantly twitching, taking in the smells of the world around her. She also had a very strong craving for cheese.

Nevertheless, she and Celia used their new mouser forms to scurry across the town. They kept to the corners and alleys, not wanting anyone to see them. Aqua had no idea that being in a mouser form would make her so paranoid. It was like a humongous monster was looming over her at all times. She kept sneaking glances at Celia and Fedora. She also reminded herself that Beret was on her head, and he was willing to protect her from any enemy that might come their way.

The four kept right on scurrying, even when they exited the town. They trudged their way through the gray grass and the misty fog. Aqua's paranoia was increasing the further and further away that she got. She wanted to yell, whimper, moan, and scream, but she couldn't. The only thing her tiny mouser mouth was capable of doing was produce high pitched squeaks.

Finally, the four got to the Cap/Cascade Kingdom border. Aqua couldn't help but feel relieved when she was able to be restored to her human form. She glanced at Celia and Fedora. Celia also looked relieved.

"That...I am never doing that again," she said while letting out an exhausted breath. Aqua nodded to show her agreement. Just as she did, Beret and Fedora floated into the air.

"This is as far as we can take you," Fedora said. "Good luck."

With that, Fedora and Beret floated back to the town. Aqua and Celia stared at each other. Celia let a tiny snort escape from her nose. Aqua suppressed a giggle. Before either of them knew it, they were chuckling.

"That was scarier than a boss battle!" Celia said.

"I'll say," said Aqua. She pushed her hair over her left shoulder. "I wonder how Mario is able to find that process tolerable!"

Celia full on laughed.

"I second that. Or should I say, hat!"

Aqua snorted back a laugh. She hadn't heard someone make a pun around her in a long time. Everyone at the Lake Kingdom was far too formal. This was a nice change of pace.

"So," Celia said. "The sun is almost down."

Aqua looked up into the sky. While it was hard to tell with the gray sky of the Cap Kingdom, the sky of the Cascade Kingdom was starting to turn pink. Aqua instinctively let out a yawn.

"If that's the case, let's set up camp and get some sleep."

"Yes. Let's," Celia replied.

…

Aqua could not sleep. She had tossed and turned on the green, dirty ground for three hours. Moonlight was streaming down into her eyes, making it impossible for her to close them. The sounds of the Cascade Kingdom, such as cicadas and rushing water, also created quite the cacophony.

Aqua sat up and let out a sigh. This was too much. She was far more used to sleeping in an actual bed. She recalled the Princess and the Pea story that was read to her when she was a little girl. She found herself relating perfectly with the Princess. She was about to talk to Celia, but to her surprise, she found the human Koopa hybrid out cold. She shook her head.

"This is ridiculous," she whispered. The humming of the cicadas was the only reply that she got to that assessment. She crossed her legs and shifted her weight so that her face was leaning on her right fist. "I bet that her Dragon koopa DNA allows her to sleep anywhere."

"Kind of funny, considering that monsters keep others from sleeping!" said a malicious sounding voice. Aqua nearly jumped up and screamed when she heard someone addressing her.

"Who said that?" she asked cautiously. She felt little feet crawling over her left shoulder. At first, she thought it was some kind of spider. Thankfully, she saw that it wasn't a spider.

It was something far worse.

"Why hello there, Aquamarine. Long time no see!"

Aqua held back a groan. Her shoulder devil, dressed up in a red demon costume and wielding a pitchfork, grinned wickedly at the princess. She twirled her pitchfork around in her left hand.

"Yes, hello," Aqua said while rolling her eyes. The shoulder devil cackled.

"You know, I think you should ditch the girl right here and now. She's a Koopa, after all!"

"Uh, wrong," came another, more echoey voice. "She's half human. That means half of her DNA belongs to the same species as Aqua!"

Aqua glanced at her right shoulder. She saw her shoulder angel dressed up in a white and gold robe. Beautiful wings were sprouting from her back, which complemented the heilo on her head.

"Aqua," the shoulder angel said gently. She softly touched the Princess' cheek. "I hate to say this as much as you hate to hear it, but you know that you haven't been treating Celia well."

"So what?" The shoulder devil said with a scoff. "She deserves it! In fact, her whole race deserves it!"

The shoulder angel cast the shoulder devil a glare.

"That is wrong, both factually and morally. Treating someone badly for no reason doesn't do anyone any good. Besides, Celia is just trying to help."

The devil scoffed.

"Help, shmelp. Knowing that she is close to Bowser, she is probably a spy for him!

"If that were the case, why would she be as worried as she is! Why would she go out of her way to help Aqua out!"

Now it was the devil's turn to cast the angel a glare.

"You know, you're really annoying."

The angel raised an eyebrow.

"Please don't go there. We are trying to help Aqua. Now is not the time for petty bickering."

The devil just laughed and flew over to the Angel's shoulder. She pricked the angel in the butt with her flaming pitchfork. She cackled as she saw the angel practically fuming at her.

"Oh, did I hurt you? Does that make you mad? Are you gonna hurt me back?"

For a minute, Aqua was worried that the angel would hit back. To Aqua's surprise, however, the angel let out a breath. This caused the anger to transition into a smile.

"You know what? No. I am above that." With that, the angel wrapped the devil in a hug. The devil struggled against her hold.

"What are you doing?" the devil screeched in terror.

"I am defeating you with the power of love!"

To Aqua's surprise, a light started to overtake both the angel and the devil. The devil screamed right before disintegrating out of existence. The angel then looked up at Aqua.

"Now, Aqua, please listen to me. Celia has put a lot on the line to help you out. If you were in her shoes, would you want someone to constantly berate you?"

Aqua felt a pang as she looked over at the sleeping Celia. She sighed.

"No. I wouldn't."

"So, don't you think it would be a better idea to not accept Celia's sacrifice with bitterness, but rather, with gratitude?"

Aqua hesitated before nodding her head.

"Yes. Of course I do. But...I don't know. Sometimes, I don't even realize what I say to Celia until after I say it. I guess I've just been hating koopas for so long…" she glanced down at the shoulder angel. "What if I screw up?"

The angel smiled.

"Then you can always apologize. And I will be right here to help you along in your journey."

Aqua felt a warmth spread from her heart to her toes.

"Thanks, shoulder angel."

"Don't mention it."

With that, the shoulder angel disappeared. Surprisingly, Aqua managed to sleep peacefully that night.