Peach stared at the king in awe, confusion, and betrayal. Every bone in her body wanted to scream out the questions and concerns that had eaten away at her during her new life under the opera house, but the sickening energy that seeped out of him seemed to cut off her ability to speak.
Peach's confidence crumbled as he stared at her. For some reason, his presence was making her fall apart even further, even though he was simply staring in silence, analyzing her.
The king towered over her from the entrance, blocking any hope of escape; she was trapped at his mercy, and the look in his eyes suggested that there was very little of it. Only small beams of light managed to fit through the cracks and gaps of which his massive form didn't block, barely giving off enough room for the human to see his features.
She could barely see his face, but she didn't need to see him to know how he felt; she could feel the pure despair and hatred seeping out of his body. Peach's eye contact flinched as she swore she saw his eyes glow in rage, but quickly returned them after a few moments of fear-driven hesitation.
His eyes were broken in rage and an emotion she couldn't identify while his face was contorted into a deep scowl.
She wasn't surprised to have been caught, but she was instead stuck in awe as it was the first time she looked at him and acknowledged that they potentially knew one another. Even with his chilling stature, Peach couldn't help but stare at him in awe as she tried to remember something...anything.
Nothing. All she felt was the distant familiarity, like she had passed him on the street or shared a brief conversation with him, all of which didn't feel accurate, considering the way he looked at her.
Peach continued analyzing him through the silence. Sitting on the floor, she shuddered at his size, anticipating what he would do to her.
Was he truly the man...koopa, she had held in such a high regard? Having her suitor have a mysterious identity allowed her to have freedom and creativity with his identity; she could imagine him as anyone, or anything.
But, she hadn't expected him to be...a koopa. A royal koopa, at that. At the very least, she had expected a human, a kind, humble man… not a crude beast that had hated her all along.
Peach froze as she looked back towards what rested before her: the open box and the letter she had taken out of it. While she was terrified of what punishments would follow after being caught, she hadn't even considered how he would react after catching what she had found.
The phantom's eyes followed her movements as she hastily shoved the letter into her fist and hid it behind her back. She tried to keep her movements subtle and unnoticeable, but both were well aware of his eyes staring through her and slowly piecing together what she was doing.
Peach broke the silence as she closed the lid of the box with a soft click. For a moment, his eyes widened as he seemed to finally understand what secrets she had been sticking her nose into.
Peach slowly looked back over her shoulder, finding that his eyes had returned to their dull, furious state.
"You aren't supposed to be here."
Peach trembled at how cold his words were and how they seemed to lack any compassion.
"N-Neither are you," she awkwardly replied with a lame attempt at humor.
Unsurprisingly, the joke seemed to have fallen flat as he furrowed his crow at her comment.
Peach flinched as the phantom reached forward and grabbed Peach's arm, who didn't resist, and easily lifted her to her feet with no effort. She yelped at the uncomfortable contact but was surprised to see that he let her go as soon as she gained her footing.
For whatever reason, he wanted her to face him.
Peach took a few clumsy steps away from the beast as he released and silently analyzed her. Her legs shook as she attempted to stand, but after a few seconds, her body gave out and she collapsed. Thankfully, she was able to grab hold of one of the tables next to her and continue standing.
She pressed her body weight against the furniture, frustrated by her body's sudden refusal to cooperate.
The phantom didn't flinch or show any signs of emotion towards Peach's inability to stand. Instead, he seemed to have expected it, as he remained still and eyed her intently, almost waiting for her to explain herself or, maybe, make a run for it.
Peach frowned in exhaustion before looking back up at the king.
"I - I didn't mean to make you angry, I just wanted-"
"What exactly are you trying to do?" He growled at the girl, growing impatient at her inability to explain herself. "You're like a dog rummaging through my garbage, you know that? Damn frustrating."
Peach shuddered at how coldly he spat his words at her. She had so many questions and so many accusations to throw at the phantom, yet she couldn't find herself able to think properly in his presence. Her body and mind seemed to melt the more his temper grew with intensity.
She flinched as he took a step towards her, revealing more of his form. He had to bend down to fit through the doorway and his frame nearly hit the ceiling. Only then did she truly realize how impressively large he was and why the doors were so hard to navigate for her.
She hadn't seen him in so long and she hadn't expected her next encounter with him to be one of pure terror.
Peach's eyes followed the phantom's as his eyes fell towards the small tin box that sat between them, and the small, iron key that rested in the opened lock. His eyes then moved towards the hand she held behind her, gripping the letter.
He knew.
She slowly looked up at him, surprised to see that his face was blank with rage. Whatever he was thinking, feeling, and experiencing was completely shut off from her, and she was unable to read him.
He spat something under his breath, surely about her, but she was unable to pick up on it.
Peach sighed.
"Please...tell me, did you...did you read the letter?" Peach stuttered with an overpowering sense of anticipation. She knew the answer, but something in her needed him to confirm her curiosities. "I didn't mean to overstep, I just wanted to know-"
"Don't ask stupid questions," he barked. "I don't have any answers to give you," he sarcastically hissed through clenched teeth. "You have no idea what's best for you."
Peach's cheeks flushed with color out of frustration at his belittling tone and his dismissal of her worries. While she felt like her body could snap in two at any given moment, annoyance pumped through her, giving her body a second wind of energy.
Peach's brow furrowed and her grip on the letter grew stronger as she spoke her mind.
"How can I know what's best for me when you won't even talk to me?! I had to go rummage through your things - which are practically all mine - to find one little letter that explains nothing! All it does is make me have more questions about you!" Peach rambled as she leaned against the table.
Peach's breathing was heavy and shaky as she tried to keep up her mask of anger towards the beast. Her body trembled and crumbled at the image of him; it seemed to fight against her and hold her back. Even so, she looked up with pure fury.
Peach paused to catch her breath.
"Can't you just...tell me who you are? Why I know you?" Peach asked in a mixture of desperation and annoyance at his stubbornness.
Silence.
The phantom hesitated as he seemed to piece together what information she had gotten her hands on.
"You don't seem to be in the condition to ask me such bold questions," he hissed in rebuttal as he pointed out her inability to stand without the table. He scoffed as her eyes became slits. His eyes glared at her shaking legs before returning to her stubborn frown.
Peach, fed up with his lack of compliance, continued demanding compliance.
"Ever since I saw you, something at the back of my mind kept trying to convince me that I had known you before," Peach mumbled as she tried her best to hold her composure. "Why are you so desperate to make me think otherwise? Are you hiding something from me? Who am I kidding, of course you are!" Peach groaned.
"Give me the letter," he quietly ordered.
"No! I'm done letting you decide what I should know!" Peach cried out. "I want to know how we-"
The king released a furious growl from the back of his throat as he took several large steps towards her.
"What do you want me to tell you, exactly?! That I cared about you?! I'm not helping enforce your little fantasy, and there is no way in hell that I'll be caught giving in to you," he spat with intensity. "Give me the damn letter!"
Peach yelped as she now only stood a few feet away from the beast. Shrouded in darkness, his form was more of a demon rather than a koopa, as only his eyes were visible amongst the darkness. While the light pouring around him lit up his frame, the rest of him remained eerily locked away from her eyes.
In that moment, he truly appeared to be a phantom.
Peach, after a few moments of collecting herself, looked back up at him with a confident frown. She held the letter against her chest in pure rebellion.
"I don't know what I want you to say!" She stated bitterly. "All I know is that I clearly cared about you. So, why shouldn't I care now?" Peach stated confidently, though her words were broken and falling apart due to his mere presence. "Why won't you let me care about you?"
"You think I give a damn about the idea of you caring?" He asked with bitter amusement.
"Yes, I do!" Peach spat back, earning a surprised, infuriated frown from the king. "I think you really care about how I view you! You won't admit it, but I'm not an idiot," Peach angrily muttered. "You think I haven't noticed?"
Peach was vibrating in annoyance at his attempts at shutting her down. She stared up at him with pure rage and confidence in her claims, earning a stare of resentment from the phantom.
He opened his mouth to dismantle her claims, but she cut him off in an instant.
"You saved me from those koopas who jumped me and you even saved me when I nearly drowned!" Peach listed as if it were common sense. "You can't even...harm me!"
Peach huffed as her temper finally started to get overpowered by the waves of exhaustion that seemed to be attempting to pull her body to the floor.
"Won't harm you?" He darkly questioned with another step in her direction. "What makes you so sure of that?"
Peach flinched at his cold tone. She quickly took a step away from him but gasped as her back bumped into the table, effectively trapping her.
She looked from left to right in a deep panic, frightened to find that both sides of her were blocked off from piles and stacks of unwanted furniture. The king noticed her panic and took another step forward.
He was getting a bit too close for comfort. Peach tried to hold her ground and cover up any signs of fear, but it didn't work, and the phantom continued forward.
Peach held her breath and turned back to him, refusing to give into his antics, no matter how hard he attempted to intimidate her. In the end, she knew he wouldn't lay a claw on her, no matter how much she pushed his boundaries.
"You won't hurt me," she adamantly whispered. "You go out of your way to make sure I'm not hurt! You could always just get rid of me...but, you…you care-"
"You humans act like everyone has good in them. It ticks me off. Have you ever thought that maybe I keep you around as a reminder? A reminder of what happens when you're weak?"
"I don't know if you're good! I...want to believe you are!" Peach cried. "I don't know why you're doing any of this! I just want to know-"
The phantom, now only a few steps in front of her, easily cut her off as he leaned over her, effectively shrouding the two in his shadow. If she wished, she could reach out and touch him. The lack of distance between the two was enough to suck all of the air out of her lungs.
"Give me the letter," he ordered one final time as he towered over her.
Peach clamped her eyes shut in fear as she felt his presence directly above her. The energy that spewed out of him was sickeningly thick and seemed to embody every inch of her body in pressure.
She knew what he was doing: he was trying to intimidate her into compliance. Peach tried her best to spite him by opening her eyes and glaring at him directly in the eyes, refusing to flinch and lose to his tactics.
Unsurprisingly, that seemed to tick the phantom off, as he leaned in even closer to her.
Peach's face flushed with color as she looked from side to side. She tried to move to the side but was instantly held in place.
The phantom towered over her, placing both of his claws around both sides of her body, fully entrapping her underneath his form and removing any chance of her slipping past him. Peach quickly tried to move against his position but was forcibly held down as he moved his claws over her arms and pinned her to the table.
Peach squeaked as she realized she couldn't move. She continued clenching the letter in her hand, however, which only set him off further.
"Really? What do you want to know, exactly?" The phantom angrily muttered through clenched teeth. "Know about what, that I knew you? That I didn't hesitate to lose everything for you? That I can't be around you for more than a few minutes before I'm forced to remember how I felt about you?"
Peach turned her head away as she tried to avoid his intense stare but she couldn't avoid the power his gaze gave off. While she had tried to fight against him just moments before, she finally felt her facade of confidence crack as his words tore through her.
Peach flinched as she opened her mouth, refusing to give in.
"Y...you admit that we have a past," Peach whispered as her sheepish words barely escaped her lips. "Why won't you just tell me?"
"I don't think you'd be very fond of the ending, Sweetheart, and I know you humans are suckers for your happy little endings."
Peach grunted and pushed against him but was met with his grip growing stronger and anchoring her before him. No matter how hard she pushed against him, he didn't seem to notice. Or, rather, he did notice, and didn't bother acknowledging her futile attempts.
However, his eyes lit up.
"What? Don't like being called that?" He arrogantly growled. "Figured you'd love it, seeing as you're so desperate for me to like you."
Peach grunted in offense at his crude comment.
The king's eyes widened for a moment as he realized that got a reaction out of her. That was exactly what he wanted so he leaned in closer.
"Oh, I see," he purred. "So, I can manage to strike a nerve with you," He scoffed with a cocky smirk. "You forget what you did yet you remember wanting me out of all things? How ironic."
Peach's face flushed with color at the sudden boldness behind his claims. She wasn't a fool, however, and was well aware he was trying to gaslight her into submitting to him. Even so, Peach flinched underneath him as she hadn't expected such a personal attack that she couldn't shake off held some truth behind it.
She released a muffled cry of discomfort as she stared up at him with daggers for eyes.
The phantom's eyes grew in intensity at her continued reactions. Peach turned away from him and attempted to hide her red face, frustrated by how she gave in to his mind games and how he seemed to get some sort of kick out of it.
Peach's stomach fell as he continued.
"You get to live all happy while I'm stuck with all of the baggage. I figured she was lying, but I didn't expect you to turn out this pathetic. I guess some things just don't change."
"You're...You're trying to-"
Peach tried to call him out on his subtle attempts at deflection but found herself choking on her words, far too intimidated by the feeling of him above her. She tried to open her mouth and continue but her ability to talk seemed to have left her body.
Peach's words came out as panicked squeaks which further set her panic into action; the king's body was on fire due to the sounds.
"You can't even get a sentence out," he mumbled while leaning in closer, now only a few inches away from her. "You're as easy as I remember. Humans are so much easier to overpower than koopas...you get overwhelmed so easily. I won't lie, it's entertaining making you squirm."
Peach gasped with an insulted, caught-off-guard frown. The more she tried to fight back, the more her body gave into whatever mysterious force emptied her ability to resist him.
"You're so...weird," Peach angrily whispered through shaky breaths. She refused to acknowledge him and his torment, yet she couldn't deny the fact that the space between them grew smaller and smaller the more his eyes lit up...and it drove her crazy.
Finally, the king's infuriated energy seemed to die down a little bit at her comment. After a few moments of silence, Peach slowly turned back towards him, afraid of what his next move was.
"That's exactly what you would've normally said," he muttered in subtle confusion. He paused before continuing. "I would reply with, 'I'm not weird, you're the one enjoying it,' and you would practically yell at me."
Peach's face, once again, bloomed with color, earning a snicker from her company as she tried to fight against him.
He… had done this to me before? More than once?! What was I...what was I thinking?! Peach thought to herself in pure panic.
The phantom stared at her as she internally suffered, waiting for her to calm down only to push her even further towards her breaking point. Peach scowled at him from the corner of her eyes as both were well aware of what he was doing; he wouldn't stop until she gave in and dropped both the letter and the topic.
At this point, he wasn't even trying to distract her, he was fully toying with her.
Even so, Peach's frown faded as she contemplated his last comment. She furrowed her brow as she looked up at him, meeting a disappointed frown as she was no longer entertaining him.
"That's the first thing you've been honest about with me…" She mumbled. "Though, I can't say I want to hear more about it," she added with an embarrassed frown.
"What? That you liked being teased?" He asked with an arrogant smirk. "I doubt you needed me to point that out."
Peach gasped at his tasteless lack of awareness.
"I do not like it," she quickly clarified through trembling words. Her face continued flushing as she tried to defend herself. "I'm just...caught off guard."
The king shrugged.
"Bad liar," he blandly stated before continuing with a smug glare. "Royal koopas can smell emotions, you know, and it's obvious that you clearly-"
Peach vigorously shook her head, refusing to take part in round two of his sick mind games. If she didn't cut him off, she knew she would be stuck in an endless loop of his torment.
Peach looked up at him in desperation, practically begging him to drop his sick games.
"Just...tell me more, about my past...preferably things that aren't...embarrassing."
Any sense of enjoyment faded from the king after he processed her question. He stood still, staring through her.
"No," he stated matter-of-factly.
"No?!" Peach loudly repeated with absurdity. "You can do all of this to me...but you can't just tell me about you? Or how I know you?!"
The king paused and increased the distance between them.
"Basically," he nonchalantly shrugged. "Why should I tell you anything? Not like you deserve to know."
Peach opened her mouth to reply but found herself trying to think of an answer.
Why did she deserve to know?
She had been the other half of their experiences together, but whatever memories she had shut out seemed to have greatly harmed him. Was it even her story to be aware of? Did she really...deserve to know?
Was she better off not knowing? Even if her ignorance was a blessing, every part of her wanted to know. No matter what had happened or what she had done to harm him, she wanted to learn more about the phantom.
Even though the king was crude and intimidating, she couldn't help but feel the need to be close to him due to their past. Being around him, when he wasn't hiding behind a mask of hostility, was something she had never known she was craving.
Peach held the letter tightly in her palm as her heart ached.
"I want to know. Whatever I did to you...I want to know what happened, so I can...apologize."
Peach spoke with genuine concern as she gazed up at him, her eyes spilling out silent desperation. Peach attempted to move her hand upwards to touch him, but froze after quickly remembering the position she was in.
The two locked eyes as the phantom stood above her in silence, his intensely-terrifying glare unflinching through the darkness. She couldn't read him due to her inability to clearly read his face, but he seemed to be caught off guard from her genuine attempt at mending whatever wounds she had caused him to bear.
"I used to wear the ring, if you were really the one who...gave it to me," Peach whispered. She paused, sensing a silent shift in reaction from him. "I never stopped wondering if you were okay...I'm...happy that you're okay. K-King Koopa, if you really wrote those letters to me, I want you to know that I-"
Peach was cut off by a subtle scoff of dismissal. The phantom's reign of intimidation seemed to have run dry as he shifted his gaze away from her.
"I think it's best you go back to your room," he blandly interrupted, silently overwhelmed from her attempts at making amends. "I don't need an apology for something you're unaware of. What I need is for you to stay away from me."
Peach's stomach dropped at how genuine he was in his demands for her to disappear. He seemed to abandon any hope of removing the letter from her possession and instead fixated on wanting nothing to do with her.
"Wait, n-no, King…" Peach's words trailed off as she remembered how she had addressed him in the letter. She continued through a shy whisper. "Bowser, I-"
The king's eyes widened in discomfort as she managed to remember his first name. She quickly paused, getting the impression that she had offended him.
"I- I'm sorry! I just...it's your name, isn't it? I saw that I addressed you that way in the letter, so I thought I could…" Peach's words fell to silence as her cheeks burned in embarrassment.
He stared at her in pure disbelief and Peach swore she saw him crack for a moment. Peach realized his grip had completely faded, but she remained still, waiting for him to say something...anything.
The silence was making her anxious.
Instead of replying, the phantom pulled away, leaving her to lay on the desk on her own accord. He took a few steps backwards but still glared down over her.
"I think it's best you go back to your room," he repeated through a hushed growl.
Peach, overwhelmed by her confidence in using his first name, sat up and looked at him in silence. She wanted to continue prying, but it was obvious that he was done playing with her and that she was best avoiding pushing any further boundaries.
She bit her tongue.
He paused for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for her to get up and leave on her own, but groaned in annoyance as she simply sat up and stared at him.
The phantom's eyes drifted to Peach's legs as he noticed how she trembled against the table. He quickly returned his gaze to her eyes with realization.
"That's my fault. It comes in handy but it can be a burden at times like this," he muttered, clearly wanting her out of his hair.
It?
Peach tilted her head in confusion, intrigued by what he was referring to. She frowned, realizing she was still struggling to control her body besides a few simple movements. She frowned as it was clear that he probably played a part in her inability to move.
He took a few steps back towards her with an annoyed huff.
Peach instinctively placed her hands in front of her chest and pulled away from the king as he leaned down towards her. She defensively held the letter against herself. He seemed to notice her hesitation and paused with a scowl.
"I'm not going to bite you."
He seemed to wait for her to acknowledge his reassurance, as he only continued after she gave a nervous nod of understanding. His eyes left her face and trailed down her body as he leaned in closer.
Peach's eyes remained glued to his as she felt her face burning up from the way he examined her. Her body was practically vibrating from the way his eyes intensely burned through her.
The phantom gently placed his right claw underneath her and lifted her to his side. Peach loudly gasped and quickly grabbed onto his arm as he lifted her, terrified of being so high off of the ground.
He rolled his eyes at how she cowered at the height.
"I'll only let you fall if you keep annoying me. You're getting close," he warned.
Peach trembled as she sat in his claw but had no other choice but to trust him. She aggressively nodded in agreement as she closed her eyes and hoped to drown out any fears of falling.
Peach couldn't object or physically fight against his grip as exhaustion continued eating away at her. She was aware that the phantom's gesture was not founded in kindness or concern, at least openly, but instead he was desperate to dispose of her where she wouldn't be able to continue nagging him for clarity.
Even so, she was worried he could feel how fast her heart was beating and how hot her body was getting from the way he held her.
Without hesitating, he took advantage of her silent compliance and made his way into the corridor.
Peach held onto his arm as if her life depended on it as they started moving as she couldn't see a thing after getting used to the illuminated study.
Peach looked from left to right, anticipating to be dropped or bumped into something as he treaded through the halls.
However, he walked through the darkness flawlessly. Peach tried to look up at him, but it was too dark to make out any sense of his shape. She quickly looked away in embarrassment, realizing he could easily notice her prying eyes.
His steps were large and powerful, rocking her back and forth against him, but he carefully held on to her. With the way he held her, she had no doubt that he had carried her before, as he seemed to know what he was doing.
Peach's skin felt like jolts of electricity running through her from where his chest and arm made contact with her. His skin was rough and tough to the touch, contrasting how delicate she rested against him. She wasn't surprised by the sensation as his body was covered head to toe in thick, gruesome scars.
His steps were loud and intimidating as they echoed down the halls. How did he manage to sneak around when every movement was chaotic? Everything about him, his body, and even his personality, was intimidatingly large...it was impressive that he could hide any evidence of his form when he needed to.
Even though his steps were loud, the noise was somewhat comforting in its rhythm. Peach closed her eyes and gave into his grip, finally finding herself trusting him not to drop her. While she hated to admit it, it was quite comfortable.
Peach felt herself drifting to sleep the further they walked. Her body, mind, and heart seemed to slow from exhaustion. Even so, her mind still buzzed with questions and accusations towards her captor, but she couldn't find herself able to speak in his presence.
She held the letter against her chest, refusing to ever let go of the fact that he really was her phantom.
A/N: Wow, my interpretation of Bowser is starting to remind me a lot of Catra! Sadistic little freaks. Anyways, thank you so much for reading! I really loved this chapter! I'll admit, it was a guilty pleasure writing this one. I promise I will have answers to all of the questions soon!