It was infuriating how humans were so quick to throw suspicion towards the Darklands and those who lived there. Sure, they were considered creatures of violent tendencies, but that was mostly a myth spread to excuse the war and the atrocities done by human kind. It was pathetic how they tried to cover up their reasoning with a sickening mixture of fear and a mask of heroism.
He groaned as he followed a small, pink toadette with a staff as she led him to the desired location.
Even though he arrived unarmed and alone, as instructed, the few Mushroom Kingdom citizens eyed him through their windows. He was surrounded by puny, pathetic mushroom guards armed with spears of which tried their best to seem intimidating. They were practically doormats beneath him as he walked, not even bothering to allow them to properly surround him. Because of his height, the small group of mushroom guards had to almost run to keep up with his large strides.
It was entertaining, as he could glare down at one or two of the guards and they would instantly freeze and fall behind, having to sprint to catch up. That never failed to earn a vile smirk from him.
It was embarrassing; if he wanted, he could easily destroy the kingdom from the inside out. They had confidently invited him to come alone for the sake of discussing the future of their kingdoms through civil means.
While he was a koopa of war, he was also a king with responsibilities that outmatched his craving for vengeance. He was not unaware of the fact that his people were hungry and his soldiers were becoming increasingly more and more wounded the further they were shoved into the battlefield.
Even his way of life had shifted. Instead of joining his men on the battlefield, he was left strategizing in his castle. It was frustrating not being able to act on instinct, but instead having to plan ahead and find the best course of action for his people.
While the Mushroom kingdom spent great effort and funding on maintaining their "flawless" image with how clean their kingdom was, he had no doubt they were struggling with the same negative outcomes from decades of war. They were undoubtedly desperate for his compliance.
It was against Koopa traditions to seek out peace with rivaling kingdoms who had wronged them, yet there he was, surrounded by enemies of which were both terrified and disgusted by him. Though, he didn't mind, as it was an interesting change of tone from being worshiped.
It was amusing watching the goons scramble to find any sense of control over him, considering he could easily tear them apart if he wanted to. One by one, he was able to scare them off with nothing more than a few snarls. It didn't take much to get rid of them, thankfully.
Surprisingly, he wasn't one for unwarranted violence, even though it would be fun. Unless it was necessary, he would stand his ground and avoid any conflicts.
He grunted. It would be satisfying to see the perfect, sickeningly-orderly kingdom splattered with blood, though.
The roads were polished white stone and every building they passed seemed to be made of a similar shining material with mushroom engravings. Every pillar, stone, and step seemed hard to look at due to how...perfect they tried to come off.
It was...infuriating.
The two walked in a somewhat-rural area of the kingdom, far away from the castle and away from any prying eyes. Besides a few commoners shrieking and slamming their doors closed, he was alone with his guide. Apparently, his visit was televised, as all civilians hid in their homes and the streets were empty.
It was understandable to keep him far away from any sensitive information...and victims. It was not uncommon for diplomatic discussions to be discussed on common ground or away from their respective castles, though he couldn't remember anytime a koopa king had indulged in humanity's desperation for peace.
Even though where he was heading was on the outskirts of the kingdom, it was still royal and paved with elegant white stones and seemed to lack any imperfections in its decor. If he didnt' know, he would have guessed he was relatively close to the castle. He silently huffed to himself. It was obvious where the kingdom directed their tax money...considering they often fell flat in battle.
"Stop!" The small toad squeaked as she turned around to face him. She outstretched her hand, instructing him to remain still. "I am required to drop off something at this location. You are instructed to stand here and wait without any refusal! Understand?"
Her voice was obnoxiously robotic and rehearsed. She seemed confident as she scowled at the king, but Bowser remained unflinching and wore a mask of disinterest. She quickly froze, unsettled by his presence, before rushing into the building directly to her left which seemed to be some sort of post office.
Without his annoying tour guide, Bowser looked around, eager to investigate what the kingdom hid. He looked around the street, disappointed to find the only thing he was met with was polished marble.
He took a few steps forward, deciding no one could stop him from venturing off on his own for a little bit. While he had arrived with the potential intentions of finding peace, that didn't mean he couldn't stumble upon something that would benefit him if they were unable to come to a compromise.
However, the king's posture tensed as he felt something land on his tail followed by a loud 'thud.' He looked over his shoulder, annoyed to find a pathetic human next to him.
The girl squeaked as she tripped over his tail and dropped the thick binder of papers onto the pavement. She landed on her hands and knees, the papers spewing out of her binder and creating a mess before her.
Whatever papers she had been holding, and probably reading while walking, seemed to have distracted her enough as to clumsily trip over him without realizing he had been there.
The king glared at her from the corner of his eyes, annoyed by the nuisance. He analyzed her, surprised to have such a close encounter with a human.
She was a small, petite woman, standing at around half his height. Her bright, blonde hair was neatly tucked into a small braid that fell over her chest and her eyes were an unexpected shade of blue. She wore a pink sundress dress that cut off right above her knees with dainty black shoes. Her face was contorted into a scowl of pain as she bit her tongue.
He quickly lost interest at the sight of her. She was just an average commoner of a human sent to test his temper.
She groaned in pain as she leaned back and rubbed her palms against her dress, leaving a small smudge of blood from how rough her fall had been. Her knees, too, were raw and scraped from the stone.
He rolled his eyes after a few brief seconds of analyzing her before he scoffed at how easily she was injured. Humans were pathetically frail and destined to meet tragic fates. Even their intellects were underwhelming; they were nothing more than unwelcome pests.
The girl seemed to have heard his annoyance and quickly leaned forward to snatch her papers with an embarrassed frown.
"I-I'm so sorry," she apologized with an overwhelming amount of embarrassment. She paused before whispering to herself. "I just...I forgot to rehearse and...Ugh, I can't get chewed out again!" She rambled in panic. She noticed a few of the papers blowing away and quickly grabbed what she could, stuffing it into the unorganized binder. All of her papers were out of order which earned a sigh of defeat out of her.
Bowser frowned at her panicked apologetic tone. Clearly, she hadn't thought to look up at who she had tripped over, as she seemed unaware of the fact that her company was her kingdom's enemy.
After managing to skillfully snatch what papers she could, she held the binder to her side before standing up. He was amused by how quickly she had collected what he assumed was her script for her 'rehearsal.' He had no doubt that her losing her notes like that was not uncommon for her, seeing how she had effortlessly grabbed everything.
She dusted off her dress before looking up, finally meeting who stood before her.
The girl gasped as she tightly held the binder to her chest. From the look in her eyes, it was easy to see that she had never met a koopa before.
It was entertaining but bitterly so. He was used to the stares of disbelief but they never managed to tick him off any less.
She stuttered her words as they came out as awkward noises. She could barely form a cohesive sentence as she looked him up and down before taking a step back, realizing how uncomfortably close she was to the creature.
"Are you...real?" She asked with a suspicious glare.
"In the flesh," he muttered.
She flinched at how his voice contrasted her own. Everything about him seemed to contrast her human form...his body, his stature, even his tone of voice was violently dark. While she was small and...underwhelming, he was the embodiment of power. She was enamored with their differences, though her stare of awe was mostly covered by her adrenaline crying for her to run.
Bowser continued glaring over his shoulder, not even bothering to give her the respect of fully facing her. To him, humans were low-life creatures like cats or dogs; they weren't something to respect or acknowledge unless it held any benefit to him. They were inferior species that only ever managed to annoy the hell out of him.
"It's rude to stare," he darkly spat.
A bit of color filled her cheeks as she realized how she was behaving. The human leaned forward as she analyzed him, enchanted by the fear that ran through her. She looked up at him with an innocent smile after analyzing his shell.
"You're just so...impressive. I never expected to see a real koopa before."
His eyes sparked with amusement. Did she not realize who he was or what he could do to her? He was used to the shrieks, cries, and silent whimpers, but to approach him so calmly was honestly...insulting. Even so, it interested him.
"What are you doing here?" She added while pulling away from him. She stared up at his profile, hardly able to see over his shell. All she could see was his red hair and a bit of his eyes.
His interest in her fell flat as she pried a bit too far for him. While he rarely came face-to-face with humans, just as she had never seen koopas, his curiosity about her was only so imperative. Instead, he quickly found her to be a nuisance.
Bowser turned to face her a bit more with his brow furrowed at her audacity.
"None of your damn business," he spat in annoyance.
The girl's eyes widened as she flinched at how he snapped at her. She quickly took a step back in defense as she realized she overstepped a boundary and was close to setting him off. It was clear that she wasn't intending to pry or investigate him, rather she had never encountered something like him.
He found humans annoying in their ignorant curiosity; they never knew when to mind their own business. It seemed that they were unaware of the reality that they were nothing more than pests in the eyes of koopas.
Though, it was a mixture of fear and curiosity, as she seemed unable to stop trembling. She held onto her binder as if her life depended on it but even that didn't relieve her of her shaking. He wouldn't be surprised if she thought he would lunge at her any second. Even so, she held her ground.
To his surprise, after a few moments of what he had assumed to be fear, the girl released a gentle laugh. He stared at her in annoyance as she giggled to herself before looking up at him.
"You're a bit scary."
She was so damn frustrating.
"You're a bit annoying," he mocked.
The small, pink toadette slowly peaked her head out of the doorway, looking both ways, convinced she was going to be snatched up by the king if she left the building. She squinted as she noticed the king towering over a small human in the distance. She gasped in fear as she read the flames in his eyes and quickly called out.
"King Koopa!" She cried as she waddled towards the two with a furious frown. "You are not permitted to interact with any of the Mushroom Kingdom's civilians!" Her words were shaky as she criticized the king, as she knew he was not one to easily follow orders, but she attempted to come off as confident as possible. "You are to immediately take three steps back!"
The king and girl turned towards the overbearing toad before looking back towards one another, effectively ignoring her. The human stared at him with wide eyes.
"King…?" The girl whispered through a shaky breath. "You're…"
The bossy toad groaned as she moved in between them.
"Do not speak with him! He's been enough trouble as it is. I do not need to fill out more paperwork!" The toad cried in desperation. "Please, just continue towards your destination! The both of you!"
The human stood still as her eyes didn't leave the now-revealed king. Bowser blankly stared at her as she reeked of terror and fear, though her eyes were overflowing with wonder.
Her knees shook from both pain from her fall and intimidation from the beast; she was crumbling. It was clear that the stories of the Darklands had reached the Mushroom kingdom, as she seemed to realize what supposed things he was capable of; the atrocities he had done to human kind.
She had seen portraits of the king in textbooks but she hadn't even considered the idea that she was face-to-face with someone of his stature. Her eyes quickly fell from wonder to shame as she took a step back, realizing why he had been so crude with her.
He was an awful being.
After a few moments of looking at one another, he turned away. Bowser seemed to have noticed her shift in emotions as he scoffed while taking his gaze away. With the toad leading the way in front of him, he began following her without another glance in the human's direction, though that didn't stop her conflicted stare from burning into the back of him.
Predictable, he thought to himself in spite.
The toad released a thankful sigh as the two finally returned on their venture.
The girl stood alone, holding her binder against her chest as she tried to analyze what had just happened and who she had just met...without falling victim to him. It didn't take long for King Koopa to leave her sight, though she remained still, enamoured with the image of him.
Something told her she was going to be late to rehearsal after all.
A/N: Quick chapter! This was a flashback, if it wasn't obvious! I tried to keep it from dragging out as not much happened between them. I hope you enjoyed! I'm finishing these so quickly...so expect another chapter soon! Thank you so much for reading!