AN: Hey, everyone. I just wanted to thank you all for the support that this rewrite has gotten so far. It really means a lot, and I am glad that so many people are enjoying how this is going. I really hope I can carry through with an excellent ending when the time comes.

Now, onto the chapter.

Chapter 10 Tricks Are For Kids

Roy followed Celia out of the lab. She looked around the hallway of the east wing, seemingly entranced by the scenery. Although, Roy had no idea why this was, as there was nothing special about how Bowser's Castle looked. Sure, there was a carpet the color of tomato juice that covered the floor. Sure, the walls were constructed out of gray stones with sparkly patches in them. Sure, light filtered in through the windows in a way that Roy had never seen happen in any other location. But, really, come on. What was so impressive about Bowser's Castle? It was just like any other castle!

"This place looks incredible," Celia whispered. She went up to one of the windows and ran her hands against the white, silky curtain. She smiled with a sense of pure innocence and intrigued wonder as she did this.

Roy just smirked. "What, this dump? Please."

Celia looked at him. "How the World Eight can you think that a place like this is a dump? It's a flipping castle!"

Roy shrugged. "So? It's still a dump." He laughed. "Plus, it smells like a sewer. I bet something crawled into the walls and died in the middle of the night."

Celia's brow scrunched up as she turned back toward the curtains. "Don't talk to me about what you think a sewer smells like," she muttered under her breath.

Roy was just about to respond to this when a sound fell upon his ears. It sounded like yelling, except it was...very muffled. Maybe somebody was holding a pillow up to their face, or maybe they had their head buried in a pillowcase. Yeah, that had to be it. Roy looked around, trying to find the idiot who was dumb enough to put their head in a pillowcase. Maybe it was a Koopa troopa servant, and they were making their way up the staircase right at that moment. He made his way over to the staircase, and Celia followed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Shhh!" Roy peered down the staircase, but saw no one coming up it or going down it. "That's weird. Where's the dude with the pillowcase on his head?"

Celia raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"There should be a dude with a pillowcase on his head. Why else would there be muffled screams?"

Celia opened her mouth, ready to answer the question (and based on the incredulous expression she gave, Roy wouldn't be surprised if she was going to berate him as well). Before she did, however, the sound of a door bursting open echoed down the hallway. As a consequence, the yelling became so much clearer and more audible. Roy could actually hear that it wasn't one person yelling, but two. One high, sweet cinnamon roll voice coupled with a bitter, sardonic, angry tone, as well as the fact that there were doors slamming open and shut, could only mean one thing. Lemmy and Ludwig were having a fight.

"GET THE FLIP OUT OF MY ROOM!" Ludwig yelled.

"It's not just your room anymore. It belongs to both of us!"

Ludwig snickered. "Because I am always one to care about technicalities." He exited the room and pointed a blue flame encircled finger at his younger brother. His expression indicated that he wasn't even trying to hold back the anger that he was experiencing. "You call me Ludwig Vanessa again, you're gonna pay severely! Now, excuse me; I need to cool down before I cause something to spontaneously combust."

With that, Ludwig slammed the door shut right in front of Lemmy's face. The little Koopa put his hand on the door and lowered his head, biting his lip all the while.

"It's my room," he whispered to himself as Celia and Roy approached. "I should be able to spend time in it!"

"Yeah," said Celia. "Seriously, screw him."

"Yes!" Lemmy said as he turned toward Celia. "Thanks random girl I don't know; screw Ludwig and his anger management issues!" Lemmy turned back toward the door, ready to knock on it. Right before he did, however, he turned back around and blinked. "Wait…" He stared up at Celia. "Who are you?"

Celia smiled. "My name is Celia Patch."

"Celia Patch!" Lemmy exclaimed. "Ooh!" He approached and grabbed hold of her hands. "You sound like someone who really likes Circus tricks!"

Celia blinked. "Circus tricks?"

"Yeah! I am the master of Circus tricks!" Lemmy then chuckled apprehensively. "Well, more like the apprentice in training. I am still trying to master snake charming."

"Snake charming?" asked Celia.

"Mmhm!" Lemmy showed her his wrist, which had a welt the size and color of a plum. "This beauty right here came from a python who resided in the backyard." He smiled. "Do you want to touch it?"

Celia made a face. "Uh...no thanks."

"Are you sure? It won't hurt me." Lemmy poked the welt. "It has its own heartbeat!"

Celia shook her head. "Still no."

Lemmy shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say." He turned back to the bedroom door, let out a sigh, and pounded on it. "Ludwig, let me back in!"

There was no answer. Roy took a step forward and asked "What's his deal?"

Lemmy sighed. "He's mad because I called him by his middle name."

Roy snickered. "Oh, yeah. He hates it when someone calls him Ludwig Vanessa."

Lemmy chortled. "Yeah. He hates his name with a burning passion."

Roy and Lemmy laughed. Celia, however, just stood there awkwardly.

"Wait, I'm confused," she said. "Why would a guy have a female middle name?"

Lemmy smiled at her. "It's actually commonplace among Koopas! We have middle names that belong to the opposite gender!"

"Yeah!" said Roy. "I think it has something to do with us hatching from eggs."

Celia nodded. "Ohhh. Okay. So, you guy's middle names are…"

Roy beamed. "I am Roy Allison Koopa!"

Lemmy puffed out his chest in pride. "I'm Lemonade Natalie Koopa! The most amazing pun master and the Clown Prince of Koopas" He laughed. "It makes sense why you wouldn't know about this tradition, seeing how humans don't typically do it."

Roy, upon hearing this, went over and put his hand on Celia's shoulder. "Actually, she isn't even fully human."

Lemmy blinked. "She's not?"

"Nope! She is half Koopa!"

Lemmy's eyes grew wide. "Woah! Like that human Koopa hybrid Iggy was doing research on?"

"Yep!" Roy said as Celia blushed in embarrassment. "Plus, she's not only half Koopa. She is also Bowser's daughter!"

Lemmy's eyes grew wider than a supernova. "Woah!" He then scratched his head. "But wait, how is that even possible?"

Roy chuckled. "I dunno. But it's pretty cool that she is!"

Right at that moment, the door to the bedroom opened back up, and Ludwig came back out. The fire that had surrounded his hand was completely absent, signifying that he was no longer angry.

"Okay, I think I've cooled down enough for now." He looked at Celia, who he just seemed to notice, and blinked. He turned toward Roy with a surprised expression. "Roy, who's your friend?"

Roy puffed out his chest. "This right here is Celia Patch; Princess and heiress to the Koopa Kingdom throne!"

Ludwig blinked not once, but twice. "Huh?"

Lemmy leaned in close to him. "She's Bowser's daughter."

"Bowser's daughter?" Ludwig scratched his head. "But...she's human."

"Half human," Celia said quietly. "I'm half human."

Ludwig examined her, as if just noticing her goldenrod skin and fiery hair for the first time. "Well. I'll be darned." He turned toward Roy, his face falling. "But still. How can she be Bowser's daughter? That doesn't make any sense!"

Roy shook his head and chuckled. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Just because it's ludicrous doesn't mean it's impossible!"

Celia raised an eyebrow at him. "You think it's ludicrous?"

Roy, suddenly realizing what he had just said, felt a boatload of embarrassment be piled right on top of his head. "What? No, no! I don't mean ludicrous in that way."

"Then what do you mean, Roy?" Lemmy asked.

Roy hesitated, fumbling around in his mind for an answer. "I….I...I guess….I think I mean…." He noticed all three people staring at him, causing him to chuckle. "Uh...you know what? What I mean doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things." He laughed some more, causing everyone to raise an eyebrow. His laughter died down quickly, and he rubbed his forearm.

Suddenly, Ludwig began sniffing the air. "Wait. What's that…" he directed his nose toward Celia. "Oh, gross! You smell like you use deodorant made from dog poop and sulfur!"

Celia flushed in embarrassment. "Yeah." She scratched the back of her head. "I haven't had a shower in...well, years."

"Years?" The Koopalings exclaimed. Roy approached her. "Well, that's not a condition a Princess should stay in!" He took hold of Celia's hand. "Come on, your majesty; I'm escorting you to my sister's room so that you can have a bath."

Celia, despite her embarrassment, actually smiled. "Thanks, Roy."

"Ooh!" Lemmy exclaimed. "Maybe once she's done, I can put on a show for her! It would be nice to show someone new my tricks; especially since Ludwig thinks they're stupid and childish!"

Ludwig nodded. "That I do." He turned around. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go for a fly. I'll be right back."

Lemmy jumped up. "Ooh, can I come with you?" Ludwig shot him a toxic glare, causing him to chuckle nervously. "Okay. I guess the answer's no then." With that, both of them went their separate ways.

Roy snickered. "Brothers." With that, he led Celia toward Wendy's room.