Chapter 11 Nice and Clean

Celia felt as if her throat was closing up as Roy knocked on the door to his sister's room. She looked down at her arm and smelled the back of her hand. Sure enough, it smelt atrocious. This was understandable, but still embarrassing. She buried her hand in her hoodie pocket, which she was just noticing for the first time was stained with brown and red stains. She didn't even want to guess where they originated from.

"Wendy!" Roy said. "Come on; open up!" He smiled. "I have a new friend that you can make!"

"A new friend?" came a melodic, high pitched voice from the other side of the door. Within seconds, the door was open. Celia stared at the Koopa girl, with shiny pink lips, crystal blue eyes, a golden yellow head, and a pink and white bow. The girl stared back at her, taken aback but also visibly excited.

"Ooh! It's a girl!" She took a step forward and gave Celia's hand a shake. "I'm Wendy Orville Koopa."

Celia smiled nervously. "I'm Celia Patch. No middle name."

Wendy smiled, her face brightening up. She turned toward Roy. "Where did you meet Celia, big guy?"

Roy hesitated. "Uhhhhh…." He then waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "It's a long story." He took a step forward. "Anyway, Celia is in need of a good wash."

"Yeah. I am long overdue for one," Celia chimed in.

Wendy's eyes lit up. "A good wash? Why, you've come to the right place!" She gestured for Celia to follow her into the bedroom. "Come with me! I'll draw you a nice bubble bath."

Celia nodded and followed Wendy. Admittedly, the idea of her having a bubble bath was insanely appealing, as she hadn't had one in forever. She followed Wendy into the bathroom and watched as she ran the water.

"Is this a good temperature for you?" When Celia confirmed that it was, Wendy smiled. "Good. Now we add the bubbles." She picked up a pink bottle of bath soap. "This is my favorite soap to use, as it smells like roses."

With that, Wendy squirted the soap into the tub. Watching the bubbles take over the surface of the water was like watching a magic show. They accumulated like fizzy little snowflakes, ready to be bounced in.

"Okay," Wendy said. She turned toward Celia once she turned off the water. "There are towels right on that bar…." She gestured toward the fluffy magenta towels…" and a bathrobe on the door." She gestured toward the light pink bathrobe before smiling. "I'll leave you be now."

With that, she left. Once she was gone, Celia nervously took off her clothes and dipped her foot in the water. Once she did this, all of her nervousness melted away like snow in the sun. She lowered herself into the water. This was….amazing. The water hugged her skin in the most relaxing way. The bubbles smelled like roses, just like Wendy said they would. She let out a sigh drenched in a relaxed tone and stuck her hair under the water. With her ears submerged, each and every sound around her was muffled and mysterious. She couldn't remember the last time that she felt this tranquil. It's possible that she hadn't before this point.

She stayed in the tub for about half an hour. When necessary, she scrubbed away at the particularly grimy parts of her body. Since Wendy didn't have any shampoo or conditioner, Celia had to resort to using bar soap. Less than ideal, but still miles better than nothing, so she did it without complaining. By the time the water went down the drain, Celia felt like a new person. She dried herself off, put the bathrobe on, wrapped her hair in a towel, and made her way back into Wendy's bedroom.

Wendy smiled at her. "Feel better?"

Celia nodded. "Much. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." She sighed. "I always live how I feel once I've taken a bubble bath. It's like all the troubles I had been carrying with me have been washed away."

Celia nodded, for she knew exactly what the Koopa girl meant. "Well, I'd better go get dressed." She turned back toward the bathroom and came out with the clothes she had worn previously, ready to put them back on.

In response to this, Wendy let out a horrified gasp. "Oh no no no no no! You can't wear those; those are filthy!" She turned toward her closet. "We need to find you something much more appropriate to wear."

Celia noticed that Wendy seemed to hesitate as she stood at the closet door. She didn't know why, however, until the door was actually opened. A mountain of stuff came crashing down right on top of the Koopa girl. There was so much stuff, in fact, that Celia couldn't even tell if it was junk or not.

"Are you okay?"

Wendy sat up and spat out a little pink diamond. "Yes. I'm fine." She went into the closet, and Celia followed her. Hanging from hangers were some of the most beautiful outfits that Celia had ever seen. Wendy smiled at her as she stared at them in awe. "Well, let's get to my favorite part of making a new friend; the dress up party!"

…

Celia could barely breathe in this outfit. It resembled a little Bo Peep shepherdess outfit, complete with a bonnet and a cane. The only things about it were the fact that it was very pink and very, very tight.

"Aww!" Wendy squealed. "You look so cute!"

Celia tried to reach out to the surrounding area for any air, but it felt like nothing was coming. "Can't...breathe…" with that, she collapsed to the floor.

Wendy put her hand to her chin. "Huh. I guess we'll have to try something else."

…

Now, Celia was wearing an outfit that could only appropriately be described as gothic. It was all black and resembled something that a female vampire would wear. The only things missing from it were pale skin and vampiric fangs.

Wendy seemed to notice this, as she looked at it with apprehension. "What do you think?"

Celia examined herself. "I think it's….different. Not exactly what I'd call 'me' though."

"You're right." Wendy turned toward the closet. "We need something better."

…

Now this outfit made Celia look like a living disco ball. It was so shiny and so silver that it even hurt to look at, like Celia had been tasked with wearing fabric that had been sheared directly off of the sun.

Wendy kept her hands in front of her eyes as she smiled. "Isn't this pretty?"

Celia sucked some air through her teeth. "If by 'pretty' you mean 'blinding' I think you're right on the mark."

Wendy's face fell. "You're right." She went back into the closet before she let out a very loud gasp. "No, wait! I have the perfect outfit for you!"

…

The dress that Celia wore was white with red as a secondary color. The red patterns swirled all over the dress in a beautiful display of true craftsmanship. Not only that, but it was comfy; extremely comfy.

Celia smiled. "Now this one I like."

Wendy beamed. "I like it too! Plus, it's soooooo cute!" She took a step forward. "If you want you can have it; it doesn't exactly fit me."

Celia smiled. "Thanks."

Wendy nodded as a way of saying you're welcome. Then, she put her hand back on her chin. "We're still in need of shoes though." She went back out into the closet and came out with a pair of ruby red flats. "Here."

Celia put on the shoes. Now, the outfit was complete. Now, she felt like a truly important person. A true princess.

"Hey, Celia?"

Celia looked up. "Yes, Wendy?"

"Can...this is kind of embarrassing to ask, but can I brush your hair?"

Celia inadvertently put her hand to her hair. "Umm….sure."

"Great! Go sit in front of the mirror while I get a brush."

Celia nodded and did just that. Once sitting down, she noticed how shiny her hair looked now. Each of the three colors in her hair (red, orange, and yellow) really stood out now, almost as if they were glowing. Wendy even pointed this out when she came back with the brush.

"Oh my developer, your hair is so pretty!" She swooned. She gracefully sent the brush through, being careful of any knots. "I wish I had hair like this. But alas, my genes prevent me from being so lucky."

Celia raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, you can always try a wig."

"Oh, I have. Believe me, I have. It's just that my scalp feels like it's burning whenever I put one on." She chuckled. "It's almost as bad as having head lice."

Celia nodded, doing her best not to squirm at the mention of head lice. Wendy continued putting the brush through her hair.

"I wish I had sisters," Wendy said. "I am literally the only girl in a family of boys."

Celia raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really."

"Does it get lonely?"

Wendy sighed. "Yes. It does. It really does. I mean, don't get me wrong; I love my brothers. But….I don't know. I just wish that I could have another girl to talk to every once in a while. It would be really nice."

Celia felt a pang. While she couldn't relate to Wendy's exact situation, she could relate to a feeling of loneliness. However, she smiled once she realized that she had some news that could make Wendy feel better.

"Well, you aren't going to be the only girl in the castle for long," she said.

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Why is that?"

Celia smiled. "Because I'm Bowser's daughter."

Wendy nealy dropped the hairbrush. "What?"

Celia nodded. "That's right. I'm Bowser's daughter!"

Wendy blinked her eyes out. "How is that possible? You...you're…."

"Human?" Celia laughed. "That's only half true; I'm part koopa." She grabbed a hold of a lock of her hair. "When was the last time you've seen a human with hair like this?"

"Well...never." Wendy's jaw dropped. "That's incredible, Celia." Her eyes lit up. "Wait, hold on! If you're Bowser's daughter….that means I have a sister!"

Celia nodded. "Yep. You do."

Wendy grinned. "Oh, I hope you are Bowser's daughter! That would be such a treat!" Her face fell. "Although, Bowser never mentioned you before, so it's possible…"

Celia seized up. "It's true Wendy. My mom wouldn't have told me if it wasn't true."

Wendy's nose wrinkled up like a walnut before she slowly nodded. "Okay, whatever you say." She grabbed a hold of her hair again. "Let's finish brushing your hair so that you can get back to Roy, alright?"

Celia nodded. "Sounds good."