(A/N: Okay, so now it's the morning of the happiest day of Mario and Peach's young lives! This ought to be fun! Here goes...)
It was a beautiful morning in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun was just rising, the birds were singing, and from the looks of it, today was going to be a perfect day. It's the perfect beginning to Mario and Peach's wedding day! Whoa, that's right! Those crazy kids are getting married today! Let's head on over to Peach's Castle and see what's going on at this hour!
At Peach's Castle, we find the Princess in her bedroom, waking up to the sound of her alarm clock going off. She could see sunlight beginning to stream in through her window, as well as the French doors that led out to her balcony.
"Oh, morning already?" Peach asked as she sat up and looked outside. Then she glanced at her alarm clock, which she then shut off. It was 6:30 a.m.
"In this case, I suppose I should get downstairs and see if breakfast is ready yet." Peach said as she started to get out of bed. Then she noticed Tiara, who was sleeping at the foot of the bed. Peach wondered what she was doing there. Then she remembered.
"Oh, that's right. Tiara asked if she could stay in here with me last night because Cappy went with Mario, and she didn't want to be alone." Peach thought. As for Tiara still being asleep, either the alarm hadn't woken her up, or it had, but she was most likely still tired and decided to go back to sleep.
"Either way, it's time for her to get out of bed." Peach said to herself. She reached over and started to gently shake Tiara until she awoke.
"Tiara, it's morning now. Time to wake up." Peach said, watching as Tiara's eyes fluttered open.
"Wha... What's going on?" Tiara asked groggily as she looked around the room. Then her gaze fell upon the Princess.
"Good morning, Starshine. The Earth says hello." Peach smiled at Tiara.
"Oh, Peach. It's just you. Thank goodness. I was afraid something really bad was about to happen... Wait a minute. It's morning already?" Tiara asked, realizing how bright the room was.
"Yes, it is. I'm going downstairs to get some breakfast if it's ready." Peach said as she got out of bed. She slipped her feet into her soft, fluffy, light pink slippers before putting on the robe that matched the slippers.
"Aren't you going to take a shower first, Peach?" Tiara asked.
"I'm saving the shower for after I eat." Peach replied as she opened the door, waiting for Tiara to exit before leaving the room herself and closing the door behind her.
"But I thought you had to wait an hour after eating before you go in water..." Tiara said as she followed Peach down the stairs.
"That's for swimming. Showers are different." Peach replied.
"Oh, right..." Tiara mumbled.
When Peach and Tiara entered the dining hall, everyone was already there. One of the first things Peach noticed was that Daisy was dressed in her bathrobe and slippers, her damp auburn hair an indicator that she had just taken her shower and dried her hair as best as she could with just a towel.
"Daisy, you took your shower already?" Peach asked her cousin as she took her place at the head of the table. Daisy was sitting immediately to Peach's left.
"Yeah. I got up early and figured I'd shower right then just to get it out of the way. However, I'll need to use your hair-dryer to get my hair dry before I get dressed." Daisy said.
"You can do that after breakfast. I promise." Peach said as the cooks brought out the food and set it on the table.
"Princess, you are aware of what today is, aren't you?" Toadsworth asked. He was seated immediately to Peach's right.
"Yes, Toadsworth. I know that it's my wedding day. I'm going to get ready for the wedding as soon as I finish my breakfast." Peach said, taking two pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs.
"Oh, that's right! You're getting married today!" Tiara exclaimed in excitement.
"That's right." said Peach as she poured herself a glass of milk.
"I can't wait! I'll get to see you marry someone you love; someone who loves you!" said Tiara.
"I'm excited about it, too, Tiara. Being able to spend the rest of my life with Mario is a blessing!" Peach said, a smile forming on her face as she thought about what today would bring.
Daisy felt happy for her cousin, but seeing how happy Peach was right now made her wonder if she and Luigi would ever tie the knot.
"Don't eat so little for breakfast, Princess. This is a big day for you, and you're going to need to eat more than just eggs and toast to get you through the wedding." Toadsworth said.
"I'm nervous, Toadsworth. You can't blame me for being nervous." Peach said after swallowing a forkful of scrambled egg.
"I know that. And guess what? You're not the only one." Toadsworth began.
"I know, Toadsworth. Lots of people are nervous on morning of their wedding day." Peach said, taking a sip of her milk.
"Except maybe Bowser." Tiara said.
"Oh, please. That chowderhead wasn't nervous because he wasn't going to be married for long anyway. Once he married Peach, he'd kill her and rule this kingdom by himself." Daisy said as she buttered a slice of toast on her plate.
"You're right about people being nervous, Princess. But what I was going to say was that your father was also a nervous wreck on his wedding day, just like you." Toadsworth said to Peach.
"Toadsworth, I'm only nervous... But if you keep pushing me like you are, then I will be a nervous wreck, which Mario and I definitely don't need. Not today, of all days!" Peach said.
"Princess, I'm just saying that in spite of his nervousness, your father managed to eat more than you're about to on the morning of his wedding day." Toadsworth said.
Peach sighed, figuring there was nothing else for it. She turned to Daisy, who was munching on her toast, and asked, "Daisy, could you please pass me a banana from the fruit bowl?"
"Sure thing, Peach." said Daisy. The fruit bowl was sitting right in front of her, so she grabbed a banana and handed it to Peach, saying, "Here you go. Enjoy."
"Thanks." Peach replied, before peeling the fruit and taking a bite of it. After swallowing, she asked Toadsworth, "See? I'm having a piece of fruit with my eggs and toast. Are you happy now?"
"Good. I was hoping you might think of having some fruit today with your breakfast." Toadsworth said, looking happier now.
Later, after everyone had eaten and the breakfast dishes were washed, dried, and put away, the Toads were running around the castle, getting ready for the wedding. Everyone had worked really hard earlier than morning and even the night before, preparing the wedding feast and getting the castle ready for the reception after the wedding. This was a very big day for the Mushroom Kingdom, and everything had to be just right.
Meanwhile, Peach made her way back up to her room, with Daisy and Tiara following her. While Daisy went to Peach's bathroom to dry her hair with Peach's hair-dryer, Peach brought out her wedding gown and set it over the top of her white linen dressing screen. Her shoes were already behind the dressing screen. The gloves that went with her wedding ensemble were resting on the vanity table, next to her jewelry box.
By the time Peach had finished getting her clothes set out, Daisy came out of Peach's bathroom. Her hair was dry now.
"Now that my hair is nice and dry, I'm going to go back to my room to brush it out, and then I'll get dressed and ready for the wedding. In fact, I'm already half-dressed. I've got my corsets on under my bathrobe, but I'm going to need you to pull the strings tight for me, Peach. Think you could do that real quick?" Daisy asked as she removed her robe.
"Okay. Hold still, Daisy." Peach said as she set some clean unmentionables on the bed, then walked over to Daisy and pulled her corset strings as tight as she could.
Daisy measured her waist with her hands and said, "Good. My figure is still small enough, so Luigi should still be able to span my waist with his hands. Thanks for helping me, Peach. Now I can go back to my room and finish getting ready for the wedding. I'll be back shortly." Daisy said, slipping her robe back on.
"You're welcome, Daisy." Peach said.
Daisy smiled and left the room before Tiara could ask her why she had to wear corsets. She had asked Peach the reason why she wore them a while back, but, embarrassingly enough, she had forgotten the answer Peach had given her.
Peach then picked up her unmentionables again, walked into the bathroom, and took a long, hot shower, using her Aromatherapy shower gel for Love. It would most likely help her love for Mario get stronger when she saw him at the chapel today, ready to be her husband.
Tiara just looked around the room and saw Mario's suitcase and smartphone sitting in there. She hadn't seen Mario drop these off the previous day, but she figured that he left those in here because his new life with Peach would be starting tonight, and he was getting a head-start on moving in and making himself right at home. He'd be sleeping with Peach in this room tonight. And that's also the reason why a maid had come in earlier to make Peach's bed with clean sheets.
A few minutes had passed when Tiara heard a knock at the door.
"Who's there?" Tiara asked.
"It's Daisy!" said Daisy.
"You can come in. The door's unlocked, and Peach is in the shower." Tiara said.
So Daisy walked into the room. Her soft, auburn hair was brushed until it shone like silk in the sunlight. She was also dressed like a maid of honor. Her outfit consisted of a fancy-looking short-sleeved pink satin dress with a skirt that reached her ankles, white high heels, her usual jewelry, her usual gloves, and a crown of pink roses on her head replaced her normal crown.
"Wow, Daisy! You look really pretty today!" Tiara said, looking cheerful.
"Thanks, even though I'm not really fond of wearing the color pink. I'm also not too fond of wearing make-up, but I know it'll make Peach happy if I wear her favorite color, as well as some make-up, on the happiest day of her life. I'm just going to need her help applying the make-up, though, because I only wear it on special occasions, so I can't apply it as good as she and Mom, or even the maids at my castle, can." Daisy said as she looked over the cosmetics on Peach's vanity table.
"I was going to ask you: why do you wear... what you were wearing under your robe?" Tiara asked.
"You mean my corsets?" Daisy asked.
"Yeah, those." Tiara said.
"Oh, Peach and I had to start wearing them under our dresses when we became teenagers, and we've had to wear them ever since. Okay, we don't wear them during sporting events, kart-racing, or during visits to Smash Mansion, but you get it. They do keep our figures neat and trim, though. But if I had it my way, I wouldn't wear them at all." Daisy explained.
"Are you still wearing them right now?" Tiara asked.
"Yup. They're on under my dress. Plus, I wouldn't have asked Peach to tighten the strings if I was going to take them off." Daisy replied.
"Oh, right..." Tiara said.
After Peach took her shower, she dried herself off, used the hair-dryer to dry her hair, put on her unmentionables (corsets included), threw her fluffy pink robe on over all, slipped her feet back into her slippers, and exited the bathroom, her face glowing.
"Wow, Peach! You look happier than I've ever seen you!" Tiara said, seeing how happy Peach looked.
"Because I just can't believe it, Tiara! I never thought this day would get here!" Peach said excitedly as she sat down at her vanity table, picked up her hairbrush, and began running it through her long, golden hair. As she brushed her hair, she caught sight of her reflection. She looked more excited than we've ever seen her!
"Neither did I, Peach. Then again, I never thought I'd live to see the day that you and Mario made that big decision." Daisy said, watching her happy cousin work on her hair.
"I know. And I also know it would have been here a lot sooner if I had just accepted his proposal right away. Or at least if I had thought to ask him sooner than I did. It would've put Mario out of his pain really fast, and I wouldn't have to wonder if and when he was ever going to ask me to marry him." Peach said, looking a little unhappy as she thought about what she and Mario had been through.
"So why did you make that choice, then, Peach? Why did you wait until now to marry Mario?" Tiara asked, flying close to Peach.
"Yes, Peach. Do tell me again why you waited." Daisy said, siding with Tiara.
"(sigh) I could tell he was getting ready to propose at Honeylune Ridge after saving us all from very certain death, and believe you me, I was more than ready to accept his proposal." Peach started, seeing how her soft, golden hair was shining like spun gold in the sunlight coming through the window and the French doors.
"I could not wait to see that. Cappy and I were both wanting you to accept, Peach. We were saying 'please say yes, please say yes...'." Tiara said, the excitement from that moment creeping back into her voice as she remembered it.
"I wanted to say yes, Tiara. Honest. And I was ready to say it when Bowser decided he wouldn't let Mario have me. Instead, he goes and tries to force the Soirée Bouquet on me. But Mario didn't want Bowser to have me, either, and when I think about it, I really don't blame him for feeling that way." Peach said, turning to the Bonneter.
"What I still don't get is why you not only turned down Bowser, but Mario as well. If I was captured by Bowser as many times as you were, I would've turned Bowser down flat and accepted Mario's proposal right on the spot." Daisy said.
"I thought I told you why I didn't." Peach said.
"You did, but I kind of forgot." Daisy replied, a little embarrassed.
"The plan was to turn Bowser down and leave him flat, but if you had been in my shoes, I don't think you would have accepted Mario's proposal, either." Peach said, setting down the brush and doing her long, silky golden hair up in the style she wore it in when she was being forced into marrying Bowser.
"True, but that's because I love Luigi more. If and when he proposes, I'm more than ready to accept it. But if he doesn't get around to it sooner or later, I'll have to do like you did. You know, take the initiative and ask him the big question myself." Daisy said.
"Would you accept Luigi's proposal if both he and Bowser were forcing you to choose one of them at the exact same time, after being ordered around by Bowser beforehand?" Peach asked as she finished styling her hair. She decided that now was the time to put on her make-up.
"I'll give you an answer if you promise to help me put on some make-up, because you know I suck at applying the stuff myself, and neither Mom or the maids from my castle are here to help me apply it." Daisy said.
"Okay, I'll help you out. In fact, I'll get your make-up taken care of first." Peach said, standing up and grabbing some eye-shadow.
"Now, to answer your question, here's what I would've done if Bowser and Luigi were forcing me to choose. First, I would have used a Fire Flower to burn the Soirée Bouquet." Daisy began as Peach motioned for her to sit.
"Ohhh, no you would not, Daisy! For one thing, I know how you are about flowers! I remember you telling me how much you loved the photos Tiara and I took of the flowers we saw in the Wooded Kingdom." Peach started, sounding mad.
"Yeah. Now listen, Peach. I know that sounded weird, but..." Daisy tried to say, but Peach wasn't exactly finished yet.
"And more importantly, the Soirée Bouquet is by far the most popular bouquet for wedding ceremonies, sought after by wedding planners the world over!" Peach told her.
"Okay, I get it. We can't burn the Soirée Bouquet. Relax, Peach. Breathe. Is the Soirée Bouquet your wedding bouquet?" Daisy asked.
"No, because it belongs to the Steam Gardeners in the Wooded Kingdom, and I didn't even want it in the first place. Bowser got his wedding planners to steal it, and when they presented it to him, the dummy forced it into my hands." Peach said as she lightly applied the eye-shadow to Daisy's eyelids.
"Burning the flowers would have told Bowser to forget that I ever existed, because I wanted Luigi to be my husband. But since burning the bouquet is out, then you have to use that Fire Flower so you can hit him right between the eyes with a fireball, then get up in his face and tell him to forget about marrying you, because there is nothing he can ever say or do to lead you astray." Daisy said.
"That... probably would've been the best way to make Bowser realize that I wanted Mario and not him. Or maybe I should hit him in the eyes with a fireball so he'd know how much pain my eyes were in during our time in the Sand Kingdom." Peach started.
"That's the spirit!" Daisy cheered.
"But when Mario and Bowser were forcing me to choose them, Mario didn't realize that I already had a headache from being forced by Bowser and everything in between, and I turned them both down." Peach finished, as she helped Daisy apply some lipstick.
"I know. Thanks for helping me, Peach." said Daisy, admiring her reflection. She wondered if Luigi would like seeing her with her face all made up while she was in a pink dress.
"Mario was so upset when you didn't accept his proposal, Peach. Cappy and I both felt awful for him. I mean, we felt bad for you, too, but..." Tiara reminded her as Daisy stood up, allowing Peach to sit back down and start applying her cosmetics.
"I know. I honestly didn't mean to break Mario's heart. I didn't want to hurt him, but I didn't exactly appreciate being forced to choose when Bowser had been forcing me the whole time. Think about this. Bowser kidnapped you, and me, forced me into a stolen wedding gown, forced the stolen Soirée Bouquet into my hands, forced me to walk down the aisle with him, and practically tried to force the stolen Binding Band onto me when we were at the altar. He was forcing me to marry him when I didn't want to." Peach said, applying her pink blush.
"Okay, I can see why you did what you did. Being forced is no fun whatsoever, and Mario should've known that forcing you to pick him wasn't the best thing to do, since Bowser was doing the exact same thing the whole time." Daisy said.
"Yeah, it wasn't the smartest thing to do, either." said Tiara.
"He knew, girls, because he told me how very sorry he was for doing so when we talked about the whole thing during the world tour we went on, and remember, I forgave him for everything." Peach said, applying some soft pink eye-shadow.
"I remember. It was good to see the two of you working things out and possibly rekindling the love spark." Tiara said.
"The love spark was still there, Tiara. It had never been snuffed out. Mario thought it was dying out, but he worked hard to make it stronger, and he did." Peach said.
"I remembered you telling me those things during the video chat we had when you returned from your tour. And it's a good thing you forgave him. Mario's a good man, and he deserved to be forgiven for making a small mistake like that." Daisy said.
"But the meanest thing Bowser did was this: every time Mario was about to rescue me, Bowser would always have a way of keeping him from getting me back, and not only that, he would try to kill Mario in the process! Right in front of me, no less! At one point, he tried to use a dragon to kill Mario!" Peach exclaimed, reaching for her pink lipstick.
"We didn't see him use the dragon, though; he told us about it, and Peach believed it, even though she didn't want to." Tiara told Daisy.
"The worst part of this was that the part about the dragon was true, Daisy. When I saw the dragon in the Ruined Kingdom, I felt so bad that I needed Mario's love more than ever." Peach said.
"And, once again, I wonder why you would go and turn Mario down. I know why you said you did, but the guy was risking life and limb for you, and almost died multiple times trying to rescue you from a fate you didn't deserve. If I were you, I would have said to Mario, 'Before you can say anything, yes, I will marry you!'" Daisy said.
"I'm wishing I had done that instead. And right in front of Bowser, too, so he'd get a taste of his own nasty medicine. He thought trying to kill Mario in front of me was bad? I wonder how he would've reacted if I told Mario that I'd marry him before he even said anything to me! He'd probably drop dead, and we wouldn't lose a bit of sleep over it!" Peach said.
"Wow, Peach! You're starting to sound a bit violent, like me! Guess I'm starting to rub off on you." Daisy smiled.
"Is that a good thing?" Tiara asked. She didn't like violent talk, but Cappy wasn't here to help her get away from it, and she didn't know her way around the castle like Mario and Daisy did.
"Probably. And that's because that wasn't the first time Bowser tried to marry me, either, Tiara." Peach said, peering critically at her reflection, seeing that she'd kept her make-up light.
"It wasn't?" Tiara asked.
"Nope." said Peach.
"Well, this is news to me, Peach, because like Tiara here, this is the first time I'm hearing about it. How many times did Bowser try this stunt, and what were they like?" Daisy asked.
Peach sighed and told them about the three other times, which related to the events of "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?" (an episode of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!"), the "Super Mario Adventures" comic, and the beginning of "Super Paper Mario", even though that last marriage attempt probably didn't really count, since they were being forced to marry by Count Bleck to make the Chaos Heart.
Daisy and Tiara were shocked and appalled. They had no idea that Peach had been through the 'forced marriage to Bowser' ordeal more than once.
"There was also the time Bowser convinced his son that I was his mother, but while I'm not sure if that counts as a marriage attempt, I'm almost afraid that it probably does." Peach said.
"Why?" Tiara asked.
"When Mario showed up to save me from Corona Mountain, where the Koopas had taken me, Bowser claimed that Mario was disturbing his 'family vacation'. Apparently, he must have told his son that not only was I his mother, I was married to him as well!" Peach said.
"Ewww! I knew Bowser was a sick cretin, but not that sick! Thank goodness you're not married to him at all!" Daisy said.
"But you're getting married to Mario now. When did he finally ask you to marry him? I hope he didn't do so when Bowser was around." Tiara said.
"No, Tiara. Bowser wasn't nearby when we got engaged. He doesn't even know that Mario and I are about to be wed because we kept the news on the down-low. Also, Mario didn't ask me the big question. I asked him." Peach said.
"She sure did. And you know what? She waited until after Mario was almost killed by Sephiroth when his name was added to the "Smash Bros." roster during our trip to Smash Mansion." Daisy added.
"You waited until Mario was almost killed again?! Why did you do that to him, Peach?!" Tiara almost wailed.
"I was planning to wait for him to propose to me again. I knew he wanted to, but he wasn't getting around to it. Toadsworth suggested I ask him myself, so I thought of doing so. I had some good chances to do so at Smash Mansion, but I should've seized the opportunity right after we got settled in and did some practice battles to warm up, because by the time I got around to thinking of asking him, we had to do the World of Light, which almost killed us all." Peach said.
"And by the time that problem was fixed, along came Sephiroth, with Mario hanging off of his sword." Daisy said.
"Oh my gosh, NO! Poor Mario!" Tiara gasped.
"When I saw him hanging there like that, limp and pathetic, I completely lost it." Peach started, feeling tears welling in her eyes and trying hard not to let them fall and ruin her make-up. But at least she was glad she kept it light. She was also thankful she hadn't applied mascara. That would have wrecked everything. She gulped back the tears by reminding herself that Mario needed to see her looking neat and pretty, and tears wouldn't make her look that pretty to him.
"Yeah, she was an emotional wreck upon seeing that, but it didn't take long for her to learn that Mario was okay. I know that we all felt immense relief upon learning that he was still alive." Daisy said. She didn't mention the time Luigi was killed, because they were only talking about Mario.
"I didn't learn that Mario was okay until after we made it to safety. When we finally recovered from the initial shock of Sephiroth almost killing him, I asked him to marry me right on the spot, and he accepted!" Peach continued.
"I'm so glad he did! I just knew he'd accept if you asked him!" Tiara cheered.
"I was more scared of losing him than I was of him never proposing to me. And if he had died, I never would've forgiven myself for not accepting his proposal when I had the chance (or at least told him I would let him know when I was ready to get married). I didn't want him to die thinking I didn't love him enough to be his wife. He's my better half, and I can't live without him." Peach said as she got up and walked behind her dressing screen.
"How did he react when you asked him to marry you? I bet he was happier than he was when you forgave him." Tiara said to Peach.
"He was shocked to hear me asking him the big question, but I knew he was overjoyed. His reply was, 'YOU BET I WILL!' I was so happy to hear him say that, but he was too happy to reply any other way!" Peach said, smiling as she thought back to the way Mario reacted when she asked him to marry her.
"I remember that! I never saw Mario look so happy before! If I didn't know better, I'd say he was over the moon when you asked him!" Daisy said, smiling a little as she remembered the moment.
"I know he had to be! Cappy told me how much Mario loved Peach, and how badly he wanted to marry her! And judging by how upset Peach was about marrying Bowser and wishing Mario was alive, I could see that she really wanted to marry Mario." Tiara said.
"You don't know how good it made him feel to know that I wanted to marry him! In fact, he was so happy, he went out and got me a ring to really confirm our engagement a week after I asked him." Peach added. She sounded really happy behind the screen.
"Did he really give you an engagement ring despite the fact that you asked him first?" Tiara asked.
"Oh yes! And I will be wearing that ring when I walk down the aisle. I was wearing it the other day, but I don't think you noticed." Peach said as she threw her robe over the top of the dressing screen.
"You know, I didn't really notice it. But I'll look at it today." Tiara said.
Then Peach peeked her head out from behind the screen and asked, "Daisy, do you think you could come back here and help me with my corsets? I need you to pull the strings tight, the way I did yours before I got in the shower."
"Sure." said Daisy as she walked behind the dressing screen to help her cousin. Once she was there, Tiara heard Daisy say, "Okay, here we go." Then Daisy pulled Peach's corset strings as tight as she could.
"Wow! That's tight, but my figure is still trim. Thanks, Daisy." Peach gasped.
"Hey, what are cousins for?" Daisy smiled.
"They're for more than what you just did, that's for sure." Peach replied.
"Oh, Peach, I do wish I could have seen the happiness on Mario's face when you asked him the big question, and then when you accepted his ring a week later." Tiara said.
"Oh, there's a very good chance that you'll see Mario looking happier than that, Tiara. Beyond happy will be his reaction when he sees Peach walking down the aisle, because he knows that Peach is going to be his wife in a few minutes' time." Daisy said to the Bonneter as she stepped out from behind the screen.
"I love Mario so much. I can't wait to finally have him as my husband. And then we'll be together forever. This is a day I won't easily forget!" Peach said with a lovesick sigh.
"Yeah, and you know that Mario isn't going to forget it, either. This is going to be the happiest day of your lives!" Daisy said.
"Are you ready yet, Peach?" Tiara asked.
"Just about." Peach replied.
Princess Peach stepped out from behind her dressing screen about a minute later. Her wedding gown was not the Lochlady Dress, but it looked exactly like it. Peach had asked her royal dress-makers if they could make her wedding dress look just like it, and she had them use the photos she had taken of the dress for reference. But they also added their own special touches to the dress, making it even more special than the Lochlady Dress, and quite possibly even lovelier. And underneath the dress, she was wearing a pair of white high heels, like she had worn during the sham wedding to Bowser.
She looked exactly as she did when Bowser was trying to marry her at Honeylune Ridge, only happier. But that had to do with the fact that this time, Bowser wasn't forcing her to marry him against her will. She was marrying Mario, the man she loved, and she wasn't being forced into it, either. But Peach wasn't quite ready to tie the knot yet. She still needed to put on her gloves, her jewelry, and her wedding veil.
"What about your wedding veil, Peach? Aren't you going to wear that with the dress, or have you changed your mind about wearing the veil?" Daisy asked.
"Actually, this is where Tiara comes in. I need her to help hold the veil in place." Peach replied as she picked up the veil and put it on her head.
"Okay." Tiara said as she took her place on Peach's head, holding the wedding veil in place.
"Perfect." Daisy said, seeing that Tiara was on straight, holding Peach's wedding veil in place.
"How do I look now?" Peach asked.
"Let's just say, Mario's going to think he left his body and went to the Overthere when he sees you." Daisy said.
"What...?" Peach asked, looking sad. After almost losing him numerous times, the last thing she needed to hear was something that had to do with Mario and death.
"Why is Mario going to die?" Tiara asked, feeling sad that Mario could die at the sight of Peach.
"Mario isn't going to die, Tiara; it's a figure of speech. I meant that in a good way." Daisy assured the Bonneter. Then she turned to her cousin and said, "When he sees you walking down the aisle, Peach, he's going to think he did that because you look like an angel! He'll love you even more than he does when he sees you." Daisy said, trying to wipe the sadness from Peach's face.
"He might even say 'I do' before the minister asks him if he takes you to be his wife." Tiara said, giggling at the thought.
"We'll see what happens when it comes time for me to walk down the aisle. I can't wait to see Mario. I know for a fact that he's going to look completely handsome, just like always." Peach said, smiling as she walked back to the vanity table and put on her earrings and gloves. Over her left glove she put on the engagement ring Mario had given her. Peach smiled as she gazed at the ring. It was a heart-shaped ruby set in 14-karat gold.
"Oh, is that your engagement ring, Peach?! It's so beautiful!" Tiara exclaimed.
"That's what I thought when Mario used it to pop the question to me, to make our engagement official." Peach replied. She then spritzed on some perfume called "Odyssey", checked her reflection in the full-length mirror, and smiled brightly.
(A/N: I'm not kidding about the name of the perfume! I really did see a perfume called "Odyssey" in the Avon catalogs, and we actually have a bottle of it! But keep in mind, the perfume came out LONG before "Super Mario Odyssey" did, so it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Nintendo game.)
"I believe I'm ready to become Mario's wife now." Peach said as she twirled around before the mirror, unable to believe how lovely she looked.
"You look ready to me!" Tiara said.
"Let's go see if everyone else is as ready as we are to see you become Mrs. Mario." Daisy said after applying a quick spritz of the "Odyssey" perfume, and she and Peach made their way out of the room and went downstairs, hoping everyone else was ready to go.
When the bride and the maid of honor came walking down the stairs, everyone froze as they caught sight of Princess Peach in her wedding day splendor. She looked more radiant than they'd ever seen her!
At that moment, Toadsworth came walking up, and his eyes widened when he saw Princess Peach, the blushing bride.
"Oh... my... goodness...!" he said, unable to believe how lovely Peach looked in her wedding ensemble.
"How do I look, Toadsworth?" Peach asked him.
"Princess, I must say, you look lovelier than your mother did on her wedding day, and until today, she was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen!" Toadsworth said as he ran to the princess as fast as he could. Apparently, he too couldn't believe that Peach was finally getting married.
"Toadsworth, I know you've shown me my parents' wedding album multiple times over the years, and that I've looked it over frequently after Mario and I got engaged and started planning our own wedding, but are you sure I look more beautiful than Mother did when she and Daddy got married?" Peach asked.
"Of course you do." Toadsworth said. Then he sighed and added, "Oh, Princess, if only your parents were still alive. They would've longed to see this day arrive! They would be as proud of you as I am, and incredibly happy for you, too. I know for a fact that they would've liked Master Mario as soon as they met him and would have given the two of you their blessing, the blessing I had to give, mind you, long before you ever got engaged!"
(A/N: Toadsworth had given Mario and Peach his blessing after they announced their engagement to the Mushroom Kingdom.)
"I know, Toadsworth. I wish they were here, too. I know I never really got to know them, but I miss them so much, even more so now that I'm getting married. Without them, you're the closest that I have to a father. But I don't know if that fact had Mario thinking of asking you for permission to marry me." Peach said as she knelt down and gave her longtime steward a hug.
(A/N: In "Partners In Time", we see Toadsworth as a younger Toad, but we never see Peach's parents, nor are they mentioned. My guess is that they died when Peach was still in her infancy.)
"Oh yes, Princess, Mario did come to me and ask me, since I'm a father-figure to you. But I told him that asking me for permission to marry you wasn't really necessary." Toadsworth said as he returned Peach's hug.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daisy asked, a little concerned.
"Daisy, I didn't say that because I don't approve of the love that the Princess and Mario share, but because I completely approve of their relationship and wanted Mario to marry her, no matter what." Toadsworth said.
"I'm glad you approved, Toadsworth. I remember thinking that you were going to be unhappy back when I first told you that I realized that I was in love with Mario and was planning to admit my feelings to him, but..." Peach started.
"Princess, if I had any doubts about you and him, they were soon dispelled, because I know how happy Mario makes you, and whenever he finds out that you're in danger, he immediately leaps into action to save your life. Add to that the fact you and him were always close, even when you were just babies. He more than earned permission to marry you!" Toadsworth explained.
"Thank you, Toadsworth. That means a lot; not just to me, but Mario, too." said Peach, looking happy.
"You're very welcome, Princess." Toadsworth replied, before asking, "Is everybody ready? If so, then let's be on our way to the chapel! We've got a wedding to celebrate!"
"Not yet!" some Toads said, producing digital cameras. They had to take some photos of Peach the bride, Daisy the maid of honor, Toad the ring bearer, Toadette the flower girl, and Toadsworth. After the quick photo session of people in the wedding party, everyone was ready to go.
Everybody cheered and hopped in the limo that would take them to the chapel, ready to bear witness to the wedding of the century!
And so ends the second chapter of this fic. In the 3rd chapter, we'll see how the groom is holding up. Stay tuned if you wanna see that!
