The Princess Sees Green, Chapter 5
Invasion
A strong smell of stench blew in with the winds as the sun set over the hills. No warning came, other than the foul odor, but that was enough to send Toad scrambling up to the lookout tower where he peered through the powerful telescope in every direction over the horizon. Once again he had followed his intuition, and this time he spotted battalions of soldiers approaching fast over the hills from the north, east, south, and west. His mushroom heart throbbed inside his chest as he made his way back down the tower and went quickly to the dining hall where the princess entertained someone Toad regarded as an unwelcomed guest, but he had no time for disputing this dreadful choice the princess had made, for time was of the essence.
"Princess! Princess!" He shot into the dining-room and just about slid to the head of the table where she was seated. "They're coming! We're under attack!"
She seemed more angry at him for interrupting her meal and rather upset by his rudeness than she was concerned about any threat of war.
"Toad...please, calm down." said the princess, and she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin then looked at Luigi, the exclusive guest whose presence Toad had initially protested.
"First of all, who's coming?" asked Luigi as he reached to hold the princess's hand. "And why, my little friend, do you believe we are under attack?"
Him. Toad despised the sight of him as much as he disliked the condescending tone of the question. And how dare he say "friend," for they were no longer kind with each other after yesterday, when Luigi had refused to remove his hands from the princess in the throne room, in fact, not giving any attention to the two-foot rule when he gave her a dozen roses sealed with a kiss on the cheek, and when Toad called him down, he referred to the little fellow as "a servant to be patted on his mushroom head and tossed a piece of candy for being good." Suddenly the color green made Toad want to puke.
"Princess! I saw the soldiers! There are many of them coming over the hills and they don't look like Koopa troops...as a matter of fact, by the looks of their uniforms I'd say they're the Armed Forces of Sarasaland!"
"What?" Luigi let go of Princess Toadstool's hand at once and stood with that ever so brilliant fiery glow in his cerulean eyes.
At the same time, some guards came running into the dining hall with their weapons readied,
"Princess Toadstool! We're being fired upon from the perimeter shield!" shouted one. "Your Highness, we have tried to reach..." the guard cut quick eye at Luigi. "...We've tried reaching...um...Sir Mario....but there's no answer at his residence."
Peach stayed seated, and for the first time since her lengthy reign she'd become completely unresponsive, and Luigi then pulled a handheld communication devie from his belt, punched in a few numbers then spoke into it.
"First post, define your positions and identify the invading forces."
Toad watched the princess who painstakingly bowed her head.
Moments passed while Luigi received reports from the perimeter guardsmen.
"...Affirmative...Copy....Over." he ended the transmission with a look of despair. "You were right, Toad. We're being hit from all sides by the Sarasaland Armed Forces...Koopa troops are coming in behind them. I don't think Bowser's doing this just for fun this time...looks like he's dead serious."
Toad checked the time. It was twenty minutes after six.
And the princess held a fixed stare on Luigi from her place at the head of her long dining table, her eyes glazed but no tears came from them as she waited for him to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"I'll not walk away from you, Princess," he said to her in a manner that was direct and also willfully intimate. "I'll defend this castle..and you...to the death." Then he turned away from her. "Toad, take her to safety and stay there with her. Under no circumstance are you to let her leave there. You'll either hear from me or a messenger if we're taken over, and you'll get her out through the secret passage. Surely my brother will know what has happened by then, and be there to meet you when you arrive on the other side. Come now," he said to the princess and took her hand once again to help her stand. "We'll be fine....don't worry."
not another kiss... Toad looked on with a hateful glare until finally he had to pull the princess away from Luigi.
And the room filled with guards as equipment was brought in, some doors were sealed and the whole huge dining hall became a central war room in a matter of minutes.
"Come on, let's hurry," said one guard to Toad as they were jolted by gunfire and explosions of a deafening magnitude while the ground rumbled beneath them, lights flickered and fixtures swung back and forth above them, then came the snaps, crackles, and pops of electricity throughtout the building as they made it down the first flight of stairs.
"WE'VE TAKEN DAMAGE ON THE WEST SIDE!" shouted the guards.
"MISSILES! THEY'RE LOADING UP THEIR SHELLS AND USING THEM AGAINST US!"
Toad was of course very small yet speedy enough to hustle the princess downstairs to the underground shelter where there would be enough food and water as well as other necessities to survive for a very long time. The compound had been built to withstand the worst disaster, as it was hidden behind a steel door and its walls lined with a thick sheath of solid rock. This place was crucial to the survival of the princess--thanks to the Mario Brothers--who had designed and built it from its doors to the five miles of concealed tunnel that led out to a cave near the Mushroom Sea. The shelter itself was immaculate, thoroughly cleaned and stocked every day just in case of an emergency never thought to come until this day. Nevertheless, Toad had been there many times during the current month, the last time being when the princess ordered him to go down just before she left with Luigi for the art exhibit. It was a massive sub-installation, divided into sections, each one having many sets of bunks and shelves and storage space and enough food to last a full year. One section was a dedicated communications console, so the princess could contact anyone on the outside at anytime she requested it, and no doubt she would make her first call to Luigi once she came out of her dismal state of mind.
At last, the guards closed and secured the thick steel doors of the well-hidden entrance, and others on permanent duty began briefing the princess as they had been trained. But they weren't getting through to her...something was very wrong...very wrong....Toad could see it in her eyes and knew she didn't hear them.
"Never mind that now," he said. "You can report later. Our princess needs rest!"
In the chaos, Toad guided Peach to a corner and sat her down, doing all he could to try keeping her comfortable with some pillows and a cup of freshly brewed mocha coffee.
"I don't want this," she said, speaking for the first time in the past twenty minutes. "I want the cappuccino. The special blend cappuccino."
He understood. The special blend was a well-known Mario Brothers favorite--one of their own recipes from what they commonly referred to as "the old country." He whipped it up and had the special drink ready without a fuss, then sat down with her, wanting just to keep her company.
"Mmm...this is so good." Princess Peach held her cup with the rim just an inch below her nose, inhaling the delightfully rich aroma. "Thank you, Toad. You know I owe my life to you."
"To me, Princess? Nah, I couldn't take credit for that."
"But you can," she insisted. "I don't think Luigi really knows how important you are. He just doesn't understand...but he really doesn't mean any harm either. It's just that...well...he's been under quite a bit of pressure these days."
"From Princess Daisy?"
"No, from me. I've done something very wrong, Toad. He really wanted to be faithful to her...but me...I wasn't concerned with that. I didn't care about anyone else. I've been so angry with Mario that I...well...I didn't think about the consequences. And Luigi...it's just been so hard for me to let him go, I mean, completely turn off these feelings I've had for him. Have you ever had a problem like this? Not being able to let someone go?"
Toad thought on it. "Yeah, I guess it was that way with Rachel...of course then there was Melinda. And then Kelly and Susie and Canara...ooh, it was really hard to forget about her--"
"Okay, Toad," she sounded a bit annoyed and lowered her cup of coffee. "We've all got problems. I just should have known better.." and she sighed. "Now this is happening, just like the guardian warned me."
"Wait a sec. The guardian? Warned you? Wow, that's not good. They show up only when someone's done something extremely bad."
"I have, and that's why it's over for all of us."
"Don't say that! Luigi's up there and even though him and me have our problems it doesn't mean I don't have any confidence in him! I know you trust and believe in him, don't you, Princess? We'll win just like we always have. It's just a matter of time before we win, then him and Mario will rebuild the castle and everything will be right back to normal again."
Princess Peach closed her eyes, perhaps wishing she could turn back time, perhaps saying a prayer for Luigi. Toad really didn't and didn't dare ask. Whatever was the case, the fate of their beloved Mushroom Kingdom had fallen into Luigi hands and they had no other choice other than to be strong, win or lose.
Part 6
