Author's Notes: Good land o'livin'...just how many Bowser/Peach fans are OUT there?? And don't deny it, because you wouldn't be reviewing if you weren't. ^_^ I'm still not a Bowser/Peach fan, and I never will be. Honest. I swear.

Peach: Why does Bowser's name have to come first? Why not me?

Bowser: Cause I'm bigger'n you. *grins proudly*

Peach: *kicks him where the sun don't shine* Please can I be first? Pleeeeaaaase?

No. And don't bother threatening me cause I got nothin to kick.

Peach: *glares darkly* I shall find your weakness, woman. And when I do...*shakes a fist*

Suuuuure you will. Now get back in your box.

Bowser: Can I visit the nurse? >_O;

Yes, but make it fast. Aaaanyways....Sorry this update took so long but my puter went to the cow store for a few days. (Gateway...get it?) Ah well, enjoy anyway.






Bowser had found her and returned her to the cell. With little pity he placed blankets and extra torches in her prison so the blue would at least leave her face. He even tossed a canteen of hot water through the bars once or twice.

Three more days pass. On the third day, she hears footsteps drawing near and weakly looks up. Horrified, she sees Bowser dragging two unconscious plumbers under his arms. He shakes his head and tisks.

"These two actually had the audacity to come back and force you to break your promise."

She stands and stares at him, frozen solid, waiting for Mario and Luigi to move. When they don't stir, she shakes her head.

"Don't worry…I already took care of them." Carelessly he tosses them to the floor, their bodies flopping lifelessly in front of Peach. They roll in clear view of the torchlight, and Peach draws in a sharp breath, covering her mouth with her hands. The Mario brother's eyes stare at the ceiling, each of their chests baring the marks of five sharp claws the size of Bowser's hand. Shaking her head as a tear escaped her dry eyes, Peach backs away in terror.

"This is for the best, Princess. They were trying to make you break your promise."

Between sobbing gasps Peach hears Koopa's words. Leaning against the cold cell wall behind her, she looks at the floor to erase the memory of her cataleptic friends, shaking her head over and over. She glances back at Mario and watches as he turns his head towards her, his broken neck cracking sickeningly. His dead blue eyes bore into her as he whispers, "Peach…"

Peach released a shrill scream and thrashed at the sheets, fighting to be free. A hand rested on her shoulder, a voice whispered, "Shh. Nothing's there. Lie back."

Lung expelling coughs interrupted her battle and she had to lie down to catch her breath. The hand seemed satisfied with her giving up, and so did the voice. "That's it. Lie back, your highness. You mustn't torture yourself."

Peach's bleary vision was cleared after multiple blinks, and she looked around herself in a daze. A large, grandly furnished room surrounded her, it's cathedral ceiling looking like it was about to collapse on her. She looked to the right and saw an immense door. She looked to the left and made out the shape of a Troopa.

Gasping again, Peach struggled to shield herself from the turtle, but it held out its hands as if surrendering.

"There, there. You're all right. You're safe. It was all a dream, miss."

Safe? How could it say that when she was still in Bowser's castle? At least, she supposed she was. She felt like she was home until she met eyes with the turtle.

"Lie back now. Just rest, your highness."

Looking at the Troopa, she saw it had kind green eyes. "Where am I?" she rasped.

"In one of Lord Koopa's spare bedrooms. Take a deep breath, miss."

Peach obediently did so, but found she could not fully fill her lungs with air and wheezed the breath back.

"You're sick, miss. You've been running a fever. Just rest up and in a little while we'll give you something to eat. You…you've grown quite thin."

Peach laughed inside at the Troopa's careful choice of words. Wouldn't want to upset Lord Koopa, would we? Exhausted, she let her body go lax and closed her eyes. In a blink's time she was up and frightened again.

"Where are they? What has he done with them?"

"Who, your highness?"

The Troopa's question seemed earnest so Peach swallowed back impatience. "The Mario…the Marios…" She wheezed in frustration and fear. "Where are they? Was it a dream?"

"The Mario brothers haven't been here for days, your highness. About a week, I suppose. Please, lie back."

Peach had no choice but to follow the Troopa's orders. She tried to steady her breaths, tried to force away the panic that rose within her. So the Marios had not returned. Not for a week…

"How long…have I been here?"

"About a week as well, your highness." The Troopa spoke gently, and Peach was inclined to think she was a female.

"No. I mean, how long have I been asleep?"

"Just a day. You're a lucky thing, Lord Koopa found you just in time. Would have died out there..."

"It's just as well," Peach muttered. "He brings me back…and nurses me to health so he can kill me."

The Troopa's eyes grew wide and she shook her head in horror. "No, miss! Lord Koopa gave strict orders to give you this warm room here. He wanted you to have the best medicine care…I…I'm not much, but he thought I'd do the job best." She blushed shyly, looking a bit proud of herself. "He allows no one in this room but me."

"You see?" Peach coughed bitterly. "He wants his victims to be in perfect condition."

The Troopa looked down sadly, shaking her head. "Not so, your highness. He was…so worried. When he brought you back…you should have seen his face, his eyes…"

Peach watched the Troopa as she stared at a pattern on the blanket, eyes frozen in thought. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she glanced at the Princess. "You caught a nasty cold. Now that you're awake, you rest some more and when you feel strong enough you can have something to eat."

Food. Nothing in the world sounded better than food. Sleep sounded a bit more tantalizing though, as Peach's eyes felt heavy with her sudden exertion after days of inactivity. Before the Troopa could utter another word, Peach was sound asleep.

~*~

Endless desert. To the right and the left, beyond and behind…just desert. A lone mother Goomba and her tussling children would pass by every so often, but besides that, there was only sand and the hot sky.

Finally, two wheezing figures came into view. Their skin was burned where clothes did not cover, their clothes were singed from a small but nasty battle with two fire snakes. Their steps were short and unsteady, walking through the soft sand exhausted them. The sun reflected off the dry land brightly, and their hats did nothing to protect their eyes.

One of them stopped suddenly, as if a wall ahead forbade him to go any farther. He took one struggling step, pivoted on his foot and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Luigi…" the one ahead muttered. He turned around and saw his brother lying in the sand. Staggering back to him, he knelt and tugged on his green sleeve.

"Come on. Get up."

Luigi tried to swallow and coughed dryly, his throat parched. Mumbling incoherently, he shook his head.

"Weegie…come on…"

"Mario…I can't…can't…"

"Yes you can."

"No…"

"No, Luigi." Mario found the strength to raise his voice above a whisper. "I won't let you die here!"

Luigi whimpered as if someone had awakened him before morning. His weak arms unwillingly pressed against the desert floor and he fought to get up. His brother did most of the work, placing an arm behind and around him, grasping Luigi's hand tossed over his shoulder.

Mario's eyes, though hopeless and worn from days in the heat, narrowed bravely and searched for a finish line.

"We won't die here…we can't."

~*~

Bowser Koopa stood outside the door, waiting for himself to do something. Instead he just turned on one heel and punched the stone wall opposite the door.

The door tortured him. For almost two days he stared it, unable to open it and step inside, let alone touch the worn metal knob. The thought of stepping through the door made his toothy mouth dry and his powerful hands clammy. Perhaps, then, what was beyond the door scared him more than the door itself.

He had never really known such fear and torment; perhaps that fact only added to the anxiety. He rested his back on the wall that now bore the slight indent of his knuckles; he stared at the door again, setting his mind to overcoming it. A few breathless moments passed before he moved towards it, stretching out his hand halfway there. He had reached the door. His hand froze inches above the knob, weathered down and slick from frequent use. He stared at it, as if judging whether or not he would be burned by touching it. Drawing a trembling breath, he grasped it firmly and turned it ever so slowly…

There. He had done it. He had opened the door. Tilting his head he peered inside and squinted in the dull moonlight. There sat the faithful Troopa, Shelly, he had assigned to the task, asleep in her chair at the foot of the bed. He forced down his worry and anger, trying to convince himself that perhaps she had been working so hard that… Of course, it wouldn't hurt for him to check her progress himself, would it? Stepping fully inside the chamber, he swallowed and dared closer to the bed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and eventually the shadows began to take shape.

There she lay; his prisoner, his prey, his patient…his Princess.

Easing himself ever closer to the large bed where she slept, he saw her sleeping on her side, towards him. Her small, bare shoulder was scrunched up tightly against her cheek, still pale but no longer frozen. He took a mental note of her torn and tattered pink sleeve. Her blonde hair fell all over the pillow, messy but still so pretty to him. He never saw much of anything pretty around his castle…

Finding the courage he never thought he had, he reached out, ever so slowly, and carefully ran his hand over her hair. He couldn't help himself. The only times he had ever touched it was grabbing it fiercely, threatening those pesky plumbers in one way or another. It felt much softer now. Once…twice…His hand jerked away before he could do it a third. Peach stirred, and he held his breath, terrified, as she rolled over and hugged the pillow beneath her head. Her eyes did not open.

Exhaling shakily, Bowser lowered his hand and closed his eyes. He tried to imagine Peach with open eyes, their blue color so beautiful he could not describe. The only image that came to mind was one of terror, her eyes open wide at the fearsome sight of his gruesome face inches from her own lovely portrait. He flinched at the memory and opened his eyes. Painfully, he sighed and backed out of the room. Throwing one last glance at the sleeping Princess, he placed his hand on the knob and shut the door behind him.

She'll only ever see me as a monster.

As he left, torturing himself over having to leave the one thing that mattered to him most, Peach opened her eyes and rolled over, staring at the closed door. Frightened, confused tears came to her eyes as she recalled Koopa's touch just moments ago.

"…you should have seen his face, his eyes…"

~*~

Shelly watched, pleased, as the Princess ate her soup heartily the next day. She stopped and checked herself, scolding, "Now, miss. You must slow down a bit. You'll get sick to eat so fast."

Peach couldn't help but smile a little. The Troopa was more like her mother every day…and also a friend.

"You want me to get better, don't you?"

The Troopa sighed and shook her head. "You always know how to corner me, miss. Let me get you some more tea. I'll be right back." She carried out Peach's empty tray as the Princes scooted under the covers. She heard Shelly exclaim, "Oh!" then her small shadow was gone.

Peach watched the door cautiously, then turned her head to stare out the tiny window in the corner. She couldn't see much; the glass was impure and swirled, and the sky was nothing short of gray. It was always gray. She couldn't wait to leave this terrible place. She hoped for rescue, but was plagued with her nightmare that the Marios would die trying. Perhaps, if she made a successful recovery, she would escape again, on her own. She could find her way back to the pipe room all right…

The creak of the door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her head to smile at Shelly. She froze at the sight of Bowser, his hulking form taking up most of the door way. Peach noticed she was staring, and averted her eyes to the corner of her blanket.

"Hello," Bowser growled softly.

"Hello," Peach whispered back. There was no pretending to sleep now. Her fingers toyed with the edge of the sheet as he stepped into the room hesitantly.

"I trust…you're feeling better?"

"I am."

Peach stole a glance up at him, and saw his eyes. They looked anxious…sort of the way they looked when she appeared in the dungeon a week before. Looking back at her sheet, he stepped closer, nearly at her bedside. She swallowed hard as he loomed over her.

"Does my servant…take proper care of you?"

"She does." Peach bit her lip. This was foolish. Something must be said. Before Bowser could turn away she spilled the words, "Thank you for saving me." She glanced up at him.

Something dawned on his face; what it was, Peach could not discern.

"You're welcome." He sounded surprised. Well why should he be? I was merely thanking him, it's only polite…

A few silent, uncomfortable moments passed until Bowser cleared his throat.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," he mumbled, turning on his heel. Before she knew what she was doing, Peach reached out and grabbed his enormous hand as it passed, holding the edge of his palm firmly, almost desperately.

"Please. Don't go."

Bowser looked and saw her face, full of fears and hopes all at once. Puzzled, he glanced at her hand, so tiny, frail and perfect in his huge paw. He didn't know what to make of it.

Peach drew in a shaky breath, looked at the corner of her blanket again, and raised her azure eyes to his own reptilian ones.

"…Stay."




Are you feelin' the cheesiness?

*crickets chirp*

-_-' I said...are you feelin' the cheesiness??

Toad: Yes!

O_o....Uh...okay. All right then. Maybe at least one line in here made me think of the Disney movie...but it was crucial to say and oh-so-true. And to those who have used/will use the name "Shelly" for any Troopa or character in their story, I apologize. (Especially to Dranar) It was unintentional. Honest! ^_^