Chapter 10: Peach's Business

They all were off their go-karts now and had started down the mountainside to the valley below.

"So, I guess that's where we're going, right?" Nicole asked shyly.

"Yeah, Peach has royal business there," Mario told her.

"Oh, what kind of royal business?" Nicole tried to keep up the conversation.

Mario abruptly halted.

Nicole asked, "Was it something I said-?"

"Peach what kind of business are you on? You never told us," Mario asked. Peach didn't answer. Everyone was now looking at her as they continued walking.

"Peach?"

"I can't tell you here," Peach answered shortly. That closed the matter. Peach could be stubborn, and it was apparent this would be something that she'd be stubborn about.

Several hours later the sun was starting to set. They were deep in the forest that surrounded the kingdom now and it was getting dark. So they set up camp. That evening they all related their adventures during their time away. Mario, Peach, and Yoshi were really apologetic when they found out that they had allowed the chain chomp to chase after them. Wario and Waluigi were reserved, as can be expected. The next morning they started off again immediately.

Finally they got to an open field. On the other end was a smaller forest surrounding an impressive castle. Everyone cheered loudly; the journey was almost over. They were so happy they could prance all the way across the field, through the forest, and up to the castle. However, a cloud of fog started rolling in.

"Should we really be walking in this?" Peach asked.

"The castle is right through this fog and on the other side of the field," Mario said. "If we stop now, it will add a whole 'nother day to our journey. And I am ready to get to that castle now."

So they trekked forward. And it was now, of course, that the exertions of the past few days caught up with them.

"Guys, are you feeling really tired?" Yoshi asked.

At that moment, everyone fell rearward onto their backs, asleep.

'

When they awoke most of them blinked their eyes a couple times to get rid of their dazedness. When they finally realized that they had been tied to each other and leaning against a large rock, they became aware of their situation. Some twenty to thirty creatures had surrounded them. They weren't very nice looking creatures either.

"We warned you princess!" one of them exclaimed in an unpleasant voice. He stepped forward and Jessie immediately recognized him as the goomba whose inn she stayed at in the distasteful town she'd landed in. "You humans were supposed to stay out of our town! We gave you fair warning when she came around!" He gestured toward Nicole, who had the same horrorstruck face as Jessie. "But then the other one showed up too and made a huge mess of Main Street!"

Jessie wanted to say something, but she had no clue what. It was true she had been run out of the town by that evil sun-thing and inadvertently caused a lot of damage on Main Street. But it's not like she knew she wasn't supposed to be there. And she doubted if Nicole had known either.

"Listen! You're making a mistake!" Peach exclaimed. "We didn't even know this girl existed! She wasn't a member of our kingdom! That's why Jessie ended up there! We were coming to tell-!"

"We don't wanna hear it!" a mushroom cut her off. Several goombas, mushrooms, koopa troopas, and others murmured in agreement.

"So what exactly are you gonna do about it?" Mario asked.

"You people destroyed our town, so we're gonna destroy your castle!" the goomba proclaimed. The others cried out in agreement and started on their merry way toward Sarasaland's castle.

They left a few behind to guard Mario and the gang. They were congregated about a hundred feet away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Yoshi whispered to Peach, "Why didn't you tell us what this was about? We could've avoided this altogether!"

"Don't hold me responsible!" she defended. "If anyone we can blame Mario!"

"What?" Mario exclaimed.

"If you hadn't insisted that we go through that fog, which I suspect was knock-out gas, then we wouldn't have passed out and gotten captured!" Peach explained, whispering.

"Yeah, but they probably wouldn't have planted the knock-out gas for us if Jessie hadn't messed up their Main Street after they had sent us a warning not to let another person there!" Mario tried to defend.

"Well-," Jessie stuttered. "Well, if Nicole hadn't set the precedent then it wouldn't have mattered."

"What?" Nicole exclaimed. "How are you gonna blame me?"

"I dunno, I was just following suit," Jessie said deprecatingly.