Looking around, she muttered something very unbecoming to a princess, but luckily no-one was around to hear it and tarnish her reputation. Besides, she thought as she looked around, finding oneself in an unknown desert without food or water was surely reason enough to curse. The wind swirled around her, lifting up her dress and blowing sand into her stockings.
She looked around for some sign of home, or even civilization - her princessly shoes were not suited for desert trekking. The heat was starting to affect her princessly pale skin, and the world ws getting hazy. She looked around - A palm tree?
She stumbled towards the small amount of shade, sitting down and just barely fitting completely into the small shadow. Now that she was a shade cooler, she could think straight. When something caught her eye, she squinted through the haze of the heated air - seeing, faintly, the shapes of a town.
She would wait until nightfall, then she would make her way towards the small town in the distance... Where she could possibkly get some water and better-suited clothes....
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Heroes and Villains
Chapter One: Fallen Warrior
By Wolfe
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"He's not breathing!"
"Quick, pick him up!"
"Hurry up, this guy's dying! Get that sword off him!
"Someone have the shocker?"
"Here!"
"Oh my... Is he going to die?"
"Please ma'am, leave this man to us, please...."
"He's breathing!"
The boy watched all of the crazy running around happening by the paramedics. It wasn't strange that they were here, it was the strange person they were saving. A human, of all things! Where had it come from? Had it fallen from the sky, like a misplaced star? Had it grown out of the ground? What was wrong with it?
"Sir, you'll be alright, sir, don't worry, you're breathing..." One of the medics leant over the man's face.
The man only said one word, just barely a whisper...
"Peach..."
Peach? The princess? Did he know the princess? The boy hopped up and down, trying to get a glimpse of the man, But he couldn't get past the tape, and the paramedics were crowded too close for him to see. Real humans were very rare... Princess Peach, the famous Mario brothers, and Princess Daisy came to mind...
The were carrying him down the hill! The boy raced up, jumping up to get a good look. This one was around the princesses age, maybe a bit older, with red hair. His eyes were closed, which was a shame. He was wearing silver armour with a weird symbol on, just below his left shoulder. He also had a HUGE sword, maybe as tall as he was!
The little boy's eyes widened as he watched them take him down Star Hill, towards the town. He hoped the man lived...
---
"Princess! Princess!" A voice called out from outside her room. Peach dropped her brush, turning her head to look at the door as someone burst through. It was her maid.
"Quickly, your highness, a visitor!" Peach sighed. Yet another visitor? Her ears were just resting from the Selarie Regent's babblings. Yet the maid's hurried enthusiasm was intriguing... In any case, it was Peach's duty to welcome any distinguished visitor to her castle.
So, quickly getting herself ready, she made her way down the castle stars towards the main gates, wobbling only slightly in her rush. She'd spent much of her life in high-heels - She wouldn't be caught tripping in them if her life depended on it. Now, all she had to do was go outside and look pretty... Perhaps the guest would be interesting, and she could enjoy their visit.
Preparing for the worse, she opened the gate, and looking at the large crowd outside the doorway. The main path was clear, of course. That would surely be where this esteemed guest would come from... Yes! It was...
A man. A real other human! She hadn't known there were many others, save for far across the hills. Long red hair, only slightly older-looking than she, wearing fitting silver armour, and leading a brown horse. A huge sword was strapped to his back, and Peach marveled at his easy stride. How strong he must be. A prince? She could only learn by meeting him, she decided, so she stepped forwards.
Mario and Luigi appeared at her shoulders - Luigi with a smile, and Mario with a puzzled frown. She looked at her bodyguard quizzicly, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Mario? Something I should know?"
"I dunno, your majesty... Something fishy about this guy just appearing out of nowhere..." Mario murmured. "I just hope I'm wrong..."
She patted his hand. "I trust your judgement, Mario. I will be wary of this foreign man."
He nodded, as the man came close, looking cautiously confused, eyes wandering across the people. As she stepped up to her, he bowed.
"My lady...?" He said in a deep, rumbling voice, leading off into an expectant pause with a raised eyebrow.
"Princess Peach, thank you," She said, smiling. The man's voice was gruff, and his manner was unpolished, but he tried. His kneeling was odd - practised, but not memorized. His tone was worried, a little at least. Something could be up... Or his far away country was unused to their customs, and he'd just practised them recently.
"My lady Peach, thank you for... for your hospitality. I, upon learning I was in the vicinity of your castle, couldn't help but visit you and your family. Indeed, what other reason did I have, but to visit your.. fair kingdom?" His speech seemed to take a while to come, as if he wasn't quite sure about what he was saying He enunciated very carefully, pronouncedly, so Peach guessed he'd only learned their language recently, or wasn't used to it.
"Why, sir knight, I am honoured at your presence. Where have you traveled from? I do not recognise the crest on your armour...." This was true at least - The strange, star shape, was most unfamiliar.
"I am Morton, milady, of the K'pa Dynasty. We inhabit the deserts far, far to the west, where princesses to wed are scarce. I came looking... for your legendary beauty, and I find that it.... it exceeds the legends," He said, breathing deeply. The armour must be awfully heavy, she decided.
"I would love it if you would take some time in my castle... No I insist. Beforehand, however, I want you know the Mario brothers, protectors of my kingdom - Mario and Luigi, of a foreign land. They are my arms, my voice in my kingdom - They help me in my every endeavor. They also protect me from political, and the rare personal, enemies."
"Good sirs, take a hand in mine to show thy good will," Morton said, turning to the brothers and saying the customary greeting. Yet his eyes had taken on a veiled hostility, and an underlying tension. Nobody seemed to notice this - Though none in current company had seen as many hostile people as the Princess had.
He smiled widely of good will that rang false on Morton's face, and Mario's eyes flickered suspiciously. Luigi outstrecthed his hand first, not seeming to notice or care of the foreigners hostility. Mario then outstrecthed his own, and Mortoin reached out both of his hands to grasp each offered to him. He smiled wider and he shook the two hands. Mario seemed to wince, while Luigi didn't even flinch, just kept grinning.
This puzzled Peach. What was wrong with this scene? Then, as Morton turned to speak to her, she saw Mario slip a hand into his pocket and bite his lip - this glove was ripped, and Peach had seen drops of blood stain his pocket from the inside. Luigi, however, only smiled and turned to Peach.
"Your Majesty?" Peach suddenly heard, and started to focus back onto her surroundings. Morton had started speaking to her, and now had a puzzled, worried look on his face. She shook her head slightly.
"I apologise, Sir Morton, for not listening. Please continue, and I will do my best to listen to you this time," she said, smiling slightly. He smiled back... At least, she assumed it was a smile. It was a sort of odd twitching of his lips, too subtle to be a real smile, but still visible. Was he displeased, or just uncertain?
"As I was saying, I've spent three months in your kingdom, with your people. They, milady... I have no wish to offend, but they're weak!" Something not unlike annoyance, and surprise, had crept into his voice. "How do you keep invaders from slaughtering them helplessly? They have no defense whatsoever!"
"Sir Morton, I know my people don't seem strong, but I can defend my kingdom as well as any," Peach said, nodding. He focused on military stregnth - Could this K'pa Dynasty be based on war?
"Well, I thank you for your hospitality, P- princess. Have you any rooms I may use?" The man asked awkwardly. Peach led him inside.
"Let's get you inside, then we'll talk. Now, we have the Green room free..." OPeach led her impromptu visitor up the royal stairs...
--End Chapter One--