The Lost Princess

Peach awakened groggily at the bank of a creek in the Dark Land. She looked at herself and found that her dress, though raggedy and torn in many places, was still wearable. She stood up and figured that she had been carried downstream after falling off the cliff. She looked around timidly, not knowing what to do. It was the first time that she was ever completely alone. In the past, she could at least depend on guards or a harmless Bowser.

"Okay, Peach," she thought to herself. "You've been in plenty of situations before. You even traveled across the land with Mario…Mario." She wondered where he was and how he was doing. She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she was really on her own. She would have to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom alone. Not far from the creek, there was a creepy-looking forest. She tried to remember her geography lessons. If she wasn't mistaken the creek was actually Cheep Cheep Creek. Realizing that, she quickly got away from the water after seeing the red fish of the lake's namesake randomly pop out of the water. "Alright, then that should be Weird Woods. And that'll lead me to the Koopa Badlands, which is just outside of my kingdom." Her morale recharged, Peach headed off into the Weird Woods.

It was indeed a very odd place, even more so than Forever Forest. Just about all the trees seemed to have faces. The plants seemed to be every color except green and brown. There were owls that stared at her, spinning their heads around endlessly. She took care to avoid the Swooper bats. She stopped at a neon pink bush when she heard talking. She looked through the bush and saw a trio of Goombas standing around an unconscious elf woman in clothing that was even more regal than Peach's.

"I found her, so I get to keep her!" one of the foul mushroom creatures yelled.

"You're already married, so she's mine!" another yelled.

"Would King Bowser even let us keep someone like this?" the third asked. "What if this is Princess Peach?"

"What Bowser don't know won't hurt him," the second Goomba replied. "Besides, I hear he's blacklisted Toadstool. He might've even already 'offed' her." The elf woman began to stir.

"Link…" she murmured.

"Link?" one of the Goombas said. "What's she talking about?"

"A Kink-link, maybe?" one of them suggested. "She don't look like she was bit by one."

One of the others sniffed her. "She doesn't smell like one either."

I wonder if she tastes like a Kink-link? Her eyes popped wide open when the Goomba licked her face. "Nope." She sat up and quickly scooted away from the small monsters.

"What are you? Where am I? Why did you lick my face?" She was frantic, her eyes searching for any familiar surroundings.

"Now, just calm down," one of the Goombas laughed. "We ain't gonna hurt you…as long as you come back home with me. I've always wanted an elf for a wife."

"I'll do no such thing, you little…whatever you are!" she screamed. She smacked the Goomba away and stood up.

"Get her!" The other two Goombas leapt at her, ready to sink their fangs into her or simply tackle her. One slammed into her head, while the other bit down into her wrist.

"Ah, get away from me!" she screamed, shaking her arm and kicking at the other Goomba. Just as the third Goomba was about to tackle her, Peach jumped on top of it, flattening it.

"I'm here to help," she said, stomping on the other Goomba. The elf managed to shake the other Goomba off of her arm. The Goomba decided it was best to flee, not wanting to be stomped to death.

"Thank you," the elf said. "What were those things?"

"You're welcome," Peach said, happy to help. "Those were Goombas, mushroom people corrupted through black magic. He might be back with others, so we should get going." The elf agreed and began to follow her through the woods. "Um…if you don't mind me asking, who are you? I've never seen an elf before."

"Elf? I'm not an elf. I'm a Hylian." Then she looked around cautiously and whispered, "My name is Zelda; Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"That rings a bell, but I can't quite place it," Peach said. Then, she turned to her and curtsied, "I'm sorry. I forgot my manners. I am Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"That sounds like something out of a children's story," Zelda said, raising an eyebrow. There was something familiar about Peach, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "…This isn't a very nice kingdom. Just look at your dress."

"This isn't my kingdom," Peach said. "I was kidnapped and taken here by Bowser, the Koopa King. And this dress is what happens when you fall off a cliff and get washed downstream."

"That doesn't sound too pleasant," Zelda said, taking another look around. "Is this, by any chance, the Dark World."

"Not quite, but I have been to that horrible place before," Peach said. "This is the Dark Land, on the very outskirts of the Dark World. The real part of the Dark World is heavily guarded and protected by a magical force field of some sort."

"So, Saria's power must have been just enough to bring me here instead of the Dark World," Zelda muttered. "I hope she's okay."

"You mentioned a Link?" Peach said, trying to keep some form of conversation in this dreadful place.

"Oh, I did?" Zelda said, a little surprised. "Well, he's…a special friend of mine. We were separated a little before I was sent here."

"I was separated from my friends, too," Peach said somberly. "They came to save me like they always do…but this time…never mind." Zelda noticed the uncomfortable look on her face.

"How much farther until we reach your kingdom?"

"I'm not sure," Peach frowned. "It only took a few minutes for Bowser to fly me here in his Koopa Clown Car."

"Clown Car?" Zelda chuckled. "What manner of King is this Bowser?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I know anymore," Peach said sadly. "He's plagued my kingdom for years, but he's always been more mean and nasty than outright cruel and evil. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's had a crush on me. But today…or tonight…whatever time of day it is, he…he tried to kill me."

"Is your kingdom really so secure if this is such a common occurrence?" Zelda asked.

"We have a small army and guards and the like, but his forces are much stronger. Furthermore, he's pretty imaginative when it comes to kidnapping me. Today was the most straightforward kidnapping to date though. He just sent his Ninji in during my speech and whisked me away."

"You don't seem terribly bothered about being kidnapped," Zelda said.

"It's happened so often that until recently, it was just an annoyance," Peach smiled slightly. "And every time, Mario would save me. He and his brother Luigi came to save me earlier today, but everything went wrong." By this time, the forest had become less dark, but filled with brighter colors. Various plants were rainbow colored and polka dotted. The two walked into a patch of red and white polka dotted plants. Peach suddenly signaled for silence.

"What is it?" Zelda whispered.

"Piranha Plants," Peach whispered, stepping slowly. "They're carnivorous plants with sharp teeth. We're surrounded by them right now, but they seem to be asleep. Just don't make too much noise and we'll be fine.

"There they are!" said a Koopa Troopa. His troop rushed into the clearing.

"Run!" Peach yelled.

"This is not my running dress!" Zelda yelled, trying to keep up. The polka dotted plants awakened and began to snap their jaws in the air. A few Koopas were nabbed by the plants and devoured.

"Neither are my heels!" Peach replied, leading her out of the forest. A Koopa shell skidded across the ground from behind them and knocked down Zelda. Peach helped her up and pulled her along into the dry landscape. It was nighttime, but the sky was filled with unhappy looking clouds. The Koopas skidded ahead of the pair and surrounded them.

"We've got you now, Princess…and elf lady, I guess," the leader announced. "If you give up, I can promise you a quick demise…And I guess the elf goes back to King Bowser."

"I am not an elf!" Zelda shouted.

"These are Koopas," Peach said. "Oh, dear… We're surrounded."

"We'll have to fight," Zelda said.

"Attack!" the Koopa leader ordered. They all retracted into their shells and began to spin in place, ready to skid into them.

"Get close to me," Zelda said, pulling Peach towards herself. As the shells rocketed toward them, Zelda spun herself and Peach in place and emitted a blue shield of energy that bounced all the Koopas away. They came out of their shells and ran back up to the women.

"You know magic?" Peach asked. Zelda nodded and tried to think of a way to get rid of these turtles. "The best way to stop a Koopa is to stomp it."

"…I'm more of a defensive fighter. You stomp them."

"But I don't think I can jump that well," Peach said doubtfully.

"You'll never know until you try." Peach nodded and ran up to the nearest Koopa, hoping to jump on it. Instead, she tripped on her raggedy dress and ended up running into it hard enough to knock the turtle out of its shell. Then she kicked the shell into the nearly naked creature, instantly knocking it out. When other Koopas again sped toward Zelda, she kicked in a graceful spin, knocking them all out of their shells. When one dared to hop back into its shell, she sent a small flame at it that ignited with a sweep of the hand.

"We'd better get backup," said a Koopa in his underwear, retreating with the others.

"We must get to the kingdom," Zelda said hurriedly. "As weak as they were, we may have trouble if they come back with reinforcements."

"If we keep going south across this wasteland, we'll reach my castle," Peach assured her. "It's in the northern part of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's a long walk, but if we keep a steady pace, we should be there in about an hour."

"What choice do we have?" Zelda sighed. They began their long trek across the Koopa Badlands. Aside from the occasional encounters with Pokey cacti and living twisters, the walk was cold and uneventful. As they noticed the landscape becoming less flat and more green, a thought came to Zelda, who shivered in the starless night.

"It's been an awfully long time since those…er…Koopas fled for reinforcements."

"Really? I guess they just forgot about us," Peach replied.

"Please tell me she's not that naïve," Zelda thought silently.

"We're almost there," Peach said, seeing familiar surroundings. "There's the castle in the distance! Can you see it?"

"I think so," Zelda said, seeing a tall structure on the horizon. A short while later, they were walking past Mario's Pipe House. Zelda decided not to comment on the peculiar architectural decisions.

"Peach?" a familiar voice called. Luigi was peeking outside the door. Realizing it was Peach, he ran to her.

"Luigi, you're okay!" she squealed, hugging him. "Where's Mario?"

"I thought he came back with you," the green plumber said, blushing since she had never hugged him before. "I only got back a few minutes ago, so I figured that if he wasn't at home, he was at the castle."

"He's not back?" Peach said, feeling her heart sink. "But…he has to be back!"

"Calm down, Princess," he said. "You should go home for now. Everyone's worried sick about you. If anything, Mario's probably tracking you back here. You'll see."

"If you say so…" she said unsurely.

"By the way…um, who is she?" he asked, just now noticing the Hylian.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is Prin…"

"Not so loud," Zelda whispered harshly. "I have reason to believe that someone is after me."

"Sorry," Peach whispered. "She's Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule."

"Never heard of a place around here like that," Luigi shrugged. "But I wouldn't be surprised if I ran across a kingdom of elves someday. Anyway, you should get to the castle soon. You look like a mess."

"Alright," Peach said. "Just be sure to tell me the moment you find Mario, okay?"

"You got it," he said, walking back inside. Zelda had been staring at Luigi, as if she were trying to remember something. Peach began her walk to the castle when she noticed that Zelda wasn't following.

"What's the matter? Aren't you coming?"

"I don't think that's a very good idea," Zelda replied, getting a serious look in her eye. "If someone really is after me in this world, I'd rather that they not notice a lone 'elf,' as you people put it, walking around town."

"Where will you go?"

"Into the shadows," Zelda said. "I'll be following you, since I have nowhere else to go, but only in secret. It's the only way that I can feel relatively safe."

"No one in the Mushroom Kingdom is going to come and get you," Peach giggled. "Toad Town is a safe place full of friendly people."

"No matter how much truth there may be to that statement, I simply cannot take the risk. I'll be keeping an eye on you." She took a step back and disappeared in a green swirl of blinding light. Once Peach was sure that Zelda was nowhere to be seen, she sighed and walked into Toad Town. It was a quiet night, but all the lights were on. Not a single person was outside. Peach went unnoticed until she walked onto the castle grounds. The two guards that saw her ran up to her quickly.

"I'm back," she said, smiling weakly.

"It's a relief to have you back, your majesty," one bowed.

"That's one less thing to worry about," the other sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Peach asked, noticing that they weren't as jovial about her return as they usually were.

"Of course; you haven't heard," one guard reminded himself. "Please, go inside and speak to your advisors as soon as possible." She stepped through the doors and saw that many of the lights had been dimmed. She walked through the empty lobby and into a room that was cracked open, with the sound and light of a television inside. Once she went inside, she saw a large crowd of maids, butlers, guards, and just about anyone else who worked in the castle, all watching the television. On it, Bowser was speaking.

"It's my time to shine," he bellowed. "It may have taken me a few stinkin' years, but the world will be mine. I'll rule over everything; the Koopa Kingdom will spread across this dirt ball, and I'll crush anyone who gets in my way…just like I crushed Mario. And without that stupid plumber, it's Game Over people! Just look at a sample of what I can do." Then the images switched to pictures of destruction. Rose Town was in flames, along with the rest of the adjacent Forest Maze. Seaside Town was flooded and full of man-eating creatures, both in and out of the water.

"Bowser…how could you?" Peach gasped.