Chapter 3 A Lingering Gloom

The door to Junior's room creaked as Peach pushed it open. "Well, here's your room," she said. "Make yourself as comfortable as you can."

Junior took a step in. The room was nowhere near as decorated nor as polished as the room he slept in back at home. The only things in it were a rug, a window, and a bed covered in a red comforter. Junior rubbed his forearm as he looked around.

"It's….small."

Peach nodded. "This was originally Toadsworth's room before he died. He never really liked to keep it decorated."

Junior nodded. So a dead Toad slept in this room. Junior didn't know if that was insanely cool or insanely creepy. He made his way forward and sat down on the bed. The comforter was stiff like a board. It probably hadn't been washed, considering that it hadn't been used in a while. Junior grimaced as he placed his hand on it, causing Peach's brow to furrow.

"Right. The comforter is old." She clapped her hands together in a regal, loud way. "Toads! Come bring in a new one!" She waited for about two seconds, but no Toads came. She placed her hand to her chin. "That's odd. Where did my servants go?" She made her way out into the hallway. Junior followed right behind her, for he wasn't really thrilled at the idea of sleeping underneath a grubby, raggedy old blanket.

When Peach got to a nearby bathroom, she opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a Toad washing the sink. She cleared her throat. "Toad, will you come change Junior's comforter? It's too old to sleep under."

The Toad looked up and got an eyeful of the young Koopa Prince. He snickered. "Oh cool. The son of the wicked King Bowser is here today." He glanced at Peach. "Is it really a good idea to look after the son of the man who literally killed your parents?"

Junior felt his blood boil over. He gripped his fist and grit his teeth. "Maybe my Dad wouldn't have done it if an assassin wasn't sent after him! Have you ever thought of that little factoid?"

"Junior!" the princess snapped. Junior turned and saw a very subtle gloom in her eyes. If the mention of her dead parents was bringing up bad memories, she was doing an excellent job at not bursting into tears. She turned toward the Toad. "What happened with Junior's father is irrelevant. The point is he's here now, and he needs a place to sleep."

The Toad sniffed. "Whatever you say, your majesty." With that, he walked out the bathroom. Junior watched him go, then turned back to Peach when he heard her doing a deep breathing exercise.

"Are you okay?"

Peach exhaled. "I am fine, sweetie. I'm just fine."

Junior raised an eyebrow, deciding that he might as well do some probing. "Is what my Dad did to you the reason you aren't excited about me being here?"

The Princess paused. She looked away from Junior as she spoke to him. "What? That's ridiculous, Junior! I'm thrilled to have you here!"

With that, Peach followed after the Toad. Junior stared at her back as she went. He knew that she lied; there had been so many tells that gave it away. Honestly, he did not know how to feel about all of this. Was what his dad did bad? Sure. Of course it was bad. But, arguably, what the royals were planning on doing was even worse. At least, in Junior's eye. They had been planning an invasion, after all. More people would have died than just two, which would mean it had to be worse just looking at the statistics alone.

But when Junior stopped to think about it, there really was no right way to look at this situation. While his Dad was forced to do what he did to save lives, it still resulted in emotional scars for the Princess. Those scars would never go away and would influence how his Mama Peach looked at the world for the rest of her life. Heaven knows that it definitely influenced how people like Mario looked at the Koopas.

Plus, there were somethings that Bowser did that were downright stupid. Like kidnap her, for example. Yes, he claimed he wanted Junior to have a Mama; he got that. While that did soften Junior's heart, it didn't change the fact that Bowser essentially was forcing the girl whose parents he killed to marry him. Yeah, that was more than a little messed up. It actually made Junior a little sick, now that he thought about it.

Thankfully, right as Junior was starting to feel nauseous, the Princess came back with four Toads in toe. They carried a nice, purple colored comforter on their shoulders. Junior perked up; he knew that it was soft just by looking at it.

He followed the group into the bedroom. They removed the old comforter and placed the new one where it had previously gone. Junior smiled, giddiness overtaking him. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this excited to try out a bed.

Once the Toads left, leaving only Pecah and Junior in the room, Junior ran over to the bed and flopped down in it. Now that the comforter was actually usable, the bed was comfy as all get out. Junior allowed his body to sink into it, feeling relaxed and calm.

"Ahhh," he said. Peach approached him, a nervous looking expression on her face.

'Do you want me to get you anything? Anything at all?"

"No, I'm good," Junior replied.

Peach nodded. "Okay." She spoke so quietly, almost as if she had turned into some kind of mouse. Junior felt a pang. He didn't want Mama Peach to be upset. She didn't deserve that. She deserved to be happy, cheerful, and bubbly. She deserved the best because she was the best.

"Hey, Mama Peach? I actually do want something. Why don't you spend time with me in here for a little bit?"

Peach did a double take. "Oh no, that's fine Junior. You deserve to have some time to yourself tonight."

Junior laughed. "Mama Peach, the whole reason that I came here was because I wanted to spend some time with you! Please stay!"

Peach hesitated, her crystal blue eyes refusing to look directly at the Koopa Prince. Finally, she bit her lip and nodded. "Okay." She took a seat on the bed. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Junior sat up and gave her a hug. "Not much. Just spending time with you is good enough by itself."

Peach's body loosened up, and she smiled. "You really are a sweetheart, aren't you?"

Junior let go and snorted. "Mario doesn't seem to think so."

"Well, you're right; he doesn't…."

Junior turned toward her. "Do you think he's mad about what my Dad did to your Mama and Papa?"

Peach looked taken aback. She stared at Junior like she had just been shot in the knee with a hunting rifle. "I...possibly. I mean, I can't see what goes on in his head."

Junior smirked. "That'll be a problem. You're gonna want to learn how to read his mind if you want him to be your husband."

Peach blushed a deep red, redder than the comforter that had previously been on the bed. She turned away from Junior, refusing to speak, refusing to even make the smallest noise.

Junior scooted in closer to her. "You know, I'm really sorry about what happened, Mama Peach," he said softly

Peach turned around. "It wasn't your fault. Why are you taking responsibility for it?"

"Because it was my father who did it. If he doesn't apologize for what he did, then I should."

Peach shook her head. "You shouldn't have to do that, Junior." She sighed. "After all, my parents weren't exactly all that morally upright either."

Junior nodded. She sounded accepting of this fact. He didn't know if she was just putting on a face in order to make him feel better though. If he was a betting koopa, he would bet that she was, because it couldn't be easy for someone who lost their parents prematurely to admit that said parents weren't angels sent down from Heaven.

"So I've heard," he said. He smiled at her. "It's amazing that you're perfect then."

Peach snorted back a laugh. She covered her mouth, trying to cover her giggles up. "I'm not perfect, silly!"

"Yes you are! You're better than perfect; you're like a cake topped miles high with whipped cream, ice cream, and sprinkles. In other words, you're awesome!"

Peach beamed. "Thank you, Junior. That's very sweet."

Junior smiled back. "Hey, it's what I'm here for." His stomach growled. "Now I really want that cake that I was talking about."

Peach chuckled. "Well, you're in luck then. I just so happened to be the master at making cakes."

Junior perked up. "Oh, that's right! The skills you have in the kitchen are world famous!" He licked his lips. "Do you think you could make me a cake!"

Peach shrugged. "Sure. Why not? We can have that along with the pizza that you wanted."

Junior did a fist pump. "Yes!" His face lit up again. "Hey, can I help you make the cake! I really like cracking open eggs!"

Peach thought about it before nodding. "Sure. You can be my little helper."

"Great!" He leaped out of the bed. "Come on, Mama Peach! Let's go bake a world famous cake!"