Heya! Uhh... sorry it's taken so long, getting motivated to write at the moment has been really hard, so I'm really sorry this has taken so long, but it's a similar length to the last (if you can remember that long ago), so I hope you enjoy it!
They spent the rest of the morning in the garden, opting to track down Junior and Toadsworth at midday for a small lunch.
Toadsworth spent most of the meal telling the two women about the many topics that they had covered about the castle and Toadstool family; it was clearly a topic that he enjoyed, judging from how animated he was. Junior, on the other hand, seemed to be bored out of his mind. Peach and Bowsette shared a mirthful look at that, trying to hide their amusement.
They also spoke about the tournament, which Junior was happy to find out about, with him and Peach trading playful smack talk. Bowsette would have joined in – as she was going to win, of course – but she was much more content to sit back and watch the two get along. She knew it was temporary, that it was built on a lie, but she couldn't help herself.
Maybe – she hoped – after everything was over, they could try and at least be friends?
After lunch, Bowsette took Junior off so that they could cover some of his normal schoolwork.
They went to her room and Junior – who seemed to be awfully smug the whole walk there – started speaking the second the door closed behind them.
"Mama! You and Peach were getting along really well! And you were smiling at each other all the time!"
She shouldn't have been surprised that he picked up on that, but she was none the less. "We did." She answered simply, not sure what to say, or what conclusions Junior would jump to.
He jumped up and down in excitement. Bowsette sat on the bed, preparing for potentially having to temper his enthusiasm; though Junior simply took it as an invitation to sit on her lap – one which he took gladly.
"Well, if she likes you, then maybe she'll want to be with you!" He declared like it was obvious, waving his hands in the air in triumph.
Much to his surprise, though, his enthusiasm was met with a sigh. "Junior, she doesn't like me that way and she never has. Besides, we don't know if she's... well, into women."
Junior pouted. "I saw the way you looked at each other. Anyway, you gotta at least try!"
"Even if she was interested in me," The thought alone made her blush, "She still doesn't know who I really am; you can't build a heathy relationship on lies."
He seemed to concede that point, though he was quick with another idea. "Well, you could become friends, then tell her who you are, then she might want to still be friends and then you could ask her to marry you!"
'Darn. I thought we were over this.' "Junior, I can't. I'll tell her at some point and maybe she'll let us be friends – but we couldn't ever be together. There's too much in the way. We've been over this, Junior, we have to let Peach go." She couldn't help her mood souring at being reminded that she was destined to be alone.
"Peach deserves better than me, anyway." She added under her breath, so quiet that Junior didn't hear it.
The thought was one she had avoided for a long time, but she couldn't deny its truth. Peach was kind and undeniably good. Bowsette, on the other hand, was cruel and evil. Even if she had strived to change and be better, there was still a long and damning past weighing her down.
"Okay, Mama." Junior yielded, looking like he was feeling as down as she felt.
'Great. Now I've ruined his mood.'
"I'm sorry, kiddo," She whispered, hugging him, "But Peach deserves happiness, too."
I know, Mama." He replied, his voice muffled in her dress. "I just wish she could be happy with you."
"I do too, kiddo. I do too."
As she had dampened both of their early happiness – and subsequently all of their motivation for education – Bowsette let Junior have the afternoon off. Instead, they went out to the castle tennis court to play. There, they ran into Peach and Luigi already playing a match.
There was more than one court, but the two stopped their match and suggested playing doubles instead; Junior and Bowsette vs Luigi and Peach.
They eagerly accepted.
They played for about an hour, but between Junior's inexperience and Bowsette not being used to playing tennis with her smaller body, they were beaten by the powerhouse that was Luigi and Peach.
Never one to take losing well, Bowsette immediately protested. "I demand a rematch!"
Peach seemed slightly amused at the outburst, whereas Luigi looked slightly intimidated – though there was also an unreadable edge to his gaze.
"How about we change the teams? Luigi and Juni against you and I?"
Junior decided for all of them, when he ran over to the other side of the net, shouting, "I'm gonna beat you, Mama!"
The adults laughed, "You can try!" The koopa woman retorted.
Peach joined Bowsette, wishing the other two good luck as she went. Luigi turned to his new partner, "We-a can do this, kiddo!" He said confidently.
The match commenced, seemingly more evenly matched than the last. Bowsette was getting more used to playing with her new body and, though Junior was the most disadvantaged player – mostly due to height – it was evident that Luigi was the best out of the four. Though Peach was not as good as Luigi, she could definitely hold her own against him; she was better than her partner, though Bowsette would never admit it.
In the end, Luigi was proven wrong, when Peach and Bowsette reigned supreme – though only by a small margin.
"Ahh... Good match." Luigi puffed, out of breath.
They all took a seat at the side of the court, exhausted. They sat there, talking for a while, until a toad came along to tell them dinner was almost ready. With that, they parted ways to get cleaned up.
After dinner, Luigi gathered Mario and Peach to talk to them in private.
"What's wrong, Luigi?" Peach asked, concerned as to why he asked them here in secrecy.
He was quiet for a moment, considering his words carefully. "Do-a you two think there's-a... something off, about Bowsette?"
Mario nodded. "I-a don't trust her, she's hiding something."
Peach frowned, not liking where this was going. "What are you saying? She is entitled to keep secrets from us; we barely know her." She crossed her arms, giving the brothers a hard look.
Luigi backtracked slightly at the edge to Peach's tone. "Ahh, I mean, she's-a nice enough, I just think there's-a something she's not telling us."
The princess's gaze softened, "Yes, I think you're right and I get the impression it's something important. However, she has done nothing wrong so far, so I see no reason to demand any answers."
Mario remained sceptical. "I don't-a know..."
"Well, she's a guest in my castle and I will treat her as such; keep your suspicions to yourselves." She said softly, but with an authoritative tone.
"Right." Luigi said, Mario nodding along with him – albeit with a slight reluctance. "Maybe we should see what Daisy thinks?"
"Maybe." Peach agreed. "But let her come to her own conclusions; we don't want to alienate Bowsette unnecessarily. I think she's been through a lot already."
The brothers agreed and the three parted ways, concluding their meeting.
Breakfast the next day was a quiet affair.
The Mario brothers were not present – likely they were at their own home. So, Peach, Bowsette and Junior dined alone, sharing light conversation over their meal.
Luigi arrived soon afterwards – in anticipation of Princess Daisy's arrival – and Bowsette stuck around only long enough to greet him before leaving with Junior to catch up on his schoolwork.
They were discussing the finer points of Koopa history – with Bowsette pointing out all of the shortcomings of past rulers, and how she was better than them – when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Opening it, she was greeted by a toad, "Good day, Miss Bowsette. Princess Peach requests yours and young Juni's presence in the throne room as soon as is convenient."
"Oh, thank you." She replied, to which he gave a bow, dismissing himself.
"What's going on, Mama?" Junior asked.
"Come on, Junior, Peach wants to see us."
They packed away their learning materials and set off for the throne room.
It had been the site of many kidnappings, so going there by request was a peculiar experience. Though, she could apply that thought to most things that had happened to her recently.
The room itself was one of the more extravagant rooms in the castle. Being the room from which the monarch rules and greets official guests, most throne rooms were intimidating and awe-inspiring in equal measure; though – being a more peaceful kingdom – Peach's throne room was not nearly as intimidating as Bowsette's, with its coal black walls and blood red furnishings. Hers was more welcoming with light blues, whites and golds.
Still, even though she knew that she was likely only being summoned to 'meet' Daisy, she couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved. It was another person that she would be lying to, and all the lies were starting to get to her.
With a quiet sigh to herself, she pushed through one of the side doors into the throne room, Junior following behind her.
Peach was stood in front of her throne, listening to an animated Daisy. Luigi was stood next to Daisy, holding her hand while gazing at her with a look of utter adoration and Mario was stood off to the opposite side; still within talking distance, but likely avoiding getting too involved in the conversation. Toadsworth was also stood a short distance away, watching the group interact.
Daisy had reached a pause in whatever she was telling the blonde princess, when the two koopas approached the dais. Catching sight of them, Peach called out in greeting.
"Ah, Bowsette! Juni!" Everyone turned to face the two new arrivals, "I'd like to introduce you to Princess Daisy of Sarasaland." She then turned to the other princess, "Daisy, this is Bowsette and her son, Juni."
"Nice to meet you, Princess Daisy." Bowsette said cordially, while Junior simply waved. Much like the other inhabitants of the room, past interactions with Daisy were not positive. The tomboyish princess had never been intimidated by her previous self and had never hesitated to make it known.
"And you, Bowsette. Juni." Daisy said with similar formality, though there was suspicion in her glare as her eyes darted between the two koopas.
"We were just telling Daisy how you saved Toadsworth, Bows-"
"Bowsette, huh?" Daisy interrupted the other princess, stepping off of the dais to stand nose to nose with the koopa woman.
Bowsette gulped.
"Was that really the best name you could come up with, Bowser?"
Bowsette physically recoiled, taking a step back. Panic started to set in. A sickly feeling settled in her stomach upon hearing her old name. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she didn't dare look.
"W-What?" She stuttered out, completely caught off-guard.
Daisy closed the distance between them again, poking her finger at the koopa's chest. "I was suspicious when I heard that you were taking a break. Then, someone – a mysterious koopa woman – just happens to be there at the right time to rescue a kidnapped Toadsworth? No, I'm not buying it." She crossed her arms, glaring at Bowsette. "You staged that kidnapping, didn't you?"
"I. What." Bowsette's jaw hardened, her shock quickly being replaced by anger. She squared her shoulders, returning the princess's gaze with equal ferocity.
"How dare you!" She shouted, "I was minding my own business when my son was kidnapped! I may not have the best record, Daffodil, but Junior was in danger. That was real. Hell, I didn't even want to come here, I just wanted to get back to putting my life back together!"
The heat of Bowsette's anger gave Daisy momentary pause, until her mind ticked over what she had said. "Junior..." She muttered, before her aggression came back full-force. "So you are Bowser!"
'Damn.' Bowsette let out a breath, though it sounded more like a growl. "Yes."
"Bowser!?" Mario gasped and Bowsette finally let herself look at the other residents of the room. Mario and Toadsworth were the most shocked, the revelation clearly having been completely unexpected. Peach and Luigi, on the other hand – though also shocked – seemed almost like they thought that the whole thing now made sense. Peach was staring at Bowsette intently, something else in her expression that she couldn't decipher. She looked away after a moment, her lingering anger starting to turn into shame.
Junior, however, saw this whole thing as an opportunity. "Mama Peach!" He called, running past Daisy to the pink clad princess, leaping into her arms.
"Oh!" Peach quickly caught the young koopa, holding him as he clung to her torso. "Hey, Junior..."
The tension in the room dissipated slightly at that, and Bowsette couldn't help but smile at the sight of Peach holding Junior.
"What are you-a planning, Bowser!?" Mario called, stepping forward, poised for a fight.
"I'm not planning anything," She huffed. "I came to the Mushroom Kingdom to lie low for a while, then Junior was kidnapped and you know the rest. I didn't plan this for some scheme; I'm telling the truth."
"You did do a number on those-a kidnappers..." Luigi pointed out, adding credence to her argument. Mario and Daisy seemed to mull on that, while Peach spoke up.
"Everything you said yesterday, was it true?" The princess was still looking at her with that same intensity, but this time Bowsette didn't look away.
"It was."
Peach simply nodded in response, looking thoughtful whilst swaying with Junior still in her arms.
Having seemingly placated everyone enough to not be attacked, Bowsette did the only thing she could think to do now that she had been outed.
"Peach," She began, catching the blonde's attention again. "Thank you for having us here, but maybe it's best if we go. We'll get out of your hair."
Junior raised his head to look at his mother, his face distraught.
It hurt to do it, but they were found out, so they had to go. Maybe – one day, when Peach sees that she's not going to kidnap her anymore – then they can try and be friends. But now? They just needed to return to their cabin and wait for things to return to normal.
Whatever normal was now.
"Wait!" Peach interrupted her thoughts.
"Please, don't feel that you have to leave, you're still welcome to stay." She said, warmth in her gaze. "Besides, there's still the karting tournament tomorrow and you said you'd participate."
"What?!" Daisy shouted, turning to the other princess so fast, Bowsette was surprised she didn't get whiplash. Similarly, Mario stepped forward, a look of clear disapproval on his face. "You can't keep him here! We don't know if he's lying!"
Peach was ready with a calm rebuke, but – much to her surprise – Toadsworth beat her to the punch.
"Perhaps. However – even if Bowsette has done many horrible things in the past – she still rescued me and hasn't done anything bad during her stay here. Besides, we've always invited the Koopas to our karting tournaments; it would simply be rude to kick them out now."
Daisy seemed flabbergasted, having fully expected Toadsworth to take her side. A glance behind to her side also told her that Mario seemed to realise this was a losing battle; loosening his shoulders with a look of reluctant acquiescence.
Frantic for support, she turned to her boyfriend. "Luigi?!"
He simply shrugged. "A-Bowsette seemed pretty nice these past two days, maybe she's-a changed?"
Daisy groaned in anguish, throwing her head back in annoyance. "Fine! I give up."
Junior cheered.
Having had her fill of awkwardness and hostility, Bowsette tried to leave the group under the guise of finishing Junior's lesson, but Peach stopped her before she could finish talking.
So now, they were in a sitting room, with some tea, so that Bowsette could explain what exactly was going on.
They sat in silence for a moment, everyone looking at Bowsette expectantly while she pretended to be oblivious, savouring her tea. It felt like an interrogation to her, with everyone sat across from her – Junior included, as he had opted to sit as close as he possibly could to Peach without actually sitting on her lap.
"Well?" Daisy asked, voice laced with irritation.
"Hmm?" Bowsette continued to feign ignorance, further annoying the princess.
"Why are you a woman?"
"That's a strange question to ask, why are you a woman?" Bowsette smirked.
"Bowsette... You know what she means." Peach glared disapprovingly.
"Alright." She straightened up, putting down her tea. "Kamek was working on this experimental power-up he was showing me, it blew up, hit me and some other science stuff, and here I am."
"And it's-a permanent?" Mario asked.
"Yeah, Kamek is working on a way to reverse it, though."
"So then why did you go into hiding?" Peach asked.
Bowsette did a double take, "I can't rule like this, no one would take me seriously!"
Everyone present looked confused at that. "Why not?"
"Wha- I'm meant to be intimidating, scary! I can't achieve that and be beautiful at the same time!"
That just draws more confusion and an embarrassed Luigi, who muttered: "I thought you were pretty intimidating..."
"Now I may not be the best versed in Koopa politics," Peach started, a scrutinizing glint in her eye, "But I'm pretty sure that the solidity of your rule is based on a lot more than your intimidation factor."
Bowsette blanched at that. 'What are they getting at?' Bowsette knew that Peach was right, but she couldn't find it in herself to risk it; it felt like facing the world like this was more than simply facing the world in a woman's body – like she was baring something deep within herself. A vulnerability that she was afraid to expose. But for the life of her, she couldn't understand why she felt like that.
"Well, it was a good excuse to take a break, anyway..." She finished lamely, not sure how to retort Peach's point without exposing feelings that even she didn't understand.
Most of the group still had confusion in their gaze, but Peach and Luigi seemed to regard her with sympathy.
"So... Do you want us to call you Bowser or Bowsette, now?" Daisy asked after an awkward silence.
"Bowsette, please." She replied with a sheepish smile, trying to pretend she wasn't blushing.
"Alright," The princess said with a nod. "Bowsette it is."
Now Daisy's here and the secret is out! But Bowsette and Junior haven't been kicked out! I hope you enjoyed it! And I'd love to hear what you think or what you enjoyed/think could be improved!
See ya next time. (hopefully sooner than two months...)