Chapter 7 Fugitive

Aqua let out a sigh of relief once she stepped out of the changing room at Benny's. She was wearing a light blue tank top with lace lining the top and bottom, as well as a pair of bootcut blue jeans. On her feet was a pair of white sneakers.

"I feel so much better," she said out loud.

"I can see that," Celia said. Aqua laughed.

"I think it's safe to say that my sister's fashion sense is painful."

Now it was Celia's turn to laugh.

"Yeah. Both to look at and to wear."

Together, the two teenagers giggled. Once they left the store, Aqua took in a deep breath. Despite the fact that the air stank of sulfur, it was still a blessing.

"I will never take fresh air for granted again," she told Celia. "The air was so stuffy in the castle."

Celia nodded. She looked around, and Aqua noticed that there were a few Koopas staring at them. They whispered amongst themselves like the two girls were fugitives. Which, Aqua technically was. She turned toward the very nervous looking Celia.

"I think we need to get out of town."

"Yeah, that would probably be best."

So, they started to make their way through the town. Whenever they passed by one of the town's denizens, they were given confused stares. Aqua hoped that it was because they were two humans in a mostly Dragon Koopa town, as opposed to them recognizing her as a Princess that had been kidnapped by Bowser. Either way, Celia and Aqua picked up the pace. Aqua noticed that Celia looked really uncomfortable with the stares, even more so than she did.

Eventually, they exited Stonebrim. Celia's eyes were overrun by a huge wave of relief. Aqua was also relieved, which allowed her breathing to return to a smoother, less rocky pace.

"Okay," Celia said. She turned toward the Princess. She looked a little expectant and eager. "Where do you want us to go next?"

Aqua didn't even have to think to answer.

"We go back to the Lake Kingdom. Once we are safely back home, I'll be able to deal with whatever shenanigans Bowser could possibly throw our way."

Celia's eyes grew curious.

"How far away is the Lake Kingdom?" she asked.

Aqua took the time to think about it.

"Well, last time I checked, it took about 5 hours to get from there to here on an airship."

"But we'll be travelling by foot…"

Aqua smiled.

"Not necessarily. I know of someone who might be able to help us. Come on!"

….

"Ho hum diddlee deen, Princess Peach will become my queen!" sang Bowser. The great Koopa King relaxed in his throne. For the very first time, it felt like things were starting to go his way. It was an odd feeling to be sure, but its unfamiliarity felt comforting. His heart beat smoothly and his muscles felt more relaxed.

Suddenly, Ludwig came through the door. Bowser noticed that he was not wearing his blue cloak. The blue haired special floated up to the throne.

"Hey, Bowser, have you seen my cloak?"

"Nope, I haven't. But then again, it wasn't my turn to watch it."

Ludwig let out a grumpy sigh.

"Of course it wasn't." He put his head in his hands. "I've asked all over the castle and nobody has seen it."

Bowser nodded, doing his best to look sympathetic. It honestly wasn't that big a deal in the long run, whether Ludwig had his cloak or not. What was a big deal in the long run was that the hostage negotiation went well.

"Hmm. Well, we find it eventually." Bowser smiled, leaned back, and shut his eyes tight. "For right now, I just want to enjoy the sweet, sweet silence of victory."

"King Bowser! King Bowser!"

Bowser opened one eye.

"Huh. I never expected the victory would sound so screechy."

"King Bowser!"

Bowser turned to the left and saw Tailspin standing near the throne. He looked shaken, mightily shaken. His eyes were so wide that one would think that he had just seen the ghost of his grandmother.

"Tailspin, what is the matter?"

"King Bowser...I was just delivering lunch to Princess Aqua...but she wasn't there!"

It took a moment for that statement to sink into Bowser. When it did, he bolted upright.

"What!" He leaned in closer. "Are you pulling my leg?"

"No! I'm completely serious! The Princess has gone missing!"

Bowser jumped out of the throne.

"Ludwig, go get your siblings. Immediately."

…

The Koopa family now stood before the Princess' room. The room itself was completely unoccupied, and the force field that surrounded the door was gone. Resting right in front of the door were Kamek's spellbook and wand.

"This is a travesty!" Bowser shouted. He dramatically swept his hand over his eyes. "A travesty!"

Kamek arrived and grinned.

"Oh!" He picked up his wand and his spellbook. "I was wondering where those went!"

Iggy stared at the door, a contemplative look on his face.

"Who could have done this?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bowser said. Wendy stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked her adoptive father.

"I will be," Bowser said. "As soon as we found out who was responsible for this."

"Oh, I hope we do," Lemmy said.

"Yeah," Junior replied. "I was really looking forward to Peach becoming Dad's queen!"

That statement made Bowser feel even worse. He sucked in a breath and glanced down at his children.

"Start asking around. Ask the guards if they have seen anything or anyone suspicious."

"Yes sir!" The Koopalings said. A majority of them dispersed. Roy, on the other hand, just stood back and looked at Bowser in determination.

"I'll tell you, big guy," he said. "Whoever did this is going to get a very big beating from me."

Bowser smiled.

"Thank you, Roy."