Bowser read through Princess Peach's response for the third or fourth time, feeling a little bit dazed. Of course, he'd known all along that the proud princess was unlikely to sacrifice her kingdom and her people's wellbeing, but it still came as a slight shock when he saw how... cold her reply was. As if she'd hardened her heart to the concept of losing two of her closest friends. All that mattered to her now was her kingdom.

'Dammit,' he muttered under his breath, scrunching up the paper in his fist and tossing it aside, not caring where it landed.

He was frustrated, but in the twenty-four hours since yesterday's fight against Mario, he had learned to temper his frustration with patience – something he had never believed he could do until now. Recent events were clearly bringing out a side of him that he wasn't familiar with, and he hadn't decided yet whether the change was a good one or a bad one. He didn't have time to think about it now.

'Koopster!' he growled, making the young guard nearly jump out of his skin. 'I need you to write another message. Tell her that I'm being merciful and giving her three days to reconsider. If she hasn't given up half her lands to me by the evening of the third day, then I might start lopping off parts of Luigi and Daisy and sending them to her in gift-wrapped boxes.'

Koopster swallowed audibly. He wasn't used to seeing this more cold, cunning side of his King. Bowser couldn't really blame the kid. This side of him was a new one, after all, and one that he was slowly beginning to embrace, because he could tell it would be useful. He dismissed Koopster with a wave of his claws and the young guard hastened out of the room, tripping over his own shoes.

In his absence, Bowser began to pace up and down the room. He was still stunned by Peach's response to his demands. Even though he'd had misgivings, a part of him had still expected – or hoped – that the princess's gentleness and loyalty would convince her to cede her lands to him in exchange for the safety of her friends. That she'd deserted Luigi wasn't a big surprise, but the fact that she'd been willing to let Daisy die honestly surprised him. Obviously, the gentle princess was turning into a much tougher person in light of recent events. Bowser wasn't sure whether it made him more attracted to her or less so...

He lost track of time as he paced up and down, lost in thoughts (a rare occurrence for him), but eventually he was snapped back to reality by a distant yell that sounded suspiciously like Kamek's reedy voice. Whirling towards the door, Bowser stomped off to go investigate. Maybe there was something interesting going on.

Kamek's muffled yells and curses seemed to be coming from the garden. Quickening his pace, Bowser stepped outside and was immediately met with a sight that caused him to stop dead in his tracks; it was so unexpected that, for a moment, he had no idea how to react.

Kamek was lying on his side on the ground, struggling to clamber to his feet and grab his wand, which had fallen about three feet away. His glasses were askew and he was mumbling swear words under his breath. Seeing Kamek of all people in such a state disorientated him so much that he just stood and stared, fighting back the bizarre urge to laugh. And then a sound from the other end of the garden dragged his attention away. When he saw what it was, his jaws dropped open in surprise.

Luigi was attempting to climb the stone wall that bordered the edge of the garden. Pulling himself up with his arms – his injured leg still wasn't supporting him properly – he looked around, eyes wide, as Bowser walked onto the scene. He froze.

'You little scoundrel!' Kamek shouted. There was a scrabbling noise followed by a small flare of yellowish light. Too late, Bowser realised that the old magikoopa had succeeded in reaching his wand and now was pointing it straight at Luigi.

A miniature lightning bolt burst from the tip of the wand, striking Luigi's arm and making him lose his tentative grip on the wall. With a cry, he fell, landing heavily on the grass below. Normally, Bowser wouldn't have been concerned by this since the wall was barely five feet high, but as soon as Luigi hit the ground, he curled in upon himself, clutching his injured leg.

'Hah... hah... that got 'im...' Kamek gasped, dragging himself to his feet using his wand as a crutch.

'Is someone gonna tell me what the hell's going on?' Bowser exploded.

Kamek shrank back. He had enough experience with the King's bad temper to know when it was time to duck, lest a jet of flame incinerate him. 'Sire... you must understand. I had no intention of starting a fight... he knocked me over while I wasn't looking! He tried to escape!'

'Shouldn't have taken your eyes off him then, should you?' said Bowser menacingly. 'He's a captured enemy, in case you'd forgotten! Of course he's going to try and escape if you give him the opportunity!'

'Well, sire... it's quite hard to remember that, given the way you treat him. It's almost as if he's not an enemy at all.'

Bowser struck out, claws flashing centimetres from the magikoopa's throat. If they had connected, they would have killed him.

'I already told you why I need him alive,' he snarled, so angry that his voice actually shook a little. 'And if he dies 'cuz of some stupid thing you did, then I'll make sure you pay, Kamek.'

'I've been at your side forty years, my lord. It would take more than one small accident to make you end my servitude.'

In the back of his mind, Bowser knew this was true, but he wasn't going to admit it to Kamek. Retracting his claws, he forced himself to turn away from the old magikoopa and walk over to Luigi's side instead. The young man lay curled on the grass, his cap askew, so still he might have been unconscious. But Bowser could tell from his fast, painful breathing that he was awake and aware.

'Get up, pipsqueak,' he growled. When Luigi didn't even flinch at the sound of his voice, he turned to frown at Kamek. 'Now you're gonna have to heal him again, moron.'

'That would be unwise, sire. Think about it; he nearly escaped today, despite having an injured leg. I will not heal him, otherwise he might use it as an opportunity to escape again.'

Bowser grumbled in annoyance, even though he knew (again) that Kamek was right.

'I would also suggest that you keep him in his cell from now on,' the magikoopa continued. 'Though I doubt that your dungeon cells are... entirely foolproof, he'll have less chance escaping from down there.'

(Kamek's worries about the dungeon cells not being foolproof came from an incident two years ago, in which Princess Peach had somehow managed to escape from one of them while she was imprisoned. To this day, nobody knew how she'd done it.)

Refusing to acknowledge this, Bowser leaned down and scooped up Luigi in his arms, eliciting a quiet whimper from the prisoner. He tried to be gentle, but he was completely unused to needing to be gentle. The whole concept was foreign to him; as foreign as this entire stupid situation.

Then came the biggest surprise of the day. Luigi, instead of fearfully squirming away from Bowser as he'd always done before, actually tried to burrow into the King's arms as if seeking protection from something worse. It made Bowser's jaw drop for the second time and prompted an exasperated sigh from Kamek.

'Take him back to his cell,' said the magikoopa fretfully. 'Now, sire. Before he has a chance to pull another trick on us-'

'Shut up, wizard boy,' Bowser snarled. 'I'm going.'

But he didn't go down to the dungeon. Instead, once he was sure that Kamek wasn't close enough to be watching him, he veered off and headed towards the hospital hall on the other side of the castle.