Chapter Four

It is safe to say the Princess hardly slept at all that night. When she did fall asleep, her dreams were restless, and her thoughts raced from one terrible scenario to another. What would Mario do in this situation?

"I don't know why I am even worrying about this. There is no reason to believe that this 'League' has the power to even scratch Bowser, let alone kill him. AND I had never heard of them before until that Magikoopa showed up. Besides, why worry when Bowser can obviously take care of himself?" Peach thought to herself, trying to calm her nerves. But something felt off about Kamella. If Peach remembered right, Kamella was the name of one of Bowser's royal councilors, which meant that she worked closely with the Koopa King. Was this apart of one of his plans?

"No. Bowser is far too forward to plan something like this and he has about as much patience as a toddler. But that also means that Kamella is doing this without his knowledge. He would be furious if he knew…" Peach continued thinking. It also meant that Kamella might actually have a shot at hurting him. Peach may not like Bowser and the way that he did things, but he was still mortal and extremely overconfident in himself. Even Mario and Luigi weren't invincible.

. . . .

By morning, the Princess still couldn't move past her worries. Toadsworth's schedule was observed, her meetings were as long as usual, and she drowned herself in her work, but most of it went by in a blur. She had absolutely no ability to focus on anything other than what the Magikoopa had said.

"Keeping both of your lives separate from each other is the only way to keep both kingdoms stable and their futures bright… Either that or Bowser has to die," Kamella had stated.

Peach had never thought about falling in love with Bowser. Mario - of course - but Bowser? She had never entertained the idea and still didn't. But her mother had taught her not to make promises that would restrict her ability to act on her heart. Peach made small guarantees, childish pinky promises and occasional oaths that came with being a ruler, but this was a chain over her heart that she didn't always have control over.

Despite all of this, it was against the princess' nature to let something like this go.

"I need to think of something and think of it soon before…" Peach thought anxiously.

*ding! ding!*

"9 o'clock already?! I sure am sorry for allowing your meetings get so out of hand, Princess Peach. It is your duty to take care of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it is also my duty to make sure that the schedule is… Peach?" Toadsworth was completely unheard as the princess stood from her chair at the meeting table and made her way to her bedroom, leaving her adviser alone with his thoughts.

Peach had a plan, but she had to hurry. "I have about thirty minutes," she said to herself as she raced into her room and grabbed a pencil and paper from her bedside drawer.

She wrote:

Mario,

A Magikoopa named Kamella is going to try to kill Bowser. I know this is sudden and it doesn't make sense, but I need you to make sure he is protected. I will explain later.

Yours,

Princess Peach

She took the letter and put it down the mail-shoot. As luck would have it, Parakarry would be taking the mail within the next few minutes. That would give plenty of time for the letter to make it to Mario without suspicion or even a chance of being intercepted.

Just as Peach had begun filling the bathtub with water, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corner of her bathroom.

"Princess, I assume you have made your decision?" Kamella asked cooly.

Pointedly staring at her reflection in the water, Peach answered, "I have."

Kamella, impatient as she was, clicked her claws together with anticipation. After a few moments of awkward silence, she asked with forced politeness, "Well, your Highness? What is your decision?"

"No," Peach answered plainly. She could hear the Magikoopa's robes shake with frustration but before Kamella could say anything, Peach continued, "This is my Kingdom, my life, my world, and my home. I will run my Kingdom the way I see fit because I have no reason to believe anyone else's ideas or beliefs are better than my own. I cannot take your threat seriously because you have given me no proof that your problems are my problems or that your opinion should be mine. I must also warn you not to take action against King Bowser or you will have more than one Kingdom to worry about." Kamella moved to argue, but Peach held up her hand and glared at Kamella with authority. "You may go. You have your answer."

"You will regret this," seethed the Magikoopa as she angrily stomped her foot on the ground and disappeared with a wave of her wand. "The princess wouldn't have made this decision if she didn't have some kind of plan. She was too confident. Either she knows something about the Investors or has a plan to protect Bowser," Kamella thought to herself as she flew through the air on her broom.

Inspiration hit her as she came spotted a short little man dressed in red and blue running in the direction of the Mushroom Castle. "Yes… I think she needs to be put in her place," Kamella quietly cackled.

. . . .

Peach turned off the water and made her way to her bed. As good as hot water sounded to her aching head, she didn't like the idea of the Magikoopa popping in during her bathing session again. "Maybe I should go apologize to Toadsworth for rushing out on him earlier. He may be clueless, but he does work hard," Peach contemplated.

*BOOM*

A knee-shattering quake shook the castle from the ground up. Picture frames, glass, and other precious things could be heard shuttering dangerously. Though the first quake had been the biggest, smaller quakes shook the floors of the castle.

Taking a moment to get her balance back, Princess Peach opened her bedroom door and sprinted full speed down the hallways to see what was wrong. Finally making it to the second floor, she came to the main hall at the front of the castle. The front doors of the castle were flung wide open with two figures she could not mistake.

"Mario!" Peach called happily. Hearing his name, he looked back at his princess and gave her his signature smile with a thumbs up.

Kamella swung her wand and screamed, "Pay attention when you're about to die, sludge-eating lowlife!" Green fireballs burst from her wand flying straight for Mario. He was quick enough to dodge the attacks and even reflect some of them back at her. With another wave of the wand and blue sparks, two Magikoopas appeared and attacked Mario with a flurry of spells. One of the spells came too close for comfort and left Mario bleeding from a wound on his cheek, but he fought on without a moment's hesitation.

Peach gripped the railing as she watched from the second floor down into the main hall. "If he could just create an opening or a distraction he could nab her before she does more damage." She knew he could do it, but that last attack against Mario proved it wasn't going to be easy.

As if Mario read her mind, he dodged the flurry of attacks from all three Magikoopas and flung his hat in Kamella's face temporarily blinding her. Taking his chance, he jumped off the ground and pulled his fist back to prep for the final blow, but before his fist could swing forward, she vanished from his sight. Peach screamed Mario's name, but Kamella had already transported behind him, stabbing him in the back.

Shock flashed over Mario's face then his eyes rolled back as he fell and hit the floor.