Chapter Thirty-Six

One Week Later

Peach extended her hand and lifted her phone from the nightstand. With a swipe of her hand, the screen lit up and a tired groan left her throat. It was 2 a.m. in the morning and she was awake... Why?

"...another week before she can walk on her own," a hushed voice spoke on the other side of her hospital room door.

"Another week? I would have been healed and discharged by now. What are you doing differ...?"

"Your Vainness, your family line is another story altogether. Also, she is human, my King. Humans may have an aptitude for trouble, but they do not deal with the consequences nearly as well as our race does. The fact that she is even alive is..."

"Shut your trap, Doc, or I'll give you another reason to be in the hospital," Bowser snarled.

The princess flipped her blankets off of herself and sat up with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. She frowned as she leaned forward and slowly allowed her feet to touch the ground. Her legs wobbled weakly as she attempted to stand and stagger towards the door. It felt as if her body had forgotten it had legs. Her muscles almost felt numb from underuse and her feet felt like blocks of heavy wood - large and clumsy.

She was halfway to the door when the floor gave a loud creaking noise. The voices in the hall became silent. Peach willed herself to walk faster, desperate to get to the door before Bowser left.

*click*

"Bowser?" Peach called, leaning on the door-frame carefully. The King's hurried pace faltered slightly, but he kept walking.

"Bowser!" she yelled loudly down the hall. This time, he came to a stop and looked back with an emotionless stare.

"Ahhh... Princess, it is good to see you up," Bowser stated civilly. "I will make sure to tell the doctor that you are well enough to walk."

Peach leaned harder against the door as her legs wobbled under her own weight.

Bowser's face remained impassive, but he seemed to study her closely. "Do you need something, Princess? I can call for..."

"Bowser, did I do something wrong?" she asked quietly. His eyes sparked to life a little, but he smothered it quickly.

"No. Of course not," Bowser said wryly. With a polite nod of his head, he turned around and walked until he had made it around the corner. Peach sunk to the floor as a familiar hole grew wider in her chest. While she sat on the floor, a white-robed Koopa passed by her as he studied the clipboard in his claws. Upon seeing something move in his periferal, he came to a stop and glanced at the woman on the floor. A look of pure shock crossed his face and he rushed to her side.

"Princess!? What are you doing on the floor? Are you all right? Nurse! NURSE! Help me take the princess back to bed!" the doctor shouted. Peach waved him off and used the doorframe to pull herself to her feet.

"I'm fine. I am sorry for worrying you. Can you call Willard, the red-shelled Koopa from the Transportation wing of the castle? Tell him that I want to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom as soon as possible," Peach stated decidedly.

"But your Highness, you are still healing and moving too much could throw your weeks of rest away!" the doctor exclaimed frantically.

"I will be fine," Peach said, making her way back to her bed to pick up her phone from the nightstand.

"Princess, at least let Magikoopa Kamek or Kammy transport you. That would make travel instantaneous. You will get there quicker and the risk of you injuring yourself is much less daunting," the doctor pushed.

"No, but thank you for your concern. I would like to speak to Willard and make my arrangements immediately," Peach stated. Kammy and Kamek would only stop her from leaving. She couldn't allow that.

The doctor sighed but finally agreed and left her sitting on her bed. He came back quickly with a wheelchair to take her to the Transportation hangar. Peach declined his kindness yet again and stubbornly began to walk there on her own. Her legs were beginning to feel more stable with practice, but her side was starting to hurt and small dizzy spells played with the edges of her vision.

The princess shook her head and stood as tall as she could. She would walk through Bowser's Castle with at least some of her dignity intact.

As the doctor and a couple of other nurses walked behind her, the doctor pulled a phone from his shell and lifted it to his head.

"Your Wickedness, the princess is making her way to the transportation hangar. She won't listen to..."

"Damn it." Bowser hung up on him, thought for a moment, and then began dialing another number on his phone. "She never leaves room for any peace of mind," he growled under his breath.

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"Please, Princess. Rethink this for your own well-being. The weather out there is awful," the doctor pleaded.

"Don't worry, doctor. I am sure I will be well taken care of, right Willard?" Peach said with a smile as the old man put his flight cap on.

"You know it, Pinky! I'll have you there in no time at all," the old Koopa agreed with pride as he slowly walked onto the wooden aircraft.

The airship was a miniature version of Bowser's flying pirate ship. On the back end of the ship, a plug door opened and a metal ramp extended towards the ground leading straight into the belly of the ship. Peach walked up the ramp behind Willard, only looking back momentarily to wave to the worried doctor and scan the room for Bowser one last time. There was no sign of him.

"It is for the best that he isn't here anyhow," she told herself as she spun around and pressed a button for the ramp to retract and close the door of the ship. She walked farther in with her hand on the wall to find the light switch for the seating area.

*Click*

A string of lights around the cabin lit up the dark room and revealed a spiky figure sitting on one of the chairs. Peach gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. Bowser himself sat on a luxurious red couch with a glass of wine in his claw and his feet propped up on a glass table. The cabin almost felt like a living room rather than a form of transportation. There was even a fancy chandelier, fireplace, and a bar stocked with the most expensive drinks the Darklands had to offer.

"You know, I would have thought you had learned how to escape without getting caught by now, Princess," Bowser said darkly. Peach straightened up and crossed her arms with frustration on her face.

"I wasn't escaping. I knew very well that the doctor called you and let you know where I was. Besides, the last time I was in your castle you stated that I could leave whenever I liked," Peach remarked, turning her head away from him defiantly.

"Ah… I vaguely remember that." Bowser got up from his chair as he drained the wine from his glass and set it down on the glass table. He walked in her direction with a menacing stare in his eyes.

"Bowser, you can't stop me from leaving. I will get back home whether someone comes to save me or not," Peach stated confidently as she stepped away from him.

"Oh, I'm not here to stop you," he muttered. She held her breath and closed her eyes as he stuck out his claw.

*Click*

Peach opened her eyes in surprise. Bowser chuckled as he turned around and sat back down in his chair, staring at her with cold red eyes.

"What did you do?" Peach asked suspiciously, looking back at a circular green light that was now flashing.

"I sent a signal to the pilot to let him know we are ready for takeoff. I would suggest you sit down, but that is up to you, Princess," Bowser said casually, motioned towards the rest of the seats with a mock-polite grin.

Peach watched him warily as she chose a seat on the opposite side of the cabin beside one of the port-hole windows. Just as she sat down, the ship shuttered and began to move. She watched as they flew out of the castle hangar in the direction of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Why are you here if you aren't going to stop me?" Peach asked as she watched Bowser's Castle shrink away.

"I came to make sure everyone sees me give you back. Diplomacy," Bowser said dryly. Peach only continued to look out the window, trying not to take his words to heart. After a few minutes, she glanced back at him trying to find a hint of kindness on his face. Instead, he noticed her shift and looked at her with indifference in his eyes. She looked back out the window and began playing with her hair.

Two very quiet hours went by until they finally felt the ship set down with a jerk. Peach hissed under her breath as pain shot through her side, constricting her breath. Her medicine was wearing off and the pain was getting worse. Noticing her cringe, Bowser got up from his chair and made his way closer to her.

"Here we are. Ready to make me look good, Princess Toadstool?" Bowser grinned, puffing up his chest with pride. Peach only kept her face pointed out the window and continued to play with the hair around her face. Bowser stood behind her trying to get her attention, but she didn't respond.

"Princess?" Bowser asked again, leaning forward to get a closer look at her. The closer he got, the more he noticed a large dark splotch on the Princess's lap.

"Shit. Is she bleeding?" He took another step forward, put his claw on her shoulder, and pulled her around to face him. The splotch was gone.

"I think I can walk on my own, thank you," Peach said, keeping her face turned from him as she pushed his claw off her shoulder and stood from her chair. Her posture changed and she walked with practiced grace as she made her way to the back of the ship, ignoring Bowser's outstretched hand. She pushed the ramp button and, as it extended towards the ground, Bowser came to stand next to her.

The Mushroom Castle had received a call from Bowser two hours ago stating that he was bringing Princess Peach back. Naturally, word got out and droves of people came to see if the rumors were true. For them, it was impossible to believe that a fiend like Bowser would ever give up their lovely Princess. But all of them gasped in amazement as the door of the airship opened to reveal both Peach and Bowser standing next to each other. After a moment of silent shock, the audience began to cheer loudly.

Their Princess was home.

"Kind sir, I am sorry to have imposed on you for so long, but you bore it graciously. You have my sincerest gratitude," Peach stated and curtsied to Bowser with a tight but respectful smile. With that, she walked down the ramp and the castle servants parted the crowd as she made her way to the castle.

"Princess Toadstool!" Bowser shouted over the crowd. Peach came to a halt but did not look back. "...Be sure to give Mario and his fiancé my regards." Peach didn't answer, but she nodded slightly and entered the castle doors.

The Koopa King continued to stand as still as a statue, watching Peach until she disappeared behind the castle walls. For some reason, he had a strong feeling that he was missing something.

Something very important.

"You're an ass," Willard grumbled, startling Bowser from his thoughts.

He glanced down at the old red-shelled Koopa, "What did you say?"

Willard shook his head as he pushed the button to close the entrance to the ship. "I SAID YOU'RE AN ASSSSSSS," he shouted, exaggerating every word to make sure Bowser heard him clearly. "Damn, and they think I'm deaf…"

"I just sent the woman of my dreams back to her kingdom so she could star on the 'World's Most Eligible Bachelorette'! How am I an ass?!" Bowser shouted angrily, stomping forward intimidatingly.

"You made Pinky cry, ASSSSS," Willard stated, undaunted by Bowser towering over him.

"I didn't… S-she wasn't crying!" Bowser stammered with frustration.

"Right. And I suppose that puddle on her dress was just Yoshi piss. You're an ass AND a thickheaded moron," Willard griped as he walked back to the cockpit of the airship.

"Who do you think you are talking to?!" Bowser yelled. "I could have you hung for…"

"Yea, yea, yea… You think I was born yesterday? You'll just stand there and spit shit just like you did with that handsome young gall you ran off my ship," Willard grumbled crossly as he made his way to the control room. Bowser looked out of the window at the castle and hissed angrily.

"Just get this pile of garbage in the air and take me home!" the king roared and blew a stream of fire, charring the wall next to where the old Koopa stood.

Willard shook his head and stated, "Aye aye, sir. We will be off to your lonely little shit hole in no time." He closed the door behind him and sighed. "Sorry, Pinky."

Bowser wobbled a little as the ship began to take off from the ground. He brought his face back to the window and watched as the Mushroom Castle began to disappear in the distance.

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The servants, who had all been outside of the Mushroom Castle watching Bowser's ship skeptically, began looking for the princess. No one had seen where she had gone so, once again, the whole castle was in a panic. As all of the servants ran around the castle frantically looking for her, Peach hid in the mailroom.

Hundreds of letters were stuck all over the walls, but she knew this was the least busy room in the castle. The Parakoopas almost never used this facility more than once a day and there were mail shoots all over the castle so no one had to walk down to insert their mail into the mailbag. The princess could probably hide there for hours without being found. There was no noise, nothing to distract her, and no one to pester her as she sat in a corner on a pile of packing paper. She knew the whole castle was in a buzz, but the cement walls of the mailroom blocked it all out. The only noise that could be heard was the soft *drip* of her tears.

"I'm sorry, Bowser. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…" she whispered sadly as she cried. If her ribs were in bad shape before, they were worse now. Her lungs were in so much pain that her breaths were becoming shallower and her vision was beginning to go grey.

"Princess?" a small voice called. Peach flinched and wiped her eyes in an attempt to see clearer.

"Toadette?" Peach asked in surprise. "How did you find me?"

"Everyone is searching for you like mad! I wanted to help, but they told me I was in the way, so I decided to come down here and wait for things to cool down…" Toadette explained nervously.

"Oh…" Peach opened her mouth to answer, but her head was beginning to feel heavy.

"Princess, you look rather pale. Are you okay? " Toadette said, looking at the princess closer. The little Toad gasped as the princess's eyes became unfocused and caught Peach as she lost consciousness. "No, no, no… Princess, don't fall asleep! I need to get help…" Toadette gently set Peach against the wall and dashed up the stairs as fast as she could towards the main hall.

"Help! The princess is in the mailroom and she is injured! Please get a doctor immediately!" Toadette yelled, trying to get as much attention as possible. In hindsight, however, this might have been a mistake. Everyone in the castle ran for the mailroom as quickly as they could, bringing all of their chaos and confusion with them. Because of this, it was almost an hour before the princess finally made it to the hospital.

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Toadette watched as the doctors squabbled and argued over the princess's injuries but she was administered pain medicine regardless of cause or affliction. Luckily for them, that turned out to be exactly what she needed. Within the next hour or so the doctors all came to the conclusion that her ribs were fractured, her magic had been drained, and she had been put under far too much stress.

This didn't put the rest of the castle at ease, however. Only a week ago they had found the Mushroom King dead in his bedroom and now the only heir to the throne was battered, bruised, and broken. The princess had never been in such bad shape and all of them blamed it on one person - King Bowser Koopa.

The only person who wasn't sure about this hasty conclusion was Toadette. After all, she had heard Peach talking to herself about Bowser in the mailroom. The princess had been apologetic, not accusing. Besides, Princess Toadstool had only been harmed in Bowser's Castle once and she made it clear that it had been her own fault, not Bowser's.

It just didn't make sense.

The little pink-capped toad paced the halls outside the infirmary as she thought to herself. All of the other servants had been shoed off by the doctors and nurses, but Toadette made sure to keep out of sight. Princess Peach had been her greatest role model and Toadette refused to leave after seeing her in that condition.

Another hour went by and the door to the infirmary finally opened. The doctors and nurses shuffled out with tired expressions on their faces. Toadette poked her head around the corner and watched silently as the last doctor made his way out the door. The white-coated Toad doctor scanned the area around the door and then used a key to lock the infirmary door. Toadette winced but continued to watch as the doctor slowly made his way down the hall and out of sight.

"Well, I guess I'll have to wait like everyone else…" Toadette muttered, looking at the floor sadly as she began to pace the halls again.