"Ah, you are correct," said the ancient Magikoopa. "Your Majesty, you could have shared it with me. She is quite knowledgeable."
"But what is the significance?" the King asked. "Now, Kamek, my friend, would you care to explain to young Princess Rose Maria Toadstool here what we shall do?"
"It would be my pleasure," Kamek stated with an eerie smile. "Why, Princess, I have been informed that you are aware of our plans for you to be wed to the Prince?"
"Yes," Rose said, trying to remain calm. She was still not fully believing that she had met the Kamek her parents had told her about. "I have been informed, but I have not given any decision, neither agreement. Are you here to help persuade me?"
"I believe one could say that," Kamek chuckled, his voice sinister. "But let us just say, Princess, there has been a slight change of plans."
Nearly breathless from impending fear, Rose looked on with shock. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Surely you're not setting me free, so what other change of plans could there be?"
Kamek nodded, almost in approval. "You're intellectual, I see. Quite like your mother ... In fact, you have not been told the, say, exact point of our plans. Your Majesty, shall I inform the Princess?"
"Yes," Bowser said, his mouth curling into some kind of evil smile. "Make her as aware as you possibly can. Let her know the truth."
"Well, the truth is, Princess," Kamek said, nearly eagerly, "You are not here to be wed to Bowser Junior. That was never our original intention, you see."
Rose's first emotion was a wave of glee—she wasn't being wed to her kidnapper's son! Then her eyes narrowed and she spoke slowly. "What is your original plan, then? What was the reason not to reveal it in the first place?"
"Oh, that was His Majesty's decision, you see," Kamek explained. "You were not to be told right away, because the King and Prince were kind enough to allow you to adjust somewhat at first, so we told you something you could settle your mind with before you found out our true intentions."
"I'm listening," Rose said intently. The first step had been successful—her curiosity had been caught. The disgracefulness of the whole idea didn't surprise her, however; she had been told all kinds of things about the Dark Lands royal family.
"Princess, you are a beautiful, intellectual, powerful being," the Magikoopa stated. "And for that reason, you are a powerful ally to your own homeland Kingdom. But that will be changed. You would never agree to join us, is that not right?"
"You are correct," Rose said flatly. "I would never agree to serve the Dark Lands."
"That is what we thought," Kamek continued, unsurprised. "You would never agree to serve us voluntarily. Which is why you'll be serving us under our control."
"What do you mean?" Rose said. She wanted to run, to cry, to scream. But she was stunned and unable to move. She was almost beginning to struggle for air.
"Kamek here will put you under a powerful hypnosis, or mind-trick, if you will. You will go about a completely normal life, but your mind will be altered to obey our rules, not your parents'. Don't worry; only some memories will be altered, but most will remain the same. Your name will not change; and your appearance, health, and strength will remain practically the same." Bowser seemed quite caught up in the action of it all.
"You're turning me against my own family?" Rose said, tears nearly brimming in her eyes. She knew she couldn't resist, and had almost resigned to her fate—surprisingly quickly, they noted. "I know I cannot resist it, so before you do anything, I will just tell you: this is a new low for you, Bowser. At least now I know that everything my parents told about you was true."
"Oh yeah? And what did they tell you about him?" Junior, who had been silent this entire time, had suddenly perked up with some kind of amusement.
"None of your business," Rose retorted, "but I'm pretty sure you can guess."
"Anyway," Bowser interjected quickly. "Shall we get down to business? Kamek?"
Before Rose could even gather her thoughts, a blue light shot out from Kamek's specter at an almost inhumane speed. When it hit the Princess, she collapsed on the ground in unconsciousness. The specter was still shining on her, however, covering her in some kind of sparkling blue glow.
Still carefully holding the specter, the Magikoopa approached Rose cautiously and slowly, as if he was trying not to wake her up—or kill her, who knows. Then, when he was standing right above her, the blue light shining in its most intense power, he spoke.
"What is your name?" he asked the sleeping form.
The Princess continued to appear unconscious, and her eyes remained shut, her body limp and paralyzed. However, her mouth moved and she responded in a monotone way, clearly in a trance.
"My name is Princess Rose Maria of the Dark Lands," she muttered.
"Now, listen to me," Kamek instructed, in that same careful manner. Rose gave no response.
"Your name is Princess Rose Maria of the Dark Lands," Kamek continued slowly. "You, one of the two Dark Princesses, are here voluntarily. All your life, your father, aunt, and uncle have made you miserable. You needed a way out, and chose wisely."
Junior noticed how Kamek hadn't said anything about Rose's mother. Clearly, Bowser still somehow had a soft spot for Peach and didn't want to set Rose's thoughts to hate her.
"You chose to escape and join the Dark Lands," Kamek went on. "And one day, when you were out for a walk, you noticed how the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom ignored and ridiculed you behind your back. In public, everyone would treat you well, but in private, your family would make you feel horrible and abuse you to no end, and the Kingd0m's residents laughed at you and talked endlessly about how you would never make a fitting Princess, let alone Queen. Full of determination, you escaped through the sewers to the Dark Lands, and were given a welcoming reception. You have beautiful Royal Quarters and everyone treats you here with true respect. Everything you have been told about the Dark Lands is a lie. And when your family arrives to take you away from the one place where you found joy, you will destroy them, and you will destroy your father first, who had put you in all of your troubles. And when you awaken, your only quest will be to serve the Dark Lands faithfully and annihilate those who have made you miserable in the past. This is your fate, Princess Rose Maria."
With that, Kamek retracted the beam of light from his specter and stood back. Then, he turned to Bowser.
"Hopefully our plan worked," he said, somewhat anxiously. "When she awakens, we shall see. If she is not entranced, we will repeat the process."
Bowser nodded, and focused his gaze intently on the sprawled-out figure on the floor. Junior looked on, excited for his father's plans, proud of his training … but something didn't feel right. The Rose Maria Toadstool, who was so … respectfully faithful to her parents and her Kingdom, was gone. And the one who emerged would never be her true self, unless Bowser authorized the retraction of the spell, which would never happen. And it was so—no! He threw himself back to reality. The plan had worked! Never again would he see the defiant young lady who was so unlike her mother in character, it seemed—he would have a faithful friend instead! Any other thought was ridiculous at such an advancement.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, but what was probably only a few minutes, Rose's body stirred. The air was still in anticipation. Slowly, oh so slowly, her form lifted from the ground and she stood up, yet her eyes remained closed, and her face expressionless. Finally, when she was standing upright, her eyes opened.
All seemed taken aback. The dancing pools of blue were gone. In their place stood eyes in every way the same as before, except for their color. They were now red. The color of evilness, the color of rage, the color of blood, the color of the seething lava of the Dark Lands … and yet they didn't seem dazed or hypnotized, and her still-beautiful face behaved just like a normal person's would.
At last, she spoke. Her voice was steady and focused, but in no way monotone. She didn't seem hypnotized, but … "Oh, good morning, Your Majesty, Your Highness, our friend Kamek," this new character uttered pleasantly. "Did I doze off? I do beg your pardon. Ever since I've escaped my horrible life, I've felt unreal. I shall surely feel better soon. What did you call me in here for, again?"
Bowser smiled evilly, exchanging thankful looks with Kamek. Junior felt himself shivering for no reason. But why? It wasn't cold in the Throne Room.
"Not much, Princess," he said, satisfied yet in some way thrilled. "We simply wanted to warn you about your father's possible arrival in order to take you away from us."
Rose's eyes rippled with age. "Oh, worry not!" she cried. "I'll make sure that never happens! Anyone who comes to take away my joy shall suffer a horrible death! Anyone who has caused me suffering will suffer! And I will forever remain here, for here is my life now!"
Once again, Bowser smiled, thrilled with his plan's success. Finally, all his work was paying off!
"It is wonderful to hear that, Your Highness," he said. "You may return to your Royal Chambers now. Guards!"
"Yes?" A guard rushed into the room obediently.
"Take the lock off of Her Highness's Royal Chambers, shall you? After all, there's no need for it … anymore."
The guard looked surprised, and slightly horrified when he saw Rose's eyes, but knew better than to question anything. He nodded to Rose, and she smiled slightly. He escorted her out of the Throne Room promptly, and the doors were shut loudly.
"You will be rewarded very handsomely, my friend," Bowser said delightfully, turning to Kamek. "Turns out the greatest weapon to use is, in fact, free will—oh, who could have thought?! Now leave us, Junior. We will discuss further rewards and arrangements."
The last thing Junior saw before obediently leaving the Throne Room through a back door was Kamek's pleased smile. Something still felt off, but he shook that feeling off for now. As he headed towards his rooms he wondered how Peach would have felt about this, but quickly returned his mind to a state of excitement for his new Dark Land accomplice.
And as Rose was escorted to her rooms, one feeble thought escaped through the powerful mind blocks ironed into her brain by Kamek's hypnosis spell.
I'm sorry …