Princess Peach's castle had lately been undergoing major reconstruction. The central wings of the castle were all roped off in preparation for structural repairs, and the throne room closed off for repainting. After an incident a few weeks ago involving a Fire Bro., a Bullet Bill, and two hundred gallons of Shroom Shakes, the security of the castle had also been under closer scrutiny, and new guards had to be appointed.
The princess herself was currently residing in the southeastern wing of the castle; her study remained there and was serving as a substitute for the throne room for the time being. Although much less ornate and formal than she was accustomed to, the princess admitted she enjoyed the more private feeling it gave.
The day's schedule was unusually empty; her only plan for the day as a lunch date at noon, and it was currently around eleven thirty. Shuffling papers around on her desk, Peach heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," She called, standing up and walking in front of her desk.
It was one of the newly-appointed Toad guards. He was equipped in a full suit of armor made of a plastic sponge material, looking like a mobile bounce house. He quickly closed the door behind him, and the princess heard a woman make a huffing noise. Peach gave him a curious look, and he began speaking quickly.
"Y-your highness," The guard stuttered nervously, "There's a girl here and she's been asking to have a word with you for the past hour and we finally brought her here and she's making me nervous so um presenting -"
The poor Toad was a cut off as the door flew open, and a girl threw herself at Peach.
She was slightly shorter than the princess; she could peek over the top of the girl's blonde hair, which hung loosely around her shoulders. Her grip was crushing, and she grinned up at Peach, her bright green eyes seeming to glimmer with excitement.
"Oh, it's so great to see you again!"
Peach gave a start; the voice coming from the girl was very familiar to her, however lower pitched it was.
"Tip...Timpani? Is that really you?"
The girl named Timpani broke the embrace and grinned even wider. "Yep!" She gave a little twirl around. "And better than ever, I'd say."
Peach had never seen Timpani in her human body before, and although she had no distinctive features, the girl seemed to glow with a bright inner happiness that she found contagious. She gave a small giggle and nodded.
"Finally back to your old self. Where have you been?"
"Oh, it's a long, long story! First..."
Timpani suddenly trailed off, and Peach looked outside behind her; there was still a guard waiting outside the door, keeping their eyes locked firmly on the two women.
"Timpani?"
"Yes, Peach?"
"What about...?"
Timpani's smile turned into a grimace. "Riight. About that."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Under suspicion?"
"Yes! You're clearly him, you've got the...the hair and the...thing..."
The prisoner gave an exasperated sigh.
"We've been at this for hours now. There's been a mix-up."
The Toad shook their head.
"No, sir, I am PRE-TTY sure that you are the guy we're looking for."
Footsteps echoed from the stairs down the hallway, and the guard looked over.
At the foot of the stairs stood Princess Peach and the other woman, Lady Timpani. The princess did a double take at the person inside the holding cell, but said nothing. Timpani walked right up to the guard.
"All right, you said I needed to confer with the princess; here she is."
"Your highness!" The guard said. "We've finally arrested the man we believe to be Count Bleck, and after all this time I don't think we should let him go to -"
"Good afternoon, your highness," The man in the cell called. He gave a slight bow of the head, a wry grin on his face. Timpani sighed.
"Blumiere.."
Peach looked at him, then back to the guard. "You can let him out."
The Toad sputtered. "W-what!? But princess, this guy is dangerous! We can't jus-"
"Besides," Peach added, "He isn't even Count Bleck."
The Toad fell silent, looking Blumiere over once more. His eyes widened, and he nodded slowly.
"Ohh. Oh. Oh yea! Yea I see it now! Nah, you guys look nothing alike!"
He stepped aside.
"Sorry about the identity mishap, sir! Our apologies!"
All three of them watched as Blumiere strolled over and pushed open the cell door. The guard's jaw dropped.
"Remember to check the locks," He said amusedly. Timpani gave him a glare. "What?...Okay, it was funny."
...
"I only noticed it a few minutes ago, okay!?"
Timpani shook her head scornfully, but her mouth still curled into a smile. "Come on, you."
"After you, princess," Blumiere said, gesturing with his arm and giving her a more formal bow. Peach smiled at him.
"Call me Peach," She said. "You don't have to be formal."
"Even after -"
"It's all in the past," said the princess. "You made the right decision in the end. Your motives were never wicked to begin with. All is forgiven."
He have a geniune and grateful smile. "Thank you, Peach."
The princess nodded and gestured for them to follow. Timpani squeezed her husbands arm, and they all walked out of the dungeon.
"Oh! Sir!"
Blumiere paused and turned around. The guard was waving at him.
"If you happen to find Count Bleck in your travels, I want you to be the first to hand him in, you hear?"