I'm sorry for the long wait. It's just that family had been over several days after the Fourth of July and I didn't find much time to write. On the bright side, this is the longest chapter yet and you can expect another update (hopefully) as soon as tomorrow night or some time on Sunday. Anyway, enjoy!

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

Chapter 7-Staying at the Castle

The police were called immediately after. A thorough examination of the ballroom had taken place, to maybe 'find some evidence' as one of the policemen put it. In addition, the two dead bodies were taken away from the castle (their not exactly the kind of things you would want in your home…), and interrogations were held. The interrogations were pretty much useless, thus, no further evidence turned up…further evidence? No, it would be more like 'any evidence'. In Mario's opinion, the police were called much too late, which was mainly on Peach's behalf; if she hadn't been fighting with Mario, the police would have come and gone much earlier. Really though, who be so stupid as to call the police so long after the crime? Apparently they were...Once the police were gone, a conference was held.

"Do you think the murderer is still in the castle?" Peach asked using a soft voice, almost as though she didn't want the murderer to hear her if he really was still inside. She was now back at the state of being worried again, considering Mario did have a pretty good excuse.

"I dunno…" Mario started, looking out into the ballroom, "Maybe…" Mario shuddered as he spoke that last word; could the murderer still be prowling the grounds waiting for a shot at them? Would he come back later and kill Peach when she went to sleep? Uh oh…that wouldn't be good, "Ya know, I think I should stay overnight at the castle…"

Peach didn't speak. She seemed really frightened. Well, who could blame her? Considering that your life is on the chopping block isn't exactly one of those reassuring things…

"I could stay up all night in case the murderer comes back. Luigi, you could head back to the house…you don't have to stay here with me…you too, Daisy…"

Luigi shook his head, "No, I think I'll stay here, just in case you fall asleep…"

Mario was doubtful about that. There was no way Mario would fall asleep first, considering Luigi's sleeping habits have been screwed up ever since Daisy's pilot took the wrong course home. Because of that, he's been falling asleep exceptionally early…Mario wouldn't be surprised if Luigi fell asleep as soon as they took their post when Peach went to bed. Even if it had been Mario who was the one whose sleep had been disoriented, he still could have stayed up longer than Luigi. Gee, Mario once had to stay up for over one hundred hours on one of his adventures…Luigi would be lucky to stay up half of that. Overall, Luigi would most likely fall asleep first, no matter what the conditions.

"You don't have to do that, Mario…" Peach shook her head, "We have security systems and we lock all of the doors…" Peach didn't really think it was necessary for Mario to stay at the castle, even if she was that scared.

"No Peach…" apparently she hadn't taken into consideration a big factor: what if the murderer was already inside the castle when she went to sleep? Then, those locks and security systems would be pretty much useless. And even if the murderer wasn't in the castle and planned to be, Mario still never felt entirely safe. Again, and like his driving, this goes to show that Mario is a very careful person. However, Mario's curiosity can contradict his carefulness. Most times, Mario's curiosity means taking a big risk, and a lot of Mario's risks aren't safe…so maybe Mario isn't as careful as he thought…

Peach shook her head again. She was one risky girl, wasn't she? For someone who lives their life on being afraid, this was certainly a big step up. Mario could remember the time when he and Peach saw a horror movie and she made him stay at her castle to make sure some monster wasn't going to pop out of her closet…Mario really wanted to scare her during that night by actually coming out of her closet, but he didn't want to give her a heart attack. Now that would be a funny joke gone wrong…, "I don't want you to stay up all night…"

Mario sighed, "Alright, but at least let me sleep at your castle overnight to ensure that it's safe…" Mario didn't plan to take no for an answer this time. Even if she would refuse, he would insist. He didn't intend to let the princess be murdered…no, not at all.

"Okay…" Peach nodded and smiled, "Thanks…"

Mario let out a sigh. It wasn't the kind of sigh you would make when you failed your math test – which would be more like an 'oh no, my mother is gonna kill me' – but the kind to express that you're reassured. Basically, it was just a sigh of relief, "Luigi, do you still wish to stay?"

Luigi nodded; he wanted to protect the princess too. Well, only if there was action. Ah well, who is he kidding? He would be the kind of person to hide in the corner and hope that Mario won.

"What about you, Daisy?"

"I…" Daisy stopped and thought for a moment. Should she stay at this dreadful place and put her life at risk? Or should she go back to her hotel room and sleep in her comfortable bed with no worries or concerns? Not a tough choice…, "I think I'll go back to the hotel…"

Mario nodded, not entirely caring what she did, anyway. Ah well, he didn't even really want her to stay, anyway. She would be the kind of person to talk a midnight walk and leave the front door open for the murderer to get in…or, if she met up with the murderer, she would probably just scream obnoxiously like that of an 'over-actor' in a horror movie.

"Toadsworth?" Peach asked, looking at the exceptionally frightened Toad.

"Yes, princess?" Came the reply.

"Would you please show Mario and Luigi to their rooms?"

"Yes, of course…" And with that, Toadsworth found himself leading Mario and Luigi up the stairs. The two brothers exchanged nervous glances as they reached the top of the stairs, both of them reading 'could the murderer be up here'.

"Here you are, Luigi…" Toadsworth pointed to a room at the right, "Good night…"

Luigi made a nervous laugh, and then said his own words of departure. He sighed nervously as he shut the door. The first thing he did was to check the inside of the closets and beneath the bed for some guy wielding a gun. Luigi would have probably screamed if he actually did wind up seeing someone.

By now, Mario was also situated nervously in his room. Wow, this was odd for Mario to be nervous…generally things like this wouldn't have much of an impact on him, but this time, he didn't feel so safe. Maybe because he was not used to a murder in the Mushroom Kingdom? He wished this entire thing was just a dream, but he was quite certain that it wasn't…

It was almost midnight. Peach had fallen asleep as soon as she lay in her bed, almost as though she hadn't slept for days. Luigi fell asleep quite fast, as well, but actually had some time to enjoy the comfort of the bed before he dozed off. As for Mario, he was…still awake…he kept twisting and turning, but couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was in his room. He would even look around every couple of minutes to ensure he was alone. He felt like the main character in some horror movie; the person gets into bed, and then the closet door opens and someone with a knife robotically walks toward him…now that was a feeling Mario didn't like.

Afterwards, a good afterwards, Mario took his mind off of the thought that someone was inside his room. Mario felt much more relaxed, which wasn't really saying much, considering he was still nervous. And lastly, before all of Mario's worries were put aside and he drifted off to asleep, he could have swore he heard the sound of a window being smashed…