A/N: Hey all! I edited my previous A/N to account for the fact that this is taking a big longer than I thought, so! Expect to see Mario Kart-ness for sure, chapter after next. It may come earlier, depending on how dinner goes. My eternal, eternal thanks :) to reviewers dragon19kyoshi and Ikuni Hattori. You're both amazing, and I totally appreciate it! If I had some extra mushrooms (of the healthy variety!), I'd send them to you!

As usual, I own neither the characters nor the backdrop. I'm loosely basing the shape of the moat on Super Mario 64, if you're curious, but since the castle's plans vary depending on what game you play, it's not an exact match-up. Thanks, Nintendo!

It hurt.

The moment she hit the surface, Peach let out a gasp and unwittingly swallowed a mouthful of water as she sank beneath it. Pain radiated through her back, knocking the air out of her lungs, and she floundered - unable to see, and thoroughly weighed down by the layers of her gown which swelled up underwater to block her view. She'd only just emerged, thrashing and gasping and spluttering in the air when a tidal wave mere inches away instantly forced her under again - the second time Peach surfaced, she coughed and choked up what felt like liters poured down her throat. She didn't even have enough breath to scream when Bowser surged out of the water - the source of the wave that nearly drowned her - mane, scales, and snout dripping wet. All she could do was tread water and stare at the Koopa King, the stinging pain giving way to cold temperatures and common sense.

Toadsworth would have been so disappointed in her, she realized.

How could she have said those things? She knew it would make him angry, although she could hardly have expected this. She should never have mentioned Mario; nothing good could ever come out of encouraging their rivalry (even if unintentionally). Such a failure as this on her part - so soon after negotiating the safety of the castle-bound Mushrooms - made her wonder if she deserved her peoples' trust. She had never lost her temper so vocally before, and to do so with Bowser was very unwise.

He started towards her suddenly - and Peach gracelessly backpedaled underwater, creating a lot of panicky splashing in a small amount of distance. Still disoriented, Peach was at even more of a disadvantage as she tried to swim away from him, her head barely bobbing above the water. "Bowser, please," the fear stifled her words, "I didn't...I didn't mean- Bowser!" The Koopa King scooped an arm around her waist - and pulled her back against his chest - as he'd done on the race track.

Peach gave one frantic kick - and that was it, after she felt the warning growl reverberate through his chest - and clutched his forearm with both hands as Bowser somehow managed to hold her and stay afloat. "Don't lie to me," he said threateningly, and she was glad that she couldn't see his face, "You meant every word, Princess, but that's alright." Silence. "Are you okay?"

After a hesitant pause, she nodded.

"Good." The princess didn't know what to say to that, so she tilted her head back slightly so as to better keep it above water. That was when she realized it - her crown was gone. No amount of pins could've withstood her fall and Peach lifted her hands out of the water with a start, nearly hitting Bowser in the chin with her elbow as she smoothed her fingers through her hair with growing dread.

"Bowser, wait!" This time, she didn't fight to twist away from him - but towards him, so close that her nose nearly brushed his skin. She would've flushed were she not so worried about- "My crown! It must have fallen off- please! Let me get it!" It was a precious family treasure, representative of not only her power, but that of her entire kingdom. She couldn't wait until the moat was drained - she wanted it back. Right now.

"No."

"But I need it!"

"No." Why was he doing this? To punish her?

"I-"

"I'll get it. Stay here." Without so much as a glance her way, the aggravated Koopa King released her and - with a deep, shuddering intake of breath - he dove beneath the water. As soon as the tip of his tail disappeared, the surface grew still and tranquil once more. Peach could see the shadow of his powerful movements beneath the water - and she realized that she had a chance, now, to try to escape. To swim away from him. It would've been risky, but far less dangerous than allowing him so close. She considered it - but almost immediately dismissed the idea. Even if she made it to dry land without him, where would she go? Bowser would find his way out eventually - and he would be even angrier.

And truthfully, she did want her crown back.

While Peach weighed the benefits of doing as she was told, Bowser cut through the water with ease. He didn't particularly like swimming, especially not when he was stuck searching a stone floor for a speck of gold. So why didn't he make the princess do it herself? Oh, he was still ticked off at her - and it was half her fault anyway, that he got so angry - but the guilt was almost as bad. He never wanted to hurt Peach. He'd wanted her out of the way - the first time he kidnapped her - for her land and her resources, but he didn't intend to kill her. At first, she had been a means to an end - marriage to her would solidify his claim to Mushroom Kingdom - but she was also very beautiful, even at her most distressed (which was, coincidentally, the state he often found her in during his abductions). She would be more than a political maneuver, she would be his trophy, his prize.

But now he didn't just want her. He wanted her to want him, too.

Despite tumultuous relations with his kingdom, the princess never banned him from the competitions and races held in her lands. She never passed a single edict against any koopa, nor did she ever attempt to retaliate. He was fascinated by her because he could not understand her. And he was frustrated by her because she could not understand him.

Frustrated enough to frighten her off a ledge?
Bowser wasn't proud of that.

He figured retrieving the crown was a way to make amends without making amends - and it was easy to see where the delicate headpiece had sunk, not far from where she'd fallen. With it in his claws, he pushed off from the moat floor to surface, turning towards the spot where he'd left her. He half-expected her to have fled, but she wasn't. The anxiety in her eyes only grew more pronounced - and Bowser was seized by the urge to ease it, so he raised one arm above the water, revealing the crown in his grasp. When she smiled in relief, however timidly, he felt a knot in his throat - like he'd swallowed a Yoshi egg or something. Sure, she wasn't smiling at him, more at the safe return of her accessory, but Bowser would take what he could get, considering.

She didn't fling water at him and attempt to escape as he drew closer, so he took advantage of this rare opportunity. He lifted the crown in both hands, having reached the princess, and he placed it back on her head, claws brushing against wet hair briefly. If she flinched, he didn't notice.

"Thank you." Her voice was slightly hoarse, but Bowser thought it made her seem more human. In her case, he didn't mind. He would've told her that, but she'd already begun to shrink away from him, out of his grasp. It didn't matter. He knew how to get out of this. Past the smaller, wooden bridge on the left, the water grew shallow. Two minute swim, tops.

"Hold onto my shell," he 'suggested', with a nod in that direction, "I'll pull you." She looked like she might say no, and took a long time to respond - like she did on the race track - but it was different this time. He really wasn't planning anything. She seemed to figure that out too, because she acquiesced by tentatively and uncomfortably wading closer.

"Just...anywhere?" The spikes looked especially vicious - and sharp - from this proximity, and Peach wasn't sure she wanted to touch them (in fact, she knew she didn't).

Bowser glanced over his shoulder at her. "Be careful." It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself, and the Koopa King jerked his eyes away from her face, so she wouldn't see his embarrassment. "You ready yet?" His impatience served to cover up...whatever that was, and the princess whispered that she was. She clung to the spines as best she could without prickling herself, and Bowser - despite his tone - moved slowly and methodically, careful not to bump her up against the shell too hard. Although he couldn't feel the squeeze of her fingers, her hands, he was still pleased with himself and only vaguely regretted how short the swim was before his claws scraped ground and she let go. Solid ground again.

He shifted in his shell, emptying residual water out of it, while the bedraggled Peach tripped over her sopping dress repeatedly, feet slipping in pink heels, and pulled off her gloves. The wet way the satin clung to her fingers, it felt almost slimy - and she wrung them out, then pulled the pins out of her bun. She tilted her head, gathering all of her hair over one shoulder to squeeze the water out of it - and then she saw the picket fence.

"Oh my Stars!" The fire had spread along the entire fence, it was almost completely engulfed - and Peach wasn't the only one who saw it. Without a second thought, she grasped her waterlogged gown and ran towards the flames. "Help me!" she insisted in a cry to the trio of Koopatrol guards who'd heard the commotion (but wisely decided not to interfere), and she only realized once she'd reached the smoldering wood that she didn't have any water. Not at her fingertips. She started to gather up the dripping hem of her gown when-

"You heard her, you idiots! Now!"

"Yessir!"
"Yessir!"
"At once, Your Greatness!"

The koopas - who'd stiffened at the sound of His Majesty's voice - instantly jumped into action apologetically. They sprinted off towards the nearest water source, while Bowser growled to Peach, "Move." She turned to glare at him, fingers wrapped up in the silk of her gown - but was stunned to see that the Koopa King had pulled off his shell and hoisted it now on one shoulder. She had never seen this before - and so stepped aside slowly, barely missing the splash as he tipped several gallons of water over most of the fencing. The flames were almost extinguished by the time the Koopatrols returned with helmet-fulls of water. It looked awful, light brown wood turned charred, black, and splintered - and most of it had collapsed into ugly piles of ash under the weight of Bowser's overturned shell - with only a few slivers of picket left untouched.

The Koopa King was already shouting commands to have it replaced, but Peach couldn't look away from it. The fire hadn't been dangerous, not really, and it hadn't damaged anything...important, but for the silliest reason, it just made tears well up in her eyes, a hand over her mouth. Her gown was completely saturated, heavy and clinging to her body in all the wrong places, her shoes were squelching uncomfortably, her hair...just...disastrous, and...and this was Bowser's doing. He pushed her into the moat - he ruined her clothes again. And he could've done much worse.

"Peach." She hadn't noticed he'd pulled his shell back on, but he was impossible to ignore as he stood in front of her view. "I'm gonna get that fence fixed, alright? Good as new. Better." He still wouldn't apologize.

"That should be fine," she replied faintly, although she didn't mean anything of the sort.

And even Bowser picked up on that, and the silence which stretched between them until he added, "I didn't- uh- I mean- I never would've burned you." A full minute passed before Peach spoke again - and when she did, it had nothing to do with the fire.

"We also have Chain Chomps," she said, meeting his eyes with fragile poise, "Behind the castle." As if this were an unfinished conversation, an explanation of the tour cut drastically short. "But I don't like to encourage their aggressiveness." Chain Chomps were very difficult to train (if not impossible) - and fickle with their loyalty. It was necessary to approach them with extreme caution.

"Peach..." Bowser was confused, and it showed in his voice. I don't get it.

"I'm going to change for dinner." She changed the subject - again. "I will arrange it with the kitchen staff." Without you. Leaving her gloves behind (for the second time today), Peach returned to the castle with as much dignity as she could muster. She wanted nothing more than to lock herself in her bedroom and never come out.

And Bowser?
He watched her go with a roll of his eyes. Who the hell said anything about Chain Chomps?