Chapter 5: Wait, Do I Get A Say In This?

The next morning, a group of koopas, shy guys and goombas came trooping into my room, lugging tools, wallpaper, rugs, and more. Impressed, I sat down with them and helped sketch out the plans for the new design. Much like my dresses, I had never slept in a room I really liked or wanted before. No more glossy whites and pastels for me, thanks.

The group seemed confident that they could pull the design off with ease, so I left them to it and headed out to find my breakfast. Only out in the hall I paused; my guard was nowhere in sight.

A moment later another koopa guard came around the corner. He strolled by me, heading down the hall and around the next corner. Sensing what was going on, I waited a moment, and then my guard came around the first corner.

"I decided to go back to my normal patrol," he explained as he walked by me. "It seemed silly to keep you under guard when you're obviously not a troublemaker."

While I appreciated that, I had to wonder something. "What does King Bowser think of this change?"

I didn't want my guard to get in trouble with his royal irritableness by doing something without permission. "Actually, he never gave clear instructions about you," he said, pausing a moment. "All he said was to keep an eye on you. He never said you had to stay locked up, specifically. So," he said, continuing on with a wink, "keep out of mischief. I'll be watching."

I gave a laugh, and he waved and was soon out of sight. I continued on to the kitchen, where I ate and had a friendly chat with several of the other cooks and chefs, while the head cook bellowed at some trainees. Afterward I headed to the dining hall, hoping to catch Junior coming out. I wanted him to show me around some more.

Only when I got there, breakfast was still in full swing. And from the look of things, Browser's presence did little to curb his children's behavior. They weren't throwing things quite as much, but they were as rowdy as ever. Bowser sat in the massive chair and ate just as noisily and messily as they did; Junior sat beside him, crunching audibly. A koopa kid with spiky blue hair sat on their father's other side.

"Pass the salt, Wendy," someone said.

"I'm busy," Wendy snapped. "Get it yourself!"

The blue-haired one scrunched up his face and made a gagging sound. "Dad, tell Wendy to stop painting her nails at the table," he groused. "It smells disgusting!"

"Hold your nose," said the king unsympathetically.

Wendy thrust her own nose into the air, triumphant. I watched, intrigued, from behind a pillar, thinking that as the only girl among seven boys, Wendy must enjoy a little extra doting, too. I believe the correct term was 'daddy's little girl'.

Again, a phenomenon I had only heard of.

It didn't look like the meal would be over any time soon, so I left quietly. I remembered how to get to the library; maybe I would do some research into the kingdom's history for a while. Only as I was about to take a step in that direction, I heard footsteps behind me. They weren't the heavy, wall-rattling stomps of the king, but they definitely weren't the light, swift with eagerness steps of Junior, either.

I turned and found myself facing one of the koopa kids, the one with the brightly-colored shell and dark sunglasses. "Hello," I said, as politely as I could. "A pleasure to meet you, prince...?"

"Roy," he supplied. Like Junior, he looked surprise that someone was addressing him so formally. "You must be Rosie. Junior's been raving about that cake you made yesterday."

Wendy suddenly appeared beside him. "I want a cake, too," she said excitedly.

"Me too," said the blue-haired one, running up to join them. "Bake me a cake! Bake five of them!"

Before long, the entire brood was milling about, shouting cake orders together. Not really how I planned to spend my morning, but...

In the kitchen, a handful of koopas and shy guys helped me gather ingredients, while the royal siblings goofed around, pushing and shoving each other and upsetting things. I dodged around them, laughing at their jokes. They were a rowdy bunch, but I found them entertaining, to say the least. Nobody I knew behaved so openly and freely, without care.

The head cook didn't much appreciate it. She grew fed up with their disruptions and chased them all out with her rolling pin. I continued to bake, chatting with my little crew of helpers. The order to fill was huge, but we eventually finished, and the cakes were cooled and iced before being carried back to the dining hall, where the koopa kids were waiting.

Fortunately for me, I had taken a few samples beforehand; otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a crumb. I left discreetly while frosting started spewing everywhere and headed over to the library. For the next few hours, I flipped through history books and castle records. Through said tomes I was better acquainted with the king's children, known to most as the koopalings, as well as their accomplishments over the years.

Only a few of their bold ventures ended in success; most everything they and their father did was foiled by the hero, Mario. There were pages and pages of exploits King Bowser had undertaken that ended in failure. No wonder he was so cranky; his life seemed to be one disappointment after another.

Although I couldn't feel too sorry for him; most of his ventures weren't very nice. Funny how his quest for world domination had never quite reached my own kingdom. Although our little unified trio was awfully far from here. Nestled between a series of mountains, we saw little of outside visitors.

I wondered absently as I left the library how my family was fairing. They wouldn't worry about me, since I often didn't write when I traveled, and the wedding wasn't scheduled for another month. I doubted I would be here that long.

Suddenly someone tapped my arm; I turned and saw a shy guy holding a long spear. "King Bowser wishes to speak to you," he told me.

I was taken aback. After our encounter yesterday, I had assumed his royal edginess wouldn't want to see me at all. I couldn't imagine what he wanted...had I done something wrong? I'm not ordinarily the nervous type, but I felt butterflies inside as the shy guy guard led me to the throne room.

Said room was massive, with more red carpet runners on the stone floor. Torches flickered on the walls (between more rows of statues) and brilliant chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Only as I looked up, I paused, feeling a little stunned; the chandeliers hung from chains, which were fastened to the waists of a group of shy guys and koopas, who in turn were holding up the chandeliers.

The shy guy guard nudged me; I started walking again, and soon found myself at the base of the throne. King Bowser had seen my gaze, and he looked amused. "Let's see those hands snitch coins now," he said, with smug pride.

Ah. I would have to make sure I didn't take so much as soap without permission.

Whatever King Bowser wanted, he wasn't in a hurry to tell me. He lounged, the picture of relaxation, on his throne, one leg hooked over the arm. I waited, a little pensive, arms folded behind my back, for him to speak. The shy guy guard had already left, leaving me alone with the gruff ruler.

I noticed that there was only one throne, but...somebody had to have given birth to all those children. Perhaps his Highness was a widower. There was no mention of him ever having a wife in the records.

Currently the koopa king was busy examining his claws, which looked quite sharp, and glinted in the light. Something else glinted too, something I hadn't noticed before. The king wore black bands on his wrists and arms, and another around his throat. They glittered with silver studs.

Fingering the black lace choker at my own throat, I felt surprised to find something I had in common with the koopa king. They were out of place in my own kingdom, but I thought black bands, particularly chokers, were attractive.

I even found them attractive on an abrasive koopa king, I realized - with considerable surprise in myself. Flushing, I looked down at my feet.

"The koopalings were just telling me that you baked for them."

"Because they asked me to," I responded, absently wiggling my toes inside my black slippers. "I hope that's all right."

The koopa king made a snorting sound. "All right? Please, nobody around here has the patience to bake for those nuts. They drove the last royal baker we had so batty he hopped on the first yoshi that walked by and ran screaming into the hills."

I had a feeling he wasn't joking. "I don't mind, your Highness," I said, eyes still on my toes. In fact, I found it kind of refreshing to be around people who didn't bob their heads and say, 'yes, princess' after every word I said. Most of time I doubted they even heard what I said, they were so busy yes, princessing me.

Bowser didn't seem to be listening to me, either. He continued like I hadn't spoken; I glanced at him and saw he was still studying his claws. "Junior was talking about you, too. He said you put him to bed last night."

"Per his request," I said. "I-"

He suddenly snorted with laughter, cutting me off. I stopped talking and cringed a little; his laugh was awfully loud and deep. And wicked. "His last nursemaid ran out of here after he set her hair on fire," he said, sounding highly amused by the memory. "But you seem like you're made of tougher stuff than that, so I'll expect better from you."

I stared. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused. Now, I don't want you bugging us when I'm taking care of Junior myself, but I'm gone a lot, so I expect you to keep him happy, well-fed and entertained in my absence. Is that clear?"

More or less. "Wait - are you making me Junior's nursemaid?"

The king responded with an irritated snort, smoke and wisps of flame puffing out of his nostrils. "That's what I said," he barked. "Pay attention, you'll last longer."

I withheld the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes, your Highness."

"Good. Now get out of here and tend to your duties."

I curtsied - a sarcastic gesture he failed to notice - and left. As I started back to my room, I mulled over what had just happened. On one hand, I was annoyed, but on the other...

No one had ever asked me to do a thing back home. Despite my intelligence, all duties were already being taken care of by the time I came along, so there was nothing for me to do. Having an actual job, as unexpected as it was...it felt kind of nice.

It made me feel useful, at least. And Junior seemed the sweetest of the eight, and if our previous times together were any indication, I felt we would continue to get along all right.

It didn't seem like a problem to tend to little Junior between searching for escape routes. What harm could it do?