Daisy and Thompson were enjoying themselves as they were walking hand in hand down the path to the Hollow, until they got to the bonfire pit where Thompson and Fiona had met only nights before. As much as he wanted to tell Fiona about his new relationship with Daisy, he also wanted to spend some time alone with his princess. So he lead her off the path towards the pit.
Daisy smiled, "Where are we going Thom? Shouldn't we go see Fiona?"
"Later. I want to spend some time with you Princess." Daisy didn't argue any more with that and went with Thompson. The turtle and the princess sat down on the stone benches surrounding the fire pit and did something that was new to the both of them, talked about their lives. Thompson had heard a lot about Daisy as she was the Princess in the Mushroom kingdom, but that was mostly through gossip and that could easily be exaggerated, so he asked her about her life before the Hollow.
"What was it like before you ran away?"
Daisy did not know where to start; she loved growing up with her Father and sister in the Mushroom kingdom. She had so many grand adventures that deemed her childhood wonderful, most of which included Bowser.
"Who's Bowser?" Thompson asked.
Daisy realized she hadn't mentioned Bowser to Thompson before and was afraid of how he would react to know that she had known a Koopa, so she swallowed hard and said, "Bowser is the crowned prince of the Koopas. My father had an arrangement with the Koopa king in order to create peace between the two kingdoms that rested on Bowser and I being friends."
Daisy thought for sure that mentioning a Koopa would upset Thompson, but to her surprise Thompson wasn't upset at all, he was just sitting there with her hand in his listening to her and all he said was, "You were friends with a Koopa?"
Daisy nodded, "Yes, he was my best friend."
"Well, you certainly make some interesting friends Daisy. I just wouldn't mention Bowser to Fiona though." As Thompson knew all too well what Fiona was like at the mere mention of a Koopa.
"It's not Fiona I was worried about." She said relieved as she turned away from Thompson.
Thompson was curious, so he turned Daisy's face back towards him, "What? Did you think I would get jealous?"
Daisy shrugged and said she didn't know what to think, "I didn't know what to expect with you. You're very difficult to read Thompson."
Thompson shook his head while laughing, "Daisy, I'm not going to get jealous over something that you did in your passed. There's no point. There's only here and now."
Daisy smiled deeply as she realized that she was truly happy with Thompson because his attitude towards things was so different than what she was used to it was refreshing. When she lived in the Mushroom kingdom the events from the past were relevant to her everyday life, not only from the King but her relationship with Bowser itself. To Thompson it did not seem to matter that she was once friends with a koopa. His ability to let things go was one trait that she loved about Thompson, but with a trait like that he must have acquired it somehow. So she asked, "How are you always so able to let things go?"
Thompson's grip on her hand increased, "the way I was raised, I learned to not hold on to things. It was better to just forget."
Up until now Thompson had never mentioned his childhood with Fiona or how he came to be in the Hollow. Daisy wanted to know more but she could tell by the way he was gripping her hand that things from his childhood were hard, "What happened?"
Thompson had never wanted to talk about his childhood or his passed life, not that it was bad he really enjoyed his life with Fiona and her husband and was grateful that they were willing to take him in as a small turtle, but things happened before Fiona took him in that he would rather forget.
"What things Thom?" Daisy whispered softly.
Thompson looked into her big green eyes and saw they were filled with light and warmth for him and he knew it was safe to tell her. He sighed, "Daisy, I am sure Fiona told you how I arrived at the hollow."
Daisy nodded remembering the conversation she had had with Fiona regarding Thompson.
"Before I came to live with Fiona and her husband, I lived with my real family."
"What happened to them?"
"Daisy, it was around the time of the war between the Dark Lands and the Mushroom kingdom." Thompson had been a five year old small turtle around that time living with, as he said, his mother and Father and six brothers. They lived on the edge of the forest by the river and they had a good life. That was until the war started. Like every other species in the forest, the turtles worried but they figured there was no immediate danger to them. They were wrong! One night, a month into the war, a brigade of mushroom soldiers invaded that part of the forest and burned everything to the ground; including his family's home with his family in it.
Daisy was horrified that her people would do something that cruel, "How did you escape?" she gasped.
"I was coming back from fetching water for my mother when I saw the glow of the flame and the screams of my family. Then a few days later Mr. Fox found me wandering alone in the woods. I didn't speak for the first year I was with them." Thompson had held on to that memory for so long that he forgot about the emotions that came with it. The only thing that kept him calm was the soothing feeling of Daisy's hand in his. That soon left though, as Daisy felt so badly about how her people had treated his during the war, that she pulled her hand back from his and tried very hard not to burst into tears herself.
"Daisy?" Thompson said realizing how much his story was effecting Daisy.
"Is that why you hated me so much when I first came into the Hollow?"
Thompson had to admit that that did play a part in his dis like of Daisy when they first met, "But that's not the whole reason."
Daisy's head jerked towards him, "It wasn't?"
"No. And first off I didn't hate you. Remember, I thought you were a pain in the butt. Yes, I didn't want to get close to you because of your ties to the Mushroom Kingdom. But the real reason why I didn't like you was because I knew nothing would stop me from caring for you."
Daisy couldn't help but smile because she used to think that Thompson was rude and conceited but now he was showing that side of himself that was kind and caring, the side he only showed with Fiona, "Thank you for sharing all of that with me Thompson. I know it could not have been easy."
"It wasn't." he admitted but at the same time, he was glad he had told someone, he had even refused to tell Fiona and her husband about it.
"Well I am glad you were able to tell me. But we should go back to the Hollow before Fiona gets worried." Daisy said as she got up from the stone bench.
Thompson had wanted to spend more time with Daisy away from the Hollow and the Fox but he knew Daisy was even more stubborn than he was and knew there was no sense in arguing with her so he got up from the bench and followed her back to the Hollow.