CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was dinner time, and Peach knew she should be at the table with everyone else, but she couldn't pull her eyes off the envelope in her hand.
It was thick yellow parchment, and the writing was done in turquoise. The script was beautiful, and the return address said Royal Palace, Sarasaland. The seal was also a bright turquoise, and it depicted the famous landmarks of Sarasaland. Peach knew at once it was from Princ- Queen Daisy.
It had arrived earlier that day, but since Peach had been with Mario in the gardens for the larger portion of the day, she had not seen it until now. One of the servants must have placed it on her bed, so when she came back in to quickly fix her hair before dinner, her eyes caught the letter.
Peach sank down on her bed. She sat there, staring at the curling handwriting, knowing that nothing good ever came out of written letters from kings and queens. She sighed, sat up straighter, and opened the letter with slightly trembling hands.
The letter was written in the same slanting script as the envelope. This wasn't Daisy's writing, so she must have been dictating. No time for annoying things such as writing when you are Queen, apparently.
My dear Peach;
Hello, there, how are you? I know, that being yourself, you are most certainly very worried about me, and the state of my Kingdom. Worry not, for Father left me very good advisors and troops to help me with controlling Sarasaland's inhabitants. They are very worried, you see, and anxious to see whether or not I can rule them well.
Everything is fine in the kingdom. No trouble yet! Mother and I, and true, the entire country, are in mourning for dear, dear Father. The ladies all must wear heavy black dresses that reach to the floor, gloves, and veils –can you believe that?- all day for at least a year. The men have it much easier; they can still wear those silly pantaloons, as long as it is black. I might issue a decree that the women might as well dress appropriately for their climates.
I must admit, though, I feel truly depressed. Running an entire country is such hard work! I know that you and I used to play rulers when I visited, and that everything was fine, but now, I am exhausted all the time and I fear I might become ill. Mother has taken to bed, and the servants are all clustered around her all day. I pray daily for her recovery.
The real reason I have written you is about the facts surrounding my father's assassination. As you may very well know, my father was sick a few days before the murder. I believe the assassins put small amounts of poison into his food. The assassins stole into the Royal Palace at night, undercover. I am very suspicious of the guards; they might have looked the other way. I am ordering a thorough investigation of this when I finish this letter.
Anyway, they broke into the chambers of my father and mother. They did not steal anything, even though we have some very rare, priceless artifacts. Luckily, Mother and I were away, spending the week at the beach. Father wanted to stay, for some odd reason. We received the news a few days later, and then were rushed home under heavy guard.
Father's wounds were that of a sickle sword, and a deadly poisoned one at that. The assassins struck him once on the head, knocking him out, and then strove to open a few cuts. It was an awful sight, blood staining his robes and the floor. I think that he might have died a very slow, painful death.
But the most awful thing was the letter they had stuck inside his pocket, awfully comical, I must admit. I was the one who found the letter. I have not showed it to anyone, nor discussed it with anyone. The scribe who writes this has been sworn, under the Oath, and under punishment of certain death, to not reveal.
It read: Dear Princess, we were sad that you were not here with the King to enjoy our little visit. We hope that the next time we visit, you are here, ready to listen, as the King was not. For you see, we have some questions that would like answering, and we have been paid well to ask. Oh, and invite your dear friends from Mushroom Kingdom, our Brothers there are waiting. You do not know who we are, nor where we came from, or why we are here. And that is how it shall stay. Good night. Sleep tight.
Oh, Peach! Our lives might very well be in danger, and your family next! I am constantly jumpy, I trust no one, and my advisors are worried! I have no idea what to do, or say. But I do know this. The letter was on silk, written in blood red ink, in a flourishing manner. It must mean that this "Brotherhood", as it was signed, has some nobles from my court in it. And it has arms reaching into your kingdom as well! I have already written to your father, advising him to stay under heavy guard. I only hope he does as I plead.
Peach, with all my heart, I caution you to listen to me: Do not go anywhere without someone, keep those you love close and your enemies closer. It might be a matter of life and death. Please write, I need some good news, and would love to hear of the Brawl competition you are in. Give all my love to Luigi.
Love with all my heart,
Queen Daisy III of Sarasaland- Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem.
Peach let the letter slip out of her gloved hands. She sank to the floor, hands covering her face. She let out a violent sob, and knew she would not be joining the others for dinner.
She sat on the marble floor, shivering, when she heard the glass shatter. Peach froze, listening to the shards fall and tinkle lightly on the ground. The conversation in the Great Hall, once a dim roar, stopped, as if someone pressed a pause button.
She could hear her heart beating violently in her ears. Must be quiet, don't move, keep calm! Her hand inched towards her parasol, creeping slowly. Quiet voices filled the room, men murmuring to each other. Peach barely breathed.
"Fan out. Find the princess quickly." The voice was cold, sharp-edged and slicing. Peach shivered more violently than before. Daisy was right; she should not be anywhere alone. If only she could send a message to Mario, or someone…
"What do we do when we find her?"
The response made Peach's heart stop, and her blood turned to ice.
"Kill her." The voice said it so calmly, with an almost excited tone, Peach knew she would not make it out alive.
Peach.
Peach almost jumped out of her skin.
Peach, do not make any move. We are coming. Stay calm, do not attract attention.
Her breathing was rocketing, as was her pulse. Willing herself to be as silent as death, she peeked over the bed, still crouched.
The men were clad in all black, a red symbol staining the material on their chests. Knives glinted evilly in the light of the room. Their faces were covered in the same material. Most of the assassins, as she knew they were, were digging through Zelda's things, or lifting up Samus's suit, then thowing them untidily down on the ground. Except for one. Who was staring straight at her.
He had eyes the color of blood. He grinned, or the material over his face stretched, anyway. Even over the noise of the others, she could still hear his evil voice say, "Too easy."
Before she could scream, he had her in his arms. His skin was cold, marble like, and it matched his voice perfectly. He slammed Peach on the floor like a rag doll, her head snapping back. She groaned as he lifted a cruel looking blade, twirling it inches above her face.
He bent close to her ear, whispering gently, "And now, my lovely princess, you will die."
He laughed, and grabbed Peach's arm. Before she could stop him, he ripped off her sleeve and, to her horror, sliced the Brotherhood symbol in her forearm. She writhed and screamed, trying to get him off, but he laughed still louder. His goonies stood, arms crossed, watching silently.
Her arm felt like it was on fire. Time seemed to slow down, and she turned her head to look at the wound. It was horrible, blood dripping from the wound, and it wasn't clotting. The edges of it were turning an awful black, almost as if she were being branded. Peach knew that if the blood wouldn't clot, she was going to bled to death.
She watched calmly, as black creeped into her vision, as the man in black leaned backward, his knife slicing through the air towards her heart.
And then, suddenly he stopped. Two arrows struck him in the arm, but they didn't pierce his clothing, which was strange. One gleamed a bright white light, and Peach seemed to feel better just by looking at it, and the other was of strong wood, tipped with a sharp stone. Pit's and Link. The arrows, although they didn't hurt him, distracted him very well. She saw the light from the hallway burst into the scene, flooding the room with light. Everything was moving very slowly and she Chiarina flying towards her, arms outstretched.
With a bang, everything sped to normal pace. Chiarina tackled the man on top of Peach, and Peach felt herself start to hyperventilate. The goons and the Smashers rushed each other at the same time, and the room, once deadly silent, was filled with clangs, screeches and yells.
Peach saw Wolf claw two of the men out of the window, Link throwing his boomerang, making one more fall. Nana and Popo threw ice from their hammers, causing two to freeze and allowing Snake to forcefully punch, kick and slam them out of the window. Captain Falcon and Ganondorf were back to back using powerful thrusts and dark magic, respectively against them. Mario and his brothers stormed a few others, and Marth, Ike, Meta Knight, Kirby, and Sonic drove others to the window. Time slowed down again.
Zelda's face appeared over Peach's, taking her by surprise. "Peach! Stay with us! It's okay, oh my God, look at her wounds! Hey, Samus, behind you!"
Peach looked over Zelda's shoulder to watch Samus, her face bent in concentration, throw her Paralyzer over her shoulder, catching a man in the face.
Pit appeared next to Zelda. He recoiled slightly, "That wound is poisoned heavily with powerful dark magic!"
"Well, how do we fix it?"
"I don't know! The only person who knows how to do that is the Goddess of Dark Magic, Medusa." He made a face. "And we are not inviting her here!"
Zelda grabbed his toga. "PIT! She is going to die if we don't fix this!" Her face froze, her mouth open. She was thinking, and before Pit could ask, she released him and said, "Get Ganondorf over here!"
He nodded, and dodged through the fight. The goons were quickly dwindling, either being forced out of the window or knocked unconscious. Snake was yelling for at least one to be kept as a captive.
The last thing Peach saw before the black took over her vision was Ganondorf bending over her, muttering something in an old language, his hands hovering over her wound. Her body jerked up as the magic was expelled from her body. Peach fell to the floor, unconscious.
Chiarina was still grappling with the other man. The fight was tremendous, loud, and they both were cursing each other. The man was using his swords, and Chiarina was fighting back with something else. Suddenly, the man knocked Chiarina down, and kicked her out of the window.
"CHIARINA!" April ran towards the window, scanning the dark grounds. All that remained from the fight was some glass, and straggling men. They limped into the forest. But there was no sign of Chiarina.
"Where is she?" Red asked, crunching on the glass as he bent.
"I don't know." April bit her lip. "She'll be alright, though. She's survived worse than this."
"I sure hope so."
They turned around, looking at the aftermath. Wolf and Fox were helping Snake bind a man's hands together, searching him for weapons, and tearing the mask off his face. Everyone else was crowded around Peach's limp body. Mario was bending down next to Zelda and Ganondorf. Pit was hovering a few feet above the ground, eyes closed, arms extended in prayer. It was silent, except for Ganondorf's mutterings and Peach's fast breaths.
April cleared her throat. Everyone glanced up at her. "We need to get Peach to the Infirmary." When no one moved, she hissed quietly, "Now."
Zelda gently picked Peach up with magic. Blood was still flowing freely from the triangle the man had carved into her arm, and the skin around it was bruising, black around the edges still. Her eyelids fluttered.
"Should we send someone out to look for Chiarina? And to keep those men out?"
"I don't-"
"Who were those men anyway?"
"Why were they here?"
"How did they know she was here?"
The questions came rapid-fire from Red, Wolf, Link, Samus, and Captain Falcon.
April shrugged, looking at everyone miserably. "I don't know. I wish I had all the answers. I think we should secure the doors and windows, Chiarina can take care of herself. We should all go to bed." She sighed. "And I will contact the Hands about this."
"Queen Daisy, as well."
April looked at Luigi. "Why?"
He flourished the letter, now stained with blood. "She wrote to Peach about her father's assassination. It was by the same men who attacked her."
A/N- I realize that this chapter is extremly different from the tenth chapter in mood, and in style. But I believe I needed to retouch on Daisy's father, and so, here it is. I hope it doesn't scare anyone away... :S Review si vous plait!