A/N: My apologies that these horizontal rules keep getting scrambled up, hopefully everything will be in order this time. This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I feel it's time to inject some plot! I hope you'll enjoy and please leave me a comment or two; I appreciate reading them very much.

Peach smiled happily as she and Daisy sat on the pink, fluffy rug on the floor of her bedroom. She hugged her favorite Buzzy Beetle plush and its round plastic eyes bulged slightly from the fabric, all the years of love it had received since Peach's babyhood had worn and discolored the plush considerably. A couple of Peach's closest attendants were hovering around the princesses with anticipation to hear the ideas for this year's charity soiree.

"Alright everybody, I've decided that this year's theme will be a Midsummer Masquerade! I've already talked to some florists who are willing to donate enough flowers to fill the castle, but we're going to need so much more than that. Any ideas?"

"I know a couple of freelance Magikoopas who can really make some amazing magical decorations," Daisy chimed in.

"That sounds great. I think I'll hire Tace T. again for the catering this year, she does fantastic work, and she's such a sweetheart," Peach beamed. "And I'm thinking about having the talented youth program from the University of Goom perform as our band for the evening. I know they'll do a wonderful job and it'll reduce our costs as well. I want as much money as possible to go to the cause."

"This is going to be so exciting; I think this will be the best soiree ever!" Daisy said in-between bites of Peach's famous pink cupcakes. "So, who's gonna accompany you?" she asked with her mouth half full.

Peach flushed. "Uh, well, I suppose I was thinking I could always bring Mario," she said. "But, I'd be a little embarrassed asking. I mean I'm planning to have a very romantic setting."

Daisy laughed. "Well, maybe you ought to give him a chance Peach. After all, he's always taking chances to save you."

"Hm, I guess you're right, as usual. I'll think about it," Peach smiled. "When did you get so wise?" she teased.

"I was born that way!" Daisy grinned. "Oh, but speaking of saving you, we should really make sure we have extra security around at the party. We don't want any party crashers, especially not you-know-who."

Meanwhile, Bowser flew above his kingdom in his Clown Car, desperate to get away. Bowser always felt he could be a much different Koopa when he was on his own. Alone, he had no pressure to be anybody's king or to impress anybody beside himself. When he was not posturing about in his usual manner, Bowser could be surprisingly deep and introspective; one might go so far to say he was sensitive, if one had no objections to death by wickedly hot flame breath. As green grass and treetops rolled by him, his mind was full of thoughts of his sweet Princess Peach. In particular, he recalled one night when he had kidnapped her; he found her reading his diary. He was quite upset with her at the time, but he also felt elated that she might be curious about him, even in the slightest.

"She must have been curious about my life and my feelings; I mean, I guess I can be a pretty mysterious guy," he spoke aloud to himself, trying to reassure himself and preserve his fragile ego by drowning out the negative voices in his head. She probably just wanted to help that plum scum Mario so she could get away from me as fast as she could. The Koopa King breathed a big sigh.

She is so awesome, so nice, and so smart, how can she not see how I feel about her? He glared at the setting sun, which was peeking out from behind some clouds, as if it were keeping the answer from him.

Maybe she knows and doesn't care. The thought was so poisonous to Bowser that he immediately dismissed it with a growl and willed himself instead to think of the Mushroom charity ball. He thought again about dancing with his sweet little princess, his claw delicately wrapped around her tiny waist. He would be so gentle with her, never daring to grasp her hand with more than just a finger or two. He thought about her beautiful, blue eyes looking directly into his, seeing only him as they whirled across the dance floor.

After the dance, they would go into the courtyard and she would sit next to him, by the fountain under the moonlight. They would look into each other's eyes and she would slowly lean forward to kiss him. The thought of that first magical kiss filled Bowser with such longing that he wanted to fly his Clown Car to Peach's Castle right then and proclaim his love for her.

But, of course, that would never happen for me. She has her precious Mario and, because of him, I'm never gonna be anything more than a monster to her. Bowser growled; it seemed to him that his dream of being with Peach was slipping further and further away by the moment.

"Why can't she see how awesome I am? Why does there have to be so much 'maybe' when it comes to her? Why are there so many 'whys'?" he roared aloud, "This is so stupid. Ever since I met her, a single thought can turn me into a weepy, blubbering idiot. I am a king. I am the king. I can have anything and everything I want, except her. I hate that; I hate that so much. And I hate Mario; I hate him and his stupid ugly mustache. I think I'm going crazy; I need help. I need her. I…" His voice trailed off has he drew a deep breath. "Damn it, I am a mighty Koopa of action and I will do something about this."