A/N: This is one of those chapters I started writing and realized that it was already really long and needed a good break point (and it didn't have a good break point so I just truncated it as cleanly as possible). I just broke the 50-review mark, which makes me super excited and happy that everyone seems to like the story so much! In my opinion, it's just not a princess story without a few dressing montages, so excuse my occasional purple indulgence. Also, this chapter acts as a sort of a prologue to an upcoming major event and certain turning points in the story. From here on out, it's about to get exciting! =P Enjoy!
Dear Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom:
His Majesty King Bowser Koopa cordially invites you to participate in the Darklandian New Year's Games as an honorary judge.
Toadette looked up from the letter, a sheet of thick, textured parchment, which was almost half her size in length. "Princess? Do you think King Koopa personally wrote this invitation?"
Peach slowly turned to face her Mushroom retainer, tearing her eyes away from the glowing sunrise, which illuminated her easterly path to the Darklands. "Yes, I believe he did."
"Hmm, he sure has nice handwriting."
Peach resumed brushing her hair and turned to continue looking back at the beautiful sunrise through the windows of her French doors. "Yes, he certainly does," she said absently.
"I wonder if they have to order special paper that is big enough for him to write on. I mean, look at this, this is a little ridiculous." Toadette held the paper up to herself in demonstration.
Peach giggled, "It seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? But then, that's Bowser, he's a little excessive in everything he does." Peach took the oversized paper from Toadette and grazed the royal seal with her gloved hands. "In any case, they certainly have the resources to be so excessive. Last time I was in the Darklands—it wasn't at all what I expected, Toadette."
The diminutive pink toad cocked her head in curiosity and Peach continued, "Well, did you know that ninety-eight percent of all Darklandians are college-educated? In the Mushroom Kingdom, we consider ourselves fortunate that our literacy rate is that high. They have an extensive agrarian sector and they have green grass!"
Toadette smiled awkwardly, Her Majesty was obviously very impressed with Koopa's kingdom. The way she praised it made her both feel happy and a bit strange. "Princess…"
"Your Highness? Are you quite ready?" Toadsworth's shout echoing though the door was loud enough to interrupt Toadette's whisper.
Peach opened the door, revealing the stately pink gown and the traveling cloak she was wearing. "Yes, I suppose I am ready."
"But Your Highness, where is your luggage?"
"I am…well provided for at the Darklandian Castle."
Toadsworth gave her a brief look of shocked concern, but quickly straightened and decided to cease asking questions. The poor girl, I simply cannot imagine how it must feel to be forced to bring herself to that dreadful place. Her selflessness and courage on behalf of the Mushroom Kingdom is nothing short of astounding. He continued down the hall by Peach's side in reverent silence.
"Toadsworth, I have the emergency communicator in case the situation takes a turn for the worse," Peach started. "Because I am well aware of how our people view the Darklandian Empire, I feel it would be most wise to keep this diplomacy trip confidential…and that includes the Mario Brothers."
"Indeed Your Majesty, we will all be sworn to the strictest secrecy and the Mario Brothers will only be informed in case of an absolute emergency."
"Thank you Toadsworth."
Peach's maroon traveling cloak billowed in the breeze as they reached the carriage, which awaited her by the fountain outside the castle. Her retainers called to her as the carriage pulled away, "Good luck, Your Highness; please return to us safely."
The Mushroom Kingdom had planes, it had trains, and it had boats, yet still, the carriage was the traditional method of princess transport and the carriage was what Princess Peach often took. The coach, a well-preserved antique form her grandmother's era, was ridiculously ornate with its gold trim and large feathery plumes. Peach rolled her eyes every time she saw ostentatious contraption, thinking it a wonder that bandits did not overtake the plush carriage whenever she traveled.
Peach brushed apart the blue, tasseled curtains and pressed herself against the window of the coach. The sun filtered through the trees of the forest and she could hear dry leaves crunching under the wooden wheels.
Peach closed her eyes and sighed. The ball rolling in the pit of her stomach told her she was feeling nervous again, but she could not understand why. She clasped her gloved hands together tightly and wished that the Stars might lend her strength. Satisfied that there was no more she could do to ease her feelings, she leaned back in the plush chair and watched the scenery roll by turning from a cheery light green to a darker green as they came ever closer to the Darklands.
Mario looked at Pauline softly as she prepared to swing her club at the little red golf ball in front of her.
"Oh Mario, I'm so glad we could get together like this on my day off." She hit the ball; it was a good shot. "I've never been invited to play golf before, well, even if this is just mini golf, it's still great!"
Mario smiled at her; she looked funny among all of the windmills, fountains, and other strange sculptures, but beautiful nonetheless, like a picture from the strange dreams he often had.
"Mm hm hm, hole in two, Mario. Can you match that?"
Mario smirked and tapped his golf ball with precision, sending it straight into the hole.
"Wow, you're really good! Why don't we have a little wager? Whoever loses buys dinner for the both of us?"
"Okie dokie."
She winced as her next stroke landed her ball right into a water trap. Mario never was the type to turn down free food. Ever the gentleman, the plumber in red graciously offered to fish her ball out of the little lake. As he was doing so, she turned her face towards the bright sun, letting its rays warm her. It was a beautiful day to be al fresco.
The carriage pulled to a stop, looking extraordinarily out of place, its fine wooden curves overshadowed by the menacing, rigid structure of the stony Darklandian palace in the background. From the lowered drawbridge came an elderly Magikoopa in violet robes, flanked by a younger Magikoopa in white robes, a young Boo, and two heavily armored Koopatrols.
Toadsworth opened the door for Peach and spun to meet the elderly Magikoopa's stare. "Lady Kammy," he said, without a tone of mirth in his voice.
"Sir Toadsworth," she returned, equally nastily.
Oblivious to the icy elders, Peach smiled when she saw Kamea and Kitty had come to greet her. She looked around briefly, expecting to see Bowser or the Koopalings. As if she could read Peach's mind, Kammy replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty will, for obvious reasons, be unable to visit with you until the beginning of the ceremony. Please accept our apologies. Now, if you would be so kind, we must hurry into the castle, we have many preparations in order."
Humph, the nerve of that unpleasant old witch! I certainly hope she is kind to Her Majesty.
Toadsworth once again bowed deeply in reverent admiration of Peach for the incredible sacrifices she was willing to make on behalf of her kingdom. "Good luck, Your Majesty."
Peach smiled and waved, feeling a bit awkward and suddenly quite lonely. "Um, goodbye Toadsworth…"
Kammy folded her arms impatiently as the carriage drove away. She walked briskly towards the castle and, once inside, commanded the Koopatrols to close the drawbridge.
"We haven't got much time. Take Princess Peach to her room and begin her preparations," she instructed Kitty and Kamea. "I will be in to assist you shortly." With that, she disappeared into a puff of smoke and geometric shapes.
"Um," Peach started, "is everything okay with Lady Kammy? What did she mean by preparations?"
Kitty smiled, "Yeah, don't worry. She's just in one of her moods because Lord Bowser has put her in charge of so many preparations this year. Usually he'd take care of a lot of the stuff, but this year he can't since he is competing."
"What exactly is this competition?"
"Hm, it is easy to forget that Your Highness has never before witnessed a Darklandian New Year," Kamea replied. "I think it would be most fun for you to see for yourself when you arrive."
In a bright flash, Kammy Koopa appeared holding a bundle of fabric and various golden implements. The elderly Magikoopa dumped her cargo on the bed and shuffled over to the princess with a golden, moon-shaped comb and a bowl of hot water. Simultaneously, the two maids produced similar combs and began to brush and style Peach's hair by dipping the combs into the scalding water, then brushing them though stands of her hair in an attempt to tame it. Peach winced as the various combs pulled though her hair, forcing it to be perfectly straight.
"Our apologies, Princess," mumbled the young Magikoopa, whose face was twisted into a gaze of determination. "The hairstyling is the first step of Darklandian traditional dress; well, as traditional as it gets for Human royalty anyway." The three retainers worked tirelessly for twenty minutes, first pulling Peach's golden strands up into an ornate bun. Afterwards, they adorned the bun with various combs and pins, which had beautifully dangling metal bits that made delicate chiming noises with each movement of her head.
Afterward, the three women had unfolded the bundle of fabric Kammy had brought. It looked like a large, thin bed sheet in a very pale pink.
"Excuse me, what is that sheet for?"
Kitty giggled, "It's not a sheet, Princess; it's your dress! Um, I'm going to have to ask you to, uh…"
"Disrobe, please." Kammy said, in a deadpan voice.
Peach looked mildly uncomfortable, and looked in the direction of the curtained windows before complying with the Magikoopa's request. I guess we're all ladies in here. Kitty quickly fastened the edges of the fabric sheet around Peach's shoulders with two golden brooches: medallions in the traditional shape of the Darklandian royal seal. Then, she tied a soft golden rope around Peach's waist to secure the rest of the fabric. "I hope you won't mind but, we had to make some modifications to the traditional Darklandian garb to accommodate your shape."
Peach admired her chiton in the mirror. She was amazed that one could do so much with a sheet of fabric. The drape was amazingly flattering as was the painstakingly detailed golden embroidery lacing the edges of the fabric. As she kneaded the fine, silky fabric between her thumb and fingers, she realized that she somehow felt both beautiful and powerful. Today, she felt like more than a princess, she felt like a goddess. "No, please, this is wonderful. Thank you."
Out of nowhere, Kamek's voice came wafting though the room. "Ladies, I hope your preparations are nearly complete. Our float is ready and the procession will be starting in fifteen minutes."
Kammy narrowed her eyes at the invisible voice, "Thanks very much Kamek, we are aware," she retorted icily.
Kitty and Kamea began working at double speed pushing several rings and bangles onto Peach's fingers and arms. Kamek's announcement had soured Kammy's already volatile mood. She pushed the two girls out of the way. "Oh, let me." Peach shrunk back as Kammy waved her wand and send dozens of magically animated brushes to attack her with powders and creams. In thirty seconds, the whole ordeal was over. "Come," ordered Kammy, gesturing to the princess.
"Ah, don't forget your shoes!" Kitty offered Peach a pair of fine golden sandals with thin straps meant to lace to the knee.
"Thank you but, aren't you two coming to the event?"
Kitty and Kamea looked down. "We will most likely come later, amidst the general crowd."
"Nonsense," Peach cried. Sensing their disappointment she added, "That won't do, you must come with me. What if—what if I need something while I'm there? I must insist that you come along, I'm certain His Majesty will not be displeased." The two retainers smiled excitedly and hastily accepted the invitation, commenting on Peach's wonderful foresight and wisdom.
"His Majesty?" Since when is King Koopa "His Majesty"? Kammy lead the three girls to the side entrance of the castle where they would embark on their float. She's right though, she could get away with murder and "His Majesty" would just be glad there was one less person in the world to annoy her. I wonder what kind of cock-and-bull story I could tell her so that she might ask His Nastiness to give me more vacation time.
Peach's eyes widened at the sight of the glorious parade floats in the hangar directly outside of the castle. Already, Koopatrols were keeping a close eye on the considerable crowd, which had gathered to catch an early glimpse of the floats and confirm the rumors about Princess Peach's appearance. As directed by Kammy, Peach carefully ascended the soft floral steps of her float, grasping the cool metal handrail. Nobody in the Darklands seemed to care much for gloves. She gasped audibly when she saw that three large Chain Chomps would pull the refined flowery float. Not surprisingly, the elements of the procession that were unrelated to her took on a much darker feel. Cheep Cheeps and Bone Dragons flew by while Koopatrols in ancient armor practiced marching in perfect formation.
Kammy nestled in to the plush throne on Peach's left and sighed with relief. "Your attendant girls will meet us at our destination; there isn't enough room to accommodate all five of us."
Kamek appeared in a puff of smoke, effectively answering Peach's unspoken question about the identity of the fifth member of the party. He deftly plucked a red gummy Yoshi from a little bag he was holding and graciously offered some gummies to Peach and Kammy.
Kammy returned his offer with a tired look. In some ways, he was just as obnoxious and irritating as the Koopalings, just in a more senile way. "Aren't you supposed to be in charge of starting the procession?"
"Well…no. Apparently my job has been…outsourced, shall we say?"
"What do you mean 'outsourced'?"
As if on cue, General Guy rolled up in his toy tank, wheels squeaking, lights flashing, and whistles blowing. "All right troops, ten hut! Everybody in position!"
Kammy adjusted her glasses and applied pressure to the bridge of her nose with her hand. "Good Granbi in the Overthere, not that unorganized moron."
"Well, at least we know that His Highness has a sense of humor, no?"
General Guy wheeled about in his tank making sure everything was in order for their departure. He called to Princess Peach, "My Lady, I am pleased you could make it! Lovely weather we're having isn't it?"
"Will you get on with it?" Kammy hissed at the General, "We're going to be late as it is."
"Ten-Four, ma'am. Troops proceed!"
The little float lurched as the three Chain Chomps began pulling. The crowd unleashed a deafening roar of cheers when they saw the floats and the princess emerging from the hangar. Kamek waved and occasionally tossed candy to the children of the spectators lining the sides of the parade path.
"Today, you are taking the place of Lord Bowser," Kammy said, with a bored expression, "so feel free to go ahead and wave or do whatever else you would do in a Mushroom Kingdom procession."
Peach took the gentle hint and stood up to wave and pose to the crowd. Some cute Koopa children were holding up Peach dolls, shouting, and pointing up at her, while others were enjoying the magical treats summoned by Kamek. The carefully landscaped path on which they were travelling held lush green grasses and colorful patches of flowers, very strange given the Darklandian setting.
"Does this event really happen every year in the Darklands?" Peach finally asked Kamek, feeling foolish waving in silence.
"Admittedly, the King went out of his way to be a little more festive this year."
"By 'a little more festive', he means to say that His Greatness built a new coliseum just for the event."
"A Coliseum?"
"Well, it's really a lot more than that; it's where all the festivities will take place. See for yourself." Kammy pointed to a large white structure in the distance. It was a Classical style building of pristine white marble, elaborately carved with all the ostentatious flourish of the more traditional Darklandian style. Ivy vines swirled around each column in the peristyle, the dark greens contrasting wonderfully against the bright white.
"Yes, it seemed that His Highness was quite concerned; somewhat recently, some foreign dignitaries visited the Darklands and remarked on their surprise to find greenery in the Darklands. He wanted the world to be absolutely clear that Darklandian ecosystem not only supports a variety of flora, but also that the volcanic ash our region produces encourages the plant life to grow lush and thick."
Peach blushed, embarrassed that the offhand comment that had tumbled out her mouth one day had made such a profound impact on Bowser. He decided to build a flowery float, a landscaped path, and an entire coliseum out of white marble just so people like me wouldn't find his kingdom to be dreadful and gloomy. Peach made a mental note to praise Bowser's work when she got the chance to speak with him. "It looks lovely."
At last, the floats reached the large gates of the coliseum, their menacing structure softened by the choice of shining gold material. Peach and the elderly Magikoopas disembarked the float. Kitty and Kamea soon joined them and led the princess down a narrow corridor and up a stairway with torches and greenery on the walls. They emerged on a shaded balcony with a close view of the dusty arena below.
"Mama Peach, you're finally here!"