A/N: Well, I'm in the midst of a little computer emergency so things might be slow(er) for a couple of days. Uh, don't play with anything called BIOS, even if you know what you're doing. There is a good chance that my Bloopbook is no more, but all the data is safe, so no worries. So today I'm learning how to use the boyfriend's Mac, oh yay.
I went though the story last night and I found all sorts of grammar and spelling errors. Minor stuff, but I am displeased nonetheless; nobody told me! I'll be editing for a little while, cleaning stuff up, and all that. In the meantime, enjoy this offering, which I hopefully edited properly. x_x
Mario cracked his knuckles as he neared the Darklandian Castle prepared once again to do battle. He walked to the castle gates stomping Goombas, kicking Koopa Troopas, flouting Magikoopas, and outwitting Thwomps.
In his mind, finding his way through the maze-like castle was much more difficult than taking care of Bowser's troops. For some reason, even elite Koopatrols fell under Mario's might. However, compared to searching a jungle for Pauline, searching any castle, no matter how large, would be relatively simple.
Thinking of his sweet fiancée, he looked at his watch. He had been awake for fourteen hours; if he did not hurry and find Princess Peach, he would miss Pauline's show. He was already going to be late as it was.
After nearly an hour of searching, Mario had finally managed to orient himself and find the passageway to Bowser's chamber.
Naturally, Bowser had plenty of forewarning that the plumber had arrived and had been meddling in his castle. He sat evilly upon his throne, eyes blazing with only a few torches lit around the room. He had seriously thought about killing the plumber, but what would be the point? Peach had made her decision and forcing her to "change her mind" would never bring about the kind of good times they had enjoyed in the past. That reality was over and the new reality came crashing through the door as Mario's foot.
Mario assumed his battle stance, ready to dodge Bowser's fire. Bowser merely shook his head. "Not today, Plumber. Probably not ever again," he rasped with bitterness in his voice. "I just wanted you to come up here to say congratulations, I heard the good news. Well, the princess is in the same room as always, I'm honestly not even sure why you bother coming in this room. I won't stop you if you try to take her; you've got to be with your fiancée. Better hurry now, before I change my mind."
Mario looked at Bowser suspiciously, unsure if this was a trap or not. Could Bowser really know about him and Pauline? Did he really go all the way to the effort of kidnapping Peach to lure him to the castle so he could say congratulations? Poor Princess Peach, Bowser obviously has no idea how upset Peach gets when she's taken, or maybe he doesn't care; he's an odd one.
Mario turned to Bowser, straightened up, and said, "Thanks." He dashed downstairs with a meaningful smile to find the princess so he could get back to catch the end of Pauline's performance.
During intermission, Pauline scanned the audience once again. She found the special seat she had reserved for Mario was still empty, and her heart sunk. This was her once-in-a-lifetime, career-making show and her new fiancé was missing it to rescue some other woman.
Ever since she noticed Mario was not watching her in the audience, she had began faltering on her lines a bit and made a few careless, minor mistakes. Any mistake she made gave Madame Flurrie an excuse to throw her a smug look from offstage, making her feel even worse.
When Flurrie found out about Pauline's engagement, she was horribly offended. After all, what was the attractive hero of the Mushroom Kingdom thinking marrying some talentless tramp like Pauline? Flurrie noticed Pauline looking wistfully at Mario's empty seat and decided to take action.
"Oh darling, don't you worry, your little hunk of a fiancé will show up eventually. Believe me, he's very dependable. In fact, he's so dependable that he will always be there, for anybody who is in need. I guess it's just his nature, but don't worry about people taking advantage of him. I know most people are more than willing to give him some kind of little reward for his efforts. I mean I know I did."
Pauline gasped as Flurrie flounced off. She could not help but think about what Flurrie said. She tried very hard not to be offended by Flurrie's insinuations about "little rewards." She trusted Mario enough not to make foolish decisions. What really bothered her was the part about Mario always being able and willing to help anybody who might be in need at any time. She was not sure if she could really tolerate being married to a man who was always off on adventures helping other people. If tonight were any indication, Mario would place their relationship on the back burner while he was off adventuring.
Pauline thought about it all throughout intermission, she thought about it during the remainder of her performance, and she thought about it as she once again spied Mario's empty seat during the curtain call of her show. In the dressing room, as she removed her stage makeup and costume, she slid her engagement ring off her finger. She thought about it, and made her decision.
Bowser tossed and turned on his bed. All he could think about was the princess. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to hate her; even more than that, he wanted to forget about her. All he could do was wallow in his loneliness.
He was just grateful that Kamek and Kammy had the foresight to send the Koopalings to the movies today so they would not get involved in any fighting. How was he going to tell the Koopalings that Mama Peach was getting married to Mario and that they would probably never see her again? It just was not fair.
He thought about all the time they had been together in the last year, all the memories in his book. He thought about all the different times he had kidnapped her, the months of scheming, elaborate plans, and thousands of coins he spent just so he could have a few days to talk with her. She was worth everything to him, and he felt he was worth nothing to her.
He could remember the first time he had brought her to his castle. He had just ascended the throne and was traveling the world exacting his revenge. He had burnt cities into smoldering ash, decapitated leaders, and pillaged countless treasuries. Using the funds, he built ever-mightier armies and ignored his ailing citizens in the Darklands. He was proud, bloodthirsty, and in the prime of his reckless youth.
After another successful military campaign, he had heard one of the dying soldiers lamenting about his children in the Mushroom Kingdom. Upon hearing the name, Bowser remembered the fateful day in his childhood when Princess Toadstool spurned his proposal for an arranged marriage.
He narrowed his eyes and called his troops to attention. He informed them that instead of taking their scheduled route to the Eastern island kingdom of Sarasa, they would be making a detour to see the soldier's children in the Mushroom Kingdom.
"After all," he added coldly, "somebody needs to tell them that their father's game has ended."
The next morning, the marauding troops advanced on the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser rubbed his hands in glee, not at the prospect of obtaining the wealth of the Mushroom Kingdom, but at the idea of finally having revenge for his lost dignity.
As his airships darkened the Mushroom sky, he looked down and spied a ceremony. As luck would have it, it was the princess' debut, her coming out party. As he watched the princess try to get away in her silky white gown, he thought of an even more malicious idea. He commanded his troops to seize the princess, and added that she must remain alive.
He was going to hold the king's only daughter for a very high ransom on her special day. If they did not pay, there was no telling what might happen to the little bitch, and if they did pay, then they would get the very high honor of watching him murder their little sunshine.
Several brave Mushrooms died trying to defend the princess, but at last, the Darklandian armies had her in their grasp and they took her back to the castle where they promptly locked her in a cold cell with minimal comforts.
The most distinct memory he had was when he had come into the cell to check on her. The Mushroom Royals had agreed to pay the ransom, and Bowser had been thinking all day, trying to come up with the best and most brutal style of execution for a young lady of her status. He had even thought, disgustingly, what a shame it was that she should have to die before ever knowing the touch of a male.
As he descended the steps in the dungeon, he smelled a familiar scent that froze and haunted him. The fragrance of watermelon candy reawakened an unfamiliar longing in him and he stomped over to the princess' cell with a frown across his face. He looked her over briefly. He was not accustomed to seeing humans; however, he was used to her pathetic expression of fear. From the looks of it, she had colored her hair some ungainly reddish shade, she was pale, and had not filled out entirely. Still, he found her strangely attractive.
"Give me whatever is making that watermelon smell!" he demanded roughly.
The princess looked shocked, it seemed like she was not even sure he would be able to speak her language. She shook her head in fear and stammered, "Th-There's none left. I gave the last piece to him…" she pointed to a nearby Koopatrol. "He said he hadn't eaten in days…"
Bowser glowered at the Koopatrol. Not only did he take the last piece of candy but he also made Bowser's leadership look bad by whining to and receiving pity from a prisoner.
The smell of watermelon began to overpower the Koopa King as he stared into the scared eyes of his captive, which shined back in fear and pleading.
He quickly turned heel to retreat up the stairs after experiencing a few feelings he did not wish to remember. He contacted the Mushroom Kingdom and quickly reset the ransom to something the Mushrooms could never afford to pay. He did not know what he was going to do with the princess, but he knew he was not ready to have her leave.
Curiously, after Mario rescued the princess for the first time, Bowser did not pursue revenge. First, he spent days trying to find the source of Peach's watermelon candies. When he finally uncovered the manufacturer, he ordered several bags and stuffed himself with small pink bonbons. He was upset to find that the candies did not have any magical power to make him feel better about his situation, and the smell of watermelon instead made him feel lonelier than ever.
After that revelation, he decided to spend a long time focusing on his kingdom. Instead of gaining more military power, he poured his gains into having a kingdom worth ruling. Obviously, if one fat plumber could do so much damage to his troops, he needed to work on better agricultural and nutritional standards.
Current-day Bowser placed his head in his claws and groaned. Back then, he had built up his kingdom, stocked his treasuries, and created seven awesome kids in his loneliness. Finally, he had found out that the only way to cure his ailment was to see her again. Bowser could remember how surprised he was when, instead of the finding the scrawny preteen he had captured the last time, he found himself face to face with a beautiful, yet terrified young woman.
He had sent his children in heavily armored airships to wreak havoc on unsuspecting neighboring kings and chancellors; the idea being that the ensuing chaos would thwart or delay any rescue attempt. Though far from the ruthless bloodthirsty tyrant he had once been, Bowser still aligned himself with a lineage of evil kings and had no problem causing mass destruction to suit his needs. In this case, he needed to satisfy his own curiosity about his emerging feelings regarding the beautiful princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Countless months of planning, hundreds of thousands of coins spent...all for nothing. How could I have been so stupid? As much as Bowser was currently mentally berating himself for his lack of foresight and general foolishness in matters of the heart, there was one thought in the corner of his mind that made everything so much worse: if given the option, he'd do it all again.
The batter for the cake was white, frothy, and smelled heavenly. Peach carefully read the cookbook, although she had made angel food cake, Mario's favorite, so many times she felt she most surely knew the entire recipe by heart. She was so distracted, she felt sure she would make a silly mistake like use salt instead of sugar or accidentally drop dishwashing liquid in the batter. Mario was away, taking a hot shower to remove the sweat and grime form his latest adventure. As usual, Peach put herself in charge of his hero's welcome, but this time she had so many questions to ask him.
Bowser and all of his minions seemed convinced that, somehow, she had agreed to marry Mario. Bowser… When Peach first thought about Bowser and his surprising confession, she felt butterflies in her stomach, but when she remembered the circumstance she was in and his angry words, she felt like someone had shot her butterflies down with blow darts. How dare he? She wanted to be angry and outraged with him, but she could not escape the fact that she knew why he said what he did. She just knew it.
The cake was in the oven by the time Mario came into the kitchen area, his hair and skin still damp. Peach smiled at Mario and bid him to sit down; each was too distracted to notice the other's distractedness. Peach took a deep breath and sighed; she knew it was time to get some answers.
"Mario, something strange happened to me while I was at Bowser's Castle."
The plumber in red perked up, obviously concerned about his fair friend's safety and well-being.
"Nothing…bad... Well actually, it wasn't good at all, but that's beside the point. Listen, Bowser and his minions were utterly convinced that…you and I had agreed to marry."
Mario sat with a stunned expression on his face. He realized he was going to have to tell the princess about his engagement to Pauline, but he had never expected it to be so soon. Now that Bowser had put all of these false thoughts into Peach's head, Mario worried about disappointing his close friend who, in his mind, was obviously in love with him.
Mistaking his shocked face, Peach babbled nervously. "I'm sorry, I'm sure that sounds very odd; I'm sure it's something I ought not to have asked, I'm sorry."
Mario shook his head, took Peach's hand in his, and looked at her sheepishly. Oh Stars, is this it? Is this where he's going to propose to me, in my kitchen? Oh no, what am I going to say?
Mario looked Peach in the eyes for a long while and began apologizing profusely. In between apologies, he spewed almost every confession he had to make; he told Peach about his long-term relationship with Pauline, the lies he had told his mother, and his recent proposal. He apologized for disappointing her and assured her that he thought she was a very wonderful and beautiful girl and the fact that he did not propose to her had absolutely nothing to do with any aspect of her appearance or personality.
Taken aback by the outburst and barrage of speech by a normally quiet man, Peach withdrew her hand from Mario's, eliciting another string of apologies from the plumber. Peach could not believe it; Mario was getting married! She placed her face inside her gloved hands in disbelief and began to shake with laughter. She grasped both of Mario's hands in hers and let out a ringing laugh of incredulous disbelief.
"What a wild misunderstanding! This whole time you were worried that I was secretly in love with you, I thought you were secretly interested in me!" Peach proceeded to tell Mario about New Year's Eve, the time she had overheard the Merluvlee give Mario's fortune. At the end of her story, both parties were laughing uncontrollably in relief.
"Please don't misunderstand, of course I think you're a wonderful and noble man, but that is why I am so very happy for you that you have found somebody special with which to share your life."
Mario nodded enthusiastically while accepting a piece of cake from the smiling princess.
"Because of that, I would like to offer the Mushroom Kingdom's finest to both you and your fiancée. If you wish, you are welcome to have use of the castle gardens for your wedding and, as the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, we would be honored to provide anything you and your bride-to-be might wish for your wedding."
The princess' kindness and generosity never ceased to amaze Mario, who nodded in agreement and appreciation. As he discussed options regarding the ceremony, he gasped as he realized he had not yet told Mama the good news. Peach bid Mario good luck as he excused himself to make his important and potentially disastrous phone call.
While Mario was gone, Peach sighed and placed the used dished in the kitchen sink. It was true that she was legitimately happy for Mario and Pauline, but a small part of her was a bit disappointed. She had been a little excited to think Mario might be considering her for marriage. She told herself that it was selfish to worry about her own love life on such a joyous occasion but, as she traced imaginary circles into the tablecloth with her finger, she could not help be realize that with this marriage, one of the very few men with which she was close would be effectively "off the market".
In fact, the only living creature who had ever admitted a romantic attraction to her was Bowser and, presumably, was now very upset with her, to say the least. What if Bowser decided to attack again? Would the Mushroom Kingdom's hero still have time to come to her aid if he were married? What about if he decided to have kids? The thought of Mario being a father was just too weird and different for Peach even to consider, yet, she knew it was a consideration. Oh Stars, what am I going to do?
Mario waited anxiously with a huge smile on his face as the phone rang. He just had to call Pauline. The phone call with Mama had gone even better than expected. At first, she had wanted to know "what happened to Princess Peach?" However, by the end of the conversation, Mama happily proclaimed that she did not care who Mario married so long as he was happy and she was as sweet of a girl as Pauline or Peach was.
Mario could not wait to tell Pauline about his Mama's approval and Peach's generous offer to host their wedding. Pauline looked down at her phone, saw it was Mario, and heaved a great sigh.
Picking up the phone she answered, "Hello?" and was instantly treated to an onslaught of words. She had never heard Mario so excited about anything in his whole life, except maybe "Free Pasta Tuesdays" at their favorite childhood diner. She looked guiltily at the bare spot on her left hand where her engagement ring had once been.
As Mario continued talking, she pulled her engagement ring from her bag and examined it. A beautiful diamond gleamed at her, round cut, perfectly clear and brilliant. It must have cost a fortune. What he was saying about an enormous beautiful wedding at the Mushroom Castle did sound exciting. After all, she had never considered her wedding would be anything greater than a small affair in a Marrymore chapel. Maybe I was too quick to let Flurrie get to me, what does she know anyway? Pauline smiled into the phone and told Mario how wonderful everything sounded. She placed her engagement ring back on her finger after she hung up. Maybe she could do this after all.