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Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Mario or its franchise; it belongs to
Nintendo and their affiliates. I just am really grateful to its creators for giving
me such a wonderful game and media series to write about!
I also don't own anything related to Harry Potter, all that belongs to J.K. Rowling,
but thanks go to her as well because, using her wonderful work, I can expand this
story to make it more interesting :)
Chapter Forty-Three
The bathroom was her sanctuary. It was her own private area of refuge and protection. It was a place where she could sit and spend hours coping with the situation she'd been dumped into. Since she didn't have a clock, she had to estimate that it had been hours since she'd first been locked into the bedroom and since she'd fled to the bathroom and stayed there. She could break the time thereafter down into chronological segments if she wanted to. It would probably go something like this:
Vomiting: 5 minutes
Leaning on the bathroom sink, letting the water run: 10 minutes
Sobbing uncontrollably in a heap on the bathroom floor: 4 hours, on and off.
Wallowing in denial and self-pity: 45 minutes to an hour
Dry heaving: 5 minutes
Crying some more: 30 minutes
After doing all that, she'd tuckered herself out and ended up sleeping on her side in the bathroom tub.
Now it was a new day, she had to presume that since there were no windows in there. The girl woke with a sore back and empty mind. Her limbs ached and she just felt drained. It took a few seconds for the events of the previous night to come back, but when they did they hit her like a stampede of angry Wrigglers. Daisy sat up in the tub and covered her face in her hands. Before the waterworks could begin, something breached her sphere of awareness: food. Or at least the smell of it. Daisy dropped her hands slowly and blinked, honing in on the strong scents wafting into the room. She stood without thinking and climbed out of the tub, then went over to the door. Very tentatively, she opened it a bit and peered through the crack.
She saw immediately where the smells were coming from; sitting with his legs crossed and his son at his side was the Dark King, completely at ease, with a plate of food in front of him. Her stomach growled loudly and drew attention towards her. In fear she ducked back into the bathroom and slammed her back against the door. She immediately cringed at her reaction.
Alright, she thought, it's time I face this situation head on. I'm stuck here with the infamous Lord of the Badlands and there seems to be no way out. If I can focus hard enough, I'll find one.
"I'll have to let go of the tears," She spoke in a whisper. "No more crying, no more fear. I can't do this if I have no faith."
Daisy took a calming breath and felt her stomach cave in painfully in want of a meal. She frowned but that only fueled her resolve.
"First thing's first." she murmured. "I'll need a plan."
She thought for a minute, but wracking her brain on an empty stomach proved to be useless.
I need to eat, she reasoned. And the only way to do that is to go out and get some food, be it from the king or otherwise. I didn't eat before I went to work so it's been too long; I don't want to starve like I did last time.
"No." She scolded herself. "No bringing up the past."
Daisy pushed herself off of the door and breathed in and out again. She steeled her nerves and straightened her clothes as best she could, then bit her lip and opened the door.
There was no noise on the other side, only the sound of the bathroom lock clicking into place as Daisy shut the door behind her. Next she heard her stocking-clad feet sink into the carpet, that's how quiet it was. Daisy's body was rigid with suppressed fear as she crept over to where the Dark King sat, his hands on his plate and his eyes on her. Boldly Daisy locked eyes with him as she walked, willing herself to press forward.
Even if I were to hide, he could still come and get me, she pointed out to herself. This room is only so big, and he isn't chained anymore.
No, Ludwig saw to that, she thought with sudden animosity. The girl's face darkened slightly as anger began to course through her. He abandoned me here knowing what I'd been through. I don't know what kind of deal those two struck, but I'm not gonna' give either one of them the satisfaction of being terrified or docile. I will get out of here.
But first I've got to get to the bottom of what's going on. If I can just figure out what each of them are about, I can start mapping my escape.
Oh, but I'm so freaking hungry!
"G'morning!"
Daisy flinched at the chipper voice and then glanced down. It would seem she'd made it to the King and his son. Though he was free of his restraints, Bowser didn't move an inch. He just stared at her and ate. Junior was another story. It was as if the lights behind his eyes had been cut back on. He stared up at her with only a child's kind of unwavering friendliness and smiled widely.
"I brought some food for my Daddy, and for you," He announced.
Daisy then gazed down at the piping hot plate of breakfast meats and breads and eggs and felt her heart melt.
Bless that child, she sighed in her head gratefully.
Very slowly so as not to relay her hungriness, her weakness, Daisy lowered herself to her knees and then tucked her legs underneath her as she sat. She smiled weakly at the beaming child and brought the food into her lap. There was a glass of water also. Daisy ate as decently as her greedy appetite would allow and kept her eyes lowered. She knew that if she looked anywhere else she'd stand the chance of finding out just how hard the Dark King was watching her, and she hated being watched while she ate.
"It's good?" Junior asked her when she was nearly done.
Daisy nodded absently. With food in her, she was already becoming more alert. She knew that if she planned on having any sort of chance to leave, she'd have to figure out what both Bowser and Ludwig were up to, because she was almost certain it wasn't the same thing. She knew that sitting so close to the king, that talking to him and questioning him would be the only way to accomplish this, so she sucked up the last remains of her fright and pushed her plate to the side.
I have to at least pretend to be comfortable around him; let him know that he doesn't scare me. Even though he does. I just can't let him know that.
She leaned back against the bed, as comfortable a distance away from him as she could afford, and stretched out her long legs. Daisy rested her hands in her lap and forced herself to plaster on a look of indifference. The king just tilted his head at her and ate. He was eating so slowly this morning.
Daisy at first refused to acknowledge him. She knew that being ignored was something he absolutely hated. Instead of drilling him for information like she wanted and then running back to the bathroom, she addressed his son.
"Hello, Junior." She spoke flatly.
The boy perked up next to his father and smiled shyly at her. He greeted her in kind and crossed his legs Indian style. She saw that, for all his cuteness and returned happiness, there was still something about him that disturbed her. She found it in the discolored areas of his skin. Upon examining his wrinkled grey shirt and black shiny silk vest, she saw spots on his arms, dark spots, as if someone had bruised him there. She couldn't tell if his legs were bruised because he wore loose black pants over them.
"I didn't know you was here." Junior spoke softly. "Where you was? In the bathroom?"
Daisy nodded. In her head she was still hung up on the bruises.
Who would hurt the baby? He's only five, what could he have done to deserve to get man-handled?
Junior asked, "You had went to sleep in there?"
Daisy shrugged and said, "I guess. Yeah."
In the corner of her eye, she watched the king. He wasn't getting mad at all. He was still eating his breakfast. She turned fully to the child and gave his long, tangled red hair a stroke.
"Where were you?" She asked.
"I was in my room." He told her. "When I had woke up, I went to the kitchens to get some food for you and my Daddy."
"Don't they have kitchen staff for that?" She asked automatically, forgetting it was a child she was speaking to.
Junior told her quietly, "Yes, but they don't come out the kitchen no more 'cause they're very scared."
"Scared of what?" She asked.
Could they know that the Dark King lives, she wondered.
"Ludwig." Junior replied. "He's very um, very cruel to them. And to me. He always has to yell at me and make me hurt."
Daisy frowned at that, completely ignoring the king for real for a moment. She glanced back at the bruises on Junior's arms and then at his large eyes.
"Ludwig did that to you?" She asked, pointing to the discolored skin.
Junior nodded and said, "He had grabbed me real hard."
The food she'd just eaten turned sour in Daisy's stomach. Hurting a child; that was a low-down thing to do in her book. If she hadn't already begun to despise the sorcerer, now she was really hating him.
Disgusting, she thought strongly. I wonder if Bowser knows this is how his young son is being treated, and if he does, how is he taking it?
A subtle glance told her that it wasn't with ease; the king was not staring at her for once, but straight ahead and with a flicker of murderous rage on his face. It passed so quickly though that Daisy feared she'd imagined the expression.
"Guess what?!" Junior suddenly exclaimed, crawling over to her on all fours.
He reached her and sat back on his heels, then opened his mouth wide and began fiddling with something in his mouth. His speech was distorted when he next spoke, thanks to his fingers being in the way.
"My teeth is 'bout to come out!" He spoke eagerly. "It's moving, see?"
"I see." Daisy smiled faintly.
She remembered going through that phase herself and with Meech when he'd lost his last baby tooth. A pang of homesickness hit her and she squashed the sensation. Talking to Junior was doing her no good. Bowser was not showing an ounce of emotion and she was only feeling more and more sorry for the child. Daisy then remembered something.
Ludwig did say that the king's subconscious holds his most deepest emotions and desires, so if those are with Ludwig, I won't be able to get through to him this way. I need to change approaches.
She decided to appeal to the part of his brain that yet remained, the logical, rational part. She finally looked at him but had to gather her wits. She'd been able to argue with him in the past, but that was because he was often blinded by lust and arrogance. She had a feeling she'd need all her wits to get through to him now.
"Daddy, how come I can't hear you no more?" Junior spoke and distracted her.
If the king had heard his son, he didn't show it. He just sat with his back against the wall and the goblet of wine in his hand, up in the air but nowhere near his mouth. He was still watching Daisy.
"It's 'cause you're awake now?" Junior asked.
His father yet ignored him.
Junior then said, "Since you're waked up, that means you'll be king again and Ludwig will go away?"
"Junior."
Having finally heard his father's voice, the boy grinned and answered immediately.
"Yes?"
"Be quiet." Bowser told him, then said slowly, "Better yet, leave."
Junior looked crestfallen and said, "But I wanna' stay with you, Daddy."
Bowser turned to him and said tonelessly, "Don't defy me. Why don't you go and look for that medallion I told you to find."
"But I did look," Junior pouted, "And I couldn't see it nowhere."
"Look harder." Bowser told him, then moved his hand in a dismissive manner towards the door.
Junior dragged his bare heels in the carpet but went to do as his father asked. In a desperate, last ditch attempt at freedom, Daisy got up and followed the child towards the door.
"It won't work, Precious." The Dark King called to her.
She ignored him and kept heading towards the door. Junior glanced over his shoulder at her and she reached for his hand. He slipped his small one in hers at once and they reached the door. The child couldn't open it with one hand, and when Daisy tried to help, the wood burned her skin. She jerked her afflicted hand back and cradled it with the other. With two hands free, Junior tugged the heavy door open and held it for her. Daisy tried to step through, but it was as if there was a force barring her from getting past the raised partition on the floor that separated the king's room from the outside corridor.
"Come on!" Junior encouraged.
She couldn't, and was getting frustrated. Junior's face looked troubled. He couldn't understand what was going on. He grabbed both her hands in his and tried to pull her out but that didn't work either. Junior looked defeated and upset.
"I'm sorry." He told her with genuine sadness. "I don't know why it won't let you out."
Daisy crouched to his height while the child stood in the doorway and took his face in her hands. She gave him a watery smile for his efforts and kissed his forehead.
"It's okay, baby." She told him. "It's not your fault."
This time, when Junior left she didn't try to follow, just watched the door shut on its own and sighed heavily.
"Why did I think that would work?" She muttered.
"Because you're stubborn?"
Daisy turned and faced the king. She was brought back to the mission at hand. The girl opted to take a safer seat on the foot of the bed instead of on the floor because she just couldn't handle being that close to him while he had no chains on. He was still his muscular, broad-chested, evil self and she really didn't want to risk experiencing any sudden bursts of ire on his part. Because she certainly intended to test his limits.
As she flopped onto the bed, crossing one leg over the other, she put her arms behind her and leaned her weight on her hands. With her head tilted, she laid into him.
"So." She spoke. "You're alive again."
"I was never dead." He told her at once.
She just shrugged as if uncaringly and said, "I know what I saw."
"Do you?" He challenged, though without that spark in his eyes and that twist to his mouth, it lacked its usual effect.
Daisy had to admit there was something off about him. She found it more unnerving because seeing him like this was unfamiliar. She decided to cut down on any erroneous banter and get right to the chase.
"Why are you doing this?" she blurted.
"Doing what, Precious?" He asked her dully.
She raised her hands and gestured around her, saying, "This. Going along with Ludwig's little bargain. What are you plotting?"
"What makes you think I'm plotting something?" Bowser drawled.
Daisy gave him a deadpan look and said, "You're the Dark King. You're always plotting something."
There was a twitch of a smile that flew over the royal's mouth at her words, but otherwise, he remained unfazed.
He told her, "I'm glad you still hold reverence for the title."
"I don't." Daisy immediately spat. "I just know how you are. So what's your plot this time?"
Bowser drew in a breath and said in a sigh, "Even if I were up to something, as you suggest, what makes you think I'd tell you?"
"It couldn't hurt." Daisy spoke candidly. "I mean, it's not like I'm going anywhere."
"No, but your boyfriend must be on his way." Bowser countered lazily. "I mean, if you two are still together, that is."
"That's none of your business." Daisy snapped.
Calm down, she told herself, the more emotional you are, the easier it is for him to manipulate you. Don't let him get the upper hand, just stay focused.
She refused to say anything more on Luigi, though, for fear the king would use the information against her. Bowser spoke in place of her silence.
He said, "It's only a matter of time before you see what I see."
"And what's that?" Daisy humored him.
"That boy is no match for you." Bowser claimed.
"I'm not discussing my relationship with you." Daisy spoke tightly.
"Oh, but why not?" Bowser asked languidly. "It's so interesting."
"You know what's more interesting?" She declared. "This situation."
Bowser took a sip of his wine but there was a glint in his jade eyes that wasn't there before. Encouraged, Daisy continued.
She said, "Ludwig is out there using your powers and running your kingdom like it's his. Doesn't that bother you? Doesn't it make you mad?"
Bowser only said in a disinterested voice, "What do you think?"
Don't waver now, the girl coaxed herself in preparation for her next words. She turned towards the door and spoke very casually, as if she were the king's equal.
She said, "I think being chained up to a wall in your own palace has made you weak."
The king definitely flinched now, and not because he felt wounded. She was whetting his temper. The danger that came with knowing this made her feel as much empowered as she was afraid of what may happen. She glanced at the older individual and locked eyes with him. He soon grew calm once more.
"I won't be baited, little girl." He told her sharply.
"I'm not trying to bait you," She lied. "I'm just trying to understand how someone like you could have sunk so low."
Bowser stared evenly at her but didn't move. She didn't give up. Her heart was pounding and her blood was rushing almost euphorically. The recklessness of her plan was starting to dawn on her; she was in a room alone with him, so once she did fire him up, there was nothing protecting her from his wrath. For some reason, that only excited her, enticed her to keep going.
Once I get him worked up, it'll be easier to get him to talk to me, she somehow reasoned.
"Losing your power really did make a difference." She pretended to observe. "Your fire's gone, literally and figuratively. One would think retaliation would be on your mind, but instead you act like a caged dog who's been thrown a bone."
Bowser gazed at her through narrowed eyes and she shivered.
"You're just going to let Ludwig play you?" She accused. "He's offered me to you to placate you while he lives out his days basking in your riches."
"You have no idea what's really going on." Bowser told her, a bit of his anger showing through.
"Then enlighten me." She clipped almost cheekily.
Bowser snorted softly and shook his head, then downed the rest of his wine. He didn't speak to her for the rest of the day.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave your thoughts below because I need to hear from you, it makes my day brighter :)
I'll once again try to update when I can, so stay tuned. Until next time...
~DymondGold~