Surprise! Another update in the same day! Lol, It's not long but I hope you don't mind.

Enjoy :)

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 Fifty-Five

The little maggot wasn't lying. It was only after Ludwig had ransacked his mind did he come to that disappointing conclusion. There wasn't anything other than what he already knew in that jumbled mess Fawful called a psyche. Ludwig had been quite thorough and the only thing he had to show for his efforts was that he'd confirmed the intricacies of how and when he'd been tricked. That only made him madder and he left the creature, Fawful, bound in the hall closet where he'd come to do a second round of interrogation. Only when he was walking down the corridor, heading back to the throne room to brood and think did something occur to Ludwig.

Why bother holding him here, he reasoned, he's of no use to me now. Besides, if I let him go, I can send my troops to follow him. Or better yet, just tag him with a tracker.

The trip to the palace was a quiet one. Daisy, Peasley, and I needed only step through one of King Boo's portals and we were there in the vicinity of the huge fortress. Still, not a one of our trio said a word as we headed to the impending confrontation. We were situated to the left of the palace and still had a ways to go to get close to the entrance, so I took that time to study Daisy.

In the short while we'd been at King Boo's she hadn't said much to me, but I could tell that she was tensed for a fight. I knew she had to have gone through hell and I was torn between asking her about what exactly was bothering her and just saving that discussion for another time.

Best go with the latter, I figured as we walked.

Daisy led our trio towards the palace but when we got closer, it was Peasley who spoke.

"Is everybody clear on the plan?" He asked quietly.

I told him, "I guess."

"Crystal clear." Daisy replied.

We reached the entrance and Daisy approached the guards. She'd let down her hair sometime during the night so it was blocking my view of her face. I watched her cross her arms in front of me and lift her head high.

"Tell your king the Princess of Sarasaland would have words with him." Daisy spoke coldly.

The Koopas exchanged a glance but one of them went inside anyway to deliver the message. In less than a minute, we were shown inside. I kept to Daisy's right and Peasley walked at her left. He flinched once he got inside because the palace lights were burning at full capacity. Once we got to the throne room, Daisy broke away from us and the guards and made a bee-line for the arrogant sorcerer lounging on the throne. He got up, and took his time doing so, then went down to meet her.

This can't end well, I thought, seeing the way her hand was twitching on her way towards him.

Ludwig must have seen that, too, because a knowing look crossed his face right before a loud crack resounded throughout the palace. The guards were on us in an instant, closing in and bearing their weapons. Ludwig just held up a hand to call them off, even when Daisy shoved him as hard as she could.

"Are you happy now?" She seethed, "Did you get what you wanted?"

Ludwig just rolled his eyes and said quietly, "I told you it wasn't personal."

"Wasn't personal, my ass!" Daisy scoffed. "I was the one he wanted, no one else, and you threw me at him like a piece of meat!"

Ludwig didn't say anything against those charges.

Daisy shook her head in disgust and said, "I will never forget what you did to me. I hope that when the Dark King finally does croak for good, he takes you with him."

Damn, that's harsh, I winced, but I could see where the girl was coming from and I couldn't, in all honesty, say I wasn't wishing the same thing. Ludwig had done a good job making an enemy of himself against just about everybody around. What he did to Daisy was unforgivable, and I'm not just saying that because I love her. To do what he did, knowing the history Daisy shared with the Dark King, was easily worse than anything Bowser had done. Okay, maybe not, but it was right up his alley.

What I didn't expect was to hear Ludwig say something in that low, soft tone he had to be using just for Daisy and no one else. Listening to him speak his next words almost made me feel like I was intruding on something that I shouldn't.

He said to her, "What do you want me to do?"

Daisy shook her head and said, "There's nothing you can do or say to ever make up for this."

Ludwig's tilted his head back and his emerald eyes seemed, if possible, to hold a measure of regret. Daisy gazed at him with unwavering scorn.

"However," She told him, "There's something I want you to do for me."

"...What?" He asked reluctantly.

Daisy walked over to him and I saw the minute signs of tension; he was afraid she'd hit him again. But why would that be so if he was such a powerful sorcerer and she was just a little woman? Could it be that he just refused to touch her?

My, the state, a guilty conscience could take you.

"I want you to let Pepita go." Daisy said.

Ludwig's face belied his confusion. "Who?"

"She's a girl in your harem. My friend." Daisy clarified. "I want you to let her go free."

Ludwig rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. What's a harem girl to me?"

"She'll need some money, too." Daisy added. "Lots of it."

The sorcerer cocked a brow.

"Life's not cheap in the Badlands," Daisy pointed out. "She'll also need a horse."

"Is that all?" Ludwig drawled.

Daisy paused, and then nodded. "Let her go today, Ludwig, not next year. And make sure no one comes after her on your orders."

"Why should I do this?" He scowled. "She's just a harem girl."

"She's my friend." Daisy reiterated. "And you'll do it because I've asked you. Or would you rather I spend the rest of my days making your life a living hell?"

"As if you could." Ludwig challenged.

"I could, and I'd be wholly justified." Daisy told him in a steady tone.

Ludwig stared at her and she glared at him. He finally closed his eyes in a long blink and waved over a guard.

"Yes, Majesty?" The Koopa asked, though he'd been standing right around the corner the whole time.

"See that these...requests are met."

"Of course, Majesty." The Koopa bowed.

Ludwig tilted his head to the side and asked softly, "Satisfied?"

"You wish." Daisy narrowed her eyes. "You better hope you and I never cross paths again, Ludwig."

He opened his mouth to say something before his eyes suddenly widened and his gaze reflected a sudden enlightenment. He glared not at Daisy but at Peasley, who stood beside me. Daisy came over to me and I held her hand in mine.

"Get out of my mind!" Ludwig shouted, gripping the sides of his head.

Peasley told him, "Certainly. I've gotten what I wanted."

Ludwig then scowled and shot a blast of fire and blue energy at us, but by the time it hit the spot we were at, we were long gone. Peasley used his magic to transport us far away, back to King Boo's estate where we toppled onto his foyer floor like a house of cards. Peasley's foot was in my face and Daisy was draped across my stomach. I heard a clicking sound against the floor and soon came face to boot with King Boo's shoes.

Gazing up, I saw that he had a tray full of teacups in his hands.

He gave us a chilling grin and said, "Earl grey, anyone?"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this, I should have put this at the end of the other chapter but oh well. I hope this wasn't confusing to anyone, if so, fret not; the plan will be explained in the next chapter.

See you again next time! Until then...

~DymondGold~