Chapter 4: psychopaths, the fitting sobriquet

"I hate when they give us trouble, milord."

"But it makes it more fun, dearest, watching them struggle against our might. The game becomes so much better when we bring in new players."

"But that Hylian bastard cut my hair! Now it's lopsided. I'm glad his blood now drips from my blade."

"It'll grow back out. And besides, you look quite adorable."

"R-really? Thank you!"

"Of course, princess. Now, let us go find those troublemakers he let escape."

"Yes, milord."

"Did you see the Pokémon?" Roy asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had formed between them once they left Link. The tension was thick, suffocating them both. The princess didn't mind.

"Yes," Peach replied, her tone flat. She stared straight ahead, not wishing to make eye contact with the flame-haired prince. Her thoughts focused on those plumbers, memories playing in her head like a tragic, never-ending movie. Even now, something inside her still refused to believe the late Link. Mario and Luigi were not dead, they couldn't be, they wouldn't be. For all she knew, they could have formed an unlikely alliance with Bowser.

But she knew better. After all that has happened, she knew fucking better. Mario and Luigi were gone. Link was gone. It was just her and Roy playing along with the cruel game, waiting to either win or lose. (And, with the way things were going, the odds were not in their favor.)

She followed Roy; she was sure he didn't know where he wanted to go. That was fine by her; it allowed her the quiet time to think, to silently grieve to herself.

"Peach."

Her train of thought was broken. Peach sighed, predicating the words that will leave Roy's mouth.

"Are you going to be alright?

"Yes." Peach shook her head, knowing Roy won't believe that. "No – I mean, I don't know, Roy. I just don't know."

"I understand."

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked, feeling slightly selfish for not inquiring about his welfare earlier.

"Yeah, I'm fine. As long as you're fine, you're safe, I'll be alright."

The princess blinked, trying to stop herself from crying. She hated how easily Roy was putting her life over his. Did he really love her that much? Damn, she felt despicable, but there was no use brooding over it – Roy was going to be there for her, to protect her. He'll be damned if anything happened to his Peach Toadstool.

She could only pray that he'll make out alive.

"Why did you stop me, Roy?" she asked quietly, finally looking at him. "Why?"

The prince stayed quiet for a moment, as if he was trying to find the right words. Peach stared at him, waiting for a response. Even in his state of physical appearance, he still captured Peach's eye.

"I love you too much to let you die," Roy replied. Peach sighed, picking up on the sad intonation in his voice.

"Yes, I am quite aware. You've made it clear that you've liked me since the day you met me in the Melee tournament. You would get so jealous whenever I stood around Mario or Luigi; everyone knew it. You weren't that subtle." Peach laughed to herself, trying to lighten to mood and remove the Italian brothers from her thoughts. Awkwardly confronting love is something she would rather handle.

"Not liked," Roy corrected. "Loved. I loved you for so long, and I will still love you. It may seem pointless to you now, seeing as how we're about to die -"

"It's not pointless. Love isn't pointless." Peach stopped walking and turned to Roy. "It's something we both need right now, alright?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Both?" he inquired, blushing.

"Yeah," Peach replied, blushing as well. She might as well tell him how she felt before they both died, anyway. What else is there to lose? "I mean, I love you, too..."

Roy stared at Peach, forcing an awkward silence between them. The blonde attempted to figure out what Roy was thinking, but his facial features gave no indication of what was running through that royal mind of his. It was maddening, and the fact that they were just standing here made them more vulnerable to the dangers lurking in the mansion. She was sure the Smashers that killed Link were following them, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.

"Roy...?" she said, trying to speed his thought processes along. Her face morphed into a look of confusion as Roy began to laugh.

"It would've been wiser to admit this earlier, when we didn't have to worry about death looming over our heads."

Peach couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you do have a point there. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." Roy grabbed both Peach's hands, squeezing them lovingly. "Can...can I kiss you?"

The princess smiled. "Of course you can."

Roy pressed his lips against Peach's delicately, moving in closer to her. Peach closed her eyes, melting into the passionate action. This is what she needed – someone to love her, care for her, remind her that she needs to continue to live. Remind her that she cannot lose no matter what.

Remind her of her purpose.

She kissed him more feverishly, entangling her fingers in Roy's hair. She pressed her body closer to his, wanting more of his warmth, not realizing how deep their intimacy was becoming until she felt her dress being gently lifted and the prince's hand caressing the inner part of her thigh.

Her breath hitched and she moaned contentedly, shivering as the prince moved his nimble fingers around her more delicate, sensitive places. Despite wanting Roy to go further with his movements, she knew that this wasn't the right time nor place to consummate their relationship.

"Roy," she breathed, pushing away from him. "We can't...not right now..."

Roy frowned, nodding. He pulled Peach back to him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I understand," he said softly, nuzzling against him. "It would probably be more romantic if we were cleaner, was in a fancy room, and not running for our lives, wouldn't it?"

Peach smiled. "Mm-hmm."

"What a slut, letting him feel you up like that? Don't you have better things to worry about?"

Roy and Peach abruptly broke away from their embrace, turning to face the speaker of those cruel words. Peach's eyes widened in horror. It can't be her – anyone but her.

There stood Rosalina, grinning devilishly at them. She held a blood-slicked sword in her hands – a sword she recognized as belonging to Ike. Realization slapped Peach across the face:

Rosalina is the mysterious character that attempted to kill her.

"We meet again, you bitch."

The duo couldn't even react before Rosalina charged at them with a blood-curdling scream.

"Did you hear that, milord? It came from over there."

"Ah, yes, I did! Seems like someone's having fun without us."

The female bluenette frowned. "How dare they! We must show them that they shouldn't try to stray to far from the original rules."

The lord chuckled. "Indeed. Rulebreakers face serious consequences."

...I did not intend for any sensuality in this story, but I was trying to figure out a way to transition from Roy and Peach's declaration of love and it...it just kinda happened. I wasn't going to write a full-blown scene, though; I wouldn't want it to be like those cliché horror movies where the couple's having sex and they get murdered in the middle of the act and -

I'm getting off-track. The romance here seems a little cheesy; I haven't mastered the art of writing love in a story where everyone is dead or in the process of dying. It's actually a bit of a filler chapter, designed to move the plot along slowly until I could find the right moment to introduce Rosalina (ah, can you believe that it was Rosie that tried to kill our Peach in Chapter 1?) This chapter and the next are purposely short in order to build up to the grand finale. Anyway, there's two more chapters to go! Next chapter, you all will finally see the true, sick stars of the story. Oh, what joy! See ya in Chapter 5: sweet,delicious, ripe peach (blood, wondrous, precious vermillion).