Chapter 4: The Crown
The two walked down for breakfast, to find the table already set for them. A flatscreen television overlooked the table, big enough to cover the wall, used for video chats and recreation. Toad sat down at the end of the table, with Mario to his right. Other Toads filled the empty spots, until there were a full sixteen people at the table. Toad chefs - hats and all - came around and served each diner a piping hot stack of three golden-colored pancakes. They started to eat, with Mario taking noticeably bigger bites than the rest.
"Why do you eat faster than us?" Toad asked him, chuckling at the speedy eater.
"What's wrong with that?" he countered with his mouth full, and almost everyone laughed. Suddenly the television lit up.
"Incoming call from... Princess Peach." an electronic voice signified. Everyone turned to look. A Toad pressed a button and indeed, Peach was there on the screen. From what they could tell she appeared to be in some sort of hotel room.
"Hi, guys!" she greeted them, waving to the camera. Toad noticed for the first time that she didn't have her trademark crown atop her head.
"Hi, Princess!" Everyone responded at different times.
"I just wanted to check up on how my kingdom is doing." Peach smiled.
"Oh, it's doing great." Mario responded, smiling. "I assure you, Princess, you can count on us."
"That's good. I knew I could trust you all." the Princess smiled to the camera, which almost made Toad blush in front of everyone. "I mean, I can be only be on here for a little while, cause you know, it's morning and I have a lot of things to do."
"Makes sense." Toad agreed.
"So how has it been on Delfino Island?" a Purple Toad inquired.
"Oh, it's great! The cabin's a little stuffy but it's great." Peach smiled. "I spent three hours in customs because some Toad family couldn't go five minutes without someone needing a snack." she giggled. "But it's okay. I mean, a Princess needs to abide by her rules too."
"Yep. Even if those rules are unbelievably annoying when you're in a hurry to go someplace." Toad stated, making Peach giggle.
"Oh, Toad. Funny as ever, huh?" Everyone then heard a distant voice over the call.
"Princess! Your breakfast is ready."
"Oh! I have to go. Toadsworth needs me for breakfast. Can't start the day without that. Bye bye!" Peach smiled as she reached for the camera to end the call.
"Goodbye!" Everyone waved goodbye as the call ended. Toad smiled as the table continued eating.
"I know a person who has more power than Peach." he said to the table as a whole. "Toadsworth." he joked, and a few chuckles peppered the otherwise silent atmosphere. A few more bites later, breakfast was over, and Toad excused himself and walked upstairs again. Suddenly his phone rang from his room, and he ran over to it. He looked at the caller ID and smiled, blushing as he knew who it was. He picked up the phone. "Hi Princess."
"Hi Toad! Sorry I'm calling you twice in an hour. I just have a... favor to ask of you."
"A favor?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine-"
"No, no, anything for the Princess." Toad smiled, and inside he knew it was true. "What is it?"
"Well, I left my crown back at the castle, Toad. I think you noticed that I don't have it on my head! So I want you to watch over it. It should be in my room on the cushion where it normally is."
"You want me to watch over your royal crown?" Toad repeated, incredulous that the princess would assign him such a task.
"Exactly! Just don't let it fall into the wrong hands. Two hours a day should be plenty, and in exchange, you won't have to do guard duty until I get back. Okay?"
"Sounds great." Toad smiled. "Are you sure about this? I mean, do you really want to trust me with your crown?"
"Of course I do! I wouldn't be calling you if I didn't." Peach chuckled. "Alright, be careful now. Bye!" She hung up before Toad got a chance to respond. He smiled and walked from his room, making a left and walking all the way down the hall, his footsteps echoing off the carpeted floor. He got to Peach's room, and looked at the door. He took a deep breath to steady himself.
"I can't believe that she's asking me to do this..." he said to himself. He turned the handle and walked in. There was Peach's throne in the center of the room, gilded and the first thing anyone saw. Her crown was to the right on a pedestal, with her bed through a door into another room. All around were various pictures nailed onto frilly pink wallpaper. He proceeded to look for a chair, and found one, the same exact metal chair that the Toads on guard duty used. He picked it up and hauled it over next to the pedestal.
"Jeez, that thing's heavy." he panted. He sat in the chair and wriggled a bit to get himself comfortable. He looked at the crown, admiring the clean-cut sapphire in the middle. It was so reflective that he could see his own face in it. He stuck his tongue out and laughed at himself.
"And now we wait." he chuckled. He looked around to occupy himself, and saw the pictures. He saw one of him and Peach at the carnival, with Mario in the background on a carousel. "I remember that." he chuckled. "Mario couldn't stop with that freaking carousel." he laughed.
Two hours later, he began to get up, but sat back down.
"I guess I can sleep here..." he smiled, and leaned his head onto the back of the metal chair. Pretty soon, he had dozed off, the crown still shining beside him.
To be continued...