Peach could feel her soul becoming freer by the day. Her body had never felt so light nor her heart so full of joy. Almost two months had passed since her wedding day and, as the brightness and warmth of summer began to fade into the crisp and cosy first hints of autumn, Peach could feel herself getting more used to her life in the Koopa Kingdom; the ways it differed from what she had known before, and even ways that it didn't differ at all. Her and Bowser had settled themselves into a routine that suited them both. Initially, one of the reasons that had made Peach cautious of agreeing to Bowser's proposal was the idea of losing her freedom. While her parents had vehemently disagreed with pretty much everything she ever did, she was essentially allowed to come and go as she pleased. The idea of suddenly becoming a kept wife who simply existed to look pretty on her husband's arm and laugh at noble's jokes at social gatherings had terrified her. Bowser had assured her in his letters that he would never dream of doing that to her and he had most certainly kept his word. As commander of the royal military, Bowser was often on the training ground or out on patrol with his knights. He had invited Peach to watch their training sessions and she had been instantly fascinated. Sword fighting had always been an interest she had secretly harboured; her parents wouldn't even let her go near a sharp steak knife during mealtimes, let alone allowed her to learn to fight. But, through watching Bowser train with his knights, she started to see there was even more to every battle than she had imagined. The tactics and planning that went into every manoeuvre had particularly intrigued her. Upon expressing her interest of this to Bowser, his eyes had instantly lit up. Not only had he introduced her to Sir Toadstool, his righthand and battle tactician, that very same day, he had also offered to personally train her with a variety of weapons- starting, of course, with the short sword. Peach had been overjoyed, never having dreamed that she would actually have the chance to even hold a sword, let alone be taught to properly fight with one.

Everything about her life had become utterly perfect... well, almost everything. There was still one thing, or rather one person, that she spent her days unsure of and mostly avoiding if she could help it. And that person was King Boo. She wasn't sure why, but something about Boo made her feel wary of him. Obviously he was king, so it was natural for him to come off as a little aloof around others. And of course he was busy ruling an entire kingdom, so chances for the two of them to get to know each other better rarely came up. But even considering all of that, Peach felt that Boo was far more cold and distant with her than with anyone else at court. She had tried to brush it off, but something about the way he acted around her kept pulling her thoughts back towards him. She truly had no idea why he was acting this way. That was, until the day he actually told her.

Peach had been sitting by herself in the castle gardens, another place she spent a lot of her time these days. She enjoyed being surrounded by nature, especially in those special moments during the changing of the seasons where she could almost feel the world around her start to shift. She had thought she was alone, Bowser having ridden off on an evening patrol a few hours before. So, when she heard a twig snap underfoot behind her, she had turned around with a gasp, her hand clutching at her chest as her heart raced.

"Apologies, I did not mean to frighten you," Boo smiled at her and Peach found only momentary relief before she became tense again, for an entirely difference reason.

"My king," Peach lowered her head and dipped into a curtsy. When she rose, she saw Boo watching her intently.

"Princess," Boo addressed her with a slight nod of his head, but nothing further.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this evening?" Peach asked after a moment of silence, courtesy preventing her from simply walking away from him like she wanted to.

"It occurs to me that, despite being my sister-in-law, I do not know all that much about you," Boo said, walking past her and over to admire the small fountain that stood a few feet away from them.

"I agree, your majesty. And it weighs on my heart also that I know very little of the man whom my husband speaks so highly of," Peach said carefully as she watched him, his back turned to her.

"Then perhaps we should do something to remedy this... oversight?" Boo offered but remained focused on the water flowing from the fountain.

"I would like that very much," Peach smiled, feeling the tension slowly leave her body. Maybe Boo had just been too shy to approach her until now?

"Brilliant! How about a series of questions then? I'll ask you something, then you can ask a question of your own. Sound fair?" Boo straightened himself and stood tall, lifting his head high but his back still to Peach.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Peach nodded. Finally, a chance to understand her husband's brother a little better.

"Do you truly love my brother?" Boo suddenly turned towards her, his expression unreadable.

"Excuse me?" Peach asked after a pause, very confused and slightly offended by Boo's question.

"You seem like a nice enough girl. But my brother is cursed, known only as a monster and a warrior in battle. I doubt one as... delicate as yourself could ever truly care for someone with such a reputation," Boo continued, walking over to stand in front of her.

"Bowser is nothing like the gossip that spreads amongst your people. As his brother, you should know that," Peach raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh, I do," Boo smirked and Peach could feel herself trying to lean away from him, "but you didn't, when you first met him. You threw fear behind you and approached him, having no reason to assume he wouldn't hurt you,"

"But he didn't hurt me. He would never hurt me," Peach lifted her chin and stared Boo down, despite her body screaming at her to get away from him. Stood this close, Peach realised just how much shorter Boo was than his brother, the king being only a few inches taller than her.

"That's not the point, dear. The point is that there are only two reasons you would have ever even thought about going up to him that night. The first is that you truly are as kind-hearted as you appear to be, and you went to talk to him with purely innocent intentions. The second, is that your intentions are far less pure than you want us to believe. I know your relationship with your parents is rocky at best. Maybe you saw an opportunity within my brother, a chance to gain power, wealth, and favour in one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the world. Maybe you are simply using him the same way women like you have tried to use me my entire life. And if that is true Princess Peach, then let me tell you this; you will never have mine and my brother's throne," Boo stalked in a circle around her and Peach's fury grew with every word he spoke.

"You arrogant bastard! You're so obsessed with your own power and image that you couldn't possibly conceive that Bowser and I simply love each other," Peach snapped at him. She knew that she shouldn't; she knew he was her king as well as Bowser's brother and this was probably just some test to ensure her 'worth'. But he had no right to speak to her with such disrespect, regardless of who he was or what power he could hold over her head.

"I know he loves you, princess," Boo sighed, his conviction already fading, "I could see that from a thousand paces away. It's you that I question,"

"How dare you!" Peach yelled, tears springing to her eyes. Before she could even think about what she was doing, her hands balled into fists and she threw a punch towards Boo's face. Boo caught her hand easily and used her own momentum to pull her closer to him.

"I'm only trying to protect my brother," Boo whispered in her ear, his grip on her wrist tight but not painful.

"Or maybe you're just jealous that despite everything you own, he and I have one thing you will never be able to obtain; true happiness," Peach glared at him, their faces only inches apart. Despite his mask of power and control, Peach saw the slightest flicker of anger in Boo's eyes at her words and she knew she had struck a nerve.

"You know nothing about me, princess," Boo growled, forcefully letting go of Peach's wrist and pushing her away.

"And you know nothing of me either, my king," Peach spoke quietly, not moving her gaze from Boo's eyes.

"Anyone out here?" a voice both of them recognised called out from the other side of the tall hedges. Boo instantly stepped back from Peach and easily composed himself. But Peach could still feel the anger raging inside of her as Bowser rounded the corner.

"There you are!" Bowser smiled once he caught sight of her, "Brother, you're here too,"

"Anything to report?" Boo asked with a slight tilt of his head. But, before Bowser could respond, Peach lifted her skirts off the ground and pushed past her husband. Shocked, Bowser stumbled back and Peach began running as fast as she could towards the castle, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill at any moment.