Peach sat on the edge of her bed with her hands in her lap, clenching her dress out of happiness. Ludwig sat beside her, a pile of papers sitting in his lap.

"Really?" Peach questioned with a small smile, almost failing to hide her excitement. If she were alone, she would quite literally be bouncing with joy at such news.

To her, this felt too good to be true. Half heartedly, she expected this to be a prank from the koopalings. Yet, here she was, holding back a smile, and her mind racing with hope.

Ludwig mirrored her smile, though he didn't bother hiding his pure excitement. Oddly enough, he seemed even more excited than her.

"Well, of course! Father told me to inform you before you attempted to...well, escape." Ludwig awkwardly trailed off before he handed her the large stack of papers. "Nonetheless, we will start tomorrow. Try to look over your scripts before then."

Peach happily took the papers and held them to her chest, her heart pounding with shock.

A few hours after Peach's talk with the phantom, Ludwig had come bursting into her room. While usually the polite, respectful koopa of the bunch, Ludwig was too excited to hold himself back, and exclaimed the news before she had time to understand what was happening:

The phantom wanted Peach to continue production, even while locked away.

Ludwig would work as Peach's director and fill in any necessary roles. While not the ideal rehearsal situation, the two were passionate enough to make it work.

"I can't believe he would...let me continue," Peach mumbled in awe. "I thought they would have to replace me!"

Ludwig nodded in agreement.

"They have replaced you."

Peach's face paled as her heart fell. She nearly dropped the papers, causing Ludwig to shake his head and continue.

"Temporarily!" He added. "Temporarily. You'll still perform," he repeated.

Peach sighed as relief ran through her. While she had a much more intense situation on her hands, production was still very important to her. Her father's job rested on her success, and she had already dedicated herself to this show.

Peach turned towards Ludwig with a new sense of hope.

"Did he say why?" She questioned, trying her best to sound uninterested, though even the young koopa could see she was curious.

Ludwig hummed in thought as he tapped his chin.

"Well, he had informed me of this idea early on. But, just now, he had seemed very eager to remind me. He never gave me a reason." He shrugged before continuing with a smile. "His reasoning doesn't matter. What matters is the show!"

Peach stared at her feet as they dangled off the bed.

His reason was one of the main reasons why this mattered.

Was this his silent acceptance? His indirect conformation of a truce?

Peach questioned her happiness about this news, as most of it was directed at the beast who had taken this opportunity away from her in the first place. His motives were hard to read, just as every aspect of him.

She knew he had acknowledged her pleas with a hesitant maybe, but something about this felt like a gesture of kindness. Even if he had planned it from the beginning, for whatever reason, Peach couldn't stop thinking about how he wanted her to perform.

Had the king given her an opening? A "yes"?

"Tell your father I said...thank you," she whispered with a small smile. "And that I hope he can join us for practice sometime."

Ludwig snickered with a shake of his head.

"He's not one to care about these sorts of things. Don't worry, I doubt he will bother you anytime soon."

Peach's smile fell flat for a moment, realizing she was expecting too much out of the king. While she had established her want for a relationship between the two, it was not going to happen simply because she had wished for it.

"I thought he was royalty," she quietly teased. "Aren't you supposed to love the opera?"

Ludwig shrugged.

"That was more of the queen's passion. Father was never one to appreciate the stage." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently, he was more worried about ruling the kingdom and controlling the military; brutish things which I hardly view as more important."

Peach forced a small laugh, unable to tell if Ludwig was joking or being completely serious.

She couldn't help but shudder at the idea of the king towering behind an immense military, commanding troops and ordering attacks, resulting in countless tragedies and losses.

Had he really been so...dark? Commanding?

How much chaos had troubled innocent people because of his ruthless murders? How many had died at his hand, or at his orders? She frowned, realizing this was quite the habit of king koopa, as even now, under the opera house, he slaughtered many.

To have been in the same room with such a ruthless leader would be a death sentence for most humans not loyal to the royal authority. In every way, king Koopa was the enemy; the force everyone fought against to maintain peace.

He was the embodiment of corrupt and torturous evil.

She had heard the rumors of the Dark Lands' king being an incredible, tactical leader, but imagining it was almost surreal, as he seemed harmless around her. If anything, his only tactic was to argue, annoy, and frustrate her.

She knew of the things he had done, but he seemed nothing more than an entitled brat. Peach giggled, realizing he did not live up to the rumors. Well, at least not when she was around.

"Miss Toadstool?" Ludwig questioned while waving his claw in front of Peach's face. He eyed her with concern as she laughed to herself. "Are you alright?"

Peach shook her head, realizing she had lost her train of thought. With an apologetic smile, she turned towards her company.

"Sorry, just excited," she half-lied with a smile. "I promise I'll look these over before tomorrow!"

"You seriously have no sense of personal space," Bowser grumbled in embarrassment as he buried his face in his claws. The more Daisy praised him, the further he felt his temper rising.

Bowser leaned in front of one of the cabinets in the main area, its surface covered in countless bottles containing various assortments of alcohol. Most were half full, but a good variety were on their last serving.

The phantom poured himself a glass, downing it almost immediately. He wiped his face, angrily turning his eyes towards the human. Instead of reacting with fear, Daisy smiled.

Daisy giggled as she pulled on the king's arm, eagerly praising him.

"I knew you had it in you!" She gleefully cheered. "See, she's not that awful, is she, big guy?"

Bowser angrily shook her off his arm, causing Daisy to stumble backwards. Once she fixed her footing, she looked up to find the phantom pouring himself yet another drink. She crossed her arms as he turned away to drink.

"Just because I will put up with her does not mean she is fine by me," he growled while slamming the glass down. "She doesn't know what she wants. She's being an idiot."

Daisy frowned at his cold words. She had managed to eavesdrop on their earlier conversation, and this tone was polar opposite to his subtle kindness she had heard. Even with every angry denial, she knew he was just embarrassed.

To no surprise, Bowser was furious that she had the audacity to listen to a conversation she was not a part of. But, unsurprisingly, Daisy had no regrets, as she knew everything was going according to plan.

She, of course, was amazed by how he had managed to hear Peach out. She knew there was some hidden bad blood, at least on his side of the relationship and none from Peach's perspective. But for him to overlook whatever happened, even for a moment, was...well, heartwarming.

He was a stubborn koopa, and to give someone he despised a chance was...out of character.

Whether he wanted to or not, it was obvious that he cared about her, even if it was just a little.

"Okay then, I guess I'll go let her know that you want nothing to do with her and that she's an idiot!" Daisy cried out in annoyance. She paused as she sheepishly continued. "Unless, you know, you don't want me to tell her that."

Bowser grumbled to himself while Daisy glared at the back of his head, her smug grin growing the longer he tried to hold himself back. He downed a third drink, desperately waiting for the buzz to kick in.

"Do what you want," he mumbled over his shoulder. "Pretty sure I've already made it clear how I feel about her."

Daisy rolled her eyes, disappointed that he wasn't eating up her attempt to make him cave in. She sighed, realizing she couldn't win a game of pettiness with the koopa who had mastered it.

She shrugged it off, however, as she didn't need to convince him of how he felt, as she knew he was well aware.

Her eyes trailed towards the bottles of alcohol on the cabinet. She knew he drank regularly but had no doubt that he was trying to avoid this whole situation by covering it with a drunken bliss.

She furrowed her brow in annoyance, as this seemed to be his solution to everything that bothered him. Whether it be the queen, his children, or herself, he would end every night with a drink to drown out whatever was bothering him.

Without hesitation, Daisy snatched the glass out of Bowser's hand as he prepared to pour himself another drink.

He growled, urging her to explain herself.

"Okay, give it a break," she reprimanded. "You can't just drink away your feelings in the middle of the day!"

King Koopa smirked as he opened one of the vanity's drawers, pulling out another glass. With a nonchalant shrug, he picked up one of the bottles.

"Watch me."