Peach raised the key to her eyes as she twisted and turned it. She squinted, half expecting an explanation to be written on its surface, but frowned as it lacked any engravings or clues. It was dull and worn with scratches, but that was the most she could gather.
It was just a normal key that could be used to unlock...anything. It was small, so that at least ruled out some possibilities, as a door's key would have been far larger. But, that didn't help, as there were countless items it could belong to.
The fact that it was shoved somewhere so clever only further pushed her need to understand what he was hiding. However, the longer she stared at the key, the more she lost any grip on what to do next.
Peach lowered her hands away from her face as she hopped off of the chair. She groaned as she looked back at the furniture, realizing she would have to clean up her tracks to avoid being questioned...Pushing the chair wasn't exactly what she wanted to do in that moment, especially after finding something so curious, but she was left with no choice.
Peach stretched her arms in front of her as she tried to anticipate exerting so much energy again. It wasn't too difficult, but she wasn't experienced when it came to hands-on work...especially when it came to massive furniture. But, thankfully, the table wasn't too far away.
Just as she had before, Peach pressed her back against the chair. With an exhale of air, she pushed against it as it screeched against the wooden flooring. The noise was painful to listen to.
As soon as Peach had disturbed the silence, the chamber's doors slightly creaked open with a drawn-out hiss. Peach froze as the study's light drained into the room, lighting up everything around her and putting her in the spotlight. She was seconds away from being caught in the act.
Peach instantly jumped away from the chair and ran back to the bed in a desperate attempt to appear as if she had never gotten up. She clumsily rushed under the blanket and pulled it up to her chest as she anticipated the king's return.
Why would he come back? Peach couldn't deny that a part of her hoped he had returned to apologize, but she knew it was probably to chew her out even further.
Peach's theories fell flat as Junior's head popped out from the slight opening with an innocent gaze. He looked from left to right before settling on Peach's look of pure despair.
The two stared at one another as Peach bit her tongue. Her fear fell to confusion as the two tried to guess why either one was there.
He tilted his head over his shoulder, muttered something, and then pushed the door completely open. Three other koopalings stood behind him, each turning to one other and whispering out of her reach. Peach cringed, as she had no doubt that they were taking guesses as to what she was doing and why she was there.
She understood how sketchy it looked.
Instead of greeting the girl, Junior finally piped up and confirmed her assumption.
"What're you doing in papa's room?" He asked with clear curiosity. "Don't ya have your own room?"
Wendy shoved Junior's head down as she popped out in his place. She crossed her arms and shook her head.
"Idiot. Clearly, they gotta be in love," she answered with an arrogant, satisfied nod. She sighed with a sense of pure satisfaction, surely imagining the two 'lovers.' She groaned as her brothers stared at her with blank stares. "I mean, like, isn't that what grownups do when they got the hots for someone? Share rooms?"
Peach's face fell even further as Wendy jumped to such an extreme conclusion. Peach looked around her, realizing she had just slept in his bed and openly roamed his room. How long she had rested in his chamber was unknown, but it was long enough for her to become numb to his scent. She shuddered as she wondered if that was truly what it looked like. Was it that compelling? Did the two seem like...lovers?
She opened her mouth to diffuse the incredibly inaccurate guess but was cut off by one of the other koopalings who stared at Wendy with frustration.
Roy shoved Wendy to the side as he rolled his eyes.
"You're such a girl," Roy bickered with disgust. "Get your head outa the gutter before I pound it outa there!"
"I'd like to see you try, meathead! What's so girly about love, huh?!" Wendy yelled through clenched teeth. She quickly moved towards him, pushing him back with each word. "You're all talk n' no bite! You can't do nothin'!"
Peach sat awkwardly as the siblings argued back and forth, each throwing threat after threat. She cringed each time they pushed and insulted each other but made sure to stay silent as she wanted to be overlooked. Instead of arguing about Peach's relationship with the phantom, they turned on each other.
She wasn't exactly looking to be interrogated, so she kept quiet.
"Okay, okay! Can we not fight right now?!" Iggy groaned from behind the group. He tried to push the conversation back towards their prisoner, but the looks he got proved he had only made it worse. "C'mon, you guys are being stupid!"
"Stupid?!" Wendy and Roy yelled in unison towards their brother. Immediately, the three started bickering about who was stupid, taking turns to insult each other.
Peach felt her posture relax as she released a large exhale of air. Bickering koopas were much easier to deal with than an enraged king, but the topic at hand was just as agonizing. Though, she felt uneasy as Junior continued staring at her.
"Why're ya in Papa's room?" Junior repeated as he ignored the discourse behind him. He frowned with an understanding of his father's rules. "You aren't supposed to be."
"He brought me here," Peach answered with a hesitant, forced smile. She spoke quietly and was barely audible over the loud bickering. "I didn't sneak in...or anything. He, well, he put me here."
Junior gasped before covering his mouth.
"Wendy's right?!"
Peach instantly shook her head in pure disagreement.
"No!" Peach shouted, earning the attention of the rest of the small group. The three koopalings paused their fight as they stared at the human. She sighed before continuing in a hushed whisper. "No, there's nothing like that between us. He just helped me out, really!" She begged for their compliance, as the idea of such a rumor reaching the king terrified her.
She knew he would be more than disgusted with the idea of coming off in any way but hostile, especially in her direction. While he seemed to have a softness for her, it seemed to be anything but romantic. Hell, it was barely platonic! That was a ridiculous assumption! Peach shook her head as she continually tried to convince her how impossible and idiotic such a mindset was.
Though, she couldn't deny how just the idea of romantic intentions between the two made her face rush with heat. Romance was not something she was experienced with, after all.
Roy nudged Wendy in the ribs as her theory got shut down. She grumbled in disappointment.
Iggy arched a brow as he hopped closer to her. Unlike the others, he didn't seem convinced. He leaned towards the girl and hummed to himself, seemingly investigating her appearance.
Peach tried to lean away from his peering eyes but was forced to meet them as there was no room to back away. She avoided his eyes but that didn't stop him from looking straight through her.
"It is a bit odd for Dad to have a girl in his room. Are you sure you're not lying?" He asked though Peach could tell he had already come to a conclusion.
Peach grunted in annoyance as she turned away from the tall koopa.
"I'm being honest."
"Then why are you so nervous?" He asked while pulling away. The rest of the group nodded in unison as they agreed with his findings. "Dilated pupils...heavy breathing. You're nervous."
Peach turned back to the group with a twitch in her eye. Of course she was nervous with a kid in her face! Her face flushed with annoyance at his nerve.
"You might as well tell us, or else we'll keep making guesses," Iggy continued arrogantly muttering. "Hiding things doesn't work out around here."
Peach frowned, finally understanding where the smarts of the group rested when Ludwig wasn't with them to boss them around. He seemed to be far more clever than the elder, so much so that it was infuriating.
The koopalings all raised their hands and shouted out questions as soon as Iggy confirmed that she was nervous. They all jumped and pointed their claws high in the air, desperate to gain the woman's attention to confirm or deny their theories about why she sat in their father's bed.
Wendy continued pushing her theory of a hidden romance, Roy asked if she was stealing something, and Junior wondered if they were having a slumber party and kept asking why he wasn't invited. They were ridiculous assumptions, all of which would have been amusing if not for Peach's state of mind.
Iggy stared at her slyly while the group scrambled. She glared at him with absolute annoyance as she realized he was right; they wouldn't drop it until they got an answer. He was well aware something had happened, and he wanted answers. While she had answered, her explanation didn't seem good enough for him.
In an instant, Peach snapped.
"I'm nervous because he got angry at me, alright?!" Peach shouted over the group. Instantly, they all fell still with eyes full of slight concern. She continued as she caved and reasons started spilling out of her. "I'm nervous because he hates me! I'm nervous because I'm stuck here! I kind of have a lot of things to be nervous about!"
Peach shook as frustration ran through her. She glared at each of the small koopalings with pure annoyance, as she wasn't ready to acknowledge any of her problems out loud, and it only made her feel even worse.
Everyone in the room seemed to understand that nervous was an understatement for the emotion in her words.
Peach fought back tears of irritation. Having the phantom crush her over and over was painful enough without having to admit it. To admit being upset over someone so awful was...embarrassing and such a horrible realization.
She thought she was merely frustrated with how he treated her. But, her reaction proved it ran far deeper than she wanted to understand. She didn't want to realize or understand why she felt this way. Yet, here the koopalings were, forcing her to drop bombshells on herself.
The koopalings looked between each other as they awkwardly tried to find what to say. Clearly, such a situation was foreign to them, and they struggled to know how to react.
"Sorry," Wendy mumbled with a guilty frown. She fumbled with her claws as she continued. "I didn't mean to, you know, make you angry. We just haven't seen dad spend time with, like...a girl...In ages. I was kinda hoping that...you know." Wendy trailed off, but her point was clear.
They had wanted another chance at having a mother.
The group of koopalings all avoided Peach's eyes as she digested Wendy's explanation. Even Roy, who had been opposed to the idea, looked away in embarrassment.
Peach's eyes filled with a sense of guilt at the way the koopalings sulked and silently confirmed Wendy's reason for their curiosity. They had come to her in hopes of discovering they would have a new parental figure, and instead, she had responded with anger.
The anger was not completely directed at them but they had pushed her too far. It was unfair of her to have reacted that way, regardless. It wasn't their fault she felt broken.
While their mother was not dead, Peach felt an understanding sadness at losing a mother. She had lost hers physically, and they had lost theirs in every other way. She didn't understand the situation but knew they were hurting in the same way she was.
Peach bit her lip as guilt ran through her at how she had snapped without considering their reasoning. They didn't understand her situation, and neither did she with theirs.
Peach gave a saddened laugh as she attempted to lighten the mood.
"That's actually kind of...sweet." She paused for a small sigh. "But I don't think your dad exactly looks at me like...that," she muttered with clear embarrassment. Imagining such a thing was enough to make her heart rate skyrocket. She continued with a forced sense of humor. "I'm human. You probably shouldn't think things like that or else you'll make him angry."
The koopalings sat in silence, the wave of unhappiness being replaced with confusion. They looked at one another, silently communicating something she couldn't understand, but seemed to be understood among them. She sat still, wondering if she had said something wrong.
Iggy shook his head.
"Dad fancies humans," Iggy replied with a confused glare. The information seemed to be obvious to everyone except her. "Or, he used to. Don't you humans know that?"