A/N: Thank you so much for reading!

Only now did Peach realize how off-balance her sense of time was as she groggily stared at her lunch. While, to her, she considered it to be extremely early in the morning, Daisy quickly corrected her.

Peach sat on the small stool next to the dainty table in her room. It had been awhile since she had wanted company for lunch, so she welcomed Daisy's request with open arms. She had just woken up, seeing as it was morning for her world beneath the kingdom, yet according to Daisy, it was well past noon up above. Peach had cringed when she heard the news and the words slapped her with the realization of how cut off from the real world she was.

"I haven't seen you in awhile," Daisy mumbled suspiciously. "You've been off on your own a lot."

Peach turned her head and casually shrugged at her prying eyes. She knew Daisy had good intentions, but she also knew that she had very little intel on the situation. Daisy thought she was pulling the strings, considering she had come up with a plan, but in reality, she was as oblivious as anyone else living on the surface.

"I haven't seen you, either!" Peach rebutted with a jokingly-sassy 'humph.' She rolled her eyes, trying her best to come off as disinterested. "I'm not exactly going anywhere, you know where to find me if you-"

Peach's obliviousness to the topic at hand wasn't a satisfying answer for Daisy. She quickly cut off the prisoner with her brow furrowed. Her "sweet" tone was replaced with one of a mom trying to force the truth out of a lying child.

Daisy knew something was happening and she refused to let anything bad happen to Peach under her nose. With a determined gaze, Daisy leaned forward.

"What did he do, exactly? Did he say something stupid?" She shook her head and continued in a defeated tone. "Who am I kidding, of course he did...Just, please tell me he didn't try to hurt you or-"

Peach, instantly overwhelmed from the unexpected topic, stood up a bit too quickly and knocked her stool over beneath the two. The seat crashed onto the floor with a thud that promoted an uncomfortable silence between the two to follow.

What was she supposed to say to an intrusive question like that?

Well, you see, I tried and wanted to get closer to the 'dead' king that, by the way, is the one who locked me away and treats me terribly...but, he denied my efforts, so I'm a complete fool who embarrassed herself in front of someone she shouldn't even care about.

That didn't sound good, even to her. Peach cringed as she felt slight tears well up in her eyes at how embarrassingly stupid she had acted. She hadn't meant to become so attached to the beast, but something in her kept bringing her towards him no matter what she did to smother the flame. No matter what she did, she still wanted to talk to him.

Before she could give Daisy the chance to notice her flustered expression, Peach dropped to her knees and clumsily picked up the stool between shaking hands.

She looked back up at her worried company with an unconvincing smile.

"N-nothing! Really, Daisy, please don't-"

Daisy shook her head as she bent down and gently snatched the stool from Peach's arms. She placed it next to her before dusting off her hands and looking back up at the girl.

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll make sure he regrets it. He's such a scumbag sometimes. Whatever he said, he probably didn't mean it. Being a jerk is a...defensive mechanism for him, if you didn't pick up on that. He's not actually awful...usually."

The two fell back onto their stools and Peach smiled with a small 'thank you.'

It was painfully obvious that the phantom was using his tough, unbearable outside to cover up whatever he had skillfully buried beneath it. Secrets, shame, guilt, fear...Peach had no idea what he was so desperate to cover up and ignore, but it was quite clear that he held some sort of weakness he was terrified of.

If you had asked her before her encounter with the beast, she would have laughed at the idea of king koopa having any sort of emotions, let alone a moral compass. But, now, it was quite the opposite, and she admired the fact that he held something...human.

Though, it was quite an ignorant thought to associate good qualities with humans and bad traits with koopas.

Even though she was well aware of the phantom's tough exterior, she saw the pain in his eyes when she had approached him. She knew what had happened was not fabricated; the king wanted to part ways with her. It was obvious in the way he rejected her attempts at forming a friendship with him.

"No, he meant what he did," Peach replied with a shaky groan. As little as she wanted to talk about the subject at hand, she knew that Daisy was not going to drop it until she got what she wanted out of the conversation.

"Did? He did something to you?"

Peach quickly doused the flames growing in Daisy's eyes.

"Nothing bad! I...you know how we agreed to...convince him to let me go?" Peach rambled awkwardly, somewhat guilty for doing such a thing. "Well, I tried to let him know that I…"

Peach stopped herself as her cheeks flushed. She knew wanting a friendship with a beast was beyond embarrassing and she refused to admit it to Daisy, even though that was the plan from the start. The fact that her feelings were starting to feel genuine was something she refused to own up to...out loud, at least.

Daisy gave a warm smile as her posture relaxed. Apparently, she had assumed the worst and hearing Peach's underwhelming dilemma eased her anger.

"Oh, c'mon, Peach! You tried once, don't worry about it. Just keep pestering him until he warms up to you!"

Peach shook her head.

"I haven't seen him for a while now. I'm not exactly looking to see him again."

Daisy stared at her in disbelief.

"What? Peach, you can't give up! I thought you were as hard-headed as me!" She teased. Daisy frowned as Peach didn't react. "Don't you want to ditch this place?"

Of course she wanted to leave. She wanted to abandon everything about the horrid place.

But, it was so hard to keep trying. Not only was she emotionally drained from the constant belittling and dismissals, but her body felt weak and ached for sunlight. Life was leaking out of her by the day and every moment that passed seemed to suck the motivation out of her. As much as she wanted to leave, her mind and body was sabotaging her.

Peach's head fell into her hands with a defeated groan.

"Can't you just...take me with you when you leave? Please?" She pleaded in a defeated whisper. "Anything but...trying again."

Peach hid behind her shaking hands as she felt her motivation snap in two. Her entire situation was beyond disturbing and there was no way Daisy could understand how horrible she felt knowing she was trapped under the power of a monster who seemingly despised her.

She shoved her face further into her palms as she tried to hold herself back from panicking. She was not one to lose herself to her emotions that easily, but the idea of having to push herself towards someone who hated her for the sake of seeing her father, and even the outside world, again was...beyond upsetting. Without the physical ability to fight, run, or outsmart, what could she do against a world-renowned monster known for his intellect and brute strength?

Daisy shook her head at Peach's plea.

"He would just snatch you again. He would find you," Daisy instantly rebutted with little emotion. As much as she did care for Peach, she was well aware that the easiest choice was stupid and unreliable. "If I could take you behind his back, I'd have done that instantly!" She quickly added with a bit more sympathy. She paused before continuing with a matter-of-fact tone. "Surprisingly, Bowser isn't an idiot. He's either going to keep you locked away forever, kill you, or let you go if you manage to convince him."

Peach let out a long, drawn-out groan of discomfort as she remembered her first, only, and seemingly last attempt at freedom. While she had managed to escape the depths of the labyrinth, she had failed the second she breathed fresh air. She had come so close, but 'close' wasn't enough, and that had taken every drop of effort she could muster.

Bowser had caught her nearly instantly. Pathetically quickly.

Was it true? No matter where she went, he would find her? A part of her doubted his abilities, but the other half of her didn't want to test the theory. If she got caught again, especially after their last conversation, she had a feeling the king wouldn't be as patient with her.

She doubted her drained body could keep up with her mind, anyways. Surely, she would crumble before she got away.

"I wouldn't tell anyone about what I saw! Who he is or...or why he's here! Nothing!" Peach mumbled through her hands, trying to convince them both that there was something she could do.

"I don't think you understand what people would do to you to find out what you know," Daisy murmured. "Even if you did manage to keep it to yourself without anyone battin' an eye, he wouldn't believe you. It took him years to trust me and sometimes I question if he even really does...with all the crap he hides from me."

Peach moved one of her fingers to the side and peeked through the small opening. Daisy was staring at the table, deep in thought.

Was the phantom's identity really that crucial? Enough for people to force her into speaking the truth of what she had seen? Would freedom mean...torture? More imprisonment by koopas? Was there even an option for a happy ending for Peach?

If she escaped, what would her fate be? If the king let her roam free, would someone else become her new captor until she revealed the phantom as King Koopa? Was she doomed to be in captivity?

"Do I really have no...other option? I really don't want to see him again," Peach lied. She knew she wanted to see him again, but without the memory of her foolish attempt; she wanted to experience what it meant to ease him. In reality, she didn't want to face him after she had acted like a fool.

Daisy looked up at the girl.

"It's just my opinion. If you want to run off, I mean, you can try...just...please don't. Really. You'll just exhaust yourself. Bowser is a fast runner. Fast swimmer. Fast...everything. He's a royal koopa for a reason." Daisy shuddered. "If you think of something please don't hesitate to tell me! I'm on your side here...so please trust me."

Peach's eyes fell to defeat.

"I-"

"Peach! Peach! Please open the door!" A voice screamed through a hushed tone. The sudden company paused for a moment to groan before muttering to themself. "What the heck do you even need a lock for?! Not like anyone's going to exactly kidnap you now!"

The girls' posture stiffened at the sudden voice interrupting their private conversation. They hoped whoever had rudely interrupted wasn't listening in. They looked between one another before Daisy finally stood up and made her way to the door.

Daisy creaked open the door to see Iggy standing in the light from Peach's room. He was leaned over, his hands on his knees, and clear exhaustion was weighing him down. He stood in silence for a few seconds as he swallowed air and exhaled loudly.

"I...Peach…" Iggy gasped between deep breaths of air. Daisy couldn't help but snicker as he had clearly sprinted down the corridor and became winded as the exhaustion caught up to him. "Gone...now…" he continued rambling between breaths, earning a worried frown from both girls.

Peach, now concerned for her friend, stood up and stood next to Daisy. The two silently waited for Iggy as he silently tried to collect himself.

Daisy grew impatient and glared suspiciously as she had no doubt he was sent to go through with a prank his other siblings had put him up to. She leaned down and quickly scorned him with a shake of her head.

"Spit it out, Iggy, we gotta lot of important things going on right now and we don't have a lotta time-"

"It's time! Go! Right now!" Iggy pleaded with desperation. He quickly pointed a single claw to his right while staring up and looking between the two girls in panic. His eyes were wide and his body was practically vibrating with anticipation.

Peach glared in pure bewilderment before realization finally hit her straight in the chest. Iggy's words suddenly sucked all of the air out of her lungs and her body felt heavy, as she hadn't had time to prepare...emotionally! Physically! Hell, she hadn't had time to even consider what to do or what would happen!

Was she really going to do this...now? Iggy had said she would have her moment soon, but she hadn't thought he meant 'less than a day later' soon!

Peach's breathing started mimicking Iggy's as panic started seeping into her. Suddenly, she was aware of every fiber in her clothing and every hair on her body...and every punishment she could face after getting caught.

"Stop hesitating! What are you doing?!" Iggy continued frantically whispering as the Peach stood as stiff as a board. Daisy, on the other hand, was beyond bewildered by the genuine panic between the two. "You have four minutes, remember?! Not counting every second you stand there!"

Daisy put her hands on her hips as she squinted at the koopa. Her amusement had faded to concern.

"You're scaring Peach, Iggy! Whatever your siblings told you to do, they're having a bad influence on you 'n you need to be a little nicer to her! She's already dealing with a lot right now," Daisy rambled while crossing her arms. "Right, Peach?" She asked with an understanding frown.

However, when she looked to her side, she was surprised to notice that Peach was gone.