The hours of the day passed by in a haze of winter sunlight, joyful laughter, and possibly the most undignified, improper snowball fight King Boo had ever participated in- though, if you asked him, it was all Peach's doing. Both Boo and Peach had enjoyed their unusually peaceful day without much thought. But, when the sun finally dipped below the horizon and Peach found herself in her chambers dressing for dinner with still no word from her husband, she began to worry. It was small at first, just a light tug in her heart telling her that something was off- he had promised to be home before nightfall. She tried to brush it off, knowing she was probably worrying over nothing and that Bowser and the knights had just been delayed slightly. But as she walked through the corridors of the castle towards the dining hall, her concern for Bowser only grew. Once she entered the doors to one of the smaller dining halls in the castle that often hosted their meals when they had no guests, she took one look at Boo's face and knew he felt the same as she did. Although, he was doing a much better job of trying to hide it under a relaxed smile as she took her seat at the table opposite him. The seat next to her, usually occupied by Bowser, still empty. Glancing down at the plate of food in front of her, Peach suddenly found she had little appetite.
"Peach?" Boo asked softly, reaching out a hand towards her from across the table.
"Hm?" Peach glanced up to see Boo's concerned face looking back at her, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"You're worried about Bowser, aren't you?" Boo repeated the question she hadn't heard him ask her. She hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
"He said he would be back by now..." Peach said quietly.
"He will have simply been delayed. Knowing my brother, he would have found some poor injured squirrel and stopped the entire troop just to nurse the thing back to health," Boo smiled and Peach couldn't help but laugh to herself; despite his intimidating appearance and subsequent reputation, Bowser had a heart of gold with a certain soft spot for those in need, even the smallest of woodland creatures.
"You're probably right," Peach sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly at Boo's reassurance, "but even so, I'm in no mood for a meal right now. I think I'll go for a walk, clear my head," Peach folded her napkin on the table and stood. Boo nodded sympathetically in her direction and watched her leave the room, pushing away his own plate of food as the door closed behind her, reaching instead for his wine glass.
Breathing deeply, Peach stepped out into the night air. She pulled her fur wrap closer about her shoulders and began to wonder through the castle grounds. As she walked, her mind drifted back to her worries. She was certain Boo was right; Bowser had been delayed by something small and was probably already safely on his way home. And yet, somewhere in her heart Peach wasn't convinced that was the whole story. Subconsciously, Peach's feet led her towards the front courtyard. If- no, when- Bowser returned, he would come here first. She glanced across the quiet, empty courtyard towards the gates. Suddenly, as though willed by her thoughts alone, the gates began to open. Before she had a chance to think, Peach started running towards them, more than ready to embrace her husband. But once she reached the now fully opened gate, the sight she saw wasn't at all what she had expected to see. Instead of a whole battalion of knights on horseback, a single man came stumbling through on foot, clutching at his side- and it was not Bowser.
"Help me..." the knight groaned, reaching a bloodied hand out towards her. Instantly, Peach was at his side, supporting his weight as she helped him over to a stack of crates. She glanced over to see two maidservants watching them from the other side of the courtyard, shocked expressions on their faces.
"Go get the king! Now!" she yelled towards them and in an instant, they ran off back towards the castle.
"Thank you, my lady," the knight gave a pained sigh next to her, lowering himself on the crates, still clutching at his ribs.
"What happened? Where are the others?" Peach asked worriedly, checking the man over for injuries; aside from a lot of blood that appeared to not be his own and possibly a broken rib or two, he seemed to be okay.
"It all happened so fast, there was nothing we could have done to stop them," he shook his head, seeming to not hear Peach's voice.
"Sir, you must tell me what happened," Peach insisted, "why are the others not with you?"
"An ambush..." the knight mumbled, and Peach froze at his words.
"What ambush?" Boo asked from behind them, and Peach was sure she had never felt more relieved to hear his voice as he came to stand by her side.
"They just appeared out of nowhere, hundreds of them, I swear," the knight shook his head, "the camp had looked empty when we arrived. We guessed they had fled or moved elsewhere. But then they were suddenly surrounding us. We fought hard, of course. But they took us completely by surprise and outnumbered us ten to one. Many of us fell... I hardly escaped with my life,"
"What happened to Bowser?" Peach asked, her voice shaking.
"He's alive, I think. He was knocked unconscious and dragged off into the trees during the chaos. I don't know why, maybe for ransom?" the knight looked up at both Peach and Boo, tears filling his eyes. Peach's fear suddenly turned to rage and, in a flash of movement, she was running across the courtyard back towards the castle.
"Peach!" Boo called after her, but she didn't hear him. All she could focus on was the blood now staining her dress and praying that it wasn't Bowser's.