Peach's frustration grew by the minute. They were quickly losing the light underneath the dense tree canopy of the forest, but the tracks she had found continued to travel southwards, further into the forest and further away from the castle. Beside her, she could feel the knights tiring; she stretched her right arm and rolled her shoulders, she could feel her own body tiring too. She wanted to push on, she needed to push on, for her own sake as well as Bowser's. But she could feel her hope beginning to dwindle. It would be impossible to see their own feet soon, let alone footprints in the mud. Or an incoming bandit attack, for that matter...
"Princess Peach?" the voice of Sir Toad spoke next to her, breaking Peach from her darkening thoughts as she turned to look at him.
"Sir Toad," she nodded to him with a weary smile, happy to have him by her side. Not only was he Bowser's right hand and one of the most trusted knights in the realm, he was also a good friend to both Bowser and her and, in the past year, he had become something of a mentor to her and she respected him greatly both on and off the battlefield.
"We're losing the light," he said softly, not so much pointing out the obvious as gently reassuring her that what she needed to do next was the right thing to do.
"I know," Peach sighed, signalling for the group to slow to a stop, "we won't find anything out here in the dark,"
"We will return to this spot and begin again at first light. We have made great progress today," Sir Toad placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, seeing how frustrated Peach felt at having to abandon their search without having her husband returned to her yet.
"You're right," Peach smiled, grateful for his reassurances. She then called out to the group that they were to return to the castle and renew the search tomorrow and Peach could feel the tired relief roll off them; they wanted to find their commander as much as she did, but they also knew continuing the search now would at the very least be hopeless and, at the worst, downright dangerous depending on who or what else was residing in the forest around them. Together, the group mounted their horses and headed back towards the road. Peach hesitated, hanging back slightly as she pulled herself into her horse's saddle. She stole one last glance over her shoulder to the tracks they had been following all day, barely able to make them out in the low dusk light.
"We will find you, I promise," she whispered into the wind, hoping the words would somehow find her husband's heart if not his ears, before kicking her horse into motion and catching up with the tail-end of the group.
By the time they returned to the Koopa Kingdom castle, darkness had completely fallen and a scattering of stars covered the clear night sky, the cold winter breeze freezing their breath in the air as they exhaled. The fire-lit torches within the castle's courtyard guided them home with both their light and their promise of warmth; as soon as the gates opened, Peach was struck by how many people were awaiting their arrival, wrapped in blankets, coats, and furs. It broke her heart to see the hope on their faces turn to fear and disappointment once they realised Bowser was not amongst them, and slowly the crowd dispersed into the night and returned to their homes and their beds. As she dismounted her horse at the foot of the stone steps to the castle, the huge wooden doors opened and she looked up to see Boo smiling sadly at her, clearly having already heard the news that their search had been unsuccessful.
"It's good to see you home and safe," Boo greeted her, reaching out a hand and leading her up the steps and into the castle's foyer. As they entered, Toadette curtsied to them both before falling into step the other side of Peach. She was grateful for their presence that warmed her heart, just as the well-stoked fires inside the castle warmed her cold-numbed skin.
"I'm sorry we didn't find him, but we made good progress. Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure of it," Peach said to Boo and he nodded at her, a frown crossing his face.
"I know, but Peach... there's someone here that you need to see," Boo spoke hesitantly and Peach's skin prickled as she felt the feeling slowly begin to return to her cold fingers and toes.
"What do you mean?" Peach asked, confused as Boo stopped beside her. She looked up and found herself in front of the doors to the drawing room. Wordlessly, Toadette reached forwards and opened them, clearly already knowing what Boo was talking about. Stood on the other side of the door was none other than Peach's friend Princess Daisy, dressed in brown and dark orange riding gear, her eyes red and puffy from crying and her right arm bandaged and wrapped in a sling. Instantly Peach ran over to her, overtaken with shock and concern.
"Daisy! Are you okay? What happened to you? Why are you here? What's going on?" the questions rushed from Peach's lips, pulling her friend into a hug in the middle of the room.
"I had to see you right away. As soon as I heard the news about Bowser, I knew I had to tell you," Daisy spoke equally as fast, her words tumbling from her as she tried to keep her tears at bay, a lump forming in her throat.
"Tell me what?" Peach asked, pulling back slightly but keeping a comforting hand on her friend's undamaged arm.
"It's my husband, Luigi. He's gone missing,"
