"Peach! Oh my gosh, we're so sorry!" Cried out one pinkish Boo.

"Sorry we haven't seen you in a couple of days! How are you?" Cried out the other.

Bootiful and Boojiboo, unlike most Boos, would actually open the door to Peach's room rather than just float through it, so as to not scare the girl.

Peach looked up from the book she was reading. She'd already got through three books with all the spare time she had, and was starting to worry that she'd run out of books very soon. She wasn't quite ready to venture into the main library here at the mansion.

"Things have been OK, I guess. I had a look around," and was frequently scared by Boos, "but I haven't seen King Boo all day."

"He's been out, actually." Informed Bootiful.

"Bootstrap says he went on some impromptu errand to Grambi-knows-where, and then came back in a slightly cheery mood." Boojiboo added.

"At least he's happy." Peach rolled her eyes with a sarcastically wry smile.

The pinkish Boo sisters both knew that King Boo often distressed Peach, and wondered why she still seemed as upset as usual when he'd been out all day.

"Are you sure nothing else is up?" Bootiful asked curiously.

"I… no, it's nothing. I guess I went out earlier to try and see what he's been up to but…"

The sisters could both sense that Peach was still worried about something, so they both hovered down until they almost sat on the end of the bed and in mirroring their movements patted the spot in front of her. Peach folded the corner of the page she was on and lay down on her stomach in front of her friends.

"It's the other Boos: I know they like scaring others but...they don't just jump out of nowhere all the time." Peach took a moment to find the words. "Some of them say things, or cover my eyes, or, I don't know." She flopped down onto the bed. "I wish I could stand up for myself against them."

Bootiful and Boojiboo may not have known a lot about how to convince their King how to be nicer, or how to bake cookies, or how to make homesickness a little better (all things that they'd talked about with Peach before), but they both knew the shared weaknesses of all Boos, and one of them seemed to carry over to all Boos outside of the mansion, if the news they heard about Bowser's minions was true.

"How does Mario say he defeats Boos on his adventures?" Boojiboo offered.

"He says they sneak up on him, unless he looks at them, and then they hide behind their arms." Peach saw where the conversation was going. "But even if I look at the Boos they still scare me."

"Mario won't just look at them," began Bootiful, "he'll have to make direct eye contact and stare them down. That's what makes them nervous enough to hide behind their arms in the first place."

Peach quickly caught Bootiful's eye and stared, while asking "Does that work on all Boos?"

It seemed that it did work, as Bootiful froze where they were for a moment before jumping backwards. "Huh? Hey! Don't do that!" Peach and Boojiboo giggled at her reaction, and watched as Bootiful hovered back down in thought for a few seconds.

"I think it might even work on King Boo, but I doubt he'll hide behind his arms - he probably just averts his eye contact to hide his nervousness, same goes for KaBoom now that I think about it, though he can also easily hide under his cowboy hat to avoid eye contact." Boojiboo mused thoughtfully.

Peach made note of it as her first defense against him if she should feel she was in danger.

"We are shy specters, after all." Bootiful finished the important part before getting back to the same afterthought as Boojiboo. "Wait, isn't KaBoom a fan of Peach's?"

"I would think so, he was in Bowser's army before they let him go for being too explosive." Boojiboo replied with a giggle. "Though I haven't seen him in a while…Maybe he's still in the mines?"

"And no one told him when Peach moved in? He's gonna be peeved when he finds out." Bootiful added. "He's the only Boo who dresses in a cowboy hat and vest. You can't miss him, he also really likes to blow things up so be careful of that. But he's a big sweetie otherwise."

Peach giggled in flattered delight. "Thank you, I look forward to meeting him at some point."

King Boo himself was in quite a good mood since he'd come back from seeing E. Gadd, as he'd had such a good idea that would test how good he was at making her feel 'comfortable' and it was a situation that might make her fall for him. He seemed to have a bit more spring to his hover, almost bouncing around any corners, and he did a quick spin before knocking on Peach's door.

"Princess Peach, my dear! May I ask if you'd like to do something?"

Ask? He wanted to ask her permission first?

"He's certainly in a better mood…" mused Bootiful.

"Bootiful!" hissed Peach.

"Oh yeah… We're not supposed to be here." Boojiboo whispered jokingly.

"King Boo?" Peach opened her door, to see him hovering a little further back than usual, and further down so he was at her eye level.

"Princess Peach! Just the person I wanted to see. I was wondering, if you were alright with it of course, if you'd like to join me for a dance later this evening."

"Um…" He really did want to ask apparently, but Peach wasn't so sure that if she said no he'd be too happy. "Yes, I'd… I'd be... happy to do that."

King Boo clasped his hands together and seemed to pull a smile of genuine happiness.

"Excellent!" His expression then returned to its usual half-smirk-with-creepy-undertones. "I've also decided to allow you to write home as frequently as you'd like - you'll find a writing desk in your room," he explained. "When you want to send something, call for Boovelope and he'll send it for you."

Peach was quite flattered, but also extremely thankful that he was allowing her to write. "Thank you."

"I'll be seeing you in the foyer at eight, my dear!" he said as he floated away. Peach almost felt obliged to awkwardly wave him off.

Waiting for him in the foyer, Peach was more than starting to regret accepting the invitation to dance with King Boo, but now that she was trapped in his mansion, she didn't really have anywhere to turn anyway. She was convinced she would've been here, accept it or not, and not wanting to anger him, some logical side of her said she should be glad she decided to come here voluntarily. Right as the clock struck eight, he appeared through the doorway between the main stairs. He offered his arm, and she took it, but he kept a little more distance between them.

They entered a room he seemed to have set aside just for dancing, a small but elegant ballroom fit for no more than three or four couples, so they would have plenty of room to themselves. King Boo let her let go as he clapped his hands, summoning what Peach believed to be a pianola, (although it may have simply been a haunted piano) that began to play a slow waltz.

She quickly curtseyed to him, but he looked annoyed at the distance between them.

"You are to be my wife! Come closer."

His words reminded her that as part of their deal, she would have to marry him eventually. It unnerved her, and he seemed to notice this as she tiptoed a little closer to him. She gazed up. Boos were the strangest looking things, and King Boo was no exception – he was practically just a sphere of fear, and yet here he was with one of his nubby little arms outstretched, hoping to pull her close to him and partake in the intimate act of dancing. It was a little too intimate for her liking.

She was hesitant to take it, but he was looking impatient now. Everything told her to run. Her hand shook a little as she raised it to him.

It was then that something changed in him. King Boo read her fear like a book; it was what he did best, after all. He remembered what that scientist had said about making her comfortable.

He sighed in defeat. "Would it make you more comfortable if I looked more human?"

Now Peach didn't know what to say. The truth was yes, it would, a lot, as at least then she might be able to imagine herself with someone nicer if he didn't look so terrifying. And surely it would be easier to actually dance with him if he wasn't just an orb.

But then again, would he be offended by that? The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry.

"...Maybe?"

King Boo rolled his eyes. Mortals!

"Fine, my dear. Stand back a little." He clapped his nubs together and summoned a cloud of mist.

Peach watched his silhouette change from spherical to humanoid behind it, and she was almost excited to see what he looked like.

He twisted his wrists and clicked his fingers, and the mist subsided. Although the difference in his appearance was drastic, Peach could easily tell it was him. His eyes were still dark with glowing purple pupils; his teeth were still large and sharp and accompanied by his long, blue tongue; his complexion remained pale; but he now had arms, and almost legs, although they found themselves curling into a ghostly tail eventually. His hair was almost all neatly combed back into a short ponytail, with the rest hanging down the sides of his face and flicking outwards towards the bottom. He wore a long, regal jacket with tails, under which he had a shirt and waistcoat, in pale grays and blues. Behind it all, he wore a magnificent white cape, lined with purple velvet that fell behind him, and his signature crown remained on his head. He was still a big fellow, not just in floating height, but also respectfully brawny.

"I think this form might be growing on me."

He dryly looked to the side, and Peach could swear that he flushed a little. She hadn't seen him blush yet – it was a light blue, much like his tongue. "Will this be satisfactory, dear?"

She found herself a little dumbfounded at him as he held out his hand again, but softly, she took it, mumbled a 'yes' and waited for him to pull her into him.

King Boo looked back at her. "Well, I can't just have me transforming and then have your dress clash with my coattails." He thought for a moment, before lightly brushing the pink material of her dress, and Peach watched as he spread silver through her gown where the pale pink had once been.

He'd only changed the color scheme, replacing her pink with silver, and her gloves and the dresses darker details with the purple of his eyes, but she already felt completely different.

"Silver's... not normally my color." She remarked wryly.

King Boo took her waist with his free hand, and pulled her face close to his. "I think it suits you, my dear." He didn't quite purr, but it was close. She probably would have snorted at the cheesy line had she known him better.

Peach gazed into his void-like eyes; she'd normally be terrified – her common sense told her to let go of him and run, that she was in too deep now, he could do anything and she was defenseless.

But something else in her found comfort in his ghostly grasp. She knew what to do.

Placing her free hand on his shoulder, she faked some confidence and smiled up at him.

"Let's dance."

She almost instantly regretted it as he took her words as an invitation to bring her even closer. His body was cool, but not uncomfortable, and she assumed that they looked quite the picture with their matching outfits, but Peach still hoped that no one would see them. As she looked back up at him once more, her feet beginning to melt into the step of the dance, she noticed that he had some elements of attractiveness, but whether they were aided or hindered by his scarier features was something she couldn't focus on. His outfit had an older style to it, in a similar aesthetic to the mansion, and many other factors she had noticed about him. He seemed to be keen on looks.

Finally realizing the reality of her situation, Peach found herself intrigued more and more by his human form the longer she danced with him. Was this simply an illusion of his, or was this an alternate form that all Boos could summon, but they preferred their usual round ones? Was it exclusive to him? She wasn't sure if he was bringing her closer to him, or if his hand had always been so close to her hair, but as she finally found the courage to maintain eye contact for more than half a second, it also took all her concentration to do so, and her feet stumbled.

King Boo somehow managed to twirl her as she fell, and caught her in a dip with a slight smirk on his face.

"It seems like you're falling for me, my dear."

Peach flushed at his comment - not enough to make her fully red in the face, but enough to distract herself from spotting the blush on his own face.

King Boo picked her back up again, took a step backwards and burst back into his usual form.

She found her dress turn back to its usual colors

"Would you like me to escort you back to your room, Princess Peach?"

Peach held out her hand with a smile and nodded. "You can just call me Peach."

Since the Mario Bros. had been turned back from portraits and had the situation explained to them, they were equally as worried as Toadette, Peasley and Daisy were, if not more so. Mario was upset, and certainly angry, but knew there wasn't much he could do against King Boo, and he needed to be there to protect the Mushroom Kingdom against other threats. Luigi was pretty sure he could face King Boo again, and although the idea terrified him, the princess's situation scared him more. He wouldn't go, however, in case King Boo would hurt the princess if someone tried to stand up to him. Peasley had to return home at one point, but was back for a quick visit to see how things were, and Daisy stayed to help Toadsworth out with some of the more princess-y things as he was covering for her. He'd never been as good at giving speeches as the princess was.

It was then that they got a letter. The wax seal and address were unfamiliar to all of them, but they recognised the handwriting.

She'd sent a letter home.

A.N: The dance sequence was OG author's first and favorite thing to write Kippea wise at the time. I think it still holds up nicely to this day.:)

Also, super happy to finally at least mention my baby boy KaBoom! He's been wanting to be introduced so bad, like when Peach first arrived or when KB went to the Professor for the first time, but we'll see him in full soon, I promise.