Bowsette: A New Life

Chapter 10
Children

A couple more weeks went by with Bowsette settling into a routine. Bowsette quickly finished her reading and devoted her days to this impromptu training regimen whenever she didn't have to deal with her royal duties. With the Koopa Kingdom's healing magic the troops recovered quickly and found themselves being thrown at an exhausted Bowsette time and time again, much to their dismay.

Kamek was concerned, he had rarely seen his Mistress so… driven. If he didn't know better, he'd swear Queen Bowsette was trying to kill herself through exercise. The Queen he knew was certainly willing to work out sometimes, but never to this extent. This was quickly growing into an obsession that he wasn't sure was healthy. However, he didn't know what to do or say, Bowsette never asked for him and when he was present, she never spoke to him.

Still, Kamek had to admit it was an improvement compared to their… one might say, initial meeting. The rare moments Bowsette spared to attend to royal duties she was as competent as he expected, though she appeared quite uninterested in the proceedings. Young Master Bowser Jr. often asked after her, but Queen Bowsette made it clear to everyone that he was to come nowhere near her for the foreseeable future. Kamek could guess why, but that didn't make looking into the boy's miserable face any easier.

"My Queen?" Kamek risked saying one day as they were making their way back to her exercise room, Kamek in tow as always. "Hmm?" Bowsette said, she seemed distracted as per usual lately. "The Young Master has been asking after you again." Bowsette sighed. "Tell him I'll see him soon Kamek." She said dismissively for the dozenth time. "I'm afraid…" Kamek stopped. "he's been crying a lot lately your Highness."

That made Bowsette stop in her tracks. "Junior…" Bowsette put a hand to her chest as a rare feeling of guilt washed over her. "I'm… I'm really busy Kamek." Kamek nodded. "Bowser Junior knows that my Queen. He had admitted that…" Kamek couldn't find a better way to say it. "that he thinks you don't love him anymore." Kamek braced himself for the inevitable explosion.

Instead of the expected though, Bowsette just went still, she hardly even breathed. Even as Bowser, his son had meant absolutely everything to the Koopa King. Junior was just as devoted to him in turn, but that was before. "Kamek… I'm a stranger to my own son." Bowsette admitted. "I read it and still can't wrap my head around the fact that I gave birth to him myself. I was always on the outside looking in." Suddenly Bowsette struck the nearby wall hard enough to break the stone.

'What… did she do with him?' Bowser may have let his obsession with Peach, Mario, and the Mushroom Kingdom define his days, but he had always made time to spend with Junior. Evening meals, playing games, teaching him a few things here and there. Picnics, sports, dealing with his occasional tantrums, though Junior was better about that than Bowsette remembered being at that age. Those memories though… they were only in this Bowsette now, and whatever moments the other Bowsette had shared were lost to her.

What scared her more than anything, and she felt freer to admit her feelings to herself in her new situation, was the thought of how much Junior himself had changed. "What if he's different?" Bowsette asked absently to Kamek. Bowsette couldn't imagine being raised by a mother instead of his father wouldn't have changed the boy from what he knew, even if only somewhat. His own mother had died giving birth to him and his father followed only a few years afterward, so Bowser barely remembered his own parents. Kamek basically was his father figure as far as Bowser could remember and he was ultimately a servant more than a parent.

Kamek sighed. "I understand Queen Bowsette." Though in truth he couldn't imagine the situation from her perspective, he had an inkling. "However, you will have to face him before long as I'm sure you're aware." Bowsette couldn't even be angry at the old Magikoopa's words, she knew it was true. Starting to walk again, Bowsette pondered her situation. Reading those dusty old reports and beating up Koopatrols was much easier, she didn't have to put much real thought into that. 'Going a dozen rounds with half my own army would be easier than this.'

***

"Young Master?" Kamek entered the young Bowser Junior's room. Normally the boy drew pictures, read books, made mostly crude plans to defeat Mario, played video games or watched KoopaTV, but lately he'd just laid in bed. "Yeah Kamek…?" Junior sighed. "Your mother the Queen requests your presence at dinner." Kamek said.

Instantly Junior perked up. "Really? Really really?" Kamek nodded. "Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes. The servants will ensure you are ready." Kamek noted. Junior was too excited to pay much attention, stomping around the room. 'Well, that brightened his spirits at least.' Kamek noted. Kamek sent attendants to the young Koopa as he left to take care of dinner arrangements as well.

***

The awkward silence at dinner stretched on for several minutes. Bowsette didn't know what to say or how to react. Thankfully her boy hadn't changed physically despite Bowsette's own changes, but emotionally and mentally Bowsette suspected was another matter. The two ate while glancing at each other every so often, but neither knew how to break the ice.

"So um…" The young koopa was the first to speak. "What've you been working on?" Junior asked. "Oh! Um… Lots of stuff son." Bowsette answered back noncommittally. "I mean your next plan. You've been working on something." Junior was always smarter than Bowser had given him credit for. "Right! I've got a magnificent plan to bring all the Mushroom Kingdom to its knees!" Bowsette boasted. "Really?" Junior said excited.

Bowsette froze. Come to think of it, she had been too busy just trying to adapt to her new circumstances to come up with a plan. "Um… actually… not really. Not for lack of trying." Bowsette admitted. For all else that was different it was hard to lie to her son. Bowser lying to him about Peach being his mother was more wishful thinking on his part than anything. She took a metal chalice in her hand and crushed it. "Ugh… it's so frustrating!" Bowsette grunted.

"It's alright Mama." Junior said. "Everybody has their bad times and good times." Bowsette chuckled. "I know son I know." Junior could always perk him up even after his worst defeats. The Moon Kingdom had rattled Bowser, and it seemed like from what he could find things hadn't gone any differently there either. Peach had even rejected Mario's proposal there, despite Bowsette not making her own attempt this time. That had made her feel a little better, maybe it was just her…

"Mama? You okay?" Junior's voice pulled her out of her own head. "Yeah my boy, just thinking." Bowsette shrugged "The hell with it, let's just go simple." Bowsette decided. "Kidnap the princess, let Mario work his way through to me, beat him up." An old and frequently used plan that didn't have much promise, but Bowsette didn't care. She just wanted to get back into the swing of things any way she could. She had finally gotten used to this new body and wanted to take it for a test run.

"Okay Mama!" Junior's enthusiasm was as high as ever. 'Maybe this won't be so bad…' Bowsette allowed herself to relax and finish dinner. Even after finishing the two chatted for hours about this and that, Bowsette taking comfort where she could in what about him stayed the same. The boy was as loving to his mother as he had been to his 'father' that much was clear, and it gave Bowsette a sense of relief.

The two chatted long into the night, when Bowsette noticed Junior's eyes drooped. "Well my boy, time for bed." Junior shook his head. "But I wanna be with you… YAWN… with…" Bowsette chuckled as she left her seat and walked over. "I'll read you a bedtime story, whatever you want." That's when Bowsette noticed Junior had fallen asleep in his chair.

Gently the Koopa Queen picked him up and carried Junior back to his room. She took a moment to remove his shell so he wouldn't leave holes in the mattress and tucked him in. "Goodnight son." Bowsette remained by Junior's side for a while before leaving. 'Now I've got to get to bed myself. Then… it's time to get back in the saddle.' Bowsette yawned.