Bowsette: A New Life
Chapter 15
Aftermath
It took hours, but Bowsette eventually managed to drag herself off the floor of her bedroom and stand shakily. The feelings that the plumber invoked that were still running through her head just confused her more and more. As Bowser he had loved Princess Peach and felt this strong attraction to her. Her refinement, her laugh, and of course she was gorgeous, but he had never had the kind of obsessive thoughts about her that were now forcing their way into the former Koopa King's mind and refused to leave.
Finally, Bowsette managed to pull the door open and looked around warily. If Mario were to show up now, she didn't know what she would do. Bowsette had completely lost control of herself, like her body had moved on its own, and it scared her. However, Bowsette couldn't just sit in her room forever terrified to come out. Bowsette was the Koopa Queen, she couldn't let fear rule her, she was the one destined to rule.
Bowsette did her best to push thoughts to Mario aside despite their strength and consider what her next move was. The rescue would have caused only relatively minor damage to her forces as it always did, nothing the Koopa Kingdom couldn't easily bounce back from. It was one of the reasons Bowsette had decided to go with the simple plan over something that would've needed major commitment of her forces.
Seeing no sign of anyone but her troops patrolling the hallways, Bowsette took a few deep breaths and made her way to the throne room. An idea was forming in her mind that she wouldn't even have considered before, but she knew she had to do it. The last thing she wanted was to deal with Mario or the Green Stache showing up and crushing her forces for the foreseeable future. She needed time to think, maybe a long time and Bowsette knew how to get it.
Upon reaching the throne room, Bowsette made it to her desk off to the side of the throne and rummaged around inside. Bowsette pulled out a diplomatic paper, pen, and envelope and sighed.
Dear Losers, Bowsette began.
***
It took a few days in Mario's condition, but Mario and Princess Peach did eventually get back to Peach's Castle. Mario was taken by the healers to tend to his wounds, though Peach had done her best to tend to him as well as she could on the way. The healers reported Mario took no permanent injuries, but he would be out of commission for a while.
Peach had the standard celebration for her return, though the parties got tiresome sometimes. A couple of days later Peach was walking the halls of the castle when she heard a voice that stopped her. "Princess! Your Highness! A letter for you." Toad rushed up and handed Peach a fancy black envelope with red stationery on the edges addressed directly to her. Turning it over, she noticed the Koopa Kingdom's emblem of that woman's face sealing it. 'Funny, she hardly ever sent letters.' Peach noted. 'Probably some demand for surrender or some such.' Still, Peach opened it anyway and looked. Her eyes widened.
"Toad. Get Toadsworth to the meeting room immediately. The Chancellor too and any other officials that are available." Peach considered. "Also get Mario from the infirmary if he's in shape to attend. This is no invitation; this is by royal order. Call for Luigi while we're at it." Peach demanded. "Yes Princess Peach." Toad said and rushed off. Peach read the letter repeatedly, but it was not fake. It was even marked with diplomatic stationery and signed by none other than the Koopa Queen herself. Still, Peach couldn't believe something wasn't up, it had to be a trick of some kind, there's no other explanation.
***
Mario lay in bed in the infirmary staring at the ceiling, as he had been for a couple days since they got back. He was hurting all over, but the healers assured him he'd be well enough to go home by tomorrow. The wounds the Koopa Queen had dealt to his body weren't mortal, but the one dealt to his mind might have shattered it if Mario hadn't been made of sterner stuff. As it was, all Mario could do was lie there and think about what had happened and why.
Time and again he thought back to the Koopa Queen kissing him, it was running through his head almost nonstop. He was certain there was some sort of trick Bowsette was trying to pull, but at the same time Mario just couldn't see what. Bowsette at that moment had him dead to rights all but literally. She would've been able to kill Mario right then and he wouldn't have been able to stop her. What kind of scheme could she be thinking of?
What worried Mario the most was how much he had started to enjoy it. At the time he had found himself regretting it when Bowsette stopped, and since then that had led to… other thoughts. Mario couldn't deny that the Koopa Queen was downright gorgeous, but he'd always felt so repulsed by her evil and cruelty it didn't really register to him most of the time. He always thought that Bowsette kidnapped Peach just to get a rise out of him in particular. Bowsette and Mario fought so many times both quick battles and long protracted fights that just didn't leave room for those kinds of thoughts.
"She let-a me go." Mario said to himself for the thousandth time. He was just closing his eyes to get some sleep when Toad walked into the room with several Toad guards. Toad took a moment to take one of the healers aside and talk in whispers before turning to Mario. "Master Mario. The Princess requests your presence at the meeting room." He spoke. "Tell-a the Princess I'm too tired for that…" The last thing he wanted was to see Peach at this moment. "I'm afraid it's a royal order Mister Mario." Toad said. "We'll carry you to the meeting room if we have to." Toad sounded regretful at that. Mario sighed and struggled to get up. "Fine… Let's-a see what she wants…" The healers helped support the plumber as he left the room.