Chapter 15 Right and Less Right

Celia stared into the mirror. She ran her hand through her fiery hair, noting the texture and color. She touched her face, taking note of its texture as well. She rolled her sleeve back and looked at her arm, specifically at a patch of scales that she had since birth. She touched them, noting how rough they felt. She never really thought twice about these scales throughout her life. But now that their existence was hanging in the balance…

Without really thinking about it, Celia whimpered. She rolled her sleeve back, feeling like she was just minutes away from bawling. Something about the idea of becoming either fully human or fully koopa… she couldn't even begin to wrap her head around it. There was so much at stake here. Sure, there were some positives to doing it; in fact, there were quite a few positives. Say, for example, she decided to go fully human while living in the Mushroom Kingdom. She and her mother wouldn't get nearly as many looks or nasty comments. Going out in public and interacting with people would also be so much easier. All the racism and hate she had received would vanish into the ether, never to be heard from again. It sounded like paradise, a dream that Celia had as a child that never really had the opportunity to come true until now.

But… would it be worth it?

Would looking at herself in the mirror without recognizing who she was be worth it? Would it be worth changing every aspect of her anatomy into something she wasn't even one hundred percent sure she would like? And… what would her parents think of this? Would her dad feel hurt if she gave up her koopa half? Would they mourn what used to be? Would they feel bad for her, wishing that she hadn't decided to go through something so drastic? Would they, as well as she, be happy if she did this and changed her life forever?

Once again, Celia whimpered. She walked over to her bed, laying her head down on her pillow. There was just… so much that she had to worry about when it came to this decision. She didn't want to become fully human… but at the same time, she wanted it more than anything else in the entire world. This state, where she was caught between wanting two entirely different things, was one of the worst conditions she had been in in a while; she felt bad enough to compete with the hell she had lived through in Neo Bowser's City's sewer system. Not only was her mind filled with questions and concerns, but her whole body felt like it was working against her. Her heart ached, it felt like she was going to throw up. She tried adjusting her position in the bed, but that didn't help. After all, she couldn't get comfortable physically if she was discombobulated mentally.

"Celia!" Singe's voice called out. "Supper time!"

Celia let out a breath. Oh, supper. Maybe that could distract her. Sure, she felt like vomiting at the moment, so she didn't know how well she could stomach dinner. Even still, she would happily join her parents, if for no other reason than to have something to do.

So, she went out to the dining room. Both Singe as well as her mother, Ruby, were there, with the latter in particular standing over the meal with pride. Questioning her mother revealed to Celia that Ruby had made this delicious-looking pot roast all by herself, which was both surprising and delightful considering that Ruby was normally really bad at cooking. Maybe this display showed that Ruby was finally improving. That seemed to be the case… until Celia took her first bite. It tasted… wrong, as none of the seasonings Ruby had put into the pot meshed well with one another. Still, it wasn't burnt, so it was technically an improvement.

The family ate away, with Singe somehow looking like he was enjoying the awful food. Both he and Ruby talked with one another, but Celia didn't really pay attention to them. In truth, she kind of zoned out, not paying attention. She didn't do anything either save for pick at her food with her fork.

"Celia, are you okay?"

Celia did a double take. She saw both of her parents, staring at her with furrowed brows. She hesitated, all at once unsure what she should or shouldn't reveal. "Uh, um…" she struggled to speak for quite a bit, but eventually, she decided to be honest. After all, what was happening in her mind very much involved her parents, so it wasn't a good idea to keep them in the dark.

"There's something I need to tell you."

With that, she started to explain. Ruby laughed out loud when she heard Roy was a human now, clearly not fully believing it until Singe stepped in to confirm it. Aside from that, they stayed silent and listened to Celia's plight. When she finally revealed what Roy had suggested to her, and when she revealed the dilemma that she was in the process of facing, both of their eyes grew wide. They exchanged a look, all while a squirmy feeling filled Celia's stomach.

"So… I don't really know what to do," she said. She bit her lip. "Um… what do you guys think?"

In truth, Celia expected both of her parents to deny that this was a good idea. So, she was extremely surprised about what Singe said when he spoke up. "It's… it's certainly an interesting idea. I can tell you from firsthand experience how hard it is to exist as a koopa in the Mushroom Kingdom. So… this would provide a lot of benefits."

Celia did a double take. She was just about to question her father's words, but her mother beat her to it.

"Singe!" She exclaimed, placing her hands down on the table as she stood up. "If she did this, literally nothing about her would be the same! She would be someone completely different, someone unrecognizable!"

Celia bit her lip again, on some level thankful that her mother was taking this stance. However, she wasn't exactly against what Singe said when he spoke up again.

"I know Ruby, I know. But think about it like this; she has the opportunity to feel more comfortable with her life. She could finally be treated the way she deserves, the way she always deserved."

Ruby sharply exhaled. "If people don't treat her with respect and dignity, then that's on them. Not on her." She looked back at Celia, making direct eye contact with her. "I can't even believe Roy would suggest something like this! It's horrible! You wouldn't be you, Celia; you wouldn't be the unique, wonderful person that you were born as!"

"Uh," Singe chimed in, "She would just be changing her physical appearance, Ruby. Her appearance has nothing to do with who she is on the inside."

"True." Ruby looked back at Singe. "But what she is has shaped her. What you are born as impacts everybody, for better or for ill. If she were to get rid of her koopa half, she would be spitting in the face of that! She would be saying that being a hybrid has no significance, that what makes her special doesn't have the right to be celebrated!"

Celia sunk into her seat. She hadn't exactly thought about it like that…

"That might be true. But…" Singe struggled to speak, looking at Celia with hurt eyes. "But just because she'd be taking on a human form wouldn't mean that she'd be forgetting about her time as a hybrid. She could start a new life while still looking back on her old life as a positive thing." He looked back at his wife. "That's what happens with people who go through big changes. It's not saying that the past is insignificant; it's saying that the person is looking back on it and deciding to go in a different, better direction."

Ruby gawked. "Singe…" she pinched her brow. "Singe, what you're saying really only applies best to people whose past is extremely messy, like someone with a violent temper or someone who did horrible things. It doesn't apply to someone who hasn't done anything wrong except being born different from the norm!"

Singe hesitated. "I… that is true…"

"I can't even believe that you're making these arguments!" Ruby exclaimed. She put her hands on her hips. "Wouldn't her getting rid of her koopa half essentially be spitting in your face? Wouldn't it rub you the wrong way if she decided to ignore the traits that you were responsible for giving her?"

Singe was silent for a little bit. "I… I mean, I wouldn't be thrilled." He scratched the back of his head. "But I also understand that her getting rid of it would be a decision made based on what she thinks is best for her. Sure, it would sting for me, but I can also recognize that it would bring many good things…"

"But would those good things be worth it?" Ruby asked, her voice rising in volume now. "Would all the supposedly good things that would come from doing something like this be worth my sweet baby girl giving up such a big part of herself?"

Singe gawked. "Ruby…"

"Singe, Celia is someone who I've watched grow up. Sure, she has experienced hate, but I also remember how proud she was about having a koopa father when she was younger! She… she liked that she was different, and the only thing that changed that were some horrible children she ran across in her school. If… if she were to give up her koopa half, she would be saying that they were right. She would be saying that all of the nasty things they said to her were one hundred percent warranted. She… she would be saying that her koopa half never mattered, that her uniqueness is something worth disregarding as opposed to celebrating. Would that really be the right thing to do? Would… would it be right for our beautiful daughter to give in to societal pressure when what society is telling her is one hundred percent wrong?"

There was silence. Nobody moved, and nobody said anything. It wasn't until Celia started sniffling that the room finally filled up with noise again.

"I… I…" she wiped her face, somehow feeling even more lost and even less certain than she felt before. "Excuse me…"

With that, she got up from the table. She didn't even take the time to look into the eyes of her shocked and hurt parents before bolting to her room.

…

The next morning, Wendy rose bright and early. As she got out of bed, her heart fluttered with excitement over what was going to happen. Sure, the conversation with Ludwig the day before was still fresh in her mind, but she wasn't going to spend too much time thinking about that. Instead, she was going to welcome this new day, where she was in a human form and had the chance to make friends with a sweet girl with Toadette.

So, she smiled for most of the morning. Her smile only got bigger as she went to put on her face and dress herself. This was especially true because, for the first time in her entire life, she was able to use a hairbrush. She had dreamed about this since she was younger, and now, it was happening! She was able to run a brush through her gorgeous hair and enjoy every second of it. Sure, it was a pain since she had knots, but that hardly mattered to her. Every rose had its thorns after all, and this was one rose she was willing to accept thorns and all.

Eventually, she was all set. Her hair was brushed and styled in the best way possible. Her face had some of the most beautiful makeup she could remember using in recent memory, and her outfit was such an amazing shade of periwinkle that it would make anybody's jaw drop. Overall, Wendy was beautiful from head to toe, and felt more confident in her appearance than she ever had before.

So, she left her room with a pep in her step. She kept a close eye on the clock, and she paid extra amounts of attention to the people who she passed by in the castle. After all, Mario hadn't been really thrilled with the Koopalings leaving the building. Running into him when she had every intention of doing just that would be… awkward.

Thankfully, she didn't run into him. Which meant she could go outside without any hassle. When nine o'clock rolled around, she snuck out of the castle's back door with the sneakiest steps possible. She kept looking over her shoulder as she wove around to the front of the castle, her heart beating extra fast. When she got to the front and saw Toadette standing near the bridge that passed over the moat, she took a long, deep breath.

"Okay," she muttered to herself. "You can do this, Wendy." She wiped some sweat off her brow. "You can do this…"

With that, she walked up to Toadette, angling her direction to make it look like she was coming in from out of Toad Town. When Toadette saw her, not only did she look excited, but her jaw dropped as well.

"Woah! You look amazing!"

Wendy's face grew warm as she grinned. "Thanks." She swept her hair back, another action she had dreamed of being able to do. "That's really nice to hear from you."

"Well, you do! Everything about your outfit looks stunning!" She grinned, her black eyes twinkling like the stars. "You have amazing fashion sense, Anna!"

Wendy chuckled nervously at the mention of the fake name she gave Toadette earlier. "Um… thanks." She once again thought about the conversation with Ludwig, and as such, she felt incredibly guilty. However, she managed to push that to the side. "So… this tour of Toad Town…"

"Oh yes!" Toadette clapped her hands together. "Follow me; I'll show you everything!"