Chapter 9 Crashing the Crowning

Peach gasped as she went flying back into the wall behind her. The screams of her subjects erupted around her, beating down on both her eardrums and her psyche. She tried to breathe, but that was an impossibility. She tried to keep a level head, but that was just as impossible. She tried to detect where the boom had come from. Thankfully, this wasn't as impossible, but unfortunately, discovering the cause of this development brought her no form of comfort. All it did was cause her to panic.

The gem around her neck… it was shooting off arcane blasts.

"What is…?" Before she could say anymore, the gem glowed again and encased her in some sort of red force field. Peach's eyes grew extra wide, and she felt enough fright to faint. She didn't though; her subjects were in danger. She needed to come to their aid.

So, she banged against the walls of the force field. Her knuckles stung the longer she attempted this, and her tears threatened to drown her. But she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. With everyone panicking like this, to say they needed assistance was an understatement. They needed a good leader, someone with a firm hand who could assure them and make sure they were all safe. As such, Peach wasn't going to stop.

Instead, she increased the frequency of her pushing against the force field. She gritted her teeth, now ramming her entire body against the magical walls. It hurt like nobody's business, no doubt leaving some discolored and ugly bruises on the new queen's body. But again, she couldn't stop. She was going to get to her servants, reassure them, and make sure each and every one of them got out of this situation alive…

BOOM!

Peach gasped as another arcane blast shot out of her talisman. Unlike her, it fazed through the force field with ease, and as such aimed itself at the ceiling. It felt as though things moved in slow motion as Peach watched it hit and cause the ceiling to collapse. Looking at the pile of smoky and dusty debris it left in its wake, Peach felt as though she was going to throw up. There was no doubt in her mind that some people got caught underneath the pile, and now were in need of even more help than before.

As such, Peach resumed pushing and banging against the force field. "Come on, come on!" Sweat formed all over her body. "I know I can do this; I know I can…"

"MWAHAHAHA!"

Every last part of Peach froze. That sound, that laugh… was there a more terrifying noise? Was there a sound in the world that bloodcurdling, that alien? Peach didn't move as fear took over her mind. "What… what…" she tried to speak, but forming a coherent sentence was an impossibility.

"My dear queen. How does it feel to bear the crown of this kingdom now?"

Peach's heart skipped a beat. That… that voice! She had heard it before! But… no no, it couldn't be! There was no way that that voice belonged to…

Peach looked forward, squinting through the smoke. Her heart rate picked up when she saw two silhouettes, standing perfectly still and perfectly composed despite the people screaming and crying around them. With the taller one wearing a long, flowing robe, it quickly became obvious to Peach exactly who these people were. She wished she was wrong. She wished that they weren't who she thought they were, wished that she was just seeing things…

But when they emerged from the smoke, wearing the most wicked and pleased grins ever, there was no denying who they were. Peach almost threw up right there looking into the amused, happy, and psychotic face of her fortune teller of Cackletta and her assistant, Fawful.

"How… how…." Once again, Peach had trouble speaking. She couldn't get her tongue to cooperate, and the words she did manage to get out sounded like squeaks from a mouser.

As such, both Cackletta and Fawful giggled like little girls. "How amusing this be," Fawful said, holding onto his sides as his laughter grew stronger.

"Yes, indeed," Cackletta said. Still wearing the haunting grin from before, she slowly made her way over to Peach. Chills ran through the queen's body, and she shook with fear as icy sweat covered her.

"Y…you." Peach's eyes were wide staring into the face of the fortune teller, but somehow, she could actually find the strength to speak now. "You tricked me?" She placed one hand on the wall of the force field, and another on her talisman. "You gave me this knowing what it would do?"

"Why, of course, your highness." The inflection she used to address Peach by that term sounded wrong on every conceivable level. She let out another laugh, one that felt like a kick to Peach's stomach. "When I construct an evil plan, I do it with intentionality."

It took all the self-control Peach had at her disposal to not vomit. "How… why? Why would you do this? Why would you commit such a horrible act of treason?"

"Oh, dear queen," Cackletta said, a type of madness dancing in her eyes. "You ask way too many questions." She took a step closer, and Peach felt like curling up into a little ball. "What you do need to know is that your family's time to reign is officially over!" She spread her arms, now looking bigger than she ever had before. "Now it is Cackletta's turn to rule! Now, it is time that a completely new era begins!"

"Indeed!" Fawful exclaimed as he came to stand beside his boss. "The great Cackletta will rule the fink rats of this kingdom with the claw of iron!"

Peach didn't say anything to this. She couldn't, mostly because her mind was filled with way too many layers of guilt. Why? Why did she trust these two in the first place? Why did she think that they were completely safe to be around when every single last second of being in their presence felt wrong? Peach should've listened to her gut. She shouldn't have been so foolish to listen to them, so foolish to take the talisman and wear it like it was no big deal.

"Oh, don't cry, dear Peach," Cackletta said through a round of giggles. "It's not like you would've made that good of a queen to begin with."

Peach felt as though she had been punched in the face. Tears started to flow, and she put her head in her hands as the evil fortune teller… no, evil witch stood over her.

"Maybe you just need time away from the castle to feel better," Cackletta said. "Thankfully, that can very easily be arranged."

She clapped her hands together, and before Peach even knew what was going on, the force field keeping her prisoner shot up into the air. The last thing Peach saw in the castle was Cackletta, looking up at her and giving her the ugliest type of sneer.

…

CRASH!

Peach gasped when the force field landed on the ground, shattering into a million pieces. This left her submerged in the sand, with the stuff hiding in her hair and covering her dress. Coughing, Peach reached her hand up to her neck. She found comfort in feeling her brother's broach, which was a much-needed emotion. She didn't feel the same about feeling Cackletta's talisman.

No, instead, she felt a thousand different types of negative emotions overtake her. Anger. Disbelief. Hatred. Regret… She plucked it off her neck, stood up, and screamed as she threw the blasted thing as far as she could. It plopped in the sand, which would no doubt bury it and hide it away from anyone as foolish as Peach who wanted to get a hold of it.

Peach let out a breath. She shouldn't be focusing on that right now. She needed to think things through; and actually come up with a decent plan and a way to approach this situation. She reasoned that, since she was surrounded on all sides by sand, she was currently in Teehee Valley. Not an ideal place to be, but there was at the very least hope to be found here. Why? Well, there was a town within this region: Little Fungitown. This meant Peach wasn't totally cut off from civilization, no matter how disheartening and dangerous being stranded in a desert was. If she could just get to Little Fungitown, maybe she could find some assistance. Maybe she could get the help she needed, find a way to defeat Cackletta, and take back her kingdom. Sure, was it a perfect or even well-detailed plan? Not in the slightest. But then again, what else could Peach do? She was away from her castle, in one of the hottest regions in her kingdom. If she didn't make her way to Little Fungitown, she would experience a lot of problems, the least of which being her dropping dead. If she dropped dead, she wouldn't be of any good to her kingdom. She wouldn't be able to correct her mistake.

So, to Little Fungitown she would go. She didn't know what direction she needed to go though… Little Fungitown was in the eastern part of the region, but which way was east? It was noon, so looking at the sun wasn't exactly going to help her out…

But that didn't matter! She would find Little Fungitown! She didn't care if she had to traverse the entire valley! She didn't care if she encountered monsters and bandits on the way! She wouldn't stop until she found it. Her entire kingdom depended on her succeeding.

So, with that thought in mind, Peach started to make her way forward.

…

Peach panted. The sun beat down on her, practically cooking her alive. Every part of her felt like it was burning up, from the bottoms of her feet to the parts of her body covered by her now ruined dress. She hadn't eaten or drunken anything for hours now, and the heat was sucking hydration out of her without any trouble. If she didn't find Little Fungitown soon, she might not be able to live to see tomorrow.

So, she kept going forward. Ignoring her dry throat, ignoring her stinging feet, she kept her eyes open for Little Fungitown, the only source of hope she had left. I'm going to find it, she thought to herself. The kingdom needs me to find it, so darn it, I'm going to find it. I'll save everyone. I'll make sure everything is set right. I don't care how long it take. I don't care how long it takes..

Unfortunately, Little Fungitown was still nowhere to be seen. The only things that met Peach's eyes were the occasional cactus, the occasional fossil, and a lot of mirages. Peach had told herself to not give up, despite how disheartening her lack of progress was turning out to be. She told herself to keep going, for she was the queen. Despite how awful her coronation ended up being, she wasn't going to let her kingdom down. She would be a good queen. She would come to her kingdom's aid.

But… but it was so darn hot. Peach's strength was draining by the second. She… she needed to stop. She needed to rest…

"Don't," Peach told herself as her eyelids drooped. "Don't stop now…" she stumbled forward a little bit. "You need to keep going. You… need… to…"

…

Peach groaned. She began to stir, coming back to her senses slowly but surely. She felt something comfy beneath both her back and her head, something comfy and soft. She opened her eyes, blinking to find herself in some kind of room. If she had the energy, she would have set up in bed right then and there.

"What?" Peach's eyes scanned the room, the well air-conditioned room. "How did I…?"

Laughter came from the other side of the room. "Good, you're awake." The person who laughed walked closer to the bed. "You wouldn't believe how scared I was when I found you passed out in the sand."

Peach blinked. She turned her head and gasped. This… could it really be? She hadn't seen him in years… could it really be him?

"Peasley?"