Chapter 16 Hoohoo Village

When Peach and the hoohooligan got up to Peasley, Peach had to use all the self-control she had at her disposal to not cry. Cuts and gashes were all over his body, some deep enough to cause him to bleed. He also had multi-colored bruises decorating his face, and there were even some marks that looked suspiciously like teeth marks. Peach's heart pounded in her ears, and she only grew more terrified as the hoohooligan bent down and put their fingers to his chest.

"Hmm…" they stood back up. "Well, he is alive." Those words did very little to comfort Peach, unfortunately. "When we get back to the village, I know of a witch doctor who will probably be able to fix him up."

A pit formed in Peach's stomach. "W…witch doctor…" she hesitated before her eyes traveled back down to her brother. She pushed her emotions to the side and turned back to her companion. "Alright. That would be for the best."

The hoohooligan smiled and quickly lifted Peasley onto the cloud. Since he was closer to her, Peach was able to hear his breathing rate more clearly. The shallow breaths, entering and exiting his body in the most painful way possible, made Peach whimper. Again, it took a lot of self-control to not bawl like a baby.

The hoohooligan steered the cloud backward. Peach kept her hand on Peasley's chest as they sailed through the air, both for his sake and for hers. The trio passed over many parts of the mountain, and much to Peach's dismay, they appeared to be descending instead of ascending. Obviously, this meant that they were getting farther away from Peach and Peasely's original goal. However, Peach wasn't going to complain; as long as Peasley was patched up, then she had nothing to worry about.

It took about twenty minutes before they reached the village, all the way down at the base of the mountain. The buildings were quite quaint, with some appearing to be carved into the mountain itself. All types of hoohooligans frequented this place, going around with smiles on their faces and a spring in their step. Peach noticed the hoohooligan accompanying them smile when they saw the village, which made sense to Peach. Anybody would be happy to see their home. However, there was also something about the way this particular hoohooligan looked. They had a sparkle in their eye that was impossible to fake, and they overall looked more comfortable and more at ease. It was an interesting sight to the Princess, and it made her think of her past. When she was a kid, she would feel the exact same way when she went to her bedroom. It was her haven, her safe space.

Hopefully, she and Peasley would be able to restore that safe space.

"Welcome to Hoohoo Village," the hoohooligan said, still looking delighted. They set the cloud down on the ground, picking up Peasley as they did. "Okay." They stepped off the cloud, and Peach stepped off too. The hooholigan gestured for her to follow. "The witch doctor shouldn't be too far."

Peach nodded, and they began walking across the village. As they did, Peach noticed quite a few hoohooligans staring at them. Some dropped their jaws when they saw her, and some whispered back and forth. Peach curled her hair back when she saw this, unsure how to feel. She supposed it made sense, given how she was royalty, but… well, it felt weird. It felt just as odd as when she was at the coronation, and how everyone had their eyes on her. Of course, this wasn't as bad as the coronation, as she didn't have an unmanageable anxiety she was wrestling with. But still, it felt strange.

"There's the princess!" She heard someone whisper.

"She's not the princess anymore," someone whispered back. "She got crowned recently."

"Oh yeah!" They looked back at Peach. "What's she doing here?"

"I'm not sure…"

A pit formed in Peach's stomach. Clearly, these people hadn't heard about what actually happened at the coronation. Oh man, how would they react to that? How would they feel if they knew that their new queen inadvertently doomed them all?

Thankfully, Peach didn't have to deal with the unease that question brought her for long, as they had arrived at the witch doctor's place. Like some of the other buildings in Hoohoo Village, it was carved in the side of the mountain, a decision that made it look even more snug than it would otherwise. They all stepped into the building, with Peach immediately smiling when she saw the interior. It was so cozy, with some blue paint used to decorate the rock walls. It was a soothing color to the queen, one that always seemed to put her in a good mood. This was no exception; her fear and unease were lessening by a considerable amount.

"Okay," the hoohooligan said. They went to the far side of the room, knocking on a door. Within no time at all, another hoohooligan answered. They were probably the witch doctor, which Peach found weird cause they didn't resemble any of the witch doctors she had heard about. Huh; maybe she had gotten her knowledge mostly from harmful stereotypes... Anyway, the witch doctor smiled when they saw the queen's companion.

"Hoolina! Nice to see you!" His eyes traveled down, and he gasped. "Oh, my word! What happened?"

"A Beanie attack," Hoolina said, her voice grim. "Do you think you can patch him up, Hoobert?"

Hoobert the witch doctor looked down, studying Peasley. The suspense that hung in the air made Peach's blood run cold. Could they do it? Oh God, what if they couldn't? Would Peasley be alright? What would become of him if the doctor couldn't fix him?

"Yeah," Hoobert eventually said, bringing Peach immense relief. "Yeah, I can patch him up." They took Peasley from Hoolina. "Just give me about five minutes."

With that, they closed the door. Hoolina let out a breath. "Well." She went over to the queen, smiling as she did. "You should feel lucky that I came across you, your highness."

Peach chuckled. "Oh, I do. I really do." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Those beanies were brutal."

"As they so often are." Hoolina's brow furrowed. "They don't care if you are royalty or not. They will attack you, and they will get immense pleasure out of doing it. They are vicious. They are ruthless."

Peach nodded. "I don't doubt that for a second." She bit her lip, keeping her eyes focused on the door to the doctor's area. "Oh man, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to Peasley or me if…" she stopped, finding that she had immense trouble speaking.

"I know," Hoolina said. She placed her hand on Peach's arm. "I especially wouldn't have wanted to lose such promising royal figures as you two."

Guilt seized Peach when she heard that. "Y… yeah." Her stomach churned, and she felt like she was just on the verge of throwing up. "Th… thanks."

Hoolina smiled, a sight that just proved to make Peach feel worse. To think she had let someone like Hoolina down. To think that there were several people who actually thought she would do a good job as queen. Oh man. This made what she did even more terrible, didn't it? She should have listened to Lady Lima and her mother when they gave her advice. She shouldn't have let her own fear get the better of her. That's not what queens did. That's not what she should've done…

"Well!" Hoobert called out as the door burst open! "Ladies and gentlemen, try not to lose your heads as you see my handiwork!"

Peach's heart skipped a beat as Hoobert gestured toward the door. She actually gasped out loud when she saw Peasley coming out, looking like nothing had happened to him in the first place. "Peasley!" She rushed over to him. "Oh, Peasley!" She stopped, uncertain if she should hug him. "Are you alright?"

Peasley chuckled and flipped his golden locks. "I'm perfect, Peach."

"He most certainly is!" Hoobert exclaimed. "Some of my best work yet, if I'm being frank." His face fell. "Just… just be careful; bugs might be more attracted to him for a day or two." Everyone gave him a raised eyebrow, making him chuckle nervously. "I… I had to use some strange materials…"

Peach stared at him before shaking her head. "Well, that doesn't matter." She smiled, turning back to Peasley and giving him the biggest hug she could muster. "Oh, I'm so glad that you're safe!"

Peasley hugged her back. "Me too." He rubbed her back with one of his hands, an action that was so good it made Peach sniffle. She squeezed him extra tight, not wanting to let go for a good long while.

Alas, she eventually had to. She pulled away from her brother and turned back to Hoobert and Hoolina. "Thank you so much you two. We owe you a lot."

"It's nothing, Your Majesty," Hoolina said as she took a bow. Hoobert did the same thing, with both of their heads looking like they were going to touch the ground. "It's the least we could do for our new queen."

Peach's face grew warm. "Y… yeah." She let out a breath before turning to Peasley. "Anyway, should we continue making our way to Stardust Fields?"

Peasley seized up. "Um… we can do that eventually." He scratched the back of his head. "But honestly, I'm a little tired." He chuckled. "Getting attacked by beanies takes a lot out of you, you know?"

Peach stopped to think about this. "I… yeah." She thought back to when she had been hanging by a cliff, how terrifying and horrible that had been. Wouldn't it make sense that she would try to rest after such an experience? "Maybe… maybe getting some rest wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…"

"Ooh!" Hoolina said, her face lighting up. "You can stay at my house! I have an extra bedroom!"

"Oh…" Peach shook her head. "We could never do that…"

"No please, I insist." Hoolina grinned now. "It would be an exquisite honor for me to host royalty."

Peach exchanged a look with Peasley. "Uh…" she looked back at Hoolina, who looked like she wasn't going to take no for an answer no matter what. So, Peach put on a smile. "Sure! That would be great!"

…

Later that day, Peach and Peasley found themselves in Hoolina's guest bedroom. The hoohooligan sorceress had served them dinner not too long ago, which had made Peach feel delighted as well as full. Now, she and Peasley were sitting in their borrowed beds, with both of them ready to turn in for the night.

"Well," Peasley said as he pulled up the covers. "We made some good progress today." He chuckled. "Wouldn't you say, Peach?"

"Yeah." Peach smiled a little "Yeah, I would." Her face fell. "I just… wish we never ran into those beanies."

Peasley's face fell too. "I… yeah." He looked away from her. "That wasn't fun."

"No, it wasn't." The two sat in silence for a minute. "Especially since…" Peach's face grew warm. "Especially since you got hurt." Peasley turned toward her as she stumbled over her words. "I mean… I'm glad you were able to get healed. But if you hadn't…" she sniffled, her emotions starting to get overwhelming. "I don't know what I would do."

A silence filled the room. "Peach…" Peasley looked like he wanted to say a million things, yet knew none of them would be appropriate for the situation. He eventually cleared his throat. "Thanks, Peach." He grabbed hold of the blanket, squeezing it as he frowned. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you either. Especially…" he hesitated. "Especially so soon after we reunited. So soon after you got coronated."

Peach blinked, a thousand emotions making themselves known inside her. "Th… thanks, Peasley." The two sat in silence before Peach cleared her throat. "I…" Her face grew warm again, all at once feeling at a loss for words. She looked out the window, noticing the orange glow of the setting sun. "We should probably get some sleep. Want to be well rested for the rest of the journey."

"Of course." Peasley got under the covers. "Good night, Peach."

"Good night, Peasley." Peach squeezed her sapphire broach before reaching toward the lamp and turning it off. As she settled in, she sighed.

I hope the rest of the journey isn't as treacherous.