(A/N: So in the first chapter, Mario's ready to take the next step in his relationship with Peach, and make her his wife. He should have no problems with that, considering that he's not a creep like Bowser, who would force a princess into saying 'yes' to a tyrant like him through blackmail. Let's see what happens!)
It had been about two weeks since Mario first announced to his family that he intended to marry Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. He had gotten the ring from Aunt Marie a week ago when the Avon orders arrived, and he also came up with a neat plan for proposing to the princess he loved.
"Mario, if you're going to propose to Peach at all, do you think that maybe you could get it over with today? I really don't know if I can keep news as exciting as this a secret for much longer. And you know how excited our family is at the prospect of you marrying a fine young lady like Princess Peach." Luigi said to him as they ate their breakfast on that sunny Saturday morning.
"Don't worry, Luigi. I was planning on seeing Peach today, and when I do, I'll put my proposal plan into play while I'm at her castle." Mario assured him.
"Are you going to ask her in front of the Toads there? I bet it'll really surprise them, as well as her." Luigi said.
"While that does sound like an interesting idea, it wasn't really part of my plan. And it might also be a little embarrassing for me and her. If the Toads see me asking her to marry me, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually started pressuring her to say yes to me, and I don't want the princess to feel pressured into answering the question positively, even if it was her intention. She might feel flustered and say 'no'." Mario explained.
"You're right. It's not a very good idea to ask her the question in front of others. Remember when Peach told us how Bowser straight-up blackmailed her into marrying him by having that magic friend of his use a torture curse on Toad?" Luigi said.
"Yeah, but she knows that I'd never do a thing like that if she didn't like me enough to marry me. As for Bowser, he can go jump in the Hudson River." Mario muttered.
"Good idea." Luigi said.
"But now to tell you about my actual proposal plan: do you remember that training course you saw me and the princess going through? The one you completed in less tries than it took me?" Mario asked.
"Of course I do, but just what does that thing have to do with you asking the princess for her hand in marriage?" Luigi asked, slightly confused.
"Here's the deal: I'm going to convince the princess that we should go to where the training course is. Then I'm going to talk her into going through it, and while she does, I'm going to move close to the flag at the end and get down on one knee." Mario began.
"What if she notices what you're doing?" Luigi asked.
"I doubt it. Peach is usually focused on what she's doing whenever she goes through the course, so I don't think she'll even notice what I'm up to." Mario replied.
"Oh, okay." Luigi said. He hadn't noticed that.
"And when she finally reaches the flag at the end, I'll surprise her with the ring and ask her the big question." Mario finished.
"Huh. That's even better." Luigi mumbled. Then he realized that Mario was feeling a little nervous about going through with the proposal, and he gave his brother a reassuring smile and said, "Don't be afraid, Mario. You know how much Peach loves you, and she knows you love her. I'm sure that she's going to give you the big answer you want to hear from her."
"Thanks, Lu." Mario replied, smiling back at his younger brother.
After finishing their breakfasts and washing the dishes, Mario and Luigi left the house. Luigi went out to run errands in town while Mario went right to Peach's Castle to see his lady love. When he decided he wanted to live in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario at first needed a map with a route to Peach's Castle, since he got lost the first time he went there. But after he visited Peach's Castle every day for two weeks in a row, Mario didn't need the map anymore.
Now that Mario and Luigi had lived in the Mushroom Kingdom for a year-and-a-half, they knew their way around. Mario knew how to get to the castle with no problems, and he smiled happily as the familiar building came into view.
"Hello, Mario. I assume you're here to see the princess?" the Toad guard in blue asked the red-capped plumber as he approached the front doors. The two Toad guards had become more familiar with Mario, since he was a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as the true love of Princess Peach. Also, Peach told them that if Mario came to the castle while she was there, they were to let him in without question, or else she would dock their pay.
"You assumed correctly. I am here to see the princess. She's usually the main reason why I come here." Mario replied.
"She's here, so you can go right in." said the Toad guard in yellow as he and his comrade moved aside and allowed Mario to enter the castle without further ado.
"Thank you." Mario said as he walked into the building.
"You're welcome." the guards replied.
The guards who worked inside the castle all knew Mario now, and they respected him for saving their kingdom, and for making their beautiful princess happier than they'd ever seen her. They knew that the princess was deeply in love with Mario, so they had to give Mario some respect, especially if he was to one day marry the princess.
Unfortunately, Mario found out that Peach was currently busy holding court in the throne room, so he couldn't really see her now. It would be rude to interrupt. But he decided that it didn't bother him too much. Her being busy gave him some time to remember just what he wanted to say to her when he put his plan into play.
"I just hope she'll accept the ring, and give me the answer I want to hear. She loves me, which is a big deal for all of us, because she never loved that dumb old Bowser to begin with." Mario said to himself as he reached for his pocket and felt the ring box in there. He hoped the princess would give him a positive reaction and response.
About 15 minutes later, the princess walked out of the throne room, and she was surprised to see Mario quietly sitting in a chair outside the room.
"Mario! What a pleasant surprise! I didn't know you were here!" Peach said, smiling brightly at the sight of her red-clad beau.
"Princess! I'm so glad to see you, my sweet angel!" Mario said, leaping out of the chair and giving her a big hug.
"Aww, you're so sweet! When did you get here?" Peach asked as she returned Mario's hug. She always felt safe and happy in his arms.
"Oh, about 15 minutes ago." Mario responded as he looked at his watch. He'd checked the time when he arrived, and now he was doing it again to see just how long he'd been waiting for his lovely girlfriend to finish up.
"What?! You've been waiting here that long?! Oh, sweetie, why didn't you tell me you were here sooner than this?!" Peach asked, sounding a little surprised as she let go of Mario and held him at arm's length.
"I found out that you were busy holding court when I arrived, and there was no way I was going to interrupt that. It wouldn't be the right thing to do." Mario explained.
"Okay, you're right about that. But if you happen to come to the castle when I'm holding court, you should let me know sooner. I'll gladly try and finish up quick so I can spend more time with you. I don't want you to have to sit around bored. And I'll do it because I love you so much." Peach replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Mario's face flushed. He loved when Peach kissed him. A kiss from Peach always made him feel good, and he felt like he loved her even more than he did, if that was even possible. Now he almost thought of proposing to her right on the spot. But he stopped himself. He knew that he couldn't do that yet. Not until they were outside, by the flag at the end of the training course.
"I'll have to remember that from now on..." Mario replied, drunk with love.
"Are you okay?" Peach asked, concerned about Mario.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Mario said as he did his best to pull himself together, which was not a very easy task for someone to perform when they know that they're loved by royalty. But he managed to recover in record time.
"Okay. Well, I should let you know that I'm free for the rest of the day, so I can spend as much time with you as I want, which makes me happy." Peach said.
"That's great!" Mario replied.
"Is there anything special that you wanted to do today?" Peach asked.
"You bet there is!" Mario said in his mind, but he didn't dare say it out loud. He said, "Yeah, kind of. I was wondering... if maybe... you wouldn't mind going through the training course again?"
"You know, that does sound like a good idea. Come to think of it, we haven't really gone through the course in over a month, so I think we'd better go through it again to make sure that our skills aren't getting rusty. Let's go." Peach said, taking Mario's hand and leading him along.
Mario felt giddy as he walked with his lady love out to where they would find the training course. And when it was all set up and ready for them, Peach said, "So, tell me, what brought this on? Did you want to go through it?"
"I was thinking about it... but I think maybe you should go through it first." Mario replied.
"You want me to go first? Is this all because of 'ladies first'?" Peach asked. Mario often let her do things first because of that old saying.
"No, actually. I just... want you to go through it and... refresh my memory." Mario said.
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Peach asked. She looked at his eyes and knew there was more.
"What gave you that idea?" Mario asked.
"Just a feeling." Peach responded, before getting real close to his face and asking, "Now what is it?"
"Uhh..." Mario was feeling a little nervous, and it showed in the way he tugged at the collar of his red shirt. Having the princess that close to him always made him feel nervous, but in a good way. However, he knew that he had to say something, and he had to say it now, so he said, "If you go through it first, there might be a surprise waiting for you at the end."
"But we're already at the end. The flag is right here!" Peach said, pointing it out to him.
"No, Princess, it's not really that easy... You can't get the surprise until after you've gone through the course." Mario told her.
"Okay, Mario, you win. I'll do it first. Watch and learn." Peach said. And she started going through the training course the way she always had.
As Mario watched the princess, he moved closer to the flag and got down on one knee, waiting for her and hoping that she didn't really see what he was doing. Luckily, when she went through the training course, she was very focused on what she was doing, just as he said. According to the Toads who raised her, Peach never once failed the training course. She was really good at it. Mario felt lucky to know this amazing woman, but would she be happy with the idea of being his wife?
When Peach reached the end of the training course, she didn't see Mario, or anything different waiting for her. That was rather confusing.
"All right, Mario. I did it. Now where are you, and where's this surprise you spoke of?" Peach asked.
"Look down, Peach." Mario's voice said.
So the princess turned her gaze to the ground, and she was surprised to find Mario before her on one knee.
"What's up?" Peach asked as Mario looked up at her.
"Princess Peach, from the very first moment I set eyes on you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. As I got to know you better, I realized that you're beautiful on the inside as well as the outside." Mario began.
"Wow... I don't think anyone has ever told me that before..." Peach replied, blushing at Mario's kind words.
"Really? No one ever said that to you?" Mario asked.
"You're the first man to ever say those words to me." Peach told him.
"Interesting... Now, where was I? Oh yeah! I've never met a woman quite like you, and none of the women I knew in Brooklyn can measure up to you! When I look at you, I see everything I ever wanted in a woman! You're kind, sweet, caring, loving, brave, strong, independent, and of course, beautiful. You're perfect in my eyes!" Mario told her.
"You neglected to mention that I'm a princess." Peach said.
"I hadn't planned on falling in love with a princess, Peach. Nor did I plan on a princess falling in love with me. I had to be realistic when I was growing up, you know." Mario said.
"Okay." Peach said. She understood what Mario was saying. The idea of falling in love with the princess, and having a princess fall in love with him, sounded more like a pipe dream. But it had happened.
"But if you want, I can tell you that I think you're a wonderful princess with a heart of gold, which is, of course, a very important trait for any good ruler." Mario added, and he meant it.
"Mario, you really are the sweetest man I've ever known! I feel so lucky to have a man like you in my life!" Peach replied, blushing even more.
That's what Mario was hoping to hear from her.
"In that case, Princess, would you know what to say, if I were to ask you..." Mario began as he reached into his pocket and produced the black velvet box. He opened it up, showed Peach the ring inside, and asked, "To be my wife?"
Princess Peach was so stunned to see this, and her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped in surprise, realizing what had happened! Mario, the man of her dreams, just asked her to be his wife! And the ring he picked out for her was so beautiful! This was the greatest day ever!
Peach remembered back when Bowser tried to propose to her, offering her the Super Star and spouting out that stupid mush about love making a guy come out of his shell. She didn't ever want Bowser as her husband, and what he did in retaliation to her response was just awful! He forced her to give him the answer he wanted to hear through blackmail! She never wanted a guy like that by her side! If anything, Peach knew that she deserved better!
As luck would have it, Peach did find someone who was much better than Bowser, and Mario was his name-o! Mario was a handsome human who turned out to be the complete opposite of Bowser, which is what Peach wanted. She knew that she loved Mario, and Mario really loved her. Bowser claimed to love her, but he was really lusting after her. Mario was the perfect man for this princess! So she knew exactly what to say in response to his question!
"Mario... Oh, darling, I thought you would never ask!" Peach began, her eyes sparkling with happy tears.
Mario almost squealed in excitement when Peach called him 'darling'. No woman had ever called him that before, and to know that a princess had done this to him was a very big deal. But he was feeling thankful that Uncle Arthur and Uncle Tony weren't here for this. If they saw his reaction to Peach calling him 'darling', he would never hear the end of it!
"It took all the courage I had, and then some, to ask you this question, Peach. So, what do you say, my love? Will you marry me?" Mario asked, trying not to sound too hopeful as he spoke to the woman he loved. He didn't want to scare her and make her give him the answer she would always give to Bowser.
A few beats of silence passed before the princess, with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, gave him her final answer, "Of course I will!"
Mario could not believe his ears!
"Was that a yes?" the plumber asked, making sure he'd heard her right.
"Yes! I will marry you, Mario! I love you so much!" Peach exclaimed as she knelt down and nearly snapped Mario's neck off as she hugged him, crying from happiness.
"She said 'yes'!" Mario thought in excitement with a wide smile on his face as he returned her hug. The best thing that ever happened to him had just agreed to be his wife! He never felt so happy before in his whole life.
When the princess finally managed to calm down, she watched in anticipation as Mario took the ring out of the box and carefully slipped it on the ring finger of her left hand. The ring sparkled in the light of the sun as she held up her hand to admire it.
"Oh, Mario! This ring is so beautiful!" Peach said.
"Not as beautiful as you, my princess." Mario told her as he pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're so amazing! I can't wait to marry you! I just know that I'm going to live happily ever after with a wonderful man like you as my husband!" Peach said.
"Thank you for making me the happiest man who ever lived." Mario replied, not wanting to let the princess go. He meant it when he said that she made him happy.
"Thank you for being the man I've always wanted to be with." Peach said, pulling Mario close for a passionate kiss on the lips.
Little did they know, they were being watched. Bowser was about a hundred yards away from the area, watching the newly-engaged couple celebrating their love by making out. He was in a hot-air balloon, much like the one the Snifit and Shy Guys used to take Luigi to him, and he was also holding a spyglass. That's how he was able to see what Mario and Peach were doing.
As Bowser watched Mario and Peach kissing each other, he felt so jealous that he began to growl. It started out quiet, but then the sound grew loud, then louder, and finally it turned into an almighty roar of anger as the Koopa King broke the spyglass in two!
"WHAT DOES THAT STUPID LITTLE PLUMBER HAVE THAT I DON'T?!" Bowser screamed at the top of his voice as he realized that the princess was out of his reach for good, courtesy of Mario.
"D-did you hear something?" Peach asked Mario, sounding a little worried as she abruptly broke off their kiss.
Mario looked around, but he didn't see anything that could have made a sound (Bowser was too far away for them to see him properly). He shook his head and said, "No."
"Huh. Must have been the wind." Peach said with a shrug.
"Probably. Now where were we?" Mario asked.
"I think I remember where we left off." Peach said, and she resumed their make-out session by placing her sweet lips on Mario's. Mario immediately responded to her kiss.
But someone clearly heard Bowser's roar of anger, and that someone was none other than Toad. The little Mushroom man stopped dead in his tracks, pulled out a pair of binoculars, and quickly looked in the direction the sound had come from. His jaw dropped to the ground when he spotted the balloon and saw who was in it!
"Bowser's here?! Oh no! I'm not going to let him get near Mario, his brother, or the princess again!" Toad said to himself as he quickly recovered from the shock and put the binoculars away. He then produced a slingshot, put a sharp stone in it, and aimed it right at the balloon, fully intending to pop it and teach Bowser a lesson for what he'd done to Mario, Luigi, and Peach.
"Death to the philistine!" Toad exclaimed as he fired the stone at the balloon, popping it. (A/N: I could totally imagine Toad saying something like that when he's getting revenge on Bowser.)
Because Bowser was too far away from the ground to hear Toad, and too angry to notice anything else, he didn't see that he was in danger. The stone had gone right through the balloon, and Bowser was surprised when he suddenly heard a loud 'POP!', followed by the balloon flying all over as it deflated.
"Hey! W-WHOA! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" screamed Bowser in alarm as the balloon flew around like crazy. He was not expecting anything like this to happen to him. Wasn't it bad enough that he just lost the princess to a puny little plumber in red? Apparently not.
The balloon landed on the water in the middle of the ocean, but before Bowser could find something to help him get to shore, he felt that he was not out of danger just yet. The theme from "Jaws" began to play as something sinister came to the surface. It was a Maw-Ray, and not just any Maw-Ray, either! It was the same Maw-Ray that ate Mario and DK after the Koopa General knocked them off the secret passage!
Bowser's eyes grew wide when he saw the beast come up to the surface. It was HUGE, and a creature this size wasn't something he expected to see. He knew that he was in real trouble now.
"Oh... my..." Bowser began in a quiet voice, and then he screamed like a sissy girl as he tried in vain to get away from the monster, but the Maw-Ray was much bigger than him, and faster, so it swallowed the Koopa King, balloon and all.
Bowser was not at all pleased to find himself in the creature's stomach, but he was determined to find his way out of that awful place. He'd make that creature throw him up before it could even think of digesting him. He felt that if anyone should be marrying Peach, it was him, not Mario.
At one point, Peach stopped kissing Mario and said, "Wait until my Toads find out that I'm finally engaged to be married! I'm sure they never thought this day would come!"
"They never imagined that you would be getting married?" Mario asked.
"No, I don't think so, even though I know they hoped I would. But they knew that I would never marry Bowser because he's a jerk, and surely you remember the way I reacted when I got a good look at you and realized that you're a human. I never saw another human being like myself until the day I met you." Peach said.
Mario did remember that moment, and thinking about it slightly reminded him of Tarzan and Jane, only he had played the role of Jane.
"We also have to tell my family about this. They knew I was planning to propose to you, so they're going to be thrilled when they find out that you said 'yes'." Mario said.
"I know. I'm really glad they like me." Peach said.
"They love you, Peach. You know that. In fact, if you want to know just how special you are to my family, I'll tell you that Mom said that she considers you the daughter she never had." Mario said.
Peach blushed. She was glad to know that, and she said, "Well, I can't believe I'm finally going to be a part of a big, happy family."
"A big, happy family that loves you very much." Mario added.
"True. So, who are we going to tell first? Are we telling my Toads, or the family that I'll be joining when we're married?" Peach asked.
"Well, you're the princess, so I really think you should be the one to make that choice." Mario told her.
"You want me to pick? Well, okay. Since we're in the Mushroom Kingdom, we should tell the Toads about this first. I know that we've also got to tell your family about this, but I think we can surprise them with that news tonight." Peach said.
"You want to go over there for supper and tell them?!" Mario asked excitedly.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Plus, I've got another Avon order form filled out for your aunt Marie, so she can call it in when Monday comes again." Peach smiled.
"Great! So, are you up for telling your subjects the news about us now?" Mario asked.
"Am I ever! As you would say it, let's-a go!" said Peach.
"Now I know that I'm never going to stop loving this woman! I will love her for the rest of forever!" Mario happily thought as he and the training course put itself away, and he and the princess returned to the castle so they could make the announcement about their engagement.
As they waited for the Toads to show up so they could find out the greatest news they'd ever hear, Peach suddenly remembered something very important, and she turned to Mario and said, "I almost forgot something. Since we'll be getting married, do you want me to promise to obey you?"
"What?! Of course not! I know that it's in the ceremony, and it's something only the women say, but I don't know any woman who actually did it, nor any man who ever wanted her to." Mario said.
"Actually, you might know of one guy who wanted the woman he married to obey him, and you also know the woman who almost had to..." Peach began.
"Don't tell me. Bowser wanted you to obey him, didn't he?" Mario guessed. When Peach nodded, Mario facepalmed. Why was he not surprised?
"And since you said I don't have to, I'm not going to say that I will obey you. I didn't plan on obeying you in the first place." Peach said.
"I kind of expected that answer. But that's okay, because Dad and Uncle Arthur never said that Mom or Aunt Marie had to obey them." Mario said. But then he added, "And since we're on the subject of obeying, I was actually going to ask if you wanted me to obey you."
"What? Why would I want you to obey me? The men don't have to obey the women. You said that obeying is something only the women say." Peach said.
"I thought you'd want me to do that because you're royalty, and I'm not." Mario said.
"The fact that you're not of noble birth never mattered to me before, and it still doesn't matter. You're special. You don't have to obey me if you don't want to." Peach told him.
"I love you, Peach." Mario said, leaning in for a kiss.
"I love you, too, Mario." Peach replied, and they shared another loving kiss.
Before long, a huge crowd had gathered outside of Peach's Castle (Luigi was among the people, standing next to Toad), ready to hear what their princess had to say.
"Are you ready for this, Mustache?" Peach asked Mario as they stood on the balcony out front.
"Mama-mia..." Mario said as he looked at the crowd below. He remembered how big the crowd was before he and Peach started making their way to the Jungle Kingdom. But that was before he'd earned their respect and became someone who was important.
"Don't worry. They're going to be as happy as I am when they hear the announcement. You're very special to them." Peach assured Mario, taking his hand.
"Okay. I believe you." Mario said.
The Toads began cheering loudly when they saw their princess standing there with Mario at her side. Luigi looked interested when he saw Mario on the balcony with Peach. Had Mario proposed and gotten the answer he'd hoped for?
The princess held up her hands for the Toads to be silent, and then she made the announcement, "My Toads! I have the most exciting news for all of you! Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, just asked me to marry him! And as you all might have guessed, I SAID YES! Mario and I are engaged to be married!"
It took less than a minute for everyone to process what the princess just said, and when they did, everyone cheered even louder and added applause, but Luigi and Toad were the most ecstatic of the bunch! They even hugged each other out of excitement!
"I'm so happy for them!" Toad said.
"I'm even happier! My brother totally earned that positive response from the princess!" Luigi said.
"He totally deserves her!" Toad said, thinking back to when DK was taunting Mario on the secret passage, saying that a princess would never go out with him. But Toad insisted that she would. If he could've said more, he probably would have added that the princess would marry Mario. Had he said it, he'd be right on the money!
"No argument there!" Luigi said, looking at the princess and Mario with happiness on his face.
And this is where we're going to end Chapter 2. More people are sure to find out about Mario and Peach being engaged, so stay tuned if you want to see who!