Chapter 2 Perfect Party

Walking up to Peach's Castle, Mario took notice of all the Toads. There were hundreds of them, possibly thousands, and they migrated toward the castle like moths to a streamer covered flame. There was no doubt in Mario's mind that some of these Toads didn't even live close by, instead traveling from the furthest corners of the kingdom in order see their beloved Princess on her special day. On some level, Mario found that likelihood to be kind of sweet.

He also found it nerve wracking. If Bowser did decide to crash the party like Mario feared, then that would mean that all these people were in danger. Mario could already imagine them running around screaming, possibly going up in orange flames that Bowser breathed upon them. Thinking about that made shivers run up and down Mario's arms and all across his back. It also made his stomach churn so much that Mario wouldn't be surprised if it had turned inside out.

"Hey," Luigi said after taking another sip of his drink. "You're shaking. Relax. Everything's going to be okay."

Mario took in a breath almost as shaky as his body. He knew Luigi was right. And sure, he still felt that relaxing during these circumstances would be a very tall order. But he was at least going to try it. After all, it's not like he wanted to be an emotional wreck right now. It was Princess Peach's birthday. It was the most special day for the most special woman. She deserved the best from him, and Mario couldn't exactly give that to her if he kept looking his shoulder waiting for Bowser to come. He needed to be at the top of his game; he needed to be attentive and joyful around Peach.

So, with one nod toward Luigi, the lot of them made their way toward the castle. A lot of the Toads recognized the two of them, which resulted in the two brothers being smothered by all the greetings and smiles. This fact alone would usually making actually getting into the castle a hard task, but thankfully, the Mario brothers had a pretty handy solution. After getting away from the crowd, they went off toward one of the buildings in Toad Town, one that had a warp pipe placed right next to the back wall. Mario had discovered it by accident quite a while ago, and had used it to get into Peach's Castle ever since. Mario and Luigi jumped in, and within seconds, they were smack dab in the middle of Peach's throne room. As he got out, Mario put his hand to his head. He didn't think he would ever get used to the rushes that traveling through warp pipes gave to him.

"Mario! Luigi!"

Mario smiled as he stood up. Peach approached them, wearing a violet sundress as opposed to her normal pink attire. Mario smiled at the sight of her; it didn't matter what outfit she wore, she always managed to be the most beautiful girl in the galaxy.

"Hello, Peach," he said.

"Yeah, hey Peach!" Luigi said as he picked himself off the floor. He swiped some dust off his front before giving Peach a grin. "Happy birthday!"

Peach chuckled. "Thanks." She gestured toward her outfit. "This dress was a birthday present from Daisy; do you like it?"

"Oh yes, definitely!" Luigi exclaimed.

Mario smiled to himself. You could make even garbage bags look beautiful.

"Have you been having a good birthday so far?" Luigi asked.

"Uh… I guess." She curled a strand of her honey golden hair over her ear. "It's been quite an eventful birthday so far, that much is for sure."

Mario seized up. "Eventful? What's that supposed to mean?" Sweat streamed down his face. He shook like the bones of a skeletal koopa.

Peach let out a sigh. "The Toad servants have been rushing around all day." She giggled. "I almost tripped over one of them when trying to make my way to the dining hall."

Mario breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Good." He put his hand to his chest, repeating the phrase "It's all going to be okay" on loop in his head. There was no Bowser (yet). He wasn't going to kidnap Peach today (probably).

"Good?" Peach chuckled. "I wouldn't necessarily call almost injuring one of my servants 'good.'"

Mario's face grew warm. "No! No, that's not what I…?" He shook his head. "Never mind." He smiled at the Princess. "Why don't… why don't we go check on the cake before the party starts?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Peach giggled. "Could prevent us from having a surprise encounter with the Koopalings later on!"

Mario couldn't even bring himself to laugh. "Y…yeah."

So, with that, the lot made their way over to the kitchen. Mario didn't take his eyes off of Peach for one second, partly because of how gorgeous she was in purple but mostly because he didn't want to lose sight of her for even a second. If he sneezed, she would be gone. If he blinked, she would be halfway to the Koopa Kingdom. So, if he never let her out of sight, he would feel slightly better about the events that were going to transpire on this day. His heart rate would go down, and his body would stop producing the stressed type of sweat.

Eventually, the group found themselves in the hallway leading up to the kitchen. Mario took in a big, deep breath through the nose, smiling as he did. Was there a more pleasing scent than the aroma of baking chocolate? Was there a more satisfying and delicious aroma than a birthday cake being prepared? Mario didn't think so. He loved everything about this smell, and would be sure to remember it. It was, after all, one of those distinct smells that tended to stick in the memory.

When the trio got to the kitchen, all three of them let out a gasp. The cake sat on the counter. Seven layers stretched up to the ceiling, each one painted with a frosting that was a different color of the rainbow. A Toad chef stood on a step ladder and piped some roses on the blue layer. Mario noted that the other layers had flowers, and each layer's flowers were the complimentary color to the frosting (i.e. red had green, yellow had purple, etc). Mario had to admit that it was mightily impressive. Sure, it wasn't nearly as big as the cake Peach had last year. But Mario didn't mind that because A, this cake looked prettier on pretty much every conceivable level. And B… well, a smaller cake was far less likely to hold seven Koopalings (eight if one decided to count Bowser Jr.).

"Oh my word!" Luigi exclaimed. "Tace T, you have really outdone yourself this year!"

The Toad chef who had been piping the roses smiled at Luigi. "Thanks! I always enjoy making birthday cakes for the Princess." She wiped a smudge of green frosting off of her cheek. "And this one was really fun to bake!" She stepped down from the ladder, putting the orange piping bag to the side so she could pick up the yellow. "I really feel as though this is my best work yet."

"I can't help but agree," Peach said, smiling as she did.

Mario also couldn't help but put on a smile. "It's certainly a work of art, that's for sure."

"Aw, thanks!" Tace T wobbled on the ladder, but thankfully found her balance before she fell to the floor. She giggled as she held the yellow piping bag over the violet layer. "This pretty baby should be ready in the next hour or so."

"Sweet! That's just in time for the party!" Luigi exclaimed.

That statement caused Mario to gulp. An hour. That's all they had. That's all the time they had until Bowser inevitably made his wicked presence known. They only had an hour before Peach was dragged away from everything familiar into the dark and smoky.

He blinked and almost kicked himself upon having these thoughts. Talk about negative! Now he wasn't even thinking about that event as something that could happen; he was thinking about it as something that would! Why? He had no ability to predict the future? There was no guarantee that Bowser was definitely going to make his presence known!

Having those thoughts was finally the motivation Mario needed to tell himself to cut it out with the worry. There was no point in thinking doom and gloom. All that would do was make this party, which he and everyone else had been preparing for for a while now, far less enjoyable. Like Luigi said, he needed to kick back and relax. He needed to rid his mind of all these worries. If not for himself, then for Peach.

So, with a smile on his face, he gave Tace T. a nod and guided Peach and Luigi out of the kitchen. As they walked back to the throne room, Mario now felt that it was okay to take his eyes off of Peach. Granted, he didn't do that a lot, as he did think she looked absolutely striking in her dress (man, did Daisy have good fashion sense). But even still, he felt less stressed. He felt that all this would be fine. He was actively telling himself that it would be, after all.

Eventually, they got back to the throne room. When they did, Mario saw some Toads carrying the present boxes on their backs. He beamed as a pink one was sat down and pointed to it.

"I chose that gift myself," Mario said to Peach. He beamed at her. "I think you're really going to like it."

Peach's eyes glittered. "Knowing you, I have no doubt about that." She stood still for a minute before wrapping Mario in a hug, much to the plumber's surprise. "Thank you for preparing this for me."

Mario didn't even need to hesitate. He smiled and hugged her back, reveling in this level of intimacy between him and her. "I would do it everyday if I had to."

Peach hugged tighter. "One of the reasons why you're the best hero that a princess could ask for."

"Hey!" Luigi said. "I'm a hero too; where's my hug?"

Both Peach and Mario chuckled. Peach let go of her hold on Mario and hugged Luigi instead. "Don't worry. I would never forget you." She snickered. "Green Mario."

Luigi's face fell. "Okay, now that's just not funny…"

Peach chuckled before letting go of Luigi. "Well… I guess now we take care of the last minute preparations for the party." She turned toward Mario. "You still plan on giving that speech beforehand, right?"

Mario puffed out his chest. "You know it!"

…

About an hour later, Mario stood outside the doors to the castle. He took off his hat as he faced all the Toads, eagerly waiting for him to kick off the party with his speech. He let out a breath; he had been preparing this speech for the better part of the last week. He hoped it would be enough. He hoped that it would be able to encapsulate all his feelings for Peach as well as the joy he felt over her being able to start a new year of her life.

With these thoughts in mind, Mario stepped up onto the podium. The Toads cheered when they saw him, a sound that Mario would never stop appreciating. He held up his hand to quiet everyone down before tapping on the microphone.

"Well," He said, officially beginning this long prepared speech. "This is the day we've all been waiting for." He grinned. "The day our Princess turns twenty five!"

The Toads cheered again. Mario smiled at them before holding up his hand again.

"Twenty five. Let me tell you, that is absolutely crazy!" He giggled. "Our princess doesn't look a day over nineteen!"

The Toads laughed. Mario could only imagine how Peach would react to that statement. No doubt she would blush, making her gorgeous, youthful face turn bright red. Oh, that would certainly be adorable.

"And," Mario said once the Toads were silenced. "I can tell you that I am so happy for her. I hope that this next year of her life will be prosperous and fun. It's the least she deserves. It's the least she…"

BOOM!

The Toads shrieked as something shot down onto the ground in the middle of the crowd, sending brown dirt and gray smoke flying everywhere. Everyone went into a panic and started running around. Mario, however, just stood frozen in place. He looked up into the sky to see Bowser's airship, approaching the castle.

His stomach churned again. Oh no. No no no no no!