Chapter 23 In the Jungle

World 5 was so… lush. And green too; it was greener than Peach's own skin. And yet, there was something about this particular shade of green. It made Peach feel things, made her relax in a way that she hadn't expected. She grew up in the Beanbean Kingdom; she has seen the color green all her life. Why then was this shade of green so soothing?

Adjusting her backpack, she continued trekking through the world. Aside from the gorgeous green trees, she was also happy to note how amazing the other plants looked. Flowers, which came in a variety of different colors, peeked their heads out of the tall grass. Vines and different ivy grew in every corner that was available to them, like they wanted to add decoration to these woods. And, on top of that, the forest was filled with sounds. Bugs chirped, with some of them screeching at the top of their lungs. One would think that it was a terrifying sound, and Peach would readily admit that she was scared by this. But that might just be because she had never heard them before. They were new, and therefore needed to be gotten used to.

But it was still an amazing thing to see. A tickly feeling filled Peach's heart, causing her to smile. She felt better; not one hundred percent, but better. World 5 was new, but it wasn't terrifying. It was filled with life, with possibilities, and adventures. If she chose to go down a path that wouldn't directly take her out of the forest, then she would find something new and exciting. She would find something that would make her happy, something that would ignite her excitement.

"Well, Peasley," She said, wearing a smile as she did, "I can see now why you loved the adventuring lifestyle so much." She giggled as she put her hand to her broach. "There's so many parts to this world. So many parts to ANY world. It's… exhilarating." She frowned. "It really is."

Growl.

Before Peach had time to dwell on the loss of her brother yet again, she was taken aback by the thunderous growl of her stomach. Blushing, she put her hand on her belly, wondering why in the world she was feeling hungry. Did she not just finish having a meal with Tolstar? Wasn't the soup he served her filling and appetizing?

Gurgle.

Peach cringed. She needed food. Maybe it was just because of how infrequently she had taken the time to eat on this long journey, but she needed to get something to eat quickly. She removed her backpack from her back and rummaged around inside it. She searched thoroughly, pushing each belonging to the side as she desperately searched for a source of food. She found nothing.

"Come on." She was about to close the bag when she noticed a water bottle. Well, okay, that could help; sometimes thirst was mistaken for hunger. She snatched out of the bag and downed about a quarter of the contents. She waited, praying that her hunger would fade.

It didn't.

"Darn it." She closed the backpack up and put it on her back again, all while cursing both her luck and her empty stomach. "I can't go too long without food." Fear filled her as the horrible possibilities became apparent to her. Would she die of starvation? Would she collapse in these woods with how low her blood sugar was? Sure, those things happening weren't one hundred percent guaranteed, but…

The queen shook her head. She couldn't think about that. She had to get out of World 5, first and foremost. She needed to get out of World 5 so she could find something and/or someplace to eat. She imagined that there were some restaurants in the other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom. She figured that they would be willing to serve her.

So, she continued on, trying to ignore the calls of her stomach. Unfortunately, after about half an hour had passed, she found that that would be near impossible to do. Not only was her stomach calling out to her, but it was also gnawing at her. She was so hungry that it was literally painful. Her stomach had never been this desperate to be filled, had never once made her feel like she was being deprived of nourishment this drastically. Like the sounds of the bugs, it was new and scary. But unlike the sounds of the bugs, which were mostly harmless, Peach knew that this could cause some serious damage if she didn't do something about it.

For the next fifteen minutes, she kept her eyes peeled for any kind of fruit that might be growing in the forest. She honestly didn't expect to see anything, or at least not anything that wouldn't be poisonous to her. And, unfortunately for her, she got exactly what she expected first and foremost. It made her whimper. It filled her with dread.

"Oh, what am I going to do?" She stopped, taking deep breaths in order to gather her bearings. "Peasley, please help me out. Please show me a way to end my hunger. I need food." She took a deep breath. "I really need food…"

Almost instantly, Peach saw something shiny in the corner of her eye. Something shiny and… red? Oh, what could that mean? Was that the answer to her prayer? Was that a food source, something that could provide her with nourishment?

Throwing all caution to the wind, Peach ran in the direction of the red gleam. She hoped that she wasn't mistaken; she PRAYED that she wasn't mistaken. She continued running, not caring about any roots she could trip on or any other dangers that she could potentially run into. If that shine was food… if it was the food that she needed…

YES! It was food! More specifically, it was a berry bush! The berries were red and VERY big; they were about the same size as a regular apple. Peach recalled seeing these fruits in one of her lessons. They were commonly eaten by Yoshis, and thankfully, they weren't poisonous to Beanbean people. So… what was Peach waiting for?

She snatched a berry and took a gigantic bite out it, exposing the juicy orange flesh. The juice slid down her cheek, coating both her face as well as the front of her shirt. In other words, she didn't appear very queenly right now. But why did that matter? Why should Peach care about that when she was in paradise and having her fill? She gnawed on the berry before grabbing another and pulling it free from the branch. She had never been so thankful for food. Sure, these berries were a little on the sour side, but that hardly mattered. It was food. It was exactly what she needed.

"Thank you so much, Peasley," she said, her mouth full of fruit. She swallowed the bites, wiping her mouth as she continued to feast. She tossed the pit to the side before reaching for a third berry.

And that's when she saw it.

Fear shot through Peach, making her blood run cold. She stood, frozen still, as she looked at the piranha plant. It was bigger than her head. Its teeth could tear through a person's flesh as smoothly as scissors cut paper. As saliva slid out of its mouth, it kept its eyeless gaze on the queen. It licked its lips, looking ready to chow down.

"AAAH!"

Without giving herself time to think, Peach bolted away. She ran and ran and ran, her heart pounding as the fight or flight response completely took over. To say she was scared would be an understatement. To say she was terrified would be an understatement. Right now, she was in a state of panic, where her body acted on its own and her emotions did all the thinking for her.

She eventually did come to a stop in order to catch her breath though. She panted and heaved, all while shivering and trembling. She looked back over her shoulder, and could say that she never had felt so relieved in her life. The piranha plant hadn't followed her. Sure, she supposed she should've realized it wouldn't, but, again, her emotions had done most of the thinking during her scramble to get away.

Letting out a breath, she hoisted herself to her feet. "This is alright." With her hands firmly gripping her backpack, she began walking forward again. "You won't encounter anything as scary as that. You have no reason to… AH!"

That "AH!" was yelled because, when she took her next step, she fell into a hole. She screamed as she plummeted, not even fully comprehending when she had landed, she lifted herself up, seeing that she was in a cavern. It stretched on for miles, with some purple goo resting on parts of the floor.

Peach stood up. "What in the world…" This was so strange. She could say with full confidence that she had never expected this. She tilted her head upward, hoping to see how far she had fallen and if there was any chance that she could get back out the way she came. Unfortunately, the hole was really high up; at least fifteen feet upward. And, to make matters worse, there was no wall she could scale upward to get to it.

"Damn it." She wiped some sweat off her brow. How in the world would she get out of this one? She figured she would need to explore the cavern, and see if there was another exit somewhere. That would be the most sensible option, but… oh, it would take forever! And Peach didn't exactly have forever. What could she do?

Boom. Boom.

The ground rumbled so much that it made Peach involuntarily jump. She looked ahead, trying to see what could possibly be causing these tremors. Was it an earthquake? Was it some kind of monster?

It was neither. Well… maybe not neither; the creature walking up toward her could be considered a monster of some sort. But Peach didn't think of it that way. What was approaching her was a creature she had heard of in her lessons, a creature that she knew was gentle and docile.

It was a wiggler. It was of considerable size, and each time it walked with its many many MANY feet, it made the whole cavern quake and tremble. Admittedly, Peach felt a tiny bit frightened by the sight of it, mostly due to its size. However, the fear went away when she remembered something about wigglers.

They were bouncy.

Smiling, Peach backed out of the way of the wiggler, allowing it to keep walking forward. She looked between the hole up above her and the wiggler that was coming towards it. Just a little bit more, she thought. Just a little bit more and… NOW!

She put on a burst of speed and ran toward the comically oversized caterpillar. She leapt into the air and landed on one of its many segments, an act that made her smile. She pressed down on the segment before jumping. Holy moly, she jumped so high up! She easily cleared at least forty feet; more than enough to get to the hole. As a matter of fact, not only did she fly out of the hole, but she also rose above the canopy and the trees. She saw World 5 stretching below her, as green and as lush as ever. It looked less daunting from so high up, in a way that made her forget about the scare with the piranha plant from before. Peach smiled as she observed the world. She felt so tall from high in the air. She felt like she could do anything, that she could accomplish any goal she set her mind to. She could be queen. She could help set her kingdom free.

Of course, she had to come back down at some point. She fell back through the trees, screaming and flailing her limbs about as she plummeted. Thankfully, she landed on a rather soft patch of moss, one that was both comfy and shock absorbent. Her eyes were wide as she lay on the moss catching her breath. Then, before she could explain why, she started to laugh. Her laughter grew in both volume and intensity. It tickled her ribcage, filling the entirety of the forest.

"I am awesome!" she said, feeling some sort of an emotional high. She laughed and laughed some more. "I can save my kingdom! I CAN be a queen!"

With her newfound confidence, she rose to her feet. Might as well continue her journey through the treacherous World 5. She could definitely do it! It didn't matter what monsters she encountered on the way, whether they be piranha plants or wigglers. She could do this. She could handle any monstrous thing this forest threw her way. She knew she could. And Peasley knew she could to; it was just a shame it took her so long to realize it.

So, squeezing her broach once again, she continued onward.