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Chapter 31 Our Moment

Curling her hair over her ear, Peach looked down at Toad Town from her balcony. The Toads wandering around it were so peaceful, a stark contrast to what was currently happening in her head. She squirmed a little, her stomach feeling as though it wanted to devour and digest the rest of her body. She looked westward, where she knew the Koopa Kingdom to be. Would this go well? It had to, but… would it go well?

"Queen Peach?"

Peach blinked and turned around. There was Mario, looking at her with a furrowed brow. Pinching a strand of her hair between her fingers, she debated what to say to him in her head. She eventually settled on a saying that was cool while also providing a distraction that would keep him from noticing how off-kilter she was.

"Mario. I take it that the preparations are coming along nicely?"

Mario smiled. "They are indeed." He took a few steps out onto the balcony so that he was standing right beside her. "We're going to go to the Koopa Kingdom in hot air balloon. That's the most efficient and fastest method we have."

Peach raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're sure that'll work? From what I heard, the Koopa Kingdom experiences volcanic eruptions that send debris and meteors raining down from the sky. Wouldn't that make going through the air in a balloon unsafe?"

Mario shrugged. "I mean, I'm sure it will. But at the same time, I have a feeling we'll be just fine." He smiled. "I know the textbooks say that the Koopa Kingdom is smoggy and dreary more often than not, but that isn't one hundred percent accurate. There are plenty of times when the Koopa Kingdom is bright and sunny. The only reason we'd experience an eruption is if we were REALLY unlucky."

"I see." That didn't do that much to stop the churning of Peach's stomach. She swallowed a lump, hoping that the president didn't notice her nerves. The last thing she needed was to look like a wuss in front of him (wuss. That was certainly not very royal of her to say).

"Hey," Mario said. "It's going to be alright."

Peach seized up, cursing in her head and wishing that she could be more subtle. She gripped the railing of the balcony extra hard, trying to tell herself not to shake. Mario was confident about this. And… she could trust him, right? She could believe in him and trust his judgement right? That was what was required of her in this scenario, so… you know what?

"Alright," Peach said with a nod. "As long as you are certain… I'm willing to follow your plan."

Mario smiled. "Thank you." He paused before his face fell. "I just hope that this is enough. Going up against a witch who is powerful enough to seize control of an entire kingdom… it's tough to think about."

Peach chuckled. "You're telling me." She hesitated, unsure if revealing this would be the wisest choice. "And… I'm scared, Mario." She directed her gaze away from Mario's face and back down toward Toad Town. "I just… I want the Beanbean Kingdom to be restored. Everyone is counting on me. My mother, my citizens, my…" she paused while a wave of sadness overcame her.

"Your brother?"

Peach sniffled before nodding. "Yes. Everyone is counting on me, and I want to be enough." She leaned against the railing. "I would give anything to ensure that I'd be the queen that they need me to be, which…" A bout of shame welled up inside her, causing her to sigh. "Which is why this whole mess was possible in the first place."

A silence overcame the scene. Peach expected it to last for a good long while, so she was surprised when Mario came up and put his hand on her back.

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Mario said. "You didn't know any better, and besides, pinning the fault on everything on your shoulders isn't going to do anyone any good. Especially you. Yes, you were put into a less than ideal situation, but you know what? I would argue that someone should've been there for you in a way that nobody was. Because of these feelings you were battling, that was how Cackletta took advantage of you." Mario paused. "And yes, I'm pinning the blame entirely on Cackletta. She took advantage of you. She lied to you and made you believe things about her that weren't truthful. How is any of that your fault?"

Peach paused. "I… guess it isn't."

"Exactly, it isn't." Mario looked down at Toad Town too. "There are a lot of cruel people in this world, but you shouldn't blame yourself for anything THEY do when it comes to bringing harm upon you. THEY are the ones at fault. THEY broke your spirit, THEY ruined your life. The responsibility is entirely on THEM. Not you."

Peach stared at Mario in awe. "I… suppose you're right." She bit her lip. "But even still, it's kind of hard for me not to blame myself."

Mario stayed quiet for a few minutes. "I know. Believe me, I get it." He looked at her. "I understand that it's easy to fall into that trap, but…" he sighed. "Queen Peach, please don't blame yourself. Please. You would be an amazing queen when and if you're allowed to be one. Just because you believed the words of someone who deceived you doesn't take away from that fact. ANYONE can be deceived, and I have a feeling that, based on what I know about Cackletta, she does it to people quite often. She's had practice being a liar and a manipulator, so you shouldn't feel bad for falling for what she told you. You shouldn't!"

Before she even knew what was going on, tears fell from her eyes. She didn't even realize it until Mario pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed at her eyes, digesting all the words that he had just said to her.

"Th… th…" Talking proved to be difficult, but thankfully, Mario didn't look anywhere close to pushing her. He just waited for her patiently, knowing that she would find the words to say eventually. This made a warm feeling develop within Peach's heart. Everything he said to her, every single last word…

"Thank you, Mario." Her heart beat in a way that it hadn't before. The tears flowed at a faster rate. "Thank you so much." She wiped the tears away, all while Mario gave her a reassuring look. She eventually found the strength she needed to stop crying and go into more detail.

"It… you believe in me." Mario smiled and nodded at her, causing her to chuckle. "That… thank you so much. It feels nice." She smiled a nostalgic smile. "Peasley believed in me too. He stood up for me becoming queen when no one else believed in me. He was so certain that I would be great." She put her hand up to her broach. "And… I want to be everything that he believed I can be."

"Well, you don't have to want, because you already are."

Peach chuckled. "Oh, stop it!"

"No, it's true! And you know how I know that?" Peach turned to him in curiosity. "Because you made the journey here! You walked all the way from Teehee Valley to the Mushroom Kingdom. You suffered incredible losses on that journey, but you never stopped, even for a moment. You went through hell in order to get here to this castle. That shouldn't be taken lightly. Peach…." Mario reached out and took her hand, surprising her. "If you think for even a second that you aren't a good queen, then tell that little voice in your head to go away. Banish it somewhere far away where it can never bother you again. You are an amazing queen. Sure, you aren't perfect, but no one is." He chuckled. "Trust me, I know. I've made a ton of mistakes over my time as president. I know how easy it is to screw up."

Mario laughed, and Peach laughed right alongside her. As she thought more and more about those words… those words of pure, untainted praise, she felt amazing. A new type of confidence overcame her, one that she could say she never experienced before. At least, not to this degree.

"Thank you, Mario." Her smile grew bigger and bigger like it was actively trying to break her face. "You have no idea how much I've needed to hear that."

Mario beamed. "It's my pleasure."

Peach paused. "Mario…" She looked into Mario's crystal blue eyes, feeling… well, she didn't know how to feel. Sure, she knew how she felt in regard to the words he just told her, but there was something else. A feeling she had never felt before. Looking at him, with his jovial smile and cute little mustache… she felt like she knew him. She felt as though she knew everything about him, the deepest corners of his heart. How was that possible? She had never met him before! He was a complete stranger to her! And yet, she felt like she had known him all her life. It wasn't meeting for the first time when they ran into the "throne" room. It was connecting with someone you had known for so long after such a long time apart. Why was this? Was it just because Peasley knew Mario? Was it just because she had heard so many words said by multiple different people over the course of the journey here?

"Is it true that you were a plumber before you were the president?"

Mario blinked before bursting into laughter. Despite herself, Peach laughed right alongside him, simply because of how catchy and contagious his laughter was.

"That's an odd question to bring up now of all times." He smiled. "But yes, it's true. Me and my brother worked as plumbers in the world where we grew up."

Peach gasped. "Oh! So you coming from another world is true too!"

Mario nodded. "Yep. It is. We grew up on this planet called Earth, in a country called America, in a city called Brooklyn." He grinned. "It was a nice place to grow up. I knew my neighborhood like the back of my hand. I also had some of the sweetest, most supportive family one could ever be born into."

Peach nodded. "I imagine you miss it?"

"Miss it? Oh no, I don't miss it!" Peach blinked, causing him to laugh again. "I mean, it was nice, but this world is magical! There's so much that can be experienced here, so much adventure and fantastical locations! It's a beautiful world, and I would love to experience it as much as I can!"

Peach chuckled. "You sound like my brother."

Mario laughed too. "Yeah, he did seem like the adventurous type when we met." He took a step closer to Peach. "And… well…" he looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head and course-corrected pretty quickly. "In case you're wondering, I can return to my homeland at any time. There's this warp pipe a few miles from this castle that acts as an interdimensional portal of sorts."

Peach's eyes grew wide. "Wow. How you were able to drop that bombshell on me so casually, I have no idea!"

Both of them laughed for a second before calming down. "But yes. This world… it's an amazing place. And I want to serve and protect it in the best way possible." He snickered. "After all, most presidents that I've seen in my homeland were… well, not the best." Mario chuckled. "I want to be a president that people can actually like and approach."

Peach smiled at him. "Well, for what it's worth, I think you're doing an excellent job when it comes to accomplishing that goal."

He smiled, and she smiled back. Seriously, she felt as if they had been friends for a lot longer than they actually had. Maybe it was just his friendly demeanor and personality. Yeah, yeah, that had to be it.

"Mario? Queen Peach?" Mario and Peach turned to see Luigi standing in the doorway. He smiled. "The hot air balloons are ready."

Peach and Mario let out a breath at the same time. This was it. They were going to do this.