Chapter 13 New Type of Normal

For a split second after waking up in the morning, Junior didn't know where he was. His mind filled with panic as he took in the unfamiliar ceiling, the unfamiliar bed. He was just about to scream blue bloody murder and call out for help when his memory was restored to him. He was in Kamella's guest bedroom. She had promised him that her home could be his home, which in turn meant that this bedroom was now his.

Away went the confusion and in came a round of joy. Junior giggled as he pushed the sky blue, hand-knit blankets off his body, and he only grew more excited as he walked across the plush, soft, borderline unreal carpet. His heart pounded, but not in a stressed-out way. It hummed with excitement and glee, which was more than welcome after what happened when he was at home.

Home. Could he even call the place where he had spent most of his life home anymore? It didn't feel right. This was his home now; that place where he lived with his "siblings" and his "father" were mere memories. Sure, he still felt some very… complicated emotions when he recalled those memories, but he was sure that would fade in time. This was his new home, and he could and WOULD get used to it. He would jump into this new life, this new life where he had a mother who loved him to bits.

Speaking of which, Junior was excited to see Kamella. He wanted to sit at the table and eat breakfast with her, like normal families did. As such, he giddily bounded out of the bedroom. He giggled as he ran down the hallway toward the dining room. He felt like he would explode when he arrived.

"Good morning Kamel… I mean, Mom!" Huh. He supposed that was another thing to get used to. Not so much because it was weird calling Kamella Mom, but more so because the word itself was so strange to him. He used it far less often than normal children his age, after all. But that was okay. He wouldn't mind getting used to this, adjusting to this new type of normal.

Of course, adjusting to this new type of normal was something that he and Kamella would have to do together. And with that thought, Junior finally realized that Kamella wasn't in the room. So… where was she? Was she still asleep?

"Mom!" Junior called out. He started checking some rooms. "Mom, where are you?" He passed by a room that was no doubt Kamella's bedroom, and she was nowhere to be found in there. So, that begged the question… was she even in the house? Did she go somewhere, leaving Junior alone? That… that didn't sit right with him, so he hoped beyond all hope that she was still in the house.

Thankfully, Junior found a place where she could possibly be. A door was cracked open, leading to a stairwell that led down into the basement. The light in the stairwell was turned on, which Junior took as a more than good sign. He descended the stairs, and when he saw Kamella in the basement, he smiled and let out a breath of relief. Good. She hadn't left him all alone.

"Oh good, I found you." Junior approached her, and as he did, he noticed that something was definitely off about this display. For one thing, Kamella was kneeling. She was kneeling in front of… a shrine? Junior didn't exactly know how to describe it. It was a raised platform, big enough for him to lay on, and various purple and even black flowers rested on top of it. In addition, candles surrounded Kamella and the shrine in a circle. Their flavors, ranging from pleasing scents like lilac and vanilla to HORRIBLE smells like sandalwood and cloves, filled the air in a way that Junior had never smelled before. It was almost too strong, almost powerful enough to interfere with Junior's breathing.

But that wasn't even the weirdest thing about all of this. That being the fact that Kamella, while kneeling, was saying something. She was whispering her words, so even as Junior approached her, he couldn't pick up on everything she said. However, he did hear some things. "My great and powerful queen," was a pretty common phrase. So was "the true Devine Ruler of the Mushroom World." By this point, Junior was more than a little weirded out.

"Uh…" Junior approached and tapped her on the shoulder. "Is everything okay Mom…"

Kamella held up her hand to silence him. She whispered more words before her lips rose into a smile. "Amen." She rose to a standing position and tilted her head up to the sky. "May the world someday be restored to you, my fair and beloved queen!"

To say Junior was caught off guard would be an understatement. "Mom? What are you doing?"

Kamella let out a breath before turning to Junior. "Sorry, honey." Honey. What a sweet name. "I was just taking part in my morning prayer ritual."

"Morning prayer ritual?" Junior looked at the shrine, trying to think back on the religions that he had been taught about in his lessons with Kamek. There were several different religions in the Mushroom World, but… none of them included such decorated shrines for worship. Nor did the God who people were praying to go by the title of "queen."

"Who were you praying to?"

Kamella gave Junior a smile. "I am praying to the Shadow Queen." Junior tensed up when he heard that name, causing Kamella to chuckle. "Oh no, there's no reason for you to look so startled." She gestured to the shrine, which Junior just now noticed had a book of some kind resting on top of the pile of flowers. "Many legends are told in regards to the origin of the Mushroom World, but the one I personally believe in is the legend talking about the Shadow Queen. Or, as I believe she SHOULD be called, Queen Aurora."

"Queen Aurora…"

"Yes." Kamella's face fell. "The Mushroom World was created for her, and yet it was taken away from her when she committed the horrible crime of falling in love." Kamella shook her head. "King Borealis kicked her out of the Palace of Light and forfeited her right to be ruler of the Mushroom World when he found out she cheated on him."

"Cheated? She cheated on him?"

"Yes. But here's what the legends DON'T say. She was apologetic. EXTREMELY apologetic. She begged her husband to take her back, but he didn't listen to her and kicked her out anyway." Kamella let out a long sigh. "And to think he called himself a merciful god…" She shook her head. Junior didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw legitimate anger in her eyes.

"I… I see." Junior honestly didn't know what to say aside from that. He wished he did, but nothing came to him.

Thankfully, Kamella let out a breath to dismiss that. "I'm sorry for talking your ear off; one thing you'll come to learn about me is that I am much more passionate about Queen Aurora than… well, most other things really." She laughed and stepped forward. "But even with that said, I shouldn't let it get in the way of the time I spend with you." She smiled. "We're mother and son now!"

Junior's face lit up. "Yes! Yes, we are!" He chuckled. "I'm really happy about that!"

"I am too." Kamella put her hand on Junior's shoulder and patted it. "How did you sleep last night, honey?"

Junior's face grew warm as little giggles came out of his mouth. Honey. Seriously, he LOVED that name! Bowser never called him that name even in the particularly special moments. Junior didn't blame him though; it sounded better coming out of a mother's mouth than it did a father's mouth.

"I slept really well! The bed was comfy!"

"Good!" Kamella chuckled. "I was worried that the bed wouldn't be up to your standard. You know, since you grew up in a castle and all…"

"Oh no, it was perfectly fine!" Junior beamed. "No complaints here!"

"That's good." Kamella straightened out her cap. "Well, we should probably see what we can do about your breakfast, shouldn't we?"

Junior licked his lips. "Sure! I'd really like that, Mom!"

Kamelle looked so touched by that name. Might be because it was new to her, might be because it fit just right. Either way, she was all smiles as they walked out of he basement, and Junior was in a similar state of mind as he followed her to the kitchen. When they got there, Kamella immediately started searching the pantry for food.

"Hmm," she said. "Hmm hmm hmm." She put her hand to her chin. "Don't really have a lot here, unfortunately…"

"Do you not keep food in your house?"

"Not really," she replied. "Since I have been living by myself for so long, I don't have much of a need to keep food stocked in the pantry." Her face turned red as she turned back to Junior. "And… obviously that's gonna have to change pretty quickly…"

"Yeah." Junior adjusted his bib. "But you don't have to do it TOO quickly. I don't want you to feel stressed out when it comes to taking care of me."

Kamella grinned. "Thank you. That's very sweet, Junior." Her face fell a little; not so much that she wasn't smiling anymore, but just enough so that it was noticeable. "Of course, when it comes to taking care of a child, I think that type of stress is MORE than welcome."

"You think so?"

"Oh yeah! I think it's a very positive type of stress." She laughed. "Of course, maybe I'm saying that because I'm still green to this whole parenting thing."

Junior laughed right alongside, an action that just delighted him more (seriously, he was laughing together with his new mom! This was MORE than perfect!). "You'll get better! I'm sure you will!" An idea came to Junior. "Ooh! Maybe you could use some magic to make food…" he stopped himself, his face falling. "Oh, wait. It takes a lot of energy for magikoopas to make food with magic."

Kamella nodded. "Yeah…" she said with an exhale. "And… well, as hard as this is to believe Junior, I don't have a lot of energy to use. I ain't no spring chicken."

Junior bit his tongue extra hard, as he had a feeling responding to that in any way that even resembled a joke would offend Kamella. "That's… fine." He cleared his throat. "Still, we need to do something."

"Yes we do." Kamella tapped her foot before looking Junior in the eye. "Would you like it if I took you out?"

"Uh… sure. Just so long as it's not too much trouble…"

Kamella laughed. "Oh believe me, it's NOT. Heck, compared to trying to use to food making magic, it'll be so little trouble that I'll forget the definiton of the word trouble."

"Okay then!" Junior said with a laugh. "So… I guess we're going out for breakfast!"

"Yep!" Kamella's face lit up. "And that'll be really good for us! Not only will we get some good food, but we'll also get a chance to get to know each other." She gave Junior a look that was so touched and proud one would think he found a cure for cancer. "It would help us adjust to this new type of normal."

Junior couldn't help but feel happy when hearing that. "Exactly what I was thinking." His heart felt fluttery and his spirit felt a million times lighter. This… as new as this was… this was probably the best-case scenario. All reservations and doubts he might've had about running away were quickly vanishing into the ether. As such, he wore a big, bright, beautiful smile. "Yeah. I think that sounds perfect."