Chapter 11 Mother Kamella

Junior skipped as he followed this mysterious magikoopa. He kept his eyes on her back at all times, not interested in letting her out of his sight for even a second. She walked through Amber with her head held high, as if she wasn't bothered by the scene that occurred in the donut shop. She must be so brave! She must be one of those fearless people, who doesn't let the worst-case scenarios and horrific happenings faze them. Oh man, that was so cool!

The two of them walked for about seven minutes. It was spent in silence, and that wasn't for Junior's lack of trying. He definitely wanted to talk to this person. He wanted to tell her something, but he had trouble finding the words. Call it awe, call it amazement, call it still being shaken up about the fact that he almost died. Either way, he couldn't talk to her. His tongue was essentially frozen.

But even still, he was amazingly grateful toward her. Because that was the thing; if she hadn't stepped in, he wouldn't be here. He would just be a statistic among the countless statistics that occurred in this filthy, crime-ridden hellhole of a town. He owed her everything. His life, his gratitude, his time… he owed her so much. Perhaps that was the main reason behind his temporary muteness; he recognized the severity of this situation.

After a little bit more walking, they got to a white house with blue shudders. The magikoopa, with a twinkle in her bespectacled eyes and a smile on her green-lipped face, turned to Junior. "Well, young man…" she put her hand on the doorknob. "Welcome to my home."

She opened the door, and when she did, Junior gasped. "Woah!" He stepped inside, admiring the scenery. There weren't that many expensive things in here, which made sense. If Junior lived in Amber, he wouldn't want to have anything expensive either. But that didn't make the sights any less fascinating. For one thing, there were shelves covered in magical items set up all across the perimeter of the room. Wands of various sizes and colors. Jars containing detached eyeballs that seemed to follow the young prince. A miniature cauldron, wooden talismans, spellbooks, this magikoopa had it all! She also had several different magikoopa robes hanging from various hangers, as well as a crystal ball resting on a dias in front of her blue cushion couch. It was like Kamek's study, but somehow a lot more welcoming and homey.

"You like this, huh?" the magikoopa asked. Junior gave her an enthusiastic nod, causing her to chuckle. "Well, make yourself at home. I'll go to the kitchen to get you that snack I promised you."

With that, she walked into the other room. Junior took a seat on the couch, grateful that he was able to sit in a comfy chair for a change. He looked at the crystal ball, no doubt a memory sphere. Kamek had a memory sphere in his study too. He had once said to the prince that such magical artifacts were rare and that only the most powerful magikoopas had access to them. Looking at the kitchen door, Junior started to wonder about the magikoopa who had so graciously rescued him.

Within no time, the magikoopa came back. Using her wand, she made a levitating tray of cookies and milk follow behind her. Junior licked his lips; they looked even better than his donuts (and had the added benefit of not experiencing emotional trauma in order to retrieve them)! The magikoopa waved her wand, making a TV tray appear right in front of Junior. The second… the mere SECOND that the tray was set down, Junior went to town. He started eating the cookies, almost forgetting to appreciate the fact several different flavors present. Chocolate chip, double chocolate, shortbread, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin… the magikoopa really went all out for him. It was only once he had snarfed down half of the double chocolates that he realized he was being rude.

"Thank you! This… this is amazing!"

"You're welcome." The magikoopa took a seat right next to him on the couch. "Now, I suppose some introductions are in order. My name is Kamella."

Junior gasped, almost making the cookies spill out of his mouth. "Wait. You're Kamella? As in… the Kamella?"

Kamella blinked and gave Junior a raised eyebrow. "Wait. You know me?"

"Yeah!" Junior's heart pounded as he smiled. "You helped King Bowser on his mission into space! You fought against the great Mario twice, using some of the most powerful spells in the process!" Junior jumped up and down in his seat. "You're a legend! An absolute legend!"

Kamella chuckled, her face turning pink. "Well, thank you. I don't know if I'd go so far to call myself a legend though." Her eyebrow rose back up as she looked back at Junior. "In fact, most of the people who I've encountered don't even know about the fights I partook in up in space. How is it that you are aware of them?"

Junior froze. "Oh, uh…" he hesitated, the feeling that he had screwed up feeling all the more strong as Kamella continued staring at him. He debated in his head whether or not he should reveal his identity. After all, wasn't part of the reason he had run away was him not wanting to be associated with that identity anymore? Making someone aware of it would be a little counterproductive.

But at the same time… well, he was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. He figured that if he didn't reveal his identity right now, Kamella would uncover it one way or the other. After all, magikoopas did have access to mind-probing spells, so there was absolutely no point of outright lying to them.

Realizing this, Junior decided that being honest was the only option. "The reason I know this is because…" he let out a breath and pulled back the hood of his hoodie. "I'm Prince Bowser Koopa Jr."

Kamella's eyes practically popped out of her skull. "Oh… my God!" She couldn't take her eyes off Junior, making him feel a little squirmy as a result. "You're the prince? You're the actual prince of the Koopa Kingdom?"

"I am." Junior's face fell and he sunk a little in his seat. "Or, at least, I was."

"What do you mean?"

Junior's stomach twisted itself into several different kinds of knots. "Well…" All sense of self-control and restraint went out the window as he began to explain the situation. He didn't even stop when he got to the particularly sad parts, i.e. how his birth story made him feel and what Ludwig had said to him. Sure, he didn't like speaking about that or even thinking about that, but… he didn't know. He couldn't control himself. So what if this was his and Kamella's first real interaction; he supposed that this was the perfect way to get all his worries off of his chest.

"And then, I went into the donut shop, and you saved me from those thugs and… well, here we are." Junior cringed a little, and he only cringed harder when he looked at Kamella's face. She gawked at him, her eyes as wide as the sun. At that moment, Junior started to feel a little self-conscious. "Sorry, I suppose I shouldn't have unloaded all that info on you. I mean… this is the first time we talked with one another."

"No no, it's okay," Kamella said. She turned so she was facing forward, biting her lip as she did. "That was a really sad story."

Junior snorted. "You're telling me." He sighed, leaning forward and cupping his face with his hands. "It sucks. It honestly sucks. I always knew that I was different from the rest of my family, but I didn't know it was this… severe."

"I can see that." Kamella paused. "I had heard about the tradition before. Honestly, I've always thought it was kind of silly. I mean, King Cosmo III was always portrayed as a spoiled brat in the historical accounts of him. So, why would anyone want to honor him by making a tradition out of what was such a backwards-thinking decision?"

"Yeah! Exactly!" Junior laughed, but the sound was so hollow it couldn't even be classified as such. "It makes no sense. It really doesn't. I mean… and I say this as someone who wants a mother, so I am… biased, I think the word is. But…" he sighed. "Isn't it usually the best idea to have TWO parents raise a child? Sure, it's possible for one parent to do it by themselves, but two is always recommended. After all, with two parents, you have a more complete family." He gripped his hand into a fist. "So… why would you clone yourself, essentially making it so that your family will NEVER be complete?" He shook his head. "It's so messed up."

"That it is." Kamella chuckled. "And I suppose I can understand where you're coming from. I mean, I'm not a clone of my mother, but I too grew up with only one parent." Junior, blinking, turned toward her. "My father died when I was two. And even though I loved my mother, and thought she did a decent job at raising me, part of me always wanted to know what my father was like. And, when I was in school…" she laughed. "When I went to preschool, I didn't even KNOW fathers were a thing. I thought that everyone just had a mother and that was it. So, the idea of the other children having this second mystery parent was so… alien to me." She paused. "Alien, but no less desirable, I must admit."

Junior felt a pang. "So… I guess you and I understand each other." He looked at the memory sphere, not saying anything for a little bit. "At least, a little bit."

"Indeed." Kamella paused too. "And I understand your desire for a mother. Mothers are sweet and supportive. Or at the very least, they're supposed to be." She fidgeted with her wand. "And I feel bad that you never had one. I really do. And knowing how incomplete I felt over the absence of a father in my life… I can imagine that the void in your heart is a million times worse."

Junior sniffled. "Yeah. I… I…" he couldn't finish his sentence, as he started to cry. He didn't want to cry and did everything in his power to stop himself. But that didn't help. He still cried, shedding tears that had been building up inside him long before this conversation. And he hated the fact that Kamella had to see this. He didn't want to be a blubbering baby in front of someone he literally just met, but… he couldn't help himself.

"Oh…" Kamella waved her wand, making a tissue form in Junior's hands. He wiped his eyes and blew his nose, all while Kamella looked at him with a concerned frown. "I know this must be hard."

"It is." Junior blew his nose a second time. "I'm sorry, I probably look pathetic to you."

"Not at all, Your Highness, not at all." Kamella paused. "And… I actually have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?" Junior wrinkled his nose. "Uh… I'm a little too young to get married."

Kamella laughed. "No no, a different kind of proposal." Kamella scooted closer. "I know that I'm not your mother, but… I could fill that void for you if you want. You can live with me, and I can take care of you like any mother would." She paused. "I mean, I'm not married, so I can't give you the two-parent setup that you say is ideal. But… well, this would be better than nothing, right?"

Junior stopped to think about this. "I… suppose." The more he thought about it, the bigger the smile on his face grew. "Yeah. Yeah! I think that's a great idea! I would love to have you as a mother, Kamella! You're friendly, nice, and you give me cookies! You're everything one could want from a mother!"

Kamella laughed, the sound just as joyful as the last one. "I'm glad to hear that." She smiled. "So… are you interested?"

"Of course I'm interested!" Junior wasn't just smiling now. He was grinning, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you so much, you're…" he let out an excited squeal and pulled Kamella into a hug. "Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Kamella laughed as she hugged him back. "Of course, Your Highness." She chuckled. "Or, should I say, son."

Junior giggled, holding her even tighter. It looked like he had done it. He had fulfilled the mission he had set out to do when running away. This… this was amazing. Absolutely, positively amazing.