AN: Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter 11 An Adventurer's Home

Peasley's face grew as grim as the grim reaper the more explanation that Peach gave him. And if that look wasn't enough, the more time the queen dedicated to actually talking about what had happened, the more out-of-control her emotions became. Her breathing sped up, her heart rammed itself against her chest. She felt like she was going to have a panic attack, especially when she focused her mind's eye on Cackletta's face. So malicious, so undoubtedly wicked that it made her feel small. Smaller than an ant, smaller than the smallest atom. By the time she finished telling her brother about what happened, she could barely function. She shook harder than ever, and so little oxygen came to her that she was just a few minutes away from passing out.

"I…I…" she wished she could say more, but that was an impossibility. Now that she was under Peasley's saddened gaze, she felt like she couldn't' speak at all. It was like she was a sinner being judged by God Himself on Judgement Day. "I…" she wiped some tears from her eyes, a practice that proved to be futile. Like a hydra, when she got rid of one of her tears, at least two more popped up in its place.

She was so high-strung that she could barely comprehend Peasley walking up to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, something that reminded Peach of their mother. This action was appreciated and very nostalgic, but it did nothing to calm her down.

"I… I…" That was all she could say, all that she was capable of saying. It felt like someone was squeezing her throat, choking her, and extinguishing her ability to speak. She lowered her head, the tears coming again. How pathetic, how horribly unfitting of someone who had been crowned queen.

"Peachy, it's going to be okay."

Peach sniffled. "How?" she asked. Peasley sounded so sure about what he just said, but that didn't make any sense! How could things be okay after such a travesty?

"It will be," Peasley reassured. He patted her on the shoulder. "Do you remember the stories we were told as kids, the ones where good always triumphs over evil? That's the case in real life too."

Peach snorted through her crying. "Real life isn't like a storybook, Peasley. Real life is messier. Real life throws so many hurdles at you, sometimes more than you can handle."

"I know; I know it can seem like that at times. But I'm telling you Peachy; evil doesn't spend too much time in a position of power. Something conquers it, someone puts it in its place. Believe me Peach; I know."

Peach tried to say something in response to this, but all she could do was sigh and hang her head. She wanted to believe her brother, but… well, that viewpoint sounded too naive. It sounded like it was grasping for hope in a situation that absolutely did not have it.

"How about this Peach? I'll cook you a nice dinner. It's easier to think on a full stomach, so after we eat, we can brainstorm ideas about how to take that witch off the throne."

Peach took another, longer sip of her tea. "I… that would be nice." Her voice sounded like it was going to fizzle out, but it was better than not being able to say anything.

"Awesome," Peasley made his way toward the door with a smile on his green face. "It should be ready in about an hour. Feel free to go anywhere you want in the house in the meantime."

With that, he left, leaving Peach alone. Alone with her thoughts, alone with her fears. They overwhelmed her in the worst ways possible, so she quickly realized that she didn't want to stay in the bedroom for long. She pulled the covers back, cringing when she saw the tattered and dirty state her coronation dress was in. This was just another reminder of the horrid reality they now found themselves in.

But, again, she didn't want to spend too much time focusing on that.

She left the room, her steps a little skimpy as she made her way down the hallway. However, that was cured the second she saw what was on the wall. Right next to the light switch was a handkerchief, put into a frame and hanging on the wall. At first, Peach was reeling over why in the world Peasley would put that on display. That is until something caught her eye.

The Mushroom Kingdom emblem, resting in the handkerchief's bottom right corner.

This made Peach do a double take. Her jaw even dropped, and she couldn't pull her eyes away from it for a good long while. When she did pull away, she reasoned in her head that that had to be the strangest, most significant item in his house.

Boy was she wrong.

When Peach got to the living room, her jaw dropped. She couldn't tear her eyes away. The living room might as well have been a museum with how many different items and artifacts were on display. She saw a vacuum resting in the corner, with a label that said it was a replica of the poltergust that belonged to none other than Luigi Mario. Trophies lined the mantle, some bronze some silver, some gold. Peach couldn't help staring at those in particular. Those had to be replicas, right? There was no way they were real; they looked like they cost a fortune!

Of course, when Peach's eyes scanned over the rest of the room, she quickly began to doubt that they were fake. She saw jewels, hundreds of jewels on the wall and intentionally placed on the floor. They shined like the stars, glittering in the most colorful and inviting ways possible. Speaking of stars, they were here too, ranging from green stars to superstars. This was fascinating in its own right, but not as fascinating as the books she saw. They all rested in a bookshelf, so ancient that they appeared to be primary sources and firsthand accounts of a variety of historical events. Peach walked over to these inadvertently, hoping that she could read at least one. When she got to the bookshelf though, her eyes traveled to somewhere else: a coin-collecting booklet. Curious, she opened it up, her jaw dropping when she saw coins taken from all over the Mushroom World. There was a Beanbean coin. There was a Mushroom coin. There were red coins, blue coins, purple coins, star coins, dragon coins; any kind of coin that the Mushroom World claimed was in this booklet. This was probably the most intriguing thing the queen had seen so far. She never would've imagine in a million years that she would lay her eyes on all these bits of rare currency. These coins only grew more significant when they were compared to all the other things she had seen on display. They all told a story, a story that told Peach about everything her beloved brother had been doing in the five years since abdicating the throne.

She closed the book, scanning over the room once more. Peasley. Peasley, Peasley, Peasley. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised about all this, and on some level, she wasn't. He always had the desire to explore. But at the same time, the sheer number of places he clearly had been in order to get all these items boggled the mind. Peach couldn't even guess how many places he had explored and couldn't even begin to comprehend all of the different sights he had seen in such a short amount of time. The last five years were certainly productive for him, possibly more so than how Peach had spent the last five years.

Just as she was thinking this, a scent wafted into the room. A seasoned, delicious smell that made her stomach growl and her mouth water. She made her way over to the kitchen, the smell becoming stronger and more appealing the closer she got. When she saw Peasley over the stove, preparing what looked like some sort of chicken, she couldn't help but do a double take.

"Wow. Where did you learn how to cook?"

"Several places!" Peasley exclaimed. "I learned a lot of recipes from a lot of people in a lot of different parts of the world. This includes this dish; it is usually eaten in Sarasaland on the night of a holiday." He pushed the chicken around in the pan. "It uses a special spice only found in the Chai region. Thankfully, I managed to get my hands on the spice about a month ago when I went there. It was as expensive as heck, but in my opinion, it was worth every penny."

Peach once again felt impressed. "That's… amazing." She chuckled, pushing a strand of her hair back. "Really amazing."

"Thanks, sis," Peasley said, the last word containing so much love and respect. "I had a feeling you would want to taste something incredible after everything that's happened."

Peach's face grew warm. "That's very considerate, thank you."

"Of course!" Peasley beamed. "Now, go into the dining room; the dish is almost ready."

Peach nodded, making her way there. While this room wasn't nearly as heavily decorated as the living room, there was still something there that caught Peach's interest. It sat in the middle of the table as a centerpiece, and it glowed with an entrancing blue light. Peach quickly realized that it was a wonder seed, sitting there some sort of candle. Peach couldn't help but marvel at this, as she only ever read about wonder seeds in books. Peasley actually had one? Wow. Wow wow wow.

Within no time at all, Peasley came out while carrying two plates. Peach thanked him when he gave her hers, and she only grew more thankfully when she tasted it. This spice from the Chai Kingdom… she had absolutely no clue what it was, but it appealed to her taste buds in the best way possible. It satisfied her, it made her feel happy. It was like eating this satisfied a craving that she didn't know she had, a craving that had stuck with her for years in the most discreet way possible.

"Pealsey… I don't know what to say."

Peasley chuckled. "Thanks. I was hoping you'd like it."

Peach took another bite, causing her tastebuds to dance. "I'm really happy for you." Peasley blinked at her odd choice of words, causing her to chortle. "You seem to have accomplished all the goals that you set out to do. You explored the Mushroom World, embracing your adventurous spirit. I… despite everything… I think you abdicating the throne was the best choice you could have possibly made."

A pink hue appeared in Peasley's complexion. "I… I'm glad you feel that way Peach."

An awkward silence hung in the air. Peach couldn't help but squirm because of it; it felt as though every last drop of joy had been sucked out of the room. She picked up the pace when it came to eating her food, hoping that doing so would at least help her feel a little more comfortable.

"Umm…" Peach didn't know if she was necessarily ready to talk about their problem just yet, so she thought of another topic. "Have you met any interesting people in your travels?"

Peasley snorted. "So many that I could write a book about them." He stuck another bite in his mouth. "I've met Toads, goombas, Koopas, poplins… there are so many kinds of different folks I've run into. And believe it or not, a lot of them are really nice too." He chuckled. "Even President Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom is nice!"

Peach almost dropped her fork. "You met President Mario?"

"I did! And believe me when I tell you that he's unlike any other politician I've met." He giggled. "I think he would be a knight in shining armor in another life."

Peach chuckled along with him. "Wow. He sounds so noble."

"He is. He really is." Peasley took another bite. "You know, maybe President Mario would be willing to help us fight against Cackletta." He full-on laughed. "He certainly has the drive and ambition to do so, that's for sure."

Peach gasped. She stared at her brother, who looked back at her in confusion. "Peasley?" Peasley raised an eyebrow as Peach smiled. "You're a genius!"