Chapter 19 Keep Moving Forward

Peach leaned her back against the side of a cliff. She had spent the last thirty minutes crying, thirty minutes not moving at all as she kept her eyes on the darkness below her. Wasn't that pathetic? Well, even if it was, at this very moment she hardly cared. She couldn't look away from the darkness, the thing responsible for leaving her all alone. Even though she knew it was foolish, she still prayed to Grambi that this would somehow reverse itself, that time would rewind to give Peach her brother back.

But of course, it wouldn't happen, and she knew. Deep down, instinctively, Peach knew it wouldn't be the case. Even though she was royalty, technically the queen of a powerful kingdom, time wouldn't bend over backward for her. Reality wouldn't break its own rules just to make her happy. It was foolish to believe it would, even more foolish than Peach's previous decision to visit that fortune teller.

In that way, if one were to look at the situation from a certain angle, one could easily conclude that Peasley's death was her fault. Sure, it wasn't directly caused by her, but the darkness wouldn't have been here in the first place if she hadn't given Cackletta the time of day. If she hadn't unwittingly given Cackletta access to her throne, then Peasley would still be alive.

Her tears fell harder and heavier when she had that thought. Some queen she was. Some sister she was. All she had wanted to do was the right thing; that's all she ever wanted to do. Why is it that she screwed things up this badly, with that being the case? Why is it that she had committed more sins than was acceptable when she never had any intention of doing that sort of thing?

Peach sighed. She wiped her face some more, her thoughts swirling around in her head like some sort of storm. She looked down at the darkness again. After two minutes, she gripped her hand into a fist.

"I have to keep going." That's what Peasley would want. If he was still here, he would tell Peach that she couldn't let his absence distract her from the mission. She still had a kingdom to save, and she still had a mission that she needed to complete. She was the only one who could fix this mess, a fact that Peasley had recognized. She shouldn't let his death be in vain.

So, she took a deep breath. She removed the backpack from her back, digging around in it in hopes of finding a map. She eventually found one and unfurled it with a steep frown. She scanned it, taking in everything that it said. At the top of this mountain was the entrance to Stardust Fields, which was technically outside the Beanbean Kingdom. And after that location was World 5, filled to the brim with plants and beasts. Was the mere sight of it on the map overwhelming? Yes, it was; unbearably so. But it was where she needed to go. It was where she would go.

She stood back up, hoisting the backpack back on. Looking and feeling extra serious, she held the map in her hands and jumped right into following it. She found a path, the same path she and Peasley had been traveling down when they ran into the Beanies. Well, if any Beanies made themselves known now, they would know that their days were numbered. Peach wasn't going to lose to them; not this time.

The hike up the mountain was underway. She ascended the slope, gritting her teeth when she felt how steep the climb was. Rocks covered the path, big jagged rocks that could tear through the bottom of her foot if she wasn't wearing shoes. Grunting, she ignored them and continued climbing. When her eyes weren't on the map, they were on the path. She could see the top of the mountain, the place that would spell success and salvation for her.

Every once in a while, Peach would look behind, just to get a glance of the darkness. Interestingly, it didn't move at all, and if it did, it did it too slowly for her to notice. That was probably a good thing; the darkness had no chance of catching up and dragging her under if it decided to stay still. If anything else, the queen could feel the slightest smidge of thankfulness because of this.

Higher and higher and higher Peach climbed. She came to discover that her body wasn't fit enough to climb a mountain for long, extended periods of time. Her breath grew shallow, and her legs and chest hurt. Putting her fingers to her neck, she was able to feel her heart beating at a speed she had never felt before. She frowned when she felt this, and she only grew more frustrated when she was forced to stop and rest. Damn it, why hadn't Lady Lima offered the royal children a Physical Education class when they were studying? She of all people should know the importance of having a healthy body. She should know that not offering Peach any possibility to improve her stamina and muscle strength would only spell disaster for the princess later in her life!

Peach sighed when she had those thoughts. "Don't think about that right now," she told herself. She put her hand to her chest, trying to get her breathing down to a better rate. "Don't focus on the past." She looked back up the mountain. "Focus on the here and now." Deciding that she didn't want to waste too much time recovering, she put one foot forward and resumed hiking. "You have a job. You have a mission. You will complete it. Everyone is counting on you."

The queen only realized after she said that how awful that sentence made her feel. She bit her lip, trying to push every ounce of guilt she felt to the side. It wasn't supposed to be something to sadden her. Quite the opposite; it was supposed to empower her. Despite how little and scummy she felt, she could do this. Peasley had believed in her for years, and the encouragement he had given her wasn't invalid just because he was gone. If anything, thanks to his absence, those words were even more powerful. He had believed in his little sister to the very end. So you know what? Peach would believe in herself too.

She continued climbing. She noticed the atmosphere growing a little thin at this altitude, a fact that unfortunately meant she had to stop and rest more often. As she tried to catch her breath at one point, she prayed that she wouldn't get altitude sickness. She prayed that this wouldn't be too much of a hindrance, that she wouldn't be stopped in her tracks because of this frankly inconvenient and annoying aspect of the trip.

Thankfully, while annoying, the low oxygen wasn't so low that she couldn't continue. She still trekked up the mountain, still wore the serious face, and still wore her determination to save her kingdom as a badge of honor. She had to keep moving forward. No matter what happened, she would keep moving forward.

Finally, after what was possibly the most egregious and laborious walk of her life, Peach made it up the mountain. She took a deep breath, trying to take in as much oxygen as she possibly could. She looked behind, wanting to get a glance of her kingdom. Her heart ached when she saw darkness covering the whole land, thicker than fog and blacker than coal.

"It's okay, Peach," she whispered to herself. She took another deep breath as she turned around. "It's not going to be there forever."

She resumed walking. She was able to see Stardust Field now, just a few yards in the distance. The glittering purple soil was, admittedly, really pretty and soothing. Even though purple wasn't exactly a favorite of hers, Peach still liked looking at it. It did things to her soul, especially so when she thought about the fact that this was where she was supposed to go. These fields were her ticket to the Mushroom Kingdom, to saving her people.

Despite everything, Peach actually began to feel excited. She picked up the pace, bolting toward the fields. It was a little difficult to do; again, the oxygen was kind of low and she had a heavy backpack on her back. But even with those factors at play, she didn't stop. She was almost at the Mushroom Kingdom. She wasn't going to stop; no way was she going to stop now…

BOOM!

Peach shrieked, being pushed back by the force of something big and heavy hitting the ground. She landed on her butt, cringing as she felt pain spread all across her abdomen. As she tried to pick herself back up, she saw that it wasn't a "something" that had hit the ground and pushed her back. It was a someone.

"None shall pass without a fee."

Peach gawked at the person. They were big, chubby, green, and were unlike any creature she had seen before. They had a tuft of pink hair, and their lips were orange-yellow. Little things that looked like wings sprouted out where their ears were supposed to be, and they had a little black shell on their back. They most interesting thing about their appearance, at least to Peach, was a little yellow star they had on their forehead. It even twinkled, which made it quite a sight to see.

Of course, aside from that star, the sight of this creature blocking the way to Stardust Fields wasn't pleasant to Peach. She gawked at him for a little bit before frowning and putting her hands on her hips. "Who are you, dear sir?"

"My name is Tolstar. I guard the border between the Mushroom and Beanbean Kingdoms." They giggled, wearing one of the strangest faces Peach had ever seen in the process. "Who might you be, little lady?"

Peach's brow scrunched. "I am Queen Peach."

Tolstar burst into laughter, a practice that made Peach's ears and face grow warm. "HA! Yeah right! I highly doubt that Beanbean Kingdom royalty would be all by themselves on top of Hoohoo Mountain." He wiped a tear from his eye. "You don't even look like royalty! You just look like a regular old hitchhiker!" He sneered. "A hitchhiker with an ego, I might add."

Peach crossed her arms. "Well, I don't care what you think about me. I'm on a mission, and I won't let anyone stand in my way." She tried to walk forward, but Tolstar blocked her path. She tried to push past him, but that was like trying to push back a brick wall. He blocked her path, and pushing up against him proved that there was absolutely no way to move him.

"Little Lady," Tolstar said. "You aren't leaving the Beanbean Kingdom that easily. I require a very big price."

Fear shot through Peach, but she tried to hide it. "And what is that?"

"Five hundred Beanbean coins."

Peach's eyes grew wide. "Uh…" She stood in place for a second, with Tolstar's beady little eyes boring into her. "I don't have that."

Tolstar giggled. "Wow. Some queen you are."

Peach felt a pang. Steam shot out of her nostrils, and she took a step closer to this bizarre creature. "Look, I don't have time for this! My kingdom is in peril, and I'm the only one who has the power to save it! It shouldn't matter that I don't have five hundred coins; I should be able to get into the Mushroom Kingdom!" She looked into Tolstar's eyes, trying to appeal to any sliver of humanity this being might have. "Please. You've gotta help me."

Tolstar blinked. Peach maintained eye contact with him, all while sweat fell down her back and her heart pounded. Tolstar put his hand to his chin.

"Hmm…" he tapped his foot, furrowing his brow in a thoughtful method. "You know what? Maybe you don't need the five hundred coins."

"Really?"

"Really." His face fell. "Of course, I can't let you pass without some form of payment; my nature won't allow it." He giggled. "So, instead of paying money, why don't you do a task for me instead?"

Peach didn't even hesitate. "Of course. Whatever it is, I'll do it."

Tolstar's eyes glittered. "Then follow me."