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Chapter 21 Conversation Over Lunch

Peach sat at Tolstar's table, her hands resting on the surface. She tapped her fingers against the shiny wood, wondering how much longer Tolstar was going to take. Not long, she imagined, as she could pick up some amazing smells coming from the kitchen already. These smells, familiar yet combined in a new, surprising way, made her mouth water. Her stomach growled, something she was thankful Tolstar didn't hear due to how unqueenlike it was.

Oh well, it didn't matter. He came out of his kitchen, carrying a pot of what looked like some sort of soup. The pot itself was humongous; Peach had no chance of carrying that herself, so the fact that Tolstar was able to lug it out of the kitchen with such ease and such minimal effort struck her as impressive. He set the pot on the table, went back returned to the kitchen, and came back with some bowls and utensils. He ladled the soup into them, allowing Peach to see for the first time that it was broccoli cheddar soup. A decent dish; not an all-time favorite for the queen, but she was still willing to eat it. She thanked Tolstar for the bowl, stuck a bite in her mouth…

And was starstruck. She immediately pulled the spoon out of her mouth, staring down at the bowl with wide eyes. "That's… this is amazing!" She looked at Tolstar. "There's this flavor that I don't usually fin in broccoli soup. It's very unique."

Tolstar giggled. "Well, you're not going to believe this, but I used some Beanbean beans in this soup. Hee beans, Hoo beans, Woo beans; all of them were put in there."

"You're kidding!" Peach said as she took another bite.

"Nope! I ground them all up and snuck some of the flavors into the soup." He beamed. "I'm happy to see that the risk paid off."

"You mean this is your first time trying that?"

"Yep. Since I have a guest who cleaned my house from stem to stern, I figured it would be best to do something extra fancy."

Peach smiled. "Well… thank you. Thank you very much."

With that, she delved right back into eating the soup with a whole new level of delight. Even though this was her first time encountering such flavors, she couldn't help but think back to the times when she was younger. Those were the times when she was discovering new things left and right, including new flavors and dishes to try. The servants in the castle always took such great delight in making her new things. Sure, they stopped experimenting after a little bit, but Peach would remember all of those wonderful experiences and flavors until her dying day.

She paused, holding her spoon above the surface of the soup. She thought about her mission once again, knowing how overwhelming that it would be to get to the Mushroom Kingdom by herself. For comfort, she squeezed her sapphire broach. It still felt lovely, and it reminded her of all the times Peasley had been there for her. Oh man, she didn't want to let him down now…

"Hey, do you want to hear something cool?"

Peach did a double take and looked up at Tolstar, figuring that speaking with him would be the perfect way to distract herself from what was going on in her head. "Sure."

Tolstar grinned from ear to ear, all while having a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. "You know President Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, right?"

Peach snorted. "I've never met him, but I do know of him." She considered telling him that she was actually wanting to meet him but decided against it.

"Well…" Tolstar took an extra large bite of his soup, looking like he was going to explode with joy and send a glittery mess spraying all over the recently-cleaned house. "Would you believe me when I say that, before he became President, he was a plumber?"

Peach stayed silent before snickering and shaking her head. "I wouldn't believe that; no."

"Well, it's the truth! He and his brother were plumbers; some of the best in the world. They helped people all over the Mushroom Kingdom when it was still a monarchy. In fact…" Tolstar laughed. "This might be the most unbelievable thing I can possibly say, but they helped me once too!" Peach almost choked on her soup. "They were the ones who installed my toilet, actually!"

Disbelief and amusement filled the queen. She shouldn't believe those words, should she? They sound outlandish and absurd. She had heard of name droppers before, and this struck her as a perfect example of that. There was no way that Tolstar's toilet was installed by President Mario. There was just no way!

"I take it from your silence that you don't believe me?"

Peach shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't, no."

Tolstar smirked and shrugged. "Eh. You don't have to believe it; it doesn't make it any less true." He leaned back in his chair, even balancing on the back two legs. "I can tell you that he and his brother were very nice. Jovial and kind, they were the kind of guys who you would want to be friends with. You could easily invite them out to a night of relaxing at your favorite bar." Tolstar giggled. "Of course, I think they'd be more interested in pasta than beer. They would not shut up about the stuff! They said it was the best thing since sliced bread; BETTER than sliced bread as a matter of fact!" Tolstar shook his head, but the smile surprisingly didn't fall from his face. "I've never run across someone so passionate about pasta in my entire life."

Peach nodded, partially to be polite while also admittedly being fascinated by what Tolstar was telling her. "That's interesting."

"Yeah." Tolstar's expression changed into a confused one. "Honestly, when I heard that Mario had demolished the Mushroom Kingdom monarchy and set up a representative democracy in its place, I was… well, I was taken aback. I mean, he was a nice plumber." Tolstar began picking his teeth with his fingernail. "A very nice plumber. But he never struck me as the leader type." He chuckled. "I kind of expected the democracy to crash and burn as a result. I mean, there's no way he can keep a whole nation afloat! There's no way in hell! And yet, it's been almost a decade, and it's still going strong." Tolstar shrugged. "Just goes to show what I know, I guess."

"I see." Peach took another bite of her soup, thinking about the words Tolstar had said to her. "I'm more so fascinated by how was able to establish a government like that at all. There are no other governments like that in the world. How could he possibly come up with something like that?"

The legs of Tolstar's chair scraped against the floor as he pulled himself closer to the table. "I've actually been thinking about that, and I've heard a rumor about President Mario that might answer that." Peach raised an eyebrow, prompting him to explain. "I've heard that he's actually from another world!" Peach blinked, which made Tolstar laugh. "He's apparently from a parallel dimension, and lived in a magical place called Brooklyn." By this point, Tolstar was a giggling mess. "Brooklyn apparently had a government like the one he established for the Mushroom Kingdom. He took inspiration from it, I suppose you could say."

Peach nodded. "Interesting." She stared down into her bowl, trying to keep herself from laughing out loud. "That sounds like a load of hooey to me."

"I know; it does to me too." Tolstar stared into space. "But you know, it's usually the most over-the-top, ridiculous things that turn out to be true. Reality is stranger than fiction."

"True." Peach frowned before smirking. "Maybe, when I go to see him to get some aid for the Beanbean Kingdom, I'll ask him about where he came from."

Tolstar blinked, doing a double take. "Wait, you're going to go see him? That's why you tried to get into the Mushroom Kingdom; to see President Mario?"

A grim feeling showed through Peach's face as she nodded. "I don't know if you know this, but…" she hesitated before sighing, figuring it would be best to be honest about the situation. "But during my coronation, a wicked witch and her henchman took over the Beanbean Kingdom. They tricked and outsmarted me, and allowed a darkness to spread across the Beanbean Kingdom." She traced her finger around the rim of her bowl. "I want to go to the Mushroom Kingdom to ask President Mario for aid. At this point, that's the only hope the Beanbean Kingdom has."

Tolstar stayed silent for a little bit, possibly because he was trying to wrap his head around those words. "Well… I did see that there were some dark clouds hanging over the Beanbean Kingdom earlier."

"That's exactly what I'm referring to." Once again, Peach squeezed her broach. "My brother and I were heading here to Stardust Fields, but he ended up dying thanks to the darkness. As such… I have no choice but to continue on alone."

"Oof. That doesn't sound fun." Tolstar stayed silent for a little bit, which was good because Peach didn't know if she would be able to respond to any observations he made about Peasley's death. It stung just to think about it; talking about it would be a completely different beast.

"You know… if you're heading to the Mushroom Kingdom, there are a lot of potentially dangerous obstacles that you will have to clear. Like, for example, World 5 is located just past Stardust Fields, and that place has more creatures and monsters than you can count."

"I know." Peach's voice shook when she said that, so she cleared her throat. "I know that. I am well aware of the dangers."

"But are you prepared to face them?" Tolstar asked with a raised eyebrow.

Peach sat frozen for about ten seconds. "Um… well, no." She squeezed the broach once again. "I figured I'd cross that bridge when I got to it."

"I see." Tolstar pushed his chair back, standing up. "Well, if that's the case, I can't just let you go into World 5 without any help."

Peach blinked. "Wait. Are you asking to come with me?"

Tolstar laughed, hugging his sides as he did. "What? No! I'm not that stupid, and besides, my life is dedicated to watching the border!" Tolstar tried to get his breathing back under control before looking back at Peach with a serious face. "But I do have something that can help you. Follow me."

Curiosity filling her, Peach followed Tolstar as he led her to a closet on the other side of the room. He opened it, and the queen wondered what he was going to give her that could act as the help that he had talked about. Just as she was starting to grow antsy was when Tolstar emerged from the closet. In his hands were three items that made Peach gasp.

"Are those power-ups?"

"Mmhm. I've got a fire flower, an ice flower, and a mega mushroom." He handed them over, and Peach took them with a mouth that refused to close. "All three of these bed boys are some of the best power-ups that one can possibly use. They're usually found in the Mushroom Kingdom, but I managed to get my hands on them because…" Tolstar paused before chuckling. "Some people on the border couldn't pay the price to pass in cash, so they gave me power-ups instead."

Peach was in absolute awe as she looked at these items. "Well… thank you! You're so kind!"

"Oh no. Believe me, I'm as FAR from kind as a creature can possibly get." Tolstar smiled. "But still, you're welcome. I hope you'll be able to reach President Mario."

"I hope so too." Peach went into the next room. Tolstar followed her, watching as she shoved the power-ups into her backpack. "Well, thank you for the power-ups. And the meal." She zipped her bag up before hoisting it back onto her back. "I need to get going now. I'll certainly remember you, Tolstar."

"Of course. I'll remember you too 'Your Majesty.'"

Peach chuckled at his tone of voice, as well as how he made his eyebrows wiggle when he addressed her in that way. Now filled with confidence and hope, Peach exited the hut and continued on the long journey to the Mushroom Kingdom.