Stroll Around The Kingdom (A little Peach story)
Sunny day, not a dark cloud in sight, and the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is out for a leisurely walk around the….well, Kingdom!
It’s been a long while since her last kidnapping, some say Bowser has finally given up his pursuit for her love, she surely hopes this is the case. She’d much prefer if she found her love by herself, which she might have done already…
The walk is uneventful, she soon stops to take a seat at the local sweet shop for some nice confectionery goodness, with a side of some warm tea. As she’s waiting for her food she can’t help but overhear herself being mentioned in a conversation between two Toads..
“Seriously, what is going ON with the Princess?! It’s like every other day she gets kidnapped, it gets tiring after the first couple of times!”
“Come on man it’s not like she can control it, that Big Bowser guy is way stronger than her.”
“Yea but then Mario always comes and saves her! I think they should’ve gotten together by now, it’s like she’s leading him on.”
“Hey hey, the princess wouldn’t lead someone on, she doesn’t owe her life to anybody after all!”
“But just LOOK AT THEM! They’re usually always together and it’s getting so tiring just watching them be all friendly like they aren’t the perfect match!”
“I know they do seem meant for each other, but if the princess was in love with someone else than I’m sure Mario would be just fine with it.”
“Yea but at this point it just seems she’s asking to be kidnapped at this point.”
Peach is heartbroken, has all those kidnappings made her people distrust her? Do people think she WANTS to be kidnapped? To be stuck in a cage for days on end while a big lizard tries to arrange a marriage with you?
Suddenly she gets her food placed on the table
“Here are your fresh jelly-filled donuts with a nice cup of tea your majesty!”
“Yes, thank you very much..”
She picks up her teacup and is about to get a sip of her tea when she looks at the other table, those two Toads are staring at her. She tries to be polite and wave at them.
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting-“
“IF SHE HEARD ANYTHING THAT I JUST SAID IM GONNA BE POLLEN!”
She knows that Toad was just exaggerating, but the thought of someone thinking she was that cruel makes her heart twist. That’s something only Bowser would do to his minions!
…or atleast, that’s what she would presume.
The princess sees the two Toads run off (or rather one getting dragged by the other), she can’t help but still feel a little off, those words still ringing in her head. “it just seems she’s asking to be kidnapped at this point”
Is…that how people thought of her? It can’t be, I mean it’s true back then she was kidnapped very often but it’s not like she could face off against a giant turtle like BOWSER. She has magic sure, but she’s not that powerful in offensive magic, just healing and floating for the most part, but do people, her people, really think she’s that weak?
….before she can even finish her thoughts, she’s eaten her food, she stands up, organizes the plates and cups for the waiters, and leaves.
The walk back to the castle is boring, but that’s to be expected, no journey home is gonna be a big adventure after all. She greets everyone of her subjects who greets her, standard procedure, she’s done this for years, but something feels…off. She can’t pinpoint it, but she feels like all of their smiles are fake, no…no, she’s just not in the right headspace after overhearing those two Toads’ conversation back at the sweet shop.
It’s okay, breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out… everything’s fine, sort out your thoughts when you’re alone.
It’s smooth moving from here, streets, doors, entrance, throne room. Then after a while of watching over her people, the day is done, to her personal living quarters, or simply put, her room.
She walks over to her bed, getting on it, casually slipping out of her red high heels as she stretches, a long day can really do you in. After she settles into her bed, she’s left in deep thought.
Is this how her people thought of her? Someone who just likes to be kidnapped? Finding it as a thrill? Do they see her as nothing more than an end goal? A means to an end, a prized trophy, even? Is she really that disliked….hated?
…though if anyone were to come in, they’d just see her staring at her feet.
For some reason she…isn’t crying? For someone who is as emotionally driven as her it’s quite the anomaly. It almost feels unnatural seeing her sad, but not crying, it’s almost like she’s…emotionless. Maybe she’s too deep in thought, maybe she’s numb to all of this, maybe she’s expected it, some people take love but never even think to give any back…
…Maybe she really is that deep in thought.
She sighs, the moon has risen by this point, which means many in the Mushroom Kingdom are heading to bed, and of course, she must as well.
Every night it’s the same…
And just like that, she’s laid in bed, but it takes her a little longer than usual to fall asleep, let’s hope she doesn’t have any nightmares or any of the sort.
Everything seems normal as the Princess awakens, but she’s unfortunately still in that rut from yesterday…fortunately she has no affairs she needs to attend to today! She is free to enjoy her day…but not after a good morning routine.
Everything is in order, as it should be.
Peach had a stack of pancakes made for her, with strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup! (She’s got a bit of a sweet tooth, she brushes her teeth of course.) But she’s had another stack prepared, why? Because she invited Mario over for breakfast, she’d heard Luigi was out with Daisy handling affairs in Sarasaland so she figured he wouldn’t want to eat alone. Peach also wanted to talk to him about…things.
It’s a while before he gets there, and the breakfast is of course delicious, but that thing is still stirring at the back of her mind.
“Is something wrong-a princess?” He asks, catching her off guard.
“Can I…ask you a question?”
“Do I…ever tire you?”
“I mean, with the kidnappings, it’s like they happened ever so often. It’s starting to feel like it’s all I am! The damsel in distress who gets saved by the hero at the end of his daring quest, who’s expected to just smile and wave for everyone afterwards. It feels like I’m not a person, just a glorified trophy!”
Mario is taken aback, of course he had no idea that Peach felt this way, she’s never looked visually upset about it, it probably eats at her when she’s alone he thinks..
“I feel weak, like I can barely protect myself. Even without feeling any physical pain, it hurts.” She’s trying her hardest not to cry, but it’s getting harder.
“Princess….” He says, holding her hands inbetween his…
“You’re not-a weak at all, I’va seen what you’re-a capable of, you don’t need-a to fight giant monsters to prove-a how strong you are. Sometimes one’s-a strength comes-a from-a their kindness, their ability to keep-a calm and-a carry on, and-a that is just as-a good as fighting that nasty King-a Koopa in my book.”
She’s not sure what to say, she feels like he’s underselling himself but…he’s so earnest about it. A hero like him knows what it means to be strong, but sometimes she sees beyond the gauze of his heroism, and sees the genuine good person in him instead.
“Do you…really think so, Mario?”
“I-a know so, Princess…”
In that moment, everything feels so right, like she had never been kidnapped in the first place. In that moment she feels…safe.
“I’m-a sorry to have to cut things a bit-a short, but I have-a to get to work, I need to help-a with some drain pipes down-a town.” He says with a bashful look on his face, with all his daring adventures she forgets his gig as a plumber.
“It’s no worries, come and see me whenever you feel, I’m free the entire day.”
“I’ll-a be sure to when I have the time-a. See you later Princess-a!” With those words he runs off, ready to be a hero, in his own, non adventuring way.
She’s a bit late to respond, but she makes sure that she hears him loud and clear.
Peach sits down for a while, thinking about what Mario had said, oh how his words can put her in a chokehold…metaphorically of course, she picks up the plates and utensils to bring them to the dishwasher for the workers to clean.
Perhaps she can be a hero, just the way she is.
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Hope you guys enjoyed the little fic I wrote, I wanted to atleast make something for Peach month, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a drawing out (I won’t rule it out entirely, just not a garauntee) so here’s this, hope you all enjoyed reading!
