Super Princess Peach

Ch. 25

Peach could barely contain her surprise as the merchant whipped at the donkeys and they began to ride away. "Wait, there's other toads?" Peach cried. 

"This is so," the Wiggler said. "Twenty others, in fact. And they'll be going down with their Princess." 

Peach glared at him as they crossed back over the rickety wooden bridge. Once they were back in the main hall, two Wigglites appeared and led them into the east wing of the castle, where there was a long, narrow corridor faintly lit by torches. Cages lined the right side of the wall, and inside the cages were...toads! They were thin and raggedy, and some were breathing hard and others were weeping silently. When they heard the cart come around, they jumped up from their lying positions and moved to the front of the cages. They were ecstatic when they saw Peach: 

"It's the Princess!" 

"Princess Toadstool!" 

"Lord help us - the Princess has come to rescue us!!" 

"We're saved!" 

"Somebody pinch me!" 

The merchant unlocked the cage and unsheathed a small dagger. With it, he cut the bonds tying together the party's legs so that they could walk. Peach fell out of the carriage and, with wobbly legs, followed the merchant over to a cage near the middle of the hall. He roughly pushed Peach and Toaddette and Perry (who Peach was carrying) inside. 

"Hey, you idiot!!' a toad from down the hall shouted. "That's no way to treat a princess!" The Wigglite ignored him and shoved Toadonelly and Toader into another cage. When all was said and done, he locked the wooden cages and walked off. 

"Hey! You!" another toad shouted as the Wigglite merchant walked past. "Get your butt over here and unlock these cages before I peel off on you!!"  

Again, they were ignored. 

Peach leaned up against the back of the cage in exhaustion as voices from other cages met her on all sides: 

"Princess, are you all right?" 

"Is that blood in your hair, Princess?" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, is that Toaddette?" 

"Somebody pinch me!" 

"Peach, don't worry, we'll get out of here!" 

"ENOUGH!" Perry shouted, and everyone instantly quieted. "You know how much of a bad day the princess has had? Do us all a favor and give her a moment to rest!" 

Everyone was silent for a moment before someone said, "Is that a talking umbrella?" 

"Shut your trap before I blast you to kingdom come," Perry snapped. 

"Look, I know the princess is tired, but we can't help it," a toad in the next cage over pointed out. Peach slowly turned her head and almost gasped in shock. It was...the toad captain! "Captain...?" Peach asked. 

"That's so," the Captain said. "You don't know how glad we are to have you back, Princess. We've been in these cells for a little over a week, captured a short while after the plane crash. With everyone thinkin' that you were dead, there was no hope for any of us - now that you've returned, though, we've got some hope after all." 

Peach silently closed her eyes. "That's good to know..." 

"Allow me to introduce myself," another toad from Peach's right said. "My name is Toadrian. I graduated from the University of Archaeology and Earth Sciences with a doctorate in archaeology. I'd like to take a moment to explain the situation to you, Princess Peach." He waited. When Peach nodded in approval, he said, "The Wigglites are an ancient indigenous people exclusive to Vibe Island. They're famous for their cannibalism and their violence towards trespassers. They worship this cursed volcano - in fact, every decade or so, they've been known to hold a festival in which they sacrifice any trespassers they find to the volcano by throwing them into a pool of lava."