Mario clenched and unclenched his fists as a sharp ringing noise pierced through his ears. The world was blurred and his wrists burned. He could feel ropes around them, tied far too tightly. They were cheap and frayed as well, which didn't help with the pain.
"Wh.... where am I?" he muttered while blinking, hoping to make the world clear again. He wasn't a fan of feeling like he was underwater with how fuzzy everything looked and sounded.
There was a sharp laughter that sent chills down his spine, and he straightened his back.
"I know that laugh..." he muttered.
"Boo!" King Boo chimed, suddenly appearing just inches in front of the red-dressed man, causing Mario to let out a shriek. He wanted to scramble back, but he couldn't. His movements were limited by ropes bounding him to a chair less than suited for someone like him.
"King Boo," he hissed, fighting to keep his voice from shaking.
"Prince Mario," King Boo mused, leaning forward so his ghostly cold breath could be felt on the prince's face.
Mario scrunched up his nose slightly in disgust. "I should have known it was you behind this," he spat.
"It always is," King Boo smiled. "Gold star to you, for figuring it out. What a genius you are–"
"Shut up!" the prince hissed. "This is pointless, really. Peach will be here to rescue me any minute now, so–IS THAT MY CROWN?"
"Oh, like it?" King Boo asked, grinning and tilting the new crown he wore atop his head to the side slightly before breaking out in loud, maniacal laughter. "I thought it was rather fitting. A new crown for the new king of the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"Kidnapping me doesn't make you king, it makes you a criminal," Prince Mario stated matter-of-factly as his fear slowly washed away. As terrifying as constantly being kidnapped by the fearsome ghost king was, it happened so often that sometimes it felt more like a chore than anything else.
"Oh, shush, it'll work this time," King Boo grinned. "With you out of the way, it's only a matter of time before all my precious boos make a new home in your little kingdom!"
Prince Mario scoffed at the word "little." If his kingdom was so little, then why was King Boo so desperate to get his ghostly hands on it every other week?
"Whatever. What's the plan this time?" Mario asked. "Got a new portrait to throw me into?"
"Oh, no, no, I'm past that," King Boo teased. "It was a good plan at first, I'll admit, but seeing a portrait of your face every day is far too sinister if you ask me. I wouldn't want to preserve... well, this in a painting."
The ghost kind gestured to Mario's face as the prince narrowed his eyes, which in turn made the ghost king laugh louder.
"Aw, I love this time we spend together, don't you?" King Boo asked, floating behind the prince and leaning over his shoulder.
Mario shook his head. It was the time spent waiting for Peach to save him that he hated most, actually. King Boo never actually did anything whenever he kidnapped the prince of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sometimes, it felt like the ghost king was just doing this to pick fights with Peach. He never actually tried to pull anything seriously dangerous until she showed up. It was like he was asking for attention. Perhaps he didn't get enough love in his childhood.
"You know..." King Boo trailed off.
"No, no, no, NO. No ghost stories," Mario groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Hey–I wasn't going to tell one!" King Boo gasped. "Although... now that you mention it..."
"Please just put me in the stupid portrait," Mario begged, lowering his head.
"Oh, hush, this is a good one!" King Boo grinned, floating around the room as if he was pacing back and forth. "It's about Sarasaland! Your brother's kingdom!"
"Maybe you should tell it to him, then," Mario breathed.
"I would if I could stand the heat over there," King Boo shrugged. "For now, you'll have to do! Now, once upon a time... there was a young woman who had always wished to see the world. However, she was confined to her desert home in Sarasaland. Desperate to see more green, but chained to her father's shop, she wrote letters and threw them to the wind, hoping that one day the wind would answer and take her far, far away—"
"She sounds delusional," Mario muttered.
King Boo shot him a brief look, then continued. "Then, one day the wind returned her letter, telling her that someone heard her desperate pleas for escape. The writing claimed to be from a bright young man, one who promised to sweep her off her feet and run away with her to see the world if she left her father's shop and allowed the wind to guide her to him. Lovestricken and desperate to meet this stranger, she did as the letter said. But... that night the fiercest sandstorm Sarasaland had ever seen struck as tornados of sand and dust reached from the sky to the ground, and she was never seen again. Some say she found the man who wrote the letter... But some nights when the wind is harshest, they can still hear her whispers as she searches, unsure who it is she's even looking for anymore. Sometimes she calls for him, other times she calls for her father... she may even be calling for you, begging you to join her so she no longer has to be alone."
Mario stared for a moment, bored and unwilling to give the ghost king a reaction. There was a new ghost story for each kidnapping. Mario was half-convinced that King Boo was just secretly trying to share his storytelling hobby with someone.
"That was garbage," the prince breathed, keeping his voice as low and monotone as he could possibly manage.
The ghost king gasped, then floated forward with an angry purple glow in his eyes.
"Well you know what you little—"
"Keep your hands off him," Peach stated, throwing the door open behind them.
Prince Mario gasped and looked back at her, his eyes lighting up.
Peach wore the same overalls, pink shirt, and matching hat she always wore. Beside her was none other than her trusty sidekick, Daisy, who was dressed in practically the same attire, only she wore orange and her overalls were a slightly darker shade of blue.
"Peach!" Mario called out, unable to keep a smile from spreading across his face.
"Prince Mario!" Peach replied, relieved that he was okay. "Stay calm. We'll get you out of this."
"I don't think so," King Boo laughed, his eyes seeming to light up as well. He never admitted it, but he was waiting for this just as much as Mario was. This was what he was really after. A fight. A battle where he could finally prove himself and shoot his shot at besting the two heroes.
"Dude, we've done this like, hundreds of times," Daisy snickered, crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly. "We know how this goes. You give us your villain speech, we fall to this big battlefield, you throw spiky balls at us, we trick you into getting hit by them, you get knocked out, and we all go home to eat spaghetti. This is kinda getting old, you know?"
"Oh, so now I'm not good enough of a bad guy?!" King Boo gasped. "Paisy, you're hurting my feelings."
Daisy rolled her eyes, refusing to waste any more breath on correcting him. She and Peach exchanged a quick glance, then got in their fighting stances.
Mario let out a breath as King Boo moved him aside. He knew that this wouldn't take long.
. . .
"Do you ever get bored of this?" Peach asked as she, Daisy, and Mario sat back in the prince's large castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. The prince had just finished cooking his classic spaghetti and serving it to the two heroes as a thank-you for saving him yet again.
"Yes," Mario breathed, sitting down across from the two of them. "We can't really stop him, though."
Daisy nodded and started eating her pasta. It was delicious, as always. Sometimes, it felt like Prince Mario missed his calling as a chef. She always told him that if this prince thing didn't work out, he should quit and open an Italian restaurant. Not that the prince thing wouldn't work. It was what he and his younger brother, Prince Luigi of Sarasaland, had been born to do.
"I don't know, it's just a bit too... routine," Peach muttered between bites. "I mean... where's the variety? There's only one villain we ever fight."
"Two sometimes!" Daisy chimed.
"Meh, Bowser's only has attacked like, twice? Three times? And each time, you're usually the one to handle that," Peach said, smiling at her sidekick. "Which you do awesome at, by the way."
"I know!" Daisy laughed, smiling proudly.
Their lives had started to feel slightly dull, though. Well, as dull as a hero's life could feel. Of course, nothing ever was completely dull with all the adventures they were constantly going on together. They were Peach and Daisy, the classic heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom!
"Oh, by the way, we sent a mail toadette to tell your brother that you're safe," Peach smiled, nodding back at Mario. "I know he worries a lot."
"You did what?!" Mario gasped. "Nononono, he's going to freak out and get all worried! He's probably already on his way over—"
"MARIO!" a distant voice shouted, muffled by the walls. Less than a second later, Prince Luigi threw the door open, his crown crooked and his eyes puffy as if he had been crying. He did this practically every time Mario was kidnapped. The prince of Sarasaland sprinted over to his brother and hugged him tightly before overwhelming him with question after question.
"Luigi, Luigi, slow down, I'm fine," Mario commanded using his princely voice, which made the younger prince slowly regain his composure.
Sarasaland was less known throughout the world, but also far more secure than the Mushroom Kingdom ever was. Luigi and Mario both were known to be fair and just rulers, but their being related didn't mean they ran their kingdoms the same way. Mario often prioritized relations with other kingdoms above all else, which made the Mushroom Kingdom known by all, but also the perfect target for King Boo. Luigi on the other hand often focused on improvements within his own kingdom, which in turn made Sarasaland one of the most secure and safe places to live.
Secure, but lonely sometimes. It was almost like he had been cut off from his brother and the rest of the world. Prince Luigi always tried to do what he believed was best for his kingdom, but that meant being cautious and thinking each action through. It meant fewer visits with his brother and his friends.
"He's okay, Lu," Daisy smiled, reaching over to the prince dressed in green and taking his arm in an attempt to comfort him.
Luigi briefly looked at her, then quickly turned his gaze away.
"U-Um... you're eating spaghetti," the prince noted, desperate to move the conversation along.
"Yes! I made it," Prince Mario chimed, offering his brother a warm smile. "To thank our heroes for saving me. Again. Would you like some?"
"I'd love that," Prince Luigi breathed. "But... well, I have some duties back at Sarasaland. I was able to give myself a small break so I could make sure you were alright, but... well, I-I really need to get back. We're having a meeting about perhaps sharing some of our more advanced security measures with your kingdom, actually. You know... to promote unity, get Sarasaland on the map, and help you guys avoid incidents like this one. But... it's a hard decision, and nothing's entirely up to me. I have to get my people to vote, and it's a whole process—"
"We get it," Prince Mario laughed, patting his brother on the back. "Being a prince is hard."
"I never could do it," Daisy laughed, placing her hands on her hips. "I mean, imagine me as a princess!"
"I don't think I'd be able to do it," Peach agreed with a giggle. "Respect to you guys, though. I mean, people think we got it hard?! Look at all the stuff you have to handle! Everyone really needs to give you more credit!"
"Plenty have it harder..." Luigi breathed, sheepishly looking away. "There are people who are starving. Some children don't have homes."
"And you fight for them every day," Daisy smiled. "You see them and try to help them. Plus, their struggles don't make yours any less real. They're just... different."
Luigi nodded, then shook his head.
"Right. Well, I-I have to go," he said, turning and running off, but not before giving everyone a quick wave. "I'll see you around, okay? Please, keep in touch if anything else goes wrong!"
"We will," Mario nodded, already bringing his attention back down to the plate of spaghetti in front of him. "Have a good night, Lu."
Luigi nodded as everyone waved back at him, practically in unison. Then, he closed the door behind him, resting his back against it.
When they were kids, it was always the four of them. There were memories of Daisy and Peach climbing trees while Mario followed, only to get scared once he climbed too high. Prince Mario was always like that—putting a brave face on until things got hard. Back then, Luigi would sit at the base of the tree and read countless stories while listening to the sound of their laughter. Golden days in a golden childhood.
Now... sometimes it felt as though he drifted away. No longer was it the four of them. It was the three of them, and him. They weren't to blame, though. He knew they loved him, and he loved them. So, so much. He supposed growing older was the true enemy.
He couldn't fight that, though. So, he walked down Prince Mario's hallways, (which were significantly larger than his own, though they felt smaller,) his dress shoes squeaking slightly with each step as a few grains of sand fell behind him, unnoticed.
He turned a corner when he ran into a young woman who seemed to be in a hurry. The young prince's crown fell off and clattered to the floor as both people fell to the ground, clearly not expecting to run into each other.
Luigi quickly scrambled to put his crown back on, then brushed himself off and stood up, holding his hand down to the young woman.
"I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," he gasped, embarrassed. Thank goodness no toadettes were around to witness.
The woman grasped his arm and pulled herself off, briefly brushing herself off. "Oh, no, no, it was my fault," she breathed, her voice sweet and kind. It reminded the prince of honey.
"It can be both of our faults," Prince Luigi breathed, bowing his head slightly. "I'm sorry, miss."
"Well, apology accepted," she breathed, bowing her head as well.
Luigi looked up at her, then nodded, and the two parted ways.
He had never seen her before. He wondered who she was. She wasn't a toadette, that much was clear. Perhaps she was from one of the kingdoms the Mushroom Kingdom was allied with. She looked rather important with her fancy dress and such.
"I like your butterfly hairclips!" the prince called out, suddenly turning around. But, the woman was long gone. Not that he expected any different. He should have told her when they were standing face to face.
Shaking his head, he reached for the castle gates and let himself out.