The three women walked through Bowser's kingdom, chatting as they went. Peach's mind had been taken off her corrupted lover and had instead been focused on her friends. She didn't notice that time was passing fast. She'd forgotten about the curfew Bowser had set for her. Peach was having too much fun to remember about rules.
It was only when she heard the sirens that she remembered. She froze as the realization hit her. She screwed up, badly. She guessed it was around 2am, which was 2 whole hours past her curfew. She was most royally fucked.
"Oh God...I forgot..." Peach mumbled, beginning to sprint away. The two other royals followed, realizing the situation. She saw lanterns of cavalry and ran in the opposite direction. No guards had seen them yet. Thankfully. They huddled together in a bush, hoping that they wouldn't get caught. They feared the consequences.
"Fuckin' hell, Ash. Didn't expect the princesses to actually do a runner. Where's Syrup? Did she go the opposite way?" a distinctive Diamond City accent drawls. Mona Diamond, one of the four women in Bowser's army. Peach didn't know who 'Ash' was but she assumed it was another female crook. She did know Syrup though, Captain Syrup hated Peach's guts.
"I know, Mona. God, where are they? I don't wanna be out here searching until missy decides to reveal herself to us. They're so selfish. They think they have it hard and yet here we are, forced to search for them for hours. Y'know, sometimes I wish we'd just stayed a lil' gang. Just you, me, Walu and Wario." Ash said, standing directly in front of the princess's hiding spot. Her wand was tucked into her belt. They could just grab it and rid Ashley of her wand forever. Daisy stuck out a hand and grabbed it. A strong hand grasped Daisy's wrist and yanked her out of the bush, swearing at her. Captain Syrup. Daisy tried to fight back against the pirate, but in vain. Syrup wouldn't let her go.
"There's one of the rats. Syrup, hand 'er over to Ludwig's troops. They're closest to us unless they went off East. We'll snatch the other two." Mona instructed. Peach listened to her best friend being dragged away against her will. She was furious. Bowser couldn't force her to come back. That would be abuse. She knew Bowser would force her to. Like he forced everything in her life.
"Girlies, do ya need help?" a different voice asked just as Rosalina and Peach were dragged out from their hiding spot by the two women. Ashley Red, Peach realized. Ashley was a witch. A dangerous witch. Peach realized the voice was a koopaling, though she didn't know the name.
"Nah, we're all good. 'Ave ya heard if the kidnapping was successful?" Mona asked, wrenching Rosalina's arm behind her back, causing the poor princess to wince in pain.
"It went great. Another princess in the cells for us to taunt. We're gonna get the other one in a week." the unnamed koopaling said, leaning against a tree and glancing at the captured women for the first time. "Isn't that Bowser's girlie? Couldn't care less who the other one is but Bowser is gonna be fuming when she comes back."
"Ya, 'er names Peach." Ashley chirped, pushing Peach forward. Peach shot daggers at the three villains. Mona was about to speak when Syrup ran back, her face red and her eyes narrowed.
"Ludwig fuckin' lost the bitch! Someone needs to fire the idiots on his squad!" she raged, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she glared at the two other princesses. "No funny business from you two or else you'll join the cart of toads that Waluigi likes to murder," she growled.
"I don't like to murder them, they all have a death wish." the man in purple said, appearing next to the nameless koopaling.
"Speak of the bloody devil...Anyway, where the fuck is your squadron of psychos?" Mona asked. It seemed nobody cared about the princesses. Peach was fine with that if it meant they ignored her, she was scared of the large group of villains in front of her. Judging by the look on Rosalina's face, she felt the same way.
"Oh, them. They're off with Kamek. If ya wanna get on Bowser's good side, you should probably return his little trophies now or else he'll murder everyone. He's really mad. If I actually cared about anyone, I'd feel bad for the girlie he's trying to marry." he explained.
"Thanks, Walu. I'll see ya around in the courtyard with the rest of 'em. Syrup, come with us so Ludwig doesn't twist your story. See ya, Iggy." Mona said, walking away with the rest of the females and leaving Waluigi and Iggy alone.
"Do those bloody princesses have brains? They should know the walls can't be climbed. They're stuck here with the rest of us." Waluigi said, throwing his hands up as he talked.
"The brats think Bowser only has them captive because they're royalty. They don't know anything about our plan." Iggy giggled as the pair walked back to the castle. Bowser had a plan, but the pair of crooks had their own as well.
Bowser was practically exploding on everyone who tried to talk to him. He was furious. How dare his princess defy him? How could she? He'd been so nice to her! He knew what he had to do. It wasn't a plan he liked, but he had to go through with it. No more Mr Nice Guy.
The door handle turned and Mona, Ashley and Captain Syrup walked in. Bowser realized they had two of his princesses. Whilst Daisy was nowhere to be seen, which irritated him, he was still proud of his workers.
"Good job, Mona, Ashley. Syrup, where's the other one?" Bowser said, tossing a small bag of coins at the two captors. They grinned widely, letting the wrists of the princesses fall to their sides as they clutched the money to their chests.
"Thanks, Bowser!" they chorused as they darted out of the room. Syrup gulped, would Bowser kill her?
"So, I got Daisy but gave her to Ludwig's squadron because they said they were going to be reporting back to you, so I figured it would be quicker," she explained, keeping a cool composure and hoping that Bowser wouldn't kill her. She didn't want to die in front of two entitled bitches whilst her friends ran off with bags of money. Bowser scratched his chin, deciding whether to believe her or not. After around 2 minutes, he sighed and tossed her a bag of coins as well.
"Fine. I believe you. Which member of the squadron took Daisy from you? I need to speak to them." the Koopa King asked. He may be a corrupted individual but he still cared for his workers, they helped all his plans come together, he had to appreciate them.
"I don't know. A paratroopa took 'er and then I saw him give her to Ludwig 'imself. No clue what Ludwig bloody did then." the pirate recollected. Peach was intrigued by the tale. Daisy had been passed around like a shroom in a shady tavern. She was jealous of Bowser's kindness towards his workers. Why couldn't he be that nice to her? She was bound to him by an engagement ring, she deserved respect.
"Alright, thank you. Goodbye, Syrup. Enjoy your night." he said, issuing the captain's cue to leave. She left the room as hurriedly as the women before her, thankful that her employer had not murdered her in cold blood. She would enjoy spending her money, she did need a new sword.
Bowser turned to the two princesses, one calm whilst the other had a look of panic in her eyes. Instead of the slap that she expected, she got a sigh. Bowser slumped back into his throne, surveying the two faces.
"Princess, you knew the rules. I presume Rosalina didn't. Why did you disobey me?" he asked, his voice soft and dangerous. Peach gulped as Rosalina stared at her, sorrow clear in her eyes. Rosalina hadn't known about the curfew, neither had Daisy. Peach was all to blame.
"I forgot. It slipped my mind as I was so overjoyed to be able to see my friends. Please don't kill them, it was all my fault. Kill me. Have me executed, they don't deserve punishment." Peach said, her voice cracking as a singular tear rolled down her cheek.
"No one is going to die, Princess. Unless you have lied to me, then the guillotine will be the last thing and maniacal laughter the last thing you hear. This is your last chance, Princess. Do not let me down or else your friend here," he pointed sinisterly at Rosalina, "will be on the chopping block. Do you understand?"
Peach nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. She grabbed Rosalina's wrist and marched out of the room before letting her tears flow. She collapsed into Rosalina's arms, a stream of apologies escaping her mouth. She wanted to die. It felt worse when Bowser was nice to her as mean. she wanted him to be mad at her so she didn't have to feel the guilt. She didn't want him to be nice.
Bowser heard the sobs from his throne room. His heart felt heavy with guilt. He didn't mean to make his princess cry. He, despite organizing hundreds of murders, hated tears. Tears made him break. He was tempted to go and comfort his princess but he knew he couldn't. He'd be kicked off the throne and someone else would take over. And everyone in this kingdom would be dead before Bowser handed over the throne. Not even his son would be getting his throne. Bowser knew the koopalings wanted to rule, but he didn't trust them. Half of them were insane and would go on a killing spree as soon as they got the crown. Hell, he didn't trust Junior with it and Junior was the most sane out of his kids.
He heard crazy giggling and his heart dropped. He didn't want to deal with the psychos of his army again. Waluigi and Iggy ran through the door, Princess Daisy kicking and screaming from where she was held between them. At least they hadn't killed her. He needed her alive for his plan.
"We got her! She's a right bitch, can we please shoot her?" Iggy yelled, earning another kick from the hot-headed princess. Bowser shook his head and walked over to the trio, taking the princess out of their maniacal grasp. Daisy looked sort of relieved to not have them touching her, but she was still scared. She should be.
"No, Iggy, we can't kill her. You aren't meant to hurt the princesses. That goes for you too, Waluigi. No executing them because they scream. Remember, we have to keep them alive." Bowser gruffly said, gripping Daisy's wrist tightly. She couldn't escape now.
"Fine, fine. Do we send the other bitches back to their cells? And the entitled pink one back to her fancy room?" Waluigi asked, folding his skinny arms and throwing a glare at Daisy.
"Yeah, take Rosalina back to her cell. I need to keep Daisy here for a minute. Get Mona or Syrup to take Peach to her room. Don't disobey my orders. Now go." he growled, sending the two on their way. He listened to the squeals of the two other princesses as they began taking them away to their rooms. He turned to Daisy.
"What happened with Ludwig?" he snapped, expressing no gentleness towards the desert princess.
"I stole a horse from his team and rode off somewhere. I would have escaped if those idiots hadn't showed up. Fucking sociopaths..." she said, disdain evident in her tone.
"Ludwig you fucking imbecile... You're free to go back to your cell. I will make sure the 'sociopaths' don't bother you tonight. Also, did Peach tell you or Rosalina about her curfew?" Bowser questioned.
"No, she didn't tell us anything like that. Thanks for letting me go and not killing me," she said, frowning in confusion as she walked out of the room. Why was she helping him? He was evil for fuck's sake! Daisy knew her way back to her cell, so she walked alone. Her thoughts were racing around her head as fast as green shells flew in a Mario Kart tournament. Her heart was rapidly pounding in her chest. Her fists curled up into balls. Daisy was angry. At herself and Bowser. She couldn't think of a reason why, she just felt the rage boiling inside her.
"You fucking cretins!" she heard a man screech. Daisy froze, she recognized that voice. Luigi? It couldn't be. Her heart began racing even faster, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She dashed into the dungeons to see her beloved green plumber screaming at the two most bone-chillingly psychopathic people she'd ever met. They were circling him like sharks, toothy grins present on their faces. Daisy felt a shiver run up her spine.
"Awww, is little Luigi scared of us?" Waluigi snarled, running the flat side of a knife along Luigi's cheek and grinning.
"I'm not scared!" Luigi hissed, shoving the lanky criminal back.
Daisy ran forward, pulling her lover away from the pair of maniacs. They crept her out. She hugged Luigi close to her and glared at Iggy and Waluigi.
"Don't hurt my boyfriend!" she screeched, dashing away with the green plumber who she'd thought was dead for the past month. Once she reached her cell, she collapsed into his arms, sobbing. At least Luigi and she were safe. Unlike Peach and Mario.
Peach was gazing up at the ceiling, a montage of her life running through her head as she lay in the darkness. Everything had gone wrong the moment Mario had been killed and she'd become Bowser's 'princess'. Now, she felt bound to the kingdom of the koopas. Bound to Bowser. Bound to become one of the corrupted citizens of Bowser's kingdom. Bound to die. Bound to have her friends die at her hands.
Bound to have someone else's blood on her hands by the time she died.