Chapter Text
Chapter One – Misery of Mushroom Kingdom
It has been a long time since Peach left, and I still wonder if something went wrong between us, or if it was never right at all. How many times can a princess be kidnapped before the word feels like an excuse? How many times before the rescues feel like habit, not need? I don’t know; maybe I never will. But I do know this: I miss her.
I miss the way her hair moved in the breeze, her eyes shining in the sun, brighter than any star. I miss her laughter drifting across the courtyard, ringing in my ears long after it was gone. The memories are sweet, but they weigh on me until I can hardly bear them.
Outside my window, the kingdom carried on as though nothing had changed. The skies stayed clear, clouds drifted slowly; the gardens showed every colour; the Toads bustled about with cheer. Their smiles seemed bright, yet they felt hollow to me, or perhaps my heart no longer let the warmth in. Still, I told myself to keep moving, if not for myself then for Luigi, or for the kingdom. But sometimes I asked: does it even need me now?
I sat at the window for a long time, staring at cobblestones, flower boxes, and banners in the wind. Yet the sight felt empty, like a painting I had stared at too long, its meaning drained away. Who am I without her? What am I meant to be?
Then it happened. A streak of light, sudden and sharp, cutting through my haze like a blade. Blue. Not the soft blue of sky or sea, but bold, alive, almost blinding. My breath caught.
A spark returned to me in that moment. I rose from my seat, my heart pounding with a purpose I had not felt in weeks. Whatever it was, it did not belong here; and if it did not belong here, it was trouble. Trouble I knew how to face.
“Let’s-a go,” I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. I put on my cap and stepped out the door. The kingdom may not have needed me that morning, but now I had a reason to move.