#(this is almost 10k words...)

[making-you-in-spore]

cannot wait to be done writing this story so i can get back to spores

[smilesrobotlover]

First|| <-previous next->

AO3

Chapter 8- A Soldier’s Visit to Faron

Link woke up to the sound of talking. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window where the sun was shining through. He listened more carefully and recognized his pa’s voice speaking outside and he frowned. What was he doing outside? Link stood up and shuffled over to the window, looking out to see Rusl speaking with Auru. His pa’s arms were crossed, and a serious look was on his face while Auru had a more concerned expression. Rusl started speaking again and Link opened the window to hear him better.

“...I only wish I was stronger,” his pa said softly. Auru tilted his head.

“Rusl–”

“I know! I’m only human, I’m weaker than most of y’all but… I… he’s my son. I should be protecting him but… I can’t.”

Link frowned. Was he talking about him?

“Rusl, even a Hylian wouldn’t be strong enough to fight against a mysterious shadow monster. Be kinder to yourself.”

Rusl sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I know… I know… It’s just terrifying, you know? It’s terrifying to discover that you can’t protect your family. If that thing got closer to Ordon and took–” his breath hitched and Auru rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t think about that. The beast did not get to Ordon. It didn’t hurt Uli or Colin or Rela or anyone.”

“It did hurt Link though…”

“Well, fortunately it didn’t hurt him too bad, right?”

Rusl shrugged. “Not as bad as me… But I don’t want him to have the responsibility of saving me. Not again.”

Link’s feelings grew conflicted. Was his pa ashamed of having to be rescued by him? Link supposed he understood to an extent. Since becoming a father himself, he’s wanted nothing more than to protect Kori and Midna with his life. If Kori had to save him… he’d probably be ashamed of himself too.

“That’s what you get for raising a heroic boy, Rusl,” Auru joked, and Rusl gave him an annoyed smile.

“It’s not my fault he turned out that way.”

“Oh shut it, of course it is!”

“No it isn’t, Link turned out that way because that’s the way he is.”

“Colin and Rela are the same way though, I think it is your fault.”

“Spirits!” Rusl lightly punched Auru in the arm and the old man chuckled.

“Oh c’mere,” Auru pulled Rusl into a hug, which he melted into. “It sounds like you two went through a lot, I’m sorry.”

From Auru’s large frame and Rusl’s smaller stature, it almost looked like a child hugging his father from Link’s perspective. It made his heart ache for Kori.

He prayed to every deity on the planet to keep him safe from the shadow beast.

The two men pulled away and started to head inside, and Link pulled away from the window as well, letting out a sigh. He knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to eavesdrop on such a conversation, but he couldn’t stop himself. To get his pa to open up about things that bothered him was like trying to pry a deku baba’s jaw open after it closed. But Link didn’t know if he regretted learning how Rusl truly felt about everything. He felt guilty, sad, and mostly confused from it all. He almost wished he was the one to be attacked by the shadow beast, that way his pa wasn’t hurt and traumatized the way he was. Link had dealt with far worse in his life; it would’ve been no different.

He finally went to close the window until he heard shuffling beside him, and movement from the corner of his eye caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. A person was turning around on the bed opposite from the other one Link was in, and Link backed up in shock. How in Din’s name did he not notice this person? Based on the clothes, he recognized the person as Sheik, but when he saw their face, his heart stopped.

It was Zelda who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

“Oh–”

Zelda felt her face and her eyes landed on her discarded mark and headwrap on the floor, and a string of curses from her mouth left Link more shocked. He didn’t know Zelda was even capable of swearing. Zelda scrambled for the clothes and nearly tumbled out of her bed while Link remained paralyzed. She finally stood up, her face covered up, yet her stormy-gray eyes couldn’t hide her identity. How did he not know?

“You—” he started, but Zelda stopped him.

“N-no… no I—”

“You– you’re—” Link’s mind was racing, and he was finally able to string a full sentence together. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Th-this was meant to be my room! I didn’t– you– I–” Zelda let out another cuss word which felt like a punch to Link’s face. She never acted in such a way around him; she was always so proper and polite. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the floor with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it– oh Goddesses you–”

Rusl burst through the door, interrupting the two.

“Oh Sheik! Link! Glad you’re both awake!” He said cheerily, leaning against the door frame. Link and Sheik only stared at him in shock. “Ya know, Sheik. You scared the living daylights outta me when you came in last night. You poor thing—must’ve been exhausted!”

Zelda and Link continued to stare in shock, and Rusl frowned.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Zelda—or Sheik—said breathlessly, before moving past Rusl towards the stairs. Rusl stared back at her for a moment before looking back at Link, clearly confused.

“What the heck happened there?”

“I… uh…” Link bit his lip, wondering what he should tell Rusl. Zelda had clearly kept this identity a secret for a reason—was it right to tell his father? “Uh… I was just surprised to see Sheik in here, that’s all,” he finally said, laughing nervously. Rusl stared for a moment before laughing slightly.

“Yeah, he must’ve been awfully tired, huh?” He chuckled, and Link nodded, forcing a smile. The two stared for a moment, Rusl’s smile fading more and more as Link’s fake smile grew bigger. “Well, Telma has some breakfast for us so… you can… come down–”

“Oh! Yes! Sounds great! Thanks pa!” Link said a little too loudly, and marched towards the stairs.

Breakfast was painfully awkward. Link couldn’t help but stare at Sheik, who looked terrified. She would glance at him and Link would look away, only for him to go back to staring at her. The others didn’t notice the tension between them, instead they were chatting happily with each other, unaware of the recent discovery Link made.

Did they know? Did Zelda want to keep it a secret from only him? Or were they just as oblivious as he was before? His mind wandered to Ashei, with their conversation about Sheik before. Did she know? She seemed to know about Sheik not being a man, but was it because she knew that Sheik was Zelda? His mind was racing as he thought about it, not paying attention to the other’s conversations.

“… and she just picked it up!” Rusl exclaimed, his hands gesturing in front of Link’s face, interrupting his staring. “I tell you, that girl was born to fight. We should start teaching Kori some sword fighting too, right Link?”

Link glanced at his father, then at everyone else staring at him.

“W-what?” He muttered, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.

“I was just telling them about Rela, and her first sword-fighting lesson! Kori is ten now, I think it’s about time he started learnin’ too!”

“Oh! Yes, right,” Link quickly said, going back to watching Sheik. Rusl continued to stare at him, the others doing the same.

“Uh, is everything alright, old boy?” Shad asked, looking between him and Sheik.

“Oh—“ Rusl adjusted himself in his seat and pointed at Sheik. “He just broke into our room last night and scared me stiff. I’m sure he must’ve shocked Link this morning.”

Link saw Ashei worriedly turn her head to Sheik, who remained unmoving.

“Oh my goddesses, Rusl,” Auru groaned, “did you take the first room? Sheik is always the one in there!”

“Since when did we have room assignments?” Rusl argued.

“It’s an unspoken rule! Sheik takes the first room. I take the third one, Ashei takes the second and Shad takes the room across, and you and Link take the room in the back!”

“But they ain’t labeled!”

“That’s—ugh, boy…. That’s why it’s unspoken!”

Sheik got up abruptly as the two argued and left the bar. Link stood up as well and followed. He had so many questions for her, and he wanted answers. He found Sheik right outside the bar, and she didn’t look surprised to see Link.

“Link,” she started, and he stopped right in front of her.

“Zelda.”

“Don’t… ah…”

“Oh—right. Sorry. Sheik,” Link pursed his lips and the two sat in silence. Every question he had was gone in an instant. It almost saddened him—they worked well together during the twilight invasion, yet their relationship was never strengthened. Zelda wanted him to be a knight and to be a representative for Hyrule, but Link didn’t want to be stuck with nobles doing useless things; much less being some trophy for the people to gawk at. It put a strain on their relationship, and he didn’t expect to be speaking to Zelda ever again.

Then again, they’ve been speaking for a while now, yet he didn’t know.

“Sorry my pa took your room,” he finally said.

“Oh… it’s alright.”

Link smiled awkwardly and nodded. Sheik nodded back. There was silence again between the two, and Link cleared his throat.

“So… Sheik. What—um—why?”

“Why what?”

Link huffed and ran his hand through his hair. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us? Why are you doing this? I just… I’m curious…”

Sheik’s brows furrowed together and she looked down. “I just… wanted to do more for my kingdom.”

Link frowned. “But you’re the queen. You do more for Hyrule than anyone else!”

Sheik shook her head. “Not enough.” She sighed and sat on a box, rubbing her eyes. “During the twilight invasion, I felt… helpless. I couldn’t do anything for anyone. I was a prisoner in my own home, and all I could do was trust you. I just… I never want to be out of control like that ever again. I want to personally save Hyrule myself if it were to come to it. I felt that… as Sheik… I could do that. I wasn’t a queen anymore I-I felt more like… I don’t know… a protector. I feel like I can actually make an impact doing this.”

Link gave her a sad look and joined her on the box, staring at the door that led to Telma’s bar. “You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he started softly. “You did so much during the invasion. You… you kept Zant from slaughtering everyone in Hyrule. You saved my life and you saved Midna’s life at your own expense. You helped me defeat Ganondorf,” Link looked up at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “I couldn’t have saved Hyrule if not for you.”

“But… I couldn’t do more—“

“Goddesses, Sheik, I thought you gave up your life for Midna’s! I thought you died! What more could you have done?”

Sheik finally looked up at him. “I don’t know.”

“Good!” Link crossed his arms and sat up straight. “Now you know. You’re good enough!” Link felt his face flush at the corny message, and he turned away. The two were silent again; the sounds of laughter and bottles crashing were the only sounds heard. Link let out a sigh and turned to Sheik again. “I can understand though, wanting to do things yourself. I guess if I had to give orders and then sit there and wait for it to get done, I’d lose my mind a bit too.”

Sheik looked up at him, and though he couldn’t see her expression well, he did see a glimmer in her eye.

“I’m glad you somewhat understand,” she said.

Link hummed and nodded, and he pursed his lips. “So… why didn’t you tell the resistance?”

“It defeats the purpose of a secret identity, doesn’t it? I can't go around saying that I’m the queen when I… look like this,” she gestured to her outfit. “If they knew that I was not on the throne, they’d probably think me to be lazy.”

“Well, you’re not. You’re a good queen.”

Sheik’s eyes had more of a smile to them from that. “Thank you.”

Link gave her a smile. For once, they were having a pleasant conversation. No evil trying to destroy the world, no enemies needing to be defeated, and no heart broken from a love supposedly killed. They were just two people. Seeing Zelda as Sheik, he saw her in a different light. A simple woman who was trying.

“How did Kori come to be?” Sheik suddenly asked, and Link’s eyes widened. The resistance only met Kori a handful of times, and he didn’t think about how it would’ve affected Sheik. She and Rusl were the only ones who knew about Midna. Rusl found out about Midna’s return, but Zelda never did…

“Uh…. Well… I don’t know what you’re asking specifically but… Twili’s bodies aren’t too different from ours,” he mumbled.

Sheik’s face flushed slightly and she shook her head. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

Link cursed in his mind and laughed nervously. “Oh! Well… sorry.”

“No no, I should’ve been more specific. I meant… How is Kori here? Midna destroyed the mirror, there should be no connection to the twilight realm.”

“Oh… well…” Link stared at the ground, watching bits of dust move with the light breeze. He let out a sigh. “I have no idea. One night, Midna came to my door with Kori in her arms… and now he’s here.”

Sheik studied his face for a moment. “Is Midna still here?”

Link paused. Should he tell her that Midna visited whenever she could? Would Sheik feel left out if she knew that she only visited Link and his family? Did she even care? He didn’t know how close the two were during the invasion; he knew they were acquainted before he came along, but Midna didn’t seem to like her in the beginning. In the end, they were more like allies than friends. But was he wrong?”

“She… visits,” he finally said, and Sheik’s saddened look made him regret saying it.

“I see,” she whispered.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t… you guys… I didn’t know you were friends and—“

“We weren’t,” Sheik said bluntly. “I suppose we never were.”

That stung slightly, hearing that about Midna. He wondered why she wouldn’t tell Sheik about everything, but he shouldn’t be surprised. If Kori never got hurt in the twilight realm, she probably would’ve never come in the first place.

“If it makes you feel any better, she never came back for me,” he started in a cautious tone, “she came back for Kori.” Sheik gave him a confused look so he elaborated. “I don’t know if you remember, but he has a scar up along his arm,” Link traced his forearm to show where the scar was, and Sheik watched carefully. “Apparently, when he was two, an advisor hurt him because… he was scared Kori would doom the Twili. There’s only one female Twili, and she’s meant to give birth to the heir, who will also be a female. But Kori… not only was he a half Twili, but he was a boy. And… They hurt him.” Link frowned. It was difficult saying it all out loud. The familiar rage that he thought he moved on from began to bubble in his chest, and he had to clench his fists to control it. If he ever met the Twili that hurt his son…

“So… you didn’t know about Kori?” Sheik asked, and Link nodded.

“She knew he wouldn’t be safe in the twilight realm, so she found a way back to Ordon. I still have no idea how she’s going back and forth though. She refuses to tell me, but I think she’s afraid of another invasion happening and… destroying the mirror to be a waste.”

Sheik nodded, but she still had a sad look in her eyes.

“Look, Sheik, she’s very secretive. Only my family knows and that’s ‘cause my pa knew her and… she’s never made herself known to anyone. So…. Yeah…. And she’s never left Ordon either.”

Sheik looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I see…”

Link frowned, the silence entering their conversation again. They sat for a long moment, until Link had an idea.

“You know, Sheik… I’m sure Midna would love to see you again.” She looked up, giving him a confused look. “If you ever wanna… I dunno… turn into Sheik and visit Ordon… We’d love to have you. I make great pumpkin soup.”

Sheik stared at him with wide eyes, before turning away with a small laugh. “I might… take you up on that offer,” she said softly, and Link’s heart swelled. They smiled at each other, and Sheik looked like she was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the door opening. Ashei poked her head through the door and gave the two of them a look.

“Is everything ok out here?” She asked.

“Yes, Ashei everything is fine,” Sheik said, giving Link a look. “He… sort of found out about… me…”

Ashei sighed. “I was afraid that was the case.”

Link glanced between the both of them. “So you did know about her?”

Ashei nodded. “Don’t know if you remember when we were investigating the rogue Bulblins, but our queen here got herself injured. It’s kinda hard to take care of an injured person with a mask covering their mouth, yeah?”

Link shrugged. “I guess so. It certainly explains a lot.”

Sheik nodded awkwardly and sighed. “It was difficult for me at the moment, but I am glad that I didn’t have to hide my true identity from at least one person. But now I guess it’s two people.”

Ashei made a face. “I have a feeling the rest of them will be finding out soon.”

An annoyed sigh escaped Sheik and she nodded. Ashei shrugged and gestured to the bar with her head. “Come on inside, yeah? We’re going to start planning.”

Link and Sheik stood up to follow Ashei inside, but Link stopped Sheik before they headed inside.

“You ready to save Hyrule again?” He asked, his fist hanging in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, then nodded, bumping his waiting fist with her own.

“I’m more than ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Kori! Pay attention!”

Kori looked up at Rela who had her wooden sword resting on her shoulder. She glared at him, one hand on her hip and one foot tapping impatiently in the Ordon spring water. Kori glanced at his own wooden sword, pouting at his aunt.

“Rela, I don’t wanna do this.”

“Shut it! You’re old enough to learn sword fighting, and my pa ain’t here to teach you. So it’s up to me to do it!” Her sword was swung to the ground and she held it up against Kori. “There’s a monster out there in Faron woods, so we need to be able to defend ourselves and Ordon!”

“Isn’t that why Colin and Beth and Talo are here though?” Colin and the others had been patrolling Ordon, searching for any dangers that could threaten their home. Kori didn’t quite understand what was happening; no one told him anything when he asked. His pa and grandpa left to castle town before he had a chance to think, so he was staying with his gramma, confused about what was happening.

“Colin may need our help if we are attacked,” Rela started to argue, marching back and forth as the sword swung in her hands. “If we’re able to help them, we’ll be heroes! Isn’t that what you want Kori? To be a hero?”

“Not really. I just wanna be a farmer,” Kori said simply. Rela groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Why are you being so boring?”

Kori felt a sting in his heart, but he ignored it. “I’m not being boring! I just… I just wanna play with my toys!”

“Well too bad! Now, block this attack!”

Kori gasped as Rela swung her sword at him. He quickly brought his own up and staggered back as she hit it. He glanced at his sword, then glared at Rela.

“Don’t hit it so hard!”

“You need to block better! Stand your ground!”

Rela swung at him again and he squealed as it smashed against his own. Rela got closer to him and he started to run away, but Rela quickly stopped him.

“Don’t be a coward! Face me!”

“Rela, you’re so much bigger than me! I’m scared!” Kori pleaded, but she only charged at him again. She knocked into him and he fell backwards into the water. He gasped and looked up to see Rela swinging down onto him. He quickly brought his own sword up and was barely able to block it. Scrambling to his feet, he clumsily blocked a few more attacks. Kori grew more focused with each attack, planting his feet so he could stay unmoving in the sparring. She hit his sword a few more times until Kori slipped up, and Rela’s smacked his arm. Kori squealed in pain and dropped his sword, holding his aching arm.

“Ooooow! Rela! You hit me!” He cried, tears forming in his eyes.

“Oh you’re fine. This is why we train with wooden swords, so we don’t end up killing each other!” She took a step forward, her arms crossed. “If it were the real deal, you would’ve lost your arm.”

Kori huffed angrily at her. “I’m telling Gramma!”

Rela’s eyes went big, her tough demeanor dropping instantly, and she quickly jumped in front of Kori as he went to leave the spring. “N-no no no! Please don’t tell my ma! I’m so sorry Kori!”

Kori ignored his aunt’s begging, trying to push past her.

“Wait! Kori! We can play with our toys now, ok? We can do whatever you want! In fact—here!” Rela grabbed Kori and put her sword in his hand. “You can hit me back! Just please don’t tell my ma!”

Kori glared at her as she kept grabbing his arm, then he bit her hand. Rela shrieked and pulled her hand back, giving Kori a horrified look.

“You bit me!”

“Well you said I could hurt you back!”

“I said you could hit me back, not bite me!”

Kori crossed his arms and turned away. “Well you wouldn’t stop grabbing me! I’m tired of playin’ with swords! I’m going back home!”

Kori marched through the water, feeling Rela’s glare at the back of his head. He suddenly felt water splash onto his head, and he gasped as his clothes and hair got fully drenched. He spun around at Rela and snarled at her.

“What? You were wet anyways,” Rela said.

“That’s it!” Kori screamed as he charged at the Rela, and the two started to grapple and become tangled with each other. Rela was much older and stronger than Kori was, so she easily pinned him down, but he kept biting her hands which caused her to pull back.

“Stop biting me!” She yelled.

“Well stop pulling at my hair!” Kori yelled back as she tugged at his hair. The two wrestled for a while longer until they were interrupted.

“What are you two doing?”

The kids stopped and looked up at Uli who was glaring at the two. She was panting and her hands were balled up, a fire in her eyes as she watched the two kids. The two quickly scrambled to their feet, staring at her guiltily. Uli relaxed a little, then glanced at the bridge past Ordon worriedly.

“You kids aren’t supposed to be out here,” she scolded, walking towards the two.

“We’re still in Ordon,” Rela sassed, but she quickly straightened herself out with a glare from Uli. “I-I mean… you said we had to stay in Ordon so… we are still… here… in Ordon.”

“No, you’re staying in the village itself. We’re not gonna be out by the spring or by Kori’s house, ok?”

Rela and Kori glanced at each other.

“Why?” Kori asked, trying not to sound rude or sassy.

“Because it’s too far from the others. If something were to happen, no one would know. Now come on,” Uli gestured to the village with her head, and Kori and Rela quickly followed.

“I hope you two have done your chores,” Uli started as they walked past Kori’s home, “it’s pretty early in the morning, is it not?”

Rela gave Kori a worried look, then looked down guiltily. “Um…. We did some…”

Uli sighed. “Why did you do some and not all?”

Rela huffed and jogged in front of her ma. “Because! I know there’s a monster out there hurting people! It attacked pa and Link! I just want to make sure me and Kori are strong enough for when it attacks again!”

Uli stopped and gave Rela a sad yet proud look. “Rela, it’ll be fine. Your pa and Link are taking care of it, while Colin and the others are protecting Ordon. You don’t have to be responsible for our safety.”

“But—“

“I know you’re excited to use your sword techniques your pa taught you, but it’s not enough. For now—just—focus on your chores, ok?”

Rela pouted and glumly walked to her house, her head hanging. Kori stood by his gramma, leaning his head against her leg. She chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Did you do your chores today, Kori?”

Kori pursed his lips. Rela had lied about them doing some of their chores. They actually did none of their chores. But unlike Rela, Kori was a horrible liar.

“N-no… we didn’t do anything,” he mumbled, but then quickly added, “I mean, I didn't do anything! Rela did though!”

Uli gave him a soft smile. “You don’t have to cover for Rela, dear. I know she was lying.”

“Oh…”

Uli let out a loud sigh and rubbed her head. “Go and do your chores dear, luckily there’s not a whole lot for you to do since you’re not at home right now.”

Excitement swelled within Kori and he nodded. He heard his gramma giggle as he ran to the home, barged into his room, and ran past Rela who was grumbling to herself. He quickly picked up his area in his grandparent’s home, plucked the weeds in the gardens, and collected the ripe fruit, though there wasn’t a lot. There wasn’t much else for him to do—he couldn’t help Fado with the goats since he was too small, and he couldn’t clean up his home since he wasn’t allowed in there. So he started to wander around Ordon, watching the villagers go about their day. He couldn’t help but focus on Coro, the man who started staying with Fado. Kori had rarely talked to Coro before, and the man’s carefree attitude and animals that hung around enticed him. But Kori was too shy to approach the strange man—he didn’t know how Coro would react to him.

The best way for Kori to learn more about Coro was to sneakily follow him around Ordon. It was always easy for Kori to stalk the humans in Ordon; their round ears didn’t pick up on sounds like his and his papa’s did, so he followed the man around for a while without being noticed. He watched Coro simply sit by the pond for a long time, talking to his funny bird pet who chattered to him back. Smaller birds floated around his head, and even nestled inside it, and the cuccos trotted around him. Kori wondered if birds generally liked him, and how he could make birds like him as well.

Kori’s stalking didn’t go unnoticed forever, however, and Coro spotted him hiding behind a bush. The two made eye contact, and Kori ducked for cover, but it was already too late.

“Uh, hello,” Coro called out awkwardly, and Kori shyly popped up from the bushes. Coro smiled gently and gestured for him to come closer. “No reason to hide, tiny guy.”

Kori looked behind him and shuffled over to the strange man.

“Hi,” he greeted quietly, and the parrot resting on Coro’s knee squawked a greeting back. Kori jumped at the sudden sound and Coro chuckled.

“Trill, you don’t need to be that loud,” he said.

“Sorry,” the bird squawked, not any quieter than before. Kori giggled slightly and held his hand out to Trill.

“Careful, he might peck at you,” Coro warned, and Kori drew his hand back, giving Coro a guilty look. Coro reached up and gently grabbed the smaller birds in his hair and offered it to Kori. “These guys are much nicer.”

Kori smiled and offered his hand again, and the tiny bird peeped, hopping into it. Kori giggled at the tickling feeling of its tiny feet against his palm and gently stroked its little head.

“That one is named Chickie,” Coro started to explain, “he was born not too long ago.”

Kori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep! His family is here somewhere,” Coro started digging around in his hair, pulling out different tiny birds from the nest on his hair and showing them to Kori. He made a whistling sound and the birds floated over to Kori and landed on his arms and head. Kori froze, feeling the tiny talons lightly digging into his skin. Coro chuckled again. “They’re friendly! Don’t worry.”

Kori grinned and watched the birds hop around, giggling as they tickled him when they moved.

“Yeah, Trill here is nice enough, but you need to be careful. He can be a little aggressive if you freak him out,” Coro explained, petting Trill gently. “He’s had so many people steal from him, he has to be aggressive, you know?” Kori nodded seriously. “Apparently, a few years ago, some green guy kept stealing his lamp oil and red potion, no matter how many times he fought back! Can you believe that? What kind of horrible person steals from a bird?”

Kori nodded again. His pa always taught him to not steal, so he knew to take that very seriously. One of the birds flew back to Coro’s nest-hair so Kori allowed the others to return as well.

“Um, thank you for letting me hold your birds,” Kori mumbled, and Coro grinned.

“Of course! It’s easy to be scared of animals, especially birds, but I always think we should be more understanding of them. It’s best to learn young, anyway!” Coro lifted the smaller birds to his hair and gave Kori a look. “So… if you don’t mind me asking, tiny guy, what exactly are you?”

Kori thought for a moment. “A Twilian.”

Coro frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, tiny guy.”

Kori nodded excitedly. “My name is Kori.”

“I’m Coro.” He offered his hand to Kori and he gingerly took it, letting Coro shake their hands. Coro pulled away and went back to petting Trill. “Do you like animals, Kori? I assume that’s why you decided to follow me.”

“Oh! Yeah, I love animals.”

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“I love kitties.”

Coro smiled warmly. “I think I saw kitties by Sera’s shop, did you see them?”

Kori nodded, but a sense of dread entered him when he thought about Sera. He hadn’t seen the kitties in a while.

“That’s good, they’re so cute and tiny,” Coro continued when Kori didn’t say anything. “But I’m more of a bird person myself. I forget how great the cuccos are here in Ordon.”

Kori nodded again and looked around him, spotting Rela who was stomping around the village. They made eye contact and his aunt began to angrily stomp towards him. Uh-oh.

“I think cuccos are misunderstood creatures,” Coro continued to ramble, not caring if Kori was paying attention or not. “As long as you respect them, they respect you. That’s why you should always treat animals with respect. Because respect is a two-way path and—”

“Kori!” Rela shouted when she got close enough and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be doin’ chores?”

Kori glanced at Coro who was still rambling about animals. “I got them all done! There wasn’t a whole lot since I’m not at home right now.”

Rela huffed and said a bad word under her breath. “W-well, help me with mine so I can get done!”

Kori scrunched up his face. “I’m not gonna do your chores! You have to do them yourself!”

“But what will you do? You’ll be sooo bored.”

Kori gestured to Coro who finally stopped talking and was observing the two kids. Rela squinted her eyes and faced him fully.

“Weren’t you the guy who came here crying like a baby?” She sneered.

“Yes,” Coro said simply. “And if you saw what I saw, you’d be crying like a baby too.”

Rela seemed surprised at the response and she turned away, her arms crossed. “Well, Kori needs to help me with my chores so we can hang out—”

“No I don’t!” Kori shouted.

“Yes you do! You still need more training!”

Kori groaned. “We’ve been training all morning! I don’t want to do that!”

Coro glanced between the two. “Training? For what?”

Rela gave him a look but once again faced him. “Training to protect Ordon of course!”

Coro’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “Ok.”

“So I need to get done as soon as possible so we can keep training and—” Rela’s eyes widened and her hands shot up to her head. “Oh no! The swords!”

Kori raised an eyebrow and Rela suddenly grabbed his hands, pulling him away from Coro.

“H-hey, wha—Bye!” Kori called out to Coro, and the man waved back. “Rela! What’s going on?”

“I left the swords at the spring!” Rela cried. “They’re gonna get ruined in the water! And pa will be so mad if he finds out I left them soaked!”

Kori tried to pull free from her grip, but she was too strong. “But we’re not supposed to go to the spring!”

Rela stopped and spun around to face Kori. “We won’t be gone for too long, ok? We’re just gonna grab them and come right back! But I need to get those before they’re ruined forever!”

Kori frowned but was immediately grabbed and pulled behind Rela again. The two sprinted towards the spring, Kori feeling more and more anxious as he looked around the forest. Every bone in his body was telling him to leave and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he continued to follow Rela, not wanting either of them to be left alone in these woods. They made it to the spring and Rela sprinted to the water, grabbing the soaked wooden swords.

“Thank the spirits I remembered these!” She said, relieved. “Hopefully they’re not ruined…”

Kori stared at the wooden swords and sighed. “Can we go back now? We’re not supposed to be here.”

Rela rolled her eyes. “Ok, yes we can go.”

The two kids started to leave the spring, but Kori heard a strange noise. He frowned and turned his head to hear it better. It sounded like the trotting of a horse. He found himself wandering closer to the bridge, and he spotted something walking towards him and Rela.

“What is it?” His aunt asked, but Kori was frozen. Whether it was of fear or anticipation, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t move his eyes off of the moving figure. As the figure got closer, he recognized it as a rider on a horse, and he got filled with excitement.

“PAPA!” He shouted, running across the bridge and towards the horse. But as he got closer, he realized that the horse was not Epona, and the man riding the horse was neither his grandpa nor his papa. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the strange man with wide eyes, and the rider stopped, the five other horses and men stopping as well. The man stared back at Kori, his green eyes observing him. Rela caught up to Kori and quickly got in front of him, glaring at the man.

“Hello,” he greeted, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What do you want?” Rela spat, and Kori was surprised at her hostility towards an adult.

“Easy now, me and my men are just investigating some disappearances,” he explained. He hopped off his horse and took off his helmet. The man had brown hair that stopped beneath his chin, and Kori noticed his delicately pointed ears that labeled him a Hylian. His tan brown skin made his emerald eyes stick out and his mustache was curled up in a gentle smile. He bowed his head slightly with his right hand over his heart. “My name is Hoz, I am the captain of the Hylian guard. I just have some questions I need to ask the villagers near this area. May I speak with the adults there?”

Rela puffed her chest and crossed her arms. “You can speak to us.”

Hoz stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the soldiers behind him. “Uh… I’d prefer to speak to an adult. Where are your parents?”

Rela frowned. “We can speak just fine!”

Hoz began to look around, noticeably uncomfortable. “Right, well, is your village just down the trail?”

“I’m not telling you!” Rela yelled.

“Yes,” Kori answered softly. Rela spun around and shot him a glare while Hoz smiled warmly.

“Thank you. It’s quite a long walk isn’t it? Would you kids like to hitch a ride on my mount?” He gestured to his large speckled horse, but Rela quickly shook her head.

“My parents told me I shouldn’t ride with strangers.”

Hoz chuckled and bowed his head again. “Understood.”

“Hey now! You can’t go to the village!” Rela hopped in front of him as he started to move, pointing her wooden sword at him. “We’re on high alert right now! There’s somethin’ out in the woods, so me and Kori are here to keep it safe! You got that?”

Hoz’s eyes widened at the wooden sword and he gently redirected the sword and started to walk forward. “I promise we mean no harm to your village—”

Rela repointed her sword at him. Hoz took a deep breath and moved it again.

“We’re just investigating some disappearances and—” Rela insisted with her sword once again, and he gave up on moving past it. “Whatever information your parents may have will be useful for the protection of Hyrule.”

Rela squinted her eyes and Kori heard the soldiers behind Hoz groan.

“Will you just move, you little brat?” One of them called out, and Hoz shot them a warning glare.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this,” Hoz sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You said there was something in the woods, correct?”

Rela squinted her eyes, not saying anything. Kori walked up to Hoz and the captain glanced at him.

“I think my papa was attacked by a monster,” he said softly, and Hoz’s eyes went big.

“What monster?” Hoz asked, kneeling at Kori’s level.

Kori shrugged, staring at the ground. He heard more footsteps and he looked up, noticing Colin jogging towards the group.

“What’s going on?” His uncle asked, eyeing the soldiers with a threatening glare. Hoz stood up and gave him a slight bow, looking relieved.

“Hello my good sir, my name is Hoz. I am the captain for the Hylian guard.”

Colin's eyes widened and he nodded. “R-right, of course,” he turned his attention to the kids and grabbed Rela. “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the village!”

“I left the wooden swords in the spring!” Rela defended herself, gesturing to them.

Colin rolled his eyes and turned to Hoz. “I’m so sorry about my little sister and nephew, they’re not supposed to be out here.”

Hoz waved his apology away. “It’s no trouble. I’m just glad that…” he gave Rela a look, then cleared his throat, “I’m just glad that I can speak with an adult.”

Rela made an offended noise and Colin pushed her behind him.

“Of course! What do you need?”

Hoz straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “These men and I were requested by Queen Zelda to find information on disappearances that have been happening throughout Hyrule. I just wanted to ask if you knew any information on this.”

Kori watched the gears in his uncle’s head turning. Were these disappearances what Barnes was talking about? Colin ran his fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Yes, actually I think I do.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and his polite demeanor dropped instantly. He ran up to Colin and grabbed his arm. “You do? What did you find?” Colin leaned back slightly and Hoz quickly jumped back. “A-apologies. I just… I’ve been searching for a while and haven’t found anything.”

Colin smiled nervously. “I understand.” He glanced at Kori and Rela, then looked up at the captain. “My pa and brother were attacked by a monster a couple of nights ago.”

Hoz stared for a moment, almost looking disappointed. “A monster? Is that it?”

“It‘s not an ordinary monster,” Colin looked back at Kori and Rela again and stepped closer to the captain, speaking so softly that Kori could barely hear him. “Do you remember the twilight invasion, with the black beasts roaming Hyrule?”

Hoz’s eyes widened. “I do remember. They stormed the castle. I could’ve lost my life if Zelda had not surrendered.”

Colin nodded and Rela gave Kori a confused look, hoping he knew what they were saying. Kori almost wished he didn’t; black beasts roaming Hyrule… it sounded terrifying.

“My pa and brother were attacked by one in Faron woods a couple of nights ago. It could still be here, or it could’ve moved around,” Colin continued, looking around at the trees nervously. “But it’s what’s taking these people. I don’t know what it’s doing to them, but it can’t be anything good.”

Hoz nodded and smiled at him, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, young man. For once, we actually have a lead now!” He turned around to his men and nodded, gesturing to Faron. “We’ll investigate these woods, the rest of you should remain indoors—“

“No no no, wait,” Colin moved in front of Hoz, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t think you should go hunting for it. It’s… it’s dangerous.”

“I know,” Hoz said, “I fought several of them and I don’t think I ever killed one. They were always revived before my very eyes.” Hoz glanced at the children. “But I think me and five other men can handle one.”

Colin shook his head, once again stopping the captain. “My older brother fought and killed hundreds of them. He couldn’t even defeat this one. It’s more dangerous; you need a plan.”

Hoz frowned. “Who is your brother may I ask?”

Colin fidgeted slightly and pursed his lips. “He—he’s the hero of Hyrule, sir.”

Hoz stared blankly, then he let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright.”

“I’m not lying!”

“I didn’t say you were lying,” he quickly defended, but his tone didn’t convince Colin. Kori’s uncle gave him a glare, clearly using his taller height to try to intimidate the man, but the captain didn’t waver. “Look, I know a hero of Hyrule existed during the twilight invasion; who else would’ve saved Hyrule if not?”

“Then what’s your issue?” Colin pressed, and Hoz finally began to shift uncomfortably.

“I–I… It’s nothing,” Hoz let out a sigh and looked around. “Show me where this monster was spotted. Me and my men will take care of it.”

Colin pursed his lips, the gears turning in his head as he thought of what to do next, but he finally relaxed and started moving towards Faron Woods.

“It was by a house in front of the caves where it was first spotted,” he started to explain, Hoz following on foot. Kori glanced at Rela who started walking with Colin, a determined look in her eye as she clutched her wooden sword. “It moved around as my older brother and pa fought it though, so I can’t promise it’s still there.”

“That’s quite alright, we can make do,” Hoz said, an excited gleam in his eye. The group was silent as they marched through the woods, and they stopped right outside a house. Kori had seen this place before, but he never visited it. He wondered if Coro lived here.

“Well… Uh… here it is,” Colin said awkwardly, gesturing to the home. “Faron Woods in general is where it was, but this place is where they found it.”

“Fascinating,” Hoz muttered, his eyes fixated on the home as he walked towards it. “Men, look around and let me know if you find anything.” He turned to Colin. “You may return home if you wish. We’ll handle this.”

Colin sighed and nodded, turning to Kori and Rela who stood watching. He began to nudge them back towards Ordon, keeping them from moving away from him.

“You two should’ve gone back home,” he scolded, his hand never leaving Kori’s back.

“But I want to help fight a monster!” Rela protested, but Colin shook his head.

“Trust me, Rela, you are not ready to fight this monster,” he said, a nervous look in his eyes. “I don’t know if these guys will be ready to fight it either….” Colin’s voice trailed off and he stared at the grass with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Rela grumbled and crossed her arms, glaring at the grass as well. Kori only stared ahead, spotting the Faron spring coming into view. But as he got a better view, he noticed something that made him freeze in fear.

A large, black creature stood out from the bright, colorful spring. Arms hung awkwardly on its back as it paced the holy waters, and it turned to the group, with its yellow teeth being the only visible facial feature. Kori felt Colin’s hand grip on his shirt, and he was slowly pulled backwards away from the beast.

“What are you doing?” Rela yelled, annoyed, but Colin shushed her, his eyes never leaving the beast. She squirmed in his hold and Colin gripped her tighter.

“Rela, stop moving!” He hissed, his voice shaking slightly as they backed away.

“Let go of me!” Rela began to shout louder, and Colin quickly put his hand on her mouth. The black beast began to move closer to them, moving just as slow as they were. Rela squealed as she was muffled, but it turned into a gasp when she noticed the monster. The beast got low, and Colin let go of the two, shoving them back towards where Hoz was.

“RUN! NOW!” He shouted, and Kori’s adrenaline spiked, causing him to sprint. He fell behind Rela quickly, and he felt like he wanted to sob, but Colin kept nudging his back. He heard crashing behind them, but he didn’t dare look. He saw Hoz who looked startled at the sudden action, and Kori gasped as he tripped over his own skirt. He felt Colin lean over him protectively, hugging him close to shield him from the monster. Kori twisted his neck to look behind him, and he saw the beast snarling down on them, black spit pouring out of its mouth. He curled into Colin who had his sword drawn, but his uncle was shaking uncontrollably.

“Good goddesses!” Hoz exclaimed, his own sword being drawn. Kori heard the men let out a battle cry as they charged the creature, and Colin finally scrambled to his feet with Kori in his arms. He was looking behind his uncle as he ran, and saw the black beast swatting away the soldiers as if they were annoying flies. Some of the soldiers who were hit got back up and ran away, soon leaving Hoz alone to fight the beast.

“Get back here, you cowards!” Hoz yelled as he dodged a swipe from the creature, and Colin reached Rela who was crying. He set him down next to her and gestured to the house.

“Hide yourselves in there, ok? I’m gonna go help him,” he said quickly before giving the two a quick hug. Kori felt himself freeze up again as he watched Colin run towards the monster distracted by Hoz. He didn’t know what to do; he was too scared to move. He just wanted his papa.

Rela grabbed his arm and ran into the home, trying to move the boxes in front of the door while Kori stood there shaking. She shifted the home around to the best of her ability, straining to move the heavy boxes to the door.

“Kori, help me!” She cried, but Kori couldn’t move. Rela was only able to move a couple of boxes to the door, with a chair under the handle, and she finally pulled Kori into a cupboard, hugging him close as they stared wide-eyed in the darkness. Kori heard the muffled shouts of men along with roars from the monster. He cried quietly with his head against Rela’s, the sounds becoming agonizing to his long ears. It felt like hours that they were in the cupboard, fear of being found making Kori feel sick, but it eventually went silent. He glanced up and stared, straining his ears to hear something, anything. But it was silent.

“What is it?” Rela whispered, her voice shaking. Kori continued to listen, and he screamed when he heard loud banging on the door. Rela slapped her hand on his mouth and the two whimpered and shook as the banging continued. Kori curled further into Rela, trying to keep himself from sobbing. There was one more loud bang, then a crash of Rela’s makeshift barricade, then groans from two men.

“Rela? Kori?” The two heard Colin call out, and they scrambled out of the cupboard, ramming into Colin’s legs. Colin melted to the floor and hugged the two, a sigh of relief escaping him. “Thank the spirits,” he muttered in Rela’s hair.

“W-what happened?” Rela asked after pulling away. “Did you kill that monster?”

Colin sighed and shook his head. “No, but we led it away.”

“One of my men distracted it further into the woods,” Hoz continued to explain, staring anxiously out the door. “Glad to know that they’re useful for something.”

Colin gave him a look and stood up. “Shadow beasts are terrifying, give them more grace.”

“They are terrifying,” Hoz growled, stepping further into the home. “I fought them when they first invaded the castle ten years ago. I know how they work and what they are. But it is my duty to protect Hyrule, and it is their duty as well!” He turned away in a huff and looked outside again while Colin remained quiet. “I will not give them grace. If they didn’t want to be soldiers of Hyrule, then they should’ve stayed in the comfort of their home.”

Colin sighed and stood up. “Well, we’re not safe here. Let me take my sister and nephew back to Ordon, and I’ll help you chase after it.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Very well. These young ones do not need to see such action.” He gave them a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, I saw a shadow beast when I was about nine,” Colin muttered, ruffling Kori and Rela’s hair. “It’s terrifying… I know it.”

Hoz hummed. “Yet you still came to my aid when my own men abandoned me.” he let out a chuckle. “You are the bravest man I’ve ever met.”

“O-Oh! W-well… I don’t know about that,” Colin laughed nervously, beginning to nudge Kori and Rela out the door.

“No, without a doubt. Your courage exceeds most of the soldiers of Hyrule! Have you ever considered joining the guard?”

Colin let out a sigh and drew his sword, watching the trees with unease as Kori and Rela stuck to his legs. “L-look, there are more important things right now.”

“Right,” Hoz cleared his throat and walked out of the house, his own sword drawn. “Let’s get these children home, then.”

The group quietly walked through the woods; despite it being light out, Kori couldn’t help but feel the danger of a shadow lurking in the corners. He kept his eyes sharp, looking for anything that moved. They reached the Faron spring and Kori hugged Colin’s legs tighter. It was uncomfortably silent, but from a distance, Kori heard the sounds of screams. Hoz seemed to pick up on it as well, and he looked around him, a worried look on his face. Colin and Rela seemed none the wiser, however, and they continued onward. A snap of a twig filled the air, and he felt Colin tense as a horse burst through the entrance with a distressed whinny.

“Penelope!” Hoz called out, and stopped her from charging, attempting to calm her down. But right behind the horse, a soldier came running before falling to the ground.

“C-captain!” He cried, and he screamed as he was pulled away. “Help me!”

Hoz ran to him, but he slipped from his fingers as the large shadow beast lifted the squirming soldier. Kori gasped when he saw other soldiers inside its abundant hands—one having two uncomfortably squished together. The shadow beast observed the soldier, but its gaze turned, and it fully faced Kori. Though it had no eyes, he could practically feel its gaze burning through him. He whimpered and hugged Colin tighter. Were they going to die?

The shadow beast dropped the soldier in its hand and charged at Kori. He let out a scream as Colin grabbed him and Rela and attempted to dodge the beast. They were successful in not being trampled, but the beast’s hand snagged Kori, and he laid in between the monster and Colin. He was frozen while laying on the ground, too scared to move and too scared to cry as the beast faced him again. It went in for another charge, but Hoz scooped Kori up and ran out of the way. Kori didn’t comprehend that he was being lifted onto the horse that charged through, and the captain dragged Colin and Rela to the horse as well.

“Young man, get to Castle town, tell Queen Zelda and King Edmund about this. I’ll hold it off.”

Colin climbed onto the horse with Kori in front and Rela behind, and he frowned at Hoz. “I can’t just leave you!”

“You must protect these little ones.” Hoz turned to see the shadow beast recovering from its second failure. The soldier it dropped earlier charged at it, and Hoz turned back to Colin. “What’s your name, young man?”

“I—Colin, sir.”

“I’ll never forget your courage, Colin. Now go! Tell her Highness about this!” Hoz hit Penelope’s behind and she took off running. Kori turned behind him to see Hoz draw his sword, facing the shadow beast with his one remaining soldier, the others remaining in its hands. Kori faced the front and let out a sob, wanting so badly to go back home to his stuffed animals with his papa and mommy holding him. Colin’s arms wrapped around him and he gave him a small peck on the head.

“It’ll be ok, Kori,” he said, his voice shaking as the horse ran through the woods, the trees looking like a blur of green and brown. Kori closed his eyes, praying to the light spirits and goddesses of Hyrule that he’d soon be waking up in his home, with this nightmare behind him.

[bunnymadeofyarn]

and what if i said i'm writing an incredibly self-indulgent mike-centric byler secret relationship fic?

[honey-crypt]

IM ABOUT TO DROP MY MAGNUS OPUS, Y'ALL

[spellsparkler]

most relaxed girl in the world (who wants to kill you). everyone say hiii elias

[jtownraindancer]

girl help

[foxgirlplushie]

it's finished

[supernovaa-remnant]

if I had a nickel for every time I wrote a dsmp fic in which dream was one of the main characters, only for it to take over 3k words for him to actually show up, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but why has it happened twice?

[romaritimeharbor]

rewrite of ch.1 of a demon slayer fic i wrote in 2022 almost done...... Augh

[im-probably-crying-rn-ngl]

how i feel after ditching all my other wips to further expand my shovson x gewis x landosocar university au with jenson, george and oscar as siblings:

[keylovesstuff]

I give you guys this :)

AO3

FFN

Little Events Chapter 4: Proposals

"So when are we going to get married?" Bowser asked her five minutes into silence after everyone left the meeting room.

Water mixed with spit flew an impressive fifteen inches across the table hitting him directly in his face. The Koopa King blew the little water from his nostrils while the rest dripped down his face. It took a good ten seconds for Peach to finally catch her breath and another five to compose herself while repositioning her crown upon her head. 

"Excuse me, but one you never proposed, two I never said yes, and three are there not specific courting customs you have to follow?" Peach asked while listing off each statement one gloved finger at a time.

"Fine." Bowser huffed standing and making his way over to her seat. Peach turned her body to face him once he was in front of her. Taking her hand in his giant one bending down on one knee. "Peaches, from the moment we first met, I knew you were the one that I wanted to spend my entire life beside. You're already such an amazing leader and together we would be the best rulers in the world. With that accept my hand in marriage." He finished giving her his best dreamy eyes.

Peach was certain she was blushing out of embarrassment as she quickly pulled away and straightened up the papers on the table.

"I wasn't being serious and what kind of proposal was that? It wasn't even romantic." She pouted gathering up today's materials and started towards her office. The Koopa King followed behind.

"We both have a different view of what a 'romantic' proposal entails." Bowser grumbled under his breath looking at all the free space along the walls. "I've been saying you should add more portraits or at least some mirrors. How's a guy supposed to admire their own handsomeness or their leader when I'm here?" He commented for the umpteenth time.

Other than a slight chuckle, Peach carried on towards her office. Another thing both Bowser and her Advisor Toadsworth shared similar opinions on. It wasn't so much as she didn't think she was pretty- far from it actually but, that doesn't mean she wants a portrait or her own reflection 'staring' as she went about her day. Lone stone statues and having his entire face sculpted into his castle may work for him but not for her. The thought of having to sit perfectly still for almost eight hours dissuaded her from wanting any portraits done. While the glass stained portrait displayed outside was nice, she did not miss that numb feeling in her butt just for them to get the perfect reference. Peach was thinking that if any pictures were to go on the walls, landscapes of the world's natural beauty would be nice.

Peach supposed that once she starts traveling to other kingdoms she'd find some lovely sights that she'd want to look at again even if she could only visit once. She entered her office to place the papers on the desk to look over at a later time while Bowser waited outside.

"I got some other things to attend to so I'm going to be leaving here in a bit. Is there anything else in that pile I need to sign or something" Bowser asked from outside the room. 

Peach hummed and quickly skimmed through the paperwork she just placed down and hummed softly.

"No you're all good. Thanks for fitting this meeting into your schedule. I know you hate how early they are." She told him, while closing the door "I'll accompany you to the pipe if you'd like" she offered and he just nodded. 

"Least you can do after you rejected my proposal earlier." Bowser finally said after they walked in silence for a few minutes. 

Peach continued but was at a loss of words. Was he really that hurt by her rejection? Was he really that serious with his proposal? Maybe that was the most 'romantic' he could be and her expectations were either too high or unrealistic given that the most she knows about romance comes from books. Bowser was from the darklands and similar to her, didn't have anyone to look to on how being in love looked. She has her doubts that Kamek had little time for a personal life of his own with being at his lord's beck and call, much less giving him advice about it. Toadsworth himself never went into much about his romantic life only going as far as to say at one point he was involved with some ambassador in training but they broke up mutually.

To her memory Toadsworth never actually pursued anyone else in their community either. When Peach was young she did question him every now and then about wanting a partner, only for him to brush it off and sweetly tell her that he'd wish to put all his energy into raising her. Younger Peach enjoyed hearing those words then but now she wished he took time to focus on himself outside of her but, he doesn't seem all that bothered she guessed. The princess had to stifle a chuckle once she realized she hadn't responded to Bowser's comment.  Even after knowing him for all these years, Peach still viewed him as her very much self-absorbed friend that would occasionally offer some good advice when it comes to being in power. While she didn't take all his advice to heart, she couldn't argue with the fact that it worked for him when she visited his Kingdom. That didn't mean she could see herself being by his side for the rest of her life.

They made it to the pipe before she finally found something to say.

"So um, exactly when and how did you know that you loved me to the point that you were thinking about marrying me?" Peach turned red again in embarrassment after structuring the question in the best way. Bowser stared at her silent for what seemed like the longest two minutes. She found an interesting spot on the ground and was about to tell him to forget about it till he finally spoke up.

"Guess I just see you as a worthy leader to be with considering how far this place has come in just half a year into you taking power. Already better than other kingdoms that've been operating for years. That and I can never have too much territory and this place is huge and of course having you as my Queen would grant me access to that. What are you thinking about saying yes?" He finished with a wiggle of his bushy eyebrows.

Peach gave a sigh of relief inwardly. There was no sort of love confession in what he had said which would make what she had to say next a little more easier. 

"Not exactly. I feel like I still have so much to do as a leader on my own. I really do appreciate all you've done to help me get this far but, I think I want to see more of what other places have to offer before I even think about marriage I guess" she finished with a bow.

"Hmm on your own...I see" Bowser regarded her words with claws on his chin. 

The way he repeated her own words sent a sort of strange feeling down her spine but Peach shook it off. Maybe due to nerves of having to admit that out loud and not having a clue on where to start to make it happen. Again the silence lingered on for far longer than she was comfortable with as he stepped onto the pipe.

"No choice but to sit back and see what you do Princess Peach," Bowser finally concluded. "When you feel like you're in that position make sure to consider what I've said. I do trust you'll make the right decision as it's much better to have me as an ally than an enemy" he added, smiling proudly to himself as he saw her gulp.

"Of course Lord Bowser. Please take care and I look forward to our next visit, where you'll hopefully start accompanying me to other kingdoms?" Peach reminded him of his promise to hopefully end this conversation on a positive note.

"Sure. I'll write or come visit you when I can so we can set up some days. I'm pretty sure that old man and that excuse you call a council would insist on being in attendance" mouth frowned in disdain when he mentioned her people. She chose not to acknowledge it.

"I'll look forward to it," Peach said, waving him off as he disappeared down the pipe. 

As she was heading back to the castle to carry out the rest of her appointments and for the remainder of the day, Bowser's words and the idea of marriage played throughout her mind. For the first time since her coronation, she was thinking about all the other responsibilities that came with being a leader.

The sun had already set for the day and Peach found herself in her office chair reviewing notes written by both herself and council along with documents from  today. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy and brain turning into mush as she tried to process the words enough to know where to properly sort them in the drawers behind her. A long yawn filled the otherwise silent room and in that moment she looked up at the clock and it was about a half an hour till 12am. The first obligation scheduled for the day was set for seven. With a groan she contemplated on just leaving everything sprawled out on the desk and just calling it a night. A small laugh found its way out of her mouth as she could practically hear Toadsworth saying that he taught her to make sure all her areas were left spotless when she leaves. Gathering up the last little bit of her energy, Peach willed herself into finally sorting the papers and the thoughts from earlier bought her Advisor outside of her door with a knock.

At her words of 'come in' the door opened and in walked Toadsworth dressed in  lavender striped nightshirt,  matching night hat atop his cap, and white slippers instead of his usual attire with his signature bowtie. 

"Time management needs to get better my dear Princess. This is the fifth time this month I've found you in here at an unruly hour" He tsked and set to work organizing the writing materials on the desk and then her papers. 

Peach watched as with just a five to ten second glance he knew the correct place to file it for later, Truly earning his place as being her most trusted advisor. He's always been there to listen to her concerns and give her good advice whenever she found herself too much in her head.

"I guess I was just a little distracted by something today and it's taking me a while to get this stuff done" she told him, moving to help with the other stuff.

"Oh? Perhaps you'd like to discuss? It may help to ease your mind." He offered before gasping suddenly at the sight the untouched tray of food. "Before we get to that you need to eat your dinner" confirming his suspicions he lifted up the lid. 

With a quick promise of returning he grabbed the tray and left the office. Peach finished sorting the remaining papers. By the time she placed the last piece away, Toadsworth returned with the now warmed meal. She was a few bites into her grilled cheep fish sandwich before the toad seated across urged her to share what was on her mind.

"What do you think about the idea of me getting married to someone someday?" she asked him finding the right way to phrase it. 

Immediately Toadsworth eyes glanced to both her hands for an extravagant ring on her finger. He put his hand over his chest to ease slow down his heartbeat when he realized she hadn't rushed into a commitment like that without talking to him first.

"Well of course I want you to find someone that you're so infatuated with to want to spend the rest of your life with." He told her and took a sip of tea he bought up earlier. "As a matter of fact...I should probably apologize for not allowing you to interact with people more like you despite them being a pipe away" he added, setting the cup down and looking at nothing on her desk.

To an extent she understood where he was coming from but, on the other hand she couldn't remember a time growing up where she wanted to be around other humans. Then again from the time she turned nine after a normal school day she was immediately thrusted into formal leadership teachings so where did she have time to really think about it. In conclusion, Peach thought that she couldn't quite miss or be bitter about something she never had an association with in the first place.

"There's no need to apologize about that Toadsworth" she started and reached out for his hand. Toadsworth grabbed it, giving it a squeeze. "I don't think it matters how a person looks so much as their personality and how they are when it comes to ruling." Peach finished with a smile.

"If you say so my dear" Toadsworth patted her hand with his other hand and returned her smile with his own best. 

Hearing that made him feel a bit better but, he'd be lying to himself if he didn't think he could've done better as her guardian. Sure Peach has turned out to be an amazing young lady and while she still had a lot more growing to do, he was proud at just how good of a leader she is now. Toadsworth did wonder just how much if any of her mental has been affected by not being around humans and wasn't sure if he was ready to face it should the time come.

"You must be in love if you're asking questions about marriage. Am I right?" He asked to get them back to the topic at hand. Now thinking and hoping that it's not about the Koopa King after what she said earlier. Saying she fell for one of the toad guards would've been better if he was honest.

"Not exactly" she started not acknowledging the look of relief on his face. 'What was he thinking she was going to say?' It was probably better she didn't know so she just carried on. "I was looking up other reasons that people, well mostly royalty get married and it's not always about love" she shared this most recent discovery with him but if she thought about it he probably already knew that fact.

"I guess I understand that. What pushed you to look into all that Princess" he urged her to continue. Peach gathered her thoughts for some moments and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well why I don't think I like Bowser in that way, his influence as an ally has proven to be good. Mmm I guess if there's a permanent engagement in place  especially when it comes to the safety of everyone. If that's taken care of well then I guess I could learn to love him or anyone for that matter later" Peach told him and then felt unconfident about it seconds later "I'm sorry does that make any sense? I fear it doesn't." She said turning away to focus on the wall.

"I see where you might have come to that conclusion. I do want to assure you that as you will never have to make a decision like that alone and if you feel you need to I would hope you address that with the council or me first." He told her sternly and only continued when she gave him a nod. "Furthermore, as the people who have cared for you from the time you were little, your happiness means the most to us and while other kingdoms have their own rules set in place, here you will marry who you love ok." Again she nodded to show that she was still listening to him. "Finally if it's the peoples safety that really pushes you to go forward with something like that, then we'll give us time to show you that we can adapt and find ways to be strong ourselves." He finished but felt it necessary to add the next point. "We trust you so you have to trust us."

While Toadsworth wanted to follow that up with he'd be fine with her marrying anyone that wasn't Bowser, he didn't want to sound like an immediate hypocrite should she genuinely fall for him in the future. Though he'd have to see a serious change in that reptile to even consider him someone worthy of respect other than having the obvious title.

Peach could feel a burning sting prick the corners of her eyes while processing his words. In some part of her mind she knew that but it hit so much harder hearing come out of his mouth. It probably was because it came from Toadsworth but she also knew everyone would also say the same thing. With that she gathered the strength to get up from her seat, walk around the desk, and wrap her arms around his neck. Only feeling him return with the same gesture did she speak.

"Thank you Toadsworth" she said as a happy tear streaked down her cheek.

_______

Three weeks later Peach found herself in the throne room and felt another headache coming along as one of the Toad gave the same report since the first day. Part of her alliance with Bowser included sending some of his minions to do border control once dark rolls around, while other Toads patrolled during the day. There hasn't exactly been anything seen to warrant having such a thing in place but it was better to be safe than sorry.  However as of late, Koopa Troops and Goombas haven't been showing up to their posts to alleviate them leaving the toads to pull all-nighters to ensure the safety of the citizens. After the third night, Peach ordered them to return home to rest and just return by the time night falls since that's more important. The Princess has written several letters to the Koopa King about this but hasn't heard anything back yet. She even checked her document from the last meeting with him to make sure everything was still the same and sure enough his signature was there at the end of the paper.

Rubbing the temples of her head she told the reporter Toad to once again tell the others along the borders to return home to rest and return to their post by the time the moon enters the sky. Before he left to do exactly that, the toad left her with one more thing to know about. Power-ups only exclusive to the darklands she found really helped toads with certain tasks and vice versa when it came to the mushroom kingdom. Well the toads who normally handle all the imports and exports hadn't heard from the Koopa's King's people and their scheduled date was closing in. Peach assured him that she'll take care of everything with a smile as he took his exit.  She concluded that if she couldn't get a hold of Bowser via letters, she'd just have to pay him a visit in person to see what was going on. If the darklands was dealing with problems of its own, she'd hate to selfishly make it about her own Kingdom's needs and would provide support if she could.

All she gathered from her visit was that 1. The Darklands was doing just fine as the inhabitants went about their daily happy lives, at least by the kingdom's standards. 2. All the guards that normally took the border work at night were also in good shape. That didn't mean they were these past weeks she had to tell herself but also had some doubts.  Finally 3. Bowser was doing just fine and reading her letters as well. Rather he really was there or not, Peach wasn't gonna keep bombarding Kamek with questions. The magikoopa did tell her that it was under Bowser's direct order that the citizens weren't allowed to leave the darklands under any circumstance until he said otherwise. At least she got an answer for their lack of attendance the past three weeks. She just told him to tell the Koopa King to get back at her when he could, to which the wizard assured her he'd pass the message. 

Another three weeks went by and she still hadn't heard from Bowser in any form be it letters or in person. What she was expecting to see on her daily strolls through the town was her people barely managing to get through the day. Instead what she saw was the toads going on as normal, chatting about the usual topics, and smiling. The toads on border control took it amongst themselves to get back on a similar schedule where some would take the daytime and others would take the night, switching it up every now and then. Even though she saw it with her own eyes her mind just couldn't accept that everything was just fine. One day after everything was taken care of she found herself in Toadsworth office silently sitting there as the advisor did some calculations. It was silent for just a few more minutes before she finally decided to speak.

"Am I being tricked by everyone?" She asked him. Earning a questioning look from the mustached Toad. "It's just that everyone seems okay but are they really okay? Or are they just acting like they are when I come around?" She tried to get him to see what she was getting at. He was still very much confused.

"I don't believe your people would try to deceive you in that way Princess. More or less how would they be able to hide their suffering from you with a snap of the finger." Toadsworth said, trying to get her to logically think about the first question.

"Well I have developed a routine of visiting the town. Perhaps they've caught on to it and spend those hours in good spirits when I come around?" Peach reasoned with him and even she could admit to herself that that didn't make any sense.

"Or perhaps everyone really is just doing good. My dear we've always had a knack for finding ways to manage things on our own together. So even if we don't have what we're used to, guarantee we've found a way to do it ourselves." He finished that last part with a chuckle though that didn't reach Peach.

"If you say so. I'm going to pay another visit and see how it goes. Maybe I'll get somewhere this time." Peach told him,  getting up and heading towards the door.

"Of course Princess. Be sure to return at a decent time. I'll be waiting" Toadsworth promised her, returning to his calculations. 

Who was he to stop her or be the one to say her visits would be futile. Part of being a leader meant she had to face some things head on and see people's true colors. Even after all these years.

This visit was already off to a better start than the last as she caught Bowser returning to the castle. The King insisted that he wasn't in the mood for a visit but she explained that it wouldn't take long. Much to his annoyance he agreed and she waited alone in his throne room for a good ten minutes till he came in and sat down. No more than five seconds of silence Bowser snapped.

"Well...you said this would be quick...start talking" he snarled. A brief smirk of satisfaction crossed his face when Peach flinched in place and she stuttered a few words.

"Well to start I just wanted to know if our alliance still holds any weight? As of lately I haven't seen you hold your end and I've been wondering if somethings wrong." Peach told him once she remembered how to form words.

"I don't know...Depends Princess. What have you learned about doing it all on your own?" Head in hand he looked down at her from his spot on the throne.

At that moment everything seemed to come together and to say she was angry was an understatement. She was outright furious to find out the reason for him acting like this for the past two months was because of a small thing she said. It took everything she had in that moment not to blow up on him. Instead she took a deep breath and told herself that to some degree she had to placate the King if she wanted to see some semblance of normalcy return to her kingdom.

"While for certain I don't want to get married anytime soon...I'll still keep you in mind as a potential suitor." She gauged his reaction to see him looking quite impressed. "I do know that having your help makes it easier on my people's lives. So at your earliest convenience could we get everything back in place. It would be appreciated." She finished with a bow of her head.

With how long it took him to finally speak up, she was starting to feel like he'd just dismiss on the spot. Peach wasn't sure what she would've done if that happened. Would she have begged on the spot or even say she'd marry him the next day. Luckily neither of those options happened.

"I hear you. Tell your people to expect my minion's to contact them and be at their place by tomorrow." He waved a hand. Peach looked up at him and smiled finally hearing what she wanted. Already picturing everything returning to normal. "One more thing I still have some things to take care of but in about two months at most I'll start taking you to other Kingdoms so be prepared" He added.

"I will. Thank you" with one more bow she turned to take her exit.

Bowser stayed true to his word and only for the first time in weeks did she feel more at peace seeing the toads resume their daily routines. To the best of her abilities, Peach tried to tune out the voice in her mind along with Toadsworth's verbal and knowing look saying 'Everyone was fine all along'. While ignoring her was mostly intentional on his part, he really did have other obligations that came with his title. He reached the age and maturity where it was time to produce an heir and there was responsibility that came with keeping the bloodline as pure as possible. That intrigued Peach if only for the mere fact that she would one day be able to see a baby Koopa. Nothing could ever compare to baby toads though in her own biased opinion but it could come close. There was also the bonus of seeing papa Bowser in which she could barely contain a giggle every time she thought about it much to his annoyance.

Within the next year she was introduced to a variety of rulers who were mostly older than them. Peach found that leaders whose kingdom's were closer to her own home, were easier to make connections with. The leaders whose kingdoms were more shrouded in darkness and mystery, gave her a more unsettling feeling if she was honest. From the domain full of Ghosts who's tragic stories she'd rather not know about to a literal bomb that would probably explode over anything, she thought it'd be best to prevent any problems before they present themselves. There was no amount of asking to convince Bowser to take her to the jungle kingdom. Something about reptiles not mixing well with apes and he also couldn't stand the crocodile king that resided there. She'd just have to visit herself one day to see just how advanced it was.

Sarasland was another kingdom she wanted to see if only for the chance to meet someone around her age. Name and reputation alone wasn't enough to get an audience. The leaders had to get together and send a personal invitation and the qualifications for that weren't so straightforward. Peach would keep her fingers crossed that she would one day receive a summon. Bowser ended up taking her to the neighboring flower kingdom and while he didn't have many good things to say about it or their people, she did. That was made possible by interacting with their Prince by the name Haru. The moment she first sputtered out how pretty she thought his cerulean hair was, sparked the first of their conversations.

While the council and surprisingly Toadsworth left to tour a separate part of the kingdom, Haru took her on a quiet walk in their castle garden. There was the back and forth that comes with meeting with someone for the first time but, Peach was really surprised with how comfortable and natural they fell into conversation. Together they sat on one of the benches as he handed her a flower and complimenting her appearance for the second time, whatever was going to happen next was interrupted by Bowser showing up finally finding where she disappeared off to. That caused an almost comical misunderstanding of Haru assuming the two were engaged and he was overstepping in some way. Until Peach explained that was far from the truth, much to the anger on Bowser's face. They all said their goodbyes and just as they were about to depart Haru stopped her with a piece of paper. Said paper contained his castle address and insignia.

The added comment of hoping to hear from her soon started the two months of communicating with each other via letters. There were many days after completing her daily tasks where she'd spent time writing just to make sure it was ready for the deliverer by morning. Two days ago he had invited her to the flower kingdom to show her how to drive a motorbike, as enthusiastically as possible through words she accepted the offer. Toadsworth and a few members of the council escorted her to the kingdom and while they carried on with the scheduled meeting, Haru took her to the location of his bike. Now she stood there in traditional toad clothing she hadn't worn in forever since her dress wasn't appropriate attire for this activity, while Haru did a final once over on the bike.

"Ready to go Princess? Feel free to climb on" He told her after getting on the vehicle himself. 

There's only one seat she rationalized with one look. Was she just supposed to sit behind him? Would it be more appropriate or safe if she just sat sideways on the bike and held on to him that way? Wait, could she just wrap her arms around him? In the midst of her asking those questions to herself, a hand was guiding her to sit down on the back behind him. Haru assured her that he didn't mind her holding onto him as a matter of fact he'd prefer it cause he has a habit of going fast. That didn't stop his ears from turning red and stiffening a little under her touch.

Before taking off he passed her a gray helmet with the promise of getting her a pink one for next time. It was her turn to blush as she slid it on to hide her cheeks at just the very comment of him wanting to do this again with her. They took off and through the face shield, Peach watched as the scenery sped by. Of course she enjoyed calm and slow walks but, there was something more freeing that came from riding. They made it to a more open area and that's when they both got off the bike and he started explaining how everything worked. The Prince told her to try it for herself and maybe it was due to beginners' luck, but she caught on pretty easily for it to be her first time. By herself she remained cool and collected but, as soon as he hopped back on and held onto her waist it was a different story.

Peach was braking the bike excessively, swaying side to side, or going too fast one moment and too slow the next. The most embarrassing thing had also happened when she suddenly popped a wheelie. She was certain Haru had lost his hand but not sure why but one moment he was right behind her and the next he was on the ground. Of course she stopped immediately turning off the bike, rushing to his side, and apologizing profusely while helping him up and checking for any injuries. After that he proposed that they take a break and just admire the clouds, it was a beautiful day afterall. They laid on the soft grass together shoulder to shoulder, the smallest distance together they've been today. They made small talk pointing out the shapes of the clouds first to other random stuff before they somehow got on to the topic of families.

"Does it ever bother you that you don't know where you're from? Or that you don't know who your parents are?" He asked her hoping it wasn't a touchy subject. She hummed thoughtfully.

"Not really. I mean I've lived with the toads for so long that I can't say for certain I'd feel any different from knowing anything if that makes sense." She truthfully answered.

Peach knew for as long as she lived, she would always regard the toads as her true family seeing as they've always been there. She couldn't imagine how different her life would be now if she had ended up somewhere else or even stayed with her original family.

"I'm just really happy where I am now in life where I've come across many people now and am just looking forward to what the future has in store" Peach finished sitting up. Haru followed the motion.

"That's a nice way to think about it. I guess we wouldn't be sitting here together now if you never ended up here." He said putting his arms on his knees. "I hope that I can be more a part of your future," he added, facing away to hide the blood rising to his cheeks.

"Hmm well you're an ally of ours now. Of course you're going to be a part of that future." Peach told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. When he snorted covering his mouth she couldn't help but think that something in what he just said went over her head. "What are you laughing about?" She pouted and it took him a minute to gather himself.

"True but, that wasn't entirely what I meant about being in your future" this time putting more emphasis on the word 'your' hoping it would come across differently this time around. Peach still had a slight look of confusion on her face. "Here um, if you would allow me..." He turned, repositioning his body to face her prompting her to do the same with her head.

As quickly as it all started it was over. One moment he had a hand on her cheek pulling her to him. Soft lips pressed against hers for several seconds. Before she had time to process returning the action, he was pulling away standing up and offering his hand. Haru apologized and told her they should probably head back as the meeting was probably done by now. Peach was speechless during the entire exchange unsure what had gotten into him. The ride back was just as quiet and slow as if he still wanted to prolong the time to the destination. He bid her farewell after taking her to the castle's meeting room, not waiting around to do the same with the others.

They went two weeks after that going about their daily routines minus writing letters. Well Peach herself didn't entirely stop writing them. After finishing them, she couldn't find the confidence to actually pass it along to the messenger. By day sixteen her drawer was almost filled to the brim of unsent papers. Toadsworth noticed the change and had asked her about it, but she convinced him that it was nothing. When deliveries came around the next day, there was a letter from Haru and just as she got her hopes up, it depleted upon seeing it was addressed to Toadsworth. Apparently Haru had matters that he could only talk to her advisor about, is all Toadsworth said.

Peach couldn't help but feel a little anger towards Haru. From kissing her, to ignoring her, and now requesting to meet with her advisor of all people, could he not talk to his own people. For once she actually envied Toadsworth's age and life experience that made people want to seek him out for advice. She had half the mind to order him to write a letter declining cause if he can't talk to her, why should he be able to talk to Toadsworth. Curiosity got the best of her though and even she said not to, Toadsworth probably wouldn't listen without a valid reason. So as planned, Haru arrived to meet with Toadsworth and had the audacity to smile and wave in her direction. Having other places to be, she said her farewells to Toadsworth and went on her way before he had a chance to lecture her about the rude behavior.

A couple hours went by and she had almost forgot he was here till she stepped outside her office to see him standing there. Part of her was happy that he decided to stick around for a while. Then she remembered why he initially visited and did an entire mood change.

"I suppose now that your business with Toadsworth is taken care of you'll be taking your leave?" Peach asked him, keeping a formal tone. 

"Well I should, but I have no other obligations and I really wanted to talk to you." He said walking up to her. "That is if you want to," he added.

"Sure I guess" she said, not bothering to fight back the smile on her own face as he gave his own. She fell in line beside him as they made their way outside the castle. 

"I want to say that while I don't apologize for kissing you, I do want to apologize for not following the procedures in order to do that in the first place." He started turning to look at her. "It's actually why I wanted to talk to Toadsworth and your council to see if I could fix things if you will." He stopped  there to allow her time to process what he was saying.

"Fix things cause you kissed me? I'm sorry but I'm a little confused." She said inviting him to elaborate.

"Well I guess what I want to do is enter a courting arrangement with you." He said finally getting to the point "I figured it'd be best if I got Toadsworth's permission and I also wanted to ensure that there weren't any other plans for you in that regard" That last part made her remember their first encounter when Bowser had shown up.

"Oh well what did he say?" She was curious now. It had been awhile since they had discussed that aspect of her life and wasn't sure if anything had changed.

"He said that he had no problems with it but, in the end the choice is up to you" he repeated her stewards words "said your happiness is what's most important...so would that be something you want to do be in with me?" and with that he stopped in place as they made it outside the town reaching his bike.

"Sounds like him" she smiled in relief before noticing how he'd become a bit fidgety as she hadn't answered the question. "Oh yes sure let's try it" Peach made a move to hold his hands in her own.

"Really? Okay then gosh, we'll then I'm going to try and see you more often if that's alright with you." Haru stammered over his own words in excitement moving in to close the distance. "Would it be alright if I kiss you now? as official partners"  He asked leaning in when she nodded yes.

"It sounds like the discussion didn't take long. I know Toadsworth can talk a lot though but still two hours? I hope I didn't keep you waiting that long outside" she said after they had pulled apart and he started to get settled on his bike.

"I want to say we talked for a good hour about the relationship thing with you. There was so much he had to say." Haru was remembering every last word from the conversation. "I wanted to come to you right away after that but, he said I should allow you to focus on work and so for the remainder of the time we spent it playing a few rounds of mahjong. In the end it was 0-5 in his favor. " He feigned annoyance at having to admit that and smiled when that got a laugh out of Peach.

"You'll get him one day I believe. If it makes you feel better, I'm 109-10 and those were pity wins because it was my birthday" she said, waving him off as he drove off.

For the next few months when either had downtime they would visit the other's kingdom. More often than not Haru, would be at the mushroom kingdom or either picking her up to take her to the flower kingdom to spend time there. They returned to writing letters to each other everyday and while it was mostly about stuff they talked about before, some of the letters took on different turns on both their parts. The content that some of the letters contained had Peach double checking the seals of letters before sending them off, doubling up the original with extra empty papers, or choosing to read them late at night in her own room. They also talked about future plans when the topic of marriage came up. Even though he hadn't asked the question yet, talking about it had her thinking it was only a matter of time. She briefly considered how all that would work being that they were from different kingdoms in all, but that could wait she concluded.

The next time Peach met up with Bowser, she updated him on everything that had happened. To say he wasn't pleased was definitely an understatement. The Koopa King went on about what Haru could possibly do for her Kingdom that he hasn't been doing for years and how she's only infatuated with him cause he's just like her. Dealing with Bowser for years, Peach knew it was best to just let him say whatever lest it lead to something bigger. It was in the middle of his tangent that Haru decided to appear having been waiting for a little longer than normal. Bowser decided at that moment it was time to leave, giving Haru the meanest glare as he walked past. Uncharacteristically Haru returned the gesture and Peach was glad Bowser's back was turned. As they were on the way to the flower kingdom Haru would ask her how she's put up with him all these years.

Peach had quickly learned not to bring either man up to the other regardless of what it was about. If it didn't have nothing to do with making sure everything remained functional in her kingdom it wasn't discussed. If it didn't have anything to do with the two of them specifically it wasn't discussed. In her excitement one day she did slip up and tell Bowser that Haru had officially proposed with a ring and everything. After the conversation it left her viewing a few of her most recent encounters and relationship as a whole a bit differently. Just as she was starting to feel a bit better about things, one night after having dinner with the King, Queen, and Haru's council left both of them in a weird mood by the time they went up to his room. Haru in particular seemed to be lost deep in his own thoughts, having not said a single word as they laid together on bed before he suddenly got up and sat down at his own desk and started writing down stuff on paper.

"So tell me again while it would be more preferable to have a boy first." Peach asked, staring up at the ceiling breaking the silence.

"It's more so about the title. See here in the flower kingdom the next in line for the crown goes to the oldest male once the current King passes. So while my dad was born after my aunt, the throne automatically went to him once my grandfather passed because of that." He explained while writing. "It was quite the conflict between everyone around that time but it's what the will stated and one of the last laws he passed. My dad's been assuming that we're going to be adapting laws from here since it's more 'set in stone' and 'proven to work' none of that making it up as it happens." Haru said only dropping his pen to do air quotes with his hands. "I'm sorry if he made you think that he or even myself would be disappointed in having a firstborn daughter. It's quite annoying since we haven't even gotten married yet and they're going on about kids now." He apologized, returning to the task at hand.

"I see. On the topic of kids I guess, how do you think I'd do as a mother? I mean I also started training a little later in life to become a princess and with this child I would have to start them earlier right" Peach asked more questions rushing to her brain than she could voice. He hummed before answering.

"Well I've seen you with both babies here and in your own Kingdom. I think you'd be a great mom. You grew up surrounded by toads so you know what it's like to be really involved so to speak. It's me you'll probably have to reign in every now and then, even up to four years ago I very rarely saw my own parents around and spent most of my days with mentors." He recounted, pen going to his cheek briefly before returning it to the paper "As far as training goes well like me we can have a few mentors if you want and you have me, I'll tell them what I experienced. We can also decide the best age to start it if that helps. But, again I just say we focus on getting through this wedding first before all that stuff" He finished.

Peach thought it'd be best to take his advice for now and worry about that topic for later and she also sensed that would be how he'd end everything else regarding the matter. She sat up covering her legs with the t-shirt and then pulling them to her chest.

"Is that why you're over there writing down some hypothetical laws of your own" Peach guessed and did a little cheer in her head when he stiffened in place.

"They're hypothetical laws for us" he corrected and faced the opposite direction in the chair. "I figured since you were thinking about things having it written down where you could see it would help and maybe for me too" he concluded and matched the frown that appeared on her face.

"How is it for us when I'm not giving any input?" She asked him.

"In a way you are by talking about your worries. I'm just adjusting and making things accordingly so you don't think about when the time comes. I was gonna show you later once it was a bit more polished." He promised.

"Would you be ok if we were to hypothetically still have an alliance in place with Bowser?" Peach asked out of the blue.

"What does he have to do with anything Princess?" He was genuinely confused at the sudden change of subject in the span of twenty minutes. She gave him a look that told him to answer the question. He groaned "If I'm honest I'm not 100% on board with it. I mean I was always taught to be wary when it comes to Koopa's. I'm willing to go along with it if that's what you want but I'm not going to be as kind as you are and allow him to do and talk as he pleases"  He told her honetime.

“I guess I understand where you're coming from but, there's a certain way you have to deal with him or he could get vindictive. " Peach advised.

"That doesn't mean anything to me, especially since I've been without his assistance for years and been ok. I would like to think that by being your husband you'd have faith that I know what's best for the people." He said feeling offended.

Peach was silent, not sure what could be said to make Haru not think that way. Making decisions alone was easy but doing it as a team seemed like it took way more work. In her own head she didn't process the bed shift under the added weight and arms wrapping around her shoulders until he spoke.

"I really do mean what I said. Look I know I haven't been there as long as Bowser and I know I'm nothing to compare to him physically but, I'd do anything I can against him for the people and you. So put some trust in me that I'll know the best choice" he begged.

Peach let the nodding of her head do the speaking instead of using her own voice not trusting it to sound sincere. Haru took it for now and hoped that one day he'd be able to prove it to her in the future. They ended up dozing off for a while before Peach woke up and asked if he could take her home. Despite the late hour, he slipped on some clothes and had her home in record time.

_____

It was three days to the wedding and aside from a few little things that could be handled on the day of, The preparations were complete. For the first time in a while she had actually finished all her work early. Not that she had much stuff with everything going on, just similar stuff for her coronation minus a speech.  Peach laid on top of covers in the dark room, engagement ring on the stand instead of her finger.  Deep down she had already admitted that she wasn't ready for this. There were just too many unknown possibilities that for some reason she could only envision poor outcomes. When she had told some of the Toads this, they had completely brushed her off saying it was just the pre-wedding jitters and once she's walking down the aisle it would fade away instantly..

At that moment she just agreed and laughed it off with them but she couldn't shake the thought that they were just telling her that because they had put so much energy into the preparations for her to change her mind. Something a couple of Toads in particular said was really sticking in her head and made her just want to suck it up and go through with it regardless of feelings. 

"If you change your mind now, you might end up regretting it later" one of them said as they were twisting her hair.

"Who knows if you'll ever find someone else that loves you the same way or even more than he does" The other one said while painting her nails.

"Oh but think of your reputation amongst the lands my dear. If you back out now any potential suitor looking your way will see you as a flake." The former one finished her hair and held a mirror up. "Do you like it?" Peach nodded.

"Don't say that! anyone would be lucky to take our Princess as their bride. Pay her no mind dear." The latter one held her hand up at a better angle "ooh I smudged it a little," she frowned and got to work fixing it.

Peach had tuned out for the remainder of the time she was there only replying with single words and nonverbal movements with her head. She grabbed the pillow and covered her face in a lousy attempt to drown out the words. The knock at the door caught her attention and like many times before she knew exactly who it was. Upon her approval, he walked Toadsworth and he stood right at the head of the bed. 

"I would assume you'd be in much higher spirits given that you're getting married soon. Yet you're in here alone and looking upset" he said his observations out loud. "Any reason for that?" He asked.

"Just because I'm laying down doesn't mean I'm upset." She told him. "I'm just a little exhausted with everything so I'm trying to catch up on sleep" she lied and turned to face the other direction. 

Even in the dark she could feel his gaze burning a hole in the back of her head.

"I'm not convinced that's the truth at all Princess. However, if you wish not to discuss what's bothering you now, know that I'll be here to listen to you later. You know where I'll be" he assured her, making his way to the door. 

The mustached toad didn't even make it five steps away from the bed before she sat in the bed reaching an arm out at him and in a panic told him to wait. Halting in his steps as he waited for her next instruction. The word came out of her mouth faster than her brain processed as she slowly lowered her arm thinking about the best way to talk about it.

"Could you just...you know what, wait a second'' Peach started but then decided to get up off the bed, turn the light on, and grab the chair from her work desk bringing it over to her bed. "Sit please" He did as he was asked and held her hand when she reached for it. "I, well, gosh I'm sorry" she choked then took a deep breath and then apologized, failing to find the right words.

"Peach, It's okay, take your time." He rubbed her hand once he got her attention at the sound of her name. "I'm not going anywhere" He promised, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

The Princess took his advice. Closing her eyes she took a few deep breaths and just focused on the feeling of Toadsworth rubbing her hand in gentle circular motions. It was a good five minutes of that as she collected her thoughts before she felt ready to speak. With one last deep breath, she started.

"I don't think I'm ready for all of this. I mean it's not that I don't love him" she said looking at the ring from the corner of her eye. "It's just... I guess I don't want him or anyone else to hate me for not putting the kingdom's best interest first you know?" She expressed it in the best way she could.

"I see your predicament my dear" Toadsworth said, taking time to process her concerns. "But, I want to remind you that when it comes to love, the kingdom should have nothing to do with it." 

"Toadsworth, the relationships I have with people regardless if it's romantic or not has everything to do with my Kingdom and even others" she tried to get him to understand. "I already hear some people say you could get away with anything and I'd turn a blind eye" she gave a better example and couldn't help the little smile as he chuckled no doubt having heard the same thing.

There was nothing he could really think to say to convince her otherwise. He had a good feeling that her relationship with one particular person was the main cause of all these worries. Toadsworth had decided a long time ago that Peach would have to figure that one out on her own since no amount of talking would get her to see right.

"Never matter, if you're feeling all these doubts, perhaps you should talk to the Prince about waiting longer or if you really feel that it's not a good idea, just call it off all together. I'm sure he'd be more than understanding" Toadsworth offered.

"Do you really think that would work out well with him?" She asked him. The second question of what if he does the same thing as Bowser did? Went unasked because she couldn't even think about grouping those two together in that way.

"I don't see why it wouldn't but you won't know if you don't have the conversation" he said, letting go of her hand and standing up in the chair and widening his arms. Peach did the same and they embraced each other. "You should probably have it sooner rather than later unless you've changed your mind" He combed his fingers through her blonde locks.

"Yeah you're right" she nodded "sorry just a little longer" she held onto him tighter.

"Of course," he whispered, doing the same.

In the end no matter how many times she rehearsed the conversation with an imaginary Haru, nothing felt right and time was running out. Peach decided it would just be easier to communicate with him the way they always did. At least she didn't have to see the look on his face telling him she couldn't go through with it. Better yet she didn't have to worry about him trying to convince her to otherwise change her mind. After sending the letter and the ring off she got a response 24 hours before the wedding was set to start.

"I understand. I'll always be here for you" 

That's all his letter said and she gave a sigh of relief that it was over. Later on that night, the feeling of relief turned into sadness that it was over. Peach once again laid awake in bed staring at the ceiling hoping her heart would heal quickly. There was no time to grieve she had a Kingdom to run and was more than happy to do it alone forever if she had too. All she needed was to know her toads were happy and safe. That's the mantra she kept telling herself to fall asleep. When that didn't work, she could only hope that things would be much easier should another person come along.

[akechi-if-he-slayed]

my face when ao3 down

[therealsophiependragon]

"Sometimes, Azula looked at Yue and she didn’t see a girl. Sometimes, Yue felt like rain. Annoying, damp rain, that always seemed to cling to woolen socks no matter how many times one changed them. She was demure, cool and refreshing one moment, perfectly submissive and attentive to her duties in replenishing the earth, and the next she’d whirled up into a tycoon, crushing everything with a sneeze."

- The Moon Told Me Of You, chapter eight

[lesbianlotties]

The love that discovered the sin (Lover, be good to me) - Lottie/Laura Lee

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yellowjackets (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Laura Lee/Lottie Matthews Characters: Laura Lee (Yellowjackets), Lottie Matthews Words: 9,746

Summary:

“You know I used to have some… apprehension, when it comes to… this,” Laura Lee explained, and not a second after she first looked down at her lap, Lottie’s tender fingertips were at her chin, tilting her face up to face those infinitely beautiful and deep brown eyes of hers. “I can get, um, nervous. Or I start overthinking, when we…”

“When we fuck,” Lottie said, smiling in a way that showed just the briefest but most tantalizing glimpse of sharp white teeth when she spoke.

“When we have sex, yes,” Laura Lee said in a rushed whisper. “I want to stop worrying and… thinking so much,” Laura Lee whispered.

She sneaked a glance at the blindfold Lottie was holding. There was no need to elaborate on the long story they already discussed about misinterpreted religion and a lifetime of ingrained shame.

Laura Lee thought about what Lottie wanted to hear, she licked her lips, and said, “I want to forget everything else, just focus on you… your touch… how much I want you.”

[cloudyskiiees]

Chapter title: Killer Revelations

Chapter Summary: Noah goes through the challenges of Greece once again. It ends the same as it always does.

throws this update at you and flees

[meownotgood]

also... everyone... I know I promised to return to the prince aki fic post haste but I think I need to take a small break first... my brain needs resting... thank you very much for being patient with me 🤲💗