Hug

Princess Peach took Mario’s hand and got on her feet. She wobbled as she stood, but gained her composure quickly. Her grip on his hand did not loosen after she rose. Her eyes fluttered everywhere in the dungeon, from the torches on the wall to what once was her cage behind her.

“Princess?” Mario stepped closer. “You are safe now.”

His words did nothing but draw her attention to him for a brief moment. The Princess looked into his eyes. Mario saw fear instilled deep in Princess Peach’s instead of the relief he had been expecting.

She still held his hand with an iron grip. “Safe?” she finally mustered in nothing more than a whisper.

“Bowser is gone now.” The Princess still looked puzzled by his existence. “Toadsworth, he sent me after the kingdom was attacked.” Her eyes widened and her grip on Mario’s hand suddenly loosened. Mentioning this seemed to have jogged her memory.

“The kingdom . . .” Her eyes dropped to the floor. “It’s in ruin . . . we lost, so many . . .” She fell to her knees. “The army. They sent the whole army after me.” And all of the sudden she could hear them then, fighting Bowser’s forces until she could no longer see a Toad cap standing. She hung her head.

Mario turned around and looked into the abyss beyond the lava pit that held Bowser’s bones. The blood he discovered that coated the walls of the castle belonged to the army, as well as the bloodied weapons that were sprawled along the floors. He turned around and felt the Princess throw herself onto him. She keened, leaving hot tearstains on Mario’s overalls as she held onto him as tightly as she held his hand. He gulped. Princess Peach had never been what one would call a ‘crying woman’ – she was as cold as her glare. But while Mario felt her sob deep into his chest, he began to embrace her in hopes that somehow it would console her. When she felt this, she pulled away and took a deep breath, drying her eyes with her dusty gloves.

Grabbing her head, she uttered, “There is a warp pipe in the left cell, a few steps away. We will take it, and it will leave us meters from Mushroom Kingdom territory. We will walk the rest of the way.” Again, she inhaled, this time standing. “Then, we will notify Toadsworth, as well as the rest of the kingdom.”

Princess Peach dusted off her dress as she walked, holding her head up high and looking ahead. Mario followed her as close as he could. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as they maneuvered through the empty dungeon.

The two were quiet the rest of the journey home.