Super Princess Peach

Ch. 7

"Ladida - er, Petey Plains?" Perry asked, giving Peach a bewildered look.  

She shrugged. Petey Plains, Ladida Plains, what did it matter? Now that she was actually on land instead of inside of a sea cave, she was sure that she was closer to finding any survivors of the plane crash - and she was getting closer to Mario. 

"Come, the name doesn't matter," she said, grabbing Perry's handle. "Let's head out there. Maybe there's a town nearby where we can get some food and some information on Bowser's location." 

They began walking. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down on them and causing Peach to sweat. Almost forgetting that she had an umbrella, Peach popped open Perry and shielded herself from the heat.  

They traversed hills and meadows and even a small stream where they stopped for water without seeing anyone. The Plains were deserted except for a few weeds blowing in the slight breeze. Hours passed. Peach began to feel wiped and she was still ravenous. 

"Maybe we should rest," Perry suggested after a while. "Princess, you look bushed." 

Peach shook her head. "Not until we reach a town." 

"Do you even think there're any towns out here?" 

"Of course there are. Why wouldn't there be?" 

"I dunno, it just seems so..." Perry paused for a moment, searching for the right word. "Wild." 

Wild. Wilderness, that's what Perry meant. He thought this was more wilderness than civilized nature. Peach frowned, suddenly unsure. What if he was right? What if this island was...primal? What if there were just wild people running around in groups out here, no actual...towns? 

The thought gave her pause. She was a princess. What did a princess know about surviving out in the wild? 

"We keep going," Peach determined. 

"I won't argue with you. Just take a break if you feel you're going to keel over, will you?" 

They continued onward, trekking over slopes and hillocks. Peach was getting thirstier and thirstier with every step. The stream they'd stopped to drink by didn't curve this far inland. She desperately hoped that there was some other source of water ahead. 

She was cresting another hill when she spotted something at the foot of the slope below them. There was a small fire blazing in the middle of a circle of...Goombas! Peach felt weak with relief. Maybe they'd have some food. Or some water. She really needed both of them. She started down the hill. 

"Princess," Perry whispered, sounding slightly worried. He narrowed his eyes at the bonfire-Goombas. "Be careful. I smell danger up ahead." 

"Relax. We'll be okay. Don't you want to see if they have any hardtack?" Peach dashed the rest of the way down the hill, approaching the Goombas huddled around the campfire.  

The Goombas were sitting on log benches, each with an army hat on. The biggest one was looking at several physical maps, making a mark here or there with a pencil. Another Goomba was steady throwing logs into the fire to keep it ablaze. The others were singing campfire songs and a fourth was boiling a pot of hot water. Peach guessed that it was for soup. At the moment, she didn't care. 

"Er, excuse me," she said, and the whole group of Goombas fell silent. They slowly turned to face her as she said, "We're travelers. We've been stranded here for a while, and we're hungry and thirsty. Do any of you have any food to spare?" 

"And water," Perry added. 

All at once, the Goomba group leapt up from their sitting positions, armed with spears and bows and arrows. The Goomba at the soup cauldron even jumped up, ladle in hand.