Super Princess Peach

Ch. 15, Pt. 1

Peach and the toads decided to set up camp in the spooky woods. With nowhere else to stay, they didn't really have a choice.  

The toads set up the tents and Peach and Perry worked to start a small fire. The Hoo built a crude nest out of twigs and tree branches for her chicks in the protective branches of one of the tall spiky trees. She herself decided to camp at the base of the tree, since she was too big to fit inside. 

Toadum roasted some more pucker buds for everyone and they ate them, with no water or bread, for dinner. Peach managed to choke hers down, and felt hungry and thirsty when she finished. Even Perry wasn't feeling full, and he loved pucker buds.  

Finally, everyone retired to sleep. A light wind blew through the darkness as the toads retreated to their tents. Toaddette, Peach, and Perry shared one. Toaddette and Perry stumbled off to bed, but Peach stayed awake. There was something she needed to do before she went to sleep. 

When she was sure that everyone was snoozing fitfully, Peach approached the Hoo. The huge owl was sitting underneath her tree, gazing up at her nest as her babies slept peacefully. When she saw Peach, she turned and watched her warily. "Witch." 

Peach frowned. "Actually, my name is Peach Toadstool. Please don't call me a witch." 

The Hoo cocked her head, but nodded. "All right, Peach Toadstool. What is it you want to talk about?" 

"Bowser." Peach sat down on a nearby rock and looked directly into the Hoo's yellow eyes. Like discs, they stared back at her. 

"The Koopa King. What is it you want to discuss about him?" 

"How do you know him?" 

The Hoo continued to gaze at her for a moment. Then she said, "I'm not sure if I should answer." 

"Why not?" 

"Bowser's invested me with trust, you see. And until you give me a very good reason, I am reluctant to betray him. That is the kind of acquaintance I have with him." 

Peach was puzzled. Bowser was trusting the Hoo? With what? It must have been important if she couldn't tell her.  

Peach was tempted to give up and retire to her tent for the night, but she refused to let this opportunity slip away. This was the first person she'd met on this island that had inside information on what Bowser was up to. She couldn't give up that easily. 

Peach reached around her necklace and unhooked it. "Do you know what this is?" she asked the Hoo, holding it up to the owl's eye level. 

The Hoo inspected it. "A lovely necklace." 

"Not just any necklace. This jewelry has special powers." Peach clinched the Joyful Stone. "For example, at my command, I can make the wind carry me into the air or blow something aside."  

The Joyful Stone began to glow, and gusts of wind wrapped around Peach's waist and carried her high into the air, high above the Hoo. The owl gazed up at her in interest.  

When Peach landed again, she said, "I can burn down a forest with this necklace. The red stone gives me that power. With the blue one, I can create lots of water. With the green one, I can heal wounds and build people's confidence." 

The Hoo continued to stare at her, but she looked interested. "Yes, you are quite gifted." 

"I'm not gifted by myself," Peach said. "I'm gifted because Vibe Island gave this necklace to me." 

The owl raised an eyebrow. "The island did?" 

"Yes. You see, I'm not from Vibe Island. I'm from the Mushroom Kingdom. In fact, I'm the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom." 

The Hoo started, making Peach flinch. "The one who wanted to take over Vibe Island?" she exclaimed angrily. 

Peach was puzzled. "Take over?" What was the owl talking about? 

"Bowser told us that the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom wanted to drive out all of the inhabitants of the island and make it an extension of the Mushroom Kingdom," the Hoo explained, her eyes narrowed belligerently at Peach. 

"Bowser said that?" Peach felt her face redden with fury. Bowser had lied about her? Why? To turn people like the Hoo against her?  

"That isn't true," Peach said angrily. "I am not trying to take over Vibe Island. I'm trying to rescue my friend, Mario." 

"Mario? And who is that?" 

"Well, about a week ago, my friend Mario, his brother, and one of my helper toads were kidnapped by Bowser. He'd left a note in my castle attesting to that. We found postage to Vibe Island on the back of it. After we figured out where Vibe Island was, my steward, me, and 100 toads from the military force flew here by plane to rescue him." Peach frowned. "But of course, Bowser's forces shot us down." 

"The plane crash. That's what he was talking about," the Hoo said. She ruffled her feathers up against the cold. "He told us that he shot down a plane from the Mushroom Kingdom because they were coming to take over the island." 

"Another lie," Peach hissed, angry about such slander. "All we came to do was rescue Mario. Because we got shot down, me and a friend of mine landed in a sea cave below Vibe Island. We discovered an inner cave, and this Vibe Necklace was inside." 

"The Vibe Necklace?" the Hoo exclaimed. She jumped to her feet. "The bane to the Vibe Scepter?" 

"Yes," Peach said, a little stunned by the Hoo's reaction. "The voices of the emotions that created the island - " 

"Rage, Joy, Gloom and Calm?" the Hoo interjected. 

"Yes. They told me that Bowser had the Vibe Scepter, and that I was to use them to defeat him." 

The Hoo stared at her. "I see..." 

"But before I go to Bowser's castle, I want to see if I can find any more toads," Peach said. "I can't move on without them. It's like you and your chicks. You wouldn't leave them when that fire ravaged your forest. And I won't leave my toads on Vibe Island to suffer either." 

There was a moment of silence. "I see," the Hoo said again. "So you are truly innocent, even if you did burn down my forest. You are simply performing the inevitable because you are misunderstood and because you want to save your toads." 

"Yes," Peach said fiercely.  

The Hoo sat back down, and for a moment said nothing, just stared at Peach.  

"I believe you," she finally said. She hesitated, then said, "Bowser called all of the most powerful beings on Vibe Island together in hopes of creating a 'council'. At first, we all refused to help him, but then he said that a threat from the Mushroom Kingdom was planning on taking over our island. In fear, we agreed to join to become the Vibe Island High Council." She frowned, if owls can frown. "That is, all except for one of us. The Kamek saw early on that Bowser was a fraud, and he refused to join the council." 

"Kamek?" Peach asked, recognizing the name. "One of those magicians?" 

"Yes." 

Peach nodded, but let it drop.  

The Hoo glanced up as the skeletal limbs of the trees snaking above them. "I suppose this means that I should drop from the council," the owl said. "If your story proves true, then Bowser has created this council for nefarious reasons." The owl shook her auburn head. "It hurts to realize that you've been so thoroughly tricked." 

Peach nodded. "Or lied about." 

The owl opened her eyes. "Princess Peach Toadstool, you should get some rest. You've commanded these toads all day and night without a wink of sleep. It'd do you good to get some rest." 

"Yes," Peach agreed, waving at the owl before she went to her tent. Inside, Toaddette was curled up and sleeping soundly on the ground while Perry lay beside her, snoring. Peach managed to squeeze between them and then lay on her hands. She instantly fell to sleep. It felt good to finally have someone understand her sad story.

Part 2 later today! ^___^