Super Princess Peach

Ch. 15, Pt. 2

Morning arrived more quickly than Peach expected.  

Well, it actually wasn't a "morning " - rather, the woods were just a bit lighter than they'd been last night. Clouds still covered the sky and blocked out the sun, giving the region a permanent feeling of evening or night. Peach wondered if the weather was like this year-round. 

The toads cooked another stale breakfast of pucker buds. While everyone was eating, the Hoo pulled Peach aside. 

"I suggest that we find a more secure location to camp," she hooted. "This area is near the very edge of region. With Bowser's forces swarming the island, they could very easily find you if you burn your fire for too long." 

Peach agreed and ordered the toads to pack up and get ready to move in half an hour. She helped take down the tents while Perry and Toadland put out the fire and disposed of the ashes deeper in the woods. They didn't want to leave any evidence that they'd been there behind. 

When everyone was packed, Peach and Toadonelly led the way into the woods with everyone else and the Hoo and her chicks trailing behind. The undergrowth wasn't as thick as it'd been in the Hoo's Wood - in fact, it was quite sparse, so there was less to cut through.  

It was also cold. A chilly wind blew constantly across the little group, making Toaddette shiver and Peach pull up the hood of her cloak. The trees did hardly anything to stop the wind from freezing the group: their leafless branches let the air blow through them easily. 

After about half an hour, Peach stepped into a clearing and, with deep surprise, saw a house standing before them. 

It was a huge, three-story mansion that sat on the edge of a lonely cliff that seemed to cut like a V into the land. The house it's self was ever worse for wear - in fact, it seemed to be making a great effort just to stand it was so run down. The doors were worn and splintered, the roof was almost shingle-less, the windows were cracked and boarded, and the siding looked like it was infested with termites.  

Yet, it was the first concrete building that Peach had seen since she'd arrived on the island. A building that looked like a temporary place of shelter. 

"Whoa, check out that house," Montoad said, elbowing his brother. "It looks like it's gonna fall off that cliff!" 

"I dunno, seems like shelter te me!" Moretoad contradicted.  

"It does look better than camping out in the forest all night," Perry agreed. 

"Please," a toad cried out from behind them. "With all of our weight, that thing'll probably fall off the cliff!!" 

Toaddette walked up beside Peach, taking her hand. "Well, princess?" she asked. "What do you think? Should we venture inside?" 

Peach was starting to have doubts. Maybe it was the location or the general spookiness of the region, but the mansion suddenly seemed to have a haunted aura about it. Was it really all that safe? 

"Let's inspect it," Peach suggested. "If it seems livable, then we should probably seize the opportunity." 

There were murmurs of agreement and disagreement, but Peach and Toaddette proceeded to the house anyway. The sparse grass crackled under their feet as they reached the front door. It was raggedy and beat up, and was in desperate need of repair. Peach slowly turned the doorknob and thrust open the door. 

Inside the first floor, everything was pitch black. Peach asked Toadonelly for his flashlight and then clicked it on. She aimed the thin beam of light inside the room. 

From what she could make out, the first floor was a huge living room. The floor was covered in nothing but dust and a lone chair sat in one corner. A large fireplace was in the back wall, and it was filled with what looked like hundred-year-old ashes. A staircase rimmed the outer wall and led up to another level.