A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 15: Tend to Wounds

"What was that about?" Peach asks as King Boo and his ghost leave, leaving the three of them in the room.

"Nothing but trouble," Bowser said as he moved to the exit, "I'll be in my room if needed," and left.

"You'll have to forgive Bowser. Him and Boo were once good friends that went south."

"What do you mean?" Peach asks.

"Well, I have known King Boo longer than Bowser has. We would talk about magic and he would help with some of the problems in the Darklands. When Bowser met him, he wanted to grow up to be a good ruler, and King Boo took him under his wing. Promising him that he'll teach him how to be a ruler."

"What happened to make them bitter towards each other?" Peach asks as she looks at the door, wondering if Bowser is okay.

"He learned the truth," Kamek said, "King Boo was using him, and the damage had already been done."

"Should we-?"

"No, he needs some time. He needs to let his anger out." Kamek said as he pushed her out of the throne room. "Besides you need to change, so off you go."

Peach looked back at Kamek, who was going down the hall that took him to his tower, before looking down the hall that brought her to her room. She sighed, thinking that maybe he was right about Bowser, that she should leave him alone. She picks at her dress, feeling the giant rip in it; she must take care of herself first before caring for someone else.

Meanwhile, Kamek heads to his tower. Think about what that ghost had told him, his head lost in thought as he replayed their little talk.

"Look, no need for violence."

"That's funny coming from one of King Boo ghosts. Why were you after Luigi, who cursed him, and what do you mean when you said if King Boo found him?" Kamek asked as his wand light got brighter.

"The fact that you know that it's a curse is shocking: most don't remain in their original body, they all get turned to stone." Neville said, placing his hand on the armchair.

"I'm not afraid to zip you," Kamek said, zipping sounds from his wand.

"I can tell," Neville said, "but if you want me to answer your questions then a little less hostility towards me."

Kamek only stopped the zip from his wand, but it was still pointing at Neville. Neville could see that this was the best he could get out of him.

"Look, Luigi and I are friends," Neville started, "I was only talking to him, giving him an update. I wasn't going to turn him in."

"It didn't look like that," Kamek said, "and you still haven't answered my questions."

"If you let me finish then you would have had them. King Boo is after him; he was the one who did this and he wants Luigi back in his procession" Neville told him. Kamek lowered his wand in shock. He had connected the dots to what the ghost was telling him; King Boo was the one who cures Luigi. This also confused him. He recognized King Boo's magic and the kind of curse he does, so why is this one different?

Before he could think of an answer, he saw the armchair approaching him. He shot it with a blast from his wand, causing an explosion; Neville was nowhere in sight when the pieces of the chairs fell.

It didn't take long afterward to find both ghosts in the library, but Kamek kept thinking of those words after today's events. King Boo was behind Luigi's curse and wanted him, but why? Did Luigi do something that made King Boo so mad that he turned him into a nutcracker and is now hunting him down?