Forbidden Fruit (A Bowigi Fanfic)

A gilded cage...

Luigi rubbed his eyes as he sat at the end of his new bed. 

Peach's bed.

As kind as Kamek had been, he knew that all of this was to let his guard down. They were only giving him nice accommodations because he was a stand-in for Peach.  Or maybe they were afraid he'd attack more guards. He was honestly a bit confused by the mage's behaviour and his treatment here.  He figured he'd be stored in the deepest pits of the dungeon but no, here he was in a room much larger than his own back at Mushroom Castle.

After Kamek had come back from wherever he went, he'd untied Luigi and kindly escorted him to this luxurious but gaudy room.  He had apologized for the room not being to Luigi's taste and apologized again about the wardrobe.  Kamek had even told Luigi that he'd have a more comfortable outfit for the man by tomorrow morning. He had given him a quick tour that consisted of pointing at various doors and curtains and rambling. He'd then explained that there was no chance of escape and to not even bother. If he wasn't so scared, Luigi would have rolled his eyes. 

Luigi missed half of the explanation, it was extremely overwhelming.  The front of the room taking up over half was a private sitting room. As soon as Kamek left, the plumber stumbled through the large pink curtains on the far end of the room. He nearly gasped. 

In the centre of the room was a large, four-poster Bowser-sized bed (he refused to think about why that might be) with a fuchsia canopy and the thickest comforters he'd ever seen. The Darklands had a very warm climate but Luigi was still going to take advantage of this level of comfort.  On either side of the bed, were matching nightstands.  On his left was a small table and two chairs next to large glass doors leading out to a balcony.  On the right was a door that was likely the bathroom, a walk-in closet and a large escritoire.  

How come Peach never mentioned the luxurious prison cell? Because it's still a prison cell, Luigi immediately reminded himself. It was then that he'd sat down at the end of the bed. 

He sat for a moment in thought but figured he might as well clean up and get some rest. No sense in trying to escape right now.  He was far too tired. He'd make a break for it after breakfast.  It had been almost 24 hours since he'd eaten. 

When Luigi opened the door to the bathroom, he really did gasp this time. Instead of being all pink like the bedroom and sitting room, the room was shimmering ivory with pearl accents.  The room contained a large clawfoot bathtub, a shower and the fluffiest robe Luigi had ever seen! This would be downright luxurious if he wasn't here against his will.

Nothing he could do about that now.  He shrugged and turned on the faucet of the bathtub. The water was immediately the perfect temperature, one of the benefits of living on volcanic terrain.  He tried to calm himself down further as he got undressed  ( a difficult feat considering he needed Daisy's help to get that dress on) and settled in the tub. 

It felt nice to relax, he needed to get his brain focused for his escape tomorrow. Or more likely his interrogation, he knew deep down Kamek was right. There was no chance of escape from this highly fortified castle. He sighed. He could think about that later, and focus on getting clean now.

After a very short bath, Luigi dried himself off and put on the robe.  He briefly relaxed and stopped being angry at himself. He was annoyed that he couldn't relax at all.  He needed the rest. He needed to calm himself like he did before Mario and his adventures.  He brushed his hair and wished for a kit to trim his mustache.  Prisoners don't get those luxuries.

He folded up the pink dress and exited the bathroom.  As he entered the closet, he stifled a groan.  Hanging on racks in the closet were about 15 dresses, all of them containing some amount of pink.  He decided to check the drawers first, bracing himself for whatever lingerie the King would think Peach would look good in.

He shivered with disgust.  It was no secret the Koopa King wanted to marry Peach.  He had publicly proposed to her multiple times despite, or maybe even because of her relationship with Mario.  Luigi assumed the King was a xenophile but that didn't excuse his horrific behaviour. He was shocked when all of the underwear was plain, white, and maybe even a bit big for Peach. He was grateful for that.

Unfortunately, despite going through all of the drawers and looking at every piece of clothing on the racks, Luigi couldn't find a single pair of pants or shorts.  He settled with a soft, long-sleeved, empire white nightgown with pink flower decals along the waistline.  It was simple and beautiful but very much not his style. Peach would probably like it, again if it weren't offered in a kidnapping situation. 

Holding up the hem of the dress, Luigi exited the closet, glad he couldn't be seen by any of his friends.  The nightgown seemed to swallow him up, with its high neck and puffed sleeves.  It was too long for him as well, sized for Peach who was a bit taller than him. The dress he had worn to the party was hemmed to his height. 

As Luigi made his way toward the bed he caught a glimpse of light outside. It was now dark outside but he could see glowing orange shapes all around.  He cautiously made his way toward the doors to the balcony.  The glare made it impossible to see the outside.  He pressed his face against the glass but the glare was still too strong.  Without thinking Luigi tried the door handle.

Click.

The door was unlocked. Luigi let the door swing open and stepped out onto the balcony.  The air was much cooler than he'd expected. The air was cool with a warm breeze, an odd feeling he definitely wasn't used to.  He looked up from the balcony and his breath caught in his throat.

In the far distance, the last rays of the sun were disappearing behind the horizon.  That wasn't what caught his attention though.  The pink light illuminated a dark rocky landscape with sharp jagged rocks jutting out from the earth.  Throughout the broken landscape were cracks shaped like lightning bolts revealing bright,  crimson,  magma bubbling beneath the surface.  On the horizon there appeared to be a smouldering volcano. It was beautiful, in a rough, rugged sort of way. 

The man stood there for a few moments, enjoying the view. He was so close to feeling calm.