Misunderstanding

New Experiences

After their admittedly awkward dance, the rest of the evening had been lovely. Once they had left the dining room with wine in their hands, they had taken a stroll around the castle once again, this time even venturing out into the gardens. The princess observed the twisted, almost mangled looking trees and the thick, intimidating black metal fences guarding the entire area. Despite its rather terrifying appearance, it admittedly had its own charm.

Peach stopped, gazing at some odd flowers with a soft admiration. Bowser watched on, curious as to what it could be she was doing. She bent down, leaning her nose close to the flower and inhaling deeply. Odd, she didn't know a flower could smell like cinnamon. As she got a bit closer to get another smell, she was shocked to feel Bowser's hands around her waist, pulling her away from it.

"Wha-?" the princess yelped just as the huge jaws of the flower snapped down. Thankfully on nothing.

Bowser let out a heavy sigh, lifting Peach away from the flower and onto his other side. "Sorry princess, I shoulda warned you. Some of the flowers get a little extra hungry at night. They usually have muzzles, too, I guess it's feeding time."

Her eyebrows shot up high. "They get hungry? Well, what do they eat?"

"Normally the usual stuff. Y'know, like birds and bugs, but sometimes they snag some of my guards. They'll eat whatever they can get close enough too, so you're lucky I grabbed ya when I did." He chuckled as she blanched.

"Goodness, your kingdom really is quite different." She commented, looking around. How had she not noticed the drooling coming from the plants before? "Is it safe to be out here if they're so hungry?"

The koopa king hummed to himself, a smirk crossing his lips. "Sure...you've just gotta stick close to me."

The princess smiled a bit herself as she blushed and moved a bit closer. Then she reached down and slipped her hand into his. "Well then, I guess I have no other choice."

Oh, if only she knew. If only she knew just how hard his heart was beating right then, How badly he wanted to scoop her up and keeped her locked away with him forever. He never wanted this moment to end. The only thing he was really worried about was whether or not she could feel how sweaty he was sure his palms were. As he glanced down to see if she was disgusted or anything like that, he was greeted with a soft, pleasant smile.

"Bowser, I have to say, I've really enjoyed my time here. I know at first things were rather rocky, but...I really appreciate all you've done to make me more comfortable."

The king grinned, then covered up the grin with his hand. "W-well, I do always like to be a good host."

"I could tell from the moment you nearly dipped me into lava." She giggled.

"Ah, sorry about that, by the way. That's how my father tended to handle political disagreements."

"Seems rather violent," she sighed, glancing up at him. "Does your kingdom ever have any peaceful times?"

"Sure we do. Actually, you're the only thing that's disturbed the peace for the first time in a while. With my armed forces, we aren't bothered all too often."

She tilted her head at him. "So everyone's so scared that they don't attack?" He nodded. "Does anybody come to settle any trades or alliances or anything like that?"

"Not incredibly often, but we get the occasional trade offer."

"Well that seems lonely. You're all just isolated here?"

He glanced down again, noting her sad expression. "To an extent. It isn't all that bad, you know."

"I'm sure, but, still..."