The Dryad's Loyalty

Chapter 8: Against the Mario Bros

Some days went by, with Hazel slowly getting used to the layout of the castle and the various routines the minions were required to follow: meals, training and chores. The dryad didn't really mind that, it was fun to do things with everyone else! It was so different from what they'd been used to, but also felt so incredibly nice- and Hazel had made it a goal for themselves to befriend someone new every day, it was so exciting, and most other minions were actually very accepting of them, despite them being the only dryad there! Still... they felt like something that was supposed to happen hadn't happened so far... wasn't that Big & Bad Bowser supposed to kidnap princesses?

Not to fear though, that moment would come very soon... just when Hazel was beginning to let their guard down.

"Hazel... Hazel wake up!!"

The dryad turned the other side, mumbling "S-sherald? J-just five more minutes... what time is it?"

"It's 5 am- but you GOTTA get up! We all gotta go to the throne room!" Sherald replied, shaking Hazel's shoulder.

That seemed to hold their attention as they groaned and sat up on their bed, stretching and looking up at the koopa, slipping their shoes back on "What for?"

"He's made his move on princess Peach- which means we need to go out and fight!" he explained.

Hazel widened their eyes "Did he seriously go and kidnap her again?!" they asked, springing up from the mattress.

"W-well- technically he sent the Koopalings to do that this time but, yes!" he confirmed, nodding.

"But- but you've just barely healed! And many others are in the same position!" Hazel argued. They couldn't believe Bowser would let injured minions fight-

"A-actually I just got a little burned up, n-nothing too horrible... and as for the others- of course they're not forced to partake in the fight if they're still recovering!" Sherald explained "The boss might not be very bright, but even he knows that sending injured troops out to fight isn't a good choice-"

"O-oh, I see..." Hazel blushed, putting their little mantel on. It looked like they might've misjudged Bowser.

"Now come on let's go! Goombronio has already left without us"

 Once they arrived in the throne room, Hazel could see hundreds, if not thousands of minions had gathered there already, all anxiously waiting Bowser's instructions.
The dryad looked around, seeing all sorts of minions, even some that they had rarely ever seen before, like a group of sumo bros, some evil-looking broozers standing off to the side and... PETEY?!
Hazel panicked slightly. He'd just hatched a few days ago and he was already being called for battle? That didn't sit right at all with them- they were definitely going to bring that up to Bowser.
Speaking of the king himself, he was sitting on his massive throne, a confident smirk on his face as more and more troops filled the room, until there was barely any space to walk anymore.

Finally, Bowser stood up, spreading his arms "My Koopa Troops! We have succeeded once again in capturing Princess Peach and right as we speak, my trusty Koopalings are bringing her here... and this time I really feel like I'm going to win her over!" he said, a smiling a bit goofily.
"As always though... Mario and that green brother of his are always ready to foil my plans- so prepare to get dispatched! You all know your roles, so come on, to the warp station! Let's show those two brothers and the whole Mushroom Kingdome what we're made of!!"

Every trooper cheered and roared, hyping each other up and picking up their weapons before all heading towards a nearby room, which seemed to contain six different pipes. Hazel followed the mass of minions all flowing into one direction, with Sherald staying close to them before patting their shoulder.
"Guess we'll part ways for now... gotta jump down the pipe to Dry Dry Desert... be careful!"