The Dryad's Loyalty

Chapter 16: Oh No

Bowser blushed a bit at those words "J-join them?"

"Yeah! We've practiced dancing together before, now it's time to use that knowledge to get to your precious princess!" Hazel grinned, gently taking Bowser's hand in theirs and leading the way.

The koopa king felt a bit embarrassed about it all, and hoped that none of his minions would take notice of just who was dancing with him, though he had to admit, thanks to Hazel's nimble moves and his large size, they were cutting through the crowd pretty quickly, their plan was somehow working!

As they twirled around, dodging the guests, Bowser began looking at the ballroom, wondering just what the guests were up to: he could see the green stache making poor attempts in asking princess Daisy of Sarasa Land to dance, prince Mallow cheerfully dancing with another Nimbus-person, and further out, near the room's walls, he also spotted the Koopalings and his beloved son all hopping around together in a circle; the only one missing was Ludwig, who'd taken on the role of conductor for the koopa orchestra.
He couldn't help but smile a little seeing how much fun Junior seemed to be having... and he was surely going to be even happier to see his father dance with his 'Mama Peach' as he called her.

After some more dancing and prancing, Bowser and Hazel finally reached Mario and Peach.
As soon as that happened, the red plumber tensed up, tightening his grip on Peach's hand "What do you want-a?" he muttered, glaring at the two.

"Hello to you too... Mario" Hazel spoke up with a little grin on their face.

"M-Mario who is this... fairy?" Peach whispered, her voice soft and poised. 

"Dryad-" they quickly corrected, straining a smile "And I'm-"

"Bowser's-a new lackey... and a tough one at-a that" Mario interrupted them, warily looking at the duo as they danced around them.

"Oh relaaaax, Mario... I'm not gonna do anything bad today... I just want a dance with my beloved princess" Bowser said, smirking a little. "How about we trade dance partners, eh?"

"What?! Is this some-a plan to kidnap the princess?!" the short plumber panicked, going into a defensive stance.

"N-no?!" Bowser replied clenching his fists "I just- want to dance with her! Is it too much to ask?!"

Mario placed himself between the princess and the koopa, furrowing his brows. He didn't trust Bowser one bit. But then... he felt the princess place a hand on his shoulder, which got him to relax slightly.

"Don't worry, Mario... I think this is going to be fine" she calmly said before glancing at Bowser "Just one dance... and don't try anything funny" she warned him.

"B-but princess-"

Peach suddenly took both of Mario's hands in hers "I said... don't worry. Besides, if anything goes wrong, I know I can always count on you to save the day" she giggled adorably, causing the plumber's face to become red like his iconic hat.

"A-alrighty..." he muttered, looking to the side.

Bowser and Hazel looked at the scene and sneakily high-fived each other, the plan had been a success! Now Hazel just hoped the koopa king wouldn't find a way to mess it up.
"Have fun you two!" they chuckled, seeing Bowser taking the princess' hand and dragging her around the ballroom.

Mario stared at them, his eyebrows still furrowed. It was obvious he wasn't going to dance with Hazel, but still, that didn't mean they couldn't strike up a conversation with the chubby plumber.
"Hey come on, don't do that face... it's just for one dance-" 

Mario sighed, shaking his head "If I know-a Bowser... he'll-a totally let it get to his head" he muttered, suddenly looking up at Hazel "Why are you even helping-a him? You know he's-a the bad guy, right?"