Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

Wedding Bells (4)

".............Hey................. each................ Peach?...................................... Peach?" a distant voice called as if it was shouting from miles away.

Peach shook her head, her vision partially blurred. She was surrounded by bright colors and an overwhelming smell of... flowers? Perfume? What even was that? Usually, Peach was a fan of floral smells, but this was too much. The world felt far too light as well, like a day in the middle of July.

She blinked a few times as a face in front of hers seemed to come into focus. She recognized the intense gray eyes, though they looked softer now.

"Wh..." Peach started, though she didn't have the strength to form whole words yet. It was like her face was numb. She couldn't feel her own tongue.

"Shh... it's okay," Countess Tippi smiled, placing a hand on Peach's shoulder. "Thank Jaydes you're up. We needed some feedback before the wedding."

Wedding?

Peach shook her head, trying to get herself to wake up from whatever strange dream she was trapped in. But it wasn't a dream. The world continued to come into focus, revealing an altar set up behind the countess, as well as a masked man, standing in the center of it.

"Someone's marrying a clown?" Peach asked, her speech still slurred, but more clear than before.

The countess burst into a fit of giggles and quickly shook her head.

"Oh, no, no, no. Of course not! That wouldn't do. That's my assistant, Dimentio. Wave hello, Dimentio!"

The masked man seemed to stand on his tiptoes and give a brief wave. He must have said something, but all Peach could hear were distant muffles.

"Before we start, I just have a few questions," the countess smiled, her voice overwhelmingly sweet.

"Let me go," Peach demanded.

"Soon. First question: which sounds most like true love? A - The prince and the villain, or B - The prince and the heroine. Think carefully."

Peach raised an eyebrow at the oddness of the question.

"Um... the second one, I suppose-"

"Lovely! Dimentio, bring his royal highness out!" Countess Tippi chimed, stepping back and pulling Peach toward the altar. The blonde heroine tried to tear herself out of the countess's grip, but her efforts were all in vain. She was too weak and disoriented to break free.

Dimentio seemed to nod, then snapped his fingers, making the prince appear, standing beneath the alter as well. He seemed even more dazed and confused than Peach.

"Hmm, we need guests," Countess Tippi hummed.

"I agree, my countess," Dimentio chimed. His voice was theatrical and bold. Peach didn't like it.

The masked man clapped his hands, summoning dozens of boos to witness the event, as well as their king.

"What in the—" King Boo muttered, looking around himself. "Who forcefully relocated me and my subjects?! This is an invasion of privacy! I will get my best boo lawyer and SUE—"

"Shhh, hold all objections until the end of the ceremony. Thank you!" Countess Tippi chimed with a quiet giggle. "Now, Dimentio, please begin."

"Yes, my countess," Dimentio said with a slight bow of the head. 

Countess Tippi grasped a large book, one with a white cover, and began reading from it.

"It is prophesied that the union of the truest form of love will bring forth the power of the purity heart, so today we must gather together and celebrate that true love. And, I can think of no better way to do that than to witness the joining together of a heroine and her prince."