Shards of Love

The Wedding of the Century

Shards of Love: REDUX!

"I started low, but I've gotten high up, and I can only get better. I'm tired of pretending to be a good guy; a hero. The wolf inside me demands to destroy the outer sheep surrounding it, and everyone will see the true me. The hunger for the status I most desire grew at a gradual pace throughout the years, and the now-insatiable craving must be satisfied before my inner wolf breaks free from its flowery confines. It must happen now, even if it takes breaking everything else I have. Friends. Family. Peace. Immortality. Love. I will tear anything to shreds in return for my desire, and I'll cast the now-useless shards into the dark, eternal sea of their hopelessness."

- Medieval Koopa Lore

Shard I: Foundations

Peach and Mario marry, but what should've been a happy day is instead marred by Peach's surprise kidnapping by the Koopalings. Now, what should've been a relaxing vacation instead turns into an ill-fated stay at Bowser's Castle.

Chapter I

Wedding of the Century: A Bride's Stress

Dawn approaches the eastern Mushroom Kingdom, converting the grey-and-black sky into one of orange, yellow and blue. As the Sun shoots down every sign of nighttime, the residents of the eastern lands of Giant Land, Water Land, Grass Land, Sky Land and the Mushroom Province reveal themselves from their ramparts. For the residents, today's no ordinary day. Everywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom, businesses remain closed and thousands of citizens dance in the streets, all with huge grins implanted on their faces. Sounds of blaring trumpets boom throughout the Kingdom while happy citizens shout out multiple 'Hooray!'s. Today's celebrations mark the day when Princess Peach marries her hero and longtime friend, Mario.

However, behind the castle's walls, anxiety, rather than excitement, rings throughout the air and bounces off the elegant rose walls. Stress oozes out from every crevice present in the elegant marble floors like a foul odour. The stress accumulates into the minds of everyone; even the dainty Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom appears prone to the unwanted condition. Although lounging in the comfort of the pink walls, the queen-sized bed and the stained-glass window making up her bedroom, Peach still worries about the general turnout of the wedding.

"Are you excited, girl?" Daisy questioned Peach in her light Sarasalandian country accent. Several of Peach's servants and her best friend Daisy crowd around her to get her wedding dress ready.

"I've been waiting for this day since forever!" Peach stated in weak excitement. It's not that she hates Mario—no, far from it. Peach, like her mother, is a perfectionist; she fears even a pesky housefly will ruin her special day. In an instant, she begins muttering in doubt, "I'm just scared, Daisy."

Daisy scowls before plumping up her orange dress; being Peach's maid of honor rather than a normal bridesmaid, Daisy bears a special orange dress rather than the typical white of the others. Despite wanting the bridesmaids donning pink a few months ago, Peach instead changed her mind and required them to bear white dresses; she wanted the less-formal pink dress gig to be her own. As for the Maid of Honor, she wanted to leave the choice of colour to Daisy.

"Scared of what?"

"I'm just... Well, nervous over the entire thing. What if something goes wrong? All the citizens will eat it up within seconds; they won't respect me the same again! It'll be a late April Fool's joke in their minds!"