Shards of Love

Shard II: Lavender's For Lovers True

Shards of Love: REDUX!

Shard II: Revelations

Peach finds out unfortunate news about the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as Bowser's supposed plans for her, causing her to flee back home. Once at her castle, she stumbles upon several unfortunate ancient Koopan prophesies—which may explain her history of being kidnapped—while noticing the strangeness concerning her parents' disappearances, as well as the behaviours of Mario, Daisy, Luigi and others.

Chapter VII

Lavender's for Lovers True

Infuriation rushes through Peach; she can't bear that castle any longer, not with the current crisis occurring in her kingdom. What would her subjects say about her if she stayed for longer than she did even without the aid of Mario? What would happen if she was "sold" to someone? Was that why Bowser kept her and used some random koopa lore from centuries ago as an excuse?

As the princess traverses deeper into the Dark Land woods, so too do the worrying thoughts coupled with the most nagging of questions: why didn't Mario come to save her? Why didn't he show up?

"I can do this. I saved Mario once."

Despite those words engraved in her head, a shiver overcomes her. Due to her spike of adrenaline from the panic-induced exercise, Peach's warmth endures against the harsh air temperature, much to her surprise.

By contrast, the trembling wasn't a result of cold, but from fear. As she ventures deeper into the untamed, eerie woods, she affirms a supernatural squall-like sensation. A sinister strait's shaping up; nothing's natural about the suspenseful occurrences. The light scarcity bestows a dim luminosity, creating a brutal situation for the princess to comprehend.

"Isn't it ironic. Hours ago I was happy about the new moon. Now because the moon's invisible, I can't see where I'm going. And now some supernatural spirit will kill me. Fun vacation!"

She may be overthinking concerning the bizarre nature of the woods; nonetheless, such an accusation comes together. She's uninformed about these forests, and according to Mushroomer lore, Dark Land's a cursed terrain which bore the brunt of numerous cold-blooded regimes, genocides and conflicts. Throughout the commotion, she cannot doubt the possibility of a vengeful spirit finding its way into the wooded wilderness.

She continues on in silence, hoisting up an arm before her to prevent smacking her head on the numerous trees' branches. Not long after, Peach senses the woods' concentration decline until she arrives at a barren plain.

"I think those plains lead to Pipe Land," Peach attempted to exclaim, envisioning the return home; about showering. Instead, the excitement's disguised in the fatigued feeling she's exhibited for hours.

Peach needs to sleep, here and now. She couldn't believe that just earlier this morning, she woke up in her archenemy's stronghold, kidnapped for the umpteenth time during her supposed honeymoon. Even as a princess, the confrontations, tours, dinners and hangouts with her archenemies exhaust her.

Realising the overbearing drowsiness, Peach lies on the grass. At this point, neither bugs nor dirt covering her dress bother her; if she were any more alert, she'd throw a fit about creeping, crawling things climbing on her, but her current situation prevents her from acting unthankful.

As her eyes beg to close, she still sees the remarkable sky. The same sky she looked at on top of Bowser's castle. Staring at the sky, she ponders: even in the most corrupt, desolate places, the skies above will be the same, albeit different luminosities. These stars—they're the same stars Mario's able to gaze upon, and she also hopes they're the identical stars her parents observe.