Mushroom Kingdom Anew - Book 1

Chapter Fourteen

A bright light filled the newly opened eyes of Xavier as he slowly came to. The first thing he noticed was that his entire body hurt. A lot. Everything either ached so much he could barely move, or was tightly woven by what he could identify from touch alone as bandages. Still squinting, he sat up with a loud and pain-filled groan, rubbing his head and looking around. He appeared to be in a bed, although it didn't look too familiar. It was comfy, metallic bed frame holding up the fluffy mattress. A thick blue and white plaid comforter covered his bandaged body, offering a warm feeling like he was encased in a plaid cocoon. He was shirtless, bandages running all along his chest, arms, shoulders, hips and neck. His legs especially hurt, but he would survive. Another bandage was wrapped around his head, also covering his left eyeball. It felt cold...

Grunting profusely, the teenager slid out of bed and half-limped, half meandered over to the door to the room. It was small, but not cramped. More like a quaint kind of small, with a single dresser on the opposite side, a rug, a night table with a lamp, and a window facing the opposite side of the door. Opening the door, Xavier saw he was on the second floor to what appeared to be a cottage. He noticed the stairs on the opposite side of the hallway, and shuffled over to them. He passed several other doors along the way, but chose not to investigate. He was hardly standing up, after all, and lacked any and all energy to move more than he had to.

With much effort, he finally made it down the stairs, landing with a soft thud at the cherry wood floor below. Upon closer inspection, this wasn't so much a house as it was a cottage. Beautiful, built with cherry wooden walls painted to a blinding white. A couch sat near the bottom of the stairs, simple grey, with two recliners next to it, same color palette. To his right was the kitchen, relatively big with many cabinets and plenty of counter space. Not to mention the kitchen table with two people sitting there, watching him curiously. One, an older woman, had silvery blonde hair and soft blue eyes. She looked to be relatively old, but lacked the goiter hump or profuse wrinkles as most older women do. The other was an older man, a very particular grey mustache hanging under his big round nose. He wore a red cap with the letter 'M' embroidered at the center. His blue eyes scanned the confused and exhausted teenager with worry. Yet, despite his worry, he smiled kindly at Xavier once he descended the stairs.

"Ah, you're awake. You must've slept well, yes?" He asked, his thick Italian accent showing.

Xavier just nodded, rubbing his bicep with his left hand. "Um... yeah. Wait, um... I'm sorry, my memory's a little fuzzy. What exactly happened...? How'd I get here, where are my friends?"

''Calm down, there. You just woke up." The older man, who seemed awfully familiar in a way mind you, stated as he got up from his chair. He was surprisingly fit for somebody of his age and caliber, the large stomach and smaller appearance. He was only as tall as Xavier's shoulders after all. And that hat...

"Um... this might be just me... but are you, uh... Super Mario?" Xavier asked slowly, embarrassed by the question.

The older man chuckled, sitting Xavier down on the couch. The old lady had gotten up to, making her way over to the couch to sit down. She was significantly taller than the old man, but not by much. The old man chuckled, rubbing his hands together and placing a wrinkly hand on Xavier's knee. "You are correct. I'm-a Super Mario."

The brunet gasped, his eyes widening. Mario chuckled in response to the young man's reaction. "Yes, shocking I know. And this is Princess Peach, who I'm sure you'd be familiar with."

"Greetings." Peach said, holding up a small, wrinkly hand. Xavier was in shock. The Super Mario really existed, and he was sitting right next to him!

Mario continued his speech, that same warm smile evident on his face. "You and your friends washed up on shore about this time yesterday, beaten, bloodied and out cold. You were lucky to have landed here, or else I doubt we'd have ever found you. But nonetheless, you're here, and alive. Your friends are also asleep upstairs in the other guest rooms."