4. Maps and Peaches
Grounders10
Nine-Tailed Kitsune
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada, Mars
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A Mario/Legend of Zelda SI Fanfic
Super Peach Sisters
By: Grounders10
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4. Maps and Peaches
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"How long was I asleep?" I asked Toadsworth as we walked up the steps towards the ship's aft castle.
"A day and a half, Princess. We were starting to get worried," Toadsworth replied. He grunted as he limped up the steps. They had clearly been intended for Koopas and other species taller than Toads. He chuckled. "It seems for little reason. You're walking much better than before."
That had been a noticeable improvement over the day before. Whatever had been making me so wobbly had gone away. Perhaps it had been the concussion? Of course, I don't think concussions and head injuries worked that way. In all honesty, I probably shouldn't have gone to sleep when I did without getting that medical check-up.
"I feel a lot better," I admitted, spinning the open umbrella on my shoulder that Toadette had handed to me on our way out. It was pink, frilly, and I would be lying if I said I didn't love it. I know, that seems a little weird, but I've always had a thing for umbrellas. Back in High School, I used to go to school every day with a really big one I'd use as a cane on the days when it wasn't raining and when no one was around I'd be spinning it in my hands.
Silly, I know, but I love umbrellas.
"Has your memory improved at all, Princess?" he asked. I shook my head.
"No. Nothing more than before. That I've noticed anyway," I said, looking up at the lace edge of my umbrella as I twirled it with my thumb. I was going for melancholic resignation, but if it came off that way I'm a better actor than I thought.
"I will admit it was a forlorn hope," he sighed as we were waved through the guarded doors of the aft castle. The nerve center of the warship was bustling with Koopas, Goombas, and even a handful of Shy Guys. Many were manning equipment around the central room, while others were ducking in and out of the many side doors.
I can't say if it was the lack of a concussion or the fact I wasn't nearly dead of exhaustion, but I was finding the Koopas and other baddies more than a little strange. I've played more than a few Mario games over the years and they tend towards the cartoonish. This wasn't a cartoon anymore and the reality was, after so many years of casually Goomba stomping my way to victory, rather jarring.
Koopas had shells like turtles with glittering patterns often polished to a reflective sheen. Their skin was more like hide with a heavy leather-like quality that reminded me of animals like rhinos and, again, turtles. When they spoke their beaks added a clacking quality to every syllable.
Goombas were probably the strangest. They were indeed living fungi and had the unsettling skin texture to prove it. It was surprisingly smooth on most of them admittedly, but it had that mushroomy texture you can recognize from a dozen meters and they were covered by tiny brown hairs barely an inch long. Add to all of that, a mouth with giant spikes and you had probably the scariest things on board the ship. Seriously, nothing creeps me out like fungi and now I was surrounded by two and a half foot tall talking mushrooms.
It didn't help that every last one of them had six-inch spikes sticking out of their gums.
And Shy Guys were… Well, they were midgets in full body and face-concealing outfits who ran around like someone was pouring red bull directly into their veins every second of the day. To say I was morbidly curious about what was behind their masks was an understatement.
The center room reminded me of pictures I had seen of the command and control centers aboard warships back home. A large table in the center with instruments and workstations lining the walls. Unlike those back home, this one seemed to have a hologram of the vessel and the terrain it was flying over lifting right off the table. I put it down to magic. Given how many Magi-Koopa Bowser employed it was probably a frivolous feat.
A large Koopa in a steel spiked helmet and an eye-patch, as if this couldn't get any more cliched, was standing at the holo tank with Kamek and gesturing at something on the ground ahead of the vessel. Aides surrounding the table were talking amongst themselves and making notes as they listened to their leaders. Occasionally one would point out something on the table to one of the others and more notes would be furiously taken as groups stepped back to discuss one thing or another. As we approached a runner from one of the groups slipped the eye-patch wearing Koopa a notepad.
It seemed that Bowser's forces understood the concept of a General's Staff. Joy. Actually, wait, we were on the same side this time so that was actually a good thing. For now anyway.
As we approached the holo tank one of the guards along the walls rapped the butt of his halberd against the deck. "PRINCESS ON DECK!" he bellowed. The controlled chaos stopped in an instant as the entire room snapped to attention, every last one of its occupants presenting a variety of salutes and bows to me.
Kamek bowed as we reached the table. "Princess, you've come to join us. Welcome to the nerve-center of the Burning Claw," he said, sweeping his hand outward at the rest of the room in a grand gesture.
"It is impressive, though I'm afraid since my memories are still a bit… fragmented, any comparisons will have to wait," I said nodding to him as my guards fanned out behind me.
"Everyone back to work," the Koopa next to Kamek shouted before he looked up at me. "Nice to meet you under nicer circumstances than the last few times, Your Majesty," he said, bowing slightly.
"I'm afraid I don't remember those last few times…?" I trailed off.
"Captain Haus," he said, "I've had the pleasure of transporting Your Highness twice over the last few years." He paused. "Albeit on different vessels," he finally allowed.
"Mario?" I asked.
"Mario," he sighed, hanging his head. "I've had more ships knocked out of the sky by that plumber of yours than any other Captain in the fleet. Pardon the presumption, Princess, but for once I'm happy that he's not going to be crashing the party so to speak."
A couple of my guards may have bristled, but I just shook my head. With a track record like that I couldn't blame him for not wanting to see Mario. "That's perfectly alright, Captain Haus," I said with a slight smile, "I'm sure if he were here he wouldn't be breaking this one, after all, we're all on the same side right now."
"That we are, Your Highness," Kamek nodded, "and we have much to discuss so if the pleasantries are over with, I would like to begin?"
"You will hear no complaint from us," Toadsworth said, "What is the current situation?"
"Dire," the Captain replied, tapping something on his side of the holo tank. The image on the tank shifted, pulling back until only a flashing yellow arrow remained to indicate the position of the Burning Claw above a map of the world. Fine details like trees and everything short of the mountains flattened out. White lines denoting major roads appeared alongside little yellow recreations of railroads. Dots with floating transparent names above them flickered into being to denote cities. And all across the map was a sea of red overtaking the otherwise blue countryside.
The red had poured down from the north-eastern mountains and cut a straight line down several major roads until it hit the Castle. Now it was spreading outwards in every direction. Not in any particularly coordinated fashion, it was threading through the countryside striking some towns and bypassing others entirely, but it was spreading.
"Vaati's forces have overrun Petalburg," Captain Haus continued, pointing to a large town where three rivers met a lake. "With that, the North-Eastern forces of your Kingdom have had their lines of communication cut. All the rail-lines in this region run through there before crossing the rivers into the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. They've also been hammering your garrisons all along the Mao Mao Ridge." He pointed to a ridge to the east where several dots marked as Forts with names like 'Mouse House' and 'Starside' had forced the red tide to stall before it could sweep into the valleys beyond.
"It is good to see that General Mousebatton is holding," Toadsworth said with a weak smile.
"Who knows what his situation is going to be like in the long run," Captain Haus grumbled, "We simply have no way of knowing how well he's actually handling."
"Why are they bypassing some of these towns in the north?" I asked, looking towards the north where the red tendrils seemed to be advancing unopposed.
"I recognize the names of some of those," Toadsworth said, "They're mostly heavily fortified towns. Being the north-east we tend to get more contact with the Koopa Troop than most other areas and many of the wealthier towns have been fortified to dissuade raiding during kidnapping attempts." I looked up from where I was leaning over the table to raise an eyebrow at Kamek who coughed into his hand.
"Yes, well, war," the elderly Koopa said blithely, "The north lacks the same solid line of defences like the east and as you can see the forts along the border to the north-east were overrun in the opening hours of the invasion."
"Leaving the heartland completely exposed," I sighed, my eyes drinking in the network of rail lines and roads. "Out of curiosity what condition are most of the roads on this map?" I asked.
"The main thoroughfares tend to be in good condition, though most are only paved inside the districts of the wealthier towns," Toadsworth replied. That fit with the technology I was seeing. While somewhat eclectic, most of the technology seemed to average out to the Victorian era. As did the styles. The only real odd points were the complete lack of firearms and the fact that magic made things like holo tanks not just feasible, but almost a necessity.
"And I assume magic is how you're gathering this information?" I asked Kamek.
"Yes. My agents transmit their information directly back to headquarters and then from there a private connection brings it here," he said, "Fortunately so far my network has remained unbreached by Vaati's influences."
"Impressive," I said, and it really was. Vaati had brought to his side what appeared to be more than two-thirds of the Koopa Troopa when he overthrew Bowser. The Volcanic mountains in the north-east were mostly red outside of several large settlements and a line of forts that stretched to the border, containing the red tide from sweeping north-west out of the mountains. Unfortunately, it looked like it would probably be outflanked once they finished overrunning the northern settlements of the Mushroom Kingdom.
"I choose only the best and most loyal," Kamek demurred.
"What about the rest of the Kingdom?" I asked. The Captain tapped the console again and the picture zoomed out even further. As more lands came into view beyond the north-east quadrant the smallest towns and villages disappeared from the table, leaving only the largest as region names began to pop in. Places like the Dry Dry Desert or the Pur Pur Mountain, and many cities. Many, many cities.
"What's the scale of this?" I asked as the picture stopped.
"Uuuh," Captain Haus paused and glanced down at the dials and buttons on the tank, "about… One hundred and twenty kilometres per physical foot." I ran the math through my head. That, roughly, mathed out to an area larger than either Germany or France. However, the Mushroom Kingdom's borders were visible on the map. Taking that into account… Ignoring frontier territory beyond the fort lines that marked the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom was somewhere in and around the size of the aforementioned France or Germany.
"Somewhat bigger than I remember," I said as I looked over the map.
"With respect, Your Highness," The Captain said as he watched me look over the map, "I hope you don't mind me asking if you are in good enough condition to be making decisions right now. Let alone in Military matters." Several of my guards, including the same ones as earlier, took a step forward. I caught sight of one of them out of the corner of my eye and waved them back. Rude it probably was, but he had every right to be worried. Technically I had no training in military matters myself. For all of the RTS games I played and the war novels I read, I was not so deluded as to think of myself as even an Armchair General, let alone an actual one. Though I had been in the middle of The Art of War when I had woke up here. Hopefully, some small snippets of wisdom stuck with me.
"I'm just here to understand what is happening Captain," I said as I looked over the map, "I'd much prefer to leave military matters in the hands of those with actual experience." Even if I included Peach's experience, which I didn't, all I'd be good at would be getting myself kidnapped. Which is exactly what I would like to avoid. Nothing good came from being a maiden who got kidnapped by Vaati.
"I will be speaking for our party in most military matters," Toadsworth said, earning a nod of recognition from Kamek and Captain Haus. Better him than me, for now at least. I had no intention of remaining uneducated in this mess.
The conversation moved past me as I examined the map. Questions about force strength, positioning, and reliability were exchanged by both sides and I tried to keep one ear on the conversation while I leaned on my folded umbrella like a cane as I leaned over the tank. There was something about the map that was bothering me. Yes the Mushroom Kingdom was impressive, but there was something about it that seemed… irritatingly familiar.
The east was lakes and marshland south of the river until it passed through the hills and mountains into the large Duchy of Fair Winds Valley. The south-west was the dry-dry desert until the map faded into an indistinguishable blur near the corner where only the label 'here be sandstorms' appeared. And near the desert…
Those hills looked like spectacles.
Spectacles? I tilted my head in thought and leaned out over the tank a little more. And the volcanic range was in the north-north-east? Yes, it was, with the Fair Winds Valley wrapping around the far side of it to the east. Which happened to be bordered in the south by a mountain range with several large lakes in it…
My eyes traced a few other familiar details before a large canyon in the east caught my attention. Easily a hundred kilometres long the details of it were visible even zoomed out like this and it looked… oddly man-made.
"Excuse me," I said, interrupting a discussion about what troops were positioned in the border forts in the north, and I pointed to the canyon. "Zoom in here please," I requested. The map zoomed it, the landscape of the area, already standing out from the table, rose towards me like spikes.
I was easily able to make out the details of the canyon. The statues and carvings of Loftwings and the broken stone of a hundred kilometre spanning causeway may as well have shouted the identity of that canyon to me. The Lanayru Promenade. Which made the tall mountain at the end Mount Lanayru. The dimensions weren't exact, and the names were definitely different, but I knew this map. I had played this map for a few hundred hours.
This was from The Breath of the Wild. This was Hyrule.
The Mushroom Kingdom was the Kingdom of Hyrule.
"Shit," I muttered.
"Princess?" Toadsworth looked at me all worried. He had probably heard my muttered exclamation even if no one else had.
"I'm fine, Toadsworth," I reassured him even as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. This… I had a date, but that date was so far off the end of the scale that it wasn't just a different era. Hyrule had risen, fallen, and risen again many many times before, so why was it now the Mushroom Kingdom? "Can you make it large again?" I asked. The Captain did, watching me carefully as the world flattened out again.
Tracing the major rivers let me figure out where the old Castle Town would have been. Right where a city called 'Ancient Ancient Hill' had cropped up. What was with the Mushroom Kingdom's tendency to repeat words twice and call it a name? From there other locations were easily traced, at least those large enough to be notable. The home of the Rito was apparently called 'Windyville' now. Zora's Domain was missing entirely from the map and… Gerudo Town was somewhere off the edge of the world amidst 'sandstorm' unless I missed my guess. Had they never dealt with the giant lightning spewing camel?
And that forest in the north-east, the one just east of our flight path. That one was out in the middle of a lake and… Huh. Well, no guessing was required. That one was just flat out labelled the Lost Woods. Was the Deku Tree still in there?
Aware of the stares I was receiving I sighed and stood up, unfolding my umbrella as I did. I settled in on my shoulder and smiled with false weakness. "Sorry, something seemed familiar. I seem to have lost the thread now," I said. The Captain and Toadsworth nodded understandingly. Kamek, however, simply watched me, showing no signs of opinion.
"Perhaps," the old magi-koopa spoke, "You should go and rest for now. If you would like I will send for that doctor now. While it would seem that you are out of the danger zone it would prove an ill omen if you suffered some preventable issue."
I smiled back making some effort to try and project a fairly vapid air. One that in hindsight was probably undermined by the military uniform I was wearing. Maybe I should have gone with the victoria gown? "I would appreciate that. I would hate to have even more issues after our narrow escape," I said, "And rest sounds quite nice." It did actually. I had a lot to think about and I needed to make some notes while my thoughts were still going strong.
"Then," Toadsworth said, "If my Princess wishes it shall I have Toadette go with you back to your rooms?" Said Toad stepped out of the crowd of guards to stand by my side.
"That sounds wonderful," I agree.
"Toadette, take care of her," he said to Peach's handmaiden. The little Toad nodded fiercely.
"I will! She won't have a scratch on her!" She proclaimed, glaring around at the crowds. To my surprise, a sudden gap of an additional ten feet developed around our group instantly and I heard Captain Haus mutter something about 'why did it have to be the pink one?'
"This way Princess!" she said eagerly, taking me by the hand and pulling me towards the exit with all the decorum of a dog heading for a walk. I just shook my head. Her cheerfulness was infectious.
Behind us, the strategy discussion resumed as the map zoomed back in on the North-Eastern Quadrant.
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The Koopa, one Doctor Leg'less, hummed and harred as he examined my head. "You should have come to me yesterday," he grumbled.
"Sorry," I said reflexively.
He snorted. "Sorry? I'm not the one who you need to apologize to. You're the one who has to suffer for it." He brushed my hair back as he checked the back of my neck. He tsked. "You Mushroom Kingdom hero types are always so troublesome. Your bodies heal unnaturally fast you know."
"They do?" I had wondered about that.
He ignored me as he continued his examination. "It makes figuring out what hurt you impossible. Look at this, not a scratch and yet your memory has more holes than that ignorant magician's latest plan." Somehow I was getting the feeling he didn't see eye to eye with Kamek. He continued rambling away, jumping back and forth between admonishments, observations, and the occasional muttered pot-shot at Kamek.
I glanced over to Toadette who was sitting on the couch across from me and quirked an eyebrow before glancing towards the doctor and rolling my eyes. Toadette muffled her giggling
Doctor Leg'less huffed. "Do not think that just because I am a Koopa I cannot tell you are rolling your eyes at me by the way your follicles shift," he said. The next glance I exchanged with Toadette was one of startled surprise.
"At least you don't have claw marks from the Kings clumsy handling this time," he continued, "In fact, this would appear to be the healthiest I've ever seen you, Princess."
"Umm…"
"And yes, I have seen you before," he said. I fell silent again and let him continue to do his job in peace. Five minutes later he stepped carefully off the couch, groaning as he did so. "Ugh, dealing with humans is always a pain in my shell."
"So how is she?" Toadette asked. The guards by the doors of the sitting room leaned forward in what I assumed they thought was an inconspicuous manner. They needed more practice than I did.
"You mean aside from missing her memories?" the Doctor grumbled sarcastically. He clacked his beak twice in what appeared to be frustration. "Physically she is fine. No injuries visible anywhere on her head. Her response time appears to be normal for her and excessively superhuman for nearly anyone else."
I had surprised me that Peach being physically capable wasn't just one of those spin-off game oddities. And yet lifting a Koopa Troopa as a physical test a few minutes earlier had been as easy as lifting the cup of tea I had had for breakfast. With one hand no less.
"And her memories?" Toadette pressed. I stayed silent as the Doctor sighed.
"I haven't a clue," he said bluntly, picking up his white hat from the end table and placing it on his head before picking up his clipboard. He scrawled something on the page. "Any injury that could have inflicted such memory loss should have left some sign even today. You say you woke up in your room under a beam during the attack?" I nodded. "Then perhaps you should investigate the magical. This Vaati character is a magician just like that hack, yes?"
"Significantly more dangerous than Kamek actually," I said. He grunted.
"Hrmph. Well, either way, this is outside of my expertise. If you can find it in yourself to trust him, speak with the King's foolish advisor. I wouldn't, but then I'm not Royalty," he replied, "Now, any other issues?" he asked. I shook my head. "Then I bid you adieu Princess. Do stay out of trouble." He bowed then headed for the door.
As the door slapped shut behind the old Koopa I slumped sideways until I was all but lying on the couch. "Well that was pointless," I said.
"Not that pointless Princess," Toadette protested, "we know it isn't a medical problem."
Which wasn't exactly news to me. Waking up in someone else's body was not a 'medical' problem. Unless soul transfers were a medical discipline in this world? There was certainly enough magic around and the Victorian era was suitably mad scientist-y at times. I could totally see someone writing a thesis on The Morality and Practical Applications of Soul Transference.
"I suppose that is something," I allowed. "Toadette?"
"Yes, Princess?" she asked.
"Can you find me a book?" I asked. Something about earlier was niggling at me.
"Sure." Toadette hopped off the other couch and bustled off towards the pair of fully stocked bookshelves. "Anything in particular?" she asked.
"... Something on history," I said, "The older the history the better." I watched as she poked through the bookshelves, starting from the bottom before eventually having to go and find a stepstool. After a few minutes of searching, she made a cheer of triumph and hopped off the step stool with a large green leather-bound book.
"This should do Princess," she said, holding out the book. I accepted it with a smile and a word of thanks before looking over the book as Toadette wandered back over to the bookshelf. I blinked dumbly. On the cover, in place of pride above the title, was a gold leaf rendition of the triforce. I traced the triforce with a finger before softly whispering the title.
"The Truth of the Calamity Era, Volume Two of the Hyrule Historia, by Doctor R.B.H.," I paused, "R.B.H?" Who signed a book with nothing but their initials? Still, Calamity era? Interesting. That lined up with the map to be sure… I paused.
It also explained the niggling. This wasn't English, but I was having no trouble reading it. I opened the book and started counting off the different letters. Twenty-seven, but thinking about it I was sure that there was a total of twenty-eight. As an experiment, I tried to run through the local alphabet like I would the English alphabet. All twenty-eight letters flowed easily. Was this some lingering bit of Peach, or had whatever brought me here seen fit to gift me with the local language? I couldn't say because like so many other questions there was no feasible method of gaining an answer.
I spared Toadette a glance. She was still poking through the bookshelves looking for her own book I assumed. I flipped back to the first page and started reading. In a few minutes, I was absorbed in the book. It was a touch on the dry side, with somewhat of an authoritative tone that I knew quite well from history books back home, but it was something new. It felt odd hearing fantastical events spoken of in the same dry tone as the life of Henry the VIII.
It began with a preface discussing the idea of strong nations possessing strong 'founding myths' and how there were many of this day and age who believed that the Calamity was indeed a myth. Or who insisted that it was less fantastical than the legends claimed. There was something oddly amusing about the idea that people who lived in a world populated by talking turtles, mushrooms, and blatant magic, would be put off by a tale of prophecy and woe. At least back home we had to excuse that magic wasn't bouncing around in our day to day lives.
Still, if the writer was to be believed his point of view, that being that the Myths were if anything underselling the Calamity, was in the minority.
"... and thus is it that I shall layout within this tome the proof that the Calamity Era was not simply a myth, but a cataclysm without modern compare," I read out softly. He certainly had that pompous English professor feel to his language, but I'd give him a chance. After all, there had been a Calamity. I knew that better than anyone else it seemed.
Some time, and many chapters, later the door to the hall opened to let in Toadsworth. He looked fairly tired as he entered. His face was stiff, putting emphasis on the normally nearly imperceptible wrinkles. "That Koopa is insufferable," he said, bowing to me before taking a seat in an appropriately scaled armchair.
"Kamek?" I asked, setting the open book down on my chest.
"Certainly not the Captain," Peach's steward grumbled, "Captain Haus has been invaluable. The moment you left Kamek seemed to be under the impression that your absence promoted him in some way."
Oh really? Somehow I wasn't surprised. Kamek was certainly a capable magic user, but from what I remembered the only persons he put before his ego was Bowser and his son. It led to him underestimating Mario and company on more than one occasion from what I could recall.
"I hope you convinced him otherwise?" I asked. I really didn't want to have to sit in on the meetings just to keep Kamek in line. Ours was an alliance of convenience to be sure, but that did not mean I was going to let him walk all over me… or those for whom I had essentially inherited responsibility.
I wasn't their Princess, but that didn't mean I was going to abandon them.
"Captain Haus threatened to tie him to the bowsprit during the next thunderstorm if he didn't stop trying to give orders aboard his ship," Toadsworth chuckled, "He quieted down once I offered to restrain him."
I snorted and giggled, drawing odd looks from both of them. Ah, that wasn't a Peach-like action, was it? Oh, dear.
I quirked a slight smile. "With how often he has been responsible for my predicaments, I do remember a few times even with my poor memory Toadsworth," I said, and sure I did. They tended to be from the perspective of someone or something else, but I did 'remember' a few encounters with Kamek. "He's more than earned a bit of humiliation in my eyes." And the pain and suffering that would probably come from the lashing wind and rain during a thunderstorm.
Toadsworth chuckled. "That he has," he agreed, leaning back with a sigh. "I don't quite like going away from the rest of the Kingdom, but perhaps if we can convince the young Prince to work with us, then maybe we might have the forces required to bring a halt to Vaati's ambitions."
I slid the sewn-in velvet bookmark into the page I was on and set the book aside. "You're assuming his ambitions are as straightforward as conquest Toadsworth," I replied. They weren't. I didn't know Vaati that well. I never had played the four swords games, though Minish Cap was a fun romp. Still, Vaati for all his brutality was more than capable of operating on multiple levels.
"If he just wanted conquest, then why capture Mario? And Kamek claimed that Bowser had fallen just like Mario as well," I continued, folding my hands on my stomach. "He would have made a move on me as well I'm sure had Mario not exhausted him… And has anyone seen Luigi?" I asked.
"He has been missing for even longer than Bowser," the old Toad replied, "That was why Mario was at the castle during the assault. He wished for some assistance in searching for his brother."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Then we probably know what happened to Luigi," I said grimly. Toadette sniffled and I cracked an eye, twisting to face her. She waved me off.
"Not crying," she said, while very clearly tearing up. As I began to reply, to tell her that it would be fine, as much of a lie as that was, the entire room rocked hard to the side with a sudden world filling bang, sending Toadette to the floor. A second bang rocked the world again and I nearly slid off my couch.
There was a crackling noise as a PA system I hadn't noticed before came to life. At the same time, the lighting snapped from a soft white to a harsh red as emergency lights by the doors came on and above it all, a shrill siren began to shriek.
"This is your Captain speaking," barked the voice of Captain Haus, "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations. We have two hostile vessels inbound. This is not a drill."
I popped to my feet in an instant and snatched my umbrella from where it had rolled under the coffee table. "Toadette, get the Lieutenant," I barked. She rolled to her feet and dashed out the door in the time it took me to blink. She was fast when she wanted to be.
"Princess," Toadsworth began.
"We are going to the bridge," I said.
"It would be safer-"
"On the bridge, behind all of our forces rather than in a corridor off a half-populated spar of the ship," I interrupted. He paused, then nodded once.
"Your wisdom still shines through Princess," he said with a bow even as Lieutenant Toadleton and Toadette returned. Link stumbled through on their heels still strapping his sword to his belt.
"Princess, I've ordered the guard to form a perimeter around-" the officer began.
"Order them to regroup here, we're heading for the bridge," I said, settling the umbrella under one arm like a ceremonial baton.
"With respect, Your Highness, this could be deceit," he protested.
"They had plenty of opportunities to take us without resorting to pointless trickery Lieutenant," Toadsworth interjected, silencing the overeager Lieutenant.
"We will head up to the bridge. Your men will escort me, and we shall find out what exactly is happening," I said.
"I can still secure your rooms better than the bridge Princess," he replied.
"And hiding in my rooms worked so well last time?" I asked, a bit of heat slipping into my voice. I remembered all too well waking up beneath wooden timbers while the sounds of battle rocked the castle.
The Lieutenant stiffened, then snapped a salute. "As Your Highness commands," he said, spinning on a heel and heading for the door, barking orders to the guards on his way.
As the guard formed up around me and the siren continued to shriek I reflected on the fact that I knew getting away from Vaati wasn't going to be that easy. Why couldn't he have been incompetent for once?
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A/N: And Chapter four~ Only one left after this in the backlog~ Then we'll take a look at what progress I've gotten done elsewhere and see if the weekly schedule is possible. *Shifty Kitsune* Just a hint, I don't think it is.
Gekkou here, it's not.
*Amused kitsune* Bi weekly, maybe. Weekly? Not really!~*pouting kitsune* Fine…
Discord and patreon links in the signature as usual~ Hope you enjoyed the chapter~ Cheers~
