Galaxies Colide

Clouds and Companions

Something different happened though; just as she was preparing for the immense weight of the creature that towered over her to flatten her slender frame, the air around the princess suddenly became much softer, almost as if a tank of fresh, purified air had been opened next to her. Eyelids relaxing and arms lowering down to her sides, Peach's wonderous blue eyes were greeted with an equally magical, thick blue haze; drifting in an endless fashion across the suddenly endless space. Tiny white twinkles, almost like distant flashes of cameras blinked back toward her from all directions as she gazed in awe up to where the ceiling used to be. Gentle, white mist filled everywhere in between while white-noise comparable music soothed her ears. "I must have hit that floor harder than I thought," Peach said aloud; head just preparing to raise itself back up to begin her climb back to her feet. Moments later however, just as she was about to rise up, the body of the princess was lifted fast yet gently into the air above where she had been laying. Thin and frail yet strong and uplifting, the set of arms that held her were incomparable to those of Bowser or even Mario; holding her like a sweet bride as she gazed to her sides to view whoever this mysterious individual was. Eyes being met with a partially concealed figure, Peach's mind only gained curiosity as she took in the first sights of her carrier. Arms and body concealed by the most magnificent dress; the effortless, nurturing motions of the figure who Peach rested in the arms of allowed her to stand out perfectly from the magical background in her shade of misty blue. This seemingly rather young woman stood incredibly tall; bigger than Bowser in Peach's eyes; her platinum blond hair ending near Peach's face yet beginning nearly three feet above where the princess rested in her arms. This young woman's face was hidden by a large cloud of fog; seeming to spare not one hint of any of her facial features. The voice she played like a harp only warmed Peach's heart further as she gently walked with the princess in her arms.

"You really must watch where you walk, as slips and falls pose a greater threat than many think."

Body suddenly becoming very limp in this magical woman's arms, Princess Peach's mind swirled with wonder and even greater questions as she returned her own words: "You're the same person who saved me and Mario after the explosion!" she warmly exclaimed, heart warm and racing upon her newest discovery, "You were there with Mario! The magic! The blue mist! I recognise it! It was you!" "Very good, my dear Peach," the mysterious woman continued as she gently rested Peach's warming body down upon a tiny cloud, the space around her now resembling the dusk sky at such an altitude that the stars of space were now visible. "Thank you for saving me, again!" Peach joyously spoke, face now glowing a very peachy shade to match her smile, "Can I get your name?"

"I promise," the mysterious woman replied, now hovering in the air just beside where Peach rested; the evening light reflecting brilliantly off her dress to fully conceal her face with light, "You'll see me again, and when you do, all your questions will be answered." With her final words, the mysterious, concealed woman faded from view to leave only the reds, pinks and purples of the dusk stratosphere behind her. Now feeling her heartrate rise up, Peach's open-mouth smile quickly warped an open-mouth frown as she frantically spun her head around in the sky, searching for even a flash of light from the woman's blue dress. Just as she prepared to call out to her, the princess was pinned down to the cloud by an invisible yet indominable force. Snatching away all her breath at once, the weight on the princess's shoulders vibrated with great force as the skies in her now hazing eyes faded out to reveal a rather familiar face.

"Cuz! Cuz! Come on! Wake up!" Only stopping her whiplash-inducing motions when Peach came to focus fully on her, the individual that floated above her only regained her smile now as she glanced over to the side of the room. "See! Told ya it would work!" she proudly exclaimed, hands upon her hips as she came to stand beside the dazed princess. "Daisy?" Peach painfully asked, her throat dry and clogged as she lifted her head up slowly, "Why in the world were you shaking me like that?" "Ya fainted, Cuz!" the princess of Sarasaland replied, face decorated with her usual wide eyes and unusual expression of concern, "I think you were out for nearly fifteen minutes!" "What was that thing in the hallway?" Peach asked, attempting to unbury herself from the confusion. "That, I must take responsibility for, Your Highness," a small, apologetic voice spoke out, "I really should've taken those towels in two trips." Rubbing her aching head as she came to sit upon the edge of her bed, Peach's now unfogged vision was met with the face of sorrow belonging to her loving caretaker Malcom; head of blue spots hanging low as he frowned down at the floor.

"Oh, Malcom, don't feel bad!" Peach soothed, kneeling down to his level to gently hug the tiny mushroom man, "You didn't know I was right there, or that I wasn't paying attention." "Ha-ha! Told you Malcom!" another, more upbeat voice sounded out from just outside the doorframe. Smiling with ironic joy and social pleasure at the same time, Sherman stood tall and full as he called out to Malcom, explaining the situation better in the process. "I told you that mountain of towels would look scary in the dark! And I also told you to split it up between two carts, but noooo, you just had to take it all in one big, fat, terrifying load!"

"Well, I think the princess would apricate it if you GAVE A LITTLE WARNING NEXT TIME!" Daisy half chimed half roared, expression transforming from warm and forgiving to fiery and accusing within the same sentence. Hands upon her hips and upper body tilting forward to sharply glare downward from above Sherman's tiny form; Daisy likely would have stomped her way over to directly in front of him had Peach not intervened. "Cuz, it's okay!" she calmly spoke, her gentle personality returning in full bloom, "they're both sorry about it, and it was an honest mistake, so please, don't shred at them for it!" Heavy exhales escaping Daisy's jaw as she grounded herself slowly, the gloved hand of Peach was placed atop her shoulder to remove the remaining negative energy form the Princess of Sarasaland. "Sorry about that, Sherman," she at last calmly spoke, "I can get a little, intense, when my cousin is hurt like that!" "A little is an understatement!" Peach giggled from beside her cousin, "when that clumsy butler ruined my tenth birthday cake, you buried him alive in what was left of it!" "You're dam right I did!" Daisy replied, golden smile upon her face to match her golden dress, "and I'd do something way worse to someone who purposely tried to ruin my favourite cousin's day!" Now having collective laughter shared among them, the royal cousins at last hugged one another after an extremely awkward hello.

"Well, if all is going well now, I'm gonna go hit the tennis court!" Daisy announced as the Toad servants cleared the room, "All that flying really makes your body stiff!" "No no! Don't go yet!" Peach quickly interrupted, her hand taking gentle hold of Daisy's wrist before she could vanish beyond the doorframe, "There's something really important I wanted to ask you about." Eyes and smile now folding into her tender but sturdy listening face, Princess Daisy followed through with the drill she knew like the backside of her hand as she gently sat down on the edge of Peach's bed. "I'm here for you, Cuz," she calmly spoke, patting the bed beside her as she motioned for Peach to take a seat, "I'm ready, what's troubling you?"

"It's, well, I just..." Peach began, taking a light, squirmy seat beside her cousin as she began to explain. Not hesitating at all with her descriptions, the young mushroom princess left out not one detail as she explained her struggles to Daisy, having the occasional tear slip and sniffle sound out as she stumbled over each word and calmed down once more at the end of each sentence. "Oh, oh Cuz!" Daisy moaned with sorrow, now gently lowering a teary-eyed Peach down into the puffy shoulder of her enormous dress, "I never once imagined you'd be this shaken up; that disgusting creature really took a tole on you." "I'm sorry to dump all this on you," Peach gently spoke between strained sobs, "you're just the only one I think I'll ever trust with something this deep and serious." "Promise me, Cuz," Daisy softly continued, gloved hand now rubbing gentle, soft circles across Peach's back, "that you'll never hesitate to call me when something like this happens, I promise, I'm always just a text away." "And about a thousand miles," Peach added, her tears now starting to fade at the uplifting and loving nature in her cousin's words, "I'm really happy you've got that plane of yours; it really lessens the gap between us." "Oh, that old thing?" Daisy sheepishly giggled, attempting to brighten the mood, "that thing's forty years old! Most of my staff can't believe it can still fly!" "Well, the best things last forever, don't they?" Peach gently asked. "The most important things, last forever," Daisy completed, "and that, I know."

Words soothing her soul and warming her heart, Princess Peach could have rested here in her cousin's arms forever, yet sure enough, just as she felt prepared to rise up again, their warming hug was pulled apart. "I probably should really get out of this thing now," Daisy broke the silence with her giggling voice, "you probably understand how hot you get under a dress this big! I'll be back in about ten minutes!" Heels clicking to clash with her annoyed groan, Princess Daisy at last made her way out of eyesight and earshot of her cousin to leave her alone with her thoughts. Peach at this moment realized that she had completely forgotten to ask Daisy about the vision she had while passed out; the sights she'd seen of the mysterious woman in blue.

Who was she? Was she really the same person who'd saved her and Mario (and Bowser too, for that matter) from the massive explosion in the center of the universe last month? There really was only one way to find out, and the desperate princess was now more determined than ever to solve this mind puzzle. She needed to know who this woman was, and even more so, why she suddenly couldn't stop thinking about her.