The Toad Tea Banquet

Mario made his way through the Castle to the Audience Chamber and was instantly wowed. You never would have thought that just under twenty-four hours ago there was a loud and messy orgy in this room. All traces of the event had been scrubbed from the myriad surfaces of the room and multiple small round tables with chairs had been set up for guests to sit at as they partook of the hors d'oeuvres and drinks from the two buffet tables set up on opposite sides of the room. Two small chocolate fondue fountains had been set up off to either side of the red carpet leading to the throne, with all sorts of small slices of fruits, cakes, and cookies set up in a decorative fashion around it. In a small corner of the chamber, a live orchestra played.

The citizenry of Toad Town milled about, partaking of the food and tea as they murmured among themselves. They appeared to be enjoying themselves, but Mario could feel the familiar nervous buzz of anxiety just under the surface. You could cut the tension and apprehension in the room with a knife. It was starting to affect Mario, too, despite still riding the high of sexual release as well as having the advantage of knowing some of what would transpire shortly.

Deciding that the best remedy for his nerves was to drown them, Mario made a beeline for the nearest buffet table. He looked at the variety of flavors on offer, and saw that Fire Flower tea was being offered, both hot and iced. Unable to contain his curiosity, Mario picked up a nearby disposable cup and poured himself a cup of hot Fire Flower tea. He carefully took a sip after waiting for it to cool for a minute, and was taken aback by how bitter it was. It was much better after he stirred in a little Royal Syrup. Spicy and sweet, but not unpleasantly so. It warmed him up from the inside like when he used Firebrand to summon a fireball. Despite still preferring coffee, Mario could see himself wanting to drink more of this in the future.

Feeling something alight on his shoulder, Mario turned his head to see that it was Tiptron.

“Was your encounter enjoyable, Master?” she asked.

“You could say that,” Mario told her, not wanting to speak specifics here. Vide, on the other hand took the chance to tease the mustached plumber, “If that’s your reaction to filling up a cute maid with your spunk, then I need to step up my game.”

He cleared his throat and turned to scan the crowd, “Is my brother here?”

“I believe that’s him over by the fountain,” Tiptron pointed out, and indeed Mario could see Luigi’s trademark green cap peeking out from around the other side of the chocolate falls. Mario made his way over to him, being careful not to bump into anyone in the slightly crowded hall. Luigi caught sight of him as he approached and shot a nervous smile as he impaled a marshmallow onto a skewer.

“Where have you been, bro?” Luigi asked when Mario got into earshot, “The Banquet started fifteen minutes ago. You’re lucky the Queen hasn’t made her appearance yet.”

“I had some…, business to take care of,” Mario said simply, “And Peach said that she was going to wait until most of Toad Town was here before making her appearance. She’ll be out shortly.” Whether or not she’s going to be wearing anything is another story, Mario added silently to himself. He had been tempted to write an entry in the Grimoire for exactly that purpose, but he was curious to see what Peach would be willing to wear on her own now that he’d molded her mind like putty.

“Oh,” Luigi sighed, “Speaking of business, I don’t even know what to do about Marioland. I’ve never run a country before. What if I mess it all up?”

“If you’re that worried about it, Toadsworth will be happy to help,” Mario told him, “But don’t worry about it too much. I’ll take care of Marioland, you concentrate on all that real estate you got.” Mario was of course, referring to the properties that fell into Luigi’s lap after he’d cleared them of ghosts. So far he had a mansion that he now lived out of, several estates in Evershade Valley that he now rented out to members of the wealthy elite (mostly the noveau riche crowd who’d never owned land a day in their lives before their respective windfalls), and most recently a hotel known as the Last Resort. Oddly enough, that last one hadn’t been completely cleared of spirits. Last Mario heard, Luigi was using the hotel’s haunted status as a tourist attraction and had even gone so far to employ an old frenemy by the name of Doopliss to manage the hotel’s events.

“Right,” Luigi sighed in relief, “I’m sorry I never helped you out much with the kingdom, bro. Truth be told, I’d always been scared of the level of responsibility that came with it. I never wanted that kind of power for myself, you know? It was just good enough for me to be a plumber, and occasionally a hero.”

“I know,” Mario patted his brother on the back, “But you gotta admit, we’ve both done pretty well for ourselves, all things considered.” Even before I started cheating with a magic tome, Mario thought.

Whatever else the brothers were about to talk about was interrupted by the orchestra shifting into a new music piece: the Royal Anthem. The brothers looked at each other, knowing what that meant. Mario took another sip of his tea, trying to soothe his nerves. He’d never get used to attending functions like this.

Sure enough, Toadsworth came walking through the open Audience Chamber doors and called out in a powerful voice whose volume did not seem like it could come from such a small old man, “Announcing the Arrival of Queen Peach Toadstool, First of Her Name! Make way for the Queen!”

Without waiting for a response, Toadsworth began marching down the red carpet as Toads and other beings scurried to one side or the other. Behind him, Peach strolled in and everyone’s jaws collectively dropped at the sight of her.