Peach really wished she could have gotten the Royale back, but even after sending the police force after this extremely custom car in a bright pink color, there was no trace of it to be found. The Bandits that stole it were clearly crafty individuals, especially since they teamed up with the Shy Guys and Snifits to... intimidate her? She was very confused at this juncture what was even going on.

Because of that, though, their next stop in the quest to recruit seven Generals for Bowsette’s new army was far up in the north of the Mushroom Kingdom, in the Autonomous Nation of Shiver City. They had been a breakaway state briefly, when Bowsette first took control of the Mushroom Kingdom, but they settled for a new territorial status that granted the Bumpies more independence while still having oversight from the Mushroom Kingdom. This was almost exactly the same as how the kingdom operated with the seven Mushroom World Kings that had been a part of the Mushroom Kingdom for over an eon. It was very likely that they were displeased that an eighth autonomous territory had been elevated to equal status without their consent.

And because they lacked a private vehicle, apparently a train on the Star Express line was the quickest and safest way to go. They got a private cabin, where Toadette was passed out asleep on one of the two bunk beds, and Bowsette was brooding while staring out the window, but it still felt like it was a little... low-class for them to be doing this.

Peach was a but snooty, she admitted. But she WAS the Sovereign Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Channel to the Cosmos. She’d never had a life outside royalty, and had lived in her own castle since she was born. She’d been ruler of the entire kingdom since she was twelve, to boot. How was she ever just going to go around and do whatever she wanted?

Now, Peach and Tiara had had a good two weeks vacationing around the world and exploring the various places that Bowsette had taken them in her most recent kidnapping plot. But two weeks was hardly enough to do anything but take some cute photographs and sign far too many pictures from adoring fans and possible stalkers.

How she wished that this adventuring and life-risking would somehow turn into a magical romantic getaway...

She was determined to get Bowsette out of that dress as soon as possible. They had very nearly consumated the tension between them after Bowsette woke up from her coma, but Peach felt that it wasn’t the right time, not then. And ever since then one of the two was in a bad mood. Peach at first, too angry with her kingdom falling apart around her. Bowsette, too angry at... King Boo, she guessed? It was hard to figure out what was going on in her head from how little she actually expressed herself. But since they left the Forever Forest (getting out was so much easier than getting in) Bowsette had rebuffed almost every advance Peach made towards her.

And right now, she was simply staring out the window, a discontented frown and slight scowl marking her face.

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Peach sat in the seat across from her and tapped one knuckle against the window. “Hey, don’t scowl too much,” she said. “You don’t want to get wrinkles too soon in your new body. You’ve only had it for a few months, now.” She wasn’t even sure if Super Crown-enabled bodies could get things like blemishes or wrinkles, or even age at all. Nobody had ever worn one long enough, and the power was completely untapped for any other scientific or magic endeavors. It was quite disappointing how little transformation research was pursued outside of Duplighosts and on Yoshi’s Island.

If only Peach actually knew anything about magic or science, maybe she could have become some serious researcher who knew tons and could change the world... but instead she studied to be the ruler of a kingdom and pretty much nothing else. Geopolitical diplomacy was not a useful skill outside, uh, geopolitical diplomacy.

“New body...” Bowsette muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she said. She didn’t make eye contact at all while saying this. She must have been really upset.

Peach, not having been too well-versed in the realm of informal social interaction either, leaned forward and put a hand on Bowsette’s lap. This only seemed to annoy her further, though.

“Am I broken?” she asked, pulling her legs away from Peach’s reach.

This was not the first time she had asked that to her.

“No,” Peach said. “Of course not. I’ll give you the same answer I gave you before: you just have to figure out what makes you happy and stick to that.”

“But what if I’m just good at fooling myself into thinking I’m happy? Wearing the Super Crown, trying to redeem myself by saving the world-- it’s all just a cover for the fact that I’m unfixable.”

“Are you... upset about the other day, with King Boo, still?” Peach asked.

“Yeah, I sure am.” So it was that after all. “And pretty much everything else, too. I’ve been upset for a long time. Every time I find something that makes me happy, it doesn’t actually fix things, it just helps me ignore them. Like the Super Crown is all just a sham.”

“Aw, Bowsette, you need to stop focusing on this sort of stuff.”

Toadette started sitting up and stretching her arms while yawning. “Guys... can you keep it down...?”

Peach tried to keep it to a whisper. “Bowsette... I love you, and I think that you’re overthinking things way too much is all,” Peach said.

“Probably.” Bowsette got up and stretched herself. “I’m going to go bring back some food. I’ll try to get in a better mood before I get back. What do you want?”

“Spicy Soup. Even if you’re not okay... I’ll still listen to whatever you have to say.”

“And if I don’t want to talk, either?” Bowsette asked.

“Well, we got a two-bed compartment for a reason.” Peach pointed back to the bottom bunk.

“With Toadette above?” Bowsette could barely keep her voice low at this. “Holy shit, you really are just trying to get into my blouse.”

“Busted.”

She brought back two Spicy Soups. They talked, they looked out the window a while, and eventually they went to sleep, Peach in the bed and Bowsette laid out on the seat cushions.