Mario Meets the Princess

Fan Fiction by Michael Beck for his 4-year-old son, Collin Beck

Mario followed Toad up the great hill to the front gate of the Mushroom Kingdom castle. Toad grabbed hold of a large ring and knocked it loudly against the large wooden door.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Who goes there?" shouted a voice from inside the castle.

"It is I, Toad, and I have a visitor here to see the Princess." Toad replied.

It was quiet for a moment, then suddenly you could hear the rattling of chains pulling open the big wooden gate.

"You may enter and see her majesty," said the guard.

Mario stayed close to Toad as he took various twists and turns down the hallways.

"They had to be very careful and sneaky when they built this castle, because you never know when Bowser will attack us next." whispered Toad.

"Who is Bowser?" asked Mario.

"Bowser is a big mean monster who comes to our Kingdom and tries to kidnap the Princess." explained Toad.

Toad took one more turn and they had arrived at a set of golden sparkling doors with guards standing on either side. 

"We are here to see her majesty," said Toad.

"Of course!" The guard opened the doors for Toad and Mario.

"Mario, may I present to you her Majesty, Princess Toadstool." Toad bowed in respect to the Princess.

"Mario, it is a pleasure to meet you. I understand you saved some of my loyal subjects earlier today. Thank you." The Princess smiled at Mario and made him blush. 

"What can I do for you, Mario?" asked the Princess.

"I want to know how I got here, and how I get home." Mario said.

The Princess walked over to a bookshelf and took a book called, "The Pipeways of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"There are many, many pipes all over the Mushroom Kingdom that lead to many magical and far away lands. The problem with most pipes is you can't tell where they lead until you go down the tube and get to the other side. It appears one of the pipes from our world leads to your world and you happened to find it." The Princess turned a page in the book.

"Can I go back to the tube I came from?" asked Mario.

"I wish you could. The other problem with the pipes that lead far, far away is they change around at random." the Princess frowned because she knew Mario missed home and this was not good news.

"Can I ever go home?" Mario asked, sounding very sad.

"You will need to keep searching for new pipes until you find one that leads back to your home world." answered the Princess.

"Then I will have to venture out and look for new pipes until I can go home then, I guess." Mario said.

"Be careful, Mario. The Mushroom Kingdom can be a dangerous place for newcomers if you don't know your way around. Toad will escort you."

Toad smiled at Mario and trotted out of the room. Mario waved goodbye to the Princess before following after Toad. 

And so the adventures of Mario began, with Mario looking for new pipes and a way home.

Would Mario find his way home? Only time will tell.

To be continued...