I Want To Share A Snippet From Chapter 3 Of The Lovelorn King, A Little Moment Between Junior And Y/n,

I want to share a snippet from chapter 3 of The Lovelorn King, a little moment between Junior and Y/n, because I'm feeling angsty and apparently can't keep my WIPs a secret. :P

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"Peach makes him sad..."

Junior's fingers pluck at a loose thread on the blanket, his gaze falling from the book in your hands to the fucshia sheets rumpled below his chin.

"How so?" you respond absently, thumbing through the pages to see when the chapter ends. With any luck, once it's finished, you might be able to encourage the young prince to return to his own bed and leave you in relative peace.

The Koopaling's muffled response, however, is strange enough to snag your attention.

"Cos' he loves her, but she hates him..."

Loves...?

Lowering the book into your lap, you lean back a little further until your spine hits the head board, blinking mutely at Junior as you finally take note of the deep furrow between his brows and his downcast eyes.

Bowser is in love with Princess Peach...?

Your heart goes out to the poor woman.

Yet, if Junior is to be believed, it sounds as though your royal pen pal doesn't share the same affection for her would-be suitor, a fact that seems to have put the young koopaling in a glum frame of mind which in turn tugs at your feeble heart strings.

For the umpteenth time, you give yourself an admonishing kick for immediately trying to think of ways to set his mind at ease.

Perhaps it wouldn't have hurt to inherit some of your father's apathy after all...

But though Junior may be the son of the tyrant who locked you in this room, you can't get away from the reminder that you're dealing with a mere boy, a young child, as evidenced by the way he stole in here and asked you to read him a bed time story....

What quarrel would any self-respecting Queen have with a child?

Clearing your throat, you duck your head in an attempt to catch the koopaling's eye, hesitantly responding, "Hate is a... strong word. I'm sure she doesn't-"

"-She does!" he suddenly insists with a shout, tossing the blanket aside and pushing himself up onto his stubby arms to glare at you from across the bed, "She hates him! She says he's a monster! And she hates monsters!"

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the young koopa falls uncharacteristically still and quiet, lowering his eyes down to his hands with a sombre expression, eyebrows once again sliding together over his forehead.

Startled away from speech, you can only watch on as he slowly curls his hands into tiny fists, and in doing so, hides his claws from sight.

"If she says Papa's a monster..." he croaks at a volume you didn't think he was capable of achieving, "Does that... make me a monster too?"

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Thanks for reading <3

You can find the whole fic here x