The Slave Princess --- The Dark Crystal is a trademark of Jim Henson (RIP my good man). Super Mario Bros is a trademark of Nintendo co. ltd. I am not planning to make a profit off of this. I also don't own neither series. This is for entertainment purposes only. However, I do own Realms of Alerfa and its characters. Don't you dare steal my characters or else... --- Chapter 01: Bye Bye Peach! Mario and Luigi were tired of it. They were tired of it all. They spent many years rescuing Princess Peach's ass over and over again. They spent many years being nagged by her, being nagged to move heaven and earth for her, over and over again. They spent many years picking up after her, wiping her butt and filling her champagne glass. They were just tired of it and wanted out. “Mamma mia! What was I thinking?” Mario grumbled as he hung out in a Mushroom Kingdom bar with Luigi, drinking down mugs of beer. “I always seem to be a damsel in distress magnet.” “Me too Bro.” Luigi groaned as he drank down his second mug of beer. “Me too.” Little did the Mario Bros know that some foreigner was secretly listening to them in the corner of the bar. The foreigner was still on the young side as his race goes. His skin, however, was rather gnarly and leathery. His face was thin and birdlike, only, his beak had small razor sharp teeth as well. He wore robes and armor threaded with both gold and platinum. Colors varied from black mixed with either reds, blues or purple. His hands were elongated and this with sharp claws at the end of his bony, yet strong fingers. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue and his skin was many shades of gray and blueish-Grey. He appeared to be wealthy and powerful, but what was he doing in a bar like this? The strange foreigner approached the Mario Bros and introduced himself to the duo. “Why hello there you too? I am SkekSo, the Emperor of the Skeksis, who all live in the realm of Dragnar. I see you have a damsel on your hands.” “Yes indeed.” Luigi sighed in dismay. “By the way, my name is Luigi. The man in red is my brother Mario.” “Ah yes, Mario and Luigi.” SkekSo exclaimed and grinned. “What kind of names are those?” “They're Italian Pazzano.” Mario replied. “Italian Pazzano?” SkekSo wondered. “Hmmm....how interesting indeed.” “Say, what's a guy like you doing in a bar like this?” Luigi asked. “Well, my wife and I are searching some realms to find some damsels in distress to ummm...ha ha.... to protect in our palace.” SkekSo fibbed, trying to hide his true sinister intentions. “You guys have a damsel on your hands?” “Yes indeed royal sire.” Mario replied. “We want her off our hands.” “We're tired of saving her over and over again.” Luigi added. A sinister grin formed on SkekSo's beak. “Interesting. Tell you what guys, my wife and I will give you two some riches in return for this damsel.” “Really?” The Mario Bros asked in excitement. “How much?” “Oh believe me, it will be a splendid price.” SkekSo replied with a crafty grin on his beak. “Tell you what, meet us tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Make sure you give us this damsel....or else....” “Yes sir!” Mario and Luigi shouted as they gave the Skeksis an army salute. --- The next day, at 1:00 PM, Mario and Luigi escorted Princess Peach over to the entrance of the Mushroom Kingdom castle, where a group of black, crab like monsters and some draconic looking people were waiting. Through the crowd, SkekSo and a beautiful woman that appeared to be his wife made their way to the entrance of the castle carrying a couple huge bags of gold pieces. SkekSo and his wife looked over at Peach and SkekSo asked, “So, is this girl in pink the damsel you want us to enslave...um, I mean protect?” “Who is the beautiful horned blond woman with you?” Luigi asked as he eyed the empress. “Oh, my name is Empress Mayarie. I am the empress of the Skeksis, as well as the kingdom of Gimlie.” “Pleased to meet you.” Luigi said as he took off his hat and waved it to her. “Who are these people?” Princess Peach asked. “Oh, these are your uhhh.....new guardians.” Mario said, trying hard not to give away SkekSo and Mayarie's true intentions. “They will keep you safe from all the kidnappers in Mushroom Kingdom and every other realm out there.” “But I like being kidnapped.” Princess Peach whined. “It gives you two plumbers something to do.” Mario and Luigi were trying to hold in their temper after hearing Princess Peach's confession. SkekSo and Mayarie on the other hand, couldn't wait to keep Peach in their clutches. Nothing brought the couple more pleasure than to enslave damsels in distress. “Heh heh, she's perfect! Don't you think my darling Emperor?” Mayarie whispered to SkekSo. SkekSo nodded his head and chortled softly. “She's perfect all right.” “Huh?” Princess Peach wondered as she tried to make out what SkekSo and Mayarie were whispering to each other. “Come with us Princess.” Mayarie said as she led the Princess to one of the black armored crustaceans known as Garthim. “Ummm....where are you taking me?” Princess Peach asked. “You'll soon find out. Kya ha ha ha!” Mayarie said as she put a gag on Peach's mouth and a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. Then, the Empress picks up Peach and throws her in a basket the Garthim were carrying. SkekSo handed the Mario Bros the bags of gold pieces and said, “Well, we gotta get going. Here are your riches boys!” “Thank you kind sir!” Luigi exclaimed as he and Mario were admiring their gold pieces. “Later boys!” SkekSo shouted as he and Mayarie bid the Italian plumbers farewell. As the Skeksis and their minions left with Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi decided to be the new rulers of Mushroom Kingdom and threw a victory party, with feasts of calamari and chips and squid ink spaghetti being a couple of the many main courses at the feast. Ah yes, it was a fine day for the Mario Bros. Peace in the Mushroom Kingdom at last, and no damsel in distress for them to worry about. Life was good for the Mario Bros and everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom.