Tug of War Story: Fanfiction

It is a gloomy day in the Mushroom Kingdom. Dark clouds crowd the horizon of what was hoped to be a beautiful day. A storm of rain and lightning is fast approaching, chasing the kingdom’s citizens inside. Cooped up indoors, many grow bored as they wait for the rain to pass.

Inside the Mushroom Kingdom’s palace, two baby princesses mope around in the high tower bedroom they occupy. Baby Peach rubs her eyes and paces the room. She wanted to spend the day out in the meadows where the spring flowers were beginning to bloom. Instead, she received spring showers. Her best friend, Baby Daisy, from a neighboring kingdom, sits by the window as fat raindrops begin to slap on the windowpanes.

“I want to play a game!” Baby Peach suddenly shouts. She flings her pink binkie on the ground. Baby Daisy sits up, and her little hands grasp the big gold crown on her head, so it does not fall off.

“Can we play a game of catch?” Baby Daisy asks. Baby Peach crosses her arms and sticks out her lower lip to pout.

“I don’t want to play catch,” Baby Peach says.

“What about chase the Goomba?”

“No!”

“Jump rope? We can play that inside.”

“I don’t like jump rope.”

“Then what games do you have?” Baby Daisy asks.

“I don’t know! I don’t want to play anything,” Baby Peach whines.

“But you should pick something. You said we should play something. What’s in your closet? Do you have anything fun to play with in there?” Baby Daisy asks. Baby Peach stops pouting and thinks about this herself. She shrugs and gets up, wobbling as she walks to the closet as a toddler does when deciding what to do.

Baby Peach stretches up on her tippy-toes and reaches for the closet handle. She slaps and pulls on it until the handle clicks, and the door swings open to reveal a treasure trove of items.

“How cool!” Baby Daisy exclaims.

The girls huddle before the front of the door. Their little hands snatch onto whatever object they can find before launching it into the room behind them to maybe play with later or to forget about. Balls, frisbees, play costumes, and broken puzzles spill out from the depths of the closet. Baby Peach pulls out a tub of colorful blocks and pushes them aside.

Plushie versions of Goombas, a fire flower, and stars with eyes are picked out and thrown out into the room as the girls search for something exciting to play with. Suddenly, Baby Daisy snatches a piece of rope buried at the bottom of the toy closet. But Baby Peach grabs the other end of the rope, and it snaps straight as both girls pulled on each end.

“Hey! Give it to me,” Baby Peach exclaims. She pulls the rope, wrapping both hands around it in an attempt to take it away from Baby Daisy.

“No! I found it first!” Baby Daisy yells. Her little voice squeaks in surprise.

“But it’s mine! We found it in my room!” Baby Peach argues.

Both girls jump up away from the closet and begin to pull as hard as they can on the piece of rope. They bend over and brace their legs as they try to outdo each other. The other toys that were thrown around the room are forgotten as an intense game of tug of war begins.

Baby Peach huffs and bends over to tug on her end of the rope as hard as she can. Her golden crown wobbles on her head as she wiggles and fights as much as she can. Her arms shake and tremble as she tries to straighten up and fight against Baby Daisy’s efforts.

“I can’t let you win—let me have my toy!” Baby Peach cries.

Baby Daisy yells back. Her face turns red with the effort. “But you don’t want to play with anything! I just want to play with this rope, so give it to me!” Baby Daisy leans backward, tipping back as far as she can. Baby Peach begins to cry and suddenly—snap!

The rope suddenly breaks, the fibers tearing apart in the middle. Baby Peach and Baby Daisy both fall backward, bouncing hard onto their bums. Silence takes the place of their argument as their wide eyes stop filling with tears and lighten with shock instead.

“That. Was. So. Cool!” Baby Daisy recovers first and leaps to her feet. She punches the air, bouncing with excitement. “That was so much fun! Baby Peach, are you okay?”

Baby Peach looks around, a little dazed from her fall. She reaches out and picks up her binkie off the floor. She looks at the broken rope in between them. “I’m okay,” she says. She blinks away her tears and smiles. “That was awesome! Do you think we can play that again? I liked that game!”

“You actually liked tug of war! Do you have any more rope we can play with?” Baby Daisy asks.

“I think so. Baby Daisy, I had so much fun with you. Even if I didn’t think it was a game at first. We have to play it again,” Baby Peach says. She giggles and claps her hand at the idea. The impromptu game of tug of war was so much fun to play.

“I’m sure we can find something in the castle to play with. Can you think of something?”

“I think we will find anything super fun!” Baby Peach says. She pops her pink binkie in her mouth and gets up. Baby Daisy takes her hands, and they make their way out of Baby Peach’s bedroom to explore the castle. Outside beyond the windows, the storm has rolled in, darkening the sky with sheets of rain and rattling wind.

Baby Daisy and Baby Peach set out into the Mushroom Kingdom’s castle to find their next object for their tug of war game. The more rip-able or tug-able an object would be, the better, and the girls will be sure to find it.

The rainstorm that had darkened the skies of the mushroom kingdom continue to pour over the palace. Water runs in rivulets down the sloped roofs and towering walls. Puddles gather on the stone paths and in the fields among the spring flowers. The residents of the kingdom are all inside, waiting for the rains to clear. Up in a tower in Baby Peach’s bedroom, Baby Peach and Baby Daisy pace up and down the plush pink carpets and worn stone floors. The raindrops on the windows plunk along with their dragging footsteps.

Baby Peach flops on her bed among the plush fire flower and other toys she threw around when digging through her closet for something to play. Baby Daisy plops on the floor and picks up the broken pieces of the tug of war rope. The rope’s fibers crackle and bend in her fingers, no longer long enough to play any games.

Baby Peach throws her arms in the air and kicks her feet with a whine. “I’m bored again!” she yells to her high ceiling.

“Oh no,” Baby Daisy answers, “me too.” She slumps and leans onto the floor as if the boredom was becoming too heavy to bear. Her crown sticks up from her brow when she lays on the floor. She rolls and pushes it off, the metal clanking on the stone.

“We should find another game to play until this rain ends,” Baby Peach says. She sits up and hops onto the floor. She puffs out her cheeks and puts her little fists on her hips. “I want to play tug of war again!” she shouts. Baby Daisy sits up, holding her crown in her lap. Little bits of red hair stick up in different directions on her head.

“But our rope is too short after the last game. How will we play?” Baby Daisy asks.

“We’ll figure something out. I’m sure this castle has a rope somewhere that we can play with.”

Baby Daisy’s eyes widen. “That’s a great idea! Yes, let’s find a new rope. I want to play tug of war too!” Putting her crown back on her head, Baby Daisy bounces up and clasps Baby Peach’s hand. “Let’s go find a rope!”

Lighting and thunder crash outside. The noise adds to the girls’ excitement as they giggle and rush out to the hallway. They head out hand in hand through torch-lit halls and down wide red-carpeted staircases into the depths of the palace center away from Peach’s tower. As they explore, they go door to door, reaching up on their tippy-toes to rattle locked handles and barred entryways. They continue down the staircase; their voices echo in the main hall downstairs.

“I wonder where a rope will be,” Princess Daisy says. “What if we can’t find one and have to play a different game?”

“I don’t want to play any other games.”

“But if we did, I think I can come up with something else for us to do. There are lots of games we can play!”

“Lots of games outside but not inside.”

“Don’t worry. We can play with our imagination. What about Goomba chasing? We can pull imaginary vegetables too—turnips and radishes are always my favorites to find,” Daisy giggles. “Get it? Because they are made up, I can choose to pull up radishes!”

Baby Peach holds up her hand and shushes her. She pulls Baby Daisy behind a pillar in the hall. Baby Daisy crouches and purses her lips to whisper loudly,

“What are we hiding from Baby Peach?”

“Shh! Someone’s coming,” Baby Peach says.

The princesses hide out of sight. Before them, a red carpet stretches over the black and white checkered tile flooring. Footsteps come from one end of the room, squeaking with each step. A red and white mushroom comes into view first, and the girls relax.

“It’s just Toad,” Baby Peach whispers. Toad walks by with a smile on his face. From the aroma in the air, he must be heading off to the castle’s kitchens for an early dinner. Once he passes and the coast is clear, Baby Peach and Baby Daisy run across the hall and up a wide set of carpeted steps.

“Isn’t this the tower that leads to the King’s chambers and wing?” Baby Daisy asks.

Baby Peach hurries up the stairs, she pulls her binkie from a pocket and pops it into her mouth. She clamps it into her mouth and smiles. She looks like a detective with their pipe. “Yes, I think we can find some open guest rooms to explore and look for a rope!”

Up and up the stairs, the princesses get off at the first hallway. As Baby Peach says, the first door they reach up and try, the handle clicks, and the door swings open.

“Bingo!” Baby Daisy exclaims. “Let’s go find something!” They hurry inside into the guest room. The room is spacious with a large pink bed and big windows to the rain outside. Flowerpots sit on the windowsills with the flowers bent over; their eyes closed in sleep on the rainy day. Baby Peach lets go of Baby Daisy’s hand and begin to open any drawers she can find in the room. Baby Daisy goes over to the big bed and kneels to look underneath.

“I can’t find anything. Did you find anything?” Baby Peach asks.

“No,” Baby Daisy responds. She frowns. There is only one piece of furniture left in the room, a small oak armoire that will probably be empty until a guest arrives to use the room. “Let’s check this next,” she says. Baby Daisy opens the closet to a rustle as dresses pouf out once the doors open.

“Wow, look at these!”

Green, yellow, and red dresses fill the armoire, all neatly hanging in a row.

“These are so pretty, I want to try one,” Baby Peach says. She joins Baby Daisy at the armoire and grabs a dress. The fabric crinkles in her hands. She shakes the dress, trying to pull it down, flopping it on the hanger. Suddenly, the dress comes loose and falls to flutter onto the floor at the princesses’ feet.

“Wow! It’s even prettier up close. Let me see it too.” Baby Daisy picks up the dress’ sleeve and turns the expensive fabric over her hands, and it slips through her fingers. Baby Peach gives it a little tug and looks up at Baby Daisy. A smile spreads across her face.

“I have an idea,” Baby Peach says. She curls her fingers into the skirt and takes a step back, pulling it with her.

“Tug of war?” Baby Daisy asks.

“Tug of war—go!”

The girls jump away from each other and pull the dress taut between them: the bodice stretches, the skirt ripples and creases at the pressure. Baby Peach spits out her binkie and pulls until her elbows are drawn to her chest. Baby Daisy squeaks in joy and laughs as she pulls on the sleeve.

“I’ll win this time—just you watch!” Baby Daisy exclaims.

“Oh yeah? Are you sure you’re not getting tired yet?”

“As if! Let’s play!”

The girls pull with all their might. Their feet twist and slip out of place on the stone flooring. They chant friendly taunts at each other at every slip and gain made in the tug of war.

“Are you getting tired yet?” Baby Daisy asks.

“Yeah, right! Are you getting tired? I think you just loosened up a little bit,” she says back. Baby Peach grunts and pulls, her arms shake as Baby Daisy scoots her feet backward to only slip forward. The girls are evenly matched in this tug of war.

In the middle, the dress stretches and unravels between the two opposing forces. Along the hemming and the seams, the strings begin to pop and unravel. Little tears and rips begin to yawn open across the fabric, unnoticed in the heat of the moment. Baby Peach gathers her strength and pulls back an extra tug as hard as she can, swinging her whole body with it. In the moment, her head swings back, and her crown slips off her head to clatter on the floor. At the noise, the door to the room slams open, and both girls startle, falling backward. At the sudden force, the dress’ seams all burst, and it flops to the ground.

“What is going on here?” From the bedroom’s door, Caretaker Ayami hurries in and exclaims at the mess the two princesses have made. She sighs and crosses her arms in thought. Caretaker Ayami is a kind woman. She helps to look after Baby Peach and works hard to make the girls happy, especially when they are stuck inside on a rainy day. She wears an apron tied over her poofy dress. Her dark purple hair flops and rolls over her shoulders and arms. Splatters of white flour and bits of pastel-colored frosting spot her apron and hands from baking treats in the kitchen to surprise the princesses.

Baby Peach looks from the torn dress and to Caretaker Ayami. Tears bubble up in her eyes. Baby Daisy scoots away, trying not to touch the ruined fabric anymore. Caretaker Ayami lets out a big sigh and pushes back her hair.

“Ah, girls, what have you done to this beautiful dress?” she asks. She comes over and bends to pick up the tattered gown. Torn fabric and open seams drape uselessly over her fingers. Little spirals of thread stick out and attest to the damage done.

“Well, it doesn’t look like I can fix it,” Caretaker Ayami says. “But you do understand why you can’t play with a dress like this, right?”

Baby Peach and Baby Daisy nod. Their faces are bright red.

“Good. I don’t want to see you doing something like this again. And I know that you won’t because you learned your lesson. It doesn’t look like the dress can be fixed either.”

“I-I-We are sorry Ayami,” Baby Peach whimpers. She puts her binky on the ground as her mouth stretches into a trembling frown.

“Oh, honey!” Caretaker Ayami exclaims, “don’t cry. You are not in trouble, and I don’t want to make you sad. You know what? Since no one can wear this dress anymore, do you know what we can do with it?” Baby Peach shakes her head. She doesn’t know what to do with a dress that is too torn to wear anymore.

“Well, I think we should play one more tug of war game with it! The winner gets some of my famous cookies and cake!” Caretaker Ayami says. She shakes out the dress and hands the skirt to the princesses. Baby Peach and Baby Daisy leap up to their feet. All tears are forgotten.

“Really?! We can play again?” Baby Daisy asks.

“Only if you are ready to girls,” Caretaker Ayami says.

“Oh Ayami, you should know that Baby Daisy and I are famous tug of war players. We are very well known for our talent!”

“Is that so? Are you ready to challenge me then?”

“On the count of three!” Baby Daisy cries happily.

“One! Two! Three!”

The baby princesses erupt into squeals as they throw all their little weight into pulling on the dress. Caretaker Ayami holds her end tight as the girls laugh and twist around, pulling their pieces of dress up and over the heads and back around in an attempt to pull it away. Their feet slide on the ground, and Caretaker Ayami gives a little ground much to the girl’s enjoyment.

As both sides tug, the dress stretches and stretches. The seams begin to pop, the rippling rip of the shredding fabric sounds again. The baby princesses give one final tug before the beautiful dress tears apart. As pieces of the color fabric fly up into the air, the players’ laughter is heard throughout the castle’s halls.

Writing commission for redreaper1951 --thank you for commissioning me! 
1,000 words