All I could do was plant my face between my knees and clench my teeth against the pain of the cold, sharp metal wires entwined into the cage. It hurt. Bowser may have cared for me, but living his whole life with soft tissue buried beneath thick scales meant he hadn't quite grasped the concept of humane living standards.

My pretty dress was supposed to be some sort of publicity stunt. I liked frills, I liked pink and most of all I loved...cake. That was all I needed to attract the fine man who would come and rescue me; tall, dark and most importantly, handsome. It was the only way I could run my kingdom.

Sure the wires dug in like hell, but it would all be worth it when he defeated the beast with one fell swoop and took me swiftly off my feet.

More pain, more pity.

I felt a twinge of excitement rise in my stomach even as I watched the Koopa wait impatiently to pick a fight. He had roared with laughter as he locked the door to the hanging cage and now he looked as if he wished he'd done something more productive with his life.

He rolled his eyes up at me from the lava-surrounded podium, just to check that I hadn't made a break for it, grunted and then continued to stare blankly at the waves of heat swirling around the edges. It seemed that he was starting to wonder whether the whole thing had been a waste of time.

The Koopa's eyes had almost shut completely when a faint sound of panting crept its way above the noise of the rising bubbles.

Bowser's head quickly flicked up, as if he had been pulled out of a hypnotic trance. That certainly wasn't the sound of a goomba or any of Bowser's many other... pets.

The quiet murmur then rose to an audible voice. The beast knew in an instant to prepare himself, rising to his feet. All we could do was wait. I felt sick with anticipation, knowing that this could be the dashing man who would change my life; the man who could be my glamorous knight in shining armour; the man who would be...

My thoughts were stopped in their tracks as I watched an arm throw itself carelessly onto the top step of the podium. The gesture was accompanied by an exasperated gasp and another sigh to go with a second limb being hoisted up to the top.

There went my hopes of tall; perhaps dark and handsome still had a chance to shine.

I could only grimace at his ditch efforts to get his whole body onto solid, flat ground. Bowser raised an eyebrow as the figure heaved his body up and rolled onto his back.

Seeing that he made no effort to look anywhere else but the ceiling, I took my chance to admire the strange man. Perhaps admire was pushing it; I hadn't seen many human men before and I certainly hoped that this man was not a prime example. Bright blue overalls. There went dark, but I clung still to the hope for handsomeness.

Slowly, he turned his head to see what was in front of him. Bowser's look of confusion became more apparent; was this some kind of joke? Half lidded eyes could be seen above a large, round nose and underneath was something that looked like a...moustache? A sign of age for sure, I shuffled to the back of the cage. This didn't match the job description.

A part of me hoped that his short, stubby legs would not be able to outrun Bowser's flames. Then perhaps we could get the whole thing over with and move on. I hated the thought but I couldn't deny it was there. Man and creature eyed each other, both waiting for someone to make the first move. Bowser had done this a thousand times before with countless others, most of them I wished had made it. No, this wasn't the first time somebody had tried their luck against him and Bowser's sly smirk showed that he knew this wasn't going to be any different. The man, now on his feet, lowered his brow, beckoning to the beast.

Bowser raised his head and made the first attack with quiet confidence. The man eyed the incoming flaming projectile and without hesitation, hurdled it with impressive height. My previously doused excitement shot back up while I subconsciously cast myself to the front of the cage again.

Bowser grumbled. Deciding his opponent was slightly more worthwhile, he flung several consecutive fire balls only to have them narrowly avoided once more. Bowser's following growl was not one of satisfaction but of frustration, making him hurl his subsequent attacks like no tomorrow. The man's face looked slightly more panicked while he desperately attempted to steer himself out of harm's way. Most jumps now ended in a stumble and a hurried roll in order to slip underneath the next attack.

I could feel myself begin to sweat, not just sweat from the heat of the chamber but dread. I could sense Bowser's confidence rising as his rival looked as if he'd finally met his match. The move that came next was the one that only a few had survived to. Positive that he would finish the match, the monster bound into the air, positioning himself exactly so that he would crush the his opponent upon landing. The overall-clad figure's eyes widened with terror. He made a frantic effort to pick himself up in the knowledge that death was otherwise imminent.

Bowser's shadow grew larger and the split decision to make a run for it was all he had left. I closed my eyes, almost certain about what was going to happen next. After watching the little guy come so unexpectedly far, I had actually begun to root for him.

Silence fell. A tear rolled down my cheek. He was finished.

All of a sudden, a guttural roar tore through the air.

Tears turned into loud sobs when the room was plunged into silence yet again.

I sighed and calmly rested my head against the side of the cage. Someone else would come. I'd get out eventually...I just...needed to be patient.

"P...p...princess? Are you OK?"

I gasped and jerked my head up. The first thing I noticed was the bridge crossing over the lava. It was no longer there; only the faint noise of rubble crumbling off the nearby rocks was a sign that something had previously been suspended. A cough tore my stare away. The man who was supposed to be dead stood patiently underneath me, still breathing heavily.

Before I could speak the base of the cage swung open and by mere reflex, I opened up my parasol so I wouldn't do what Bowser had been trying to do the whole time.

Not sure whether to catch me or let me find my feet, he offered a hand which I took upon whim.

My head was buzzing with things to say. A man I'd never met had, after all, just randomly decided to rescue me.

"You're alive," I hesitated; realising how stupid I sounded,

"Just about", he breathed. That voice. It had a hint of something I didn't recognise.

I didn't have to say anything before he spoke again,

"I'm Mario, by the way." He smiled. Up close, his eyes appeared bright and cheerful; the same eyes that seemed tired and solemn from up high. A vivid red cap sat atop his head, seamless in its placement, as if he'd had it tailor made. Perhaps it was to give him a little extra height? He was a few inches shorter than me and a tad overweight, but not unpleasantly so.

I caught sight of the 'M' imprinted on his hat. Mario? I'd never heard a name like that before. It certainly wasn't native.

"You know," he raised an eyebrow, "I can still see my feet," his voice hit me again. I stepped backwards in shock, realising that I must've spent at least a minute inspecting him in silence.

"Oh...I...I didn't mean...I wasn't thinking..."

He chuckled, bringing on a small wave of relief, "Maybe if you kissed me, I'd turn into a handsome prince,"

I snorted at his remark, albeit against my will. Quickly covering my mouth, I stumbled backwards knowing that my act probably offended him. What possessed me to do such a thing?

To my surprise, his expression began glowing with amusement, "Princess, I should be the one apologising for the terrible jokes; I really shouldn't keep you here any longer!"

With a second burden of worry lifted off me, I allowed myself to laugh a little more.

A stern look passed his previous smile, as if something of interest had suddenly caught his eye. He gazed over to the other side of the bridge, his eyes wavering over the large gap.

"What is it?"

"Now the bridge is gone, how exactly are we going to get back?"

Oddly, that thought hadn't crossed my mind. I felt a rising sickness at the thought of having to stay on a tiny area of land in the middle of lava with a stranger.

We were both silent for a minute or so, looking around the environment for some way to get out. After considering every possible direction, I sighed and looked at the floor, wondering if Mario had thought of a solution.

"Princess?"

"Yes!" I felt my hope rising at his words.

"Err do you mind if I...well...carry you?"

Was he insane? Both of us couldn't get over by ourselves, let alone with the weight of another human being! Yet...his suggestion had a striking certainty behind it. Besides, I doubted that there was a second option, so I reluctantly agreed.

Mario held out his arms, but I walked around him instead and clambered onto his back. It must have come as a surprise to him, as he lost balance and staggered forward, trying to grab my legs before I slid off. I wasn't really into the whole bridal-style thing anyway.

His astonished look prompted an unrestrained giggle from me. I brought my mouth close to his ear, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"What? Oh right! Yeah...er..."

Swamped by a sudden, playful urge, I kicked his sides gently with my feet, "Come on!"

"I'm not a horse!"

"You mean a Yoshi?"

"A what?"

"Look, do you want to stand here with me on your back until you die or do you want to get back home?"

No more words were needed before he sprung forward, forcing me to tighten my grip on his shoulders. His breath quickened again; after it took so long for him to catch it before, I almost felt sorry for him. However, he didn't seem to struggle under my weight which was fortunate for my self esteem.

We were about four meters away from the drop now and he began to gather all his energy into his legs, almost as if he were tightening a coil. He leaned so far forward I almost touched the ground. He obviously needed a lot of space to prepare himself, something that I found unnerving.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could feel myself tipping off, ready to freefall into the depths below. My whole body lurched including my stomach. I wanted to let go but every inch of sanity I had left made me cling on for dear life. I had no idea where I was or what direction I was going in; all I knew was that I wasn't dead yet because of the most ridiculous man I'd ever met.

I felt the heat on my face subdue, slowly I opened my eyes to find out why. We were so high above the lava that I could barley detect its heat. Instead of fear, a feeling of euphoria at the sight quickly replaced it, something I hadn't experienced since I was just a small child. I was impressed at the height he had managed, to say the least.

I just wanted to smash through the castle and fly away. I took my hand off his shoulder briefly to reach for the ceiling but I was met with a slight disappointment when I saw it retreat upwards as we made our descent.

"Oh no..."

Mario definitely didn't sound as satisfied as I was. I gasped and turned my attention to the way we were heading.

I couldn't see the other side.

Oh no indeed.

"I knew I should have taken Luigi's advice and gone on that DIIIEEEET!" he screamed as we plummeted towards the lava. His lack of confidence didn't help much in the situation. Who was Luigi anyway?

For Mario, this felt like the biggest mistake of his dramatically shortened life, for me, it was the perfect excuse to show him what I could do. Not that I wanted to impress him or anything.

With that, I reached down and grabbed his hand. He probably thought it was some kind of last goodbye. With the other hand I withdrew my trusty parasol. It whipped open on the updraft and we jerked backwards, Mario's arm nearly dislocating itself as he swung out from underneath me.

My grip on his hand intensified as his did on mine, and we drifted slowly across the remainder of the crevice. I could hear Mario panting with a mixture of shock and relief as we saw land come into view.

I dropped him about a meter above the floor and landed gently in front of him.

Mario gawped, "I...you..."

"This parasol has the ability to withstand any firearm and carry the weight of a double-decker bus, I'd say you match that."

He scowled. "Okay, sorry, I didn't get it quite right, no need to rub it in!"

"I didn't want an apology; I wanted you to thank me for saving your life."

"Hey I saved your life first!" he retorted.

"Pah, anyone could've done that."

"Well anyone could've saved my life with a...a..." he trailed off, defeated.

"Exactly!" I smiled. "Now let's head out shall we?"

As we made our way past the castle, Mario several paces behind me, we passed by the towering windows. Each was stained with a boastful depiction of King Bowser, glowing an intense flame red from his arrogant, laughing jaws. I also had the opportunity to see inside. Lava pits filled with flying podobos and various sinister-looking obstacles where scattered along the expansive space. I almost felt myself being watched by the angry eyes of the thwomps that hung ominously in mid-air. No wonder Mario had been so exhausted. How did Bowser even get around his castle?

An unexpected inclination lead me to swivel on my heels, causing Mario to almost bump into me. I put my hands on his shoulders and tilted my head so my eyes were level with his. A look of bemusement covered his face, an expression I was becoming quite used to. He never questioned me; he just looked at me in anticipation.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his nose, giving it a gentle kiss.

"Thank you, Mario."