Chapter 3 – Before the Races
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Another day came and passed, and the kingdom was still struggling to recover. Winds were rough, rain poured heavily, but it didn't stop Princess Rose from making way to the Kart Event that was held by Princesses Peach and Daisy every two months- though, this month it would just be Daisy, for reasons unspoken of. Thankfully Flurrie arrived to help out with the weather control, but not even she could figure out what was causing such weather.

The prize was always a trophy and money, which this would surely help Rose out with fixing her town. The best part was that Shortcake has managed to snag the last spot for the race.

Riba would also be joining them, having already explained that word from the person who'd sent him to the Flowerbed Kingdom wanted him to aid Rose at all times during this situation. Shortcake was a little jealous. Of both of them really. Rose got a cute body guard, but he was taking the toad girl's job.
She scowled to herself as the three of them got on board the airplane, and took off. The flight would be long, so Shortcake took this time to get some shut eye, while Rose looked out the window with a child's curiosity. Riba simply seemed amused, as he cracked open a novel and began to read.

Riba was a quick reader though, and finished the book long before the plane trip was over. He decided to take note of his surroundings. All the people on this flight were going to the same location, after all. Being on the isle seat made this a bit easier for him, as he could see down the walkway.

Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and even some potted Piranha Plants were seated and chatting away. There were also countless humans too. While Mario and Luigi were not on this plane, Riba could see Princess Daisy up ahead in a white skirt and yellow polo shirt, as well as the white hat of who he could only assume was Princess Peach. He hadn't really looked at the people boarding the plane earlier, so without seeing the woman's face, he'd only be able to assume.

Soon, he felt a tap on his forearm. He looked to his right, and saw Rose looking at him, holding out a novel of her own to him.

"Heh," Riba sighed quietly, "thank you, Rose."

He must have looked so restless, or bored, if the princess had felt obligated to give him her book, instead of reading it herself. He took the book, which seemed to make Rose smile, so at least he could be at ease about taking the book.

Riba then observed the book. It was a romance novel, La Belle a la bloom. Or, in English, the beauty at the bloom. What an odd name for a book. Maybe it was supposed to be translated differently? By flipping through the pages, Riba could easily tell that the story is in English, so the title must've been written in French to be elegant or romantic.

How pathetic, he thought, but he read it anyways. It was a decent length book, he would probably finish it just as they land, and maybe the writing would be terrible, something to chuckle to himself about.

He was wrong.

As the plane landed, a single tear rolled down Riba's cheek. He would never know if the protagonist would see his wife again on Earth, or if he might find her in the afterlife. Truly a sad story.

Shortcake woke up as the plane landed, and let out a deep yawn. In fact, Rose had to carry Shortcake, while Riba get the carry-ons. It was a little inconvenient, but nothing the two could prevent. Shortcake was a heavy sleeper — proving this by falling back asleep in Rose's arms — and that's all there was to it.

The two got off the plane, and made it to the rental car area, where they were given a choice of cars to select. There was a deep maroon four-seated bad wagon, a golden Porsche, and a pink hummer. They chose the hummer.

A Green Birdo gave them the keys to their car, and Rose put Shortcake in the back seat so she could continue to snooze. Riba got into the driver's seat, but struggled to work the GPS.

"Are you stuck," Princess Rose asked. Riba looked at her, off guard by her words. He was told that she never spoke a single word to anyone. It was always the toad doing the talking. And yet, here she was, speaking to him now.

"N-no, your majesty, I am not stuck," he assured her, but she could tell that wasn't the case. She took the GPS and turned it towards her, then entered the address of the hotel they would all be staying at. All while making it look easy. Riba was stunned by her smarts. Was it because he... no, there was no way she could have known about him before. To her, he was just a simple man... right?

Those thoughts lingered in Riba's head for just a little longer than he would have liked, as the GPS's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. From that point on, he simply followed the instructions that he was given to get to the hotel. There was no conversation, no music from the radio. Just... silence.

By the time the three arrived at the hotel, Shortcake was just waking up. The toad let out a yawn as she sat up in her seat.

"Have we landed yet?" she asked. Rose giggled a little bit at Shortcake's tired state, and how she wasn't even able to tell that they had landed and weren't even in a plane anymore, and gave a simple nod.

"Oh! Finally, I was tired in that plane," Shortcake said, as she looked out the window of the car. She looked at the ground, and said, "I can't wait for the tournament tomorrow, we're racing in Neo Bowser City!"

"I heard that place can be quite dangerous to race at. Isn't it often rainy there," Riba asked. Shortcake looked over at him.

"Nah, the weather forecast says that it's going to be sunny tomorrow! What a rarity, that's why we're taking advantage of racing there. It'll be sunny and safe, not slippery."

Rose smiled, an attempt at reassuring Riba that it would be safe for Shortcake to partake in the race tomorrow. He smiled back, seeming to be reassured.

It was only a matter of minutes before the three arrived at the hotel. They got two rooms, one for the ladies, and one for Riba. He insisted that they do this, because the two women deserve their privacy. Shortcake was honestly a little bummed, but Rose appreciated it. The three went their separate ways for the few hours before dinner, so they could unpack and get ready.

"Rose, why couldn't we all just share one room," Shortcake asked with a pouty tone.

Rose sighed and shook her head. For a few minutes, she ignored the question, just unpacking her clothes and toiletries.

"Because, Shortcake, he isn't my prince, or your partner. He is doing this to respect our privacy. He knows his place in the given situation, and he's not trying to intrude on our privacy," she finally answered. Shortcake wasn't impressed with this answer, but it would have to do for now.

"I guess," Shortcake grumbled, "it's just that every time we go on vacations with others, we all just get one room. I don't see the problem with him staying with us."

Rose giggled and said, "have we ever gone on a trip with boys, Shortcake?"

"...No," Shortcake replied.

"Now," Rose started to change the subject, "let's fix your hair so that we can go to dinner looking our best. Daisy, Peach, and Pauline will be joining us."

Shortcake's eyes grew twice their size, and almost popped out of her head. She knew Daisy and Pauline were partaking in the race, but Princess Peach too!? Since she didn't really partake in these races unless Mario and Luigi were, which they weren't this time, Shortcake was surprised. She was grateful to see the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess — her former princess — whenever she could.

The two ladies got ready to go, and just in time, too. They opened the door just as Riba was about to knock on it.

"Oh, ladies, you're all ready to go so quickly," he commented.

"Of course we are," Shortcake said, "we're going to be seeing the Princesses and the Mayor of New Donk City! We can't be late!"

"Right," Riba said, a little quieter than usual, "well, let's go then."

The two girls nodded, and followed Riba to the Hummer, and then they drove to the restaurant. It was called Birdo's Bacon and Eggs. A diner that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all day. It was open twenty-four seven, and had amazing meal quality. In fact, it's said that the chef provides her own ingredients.

Riba parked the car, and the three got out and went inside the restaurant. Already they could see that the diner was much like a 50's theme diner, but with magenta and red as the main colors. The floor was black and white checkerboard style, but the booths, tables, wallpaper... that was all red or magenta. There were lots of photos around on the walls, many of Birdos of many colors, alongside several Yoshis of many colors.

Riba looked around, and quickly spotted Daisy and Pauline. He ushered Rose and Shortcake to their table, which lacked Princess Peach. Shortcake pulled the chair out for Rose, before she hopped into her own chair next to her. Riba sat between Rose and Daisy.

"Heyo," Daisy greeted loudly, causing many other customers to look over at her table in annoyance. Pauline laughed a little and sighed.

"Daisy, you need to be quieter," Pauline told her, which Daisy only rolled her eyes at.

"Where's Princess Peach," Shortcake asked, before Rose could even get a chance to say hello in any sort of way. Daisy and Pauline looked at Shortcake. She looked somewhat upset.

"Oh, well, she wasn't feeling well," Pauline said. Daisy added, "Yeah, so she stayed home. But don't worry! We got someone else to come take her place for the evening!" It was obvious they were making some kind of excuse, before Daisy mentioned that someone would be taking her place. Why though, was unknown.

Conveniently enough, the guest arrived once Daisy mentioned that. It was Birdo, like, the Birdo who partook in several races, sports events, and made a name for herself and her species. Her leopard coat was removed by a couple of fly guys, and she walked over to their table while they hung up her coat. All eyes were on her as she strutted to her seat, sitting between Shortcake and Pauline.

"Thanks for having me," she said, which surprised Riba and Pauline. Pauline only knew that Birdo had spoken to Mario in a dream, she didn't know that Birdos could actually... talk. Most of them just honked, or said their species name, like Yoshis. But apparently that wasn't the case for this Birdo.

"There's no problem! Glad you could make it, Birdo," Daisy said with a wide grin, starting the long conversations for the night. Little did Shortcake, Riba, and Rose know, this dinner would end up being a good few hours. They got to know Birdo, at least. They learned that she was also partaking in the race, and was eager to race. They also learned that Birdo was also sponsoring the race with her new brand, Birdo's chic coats. So Birdo had both a diner and a coat shop. Interesting. They also learned about Daisy's new brand, Princess ORANGE. The people at the table also got to hear clearer details about Rose's struggles with her kingdom currently, which caused Birdo quite a bit of sadness.

They eventually finished dinner, and as they were all about to leave, Birdo pulled Rose to the side and said, "Hon, if there's ever anything I can do to help you and your kingdom, just give me a call."
Birdo then gave Rose her business card, and snapped her fingers to summon her Fly Guys to fetch her coat, even if she was right next to it. Rose nodded, a thank you to Birdo, and headed back to the car.

Tomorrow would be the race that Shortcake would be in, and it was quite exciting. Rose hadn't seen Shortcake race before, but apparently she was a good racer back when she raced with Toad and Toadette in the Mushroom Kingdom on her Daytripper. Well, tomorrow Rose would get to see the race, and that was enough excitement for her.

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