Toadette's Story: Book 1

Chapter 36 - Smooth Feet, Bumpy Ride

As we sat in a private class on the jetliner, Minh T. looked me in the eyes. She wouldn’t take them off me. How was I supposed to react? The atmosphere was all wrong. I couldn’t even look down and be safe because of two pesky obstacles. Underneath the table, her feet were tickling mine. Big toe, pinkie toe, all of them. W-Was she playing footsies with me?

“You like my feet?” she whispered.

“I mean, they’re only cute because you painted them.”

She grinned. “If you think they’re cute, how about you suck on them?”

SLAM! Her meaty foot struck the table and curled its toes before my eyes. It was so clean, like she came fresh from an assembly line. And the smell… Mmm… Almonds… As she continued tickling me with one foot, I put her pinkie toe in my mouth and shut my eyes.

“Toadette… Don’t forget my other toes.”

I kept sucking the pinkie, letting it wriggle in my mouth until my body needed to release it. It was a fighter, flexing as much as it could to escape. But I couldn’t let it go anywhere.

“Toadette…”

*****

“Toadette. Toadette.”

Minh T. faded into view, dressed like she was ready to go someplace. I groggily murmured something about wanting an extra hour of sleep. She then yanked the covers off me, exposing my bare legs to this A/C.

“Her Highness said we’re leaving at 6.”

I buried my face in the pillow. “Well then wake me up when it’s close to 6.”

“5:49.”

Time to hop out of bed! That dream imagery stuck in my mind while I brushed my teeth and hastily threw on my clothes. It probably only happened because I randomly chose to suck her toes last night. I only did that as thanks for the great help she’d been. After putting on my black socks and lacing my sneakers, I gave my room a long look. It’d feel alien to not sleep here for a while, but at least I’d return to it in a clean state.

We dashed into the hall, Minh T. struggling to match my pace. The scariest part was making sure my suitcase didn’t damage the floor with how frequently it was bouncing. Each time the wheels hit, my heart jumped. With a couple of seconds to spare, we made it to the bottom floor. There, Her Highness waited, along with several other Toads and her daughter.

She shook her head at us. “Cutting it close, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’m sorry. We had a busy night, Your Highness,” I panted, holding Minh T.’s head up.

“Yes, yes. You can talk about it on the way to the airport.”

“Airport?”

She scoffed. “As if we’d take the bus or train. We’d be on there for a whole day.” Then she clapped her hands. “Everybody. Remember that when you’re in Mushroom City, you’re representing me. So if anyone gets into a sticky predicament, I expect you to excuse yourself. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” we said in unison. I naturally lacked any understanding of what she meant by excusing myself. Either she wanted me to go to the bathroom if I messed up, or there was a darker implication that skipped over my brain.

“Penelope,” she pushed her daughter forward, nearly tripping the girl, “an explanation of what we’ll be doing, just to catch new workers up to speed.”

“EVERYBODY!” The girl pierced everyone’s ears with her bombastic tone. “You will each board the trams outside and be escorted to Mushroom Airport. Once there, just act normal, and every little thing is gonna be alright. We’ll fly for eight hours, land in Mushroom City around 3 PM…”

If you ever need someone to create a distraction, Penelope is your weapon of choice. I knew she could talk, but not for five straight minutes. Once her lecture ended, she gave us a bright smile. So what if I missed most of what she said? Boarding an airplane shouldn’t be so difficult. Plus, Minh T. could help if I misunderstood something. Think I’m joking? While we rode the tram, she convinced me that she’d previously been a flight attendant. By the time we reached the airport—not the actual plane—I could locate every single exit on that flying vehicle.

“Pick up the pace, people!”

There weren’t many at the airport at this hour, yet our feet were on fire trying to reach the plane. Unfortunately, all of us were subjected to some pat-down procedure before proceeding. And the Toad who worked with me kept placing his hands in some interesting areas.

“Is this really necessary?” I asked when he touched my socked foot. It was hardly a pat-down, as his fingers were inside my sock. Almost tickling my foot with a smile.

“Would you rather miss your flight?”

Dick. After fondling my foot like a creep, he grabbed both my butt cheeks and squeezed them. Hey, I was NOT a clay toy to be played with. The moment he told me I could continue, I flicked him off. But I waited for Minh T. to finish before getting to the plane.

“Is this a normal thing in airports?” I shoved my foot back in my shoe. “They don’t trust us or something?”

“Toadette, it’s my favourite part,” she purred. “I always lie and tell ’em there might be something dangerous in my back pockets. Gotta get that free butt massage.”

That genuinely made me shudder. “Gross.”

Now the hard part was over. We traversed some narrower hallways before hearing a loud engine roar. Soon enough, we were inside the airplane. Wow, it was large. I’d never been on a cruise or something comparably gigantic, so this made me a bit fidgety. The décor screamed of fanciness, too. Where should I start? There were the cream-coloured walls with light flower patterns at the top, and the floor’s material could’ve come straight from the castle. A carpeted aisle where we’d see Her Highness in a stained-glass aesthetic.

“Let’s see.” I took a good look at the ticket. “What’s economy class?”

Minh T. groaned. “Aw, why’d we get the short end of the stick?”

“We had to adjust to make sure you could come on, Ms Minh T.”

Little Penelope pushed us out the aisle to make room for the other passengers. I got stuck with a window seat, and Minh T.’s pressing against me didn’t make this comfortable in the slightest. While she hoisted our carry-on stuff above the seats, I listened to the various chatter. Some Toads talked about mundane topics, some questioned if the pilot was competent (red flag), and some were as sleepy as I was.

“Make sure you’re strapped in,” Minh T. reminded me, crossing her right leg over her left. In effect, giving me a close view of her foot.

If I wasn’t stuck looking at it, I would’ve had the seatbelt on in a few seconds. Not my fault! She was the one who thought it’d be good to slap her foot against her shoe repeatedly. Clap, clap, clap—that sound rose over the plane’s engines. Click! Now that I was secured, at least I could better observe her foot.

Ding!

I grabbed my chest. “What’s that?”

“Attention, a-passengers. We shall be departing in a few minutes. This will be a bumpy ride, so I need you to ensure your seatbelts are choking you. Make-a sure you’re prepared to leap out of the plane if shenanigans occur.”

Luigi! The brother of the much more famed Super Mario. When did he become a certified pilot!? This man could barely drive a go-kart without purposefully crashing into others! He could barely golf without crying a river. One of the Mushroom Kingdom’s laughingstocks couldn’t have been fit to carry over a hundred people to Mushroom City. Eight hours with him!?

“Minh T.” A nervous smile stretched across my face. “Luigi can fly, right?”

Suddenly, the plane shook. Looking out the window, we were definitely accelerating. Then we sharply swung left, seemingly onto this long road. The runway? Hold on, why were we already going into the sky? Oh-no! I clung onto Minh T. for dear life because this plane was about to fall out the sky. We were too steep! The more vertical this airplane got, the harder my nails dug into her. Yet she was laughing. Why was she laughing!? And we were going so FAST!

“Toadette.” She patted my head. “We’re not even rising anymore.”

Though I opened my eyes, they focused on anything but the windows. Almost like a comfort mechanism at this point, I glanced at her feet. Now she’d taken her flip-flops off and was undoing her seatbelt. More intriguingly, she set her feet on top of the chair in front of her.

“You don’t think that’s rude?” I asked, watching her flex her toes.

“Hey! What’s the big idea!?”

Her legs quickly retracted, and a male Toad emerged over the seat. He had a headlamp on his head and these beige clothes. Looked like someone who explored jungles for a living and made documentaries. Hmm. I knew I recognised that outfit from around the castle somewhere…

“Oh, it’s you,” he said to Minh T. with an expression of relief. “Made me think someone was looking to start trouble.”

“Well, morning to you too, Cap’n Toad.”

“And the new girl!” He climbed over the chair to awkwardly fit between us. “Well, I guess you’re not new anymore if you’ve been here for weeks. How are you doing?”

I scratched my head. “Do I know you?”

The Toad tugged on my braid. “Remember? You were on the stairs, looking like a starving skeleton. And I gave you a cookie.”

That was very early when I started working here. But little by little, I remembered exactly what he was talking about. He mentioned going to some Fahr Outpost place, then I never saw him again. Well, until today. Nodding like I totally knew what he meant the whole time, I introduced myself properly. My name made him chuckle.

“Now we can both hate our parents for giving us uncreative names.” He shook my loose hand. “Captain Toad. Nice to re-meet you, rookie.”

Wait. That was his real name? Toad? Oof, and I thought mine was bad.

“Me and the boys are gonna be training hard in Mushroom City. Gotta make sure the princess is protected from any and all attacks, and be in top condition to save innocents.” He talked like a dramatic hero from a movie but had the voice of a teen girl in puberty. It was a bit deeper than mine and had tons of rasp. “Hey, Minh T., wanna put some socks on? I really don’t wanna have to report there’s a weapon on this plane.”

“Hahaha,” she mocked, “like yours are any better.”

“Are you challenging Captain Toad? Again?”

“Yep. And Toadette can be our judge.”

My face got serious. “Judge for what?”

Captain Toad shoved me out my window seat and began to unlace his boots. Immediately, I shook my head frequently. Not only were we in public, but I was NOT interested in getting within a hundred-mile radius of a guy’s feet. Nope, nope! Minh T. could grab my arm all she wanted. I would chew through the bone just to detach from her.

“It’s real easy,” she said in her squeaky voice. “Just tell us whose feet smell worse.”

“He’s a man!” I shouted, covering my mouth as soon as others turned their heads.

“He’s a man, but feet are feet.” Minh T. giggled when Captain Toad pulled his socks off. “Yuck, yucky! Alright, Toadette, get to judging.”

Captain Toad sighed, getting a big open smile on his face. “Feels good to get that off.”

Clearly, I wasn’t escaping from this. Unlike Minh T., this guy presumably had the authority to tackle me if he desired. Not wanting to draw any more attention to us, I quickly scooped up Minh T.’s feet. Eck, they needed some dusting. My fingers got some of it off in a few seconds, and then I shoved my nose between her chunky feet.

Sniff… Sniff…

“Huh.” I gave them another sniff, this time from heel to toe. “They smell like nothing. And they’re not even sweaty.”

She curled her toes. “Shocking.”

Truth be told, this was workable. If Minh T.’s feet lacked a strong scent like this 24/7, perhaps I’d be willing to smell them at any time of the day. However, now it was Captain Toad’s turn. Before getting in front of him, I took a large gulp. At least I wasn’t looking at the tops of his feet. Just the soles. They were sweat-drenched, just like Minh T.’s. But his feet were larger. Imagine my feet, but wider so that they didn’t look as skinny.

“Help me…” I whispered, causing both Toads to break into laughter. With a sigh, I set my nose on one of his heels.

SNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFF! Sniff…

Nope! Hell no. Two sniffs were more than enough.

Bump! Brrrrrrr!

The airplane shook violently for a second, sending my face back into the Toad’s feet. And this time, my nose went right under his toes. His clammy, slimy toes.

Sniff! Sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff!

THUD!

I hit the floor, covering my nose with my shirt while these chuckleheads continued giggling it up. Jeez, my lungs were on fire! Minh T. laughed so intensely, she fell into the aisle. And suddenly, two feet were on my butt.

“I only joke about feet being weapons,” he snickered, pinching my clothes with his toes. “You look like you just got poisoned.”

“That was so gross.”

His feet smelt like they’d been hosed with vinegar in a bootleg spa treatment. Now imagine that the vinegar also had some old cheese swishing around in its bottle for a while. Absolutely sickening. Good thing I didn’t have breakfast. The ONLY nice thing I could say was that his feet were soft, but that could’ve been because of the abundance of sweat.

“Now I kinda want a try.” Minh T. cracked her knuckles and pulled his foot into her face. Somehow, she managed a minimum of ten sniffs, each ending with a fluttery sigh. “Yep, a bajillion times worse than mine. Though at least you didn’t infect me.”

“What can I say, they’re only smelly because I have such a hard job. I could make them smell like peaches if I had time.”

Minh T. dropped his foot. “Even if mine had a stink to ‘em, they’d still smell nicer. Bet on it.”

He smirked. “We’ll see about that.”

On the floor, I was still choking. That Toad’s feet still burnt my nose even when they weren’t in my face. When I stepped into the aisle to rush to the bathroom, something grabbed my shirt.

Penelope’s chipmunk-like smile greeted me again. “Mother would like to see you. And Ms Minh T.”

“For once, I’m grateful.” I yanked Minh T. out her chair while she and her friend’s laughter finally subsided. The girl led us to royal class, apparently the best on the plane. The velvet walls instantly made it look classier. And in this cabin was our princess, tapping her foot.

“Welcome back. You wouldn’t miss the opportunity to give me a lengthy foot massage, would you, Toadette?”

I tried so hard not to groan. “No, Your Highness.”

“Good. It’s been too long since you’ve last assisted my feet. And you, flower girl, can work with Penelope.”

Minh T. bowed her head. “I shall not disappoint you or your precious daughter, Your Highness.”

“Ooh. Such liveliness. Take notes, Toadette.”

Her Highness directed us to a door in the side of the plane. No, not the exit. It was a room. And for an airplane bedroom, this was like a mini hotel. A giant bed, a flat-screen TV, a nightstand… Add a fridge, and someone could actually sleep here overnight. While Her Highness dove backwards into the bed, Penelope flopped on the mattress to join her. She wore socks, whereas the princess immediately kicked off her red heels. To my worry, her large soles matched the colour of those shoes perfectly. Please don’t be smelly or sweaty or gross in general.

Unlike me, Minh T. displayed no hesitation in serving her superior. Instead, she crouched to rub Penelope’s dangling feet, starting at the toes.

“Can’t remember the last time I wore fluffy socks,” she noted, sniffing the girl’s white fabric. Minh T.’s history with socks would take up less than a paragraph in a biography. Unless she had pristine shoes she didn’t wish to soil, or the weather was chilly enough, socks were her archnemesis.

Since Her Highness didn’t directly command me, I patiently waited for her to give some direction. Yeah, I wasn’t repeating that mistake again.

“Rub my right foot,” she said, smirking.

I nodded. But just as I wrapped my hands around her foot, all knowledge I had about massages vanished. My thumbs just went to town on her arch since it seemed like the spot that would hurt the most. I mainly did some up-and-down motions. And I’d keep doing them unless the princess complained. To my dismay, I noticed how shiny my hands were getting. More freaking sweat… Oh well, so long as I didn’t smell it, it couldn’t harm me. On the positive side, the wetness made it easier for my hands to move around. It was like skating on her foot.

Oh!

“You have incredibly soft feet, Your Highness. I don’t know anyone else in this kingdom who cares for herself as much as you.”

The princess put a hand behind her head. “So, you’re starting to appreciate them, are you? Better late than never. My foot care habits have stuck with me since I was Penelope’s age, and look at the results.”

Phew. Daisy’s advice about complimenting others came in handy this time. Now I transitioned into tugging on Her Highness’s toes individually. Here it hit me how massive her feet were. From directly below, they were like twin skyscrapers you’d see in Mushroom City. Seriously, she could kick a car off a highway with how powerful these things stood. Every time her toe popped, a clap echoed through the room.

“I like that,” I muttered, applying more pressure to the big toe.

“Those popping noises?” Her Highness scrunched her own toes, and the sound happened again. Five times, one after the other. “Isn’t that something… I never would’ve noticed without you pointing it out.”

“Sorry!”

“Please, anything that helps me stand out against other important figures only benefits my life.” She pushed her foot against my face. “Stick out your tongue.”

Yep, that’s what I was waiting for. It’d been too long since she used my tongue like a rag, dragging her salty foot against it. At least it wasn’t super sour that other feet had in the past. Even the odour wasn’t too powerful. They smelt like regular, nasty feet. Just not ULTRA nasty feet.

Actually, the more licked, the better this felt. It was a more neutral flavour than anything else. Was “nasty” an appropriate term to use? Let’s say they tasted mildly salty, but nothing that I couldn’t stomach at this point. I swore my taste buds were just warping to

But when her toes went in my mouth, my gag reflex kicked in. These freaks were getting a little too comfy poking around my uvula. And Her Highness’s nails were about as long as a cat’s.

“Your Highness…” I gasped, suffocating as the ball of her foot entered my mouth. “Your Highness!”

Only ten seconds later, after hearing my gagging cries for mercy, she finally pulled her foot out. And along came the thickest amount of spit that ever left my lips. While some of it pooled around the toes, the rest dripped to her heels. Breathless, I put a hand on my chest.

“Are you going soft on me again, Toadette? Don’t tell me you’re regressing.”

No, I was not. I licked up the drippy spit on her heel, clenching my fists. Then I made for the rest of the foot, coating it until it was shinier than a mopped floor. The morning light really wished to highlight how heavily I polished this big foot.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before she had me licking the other. The scent was similar, and the taste just a smidge less salty. However, now the whole foot was back in my mouth. It throbbed, and eventually, the princess wiggled her toes like they were on a playground. Keeping my fists curled, I imagined I was a baby, sucking on a pacifier. A giant, painful pacifier that was tearing me from the inside out…

“Observe, Penelope.” Her Highness forced her daughter’s head in my direction. “She’s held on for nearly a minute.”

“Whoa. You think you can do that with mine, Miss Minh T.?”

Minh T. chuckled. “These tiny things? Watch and learn.”

Turning my head would’ve stung, but my eyes caught a glimpse of the scene. Jeez! Penelope’s foot was so deep in Minh T.’s mouth that only the heel could be seen. She was something else entirely. Even if Penelope had small feet, to be able to handle them so effortlessly… How could I learn that?

Desperate for fresh air, I threw myself backwards, releasing a heavier glob of spit on Her Highness’s foot.

“Permission to rest, Your Highness?”

“You’re not even going to offer to clean the spitty mess you’ve left on my foot?” the princess asked, wiggling her oozing toes.

My panting continued as I looked around the room.

“Penelope,” Her Highness said. “Would you like to use her for now?”

Penelope put a finger to her chin. Minh T. still had the girl’s foot stuffed in her mouth like a delicious snack, making the kid softly gasp every now and then.

“You and Miss Minh T. can lick my other foot at the same time,” she said with a devilish grin.

“Come on,” I groaned.

“If you want, I’ll handle the bottom again, Toadette.” Minh T. shuffled to the side, allowing us both to surround the girl’s left foot. “Gosh, they have a nice taste to them.”

Though I expected this to be simple, it was anything but. I got immediate flashbacks to when Her Highness was bathing, and Daisy and I licked one foot at the same time. Daisy’s tongue must’ve jabbed mine a few times. Yet since I was on the opposite side of the foot this time, perhaps Minh T. wouldn’t have a chance of tongue wrestling me. Well, here goes…

Slurp!

Hmm… How odd.

Slurp, slurp…

The more I licked the top of Penelope’s foot, it became clearer why Minh T. preferred the bottom. Though it had a higher chance of getting ickier, it had a more satisfying texture. And the taste was just unique enough to be interesting. But the tops just tasted like normal human skin or Toad skin. Delicious if you’re a cannibal, but otherwise, rather unspectacular.

But I wouldn’t complain in the slightest. All this meant was that I could let the next few minutes pass by until she told us to stop. Minh T.’s breath was warm, though. Occasionally, we came so close to having our tongues bump. Fortunately, it never happened. I had to almost dodge her intentionally when we flossed between the girl’s toes. At least Penelope’s feet were entirely clean, at the expense of tasting like the blandest of soy paste.

BUMP! Vrrrrrrrrr! Bump!

Suddenly, the plane jittered up and down. And my heart froze when Minh T.’s top lip made contact with mine. It was faint—just a tickle, and for a second—but it happened. Okay, Toadette, calm down. It was an accident… You didn’t just kiss a girl. Nope, regular contact while on your job. Of course, while I was internally panicking, Minh T. continued licking like everything was smooth. As far as she was concerned, nothing would deter her from licking a girl’s toes. Even if they were already drenched, it was her job to wet them further.

The little girl snapped her fingers. “Alright, I’m finished.” She set her wet feet on the sheets, letting our spit marinate on her tiny feet. Of course, Minh T. refused to immediately stop, licking all the excess spit up while stroking Penelope’s legs.

Her Highness nodded, which signalled me to fall onto the floor. Even with plainer flavours, these royals still did a number on my tongue. Thankfully, cabin service eventually gave us some apple juice to wash our mouths out. During our breakfast, Minh T. talked vividly with the royals. Within the next hour, her vocal cords did not burn out.

“I totally wouldn’t mind being your loyal slave, Your Highness.” She took a sip. “But I love my flowers too much to give that up.”

“A shame, as you’d be a fitting companion for Toadette here. Are you sure you’re not sisters? Cousins, perhaps?”

“I’m glad we’re not, for personal reasons,” she said in a low voice. “But since I’m a part of this early trip, you can treat me as secondary slave all you wish, Your Highness. My mouth is yours to utilise whenever you need me.”

The princess chuckled. “I respect a girl with such a burning passion to please. Thank you, Minh T.”

“Serving you and your holy feet would be an honour, Your Highness.”

Always… Exactly how long would I be stuck with this job? If I got enough Coins, I’d be able to live my own life, away from this foot stuff. Sure, I’d still miss the little brat, but life would give me a wake-up call someday. What crazy timeline would exist where I’d have to worship Princess Peach’s feet until the day she fades away? Hmm, better not to question that.

“I can’t wait until people start pledging their loyalty to me,” Penelope said, looking out the window. “When’s my time coming, again?”

“We’ll see,” Her Highness said.

“May I please rest now, Your Highness?” I begged, slumping over like a zombie.

“At the foot of the bed.”

Ah… Sweet extra rest… Even if Her Highness’s toes occasionally picked my nose and kicked me. These next seven hours would go by smoothly…

*****

“TOADETTE! WAKE UP!”

“Minh T., didn’t we already go through this today?” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. But in an instant, BOOM! A suitcase struck me in the head as I fell into the wall. “What in the world!?”

Some furniture was unmistakably sliding around, so reaching the door required a quick sprint. After we entered the cabin, the other passengers were screaming at the top of their lungs. Our screams joined them since the plane seemed to invert itself for a second. A full 360° motion, followed by the vehicle steeply plummeting. With my face pushed against the window, I could see an endless sea of clouds. But they were moving up, meaning we were going down.

Penelope clung to her mother’s leg while our dear princess observed the outside world as well. “What are we gonna do!?” she screamed, shivering.

Her Highness clenched her fist. “Keep still and let me think.”

“Can I get an update or something!?” I yelled.

Minh T. ran in place, flustered. “Luigi’s out!”