It's been two months now since we opened that safe. Two months.

And nothing new has happened.

Dr. Toadley's been on holiday the whole time, so I couldn't talk to him. Daisy and Rosalina have been busy sorting out their own Kingdoms, and Toadlia and Lavender are no closer to solving the many mysteries we still have to solve.

Summer has quickly turned into Winter. It's actually my birthday tomorrow, but I'm not excited at all.

It feels like nothing excites me any more.

Nothing seems enjoyable at all. All days seem to be spent inside my castle, thinking.

Nothing else.

"Hi, Peach!" Daisy says cheerfully, just how she normally does.

"Hi," I say back.

"So, will you be coming with us? Shopping?" Daisy asks.

"No," I tell her.

"Oh. OK, then," Daisy says.

Then she pauses.

"You're still worrying about Mario, aren't you?" She asks.

Wow, it did take her a long time to notice.

I don't know what to say to her. I'm not even sure if I trust her any more.

"Don't know. I'm just... Watching a movie with Lavender and Toadlia today," I tell her.

"You can't fool me, Peach. How many times have I told you to stop worrying about things? And all you do is keep quiet, hidden somewhere! That's not going to make anything better!" Daisy says, leaving the room with Yoshi before I can even reply.

I sigh. Nothing's changed. Nothing at all.

"Peach!" Lavender says.

"Oh, hi!" I say, happy to see Lavender.

"Toadlia's here too," She says.

"So, why did you come here?" I ask.

"Why do you think? To help you solve this mystery!" Lavender says.

"OK, then," I tell them.

"How about we go to Toad square then? We might think of something while we're walking," Toadlia says.

"Good idea," I say, and we leave for Toad square.

We walk, and walk, and still don't think of anything. Ideas don't always work, I guess.

We walk past the shops, and suddenly the building site comes into view.

"Huh? What's in there?" Lavender asks.

"I don't know," I tell her.

"Really? So you're not the one building something there?" Lavender asks.

I shake my head.

"I have no idea what's inside there," I say.

Lavender looks carefully at the building site. I can see that she's thinking hard. She's always trying to help me with things. She's really kind.

"Maybe... Maybe Bowser's building something there!" Toadlia says.

"Hmm...," I say.

"Well, we need to look inside!" Lavender says.

"I don't think it's safe. I'd rather not go inside," I say quickly

The site looks quite dark and creepy. It's a huge building, but it's covered, which makes it look spooky. It's also quite abandoned, as barely anyone ever goes there. It is suspicious.

"No progress has been made for months there," I tell them.

"Well, I don't think we need to go inside right now," Lavender says.

We head back to my castle, and go into one of the quieter rooms to talk.

"There's so many things we still don't know," Toadlia says.

"Yes," I say sadly.

"That building site is definitely going to be a clue," Lavender says.

"You think so?" I ask.

"I'm sure," Lavender says.

"How do you know?" I ask her.

"I can.. sense something. I can feel that something is there," Lavender says.

I stare at her.

"Hmm...," I say.

"What is it?" Lavender asks me, confused.

"I think that you've got a power of your own," I tell her.

"I can't create whirlwinds like you can..," Lavender says.

"Yes, but you solved the whole thing about the safe pretty quickly. I was struggling on that mystery for months. And you solved it in less than an hour. I was suspecting something all along, but now I think my suspicions have been confirmed," I tell her.

"You think I actually have a power of my own?" Lavender asks me, surprised.

"Yes," I answer her.

Toadlia just stares at us while we talk.

"Okay... So Lavender has a power?" She asks.

"Yes, she does. But a power different to mine. A sensing power. And she is just what I need to help me solve this mystery! I'm sure that this was meant to happen!" I say.

Lavender pauses.

"You know, Peach, you may have just helped me solve a mystery of my own," she says.

I turn around.

"What mystery?" I ask her.

"Well, remember that day when I met you, Peach?" She asks.

"Yes, of course," I tell her.

"I told you I had quit working for Bowser. That was true. However, I never told you exactly why," Lavender says.

"You said that you thought that he was wrong...," I say.

"Well, I think that I'd better tell you the full story now. It started ages ago. I was always locked inside a room in the castle, and I never had to battle Mario like all the other Koopas. I always wondered what was different about me. The only thing I ever had to do was say where you were. And I was never told why I needed to do this. So I just did it. That's how Bowser always knew where to find you. I never thought something was up, as I was so used to having that power. Anyway, one day I overheard some talking. Talking about you, Peach. And then I found out what was really happening. I ran away from the castle, using my power to find my way out. And then I met you. That's pretty much it," Lavender says.

"But... What talking did you overhear?" I ask her.

"Talking about an attempt to kidnap you. That's when I realised what was really going on," Lavender says.

"Oh yes, I remember that," I tell her.

We talk a bit more, then Lavender and Toadlia leave. I've learnt so much more today, and discovered that secrets may not be as far away as you think. They may be right in front of you.

And there are many more secrets to come.

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄
That's quite a long chapter... And yes, I did say that I've got more secrets to reveal! And I've still got a few more!
❄Blizzard❄