It feels really weird.

I still can't believe that I'd left the Mushroom Kingdom for a year. It's unbeliveable.

Daisy and the others must have been really worried.

And what about Bowser? What has he been up to?

Probably nothing good.

As we walk around Toad Square, things seem really different. The building site is now a massive and beautiful castle.

"They finished building that thing? On my birthday last year it was still a building site," I said.

Daisy looked at me strangely.

"The building work finished 15 years ago. What ARE you on about?" She asks.

"But...," I say, then stop. I'm not sure if I trust Daisy.

Instead, I stop to ask Rosalina.

"Did you hear that?" I ask her.

Rosalina nods.

"Yes," she says.

"Something's up, right?" I ask.

"And I know what it is. We're in the temple of illusions, where the cloud bottle is hidden. That is not Daisy. And this is not the Mushroom Kingdom," Rosalina said.

I look around at everything. Could this all be fake?

"How do we find the cloud bottle, then?" I ask.

"Remember what I told you earlier? That's how to get into this place. But it seems that we've been teleported here instead... That step will not be needed any more. Instead, we'll just have to think about where in this fake Mushroom Kingdom it would be hidden. In the legends of the Star people it says that the place in which the Cloud bottle is hidden will have a special meaning to the person seeking it out. And that is you, Peach. Where would it be? You're the only person who can answer that question, I'm afraid," Rosalina says.

"Lavender. Toadlia. You two had better search my castle," I say.

"OK," they say, heading towards my "castle".

"You knew it wouldn't be hidden there, didn't you?" Rosalina says.

"What?" I ask. I really have no clue where the cloud bottle could be hidden.

"You knew that it isn't in your castle," Rosalina says.

I start to get annoyed with her.

"WELL, DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?" I shout at her.

Rosalina stays calm, just like she usually does.

"You do know, don't you? You know where it is hidden, yet you wish to deny it. Why, Peach?" Rosalina asks.

I think hard. I don't know.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" I yell. Rosalina's really starting to annoy me now.

But she just laughs.

"Deny it all you like... But you'll never find the Cloud bottle," she says.

I try to think again. It could be there... But no, that place has no special meaning to me! The Cloud bottle would never be hidden there.

Daisy comes over, surprised at all the yelling.

"What's going on?" She asks.

I've had it with Rosalina. She can be so annoying sometimes. I summon a whirlwind and strike it towards her. She does not make any attempt to dodge, nor does she scream or show that she is hurt in any way. She is just lying down with her eyes shut.

"Oh no....," I say, realising what I've done.

At that moment, Toadlia and Lavender come back from my castle. They both scream at what they've seen.

"Peach! What did you do?" Lavender screams at me.

"How could you do this? She was on our side!" Toadlia shouts.

I can't believe it now. Why did I do that to Rosalina?

Then suddenly Rosalina opens her eyes. But she does not seem angry at all, to my surprise.

"Rosalina! I'm so sorry!" I say, as soon as she opens her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Peach. One of the tests to find the Cloud Bottle involves making us all angry at each other. The test is to see if we're still friends at the end. And we are. So all is well," Rosalina says.

I did not see that coming.

"Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes. Anyway, Toadlia, Lavender, any luck finding the Cloud Bottle?" Rosalina asks.

"Yes," Toadlia says, holding it out.

"You found it?" I ask, shocked.

"Yes," Toadlia says again.

"The second key! That's great," Rosalina says.

"We can't look for the other two keys though...," I say, realising that we've hit a dead end.

"The Raindrop Amulet and the Flame Orb will reveal themselves soon enough...," Rosalina says.

"But wasn't there something else? The " Cosmic Shard" or something?" Lavender asks.

"Yes, you're right. I could take you to the lost Ice Temple in the lands of the Star people... But I'm not sure if this is the right time," Rosalina says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because the challenges you will face there will be tough, and there's a chance that you won't even make it back. Are you sure that you want to do this? Because we can stop this quest now. We really don't need to find this lost treasure at all, you know," Rosalina says.

I stop to think about it. Do I really want to take the risk?

Then I make up my mind.

Mario's done this kind of thing countless times for me, and I think that I can do something FOR ONCE.

"I'm not giving up. I don't care about the risks. I'm going to get that Cosmic Shard, and I will find the lost treasure," I say.

Toadlia and Lavender look surprised.

"In that case, I think that we should. Anyway, I've always wanted to find the truth behind these " legends of the Star people" anyway," Rosalina says.

"I'm helping too. I might not have a power like you or Lavender, but I will do anything to help you, Peach," Toadlia says.

"And so am I. After all, I have the Aura stone which you will need to get the treasure," Lavender says.

I'm pleased that all my friends have joined me.

"In that case, I will open up a portal back to our normal world. We'll set off for the lands of the Star people soon, but let's first see what's happening in the REAL Mushroom Kingdom," Rosalina says.

"Alright," I agree.

Rosalina opens up a portal, and we walk through it. We end up in the building site, just above the hole. But, the hole is no longer a hole. It's vanished.

"Why has the hole dissapeared?" I ask Rosalina.

"Because there is no longer a use for it. It's written about in the legends of the Star people. Apparently other people seeking the treasure have come across it," Rosalina says.

"Has anyone ever found the treasure?" I ask Rosalina.

Rosalina shakes her head.

"No," she says.

Oh great. So we're going to be the first.

"Anyway, we'd better get out of here," Rosalina says.

We follow her outside, where Daisy jumps to greet us.

"Peach! They're just about to light the candles! Come on! This way!" She says.

I have no choice but to follow her. She drags me towards a group of Toads who are lighting the candles on my birthday cake.

"Happy Birthday, Peach!" Yoshi says to me.

After opening the birthday presents, I head back to my castle with Toadlia, Lavender and Rosalina. We hold out the keys which we have obtained so far.

"The Aura Stone," Lavender says, holding out the Aura Stone.

"And the Cloud Bottle," Toadlia says, holding out the Cloud Bottle.

"We only need two more keys and the cosmic shard," Rosalina says.

Then we hear Daisy coming. We quickly hide the keys.

"Peach, we found this parcel outside the castle," Daisy says, holding out a small parcel.

"Who's it from?" I ask her.

"We don't know. It doesn't say. Anyway, here you go," Daisy says, handing me the parcel and then leaving the room.

"Huh?" Lavender says.

"Open the parcel, Peach, I wanna see what's inside!" Toadlia says excitedly.

I open it.

A small red glowing ball drops out, and Rosalina gasps.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"I-It's...."

"The Flame Orb,"

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

Cliffhanger! You know, I'm already planning out the ending to this story... Idk if I should end it soon or not. What do you all think? Anyway, please tell me what you thought of the chapter in the comments!

❄Blizzard❄