Reassurance

Somewhere on the Comet Observatory, two friends were having a conversation. It had been a rough year for the both of them, so Rosalina decided to invite Daisy over for tea.

"Thanks for inviting me." Daisy said as she sat down.

"Oh, it's no problem." Rosalina replied. "I have heard you've been dealing with a lot lately."

"It's been rough," the flower princess explained. "First Bowser kills Luigi and Mario, and then Peach, my closest friend, just straight up disappears with no explanation..."

"I miss them, too." Rosalina sighed. "I wish I were there when it happened... I could have saved them."

"Oh, there's a lot of things we both regret, but what's done is done." Daisy assured her. "Peach and I were both devastated about their deaths, I think Peach had it worse, though. She was about to propose to Mario."

"I know Mario loved Peach a great deal. Daisy, when I first met Mario, I knew how much he cared for her. I could see the determination in his eyes." Rosalina told her. "And I know for a fact that Luigi loved you as well."

"Yes, we were very much in love." she confirmed. "When I found out what that awful Bowser had done, I was horrified, then heartbroken, but then I was furious. I wanted revenge at first, I wanted to kill that man for what he did, but then I realized... it won't bring Luigi back... but still, if I ever see Bowser again, he's gonna pay for what he did. If he ever sets foot in Sarasaland, he'll regret it." she stated angrily. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then seemed to be calm again.

"I don't blame you for that. I'm not the type of person to get angry, but if he laid even a finger on any of my Lumas, there would be hell to pay." Rosalina added.

"Yeah," Daisy continued. "But the thing is, Peach and I both reacted differently. After a while, I reluctantly moved on, but sometimes I still can't get over it. But Peach was a different story. She was never the same after Mario's death."

"I haven't seen her since before the incident." Rosalina stated, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, like I said before, she had more trouble than I did. Not only did she lose the love of her life, but the man who killed said love wanted to marry her. He kept asking and asking her, never taking no for an answer."

"Oh dear!"

"This went on for months!" Daisy exclaimed. Then, her voice got quieter. "And between you and me, I think this took a toll on her, mentally. She never smiled or laughed, Bowser kept bothering her, it hurt to see her like this. I tried my best to help her out, to reach out to her, but to no avail. After a while, Toadsworth had told me she didn't want to even talk to anyone outside the castle."

"Do you think this is the reason for her disappearing?" Rosalina questioned.

"I believe so... I would have done the same. Still, I miss her so much." Daisy said, a tear falling down her face. Rosalina was surprised to see the tomboy princess cry, Daisy didn't usually shed tears. "I don't even know if she's alive or not... Toadsworth said she ran away.... but the thought of her, out on her own... by herself...she's never been on her own before!"

"Listen, Daisy, I know it's hard, but I think I should tell you something, it might make you feel better."

"What is it?"

"A few nights ago, I had this dream," Rosalina revealed. "I don't know what it means, but I think you should know. In the dream, I saw Peach... she looked a bit different though, she wasn't wearing her usual dress, and she looked kind of tired. Not only that, but she was with someone I had never seen before."

"Really?"

"Yes, he held her in his arms, and stroked her hair lovingly. The thing is, though, he looked dangerously powerful, almost terrifying, with glowing purple eyes and sharp teeth. Not the kind of person you would picture Peach with."

Daisy gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I thought he looked scary. Bowser most likely wouldn't stand a chance against him. But he held Peach so gently, he had his arm around her waist, and she looked so happy, she was smiling."

"Smiling?!" Daisy exclaimed. "She hasn't smiled since before the incident! Who was this dude?"

"I don't know, I have never seen him before, but I know it wasn't Mario, and definitely not Bowser."

"I can't think of anyone else Peach would be romantically involved with... unless she found someone after she ran away... what do you think?" Daisy asked.

"Who knows? It was just a dream after all."

"Well, the thought of Peach finding someone and moving on makes me feel a bit better, even if it's with someone like that."

"I'm glad it does." Rosalina admitted, finishing her tea.

"You know, I still remember the last time I saw her smiling, but it's a secret." Daisy told her.

"Do tell me, I won't say a word." Rosalina replied.

"Well, sometimes, before the Mario Brothers died, whenever Peach felt like it, she would invite me over for cake, just the two of us." she explained. "She would make this special cake, meant only for me and her, a black forest cake. It was inspired by this science fiction story she read once, I thought it was silly, but she adored it, despite it not being her favorite genre. We would hang out and she would make it every time, and it tasted wonderful. It was chocolate and had cherries on it."

"That sounds nice." Rosalina commented.

"The last time we hung out, that was when I last saw her smile."

"Well, I guess if that dream I had is real, she might be smiling again." Rosalina added.

"I guess so. I feel much better now!" Daisy assured her. "But Rosie, can you promise not to tell anyone you saw me cry?"

"Why? There's nothing wrong with crying, it's natural."

"I know, but... I just don't want anyone to know I was crying. Just, don't make a big deal about it, okay?" Daisy asked.

"I won't." Rosalina promised.

"Well, it's getting late, so I best get going." Daisy told her as she stood up. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"I promise things will get better, Daisy."

"I hope you're right..." she replied.

The two said goodbye to each other before Daisy walked to the warp pipe.

Rosalina smiled to herself.

Later that night, Daisy sat on her bed. Despite it being late, she was still wide awake. The weather outside was terrible, rain with thunder and lightning.

She sighed. What Rosalina had said made her feel a bit more hopeful, but she was still unsure. Was Peach really alive and okay?

Suddenly, the power went out, interrupting her train of thought. The lights were out.

Normally, she wasn't afraid of the dark. But for some reason, she felt uneasy, as if someone else was in the room with her.

A minute later, the power came back on.

Daisy looked around, no one was with her. But then, she saw something on her bed, a box. She went and picked up the box, wondering where it came from, and more importantly, how it got there.

She opened the box, and was too shocked to speak.

In the box was a piece of black forest cake, the same kind that Peach used to make her.