Chapter 1: Confusion

"...oww...wait, oww?" Rosalina awoke to find she had been laying on something hard and sharp.

"...adslfkfl...asi!"

"Eh?" She quickly rolled to the side.

"...Phew! It was getting hard to breathe down there." The hard thing she had been lying on was actually Hoshi; one of the young Luma's.

"Oh. I'm so sorry Hoshi. Are you hurt?" she asked while grabbing the small star and checking it over for any cuts or scrapes.

"I'm fine!" the pink and red striped luma said cheerfully, freeeing itself from Rosalina's grasp, it bounced darted this way and that to prove it- then it stopped in mid-bounce.

"But mama...where are we?"

"Hmm? Oh, my..."

Much to Rosalina's surprise, they had somehow...ended up on a strange planet. They were no longer on the observatory. The tree's that surrounded them were more than enough to show that.

"We were...um, well, you were sleeping in the library, and I was coming in to wake you up...but then..."

"Hmm?" Snapping out of her racing thoughts, she turned to Hoshi who was trying to recall just what happened before they ended up on the strange planet.

"There was someone already there. I didn't recognize them."

A person? On the observatory? The only people who had ever been to the observatory were Luigi, the Toads and...who? She couldn't recall the face or name of the last person for some odd reason. Rosalina just shrugged it off. It probably wasn't that important.

"Do you remember what they looked like?"
"They were wearing a mask I think. One half was black and the other was white...oh! And they had a strange pointy hat with yellow diamond shapes on the ends."
"What happened after you saw them? Did they see you?"
"They turned towards me, and after that..." the little luma shivered.
"...after that?" she asked worriedly.
"...black. I don't remember what happened after that. Then I woke up with you on top of me, mama."

So whoever the strange person was must be responsible for us being here, Rosalina figured. But...where is 'here' exactly?

Quickly scanning the area with her eyes, she was able to tell it definitely wasn't the Mushroom World. The only way to make clear where they are- or how to get home is to explore.

"Want to go exploring little one?"
"Yeah! That sounds like fun!"

Letting out a gentle laugh, Rosalina held the small star in her hands and walked off into the forest.

After walking- er, floating for a few hours, it was getting dark.

Remembering the dangers back in the mushroom world of staying out past dark, and not having any knowledge of where they were, Rosalina decided it would be best to make a camp and rest until sunrise. They worked together, gathering hay to make beds and sticks to make a fire.

An hour later it was complete. Since both of the pair ate star bits and could go for long periods of time without food or water, there was no need to search for those things.

"But i'm not tired, mama!"

This was the usual argument the two would have every night.

"Shhh, settle down. It's late. If you want to continue exploring, you'll need your rest."
"...alright."

Giving in, though not wanting to, Hoshi layed down on the small patch of hay next to the fire, and within minutes was sound asleep.

Finally getting some quiet time to think, Rosalina sank to the grass. Feeling the still warm grass against her skin was nice. Compared to the cold steel of the observatory. She didn't mind, though. Space was something she loved more than anything. There was a certain beauty about it. But now, being here...so many new yet nostalgic sights and sounds...it reminded her a lot of her home world.

As soon as that thought popped into her head, a shiver ran down Rosalina's spine.

It had been hundreds of years...would her home even still exist? If it did still exist, was it doing alright?

Being in a new world brought back questions she had asked herself hundreds of millions of trillions of times. She knew asking wouldn't help, because there wasn't anyone to answer them. Sinking even further, she let herself fall back onto the lush grass.

For the first time in hundreds of years, Rosalina was completely bewildered. All she could do was lay on the ground and stare at the sky. The sky. Space. Her home. The place she was bound to. All she could do now was try to piece together her memories.

She remebered it all so clearly...her home...her mother and father...the day she met Luma...the day she left home to help look for Luma's mother...the observatory...all the adventures in between...watching the mushroom world from space...all alone...for years and years...

So much had happened. Even being tasked with protecting the universe. How could she, of all people, end up with such a duty? Was it all a dream? No. Hoshi's here, too. she thought. That's proof enough. But why...why me...

Standing up and brushing her dress free of any dirt, she decided to do some solo exploring. A quick glance at her friend told her she had plenty of time.

Feeling bad for leaving the little star alone, but not wanting to endanger it while trying to learn more about this strange new place, she solidified her resolve.

As Rosalina walked slowly away from their campsite, she turned back. Only long enough to catch a final glance of the sleeping Luma... And she was off.

Star: Alright! First chapter done! :D I shouldn't Reveal too much, but I want you guys to have an idea of what to expect...hmmm...

I guess i'll say that this story WILL have the following characters later on: Mario (of course), Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, some other random series characters, D- spoilers? xD Let's just say i'll be borrowing one character from Super Paper Mario (I just gave it away, didn't I?), and that Bowser WON'T be the antagonist- or at least, not the main one.

Expect some plot twists and random stuff! And expect this story to switch over to Rosalina's POV in the next chapter!

VOTE: Rosalina's going on her first real journey, so she's going to need some backup! Vote for which character you'd best like to accompany her on her travels by leaving a review, and I might even write parts of the story from their POV!

Review please!~~~