Chapter 1: In the Middle of the Night
Princess Peach woke from a sweet slumber hearing a light rapping on her balcony door. It took her so long to finally relax before. She didn't want to get up again knowing she would have trouble getting back to sleep. Hesitantly, she stood and shuffled over to the curtains still a bit sleepy. She peeked through to see what was making the noise. It was a large branch that had fallen sometime during the storm earlier that evening. Peach sighed and threw on her robe then proceeded to unlock her balcony. She stepped out onto the wet cold concrete with the breeze blowing icy air. She quickly grabbed the branch and tossed it over towards the tree it came from. She then scurried back inside locked the door and dived into her warm bed. Her feet were still a little wet but not enough to bother her, it was only a little bit of water.
Peach stared at her ceiling trying to get back to sleep, her eyes felt so heavy but she couldn't seem to sleep. It was her birthday tomorrow, being excited for the big party made it difficult to get back to sleep. Princess Peach tossed and turned trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep but alas she couldn't. All she could think about was tomorrow. She rolled over on her back to face the ceiling once more, she pounded her fists and kicked her legs into the bed. "If I don't sleep I'll be tired all day tomorrow!" she growled and threw the covers off of her. She pouted as she began pacing around her room trying to tire herself out. A loud crack of thunder shook the room starling Peach as the room lit up with a quick flash. Then rain came pouring down pelting the glass balcony doors. The room became colder as the rain fell and the wind blustered through the trees. Peach loved the sound of the wind and rain dancing together. Peach decided to go downstairs for a bit and read by the fireplace in the common room. She opened her bedroom doors and waved to one of her Mushroom Retainers as she passed.
She tiredly held onto the stairway railing as she walked. She opened the common room door, the fireplace was already lit by her guards who were keeping watch. The storm outside started to get louder. Princess Peach greeted her guards and continued on to get a book. She searched the shelves for something, something that would take her mind away for a while to escape her sleeplessness. Finally, the princess found a thick red book, aged and dusty from its time on the shelf. On the cover was the image of a large star and two smaller stars on each side of the larger one. Peach sat in one of the chairs by the fireplace and opened the book. She began to read letting her mind enter the story, questing off into a land far away. As she read about an adventure of dragons, killer plants, and a knight who journeyed to save his best friend... she drifted off.
The masked knight decorated in flowers bounced as the horse sprinted across the field, a loud roar came from above and then a large pillar of flames circled the knight. The horse panicked throwing the knight forward towards the fire. The knight tumbled through the long dry grass and the ground trembled as the mighty black dragon landed. The horse raced off into the peach orchard leading to the castle. The knight stood to face the dragon with her weapon drawn, the fierce monster roared lunging fast at the flowered knight. She swung her sword keeping the dragon back. Lightning decorated the sky flashing quick blinding both the thunder shook the ground. The knight took the storm to her advantage and ran at the dragon at full speed.
A loud fleshy sound echoed as the brave knights sword pierced the dragons arm and a painful crack of bone as the sword traveled deeper. The dragon screamed and writhed in pain throwing the knight into the orchard, the dragon flew up with the sword still in it's arm bleeding profusely. The knight picked herself up and re attached her shield to her back. The dragon attacked and missed the knight. The dragon dived down and crashed becoming tangled and injured due to the thickness of the orchard trees. The dragon struggled as the knight ran around while the beast was pinned down to retrieve her sword. She pulled the weapon from the arm and ran it back in along the side of the beast. The dragon cried, moaned, and howled as it gave into defeat. The knight turned her back on the beast and headed toward the castle.
The brave knight ventured far and wide to rescue her best friend and she finally reached the tower where the evil wizard was keeping her. The flower knight approached the drawbridge and cautiously crossed it. The boards creaked and bent under the weight of her boots. It was unusually quiet, no guards, no traps, it was very suspicious. The knight crept through the main gates and front door squealed as it opened. It was a small tower and wasn't very tall. She began the journey up the spiral stone stairs. She walked and walked and walked, she could have sworn she passed the same statue seven times and the same window showing the gloomy storm outside. She stopped at the next repetitive statue and examined it closely. It was different but she couldn't figure out why it was showing up over and over. The statue was of a small angelic looking child pointing down at the stairs. The knight headed back down the stairs until she saw another statue. This time it was really different. It was an older child pointing down. The knight was beginning to realize the stairs were enchanted to be endless if not traveled properly.
The knight followed the statues pointing fingers for what felt like forever until the statue was of an old woman unable to stand pointing up. Finally she came to a door that was open just a jar. She peeked through the crack in the door and listened. The room was empty. The knight carefully walked into the room. She took her helmet off and set it on a table next to the door. Footsteps came from the closet on the far side of the room, the knight backed up into the shadows. The door creaked open and revealed her best friend! The knight announced herself and her friend ran into her arms. The princess in pink explained that the wizard Kamek would return soon and they had to leave. The knight held her hand and led her to the stairway.
A loud rumble of thunder woke Peach from her dream. The room was slightly brighter indicating that it was no longer night. The book she was reading was on the floor and the fireplace was dimmed. Two of her Mushroom Retainers marched in informing her that her guests would arrive within the next two hours. Princess Peach leapt from the chair across the room and raced up stairs to get ready for her birthday party.