Chapter 10 An Unkeepable Promise

Rosalina, Polari, and Solar saw many wonderful sights on that flight. There was one nebula that glowed with the luminosity of a thousand stars. The colors; vibrant oranges, beautiful yellows, flashy greens, and blossoming blues...they all made the Lady of the Shooting Stars marvel at the sight. They made her smile in a way that she had never smiled before. Possibly because she was seeing that sight with two people that she loved.

"Look, Mama! Star bits!" Solar exclaimed. He zipped toward the snacks, giggling as he did so.

Rosalina smiled warmly. Yes, love. She loved Solar. She had explicitly wished for him, and fate had delivered. It had brought her a baby all those years ago, a baby that she will never in a million years wish away.

"Oh man, these are so sweet!" Solar exclaimed as his teeth caused the star bits to crunch. "Daddy, come try these!"

"Already on it!" said Polari as he grabbed hold of one of the snacks.

Rosalina sighed. She had said that she would love Solar unconditionally. She had said she would love him even if he ended up blowing up a star. She meant it. She really meant it.

Do you honestly believe that, Rose?

Rosalina felt her heart stop at the thoughts echoing through her head. Yes, of course she would love him unconditionally.

But if he ends up disrupting the natural order of the universe, if he ends up killing thousands or maybe even millions…

Rosalina grit her teeth. "Shut up."

Polari and Solar flashed her a look, for she had said that too loud. "What was that?" Polarti asked with a mouthful of candy.

Rosalina sighed. "It's nothing."

You can't deny it, Rosalina. If Solar did the exact things that you fear he would, you would disown him. After all, it is your duty to protect the universe. It is your duty to keep everything in order.

Rosalina put her hand to her head. STOP! She internally shouted to herself.

I can't stop. Not only would you be unable to forgive and love Solar…

I SAID STOP!

The cognitions grew less judgemental and more worried in tone. But you also know that you would be unable to forgive yourself. After all, you were the one who opted to keep Solar.

Rosalina's heart stopped. She wanted to deny this thought, she wanted to denounce it. It was false! It was totally false!...

Is what she would have said if that was the case. But even she, the great cosmic protector of the universe, couldn't invalidate these thoughts. They...they were true. They were her own inner feelings projected. They...she could not deny that this is how she would feel. If she was responsible for the deaths of millions, even indirectly, she would feel awful. She would always look upon that one choice that she made with ire, with anger, with regret.

"Mama?"

Rosalina did a double take, realizing that she had been silent for an awfully long time. Solar and Polari stared at her with worry painted all over their faces. Polari floated up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, love?"

Rosalina took a deep breath. There was no reason to ruin this moment. She was having a fun outing with her family, after all.

"I am fine." She grabbed hold of a star bit, a blue one. "Maybe putting something in my stomach will help me feel better." She sank her teeth into the sugary space particle and grinned. "Delicious."

"Isn't it!" Solar exclaimed. He laughed and put some star bits into the pockets of his sparkly blue coat. "Let's bring these back home to the lumas!"

"Yes. Let's." At least if Rosalina was at home, she would be able to gather her thoughts better.

…

Sweat poured down her back, causing her appendages to feel cold. She shivered as the courses of adrenaline and fear overtook her. She zipped forward through the wreckage, the wreckage of airships and planet debris. The chunks of the Mushroom World zipped past her face, causing vomit to flood her mouth. She was just about to throw up when she saw something that made her gasp.

"Solar?"

Solar observed the wreckage. Except...he wasn't the Solar that she knew. He was an adult; a full grown adult. His red eyes, which normally didn't phase her, now appeared wicked and malicious. He gripped his sparkly white hands into fists, his expression was the very definition of evil.

What's more. The way he observed the wreckage, the way he observed this mess? He did it with glee. Pride.

Rosalina zipped over to her son. "Solar, what happened here?"

The full grown Solar stared at her, his eyes boring into her soul. He laughed, a haunting sound if Rose had ever heard one.

"I have destroyed everything you love."

Rosalina's heart leapt into her throat. "Why? Why would you do this?"

Solar grinned madness present in his icy blue pupils. "Why not?"

With that, he raised his hand. Rosalina looked down at herself and saw that her entire form was glowing orange. She shrieked.

"Solar, please!" she pleaded. "I'm your mother! I'm your!"

BOOM! The Lady of the Shooting Stars exploded into a collection of orange dust, leaving the power hungry Solar laughing over her remains.

…

Rosalina woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart beat was so fast, ungodly fast. Her breathing rate wasn't much better. She could still feel the pain of exploding, feel as if her entire being was just minutes away from vanishing from existence.

She screamed. When she had finished screaming, she curled up on the bed and sobbed. At the very least, it had all been a dream. A dream that would never come to pass.

But what if it did? That question rocked Rosalina to her core, made her feel beyond helpless. If this did come to pass, and the baby whom she had loved and cared for for six years turned out to become that...that...monster…

"Mama?"

Rosalina looked up and saw Solar in her doorway. He looked at her with concern as opposed to the wickedness he had displayed in the dream.

"Mama, is everything alright?"

Rosalina wanted to lie. However, it would be obvious even to the little boy that it was a lie. So, she sighed.

"I had a bad dream."

Solar's face fell. "Ohh." He came over. "What was it about?"

There was a pause as Rosalina contemplated how to answer that question. "Nothing you have to worry about," she said.

"Oh. Okay." Solar put on a small smile. "Do you want me to stay with you so you can feel better?"

Rosalina's heart shot like a rocket into her throat. "NOO!"

Solar did a double take. Hurt overtook his features at his mother's outburst. "Oh. Okay."

With that, he flew out of the room. Rosalina pulled the blankets back up over her form and laid down in bed, trying to push the feeling of exploding into dust out of her mind.

You know, don't you? You know now that you made an unkeepable promise.

Rosalina swallowed a batch of tears. These thoughts were right. They were absolutely right.