The hallways of Bowser's Castle were places of misery. Rose always thought so and now all of her wildest imaginings of the Dark Lands were starting to come true. The hallways on the way to the Throne Room were dark, with torch-lights perched on the walls, but because it was daytime, there was still some light flooding through the windows. Outside of the windows, Rose could see more darkness and, in places, the dreaded shimmering lava. She touched the crown on her forehead; oh, how it contrasted with her dark dress! It was that same power struggle she didn't want to think about, and so she quickly turned her mind back to her surroundings.

The walls were mostly made out of stone, with moss flooding the cracks. Every now and then Rose and the guards would pass a servant (or possibly a slave) carrying something, or running somewhere (or from something), or talking with someone. Generally, though, the halls were empty. Rose tried not to think of the Castle's dark dungeons, lower floors, and more, and wondered if the Throne Room was indeed the most terrifying part of the Castle … well, she would soon find out.

"There ain't nothing to be scared of, Princess," one of the guards escorting her said, but the other laughed that dark-sounding laugh again. "You ain't gonna die."

"I'm aware," she responded. The rest of the walk was silent.

The Throne Room's gates, those dreaded gates, were large and ornate like those of the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland, but they were so much more dark and sinister, decorated with precious stones and metals of all kinds, that same moss and ivy seeping through them. Rose could have sworn that she saw ENTER AT OWN RISK crudely scribbled on one part of the stone walls, but maybe it was just her imagination.

And slowly, menacingly, those gates opened. They opened smoothly, but still had a subtle screeching sound as they opened.

The Throne Room was everything that Rose had imagined it to be, and more. She had to admit, the craftsmanship of it was incredibly admirable. It's impossible to describe in few words, but the ceiling was tall and decorated generously, precious figurines, statues, and family portrait paintings lurked in every nook and cranny. The carpet was a dark blood-red, stitched carefully with golden thread. In some places, vines swung from ledges, somewhat reminding Rose of a jungle, but the floor was stone, brick in some places, and cold. The windows were larger than in any other part of the castle Rose had seen so far—but they were also very decorated, so much that they were very durable and guarded. What light there was outside seemed to be tinted red by the occasional lighted wall torch lights, and the light was hazy, almost misty, with visible dust particles floating through the air. And at the center of it all, was, of course, Bowser.

Had Peach been there, she would have probably said that Bowser looked no different and taken it very normally. Rose, however, was seeing him for the first time—so this was the Bowser her parents have told her about and shown her pictures of, she thought. He really did look like Junior, but a much older version. He was still terrifying, perhaps even more than her parents had described, but she could imagine that in a few years Junior would look a lot more menacing than his father. Yet she had nothing to be afraid of, as the guard had said, she reminded herself. Whatever she was here for, she was certain of one thing: she wasn't going to be killed anytime soon. After all, why would they go through all this trouble to kidnap her, house her, feed her, and convince her to marry someone if they were just going to kill her? It didn't make sense.

Amidst all this thought, Rose didn't notice two things. First of all, the guards had left her, and second of all, Junior was in the room, just slightly out of sight because he was sitting on one of the Throne Room benches, not a throne. When she found herself again, she began to feel slightly horrified and wondered why she hadn't fainted yet.

"Ah, Princess Toadstool. We have been expecting you," came Bowser's deep, eerie growl. "I assume Prince Junior has informed you of the current events?"

Rose crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Yes," she responded. "somewhat."

"And I'm assuming it was nothing you wanted to hear?" he went on.

"It was nothing I wanted to hear, yet it was nothing that I didn't expect, as your plans haven't changed much since my mother's time here, and I'll have you know you won't hear anything from me that my mother wouldn't have said," Rose pointed out.

Bowser's eyes narrowed. Rose looked not unlike Peach, and yet her mannerisms were almost completely different. And yet, Junior had done his task and she was fooled: she thought she was here to be married off—in fact, she seemed quite convinced. Peach would have cried or begged for mercy at the extreme, but Rose seemed so perfectly calm. She had clearly been trained for these situations, and she had been trained well. It was the good old "don't let them know you fear them" rule, probably taught to her by Mario, if not even Peach. And yet, those troubles would soon be over, Bowser reminded himself.

"Your parentage is apparent," was all he said. Rose was silent.

Assuming that he would not receive a response, Bowser went on. "You will find your opinion changed soon enough. Ahead is a wonderful life for you, and if you cannot see that yourself, we will have to help you."

"There's nothing that you can help me with," Rose countered. "my loyalty to the Mushroom Kingdom, and my family, is always first to me."

"If that is true, then why won't you marry my son?" Bowser asked, in the same challenging way. "After all, regardless of your wishes it would be the best decision for your Kingdom's safety, and in the end your friends and relatives would probably want you to make it."

"The day that my relatives want me to marry Junior is the day I will consider doing so," Rose said. "But as far as I'm concerned, they would rather go to war than marry me off like this."

"And I assume it's your father making these decisions?" he questioned.

"Mostly," Rose said. "But also, my mother, my aunt, and my uncle."

"Ah. The good old gang," Bowser said darkly. "How's your father doing, anyway?"

"He's as big of a threat to you as always, apparently," Rose noted smilingly. "So big of a threat, in fact, that you're willing to kidnap his innocent daughter to use her against him."

"You don't sound innocent," Bowser said. That Princess Rose, he thought. She has no idea how right she is about the "against him" part.

"But I am," she spoke. "After all, I can't help who my parents were, and it's not my fault I was born—though I wouldn't change either of those."

"But you're the new Princess nevertheless, and that comes with responsibilities, I'm sure you're aware," Bowser said. "Though we don't know how many you've had, it will soon be known to you that you will have more."

The Princess raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow," she said.

"You soon will," came a voice.

Rose peered into the shadows where Junior was sitting, but the voice hadn't come from him. When she saw the new approaching figure, her eyes widened.

That blue cloak, blue cap, those glasses, that specter … it was a Magikoopa. But it couldn't be …

"Good day, Princess," came a voice that was chilling to her. "You might have heard of me. Do you know who I am?"

Indeed, Rose knew. Her parents had, in fact, told her about him as well.

Finally, the young Princess found her voice.

" … Kamek?"