6

The brothers followed the crowd of people up the large hill that overlooked the small town and up to the castle's front door. Behind the castle was the thick forest of the Chai Province that contrasted greatly with the vast deserts of the Birabuto Province. In fact, the brothers were in the Chai Province and the town of Birachai at the bottom of the hill was part of the Birabuto Province! It was enough to confuse any newcomers to Sarasaland as much as a Rubik's Cube. Still, Mario and Luigi somehow knew they had other, more important mysteries to solve during their long adventure, though they never anticipated what they might be. Nonetheless, they simply went with the flow of the crowd as Drake activated the castle's door bell. Pauline remained silent and angry at Mario for what happened just a few minutes ago. Luigi was not convinced by Mario's poor explanation for his harsh relationship with her; he knew that there was more to story. Luigi turned his attention to the castle door, where a pair of human eyes was looking though a narrow slit right at him and the rest of the crowd.

"Who comes near the castle?" said the man behind the door. "He who disturbs the king will be thrown out."

"It is I, Drake, servant to the king." Drake replied. "I have come with a huge crowd of people who have just survived a horrific train crash that was triggered by the evil Bowser of the Darklands. He was trying to kill the two people who managed to save these individuals."

"And who might these two heroes be?" the man behind the door asked.

"Their names are Mario and Luigi." Drake said. "They come from our neighboring kingdom. They are the heroes mentioned in the Book of Prophecies."

"Well, why didn't you say so?!" said the mysterious man. "Enter as you wish."

"Thank you." Drake replied.

The giant castle doors opened into a large hall that somewhat resembled the main hall of King Toadstool's Castle. The floors had the same black and white checker design and there was a red carpet that marked the main walkway. The most prominent difference was that the main hall was also a throne room, something that Toadstool's castle lacked. There were guards lining the red carpet, all of which were wearing bright metallic armor. At the end of the walkway was a staircase that led up to the large gold-plated throne where the king of Sarasaland himself was sitting.

"Well, after you." Drake said, motioning for Mario and Luigi to lead the way. Pauline stayed in the back of the crowd, still angry at Mario.

The brothers slowly made their way up the red carpet to the king's throne, where the king greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome to our kingdom!" the king said. "You two must be Mario and Luigi?"

"Yes, your highness." Mario said.

"Please, just call me King Richard." the king said. "No need for addressing me properly at the moment."

"It's truly an honor to meet you." Luigi said.

"It's a great honor to meet you guys!" Richard said. "You two are the heroes mentioned in the Prophecy if I'm not mistaken."

"That's what everybody's been telling us." Mario said.

"Do you not believe it?" the king asked.

"Yes, of course." Luigi said. "But we still can't seem to go anywhere without Bowser and his forces getting in the way."

"That's part of your journey." the king said. "You must face the evil in order to defeat it. There's just no other way one can neutralize a world nuisance if they don't face it themselves."

"We understand that clearly." Luigi said. "But may I ask you a question?"

"Why, of course!" King Richard said. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, we know that King Toadstool once said that he saw us as future heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom and the rest of the world. Did he know about the prophecy as well?"

"Of course he did!" Richard said. "Every leader in the world knew about the prophecy! Why else do you think Bowser tried wiping out the Mushroom Kingdom over a decade ago? He did it for a reason, and that reason was to ensure that you two would never grow up and defeat him."

Mario and Luigi stood there in silence.

"It all makes sense now!" Mario said. "He's been after us ever since we were infants! He must've known from the very moment me and Luigi outsmarted him that one time with the help of those Yoshies that we were the ones that would be destined to fulfill the prophecy. That's also the reason why he's trying so hard to kill us now."

"Indeed." Richard said. "I cannot stress this enough. You must do whatever you can to save your kingdom as well as this kingdom from Bowser and his evil intentions. He cannot continue to wage this kind of destruction against us anymore! You have to save Princess Peach and Princess Daisy! The whole world is counting on you now."

"So the whole world knows about us?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, and they believe you two are the only ones who can stop Bowser once and for all." said the king. "You've already proven that this morning. I cannot thank you enough for you two have done to save hundreds of innocent civilians from burning to death in that horrific train wreckage! A million times thank you!"

The whole crowd inside the castle erupted into an uproar of applause and cheering. Mario and Luigi were lost for words.

"We couldn't be any happier ourselves!" Mario said. "We're glad that we were there to help out and save some of your people."

"I think you guys deserve a reward." said the king. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden power star and handed it to the brothers.

"This will definitely come in handy!" Luigi said. "Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure." said the king. "I think you best be on your way now."

"Wait!" Mario said. "There's one more thing we should probably tell you before we leave! It's important."

"Alright." said King Richard. "Enlighten me."

"Are you aware of any details relating to Bowser's evil plan?" Mario asked.

"Why, no." King Richard said. "Why do you ask?"

Mario reached into the rucksack on his back and pulled out the Diamond Crystal Star. The king's jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"What is that?!" the king said in a ghastly tone.

"This is one of the Seven Crystal Stars that the Shadow Queen forged herself in order to take over the world over a thousand years ago." Mario said. "Me and my brother have so far learned that Bowser plans on using these stars for that very same purpose, and that is to take over the world and the universe."

Mario then took out the book from the rucksack.

"According to this book, one of the stars is buried beneath the pyramids here in Sarasaland. Is there any way we can access the archeological digs to try and retrieve it before Bowser's evil forces get to it?"

"Yes, there is." said the king. "All you have to do is follow the road leading to the pyramids and you'll be there. There's no need for any special passes or permits. They're only useful for creating and starting new dig sites, which I'm sure you don't have the time to do. My advice is to watch out for any of Bowser's forces while you're there. Whatever you do, do not let the stars get into the wrong hands! It is crucial that you two take possession of the Crystal Stars and keep them out of Bowser's grasp! Don't let that happen, okay?"

"We won't, sir." Luigi said. "We'll guard them with our own lives."

"That's right! You can count on us!" Mario said.

"Excellent!" said the king. "Good luck on the rest of your journey! You're going to need all the help you can get! I'll be sure to alert the other ally kingdoms of your enterprise so that their forces will help you along the way!"

"Will do." Mario said. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" King Richard said. "Good luck!"

As the two brothers said their goodbyes to the king and the people that they saved from the train wreck, they realized that Pauline had disappeared. As they exited the castle, Mario and Luigi were quick to spot her halfway down the hill crossing the border back into the sandy Birabuto province and venturing into the small town of Birachai. Mario started running after her and Luigi followed as the sir outside became warm under the rising desert sun.

Hey, everyone! Sorry the unusually long wait. It's been such an eventful week for me that I've been unable to reach the computer. But finally, I've been able to sit down and write again...

The brothers have met the king of Sarasaland and have recieved much needed advice and a valuable golden power star as a reward for their incredible act of heroism. All they need to do now is get to the pyramids before Bowser's forces get to them. But what is wrong with Pauline? Why is she so upset? The answer will be revealed in the next two or three chapters, so keep your eyes open for any updates. Hopefully, I'll be able to update at a quicker pace and not get sidetracked by homework and school. But until then, I'll catch all of you later:)

saturn95