Chapter 7: A Magical Day
It was 7:30am when Rosalina woke up, dressed in her blue dress and shoes, and quietly snuck out the bedroom the princess and her shared. It was a very special date in the Mushroom Kingdom; June the 15th, Bella's birthday.
It had been one year since Bella had learned of the true identity of her parents and had saved them for the first time. Though life was a mess for the princess again, Rosalina was determined to make sure that Bella would have the best birthday ever. As a matter of fact, it was a really important birthday because it was her 18th. It had to be special.
The Queen made her way into the kitchen of the Comet Observatory, and put on her apron, many curious lumas also following her into the kitchen. She started by getting some of the ingredients she needed to make the best birthday cake ever.
"Mama, what are you doing?" one of the lumas asked. "Shhhh," the Queen giggled putting one of her fingers over the luma's mouth. "It's the princess's birthday, and I'm baking her a special cake." She turned on the oven to preheat it. "We got to keep quiet so that we don't wake her up and spoil the surprise."
"Can we help mama?" some of the lumas asked.
"Sure, the more the merrier!" the Queen replied, the lumas quietly squealing.
The lumas brought all of the rest of the ingredients out of the fridge, sitting them on the counter. They also found the most important ingredient lying in the upper right cupboard; starbits. They combined all of the items in a bowl, and Rosalina mixed it all together, putting it into the oven.
'What about a special breakfast?' the Queen wondered. 'Of course,' she thought. "How do starbit pancakes sound for a birthday breakfast?" Rosalina asked her lumas. Lumas squealing for joy filled the kitchen agreeing with their mama's decision, causing her to smile.
They all cooked for another hour, the lumas decorating the cake with plenty of icing and countless starbits were sprinkled on top. It was the most beautiful cake that they had ever made. Rosalina let it cool and hid it in the fridge, making sure that the princess could not spoil her surprise.
She quickly set up the table, and brought out the presents she had wrapped and hidden from the secret project she had been on for the last few days. It was time to wake up the princess for her big day.
….
"Bellatrix, wake up sweetie," Rosalina called to the princess.
"Just ten more minutes please," a sleepy Bella replied.
"If you don't get up soon, your breakfast will get cold," the Queen giggled.
"Okay, I'm coming." Bella said, yawning as she got out of her bed. She walked to the washroom to get changed and wash up.
After about five minutes, the princess emerged from the bedroom dressed in a white dress, her light brown hair fluttering gently down her back. She began walking towards the kitchen area of the observatory.
"Surprise!" Rosalina and the lumas yelled, causing Bella to jump backwards as she walked in. "Happy Birthday sister," the lumas cried floating over to the princess and giving her many hugs, causing her to giggle.
"Come and eat some breakfast dear," Rosalina said, grabbing Bella's hand and leading her over to her usual spot at the table. It had all of the starbit pancakes the lumas had helped cook on it, and of course the princess's birthday cake, which Rosalina had taken out of the fridge again.
"Awe, thank you all. This is really sweet!" the princess said, sitting down to eat.
"It's the least we could do on this special day for you," Rosalina replied with a smile, sitting down at the table beside her. "Let's eat."
They all ate the wonderful breakfast; the lumas enjoying the starbit pancakes most of all since they were made of their favourite food. It was all very delicious, and soon it came time for everyone to have some of the cake.
Rosalina brought out a lighter and lit the 18 candles which were on the cake. "Make a wish Bellatrix," she told the princess. The princess thought a moment about what she would want. She thought back to Junior, and how they had met on the special planet. Maybe if he saw her again, he could lead them to her parents.
"I wish we could visit your special planet again Rosalina," she stated, blowing out her candles.
The Cosmic Queen smiled. "It'll take some time to go there, but I'm sure we can make that happen Bella," she replied. Rosalina sliced the cake, giving the princess the largest piece, and smaller ones to all of the lumas on the observatory.
After breakfast had finished, the Queen got up and said, "Come, it's time for you to open your gifts." Rosalina picked up the presents from the kitchen, and brought them up to the library, the lumas and princess in tow.
They all sat down in the library, and Rosalina gave Bella her first present. It was wrapped in wax paper that had designs that were reminiscent of the stars and moons that could be seen from the Mushroom Kingdom. Bella took a second to admire the paper, and then gracefully unwrapped it revealing a stunning dress inside. Her face lit up as she pulled the garment out of the packaging.
The dress was a luminescent blue colour, with many stars and planets all over it. It gleamed in the light coming in through the library skylight, its vast colours unmatched by any dress the princess had ever seen before. "It's beautiful Rosalina," Bella exclaimed, a look of bliss on her face. "I got to try this on right now!" She ran to her room, and quickly put the dress on. Bella marvelled at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. She looked stunning.
The princess ran back to the library. "What do you think?" she asked, spinning around in a circle.
A uniform 'Awe' echoed from the throats of all of the lumas. "Absolutely gorgeous," Rosalina said, a smile on her face. "You couldn't look any better if you tried." A giant smile appeared on the princess' face.
Rosalina handed Bella another present, which was in a small case. "This one is from the lumas," she told Bella, the sound of her children cheering in the background. The princess opened the present, revealing a stunning necklace made of golden stars encrusted with diamonds over top of them. "Its amazing," she said, carefully putting it on. "Thank you all!" The lumas giggled as the princess gave them a hug.
Rosalina handed her another gift. "Here is something to complete the set!"
Bella unwrapped the paper around the package and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful pair of blue heeled shoes that matched the colour of the dress she was now wearing. "Wow, these are great! They match my new dress," Bella exclaimed taking them out of the box and placing them on her feet.
Bella turned around to face Rosalina and the lumas. She did a quick spin; her gown, necklace and shoes gleaming in the low light of the library. "You are the most dazzling princess on this side of the galaxy," was all Rosalina could say. The princess smiled again, and said "Absolutely incredible."
"There is one more gift that I have for you Bellatrix, but you must close your eyes and open your hands," the Queen said.
Bella obeyed, and felt the Cosmic Queen place what felt like a pencil or stick on top of her hands. The princess frowned with her eyes still closed, not knowing what the object was. Suddenly, she felt herself rise into the air, and begin to float. Bella panicked, and quickly opened her eyes. She stared down at her hands to find an object that looked similar to Rosalina's wand in her hands.
"What is this, and why am I floating?" Bella asked.
"It's your birthday present," Rosalina replied, a smile on her face. "Remember when I gave you the gift of your magic when you turned ten? Now I am giving you your very own specially crafted wand so that you can possess and store more magic, as well as create stronger and better force fields and objects with your mind."
"Why am I floating then Rosalina?"
"The wand allows us to hover wherever we desire to go." Rosalina walked over to the table and picked up her wand. She began to hover as well, and moved over to Bella. "Simply imagine where you want to float, and you will go there."
Bella looked up at the skylight, and imagined herself being at the top of the library. Sure enough, she floated up to the top, and could see all of the stars passing by as she reached the top by the skylight.
Rosalina floated up to be beside the princess. "There is a special pocket on your dress that can hold your wand for you as well. As long as you possess it, or if it's in your pocket, you will be able to float."
"This is really nice! Thank you so much!" Bella said, a blissful smile on her face. She floated over to Rosalina and gave her a big hug.
"Anything for my Bellatrix," Rosalina said, receiving Bella's hug. The two separated, but remained floating in the air.
The princess glanced at the stars for a few seconds, a look of sadness appearing on her face.
"I just wish my parents could be here to celebrate my birthday with me," Bella sighed, a stray tear falling down her face.
Rosalina wiped the tear off of Bella's face. "We will find your parents again, I promise you that. With your new wand, I know we will be ready to free them from Bowser when we find them again."
"Are you sure?" Bella asked, a little unsure.
"Yes I'm sure," the Queen replied, giving the princess an embrace once more. "That's the truth."
….
Junior and Peach were quietly sneaking down the halls of the dungeon towards Mario's cell. It had been ages since security had been as thin as it was at Bowser's castle today. Since the royal couple had been kidnapped months before, Bowser had made security as tight as ever to make sure the royals couldn't escape again. Luckily today, Junior had managed to find a corridor that he could sneak the Queen down without her being noticed.
"Thank you so much for taking me to see my husband Junior," Peach told the Koopa prince, a look of joy on her face.
"It's the least I can do," he replied as they reached Mario's cell. Junior pulled out a key, and opened the door allowing Peach to go in and see her husband.
"Honey!" the King exclaimed, running over to his wife. They gave each other a hug and a kiss as Junior walked into the room.
"I brought you your favourite," the Queen said showing Mario a large piece of cake.
"Oh, you shouldn't have. I haven't eaten desert in such a long time," Mario replied. He began to eat the cake.
"Today is Bella's birthday," Peach told her husband. "She's 18 now. I just hope that Rosalina is taking good care of her, and making sure her day is happy. I wonder if they are looking for us."
"I know they are," Mario replied swallowing a bit of cake. "I just hope they find us soon."
Junior thought about the King and Queen's conversation for a minute, finally building up the courage to speak: "Mario, Peach. I need to ask you something." The King and Queen turned to look at the prince. "I feel terrible about my father keeping you locked up again, especially keeping you away from your daughter. I wish I could let you go myself, but I don't have a way to get you home without dad finding out."
Junior turned towards that wall. "I do have an idea however. When Bella and I first met, I saw her on a planet not too far from here that I always went to in my spare time. Dad was never suspicious of me going there because I told him that I go there all of the time to think about life."
He turned back to the royal couple. "I have a feeling that Bella may show up on the planet again in her search for both of you. If she does, I can tell them where you two are, and let her know about my father's evil plans. What do you think I should do? Do you think I have a good idea?"
"If you do that, it could put her in danger," Mario stated. "But, she may be our only hope of getting us out of here again honey," Peach replied. "If Bella knows where we are, Rosalina and her might be able to get us out of here."
"I don't know," Mario replied with a perplexed look on his face.
The royal couple talked about the situation amongst themselves for a bit more over the next few minutes, and eventually came to a final decision. "Junior, do whatever you see as necessary to make the outcome of this situation the best it can be for our daughter and us," Mario said. "Whatever you must do, please do it."
"Thank you Mario," Junior said, nodding at the King. "I promise I won't let you down." He turned to the Queen. "Peach, I must bring you back to your cell now. If you stay out any longer, father may think you escaped."
The Queen gave her husband one last kiss, and left the room in behind the young prince. She mouthed one last "I love you" to Mario as Junior locked the door, and led her back to her cell.
A/N: Ah, it's a birthday scene. I really enjoyed the one from Mama Rosalina featuring when Bella had first gotten her cosmic powers. I felt that it would be appropriate to have another scene because of her 18th birthday (Plus I liked Bella's Birthday scene in Mama Rosalina), and that the princess was with Rosalina again; the one who had cared for her the majority of her life. I liked the cosmic powers, so I wanted extend Bella's powers to be more similar to Rosalina since it was as if she was her actual mother. This is likely one of my favourite parts of the story that I wrote, and it's only halfway through. :)
Will there be any luck in the search of Bella's parents soon? Find out in the next chapter!