It was a quiet night in the Mushroom Kingdom. The moon was shining, the stars adding brightness to the dark sky.
People of Toad Town were slowly drifting into the Dream World, the children already dreaming of mushrooms, ice-cream, and no-school days. As for the adults, they were closing their shops, ready to reach the comfort of their beds for the next day.
Not far from Toad Town, a young human boy was doing one of his famous nightly sneak outs in the plains. He wore his famous orange t-shirt along with his jeans and brown boots. His light brown hair was covered by his orange cap, which bore the letter "E", and his kind blue eyes scanned the place he was in with awe.
The plains of the border of the Mushroom Kingdom were beautiful. The night wind was softly blowing, making the grass moving softly under his feet and the horizon. The moon was shining brightly, accompanied by the many stars, forming different constellations. Like all plains seen in paintings or drawing, there was a big tree on one of the hills.
The young man quickly approached the tree and laid his hand on it.
The teenager was none other than Prince Enzo, son of the famous hero Mario and the Queen Peach Toadstool. At the tender age of 16, the teenager was lulled by the stories of his father and wanted nothing more than to follow his father's footsteps and become a hero of his own.
But being raised as a prince has its downs. Like with his mother when she was young, Toadsworth was as protective and paranoid of him as before. He wasn't allowed to go outside alone at a young age and when he was, he was usually accompanied by someone. That's why now he sneaks up late out of the castle late at night; it was to satisfy his thirst for exploration and clear his head. After all, it wasn't good to stay inside all the time.
"Aaahhh... That's a great place." He sighed, "Too-a bad that Bianca didn't-a want to come."
Bianca is Enzo's fourteen years old sister. Not unlike Enzo, she too wanted to explore instead of staying inside four walls all day. But today she had an important test to study, so she couldn't afford to sneak out with her brother tonight. That, and she wanted to write a letter to their cousin Luciano.
Enzo sighed. It's been 18 years since the last sign of danger, so the prince couldn't say that he had lived dramatics adventures. Though he's was happy that say that he knew peace when he saw it. But as happy as he could be, he would never admit out loud that it could be a bit… boring.
He sighed audibly. No one was outside at the moment, so nobody can see him and snitch to the rulers that their eldest child was in the plains at an ungodly hour of the night.
Enzo was about to leave when something caught his eyes. Not very far from the tree emanated a green light. Curious, he followed the light as it became brighter at each step he took, forcing him to close his eyes for a moment. He took his cap from his head and placed it in front of his eyes as he opened them, letting it adjust to the familiar dark orange. He palpated the ground, his fingers feeling the cold dirt and the grass as he forgot his gloves on his bed. Toadsworth would have blown a fuse if he saw him with dirty hands and Enzo could imagine in amusement his face becoming like a tomato.
His fingers finally felt something. It was cool, but not cold. Enzo replaced his cap on his head and despite the light, his eyes widened as he picked up the object.
The only thing Enzo could say was…
"Mamma mia. It hurts the eyes."
Like father, like son, apparently.
The object was a bright oval green rock. It was small and could easily fit in Enzo's palm, but when he touched it, he felt something… strange. As if his senses had begun to solidify like rock. Enzo shook his head. The teenager could not deny that whatever it was, the rock was unique and probably held a great power. Maybe it was his imagination, but it was better to let an expert analyze it and be safe than throwing the rock away without knowing what it is and leaving it in the hands of evil.
"And I know only one person who can do it. Let's go-a back to the castle."
As Enzo walked back to the window of his room, he failed to look behind him and didn't notice a small shadow following him as he saw and heard the prince's actions and monologue. He bursted from the bush he was hiding and smirked darkly.
"Ah ah ! So this stupid mushroom prince found a magic rock ?" The voice was nothing near mature. It sounded more like a child, preteen at best. "Better follow him if it's worth a good bunch of coins."
At these words, the shadow jumped and quietly followed the unnoticing prince, secretly snickering, ready to cause havoc.
He sighed audibly. No one was outside at the moment, so nobody can see him and snitch to the rulers that their eldest child was in the plains at an ungodly hour of the night.
Enzo was about to leave when something caught his eyes. Not very far from the tree emanated a green light. Curious, he followed the light as it became brighter at each step he took, forcing him to close his eyes for a moment. He took his cap from his head and placed it in front of his eyes as he opened them, letting it adjust to the familiar dark orange. He palpated the ground, his fingers feeling the cold dirt and the grass as he forgot his gloves on his bed. Toadsworth would have blown a fuse if he saw him with dirty hands and Enzo could imagine in amusement his face becoming like a tomato.
His fingers finally felt something. It was cool, but not cold. Enzo replaced his cap on his head and despite the light, his eyes widened as he picked up the object.
The object was a bright oval green rock. It was small and could easily fit in Enzo's palm, but the teenager could not deny that whatever it was, it hold a great power.
