It was supposed to be a calm day for him. He was supposed to be relaxing, but yet again, a problem came to bother him. Looking at the distance he finally saw what he was looking for, a herd of yoshis coming his way. He sighed and glanced sideways and noticed the queen, his wife, next to him. She must've heard about it, he thought.
They had received an emergency call from Yoshi Island, the neighboring kingdom. They seemed to be alarmed about something, the rulers weren't sure about what. All they know is that they were oddly alarmed and would come rushing to the capital as soon as they could. It was going to be a long day, they were sure of it. Looking at the sky, he sighed once more. It was still damp and wet, but the rain stopped a few hours ago, almost abruptly. With that in mind, he took note of giving the yoshis a warm drink and perhaps a towel to help them dry, if they were wet, that is. He wanted to make sure everything was fine. He was getting slightly worried.
Looking back at the yoshis, they were already there, in front of him. It took him by a slight surprise, before rushing to greet and welcome them. The queen smiled politely to their guests.
"Good afternoon!", he started. "How are you all doing? What brings you here?" Getting no response, he glanced at every yoshi he could. They all gave him the same sadly disappointed look. His throat tightened slightly. Was it all that bad? Yoshis were commonly happy and protective creatures. He stopped and turned to invite them in the castle. His words were interrupted by a cry. He froze while the group of yoshies shifted. A tired looking male yoshi came to his view. He was holding something the king did not expect. The queen gasped.
"A child…"
And it was not only a child, but a mere baby. The unexpected child was not a toad nor a yoshi, he was human and a boy too. He was wrapped with a green blanket and strangely wore a green hat with a L emblemed on it. At last, as if the initial shock from both of the royals had worn off, the queen took the child from the yoshi and immediately took him to the castle. Firstly, it was the king's clue to realize that the kid might need medical help urgently. Secondly, he had to invite inside and attend to his worried and tired yoshi fellows. Poor creatures must be worried sick about the boy. It is unusual for them to appear in such cases. Would it be because it involved a baby human boy? Humans were rather rare in many kingdoms, but he did not know. However, whatever the main reason is for the sudden yoshies' appearances, he still had to help and lighten the worry of these folks. He can take it from now on.
Of course, the king had a million questions in his head, all coming and going, like trains going fast on their tracks, all rushing to their stations and never stopping for anything in the world, that is until the world crumbles upon them and stops them. The king snapped from his questioning trance once he remembered about his worried and exhausted guests. They had all patiently waited for the king to let them in, seemingly unaware of the king's trance. However, some had a slightly irritated look on their faces. The king mentally scolded himself, for the yoshies were the ones that took care of the baby and brought him here as fast as they managed. They took care of him, fed him and brought him across the body of water separating both places, all to make sure he was alright.
Finally, letting down a sign he instructed the exhausted yoshis to go inside. It really was going to be a long dreadful day. But, the king did not complain, not anymore. Whatever they do today would decide the fate of the boy. And the king was determined to find the best outcome for him, even if it meant leaving the boy under his own care. Though, he didn't want to get impulsive about it. Time would tell, but yet again, time was essencial. And so is information, he thought. He still didn't know what happened. He had many questions and wanted answers. Of course, he had to be patient, tolerant. The yoshis were still tired and needed rest. The king had to wait.
However, many hours passed and yet, he wanted answers. What happened? Who is that child? They needed answers. But for now, it was important to check that the boy was alright. But yet again, who are his parents or guardians? Where are they? Did they abandon him? Those questions had answers and it was time for them to be found out. They wanted, needed to know.
Losing his patience, and in a quest for answers, the king questioned a small part of the group. They looked better, yet the marks of restlessness was kept on their faces. Finally, upon questioning them it was discovered that the boy was abandoned in the middle of a clearing, close to a tree.
"Unbelievable! Thank the Stars for whoever found and rescued the boy in such a place." Exclaimed the king after hearing such discoveries before he was interrupted by a toad. Apparently he was needed somewhere else. It was important, urgent. With that he stood up, thanked the yoshis and headed straight to the door. Though he still could not brush off the melancholic feeling that had entered his thoughts once he was informed more about the boy. Was this abandonment? Kidnapping? A simple incident or was it intentional? Either way he did not care. He wanted to make sure the boy was alright.
Looking at the, now, toad in front of him, he gestured him to speak. The king listened closely.
"Your majesty, I'm sorry I interrupted you, but someone wished to speak to you. It's an urgent and serious matter." It was all the toad said before gesturing the king to the next room. "He's in the meeting room."
Upon meeting this person the king's nerves increased and his throat tightened. It, indeed, was urgent. Massive disappearances have been reported throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. And not only that, but throughout many other kingdoms, too. Most of the missing persons were just children, babies. It was horrible. And for what purpose? It made the king's blood boil. The kidnappings had to be all connected. Stuck in his train of thoughts and cursing whoever did this, the king did not notice that he was left by himself. He needed to calm himself down. But, yet again, a faint cry was heard in the distance. That seemed to snap him out of it, but he soon fell into another trance, another train of thoughts. Was the boy another victim of these acts? He did not know. But despite everything, he knew what he had to do. The fate of the boy had been sealed.
"TOADSWORTH! Call the queen for me!"
