It wasn't long before the castle crawled above the horizon. It was still early in the morning, but there was still a good chance that Mario and Luigi were there to visit. Gregory prepared to land the Koopa Clown Car on the lush, emerald carpet of grass. He was happy to see that the Toads and other residents of the castle were already awake this time.
Gregory strolled over to the double doors and gave them a few knocks, and it wasn't long before one of the Toads came to welcome him in. He greeted the Toad and continued his walk through the threshold, before spotting Princess Toadstool carrying a tray of bowls towards the guest rooms. The contents of the bowls were, quite obviously, hot, the boy determined once he saw the steam ascend from them.
"Princess," called Gregory to get her attention. The young girl twirled her head to see him, and smiled.
"Oh Gregory, thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed with relief, pausing mid-step to speak with him.
"Why, is something wrong, Peach?" the young commander asked while heading in her direction to help her with the door.
"Oh…I'm afraid that Mario and Luigi have fallen ill just recently," she stated poignantly, while walking through the door, followed by Gregory. He followed closely so that he could get the other door.
"They have? Is it serious?" he asked, after opening the door to a dimly lit room, following Peach inside. Mario and Luigi lounged limply on two beds that were positioned close to the window. Their hats hung above their heads on wooden hooks attached to the wall. The Princess placed the tray of what Gregory discovered to be soup, down onto a nightstand that rested in between the two beds.
"No, it's just the flu," she answered. Peach then placed her hands on Mario and Luigi's chests, stroking them gently to wake them up. Mario was the first to stir, his eyes slowly opening to reveal that they were a bit on the glassy side. The Super Star of the Mushroom Kingdom was clearly miserable, and the same could be said about his younger brother, as Luigi roused as well, his eyes showing the same condition as Mario's.
"Mario, Luigi, Gregory has come to see you," Peach explained softly as the two brothers slowly began to regain their focus. They waved feebly at Gregory to greet them, and he returned the gesture.
"Well, I was going to ask if you two wanted to muddle around…but you're in no condition for the sort of thing," Gregory explained with disappointment weighing down his words. Mario and Luigi nodded diminutively, the two of them were in no way excited about being quarantined either. Peach handed the two plumbers their bowls, and they drank from its contents in miniscule sips. Gregory felt uncomfortable in the crowded space, and decided to leave them to their recuperation. However, when he turned to leave, the Princess caught him gently by the arm.
"Gregory…I'm so sorry to ask this of you, but Mario and Luigi usually help out around the castle in the mornings…and well…with the Toads all stuck with their own jobs, there are small errands that need to be done…do you think that you could maybe give me a hand?" implored Peach hopefully.
"It won't take too long," she added with assurance in her voice, before Gregory could answer.
"Of course, it couldn't be that hard," he responded optimistically, while a relieved smile crawled onto Peach's face. The two left Mario and Luigi with their soup, Peach explaining to Gregory what would be on the to-do list.
Little did he know…the errands required to efficiently run an entire castle, can indeed be very hard.