Chapter Five

"I wanna go outside." The koopaling said to Peach when they were done reading.

Peach frowned. "I don't know if I can take you, I have some things I have to do this evening." The koopaling frowned. Peach felt bad for the little guy. "Tell you what," she said after a minute, "I'll see if I can get Toad or someone to take you, okay?"

"Toad?" The koopaling asked. "The mushroom?" He giggled. "He's funny looking."

"Or Anna might take you." Peach continued thoughtfully. The koopaling frowned.

"The magikoopa?" He asked nervously. "Not her."

"Why not?" Peach asked, confused.

The koopaling shook his head. "Not her." He said again. "Not her."

"Okay, Toad then?" Peach asked. The koopaling shrugged. "Right, I'll go ask Toad. Stay here."

Toad agreed to take the koopaling outside to play for a bit.

"Thank you, Toad." She said earnestly.

"No problem, Princess." Toad said cheerfully.

Toad took the koopaling outside, and Peach went to find Anna.

Anna found her first. "About this little koopa." Anna said. "I don't like it."

"The koopaling?" Peach asked. "I don't think he likes you either."

Anna sighed. "It's not the koopa I don't like. It's the situation."

"What do you mean?" Peach asked.

"Well, a little koopa shows up out of nowhere, doesn't say who it is, where it's from, who its parents are, we know nothing about it, and it's running freely around the castle." Anna said worriedly.

"And your dream." Peach added.

"I wasn't going to include that, but I did think it odd that the day after my dream about an argument about the koopalings at Bowser's Castle."

"He can read." Peach said. "I thought he was kind of young to be able to, but he said his teacher taught him."

"Did he say who his teacher was?" Anna asked.

Peach shook her head. "No."

"So we know absolutely nothing about him."

Peach thought. "When I found him, he said he was supposed to stay where he was. Then he said 'oops.' I don't think he was supposed to tell me that."

Anna looked thoughtful. "So someone told him to stay there, then."

"But who?" Peach asked. "And why?"

Anna shrugged. "I don't know, Princess. I just don't know."

Who was this little koopaling? Who had sent him here? And why? Peach hoped that this koopaling had not brought trouble with it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A shriek rent the air. Anna and Peach exchanged stricken glances and took off in the direction of the scream. They turned the corner to find a stricken Toadstool. She was staring at-of all things- Toad and the koopaling.

Both were covered head to toe in mud. "I just mopped." The Toadstool who had screamed said angrily.

"Sorry." Toad said wearily.

"Sorry." Said the koopaling. "Don't you like mud?"

"Not inside." Said the Toadstool grimly.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Said Peach to the Toadstool. She turned to Toad. "What happened?"

"Oh, we were just playing." Said the koopaling.

"In the mud?" Peach asked.

"Yeah." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As if mud were where you were supposed to play.

"If you will excuse me, Princess?" Toad said wearily.

"Of course, Toad." Peach said, sorry for getting him into this mess.

"Thank you." He wandered off.

Peach stared at the koopaling. He was filthy. "You need a bath." She said.

The koopaling's eyes went wide. "NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He cried, and took off running.

Anna looked grim. "What?" Asked Peach.

Anna shook her head. "Later. Now we need to catch the little mudslide."

"Right." Said Peach, and the two took off after the koopaling.