One of the few things in life that baby Glyn found enjoyable as a baby was the mystical food that was known as mashed potatoes. From the moment that the mysterious concoction passed across his tongue and into his rumbling belly, he was hooked. It was practically the only thing in life that he actually enjoyed eating. Everything else paled in comparison. It wasn’t until much, much later, when he was a toddler that he was introduced to the gloriousness of the vegetable that mashed potatoes came from.

It was Lewis who made the mistake of introducing young Glyn to the absolutely phenomenal vegetable. That fateful day in the market, when Glyn reached for it, and Lewis explained to him what it was.

“Oh, you want this?” Lewis asked as he handed Glyn a potato from the stall. The ex-assassin tossed a silver piece to the stall’s owner, and glanced back to Glyn. “We have plenty at home, though, so I don’t know why you’re so fixated on this.”

“Potati!” Glyn squealed. “Potati!!”

Lewis smiled, “Yes. That’s a potato, Glyn. That’s what we use to make your favorite food.”

The toddler’s eyes grew wide. The world was far more astounding than he ever dreamed of. This powerful vegetable was the thing that made the tastiest food known to man. And it was in the palm of his hands. His to keep, forever.

Of course, Lewis thought nothing of it and went about the shopping trip as normal. It wasn’t until later that day, as he put Glyn down to sleep, that he realized just what hell he had unleashed upon the family. “Okay, Glyn. Let’s go ahead and put this potato with the rest and-” He started to take it, and Glyn held on tight.

For a toddler, his grip was quite something else.

“Glyn. We’re going to need to-”

“No!” Glyn looked at his father rather defiantly. “Mine! Potati!”

There was an ominous aura from the other room, and Janus and Lila popped over to see why their baby brother was upset.

Janus looked in, “Ohh…it’s just a potato…”

Lila frowned. “Boring…give it to Daddy so we can-”

“NO! MY POTATI!” Glyn was adamant about this.

Janus, Lila, and Lewis sighed in unison. “Okay,” Lewis said as he backed away. “You can have the potato…”

The toddler’s smile grew, as if he had been gifted the world and more. He snuggled it close as Lewis finished tucking him in, and as the lights dimmed, Glyn went to sleep knowing that his treasure was tightly wrapped in his arms.

Simone was in their room brushing her hair. “So… What have you unleashed on our household Lord Terrowin.”

Lewis cringed a bit and sighed knowing he signed his family up for something new. “Glyn likes… the potato, like the kids like their stuffed animals.”

“You know potatoes rot right?” Simone looked over at him. “If he keeps holding onto it he’s going to realize it’s gone bad and we’re going to have hell to pay.”

Panic flashed in Lewis’s eyes as he had to get that potato away from Glyn or come up with an idea for how to save Glyn’s childhood.

After a week Lewis noticed that the potato was starting to go bad. He hadn’t been able to get it away from him. He called Xeik urgently like one of the children were sick. “It’s Glyn.” He put a finger to his lips as he opened the bedroom door and showed Xeik his crib. “How the hell do we take it from him? It’s been a week. It’s starting to go bad. If he realizes it… I will have ruined his childhood.” There was a serious look on his face. “Fix it Xeik.”

Once Simone pointed out the rather fatal flaw in the potato, Lewis started to worry. That worry started to multiply as the week went on, and every attempt to get the potato away from Glyn ended in a rather glorious fashion. Of course, Glyn barely noticed, as he was far to preoccupied with the divine relic that was, quite honestly, the best darned thing to ever happen to him.

The boy brought it everywhere with him. Taking it to class was the first thing he did, and he showed it to all of his friends. Most of them were young enough not to know better, and agreed that Glyn had one of the best things ever. Of course, not as good as their own toys, but toddlers tend to be biased about their possessions. Next, Glyn brought it into the baths with him. It sank to the bottom, and almost got lost in the suds. The poor boy nearly had a panic attack, but he found it once the water drained, and was quite content.

Daddy had decided to play with Glyn that evening too! It was always a good night when the two spent time together. Sure, Glyn had to leave the potato unguarded for a time, but he kept a watchful eye on it. It even tried to roll away on its own! But Glyn was careful! He caught it JUST in time. Crisis averted!

Lewis, of course, was starting to panic as the week went on. For a toddler, Glyn was obsessive over the potato, and all of Lewis’ attempts to steal it away ended in failure. A master assassin, thwarted by a child.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Lewis said with a sigh as he put Glyn down to sleep. “Time to call in the big cannons…”

—

“You want me…” Xeik said as he stared at Lewis. “To fix…a potato…”

Lewis nodded, dead serious.

Xeik clapped his hands together, and took a deep, calming breath. “You mean to tell me…that you woke me up in the dead of night using the emergency call…for a potato.”

“Yes.”

“I…can’t believe this,” Xeik replied as he closed his eyes. “This is a nightmare. I’m having a nightmare.”

“Glyn is going to have a nightmare if you don’t fix this!”

“Just replace the potato with a new one,” Xeik replied, pointing. “He’s a toddler. I doubt he’ll notice if you get one that looks similar.”

Lewis blinked. “That’s…” He thought for a moment. “No. What about making the potato immortal?”

“You want me to what?”

“You and Ang…you can do that, right? Make people immortal? Can’t you do it to the potato?” Lewis wasn’t joking, either.

“W-wha? No. No we can’t make a potato immortal. That’s just crazy. Angela can only do that with living beings. Potatoes aren’t alive.”

Lewis frowned. “Fine..I guess replacing it is the only option.”

Xeik sighed. “Look…I’ll talk with Angela and see if there isn’t another solution. But for now, that’s what I have.” He turned around and yawned. “Now I need to go to slee-”

The ex-assassin moved between Xeik and the portal. “You need to help me.”

“Good night, Lewis.” Xeik started to push past.

“Xeeeiikk…” Lewis had an almost pleading look in his eyes. “Please?”

“Holy Angela, that’s creepy. Just…stop begging. Fine…I’ll help…”
—

Glyn was having a rather strange dream. The potato was running away, and it was scary! Such a mystical relic shouldn’t be running away. So, of course, Glyn chased after it. It was his treasure, his meaning of existence. It couldn’t escape. The boy reached out, and finally he caught it! He gripped the potato, and pulled it close to his chest. He wouldn’t let it escape again. Soon, he settled back into the pleasant dream of prancing about the island with his potato friend…

When he awoke the next morning, the potato was firmly in his grasp. It looked a little weird… the boy inspected his precious vegetable hard, but despite it being…well, weird, it was still a potato. His potato. He squealed with glee, and wanted for his parents to come get him.

Today would be a great day.

It had been three weeks since Glyn got his potato. Simone was worried about him but it was just like any other toy to him. It was his favorite thing in the whole world. He hugged it while he hugged her. He hugged it while she read to him. He even hugged it during his bath. The toddler worshipped this potato. Simone sighed lightly and shook her head. “Okay, time to get up and play with Glyn.” She took Lewis’s hand as they exited the library from being with Jules and Corrine.

He should have been napping. “Glyn, it’s time to wa–” Simone dropped the books she had for him. “Where’s Glyn? Where is my baby?!” She screamed as she ran over to the crib and tossed the blankets that he so loved out looking for him.

The ring said he was fine but her mind was in complete panic. “Glyn!” She screamed.

The distress she was having brought everyone to her and soon everyone was calling to Glyn. Lewis was in a panic as he watched Simone have a meltdown as she looked all over the island for him once she turned the castle upside down.

Lewis went to Elysia to get Xeik once an hour had gone by with no sign of the boy. “He’s just gone. The ring says he’s fine but we can’t find him. Simone is a wreck.”

The twins were hugging Simone telling her they would find baby Glyn. They were just as worried as she was. “Find my baby Xeik… Please.”

The whole island was in an uproar over the missing baby boy, Glyn. Darren scoured the island, and reported that no one had come or gone from the island, and that Glyn had to be on the island. It was impossible for him to have left. That narrowed it down quite some, but there was little luck in finding him.

Lewis was surprisingly calm despite Simone’s panic. He had no choice but to be. He was looking everywhere in the manor, as it had once been a pirate hideaway. There were still secrets that even Lewis knew little of, and the possibility of Glyn finding one, little as it may be, was not zero.

Several hours passed with no luck, but Lewis was confident that they would find him. He gave orders for the staff to start cooking dinner. Perhaps a Glyn would appear if he knew that his favorite dish was going to be made. Simone caught on, and the group searching started to call out that mashed potatoes would be served for dinner, and that Glyn should show up if he wanted some.

Silva and Henry started about the kitchen, prepping the stove and fetching the water. Silva was the happiest woman alive right now. She and Henry had recently married, and the ring on her finger was quite new. Lady Simone had helped Henry pick it out, and every time she saw it, she blushed. If things were to go well, perhaps little Henry’s and Silva’s might be in their future…

Her mind wandered as she danced about the kitchen. Sure, she was worried for Glyn, but she had faith that he would be found. She reached for the potato bin, knowing full well that this ruse was all for Glyn, and reached down. A small hand reached up, handing Silva a potato.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile as she closed the bin, and turned around. And stopped. Silva thought for a moment. What had just happened was something that should not have happened. In fact, it was rather odd that a baby boy would be in the potato bin.

“MASTER LEWIS!” she screamed, panicking as she spun around to open the bin again.

Glyn was staring up at her, a big smile on his face. No one was going to believe the absolutely AMAZING adventure he had just had. And look at ALL of the treasures he had found! It was a miracle! There wasn’t just ONE potato, but a LOT. At least two. Maybe three. Glyn wasn’t much for counting…

Lewis came running into the kitchen and his eyes widened. That little shit… “There you are…”

The door to the kitchen slammed open and Simone ran in pushing Lewis over to get to the baby in the potato bin. “MY BABY!”

“Mommy?” Glyn tilted his head as he saw her tears. “What’s wrong?”

“Glyn, do you know how long you were missing?” Simone looked down at him as she hugged him again.

“But mommy I wasn’t missing I was with the potatis.”

“But Mommy didn’t know that sweetie. We couldn’t find you. You’ve been missing all day.”

Glyn frowned and hugged his mother tightly. “I sorry Mommy. I had a great day with the potatis though.”

“…Next time… Could you tell Mommy before you go do something like this? Please?” Glyn nodded up to her and looked at his father. “DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE POTATIS?”

Lewis was glad that Glyn was safe, and even understood when Simone barreled through him to get to her baby. It was understandable, too, that Glyn was rather confused about the whole thing. All he was doing was just playing with his potatoes, living his best life. However, it dawned on Glyn that something wasn’t quite right about the whole situation. Something was fishy. He looked at his father, and his eyes narrowed.

It was then, he demanded if Lewis knew about the potato bin.

“E-excuse me?” Lewis asked, confused. “What are you-”

“POTATI!” He pointed at the bin. “DID YOU KNOW!? THE POTATI PRISON!”

Lewis stared at his child. “The what?” He glanced at the bin, and then back to Glyn. “Did I know about the potato prison?”

Glyn huffed, and nodded.

How exactly was Lewis supposed to answer that question. There was no right answer, and Lewis knew it from the start.

“FREE POTATI’S!” Glyn demanded, pointing. As if on cue, Janus and Lila entered the room, running up to their baby brother.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Janus explained, hugging Glyn and their mother. Lila followed, and hugged them as well. When they broke apart, Glyn was still eyeing Lewis.

“FREE POTATI’S!” Glyn huffed. “POTATI RIGHTS.”

All at once, Simone, Lewis, and a Xeik who had just walked in on that statement groaned. Glyn must have heard one of Raine’s speeches, and while he didn’t fully comprehend the meaning behind it, he had the right idea.

“Glyn, we can’t just-”

“POTATI RIGHTS! FREE THE POTATI!” He threw his free hand into the air.

Simone’s eyes narrowed on her son as she listened to him. “Alright. Potati rights.” She went over to the mashed potatoes that were ready for dinner.

“Mommy… What are you?” Glyn watched as Simone got a spoon and started to scoop it into a waste bin. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Raine doesn’t want people to eat birds. So… You don’t get mashed potatoes anymore if we free them. Silva, please remove the potatoes and throw them outside.

“MOMMY NO!”

“But I am freeing them like you said, Glyn. They aren’t animals. They are precious food that we eat. But if you don’t want us to eat them then we have to throw them away.”

“No,” his eyes filled with tears.

“It’s that or you only get your potato so you can have mashed potatoes.”

Glyn was struggling hard, tearing up as he watched his mother, his loving and doting mother who had always had his back, suddenly turn on him. The absolute horror and atrocity that she was committing was beyond what could be considered a war crime. But, as she explained what it meant to free the potatoes, he suddenly understood what had to be done.

Lewis was holding out his potato, the one that he had claimed all those weeks ago. Glyn reached out, taking the sacred relic, and filled with determination, he turned to his mother.

“No potati rights…” He sounded defeated. “My potato…” He hugged his precious potato. “Mashed potatoes.” He pointed to the bin. He sounded so dejected, but it had to be done. He couldn’t live without his mashed potatoes. It was the only food he liked. Well, that, and bacon. Bacon was pretty tasty too. But that had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

Lewis pulled Glyn into his lap, “You did good, kid. You made the big sacrifice. I’m proud of you.” He gave Glyn a serious look. “What you did today…I know it was hard…but it’s for the good of the family.”

Glyn nodded. “Good of the family…” He smiled. “Mashed potatis.” He pointed at the bowl.

Simone came over, a smile back on her face. “I knew you could do it, Glyn…”

Glyn grabbed the bowl from his mother. “I did it!” He immediately grabbed the spoon, and purely by accident, sent a mound of mashed potatoes straight into Lewis’ hair.

The ex-assassin sighed. “Wouldn’t have it any other way…”