Aaand this chapter officially completes the rewerite of part one! Thanks to everyone for sticking with me through this, especially all of the plan changes.
It might be a couple days before a new chapter comes out, but don't worry, I won't be too late.
Enjoy, I'll see you guys in a bit.
As soon as Ludwig opened his eyes, he felt warmth enveloping him, and he looked down to see Petra hugging him with extraordinary strength, and he could feel her shaky hand in his hair. Ludwig lay in shock, listening to Petra tearfully muttering sweet nothings in German.
"P-Petra? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Kind… I'm just happy you made it." She said, grasping the fabric of his tank top.
He looked over towards Tenenbaum who was crying too.
Ludwig felt dazed as he tried to figure out what was going on around him.
He was in his own room… but how did he even get here...
Petra let go of his uniform, held him by the shoulders, and kissed him on his forehead.
Ludwig felt his face turn scarlet, and he turned away, shocked by the unexpected motion, getting him a laugh from Tenenbaum.
"What are you so excited abou-" Diana said as she walked into the room, but she froze immediately when she saw Ludwig's face.
"Diana? What's wro-"
"Stay back..." She said fiercely.
Ludwig shot her a confused, cautious look.
"Diana-"
"Don't!" She cautiously backed out of the room and then ran.
He looked to Petra, expecting some kind of explanation, but then he heard Diana answer his question.
"He's back from the dead! He'll kill us!" He heard echoing through the halls.
"Back from the dead? Kill them?" He thought to himself, confused for a moment.
"Oh.
That's right.
I killed Viktor.
I did exactly what he wanted me to."
Tenenbaum walked over to close the door.
"Pay no attention to my so-called colleagues. They're all pathetic."
Petra's eyes narrowed and she looked towards the ground bitterly.
"What does she mean, back from the dead? What happened?"
The two women looked at each other, and made sorrowful glances.
"You… your heart stopped when we were working with you after what happened."
Ludwig's eyes widened.
"We tried to revive you several times, but it didn't seem to be working. We thought you were gone." Tenenbaum stopped for a moment. "So we brought you in here, thinking we'd have to…"
She swallowed, breaking eye contact with him.
"Bury you."
Ludwig's heart sank, and all of them remained silent for almost a minute as Tenenbaum turned away for a moment to pull herself together.
"I'm sorry I put you through all that." Ludwig said as he sat on the edge of his bed next to Petra trying to find the right words to use, in this rather foreign situation. "I didn't realize… how much you… "
"How much we care about you?" Petra said, holding his hand.
Ludwig felt his insides knotting just looking at her, her green eyes shining with sympathy.
He remembered how madam would always tell him the opposite.
Then he remembered when Viktor would tell him the same, but how differently he would show it.
But now he was looking at Petra Steinman.
And he'd never seen a pair of more caring eyes directed at him.
"I-"
"Ludwig…"
He didn't say anything, as he felt a silver tear streaming down his cheek, and he brought his hand up to wipe it away.
Tenenbaum stared at him, shocked at his current state.
"I-I'm sorry… I don't know what's gotten into me…" He muttered, his chest rising and falling at a faster pace.
"Ludwig, don't apologize-"
"I'm so sorry, but can I have a moment? Alone?" He said, blinking away the tears in his eyes.
"We can help you, it's-"
"Please." Ludwig interrupted again, turning his head away again, his teeth clenched.
The two of them walked slowly to the door, discouraged, and Petra took one last solemn look at the boy before she walked out behind Tenenbaum.
As soon as Ludwig heard the door shut, he turned to look at it, slightly regretting that he sent them away.
"You should have expected this…" He said to himself, leaning his head on his hands.
"But I didn't expect them to…" He said, his head up again and his voice shaking. "I didn't expect them to try so hard to bring me back, I didn't expect them to cry when I didn't wake up… I didn't expect them to show me nothing but kindness regardless of the fact that I've given them nothing…"
He covered his face, frustrated and confused at the tears that continued to fall down his face.
"Nothing… I deserve nothing as valuable as their kindness…"
Petra sat outside of the room, expecting to hear nothing.
But as she heard him venting to himself, she covered her mouth and felt her stomach tie in knots as she felt a few tears make their way down her face again, but she quickly wiped them away.
"Ludwig, please… you've given us so much more than you think…" She mumbled to herself.
"I'm supposed to go to Berlin to officially be put into my role. Then I'll officially be the country's personification on paper. Would you call me a taxi, please?"
"Ludwig, don't you think you should rest after what happened to you, your body is still probably weak from when it shut down."
"I'm okay. I'll be in a car, anyway, it'll be fine."
"Right." She said averting her eyes from his, walking out of his room.
He closed the door behind her, taking a sigh of relief.
After a few minutes, Ludwig had just finished putting on his suit and he was adjusting the red necktie, when Petra knocked on the door.
"Come in." He said, picking up his comb.
Petra opened the door and walked in.
"I called the taxi." She said.
"Oh, thanks." He answered, keeping his back to her. He slicked his hair back with his comb, making sure none of the hairs were out of place.
From across the room, Petra noticed how strange it was to see him wearing something other than his uniform.
Other than that though, he still seemed off to her somehow.
Still, from just yesterday when he had asked them to leave.
And she had heard him talking to himself.
She was so worried.
She was so worried that it hurt.
She walked up to him and put her hand on his back.
Ludwig tensed and stared at the wall.
"You're a killer…" The terrifying voice echoed through Ludwig's head.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Ludwig tensed his neck and breathed for a moment.
That's Petra, Ludwig.
"I'm fine." He said, adjusting his tie again.
"Are you sure?" Petra urged. "Because since yesterday, you haven't been acting like yourself, and we're both just worried about you."
Ludwig swallowed, and his eyes darted across the room, looking for an answer.
"Ludwig, I know what's wrong. Last night I was waiting to see if you were okay outside of your room."
He shot a shocked look at her.
"I'm sorry for that… but why would you say such awful things about yourself?"
Ludwig still didn't answer, and he turned towards the door.
"I-I'll go check for the taxi-"
"No, Ludwig, please…" She grabbed his hand.
"Please… talk to me…"
He stopped and turned around again, Petra leading him to sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Do you really think that no one should care about you?"
Ludwig finally spoke.
"Kindness is earned, Petra. Can you think of anything I've done to deserve your kindness?"
"Ludwig… you are such a kind and caring person yourself."
She ran a careful hand over his back.
"All of those victims that Viktor cruelly murdered… what did you do about it?"
"I failed, Petra." He says, his eyes narrowing.
"No, Ludwig, you cared. What did they do to earn your kindness?"
"They needed help-"
"Did they help you? Did you know them? No. But you knew that they needed help and you intended to do that.
Whatever the cost was to yourself."
Ludwig's eyes narrowed, staring at his lap.
"That's why we care Ludwig. Because all you ever seem to do is care. You cared when Viktor would hurt us, you constantly tried so hard to save people, you saved me.
the only thing you never seemed to care about was yourself.
And you're sitting here telling me that I shouldn't care about you?"
"My health isn't as important as yours…" He thought to himself, not daring to say it.
"Now, I don't care what you say, but I'm not about to stop caring about you. You matter to me."
"Okay?"
She stood him up and gave him a hug, Ludwig still wanting to say so much about how wrong she was she was… so wrong…
But he couldn't bring herself to be angry at her. No matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn't.
"Now then… that taxi might just be close now. But before you leave, please talk to Anselma. She's bad at feelings like you but she shares every word I just said."
He looked away, but he nodded his head.
She smiled warmly, and opened the door.
"Come on. Let's go."
Ludwig took one last look at his room before he followed Petra outside.
