Chapter 12 Pardon Me
Ludwig's breath felt like it was weighing down his lungs. He paced around the tiny cell in the police station, unwilling to believe what had happened. How could Lemmy do this? Was he just crazy? Malicious? Unwilling to be helped?
It didn't matter. No matter what possibility Ludwig imagined, it did not ease his shock. He had been trying to help Lemmy all day, and it had landed him in a cell. A cell that he had no place in. Ludwig struggled with the handcuffs around his wrists as they bit down into his skin.
"Please," he said to the police woman at the desk. "This is crazy. You have to let me go!"
"No can do, sweetheart," said the police woman. She kicked her feet up onto the desk. "You have to wait for your trial before you can be released."
Ludwig shook his head.
"No, you don't understand; I'm innocent!"
The police woman laughed.
"Playing the 'I'm innnocent' card, are we? Man, if I had a coin for every time a prisoner did that."
Ludwig could feel anger boiling up inside him. This was not fair! This was not right! Why should he have to wind up in jail for something he didn't do? The rage was growing like a wildfire. His hands started to be devoured by blue flames, his eyes started to glow. That was when he got an idea. Ludwig placed his burning hands on the bars of the cell. He allowed the rage to overtake him. He allowed the heat to be transferred into the cold, metal bars. He could already feel them melting. The police woman looked at him in fright.
"What are you doing?"
Ludwig did not answer. He allowed the fire in his hands to continue with melting the bars, which were already starting to glow with an orange light. Ludwig smiled…
...and was hit in the face by flame retardant. Ludwig was so shocked by the cold spray that he let go of the bars and backed up into the wall. He coughed and sputtered, trying to wipe the disgusting white foam off of his skin and cloak. The police woman looked at him with a combination of fright and anger as she held a fire extinguisher.
"Don't you dare do that again!" she shrieked. Ludwig realized that he couldn't use pyrokinesis to help him out of this situation. He needed to find another way. Perhaps telekinesis? With this thought in mind, Ludwig concentrated on the bars of the cell, which started to glow with a blue light. He was just about ready to pull them back. Before he could though, the police woman pulled a gun out from her belt. She pointed at Ludwig, her hands shaking.
"Do that and you'll regret it!" she shouted, once again, with a fearful inflection.
Ludwig immediately stopped. His heart pumped rapidly as he stared at the gun, as well as at the frightened woman holding it. It was then that he realized that his powers were not the solution. He sighed, stopped concentrating on the bars, and sat down on the cot in the cell. The police woman slowly lowered her weapon and hesitantly got back in her seat.
Ludwig shook his head. There had to be some way for him to get out of here! He had to do something! He ran through the different laws of the Koopa Kingdom, trying to think of anything that could help him. Obviously, he hadn't murdered Lemmy. But how could he prove it? If only he could call one of his siblings, or perhaps maybe call Bowser.
Wait a minute. According to the Koopa Kingdom law, the King could pardon anybody from jail. If that happened, then the charges brought against them would immediately be dropped. With this thought in mind, Ludwig stood up.
"Miss?"
"What do you want now?" The police woman asked. Ludwig cringed at her scared tone.
"Is it okay if I request a phone call?"
The police woman looked at him in surprise. She nodded her head.
"Um, sure, of course." She went off into the other room and returned a few minutes later with a cell phone. "You are allowed one call, and it has to be under five minutes."
Ludwig nodded.
"That should be more than enough time." He hastily typed Bowser's phone number and put the phone on speaker.
"Hello?" Bowser's voice said on the other line. Ludwig had never been so relieved to hear the voice of his adopted father.
"Bowser, it's Ludwig," Ludwig said into the phone. "Listen, I need you to grant me a pardon."
"What?" Bowser said. "You need a pardon? For what?"
Ludwig sighed.
"I was accused of killing Lemmy."
"What? You would never kill Lemmy!"
"Exactly, and I didn't. So, can you tell the police woman here that you give me a royal pardon?"
Ludwig waited expectantly. He looked up at the police woman, who looked both confused and shocked. Finally, Bowser cleared his throat.
"Yes, of course. I, King Bowser Hortensia Koopa I, hereby grant Ludwig Vanessa Koopa a royal pardon."
Ludwig sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Bowser."
"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was right in the middle of taking a bubble bath and I don't want to keep my rubber ducky waiting."
With that, Bowser hung up. Ludwig looked at the police woman, who still looked extremely shocked. She grabbed hold of the phone.
"Was that…? No, it couldn't be Bowser. It just couldn't…"
The lady's face grew pale upon getting a glance at the phone number. She looked over at Ludwig.
"That was Bowser's phone number." She uttered. Ludwig nodded.
"It was. So, can you let me go now please?"
The police woman, with her face as white as a sheet, slowly got out a pair of keys.
"I...I suppose."
Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief as the doors to the jail cell were opened.
"Well," the police woman said. "I suppose I should say have a nice…"
Ludwig didn't even stay long enough to hear the rest. He just flew out of the cell with the speed of a lightning bolt, leaving the police woman in the dust. As he flew over the Koopa Kingdom, he knew exactly what his next course of action should be. He needed to find Lemmy and finally talk some sense into him.