"Lashanie, my dear, that boy, he -"
Ludwig lets out a spurning huff before he continues,
"He doesn't make good company for you."
.
"Your dad is absolutely right!",
her aunt Marie rants as she pats Ben's head, while Lashanie just keeps staring straight through her family members surrounding her at the dining table.
.
The brunette's got her arms crossed tightly over her chest, and her face speaks volumes. She doesn't care the slightest to listen to any of them.
.
"He even threatened your poor cousin!",
Marie laments stagy and clearly disgruntled as she sees how unperturbed both her's and Ludwig's arguments leave her niece.
.
Satisfied that his mother bought his lies about Varian going off on him when he only wanted to look for Lashanie, Ben shows his cousin a quick grin before he falls back into his act of the poor victim.
.
"Not true!"
Even though Lashanie should know better, she can't stop herself from giving in to his provocations. She jumps up from her chair and yells,
"He didn't! It was Ben who -"
.
"Lashanie! What's gotten into you?"
Surprised by her daughter's sudden outburst, Anne interrupts the young girl harshly.
.
Immediately, Lashanie falls silent. She lowers her head, purses her mouth, and sits back down.
.
Again, Marie's voice shrills in everyone's ears.
"This just proves what a bad influence that boy is! Only two days she's spent in his company, and she already raises her voice against her own family!"
.
With puppy eyes, Ben tugs at his mother's sleeve.
"Don't be so harsh on her, mommy. Our Lashie simply doesn't know any better. I, for my part, am not mad at her."
.
The grown-ups around them rest their eyes on Lashanie, expecting her to show gratitude for her cousin's forbearance.
None of them notice how his mouth forms an amused, sly grin.
.
But despite heavy frustration rising inside her, Lashanie doesn't counter anything. Instead, she averts her gaze, trying to ignore the piercing looks as she bitterly swallows down her anger.
.
"We only mean well for you, Lashanie!"
her dad insists while he subconsciously feels the small, faint scar on his chin.
"I understand that you might find him interesting, with all his odd ideas and strange thinking, but believe me, he's got no notion for boundaries. That boy will only get you into trouble, my dear."
.
Even though her dad's tone has become rather emphatic, Lashanie's mien doesn't change even the slightest bit.
She's made her decision to befriend Varian, and her family, who doesn't even know him, sure won't change anything about it.
.
Looking at her daughter sitting there like that, totally closing up while everyone's trying to tell her what to do, Anne begins to feel sorry for her girl.
She can imagine all too well what must be going on inside Lashanie in this very moment.
.
"Maybe we should let Lashie find out for herself if he makes a fitting friend.",
she mutters with a glance to Ludwig.
.
Lashanie blinks her bright eyes in surprise, while Ludwig can hardly keep his composure at this suggestion.
.
He sharply sucks in a breath.
"Have you forgotten what happened last year during the harvest, when that crazy boy showed up with one of his even crazier inventions!?"
.
Anne's gaze grazes the scar on Ludwig's chin before she fixes him firmly with her sharp brown eyes.
.
"No, I haven't forgotten that small accident. Which he also genuinely apologized for right after."
.
"Small accident!?",
Ludwig shrilly argues in disbelief, slamming his hand on the table, causing the dishes to clink.
"If Varian would have listened to his father and me, it wouldn't have come to this. He's a danger to himself and others!"
.
As her lips curve into a kind smile, Anne gently touches Ludiwgs arm.
"Please, love. He's just a boy, and you know he meant well."
She chuckles lightly and lovely.
.
A disapproving huff leaves Ludwig's throat, but he doesn't complain more.
In his place, Marie now intervenes.
.
"Anne, you can't be serious! After that boy harassed Ben, you still suggest we just let Lashanie spend more time with him!?"
.
As her mom seems to shrink several inches under the stern look of Aunt Marie, Lashanie tensely shifts her gaze between the two women, hoping her mother will find the courage to carry her point through against her sister just this once.
.
With an apologetic look, Anne asks Marie,
"But I thought you've already told his father about the incident with Ben. So shouldn't it be enough if Quirin disciplines his son? Ben also seems to be fine, so can we not-"
.
A deep gasp from Marie lets Anne stop abruptly in the middle of her sentence.
.
"I can't believe you!",
she bickers.
"Just think about how the people will talk behind your backs!"
.
It's the same argument Marie usually uses against Anne when she's had enough of listening to her sister, and of course, it works just perfectly once again.
.
Anne lowers her head between her shoulders and makes an effort to avoid her daughter's eyes.
.
Though it's still hard for Lashanie to accept that her mother never stands up against Marie, she also didn't truly expect a different outcome for that conversation.
Actually, she's already used to it so much that it doesn't even really disappoint her anymore when her mom gives in to her aunt.
.
Now that she's lost her only backing, Lashanie awaits to hear her dad's final order to stay away from Varian any moment.
And while she waits, the girl already silently plots how she could meet him without her parents noticing.
.
But unexpectedly, and very much to her surprise, Ludwig doesn't forbid her to see Varian.
On the contrary, he dissents Marie.
.
As if he's been reading Lashanie's thoughts, understanding that prohibitions wouldn't help, he proclaims,
"No, Anne is right. Lashanie must find out for herself what her new friend is like."
.
A slight smile tugs at the corners of Ludwig's mouth when his gaze meets Lashanie's.
And while Marie keeps grumbling her complaints, a sound Lashanie's learned to block out years ago, the young girl mouthes to her dad,
"Thank you."