Chapter 19 Aino's in Frostwall

Ludwig's heart beat sped up, the acceleration comparable to a race kart. What? Did…did Aida just say Frostwall? Aino is in Frostwall? As in the city that Ludwig destroyed as a seven year old; THAT Frostwall?

Oh goodness gracious. Even though he didn't have the whole story (in fact only having a small sliver of it), he still felt sick to his stomach. Sure, this happened whenever someone brought up the subject of Frostwall. But this time it was different. This time, it felt like something was especially wrong. Like the world was spinning on its side now, like the blue sky turned out to be red this whole time. Ludwig tried to prevent himself from throwing up as he looked back up at Aida, starting to let out miserable cries as Magnus held her in his arms.

"Aino…he died…in the city…" she lifted her head, looking into Magnus' face with so much sadness it was almost like she was glowing with a blue aura. "But…somehow he didn't! I don't…" she shrunk back. "I don't know what's going on. I don't know…"

"Shh." Magnus held his finger up to her lips, stroking the side of her face with a gentle touch Ludwig would have never associated with the magikoopa. Magnus picked up his wand. "It's all going to be alright, Aida." With a pained look on his face, he chanted an incantation. "Amina Fae."

Ludwig's eyes grew wide. That…that incantation! He recognized it; it was the same incantation that Kamek had used when he had erased the memories in the timeline that Ludwig's saving of Frostwall had created! He stared, slack jawed in awe, as Magnus took away some of Aida's memories. He looked guilty while doing it, as if this action was one that he would do anything to not act out. When the magical memory wiping was complete, Aida somehow looked far more relaxed. Regardless, Ludwig couldn't help but do a double take when she looked up at Magnus without any level of recognition.

"Who are you?"

Magnus sighed, the sound laced with sadness. "My name is Magnus, Aida." He patted her on the shoulder and laid her back down in the bed. "I'm here to take care of you."

Aida sent Magnus a confused look as he started walking away. "What just happened?"

"You had a nightmare, Aida." Magnus turned back to her and gave her a pained smile. "Thankfully, I was able to treat it." He continued on his trek toward the door. "Now, get some rest, baby girl."

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat as he saw Magnus open the door. No! Magnus just couldn't leave like that! There were so many questions Ludwig had; too many questions! He needed answers! Why was Aino in Frostwall? Why did Magnus use the memory wiping incantation on someone who already struggled with recollection? WHY WAS AINO IN FROSTWALL?

"Wait!" Ludwig bolted over to Magnus, just barely reaching him before he closed the door and sealed him in. "You can't leave!"

Magnus blinked and looked down at the eldest Koopaling. Said eldest Koopaling shook from all that he had observed in the past five minutes.

"Magnus, why is Aino in Frostwall? What happened to him exactly?" It was only once Ludwig said those words that he was reminded, once again, that the magikoopa couldn't understand him. Ludwig was just about to curse at the top of his lungs when, thankfully, Magnus leaned down and pet him on the head. The look he gave Ludwig was enough to tell the eldest Koopaling that, on some level, Magnus knew what he was trying to ask.

"I imagine you're a little shaken by what you just saw." Magnus ran his hand down Ludwig's back. "I guess that means that I have to explain things to you now." He let out a breath and stood up, his expression filled with so much pain. He then gestured for Ludwig to follow him out into the hallway. "Come on, Lovebug. I'll tell you what you want to know."

Ludwig let out a breath of relief and followed Magnus out. They went to the opposite end of the second floor hallway, to a room that Ludwig had never been in. Once the door was opened though, it didn't take him long to realize that this was Magnus' bedroom. It was pretty empty all things considered; the only furniture here was a bed with a purple comforter on it, a nightstand with a lamp on top of it beside the bed, and a dresser. Magnus turned on the lamp with his wand and gestured for Ludwig to hop on the bed. The Koopaling did so, albeit hesitantly.

Once Ludwig was situated, Magnus rubbed his tired eyes and sat down on the bed as well. He looked at Ludwig, the pain in his eyes actually making him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Well…" Magnus scratched the back of his head, biting down on his lip so hard that Ludwig could see and smell some blood. "Where to begin?" He looked at Ludwig, who by this point was desperate for information, and chuckled a little. "I'm sorry. This isn't a subject I generally talk about. None of the other cats in this house have this information. But…" Magnus sighed. "Since you did hear what Aida said, I suppose on some level I'm required to tell you what that was all about. I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush and just tell you. "

Ludwig leaned in closer. The word "Frostwall" played on loop in his head. He wanted to know what happened to Aino. He needed to know.

Magnus took in a deep breath. "I never met Aino personally. I assumed that the young man had been dead the moment Aida came to me. And really, why wouldn't I? He left Aida fifteen years ago to go live in Frostwall. And…" Magnus gave Ludwig a glance. "Well, I'm not sure if you're aware of this Lovebug, but Frostwall was destroyed fourteen years ago by a special koopa who had gone ballistic. Buried the whole city under snow from an avalanche; it really was a tragic event."

Ludwig nodded. Of course, he already knew that. But what was interesting to him was the fact that Magnus wasn't aware of the fact that Frostwall still stood. Ludwig mulled over why this might be when he realized that, to an extent, the destruction of Frostwall still happened. After all, him going back in time had created a paradox where Frostwall was both destroyed and wasn't destroyed. So, he supposed that it made sense that Magnus would only be aware of the destruction, and not aware of the lack of it.

Wait. Magnus said Aino moved to Frostwall a year before Ludwig destroyed it. So…that…that means…

Oh no! Ludwig's breathing became shallow. He tried to get himself to breathe normally, but his attempts were in vain.

"But what was interesting to me," Magnus continued, possibly unaware of Ludwig's breathing problems, "was that Aida came to me about three years ago claiming she had memories that contradicted each other. She told me that she could vividly remember her son sending her letters and visiting her in the past eleven years, which both she and I knew was impossible because Aino died in the avalanche. It really was quite odd; I've NEVER heard of something like this happening before."

Ludwig's nausea returned. It was because he went back in time. His saving of Frostwall had created two sets of memories for everyone affected by the event, not just him and his family. It sadly made perfect sense to Ludwig why Aida would be experiencing this problem.

But there was a big difference between his family and Aida. His family was perfectly aware of why they suddenly had two sets of memories regarding the past eleven years. Aida most likely hadn't been. Ludwig imagined that all of that must have been extremely overwhelming for her.

"So," Magnus continued on, "we started out a magical therapy session. I would erase all of the untrue memories out of her head over the next eight or so months." Magnus' face fell. "Unfortunately, it didn't go as smoothly as that. I wasn't particularly skilled when it came to memory wiping, so I ended up taking too much. Six months into the sessions, I noticed that Aida seemed to be forgetting about basic, fundamental concepts, such as certain words or actions." Magnis looked at Ludwig with a really strong sense of guilt emanating off of him. "It didn't take me long to realize that Aida was developing early onset dementia. And it was all because of me." He let out a hollow chuckle. "I suppose I should have realized my own limitations and gotten someone else to do the wiping. But…I was too proud of myself. I refused to face the truth that I wasn't competent enough with these practices, and I paid the price for it." He hung his head. "Aida paid the price for it."

Ludwig blinked. Well, he supposed that answered his questions from earlier, about how Aida could get dementia so early on. But having the answer to that question somehow felt worse to him than staying completely in the dark.

"So, in the past three year, I became her caretaker. I stayed by her side in anyway I could." Magnus cleared his throat. "And, of course, Aida never truly forgot about Aino. She would always ask about him, whether he was coming back to her, and I always had to tell that Aino died without really telling her that Aino died." He looked down at Ludwig. "What's more, every once in a while a memory that I had supposedly erased would return to her in the form of a dream. Or, in case of this night, a nightmare."

Ludwig bit his lip, trying not to bawl like a baby. This whole thing was wrong. Sure, Ludwig realized that before; being turned into a cat against your will was the very definition of wrong. But now, it was wrong in some many other ways. Aida was suffering from what was essentially a curse, Magnus was caring for her in a way that he never should have been responsible for, all the cats in the house had been separated from their previous lives…

And it was all because of him. He, Ludwig von Koopa, was indirectly responsible for this. He killed Aino in the original timeline. HE inadvertently gave Aida two sets of memories when he saved Frostwall. HE was the reason why all the cats in this house had been robbed of the opportunity to live normal lives.

Ludwig sniffled. Did he regret going back in time to save Frostwall? No, of course not. Ultimately, he felt he had made the right decision. But even that good decision couldn't erase the consequences of his terrible decision, at least not completely. He imagined that Aida wasn't the only one suffering because of this. It was possible that tons of people were still suffering over Ludwig's original mistake of destroying Frostwall.

Before he knew it, Ludwig was crying. He would never truly escape from Frostwall's destruction. Aida would never fully get her memories back, and it was all because of him.

"Oh, baby," Magnus said. He wrapped his arms around Ludwig, lifting him up onto his lap and stroking his back. "I know, I know it's sad. Believe me, I always feel bad whenever Aida and I interact." He shook his head. "I wish I could go back in time and undo it."

That line (that horrible, ironic line) made Ludwig feel even worse. He buried his head in Magnus's robe, crying in a way that he hadn't done since he originally destroyed Frostwall. All of this was his fault. He would have to carry this burden with him for the rest of time. He would spend the rest of his life knowing that all of this, this whole mess, was entirely thanks to his actions.

For about ten minutes, Ludwig just sat there crying in Magnus' lap. The magikoopa tried to comfort him; he scratched under his chin, between his ears, rubbed his tummy. It felt good, but nowhere near good enough to cause Ludwig to forget about all of this. Nothing would make him forget about all of this.

Finally, Magnus set Ludwig down on the floor. "Well, I think now would be a good time for you to get some sleep, Lovebug. Hopefully, you'll feel better by tomorrow."

Ludwig shook his head. "No, I won't. I did this to her." Ludwig felt a pang, not only because of the contents of the message, but also because the message fell of deaf ears. With his ears drooping, Ludwig made his way out of the room.