Chapter 19 Smoky

The flight through the cool air exhilarated Lemmy, despite the fact that his teeth chattered and his body shivered. He kept his eyes on young Ludwig and Aria. All sorts of exciting possibilities flittered about in his mind, like his brain was a hive filled with bees composed of his thoughts. He had no idea what would happen when they actually reached Frostwall, nor what sights they would see. After all, he had never seen or heard of Frostwall until this very moment…wait, actually, that wasn't true. Ludwig had mentioned it to him before. When he did though, he had a very pained inflection when he spoke. During that time, Lemmy wondered if he had a terrible secret guarding the place (of course, he got interrupted before he could explain it all the way through, and he and Lemmy never spoke about it after). So…what was the deal? What was the terrible secret Ludwig had regarding the icy town? Did it…did it have anything to do with the "anniversary" he mentioned before he left the castle with the ice flower bouquet?

Lemmy pondered these questions, stewing in a silence so uncharacteristic of him. He looked back at Ludwig, who had a solemn expression. Yes, something did in fact happen with Frostwall. The only question now was what. Lemmy opened his mouth, prepared to ask Ludwig. Before he could, his brother stopped flying. Initially confused, Lemmy looked forward and saw that the two kids had come to a stop. He heard a gasp come from young Ludwig, and one glance past him revealed the reason why.

Frostwall stayed tucked in a valley, with large mountains looming overhead. Said mountains looked like barriers, protecting Frostwall from any danger. Made sense, as Frostwall looked like something worth protecting. Even though the buildings were covered in snow, they still displayed a vibrant color palette of cool colors, mainly blue, purple, and indigo. In the center of the city was where most of the activity was, as buildings just a tad too short to be considered skyscrapers looked over the land. They glowed as well, which was mainly due to the fact that they were made of what looked like some sort of pale blue crystal. Even at night, even in the middle of the worst blizzards ever, those towers were sure to be visible.

"Well, here it is!" Aria exclaimed. "Frostwall, the home of many and refuge to more." She gave young Ludwig a smile. "What do you think?"

Young Ludwig stood stalk still. Lemmy had a feeling that he had a dropped jaw and wide eyes (he wasn't certain; he couldn't see his face). "W…wow."

"Yeah," Aria said. "It is pretty." She grabbed hold of young Ludwig's hand. "Well, come on! We need to get you to my house before you freeze!"

With that, they slid down the slope and descended into the city, with Ludwig and Lemmy trailing behind. Seeing the inside of the city up close, Lemmy felt tempted to let go of Ludwig's hand and go exploring. People were everywhere, bundled up in winter gear. The cool weather had no effect on their warm faces, as they smiled, laughed, and talked to each other a gusto that even Lemmy rarely replicated. The scent of bread mixed in with the scent of snow, which made sense to Lemmy as they passed by multiple bakeries. Even though it wasn't a smell Lemmy himself was very well acquainted with, it still brought him back. In fact, everything about the city brought him back. The street lamps, providing an orange glow to the blue and purple architecture. The footprints in the snow, leading in a multitude of directions that Lemmy longed to keep track of. And, of course, the people. Not even Sparksville had people this jubilant.

"Wow," young Ludwig whispered. Even though he lived in a castle, where he was exposed to the grand and the impressive everyday, this city still left him speechless. Lemmy theorized it was the warmth. The chilly atmosphere wasn't even a factor when one took into account the cozy nature of Frostwall. Lemmy very easily believed that this would make a great setting for a movie, a movie about the warmth of love and the joy of communion.

Anyway, the two kids continued to trek through the city. Aria said hi to some people she recognized along the way, but for the most part, she didn't forget or delay her mission. The two (or four, technically) made their way into the suburban section of the city, where regular houses constructed of some sort of blue brick resided. Aria stopped in front of one specific house, making her way up to the door with young Ludwig in tow.

"Well, here we are!" she said. All four of them made their way up the stoop, with Aria opening the door without a moment's hesitation. Inside, the place radiated both literal and metaphorical warmth. The white walls looked yellow underneath the very soft lights, and like the streets, it smelt of baking bread. Aria took off her gear after closing the door, placing her coat on a hanger and her boots on a tray. When she removed her hat, delight filled Lemmy upon seeing that she had the same wavy, sky blue hair that Jackie had.

"Daddy, I'm home!" Aria called out as she took off her gloves and put them in her coat pocket. She turned to young Ludwig, who Lemmy just now noticed was staring at Aria. "Come on; Daddy's probably in the kitchen."

Without any other words, young Ludwig followed Aria. It was a curvy path to the kitchen, as were one or two hallways required to traverse. Ultimately though, Lemmy was very happy when they got to the kitchen. Here, the scent of baking bread was strongest. Here, the light was the warmest, and the colors were the prettiest. What's more, leaning over the counter was a tall koopa man. He had wavy hair like his daughter, although it was misty gray as opposed to sky blue. His skin, like with most dragon koopas, was golden yellow, with his shell matched his hair color (again, like with most dragon koopas). When he saw Aria, his circular black eyes glittered.

"Hey sweetie," he said. He immediately noticed young Ludwig, causing his smile to grow wider. "Who's your friend?"

Aria gestured toward the special koopa. "This is Ludwig von Koopa."

"The Ludwig von Koopa," young Ludwig added, putting extra emphasis on the "the." He studied Mr. Shellcreep up and down. "And you're Aria's Dad?"

"Yep." He extended his hand. "You can call me Smoky though. I don't mind."

Young Ludwig looked hesitant, which Lemmy guessed was because a bout of shyness had overtaken him. He eventually took Smoky's hand and shook it, but with a limp sort of grip. "It's…it's nice to meet you."

"You too." Smoky let him go, now possessing a curiosity in his friendly, welcoming features. "So, Aria, how did you come across Ludwig? Spare me no details; I want to know everything!"

Aria seized up, now looking extremely uncomfortable. "Everything…" she hesitated before swallowing a lump. "Well…I…I met him in…the streets…" she blushed. "He was…making his way…down…downtown…"

Slowly, the happiness in Smoky's expression faded away and was replaced by disappointment. He gave Aria a stern look. "You found him in the woods, didn't you?"

Aria looked like she was going to shrink into the floor. "Yeah…"

Smoky shook his head. "Aria…! I told you you can't go up there anymore! There could be bears in those woods, or worse, boos!" He glared (in a loose sense) at his daughter. "Plus, if I don't know where you are, how am I supposed to know that you're safe?"

Aria hung her head. "Sorry, Daddy…"

Smoky sniffed before groaning and putting his hand to his forehead. "Aye aye aye." He looked Aria right in the eye. "If I hear that you're in those woods one more time, you are grounded."

"Okay," Aria replied, her volume comparable to a flapping butterfly wing.

Smoky kept his eyes locked on her for a few more minutes before turning back to young Ludwig with a smile. "Well, enough of that. Ludwig, why don't you join us for dinner? I've got some bread in the bread maker and some brimstone pie in the oven."

Instantly, with no warning whatsoever, Aria gasped. "Yes!" She did a fist pump before giving young Ludwig the most excited look that Lemmy had ever seen, bar none. "Have you ever had brimstone pie before?"

"Brimstone pie?" Young Ludwig wrinkled his nose. "Why would I have that; it's a peasant dish!"

Aria laughed, probably just viewing that entitled statement as something charming. "It might be, but it's also delicious! Especially the ones from Sheila's Bakery!' She licked her lips as she looked back at Smoky. "That's where you got it, right Daddy?"

"Of course!" Smoky said.

Aria jumped. "Woohoo!" She grinned at young Ludwig. "It's official then! You have to try it! I'll just die if you don't!"

Young Ludwig still looked unsure, but he did drop the entitlement of his expression. "If you insist."

…

Later, the three Koopas sat at the dinner table. Young Ludwig looked a little uncertain as he poked at his dinner, which consisted of mashed potatoes, roast moo moo, green beans, and of course, the bread. Lemmy reasoned that this was most likely because A, all the meals he had ever been served came from the royal chef, and B, he had never had the parent of a friend make something for him. On some level, that created a sort of tragic element to the situation, one that stuck out to Lemmy like a sore thumb. He actually felt really bad because of this. How often had the Koopalings' privileged upbringing impact how they interacted with others? How many times had they unintentionally isolated themselves because deep down, they thought they were better than others?

"Ludwig, are you going to eat?" Aria asked.

Young Ludwig hesitated. "Uh…"

"Come on!" Aria exclaimed. "I promise you it's good!" As if to prove her point, she stuck her fork in a green bean and popped it in her mouth. "Daddy is really good at making dinner. He even went to culinary school!"

Young Ludwig blinked and looked back at Smoky. "Really?"

"Well….technically yes," Smoky said. "I mean, I dropped out, but I did stay there for a good two months before the classes got too expensive."

"See!" Aria said. "You have to try it! Daddy knows exactly what he's doing when making dinner!"

Young Ludwig relented with a sigh. "Alright." With that, he dipped his fork in his mashed potatoes and put them in his mouth. The minute he did, his face brightened. His eyes widened with shock and sparkled with excitement. Lemmy laughed as he even went so far as to drop his fork.

"Well?" Aria asked.

Young Ludwig picked his fork back up and cleared his throat. "It's…it's not horrible."

"Yes!" Aria did another fist pump. "I knew it!" She resumed with eating her own dinner, triumphant and joyful in all of her actions.

The next few minutes were spent in silence, with everyone enjoying their meals. Just for curiosity's sake, Lemmy looked back up at the current Ludwig to gauge his reaction to all this. He had his eyes plastered to Aria, with a little bit of mist clouding up his lenses. Lemmy felt squirmy on the inside just looking at that.

Eventually, Young Ludwig finished his meal. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and looked right at Smoky. "Th…" he struggled, clearly still not used to saying those particular words. "Th…th…" He stopped and coughed. "Thank you, Smoky."

"Of course, Ludwig." Smoky got up and picked up Ludwig and Aria's plates. "Well, I'll go check on that pie."

With that, he left the room, leaving just Aria and young Ludwig. Whenever young Ludwig's eyes traveled over to the girl, he would stop himself and turn away while his face turned pink. This seemed to amuse her, as she giggled a little. Aside from that though, the room stayed silent, which really irked Lemmy as he wanted to see as much as possible.

"Aria?" young Ludwig eventually asked.

"Yes?"

Young Ludwig hesitated. "Where's…where's your Mom?"

Aria seized up. Her face darkened as she directed her gaze down toward the table.

"My Mom's dead."

This caused both Lemmy and young Ludwig to do a double take. "Oh." For the first time in this whole flashback, young Ludwig actually looked sympathetic. "I…I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Aria's face brightened up a little bit, even though she still didn't smile. "She died before I hatched. I never really got a chance to know her." Her eyes glittered. "She was a demon hunter, a pursuer of the supernatural and a studier of all things dark magic."

Young Ludwig squirmed a little in his seat. "That...that doesn't sound good."

Aria blinked before laughing. "Oh! No, nothing like that. She didn't practice dark magic; she just researched it and how it impacted the world. She also explored the ruins of some old magic sites, finding all sorts of artifacts."

Young Ludwig's face slowly rose. "Oh. So she's kinda like Indianna Koopa."

"Exactly!" She smiled a little bit. "That's what I want to be when I grow up. I think she'd be proud of me if I did what she did."

Young Ludwig nodded. "That does sound like it would be cool." He hesitated again before speaking about a different subject entirely. "Aria, do you think it's possible for me to get into the library?"

Aria blinked. "You mean the Grand Library of all Mushroom World knowledge?"

"That's the one." Young Ludwig fidgeted with the table cloth. "I want to get in to find out more about the special koopas. I want…I want to know why I have my powers."

Aria's brow furrowed. "Well, I don't know if that'll be possible. The Grand Library is restricted and requires a permission slip from Frostwall's mayor to get into."

"Oh…" Young Ludwig stayed still for a minute before his finger started to smoke. "That's not fair! I need to get into that library! Kamek is hiding something from me, and I need to find out what!" He growled as blue flames crept up his arms. "If I don't get in, I'll….I'll…!"

The lightbulb overhead flickered, causing Aria's brow to furrow even more. "Ludwig!"

Ludwig blinked before sinking back into his chair, with the flames disappearing and the flickering of the lightbulb dissipating. "S…sorry."

"It's okay." Aria bit her lip. "Maybe…maybe Daddy could help us. He is a grown up, and grown ups have a much easier time getting to talk to the mayor."

Young Ludwig's face rose. "Hey, yeah! Smoky could help!"

Aria nodded. "Yeah. All we would have to do would be to explain the situation to him!" She beamed. "Don't worry, Ludwig! We're gonna get you into that library! We'll get you into that library if it's the last thing we do!"

Right at that moment, Smoky returned with the pie. Young Ludwig's eyes grew wide as he observed it, as he took in the sight and the smell. His mouth even watered as Smoky placed a piece on his plate, which amused Lemmy due to him calling the pie a "peasant dish."

"Well Ludwig," Smoky said. "What do you think?"

Very slowly, almost reverently, Young Ludwig stuck his fork into the pie and took a bite. His reaction was very similar to when he tried the potatoes, except turned up to a million. "Oh my God!"

Aria laughed and turned toward Smoky. "I think he likes it, Daddy!"

Smoky's eyes glittered. "No, I'm pretty sure he likes it."

"That maybe true, but I'm almost certain he likes it!"

Young Ludwig gave Aria a confused look. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing; just having fun." Aria laughed before looking back at him. "I'm glad you like our 'peasant dish.'"

Young Ludwig smiled. "I…I am too."

With that, he continued eating. Lemmy watched, just as happy as Aria and Smoky over getting to see Young Ludwig liking the pie. However, as he watched, he couldn't help but wonder. Would young Ludwig get into the library? It seemed unlikely, but that was the reason he came to the city. How would things play out? What exactly was going to happen next?

As if reading his mind, Ludwig grabbed hold of his hand. "Come on, Lems. We're going to skip to the next day."