Chapter 4 Aria and Ludwig

While in his room, Ludwig more or less minded his own business. He got out a book that he had been reading, an entertaining book about the stock chosen one character falling into despair due to their position. He consumed this book, and as a consequence, the book consumed him. While reading, he blotted out the real world. He stayed as far away from his worries about Aria as was feasibly possible for him. No need to dwell on that when Aria was going to be taken away from the castle. All he had to worry about was exploring the colorful weird world that the fantasy story laid out for him.

He didn't notice when Lemmy and Aria entered the room. He didn't even hear the door opening, he was that absorbed in the wonder and intrigue of this odd, slightly off putting but also very deep and existential plot. He read for the better part of a minute with Aria and Lemmy in the room, turning a page as he remained stuck in a stew of unawareness.

"Ludwig?"

Ludwig seized up upon hearing his name being said in that voice. The voice held a certain type of familiarity and innocence to it, even though the passage of time noticeably changed its pitch. While deeper to a certain degree, it still possessed the same girlish ring that Ludwig had heard all those years ago, in the city that plagued his memory for the past fourteen years.

He lifted his head, snapping himself away from the book. His heart stopped as he looked into her amethyst colored eyes. He, like he had been all those years ago, became absorbed by their shine. This only lasted a second, but it was a glorious second. He swam in their beauty, doing backstrokes and butterfly strokes in their depth and their pristine nature.

But then, the second past. Ludwig's heart rate spread up as he sweat. His mind buzzed with all sorts of different, panicked thoughts. He couldn't turn away from Aria, but at the same time, looking at her hurt. His heart ached as its beat spread up and filled the very essence of his body. Questions of all sorts filled his mind. Why was she here? She was supposed to be escorted away from the castle by Bloke! Why was she in his room? Why wasn't she miles away, in a place where Ludwig didn't need to spare her as well as what he did to her a second thought?

Well, Ludwig got that answer. He finally noticed Lemmy, standing right behind Aria. Ludwig's heart sank; he didn't feel angry necessarily, but he did develop something that resembled a grudge against his immediate younger brother. Of course it was Lemmy; who else would it be? Who else besides Lemmy heard what Ludwig said to Bloke in the dining hall and subsequently decided to take Ludwig's well being and life into their own hands?

"Hey Ludwig," Aria said, smiling as she did. "It's…" she sniffled. "It's so nice to see you."

Ludwig frowned. He exchanged one look at Lemmy, who willed him to talk to Aria with his eyes. Even though that was the absolute last thing the eldest Koopaling desired, he saw no other way to get out of this situation. Whether he liked it or not, he had to talk to Aria.

"H…" he struggled to get the word out, as it felt like a sharp needle injecting anesthesia into his tongue. The sweat covering his scaly body didn't help. "H…hello, Aria."

Aria's eyes grew wide. "Woah. That's certainly not the voice I remember you having when I last saw you." She giggled.

Ludwig nodded, feeling his face grow warm for more reasons than one. "Well…I guess you can blame the passage of time. It stubbornly insists on making me get older despite my very obvious protests against that."

Aria laughed, as did Lemmy. Man, hearing her laugh…the way it made her sound like an amused angel, with more joy in her voice than what existed in rest of the world, actually helped Ludwig's heart beat slow down. He still didn't want to be in this situation, but at the same time…it reminded him as to why he became friends with Aria to begin with. This girl turned woman, who viewed the world with wisdom beyond her years and an upbeat mood that would make even Lemmy seem dismal, was the exact kind of person who Ludwig loved having around him. He discovered that when he first met Aria, and it has become a more prevalent part of his personality in the fourteen years since. Hearing her laugh actually helped some nostalgia to fill Ludwig's heart.

"As witty as ever," Aria said. She stopped laughing and looked at him with glittering eyes. "Wait, can you stand up? I want to see how tall you've gotten."

Ludwig blinked. With slow movements, he got out of his bed and stood up to his fully height. Aria studied him, the glittering light in her eyes not falling away.

"Wow," she said. "You really have grown up."

Ludwig nodded. He pushed the folds of his royal blue cloak to the side, just so she could get a better view of his entire appearance. It was only when another thirty seconds of silence had passed that he realized that he had compliments that he wanted to give her too,

"You…you've grown up too. You've…you've gotten more beautiful."

Aria blushed. Looking at that face, Ludwig's heart melted. His reservations regarding seeing Aria again faded away as he looked at her, with her reddening face and sky blue curls. He felt as if this was something he never should have worried about in the first place.

Of course, that feeling didn't last long. He once again became increasingly aware of how wrong this felt, as well as how he was in position only because Lemmy had decided to take matters into his own hands. He looked behind Aria again, hoping to give Lemmy a disapproving look.

Unfortunately, Lemmy was gone. He must have snuck out of the room sometime. Ludwig cursed in his head, becoming aware of why he had held such a disdain for his younger brother for years on end.

That is, until a realization struck him. He and Aria were alone! No one was left to witness this meeting, it was just the two of them standing together behind a closed door. The sweat beads all over his body got bigger. Oh, why did he have to be alone with her? Why did Lemmy have to be so cruel as to leave him with no one but the person who he had harmed in an unforgivable way? Was Lemmy just evil? Was there a deviousness in his heart that the kidnapping missions somehow didn't reveal?

"Thank you," Aria said. She turned her attention away from him (thank the lumas) and studied the room. Her expression grew more interested the more sights she saw. "So, this is your room?"

"Y…yeah." Ludwig could barely speak; he was very severely tempted to just run out of the room crying.

"Cool!" Aria gasped. "Oh! Do you share your room with Lemmy; is that his bed right there?"

"Y…yeah," Ludwig responded with the same word as last time. He scratched the back of his head. "L…Lemmy and I have shared a lot of things over the past few years."

Aria nodded. "That;s pretty sweet. Makes me wonder what my life would've been like if I had a sibling." She looked back at Ludwig. "I remember you telling me you had seven siblings the last time I talked to you. I can imagine that makes life a lot more exciting."

Ludwig nodded. "In…in a way it does." He blinked as he looked back into Aria's violet eyes. "Wait, you remember what we talked about fourteen years ago?"

"Yep! I think about it more often than not, actually."

Ludwig's jaw dropped. Wow. Sure, he figured that he shouldn't be too surprised, as he thought about his time spent with Aria in Frostwall too. But still, what exactly did that say about Aria? Did it mean that she viewed him as one of if not her very best friend? That actually made Ludwig's stomach churn a little. He felt as if he should tell Aria that he shouldn't think about him as often or as highly. But he didn't, probably because he realized that wouldn't do much of anything. If Aria regarded him as her best friend, even with the fourteen year absence…well, he supposed she was going to continue viewing him in that fashion.

"I…I see."

Aria took a step closer to him. This made Ludwig's heart beat pick up once again. She was approaching him! She was getting up close to him! Oh, what could this mean? Was physical contact next? What about a deeper conversation? Oh…what could he do? Why did Lemmy have to leave him all by himself with her? At least with someone else present, he would have a witness to observe all the events and make sure things didn't get carried away (wow, Ludwig just now realized how wrong that sounded, especially when compiling on the many implications that statement contained).

"Seriously Ludwig, I'm so happy that I got this chance to see you." Her face grew warm, like a batch of cookies straight out of the oven. Also look a cookie, it was sweet and inviting. "I know it's been a long time, but I feel as though it would be good to…"

She stopped, her voice trailing off. She directed her gaze downward, making Ludwig blink.

"What is it?"

"The…the jasper."

Realization hit Ludwig. He looked down at the rhombus shaped jasper button of his cloak. As Aria reached for it, Ludwig's mind filled with the image of her giving it to him all those years ago. She said that she wanted to give the gem to someone she formed a special bond with. Even after she had died in the Frostwall incident, Ludwig still held onto the gem. He…it served as a reminder of what he did, but he also wore it in honor of Aria's memory. In the eleven years before he went back in time and saved Frostwall, he would always feel the love that Aria felt for him whenever he touched the surface of the jewel. Now that she was here though, all of his emotions magnified themselves by tenfold.

"Oh." He put his hand up to the jewel. "Yeah."

Aria's brow still arched upward. "I…I can't believe you kept it. All these years later…"

Ludwig cringed a little. "Well, it was a gift from you. I…I felt I had to keep it."

Aria smiled once again. What's more, now a tear grew in the corner of her eye. Ludwig felt a pang upon seeing it. He only felt worse as Aria raised her hand to wipe it away, all without taking the smile off her face or turning away from the eldest Koopaling.

"You remembered me after all this time." She stood still for a minute, letting the atmosphere be affected by the pure joy that she had in her posture, her expression, and undoubtedly her heart as well.

But then, her expression shifted. She frowned, looking at Ludwig in confusion. This was the first negative emotion that she showed during this visit, and it made Ludwig feel so much worse than before.

"Ludwig, if you remembered me…why did you turn me away?"

Ludwig's heart sank. Yeah, he figured that he was required to answer this question sooner or later. At the same time though, he didn't feel that revealing his true reasoning was the best idea. For one, Aria probably wouldn't believe him. And if she did…well, that would just create so many more problems. One of the most prevalent ones on Ludwig's mind at the moment would be witnessing her trying to grapple the fact that he killed her. So no, Ludwig couldn't be completely honest. However, just because he couldn't be honest didn't mean he had to lie.

"It's complicated." A simple answer, one that most people probably wouldn't accept. Knowing Aria though, she probably wouldn't pry any further. She was sensitive to other's emotions, at least last time Ludwig had seen her.

"Oh." Aria's expression sank even further. However, she still nodded. "Well, okay. If you have your reasons then you have your reasons."

Ludwig put his hand to his heart and let out a sigh of relief. Good. That was one weight taken off his chest.

"Thank you for understanding," he said.

"Of course." Aria backed up a little bit, but her expression was still as warm as the hot chocolate she made Ludwig try at Freddie's all those years ago. "I'm just happy to see you at all. It..it brings me back."

For the first time since this visit, Ludwig actually smiled. "Yeah. It's very nostalgic, that's for certain." Whether it was nostalgic in a good or bad way still remained to be seen though.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Aria's expression wavered when the meow of a cat came out of nowhere. She reached into her hammerspace and pulled out her phone (wait, that was her notification sound? That was so stinkin' adorable!). Her expression fell when she got the text.

"Oh shoot!" She put her phone back, looking guilty. "I'm so sorry Ludwig, but I'm afraid I have to go! Something happened at work just now!"

A strange feeling overcame Ludwig. It felt like a mixture of two opposing emotions. On the one hand, he was glad she was going, as now he could push his guilt away in her absence. On the other hand though, he hated to see her leave. Call it nostalgia, call it happiness, call it whatever, but Ludwig had actually really enjoyed seeing her again. Despite all the circumstances, he actually wished that he could see her for a little while longer.

Regardless, he still nodded. "That's okay."

Aria nodded and made her way to the door. While she walked away, Ludwig got right back into his bed. He was ready to continue reading the strenuous exchange between the chosen one and the person who wanted him to live up to all the expectations. He had just turned to this deliciously entertaining and thought provoking scene when Aria spoke up.

"Oh!" Ludwig lifted his head to see her standing in his doorway. "I know! Why don't you come with me to a restaurant tomorrow? It'd be a good way for us to catch up even more!"

Ludwig seized up. That…that sounded a little too much like a date for his taste. He could live with seeing her and talking to her, but developing romantic feelings for his childhood friend? Yeah, no thanks. Not appropriate in anyway.

"Uh…um…" Man, why couldn't he talk? "Uh…I don't know if I'd be comfortable with that…"

"Oh, you don't have to worry," Aria said. "I'm inviting my friend to the restaurant anyway. It won't be just you and me."

Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Good. Well…I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Awesome!" Aria stepped back into the room. She and Ludwig exchanged phone numbers really quickly before she smiled and made her way back toward the door. "Well, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow…" Ludwig watched the door close behind her. It was only once he did that all of the conflicting, confusing, and downright frightening emotions overtook his mind.

…

Ludwig sat on the couch, still reading from the book. He was three quarters of the way done, which was impressive as he had only reached the one hundred page mark when he started the book three hours ago. Well, then again, it was understandable. Ludwig had delved into the book again in order to distract himself. He didn't want to spend too much time in his head, otherwise he would go to some very dark, very unwelcoming places.

With that in mind, did the book help distract him? It did before he talked to Aria. But now? Now that he had actually talked to her, and now had the dreadful fact that he was going to see her again tomorrow hanging over his head, his thoughts overclouded his love of reading. His hands even shook as he held the book, looking like they were going to fall off whenever Ludwig turned the page.

Why did he say yes? Why? What in the world was wrong with him? He hadn't been thinking when Aria offered the outing! Sure, he would've hated to see the expression on her face if he turned her down. But still…well, Ludwig shouldn't have said yes. He should've just let her go, far away from him to a place where he potentially wouldn't have to talk to her again.

Now that he thought about it…he did have her number. He could just text her and tell her something came up that required them to cancel their plans.

Ludwig smiled when he realized that. Ludwig, you're a genius! He pulled his phone out of his hammerspace, going to a thread with Aria's phone number. He raised his finger, about to start typing into the textbox…

But he couldn't.

Ludwig grit his teeth. Come on, come on! He tried his best to type the message, but his finger wouldn't move. It was as if it had frozen in place. He tried, willing himself in his head to do it and get it over with. Even then, he couldn't do it.

Ludwig growled, turned his phone off, and put it back in his hammerspace. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he cancel the outing?

Maybe because…he wanted to do it?

Ludwig shook his head at that thought. "No Ludwig," he said out loud. "It doesn't matter what you want. You shouldn't be anywhere near Aria after what happened. It's…it's not right."

"What's not right?"

Ludwig blinked and lifted his head. His face fell considerably when he saw Lemmy.

"You." He glared at him. "This is all your fault!"

Lemmy blinked. "What's my fault?"

Ludwig set the book aside and stood up. "You left me alone with Aria in the room! Now, thanks to you, I have to go to meet her at a restaurant tomorrow!"

Lemmy perked up. "Really? That's awesome!"

"No! It's not!" Ludwig shook his head and sat back down. "You shouldn't have left me with her! Heck, you shouldn't have even brought me to her! It…it isn't right…."

Lemmy, with a furrowed brow, walked up to his brother. He used a gentle tone when he spoke. "Ludwig, it's fine! You'll get to hang out with her! Sure, you still feel guilty about Frostwall. But you don't need to! You really don't!" He grinned. "You deserve to spend time with a friend."

"No! I don't!" Ludwig looked him right in the eye, trying to not let the concern in his eyes make him feel too sad. "Sure, I want to be friends with Aria. And yes, I like the idea of hanging out with her!" Well, at least he was able to admit it in the end. "But it doesn't matter what I want! And don't you dare say that it does!"

Lemmy froze. He directed his gaze toward a spot on the carpet, clearly thinking about this. Eventually, he voiced an opinion that honestly surprised Ludwig.

"You might feel that way, and you may be right. But…what about what Aria wants? She wants to spend more time with you; nay, deserves to." Lemmy looked him right in the eyes. "Wouldn't it be best if you do what she wants? Wouldn't that make sense, considering you clearly feel that you owe her something?"

Ludwig seized up. He stared at Lemmy with wide eyes, trying to grapple with what he said.

"That…that actually makes sense." He looked down at his lap. "Damn Lems, when were you the logical one?"

Lemmy laughed. "I guess it just comes naturally!"

Ludwig snorted before thinking about this again. "I suppose…I suppose going to a restaurant with Aria and her friend wouldn't be too bad."

Lemmy beamed. He wrapped Ludwig in a hug, all while Ludwig thought about tomorrow. It was actually going to happen. God, he hoped it went well…