Chapter 5 Palace of Spice

Ludwig let out a breath. Looking in the mirror at this very moment, he saw multiple things. He saw himself on the surface level, first off. He had only the most expensive tuxedo on his body, and had sprayed his hair with enough hair spray to burn a hole in the ozone layer. He could also see the cues that gave away how he felt underneath the surface. His shaking arms and furrowed brow accurately portrayed his nervousness, much better than Ludwig had ever feared they could. If the tells were this obvious, he didn't stand much of a chance of looking good enough to go see Aria.

Aria. The girl who this attire was worn for. Ludwig turned away from the mirror and looked back at his cloak, laying folded at the foot of his bed. The jasper looked somehow more shiny than it ever had before; Ludwig wouldn't be surprised if the twinkles were trying to communicate to him in morse code. He had considered wearing the cloak out for this evening, but ultimately decided against it. Even still, he spent an awfully long time looking at the jasper. He could almost see Aria's face reflected in it, caught between the age she was now and the age that she had been when he first met her.

Ludwig sighed. This is all going to be fine. He had repeated that statement on loop for most of the evening so far. And, unfortunately, that statement became a victim of the Law of Diminishing Returns. Before…well, before, that statement only barely managed to calm his nerves. Now though, it only acted as a very empty, very hollow platitude. His heart beat, now out of control, only served to act as proof of that fact. Ludwig wiped his brow, cringing at how wet it was.

"You okay?"

Ludwig shook his head as he turned toward Lemmy, playing on the Koopa family Nintendo Switch on his bed. "Of course I'm not okay. I…" he shook. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel about this. Everything about it is exciting, yet downright terrifying at the same time. There's this pit in my stomach, but there are also butterflies there too! I…it feels strange. It feels…just…wrong."

Lemmy paused his game and put the Nintendo Switch to the side. "It's going to be fine." He gestured for Ludwig to come closer to the bed. When he did, Lemmy adjusted the bow tie around his neck. "There's no need to worry yourself into a rut."

Ludwig swallowed a lump. "I…I just…I never imagined I would find myself in this position. Even after I altered the timeline." He put his hand to his stomach, which both growled and churned. "I…I just want to crawl in a hole and die there."

Lemmy made a face. "But Ludwig! You'll be leaving Aria out to dry if you do that!"

Ludwig scratched the back of his head. "I know. But still."

Lemmy put his hand on Ludwig's shoulder. "Ludwig." He looked him dead straight in the eye. "It's going to be alright. It's just an innocent little dinner."

Ludwig nodded, biting his lip so hard that it hurt as he did. "I know."

"And hey." Lemmy pressed his forehead against Ludwig's, now so close that he looked like he only had one eye in Ludwig's vision. "Remember. You're doing this for Aria."

Ludwig's heart pumped when that was said. Whether that was because of a positive or negative emotion, he had no idea. "Yeah." He sucked in a breath, rising into the air by about half an inch. "For Aria."

Lemmy smiled, and Ludwig smiled back as he dropped back down to the ground. He went over to the door. His nerves weren't gone by any means, but now, he felt as if he could do this. After all, it's easy to do something when there is a greater purpose attached to the action, right?

So, Ludwig put his hand to the door. He turned it, going down the directions to get to the restaurant in Sparksville in his head for the thousandth time. Once the door opened completely though, he got a big shock.

"Larry?" He frowned. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"Forever, dude! Fucking forever!" He stood up and glared at Lemmy. "I want that Switch, Lemmy!"

Ludwig sniffed, all while glaring at his youngest brother. "Geez. You might as well have broken the door down with all that conviction you have."

"Oh believe me, I was just about to do that." Larry's glare got sharper. "LEMMY, FOR THE LOVE OF THE LUMAS, GIVE ME THAT SWITCH NOW!"

Lemmy giggled. "But my hour isn't up yet! Remember how Bowser set up the hour of gaming system?"

"IT'S A STUPID, UNFAIR SYSTEM MADE BY A STUPID, UNFAIR FATHER!" Larry boomed.

Ludwig rolled his eyes as he put his hands to his hurting ears. "Yeesh, why don't you yell louder and make Bowser ban everyone from playing on the Switch?" He turned. "Anyway, I'm off. You two don't beat each other up too badly; I'll want you to share the highlights of your fight with me when I return."

With that, he was off. Off to conquer a fear, off to spend time with Aria Shellcreep after what felt like an eternity.

Lord, help us all, Ludwig thought.

…

Sparksville was often considered the crown jewel of the Koopa Kingdom, at least in Ludwig's eyes. The colors of the buildings and the bustling, happy lives the denizens led needed no introduction. With that said, Ludwig had never actually seen it at night. Really none of the Koopalings did; they had no reason to go to the village after sunset. So, seeing it now, as the moon hung overhead, Ludwig couldn't help but feel a slight sense of awe. The colors weren't as distinguishable, and the people no longer walked the streets (at least not in such great quantities), but it was still impressive. Why? Well, lights showed through the windows of the buildings. These lights lit up the streets, like they were some breed of giant firefly. It made the entire town glow in its own unique way.

Ludwig stared at the illuminated town for a little bit, feeling like he was floating over a snippet of Heaven. That is, until he reminded himself of his goal. He continued flying forward, keeping his eyes peeled for the restaurant Aria had mentioned in the text. He didn't know if finding it was going to be easy or hard. It could be lit up like a fireworks display, or it could be some tiny little bistro tucked between two buildings on a street corner. He didn't even dare blink because of this; one missed sign could get him completely lost. That would just leave him alone in the dark, without anyone to provide him with assistance.

Luckily, finding the restaurant proved to be not difficult in the slightest. The place, called The Palace of Spice, had a bright neon sign that provided the building with probably the most color Ludwig had ever seen in Sparksville (which was saying a lot). Ludwig took in a breath and floated down toward the place. Once on the ground, he heard music coming from the inside. Whoever was singing sounded horribly off key, not able to carry a tune to save their life. This told Ludwig one thing: The Palace of Spice had karaoke nights. Hopefully, Ludwig could go through the night without developing a headache because of that.

Ignoring the pitiful crimes against music, Ludwig got out his phone. He took a deep breath before texting to Aria I'm here. Have you arrived yet?

It didn't even take one minute for Aria to answer. Great! I'll meet you out there in a minute.

Ludwig nodded and put his phone away. As he waited, he hummed a piece of real music to himself. It was an interesting tune; he hadn't composed it himself, but he had liked what he had heard of it. The song itself happened to be a duet, and a duet between two lovers on top of everything else. The male singer had a smooth voice, while the female singer had a musical conversation with the male while singing some of the most spunky and peppy lyrics that Ludwig had ever heard. He actually wondered if that song was available on the karaoke selection; however, he just as quickly pulled away from that thought. There was no way he was going up on stage tonight. No thank you; he was a good singer, but he wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone in the Palace of Spice.

"You're here!"

Ludwig lifted his head and turned toward her. Now, there were multiple thoughts that ran through his head when he got a look at her. However, there was one that stood in from the pack, one that played in his head at full volume.

Holy crap she's beautiful.

Aria's smile only proved to make the purple dress she wore all the more dazzling. She had clearly also put on makeup, with ruby red lips and midnight blue eyeshadow. To top it all off, her wavy hair had been done up in a pretty little bun. Ludwig couldn't help but have his heart melt looking at her.

"It's so good to see you!" She approached him, pulling him into an embrace. Just like seeing her had done, he now had a lot of thoughts and emotions tumbling against each other. He was so overwhelmed, in fact, that he barely had the willpower to hug her back.

It was a miracle that he even managed to speak. "Y…yeah. It's…it's good to see you too."

Aria pulled away, smiling at him as she did (did she whiten her teeth? Ludwig was only now starting to wonder that). "Well, come on! We've been waiting for you to arrive before we ordered any food."

And then…she took Ludwig's hand.

Ludwig almost stopped breathing when this happened. He stared down at his hand intertwined with hers. Her…her skin was so soft, her fingers were so dainty. His heart beat pounded in his ears, sweat from his neck down into his hammerspace. This…this was just like when he met her in the woods outside Frostwall. He flashed back to the moment when they held hands for the very first time, when Ludwig had extended his hand for her to shake. What he wouldn't give to be back in that time, before Frostwall got buried beneath miles of snow and lightyears of regret.

They went inside. Now that he was actually in the restaurant, Ludwig could hear the off key singing at full volume. Man, there should be a law against giving that very specific person a microphone. It kind of reminded Ludwig of that time that he, Lemmy, and Morton had gone to a restaurant in Neo Bowser City; that place held karaoke events as well, and the singing of the person on the stage when they walked in was just as terrible.

Oh well. There was nothing he could really do about it except wait for that poor soul to finish. So, he just let Aria lead him to their table. It was at this time that Ludwig took notice of the lighting. Except for the stage, it was actually rather soft. Not dim, necessarily, but it was dark enough to give the place a sort of…well, it was an interesting thing to see.

"I'm back!" Aria exclaimed once she got to a table. Ludwig pulled himself out of his head and looked at the Koopa girl sitting at the table. Her hair was violet with black streaks, and she had the face that only the most disinterested and unimpressed people could possibly have. One look down at her hands revealed the reason why; she was absorbed in the online world of her phone.

Oh great, Ludwig thought to himself. We have a typical millennial on our hands; this is evening is going to be a joy to sit through.

Aria didn't seem bothered by her friend's boredom at least not to a noticeable degree. "Ludwig, this is my friend Nori Washburn. Nori, this is Ludwig von Koopa."

"Pleased to meet you," Ludwig said. Hey, he might as well be polite, even if screen junkies like what Nori appeared to be did get on his nerves a little bit.

Nori nodded. "Ah. So you're the Koopa Kingdom prince that Aria's been talking about. Nice to actually see you in the flesh." Her voice was flat, like a beer that has not experienced proper carbonation. And honestly, it was the exact kind of tone that he would have expected from someone with her kind of profile.

So, Ludwig nodded and took his seat, not wanting to let Nori's nonchalant attitude make him too annoyed. He delved into reading the menu. There were quite a few tasty looking dishes, but would he be able to eat them with how much his stomach churned? The feelings he had right before he left returned after all, making him feeling like he was committing a crime.

What Nori said to Aria didn't help. "So, Aria, how long have you and Mr. Blue Hair been dating?"

Ludwig's heart skipped several beats. Dating? No! That's not what this was; that couldn't be what this was! He and Aria were friends, possibly even acquaintances with how long ago they had actually seen each other! They were not dating! Ludwig was not dating the girl he accidentally killed in an alternate timeline. He was also definitely not freaking out either! Yes, definitely not.

"We're not…!" His voice came out as a squeak. He covered his mouth just as Aria laughed.

"Ludwig and I aren't dating. We're just friends."

Nori looked at Aria with a raised eyebrow, eventually sniffing and shrugging her shoulders. "Okay. Just though I'd ask."

Ludwig nodded, keeping his hand to his chest in order to get the pesky organ it housed to stop with the incessant beats. He decided he might as well start up a conversation. That might help calm him down.

"So, Aria, you live in Sparksville now?"

"Mmhm," Aria said with a nod. "I just…I don't know, I just fell in love with the place. It's so warm and welcoming. And I mean that literally too; it's such a warm place in comparison to Frostwall."

Ludwig nodded. "That it is."

Aria nodded right alongside him. "It also helps that this is the place that has the most magical activity in the Koopa Kingdom."

Ludwig blinked. "Magical activity?"

"Aria's a demon hunter," Nori said, not even bothering to look up from her phone as she spoke. "She keeps track of dark magic and figures out how to combat it."

"That I do." Aria curled a strand of her hair back. "Despite how friendly this town appears on the surface, the dark magic residue here is mightily strong. I can't help but wonder if this place was built over the site of an old temple dedicated to the worship of the Shadow Queen or something."

Ludwig actually shuddered when he heard that. "Well. I think Sparksville is officially ruined forever for me; thanks Aria."

Aria chuckled. "Oh, you don't have to think that. The sins of the past don't need to blot out the goodness of the present." She smiled as she looked in his eyes. "Right?"

Ludwig's stomach churned even more when that question was asked. "I…I suppose." There was a bit of an awkward silence after he answered. As a consequence, he was extremely thankful for the waiter coming over to their table and taking their drink orders.

Once the waiter left to fetch their drinks, Aria voiced a question to the special. "So. Have you written any symphonies lately?"

Ludwig blinked. "Symphonies? H…how did you…?"

"I've listened to some of your music; I even bought some of your albums in the app store on my phone." She beamed at him. "They're really good."

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat. Before he knew it, the corners of his mouth turned upward. "Th…thanks."

Nori snorted. "Yeah, Aria won't shut up about your music. Says it's some of the most awe inspiring stuff she's ever heard." She sniffed. "Bunch of wishy washy nonsense, if you ask me."

Ludwig actually glared at her when she voiced that comment. Wow. Wow wow wow. Talk about a way to bruise the ego of a musical prodigy.

Aria waved her hand to dismiss the passive aggressive jab. "Well whatever. The point is I think it's really good." She turned back to Ludwig. "So, any songs that you've written recently?"

Ludwig actually felt really good when this question was asked. Not very many people bothered to ask him about his music, especially outside of his family. Even in his family, Lemmy was really the only one who bothered to learn more about Ludwig's esteemed hobby and career of choice; everyone else didn't really bother due to a lack of interest. Hearing someone ask him about this…well, he supposed it made him feel validated more than anything else.

"I've written a few," he said. "My most recent creation is a song called 'Long Lasting Friendship.'" Like most of my work, it's an instrumental piece. I wrote it in order to capture the feelings of joy when one makes new friends." He chuckled. "I also snuck in a little appreciation for my current set of friends as well."

"Cool!" Aria leaned closer to him. "May I listen to it?"

Ludwig paused. "Um…well, it's not finished yet. And I don't normally let people listen to my music until it's one hundred percent polished and constructed."

"Oh." Aria did look a little disappointed. While it wasn't very pronounced, and probably even unnoticeable to people who weren't looking hard enough, Ludwig still decided to say something to quell it.

"But, I might make an exception at some point." He smiled at her. "Once I get a solid recording for it, I might just give you a sneak peak."

Aria looked really touched by that statement. "That really means a lot. Thank you."

Ludwig nodded at her right as the waiter returned with their drinks. Once they placed their food orders, Ludwig actually managed to relax a little bit. This was partially because the singer on stage finally wrapped up with their abysmal singing, but also because this was actually going well. Sure, he hadn't expected it to be outright terrible, but he had at the very least expected his emotions to be all up in a tizzy. Now though, they were leveling out and leaving him in a more mellow, pleased state.

At least, that was the case until Nori stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Okay," Aria said. Nori rose from her chair, leaving her phone down on the table (wow, that was actually kind of surprising). She was only gone for a minute when a realization dawned on Ludwig.

He and Aria were alone. Again. Ludwig looked around, trying to see if the waiter was coming back so that he had a reason to not freak out. Because yeah, he was mightily freaked out. Sure, this wasn't as bad as when he was left in his room with her, because this time they were at least in a public setting with plenty of witnesses. Even then, sweat shot out of Ludwig's skin and made him feel both cold and warm at the same time.

Then Aria smiled at him. This caused Ludwig's heart to flutter, like the organ had a jumping bean inside it. He smiled a little bit, more so as a reflex more than anything else. There was just something about her smile, something genuine and lovely. Sure, he didn't feel like he deserved that expression from her; especially from her. But seeing it was more than just a treat for sure.

It was only after five minutes had passed that Ludwig realized he should probably say something. "So, uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "Do you still dance?"

"Every once in a while," Aria said with a shrug. "Ballet has kind of become a forgotten art for me, so I more so just do freestyle when I can."

Ludwig nodded. "I see…"

"Yeah." Aria beamed. "But I still like to get involved with music. I have found that I really enjoy singing."

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat. "S…singing?"

"Yeah. In fact…well, this is kind of embarrassing to admit, but…part of the reason I chose this restaurant specifically is because…I want us to try karaoking together."

Ludwig blinked, his heart rate spiked. No. No no no no no! He tried to object verbally, but his tongue wouldn't allow him to. That meant he was just stuck saying "no" on repeat in his head.

"I even have the perfect song for us!" Aria said. She pulled a piece of paper out of her hammerspace and showed it to him, pointing to one song title in particular. Ludwig's heart skipped several beats when he saw it; it was the song that he had been humming outside the restaurant! Bonding with Love and Excitement, is what it was called. Oh, could there be an better way to make Ludwig feel like he was two inches tall?

"So," Aria said, the smile still refusing to fall from her face. "What do you say?"

Ludwig hesitated, unable to form a coherent answer. "I…I…" Eventually, he sighed. "Excuse me; I'll be right back."

So, just like Nori before him, he went to the bathroom.