Chapter 23 Difficulty

Celia sighed when she walked in through the door. She smoothed out her hair as she pushed the door closed, yawning as she stepped further into her house. Not really thinking, she took off her apron and tossed it onto the couch. She knew her mom would probably have a nutty because of this, but that didn't matter to her at the moment. She rubbed her eyes, yawning once again. She felt like she was about to collapse; she needed to get some rest.

So, not even changing out of her clothes, she went to her room and flopped down on her bed. Her head wasn't on her pillow, nor was she positioned in a comfortable way. But, like the problem with her apron, that didn't matter to her right now. All she wanted to do was sleep. She had expended too much energy, both because of her physical work and because of the mental strife associated with the decision she didn't even know that she wanted to make.

She curled up in her bed. She wasn't going to think about that decision anymore. She was going to sleep, putting it behind her for a little bit. The bed underneath her felt so plush and fluffy. She could spend a millennium here. Her worries and problems didn't matter in bed. All that mattered were comfort and rest, the two things that every person in the world deserved to experience.

So, she lay in bed. No sounds fell on her ears from other parts of the house, as she knew both her parents were out doing other stuff. No movement or vibration interrupted her either. Oh man, it felt as though she was in Heaven right now, like she was in the most peaceful paradise. It felt as though she had been given a bed made out of cloud and a room where troubles were left at the door. She snuggled deeper into the bed. She pulled her blanket out of its perfect place on the bed and wrapped herself in it like a cocoon. She was almost asleep, which meant that her problems were almost completely forgotten.

Creak.

Celia didn't even bother lifting her head when she heard the front door opening. Instead, she just snuggled deeper into her bed. Whoever was there probably didn't need her help with anything; the house was pretty much always in perfect shape. She yawned, pulling the blanket tighter around her when…

"Celia?"

He didn't sound too loud when he said that; in fact, his voice was just a soft, simple whisper. Regardless, Celia knew she shouldn't ignore him. She opened her eyes and lifted herself up despite the protests of her exhausted mind and body.

"Hey, Dad."

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Singe said, his voice still low. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Celia smiled. "I wasn't really asleep Dad." She adjusted her position on the bed. "But yeah, you can come in."

Singe nodded and entered. He closed the door slowly and walked across the room with the carefulness of a mouse looking for food in a populated kitchen. He lowered himself onto Celia's bed, almost like he was scared. Celia didn't exactly know why this was. Why would he need to be scared? What worries could be plaguing his mind that would make him this cautious?

"Dad, are you okay?"

Singe cringed. "Um… I've been doing a lot of thinking."

Celia frowned. Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. For a split second, her mind went back to the argument that the family had over dinner the night before. Surely, this didn't have anything to do with that! Surely, Singe wasn't about to bring that unpleasant topic up!

"Uh… okay." Celia's insides weren't squirmy per se, but they were getting close. "What have you been thinking about?"

Singe looked her right in the eye. His eyes gleamed with guilt, completely throwing Celia for a loop. She began to sweat, her worry increasing as she waited for Singe to answer.

"I'm really sorry about what happened last night."

Celia's heart sank. Her hands became clammy, and she looked away from her father. "Dad…" she searched for the right words, but nothing that came to her sounded appropriate for the situation. On some level, she was tempted to cover her ears and hum at the top of her voice, for the thought of talking about this right now, while she was so tired, sounded like a horrible idea.

"I imagine that it probably caused you some stress," Singe said. "And if I did, I just want to say that I'm really sorry."

Celia looked down at her bed, now feeling squirmier than ever. "Uh…" her tongue felt like it was made of lead. "Th…thanks." The inflection she used to say that word was caught between sounding like a sentence and a question.

Singe adjusted his position, the guilt on his face still not anywhere close to going away. "And I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable position. And I especially didn't want to make it seem like I was pressuring you to make the change." He looked right at her. "Because I wasn't. I was just giving you arguments as to why it should be considered; playing devil's advocate, in a way." Celia looked at him just long enough to see sweat forming on his head. "But based on the way I said what I said… well, I feel as though I might've been giving you the wrong message." He winced. He wiped his brow before holding his hands together, squeezing his fingers extra hard. "I… I like what you are, Celia. And I love you more than life itself."

Despite her discomfort, Celia managed to smile. "Thanks, Dad." A pause hung in the air. Singe looked right at her as if he was expecting her to say something. On some level, she didn't want to meet that expectation. But at the same time, she had a lot on her plate. Would it really be so bad to tell someone about what was going on between her ears?

"I really appreciate it. I'm just having trouble deciding what I want to do." She pinched a strand of her hair between her pointer finger and thumb. "And to be absolutely fair, I think you made some good points last night. Points that I really do think deserve at least some consideration." She stayed quiet for a minute before whimpering and releasing her hold on her hair. "But it's still difficult."

Singe nodded. "I can imagine. I know how stressful it can be when making a life-altering decision." He looked down at his robotic arm. He opened and closed his hand on it before turning back to Celia. "But one advantage I can see for you is that there is no right or wrong answer. This is a decision that can bring good and bad results no matter what the verdict is."

"Yeah, it is." Celia smiled. "And I can imagine a lot of good things that would come from being placed under the spell." The second she finished saying that, she remembered the Toad from earlier that day. Their words echoed in her head, causing her to draw back. "But…"

Singe leaned forward. "But what?"

Celia couldn't help but cringe. "But… I don't think I want to do it."

There was a silence for half a minute before Singe spoke up. "Well, if you're not comfortable with the idea, maybe it would be best to not do it."

Celia thought about everything. She thought about the arguments Singe made the previous night. She thought about the arguments Ruby made at the exact same time. The one that really stuck out at her was her mother talking about how Celia would essentially be saying that all the words and insults her bullies flung at her over the years were justified if she were to give up her Koopa half. And… yeah, Celia couldn't deny that that argument was a strong one. Just the emotions that it inspired within her heart were enough to point to its validity.

"I… I don't think I am comfortable with it…" she paused, hesitating. "And I do think that doing it would cause a lot of problems, but…" she shook her head and looked Singe right in the eye. "What do you think, Dad?"

Singe frowned. "I don't think I can decide that for you, sweetie." He smiled. "But I will say that I'll love you no matter what. And even if you make a decision that I don't agree with, I'll still support you in any way you need."

Celia's heart melted when she heard that, but not enough to counteract her frustration. She held back a sigh and turned away from him.

"I see that didn't exactly help," Singe said, his voice hurt.

"I… well, I just want to know what to do." She looked at him again. "But you're right. This isn't a decision someone else can make for me." She sighed. "As frustrating as that fact is."

Singe chuckled. "You'll figure it out eventually, Cee." He extended his arms, and Celia hugged him despite everything. He patted her on the back with his real hand. "You have the inner strength needed to reach a conclusion. I just know you do."

Another smile grew on Celia's lips, this one more genuine and a lot more happy than the previous one she had worn. "Thanks, Dad." She squeezed him before pulling away. "I… I think a good night's sleep will probably do a good job at helping me think more clearly."

"Of course." Singe got up from the bed, walking over to the door. "Sleep well, Celia."

"Thanks." Once he closed the door, she actually got into a comfortable position on the bed. She could reach a decision. Sure, it would be a messy road to get there, but she knew she could make a decision she would be happy with. And when she did, all this worry would be worth it in the end.

…

Wendy cried as she lay on the bed Peach had lent her, squeezing a pillow close to her chest as she did. She couldn't remember a time when she had cried this much. Even when her brothers had been kidnapped by Cackletta, her tears hadn't been this frequent. Of course, during that previous time, she had the help and support of her friends. Now, she didn't have that. And, to add salt to the wound, her brothers being kidnapped didn't directly have anything to do with her actions. This time, they did.

More tears came out of Wendy's eyes as she turned over on her back. She looked up at the ceiling, her vision blurry. She wiped her face, all while berating herself in her head. How stupid could she be? How selfish could she be? She shouldn't have gotten Toadette tangled in this mess. She could already imagine what the poor girl was going through right now. She was probably second-guessing herself, getting angry at herself for allowing herself to be taken in by a Koopaling. Wendy, as much as she logically recognized that this was probably the case, wished that wasn't what was happening. Toadette didn't deserve having to tackle such terrible emotions.

"Wendy, are you okay?"

Wendy lifted her head to see Roy standing in the doorway. His brow was more furrowed than it had any right to be, especially seeing how Wendy had been the one stupid enough to create the scenario she found herself in.

She sighed and rose to a sitting position. "I've just been thinking about Toadette." Roy opened his mouth to respond to that, but Wendy interrupted before he even got the chance to talk. "I mean… this whole thing is awful. I feel awful, Mario feels awful, and I'd bet every coin in my bank account that Toadette feels awful about this." She sniffled and pulled her knees up to her chest, tightly holding them. "And it just sucks. It really, really sucks."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can see…"

"And it's all my fault too!" Wendy said. She sat up even straighter. "I should've known better! I was even warned about this before I actually did it! I was told that it was a bad idea, that I probably would come out of the other side of it feeling hurt." She shook her head, a low growl coming out of her throat. "But did I listen? Of course not! I just let my own selfish desires guide me! I let my selfish, evil heart make the biggest mistake ever, and in the process, I hurt who is probably the nicest, sweetest girl I've ever met!" She growled even louder, almost screaming as she flung her pillow across the room. "Why am I so fucking stupid? Why?"

Roy scratched the back of his head. "Well, the way I see it…"

"I'll tell you why I'm so stupid; it's because I was thinking with my heart instead of my head." Wendy allowed herself to collapse on the bed. "My heart wanted to make friends. My heart wanted to get Toadette involved in a scenario that she never should've been in." She sighed. "I should've listened to reason. I should've let logic guide me. But of course, I couldn't fucking do that; I had to create more trouble than it was worth!" She sniffled again, another tear falling from her eye. "Why do I have to be like this?"

Roy hesitated. "Um… honestly, I don't think…"

"I mean…" Wendy sunk lower into the bed. "Toadette didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met. She's the kind of person who never deserves to have bad things happen to them, and when they do, she is able to bounce back. But even with that said, I don't know for sure if she'll bounce back from this." She whimpered. "I mean, I lied to her. I put her in a position where I took advantage of her. And if I know anything about anyone, something like that will probably cause her to harden her heart." Her heart started to ache. "Oh, I would hate if that happened. Like, you have no idea. The world needs more people like her, people who are kind just for the sake of being kind." She turned over on her side. "I just wish there was something I could do, something that would help her feel better…"

A moment of silence lingered in the air. Neither one of the Koopalings talked for about three minutes. Wendy thought this was a curse… until she got an idea.

"Wait." She blinked, sitting up as a smile came to her. "Maybe there is something I can do!"

Roy blinked. "There is?"

"Yeah!" Wendy's heart pumped. "Maybe if I go back to Toadette and tell her how I feel. Maybe if I tell her the truth, and what I really think about her…" Wendy's smile turned into a grin. "Oh, man! It is a bit of a long shot, but maybe it'll work! Maybe it'll help Toadette and bring her comfort! Oh, I have to try this!" She got up from the bed and gave Roy a hug. "Thank you so much, Roy!"

Roy hesitated. "Uh…" he eventually hugged her back. "Anytime, Wendy?"

Wendy giggled when she pulled herself out of the hug. "Now, I need to find out how to do this…" she walked out of the room. "Oh man, I really hope this is going to work!"