[01] || [A Hilda Between Worlds] || [Open]

[lorule]

Characters: Princess Hilda and you.
Setting: Dormitories, Art Gallery, Library, the Meadow and the Observatory.
Format: Prose or action, I will follow.
Summary: Hilda wakes up in the tower, promptly chooses to deny that her world is dead and goes off to explore. The prompts include the princess (unsuccessfully) trying to get a terminal to work and encountering a shadow child, amongst other happy things.
Warning: Nothing; will edit if something comes up. The post obviously contains spoilers for A Link Between Worlds.


• Dormitory Floor 1 / Room 1-03
Room 1-03: 'Your world has been destroyed. I saved you. Let's all be happy here.'

Hilda read over and over again the letter she'd found upon sitting up. Moments ago she had been standing in the Sacred Realm. The next thing she remembered, she was waking up paralyzed in this forsaken place. This of course was more than enough to unsettle her, but this was nothing compared to the story this letter was telling her. Lorule, destroyed? Impossible. Yes, the demise of her kingdom had been set in stone long before her birth and she had herself let go of the only hope her kingdom had. Ultimately, the destruction of her world was something she knew was meant to happen.

But not so soon. With her waking up in this strange place, something was obviously wrong-- Maybe her kingdom was even more endangered than before, but destroyed? She couldn't believe it, she refused to. Fighting the nagging feeling that there may be some ounce of truth to the letter's content, she crushed the letter in her hand and got up from the bed in an instant.

Her eyes then settled to the trunk at the end of her bed. She knelt next to it and opened it, looking for its content. Her dismantled staff, clothes and nothing of much use. She grabbed the pieces of the staff and worked on putting them back together as she looked around, giving a look to the other beds in the room. Were there other peoples living here? She would find out soon enough, she figured.

Dormitory Floor 1: Now equipped with her staff, a purple and golden stick mounted with an inverted tetrahedron Triforce, Hilda left her room. Her priority was to find out more about this place; more than she had so far. This place was even more strange than she had expected. The very texture of the walls was nothing like the constructions in Lorule.

Slowly she walked through the corridor, looking from times to times at the various doors and the names written next to them. She frowned, what little she saw was unfamiliar to her. Odds were that she wouldn't find anything familiar here. Yet she decided to try and open some of the doors on her way-- Only to find them locked and frustratingly letting go of the handle. But hey, this may just have been the door to your room.


• Art Gallery (Floor 22)
The numerous figures and events depicted on these walls meant little to her-- This place would probably have been a paradise for Yuga. A particular set of painting caught her attention, however. A series of paintings depicting the history of Hyrule from the distant past. She looked at the paintings with interest; albeit their content was nothing new to her. While she had never seen these paintings before, Yuga had told her all of Hylian history, or at least all about what he had been able to learn.

Another set of painting soon caught her attention. The paintings on the opposite wall depicted a seemingly similar story, but this one had a noticeably less positive outcome. Her expression darkened upon seeing them. She set her staff against the wall and raised a hand, to touch the middle painting. Why did they have these here? Yet it was the only depicting of Lorule she had found in the entire tower. So she remained there, staring at the painting for a long while.


• Terminals (Library - Floor 03)
Now this was intriguing. Not the books, no. The books were nothing new. She had plenty of them back home, and while she would be more than happy to read some of these, something else caught her attention. Namely, that weird thing embedded into the wall that had started displaying things right as she had passed by. She had seen these things in the dormitory floor as well. Surely they held some significance, but in what way?

The best way to determinate that was to try and interact with the strange device, she figured. The thought of using the keyboard didn't cross her mind for even a second though, and she pointed at the terminal with her staff-- Obviously this object was magical in nature, maybe casting magic over it would reveal its secrets?

If the fumes elevating from the terminal as a result were anything to go by, this experiment didn't go well.


• Meadow (Floor 25)
After the sad spectacle the tower had offered to her up until now, the sight of the meadow came as a shock. Not only hadn't she expected to see such a place within this horrid tower, but she had never seen such a place at all before. Lorule was a world shrouded in darkness that prevented the simplest of flowers from existing. A land covered with dark clouds that forbade the light of the sun to ever reach it.

She walked in and looked around, having a hard time hiding her amazement at what she was seeing. So this was what a normal world looked like? She couldn't figure how or why this place existed within the tower, but at the moment it didn't matter. Of all the things she had seen in the tower, this one was of nature to appease her. She slowly kept moving in, kneeling down at times to look at flower-- She would probably stay here for a long while.


• Shadow Children (Observatory - Floor 45)
After quite a while spent exploring the tower, she decided to take a rest at the observatory, looking through the glass to see if she could perceive anything through the thick fog. Obviously she couldn't, but the sight was somewhat similar to that of Lorule. Empty and without hope. In fact, much of the tower reminded her of her Kingdom; the monsters roaming around, the feeling of oppression, the destruction. And one more thing was about to remind her of her lost Kingdom:

"Why did you survive?"

She turned as soon as she heard the familiar voice, there was no mistaking who it was and yet— This couldn't be.

"Ravi-?"

But upon seeing where the voice came from, she backed down in disgust. A black creature, pale imitation of a human being with only its white teeth as distinct feature. This creature certainly not who she thought it had been, and the words he further uttered only confirmed this to her. She scowled at the being and tightened her grip on her staff.

"Why do you use this voice?!"

She brandished her staff to cast a spell on the creature, to trap him in a barrier and leave him here-- But the spell failed. And even though she decided to leave rather than face the creature one more second; it followed her of course.

Comments

[lorule]

The man sounded sincere enough and she turned back to the shadow, looking at it for quite a moment. More of these disgusting words flowed from its grin teeth— If this was truly Ravio, then she needed to do something for him. It was a big if, however.

"Do you have any proof of what you are saying or am I supposed to take a the words of a stranger at face value?"

Because if not then she's got free reign to deny it all in block.

[warriorscribe]

"We have Zo's word, and a recording of the attempt he spoke of. And...they truly are bound to our souls. They're driven away by being with someone you've bonded with here, if the bond has become greater. Have you seen anyone you know here yet?"

He sincerely hopes she has someone here. He wouldn't want her to die within her first week in the tower...

[lorule]

Zo... This name had been brought up quite a few times now, and he had been depicted as a reliable and kind boy. She didn't tear her eyes from the phantom from this point on, but nodded at Enoch's question.

"I have met Princess Zelda." She replied slowly. "I did not know her personally, but I knew another Princess named like her where I come from."

[warriorscribe]

Not her Zelda. That doesn't bode well... He assumes they're related, at least, but obviously if it's not really her...sister? cousin? ...it won't help with the phantom. And now that he knows there is someone here in danger of dying, he can't simply leave her to that.

"I see...are you two related? There is some resemblance. If you don't mind the question, that is..."

[lorule]

"No." She said and teared her eyes away from the phantom the time to give Enoch a brief explanation. "Please excuse my manners. I am Hilda, Princess and Sovereign of Lorule Kingdom. I have to assume you know Zelda? If so, it does not surprise me that you would see a resemblance. Hyrule and Lorule are two worlds that share a great number of similarities. They are connected worlds, yet oblivious to each other. And for all the similarities they share, they are as different as day and night..."

With that said, she turned back to the phantom and extended a hand to see if he would really react. Futile effort, needless to say.

[warriorscribe]

Lorule. That was...interesting. That universe's creator certainly had a sense of humor.

"I see." He gave her a little smile. "You shouldn't worry about your manners, Princess; I should have introduced myself first. My name is Enoch. Zelda is an ally of mine in this tower."

Never mind the fact that he'd conditioned himself not to thanks to his immortality. That little first wall of defense was proving very hard to break down, even in close quarters like this tower. Then again, this was something new, too. The only way he could help anyone trailed by a psychelysis phantom who didn't have anyone in the tower who could chase it away at all was to try to become such a person. He hoped the person the phantom represented wasn't someone indelible as Lucifel or Armaros were to him...

"But we should all be allies, so long as it can be helped." He extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

[lorule]

An ally of Zelda. And Enoch-- That name sounded familiar. Thinking to it, Grainne had told her a few names, people she knew to be people knowledgeable about the tower and Enoch had been one of them. If this was really the Enoch she had been told about this meant... The story about this shadow had to be true.

"It is my pleasure."

She took and shook his hand briefly, though she didn't mention she had heard his name before. Allies. She had been seeking allies ever since she had first awakened, so as to find answers and ways to go back to her homeworld. This revelation however, shifted her priorities.

"... Right now. I would only have one request. If this is really someone from my homeworld." She said about the shadow- "What can I do to help him?"

[warriorscribe]

The handshake was met with a moment of awkward unfamiliarity, though he allowed it to happen. He'd squeezed her own hand lightly when she'd taken his, though the expectation was probably lost in the rest of the gesture. He'd have to ask Lucifel about that one later.

"As of now, nothing that we know of, and the person who was doing research on them is dead. I can only hope they will be restored when we restore our worlds."

[lorule]

Admittedly, Hilda's manners left much to be desired, but that much was to be expected when her hero was shown to have become little more than the shadow of who he once was. Enoch's answer though, visibly angered her, and she made little efforts to hide it.

"So you are telling me I can only watch as he suffers?" she tapped her staff on the ground "Am I supposed to just leave and let him like that?"

Not acceptable.

[warriorscribe]

"For now. We will find the answer, but right now, we don't have it. I'm sorry."

He hopes they find the answer soon, or come across it on the way to restoring the worlds. But he really can't say much that will make this situation any better.

[lorule]

She didn't reply anything to his words at first, but then repressed a choked laughter. For all the time they had spent in this place, they couldn't do anything about that? She had been a fool to expect that this Enoch, or anyone whose name Grainne had given her, would have known more.

"Is that how you people in this tower fight this Ruana and try to save our worlds? By giving up so easilly?" She replied coldly then turned back to the shadow, approaching it. "You may not have an answer but I shall not abandon him for that much."

[warriorscribe]

"When did I say I had given up? There is a difference between deciding acting is fruitless entirely and recognizing there is nothing to be done at the moment."

He should look or at least sound insulted, but instead...instead, he just looks tired.

"It takes time, Princess. The person who was trying to understand these phantoms and had the ability to do so is dead, and as one of our hosts, it will be difficult to find his research. It will take planning and consideration to reach where he worked, and a team must be gathered.

"If we had taken merely biding time for having given up, we would never have made progress at all. We would have given up before we'd even begun. We would know nothing. Have done nothing. ...No. We have not given up. We are only still seeking opportunity."

[lorule]

"The only difference I see is one in the choice of words. The meanings remain unchanged, equal in the feeling of abandon they reflect."

And obviously, what he said next did nothing to reassure her either. The one person who researched the broken souls of their lost friend was now dead? Coupled with the deadline she had been told about, this left little hope to ever find a solution to save them.

"Then please, tell me what it is you have done and now know?"

She sounded sincere enough at least; if they had indeed done something and learned from it, she wanted to know about it.

[warriorscribe]

"Abandon." His voice was flat.

Yes. All his hardship. Deaths. Risks. All of these were him abandoning Armaros and Lucifel and God and everyone he holds most dear. Or even at home. Stopping for supplies? Keeping a low profile or waiting to hear the right piece of gossip so he doesn't waste twenty years going the wrong direction? No, of course, he only ever abandoned all of Earth, dozens of times over! However could he have been so blind?

The curl of his lip is slight, but there, and the anger in his eyes much more noticeable. He understands she wants nothing more than to save her friend, or family member, or suitor or whoever that shadow once was. But the implied (to him outlandish) insult still stings, after all he's endured, and the approaching threat of a definite deadline has worn his patience thin enough he can't mitigate his reaction.

Still, he maintains composure enough that his voice is soft and even when he continues - almost too even. "I will show you what your 'abandonment' looks like. Come with me."

He walks with steady, heavy stride towards the staircase.

[lorule]

Maybe Hilda had been rude with that man. Her accusations of passivity may have been unfounded unfounded. After all, she knew how fighting for a cause and actually getting results were two very different things. How such things took time and had to be treated carefully. The thought crossed her mind.

Yet, right now none of this mattered to her. Not when she was told Ravio, and by extension possibly more people from her kingdom, were condemned to such a fate. Patience wasn't something she wanted to hear of, not when someone close to her was suffering. This would change eventually, maybe. She remained still as Enoch spoke and walked to the staircase.

"... Very well."

She chose to follow him after all. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to see what he had to show-- But it was probably better this way. The shadow followed her even then, of course.

[warriorscribe]

He leads her downstairs towards the elevator - they'll have to walk through the bug room to get to it - and presses the option for the hundred and first floor.

The ride is long enough for the tension to drain from him. As the elevator ascends, he leans on the wall a bit and looks over at Hilda.

"...I'm sorry for my tone. I know how you must feel."

[lorule]

Hilda followed him the entire time. She wouldn't use the elevator under normal circumstance and favor her own teleportation powers, but she assumed whatever he wanted to show her, only this contraption could take them to it. She refrained herself from snapping at him with a 'No you don't' when he finally spoke, though her glare said no less.

"He saved me once." She finally spoke after a moment "I cannot bear the thought of not doing the same now that he needs me."

[warriorscribe]

He knows that reaction. But with his withered patience it earns a mild frown that he turns away from her, watching the floor indicator instead.

"I know. I do know. Three of the people that speak to me from these twisted forms are those who have been there to help me in times of need. One of them even pulled me from the brink of insanity. My attempt to help them immediately caused a death I need not have had. We will do the same, but first we must find the means."

[lorule]

Hilda replied nothing to this, at first at least. if she did reply, it would be to snap at him once again. Yes, maybe she had been unfair to him, but his continued insistence that he did know were as unnerving as it could get. She only spoke again when they got close to their destination, when she could control her words enough.

"Enoch, was it?" She finally said. "I appreciate what you are trying to do and I have no doubts you have lost precious friends to this tower. My words to you may have been unfair."

She took a pause before continuing. She did a controlled effort to neither look nor sound angry.

"But please stop at once pretending you know how I feel. I can think of no greater insult. You know nothing about me, my world or the one whom I have lost. You may think you do because of your situation, or maybe because of the similarities I share with our dear Zelda, but ah, how far from the truth you would be." She paused, adding on a tone that indicated she wouldn't tolerate him trying to say he knew once again. "You understand nothing. You couldn't even begin to understand."

[warriorscribe]

He didn't look at her immediately, giving a quiet sigh of frustration. She was taking his sentiments too personally (but then, hadn't he done the same?).

"I wouldn't dare to presume to know what you have experienced, exactly. But loss, gratefulness, frustration, the desire to save someone you hold dear, these are universal things. And these, I know. I'm sorry, if I implied I know more than I am privy to. I know your experiences no more than you know mine."

He leaned on the wall of the elevator to face her, then, his eyes far older than his face.

"I'm sorry."

[lorule]

His words managed to calm her down a little and when she spoke again, there wasn't an ounce of anger left in her voice.

"My struggles with a dying world did not begin with my awakening in this tower. What I have been through, it goes beyond the notions you have mentioned. I shall not bore you with the story of my life, but universal as these things are, each situation is unique."

She then shook her head when he repeated his apologies.

"You need not apologize, for there was no malice in your words. Please just show me what it is you wanted me to see."

[warriorscribe]

Enoch nodded, and waited in silence for the elevator to reach the hundred and first floor. It was unclear whether or not Hilda could have teleported to this floor, because it nullified even real powers; the gleaming white armor that adorned Enoch's body flickered and vanished as he stepped out into the garden. He gestured for Hilda to follow him, and led her towards the center, where a sapling stood.

[lorule]

She probably could not have; not that she knew about it. She looked around when they reached the floor.She had passed by it briefly earlier in the day, but had favored he meadow to it. Wordlessly, she followed Enoch and looked at where the sapling stood. ... For a second, the thought crossed her mind this sapling was what he had meant to show her. Hopefully he hadn't brought her all this way only to show her that little.

[warriorscribe]

"Walk perfectly in step with me," he instructed, and led her to where the teleporter stood, though it was hidden by the glamour now. It led them to a metal room, similar to the dormitories in aesthetic, with tables and chairs - someone had put cushions there at some point. There were also many chipped units about, and paper on the walls and on a table.

He took a few steps out from where they teleported in, the melancholy lifting from him as he spoke, introducing her to the secret room.

"These workers with the damaged collars are our allies. The paper on the walls and table is information we've gathered, and some of it explains them in more detail. This place is safe - our hosts have eyes and ears in the walls and ceiling of the rest of the tower, but here we can speak of even the most sensitive information."

[lorule]

Hilda followed carefully-- It was no wonder she hadn't found this floor earlier. She looked around a bit. Well, this was already better than she had expected. A free space for them to fight the administrators. She paid little attention to the decoration itself and went to a table before picking some of the papers detailing information, looking over them quickly.

"And are you working here on a way to save our friends here?"

This, again, was her priority of course.