Princesses of the Night

When Hilde opened her eyes for the first time, she wasn't sure if she had really opened them, for she saw nothing. It was pitchblack around herself and her eyes adjusted slowly to it. But she felt that she could move and that she was in a bed. A very comfortable bed. But, that did nothing to calm Hilde and she tried to sit up. Instantly, she groaned in discomfort as her body ached from her bedrest. Moving it after a long time hurt her, the joints that had been unused for days, maybe even weeks, protested against such sudden movements.

Moments later, as though somebody had heard her involuntary sound, a wooden door creaked in the darkness of the room. The door opened and let light flow into the chamber. Hilde winced as her eyes still adjusted to the sudden light, but she saw a silhouette standing in the doorframe. Seeing the woman on the bed suffer from the sudden light, the person quickly entered the room and closed the door.

A moments notice later, a small candle was lit on the nighttable next to Hildes bed. That light was much more bearable for her and Hilde could finally get a better look at the person. She found that she did not know her. It was a woman, maybe in her midtwenties, wearing a typical maid-uniform. Her dark green hair had been tied into a neat ponytail. Her stance, her demeanor, it all showed no rush or emotion, all signs that she was not a maid for a day now, or even a year. She had been born and raised as a servant, that was obvious to Hilde as the maid spoke to her.

"You have finally woken up, mylady. Please, stay in bed for a little while, your body still needs rest.". Even if the words were calming and benevolent, her voice betrayed little to no concern whether or not Hilde would suffer or not. "Mylady, please rest while I inform the Mistress that you have regained consciousness.", she heard the womans voice adress her again. Hilde could not reply, too deep was the surprise and shock at her new surroundings to summon up the words in her head to express her gratitude or confusion.

As the footsteps of the maid on the stone floor hurried away from the room, Hilde took her time to assess her situation. She herself was wearing a silken white nightgown, and her armor and weapons were nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was in a noble bedchamber in some castle. Heavy velvet curtains hung on the walls, presumably covering the windows of the room. Only the candle that the maid had brought inside illuminated the room. Still, Hilde could make out some details of this room: It was nobly, a stone fireplace made of fine marble, above it a picture of a banquet in the nature or something of that kind. It was a lavishly decorated and that repulsed her to a degree. She had never been the type for unnecessary splendor, she was a pragmatic mind, and that way of thinking carried over to her battles as well.

Battles... The memories of that day came flooding back to her. The heat, the tower, the man, the girl... the defeat, the blood! All the blood she had lost. Hildes hand went up to her neck, but instead of a wound, closed or not, or even a bandage, she felt nothing but flawless skin under her fingertips. Again, Hildes head was thrown into confusion. Had she been sleeping for so long that the wound had healed completely? Or had it just been a bad nightmare? Or had she died? Right now, Hilde could not tell what was reality and what was an illusion.

Then, the door opened once more and two people entered the room. In the darkness, Hilde made out the figure of the maid from before and a smaller one. Without a word, the maid went over to the fireplace, placed a few stacks of the dried wood from the pile nearby and lit it. Soon, a fire was burning that illuminated the room. In that moment, a second maid entered the room. In the light, Hilde saw her red short hair, a bang of it hanging over her face and covering her left eye. She carried a plate with soup and a bread on a tray and placed them on the small table next to Hildes bed and in return took the candle with her.

"Leave us alone.", the girl ordered. With a bow, the maidens complied, exited the room quickly and closed the door. The sound of wood cracking in the heat of the fire was the only sound in the room for a while. Both Hilde and the girl looked at the other for a short while. Hilde did not know what the girl would be looking for, she probably had plenty of time to observe her in her sleep. But Hilde took a close look at the girl. Her first impression from back in the wasteland around that Tower was true, she did look like a doll. Frail, pretty and emotionless. Her hair, curled up to two spiralling bums on each side of her head looked so perfect it was frightening, as was the stainless pale skin dressed in expensive clothes.

Then, as if remembering her manners, the girl curtsied once before adressing Hilde. "My name is Amy Sorel and you are my guest, crownprincess Hildegard von Wolfkrone. "For a moment, Hilde was surprised by her good manners, something she had not expected after encountering the man that had brought her along to the tower. She suspected that those two had shared a bond of some sorts, but what, Hilde did not know. But there was still something more important to her, so first things first.

"How do you know?", Hilde simply asked. She was astounded that this girl knew her name, title, yet Hilde had no such informations other than the name she had just given her. She was already at a severe disadvantage in terms of information.

"The armor and your weapons had several insignia that were easy to identify. I do not know much about those things, but my servant Auguste did some research in the library and found out about your country. However, the latest book he found was twenty years old and the big news there was your birth.", Amy explained.

"Where is it? My equipment.", she inquired. She felt quite naked, even more so considering her current attire, without her weapons. They had been entrusted to her as insignias of her supreme command of the army of Wolfkrone. It was the symbol of her peoples trust in her ability to defend them. Losing them would be like betraying them.

Instead of answering her immediately, Amy turned around and watched the fire. To Hilde, it seemed as if she was doing it to hide something and to avoid looking at her when she would lie. "I had it all placed together in my room, however, I do not see how you would need it here."

Hilde could relate to what she meant. They had obviously cared for her during her unconsciousness, they now gave her proper food, so obviously there was no immediate threat visible from the girl and the maids. Still, she would have liked the knowledge of her trusty weapons being nearby. But, being polite to her host, she did not object. Instead, the next issue that needed to be adressed was...

"How long... was I out?", she asked the girl. She did not quite know if she wanted to know it or not, Hilde couldn't tell how long she had been sleeping already.

But the answer relieved her. "Nearly two and a half days.", came the solemn reply of the girl.

The heat of the fireplace was now beginning to warm the room and Hilde shivered unconsciously. Funny, she had not noticed she was feeling cold before. "So... I am not dead then?", she asked with relief, but it was more of a statement to convince herself that everything was alright...

"Dead, no. Cursed, yes."

Taking her stunned silence in account, Amy continued to explain a bit. "Your body is still alive, you still need nourishment and you can just as easily die as before. Yet you share the same curse that my Papa and I have."

So it had been her father... again, she had to push the surprise about this aside to focus on what mattered now. "Wha-...", Hilde began to ask just what this girl was talking about. A curse? No way, she was feeling fine. A bit weak maybe, but that was only to be expected after having been injured that viciously. In her inner uproar about all those revelations, it escaped Hilde that this should be well above the capabilities of a mere miracle.

But her host would have no questions anymore and cut her off rudely. "I am not in the mood to answer all of your questions. Still, I have two favors that I do need to ask of you. First, do not mention what happened to Papa to any of the servants. I told them he was still out and searching for the promised sword.", she demanded as she looked over her shoulder back at Hilde.

Hilde nodded. She had no idea what game was being played here, but that rule seemed to be sensible for the two of them. "And the second favor?", she inquired.

"Do not go outside for the next week, regardless of the time of the day.", Amy said simply.

"Are you imprisoning me?", Hilde asked sharply, because that 'favor' sounded just like that. She was well aware of some of the tactics used by nobles when blackmailing other nobles: Invite a family member of the enemy, then let her stay at your house and give her all the freedom she wants, but not let her leave until her relative has given in to the demands. Hilde condemned such strategies and she would hate nothing more than to become a pawn like that.

But surprisingly, Amy shook her head in earnest. "No, it is just a favor I ask of you. If you wish, you can leave at any moment you feel able to do so, but...", she trailed off as she turned around to face Hilde fully now. "I beg of you, wait this one week before taking any actions.", she implored her. Hilde was taken of guard by her pleading, for the first time Hilde believed to have spotted a crack in the dollface.

But that impression was suppressed quickly as Amy bid Hilde farewell for the time being. "Now, I suggest you eat or your powers will continue to shrink. Tomorrow, my servants will look after you, your needs and your questions, Hildegard von Krone.", the girl said while making one last curtsy before leaving the room.

So, Hilde was alone in the room. The fire was slowly dying down, the smaller flames now only barely illuminating the room. Soon, most of it would be covered in darkness again. It was similar to Hildes state of mind now. First she had survived what seemed like fatal wounds, then she was rescued by the daughter of her attacker after she had killed him and now she was being nursed back to health by her, yet she had just revealed to her that she had been 'cursed', whatever that meant. Her thoughts raced wildly as Hilde began to slowly eat the soup and bread. It was delicious, but even that escaped her attention as she was too busy making sense of the recent events.

Eventually, when the fire had left and the room was all black again, Hilde too rested her body and mind for a while....

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This and the next chapter will serve mostly as an introduction to the inhabitants of the castle, so it is a mere exposition-phase we're going through. I'm trying not to get caught in the vampire-cliché here and I will try and add my own twists, but I pretty much already ran there. Still, I have not forgotten the request made by tuna, it will only take a little while longer until I will get to it. Gotta love the plot.

If you see anything you think you might've seen somewhere else before, think of it as an hommage and not thievery because of lack of originality.