Princesses of the Night

Welcome to chapter 3, or as I like to call it, the exposition-chapter. Lots of talking, little action, little moving forward here. But if you think you can skip this part, you will be lost afterwards, so do your homework, folks.

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When Hilde next awoke, there was light again in her chamber. It originated from two torches mounted on the wall. As Hilde, still sleep, sat up in the bed,

she saw that the two maidens from yesterday were in her room, seemingly awaiting her slumber to end. "Good morning, mylady.", they greeted her. Hilde, by now had lost any sense of time, with her room being perpetually darkened, so she could only believe them when they claimed it to be morning.

"Mistress Amy told us that you will be staying a while with us. She also told us that we shall answer any questions you might have to the best of our abilities.", the green-haired maid said. Hilde recalled that Amy had promised her the chance to ask them the questions she had on her mind yesterday. And there were plenty of them.

For the first time since her defeat at the hands of Raphael, Hilde left the bed. Her body felt heavy and her legs trembled slightly when she put her weight on them again. Her first few steps were wobbly, but the strength soon returned to her. Yet she still felt powerless, as if she hadn't slept enough. Hilde thought it to be normal after sleeping for so long and ignored it. "Who are you?", Hilde asked them. On cue, the two maids kneeled before the princess of Wolfkrone.

"Marienbard.", the green-haired maid said.

"Jacqueline.", the red-haired maid said.

Hilde noticed that Jacqueline had a distintive, higher-pitched voice that also betrayed a lot more emotion than Marienbards. Also, her eyes seemed to be more alive than both Amys and Marienbards, they sparkled with unbridled joy. Marienbard in contrast had narrow eyes and her face was slim, giving her a stern aura. Jacqueline on the other hand seemed lively, even excited. A welcome change for Hilde, it lightened the gloomy mood of this otherwise quiet room.

"I wanted to ask about this curse...."

"Aww, don't call it a curse, because it is not. It is actually a gift.", Jacqueline quipped.

Marienbard audibly cleared her throat and cut Jacqueline off. "Everything in due time, mylady. May I suggest a bath first so as to start the new day properly?", she averted Hildes attention. Showing patience, Hilde agreed, not just because of a sense of etiquette, but a bath did sound like a very good idea to her at the moment.

The maids led Hilde to a seperate room where they had prepared a wooden bathtub with warm water for Hilde. Hilde had rejected their offer to help her bath and had them wait outside, but she enjoyed the warmth of the water as her rigid arms and legs soaked in the water. When she stepped out of it, she felt refreshed, but that sluggishness from before was still there.

When she was done, she called the maids in again, and they helped her dry. They had also brought a dress for Hilde to wear. Even though she wanted to oject the help at putting it on, the maids were already at work and dressed her before she could react. It was a white dress with a tinge of sky-blue, frilly sleeves and a two-layered skirt and a corsage. Hilde had to admit, she could not have been able to put this on herself and so she endured the procedure of the maids clothing her.

Suddenly, as the maids began to fasten the corsage around Hildes waist, Hildes vision blackened out for a moment and her knees went weak. Before she knew it, she was supported by Marienbard, who had acted swiftly and caught her before she fell to the ground. Hilde shook her head to get rid of the dizzyness that had overcome her for that instant. She felt their concerned stares at her, so Hilde pulled herself together and stood on her own legs again. It was strange, she had been injured before, but a weakness like this had not happened to her before.

The maids sensed her confusion. While Marienbard finished with the corsage, Jacqueline, who was slipping on Hildes shoes, smiled a little. "You feel tired, don't you? It is the same for us. It's the gift!", Jacqueline said with poorly hidden delight.

"What do you mean by that?", Hilde asked, but she was ignored until the dressing was over and Jacqueline had slipped on the other shoe and Marienbard had

finished tying the corsage. Then, the latter walked around and inspected her, and nodded with satisfaction as she saw that Hildes new dress sat perfectly on the princess. Only then did she answer.

"Did the young lady not tell you about this?", Marienbard inquired.

"No.", was the simple answer.

In answer to the reply, Marienbard bowed her head slightly. "I see. Then allow me to explain. Please follow us now to the dining room, mylady. Your breakfast will be served there.", she said and led the way together with Jacqueline.

As they made their way through the corridors. "The gift that Master Raphael revealed to us has one disadvantage, and you're experiencing it now: While the sun shines, our powers dwindle, even more so when we stand outside. Your gift is still adapting your body to itself, so it is more evident for you right now. But fortunately, we can still go out during the day, even if it is not a long pleasure for us."

"Wait... I can't go outside?", Hilde asked. Was that the reason why Amy had asked her to stay for a week?

Surprisngly, Marienbard shook her head, uncertainty being expressed with that gesture. "I am not sure. There is a difference in the gift of the Master and our own. Apparently, he had nearly no ill effects when walking under the sun. His daughter however suffered from headaches whenever she was outside, and when we were invited to have this gift granted upon us, it was the young lady Amy that performed the task.", Marienbard told her.

"Auguste figured that the gift weakens if it is passed down time and time again. If we were to step outside the castle during the day, we would soon fall unconscious and die if not brought back into the shadows in time.", Jacqueline explained. But, despite the gravity of her words, her voice remained in the same, cheerful tone.

"Master Raphael made Jacqueline once gift a little boy and then send him outside, just to see what would happen. Within mere moments, he aged and whithered away before the wind blew his dried husk away. He could not stand the daylight for even a moment.", the greenhaired maid said calmly, but Jacqueline seemingly giggled at the memory.

Hilde on the other hand was appalled that her impression of that man was proven wrong, he was much worse. Had this man really had so little care for the life of others? Suddenly, Hilde began to regret that she had not been the one to kill him, he was a monster. But what made the whole situation worse that she had apparently somehow become the same by him.

Her train of thoughts was broken when the red-haired maid turned around and looked at her, the carefree smile still on her face. "And you were made one of us by Master Raphael himself? Lucky girl. Then you will probably be the same as the young lady once you have completely accomodated to this new power. I'm

really envious...", Jacqueline said, still with a giggle, before Marienbard shot her a stern glare that muted the red-haired maid immediately. Her lack of proper manners stood in stark contrast to the composed and calm Marienbard. Immediately, there was silence between the women now.

It spooked Hilde that they had encountered no one in the hallway, no servant, no other inhabitant of this castle. In fact, it had been dead silent, a very unsettling quietness for a castle of this size. The only sound was that echoed through the hallway were the steps of the three females and since Hilde had to ponder about those new revelations.

On the way to the room, they passed a huge portrait on their way and Hilde stopped before it. It showed Raphael and Amy. Amy was sitting and Raphael had a hand gently placed upon her shoulder. It was a typical family portrait for the time, but it implied their family ties. Now that she looked at it, Hilde could not believe that this girl would simply kill her father just like this, and she decided to ask Amy the next chance she got.

She felt uncomfortable in this silence, even more so than any ordinary human. She was reminded that this was her life awaiting her back at Wolfkrone. Instead of fighting along with her troops, she would be seperated and had to remain aloof because of her royalty and position. As such, she had always secretly enjoyed fighting to a degree, because it would give her some benefits she would never again have.

As they arrived in the spacious dining room, Hilde was invited to sit at the long table that was situated in the middle of the room. Huge curtains hung from one side of the room, probably hiding equally enormous windows behind them. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and illuminated the room though. The table had room for nearly thirty people, but somehow Hilde doubted that there had ever been so many people sitting here. Or at least that was a long time ago.

Jacqueline then disappeared through a door on the other side of the room and soon returned with a tray that carried a regular meal, bread, meat, some vegetables and water as well as wine. Even if she was distrustful of her hosts, Hilde had to admit that she was not treated badly here. The food was befitting for a royal visitor. Tasty and freshly made, Hilde could feel her body ache for it, and so she began to eat the offered food.

Having spent most parts in the keep of her family in Wolfsburgen, Hilde knew a little about architecture. And it was obvious from the looks of the walls that this castle was not old but rather comparatively young. She guessed it could not have been more than a few years since it had been built. "Say, when was this castle built?", she inquired and finally broke the spell that hung over this round.

"Oh, you should go see and ask Auguste such boring questions.", Jacqueline said and waved her hand dismissively. The question seemed to genuinely bore her and even though she might have been able to answer it, she didn't want to. Now this was no longer about bad manners, but Jacquelines erratic behavior began to grate Hildes nerves.

But this time, Marienbard did nothing to stop her colleagues rudeness but instead even agreed with her. "We have other duties in the castle we need to attend to, but Auguste will be able to help you. You can find him in the kitchen about now. It is down the hallway if you go through this door.", Marienbard offered and pointed towards a heavy wooden door at the other side of the large room, the one that Jacqueline had used to get Hildes meal.

Auguste... Hilde had heard that name before. Amy had mentioned it. And Jacqueline had said it earlier as well. They had talked about him like he was a knowledgeable man, so Hilde had high hopes to get a coherent answer out of him. "I will seek him out, then.", Hilde stated and stood up. The maids bowed once before they left the room, leaving Hilde alone. Now she was free to do what she wanted, but she would just risk getting lost in this caslte. So, she followed the instruction and opened the door and followed the narrow hallway that was only intended to be used by servants to get food from the kitchen to the dining room.

The kitchen was huge. As she had suspected, the kitchen was built to accomodate a legion of cooks so they could cook for not only the lords and ladies of this castle but also the countless servants that populated it. However, considering that she had just raised the number of inhabitants to a total of five, Hilde was not surprised that it was completely deserted, safe for one small spot in the corner that seemed to be kept tidy and workable while the other rows of tables and ovens were beginning to collect dust already. It was an eerie image for her, a place that should be bustling with busy maids and cooks was completely silent, but then a loud clang echoed through the silence.

It came from the corner that was obviously still in use, so Hilde went there. As she came closer, she saw the form of a man crouched over and reaching for

some pots in the back of the cupboard. On the cupboard, there was a piece of meat that still needed to be cut and prepared for dinner and she guessed that was what Auguste was about to do. With an "Excuse me?", she made herself known. The man stopped rummaging around with the pots and stood up as he heard the unfamiliar voice call out to him.

"Oh, I heard you would stay in this castle for some time, Lady Hildegard von Krone. My name is Auguste, cook, librarian, doctor and advisor to Master Raphael.", the man said in a most polite manner as he bowed. But that was not what made Hilde back away. This man, while having a human torso, bore a wolfshead upon his shoulders. Brown fur started just below his neckline, as his opened green tunic revealed, and on top of his shoulders, there was the head of a wolf. Two silver eyes stared at Hilde and she could read very human intelligence behind them.

He saw her stare and interpreted it correctly. "You're uncomfortable looking at my head, aren't you, mylady?", he asked politely. Although there were hardly any visitors, Auguste had gotten used to being stared at because of it.

Hilde reprimanded herself for this rudenes on her own part. His voice was gruff and deep, as she had expected it, but everything other than his head was perfectly human. But it was unusual to see a person like that. "No, that is not it. I just have never seen something like it.", she excused her behavior.

But Auguste merely sighed. "It apparently came as a side effect of the curse.", And then, almost as an afterthought, he added. "What can I do for you, mylady?"

Hilde found it interesting that he too considered it a curse, like Amy. "I need answers and the maids seemed unwilling to give them to me.", she stated her intent outright.

A human chuckle escaped the bestial mouth of Auguste. "Not unwilling, but not educated enough, I daresay. Not to say they are stupid, but they have grown ignorant to anything other than this castle. Who can blame them, they are not able to travel under the sun like other people anymore unless they take a lot of precautions, which is a hassle. So why bother about things you will rarely ever see?", the man asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But you can give me answers?"

Before she had even ended her question, Auguste had turned around, grabbed the knife and began to cut the inedible parts of the meat away. Strange, did no one in this castle really bothered to maintain a certain level of politeness? Hilde wondered. "Possibly. It would depend on what questions you wish to ask me, mylady. I'm not omniscient after all.", he remarked wryly.

Taking it as a 'yes', Hilde started asking from the top of her."What is this castle? I haven't seen a single insignia that I could have recognized. What castle is this? It cannot be old."

The rhythmic sound of Augustes knife chopping through the meat and hitting the wooden plate underneath sounded along with his answer. "This castle our Master Raphael purchased as a ruin when this region was plagued by wars. Paying a fortune to have it rebuilt, all stonemasons and workers from the nearby villages gladly lend their hand to rebuild it, anything to keep them away from the battle. Within a mere year, the castle was rebuilt. That was two years ago..."

"But where are we?"

"This keep is situated in the middle of a region known as Wallachia.", the wolf-headed servant answered without missing a beat of his knife.

Wallachia. That sure rang a bell for Hilde. Wallachia was a province in Eastern Europe, just outside the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. Being only a region of agricultural wealth, it was not deemed a threat or a target worthy of conquest. Hilde still remembered the name. Not because she had been there before, but a few years back, embassadors from neighboring kingdoms implored her to take part in a militaric exploit to Wallachia, not for money, but because there had been new sightings of a plague here, and the lords of the countries wanted to see that plague swiftly exterminated. Hilde had refused to be a part of a mass slaughter and so the joined armies of a few kingdoms went there by themselves. No man had ever returned.

"How did this... gift or curse come into being?", she inquired.

"Obviously it had no natural origin. It was caused by magic, but that is already all I know for sure. If you must know it, ask Master Raphael when he returns. The young lady Amy also must know more details, but if she directed you to the maids and the maids to me, then I suspect she wishes not to talk about it.", the man concluded.

He was as sharp as the knife he used to cut the meat, Hilde noticed as she kept talking to the lupine-headed man. He was of course completely right. Thanking him politely for his help, Hilde left the kitchen and Auguste to his work. She had learned a lot of things and she could make sense of some things, but there were still so many mysteries surrounding theis castle. Some things were beginning to make sense, but a lot of the truth, she sensed, was still in the dark.

And she knew just the person who could tell her everything...

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I suck at clothing descriptions, but I had Hildes 2nd player outfit in mind when describing her current dress.

Auguste, Marienbard and Jacqueline are all servants of Raphael and Amy in the story mode of Soul Calibur 4, so I took some liberties with their interpretation and they will become major players for the plot, because they along with Amy and Hilde are the only people in the story for now...