I blinked as I first stepped outside. The sun was bright overhead. It must have been close to noon. After a few moments, my eyes adjusted to the light and I saw the city. And my first, brilliant, eloquently phrased thought was 'holy shit!' It was seeing the city for the first time that really drove home the reality of my situation. The place was big. Not big like a normal city, with sky scrapers and office buildings, and roads that go for miles, but large. I didn't think that my brain could invent something this complicated.
From where I stood, I got a nice overhead view of much of the city. It wasn't very well organized. There were homes next to shops, next to fountains, next to stables. Every road was twisted and bent. No logic to it at all. I didn't like that. Most everything was built from wood, except for some of the roofs, which were built with clay tiles. There was no real color scheme to the city either, so everything looked like someone had taken a rainbow, shoved it in a blender, and then dropped it all over the town. The place was bright, and it seemed to me as though it ought to look cheery. It didn't. The people walked just a little too quickly, looked down just a little too much. It was as though some invisible, dark cloud had descended over all of them. And I would have to walk through it. I shuddered involuntarily at the thought.
I turned around to get a quick look at the building I had come from and gasped. I had gotten a sense of how large and ornate it was from the inside, but the outside was just stunning. I could only see a portion of the building, but what I saw was a gleaming monolith of white stone. Everything about the palace shown with majesty, and its stature dwarfed the other buildings. Around the walls there was a radius of about thirty yards, in which no other buildings were constructed, almost as though even the houses wanted to escape the cruel façade of the palace. I shuddered once more and took a step away.
I half-expected one of the guards to stop me, or follow me, or something, but the pair simply turned around and re-entered the palace. They didn't care in the slightest about me. With quickened pace, I set about to put some distance between me and the maiden's home.
Not much time passed before I noticed that people were staring at me. For a few moments, I thought that it was because I had come from that cursed castle. I didn't blame them for staring. That place was conspicuous, to say the least. But after I continued to attract stares, even stares from children, even after I had walked away, I realized how stupid I had been.
Jeans and a tee shirt. Clothes I had always felt comfortable in. Never before seen in that town. I don't know why I had never considered it before. The maidens had worn dresses and the guards had worn full mail. I should have realized that this town had a medieval streak to it. There were whispers around me as I tried to follow Lara's advice.
Confidence, she had said, the key is confidence. Confidence. Right. In the middle of nowhere, act like you belong. I could never do that.
I thought, distantly, of a time a few years ago. My family had taken a trip to Mexico and, like any spoiled tourist family, were spending one night in Mexico City to get the local flavor, before moving on to the resort complex. Before we left the airport, my parents had filled my head with warnings. Don't talk to strangers. Don't drink anything but bottled water. Don't leave our sight. Keep a tight watch on your money. And above all, act confident. Don't let everyone know you're a tourist. Act like you belong.
In spite of the warnings, or perhaps because of them, when I walked down the streets with my family I felt like everyone watched me. I felt helpless and weak, even as I clung in a tight group with my family, and clutched my wallet inside my pocket. I felt like I would never belong, like everyone knew that, and they were just waiting for me to stumble. That night the rest of my family decided to go out for dinner. I faked a stomach bug and stayed safe in the hotel room, eating crackers by myself.
Walking through the city the first time, dressed like a lunatic, I felt exactly the same. I just wanted to escape, to go someplace where I felt safe, like a hotel room I could lock myself inside of. But I didn't have a sanctuary to hide in any more, or even a family I could hold to. Instead, I had a giant castle behind me, filled with guards and creepy girls, and directions to a place I had never seen from a girl I didn't think I trusted.
And I had the streets. Lots of streets and lots of people, people I had never met. Subconsciously, I reached into my pocket and got a firm grip on the rupee that Lara had given me, so tight that my knuckles turned white. Then I took off running.
I followed Lara's directions as best as I could. It took a few wrong turns, and I bulldozed into one of two people, but I eventually found myself in front of Eldicott Inn, a rather rundown looking place, but with a few smiling faces that I could see through the window. I froze outside for a minute, but, thinking once more on the Mexico trip, finally decided to go in. If I got a room, then I could lock myself in it. I could make a sanctuary.
I pushed my shoulder against the door to open it. The wood was swollen and bent, so it took a little effort. Inside, the building was dark, but comfortable. A few people sat around, eating lunch or talking. I stood in the doorway a few minutes, feeling like I was disturbing the peace, before anyone noticed me. The one who finally saw me was a rather short, but broad woman in a blue, stained dress and an apron. She had been tending a fire with her long, brown hair loose around her face, dangling just centimeters above the flames. I winced, expecting the embers to leap up into her hair and burn her. But her movements were fluid and practiced and she looked perfectly comfortable around the flames. When she stood up to stretch her back, I could see her weathered face.
"Welcome!" she said in a loud voice, which turned a few curious heads in the room. I stood at the threshold, unwilling to go in closer. "Well, come in, come in. Shut the door. Make yourself at home." She threw open her arms as she talked and for a second I thought she was going to hug me. But she was merely welcoming me in, if in perhaps an unusually friendly way. I shut the door behind me as I gingerly crossed the floor towards her.
"Uh… hi?" I whispered quietly, and she couldn't quite hear.
"What was that? Come closer, girl, I can't make out a word." I edged a little closer, careful to stay by the door, just in case. "Closer," she insisted, but I shook my head. The woman shrugged and looked at me a little strangely, but she walked up to me to close the gap. "You alright?"
I nodded a little bit and breathed a few times before I spoke again. "Fine," I choked out. "I need to find Bea. I'm supposed to ask her… what I mean is… I need a room… for the night…"
She nodded. "Most people that come to inns do, in fact." She laughed a little and I just blushed. Stupid, I thought to myself. "I'm Bea. And that's forty-five rupees for the room."
"But Lara told me…"
The laughter died from Bea's face suddenly, and she grabbed my arm unusually tight. I started to pull back, but Bea's words interrupted me. "You know Lara?" she whispered softly, so I could barely hear. "What does she look like?"
"Umm… really, really pale. White hair. White everything, really," I answered just as quietly.
Bea's brow furrowed in curiosity. "That's right," she said. "And what is it that Lara wants, exactly?"
"She told me to get a room and dinner," I answered, looking at the woman's face in terror. "Please let go of me."
Bea looked down at her own hand, a little surprised to see that she had grabbed me. "Sorry," she said releasing me. "I didn't realize. And if that's all that Lara wants, I think I can oblige." When I didn't say anything she smiled at me, the first genuine smile since I had woken up. "Sorry if I scared you there. It's just it's best not to talk in public about that sort of thing. You can calm down, you know. I won't hurt you." She wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "The rooms are upstairs, just pick one you like. The first three on the left are occupied, but the rest are all open."
"Thanks," I said. I quickly thrust the rupee into her hand and took off at a fast pace towards the stairs. I didn't even wait for my change.
The room I chose was the only one without windows. I wanted to shut off myself from the world, as much as possible, and being able to see the city seemed contrary to that plan. The room itself was small and cramped. There were only a bed, a chair, and a small table inside, each of which were crudely crafted from a light colored wood. In spite of the sharp edges and darkness, the room seemed somehow cozy. Someone had covered the bed in a thick, pink quilt and placed a vase of watery-yellow colored flowers on the table. Quickly, I locked the door behind me, and made to sit on the bed. Then, I changed my mind, and jammed the chair under the doorknob, for extra security.
Finally, I could be sure that I was alone. The air was silent as I sat down on the bed. For a few moments, I was unsure what to do. I finally had my sanctuary, but it was empty of the comfort and I had expected. My parents and my brothers would not be coming home in a few hours. There was just me.
I curled up and cried. I hadn't intended to sob, at first. The tears just started rolling. I realized, as I lay down on the bed, how much I missed my family. In the chaos of the last hour or two, I hadn't had time to think about them. Now that I was alone and the room was quiet, I couldn't help but think of my two older brothers and my parents. More than anything, I wanted just one of them, to be there with me, to hold me and promise that it would all be ok.
"Mom," I whispered, "I'm scared." Of course, no answer came. I was alone. My sanctuary was empty.
I lay perfectly still on the bed for some time, apart from the occasional sob which set my shoulders shaking. The tears squeezed themselves from my eyes, forming a splotch of dark red on the pink fabric of the quilt. Finally, my eyes closed, and I dropped into a miserable sleep.
I woke up to a series of light knocks on the door. "You in there, honey?" a voice called out to me. "It's Bea. Will you let me in?"
I wavered a moment, as the sleepiness left me, before I stood up, unlocked the door, and pulled the chair away. Bea must have heard the scraping noises, because when I opened the door, she frowned suspiciously at the chair before looking back to me.
"Goodness, you look a mess," she told me. I could only imagine how I must look. My yellow braid had probably come loose, and my blue eyes were ringed with red from the tears. "Well, nothing like a hot meal to clear up that. I brought your dinner up. Could you let me in, now?"
She gestured, vaguely, with her head towards the heavy plates she was carrying with her. There were two of them, each balanced on the palm of her hand, as well as a pitcher of water which she held in the crook of her elbow. In a strange way, I had to admire her coordination.
I stepped aside to let her in, and she rushed over to the table, laying down her burden. "Oh thank the goddesses. Those plates were hot. Now then," she began, turning towards me. "It's traditional to come downstairs to the dining room to eat dinner. But, since you went to sleep at just past noon, I figured that you were in no mood to sit in the middle of a busy bar. Now then, tuck in."
I walked forward to the table and made to pick up the fork, when Bea gave me a little wink. "The chair, dear?"
I jerked a little bit and ran over hastily to grab the chair. "Oh, right," I told her, embarrassed. I waited for her to laugh at my spastic behavior, but instead she just smiled.
"You don't have to be so scared," she told me, as I sat down and began to eat. I hadn't realized that I was hungry until the first bite touched my lips. There was a large piece of roasted chicken and warm soup. Somehow, I didn't want the food to taste as good as it did. I didn't want to like something about this place, as if I were betraying my home. But the meal was incredible, and I ate it fast enough to pose a choking hazard.
"There's a good girl," Bea said, quietly. "A full stomach makes everything better." Without asking, she reached up and began to unbraid my hair, humming softly all the while. I would have felt uncomfortable, except that Bea was so much like a mother. She was warm and soft and she made me want to trust her. I needed a mother.
A few stray tears fell. I let her brush out my hair and wipe my eyes. The meal over, Bea pulled me from my chair and directed me, gently, to the bed. She pulled off the covers and tucked me in, like a mother for a child. I started crying harder.
"Shh," she whispered. "It'll be alright." Her face was strained with concern for me. It was touching, in a strange way, to see how much she cared for an utter stranger.
"Tell me what happened," Bea urged, "With Lara."
I nodded, anxious to have a friend. For a few moments, I gathered my breath before I told her, "I think that girl's insane."
Bea laughed a little at that. "You and most of the world. How did you meet her?"
"I just woke up in the middle of the big palace. She and another girl, a red one, were there. They spouted off some nonsense about maidens, and then Lara sent me here. That's all."
"And Lara told you here name?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"It's just… you're not from here, I take it?"
"No. Nowhere close."
"Then you wouldn't know. The maidens are a secretive group. Just a mere glimpse of a maiden is enough to inspire awe and fear." I thought of Lara's countenance and of the guard's reaction to her bearing, feeling that I understood.
"Most people don't know what the maiden's powers are, exactly. But they fear them all the same," Bea continued.
"They said something about protecting an ancient seal."
"Ah… then you already know more about them than most of Hyrule. You see, the maidens are very isolated. The seal that they guard protects Hyrule from a great menace. But that is an old legend, and very few remember it. Most don't know that the maidens serve the people. Some think that they simply live like leeches in their palace, feeding off of the toil of the commoners. Others fear that they practice dark magic, preparing to enslave the world. Very few know the truth, or care to learn it."
"So the people fear the maidens?"
"No. The maidens want to be feared. It is only through terror and awe that they keep control. It's a delicate balance, between power and cruelty, but the maidens uphold it. They have to remain separate and aloof to keep up this image."
"Hence the giant palace."
"Exactly. But there is more than just space involved. Everything about the maidens is carefully designed to instill respect. Even their outfits. They wear those dresses for a reason. It is the symbol of everything that sets them apart."
In spite of myself, the story was beginning to intrigue me. Bea's words explained so much of the girls' behavior. "So people recognize those dresses?"
"They recognize the dresses more than they do the women that wear them."
"But why do the maiden's need such total control? Couldn't they guard the seal and still live like normal people?"
"That is a question you will have to ask them. I am close to Lara, but I am not privy to all the maiden's secrets."
A heavy silence weighed in the air for a moment, before I asked, "Why were you surprised that I knew Lara's name?"
Bea sighed. "A maiden's name is her greatest secret. The public know them only by their colors. It's part of the air of mystery that they keep. Because of that, knowing a maiden's name is like having a secret password, among those who know it."
"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say, and could not help but wonder why Lara chose to entrust me with this knowledge.
"Well now," Bea began, brightening slightly, "that's all I can give you for a history lesson, I think. This is not my area of expertise. No, I was built for the kitchen and the dining room, not the halls of history. And besides, I've left the bar unattended for a half hour now."
"Please don't leave me." With Bea beside me, I found that me fear had begun to calm itself, but as she started to stand up it returned full force.
"Oh, honey. I'll be right downstairs if you need me. I promise, you'll be just fine." She kissed me once on the forehead and started to leave the room.
Impulsively, I called out to her. "I'm Ella. Just so you know."
Bea smiled as she opened the door. "Well then, goodnight, Ella."
She took a step outside, and then turned back. "And just so you know. The locks on the doors work just fine." She gestured to the chair. "I wouldn't bother with that next time."
I smiled a little as she shut the door. Closing my eyes, I determined not to get up and replace the chair.
One more down. It's a little bit shorter this time, but only because this was the best cut-off point I could find for a while. Sorry that this chapter was maybe a little slow moving. So to cheer things up at the end, I have included a random fact (I like random facts):
Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.
And that's all for me. Till next time.
-Ornamental Reciprocity
