Hilda sat alone on her bed, the blankets wrapped around her, staring at the wall and shivering. Outside, thunder rumbled in the night sky and rain slammed against the large windowpanes.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the voices echoing in her mind. She knew she wasn't crazy; it was simply a residual effect of using Majora's Mask. Just like the bolts of colorful fire that sometimes shot from her hands without her wanting them to. The mask itself was currently locked up in the vaults beneath Lorule Castle; sometimes, Hilda woke up in the middle of the night sweating and screaming, certain she had heard it shrieking in agony.

She hated her life. She hated what she had become. She wanted Ravio back. She hated herself for what she'd done to him.

He still hadn't woken up. The castle healers said he might be okay, but it was too soon to tell. It had been two weeks since the Lorulean Army stormed Thieves' Town to stop Majora's Mask and its ferocious minion Phantom Ganon. Two weeks of hell on earth for Princess Hilda.

She could barely stop thinking about Majora's Mask. Some days, the unthinkable urge to track it down and wear it once more still filled her. It terrified her. She'd spent a day or two locking herself in her room.

She would have thrown herself from the window of the highest tower, except for the fact that she still clung to the miserable hope that Ravio might still be able to recover.

It would have done no good for Lorule's people to know what had happened to their princess. They knew there had been an enormous fight in Thieves' Town and they knew that Hilda had been there. But that was all they knew. She made next to no public appearances; her representatives simply insisted that she was extremely busy.

Those inside the castle knew what she had become, however. They knew that she was an unstable maniac carrying the residual magic of a bloodthirsty mask. Most people around the castle seemed to be avoiding her when they good. Or maybe that was just in her ragged imagination.

Most days, the Elder felt like her only real friend. He was the only one who really understood what had happened to her.

Lightning flashed outside. Tears were running down Hilda's cheeks, she was hyperventilating, and she was almost certain she could hear distant screaming from someplace far away. No one else ever heard it; that probably meant it wasn't really there. The mask was said to have gone dormant due to the knife through its eye. But the screams sounded real enough to her.

Hilda was shaking violently. Seizures and spasms like this often overcame her now. Normal beings were not meant to use Majora's Mask, and the act of accidentally burning her own lover alive didn't really help much.

Hilda couldn't take it anymore. She threw back her head and screamed, the sound echoing throughout the massive royal bedroom. She rolled off the bed and crashed to the floor, sobbing.

The Elder threw open the door and raced into the room. He had taken up residence in one of the adjoining bedrooms; he had essentially become like a father to Hilda.

He gently picked her up, with surprising strength for such an old man, and held her close.

"Shh…" he murmured. "It's all right…"

Hilda was still shaking. "He's dead…" she moaned. "He's dead and I killed him! And it won't get out! The mask won't get out! Every second of the day, I can feel its power inside me! I'm going insane, I can't live like this!"

The Elder held her until she fell asleep, almost an hour later.

When she awoke the next morning and left her room, it was a grey and cloudy day; the rain still drizzled down. The massive windows created a gloomy and lonely effect as she walked through the darkened castle.

She found the Elder in his study. He looked up at her, his face filling with concern.

"Your Highness…" he said slowly. "You look terrible."

Hilda decided it wasn't necessary to voice her agreement. She felt extremely terrible.

"Take me to the dungeons," she said wearily. "I need to talk to Phantom Ganon."
The Elder blinked. "Your Highness…we haven't even scheduled a trial yet…"

"I don't give a damn," rasped Hilda. "Please. I need to talk to him."

Wordlessly, the Elder led her down to the dungeons. They'd avoided telling Hilda where Phantom Ganon was being held; they were afraid she'd try to sneak down and murder him. Hilda supposed that they'd forgotten about those worries.

Phantom Ganon sat facing the wall within one of Lorule Castle's deepest, darkest dungeon cells. He was still badly burned, but the malevolent magic within him allowed him to naturally heal the dark magic wounds far faster than a good-hearted being like Ravio could.

The Elder got the keys from a guard and unlocked the door. "I'll just wait out here, Your Highness," he said.

Hilda kicked the door open and walked inside. Phantom Ganon looked up at her, his face curling into a sneer.

"Good morning, Princess," he said mockingly. "How's Ravio?"

Hilda slammed her fist into the wall, unable to hold back her anger in her fragile emotional state.

Phantom Ganon laughed. "Look at you!" he said with a grin. "The great Princess Hilda, reduced to a state like this!"

Hilda was on the verge of leaving and forgetting what she even came to ask.

Phantom Ganon's face changed suddenly. "For what it's worth?" he said quietly. "I'm sorry about Ravio."

This was so shocking that Hilda stood staring at him, her mouth hanging open.

"I…" was all she could manage.

Phantom Ganon noticed her surprise. "I'm not completely heartless, you know. I really do feel sorry for him. What must it be like?"

Hilda nodded slowly, surprised at this sudden kindness.

"Yes…" he mused. "What must it be like, for him to be separated from you for so long?"

Hilda was tearing up. She knew it was a horrible idea to open herself up emotionally like this, but she had become so unstable that there was no telling what might set her off these days.

"Separated from you…" Phantom Ganon said suddenly. He laughed cruelly. "I'm sure he misses the sex, but you're probably replaceable enough."

Hilda slammed her fist into the side of his head. He didn't even flinch.

"I am the shadow of the most powerful man who ever lived," he said with a sigh. "It took you and Ravio at your full strength to even stand up to me. Don't amuse me with your pathetic attempts to hurt me."

Hilda closed her eyes.

"We're done," she said, turning to leave.

Phantom Ganon cleared his throat. "I'm guessing you came to see me to find out about purging the mask's power from your body?"

Hilda stopped.

"I know how to do that," he continued. "I understand some of the theory behind it."

"I don't trust you," said Hilda immediately.

"Of course not!" said Phantom Ganon. "But if I help you, we could work out a deal where you release me from this hellhole of a dungeon. Sit down. We have a lot to talk about."