Time landed with a hard thud on his stomach. He had jumped feet first into the portal, in the hope/belief that it would deposit him in approximately the same position but a stomach-churning shift of orientation meant that his arrival on the other side was horizontal but his momentum carried through so he skidded for several feet before arriving at a tangled pile of limbs and groaning bodies that he assumed must be the rest of his party.
"Ugh.." Time grunted as he tried to stagger to his feet. Blood poured freely from his face and he was absolutely sure that he had broken his nose in the fall. He pinched his nose with a thumb and forefinger, and let out a vicious string of colorful words that he had picked up from his many adventures through time, space and reality… it was a LOT. If the sailor were conscious at this particular moment he would have been proud. When he finally made it to his feet he saw a tall imposing woman clad in a dark dress looking down at him with a patient and bemused expression. He recognized her at once. Hilda...
He knelt, before her in deference, still holding his bleeding nose.
"My Lady.. Y-Your grace. I apologize."
"Rise." She simply said, and he did. She had a small wry smile on her face. She nodded to the slowly untangling pile of his companions. "Wecome, Master Link..to Lorule. You and your kin are welcome here and are now under my protection. Fret not…"
By now the group had more or less made it to their feet. Legend stumbled forward on shaking legs, his wound from earlier still not completely healed.
"H-Hilda!" He smiled and stiffly began to kneel, "I-I mean Your Grace."
"Psh." She waved, and briskly walked over to him, yanking him back to his feet and gave him a fierce hug. "My old friend... Do not trouble yourself. You bow to no one, Hero…" She cupped his chin gently and looked down into his face with her sharp red eyes.
She's so much taller than I remember, Legend thought to himself. When they had last met they were both only teenagers, and while for him that was quite some years ago, for Hilda it was many more. She had aged far more gracefully than her counterpart. Her high cheekbones and milky-pale skin were unblemished and fair as ever. Strands of shimmering silver scattered through her long raven hair giving it an ethereal glow. She was regal and absolute.
The Empress turned to look behind her where a polished-looking young page stood waiting.
"Eren. Please take The Hero and his family to their quarters. I am sure they would like to refresh-"
Winona and Dani stepped out from behind the gathered group and seemed to momentarily distract the sovereign of Lorule before she caught herself. "Maester Doyan will escort the ladies to theirs."
"Um.. Ma'am… Queen? Y-Your highness?" Winona stepped forward uncertainly. Hilda regarded her and seemed to give her a once over but said nothing. "Where is Ravio? I-I don't see him, he came through first. Is he alright, he was pretty banged up.."
A tiny ghost of a smile passed over Hilda's face at this. "He is safe. He was brought to the infirmary as soon as he came through the portal. Speaking of which.." She gave a wave of her hand and the glowing portal dispelled in a wink as if it never had been. "Come." She said and turned to walk towards the keep proper.