Quoted By:
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-b">Winner:</span></span> Begin with the voice of your shadow.
"The draught pulled me into a memory of the day the King had me knighted," you say. Drinking down the cup of brandy quickly, you hold the glass out to Hilde, who obediently fixes it. "Everything went as I remembered it, for the most part, right up until my reflection in the mirror started talking back to me. I... she... it started going on about how great things were when I was young and reckless..."
From there you regale Fiona and Hilde with the story of what happened in the realm of dreams. How your shadow's voice pestered you on and on to act without thinking, to revel in your strength and throw away basic decency. How it wanted to you to dress in flashy and flamboyant clothes. How it advised you to act first and think later, consequences be damned, throwing away all the worthless opinions of people whose caution tried your patience. How desperately it wanted men to see you as a woman.
How far too often, you found yourself nodding in agreement with it.
"Mmm... I don't know too much about curses and such, Lou-Lou," Hilde thinks on what you've told her, nursing a brandy of her own. Her eyes trail to the the thorned vines crawling up your arms, their color so black that they seem to swallow the light, save where the red roses bloom. "Maybe someone down in Sal Khemia has a theory on how they fit into the laws of magic, but to a simple country artificer like me, they might as well be a black box. What do you think, Fee-Fee?"
Fiona takes a moment to realize that Hilde was referring to her. She nearly chokes on her wine when she does, asking, "Fee-Fee? <span class="mu-i">Really</span>? No, never... it's a possession, Hilde. The influence of some devilry worked upon her by the Arbiter. Clinging to her repressed thoughts and memories, using them like a sword against her."
You nod, <span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-g">somewhat reluctantly</span></span>. After a sip of brandy, you can't help but agree that, "It makes the most sense..."
"I'm sensing a <span class="mu-i">but</span> there, Lou-Lou," Hilde says it without sounding too accusatory, but you know that she knows you're holding something back. While you swirl your drink, she steals a hunk of cheese from your plate. Through a mouthful of it, she says, "Alright, let's think this through, then. You said that you saw your reflection speak in the mirror, and heard a voice in your head, right?"
"That's what I said, yes," you tell her. "Though there's more of the story to tell..."
"Oh! Continue on, then," Hilde gives you an encouraging pat on the back. "Can't come to a conclusion with incomplete information."
