Author Topic: A Princess Diary  (Read 1425 times)

GypsyRogue

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A Princess Diary
« on: July 07, 2012, 04:06:32 PM »
I have always hated my name, but Daddy wanted a princess. So I’m stuck with Aurora, which means “princess” in some long-lost language that my mother knew.

He was always a dreamer, and marrying my mother, a famous sorceress, only fueled his imagination. I guess he thought that her fame and fortune would make his offspring actual nobles or royalty or some such. I think he wanted for us the life our mother had—a life of great adventure and grand travels—and he always said I was the apple of my mother’s eye.

I don’t know about that. I just know he was crushed when she left, and he seemed to dream more often than ever before, usually with the help of a drink or five.

But now I am living the life of my mother, only it’s the part she never told us (or the part Daddy never let her tell us, he was always careful like that). The bad parts. The nightmares. The stuff of legends that you wish was just that—legend.

I don’t have to tell you that I’m scared. I’m beyond scared. For myself, but mostly for Will, my brother. Because it’s my fault he’s here, lost somewhere in this insane place called Barovia. He was bored, and I had just finished my chores around the farm, so I suggested we play in the forest. It was fun for a little bit—until the mists. I don’t know if he noticed. I yelled at him. He didn’t listen and suddenly the mists—

I can’t even think about it. He just turned 13. It’s not fair! What has he done so wrong to deserve this?!? What has either of us done?

I’ve been good. I take care of the farm when Daddy can’t. I look after my brothers and sisters. I took all the silly lessons he made us learn and even remembered most of them. I have a good reputation around town. Daric and I kissed once but it was just once! Goodness, I’m so busy I don’t even have time to do anything wrong.

So why me? Why us?

I hope this is one of Dad’s dreams. Or maybe my mother has come back and is testing me for something.

I don’t know, but I have to find Will. Whether this is a dream, or I’m insane, or it is all real, it all starts with finding Will. He doesn’t deserve this.

I will find him.

I hope.
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2012, 01:14:55 AM »
The first night I was here, I told Shy that I was not ready to accept yet that I was actually trapped in some other place. I didn’t want to have to address it. I was focused completely on finding Will. Once I found Will, I was certain we would find a way home, and our story would be complete.

It’s only been three days, but now I am unsure.

There’s no sign of Will…anywhere. Shy and Cale and I checked on an orphanage nearby. I thought one of the boys there looked an awful lot like Will from behind but of course it was not him. And nobody had seen or heard about him. I’ve found no other clues or rumors about a boy.

I have not given up. I will find him, and my next task is to do an extensive search of the town, Villaki. It seems like the sort of place Will would have gone. He always liked being able to spend time in Greyhawk, and while Villaki is much smaller, I think he would have liked the sounds and sights of the city, even if the people are not very welcoming.

Being unable to find any sign of Will, though, has got me thinking about the question I didn’t want to address. Being here. Where is here? What does it mean for me? And can we truly ever get back home?

I’m surprised how others have become so accepting of the situation. Or at least they seem so on the outside. I ask about getting back—if anyone has ever found a way back through the mists—and it seems the typical reaction is to either roll their eyes, or tell me I’m a fool and accept the situation. Certainly not everyone has already given up hope, I would think.

I would have thought there might be a bond between people who have gone through the mists. Something that brings us all together, to work on, but I believe I’m mistaken. People have gone on with their lives. There are jealousies and squabbles and rivalries, just like back home. I wonder if I will do that if I stay here long enough. Could this really become my home?

Three days, and I’m already asking that question.

I have met some good people. Shy is a knight, sworn in service to some god I have never heard of before: Ill-something or another (a curious name for a good god!). He described his philosophy to me, and it was fascinating. He is….I don’t know how to describe him. He is a decent man and always seems willing to help me. I’m lucky to have met him.

And Cale as well, though I hope he forgives for never remembering his long name, which is Elvish and very long. I think he looks upon me as a younger sister. I always get the sense he finds what I do and say funny and amusing. But he’s good natured about it, and I can tell he cares. At least I hope he does. I cannot always tell, but I enjoy his company as well.

There are others. Misha, who called herself a templar, I think, and was very helpful. I hope to get her help in searching the city. Purist, another knight, and Moreen, a priestess, who were kind to me on the first night I was here. I tried to help another newcomer who had just arrived through the mist, one August, but I fear I just showed my ignorance.

I wonder what will become of all of them, and the others. Will I get to know them? Are they my new family and friends? Or will I find Will suddenly and we’ll just head back, and they will be as dreams? If I get to know them, am I giving up on finding my way back home?

I hate not knowing.

Where is Will?
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2012, 11:47:26 PM »
How could everything change in just a day? How can I feel so proud and confident and then suddenly so scared, humiliated and unsure?

It all started so innocently. Shy and I were talking in the Lady’s Rest, and the very nice innkeeper there asked us to help with an errand to Kroftburg. I jumped at the opportunity—a chance to travel and see more of this land. Shy and I quickly agreed, but it was night so we talked a while and then rested.

We shared a room but only in the sense that we were in it together. He was gracious and allowed me to rest first, then I let him sleep. He was a perfect gentleman and I do not think he has any intentions towards me anyway. I can’t tell how old he is, but with that shock of white hair, I wonder if he could be my father.  I recall someone kissing him in the church as well, though it was my first night, and in the chaos of that evening, my memory could be faulty. Regardless, he is always interesting to talk to and—

Why do I spend so much time on Shy when there is so much more to tell? I do not...know....

In any event, just as we’re about to leave on our errand, out of nowhere, he says he has to go. That someone is in trouble and he has to help them. I have no idea how we would know, but he was adamant, and just like that, I was alone. I know little of men but his behavior certainly hasn’t help my understanding.

Well, I decided I wasn’t going to let the innkeeper down so I followed her directions and went south from Vallaki across a rope bridge hopefully towards Kroftburg. Only…I never made it. I must have missed a road. But I DID find the dwarven city of Dvergeheim. A curious place, with constant earthquakes brought forth by a mysterious crystal that seemed to have its own kind of terrible beauty. But the city has its own kind of charm, and I found the people friendlier than those in Vallaki.

Despite my mistake, the whole thing made me immensely proud. It was a tough journey, raining the whole time, nearly pitch dark, and I had to avoid a snake attack as well! Given that Shy gives me a look anytime I even talk about stepping foot outside, and how everyone warns me about being safe (I swear, I must look like a little girl!), I felt immensely proud to have made it all by myself. Me! With just my sling and some rations.

And then everything fell apart.

I returned to Vallaki, hoping to find Shy and get better directeions. But before I decided to explore the city a bit. I came across an abandoned house, and I thought I heard crying voices coming from inside. With my newly found confidence, I decided to investigate.

If only I had turned around to find the market as I had intended. I will regret that decision for a very long time, I think.

I don’t even remember much. There was a trapdoor. A ladder. Something…some sort of creature in the darkness. And then I woke up in a cell, surrounded by dead bodi---

I still can’t think about that part. There were men, but one turned into…a rat? They were going to sell me into slavery, but my mind, grasping for anything, remembered something the innkeeper told me about the burgomaster of Villaki. I yelled his name, told them they would be sorry. Then there was fighting, and some man…a wizard, a Hazlani…he….he freed me. Led me up to the surface. We talked. I barely remember. The whole thing is a blur.

Only I was out in the farmlands at night. There were creatures. I can barely describe them. My heart was pounding. It was a full moon. I suddenly realized WHY everyone told me to stay inside at night.

I was going to die if they saw me. Unbidden, a song from my youth to my mind—Hilga and the Disappearing Witch. I always loved that song. For some reason, I started humming it and…and…just like that, I was…gone! Invisible, I think. They couldn’t see me. Similar things happened when I thought about running faster and needing light. I just thought of songs, and sang or hummed them quietly, and—

What am I? Did the mists change me? Is this my mother’s doing? Did that wizard change me?

Everything that I used to know, I am unsure of now. I am scared of the dark and I am scared to sleep—for I only dream of dead bodies, their faces staring at me. I am scared to sing or think of songs because I don’t know what’s going to happen. I am scared to tell people, because of what they might do to me, especially here in Barovia.

And worst of all, I’m scared because I’m not thinking of Will.

I’m not scared for him anymore.

I’m scared for myself. 
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2012, 05:27:21 PM »
How is that Will is missing, but I feel like the one lost?

I feel more alone tonight than I ever have before. I see now why people act like they do after being in this accursed place for even a couple of weeks. I have messed up, and I’m not sure I can fix things.

I put my foot in my mouth in a bad way. I went to talk with Shy and a couple of women he was with. I said hello and, trying to be friendly and part of the conversation, said something about some wanted posters they were talking about. But apparently these people who were wanted were actually friends of theirs—or something, I never quite got it. Within a minute of me being there, they had all left, excusing themselves separately because they “had to go do things” or “were tired.”

I haven’t talked to Shy, or really anyone else, since then. I fear I’ve burned a bridge that cannot be rebuilt.

Nor can I think of a reason why anyone would wish to associate with me. I am not fit for this world. I was in the church, and I asked a couple of people what the catacombs below were like. One of them, a woman, looked at me pointedly and said it was not a place for the "faint of heart.”

Everyone who comes through the mists--or has grown up in this world--seems strong. Capable. Courageous. I am not these things. Not like that. I can handle a farm. I can handle younger siblings, a drunk father and a mother gone. But not a world where I have to stay inside once darkness comes and fear every little sound, every movement in the shadows. I hate this place.

I am feeling sorry for myself, and I hate that too.

Daddy liked to teach me rules about being a princess, as if somehow acting like one would make me one. One I remember most is: if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

This was a favorite of his that he liked to tell me when he was drunk in bed and I was forced to lead the work around the farm. It was certainly not my favorite, for obvious reasons, but I always grudgingly respected the wisdom behind it.

I keep thinking about that saying now, but I feel like I can’t even see my hand at the end of my arm. It’s all darkness.

I will try to be strong. Be a princess. For Will.

But I’m not sure how long I can anymore.
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2012, 06:29:25 PM »
Perhaps I have found my way. Or at least, a way. To move forward and try to find Will.

I was speaking with a man named Constantine, who was from Borca. Well dressed man, I remember thinking, smart, but with absolutely no sense of humor, which I always find curious. Nice though, and very encouraging.

He suggested I take up being a traveling minstrel, so I might both earn some coin and be able to search for Will as I journey through the lands.

It struck me first as ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I feel like I’m drowning here in the inn outside Vallaki. I can barely make myself enter the city because of…what happened earlier, and it feels so unwelcoming. There is no way to earn any sort of living here save for the sympathy—and pity—of strangers, and I will have no more of that.

Of course, he also said that the roads are dangerous, as if I needed anymore reminders of that, and that I would need an armed escort or companion of some sort. Well, that may be difficult. I have no idea where to turn for that sort of thing. But perhaps I’ll head for Dementlieu. I don’t understand the language there, but I’ve heard it’s a cultured sort of town where a good singer and performer can make a decent living.

Not that I’m yet decent when it comes to playing, of course. But I’m getting better. And I’m….I don’t know, I guess the word is….different when I’m playing.

I don’t feel scared so much when I’m playing. I say things I would never ordinarily say when I’m singing, and I’m not afraid to look people in the eye. It’s very….odd. I noticed it first when two caliban—at least, I think they were caliban—entered the clearing by the Vistani campfire. One was huge, and while I was nervous at first, I even managed to talk with him. Flik, or some such, was his name. He seemed nice enough, almost child-like, and was fascinated by the music.

I’ve also met some very nice performers and minstrels as well. Lia and Tatiana, I believe are there names. It is quickly how you can bond with someone simply because you both play. I wonder if other skills and professions are like that. I wonder too if they can do ….the things I can, when they’re singing or playing. Surely it can't just be me, or is this something I inherited from my mother, the absent hero? Perhaps I will muster up the courage to ask one of them soon.

I am excited, the first time since I arrived here. There is still no sign of Will, and many are suggesting he never made it through the mist. Admittedly, this is a heartwarming thought, and I think of him often back home at our farm. But if he is not here, then what am I to do?

I can’t accept just starting a new life here and forgetting my old one. So I will continue to search for him until I find proof that he is elsewhere or he is….well, I shall not write that. I refuse to believe it. He must be safe.

Somewhere.
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2012, 05:04:27 PM »
I’m clearly not in Greyhawk anymore…

So Tatiana and Victoria are—lovers? An item? I admit, I’m a bit lost here.

I know that many make fun of people living on farms, as if we’re country bumpkins without a thought in our heads. And I’m not completely ignorant in some things, given that Greyhawk is such a huge city and has all sorts of people in it.

But I was a bit surprised when Tatiana told me her lover was Victoria. And then later on proceeded to kiss her.  I’m sure I was blushing quite badly, for it took me completely by surprise. I hope I didn’t embarrass them, though more likely I embarrassed myself and made myself look foolish.

I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes. Tatiania is definitely pretty. Anyone can see that. Victoria is as well. Certainly I’ve seen how the men watch her prance by, but she is somewhat…manly to me. Not physically, of course, but her confidence. I’ve never seen a woman so confident and sure of herself. I wonder if my mother was like that.

So I can see the physical attraction on both sides. But then I get to the point of imagining a kiss, and my stomach turns to jelly…and not in the good way. Not like how a look from Daric back home could.

So I guess I’m happy for them. Happy they found each other in such a bleak world. I think on occasion it might be nice to have someone. Though I’m not certain. Perhaps it would be as if I’m surrendering to this world. Although maybe the companionship would be worth it.

Though clearly there’s no sign of anything happening anytime soon. I have met men who are either completely dedicated to some other cause, like Shy’Nar; men who are far too comfortable in a tavern and proceed to tell every woman how pretty they are, like….well….far too many of them to name; and men like Constantine, who are smart and interesting, but really, I don’t think I’ve seen the man crack a smile.

Surely there must be some middle ground between all three?

Of course, then there’s the issue of whether or not they would find me the least bit attractive, and whether or not  I would bore them to death. There is that, I guess.

Best not to dwell on that right now, especially when there is so much else going on now. No time to think about men…or women, for that matter. Daddy always said, life is what’s happening when you’re waiting for life to happen. Not going to wait around, Daddy, not anymore!

I will just have to remember not to stare and look like a complete idiot if those two start kissing again.
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother

GypsyRogue

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Re: A Princess Diary
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2012, 09:39:42 PM »
Two strange nights. Two vivid memories that I can’t seem to shake.

The first one involves bats. I was walking to the Vistani camp one night and I kept seeing bats. I had never seen them before around there. One would appear, but if I moved towards it, the thing just disappeared.

I thought perhaps I was seeing things, or that it was just coincidence, but there were several different sightings. And I was in the camp when I saw one sitting on the Ezra shrine nearby. Not doing anything, just….well, it was like it was…watching me. And when I walked near it, it just flew away.

I swear they were following me. Or perhaps it was the same one, I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since. Perhaps these are simply the things that happen so near the mists. But I’m more watchful now. I have to be.

The second memory isn’t an image, but a tune I can’t shake:

We are girls of purple silk and beauty
We are darlings bright and lovely comes the day
We’ll be fine as long as we wear our purple
And we’ll always be together come what may


The words are nice, but the tune is….I don’t know, slightly eerie, but I can’t seem to stop humming it. It’s what Tatiana bade me sing to her to get her to sleep the night of the big winter storm. She said it was a childhood tune, I think?

I was seeking shelter at the inn when I saw her run by. She was shaking…crying, I thought. I followed her to the water by the Vistani camp.

I thought she was going to kill herself. She had a knife out and she was….was carving into her skin. I didn’t realize she had tattoos all over her body! Blood was flowing everywhere, and she made these wailing sounds, and the snow was falling, and the wind was shrieking and…it was horrible. I rushed into the creek to try to stop her.

Fortunately, she wasn’t trying to kill herself, but I didn’t find that out until afterwards…although to be honest, I’m not sure I could have stopped if she was committing suicide. Fortunately, the woman, Sera…or Seraphim came and stopped her. Although that woman was in a strange mood too.

Mr. Hulford called it moon madness or some such, and half-Vistani seem to suffer from it. I thought he meant she was a werewolf, but apparently this is something different. Great, another affliction I need to be wary of here.

I won’t go into all the details that happened that night, as I scarce understand them myself. But Tatiana was much better the next day and thanked me profusely, and everything seems to have worked out for her. I’m glad. There seems to so much to her, so much happening to her, I wonder how she stands it all.

I also found Mr. Hulford to be a kind and understanding man. I like him more each time we meet. Two friends, I hope, in Tatiana and Marcus. I need those.

Oh, and Tatiana wants me to visit the Nymph sometime. Given what I’ve heard of the place, and what I know of her, this sounds like a particular horrible idea. No good can come of it.

Naturally, of course, that means it’s bound to happen…..
Aurora Adams, looking for her brother