30 September 2022
This is probably where I started taking Elsenaia's story more seriously. All that backstory made me recognize her as a character more, or something? Anyway, still plenty comedic, but there's a lot more serious moments.
I also wanted to hurry up and get past the “reading each other's minds" bit, so I probably rushed to the end scene there. Also, I am not a therapist, and there are probably a thousand reasons why this is the wrong way to approach handling someone's trauma were you to wind up literally inside their head. But it was fun to write. And I'm looking forward to writing what I mean by “stop being a princess"!
After I heard Elsenaia’s scream, I appeared back in my own head to find her fleeing a large man in sleek black armor. He didn’t wear a helmet, but his face had a ghostly cast to it, and from the right angle it looked like nothing more than a skull.
“What is this thing!?” Elsenaia cried as she headed for me.
“Death. Or, a personification of it, anyway. For a story I’m writing.”
Elsenaia skidded past me, then turned around in shock. “Death!?”
I ignored her for a second and stepped up to Death. He raised his scythe, but I just flicked him in the forehead. “Oi. Knock it off. We have a guest.”
When he looked like he was going to be stubborn, I folded my arms and glared at him. “Do you want me to call Life over, instead?”
He flinched and sulked away. Elsenaia’s jaw gaped open as she watched him go.
I turned to her and asked, “You alright?”
“I… you… How…?”
I wasn’t 100% sure what she was asking, but I said, “Well, they’re in my head, aren’t they? So I can exert a bit of control over them, especially as characters I created.”
“Death isn’t even a person! It’s just a thing that happens! How can it be walking around in your head!?”
Is that what the issue is? “I said it already, didn’t I? That’s a personification of death.”
She still looked confused, so I said, “Okay, it’s like… Take some sort of abstract concept. Maybe an emotion of some kind. Can you think of a person, or an object, or anything, that represents that concept?”
Elsenaia nodded slowly. “Like a really happy person to represent happiness?”
“Exactly. Personification is like that. You take something that isn’t human–” I pause, then reconsider my words. “Rather, something that isn’t a person, and give it person-like traits. You can even take the concept and imagine what it would be like as a person.” I look at her askance. “Do elves really not have a concept like that?”
Elsenaia started to shake her head, then paused. “I… I actually don’t know.”
Eh? “You don’t know?”
“I… didn’t have much chance to choose my own reading material.”
Okay, that is straight up weird. I went back to Elsenaia’s head and started prodding a little more forcefully. I heard her ask, “Wait, what are you–”, but I kept pushing forward.
I found myself in front of a thick stone wall, sealing… something off. I could hear the faint sounds of someone crying on the other side.
I hit the wall once, just to see if it would react, and then looked around for something I could use to force my way in. “Oh, wait. This is all in our heads, right?” I concentrate for a second, and manage to materialize the Giant Crusher Hammer from Elden Ring.
“Oof, that’s heavy.” Fortunately, I was able to lift it still. I swung once, and the impact shook the whole building.
Elsenaia materialized and grabbed one of my arms. “Wait! Please!”
I turned to look at her. “That’s you, crying on the other side, isn’t it?”
She didn’t answer, but her eyes still pleaded with me to stop. I put one hand on her head and said softly, “If I stop now, who is ever going to let you free?”
Her eyes went wide, but after a second or two, she let go of my arm and took a few steps back. I nod to her once, and then hoist the hammer again. I called out to the other side, “Watch out, I’m coming in!”
The crying paused, and I swung the hammer two, three times. A small hole formed in the wall, and I could see a small elven girl on the other side. “Wait just a bit; we’ll have you out soon.”
I kept at it with the hammer, and soon the rest of the wall had collapsed. The little girl rushed out and hugged me. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s alright. You’re free now.”
A flood of Elsenaia’s memories washed over me, as everything she’d been keeping repressed or locked away burst out at once. I saw the day Tairsi’s family had been sent away, and how she’d told Elsenaia, “I guess princesses aren’t supposed to have friends.”
I saw the cold looks her father often gave her, and the countless hours of studying. I saw the harsh training Darrett, the angry guard, put her through. I saw her joy as she discovered magic, and the jealous looks from her brother at how quickly she picked it up. Countless other memories surfaced, all panting the sheer loneliness Elsenaia lived with day to day.
I hugged the little Elsie close and whispered, “I’ll be your friend.”
The little girl pulled away and said, “But princesses aren’t allowed to have friends.”
“Then it’s simple.” I turned and grinned at the real Elsenaia behind me. “Just stop being a princess.”