Day 47: Greenhouse (2nd Shift)

[himetsuru]

Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was a stupid white dress. So what if it was visual evidence that she was a princess? It should not be bothering her this much. It was a just a dress

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[mistressmadgirl]

The nurse had been quite insistent that Agatha would like this greenhouse- well, in fact, that "Marie" would. She could have put her foot down, of course, the nurse had "lackey" written all over her, but she was getting very curious about what was going on. Maybe she could figure out what Lucrezia had been up to.

Of course, when she got there, she was gravely disappointed. It was just a greenhouse- quite a nice greenhouse, but containing only ordinary soil and gardening implements and flowers that looked as though they'd never be able to strangle their creator's enemies in roots at all.

It just wasn't her style, in other words, and it definitely wasn't Lucrezia's. So the question of how they'd wound up here, and where here actually was, was only getting more confusing. She was starting to think she'd reached the limit of what she could figure out on her own. Fortunately, there was someone handy who didn't seem to have anything else to do!

"Hi. Do you know me?" asked Agatha, without preamble. It would probably sound weird, but everything was weird today

[chainsaw_royal]

Hime was just about to consider actually trying her hand at flower arranging, debating whether the nurses would care if she began cutting up the flowers, when she was addressed by another patient. She raised an eyebrow at the strange greeting that sounded like the question of an amnesiac.

"Not at all," she replied shortly, a rather neutral expression on her face. "Should I?"

Obviously this was a new patient if they expected other people to actually recognize them when they came from so many various worlds. Though Hime herself was something of a known name, that was only in the Kingdom, so she was used to anonymity and often preferred that depending on the situation.

[mistressmadgirl]

Agatha was actually not sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, it meant she couldn't ask about whatever Lucrezia had been doing, but on the other hand, it meant the other woman wasn't mixed up in anything Lucrezia might have been doing.

At the question, though, she just sighed. "No, you just weren't busy. I've been told I didn't just suddenly arrive from Mechanicsburg, so I hoped you might at least have seen me around."

No need to mention the Other. That could only cause problems.

[chainsaw_royal]

Hime herself was relieved that no one here knew of her - well, she might not have minded having Hiro or those other two around - it meant she didn't have to deal with personal assassins for the moment. One of the few highlights. That, and no one to call her that name she'd discarded.

"I see. So I take it you've no idea just what it is that you've woken up to, is that right?" she supposed blandly. The Royal was unsure whether to be impressed or piteous of the fact that this girl seemed to be so casual despite waking up in an unknown situation like this.

[mistressmadgirl]

"...And that doesn't surprise you." At least what that probably meant was fairly obvious. "Does this happen a lot here?"

If so, there were a lot of things that it could mean, and Agatha found the thought of most of them unappealing. There was a slight ray of light in the fact that, if it wasn't just her, it was unlikely to be Other-related, but that came in exchange for a whole lot of other difficulties she hadn't been expecting.

There was also the fact that if this encounter was typical, she wouldn't be widely recognizable here. That, too, was both helpful and problematic- fewer murder attempts, but a severe shortage of minions.

[chainsaw_royal]

"As far as I'm aware, it is how every single 'patient' arrived here," replied Hime. "Each of us taken from our homes to wake up in this institute run by a man named Landel, told we are delusional and that we have a different name, a different life and that we are here to forget what we think is true and accept those lies they've woven for us." A dry smirk. "Well, half the time anyway."

The smirk was replaced with a friendlier but less genuine smile; just enough to be polite if not welcoming as she faced this other.

"My name is Hime," she introduced herself. "Would you tell me yours?"

[mistressmadgirl]

"Oh, so it's like that," said Agatha, as understanding suddenly dawned. Mad psychologists weren't the most common kind of Spark out there, but they were known. Of course, if Lucrezia hadn't been running around loose, there was still the worrying question of how he'd managed to reach her in the depths of Castle Heterodyne surrounded by her people, but that was a question she was just going to have to ask him, since she doubted the subjects would know.

And then- her fingers rose without thinking to her throat- there was the question of her suppressing locket. If it had been taken away, then why wasn't Lucrezia running around loose? Another question Hime wasn't likely to be able to answer for her, of course, so she just smiled back and said "I'm Agatha. What about the other half?"

[chainsaw_royal]

Was this kind of setup not uncommon where Agatha came from? Perhaps it was how assassination was nearly a weekly occurrence for Hime.

"It all changes at night," Hime replied when the blonde asked the question she had set up. "Gone is the facade that this place is trying to help us. The doors unlock and we're set loose to stalk the darkness. As are other unsavory sorts. In a word, monsters."

The Royal was curious as to how she'd react; not everyone believed in monsters, though apparently on some worlds they were common enough while on others, they didn't exist, or at least the people didn't know they did.

[mistressmadgirl]

It was possible that there were people in the world who had never seen monsters of any sort. As far as she knew, though, Agatha had never met such a blessed individual, so upon hearing that there would be some here she just nodded matter-of-factly. Then, after a moment's thought, she frowned.

She did know a mad social scientist, he'd been very close by last she knew, and though he'd seemed content enough to watch her work, it was never really wise to assume a Spark would keep to the original plan. If he'd got carried away, Agatha was going to have to have some very serious words with him.

"It's not set up as a maze, is it?" she asked- not worriedly, just as someone who wanted to rule out a theory. "Are many of the subjects children? How does this Landel stand on cheese?"

[chainsaw_royal]

Hime met Agatha's flurry of questions with a completely deadpan expression.

"Not any more than the average bit of hospital architecture; more than one might expect given the nature of the horrors here; we've been served cheeseburgers and Mexican food with cheese so far, but while he gives every indication of enjoying the food, he acts overly cheerful whenever making announcements during the daytime anyway so this cannot be considered an accurate representation of his tastes," she rattled off. The princess raised an eyebrow. "Any other questions?"

[mistressmadgirl]

It wasn't Snaug's master, then. Agatha hadn't seriously expected it to be, but she'd figured she might as well ask. As for other questions... well, there was always more to know, right?

"Well, if there are going to be monsters, I should probably find out more about them while I have the opportunity," said Agatha, still all business. Since it seemed likely they'd keep talking for a while, and she liked to have something to do with her hands, she picked up the nearest tool- a garden fork- and peered at it with vague interest.

[chainsaw_royal]

Once again, Hime found herself wondering if Agatha's confidence was misplaced. It was not unlike those new patients who still thought this was no real problem and they'd be out of here by nightfall, but at the same time, the girl hadn't actually said anything to that effect. In fact, her willingness to learn about and assess the situation were quite practical. It was just how well she was taking to the situation that was interesting. Then again, Hime herself had been completely without panic upon arrival, but there were few things in this world or any other that could cause her to panic.

"There used to be a rather thorough bestiary that got posted on the bulletin board back in the Sun Room," she said, "but since the nurses began censoring what information can be posted up there, that and the other primers have been absent. You'll mostly have to find out by word of mouth." Word of someone else's mouth. A pause, then she continued. "Admittedly, I've yet to run into anything yet, but there have been plenty of patients sporting injuries gained from such encounters. What I have seen is the other kind of dangers the institute presents at night: other patients. Landel seems to find it amusing to use brainwashing to pit some of us against each other, using them as guards in key locations against the other patients. They are, of course, given their powers back." Once again, Hime paused. Then her gaze went to Agatha.

"Do you know what I mean? About powers?" the Royal asked, almost as if she were testing her. Considering her answers so far, it seemed likely that Agatha was no ordinary human though, so it was probably unnecessary.