‘Yes!’
Marianne shouted in her mind when the Darknut, wobbly from Josh and Chaska’s fierce attacks, finally stepped on her Darkness Rune. Countless shadowy hands shot up from the ground, grabbing the darknut’s joints and locking it in place. At least for a while. It was a trusty spell that Marianne had learned from her mentor, and so far it had never let her down.
Now would be a good time to either press the attack or flee. Marianne was about to detail their next course of action, when, in a split second, a sudden cackle of electricity grabbed her attention.
Two seconds. Two seconds were all it took for the Darknut to break free of her shadowy hands’ grip and struck back.
Then a Spin Attack was coming at her direction. So close. So powerful.
So deadly.
In one fleeting moment that felt like forever, Marianne assessed everyone in range. It was as if time had stopped in her mind.
Chaska was behind the Darknut. It was highly unlikely that the sheikah would be able to save her liege without cutting herself in two. Her natural course of action would be to back away from the range. After all, the room was wide open behind her….
Sir Josh would be able to take it alright. He had shown that he was able to stand heavy punishment. And he had freedom to move from his position….
Mrs. von Brandt….
The scene was a war memorial on the outskirts of Gerudo Desert. It was early morning, but it was already scorching hot in this part of Hyrule. The handsome general immortalized as a statue on that war memorial glinted under the sunlight, his skin of marble smooth and cold, though the raging dust had taken its mark.
Below the statue, the general’s daughter contemplated her course of action. It seemed that, judging from the clouds of dust flying on the horizon, the bulblins were invading again.
When a small voice in her head whispered.
'Why bother?'
Marianne might yet live to regret it.
But at that time, this was what her heart would do.
Quicker than even the charging sword, using almost the exact same technique Ursula herself had mastered to put pressure under her feet which made her footsteps crushed the ground beneath her once in a spar before, the princess launched herself and slammed hard against Mrs. von Brandt with surprising might, pushing her out of the way of the incoming spin attack and safe from harm’s way. In the meantime, she barely managed to draw her sword with her right hand and projected a Dark Lance with her left to block before the darknut’s sword slammed against her feeble defense. Marianne could feel her ribs cracking as her sword and lance were pushed back violently against her body, her arms having little strength to resist the momentum. A sharp pain as she drew a surprised gasp told her that she had pulmonary contusion. And it should not stop there….
…
…
Actually, it stopped.
Perhaps it was that she was at the tail end of the Spin Attack full circle, so the blade didn’t push as deep as it should have been. Perhaps it was the darknut who held back, sensing something in the girl it was attacking. Or perhaps it was true that, at the moment when it really mattered, The Goddesses did interfere with mortal affairs.
All Marianne cared about was, at that time, instead of being split in half she was only gravely hurt.
Marianne’s sword fell with clang as she bent over, hands over her chest. Her Dark Lance vanished without a trace; it having done its job. Marianne’s shocked eyes were wide in bewilderment as she felt the urge to cough. And she did, coughing frothy blood at the floor, dripping through its fingers even as she put a hand to her mouth.
But her next words were not those of pain. Instead, it was an order; an order ringing true and unmistakably clear in the room in a way only those of Royal Blood could do.
“Everyone stand back! Nobody move!”
If Ursula had commanded her with a gritted teeth before, Marianne’s tone right then was filled with an authoritative aura that made even Barrett Tethras winced. So seldom was such note heard from the Princess, yet those who remembered knew she was perfectly able to do it. After all, this princess was the one who kept the Kingdom turning during the darkest moments that was Starlight Tragedy, when chaos and confusion reigned. Even though she disappeared at the height of her activities, it was at that time that the court realized just what the awkward, bookish Marianne de Hyrule was capable of.
Slowly, she walked towards to the darknut, who was now standing in place, cold and unmoving. As her steps got her closer towards the darknut her hands started glowing the dark power of Zadimus’ Wright. Coughing yet another blood, she raised those healing hands….
...but instead of healing her self, she leaned forward and put her hand on the darknut's chestplate, right over its heart.
The Princess was clearly standing only barely, using the darknut as a support lest she fell flat on her face. But even then, her magic worked. Zadimus Wright slowly healed the wounds it had received from their altercation before, filling the darknut with a familiar sensation.
It was a pin seemingly carved from a clear crimson ruby, depicting a crescent moon intertwined with a rose, Princess Marianne’s personal symbol.
“It looks good on you,” she praised, taking a step back to admire the pretty red sparkle in the darknut’s otherwise black armor, “If anyone ever sees you wearing it, Sir Tart, they will know you are under the grace and protection of Princess Marianne of The Hyrule Royal Family, and I hope it will then do you good. It is an enchanted brooch. We royals can only give finite amount of them in our lifetime, and one of them I give it to you.”
Then, with her expression saying farewell, Marianne swept a perfect curtsy, “Whenever you feel lonely, Sir Tart. Whenever you feel that you cannot trust your memories and your life is a lie, please remember the promise I make here, in Faron Woods, under the sunrise of dawn: The promise that I will help you uncover your past. Even if you feel that nothing in the world is real, that everything you know is fake, this one promise between you and me is real, and will always be real. Even in a different world or a different timeline, there will always be this promise in this one moment in your life and mine. It will never change.”
The monsters gaze moving to the new addition to it's armor as a gauntleted hand is brought up to examine it.
".....I.... Thank you for today's events. True, it wasn't the best manner to meet. But nonetheless, I have learned a decent bit more in this day than I have since waking in these woods."
Saying words that show a bit more emotion in them than earlier as well. Their voice would sound a good bit less mechanical or stiff in that moment. Small chuckle leaving them before giving her a slight bow of the head in return to her curtsy. Then turning towards the woods once again he'd pause for a moment.
"I'll be heading back to acquire my sword now. If there is a time I see you again, be it with danger around, or in a more peaceful event... Perhaps we can speak more on that day. I bid you safe travels, both back home today, and for the future as well."
Her face downcast towards the ground and her back stooped she looked like she almost fell, the princess still managed to weakly voice her words.
"Sir Tart...is that you...?"
Blood was dripping on her lips, falling in tiny splotches on the temple floor,
"It is me, Marianne.... Marianne de Hyrule...."
The monkey on Marianne's shoulder had buried her face inside her hair, even as her fingers gripped Marianne tighter.
- Marianne slammed Mrs. von Brandt out of harm's way, at the cost of being injured herself.
- Miraculously still alive, Marianne ordered everyone not to move as she walked towards the darknut herself.
- She began healing the darknut with Zadimus Wright while calling it a name: Sir Tart
The small pin on the darknut is enchanted. More on that in
this thread.