Standard disclaimer applies.

A/N: A little tidbit to keep you guys fed while I work on Grow On You. This is a two-part instrospection, first from Hilda and the second chapter will be Tatsumi's. Dig in!

True Colors

~ The Roles We Play ~

There was a world of difference between 'here' and 'there'. Here, the family of that insensitive, dense, musclebrained man-child called her 'Hilda-chan' in adoring tones. There, she was revered. Feared. Respected. She was Hilda-sama. She was the very last word in the ranks of Royal Nursemaids. No one dared to joke around her or with her. She was somebody.

Here, they called her just plain 'Hilda'. Or worse, 'Ogabride' or some other variation. She was pulled around, pushed, leered at, snide remarked, envied, crushed on. She was just a secondary character next to the larger than life powerhouse that was Tatsumi. She cooked, cleaned, yelled, threatened and punched her way around. She went to grocery stores and fought over a few yen. To humans she was just a cosplaying lolita-goth. To humans, she was nobody.

But somehow she liked it better here than there. There she was just a Royal Nursemaid and nothing but. Here she was a daughter-in-law, a wife (of sorts), a love rival, a blonde bombshell, a terrifying entity, a battle partner, the voice of reason. But behind all the masks she had to wear, she was also wearing none. She was Hilda here. People cowered at her feet because she was Hilda, not because she was a Royal Nursemaid. Tatsumi's family loved her because she was Hilda. Aoi was jealous of her because she was none other than Hilda. It was gratifying and yet terrifying to feel herself as an individual. It would be easy to lose her objective amidst all the roles she had to play.

And yet, the rough, uncouth youth kept her anchored. Every time he came into her space she was instantly reminded of the self she had to prioritize above all else. Because he was the only one who saw her not as a wife, not as a friend, not as anything but the Royal Demon Nursemaid, Hildegarde.

And to her, he would always be a damn fool.