"Then what on earth are you," Alyss asked, exasperated.
"Why, I'm a projection, of course. A sort of magical hologram."
"Uh-huh. A hologram. So, Mrs. Hologram, how on earth could a bunch of pixels time travel then?"
"Well, that's easy," the other girl answered jovially. "Whenever you set a projection to start, it will, so the older you set me to start now."
"But you can't start things by going back in time!" The other girl protested.
"The older you never actually went back in time, you see. She just timed me to start up a little bit ago, and I did, that's all." The girl leaned in, peering closely at the prisoner with a perplexed face. "Though you may be right, and there may be a mistake. My creator is quite smart, and you don't seem to be getting this at all."
Alyss growled. "Well, excuuuse me for being a product of my time! Not all of us can simply choose which time to be in, you know!"
"My creator is more cheerful, too," the other girl said mournfully.
She gritted her teeth and slipped a spare strand of hair behind her ear, straightening her posture. "Well, that aside," she said, valiantly trying to push the matter aside, "and ignoring the conundrum of the physical body that touched me earlier and the insubstantial body I touched more recently, I presume there was a reason you were sent, um, set to begin at this particular time? Like, you have something important to say?"
"Yes," the girl answered, smiling. She stood there, beaming, not a word more.
"And what is it you were supposed to say?" Alyss bit off, snarling with impatience.
"Ah, that. Well, my message is threefold." The projection closed her eyes and started to speak like it came right off a script. "One: do not despair and mope, for we are a great person and should hold our head proudly no matter the circumstances. Two: there are memories of mine, locked up and secreted away, and him who I most dislike is the key to them and my innermost self. Three: I must fix the problems of this time in order to live to my time, and the only way to do that is to indulge a healthy sense of curiosity with the knowledge that I am, in fact, quite safe, even if I do not feel that way." The projection opened her eyes. "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but I also overheard my creator debating whether to tell you that an Aeron person is someone you wish you'd befriended much sooner. Have you met this person yet?"
"Yes," Alyss said with distaste, "though I am sure I will never say such a preposterous thing. I do not like him at all, and I wish I'd been rid of him a lot sooner, more than wanting to cozy up to the jerk."
"Do you understand how you can be quite safe, yet have impending doom coming to you?" the projection asked.
"Not really," Alyss pooh poohed the question, "but I'll figure it all out, go exploring!" So saying, she tipped her nose into the air and walked out the door and into the hallway beyond.
She took her time feeling at the wall and looking for any hidden knobs on the door. She hadn't done it the first time, having been petrified in fear of her future, but it was worth it to try to make the best of things now. She knew there was one thing her visitor, wherever she had really come from, had right. It was definitely time to stop whimpering and cowering in fear. Being tossed around like a playground ball had definitely been frightening, and the drenching was terrible, but there was a time and a place for cowering in fear and it was certainly no longer either of those. I mean, sure there are a bunch of gigantic dragon things flying around, and sure I might be stuck in the world's most luxurious prison ever (even if it is in poor taste with the sleek white furnishings piled on top of something as ridiculous as an invisible floor window), but if I can invite a complete stranger hobo into my family, then I can certainly have the gumption to try to get out.
She couldn't help but think back to a kind man leading her on a tour of the palace and warning her that any attempts on her part to get out would lead him to terrible trouble, or at least the loss of his job, but she tried to put that out of mind. It would be unfortunate for him, of course, but she couldn't stay imprisoned there for the rest of her life out of loyalty to a palace worker who seemed to be unable to even visit her every day reliably.
When the door revealed no useful secrets, she moved on to explore the windows. It made sense that if it could be opened from the outside, there might be some way to trick the system and get out that way from the inside. She didn't let the very real possibility that there might not be a safe way to climb out of the window down to the field and out the exit of this blasted place get in the way for her. When planning an escape in dire circumstances, she had quickly learned during her stay there that it was necessary to focus on only one thing at a time to limit one's likelihood of giving up all hope of ever getting out.
She spent unknown hours poking and pulling and pushing at the darned thing, but still she couldn't figure out a way to get out. In the process she had realized that exhausting herself was a great way to fall asleep and avoid boredom for some short time, so she eventually snuggled up in the bed and whiled away the
