"You're on a path in the woods," a patrician voice says, "--and you're going to slay the Princess."

"I'm going to what?" you say.

"You're going to slay the Princess," the patrician voice, an arrogantly presumptive well-enunciated toff's, declares.

"What? Why? And who are you?" You turn your head around, trying to get a fix on the voice's source. It's not above, below, or behind that suspiciously large tree trunk. You walk to a clearing.

"I am the narrator. I tell this story." The voice remains at the same volume and level.

"But I have free will."

"Only a little. Sorry-not-sorry."

"Where are you?" you ask.

"I am here. With you."

"In my head?"

"One supposes that is the most simple explanation."

"Excuse me," you say, frowning, because you certainly wouldn't be smiling in this situation--I know what you're thinking, so don't try to be clever and go off-script.

"I can hear you saying that," you say. "Even the bit that isn't speaking--like it's narrating something."

"I did say I was the narrator."

"But why does it feel so extra-textual? It's like I had your voice in my head and then a narration that was slightly different--"

"--your inner monologue. I have some influence over that," and that explains the situation so well that you do not waste time pondering it any more.

"Okay," you nod.

"Jolly good. That said, we are on a time limit, so let's move ahead."

"Okay..." you say. "I'm supposed to slay a Princess. Why? And with what?"

"Not to worry. We'll take care of that. Just get on toward the cabin and everything will be all right."

"But why am I supposed to slay this Princess? Is she a threat?"

"If you don't, she'll end the world."

"Really?"

"Really."

"And you know this, how?"

"That does not matter. Trust me."

"And who are you?"

"The 'you' in this story is 'you', not me."

"I mean who are you? What is your name?"

"I am the 'voice inside your head'. As I said before, I am the narrator," the narrator says.

"Usually when people hear voices inside their heads telling them to kill someone--it later turns out they probably shouldn't have listened to those voices...."

"I know, but you can trust me."

"And if I don't trust me, you can just re-write what I do?"

"Not precisely. There are limits. And rules."

"What rules?"

"You need not concern yourself about that triviality."

"Sure...." You walk a different direction than the one the wise voice inside your head requested you to tread. But, you end up back at the road in the woods, facing the cabin.

"Is this a dream?" you ask.

"... Certainly, one supposes. That works. This is a dream. Let us go with that," the voice says. "Let us get on with some original material now, chop-chop."

You sigh and open your mouth to object.... But, the words freeze in your throat. Feeling the weighty burden of narrative fiat, you start your walk down the path, up the hill, to the cabin.

Inside the nearly-bare wooden cabin, you see a table with a dagger laying atop it. And, there's a simple wooden door, which must be leading downstairs since the cabin had no second story.

Surprisingly, you have a choice.

GoTo:
A. Pick up the dagger and go downstairs.

B. Go downstairs without picking up the dagger.

Author's Note

Follow red hyperlinks at the end of the chapter (above) rather than proceeding sequentially.

Slay the Princess, the source game, is a visual novel about uncovering a mystery .

This is a journey, rather than something to "win," although there are hints to a more "successful" path (e.g. you slay or free or wait). The Index at the end is a checklist of experiences.

• Whatever 'ending' you reach is not necessarily an end. "Endings" give hints as to what is really going on.

Encounter additional Princesses as you shape your journey.

Follow red hyperlinks at the end of the chapter (above) rather than proceeding sequentially.