Beautiful People: Hilma

     Hi, I am once again participating in Beautiful People, hosted by Sky and Cait.  This month, I am featuring The Caver's Kiss for the second time.  As you may remember, last month BP landed on the same day that I concocted the idea for TCK.  So here I am today with my now-1-month-old story.  :)

Hilma is Ally's godmother.  She is a cross, grumpy old woman who loves Ally with all her heart.  She also is a woman who blames herself for what she considers "an-hundred-years-worth of disasters."

1. What is her secret desire?  To keep Ally safe with her.
2. What is the best and brightest moment she experiences during the story?  Whenever Ally is happy or whenever Ally is loving her as a daughter would.
3. What are the emotional places your character is afraid to go to?  Hilma doesn't want to visit her regrets or her losses.  Amos's arrival forces Hilma to face her old regrets and threatens her with another loss.  She reacts with anger to hide her fear and pain...like a cornered animal, she is willing to fight with tooth and nail.
4. Is there a place/city/room where she will never go?  Why?  No, unlike others in her village, Hilma is willing to go nearly anywhere.
5. If she was permanently leaving town, what would she easily throw out?  What would she refuse to part with? (Why?)  She would refuse to leave Ally behind.  And she would take her grandmother's mortar and pestle...it was her one connection to a person who loved her in a past generation.  (Note: more people love Hilma than she realizes, but she is a little too crusty to accept it gracefully).
6. What do they want (consciously and tangibly)?  To find a perfect husband for Ally.  To protect her village from any ill that could be cured with herbs.
7. On the other hand: what does she need (on the emotional, subconscious level)? She needs Ally to love her.  She needs to be reassured that she has done a good job with her goddaughter.
8. If she could change one thing about herself, what would it be?  She wishes she was capable of transporting herself instantly to the place of her choice on demand.  No running on obscure paths so no one could see you.  No being late for important events (like saving the kingdom).  Sadly, she hasn't found an herb that could give her that power yet. 
9. What is the most humiliating event of her life?  Being wrong is the most humiliating thing.  So perhaps 3 events qualify: the day news came of Aurora's unhappiness, the day that Ally came into her life, and the day that Ally was going to leave her.
10. What things does she turn to when she needs a bit of hope?  Hilma goes to her medicine room and pounds herbs with her mortar and pestle until she thinks of solutions.  Or she spends time with Ally -- Ally always gives her hope.