A Blissful Year, Act 6
Winter of Becoming part 2
VII.
There was wind.
Madoka hurled through a slipstream of cold purples and dark blues. Her vision swirled with colors not quite correct, crammed through a lens of a small tunnel. Like a telescope with dazzling, translucent shards instead of focusing mirrors and lenses. Her cheeks were licked by turbulent air. Every inch of her body tried to separate into different categories of parts as she shook through the flight.
Bone from flesh.
Solids from squishy liquids.
Flesh from nerves.
Eyes from dark and light.
The twin moons gazing inward and outward in a spectacle of flashing and twinkling.
And memories rushing alongside her matching her fall. Those were all she was left with in the brief flight in the odd light. If the princess was on the other side of this godless place Madoka made it a priority to give her a piece of her mind when she got out, of each category. As the alien pull withdrew its grasp on her body, daylight patiently waited for her to crash through this bizarre aperture.
She slew a dragon in a realm not cut from the same cloth of her reality. The palace was her reality, now snow and the tough wind's blades whirling around her like splinters from smashed wood, although she was sure she crashed through several trees too. Her velocity was not slowed this time by wind nor spell. The pain meant nothing but it arrived quicker than Madoka's eyes could catch even a glimpse of snow.
Dirt and layers of snow slushed out beneath her bulk as her face met the ground.
"Shi—" Madoka groaned. She did not bother rolling over to check her surroundings.
Everything hurt and she was tired of everything. Was this how Audrey felt about this world?
"Madoka?" Footsteps crunched hurriedly towards her.
Speak of the devil, Madoka did not bother responding. Her concern was the payment from what she put the maid through. Technically, it's your fault, I wanted to run! Audrey's voice rang in her head. You're such a battle junkie! Sometimes the long amount of time Madoka has spent with her allowed her to predict what the princess was thinking or what she would say. That deep connection with Audrey disturbed Madoka a little.
"Please, no!" Audrey's hands felt Madoka. They were still warm, like comforting warmth like a campfire instead of a painful flame that leaves scars. She felt herself being flipped over. "Gods, no. Madoka?"
Madoka just looked up at Audrey and beheld her gaze beneath the sun and trees. When she moved to grab her healing talisman Madoka forced her arms to grab the girl in for a long embrace. She found herself weeping. She had no idea why and at the same time many reasons to. There are a lot of things that can take these moments away from her for all of eternity.
Audrey did not say anything and remained there. The soft moan of the winds carried the both of them into night.
"Okay," Audrey said, finally moving off of Madoka. "Can you stand?"
Madoka's bones cracked when she moved them but she could get up. Audrey studied her movements and gave a satisfied look. She still felt embarrassed that someone of Audrey's status cared for her. Perhaps she will never get rid of that feeling.
"We seem to be in the same spot we were before we fell into that weird place," Audrey said looking around. "We'll get some rest here if its safe. Bet that dragon scared everything away for now."
"That dragon is dead, right?" Madoka breathed. "N-No more of that for now."
"Yes, Madoka," Audrey said. "You got us out of that situation yet again and I hit you with my—"
"It is good," Madoka interrupted her. "Your magic saved me. Who or what was that boy?"
Audrey was busy pulling the tent out when she stopped to think.
"That was the dragon's human form," she said. "I guess. Maybe the dragon was its alternate form. He called me his mother. Could you believe that?"
"That sounds..." Madoka's voice trailed off into silence. The implications of Audrey being a mother was scary enough for her to shake in her boots from fear.
"I wonder why its magic worked like mine," Audrey looked down to where her heart was. "And why I could understand what it was saying. Perhaps there's dragon blood in me or something."
"Y-You, a dragon?" Madoka stuttered. The former princess looked herself over and shrugged.
"I dunno," she said. "I don't feel dragon-y. Dragonic? Draconic? Whatever. Do I look like one?"
"No," Madoka replied quickly. Audrey clicked her tongue in frustration. "W-Why do I get the feeling that you wanted to be a dragon?"
"It'd be cool! I could, like, fly and stuff!" Audrey twirled the tent's post upright and plunged it into the ground. Madoka rolled her eyes. Stuff according to Audrey sounded nefarious to her. "Speaking of dragons... We still have to get to the top of this mountain."
"I know, I know," Madoka said, but her tone was laced with protest. They had fallen lower but at least there was no dragon after them. "What do we plan on doing with the bones and its heart?"
"No clue," Audrey admitted. "Perhaps we can sell them for some money! The heart's mine though. Need it for cultivation."
"Didn't you say that was dangerous?"
"Yeah! But that's the fun part!"
Madoka failed to see how any of this was fun. The more Audrey explained anything the more she wanted to get the hell off this mountain. It gave them enough trouble.
"I keep saying this, but believe me," Audrey said with a sigh. She stared up at the peak of the mountain. "That's what stands between us and getting out of here and ending the tutorial zone— I mean, uh, rejoining society."
As Madoka slept alone in her thoughts she could not decide which was scarier. Society amongst commoners or the idea of Audrey being a commoner. Perhaps it was the simple times of having duties set before her that made her complacent in her life. She rolled over and groaned. She liked being simple. What was wrong with that? She would pass out moments later dreaming about how good a dragon wing's meat would taste.
The next day, they got to walking.
"Say, Madoka," Audrey said. Boots crunched on snow. Fog and clouds overlooked the mountainside with an uncaring gaze, splitting between the peaks like lovers letting go of each other. Madoka's thoughts were elsewhere. "I've been thinking."
"You're always thinking," Madoka mumbled but straightened her voice out proper before Audrey could ask her to repeat herself. "Of what?"
"Magic, for lack of a better term, well," Audrey said, obviously processing her thoughts. "Never existed in my old world."
"Really," Madoka mused. It never really existed in her own world as well. Those gifted in the arcane usually did not end up as slaves. Or perhaps could find a better life anyways.
"People of this world must be higher beings," Audrey said. "Being able to see magic, use it, even comprehend a fraction of it has got to count for something."
"It sure is amazing," Madoka guessed. She did not know where Audrey was going with her thoughts.
"I'm sure you don't think you have mana," Audrey said. "But I think you have a different form of mana strands. Just waiting, around the corner."
"Why do you think that?" Madoka asked. "Why do you want me to use the arcane?"
"I guess it's just important for me," Audrey said. "Sorry for being selfish. I think you have many cool abilities that are magic on their own. They don't really need to have a certain form or mana strand. They just are. Like, the animal whisperer thing. Or your killing intent thing you mentioned during one of our fights. That always made me curious."
"Curious?"
Audrey turned to Madoka and stood there with her eyes closed. A massive pulse of negative emotions burst from Audrey, making her flinch. Had Madoka not seen that coming, she probably would have cowered. She clutched her head as birds overhead scattered. The emotions faded.
"T-That was quite terrible of you," Madoka breathed. "Can we please just keep walking."
"S-Sorry," Audrey said. "No one besides you can tell intentions like that. You're, like, a super empath. You're not sensing emotions and willpower, you're pulling them to you and feeling them."
"Please," Madoka said firmly. "No more tests on me."
Audrey motioned to say something but instead turned and said nothing. Madoka hoped she got the message through her. Her "gifts" were no one's to mess with, she determined. She did not even want them in the first place.
"It was a shitty thing of me to do," Audrey finally said, halting. They found themselves at the base of ancient stones and steps. From the angle they stood at, the stairs looked like they led straight to the heavens and the stars. "I won't do that again."
"Good," Madoka said. The word was hollow, however, for she did not believe her this time.
"The ruins are up this staircase," Audrey finally said, taking out the glowing serpentine talisman. "Then I can find out what this god really wants from me."
"Then let's get to it," Madoka grumbled. Audrey was inconsiderate, her actions were impulsive and sprang up like the mist. Just because she realized she was being who she always was it was always too late.
Even after apologies, Madoka still felt the cold dampness settle on her skin with that uneasy feeling until enough time washed it away. And when it came back again, the mist stung her skin even worse. She began to wonder if she resented her princess. Was she upset with Audrey being who she was or was she simply lost in her own foggy and idealized perception of her princess? How could she judge such a person who has lost everything? Twice, no less. One for each life as odd as that seemed.
It was her, Madoka remembered. She has not lost eveything because Audrey was still around dragging her everywhere. Her steps overpowered her thoughts, pushing her mind back into silence. For a simple maid, Madoka knew she was doing a lot of thinking. They were climbing quite high up. The clouds were below her and yet Madoka could breathe just fine. She found it odd when that familiar and unwelcome feeling swelled and threatened to burst upon her. Her hair raised and her spine tingled as she reached for a weapon that was not at her hip.
Those strange ruins sat a top ofAudrey said nothing but channeled her storage portal.
"Containment Magic: Box!" she declared. At once, the hexagonal portal manifested and out popped a box on the ground. Satisfied, she scooted it next to one of the altar's pillars. "It's looking like this being and I are going to have a long conversation. Maybe I should get a couple of scratching posts or something..."
Madoka instantly dove into the box and began to watch Audrey approach the pillar. To her surprise, the former princess climbed on the altar unharmed but her knees shook in nervousness. Those strange symbols became illuminated as they activated. The world grew dark as the symbols expanded in a massive dome all around them with the princess at the eye of the storm. Black fog surrounded Audrey!
Just what was happening in there?
The clouds swirled violently but somehow, Madoka knew it was most likely Audrey's doing. That girl...! Madoka sighed and loafed in the box. It never wavered against the winds' howling above her. She would purr if she knew what that sounded like out of fear or for comfort.
Lightning flashed within the smog and a magical hum bellowed beneath it all. A faint shape began to raise above the altar through the scar of white clouds and jagged streaks of harsh blues. It was a pitch-black, ringed sphere. It was the dragon's heart! Curiosity struck Madoka, but she still had to sit on the sidelines and pray that Audrey was safe. The clouds seemed to be encased in a barrier that she could not see and the heart dipped below the cloud's surface.
The sun began to pierce the veil of dark and noisy clouds like an effulgence of clarity sprung from a fount of a new idea. All at once, the black sphere crackled and burst with lightning and the storm instantly cleared. The alien feeling was gone or perhaps Madoka was getting used to it. A glowing orb she knew all too well stood at the altar's center. Not a single rune or symbol rang out into the horizon and even the winds were peaceful. Her breath was clear as well, but fogged as her lungs puffed more air.
"Audrey?" Madoka leapt out of her box. She yearned to know if her friend was alive.
Audrey stood there silently, her serpentine talisman crumbling to pure dust in her fist, not turning to greet her maid. The core was the second thing Madoka noticed, with the familiar two bands and an additional two glowing orbs running around their neon elliptical paths. As the barrier faded, Madoka saw something drip off from Audrey's arms and hand.
Blood.
Madoka rushed to her friend, feeling the solid and metallic flooring clank beneath her ragged boots. The ruins did not react to her presence. Audrey was breathing heavily. She inspected her friend all over, unsure what to do. Her face was covered in blood and Madoka was covered in worry. Unlike her princess, she could not use a talisman to heal her.
"W-What happened to you?"
"I'm fine," Audrey breathed, but spat out blood.
"No, you are certainly not!" Madoka sat her friend down. For a moment she caught a glimpse of the wide world before her. Everything was as clear as day as far as she could see. The Palace of Pelé was frozen, shining through the translucent ice granted by the sun. Madoka was surprised to see that the palace made up almost all of the Hall of the Frost Queen. All buried in ice.
Beyond it, diaphanous sands towards the east, temple-laden jungles to the west, unfettered grassy plains, and beyond that a volcano on an island far away surrounded by an azure ocean. Madoka's head swam. The world was truly getting bigger. She shook out of it.
"H-How can I help you?"
"It's fine," Audrey's core flickered. "Just give me a moment, okay?"
That did not make her maid feel any better about the situation, so she tore her cloak apart and wrapped bits around her friend's head and shoulders. Small wounds on her forehead. Are these slash marks on her arms? What happened in that fog?
"I leveled up," Audrey said with a slight wheeze, gesturing at her core. "The dragon God, he..."
The girl fell silent, Madoka realized she passed out. Her body was still warm, a trait she gained when she encountered Ares.
"Oh, Audrey," Madoka sighed. She knew she must get Audrey to safety or their journey would be in peril. She looked down the steps.
It was a long way down and even further after that into the woods.
VIII.
"P-Put me down," Audrey mumbled from Madoka's shoulder. "I feel like a soggy backpack. Or like I'm riding an extremely uncomfortable horse. You know how I am with horses!"
"Stop your complaining," Madoka snapped. She's traveled at least a hundred steps now and the bottom of the path was close. Each new step she took brought her towards what she really wanted: Off this mountain.
"I can walk," Audrey said. Madoka was unconvinced, of course. The poor girl has gone through enough. Her wounds were not deep and she still could use magic but the red haired maid would not put her princess down no matter how much she fussed. "I can—"
"Shut it," Madoka gripped the squirming girl harder. "Keep talking and I'll throw you off the damn mountain."
"Bet!" Audrey challenged her. She shrieked when that response only got her an even tighter squeeze. "Ach! Okay! I'm delicate goods here! Naeee waaaah!"
"Yeah, let it out," Madoka was unbothered by her friend's wails. It reminded of her younger days of fitting the girl in royal dresses. She would sigh but Audrey was pacified for now. "This is payback for all the things you put me through."
"Wha?" Audrey buried her head in Madoka's shoulder. "You don't like almost dying every day?"
"I don't!" Madoka answered and took one step. Six steps remained before the maid who scoffed as she trudged, dredging up the worst the girl on her back put her through.
"The months spent training!"
Five steps left.
"Yeah, and?" Audrey murmered.
"My death!"
Four steps left.
"Well, that was—"
"The hiking. Kind gods, the hiking!"
Three steps.
"That stupid bear that almost killed us both!"
"We ate it!"
Madoka hefted the girl up when her grip slackened. Two steps left.
"That descent to that bloody creature in the black ice!"
One step left.
"And need I remind you," Madoka growled. Audrey's grip tightened. "That damn dragon!"
"And my axe!" Audrey chirped. "Think, Madoka, think! If you set me down c-carefully I won't be a burden! I mean, uh, less of a burden then what I currently am right now. Ahh!"
Madoka flipped Audrey around her waist and pressed her against a tree the moment her feet found ground and snow laden grass. She put her weight on the girl and drew very close to her friend's stupid, bandaged face. The girl's cheeks were redder than the bloodstains on her forehead. "Okay."
A flustered and bothered Audrey tried to balance on her own legs but crumpled to the ground. After a righteous and angry look, Madoka simply trotted off and left her behind.
"W-Wait!" Audrey's voice grew distant. Desperate. Yet Madoka kept walking. She was taking care of this ungrateful girl all this time! The bitterness matched the bareness of winter scarred branches but she did not care. Perhaps the coldness will freeze Her Highness's ignorance and penchant for causing danger unapologetically. That burning fire inside her, that stupid magic ring, and her ego has done Madoka no good ever since she has laid eyes on it.
She could no longer see Audrey and regret filled her for a moment. Yet Madoka wanted to teach a lesson to the girl — she did not have to help her this time. So she kicked a massive tree down to sit on its log while she waited. For awhile, there were no thoughts and nothing but pine trees but Madoka did not know where to go anyways. Perhaps she would go back to her.
Something sounded like scraping nearby in the darkness. Madoka instantly went on high alert, ready to run if she needed to. She chastised her recklessness. Leaving her ally behind, weaponless. The movement was slow and she could recognize that wheeze anywhere — after all she has listened to it for hours down the mountain steps. So Madoka sat down and waited for the scraping to get near her.
"Have you something to say to me?" Madoka said with a drawn out sigh, looking away. The scraping stopped. Several seconds of silence settled on her skin.
Five.
Four.
Three. Glowing light caught the corner of her eyes. Magic ring? Please, Madoka silently scoffed.
Two. She demanded an apology! Or a thank you!
Madoka's hair on her arms raised straight to the sky. She turned and screamed, for just only a few inches away from her face floated the beak of a grotesque creature staring at her.
The ghost white, spectral creature did not attack. Madoka paled. That was the very bird that stopped her from leaving her room in the palace! The dreadful being flapped its strange wings silently and observed her. The human part of its head tilted as Madoka scooted back into a tree. She could not scoot away further.
"W-What are you?"
ALONE!
ALONE?
LONELY!
Oh, alone.
Fight unfairly for all your tomorrows!
Fight fairly!
"No," Madoka growled at it as it hovered near her. "She will come for me!"
YES.
But alone!
Alone you must choose!
ALONE.
Fight!
OR DO NOT FIGHT AND BE ALONE.
The flapping from its wings and the tentacles beneath it became audible like the screams of children and the whistling chimes of the mountain. The bird watched the terrified maid and twisted its head closer to Madoka's face. She could see its neck become elongated and malformed, like a taut rope threatening to unwind itself, slowly extending towards her without moving its body. She was too terrified to fight it off.
"I won't be alone!" Madoka declared. Then she faltered and her voice wavered into pleading with the odd being. "I don't want to be alone."
The spectral bird's horrifying eyes twitched and odd croaking noises reverberated in its throat along with the chorus of screams and chimes. Its beak twisted into something like a smile. Underneath its white glow, Madoka realized that the bird was pink and fleshy. It brought a sense of wrongness like the Conqueror and yet she could not flee or look away.
THEN CHOOSE!
Alone.
Alone?
Alone!
Fight?
FIGHT.
Madoka did not realize at first but a tear slipped down her cheek.
"T-Tell me," she begged it. "W-What are you? Why are you telling me this?"
Sing!
Sixth Chorus!
Alone!
We want you to succeed.
ALONE?
Succeed.
Its answer only confused the maid even more. The bird's head retracted back to its body and it pecked at its wings before taking off to the night sky and flying in a certain direction. In an instant, Madoka found herself panting in sheer terror on the log she was sitting on. She had nearly forgotten why she was there in the first place before that messenger bird spoke to her. The scraping drew near.
"Audrey?" Madoka asked, trying to remain strong. She whirled around quickly, not wanting another scary thing to be right behind her. Her eyes caught the outline of an upright branch propped in the snow and the bandaged hand that clung onto it.
"P-Please," Audrey's voice was thinner even the wind. Madoka rushed to her without thinking. "I—"
"F-Forgive me," Madoka whispered into her friend's ear. "I should not have abandoned you."
Madoka was afraid that the bird would come back but as she held Audrey she was secure. They slew a dragon after all. Audrey rested against the tree she knocked down and the maid gathered sticks for a fire. Neither said a word. Madoka soon heard the crackle of magic and felt the warmth of a fire and the two rested for awhile.
"S-Sorry," Audrey's voice was still weak. Madoka's heart felt like a stone weighed down by guilt. It sank to the bottom of her worn-out boot. "I was too busy thinking of ways to power up to protect you and me. I can't stand myself, you know that?"
Madoka sat silently and looked up at the stars.
"Ain't no Big Dipper up in that sky, nor any other constellation I know of," Audrey chuckled. Her head lurched and threatened to crash against the log but Madoka put her arm behind her and cushioned the fall. "It's how I know I'm not in the same universe I came from. But I still haven't changed from being useless."
"I was like a gross ghost back in school. Never managed to infiltrate and be human like the rest of them. None of 'em liked me. Never had no social connections. I was like this smart nerd and that's all they ever knew about me. Heh, I never even got picked on. Then wow! I died and ended up here! Wow! I even got magic and power to do whatever I want! I'm even a damn princess with a beautiful maid! And yet, even with all this power my soul is still ruined."
The fire crackled and burned. Audrey looked at Madoka's arm that she rested on and took her hand.
"I didn't even know what to do with a father and a brother who loved me, once upon a time. I pushed them away. And now, I'm pushing you away. I don't want to hurt and I don't want others to get hurt because of me. Sorry. I was venting again."
Audrey wheezed again. She was met with silence because Madoka did not know what to say.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I was being selfish again. I put you through so much. Hell, your soul is probably more battered than mine! If you want to leave me here in the forest I can give you a map—"
"I don't think souls are supposed to be like this forever," Madoka gripped her friend's hand. "No matter how battered we are, I think we can repair them with enough time and care. We can become better!"
Audrey let out a slight laugh. Then she sighed bitterly.
"You always have been such a work-a-holic," Audrey trailed off. Then she rolled over and adjusted her small frame on Madoka's lap. "Thank you for being there for me."
"Here," Madoka corrected her. "I am always here for you. I won't leave you ever again."
"Madoka, I," Audrey let out a small snore. Madoka waited until morning out of fear that the spectral bird might return.
She sprung awake covered in a cold sweat. She fell asleep on guard duty. Audrey was still cuddled up on her lap. Her body was warm as ever. As Madoka's vision adjusted she remembered the bird and its odd message. The last time it appeared she died the next day. What could it possibly mean by her being left alone and fighting? Is something evil around the corner?
A light illuminated Madoka's face. Before her where the bird few off a beam of sparkling light towered to the heavens. Gods. She groaned and was about to go back to sleep. Audrey shifted in her sleep.
"Gah," she said. "It feels like I got whacked by a ton of bricks. And my spine feels like a slinky. What the heck did you do to me?"
"What is a slinky?" Madoka wondered aloud. "Can you walk?"
"I can shamble," Audrey yawned. "You know. Like a zombie."
Madoka found that disturbing. She recalled a time when she described what a zombie was with a gleeful fascination. Was she a zombie? A dead woman walking? Her hand felt above her heart as she looked at sky in awe. The beam of light did not pierce the sun like last time. Instead, it veered off into the horizon. Audrey did not seem to notice the ray of light. She shook the girl off and stamped the sleepiness out of her leg.
"Let me see if I got anything in the portal for those," Audrey looked at Madoka's shredded boots. The portal seemingly manifested whenever she wanted. Since she could not see Audrey's magic core, she assumed whatever injuries she sustained during her cultivation were healing. Audrey reached a hand in the portal and pulled out a pair of new boots along with clothes.
The sight was always strange to behold to Madoka. Something from nothing, she mused. She nodded and put the clothes on anyways. Audrey struggled to get up so she picked her up and carried her on her back again.
"My legs don't work," Audrey sighed. "That much I do know."
"I'm sorry for abandoning you," Madoka repeated herself. "I should have never—"
"It's okay, Madoka," Audrey said firmly. "As semi-permanent roommates we're bound to have miscommunications and grievances with each other. As a former Royal with a stick up my ass, well, that stick is still there but I never really thought of those things. Of others. You taught me last night that I'm not a Royal or a Noble anymore. Got to move on from my mindset somehow."
The word "anymore" formed a pit in Madoka's throat. So she kept walking.
"Where do we need to go?"
"Well, that's a good question," Audrey sighed. Madoka heard the portal come into life and the fluttering of paper being smoothed out with quick flaps. "Where that giant ring used to be, the Wind God told me, lies a thick swamp where more of that parasite creature exists. So let's not go there."
"Are you telling me you don't have a plan?" Madoka grumbled.
"Eep!" Audrey shrunk. "I can tell without even looking at your face that you're upset with me."
"You don't have any plans, do you?"
"L-Look," Audrey started to get on Madoka's nerves again. "Don't dump me in the snow again, but I haven't had a plan since we left the kingdom. I've told you before, I've been making stuff as I go."
"Well, I'll tell you what," Madoka started to say she planned on following the beam of light but then her stomach growled. "We'll talk about it. Food?"
"None left," Audrey admitted. "The bear's pelt and bones sre what's left."
"Of course," Madoka groaned. She knew her body did not have to eat food to survive but she still felt the natural urge of hunger and thirst. Thirst was solved by Audrey's water spells. But both of the girls needed to eat food or else. "I will have to get some food, then."
She could hear the girl gulp on her shoulders. Madoka realized that she only had a dagger for a weapon left. Her stomach did not care, they traveled along just low enough for Madoka to start hearing wildlife's thoughts again. There was plenty of daylight left and if she did not have a weapon she would use a rock. She picked a fist sized rock up with one of her hands after setting Audrey down.
"Y-You're not going to eat that, aren't you?"
"Hush," Madoka closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. Audrey piped down as the maid raised her arm and readied to throw the stone. She heard a distant deer's thoughts and with a grunt she hurled the stone directly at it. The split-second thoughts of blinding pain, terror and confusion made her regret the silence afterwards. Other deer around it fled in terror. "It's done."
"What's done?" Audrey asked. Madoka scooped her princess up. "Madoka?"
She said not a word and marched until she found her slain target. Audrey gasped. The deer's head was completely missing. In its place was a bludgeoned stump of crushed bones torn explosively off as reddish brown slop leaked on the snow. Madoka stared at it and nearly cried.
"It's dead," Madoka could not contain her gasp.
"No shit it's dead," Audrey said. "If you aim a bazooka at an unsuspecting deer's brain of course it's going to die. The throwing arm! Even a catcher would get the hell out of the way of that pitch!"
"What?" Madoka asked blankly.
"It's a, ah, nevermind," Audrey sighed. The shock in her voice was still apparent. "Put me down gently please. So I can examine the crime scene."
With Madoka's assistance, Audrey's legs allowed her to take a few steps for her to get to work on the deer. Its insides spilled out like a rose and smeared their red petals across the ground. The guts seeped their way into Madoka's guilt.
"With an arm like that, who needs magic?" Audrey muttered as she carved out the insides. "Your body mass and shoulders. You're so thick I could... Maybe each muscle of yours has magic of their own. Dorsi Magic? Tricep Magic? Subscapul, uh, something Magic? Whatever."
"I don't know what you mean by my body and my shoulders," Madoka sighed. "But for some reason it makes me feel uncomfortable."
"Oh, was I talking aloud? S-Sorry," Audrey apologized and appeared to be finished. "I'll have it ready by sundown. Okay?"
"Okay," Madoka grumbled and then shoved the deer into the portal. It was not long until she realized the stone she used to slay the deer was embedded in a snapped tree trunk. Above it was something exciting: A sign ripped in half with a hole in its center from Madoka's hurled rock. "Audrey, look!"
"A sign? Wow!" Audrey hobbled up to the fallen tree. "Beware of bear...? You mean the bear we slew had a name? Madoka, look!"
"What is it?" Madoka gasped as she saw on the bottom half of the scroll. The familiar and crude drawing of the bear with black tendrils looked back at her. She could not read since she has forgotten everything she has learned since they left the Estate. She could only speak the English language Audrey taught her.
"It's an evacuation order," Audrey examined the scroll's writings and read some of the writing. "It's a decree from some Noble warning Rustazian logging workers to leave the area due to a hulking so-called World Bear terrorizing the mountainside. So we're in Rustaze, huh. You don't suppose that this, 'World Bear,' was our dinner from a few days ago, right?"
"C-Certainly not," Madoka stammered. "It's not like anyone will know we killed it. Or believe us. I still cannot believe we took on a dragon and lived."
"A lesser dragon, but still. Now you're catching on," Audrey smirked and stuffed the warning scroll into the portal. Just how much stuff could she fit in that portal? She attempted to walk forward but could only hobble. "That must mean an abandoned lumberyard is up ahead. Let's check it out!"
She turned and looked bashfully at Madoka. The maid, on the other hand, groaned but acquiesced and scooped her up. She did not mention that the beam of light traveled over to exactly where Audrey pointed yet again. This was the path set before Madoka and she was prepared for whatever trick that bird had for her.
IX.
Audrey was warm enough for the both of them as Madoka trudged onward. She lost her cloak to the winds so she only had a light traveler's coat on. Still, it was soaked from climbing down the mountain. That did not bother her, however, she was more worried that they would run into people. The frame of a wooden structure peered over a small hill so the girls opted to explore it. Everything here seemed peaceful and she did not sense any hostile thoughts around her.
That bear really did terrorize everyone here. The lumber mill had three charred buildings at the site and bear markings everywhere. Madoka's ears stretched to hear more thoughts but nothing was around for miles. There were many sections of razed trees and carved ground that traced sweeping paths along the riverbank. She could still smell the peculiar smell of burning from lightning strikes. Later, the two found craters punched into gravel splotches like torn hair from a scalp behind the saw facility.
"Dang, nature is scary," Audrey mumbled. "Still, there's probably stuff in this place for us to, ah, borrow."
"Borrow, huh?" Madoka sighed. She meandered to the first building which appeared to be a large cabin. The door showed signs of neglect and stood tall despite being beaten down by the weather. She kicked it down anyways.
No sign of life inside but it sure beat shivering outside, Madoka supposed as she scanned the room. The place was cozy with a small window viewing the white fingers of clouds and mountain reaching into the sky. She could hear a river frothing beneath sheets of ice near the largest building next to them from the maw of a mountainside. Tufts of white fluffed the corners of the window panes. Madoka could imagine men working out here for days and nights but there were no beds here.
"Nothing of value here," Madoka shrugged. Audrey agreed so the two set off to explore the mill itself. A lot of tracks crossed over the river ice and pathways through this lumber mill, Madoka noticed. An army probably crossed through this place to Fiara.
"Wow," Audrey said on Madoka's back. The two looked up at the saw's blade. "No jigs or any machines. Just a waterpowered wheel and a saw. This was a real old fashioned job. They probably chopped those larger trees here and shoved them onto boats using this slide."
Madoka followed Audrey's finger to what she presumed was a slide. The structures seemed to be damaged by weapons and greedy claw marks tore sizable chunks off the walls. None of her explanations on the process of logging trees helped her at all with her current problem: Her stomach growled again.
"... Then they probably plane the irregular edges to make the logs round and uniform before shipping them to the city," Audrey rambled on before noticing her hungry maid. "Oh, right. Set me down over there. I see a firepit! Maybe I can cook the deer up there. It's probably the same thing as the bear."
Madoka carried her princess off the mill to the third building. This one seemed like a house. She hoped there would be winter supplies in there since only the kind gods knew what was in Audrey's storage talisman. She left the former princess to her own devices in front of the fire pit and pushed the door open. Madoka also could cook for her but she never mentioned it. She could prepare commoner food just as well as all her fellow slaves but Audrey's cooking was somehow exquisite back then. She never thought that medicinal herbs could be also used in cooking.
She could tell this cabin was designed for overnight stays from seeing a mess of blankets strewn across the floor. There was little else so Madoka snatched them up and got to cleaning it up. She decided they could stay overnight. It has been some time since they stayed indoors for once. Madoka peered outside to see Audrey huddled over the deer. She paused with a knife held up over it.
"I won't hurt myself, I promise!" Audrey raised an eyebrow at Madoka's gaze but she was not worried about that.
"Broom," Madoka ordered.
"Wha—" Audrey uttered a noise but quickly retrieved the broom for Madoka. Several other cleaning tools were requested, things that Madoka has gathered over their long journey. Of all weapons to combat things she hated the most, brooms were her main choice. This place was messy and she took it upon herself to ensure it was worthy of Audrey's presence. Madoka could hear the princess's complaining reaction in her head but that only drove her will to sweep up the place.
She stopped as the smell of savory meat wafted through the logging cabin. Audrey smiled as Madoka was drawn to the food. Cooked meat pierced with sticks hung over the fireplace. There was a peculiar set of meat that Madoka has never seen before.
"Dinner is done!" Audrey gestured at the firepit. Madoka noticed something next to the deer's remains. It was the dragon wing. "I have zero clue how the dragon wing is going to taste. So... You get to try it first! Yeah!"
For some reason, Madoka felt nervous that Audrey was suggesting her to eat the dragon wing meat first. Tentatively, she grabbed a stick with the strange meat and sent her prayers to the kind gods before taking a bite. The meat flaked apart and dissolved in her mouth resulting in a savory and delectable flavor. It was the sweet taste of victory over the ultimate elements. It was a golden moment of melting folded-over joint meat and a powerful reminder of the results of her hard work.
Seeing Madoka's satisfaction, Audrey also dug in. The sweet noise of elation from the former princess's mouth filled Madoka's ears and it encouraged her to eat more. Eventually, both girls ascended into a food heaven no one else in the world would ever discover. Perhaps it was the first time Madoka ate in awhile but she did not care. The taste was glorious.
They would eventually stay here for a couple of days. Madoka hoped that her friend's legs would heal up swiftly but secretly hoped she could still carry Audrey on her back when they eventually departed or saw signs of people coming back.
Yet the days went by and no strangers ever showed. That beam of light remained but Madoka chose not to mention it to Audrey. She simply did not know how to bring it up.
Later, she found herself one day being absentminded. It was rare to have to quiet days like these now, since all the two girls did in the past few weeks was trudge through snow and now she had time to relax. Yet something stirred in her heart. A restlessness that she could not ignored. She hunted some more with crude arrows fashioned with rock tips while Audrey made plans and recovered. Supposedly, the Dragon Wind God challenged her personally but Madoka simply nodded as she listened to her ramble about her odd cultivation of Mana and spirit stars until they went to sleep.
The sun was hidden before icy clouds, some of the days it did not bother to show itself. This abandoned and wartorn lumberyard lay next to a frozen river that continued to flow downhill. Madoka found an axe nearby and thought back to her idle days in the North Estate. She felt a hint of nostalgia as she held it. It did not speak to her hand's grip the way a war axe did. This was a mere tool never meant to taste blood. She gave it a few swings and filled the time with more idling.
Was it okay for her to be this... unproductive?
Madoka noticed there was a pile of logs strapped in next to the mill with a single snug rope. It managed to make it through the weather until she came along. She climbed on the mill with the axe and admired the view. Then she smashed the rope and released the log stack.
A loud crash reverberated the valley as the pile of logs tumbled down into the frozen river. Snapping wood and crackling ice echoed in the atmosphere followed by an endless cacophony of rushing disturbed water, Madoka idly watched it all happen. She caused that mess and she was okay with that.
"Madoka?!" Audrey's panicked voice came from behind herc. Madoka saw the small girl's worried eyes as she hobbled up the wooden stairs to investigate. "Are you alright!?"
Madoka said nothing and just looked over the destruction she caused with apathy. Logs stuck out of the riverbank, taking other trees with them as they crashed through the ice. Audrey looked Madoka over, then towards the cut rope and then to the disaster below them.
"You caused all of that?" Audrey's voice shook with horror. "What are you? Some kind of cat?"
Madoka shrugged and trotted back to the cabin to sleep.
"Okay, since your cat-like tendencies are starting to show since you're bored," Audrey grabbed the thick rope and began to wind it into the portal. She could walk now although her training was still not quick enough. "I think it's time we get moving. There should be humans around the river somewhere, right?"
"Right," Madoka said blankly.
"Nae waah! Be excited!"
"How could I be? We could be going into the middle of enemy territory," Madoka recalled Audrey mentioning Rustaze and Esmerald sending their troops to Fiara. Audrey stopped pacing.
"That's true," she confirmed. "Though, we kind of slay a dragon remember?"
"We can't just slay people, Audrey!" Madoka snapped.
"Not like that!" Audrey sighed. "I meant, we are probably extremely powerful and able to defend ourselves against people. You were trained by one of the strongest warriors of Fiara, you know."
"I didn't know that!" The news shocked Madoka. Audrey sighed then her face grew dark for a moment and her voice lowered.
"Would you... kill for me?"
Audrey asked but instantly switched the subjects before Madoka could respond.
"Point is, Madoka, we are definitely more powerful than one would think. Even you don't think so which is mind blowing considering you killed a crazy bear and a dragon. Heck, you even almost killed me multiple times!"
"Why did you have to add yourself to that list," Madoka grumbled but she already began to follow Audrey along the path away from the lumber mill into the unknown.
"No reason!" Audrey chirped. "We beat the tutorial zone so now we're actually able to get to do stuff now! Well, after this little, erm, detour!"
The snow thinned as they walked and Madoka caught glimpses of logs floating and bumping into sheets of ice in the river nearby. They definitely were no longer on the mountains but Madoka was too anxious about everything to feel happy. There were many thoughts in the woods.
"I also kind of want to test out my new and improved magic core," Audrey turned to Madoka. Instinctively, the maid had her guard up and backed away from her slowly. "Come on! It's not going to result in an explosion, okay? No fireballs or bombs."
"For some reason, Audrey Elise, I don't believe you," Madoka cautioned her.
"I just want to test things out!" Audrey said as the magic core flared to life around her heart. They were a deep orange color and pulled her into a magical warmth she could not describe. She sensed the noble strength that resided in Audrey. Madoka was mesmerized by the two orbiting stars that traveled swiftly along the celestial bands but snapped out of her trance when she realized the implication of it. "I should clarify, I did not actually level up. I got more power but I didn't break through."
"All of those wounds," Madoka gasped. "And you did not even level up?"
"Come on, man," Audrey pouted. "It's a lot harder than you think! I nearly pissed myself when I nearly fell into the abyss. Besides, I'm just making things up as I go. I can control a lot more of the universe's mana now."
"You what?"
"Nothing!" Audrey's eyes glowed as she obviously prepared something troublesome. "Catch me if I mess up okay!"
Madoka barely had time to react before a magical green gale blasted Audrey skyward. For a moment, she was a spirit hovering gracefully in the sky above the trees. The beam of light made her glow like an angel. She had her former Royal glory as she overlooked the forest. Madoka was in awe but that moment quickly expired when Audrey started flailing and descending back to the forest floor quickly. Madoka was reminded of the falling Frost Queen.
"Waaaah! Catch me!"
This again!? Madoka sighed as she prepared to catch the girl as she plummeted. Luckily, Audrey was lighter than Pelé and did not even weigh Madoka's arms down when she caught the girl.
"Audrey Elise Dalion," Madoka chastised the panting girl. She secretly liked saying the name, so she repeated herself. "Audrey Dalion."
"Wahahaha! You saved me!" Audrey breathed but then cowered underneath Madoka's glare. "I saw where we can go, okay!"
"You did?" Madoka let her guard down and Audrey wriggled free.
"Yes," Audrey smoothed her cloak out. "Did you like that trick? I thought of that fight with the dragon. Pretty cool, right?"
"N-No," Madoka scoffed. "It's definitely going to attract attention."
"Well, we're currently weaponless except for like two knives," Audrey said as she scanned the sky. "We're going to have to rely on a show of force or something."
"Show of force?"
"It's a military tactic where one side shows what they can do to scare off another side," Audrey said. "Or in our case, we can simply show people how strong we are. And, uh, by we I mean you. I think exploding an entire establishment would get us in trouble."
"I said no fireballs!"
Audrey closed her eyes and shrugged.
"How about this, then?" Audrey opened her eyes suddenly and Madoka heard desperate thoughts from above her.
Horror.
Confusion.
Why?
Can't breathe!
Death.
The green glow in Audrey's eyes were much more menacing than any Wind spell she used before. Birds above started falling like rocks off a cliffside. Madoka winced as they splattered on the ground behind Audrey.
"Audrey?"
Audrey examined several of the birds that were in tact from falling before they moved on.
"You think we can eat birds? Or do they carry too much diseases on them?" She wondered. "Then again, we ate a dragon without getting sick... Oh. Sorry, Madoka. That was barbaric of me. It is just a new way to hunt without you know, completely destroying the animal's head."
"W-What did you even do?" Madoka shook with fear from whatever Audrey did. "That's horrifying."
"I'm sorry, Madoka, I forgot you can probably hear those things thinking and then suddenly BLAM!" Audrey made a dunking motion with her arms. "I started pulling oxygen out of a zone, including the air inside their lungs. It makes them go byebye and they—"
"Is that learned from the Wind King?" Madoka asked. Audrey shook her head.
"That was learned from watching too many science fiction animes," she shrugged. "What I'm trying to say is: I'm a lot more stronger now with my magic and you ain't got any weapons, okay? Trust me! I have other spells, too, but I'll only use my other big guns if we get in— Madoka?"
Madoka heard thunderous thoughts of fast approaching beasts running after them. Soldiers in the woods meant trouble. They will have to hide and get around them since Madoka did not want to find out just how brutal Audrey's spells could be if they got swept up in a fight.
"Enemy warhorses on the march," Madoka said, scooping up a complaining Audrey and taking off further down the road. She was hoping they could hide. "From behind us!"
"Bandits are a staple of tutorial zones!" Audrey shrieked as Madoka ran. "God, I forgot!"
The warhorses did not relent. They were chasing Madoka and Audrey into a trap. Madoka could feel it. What can she do?
"An opening!" Audrey pointed to a fallen down tree. "We can probably hide there!"
"Got it," Madoka breathed as she rushed through the logs. The warhorses' thoughts were still closing in! "Kind gods, what do we do, Audrey?"
Silence was heard from the girl on Madoka's back. She found out why when she turned and saw what appeared to be a noble's carriage with many guards and crossbow men staring at them. They blocked the way forward while the soldiers on horseback merely waited on the road if they tried to escape. Madoka clicked her tongue in frustration. They were in enemy territory, after all. They must have been watching from afar or noticed Audrey's spells.
"Don't move," One of the captains barked. "His Lordship commands you to kneel!"
Madoka shook as she stood silently. The memories of Nobles forcing themselves upon her during those nights in the Palace seized her completely. An armored boot kicked her legs and she crumpled to the ground. She did not realize it nor the pain, instead she was fixated on the carriage door opening slowly.
"Kneel, you mutt!"
Madoka felt the weight of the boot kick her in the head, forcing her to bow completely down. No, no, no! This cannot be happening! Someone was whispering her name. Audrey!
"Madoka," Audrey whispered but suddenly got restrained by two guards. She was still too weak to run.
Heavy steps rocked the carriage as a fat boot placed itself on the step. A hideous and boisterous laughter boomed from the carriage. The view of a fat noble dressed in purple and green robes stepped into her peripheral vision. His amorphous form was accompanied by the sound of lips smacking and delighted clapping.
"Well, well, well," he said in a thick Noble accent. "Here I was, down on my luck when the kind gods have smiled upon me by bringing me some cute little girls."
The beam of light nearly blinded her as it shined down upon the fat monstrosity before Madoka. He bursted with laughter and his double chin flapped in unison with his belly fat. It was a horrible sight to beheld.
But.
Madoka.
Could.
Not.
Move!
X.
"My, oh, my," the Noble cooed. "What a horrible state of affairs. Two young, lost, sweet children running around in these dangerous woods. Did your homes get swept up in that horrible snow crash a few hours ago? A noble girl and her delicious slave?"
He leaned over her, but Madoka could have been mistaken for a statue. She was frozen in place. The monstrous pig above her let out a loose laughter and his chin flapped like fish gills out of water. The girth of his stomach at least stopped the light from blinding her. A shiver covered her and she was in a bleary fugue. A couple of hands lifted her with ease because she did not resist.
Just what was she doing? A slave, no less, succumbing to the fate she always knew she was destined for: To be swallowed whole by the nobles. Her heart beat against her ribs as she felt her vision pull to witness the Noble again.
"At least this one's silent and obedient!" He laughed, gripping her hair. The soldiers restrained her when he let her go with a shove. "I've taken the trouble to escaping Esmerald's silly invasion efforts to preserve my men — all the way to Rustaze here, only to have a wheel break on my beloved carriage."
"My Lord, we should not be revealing any details—" The captain began to say but the noble wave his flabby arm in protest.
"Of course, of course!" He interrupted. Madoka felt his slimy and lustful gaze wander across her body. "Hurry up and fix my wheel! In the meantime..."
The captain got on his horse and barked orders but remained to watch the show.
Madoka could not grasp a hold of herself as she watched the man's stubby fingers travel shakily towards places they should not on her body. They looked like sausages writhing in a jar of hot water but were ice cold when they touched her. A small gasp escaped Madoka but then something caused her world to go dark. What was she doing? How could anyone find her attractive?
She felt ashamed and that somehow this was all her fault. Was she destined to live this way because this is what she deserved?
"Yes, the kind gods have blessed me with these sweet, sweet girls," He cried out in joy. Madoka felt the greedy squeeze from the sausages and the panic was far more paralyzing than she could react. "House Kieron has to continue its great lineage, even with a mute slave, I guess. And theis noble girl would sell for a high price! Hehehe!"
Why was she letting this happen?
She glanced to her right. Audrey was struggling against the soldier's restraint. Her world sharpened as she recalled the bird's words: ALONE.
"Look at me and react! Is it stupid?!" the Noble Kieron waved a flabby arm as he asked his soldiers. They grunted and shrugged. The arm suddenly snapped back and lashed at Madoka. Her world tilted as the swift backhand collided with her jaw. A soldier kicked her stomach and she doubled over as a sheer reaction expecting it to hurt. To her surprise, there was no pain.
Perhaps she was in shock or perhaps her opponents were not dragons and therefore they could not harm her. He released her after she obeyed him before he noticed Audrey. He whined but then gained a sinister tone. "It's no fun if the plaything doesn't react, but perhaps I can get a rise out of it if I were to..."
He let out an evil laugh as he waddled over to Audrey. The soldiers jeered as they gathered around her, with several pulling at Audrey's clothes and breasts. The noble observed them approvingly but they scattered when he approached her and drew a knife. Audrey kept her eyes on Madoka the whole time. The captain soldier's horse shook off snow from its back. Its thoughts were telling her it was not used to its surroundings, ears perking up at every new noise in high alert. A commotion would send its spirit in a panic.
Three soldiers watched on. One crossbowman and two with their weapons sheathed. Foolish. After fondling Audrey's body and slapping her face, the noble noticed that the girl was unfazed. The noble became enraged, bringing the blade closer.
"There's no fear in her eyes," he said, cutting each string of her traveler's dress and exposing her skin. "React to me, you bitch!"
Audrey spat in his face.
"You bloody whore!" He punched the princess's face, causing Madoka to finally wake up. Audrey gurgled as blood painted her cheek and her neck. The noble was more panicked at the damage he caused. "I'm sorry, sometimes I lose myself. I shant reduce myself to such a level. Healer! Make this girl pretty while I take care of this beautiful slave!"
A decrepit man hobbled out from behind the wagon. His robe was also emblazoned in that strange emblem. He groped Audrey as he healed her with an expertly crafted talisman. The green strands of mana latched on her and spread down to her legs. Madoka had seen that crest in the battlefield before. So these are Esmerald's people? Wealthy picking on the weak, even in another nation. She swiftly tore herself out of her doubts as the fury burst inside of her.
"I'll take care of you next," Kieron said with a laugh. "It's clear you love this girl very much so I shall just have to kill her first to get you to submit!"
Killing? The conversation sparked in Madoka's mind. She pretended not to notice when the princess asked her if she could kill. Will you kill for me? Audrey's voice haunted her mind with that challenging question. Snow crunched under heavy boots as they circled her like vultures. The soldiers laughed but Madoka realized their hold on her was too weak. Or rather, the flames that roared in her heart were more powerful. This first contact with humans will not put out her fiery resolve.
Madoka tried her best appear to remain unfazed. Not from nervousness, but from the sheer wrath instilled in her by this heinous man. She was waiting for the opportunity to answer Audrey's question as honestly as she could. The noble redirected his attention to Madoka, who had an intense look in her eyes. The other soldiers dragged Audrey close behind him.
"I could end her life, you know," he taunted Audrey. The crossbow was still aimed at the maid. Madoka felt a prickle on her chest, feeling the blade cut through her cloak's strings. The wind was supposed to feel cold on her exposed skin as her cloak fluttered but it did not affect her. Madoka calculated she could seize this noble and perhaps use him as a shield with a Cherish-style dodge. "But her body is warm and soft. I think I'll use it until she breaks! Then I'll kill her!"
"Madoka," Audrey finally breathed. The sight of her bloodstained cheeks being caressed by the creepy healer horrified Madoka. She sensed the killing intent rising in the girl. That healer did not realized he healed a dangerous weapon instead of a person. She switched to English with a much more invigorated voice. "Do something or I will!"
"It's babbling nonsense!" A soldier exclaimed.
The noble whirled around and punched her to the ground.
"Silence!" He belched. "See? That's what happens to disobedient slaves!"
"Challenge accepted," Madoka started. The maid finally realized something about the beam of light. There were tiny gold chains dangling within its blinding luster. They were meant to be broken! She will destroy these chains and this noble will pay for hurting her princess! The jumpy horse neighed in response to the danger Madoka posed. If the ugly noble paid attention to her fury, he would have ran away in terror, she thought. Instead, the noble spun back to her. The fat on his forehead must have blocked his perception.
"Huh? She speaks!" Kieron laughed after a brief moment of confusion. He struck Madoka with his back hand. He was surprisingly a little tougher than the soldier but the pain meant nothing to her. The man winced as if he punched a boulder but tried to appear tough. It was a summer breeze compared to the howling winds of the Wind God's summit. "A mere slave speaks in Noble!"
"No man will ever hurt my woman and get away with it!" Madoka declared without thinking. The noble went to strike her again but she was ready, his hand was as slow as his wide and bumbling gait. She easily broke out of the soldiers' grasps and caught the noble's wrist before he hit her. So weak...! Madoka felt disgusted by the amount of fat folding around her hand. It was like reaching into the center of a stuffy pillow.
"You bitch!" He roared and tried to stab her with his other hand, but his lunge was pathetic. Madoka caught his wrist and twisted the knife free. Her dexterity and training allowed this, Madoka realized that she was no longer the meek slave from back at the palace. Instead, she rose to her full height and eclipsed the man with her shadow.
"You dirtied me with that hand," Madoka said to him calmly. Everyone around her froze, so she drove a boot in his stomach to wake them up. His ugly green and gold robe became stained by the snow and blood, so the impact caused a sickening crunch in his gut. She yanked his arm to match her cold gaze. "Therefore, I shall clean it off of you."
She cut.
In a instant, the chains of light shattered and the beam disappeared. Madoka had made her decision and answered the bird, the knife in her hand raised to defy to the blinding pillar its choking glare. Only she could hear the chains shatter and see the tower of light crumble into yellow mana strands.
Her eyes must have gleamed menacingly at the sheen reflected off the blade as his blood gushed in rivers. The hand fell on the ground like a crushed tarantula and flopped around lifelessly. A moment of silence and horror settled on the soldiers as they began to comprehend what they saw. If they were seasoned warriors they would have attacked immediately.
"Gaah!" The noble gurgled and wailed at the sight of the bloody stump where his hand used to be. "My hand! MY HAND!"
Madoka quickly jumped into action and planted a swift kick into the screaming noble's chest. The blood trailed and splattered as he tumbled into the gross healer. Both looked like a falling pile of billowing red velvet and green silky cushions. The captain's jumpy horse finally lost itself in its panic and bucked him off. She had to dodge it as it ran through the crowd of soldiers erratically. Audrey was nimble enough to make herself scarce from the combat.
She heard a sword being swung at her from behind and the click of a mechanism in front of her. The crossbow! She caught the soldier's sword arm and wanted to wince as she heard the snapping of his elbow. Using a Cherish-style dodge, she switched places with the soldier as the release of a bolt launched into his gut. The man crumpled instantly and she hurled him into the crossbow man. An odd exhilarating sensation ignited in her shoulder but she could not afford to check if she was wounded. Madoka was strangely aware of everything around her.
"You'll pay for that, you commoner!" The other swordsman lunged at her but she sidestepped his paltry attack and smashed his knee underneath her powerful boot.
The satisfying crunching sound of both armor and bone being destroyed only her caused the fighting spirit in Madoka to soar. With each new devestating blow she inflicted, that feeling only amplified. She roared like an apex predator searching for prey.
These solders fall like leaves in the wind! Madoka's mind sharpened at every sound. She dodged soft breezes of swords being swung at her. The weak forms and patterns from shaking grips of soldiers who have lost their homes from their march. Was she always this strong? These weaklings could never put out the fire in her spirit!
She felt no pain as she battered a soldier's breastplate in with her bare fists. He heaved and sank to the ground. Her heart was unmoved and instead focused on breaking this warband. The tingling feeling surged in her core and spurred her to fight on.
She snarled. More enemies were coming. Prey to be silenced.
Fight alone? It was not an issue. Madoka was too quick for them. The sensation within her was now a violent whirlwind of flames. She was losing contol of herself, she realized. If she were to kill someone today she would not know how she would fare. The line between exacting revenge and trying to survive was a thin slope and she struggled to maintain her balance. Sure, I have broken through their defenses easily, Madoka argued with herself. Should I feel guilty now after the fact?
A blade narrowly missed her. Madoka breathed in her technique and focused. The battlefield began to grow chaotic and she felt her spirit slip into a terrible void. She halted her desire for vengeance and continued her work until all the voices quieted down. All that was left was the weakened sobs of her victims and silence between branches. She caught the last man by his throat, squeezing it until blood leaked from his lips. He gagged under her grip as fear consumed his eyes.
"M-Mercy!"
Her ears heard Reverent Noble and her eyes locked onto the soldier she held. His own eyeballs looked like they were going to pop out of his skull from the tightness of her grasp. He was a young man, in fact most of them were, with inexperienced eyes wide with fear. He stood no more than a couple of inches taller than her.
"Sorry," she apologized and knocked him out.
A wave of guilt and nausea washed over her but she knew she had to snap out of it. Madoka wanted nothing more than to get out of this mess. She had to find Audrey. The screams of men were heard from around the carriage. That was definitely her, Madoka hurried. On the way around the carriage's missing wheel, she came across the captain. He had hoof marks on his armor from being trampled. She scoffed and took his sword. The blade was almost as tall as her but she lifted it with ease.
"Audrey!" Madoka called out as she rounded the corner. She strapped the sword to her back just as she saw Audrey was standing still, breathing hard. The aftermath of her little battle was horrific. Several soldiers were unconscious from her asphyxiation spells and another lost his arm from a stray Wind Blade. A chill made her shudder. She heard a noise come from the girl unlike any sound she has made before. A low growl rumbled with wrath bursting forth from her. "Audrey?"
The growl continued to intensify like a wildfire until Madoka shouted.
"Audrey! Snap out of it!"
"Right. Well, uh," Audrey breathed heavily. The aura around her vanished. "Sorry. You probably were worried about them. I don't think I killed them. Minus the ones that might bleed to death."
"I don't give a damn about them," Madoka pulled the girl to her side and inspected her all over. "
"You're the only one who gets to touch—"
"Hush," Madoka embraced her. Audrey flinched.
"Ach, you're hot!" She felt Madoka's shoulder. The maid pulled her torn shirt down to look at it. Madoka was about to be disappointed in Audrey's comment but the glow from her shoulder blinked in the corner of her eye. "Well, yeah, you're hot too. 'No man will touch MY woman?' I am—"
Audrey swooned but Madoka let go of her.
"Forget about it," Madoka scoffed, rolling her shirt back down. She turned to the soldiers lying on the ground. This damage was definitely caused by Audrey. Madoka shuddered when she thought of the damage she inflicted on the other side of the carriage. She saw the severed hand of the fat noble through the gap of its broken wheel and winced. "What do we do about all of these soldiers?"
"Leave 'em!" Audrey said, looking at the carriage. It was trimmed with opulent gold and matched the noble's gaudy taste on the inside. Aside from the missing wheel, Madoka found it surprisingly clean and well kept. But who could have cleaned it? "You thinkin' what I'm thinking?"
Madoka was not, in fact, thinking about whatever Audrey was thinking but she nodded anyways.
"Let's check it out!"
The two climbed up on the carriage and Madoka punched the door in. The splinters of the wood pattered as they cluttered the floor. An fluffy row of seats greeted her. Audrey looked at her with concern but did not say anything. The coach was so big that the two stood inside for a moment. It sure beat the treacherous terrain of the mountains and sharp rocks littering the forest path, if not for a fleeting moment.
"I don't know what I expected," Audrey said as they observed the spacious room. "You think the fat guy survived?"
"Probably not," Madoka shrugged as she lifted the seat up. She remembered the Head Maid lifting belongings in a carriage similar to this one. That woman seemed so strong to her back then. Now, Madoka ripped the carriage to pieces as they rummaged around. Audrey went on about something called property damage but she did not care. "Nobles usually have a lot of things they carry around, don't they?"
"Yeah," Audrey looked around but something glinted in her eyes. "Wow."
Both girls stared at what Madoka uncovered. A box awaited them with bags of shining coins inside it. Gold trinkets, as far as Madoka was concerned.
"Loot for all our troubles!" Audrey said opening her storage portal up. "This will pay for the harassment we went through, huh. Right, Madoka?"
"Hmph," Madoka scoffed but hefted one bag up to inspect it. The bag was heavy like the noble, the coins clinked inside of it yet remained firm in its tightly packed cloth. "I wouldn't know. I am a servant."
"Well," Audrey put her hand up to her chin in some thought. "If money is in this world, it's better to have some than be broke."
Audrey tried to lift a bag up, but struggled as Madoka effortlessly lifted one on her own. Madoka supposed she was right and tossed bag after bag into the portal. These trinkets were a means to an end.
"That being said," Audrey murmured. "I have no idea how much money is here. Or how it even works."
"You what?"
"Don't look at me like that! I was a princess, you know! We can assume that the fat guy is rich."
The bags were divided in several types of coins but they did not have enough time to look at them. Madoka lifted the last bag and noticed it was significantly lighter than the others. The two girls looked at it inquisitively.
"Talismans?" Madoka looked to Audrey. Figurines made of materials similar to the one that creepy healer used rested inside.
"I guess," Audrey took the bag and dumped them into her own next to the Six Armed Goddess's talisman. Out of all the ones to survive their journey over the mountains, the kind Goddess emerged victorious. Only two of its arms remained. Had it always been that way? "I think I can remember how to use them based my notes and what that healer from the palace told me."
"That reminds me," Madoka stepped out of the carriage. Her boots hitched up snow as she held Audrey's hand to let her down. She beheld the sight of unconscious and bloody men lying around the place.
"Right, I forgot about this for a moment," Audrey muttered. That harsh breathing of hers started as the bloodlust brewed but the red haired maid quelled her by grabbing her hand again.
"I don't know if we should," Madoka cautioned her. "I know it's only a matter of time before we do. I just... Don't wanna feel that yet."
Her harsh breathing halted as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Audrey?"
"T-They hurt you in the palace," Audrey said bitterly. "I've been so disconnected because of my Royal duties, I—"
"Let's get out of here," Madoka interrupted her. "No use in blaming yourself for something you could not control. I just—"
A wailing was heard from around the corner of the carriage. Was it the fat noble? Madoka and a sniffling Audrey ran to investigate the source.
"He's alive?" Madoka was astonished. Wailing mumbled beneath the noble. It was the old healer that she kicked the fat man onto during the battle.
"Y-Yeah, traumatic amputation will probably kill in a couple of hours," Audrey said through her tears. How could she say those big words with that face? Madoka wondered. She had a shocked look noticed the damage the maid caused everyone here. "Not a single armor piece is intact. You crushed every person here. You're strong!"
With a satisfied yet small smile, Audrey's bloodlust vanished. Madoka felt embarrassed. Audrey was the one who was truly strong; she was able to overcome her own problems in two lives and worried for Madoka who nearly lost herself because of the rune on her shoulder. How could she be strong? The princess rolled the fat man off the healer with her foot. The old man was out of breath from being buried underneath such a huge load and could not escape.
"P-Please, don't kill me!" the disgusting creature before them begged. "I have a family!"
Madoka gave Audrey a nod. This time, she allowed her woman to do whatever she wanted to the man who dare touched her. Audrey silently approached the man and took out her blade. Madoka shifted uncomfortably and began to worry again. Was she going to take a life so soon? The old man quivered as Audrey drew near.
"Please, kind gods!" His eyes widened as he spoke in reverent noble.
Audrey slowly descended upon him with her knife inching close to his neck. He gulped and his eyes only grew more desperate as Audrey's magic core flared to life. Madoka squeezed her eyes and turned away.
Then Audrey cut.