Chapter 9
Save You
"A month?"
The novice witch asked. There were thirty slash marks on the wall. How fast time went was worrying to the princess. It felt as though it was yesterday when she came, crying to Madalyn about the world's truth.
"Time is an idea of man. When you don't age, get hungry, or even require sleep other than to feel at ease… there is no concept of time. That's what the Grimoire of Reason does to us."
She turned to the child, who was listening intensely.
"That's why it's important not to get complacent. A month flew by without you realizing it, Goldie. You were taken off guard without constantly checking the ticking of the magical metronome I gave you."
The princess was reminded of the magical metronome and brought it out of her pocket. She put it up to her ear and heard the click. That beat drummed with her heart.
"I see…"
Concerned, Goldie listened to the clock again, trying her best to feel time flow as it should.
"If you ever feel lost in this world… remind your body what a second feels like. What a minute, an hour, and so on. It will help you stay… human."
Goldie thought about this woman, alone in this world where no one was there to speak with her for eons upon eons. Madalyn was strong to be able to keep her sanity. It was only another thing that Goldie had to admire about the woman in front of her.
"W-Would you…"
Meekly, Goldie tried to say something but stopped herself.
"Hm?"
Madalyn faced the child, awaiting her words.
"Ah… never mind."
"No, if you have something to say… it's best you get it out, Goldie."
Embarrassed, Goldie turned away and walked closer to the world's edge.
"N-No. Never mind."
She was going to ask something a little too personal. Goldie didn't understand why but felt she had to be careful with her words around this woman she was beginning to admire. The last thing the novice witch wanted to do was say the wrong thing and look like a fool.
Not to Madalyn, the woman she… in a way wanted to be like. Someone strong, powerful, and understanding. She had a sharp tongue that Goldie wished she'd learned. When the child got flustered, she was keen to shout out curse words she learned in books. But Madalyn wasn't like that… and Goldie loved that about her.
"Shall we take a break?"
Madalyn suggested as she put her stuff away.
"Oh… sure."
Madalyn, still tired from her constant ordeal with the Overlord within, sat at the edge of the world beside Goldie. They both looked out into the endless space. The princess didn't admire the sight anymore; it was just… a piece of this small world.
"Sorry… I'm just a little tired, Goldie."
Goldie shook her head.
"No, you're holding off the Overlord. You're… working harder than I am."
The teacher shook her head and gazed into the void.
"No, we're both working hard. Neither of us is better than the other. You're doing good work too."
At one point, Goldie wouldn't have agreed. She'd believe she was better simply because she was the princess. But those ideas were starting to crumble the more the great witch taught her. Still, Goldie had so many questions for this woman whom her mother never spoke about.
"Can you tell me more about who you are, Madalyn?"
Goldie asked. She was nervous, more than when asking for thirds to a delicious meal in the castle. The princess never cared what others would say, but yet again, she felt as though she had to make sure… not to say anything that would make her appear in a negative light.
"What do you wish to know?"
"…"
The princess's feelings tangled in a knot as she thought about it. The golden child clammed up, scared of what she might say.
"Goldie… we're going to be together for a long time. If you have something to say… you should say it."
Gently, Madalyn nudged her along. The closed door in her heart slowly opened as if Madalyn had the key to say the right things to her.
"Okay…"
Goldie sighed.
"Madalyn, you said you loved my mother. When did you fall in love with her?"
The witch's shoulders slumped as she closed her eyes. One could tell that Madalyn was disinterested in the question by her demeanor. However, once she opened her eyes and looked at the child again, she could see an innocent curiosity. It's been a long time since Madalyn had someone beside her, asking her questions about the self she'd long forgotten.
Only by her will to keep a promise she'd long forgotten did she not go insane within her mind.
"Hmm… I wonder."
Madalyn mumbled as she looked up at the bright stars above. They were dim, emotionless to her. There was no sense of wonder when she'd already counted the billions of stars around them numerous times.
"I-Is… that too personal of a question, Madalyn?"
Goldie asked timidly.
The magician didn't feel much of anything for the question posed to her. It was more like a math problem that she couldn't figure out but knew the answer to. The process was jumbled, the meaning twisted, but she knew the answer to her sacrifice was her love for Annastella.
"Why do you want to know?"
Madalyn asked back.
"Ah… because that's my mommy. And… I want to know how you…."
Goldie stopped, gathered her thoughts, and continued.
"I want to know what made you… love my mommy so much that you'd sacrifice everything for her."
It was one of the few times the princess stepped away from her feelings and into another. Goldie wanted to know... what made Madalyn tick. Yet another thing that this mysterious witch brought out of her. Goldie wanted to learn more about the person who wrenched at her chest whenever she looked her way. These feelings weren't normal… and Goldie was beginning to realize this.
"I only recall your mother from the grand stories I wrote about her. I… don't have any emotional connection to Annastella any longer."
Madalyn pondered for a bit.
"No… that would be a lie. I… I still feel some warmth when I say the name… 'Annastella.' It's like someone is lighting a fire in my stomach, but it would burn out quickly."
The magician struggled to explain.
"Annastella means something to me in a logical sense… but not in an emotional one."
Madalyn brought out her Grimoire and searched through the pages one by one. The pages used to be blank to the child. But since Goldie wore her mother's choker, she could see the beautiful writings of Madalyn. How… excellent her penmanship was, worthy of a Kingsman if she had to say.
"When I was growing up, I was a coward. Annastella would stick up for me. She was kind, strong, and beautiful. Anna was everything I've always wanted to be."
This struck a cord in the princess as she mumbled those words from the book.
"Everything you've always wanted to be, Madalyn?"
It felt as though Goldie connected with the version of Madalyn in that text. She realized that she… admired her teacher more and more. Goldie understood how much the princess wanted to be like Madalyn in just this short month. She wanted to be tall, strong, intelligent, and quick-tongued. It made the princess wonder if Madalyn… was like her at some point in her life.
And that made the princess's chest warm, thinking like that. The witch closed the book. The low roar of the pages slapping together echoed in the vast nothingness.
"One of the many lines within my book. Over centuries, I've torn the book up and rewrote many things. I've replaced pages, and revised them too."
"Why would you do that?"
The unaware child asked.
"Because… I was angry, Goldie. I was angry that if this Annastella was so wonderful… why did she never save me too?"
Despite the stoic way she spoke, Goldie could feel a hit of sadness in her words.
"I waited… knowing that I made this choice. But…"
Tenderly, the magician caressed the edge of her Grimoire. It was the only friend she had in all these eons, and for all she knew, it was full of misinformation and lies…
"The writings were so beautiful about Annastella. So beautiful… that the reality wasn't true anymore. They became lies and… and I resented them. Why… did someone so wonderful leave me alone to suffer forever?"
"Madalyn…"
The wrench in Goldie's heart grew all the stronger to the point the princess could barely breathe. The golden child did not know what to say. It felt like Annastella, the child's mother, rejected her friend. Goldie never grew up knowing of Madalyn. All secrets of this mysterious woman have been hidden away, deep in the closets of her mother like a treasure no mortal should see.
Goldie didn't know why her mother kept this secret about Madalyn from her. At first, Goldie didn't like this woman. The princess was scared of her and hated how she spoke ill about her without hesitation.
But it was different from back then. Madalyn enamored the princess beyond her understanding. With those bright white and purplish hair that stopped short of her shoulders to the slender, tall figure that moved with purpose.
Madalyn was a treasure that Goldie found… and she felt upset knowing her mother had kept her from the world for so long. The princess felt as though if she had known about Madalyn long ago, they would have been friends… if not more by this point.
"Mom didn't come for you… Madalyn."
The princess said in a hushed tone. The reality was setting in… how the word sacrifice had more weight than Goldie could have ever imagined. She felt ashamed, calling her plight a sacrifice when they first met.
"An… apology is insufficient. There's… no such apology that can rectify the pain and loneliness that you suffered."
Her classes' teachings on how to be a princess were finally coming out. Goldie had to think carefully about what she wanted to say. She didn't want to appear in a bad light toward Madalyn. The golden child… was worried that Madalyn would look down on her again. So, Goldie crafted her words carefully to show her teacher that she was changing… if even slowly.
"My mother… didn't come for you."
Goldie placed her hands on the slender thighs of her teacher. Those brimstone eyes melted into Madalyn's crisp blue. Her heart throbbed hard, almost out of her chest as she confessed, nearly nose to nose.
"But I want to save you."
The princess confessed the feelings rummaging deep within her.
"Save?"
Madalyn asked as her mouth opened slightly. Her sweet breath touched the lips of her student. Noticing how close she was, Goldie sat back down, red-faced. The princess held her chest and moved her body from side to side. She felt uncomfortable, so she looked away into the abyss.
"I know it's far too late… too much time has passed. But I want to help you. I… I want to do what mommy never did and… save you, Madalyn."
The princess gathered her charisma and faced her teacher once more. Her cheeks were still the color of the ripest strawberries in Nora, but she persisted.
"I want to protect you and save you. I… don't want you to be alone anymore."
What Goldie was confessing to Madalyn was foreign to the recluse magician. The last time someone was here was this very child, decades ago. Decades of isolation that Madalyn grew accustomed to once again.
"Saved by a Kingsman?"
Madalyn didn't even smile. She scoffed at the idea.
The magician didn't consider what might happen after they released the Overlord within her and attempted to defeat it. In her mind… they might succeed, and Goldie will leave the Grimoire of Reason. This was Madalyn's life; she was an extension of this world. It would be like a brush without the paint to create the canvas… meaningless if she left.
"I don't need saving, Goldie."
To the princess's surprise, Madalyn rejected her. Goldie's stomach began to churn as she realized the simple fact that they were on two different emotional levels. The princess couldn't feel the level of isolation this beautiful recluse suffered through.
"B-But I want to save you, Madalyn."
Her fingers touched the top of Madalyn's palm, but she pulled away gently. It was cold in the spot her hand left. It was rare for the princess to be rejected. In the kingdom, Goldie got what she wanted; if not, daddy would make sure it happened.
Ignorantly, she expected Madalyn to jump for joy. But the reality was cruel. Madalyn… didn't trust her or anyone, and a month wouldn't be enough to change that.
"I… I don't know how I'll do it… but I want to save you and… and take you out of here."
The worried child, not understanding her feelings, fully confessed.
"I like you… and want to be like you. Y-You're not just my teacher but… you mean more to me. Ah…"
Confused, the child turned away. Her face was heating up, and she felt dizzy.
"I… I don't like knowing that mommy never saved you. I don't… understand why she never told me about you, Madalyn. It's all so… cruel."
The child began to shake, unsure what to say in this situation. She closed her eyes as small tears started flowing from those brimstone eyes.
"I'll… I'll prove to you that I'll save you, Madalyn. I promise… because I like you a lot. I like you so much and I… I want you to be happy."
To Madalyn, this was the superficial ramblings of a child feeling guilty over the sins of their parents. The warmth she would have felt for people was forgotten throughout these horrible eons alone. But, to satisfy the child, the witch shrugged.
"Then get stronger… and save me then, child."
Madalyn calmly said.
The witch wasn't looking for a savior. Madalyn wasn't going to put her faith in a child who hasn't even lived a hundredth of a lifetime here. Madalyn felt alone for too long to trust anyone. Goldie, still the naïve child, took the challenge, though.
"I'll be stronger. I'll beat the Overlord within you and the Overlord piece in daddy. I'll save the kingdom and its people!"
Goldie said with her pride behind her. The want to be stronger to have the chance to say she "won" was her motivation.
"And then you'll live in the kingdom beside me forever! And I won't ever let you be alone again, Madalyn!"
That was the insatiable drive of the child. To have her cake and eat it too. Goldie wanted everything… and she had the desire and will to take it all. In this child's mind, Madalyn became someone she needed and wanted.
"Hm… you do know how to speak like a leader at times, Goldie."
Taken aback, the magician's eyes widened despite her stoic expression. She curled her short purple hair and looked back at the child.
"Actions speak louder than words. Show me… how hungry you are to make your dream come true."
Madalyn stood up and walked to the door of her home. She put her finger on it before turning back.
"I need to sleep for a moment to regain my energy. Once I wake up, we begin training. I… expect you to exceed my expectations from here on. That is… if you wish to save me from this hell…."
"Yes, Madalyn!"
The princess felt an intense warmth in her. It was as if she chipped away at the block of ice between her and her teacher.
"I have a decade… to make you see that I mean what I say."
The desire to win and take everything was the drive the princess needed. Goldie was prideful and a glutton for her desires. She knew that these were sins but like her teacher taught her…
Sins… can be used to win against her adversaries too.
"I… will save you. I won't make the same mistakes as mommy and daddy."
A fire burned within the golden child. She didn't know the whole story, why her mother hid Madalyn. But that didn't matter to her for the time being.
The Golden Child was going to save the mysterious beauty trapped in the Grimoire of Reason.