IV.

Madoka shook in her sleep.

She was back at that awful ridgeway above the crater that King Slime lived in. Audrey kicked a rock down the hill, watching it splash in the water she created with that miraculous magic of hers. Her hair was pasted onto her shoulder from the ordeal they went through. They fell into a crashing whirlpool, through a door, then entered into a strange world and fell back out. Audrey's world, Madoka struggled to understand any of it. Her head might as well have been tossed in the whirlpool a couple hundred more times. This Audrey is different, however. Or perhaps, always has been her. The Audrey in this dream seemed angry, upset over her past. She had seen her brooding over her own perceived failures, but Madoka did not understand why.

How could it ever be her fault? Like that sick maid in the inn, how could she blame herself even if her healing worked on Georgia? Was it concern that marred her pretty face that Madoka knew, or the weight of what that God told the two of them?

Kin slayer. That was something the kind God Ceghinort addressed Her Highness as. Someone who had killed their own family. Did it mean the Dragon they slew? Let me take full responsibility for that, Madoka thought. It was her savage axe that cut both of its wings off, after all. Audrey was no dragon, however. It was no use trying to get her to explain. Why was she dreaming of this place again?

"It was me," Audrey muttered, staring at her palms. She tried to hide a shiver, but failed under Madoka's watchful gaze. "I don't need a damn—"

It was too late, for Madoka already wrapped the little girl up with her own cloak. Whether this was the being who called her Kate or not, she was Her Highness's servant after all.

"You won't owe me for it, Audrey," Madoka scolds her. "I'm not your parents. Or the King."

Audrey shivered, but stopped herself as quick as the rapids flooding into the grotto. In the reflection of the water her eyes were two frightened and wide pools of sapphire, but she merely clutched the cloak tighter to herself.

"It was me," she finally muttered. "Up in that house, it was—"

"I'm sure you are standing before me, right here and now," Madoka reached an arm around her shoulder. Audrey was rocking back and forth. Madoka could sense the pain in her emotions from experiencing her past. She hoped she would remember to comfort her princess when she woke up.

"She'll never be fourteen," Audrey sighed, prying Madoka's arm from her neck and breathing heavily. "Won't ever see—"

When the princess turned to face Madoka, she screamed. To her own horror, the maid realized a massive black and purple bruise stretching around Audrey's neck. The girl began to choke up and shiver more. Madoka nearly screamed herself, but caught the girl as she collapsed. She sensed fear coming from the girl. Even a lifetime separating her from the man who killed her did not stop the overwhelming trauma from taking over.

"Audrey?"

Audrey was disturbed at the sight of the maid, which caused a sense of shame and hurt to well up inside of her. She pounded weakly into Madoka's arms in an attempt to get herself free, yet she stuffed her own feelings over and attended to Her Highness. The maid was much bigger, and the princess had a better chance at breaking a boulder with her fists than getting out of her embrace. The bruise was there but strangely did not seem to affect her. Instead, horror filled the blonde's eyes.

"Who are you?" Audrey stared back at her, shrinking to a cower. Madoka noticed a lack of recognition in her eyes as well as her normal fighting spirit was missing. Was this no longer her Highness? How long will this dream go on? What kind god was doing this to it this time? "How do you know about my parents? What... What are you?"

It was quickly apparent that the Audrey in this particular dream no longer was the same as the real one she knew, but Madoka simply pat her little head and smiled. It was the original Audrey, or a precious girl that she made up in her head resembling who she thought Audrey could have been in that past life.

"I'm your friend," She paused, nearly choking on the word. "I'm a friend, Elise—" Madoka stopped herself from being mysterious. "Audrey."

"What?" Audrey stared at her hands, and then felt her neck again. Madoka tried to stop her but instead of hurting herself, the girl simply felt them. "These... No way, no way, holy shit. Shit! What the hell? What the hell?"

"If it makes you feel better," Madoka held her tight still. Audrey seemed to relax, no longer scared of her own maid's presence. "He ain't coming around to ever see you again. I'll make sure of it."

"Where am I?"

"Home," Madoka responded, hoping that she kept herself from sounding too bitter. Audrey turned her bruised neck and wonder filled her azure eyes. "You should rest up, Audrey. We have a long day ahead of us for tomorrow."

She says nothing else. Madoka avoided prying and checking on the girl as much as possible, but she knew Audrey was simply thinking. She did not cry.

They sat for a long time, and eventually Audrey slumped against her shoulder as the sunset. Madoka simply tucked an arm between the small nook of Her Highness's own. The girl must have felt so alone in her final moments in that cruel place. Not again, Audrey. Madoka swore. No one like her deserves to be alone like that.

This was surprisingly comfortable for a dream, Madoka thought to herself as orange coated the sky and blended into purple hues. If she could will it, she would wait forever in this dream and get to know this strangely familiar Audrey.

"Madoka?" A voice pierced her thoughts.

Madoka's legs felt sore, only to realize she was against the same log she slept on from last night. A finger poked her nose, causing the maid to growl in response. A giggle corroded her drowsiness with sweetness, but she did not want to leave the dream so soon. Was this what the princess felt whenever she woke up?

"This is so not like her, I swear!" Audrey's voice clouded over her head. "Heck, it's usually the other way around."

Who is she talking to? Madoka thought, but cracked an eye open only to notice the others were waiting on her. Rather than being embarrassed, she simply stretched and pushed the annoying princess away in her wake. Eraziror cleared his throat and by the smirk on his face was about to say something she would not like, but luckily Kanys elbowed him.

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"Right," he knocked on Armor's chestplate to get the group's attention. "Everyone's here, still, right? Time to pack up and get going!"

A chorus of affirmation followed, but Madoka grunted and stood up. There were a few things to lift in the wagon, evidently belonging to Arudite. She simply took the largest boxes she could find and lifted them into it by herself.

"You slept like a baby, Madoka!" Audrey poked her as she finally loaded herself in. "That was the plot twist of a century!"

Upon seeing her princess's face, and the recognition inside her eyes, Madoka allowed her to sit close to her and shrugged.

"I had a good dream," she sighed. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did!" Audrey rocked with the wagon as Eraziror forced the grumpy horses to move. Madoka did not budge. Though most of the memories from the dream were quickly fading, the mood she was in remained like dew on her skin. She was not even paying attention to what the princess was saying, but she figured her lengthy sleep was causing her heightened awareness.

"Look at you two!" Arudite cheered. "Speaking so casually with each other!"

"Y-Yeah, it's a thing," Audrey kicked her feet out on the rest of the wagon's bench. Madoka sighed and forced her to sit still. "It's a thing we do."

Kind gods, Madoka realized that the lengthy sleep also meant Audrey must have regained a lot of her energy back. The girl fidgeted around, and spoke too quickly to Arudite while Ilalune sat there calmly and quietly. Not to be outdone, Madoka simply remained quiet as she forced her princess to sit still and behave.

"Well, actually," Audrey was explaining her magic, which seemed to have the same effect of confusion on Arudite as it did on her. The researcher curled her purple hair back behind her ears, tucked her glasses back on and did not let go of her notebook once even as the wagon bumped along. "My water magic isn't like ice magic from the Domineering strands, though I have been trying to figure out how those strands work."

"Y-You don't know how to use red strands?" Arudite nearly choked in disbelief. "Even Ila has ice magic in her veins! Show her, show her!"

"That would be too dangerous here," Ilalune scolded her, like a true servant, but fortunately Madoka agreed.

"What's so different than your magic to Domineering?" Arudite pressed.

"I simply collect the water from humidity using my wind magic to minimize the moisture capacity and simulate—" Audrey paused upon noticing Arudite's confused look. "I guess I really don't know how rain works here."

A couple of hours later, Arudite's notebook was full of letters she could not read, but the researcher had requested to take a nap from Audrey's strange lecture. Is sharing knowledge with the enemy a good idea? Madoka wondered. Is giving such information to a Guild like this necessary in Audrey's plans? The girl, however, still somehow had the energy to move around and Madoka could tell that she was in one of her worst states: Kind gods, she was bored!

"Hey, Armor man," Audrey addressed the giant adventurer. She climbed next to Eraziror as they rode along before Madoka could stop her, without a care in the world despite the Sovos's obvious discomfort. The princess will melt away his defenses with her sweetness soon enough, Madoka gave up and thought idly. "Hey, Armor!"

What a menace! Madoka rolled her eyes, since like usual, the mysterious living Armor did not respond to her. Even if he was a Commoner, the man did not seem to follow the Law of Nobles. Was it a testament to his strength? Perhaps, fame? A Gold tag must allow for people to not need to address officials properly. Eraziror cleared his throat and laughed.

"We've traveled together for a long time, you see, however," he chuckled. Armor did not seem to mind them talking about them. "We've never seen him take his armor off. Nor do we know his name."

"Really?" Audrey continued her wide brimmed curiosity and childlike charm. "So you've never even seen the guy?"

"No!"

The wagon ride grew more smoothly, the trail was becoming wider and the tremors were less intense. They must have been moving away from the Circle of the Labyrinth's center, though they apparently cannot reach it with any vehicles as well as weak adventurers. Madoka wondered if they fit in that category. Audrey poked Armor, but that did not stop his advances forward.

"I wonder if there's like, four or five people operating this suit of armor," she mused. Eraziror's pointed ears perked up, seemingly excited to share theories on the mystery.

"I wondered that as well!"

"Are you two insane?" Kanys looked at them incredulously. Both of them stared back in defiance.

"It's not my fault he's so mysterious," Eraziror scoffed. He turned to Audrey and spoke quietly. "I always thought a small troll or ogre was in that suit. They don't usually like being seen by people they deem inferior, you know. And he's, well, you know."

"I think there's four or even five in there," Audrey pointed at the armor's head, gauntlets and legs. Madoka noticed beyond Armor's steps that they were headed along a ridge that overlooked the treelines. "Two for the legs, two for the arms and one operating the helmet."

Madoka sighed. Beyond the towering expanse of treetops, ominous statues hung above what appeared to be even taller crater walls. The crags and brown stone jutting skyward was a sight to behold, while forlorn statue ruins peaked above them. That must be the Circle of the Labyrinth's center. She also realized that this mountain, or ridge, was one such layer of the crater wall like an earthen petal to a fully bloomed flower. The forest seemed to be growing in between each wall in different sections in vast distances. Was this country nothing but trees anyways?

"Perhaps goblins are too big for the suit," Eraziror continued. "I was thinking the Earstealers, those little pink freaks. N-No offense, Armor."

Armor paid them no mind, not even at the fact that the Sovos adventurer adopted Audrey's nickname for the giant.

"Impossible, poppycock!" Audrey sighed. Madoka noticed that the grumpy horses seemed to be comfortable on the ridge, traveling along without a care but still refusing to speak to her. "They would go after our ears if that was the case."

"You guys..." Kanys groaned from the other side. "Ceghinort's Blood, I swear—"

A loud, metallic rumbling interrupted all of them, causing the horses to stop. Still, unusual for such beasts, they did not seem to panic at the earthquake. Eraziror and the others wobbled, but Madoka caught Audrey from falling off the seat and held her close.

"Waaah! Earthquakes!" Audrey cheered. Madoka gripped harder. "Woohoo! Yeehaw!"

Why was she cheering? What a demon! Madoka groaned. Another rumble shook the earth and an ear piercing metallic crunching roar echoed over the forest valley, but luckily the ridge did not seem to crack. Eventually, everything seemed to calm down.

"We alright?" Eraziror checked for everyone. Arudite surprisingly slept through it all. Ilalune dusted herself off, and Kanys picked up her arrows that fell out her quiver. Everything seemed to be okay, Madoka thought idly. "That was a big one, godsdamn!"

"A-Are those quite common?" Madoka stammered. Audrey seemed woozy, but she eventually recovered and sat next to Eraziror.

"Not quite as often like that," Eraziror checked himself, then grabbed the reins again. "Tremors seem to happen the most where those ruins are."

The ridge was coming around a corner while Audrey spoke with Eraziror, but Madoka could sense anticipation rising in the horse's thoughts instead of listening to them. They were excited? The emotions she felt from them were strong and overcome by yearning. The same feeling she had in her dream that morning. They were near their home.

"Enough about the tremors. Now," Eraziror could not hide his own joy. "We're just about to see the main attraction!"

"Whoa!" Audrey stood up on the seat to get a better look.

"A-Audrey, please," Madoka held her back. She didn't notice how long they have been traveling, but the sun was already setting through the orange. Despite this, the ridge revealed a large, sprawling field of grass divided by the river and in its center, the city of Gladeban. Its architecture was full of odd domed structures and squared off buildings unlike Livertorjan's uniform and wooden buildings. Night lamps began to glow throughout the city. It was peaceful. Beyond the city, something odd was on the horizon.

Endless rocks and other rubble seemed to be floating up towards the boundless sky and beyond. Where has she seen such a phenomenon before?

"What's those rocks over there?" Audrey pointed. Madoka realized her eyes were not deceiving her. Eraziror chuckled at their marveling. "Look, Madoka, look!"

"A Leyline," Arudite mumbled. Their excited noises must have woken the researcher up.

"A wha?"

"That, my iron ranked friends," Eraziror twirled his own tag in the falling sun's fading light. Still, the silver gleamed beautifully against the painted sky. "Is where adventure lies."