I.

I don’t know how to trust in you. I know I trust in you, but I don’t know how to. Your true colors have been blended in the Rustazian Carnials, everything is red about you. You’re always scheming, always hiding a blade behind your smile. There’s gods telling me that you’re a monster, that you’re trying to destroy them. Kin Slayer. Then there’s you, telling me that you’re a monster, yet holding your strength back for me. That you’ll do anything for me.

Why?

What are you planning? What are you afraid of telling me? I am afraid to tell you I am doubting you. I’m afraid of being myself around you. I’m afraid. Yet when I look at you, you’re the small girl I’ve taken care of for years. I want to kiss you. Strangle you. I want you to share with me your darkest secrets. But I’m afraid. I don’t know if I can even trust myself with these gifts you and these kind gods have given me. I’m too afraid to tell you the thoughts in my head.

You’re Audrey, but you’ve been Elise to me for longer. And I’m…

“Madoka.”

Yes, I’m Madoka. A slave with only one name. I’ve come to you in chains and I still feel them wrapped around my wrists. Tightening. Now more than ever.

“Madoka!”

I know you’re calling me to leave this void. I’m afraid to. I don’t even know what to say first. I’m not free of my servitude or from my feelings. Unyielding loyalty and boundless love, broken by the images of your magic. Oh, Audrey, Your Highness. I am afraid… More terrified of you than the flames and the darkness.

“Wake up, Madoka,” she pleaded. “Please, work, please!”

Madoka reluctantly opened her eyes when her touching senses returned first. She felt warm and strangely refreshed, which was odd to her because the ordeal she went through left her scarred. The second thing she felt was grass and something thumping her back. The grass was wonderful, but the thumping was confusing to her.

“Madoka?” the voice pleaded.

She looked down and noticed the softness that she was lying on was indeed the princess.

“Oh, forgive me,” she reluctantly pulled off of Audrey. Wait, she sat up fully. Wind pushed specks of dirt gently against her hair and the grass rustled along her hands. Her skin had a light green aura glowing around it. Even after all of this, the princess must have healed her. Audrey’s face peeked up at her. “A-Audrey!”

Her face was covered in bright red bloodstains and purple bruises. Madoka inspected her closely and she realized this was the detail she forgot about the last time Her Highness meditated on an altar. The God of Tomorrows did this to her, presumably as a punishment. What have you done to these kind gods? The Wind King… Ares…?

“H-Hi, Madoka,” Audrey whispered. It sounded like it took a lot of effort for her to speak, but she could sense the princess’s tone held a hint of bitterness. “You saved me… once again.”

She was the one who caused all this trouble, but Madoka could only sigh instead of getting angry. She would unravel all her empty scoldings for the girl later.

“Are we done training?”

A small chuckle was all she heard in response. Audrey’s voice was too weak to hear anymore. Her using it to wake Madoka up must have been quite troublesome for her. Her eyes were closing, fluttering like she used to kick the Royal purple sheets in her sleep back home — rustling and restless. The fluttering suddenly stopped. She was fading away!

“Audrey?” Madoka’s heart sank. “D-Don’t—“

“I-I’m okay, just… Sleep,” Audrey’s lips moved despite her closed eyes, so Madoka had to trust her.

However, the maid could simply not leave her here, so what was she supposed to do? Checking Her Highness once again, it seemed that whatever wounds caused her to become bloody were gone. Slash marks ripped at her clothes, but beneath the holes was just the glistening luster of her skin… Madoka shook out of her temptations once again.

She stood up and stretched. Observe and protect Her Highness, that is what she shall do. The odd lightness in her steps still filled her with an odd energy, which meant she was still in the Leyline. Everything here seemed peaceful, but Madoka finally realized why after noticing the massive hole in the center of the plains. It was gargantuan, much larger than she realized since the storm was no longer there. The forest on the other side was nothing but a row of green specks. Wait, the storm was gone!

Pillars of black smoke and red sparks plumed over those false shrubs as well as scarring the plains all around her with craters the size of the Palace’s bathrooms. To think that such destruction was created by this sleeping girl, Madoka glanced at her nervously. The great void below was more inviting to look at then the bloody visage of her Princess at the moment. Nothing but clouds floated below in the void where the storm used to be, mirroring the sky above. It was more like she was looking over a great, bottomless valley that was full of mist and clouds. Why? She assumed Audrey had an answer to the strange mystery, but there was something more odd creeping in Madoka’s thoughts.

How long have they been out here? The Sun seemed to have not moved, remaining still like the pieces of floating rocks and islands above her. As she looked past a crater from Audrey’s Domineering explosions, she noticed that way off in the distance was the mess she created while fighting for her life against the girl. If Madoka had to state the obvious about her predicament, she would have to carry Audrey all the way back to the inn.

She sighed, but the girl’s warmth hugging her body kept her from complaining. There were no thoughts in the woods, but Madoka did not want to waste time getting back to town. A burning smell wafted in her nostrils, as well as a glimpse of a crater caused by Audrey’s wild spells caused her to steer clear. It probably was just another reason beyond the Leyline for wildlife and even monsters to get out of this forsaken place. Petals? Madoka felt her lips twist into a wry smile. Such a delicate name did not belong to a wild place like this.

As she traveled, Madoka remembered the ancient stairs leading to the Wind King’s Summit and abandoning her princess shortly after hiking down. This was more peaceful and less windy, she supposed. Her body did not feel that floating sensation, that “gravity shift” the Princess spoke about during their flight. Audrey was quiet, but the pattern in her breath changed when she knelt beneath a tree’s exposed giant root snaking in and out of the ground.

“Mmhmm,” Audrey shifted her head on Madoka’s back. The maid prepared for the girl to start her tantrums, but instead she felt only the bump from Her Highness’s forehead on her back. “I’m sorry.”

The softness in her whisper made Madoka stop.

“For what?”

“You know what.”

“I’m your—“

“Servant, I know, I know,” Audrey sighed. “But I fu— I messed everything up again.”

Madoka hefted the girl up a bit, before laying her gently against a rock and knelt down in front of her. The girl nearly yelped in surprise, but relaxed as she noticed the maid was inspecting her. It did not seem like she could walk and her legs were just as bloody as the rest of her, Madoka noted. No visible wounds, but her clothes were torn in some sections as if she was clawed by a giant hand. Was the blood on her someone else’s?

“It’s yours, Madoka,” Audrey sighed. Her arms flopped against her side, but after some effort she pulled out the Six Armed Goddess’s Talisman. The bottommost pair of arms… Her eyes widened. Only Her left bottommost arm remained. “Well, ah, some of it is mine, but you bounced off several islands with me. I tried to use my own magic to save you but you know, I messed everything up. When I woke you went splat. So…”

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“I died?”

“I dunno, but when I prayed to Her she healed you because you didn’t move,” the girl shrunk when Madoka sat down . She died again; she inspected her hands. The green Substance magical strands were gone, but they were replaced by a ghostly white aura. It still covered her arm’s skin like a spider’s web, fading though it matched the aura of the kind gods and goddesses she’s seen before wrapped around her body. The energy jolting inside her body and making her feel light must have been the Goddess’s miracles. “I really… really messed up.”

Audrey looked away, rolling her head against the wood. Madoka sent a small prayer of gratitude to the Six Armed Goddess talisman, but she did not dare say anything and break the silence. She also did not know what to say anyways. The last time she died, she ended up in a strange dream. She had no strange dreams this time, so therefore she probably came close to dying.

“I didn’t die,” Madoka concluded aloud. “But you caused a lot of trouble everywhere here.”

“I…” Audrey coughed. “I got what I was looking for, but when I woke up I was falling in the air with you holding onto me. The way you looked… I knew I’ve done it again. I messed… Madoka?”

“How could you say that? You saved me.”

“I—“ Audrey coughed again. “Heh, I suppose we saved each other. I’m much worse than you, though.”

She chuckled and eventually so did Madoka through her tears. She did not even realize those were the reason Her Highness stopped talking. Everything she just did was coming back to her. She felt like she went beyond a dragon. Soon, they were laughing together. The clouds became gray as their light pierced through the large canopies above.

“I’m not going to ask for forgiveness, I guess I got carried away,” Audrey sighed. “The last thing I remember besides the falling thing was stepping on the altar. Everytime I look into the Abyss, the magic I try to cultivate, the ways of the world stare back. And I told you this before, but, everytime I do this I ask it the same question I always do: Why was I brought here? This time was more painful, heh, but from the looks of things I overdid it.”

“What did you get?” Madoka asked, but she could not stop her voice from trembling. The truth that the girl could speak could isolate her even more from her own world, if there was any truth the kind God of Tomorrows mentioned. She was wading into cold water, but what was normal to her anymore? She decided to push forward into the unknown. “What do you even mean?”

“I think I leveled up,” Audrey looked like she was suppressing an urge to smile, but eventually the excitement overtook her voice. “W-Well, obviously not physically. My legs don’t work again. You’ll have to go solo or something if we go back to that stupid town. I would say instead of a, ah, when was the last time I checked my level? Like, a lot of chapters ago? I’m no longer a Level 2 Support Mage, I think I’m finally powerful enough to call myself…”

Her eyes shifted as if she was trying to figure out something cool to call herself, while Madoka sighed. This part of the princess did not get lost in that God’s prison, at least.

“I’m now a level one Mage!” Audrey beamed. Madoka looked at her fingers, two of them versus one only meant less levels!

“You leveled down?” Madoka questioned her.

“No, I evolved! It’s different!” Audrey’s eyes glowed, but for some reason Madoka did not feel the usual rush of energy whenever she apparently used a lot of her magic. “Hnng!”

She puffed out her chest, but the core did not show up. Madoka cocked her head at her small breasts, but quickly averted them and focused on her eyes.

“I’m tired, I think,” Audrey sighed. “I’m strong now, Madoka. Strong enough to protect us! You just gotta believe me!”

“Right,” Madoka sighed. A hand tugged her sleeve.

“What the heck happened to you while I was in the abyss?” Audrey asked. “You looked like you went through hell, and that was before you splat against the ground! Did you not sit in the box that I set down for you? I put that there SPECIFICALLY so bad things wouldn’t happen, you know.”

Would revealing to Audrey that she spoke with a God have any complications? This Abyss Audrey spoke of did not appear to be like any kind god, so who was she to believe in? The kind gods or her scheming princess? That was an easy choice, Madoka shifted nervously. Believing in the kind gods she spoke to was the most obvious choice, but why was it the hardest one to make?

“Y-You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Audrey’s breath heaved. “We’ll just get you another box.”

“Speaking of that,” Madoka felt better about not having to share the ordeal she went through anyways. She would rather be more productive than angry with the girl. “Open the storage talisman, please.”

“Wha—“

“Storage. Do you have it still?” Madoka’s heart almost dropped. Audrey’s arm flopped on her lap, which also did not seem to work. Her eyes shifted in frustration. “Where is it? Or where would it be on you?”

“M-My waist, the belt,” Audrey squeaked. “It’s there, I swear!”

Madoka dove her hand into the girl’s belt, scooped out the odd and smooth cylindrical stone talisman. The girl squirmed, but it was too late.

“Can you use water magic?” Madoka asked. She felt nervous asking, remembering the huge Palace tower sized beams of water the girl used to blast her with from their duel.

“I can,” Audrey confirmed, but suddenly realized what Madoka planned to do. “Y-You’re not going to wash us here, right?”

“Where else? We can’t go into town looking like this, Audrey,” Madoka chastised her. Without another word, the storage portal opened. Madoka realized that she could access things inside of the hexagonal portal by reaching in its magical energy. Knotting strands looped within it and danced around it. After doing so, images of everything within it struck her mind, nearly toppling her over from being overwhelmed.

“Eheh, you’ll get used to that part,” Audrey said sheepishly. Purple needles, or Thought Needles, also stuck to each and every object inside of it, including the dead troll bodies. Madoka shoved all of it out of the way in her mind, taking the things she needed to clean her princess. Before she knew it, the cheap axe they bought and several swords came out of it as well.

“I thought you said we’re going to be washing?” Audrey eyed the weapons.

“Those are for me,” Madoka growled as the blades clanged on top of each other.

Finally, a brush and a new set of clothes popped out. With a thought, the hexagonal storage portal disappeared. She wondered if the crystal was assisting her while she accessed it, but ultimately she did not want to know. Before long, she stripped the limp princess out of her clothes and began the Great Cleaning!

“When I was flying back to get you from the altar, Audrey,” Madoka told her. Her skin was smooth and warm to the touch, but as the water bubbled down her perfect backside she realized that Audrey felt colder than usual. “You launched needles the size of castles into the air, which rained down below into this valley we’re in and many more places. Which was quite troublesome, I might add.”

“E-Eh?” The princess shivered as Madoka’s fingertips slipped along her short hair and brushed it. “N-Now you’re just makihg me feel even more guilty. No fair!”

Her tone changed.

“It’s totally fair to blame me,” she darkened her mood.

“It’s not that,” Madoka continued, preparing to stuff Her Highness into the new set of clothes. “I used them to forge my way back up to you, but everytime I grabbed one I would see odd visions. Of symbols and of myself. Why?”

“It’s Cuckoo magic, is it not?” Audrey muttered. “Sorry. The God of Tomorrows or whatever probably doesn’t like that comparison. Its magic has to do with the thoughts of people and things like monsters, right? This isn’t much of a speculation at this point, but I’m pretty sure I’m a monster. That means those thoughts are mine.”

Madoka figured that was the case as always, but the question burned beneath her skin.

“What are those thoughts of? The symbols and…”

“You, Madoka,” Audrey said. “The equations I use for my magic, and of you. All I think about is you.”

Madoka worked on herself in silence. She did not know what an equation was, but if it was magic related she was better off without it. She should have known it all along, that the girl was only thinking of her even when she was trapped and tortured within that sphere. She contemplated if she should tell the Princess that she was stuck in a magical sphere, but soon she was drying herself off and also in a new set of traveler’s garbs. Thank you, Lady Saze, she prayed silently as she strapped her weapons to her waist.

“I know that the Gods don’t like me, Madoka,” Audrey said. Immediately, Madoka was drowning in the icy lake again. The unknown was glaring at her — the Princess’s gaze was upon her. “What I take from them, what they want from you, Madoka.”

“Audrey,” Madoka trailed off, but her hand wrapped around her axe. Thoughts of her own raced within her mind. The princess said she was stronger than ever, scheming more and more, but yet — a small tiny shard of a thought needle drifted slowly towards her. It was coming from Audrey, somehow, but the small image of herself flickered in her mind as the shard shattered to sparkling dust.

“I don’t give a damn about what they say, Madoka,” Audrey’s voice still remained dark. “I would abandon this world, do anything I can to protect you, should you ask it.”

Why? Madoka faced away and mouthed that question. Why me?

“You were there when I told you what’s in my heart back in the Grotto, there when the roots took the Palace, the mountains… there when I…” Audrey’s intent lifted and she yawned. It was clear that using her magic drained her of what little energy she had left. Vulnerable, admitting these things must mean she is not lying, right? Madoka wanted to hit her own head— She should trust her for once! “I want to be there for you, no matter what the price is. You were here for me even now, after I threw you off the floating island. I love you! I—“

Audrey’s eyes shut close and a snore escaped her lips shortly after. Madoka paced for a moment to process anything she just heard from her friend, but she really could not fathom just how much she had and the lengths either of them would go for each other. Yes, she thought as she scooped the Princess up. She felt the same way Audrey’s declaration felt all along. They were both clean, sort of, and she was ready to face the town. She would go beyond a dragon for Her Highness.