VII.

The stars were the first thing Madoka could see when she opened her eyes. She heaved and clutched her heart, sitting up straight. The ground was smooth to the touch. Madoka realized she was dead, gasping and heaving from the revelation. This was merely all a dream before it all fades away, right? However, the stars twinkled oddly and some moved to quickly flashing different colors. Madoka felt the hole in her dress. She was surprised that she still had a physical form. After all, she died and this was the afterlife.

I'm sorry, Princess, Madoka closed her eyes. Perhaps I should have left when you asked me to.

Madoka did not fade away or whatever she envisioned what might happen in the so-called afterlife. Instead, she felt raindrops splash on her nose and her clothes. Was this heaven? She opened her eyes once more and gasped at the sights before her. She was on a balcony of some kind, with symbols floating above its railings. She tried to touch the symbols. She figured she was dead and the risk would not matter anyways. To her surprise, the symbols bent around her fingers and did not seem to harm her.

Beyond the symbols was an endless night surrounded by never ending rows of towering fortresses full of bright colors she has never seen before. The symbols she traced suddenly vanished and a glowing eye appeared in midair staring at her.

Just where was she? She wondered as the eye used some kind of magic to scan her. It did not harm her, like she thought it would. Instead, a strange incorporeal being floated in its place and began to speak to her. Somehow, Madoka realized the stranger was speaking in Noble.

"Welcome to Neocity, stranger!" The being said with a jolly tone in its voice. Madoka instinctively bowed. How could a celestial being address a maid like her? The being seemed to not notice and continued talking. "Please stay here for a moment as custom agents will be arriving shortly to retrieve you."

"Please," Madoka choked. The being ignored her. "Am I dead? Where am I?"

"Welcome to Neocity, stranger!" It repeated.

Madoka scoffed and ignored the strange apparition and looked down the railings. Beneath her, the towering skyscrapers stretched down into the void. Many flying objects whirred by in every direction. She could not tell if they were animals but they looked like metal birds. They emitted a bright light with a roar that seemed to propel them to wherever they wanted to go. The overwhelming sights horrified her and she started to feel dizzy looking downward so she looked up instead.

Above her head was the same. Those towers were lined with similar balconies spidering along many of their odd asymmetrical walls. Large signs with symbols dotted with moving paintings depicting strange beings similar to that apparition that greeted her. Madoka chuckled. Even in the afterlife she could not read. They were walkways like the one she stood on. She was not even sure where the ground was from this tower. Madoka gasped as the place was suddenly illuminated by a great light source.

She saw a whole world looming above in the night sky with a celestial glow. It was a pure and blue moon. Madoka gasped in awe. It must have been the largest moon she could dream up. It did not match the moons back home but it was beautiful. A massive dark storm flashed on the edge of the moon's horizon. Madoka could not fathom the size of a moon like the one above her. The stars she saw before were not stars at all, but more of those metal birds. Their shadows were easy to see with the blue moon's light. Rain soaked her maid dress and she fiddled with the tear in it.

One of the metal birds flew close to the balcony, terrifying Madoka. It was much bigger than she thought and it blotted the view of the world above her. Was this an angel? She cowered behind a large pot that contained a glowing plant. The angel merely floated nearby before it began to emit a beam of light on the ground. It was casting magic of some kind, forming a circle where the beam landed. Madoka had to shield her eyes from how bright it was.

A woman emerged from the beam of light. Madoka resigned herself from thinking too hard about these things. She was dead, after all. The woman wore a tight dress that reflected and emitted magical light on its own in various lines tracing along its seams. Above her head was a glowing halo that seemed to block the rain from her. Madoka looked at the woman's skin and noticed metallic plates covered most of her face. More intriguing to Madoka were her stunning eyes. They matched Elise's eye color.

Just what kind of afterlife did she end up in? Madoka wondered. The woman approached Madoka tentatively but held up with a smile before speaking, curling her hair around her ear. Her ears were pointed at their tips. An odd flashing ring wrapped around her lobe. Everything here made Madoka's head hurt.

"I don't mean any harm. You can understand me because I have this translater. Who are you, stranger?" She asked in reverent Noble. Madoka gasped as she understood the woman and was about to protest when she interrupted the maid. "Oh, forgive me. Here."

She tapped her metal ear and the halo above expanded to cover the both of them. The rain immediately stopped splashing on her soaked skin.

"Are you... an angel?" Madoka stared at the woman blankly. The woman laughed at the question.

"That's surprisingly forward of you. I don't dislike it. I am CZA-6. You can call me Ella," she smiled. "And you, hon, don't seem to be from around here. Can you tell me a little about yourself?"

"I think..." Madoka said simply, feeling the hole where she got stabbed and killed. "I think the prince killed me."

Ella looked at her quizzically.

"So you're not a cosplayer. Murdered, huh?" Ella asked. "Weird. You seem very much alive to me. However, it seems like you don't belong here yet."

"Yet?" Madoka looked at the strange and tall woman. The woman blushed and smiled but did not answer.

"Let's see," Ella pulled out a tablet and began to write things down with her finger. "Amnesia, traumatic stress from a phantom stab wound, speaks unknown language, odd transdimensional signatures, sterile neutrino deficits..."

Between the woman and the neon city beyond the balcony, Madoka could not tell who was more exotic. Strange banners floated in the air displaying bright symbols Madoka could not read. She was overwhelmed by everything. Ella's left armored eye glowed blue like the eye symbol before.

"Huh," Ella remarked after the magic passed through her. The more Madoka became exposed to this magic, the more she hated it. "You're not really supposed to be here. At least I've never seen anything like you here..."

"What?" Madoka could not understand what Ella meant.

"Oh, not in that way," Ella raised a glowing tablet and pointed at it. Madoka just nodded along. "It's just that... you haven't actually died, you know? I called for some experts. Like some real scientists from the Truth Floor. So we just have to sit tight, okay?"

"Okay," Madoka said. She wanted to ask where she was when the ground rumbled.

Suddenly, one of the fortresses behind her burst into multiple explosions. The ground and balconies began to rumble. Ella looked up with a terrified look on her face. The tablet in her hand fell into the abyss below as another large explosion erupted from another tower. Chaos shook Madoka off her feet and the balcony she was on went up in flames. Madoka found herself careening through the air into the abyss. The blue moon above started forming a dark hole in it and began sinking into itself.

What an odd dream, Madoka thought as she closed her eyes. The fall hurt her stomach and the wind cut into her skin. Maybe the actual afterlife is coming next and hopefully was not anything like this one.

"Madoka!" shouted a voice. Madoka realized she must have dozed off. "Work, dammit. Please. Work!"

Madoka? That is me, Madoka thought in her head. Why would anyone in the afterlife shout like that?

"Madoka! I can't do this without you!"

Madoka felt a hypnagogic jerk seize her. She felt like she was dunked and pulled back out of cold water. The voice was familiar. Her senses returned moments later. It was hot and hard to breathe. Smoke billowed and flames towered in the air and wooden debris lay all around her. Snapping wood groaned nearby from something large pushing through it. She was alive? Madoka knew where she was.

"W-What happened? Where am I?" Madoka opened her eyes. Something illuminated her surroundings. It was her own skin. "Why is my skin glowing?"

"Madoka!" Someone hugged her tightly.

Her memories were fuzzy, but instinct told her that she had to get out of here. She felt herself instead. Elise was holding her!

"Elise!" Madoka held her friend. "I-I didn't expect it to be raining showers of flame and wood in the afterlife."

"I'm glad it worked," Elise drew back and looked her maid over. Madoka noticed that the wounds on her princess were gone. Her own body was covered in burns, ash and scars, yet she was glowing a faint light. What happened to her when she was dead? "I'm sorry I was late in saving you."

She did die, right?

The loud groan of wood splintering and shattering came closer. Above Elise something slithered across the ceiling. Madoka could make out the shape of a twistd and thorny branch tearing the place apart as it moved. Elise stood up and looked at it. She had a bitter look in her face. "I-I will explain later, Madoka, but we have to get out of here! Can you stand?"

It was then Madoka noticed something about herself. She felt better than she ever did before. Her dress was torn and she instinctively covered herself and shot a glare at Elise.

"W-What did you do to me?"

"Out of all the things to worry about," Elise said defensively. "I have a solution for your dresses, okay, but step one of my plan now is that we gotta-"

A flaming chandelier crashed nearby, setting the wood near them ablaze. Madoka got up and was surprised that she could after getting stabbed. Elise looked frantically at the flames and the roots spreading above them. Madoka reached for Elise's hand and took off with her.

"W-Wait, Madoka! Slow down!" Elise was nearly tripping over herself. Madoka noticed she was wearing a traveler's cloak with the Prince's crest emblazoned on it. More of the roof was collapsing. No time, Madoka thought. "Madoka?!"

"Just tell me where to go!" Madoka scooped her princess up in her arms and rushed out of the burning hallway. The hallway caved in as they left. That was too close, Madoka thought as she watched the hallway go up in flames. She heard the clashing of swords in the distance. "Fighting?"

"Brother's army started their coup. The King's soldiers are losing and so will we if we don't hurry out of here," Elise said. "Go left. We should avoid most of the fighting by going the longer route."

"Route to where?"

"The hell you mean where? The hell out of here," Elise clutched onto Madoka's glowing arm. She hated this glow. She felt like she could be seen easily. Madoka quickly rounded left and bursted through weak debris out to the main entrance to the throne room. The twin moons revealed the state of the Palace.

The main entrance to the throne room was the first thing one could see the moment they entered through the gates. Both, however, were covered in thick black vines and thorny roots. The halls themselves were also blocked by rubble. A sickening red glow emanated from the cracks in the vines and gates of the throne room.

"Nasty roots, huh," Elise said, tugging Madoka's arms, signaling her to put her down. Madoka set the princess down. She walked up to the throne room entrance and immediately recoiled from what she saw. She went pale.

"Elise?" Madoka went to her princess. Elise shook her head.

"I wouldn't look in there if I were you," Elise gagged. The look on her face horrified Madoka yet something compelled her to glance inside. Roots were expanding within the room but Madoka learned what their thorns were made out of. Crushed, unrecognizable body parts hung from them. Then she saw the gored bodies of servants and soldiers alike impaled along the thorns of those dark, expanding roots.

Madoka dry-heaved as she took in the sight. A bloody circular pattern surrounded the throne through a gap in the thorns. On it was the... No, Madoka thought. It can't be! The King lay dead on the throne. As the roots writhed, more bodies crunched beneath their weight. Blood and body parts bloomed as they fell like crushed roses and tar mixed together. Madoka could not take her eyes off of the ghastly scene.

"What kind of magic is this?" Madoka barely had the strength to say. She doubled over. She should have stayed dead, she thought as she hyperventilated. Such a sight made her wish she still was.

"Madoka!" Elise grabbed Madoka's shoulders and tore her maid's eyes away from the throne room.

"I wish," Madoka breathed heavily. "I didn't look in there. I should have obeyed you."

"Look at me," Elise's voice was also shaking, but Madoka knew she was trying to be strong for her. Therefore, Madoka looked back at Elise's eyes. The twin moons twinkled in their azure oceans. "We have to make it out of here, okay? We can do this!"

"R-Right," Madoka whispered. She was not going to forget about those mangled bodies anytime soon.

"And you are much stronger now, I think," Elise said, searching for a way out. "This kingdom is ruined by Brother's dark magic, as I predicted, so I umm..."

She pulled out a bag with several strange talismans inside of it. Each glowed with a white light that matched the aura around Madoka's skin. It did not take a smart girl to figure out the correlation between the two glowing auras.

"Did you use those on me?" Madoka was horrified. Elise nodded slowly and Madoka frowned.

"Well, I freaked out, okay? You were like, totally stuck inside of that black root and I had to save you somehow!" She said defensively. "I took the liberty by freeing myself and taking the Divine Treasures out from the Treasury. Turns out if I channel my mana into them, they speak to me and respond."

"A Divine Treasure?"

Those treasures were made by the kind gods and bestowed many powers and blessings upon someone affected by them. Elise shook her head.

"No, I used all of them on you," Elise said. Madoka could tell there was a slight mischievousness in her tone. "All of them, Madoka."

Madoka's jaw dropped at the news. No wonder my body felt wondrously light and stronger, Madoka thought. She had the power of many kind gods' blessings within her veins. She could not help but feel like she did not deserve any of this. Why did the princess not use them on her soldiers or anyone better than her?

"Right," Madoka muttered. She knew the reason why. She was the only one who truly cared for the princess. Perhaps that is why the princess gave her a second chance at life. She marched up to the gate, which was covered in branches.

"Madoka?"

Madoka did not care if these thorns were dark magic or not. She will smash it. She channeled all her strength into a Cherish style round kick. When her foot connected with the thorns, Madoka expected her body to fail but instead the wall gave in and shattered. The gate fell down into a pile of rubble for them to climb on. Elise gawked.

"Okay, uh," Elise said. "I can't believe that worked! Good job!"

"Let's get out of here, princess," Madoka said as she climbed the rubble, extending a hand out to her princess. She realized that the aura glowing around her skin disappeared. The aura probably allowed her to break the thorns in the first place. Elise smiled and took the maid's hand without a second glance back.

It was going to be a long night.

VIII.

The cold wind brushed over her skin as Madoka climbed over the rubble. The stairs and path from the Palace gates were ruined. Roots protruded out of the concrete and roads. As she looked further, she noticed fires and even bigger roots were growing across the entire city. They crushed whatever they grew into. It was then when Madoka realized something: She had no idea where to go. Elise chuckled at Madoka's confused expression.

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"The world's about to get bigger, Madoka!" Elise said. "Step 2 of my plan is this: We have to get the heck out this town. It's got some complications. Brother's magic affected his soldiers. They're uncaring monsters and they're probably creeping and crawling around the streets of Fiara. I saw them cutting anyone down and tossing them to the roots. Like they were feeding whatever was growing in the throne room."

Elise looked angry for a moment.

"I've never even heard of such magic," Madoka said.

"Me neither," Elise said, shying away from the thorny root next to the gate. "It definitely reeks of some demonic type stuff."

"D-Demonic," Madoka choked over the word. Did she truly hear a demon's thoughts?

"Yeah, I walked by some terrible things as I snuck around in the Palace. This whole kingdom has those dark manas floating around it."

The two walked down the steps. The smell of smoke and fires still filled the air. Even the Palace's city was not safe from that magic. People live here, Madoka mused in her head. A massive root tore apart of a section of a nearby row of buildings.

"Are those stores?" Madoka asked. She saw buildings like that back at the towns near the North Estate.

"Welp, those buildings probably have clothing in them," Elise said. "For your, erm, wardrobe malfunction."

Madoka looked down and realized her skin was exposed. She blushed and became embarrassed. As much as those black roots creeped her out, she ducked under one and went inside the nearest store. There were several cloaks like Elise's strewn across the ground. Madoka scooped up a set and threw it on.

"Not much of a shopper, huh?" Elise remarked. She scooped one up and tried it on, tossing the one with her brother's crest on it off. Madoka gasped as she noticed someone was buried under the wreckage where a root pierced.

"Elise," Madoka's voice shook as she pointed at the body. Another dead woman lay upstairs, crushed by a vine.

"A lot of people fled this kingdom already," Elise remarked at the sight. "Others are unlucky like this... I don't wanna think about them being locked away in their houses."

Madoka still apologized to the dead people she was stealing from and prayed for the kind gods to give them peace. She shuddered as she looked back at the dead. Madoka was not sure if she would ever get used to the sight of dead people yet she's seen a lot of them today and even experienced death itself. She stuffed the feelings deep within herself and headed through a room to see if they could take more clothes.

"Hold on, Madoka," Elise said, fumbling with the bag of talismans she had. "I got this, like, super OP item."

She fished out one of the talismans and began to manifest her magic ring. Madoka was mesmerized by its beautiful white color. It matched the twin moons' light. Wondrous strands of whites covered the talisman and began to form a hexagonal pattern under Elise's hand as she held it. It was a strange portal. Elise tossed multiple cloaks into the portal.

"They vanished?" Madoka gawked as the princess reached into the spell's portal and took out a maid dress out from it.

"See? I grabbed as many as I possibly could from your room," Elise laughed. She tossed the uniform to Madoka. Madoka put it on immediately and scavenged a more fitting traveler's cloak to wear over it. "It's the little things I suppose. This Item Storage talisman is totally wicked, right? I can shove stuff in here and pull them out if I think about them. I wonder what the Devs were thinking when they added it."

"Devs?" Madoka continued searching the upstairs rooms for something.

"It's, ah, just a little joke," Elise blew off the question, looking at Madoka oddly. "Hey so, uh, what are ya looking for?"

"You said that those talismans speak to you, right?" Madoka asked, ignoring the question. "T-To think that you can just use them..."

"Yeah," Elise said, inspecting them. None of them were organized neatly in the bag she held. They were for a Hero, right? Madoka noted that when they were safe she would sort them out properly. "They sort of belong to those altars. Though the one we visited did not have such a talisman. I guess it's just another lame side quest like 'collect all the things.' Bah!"

Madoka ignored the princess's ramblings and tore through one of the drawers. Nothing. If this was a clothing shop then they must have what she was looking for. She rummaged around and found it. A sewing kit. Satisfied, she tossed it to Elise.

"Smart," Elise remarked. "We have to get out of here. You hear that, right?"

Madoka heard the thundering march of soldiers nearby. The two ducked under a root and looked out the window. Several groups of soldiers marched out onto the streets ahead. Vines tore through the ground and nearby houses as they walked. Those vines seemed to be growing wherever the soldiers walked. Elise looked at Madoka, her eyes shifting back and forth from her nervousness. It was evident that they were searching for something.

"Do you think they're looking for us?" Elise mouthed. Madoka nodded, noticing Elise's skin was clean and free from the wounds she used to have. Ash stained her clothes but she was still beautiful in every way. Sensing Madoka's stare, Elise blushed and tugged her hand. "Don't look at me like that!"

Madoka kept staring anyways until a noise shook the window.

The soldiers started making their way towards the shopping district. They were in no shape to fight anyone, so the pair snuck out through a hole in the wall that led behind the shop. Madoka squeezed out on to the street while Elise nimbly slipped through.

Madoka sighed. She was still growing taller and did not notice.

Madoka had to scoop the princess up again since her newfound strength made it difficult for Elise to keep up. There were roots knotting and twisting the once peaceful streets of Fiara's capital but further they ran from the palace the less there were. Elise led them to the empty main street again and Madoka looked back to see what became of the once beautiful Palace. Her heart sank at the sight. Fiara's Palace was set ablaze, her walls covered in black roots filled with darkness. Sickening leaflike veins spread from the roots to the outer walls, sprouting more tendrils out of them.

"Tch," Elise clicked her tongue and jumped from Madoka's arms. Her eyes were full of anger as she stared at the tarnished Palace. "What is my Brother even thinking? It doesn't even make sense. He was destined for the throne anyways. Why make a mess of things?"

A commotion roared at the end of the main road closest to the Palace. Elise's eyes widened. There were more from behind the girls. It seemed like a battle between the King's soldiers and the Prince's was going to take place.

"Enemies to the north, enemies to the south," Elise remarked. "Too many enemies. Not enough time."

"What should we do?" Madoka asked. Elise looked around.

"We cut through the alleyways," she pointed. "There should be more places to hide. The two armies will fight here and we can go around them."

It sounded like a good plan. Madoka and Elise ran off through the alleyway and cut towards a street leading to the Palace city's outskirts. Just a little more and they would get out of here, Madoka sighed. The houses were eerily empty, the occasional pair of eyes would peak out at the girls before the blinds shut. Ordinary people did not deserve to go through this chaos, Madoka thought as they ran. A part of her heart wanted to help them but she did not know how. This city seemed doomed from the darkness corrupting it.

As they reached the outer gates, Madoka found Elise's predictions to be right. The two armies were fighting. The girls tucked away in the underneath a small alcove in the wall next to the gate entrance. The barracks connected to the gate was locked. Madoka was thinking, but she did not like that and wondered aloud.

"If that's the King's army, wouldn't they help us?"

Elise shook her head.

"I'm not willing to find out," she said. "We're like, 13 years old, right? They'd take advantage of us for sure."

That thought made Madoka shudder. She supposed she was too naive about the world and that Elise was right.

"Let's get out of here," Elise said, pointing at the gate. "That bridge is the way out, then we can see what my next step can be."

"You don't even know?"

"Look, my plan only extended to getting out of here," Elise complained. "The finer details about what after—"

War horns blasted in the distance. There were even more soldiers headed through the gates. Madoka heard a lot of horses' furious thoughts, but with her new senses the cacophony of thoughts did not hurt her head at all.

"Lots of war horses on the march," Madoka told Elise. They peered around the main gate to see an entire army headed their way and pulled back. The pair would be caught for sure, right?

"Great," she said sarcastically. She looked below the barracks and noticed the sewers and looked at Madoka. She did not like that look.

"You seriously want us to jump in there?" Madoka shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Elise said. "I see a hole we can get through to the other side."

"Ugh!" Madoka did not want to get that gross but followed Elise down the stairs to get ready to jump in. There were soldiers from who knows army headed from the alleyway. Suddenly, the houses and streets burst with violent roots causing even more chaos. The King's invading army started shouting and drawing flaming arrows. She was distracted. Why did they shoot fire arrows at their own people? Madoka was still hesitant to jump in the murky water. Elise sighed.

"I don't care how bad it smells, get in there, Chewy!" Elise said. Madoka was distracted by that name. "We gotta git!"

"Who's Chewy?"

"Nevermind that! Move, you big oaf!" Elise shoved her the best she could, causing Madoka to tumble into the sewer. Slop sloshed on her hands and knees as the disgusting water's malodorous stink penetrated her nose. Madoka was overwhelmed by the disgusting slush on her legs.

Elise splashed in after her.

"You... pushed me in!"

"Yeah, I did, Madoka. We go through here," Elise snapped. The sewage gate was open on both sides, but the way was waist deep and disgusting. "You clean like all the time! Jeez, I didn't expect you of all people to be grossed out by this!"

"I didn't expect you not to be grossed out!"

"What do you think we were supposed to do there?" Elise helped her up with a grimy hand. "There was, like, a thousand guys up there! Not to mention those creepy ass vines!"

They waded in between the small sewage gap and bickered for a moment under the noise from trampling and war horns. Madoka noticed the shadow of a soldier from the Prince's army passing nearby and warned Elise. They pressed against the slimy walls of the sewer gate, unable to move since he was almost close enough to see them. Madoka's pulse pounded as they waited in the murky water. She caught a terrifying glimpse of the soldier. He seemed like he was made out of the dark vines, twisting his face in shades of char and wood. Moments later, vines burst through the alleyway. They seemed to be under his command. A few moments later he finally left and joined his fellow comrades to fight the large army.

"Okay," Elise said. Madoka scoffed. "Nae waah! Don't tell me you're mad at me for this grossness!"

Madoka crossed her arms and scoffed again.

"L-Look," Elise protested. "Next bath's on me. I will scrub you down squeaky clean. Madoka, please. At least let's get out this gross moat."

With another cantankerous sigh, Madoka followed the princess out onto dry land. She immediately wanted out of her disgusting clothes. The two trudged uphill for quite a distance, the same ones they rode by on their way back from the North Estate. Madoka wondered if they could go back there after all.

"I-I think it's safe for now," Elise said, pulling the storage talisman out of her bag. She produced a few clothes from the storage talisman's portal and began to tear off her sewage covered cloak. Madoka did the same, flinging the nasty clothing off the side of the hill. Soon, both the girls were naked under the twin moons and stars.

"We made it," Madoka breathed. She realized how tired she has become during they escape. Her newfound strength was something. If it was the old her, she would have collapsed at the sight of those awful vines. Elise wrapped her arms around Madoka. "Elise?"

"I said I owed you a bath, right? We're ridiculous right now," she laughed. Then Madoka felt cold soap water trickle down her backside. She shivered as Elise's smooth hands ran up and down her skin. Madoka gave in and let her touch wherever she wanted. Soap was a Noble's luxury, but now Madoka was not sure what they were anymore. "Absolutely ridiculous."

She hummed along as she cleaned Madoka and then she started on herself. Madoka noticed the multiple orbs of soap water floating above them. Elise made her strange magic seem effortless. After the two washed themselves down and dressed for the night, Elise pulled a large cloth out and laid it across a dry patch of grass for them to sit down on. It was a clear night but Madoka was not sure if they could rest here. What if someone attacks them?

"What are we going to do next?" Madoka asked quietly. Her feet gave in and she eventually sat down. Elise sat down next to Madoka without saying anything. She instead looked out towards the burning kingdom. Lots of people died in there, Madoka thought as she watched the chaotic flames rise to the sky.

"Step three... is to... let's see..." Elise mumbled. Madoka looked into her friend's eyes. They were watering and overflowing with crystalline tears. Her lips quivered as she collapsed into Madoka's arms and weeped. "Step three is to cry."

Soon both girls were weeping out under the stars and moons on a hillside.

IX.

Rain poured.

Madoka heard it pounding but she did not feel it on her skin. She stirred then yawned and then stirred again, feeling the softness of the pillow beneath her head. Wait, Madoka sat up and cracked an eye open. Pillow?

Her foot felt a wooden stake and then bumped into a tough cloth. She was in a tent. Was she kidnapped? Or was she actually dead? It did not matter to Madoka since she has not slept decently in a long time. Those stupid voices were gone for now and Madoka preferred it that way. She wanted to lay back down but something interrupted her.

Distant thumping noises boomed somewhere, sending a shuddering wind through the tent. Madoka was naked. She sighed and shivered. At least that was a sign that Elise was somewhere nearby. Her body was full of burn scars and imperfections that surely would be an affront to anyone's eyes. Anyone besides Elise. Madoka could not imagine what Elise saw in her.

More screeches occurred as if they were in a jarring competition with the rain, then a lightning's flash crescendoed down into a coda of rain and silence. Madoka was awake now and she sat all the way up. A neatly folded maid uniform and a traveler's heavy garb with boots rested next to her. Kidnappers would definitely not leave those out for her, Madoka mused as she inspected each piece of clothing.

Another boom attacked the peacefulness of the rain. Madoka guessed the palace was still under siege from all the ruckus. She slipped on each article of clothing slowly and tentatively crawled to the exit of the tent. The wind pushed the walls in like a sail rocking in a storm. Through the gaps, Madoka could see the sky. It was grey and full of stormy clouds that pushed into each other like they were swirled by a wooden spoon. She sat back down with a sudden desire to not get out of the tent.

Suddenly, Elise popped through the tent's folds, startling Madoka.

"Ohayo!" She cheered. "Woman of my dreams!"

"E-Elise!" Madoka fell back. The folds of the tent hid most of Elise's face, but the princess smirked at her successful surprise attack.

"You truly are beautiful," she said. "Now c'mon out! C'mon!"

With that, Elise withdrew out of the tent and Madoka was alone again. Outside of that tent was her worst nightmare, truly. The outdoors and beyond. She remembered Elise's words: The world was only going to get bigger. Madoka pouted. She hated all of this change. However, she hated thinking and dwelling on things the most. With a scoff, she pushed herself out of the tent. The day will be wasted if she does not clean up something. Whether her act or a hallway need some cleaning — either will do.

Ash and rain clogged Madoka's nose as she crawled out onto wet grass. The sight of a campfire's remains sizzled in ashes before her and beyond that stood the princess. She was looking out at something. Her long hair was rain-slick and tussled, but Madoka became distracted by the burning Palace in the far distance. Flames and shattered buildings were seemingly all that remained in that desolate place, Madoka could see the wreckage in full detail even far away. She remained silent but Elise knew she was there. Just what was she thinking? What were her plans from now on?

"No more," Elise said solemnly. She did not turn to face Madoka, but instead her magic ring formed around her heart as the wind beat on her cloak. "No longer am I a princess."

She was going to pull something out of the talisman's portal. Steel flashed in her hand as she raised it upward. It was a knife! Madoka feared the worst and was about to cry out for Elise to stop whatever she was going to do. It was too late. Instead, the blade found its mark: The princess's hair. She turned to face her with strands of her blonde hair scattering in the wind like butterfly swarms migrating among a storm.

Madoka gawked at Elise's new look and instinctively grabbed her own long, red hair. Of all the schemes the girl could come up with, Madoka did not expect her to chop her hair off.

The Royal Aura surrounding her was gone!

"Ah, that feels so good!" The self-proclaimed former Princess of Fiara conjured up a glass mirror with her strange talisman, inspecting her new hairstyle. How much stuff did she have in there? Madoka wondered, trying to distract herself from the fact that Elise gave up her status. Kind gods, does she not know that Royal blonde hair is a symbol of their birthright? She was now just a Noble, in the eyes of heretics.

The former princess gave another stretch and a breath of relief before leaning over Madoka. She offered the knife to Madoka in a gesture to cut her hair, who shook her head vigorously in refusal. Elise deposited the knife back into the portal and shrugged.

"Suit yourself. It's so reinvigorating! No more princess bullshit! How do I look?"

"Ridiculous," Madoka breathed at the sight. Elise's short and hacked hair struck a chord in her heart as a wild attraction kindled within her, though she suppressed it and kept that response to herself. The wild look was a sight to behold; it was a testament to how beautiful a Royal could be. Irrational anger took over though at the princess's declaration, however.

"I know, right?" Elise did a twirl. "I cannot ask you to do anything anymore as a servant, Madoka. Still-"

"Don't you try to get me to leave you," Madoka started to cry, feeling a sudden grief overcome her. Behind her princess was her home, burning even in the pouring rain. And now, her hair flew away to join the ashes polluting the air. "Foolish look or not, I am still your servant. I want to serve you as you are! As a princess! Are you going to give this all up so easily?!"

Elise watched her cry for a moment and stood with a dark look on her face. A feeling colder than the storm washed over Madoka as the former princess knelt to match her gaze. There was ruthlessness, coldness and everything imaginable in those blue eyes. "Elise?"

"What is there to rule?" she demanded to know. Madoka shrunk. "My visions have come true! Everything and everyone we know is dead. The palace is razed and corrupted. Christ's sake, I have no subjects, no missives, and nothing to my name. Only useless prophecies that I failed to prevent in all aspects. All is dead. Dead, dead, dead! I tried to warn Father of my dear brother's betrayal, but look at them! Dead!"

Madoka felt the former princess's cold hands feel her cheeks with a sudden forcefulness. It was not enough to hurt but she directed her gaze to the burned down Palace. Elise withdrew her hands and wiped tears from her eyes. The maid felt that same aura from their last duel back during the Summer of Light.

"I'm not done yet!" Elise's voice shook. The former princess's emotions lowered her killing intent. She must have realized how powerful her emotions were still around her. "I-I have much more to give! So much! But I know one thing, Madoka. I can't live in this world alone. So I must once again ask of you, no, I—"

Elise did the unthinkable and planted her knees and head into the ground. She bowed before a horrified Madoka.

"I can't go on in this cruel world without you. Please, I beg of you to come with me. Anywhere. As a friend, anyth- Ow!"

Madoka flicked her forehead.

"You. Absolute. Idiot!" Madoka said through clenched teeth. Elise stopped her blubbering. It was time to give her a taste of how her killing intent felt like.

"Wha-?" Elise's eyes suddenly grew wide and childish. Even after everything they have gone through so far, she still had a child-like wonder to her beautiful irises. The girl was shrinking under her own pressuring aura. How's that, she wanted to scoff.

"Don't give me that shit!" Madoka sighed. "It's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me."

A small but growing smile blessed her face. Genuine joy spread its wings in both of their hearts as Elise jumped up and embraced Madoka. Madoka's head swam. Elise was definitely a headache but she was warm and soft to the touch even with her chopped up hair.

"You really mean it?" Elise whispered in Madoka's ear. Her soft hands were tangled in Madoka's hair. She had a sweet fragrance that tugged at Madoka's senses. She could be in this embrace forever but it was time to get going.

"Of course I do, idiot," Madoka finally responded. Elise reeled from Madoka's curtness.

"Eh?" She looked at Madoka.

"I will stay with you even if you started this," Madoka simply sighed, releasing Elise and smoothing her cloak off.

"Nae waaah! No way!" Elise complained. "YOU started it, you work-a-holic maid!"

"Well, if you weren't so childish I wouldn't have to work so hard," Madoka chided her. "Plus—"

"Plus?" Elise said with indignation. "Oh so we're using English now, huh?"

"I am technically no longer a maid," Madoka shrugged. "Now help me with this tent!"

"Don't you 'technically' me!" Elise said as she aggressively tore one stake of the tent out of the ground giving Madoka a glare. "We still have a lot of English to learn, bucko! You are going to be FLUENT."

"Bucko?" Madoka ripped the tarp off the stakes with one hand.

"Yeah," Elise said with fake animosity. "I'm going to teach you all the swearwords. Each and every one of them!"

"What if I don't want to learn?"

"Oh," Elise paused after awhile. She tucked the tent into the portal. At the strange sight of such a large object vanishing into thin air, Madoka decided she no longer wanted to know how much Elise could actually store inside the portal. "One more thing!"

"What is it?" Madoka asked.

"Audrey," Elise said that strange name again, lowering her head sheepishly as if she was revealing an embarrassing secret. "Audrey Dalion. This is... the real me. I guess."

"Audrey Dalion," Madoka said the name, then repeated it in her head. Audrey Dalion. It felt more like an intimate invitation or a friendship deepening their bonds even closer. Audrey Dalion. A name more wondrous than any name she has heard in the land.

"You'll, uh, get used to it. Audrey Dalion," Audrey said, shifting awkwardly before looking at the maid with her pure eyes. "Pleased to finally meet you, Madoka."

"The pleasure is mine, Audrey."