I.

She got used to a lot of things this Winter and Fall.

She got used to people losing their homes.

She even got used to people losing their lives.

Crying is useless, the red haired girl thinks to herself.

We are useless, Madoka punches a tree down.

When the soft hands wrap around her,

she turns to see her friend's worried eyes.

And then she cannot stop the flow of tears once again.

Victory was hollow.

The two faded from exuberance to silence fairly quickly and got to work without a word. Madoka pushed the bear in the storage portal effortlessly and the two vacated the battlefield quickly. She must have lost track of time thinking of the fight with the bear. On how she was so weak that even the princess was in danger. Elise, or Audrey, had magic that was capable of being called miracles. Her control over water, even if they were just numerous bubbles, had a solemn weight that testified in favor of their wielder's power. She did not know it but the maid simply did not want to dwell on it any longer.

Madoka caught a rodent with her bare hand to test whether living animals could be stored in the storage. To both of the girls' surprise, Madoka's hand phased right through the hexagonal portal with the squirming rodent still in her grip, undeposited into the swirling void. She sighed and let it slip away into the snowy paths.

The next morning, Madoka followed Audrey quietly. She appeared to know where she was going. But Madoka did not and could not help but ponder if Audrey did not as well. Secretly, or perhaps obviously, Madoka felt like she was going mad. She knew she was in way too far over her head by promising the princess to serve her forever. It was a difficult task to do each new day. The journey was an onslaught of being burdened and trying not to be a burden. It was an endless balancing act on a scale of noble and slave.

Yet the two silently carried onwards, from one rugged mountain path to another. They all seemed to spiral to the heavens and now a crossing stood between steep cliffs and treacherous switchbacks that threatened them with eternal winter below should they slip. She held out her hand and took the lead, wiping her nervousness and snow off her robe. Audrey, surprisingly, took it without a worry shattering her beautiful face.

You could waste your life searching for safety in the country, Madoka thought grimly. Yet, the princess was the country. Surely they could have found survivors living faraway from the Palace, but for whatever reason Audrey chose these mountains instead. Was it cowardice? Her prophecies told her survival was not an option if she chose to find resistance in the surrounding towns? She recalled the burned village they came across, the others they passed by. Each were like withered candles whose smoke could not even reach the sky from their mountain view. Perhaps safety was a memory and one she had to keep for the girl's sake.

One she could never let go for others, she gritted her teeth and pressed on through her doubts. If they find others and don't die up in this forsaken place, that is.

Madoka found herself holding the former princess's hand more often as they traversed the snow covered mountain paths. She would lead Audrey and would go wherever she pointed. An eternal staircase of snow and cold awaited her on this path, once again. It winded into a blank and steep incline of snow, really, for the two girls' boots crunched into the snow leaving prints under threadbare boughs of trees scorned by the weather. The sky is grey, gauzed with foglight and the fairy-like powdery tendrils of ice that resembled tinsel. Madoka heard from the thoughts of hidden creatures that night was descending like her heart felt looking at the cliffsides below.

She could no longer feel her feet in her boots, no longer could see the smoke rising from the fallen palace or destroyed villages, and not even the hints of green hillsides. Only trees, snow and the uncaring night sky kept the two company. Audrey suddenly stopped walking, her hand slipping from Madoka's. She turned. She was doubled over, her arm now covering her eyes.

"El- Audrey?" Madoka rushed to Audrey's side.

"I-I can't do this!" Audrey screamed. Her eyes were searing their anguish up at the clouds above. Then she slammed her head against the ground. A gash of crimson splotched the snow, like red bird feed scattered across a silken blanket. Madoka restrained her from hitting her head against the ground, so the former princess wailed in Madoka's arms instead. "I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't! Madoka, I..."

"Stop!" Madoka held onto her friend's head, ripping off a part of her sleeve and wrapping it around the former princess's fresh head wound. The wind's blistering chill clawed itself on Madoka's exposed skin, but she promised Elise, no, Audrey her heart will remain the same. Of all her own sufferings and failures falling like a glacier shattering and crumbling into fine ice, the screaming princess in her arms' own sorrow were avalanches tumbling into a frozen sea dwarfing Madoka's personal issues. Her tears solidified into ice before they stuck to the ground.

Her mind must be slipping into the cold oblivion because she was alternating between both of the former princess's names.

"Audrey, Elise, Audrey!" Madoka held onto her words like a prayer to ward off her wailing princess's defeat. She must hold onto the princess for dear life, Madoka concluded in her mind as Audrey slammed her head into Madoka's shoulder again. She embraced Audrey tightly while she screamed until her voice grew hoarse. "Audrey, Elise, Audrey!"

"I... can't... do... this..."

Audrey whispered into the night. Madoka's exposed arm must be purple by now, but she vowed to remain her friend's faithful servant with or without her arm. Ah, Madoka looked up and thought to herself as her vision faded.

There was starlight above them still and the night did not care if they slip away forever.

"I must look pathetic, don't I? Whining even after..." Audrey mumbled to herself. Madoka must have blacked out but she pretended to be asleep still. "I used two more charges on you already... Down to four left. My spells aren't getting any better and I no longer have any visions of the future. What good am I to anyone, huh?"

"I-I'm sorry for not keeping you safe. Or talking much," Madoka grunted as she sat up. It was day before the sunrise. Or evening when the moons were leaving. Madoka did not care. Audrey was surprised that she was awake. "I was blaming you for my own shortcomings in my foolish thoughts in my head and I never knew you were suffering—"

"It's okay, Madoka," Audrey affirmed the maid. It did not quiver or tear up like before and Madoka liked that. "I just... had a bit of a mental block back there. You know, I say 'I hate this world' but I really don't mean it. I have all these big expectations of myself, magic is real, and I have potential! Or so I thought. I dropped the ball in a real battle."

She looked at the fire bitterly.

"You kept me alive," Madoka told her brooding princess. "That's good enough."

"I wish I could say I will make it worth your time," Audrey sighed. "But I feel like I'm a fake. A lie, leading you to nothing but trouble."

"Stop wallowing, then," Madoka scoffed, halting her princess's words. Audrey squeaked. She took the princess's hands and stared at those beautiful eyes. "I am your servant, remember? You have been leading me all this time."

Audrey was about to complain in her usual self but she sat back and sighed.

"But I wish my spells were more effective," Audrey brushed snow with her boot. "My patented all-powerful bubblebeam was worthless!"

"I vowed," Madoka went on, ignoring her strange words. "To protect you no matter what."

Madoka released her hand and traced Audrey's stomach with her hands down to her waist. Her arm was no longer frozen and only rough cloth was between her princess's skin.

"M-Madoka!?" Audrey stammered, glancing nervously at her maid. "W-What are you—?"

"Do it," Madoka looked down at the storage talisman.

"H-Hai," Audrey's core flickered and the storage portal opened. In a flash, Madoka stood up and took an object out of the portal. A knife. "W-What are you going to do with that? We can portion out the food, ya know? Eh?"

With one hand on the knife and one on her last braid, Madoka heard the swish of the blade behind her and felt the weight of her hair loosen. Red strands of hair fluttered in the wind and Madoka tossed the braid in the flames. Her former princess gawked at her as she sat back down.

"I could kiss you right now," Audrey said dangerously, stealing glances at Madoka's new hairstyle. "Y-You're... hot! Why did you? What did you-!"

The sight of Audrey's beautiful eyes glittering with the streak of stars in the cold sky above made Madoka's heart pound, but she did not do or say anything more. The sound of her stuttering made her want to laugh but she already took a risk and remained still. The princess's and Madoka's hair lengths matched now. Wind swept her hair aside easily but Audrey's smile prevailed through snow and ice. Madoka felt her cheeks go red but she was satisfied. If she liked her without the braids, she guessed it was fine.

"I will be fine whenever I am with you," Audrey vowed.

"And I with you, Audrey," Madoka scoffed, folding her arms and looking away. "I did it because the braid got weighty on one side and not for your appro—"

"Don't ruin the mood!" Audrey said with a sigh. "Gahhhh, okay! I'm going to bed!"

With that, Audrey dove into the tent and spoke not a word after that but for some reason Madoka knew she was staying up a little more.

Spirits were higher in the morning. Madoka thanked the kind gods for that. Despite how annoying Audrey could be, she hated the silence and awkwardness the last days brought and preferred her friend's rambling. Even if Madoka herself did not have much to offer in the passing conversations. Audrey was chattering a lot about the bear as they hiked.

"You got a wild look on ya," Audrey pointed at her hair. Madoka chuckled because she thinks the same everytime she sees her friend's hair. "You roar like a cheetah and can smash through trees and even that damn beast's legs like nothing! I don't wanna know what it was infected with but yeah. Nothing says anything about diseases and parasites in my books."

"What is a cheetah?" Madoka was embarrassed for some reason so she did not want to actually know. "Please, your spells could also cut the parasite."

"They're not really spells, but more of me manipulating the particle— Anyways, they're not complex enough!" Audrey sighed. "I just feel useless."

"You can use three elements," Madoka reminded her. "That's more than most people. Probably."

"Nevermind that!" Audrey rubbed the bandage on her forehead. "The truth is, I don't know if you know that you are very powerful. I can't even keep up, you know? All I got is like three spells and Cherish-style dodges. Ain't that an awful character build?"

Madoka was about to argue some more but rumbling was heard above their heads. An aerial attack? Audrey scanned the cloud activity for anything suspicious.

"What's wrong?" Madoka doubted her axe can solve this new problem.

"Storm's a-brewing," Audrey remarked. "We gotta move quickly. Uh, like now!"

Another loud rumble occured. Was it another bear? Something loud was approaching them but Madoka did not sense any thoughts. Audrey took off towards a ridge. Madoka learned the source of the rumbling as she chased after Audrey. Large chunks of snow began falling from the mountainsides above. The snow was much further up but Madoka would not be fooled by the distance.

"We've got to get on the other side of that ridge," Audrey shouted. "This mountain ain't up to no good."

"Speak Noble, please!" Madoka begged as they moved.

"We gotta move! Avalanche inbound!"

And so they marched quickly. Madoka could see chunks of snow falling off other mountainsides like heavy wet blanket quilts across from where they stood. So this is a "mountain range," Madoka swatted snowflakes out of her face. The peaks of the other mountains seemed suspiciously smaller than the ridge they scaled across. It was quickly turning nightmarish and visibility was getting lower. Audrey stuck her hand behind her for Madoka.

"Take it, take it, take it!" Audrey reached out desperately. Madoka grabbed it just in time as the path she was on was swallowed by snow. It was fast! The two felt along the ridgeway until an opening showed itself. "A cave?"

Madoka felt like they were quite over their heads at this point but she had no choice but to get her princess out of here. A cave with potential danger was better than a dark storm.

"Let's get inside," Madoka shouted over the rush. She still kept her voice determined and that was all Audrey needed. She was her servant and she will try to endure for her friend's sake. She shoved the girl could say anything into the mouth of the cave. Snow piled up and threatened to cover them so she kept forcing the girl to move.

"Waah!" Audrey finally cried out. She was wailing but Madoka realized that in the dark hollow her princess was the only one making noise.

"Shush," Madoka snapped. Audrey shrieked in surprise but realized she as safe. The wind and chaos were beyond the packed snow at the entrance but sounded like a quiet echo.

"Welp," Audrey muttered. "You shoulda stopped me from whining like a baby if it was quiet already. It's embarrassing, man."

She turned to face the darkness as Madoka's eyes adjusted. The maid sighed. Audrey could be a little more serious, she thought as she sat up and brushed herself off. Especially now, since they were now trapped alone in this horrible cave.

II.

"We're pretty high up already. Although..." Audrey sighed, tapping the snow that caved them in. It was hard as ice and their breath fogged it like glass. "This guy..."

She withdrew Ares from her bag. There was something peculiar about it. Its eye was shaking and strained. It was if it was searching for something. More oddly and strangely like Ares, a white glow surrounded the statuette's form. Has this been guiding her the whole time?

"It's glowing?"

"Yeah," Audrey said. "It hasn't stopped glowing and shaking for a couple of hours now. Which means... we're probably coming up on something."

Audrey shivered. Madoka only had light armor on under her cloak but she felt the flames burning within her. Still, Madoka moved to take her cloak off and offered it to her friend. When she did, she realized the scar above her heart still ruined her skin. Audrey made a noise in protest.

"N-No need. S-Sorry for worrying you," she mustered, pulling a layer out from her portal. She was all bundled up like a babe. Madoka wanted to hold her but kept that to herself. "How are you not cold with only those garbs on? Damn, the fighter job class is overpowered..."

Madoka shrugged.

"So I take it we stay here for the night?" Madoka stretched. They've been walking for awhile since the bloody hills. Audrey looked further in the crevice.

"I guess," She said. "You don't hear any spooky things in here, do you?"

Madoka shook her head and it was decided. There was a deeper cave further within. The crevice was icy and ancient with no signs of anything entering it recently. Audrey could slip in easily but Madoka got stuck going first. Audrey started giggling.

"Step-sis?" Audrey asked in a strange joking manner at Madoka's compromised position. "What are you doing, step-sis?"

Madoka was too preoccupied with her current predicament to worry about the meaning behind the joke.

"A-Audrey!" Madoka whined. "D-Don't look! Or help me!"

Why must she be too big? Madoka never felt so embarrassed about herself. Her frame was not like the younger noble ladies who were lithe and graceful. Her frame was earned by training and strength. When she thinks about herself, she finds the person staring back at her in the mirror as someone she is proud of and ashamed of at the same time.

With this body alone, Madoka has weathered those awful nights with nobles, shook both rain and sand off, trained with a brutal Lord and a militant Head Maid. She was not like the plump and rich noble women, she was powerful and tempered by the forge of life.

So why in this moment with her friend's laughter did she feel like this way? She would rather be a shell from the sense of shame. Her silence was noticed by Audrey. She could not see Audrey's face but at the moment Madoka did not want to.

"S-Sorry," Audrey said. "I'll help you through. Might be a bit uncomfortable, though."

"Whatever," Madoka grumbled, swallowing her insecurities. There were more dangerous things to worry about. "Get me through or help me out."

"Okay! Three! Two! One!"

"W-Wait, Audrey!" Madoka hesitated after what she saw but it was too late.

At the final count, Madoka felt the full force of Audrey's arms on her bum. The maid squeezed through and slid further down the hollow's ice laden incline. She screamed as she careened down into darkness.

"Madoka!" Audrey's concerned voice echoed above her. The volume grew quieter and drowned out as she slid.

Ice shards sprayed Madoka's face as she descended rapidly. Perhaps she should have told Audrey to pull her from the crack above instead of pushing her in. She tried to dig her hands into the ice to stop her fall but to no avail. The pain was meaningless to her but she realized she was fast approaching the edge of the slope. A small gap above a pitch black depth was between her and a solid wall made of ice.

If Madoka could groan she would. Feeling the free fall curl her stomach before crashing into the wall, she guarded her head and braced for impact.

"Shit," was all that she could muster.

She was waiting for the pain to fracture her body but it did not come. What was going on? Madoka watched the wall break on her and she tumbled through. She skipped off hard rocks like a skipping stone across a lake and ricocheted off another wall.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Still, she did not know if she was flying too fast and the pain simply has not caught up yet. So she lay there out of breath.

"Madoka!" Audrey's voice carried from somewhere above her. "Whoa, whoa!"

She heard the skidding of boots scrape somewhere close by. Madoka was waiting for death or something bad to fall upon her but the familiar white glow illuminated the floor beneath her. This time, even her clothes were fine. She inspected herself and she was alive!

"Thank you, Ares," Madoka prayed. Audrey tumbled near her, landing on her butt. "Thanks, Audrey."

"Ow," she felt her back. Madoka sprang up immediately and checked on the former princess. In her hand was the shimmering, shivering talisman of the kind god Ares.

"Princess? Are you hurt?" Madoka felt her friend.

"It's Audrey," Audrey protested, but acquiesced from Madoka's worried look. She smiled with a radiance that beamed enough to warm the entire cave up. "I'm fine, you workaholic maid. Thank god I managed to buff you in time and you didn't fall down there. I'm not so sure that I wanted to find out the terminal velocity of a human on this world yet... Madoka?"

Madoka hugged Audrey. She can say anything she wants about Madoka.

"You saved me again," Madoka whispered into Audrey's ears.

"Awww don't act like this, Madoka," Audrey pouted. "I don't know what to do when you're like this! I had a lot of restraint back then when you were stuck!"

Madoka did not let go and embraced her tighter.

"M-Mercy, uncle! Uncle!" Audrey slapped Madoka's back. "Can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry," Madoka finally let go of her.

The two laughed for a moment before realizing that they were stuck in the cave together.

"Welp," Audrey said, wiping off herself from all the ice. Madoka swatted her hands away when she attempted to clean off Madoka. "Suit yourself then."

She brushed herself off. Light only came from Madoka's aura. The girls inspected their gear. The talismans somehow survived and since Madoka had the protection of Ares her own weapons did not harm her as she tumbled head first through the ice wall. Audrey looked at the wall that Madoka crashed in before pulling a torch from the storage portal.

With a snap of a finger, Audrey cast her strange fire magic on it. Madoka considered herself lucky with how many miracles Audrey was capable of creating. Madoka was still scared of the fires, however, flinching as Audrey raised the torch to see the wall.

"This seems man-made," Audrey traced the ice-encased wall. "The stone doesn't match the cave. Perhaps if I..."

"What are you trying to do?" Madoka looked at the dark walls. Only the fire's light reflected off the icy surface. Audrey placed her hand on the ice. "Careful!"

Madoka was now painfully aware of what the cold could do to flesh. She was not a smart girl by any means, but it was capable of freezing her own arm off. However, she also knew that Audrey was not an ordinary person. Slowly, the ice around her hand melted away.

"Back away," Audrey leapt back with surprising agility. Madoka followed. All of a sudden, the ice covering the stone broke and collapsed in sheets as the melted area from Audrey's hand spread.

"So you have been practicing your Cherish movements," Madoka commented on her movements. A loud cracking noise reverberated throughout the cave as the last sheet of ice shattered on the ground. Audrey suddenly became bashful.

"So what if I have been?" She said with a sigh. "Got to keep up with you somehow."

Madoka could say the same in regard to Audrey's abilities and cleverness. Despite her tantrums awhile ago, she realized she might feel jealous of not being able to wield magic. She would never admit it. The wall caught her attention when all the excess ice slid off and joined the slushy puddle below.

"This is..." Audrey stared at the wall. " A mural? Fresco? Maybe those mean the same thing. Anyways, wow!"

The artwork was unlike anything of the Palace, Madoka observed.

"Do you have any idea what we're looking at, Audrey?" Madoka stared at it.

Strange symbols surrounded the mural which consisted of many strange drawings. Audrey contemplated at the sight.

"It appears to be a drawing of an old battle of some kind," she guessed. "The small figures look like they're fighting off a strange being. I'm not sure what the big ring above them all means. And these symbols..."

"They're not like the ones on the ruins," Madoka said. She guessed, really. "Perhaps the big ring is the sun?"

Audrey furrowed her brow as she thought more on the matter and surrendered by shrugging.

"I'm not really a history nerd or an archeologist, so I don't know," Audrey stepped in the puddle to approach the symbols below the mural. The symbols surrounded the whole drawing, but Audrey and Madoka could only reach the bottom row with their hands. "These letters..."

"D-Don't tell me you can read them," Madoka gasped, taking her hand off the symbols.

"No, I can't. Wait why is that scary to you?" Audrey looked at Madoka defensively. "I don't know anything about the world besides the books from the Estate. And!"

She said, raising her voice before Madoka could speak.

"Your English is getting better," Audrey smirked. Madoka realized that she was speaking Commoner, English and Noble interchangeably. She clicked her tongue. She will be more careful when she speaks. "Well, I'll tell you what I think about these symbols. I wish I spoke more with the Japanese exchange students at my old school. That way I could have a better shot at reading these words. But I'm not sure even if they're actually hiragana or kanji. Aaaand I lost you."

Madoka realized she asked for way more than she bargained for. Part of her was afraid of Audrey bringing something up that her mind could never understand. She would feel as sick as she did when she realized Audrey was telling the truth that she was not from this world. How could anyone believe in what she is saying besides Madoka?

As these questions swam inside Madoka's mind and got caught on snags in her thoughts' river, Audrey perked up.

"There!" she pointed. "An opening in the wall! Let's do some cave diving, huh?"

"B-Be careful," Madoka cautioned, but she followed her to the crack in the wall. Audrey was staring through the passage with awe. "It could be another slope."

"No," Audrey said excitedly. "It's a cavern. Should have enough room to finally do it."

"You mean..." Madoka's own excitement matched Audrey's. "We can do it in there?"

A nod and a grin was her answer.

The mural of the battle would have to sit here forever, she supposed for she did not hesitate to go. Madoka made sure she would not get stuck in this narrow hole in the wall and squeezed through. Audrey slipped between easily. Sure enough this cavern was large enough to do it in, man-made or not. Audrey manifested the storage portal and waited for Madoka to finally pull one of the bear's massive legs out. Perfect size for chopping and cooking.

"Wind blade!"

Some time later, the two were having bear meat in an icy cavern. Audrey commented on how clean the meat was. Madoka recalled when she pushed the bear into the portal. Strangely, the dark tentacles sprouting from the beast sluiced off of its skin — leaving an unusually large but simple bear behind. Chunks of it were missing from those things. The "parasite," as Audrey called the tentacles, dissolved into a black viscous substance. It seemed to weaken the bear and its ability to use magic which luckily allowed Madoka to survive the black lightning.

It seemed that Audrey did not know a thing about bears. She thought its lightning control was tied to an organ in its body but only could guess. That was odd to Madoka since she usually was knowledgeable about most things. She spent an unusual amount of time searching for the core that allowed it to use lightning, which of course never existed in the first place.

The bear was using magic, obviously. Even Madoka knew that. She knew that from talking with the Palace mages. Audrey even gawked as Madoka drug the bear by the head effortlessly and pushed it into the storage portal. It was easier to do when the bear was missing the parasite and was not actively trying to kill her. Madoka decided to leave the specifics of cooking to Audrey and keep eating while she rambled. By the end, nothing but a bone from the bear's leg remained. Madoka wondered a few things about it.

"What's shakin' bacon?" Audrey asked. She still ate properly, Madoka noticed. Like a true Royal. "You've been staring at the bear bones for awhile. Hehe."

"I was just thinking that its fur could make a nice coat," Madoka mused, ignoring the princess's odd joke.

"Oh," Audrey pondered for a moment. "Well, when we get going we can see what we can do with it."

"Where are we going?" Madoka asked. Audrey grabbed the strange talisman from her bag. Ares.

"This guy won't — okay, okay!" Audrey seemed to be conversing with it. The glowing talisman seemed to be giving her an earful. "Deeper within these ruins."

"Ruins?"

Audrey's core flared and she used a new fire spell Madoka's never seen before to the roof. It was a gathering of sparks that launched up to the roof. Madoka saw the rest of the cavern as the flare illuminated the walls.

They seemed to be in the ruins of an ancient Palace. Madoka gasped in awe at the magnificent albeit half-destroyed and sprawling archways above their head. This place must have had so many places to clean!

"Yeah," Audrey said, ignoring the view. "Didn't mention this, but this mountain range is known as the Hall of Royals. This particular mountain we're in, as this annoying artifact tells me, is known as the Hall of the Frost Queen. It wants me to return it to the nexus ga- I mean the altar located somewhere deeper within. Apparently, it can't just tell me what gifts it will give me in exchange. So visiting the ruins it is!"

"Y-You mean," Madoka stammered. "Like the ruins we visited during last summer?"

"Yeah!"

"I-" Madoka was not sure about running into another god. She did not even understand the last one they ran into.

"Come on," Audrey leaned back, stretching her legs back and forth on the ice, making a cone. "We're a lot tougher now and besides, Ares has chosen to help you a lot you know. We will have to give the kind God a 'thank you' when we meet it, yeah?"

Madoka considered it. Then she nodded. Her stomach was full and she needed exercise anyways. After they packed everything back into the storage portal, the two moved along the walls while they searched for a way out of the cavern.

"That talisman," Madoka wondered aloud. "It is not like the green magic that healer used. How does it work?"

"Beats me!" Audrey said. Madoka groaned at how immediate her reply was. She was using the Divine Treasure, somehow, without a second thought on how she was accomplishing that end. "I'm sure you are racking your brain over how I'm so nonchalant over this thingy, but I have decided my brain will pop if I think about it for too long. All I know is that these talismans are overpowered, YOU'RE overpowered and the item box really make me confused on how the Devs let it pass through QA. That's a little, uh, role playing game joke there but yeah. Your guess is as good as mine."

Madoka felt the ancient stone of a wall buried in snow and weather. This place seemed to have not been disturbed in ages. This place felt holy to her, like a forbidden place to a slave like her. Well, she probably was not a slave anymore. She was whoever and whatever Audrey asked her to be.

"Here," Audrey said further up ahead holding up her hand against a barrier of ice. Her hand glowed orange as the heat emanated from it. Like the sound of glass shattering, the ice gave way. The two watched as the shards of crystal ice slid down into the depths.

Madoka heard them clatter on stone below.

"Well, Madoka," Audrey said. "It's dungeon explorin' time, yee haw!"

Her sudden enthusiasm and strange words did not instill confidence in Madoka. She silently regretted her commitment towards being whoever Audrey wanted her to be.

"Tomorrow," Madoka said with a yawn.

"Nae waaaah, Madoka! Don't blueball me like this!"

It was too late, Madoka had slunked off and began to assume a loafing position. Audrey folded her arms and watched her maid with disbelief. Madoka simply yawned again and suddenly felt a blanket hit her face.

She smiled and knew she had won her way to a good night's sleep.

III.

Madoka stirred awake feeling warmer than usual. There was someone's familiar frame cuddled up next to her. She thought the princess would be more uncomfortable sleeping on the ground. Audrey remained undisturbed, even though they must have been wandering around for weeks without a soul in sight. She must have gotten used to it. The poor girl has been through it all, Madoka thought idly to herself. Something caught her eyes.

Glowing fairy-like lights floated above her. Spirits? Little orbs of greens, reds, yellows and blues swirled above almost playfully. Beautiful, Madoka took in the sight of the spirits quietly. They bobbed in the air and paid her no mind; their forms bulbous with small strands of tentacles underneath their bodies. They seemed to push off of thin air towards a greater light. Above Madoka and the spirits, daylight made the icy cavern's roof a translucent cerulean and lit up the ruin's dome like structure. Madoka blinked and the spirits were gone.

Although this section of the ancient room seemed torn down by time itself, the ice that kept it all together showed no signs of letting it go. Daylight meant that the storm outside finally ceased. Madoka looked towards the slopes they slipped down from beyond the cracked mural and found them to be too high up. There was no chance of getting out of here, Madoka thought.

Audrey squirmed for a second and stretched. At least she did not freeze to death. Last night's embers still remained quietly in the firepit Audrey made.

"Kyaaaah," Audrey muttered. "I want sour gummy worms. And a damn bed. Especially some of those. Wha—"

Sour... worms? Madoka cringed at the thought of those being eaten.

"I can eat wherever I want!" Audrey sighed. "I studied, give me the worms... Why bring him into the picture?"

Audrey gasped and jerked awake. Then she shivered.

"Good morning, Audrey," Madoka offered. Audrey's hair was frazzled and the look on her face was one Madoka has seen many times even in the Northern Estate.

"Still here in this god awful world," Audrey sighed. Disappointment marred her pretty face. "Good morning, Madoka."

"We got work to do," Madoka sat up and stretched. "Mainly—"

"Hai, hai," Audrey waved her off but then she rolled over. "My body is stiff as hell. Give me a minute, would you?"

"How are you stiff?" Madoka sighed. "You sound like an old woman."

"S-So what if I do?" Audrey pouted. "It's not normal to camp out for weeks, you know."

"We're not normal people, Audrey."

"Well, you're not normal that's for sure," Audrey stretched and got up but stiffened from her leg growing numb. "Who wakes up so early?"

"It's day already," Madoka helped Audrey stay upright. "We have workouts to do before we go!"

"Naee waaah!"

A few minutes later, Madoka was ready to go. Audrey surprised Madoka by being compliant. She had always listened to Madoka, eventually one way or another and yet she would obey despite all her complaining. As she observed Audrey's movements and her body she noticed how toned and graceful she was. Every movement was exactly like her own. Not a single wasted motion and a quiet persistence underneath it all.

This was why Audrey was extraordinary to Madoka.

"Eh? Got some good things to say to me?" Audrey said flirtatiously. Madoka rolled her eyes.

"It's just that you've been carrying yourself well in these exercises," Madoka scoffed and crossed her arms. "As expected of you."

"Aww, don't be like that," Audrey whined, throwing her cloak on. "We have a ways to go. Though I doubt much is living inside these ruins, we should be careful of slipping."

"Right."

Madoka steeled herself as they found themselves in front of the hole they could get through. There was nothing but cave air howling above and the scraping of ice beneath their boots. Audrey gave a nod to Madoka. Here goes, Madoka thought to herself and she stepped through.

The way was a slope but her steps could balance as she traversed down. Audrey followed behind her and the two slowly made their way until Madoka felt flat stone beneath her feet. She gasped as she emerged from the hole.

She stood on an icy path that bridged over an abyss so deep she could not see the bottom. The path led her to the view of an ancient palace towering above her. The architecture was beautiful and alien while covered by mountains and ice. Countless statues of a goddess all watched out solemnly from the palace's many balusters. Perhaps they remember the past of their former glory, Madoka thought.

The massive complex seemed to stretch deep into the abyss as well with its towers like white javelins. Now, ice crystals flanked their sides and dwarfed those once beautiful and marble towers. Gears were frozen in place fated to never operate again. Madoka could see the shadow of a great mechanism threaded in and out of the ice like a stony needlepoint. Runes dotted all along the gears' edges.

It reminded Madoka of that strange world she was in temporarily when she died, though it lacked the colors.

"Whoa," Audrey's eyes gleamed at the whole view. "This must be the Frost Queen's lair, huh."

"Who is the Frost Queen?" Madoka asked. "Is she a kind goddess?"

"Not sure, Ares said she ruled over the 'ones who came before,'" Audrey said. "Probably like an ancient civilization who used to live before humans showed up and ruined everything."

"Humans?" Madoka asked. She did not know what that meant in English.

"Father. Brother. Other people like you and me," Audrey said as the two traversed the bridge towards the gate. "These were people who lived here before us. They were not like us, but they are no longer here with us. Be that some luck from evolution, natural disaster, magic shenanigans, or even a, urk, god intervention, they died out and us boring humans survived. Aaaand I lost you."

Madoka's mind could not keep up with Audrey's ramblings. She was too smart for Madoka. Instead, she thought of the design of the gate. It seemed like it was made for giants.

"Why have a gate this big?" Madoka muttered. She moved closer to the gate, in awe of the structure. There were more runes on them that matched the mural. Audrey was inspecting the fences of the bridge.

"Imagine if this place wasn't covered in ice," Audrey mused, reaching out and tracing a line runes on one of the posts. To her surprise they started glowing orange. "Ain't a freckle of anything not covered in ice and snow."

"D-Don't touch anything—" Madoka was interrupted by the ground shaking. The bridge suddenly became illuminated by runes. They filled the cavern with an orange glow on both sides of the bridge, eventually connecting at the very top of the gate's doors.

"Uh," Audrey started to say. "I think I should not have done that."

"You think?" Madoka instinctively held her axe from underneath her cloak. The cloak hid her arms quite well and made concealing weapons easy. She was ready for anything. Hopefully. As the rumbling subsided an otherworldly voice thundered above them in Noble.

「Greetings, unidentified lifeforms - Present credentials for entry access. Otherwise you shall not enter this holy place.」

"Huh," Audrey said, pulling out the Ares talisman. "What do you mean, you can't open it! Nani!?"

Madoka stood there, somewhat amused at Audrey's bickering. It was nice watching it happen to someone other than her although she could not hear the kind god's responses. Evidently, it made Audrey wave her free hand in exasperation.

"Screw it," Audrey said, before holding the talisman high above her head and yelling a weird phrase. "Open sesame! Yeet!"

A beautiful rainbow colored ray of light filtered itself in the room from the highest point of the gate before falling upon Audrey peacefully. Like a drink spilled, the strange light made Madoka's skin feel soaked and sent tingles up and down her arms. How much of this place was like a kind god, forgotten and frozen in time waiting for an ear or eye to remember it?

"What is happening?" Audrey asked like Madoka knew. She tucked the talisman away and backed away slowly. "Auroras in this place..."

「Access granted. Welcome, servants of the Holy One. We have been waiting for you for a long time.」

"Servants?" Audrey spat incredulously. "Yeah right. I'm not a—"

Madoka's knees buckled as the ground suddenly trembled. Through her shaking visions the gate's runes began to glow green. Madoka stumbled back and held onto Audrey as the deafening sound from ancient ice cracking pierced the air. Enormous glowing runes floated in the foggy depths below them, revealing the turning of gears the size of the gate itself.

Audrey mouthed something but realized she could not hear herself so she pointed. Beyond the calamitous ice crumbling, Madoka could see the gate was opening. A gale of freezing cave wind sliced through the air from the entrance, stinging Madoka's face as it passed through them. She felt like she was going to black out from the vibration. Eventually the noise collapsed into a stillness although her ears popped.

"Woo! We lived!" Audrey exclaimed after all the chaos had died down. There was a heap of snow, crumbled stone and ice collapsed at the gate but they were wide open. "Ares is upset with me but, hey, we are making progress. Madoka?"

"I-I'm fine," Madoka's legs wobbled as she recovered her bearings. She felt the chill pressed against her cheeks like sharp fingernails. They were covered in powder snow and shards. "It's only going to get colder, right?"

"Yeah," Audrey said, looking at how wet their clothes were. "I'm not sure how bad it's going to get but Ares tells me to keep going."

She opened her bag and yelled at the glowing talisman inside.

"I HOPE THIS IS WORTH IT!"

She flinched when the glow intensified from the bag. Madoka was too worried to scold Audrey for disrespecting the kind god. She decided to send them her meager prayers for aid and warmth anyways.

"Okay then!" Audrey whined. "It's time to see what this dungeon has in store for us, Madoka. Hopefully something warm."

As the two climbed up to view what was next, Madoka's heart raced at the sight.

Instead of a grand room like the Fiara Palace, the gates led to an open platform with a lot of wreckage and more ice on it. A massive chasm greeted them beyond from where they stood. The two peered down from the balcony into the moaning darkness. More of those rainbow auroras swirled beneath, reflecting off the dark walls. They could not illuminate the pitch black state of this ancient palace, Madoka observed. Treacherous ice formations jutted out from the side leading deeper into the abyss.

"I don't think there's anything warm waiting for us here," she said, kicking a chunk of ice down into the pit.

"Wow," Audrey said at the sight. "Sure makes you miss home, huh. Well, not all the fire and demonic roots, I guess."

"Well, what does Ares say about this?"

"Deeper," Audrey said flatly. Her mana core flared to life. She made a circular motion with her arm as swirls of flame began to manifest. "Yaaawwww YEET!"

As she screamed that odd word, the flames combined and launched into a sphere. Both said nothing as they watched the flaming sphere descend all the way down into deep eternity. The light from it grew dim rapidly then into nothing.

"Yeah! We go down there," Audrey said. "Somehow. Probably over there down those icy rocks."

Her eyes glowed beautifully, almost turquoise and sparkling in shades of blues after casting her fireball. Madoka shook her head and began to step on one of the cliff sides to the icy rocks.

"Wait," Audrey stopped her. "There is something odd about this banister. Well, it's not really a banister but more like a broken pile of wood. But there's something about this thing. Help me would ya?"

Madoka folded her arms as she inspected the wreckage and chuckled watching Audrey struggle to scrape the ice off the peculiar wooden structure.

"Screw it!" Audrey sighed. "Wind blade!"

What formed in her hands was not her typical spell but instead a sphere of violent wind. Madoka had to jump out of the way of razor sharp gusts and ice. The wind expanded outward, cutting through the frozen block and splinters of wood.

"How the hell did I— Nevermind," Audrey said. "Are you going to help me uncover this or not?"

"No," Madoka said. Audrey looked at her, exasperated. Madoka let out a small giggle at her face before stifling it. Apparently, the giggle calmed Audrey down and she began to clear the wreckage.

"I guess this is what I get for not helping you when you got stuck," she sighed. A while later, Madoka saw something glint in the wreckage.

"A sword's pommel?" Madoka asked as she felt it. It was ornate and gleaming despite how old it must have been. The two looked at it.

"No, it's a lever!"

Audrey pulled on it. Once again, somewhere in the cavern echoed a voice.

「Access granted. Warning: System Integrity Critical. Unstable Lift Mechanisms: Advise not to operate or ride on main lift. Lift status: Calamitous.」

"Why does that voice sound way ahead of our time?" Audrey sighed as she attempted to pull the lever again. "Do you hear any animal thoughts?"

"No," Madoka said. She could not help but peer down below. "How does the voice know Noble?"

"Noble?" Audrey made a confused face. "It's speaking in English for me."

Madoka stared at Audrey in confusion. The look was returned on Audrey's face.

"That's hella trippy," Audrey remarked. She cleared her throat to snap Madoka out of her confused state. "Nevermind that! Look!"

More ice from the walls of this massive chasm began to break open, revealing rows of rotating lifts. Madoka gasped at the sight. She has never seen such technology before. Each lift seemed to have a maximum distance in their descent, stopping perilously before returning its path back up from where it came. It seemed that they would be the ticket down. She heard a gasp from Audrey.

"Wow! Are those the lifts?" Audrey said excitedly. "It's a whole ass videogame platforming section!"

Madoka rolled her eyes. Of course, the princess would be excited over such a dangerous activity.

"Now, now. I know what you're thinking," Audrey said, barely able to hide her enthusiasm. "But it's seriously the way we gotta go."

"Slowly," Madoka said nervously. "L-Let's go slowly."

If there ever was a time Madoka thought she was in too far over her head it was now. They moved to the closest lift to them. Madoka was nervous. Audrey, however, was excited.

"After you," Madoka told her.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Audrey leapt onto the lift. "Come on!"

"Heights?" Madoka scoffed. "Anyone would fear the darkness below them!"

"Hey, what's an adventure without a little platforming?" Audrey teased. She was too nonchalant about this situation. "Come on— Waah!"

The lift began to lower and Madoka watched her descend into the dark.

"Audrey?" Madoka called out for her. A small ring of magic glowed in the depths meters below her, illuminating Audrey and the lift she stood on. Another lift passed by her, but sunk further into the pit. "Kind gods, here we go."

A lift moved up, but Audrey was already on another platform. Madoka tentatively stepped on to catch up with the princess. She was a devil in disguise, Madoka swore. She could see the ancient palace's architecture sprawl out beneath her, the broken bridges and lifts jutting out like the fingers of skeletons. Her stomach leapt as the lift began its descent.

For you, Audrey, Madoka thought, determined and casting the lurching feeling in her gut aside. I'll go even further into the darkest depths for you!