VIII.

"P-Put me down," Audrey mumbled from Madoka's shoulder. "I feel like a soggy backpack. Or like I'm riding an extremely uncomfortable horse. You know how I am with horses!"

"Stop your complaining," Madoka snapped. She's traveled at least a hundred steps now and the bottom of the path was close. Each new step she took brought her towards what she really wanted: Off this mountain.

"I can walk," Audrey said. Madoka was unconvinced, of course. The poor girl has gone through enough. Her wounds were not too deep and she still could use magic, but the red haired maid would not put her princess down no matter how much she fussed. "I can—"

"Shut it," Madoka gripped the squirming girl harder. "Keep talking and I'll throw you off the damn mountain."

"Bet!" Audrey challenged her. She shrieked when that response only got her an even tighter squeeze. "Ach! Okay! I'm delicate goods here! Naeee waaaah!"

"Yeah, let it out," Madoka was unbothered by her friend's wails. It reminded of her younger days of fitting the girl in royal dresses. She would sigh but Audrey was pacified for now. "This is payback for all the things you put me through."

"Wha?" Audrey buried her head in Madoka's shoulder. "You don't like almost dying every day?"

"I don't!" Madoka answered and took one step. Six steps remained before the maid who scoffed as she trudged, dredging up the worst the girl on her back put her through.

"The months spent training!"

Five steps left.

"Yeah, and?" Audrey murmered.

"My death!"

Four steps left.

"Well, that was—"

"The hiking. Kind gods, the hiking!"

Three steps.

"That stupid bear that almost killed us both!"

"We ate it!"

Madoka hefted the girl up when her grip slackened. Two steps left.

"That descent to that bloody creature in the black ice!"

One step left.

"And need I remind you," Madoka growled. Audrey's grip tightened. "That damn dragon!"

"And my axe!" Audrey chirped. "Think, Madoka, think! If you set me down c-carefully I won't be a burden! I mean, uh, less of a burden then what I currently am right now. Ahh!"

Madoka flipped Audrey around her waist and pressed her against a tree the moment her feet found ground and snow laden grass. She put her weight on the girl and drew very close to her friend's stupid, bandaged face. The girl's cheeks reddened deeper than the bloodstains on her forehead. "Okay."

A flustered and bothered Audrey tried to balance on her own legs but crumpled to the ground. After she gave her a righteous and angry look, Madoka simply trotted off and left her behind.

"W-Wait!" Audrey's voice grew distant, then more desperate. Yet Madoka kept walking. She was taking care of this ungrateful girl all this time! The bitterness matched the bareness of winter scarred branches and it all finally welled up over her patience. Perhaps the coldness will freeze Her Highness's ignorance and penchant for causing danger unapologetically. That burning fire inside her, that stupid magic ring of stars and bands, and her ego has done Madoka no good ever since she has laid eyes on it.

She could no longer see Audrey and regret filled her for a moment. Yet Madoka wanted to teach a lesson to the girl — she did not have to help her this time. So she kicked a massive tree down to sit on its log while she waited. For awhile, there were no thoughts and she could see nothing but bare trees but Madoka did not know where to go anyways. Perhaps she would go back to her.

Something sounded like scraping nearby in the darkness. Madoka instantly went on high alert, ready to run if she needed to. She chastised herself for her recklessness. She did not know which was worse: Leaving her ally behind or that she was currently weaponless. The scraping movement was slow and she could recognize that wheeze anywhere — after all she has listened to it for many hours down the mountain steps. So Madoka sat down and waited for the scraping to get near her.

"Have you something to say to me?" Madoka said with a drawn out sigh, looking away. The scraping stopped. Several seconds of silence settled on her skin with the snowflakes.

Five.

Four.

Three. Glowing light caught the corner of her eyes. Magic ring? Please, Madoka silently scoffed.

Two. She demanded an apology! Or a thank you! Or a combination of the two!

Madoka's hair on her arms rose straight to the sky. She turned and screamed, for just only a few inches away from her face floated the beak of a grotesque creature staring at her.

The ghost white, spectral creature did not attack. Madoka paled as she recognized it. That disgusting face belonged to the very bird that stopped her from leaving her room in the palace! The dreadful being flapped its strange wings silently and observed her. The human part of its head tilted as Madoka scooted back into a tree. She could not scoot away further.

"W-What are you?"

ALONE!

ALONE?

LONELY!

Oh, alone.

Fight unfairly for all your tomorrows!

Fight fairly!

"No," Madoka growled at it as it hovered near her. "She will come for me!"

YES.

But alone!

Alone you must choose!

ALONE.

Fight!

OR DO NOT FIGHT AND BE ALONE.

The flapping from its wings and the tentacles beneath it became audible like the screams of children and the whistling chimes of the mountain. The bird watched the terrified maid and twisted its head closer to Madoka's face. She could see its neck become elongated and malformed, like a taut rope threatening to unwind itself, slowly extending towards her without moving its body. She was too terrified to fight it off.

"I won't be alone!" Madoka declared. Then she faltered and her voice wavered into pleading with the odd being. "I don't want to be alone."

The spectral bird's horrifying eyes twitched and odd croaking noises reverberated in its throat along with the chorus of screams and chimes. Its beak twisted into something like a smile. Underneath its white glow, Madoka realized that the bird was pink and fleshy. It brought a sense of wrongness like the Conqueror and yet she could not flee or look away.

THEN CHOOSE!

Alone.

Alone?

Alone!

Fight?

FIGHT.

Madoka did not realize at first but a tear slipped down her cheek.

"T-Tell me," she begged it. "W-What are you? Why are you telling me this?"

Sing!

Sixth Chorus!

Alone!

We want you to succeed.

ALONE?

Succeed.

Its answer only confused the maid even more. The bird's head retracted back to its body and it pecked at its wings before taking off to the night sky and flying in a certain direction. In an instant, Madoka found herself panting in sheer terror on the log she was sitting on. She had nearly forgotten why she was there in the first place before that messenger bird spoke to her. Then, more scraping drew near.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Audrey?" Madoka asked, trying to remain strong. She whirled around quickly, not wanting another scary thing to be behind her. Her eyes caught the outline of an upright branch propped in the snow and the bandaged hand that clung onto it.

"P-Please," Audrey's voice was thinner even the wind. Madoka rushed to her without thinking. "I—"

"F-Forgive me," Madoka whispered into her friend's ear. "I should not have abandoned you."

Madoka was afraid that the bird would come back but as she held Audrey she was secure. They slew a dragon after all. Audrey rested against the tree she knocked down and the maid gathered sticks for a fire. Neither said a word. Madoka soon heard the crackle of magic and felt the warmth of a fire and the two rested for awhile.

"S-Sorry," Audrey's voice was still weak. Madoka's heart felt like a stone weighed down by guilt, feeling like it sank to the bottom of her worn-out boot. "I was too busy thinking of ways to power up to protect you and me. I can't stand myself, you know that?"

Madoka sat silently and looked up at the stars.

"Ain't no Big Dipper up in that sky, nor any other constellation I know of," Audrey chuckled. Her head lurched and threatened to crash against the log but Madoka put her arm behind her and cushioned the fall. "It's how I know I'm not in the same universe I came from. But I still haven't changed from being useless."

"I was like a gross ghost back in school. Never managed to infiltrate and be human like the rest of them. None of 'em liked me. Never had any social connections. I was like this smart nerd and that's all they ever knew about me. Heh, I never even got picked on. Then wow! I died and ended up here! Wow! I even got magic and power to do whatever I want! I'm even a damn princess with a beautiful maid! And yet, even with all this power I still can't help but feel like my soul is ruined."

The fire crackled and burned. Audrey looked at Madoka's arm that she rested on and took her hand.

"I didn't even know what to do with a father and a brother who loved me, once upon a time. I pushed them away. And now, I'm pushing you away. I don't want to hurt and I don't want others to get hurt because of me. Sorry. I was venting again."

Audrey wheezed again. She was met with silence because Madoka did not know what to say.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I was being selfish again. I put you through so much. Hell, your soul is probably more battered than mine! If you want to leave me here in the forest I can give you a map—"

"I don't think souls are supposed to be like this forever," Madoka gripped her friend's hand. "No matter how battered we are, I think we can repair them with enough time and care. We can become better!"

Audrey let out a slight laugh. Then she sighed bitterly.

"You always have been such a work-a-holic," Audrey trailed off. Then she rolled over and adjusted her small frame on Madoka's lap. "Thank you for being there for me."

"Here," Madoka corrected her. "I am always here for you. I won't leave you ever again."

"Madoka, I," Audrey let out a small snore. Madoka waited until morning out of fear that the spectral bird might return.

She sprung awake covered in a cold sweat. She fell asleep on guard duty. Audrey was still cuddled up on her lap. Her body was warm as ever. As Madoka's vision adjusted she remembered the bird and its odd message. The last time it appeared she died the next day. What could it possibly mean by her being left alone and fighting? Is something evil around the corner?

A light illuminated Madoka's face. Before her where the bird few off a beam of sparkling light towered to the heavens. Gods. She groaned and was about to go back to sleep. Audrey shifted in her sleep.

"Gah," she said. "It feels like I got whacked by a ton of bricks. And my spine feels like a slinky. What the heck did you do to me?"

"What is a slinky?" Madoka wondered aloud. "Can you walk?"

"I can shamble," Audrey yawned. "You know. Like a zombie."

Madoka found that disturbing. She recalled a time when she described what a zombie was with a gleeful fascination. Was she a zombie? A dead woman walking? Her hand felt above her heart as she looked at the sky in awe. The beam of light did not pierce the sun like last time. Instead, it veered off into the horizon. Audrey did not seem to notice the ray of light. She shook the girl off and stamped the sleepiness out of her leg.

"Let me see if I got anything in the portal for those," Audrey looked at Madoka's shredded boots. The portal seemingly manifested whenever she wanted. Since she could not see Audrey's magic core, she assumed whatever injuries she sustained during her cultivation were healing. Audrey reached a hand in the portal and pulled out a pair of new boots along with clothes.

The sight was always strange to behold to Madoka. Something from nothing, she mused. She nodded and put the clothes on anyways. Audrey struggled to get up so she picked her up and carried her on her back again.

"My legs don't work," Audrey sighed. "That much I do know."

"I'm sorry for abandoning you," Madoka repeated herself. "I should have never—"

"It's okay, Madoka," Audrey said firmly. "As semi-permanent roommates we're bound to have miscommunications and grievances with each other. As a former Royal with a stick up my ass, well, that stick is still there but I never really thought of those things. Of others. You taught me last night that I'm not a Royal or a Noble anymore. Got to move on from my mindset somehow."

The word "anymore" formed a pit in Madoka's throat. So she kept walking.

"Where do we need to go?"

"Well, that's a good question," Audrey sighed. Madoka heard the portal come into life and the fluttering of paper being smoothed out with quick flaps. "Where that giant ring gate of Ares used to be, the Wind God told me, lies a thick swamp where more of that parasite creature exists. So let's not go there."

"Are you telling me you don't have a plan?" Madoka grumbled.

"Eep!" Audrey shrunk. "I can tell without even looking at your face that you're upset with me."

"You don't have any plans, do you?"

"L-Look," Audrey started to get on Madoka's nerves again. "Don't dump me in the snow again, but I haven't had a plan since we left the kingdom. I've told you before, I've been making stuff up as we go along."

"Well, I'll tell you what," Madoka started to say she planned on following the beam of light but then her stomach growled. "We'll talk about it. Food?"

"None left," Audrey admitted. "The bear's pelt and bones are what's left. And a dragon wing that I'm not even sure is... you know."

"Of course," Madoka groaned. She knew her body did not have to eat food to survive but she still felt the natural urge of hunger and thirst. Thirst was solved by Audrey's water spells. But both of the girls needed to eat food or else. "I will have to get some food, then."

She could hear the girl gulp on her shoulders. Madoka realized that she only had a dagger for a weapon left. Her stomach did not care, they traveled along just low enough for Madoka to start hearing wildlife's thoughts again. There was plenty of daylight left and if she did not have a weapon she would use a rock. She picked a fist sized rock up with one of her hands after setting Audrey down.

"Y-You're not going to eat that, are you?"

"Hush," Madoka closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. Audrey piped down as the maid raised her arm and readied to throw the stone. She heard a distant deer's thoughts and with a grunt she hurled the stone directly at it. The split-second thoughts of blinding pain, terror and confusion made her regret the silence afterwards. Other deer around it fled in terror. "It's done."

"What's done?" Audrey asked. Madoka scooped her princess up. "Madoka?"

She said not a word and marched until she found her slain target. Audrey gasped. The deer's head was completely missing. In its place was a bludgeoned stump of crushed bones torn explosively off as reddish brown slop leaked on the snow. Madoka stared at it and nearly cried.

"It's dead," Madoka could not contain her gasp.

"No shit it's dead," Audrey said. "If you aim a bazooka at an unsuspecting deer's brain of course it's going to die. The throwing arm! Even a catcher would get the hell out of the way of that pitch!"

"What?" Madoka asked blankly.

"It's a, ah, nevermind," Audrey sighed. The shock in her voice was still apparent. "Put me down gently please. So I can examine the crime scene."

With Madoka's assistance, Audrey's legs allowed her to take a few steps for her to get to work on the deer. Its insides spilled out like a rose and smeared their red petals across the ground. The guts seeped their way into Madoka's guilt.

"With an arm like that, who needs magic?" Audrey muttered as she carved out the insides. "Your body mass and shoulders. You're so thick I could... Maybe each muscle of yours has magic of their own. Dorsi Magic? Tricep Magic? Subscapul, uh, something Magic? Whatever."

"I don't know what you mean by my body and my shoulders," Madoka sighed. "But for some reason it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, was I talking aloud? S-Sorry," Audrey apologized and appeared to be finished. "I'll have it ready by sundown. Okay?"

"Okay," Madoka grumbled and then shoved the deer into the portal. It was not long until she realized the stone she used to slay the deer was embedded in a snapped tree trunk. Above it was something exciting: A sign ripped in half with a hole in its center from Madoka's hurled rock. "Audrey, look!"

"A sign? Wow!" Audrey hobbled up to the fallen tree. "Beware of bear...? You mean the bear we slew had a name? Madoka, look!"

"What is it?" Madoka gasped as she saw on the bottom half of the scroll. The familiar and crude drawing of the bear with black tendrils looked back at her. She could not read since she has forgotten everything she has learned since they left the Estate. She could only speak the English language Audrey taught her.

"It's an evacuation order," Audrey examined the scroll's writings and read some of the writing. "It's a decree from some Noble warning Rustazian logging workers to leave the area due to a hulking so-called World Bear terrorizing the mountainside. So we're in Rustaze, huh. You don't suppose that this, 'World Bear,' was our dinner from a few days ago, right?"

"C-Certainly not," Madoka stammered. "It's not like anyone will know we killed it. Or believe us. I still cannot believe we took on a dragon and lived."

"He told me he was a lesser dragon, but still. Now you're catching on," Audrey smirked and stuffed the warning scroll into the portal. Just how much stuff could she fit in that portal? She attempted to walk forward but could only hobble. "That must mean an abandoned lumberyard is up ahead. Let's check it out!"

She turned and looked bashfully at Madoka. The maid, on the other hand, groaned but acquiesced and scooped her up. She did not mention that the beam of light traveled over to exactly where Audrey pointed yet again. This was the path set before Madoka and she was prepared for whatever trick that bird had for her.