I.

Audrey's blade cut.

Madoka did not hear the screams or whatever sound she expected when a man died but she was too scared to turn around. Perhaps she was being hypocritical. The terrain was covered by bodies she placed there individually, like torn out weeds scattered in ugly green piles of discarded artifacts and she was the blood red gardener.

She was despondent from how utterly detached she was from the reality before her. Grand and heroic were fairy tales compared to this. She expected to feel more emotions from the battle. Even the sorrowful and hopeless feelings did not stir her heart. She was supposed to feel bad for hurting others, right? Madoka fought with herself. They did bad things to her and Audrey. Perhaps she was justified and they deserved it. Still, she was numb to what she did and her thoughts churned and roiled and churned and were about to be swept away like dustpiles in the—

"You can look, Madoka," Audrey said with a sigh. "I can sense you're going into idle mode."

Tentatively, Madoka turned around. To her surprise, the healer was still alive. The one who caused her trouble and pain, the scarring of the heart — damage one can heal from physically but remain in the deeper recesses of one's mind and soul. Even Madoka still had her trauma pitted in the depths of her own heart. The pain laced every word that dared utter any sign of it with poison to anyone else. She truly had the ability to wipe the dirty man off the planet and exact her revenge but Audrey only had her hand on his neck.

She is truly strong in both heart and her mind. Madoka flailed in the rivers of her own thoughts of the past and her body was covered with burns and scars. Audrey released the shaking man and instead pulled at her blade's true target: A strap that held the sacred talisman that healed her. Madoka guessed it healed the wounds she got from the mountains because Audrey was more nimble and spoke with more clarity in her voice.

"You didn't kill him?" Madoka asked her. Audrey remained standing over the old healer. The killing intent was strong enough to overpower Madoka's own instincts. A wet stain began to spread from between the healer's legs as fear filled his eyes. Audrey was smiling, the sinister darkness that tinged the curl in her lips caused the man to pass out on the spot.

"Of course not. I'm a good girl," Audrey said as she turned to face Madoka. She pocketed her knife and inspected the talisman. She glanced up at Madoka. As Madoka looked back she saw how little Audrey was for a moment. "I don't think I want to kill yet either."

Madoka grunted in agreement.

Audrey closed her eyes and focused on the talisman in her hands. Madoka stepped back on a soldier's broken breastplate. The soldier inside the crumpled armor wailed in agony but she did not care. Madoka kept backing away. The rune on her shoulder seemed to have calmed down but she was sure to be ready for anything. A low hum came from the talisman.

Audrey was a force of nature before Madoka's eyes. She gasped as a web of Substance mana strands spread out from her breath to the talisman which hummed even louder. Helixes of spiraling emerald filled the ground in a beautiful filigree of dazzling swirls. The hue was not like the Substance magic the healers used in the palace or even the creepy healer here, Madoka observed. It was a most pure and serene magic.

The web of green weaved the wounds of every fallen on the ground. Most were coughing while others were still unconscious but Madoka could see the wounds she inflicted on them were fully healed. Most notably, the fat noble and his healer were also healed. Audrey spun around to her maid and smiled as the web of green magic faded out of existence. She held the caring talisman above her belly.

"How's that?" Audrey beamed. "I can use Substance magic now. Somehow."

"Somehow?" Madoka stared. Audrey shrugged and pocketed the talismans.

"Gah, my head," a voice from the ground interrupted. The fat man was slowly getting up. How resilient! Madoka noticed that his hand was healed although it was noticeably healthier than the rest of him. She did not want to know if the other hand was still where it landed. She hoped enough snow covered it.

Audrey's eyes flashed with fury for a second and she shot a ball of wind at his head. Instantly, the noble fell flat on the ground again.

"How dare he ruin my cool moment. Tsk!" Audrey clicked her tongue. She opened the portal and began to pull out a large rope. "We should tie these guys up. Round 'em up. Give ourselves a head start before they get up. Hopefully a big animal eats them or something."

"Where did you get that?" Madoka eyed the rope with suspicion but did what Audrey told her to do. She recieved a shrug in response but she remembered the large rope that she cut at the lumber mill.

There were sixteen soldiers, one captain, a healer and a fat guy. Most of these soldiers were smaller than her and all of them were weak.

"Hmm, rope's a little short," Audrey said as she held the massive rope. "Maybe we should kill a few— I'm kidding!"

Madoka glared at her for a second more, but she tied them as tight as she could as a compromise. Audrey confiscated their weaponry that was not destroyed by Madoka or her magic. She noted that the weapons were old and worn out by the weather. The maid did not care so long as they did not have weapons to chase them with. Not that they could so easily. The bodies were tied in incredibly tight thanks to her strength.

"Neat and tidy!" Madoka confirmed and clapped her hands. Audrey looked at her shocked but simply groaned.

She and Audrey made one more pass at the carriage and after some rummaging, they found some clothes that were too big for either of them. Madoka would have to make due with her cut cloak since they did not have any spares. This journey has taken everything they had, Madoka thought as she tried to adjust her cloak to cover more skin.

"Here," Audrey said, handing her own cloak and looking away. "Take it, take it!"

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"A-Are you certain?" Madoka stammered. Audrey was lightly dressed now.

"Naeee waah! Go on," she urged. "I'm already burning anyways."

"Suit yourself," Madoka quoted Audrey and took the cloak. Since she did not refuse, Madoka concluded that the rune on her shoulder definitely changed her personality somehow.

"Now then," Audrey patted her hands off, satisfied with the results of the work they did here. "Some of the sleepyheads are stirring. We should get out of here."

Madoka agreed and held up her arms for Audrey.

"It's fine," Audrey said with a sigh. "That healer healed me to full HP! My legs are fine now. Oh, why are you pouting?"

"You'll be cold."

"I told you, I'm— Fine, fine, take me away down the path," she acquiesced and hopped into Madoka's arms. She was warm to the touch and so soft!

As the red haired girl was about to run into a full speed, the loud groaning of wood splitting was heard. From where? Madoka turned towards the sound. It was the carriage! It caved in on itself, splitting at the middle where Madoka broke into.

"Uh, I hope vehicle insurance isn't a thing in this world because that is super your fault."

"My punching and tearing caused that?" Madoka wondered aloud. She recieved a tug on her shoulder from Audrey. "E-Embarrassing..."

"You shattered a group of armored soldiers with your bare fists and punch trees over that have been standing for centuries," she sighed. "And you're a dragon slayer. Yet you're embarrassed over a measly noble's little ride? Sheesh!"

With that, Madoka sprinted on the path until nightfall with a screaming Audrey on her back. With most of that army far behind and their horses scattered, Madoka figured they would not be able to catch up. They still hid a way off the forest path under a natural dugout in the roots of a big tree. There were plenty of thoughts from deer and birds. Not too many predators around but then again, Madoka realized that they were the true predators in the woods.

For awhile, Audrey said nothing so Madoka looked at the two handed sword she had strapped to her back. They sat on a log, since the dugout was big as a house. The blade sung as she unsheathed it. It was not an axe— her preferred weapon— but weighed with a satisfying heft in one of her hands.

Audrey stood up and stretched with a groan.

"You sound like an old lady," Madoka commented. Audrey's moan cut short.

"Yeah, and?" She snapped but sarcasm laced itself in her voice. The light of the twin moons filtered through the branches in slivers. "Last night of camping. I am so ready for a bed."

Madoka realized she could not remember the last time she slept in a bed. She was worried that she would not be used to it and would prefer the floor. Translucent bubbles filled the air and Audrey began to take her clothes off.

"A-Audrey?" Madoka stammered. The beautiful and naked Audrey turned to her with a look of confusion.

"Hm?" She asked. "Is there something on my back?"

"L-Let me wash you!" Madoka rushed to her side. She noticed that somehow Audrey had much more control over her magic than ever before. The kind gods have blessed her with knowledge, Madoka figured. The bubbles were no longer freezing, pouring water out infinitely to the ground but the streams of sapphire and crystal water never splashed. They vanished into thin air before they could touch the snow beneath their feet. Audrey also did not show her magic core anymore. Madoka took it as a sign of her power improving over the magic she wielded but she was afraid to ask because of the rambling that would have ensued.

Audrey's hands were the right temperature, smoothing themselves over Madoka's skin like a loving blanket. Suddenly, she felt the girl's head rest on her back. Normally, the princess would try to grab her in places she preferred her not to but now she simply embraced her from behind.

Bubbles started to vanish as the girl weeped on her back and soon the both of them began to cry under the moonlight.

Cry because of all the things they lost.

Cry because of all the things they have gone through.

Cry, the red haired maid embraced her princess, because they survived through it all.

After a moment, Audrey drew away after Madoka wiped her down after at least a hundred times. She seemed in a better mood, though neither said a word. She also did not allow Madoka to dress her. So she sat as Audrey manifested the portal again.

"Okay," Audrey said after lighting a fire. "Inventory management time! Jesus, even in real life its a pain."

"H-How do you even know what's in there?"

"I don't!" Audrey shrugged. Madoka slapped her forehead. "Don't look at me like that! I remember it as soon as the portal opens and there is a lot of things in here. A lot of it is stuff for you, Madoka. If only you had your own storage talisman, that would be convenient."

"My... own," Madoka paused as she looked down at her palm. Owning things still was a foreign concept to her. She tucked the greatsword in the portal and simply carried one of the swords from the soldier underneath her garb. It still felt wrong that there was not an axe there.

"Let's see," Audrey said. The portal moved and expanded in size to wherever she looked. Has it always done that before? Madoka assumed not. This was another improvement. For now, the hexagonal portal was hovering horizontally above the ground. "10 swords! A crossbow with 7 bolts. A big claymore! And two spears!"

The weaponry clattered on the ground. Madoka groaned because she would have to put them back in the storage.

"With an army's worth of weapons in our bag, I guess we'll be good for the rest of the journey to this town. The snow's receding and there's a lot of activity tracked on the road so we're getting closer," Audrey said. Madoka quietly tucked each weapon back into the portal as the girl rambled. "Oh, and these bags! Money, money, money!"

Four bags of coins clunked on the ground.

"There's a lot more of the gold variety in the storage, but I just wanna hold a coin!" Audrey's mischievous eyes lit up. She picked up a gold coin and held it up in the flames. The luster of its soft shine complimented her blue eyes. "Wow, so shiny!"

Madoka picked up a coin. It was palm sized, slightly bigger than three inches in length. The other coins by comparison were much smaller.

"How much do you figure these things are worth?" Audrey asked no one in particular. "There could be millions of dollars in coins here and we'll never know! For now, these big coins probably should not be used. Never saw a single commoner with 'em when I visited the villages around the estate."

"I'm surprised you remember those trips," Madoka chuckled.

"I remember the god awful horse rides, I'll tell you that!"

Audrey flicked the coin back into the open bag. It rang out a small chime as it spun into the air, catching glints of the fire off of its shine. Madoka could see how people could be greedy for such trinkets. She tied the bag up and tossed it into the portal. She wondered where Ciara was now. Hopefully she was somewhere safe, munching on grass with the other horses.

"You're such a baby when it comes to horseback rides," Madoka scoffed. Audrey shot her an offended glare but reached over and grabbed two types of coins.

"This one is some form of silver, which is more valuable than these copper ones," she explained. "Most commoners have a lot of these ugly brown coins, so we'll probably be using a lot of them."

Madoka shuddered at the thought of Audrey being a commoner. The lowest of lows for one of the most important people in the world. Whose world? Madoka's world. Audrey tried to lift the bag of copper coins but she could not.

"Gah," Audrey complained. "I swear, I have been lifting! Working out! Why are these bags so heavy?"

"It's about the grip," Madoka lifted both bags with ease.

"It's about the grip, bleh," Audrey mocked her tone. The two stared at the last bag of coins. They did not appear to be coins, but instead amalgamations of metal that were flattened. A rune was on one side and a symbol was on the other. "I wonder what these could mean. Oh well, people probably won't accept them. They aren't shiny!"

Madoka rolled her eyes but they fell back into silence and sat down. Audrey slumped on Madoka's shoulder, fast asleep.

"You are stronger than me, you know that?" Madoka whispered to her sleeping princess. "More than you know."