VII. It's Her, Isn't It?

Madoka still did not want to rest. Putting a sleeping, stinky Audrey in a bathtub and washing her normally was quite an ordeal, making her quickly learn to never take her strange water magic for granted. She felt an odd pull of magic through her Golden Hand, but did not make an attempt to reach for it. Cleaning it was relatively simple. It was the only thing that was not dirty, devoid of grime and stench as she washed it. Audrey's shining hand was limp just like anyone else's while she slept, casting a faint gold outline around the metal plates that replaced her normal hand's "parts." It seemed to pulse softly as she slept, but was bright the entire way to the inn when she was awake.

Another thing to keep track of, Madoka simply noted.

After tucking her in, Madoka took a peek at her before bracing herself for her own dreams. Whatever troublesome or peaceful time Her Highness was locked in right now, she could never tell based on the girl's serene face. She was not really sure if they should have stayed with the others, but here they were. She was about to rest her head on her pillow when a faint knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts.

Madoka groaned and ignored it, hoping whoever on the other side would give up. She was already hesitant in leaving Her Highness unattended even if she was asleep and could not cause trouble somewhere. No thoughts, no one outside due to the apparent curfew, and she was sure House Dalion was quite fearsome now here in this town. Other rude adventurers will hear how one of the great Drezgor's party members got defeated by them, right? The image of Blue Hair lying in the dirt as a near dead charred corpse amused her. If they defeated a Diamond ranked adventurer, especially someone who Madoka initially felt greatly troubled by at first, would that not mean that they were as strong as a Diamond ranker? That could not be— she was probably being too arrogant. They merely got lucky, she dismissed that notion with no further greedy thought.

Then the knocking happened again like a persistent ghost, sending ripples of displeasure through Madoka. She could not sleep at the moment, but that did not mean she wanted to move and be bothered by someone at this hour. Still, she rolled out of bed, determined to thwart the disturbance. Opening the door, a small shadow appeared below her, plated with an outline of silver lighting from the moons.

"Madoka."

She heard the stranger whisper her name, soft as a breeze and gentle as a falling petal. It was Eena. Lady Eena, she corrected herself. She also suddenly remembered that she did not even show her the dragon bones in the storage talisman. There was this strange tenseness in the air and even the golden strands of magic seemed move the starry night between them. The Lady must have read her question on her face and explained herself.

"I ate them," she pointed to her lips. Under the hood of her cloak, Madoka saw that she had been crying recently. Before she knew it, she silently walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. She noticed that her robe was no longer the disheveled commoner clothing she usually wore, but more softer and clean, what a Noble woman would wear. Why did that seem unusual to her this time?

The two women headed out, one after the other. Lady Eena was wordlessly leading her and Madoka found the resistance and weariness, every beam of their stubborn supports strangely absent and shaking her guarded foundation. In the spaces between nameless buildings, shops darkened by the night; only the presence of their quiet steps over ancient cobblestone made an acoustic atmosphere that had room only for the two of them. The absence during the night even in the places where countless people trampled over in the day made Madoka feel at ease even with a Noble. Like she was alone, even though with someone. Did Audrey ever make her feel this way?

The river flowing through Gladeban began to grow distant from her ears as her boot met soft grass from hard stones and creaking wooden bridges. Madoka did not say a word, but she had a guess where Eena was leading her. The shadow of a building finally cast over Madoka, blocking the night view. It was a large house with white stone and an iron fence gathered around it, but it seemed so shabby and abandoned, giving her an inexplicable desire to start cleaning. A half hour had gone by before the Noble finally broke the silence.

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"This, this is the home he left me to die in," Eena finally spoke. Her face was bathed in halves of darkness and moonlight, but she looked small in Madoka's eyes. She lifted a trembling finger to a small patch of blackened earth amidst the tall, wild unkempt grass yard. "That's where he left me after running that Serpent Blade through me. Do you know how empty it feels to be dying alone, with no one left to find you? If it wasn't for those adventurers who passed by, I would have been…"

She fell silent.

"I do," Madoka whispered with solemn recognition. "To watch your murderer's uncaring eyes walk past you as you fall, helpless. I know what it's like seeing the glimpse of his blood stained hand grow blurry and knowing it's the last thing you see."

Madoka did not merely recall Prince Fiara's cold gaze, sharing the same eyes as Audrey's, she shuddered from the despair ricocheting back from that distant past. Back then, she felt like it was somehow like seeing Her Highness running that blade into her heart. Instinctively, she clutched her heart protectively without even noticing she did so at first. Eena studied her quietly before stepping to the iron gate and opening it for her. Then she stopped right on the patch where she was left to die in. Madoka watched her move, but stood at the edge of the path. The divide between them was a slim line, as if crossing from the carely cut gravel way would enter a wild world. So Madoka listened to each step the Noblewoman took. They carried a careful yet deliberate calmness which tickled something in her ears.

"I ate the fruits, Gechik's Bitter and Sweet juices," Eena spoke calmly, but with a heaviness in its tone. "She showed me when I was a child, playing quietly in my Father's workshop while he worked on crafting a beautiful necklace for me. Then, she showed how he was taken away by the Prince of Esmerald. How Balthgor left me here. Where I was left to die. Madoka…"

Suddenly, she reached up to her robe's collar and with one fluid movement let it fall to the floor right in front of Madoka. Her eyes never left the maid, whose breath was hitched. Her skin was bathed in light at that moment, the maid did not see a single scar on it nor dirt smudge to clean off her body. And her light steps were now approaching the maid, leaving that isolated spot of scorched earth and its painful memories.

"Madoka," she said softly. Blood rushed to Madoka's head, making her instinctively back away slowly before the Noble woman could touch her. "Madoka?"

"P-Please," the maid stammered. "No…"

Countless painful flashbacks of nights spent with Nobles came back to her in a torrent like tendrils from the tangled wilds. The hands roaming around upon her skin in the darkness, the Head Maid throwing her into a pitch black room and leaving her there screaming to no one for days, and the shackles of humiliation being wrapped around her legs rooted Madoka into her place. A hand suddenly placed itself gently on her shoulder, but it might as well have been a venomous bite from a snake. She screamed for forgiveness and knelt down immediately, losing any sense of herself.

"Madoka!" Eena's voice pulled her out of her madness some time later. The Noble woman had put her robe back on, tears in her eyes, but whatever face Madoka had on must have caused an immeasurable impact upon the Lady. She shivered, not even noticing her knees were scratched from kneeling on the rocky path. Eena reached out to support her, but her hands froze halfway. Madoka still recoiled from them anyways, springing up and bowing again.

"F-Forgive me," she cried, backing away slowly. "D-Don't hurt me, don't touch me, don't…"

A dark look on Eena's face shadowed her, the moonlight still shining on the earth behind her. Madoka did not notice, too busy frantically trying to catch her breath amidst the hiccups and tears smothering her head. Lady Eena then walked back into the light, as if to get a look at the terrified maid.

"I'm sorry, Madoka," Eena finally spoke, shame tinging each word. A shred of Madoka's conscience still begged for her own forgiveness for being so unworthy, but she could hear her despite not being able to stop herself. She grasped for the meaning of the Noble's apology, but she clutched herself instead. "In Sovos culture, sharing such a valuable thing means so much to us. I was selfish in imposing myself upon you, thinking I mattered to you a bit more over these past days. I know you did not know, but, I thought, I—"

Madoka kept backing into the night again, the distance between the Noble gradually becoming an impassable canyon. The tangles of the yard were no longer able to be pronounced between her teary eyes and only the shape of the Noblewoman's figure stood in the blurry light.

"Left here alone again, huh?" Eena whispered mockingly to herself, but Madoka could hear her perfectly now.

The softness of the blue night was once again settling in and allowed Madoka to clear her head just enough to find the iron gate. She stopped and cried out a final apology. She thought she caught the glint of a golden light bobbing up and down in the forest path back to Gladeban, but it vanished quickly like a trick in the light. She ran anyways. As she chased it, she heard Eena say something again to herself with a choked up and sorrowful voice of her own.

"It's her, isn't it? You only belong to her."

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