I.

Madoka could have sworn she saw Her Highness in the golden light the moment it flashed before her in a cloud of dust. It bobbed up and down, beckoning her before streaking silently across the path under the Twin moons. It did not come from her chest, but it felt like her heart was in knots. She was not brave enough to face Eena's advances. She did not even feel that way towards the woman. So why did the Noble do it? It was unexpected; an ambush that left her feeling more bare than what Lady Eena herself showed to her. Was it because she wanted to take her away from Audrey? What was wrong with Audrey? What was wrong with her?

Unworthy, ugly, fat as a sow. Those phrases from less pleasant times came to her mind like daggers as she quickened her steps into a full sprint like the voices of the Witch. Her breath clamored for air because it felt like her heart lodged itself firmly into her throat while beating violently. She wanted to curl up and brace for a beating that would not come since she was no longer in the Palace. Those days would never reach her again, but continued to haunt her. Why?

Amidst the chaos ravaging Madoka's body, a small gust gathered the ashes of her terror and blew the trauma directly into her face: A small feeling of being misunderstood and accused. Like she did something terrible. Why did she feel so utterly helpless and ashamed? Before she could find the answer, Gladeban's quiet stony streets and the familiar streaming of river waters greeted her, barely slowing her retreat.

Find the inn, hide, find Audrey, hide, her mind screamed at her. Madoka looked calm on the outside, but her heart's inner turmoil threatened to break her. Yet, when she saw the quiet building lit by lamp lights, her racing mind began to even out into a steadier string of thoughts instead of driving survival intincts brought on from being chased by a phantasmal predator. Relief, refuge, and the possibility of her own pulse giving her a break, allowing her to take small yet tentative measured steps. Her worn out boot stepped out of the shadows underneath the bobbing lamp's embrace and her fingers gripped the door as if it was the only branch left to hold onto before slipping from the river banks into the icy waters. Find the inn, done. Hide? This familiar place will do.

As the warmth of the quiet entrance hall wrapped around Madoka, she immediately ignored everyone after scanning the room for anything that looked like a Noble. Nothing, she found quickly, catching a breath finally earned from her flight. Something caught her attention, glinting with the light. A trail of shining golden dust traveled up the stairs ahead, making her remember to keep going.

Audrey was fast asleep, as if the world itself could not wake her, but the sight of Her Highness tucked away where Madoka left her last washed the rest of her fear away. Only the residual trembling remained. She must have been away for an hour, but she felt like nights had past between her and her secret getaway. There was nothing left for her to do, so she finally collapsed into the bed and sank deeply into sleep.

Madoka did not believe pain could come so softly, like fog. She was used to bones breaking, blows from both magic and fist delivered it so easily. This type of pain always made its way like rain turning into a river to wade through. But it arrived all the same. As she had predicted, by the time the buzzing sensation of entering a dream came from the back of her mind, her head was already swimming in a murky vision.

Blurry shapes formed beneath her, two small and white incandescent forms. She was once again a ghost hovering above, formless and unable to move. The shapes became more defined. White lab coats. Which means… Humans, she noted. As it cleared, neither of them were recognizable. They were speaking in Sixth Form.

"We split open an M-particle. You know, those newly discovered constants in the atoms? Forget localized black holes, cryostats, those weird brain beacons that are grown in a Sri Lankan petri dish. You want to know what we discovered in an M-particle? When the boys in the lab took a vial of the stuff and cracked it - it appeared to be just a neuroactive peptide. Cerebrospinal... whatnot..."

"Get to the point."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I haven't gotten enough sleep. We noticed consistency in the liquid and found it odd since it had a makeup of vitreous gel. So imagine our surprise when we split a M-particle and saw what lay between. Problem is, the proteins in the gel were missing... a lot of amino acids that would connect all of it together, see here? The links are gone."

"What did you find?"

"We found eyes, Director. Eyes."

"You're telling me, eyes are inside our spinal fluid?"

"Roughly 86% of the population."

"Why are the missing amino acids important again?"

"Because, Director, we found them. Found where they linked to. The other end. The infinite void of eyes belongs to another micro-universe. Each droplet, every M-particle, is a micro-universe. And they're watching us, Director."

The blurry figures both suddenly looked up, staring directly at Madoka.

Madoka flinched awake, her eyes fluttering violently, at war against her cheeks. What was that? Then she once again tossed and turned as the dream transitioned in a swirl of more colors. She wrestled with those pieces, recognizing the words but unable to reconcile any meaning when they were put together. Audrey spoke of such similar things regarding those… particles?

She recalled the princess rambling about things while they were in the Shadow Forest, while Madoka watched the white glittering liquid slush about in the pipes like Her Highness splashed water in a tub while being a troublesome little girl. Her genius nearly made the maid shudder. How is someone like her allowed in this world? She groaned and covered her face with her arm. A small body bumped against her. The same one that had such an incredible amount of genius in her was now stirring innocently beside the maid before settling back into a ball.

Her mind went back to Lady Eena. Despite the havoc she stirred inside her thoughts, the Noble woman was beautiful. Broken. They both were the same, were they not? Madoka could remember all the scars covering her when they first met entering Gladeban. She also could remember the rush of shame from seeing her bare in the moonlight. The attraction that was creeping up inside of her seemed to build upon a wild thought that has always been in her mind. She had been suppressing this passion all this time. Lady Eena was beautiful, but Madoka only felt that she wanted someone else standing there and looking at her the same way the Noble woman did last night. She knew it was wrong to flee from her— to keep whatever dignity as a slave had left. She was right about who she belonged to, but Madoka realized something else. Eena's thoughts of her were her choice. The Noble woman deemed her worthy of someone to look at and chase. It was not wrong of her, but Madoka's heart did not feel the same way back. It would take a long time for Eena to choose someone else. Someone who was truly hers. The delicate line was crossed and it was not something that could be easily repaired. But understanding the Noble's confession to her helped ease the terrible memories she had given to Madoka in her advance, even if it was not on purpose. No telling what would happen to her when she rejects Lady Eena in person, but she must make it right. Her heart and wild thoughts of attraction belonged to Audrey. Therefore, she cannot accept Eena's confession and would tell her directly the next time they met.

As if on cue, the sleeping ball next to her bumped into her side again lightly, nearly making her jolt straight up. Madoka finally faced what exactly her wild thought was: She wanted to give Audrey her feelings. Not Lady Eena. The moment she realized this, her heart raced. Was she even brave enough to do so as a slave? After thinking over and over about Her Highness's adorable face, she suddenly gave way to sleep again, no longer able to torment herself. Only one final regretful thought remained: She really, truly should not have given that Noble woman those fruits.

Madoka found herself standing in a hallway. Ochre lights filtered through squared windows above, separating into pieces of shadows and illuminated lockers on the sides in slices. This space was not designed for people to rest in; It was an efficient place to remove any distracting elements in favor of guidance to the next stage in visitors' lives. No accommodations, even the boards tacked to the walls were printed in text large enough to identify with a passing glance. Still, scattered books and other stationary lay spread out along the ground, as silent witnesses to the chaotic and carefree lives of youth passing by. She watched silently as trios left one by one out the open door ahead like a funeral procession, some had their heads lowered and some looked angrily at the smaller children between them. Officers stood with stern expressions as the crowd slowly funneled solemnly towards them. They were already guided to the next place in their lives, by their own choice. Steps followed up behind her and stopped, the presence just standing there and joining her silent judgment of the crowd. She did not have to look to know it was Elise.

"Do you see them now? How they hang their heads in shame?" Elise's voice was enrapturing. The kind that makes one stand straighter, yet brings longing to hear her speak. Was this the voice that belonged to a true Royal? A hand outstretched, pointing to a girl Madoka recognized from the last dream. It was the one her so-called friend called Unnie. The girl's cheeks were purple and swollen, though that was nowhere near the state she left Elise in. Somehow, she knew that girl's fall was complete and irreversible without any further beating. She felt her gaze on her, but she dared not to look the Royal in the eyes just yet. Still, she saw right through Madoka's concern and relief, giving a chuckle. "I don't fall so easily, you know. This body is not as sick as my old one. I think that's what makes us so similar, after all. Our resilience."

The mention of Audrey filled Madoka with calmness, like a reassuring hand placed on her shoulder. It must have been so terrible dying alone and having no one able to help, yet they both made it through hardships time and time again. She wanted to apologize for not being there for the true Elise. She wanted to help clean the hallway so she could pass through easily. But all she could do now is simply nod her head quietly. A small, mirthless chuckle was all she heard in response.

"I'm here where I belong," Elise said firmly. "Every step you take for her is for you. Does their punishment bring you a sense of closure? A path to ease your guilt from the last time you visited me?"

The statement made her realize that she was indeed a guest here. But who was she here? Madoka finally turned to look at the true Royal, but could not bring herself to ask that question. Princess Fiara, despite being a human in this world wearing the body of her dear friend, still stood taller than her. She did not know what she looked like, because the dream seemed to prevent her from seeing her vague features besides her eyes. Slowly, she nodded again. Fiara smiled, but the light was not in her. There were a thousand reasons why she looked so solemn. Being away from her home, the Palace, for so long must have been weighing her down for all this time.

"So we've finally met," she said with a knowing look. Madoka understood that she was indeed talking directly to her, not the person who she was posing as. "You're remarkable. I know you will protect her. But– what about yourself?"

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Sunlight reached her eyes and highlighted the beautiful blue irises, just like Audrey's eyes. The princess waited for her to speak. Madoka glanced at the people being escorted away with the police like the prisoners she saw at the Palace's grounds. She also realized that somehow, Elise had saved her from being one of them. Still, she was frozen in place, unsure whether the Princess of Fiara's unfamiliar eyes were friendly or a predator playing with its prey– her.

"I feel like I let people down a lot," Madoka admitted. "I feel like I couldn't tell her no, so I fled like a coward. How could she, a Noble, be told no? Refusing a Noble is heresy. Fleeing is heresy. Yet, I did both. Does that–" She felt like she was stripped bare before the Princess's eyes, but they commanded her to march forth into the abyss all the same. "Does that make me a coward?"

The silence that followed was heavy, stretching longer than the shadows as the sunset waned into the night. Finally, Elise's judgment fell upon her shoulders.

"It's not cowardly to choose yourself," Elise declared. The resulting revelation from immediately lifted a massive weight off her feet and shoulders. Madoka did not know whether the confidence came from her words or because it was from the Princess herself. Suddenly the lights in the hallway flickered like she was blinking, morphing each time her eyes adjusted.

The school hallway became replaced by familiar cold sterile paths. Madoka realized she had been standing here before, but before she could remember the lights flickered again and she was back to the school, which was now abandoned.

"If you try upholding a lie, even if it's about yourself," Elise's voice came from somewhere as Madoka's eyes and stomach churned. The buzzing noise was rapidly descending upon her like a faulty intercom, yet calling her all the same. "You'll have to tell a thousand more just to uphold it. Tell me, servant of Audrey, loyal friend and subject to Fiara. Are you willing to let that weight go? Or shall you choose to be crushed when your self-deception is too much?"

Madoka's head spun as the white hallway came into her vision once again. Black vines suddenly burst out of the walls and lunged at her like desperate arms, creating dark wounds and gashes in the wall's crumbling concrete walls as they ripped through easily. She could not even let out a scream before they reached her, but the true Princess's words rang out over the pain and noise.

"You care about her. You love her," Elise said gently. "Don't you? Do not keep her waiting. For her. For me."

A warm glow coated Madoka's eyes. Commotion outside bothered her ears. Tch, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. They must have slept in! She sat up and was about to stretch before her hand suddenly brushed against soft skin. A faint gasp reached her ears, then a melodic and soft giggle escaped from the girl beside her. The idea was already there, now growing into a massive tree. Audrey was watching her and only the kind gods knew for how long. Madoka looked back briefly, but then indignantly resumed her stretching. She did not make an attempt to dodge Her Highness in her arm's wake. As usual, she was the one to rise first even if Audrey beat her in being awake first.

It was then when the maid realized the state of the room she left it in upon entering late at night. Her clothes and even the other beds were in complete disarray, making her nearly choke from the disaster. Madoka immediately disregarded everything and began to scoop up her mess hastily, but the damage was already done. Audrey had seen her being messy and the embarrassment turned into heat crawling into her ears as she heard the princess chuckle to herself.

"You," she murmured, her voice in that deep tone when she woke up– the first ray of sunlight reaching through the room with fingers of light. "Are so cute!"

Madoka paused for a moment when she heard this, the garment draped over her bare shoulder, then the glint of the Silver Adventurer tag caused her to turn around to face Her Annoyingness. The girl had shifted up on her sides in a lounging position, reclining on her elbow just to get a good look to watch Madoka's blundering. She felt embarrassed over her scarred body, but now was unsure where it came from. It used to be just the shame of being weak and the terrible memories from the Palace. Now, she wondered a lot. Was it because even through all of the mixed emotions, she had finally been centered on giving Audrey her feelings? Or was it because she wanted to give her only her most beautiful side? Right now, she was disheveled– definitely far from anywhere near her best state, whatever that is.

"Good morning," she finally said instead. The way the girl lay started to draw Madoka in and she found herself sitting beside the sleepy girl.

"Mornin', Madoka," Audrey's eyes seemed to lower and her tone became more shy. Madoka patted her head, which only seemed to make the girl jump beneath her palm. The moment lingered between them as more and more noise outside began to stir, but it was as if the commotion was fading quickly. Between them, only the sun and their breath remained. Then Madoka stood up and yanked the covers off of the princess. "Wha! Naeee waah!"

"Giddy up!" She hollered. "We got work to do!"

"Like what!" Audrey struggled to retrieve the blankets Madoka had brazenly thrown to the floor, but gave up after realizing she could not reach them and flopped onto the bed, kicking away at the air and flailing. "So what! I don't wanna move!"

"You've been asleep for too long!" Madoka shouted, fastening a buckle around her waist from a new traveler's set of clothes. She retrieved another set for Audrey and hurled it at her face.

"Gah, Madoka, you– you shot me," Audrey choked and feigned death. With that, the flailing Golden Hand flopped lifelessly and hung off the side of the bed as she fell silent. Madoka was having none of her nonsense, so she pounced with the rest of Her Laziness's clothes in hand. Instantly, the protesting began anew as they wrestled. "What! I'm dead, you're not supposed to mess with the dead!"

"You'll be dead if you don't get–" Madoka paused. The girl's translucent, jade skin shimmered in the sun for a moment. She had somehow wrapped around Audrey and could see the princess's back clearly now. There was something the way it looked that caught her attention, besides her natural beauty.

"Madoka?" Audrey asked, craning her neck to look at what the maid was inspecting on her body to no avail. She shivered when Madoka traced a finger underneath her shoulder blade. "M-Mad!"

She was certain. The clear, but barely noticeable lines broke up a section of her skin under the shoulder blade. Madoka smoothed a finger to brush it, feeling how soft the princess truly was. But when she stroked against the section, it was rough like grass resisting a push of wind. She felt ridges that revealed themselves like gems in granular sands when she passed her hand over it in admiration and curiosity. There was no doubt, she thought. She was not hallucinating as she continued petting the area, making the girl shiver and squirm.

"Madoka! Okay, okay, you win! I-I'll get dressed, okay?" Audrey finally lost her composure. Madoka was not listening when she finally felt the girl pull away. What she was feeling were the beginnings of scales growing right there on her back. Wait, why were they suddenly blooming into a soft red color? Do scales do that? Should she tell her? Audrey cleared her throat. "T-That tactic of yours is w-way to effective. Don't do that or it'll make me cause you some trouble!"

"A-Apologies," Madoka stammered. She decided to tell Audrey that she was growing scales later when the girl was not upset with her.

"Waah," Audrey stood up, wrapping the cloak hastily over her body as if she was hiding the secret scales herself. Was she also aware of her physical changes? Well, Madoka thought as she seized her from getting away with the messy state of her cloak and straightened her out despite her protests. It is her body, after all. The girl fell silent as she turned and allowed the maid to complete her inspection. "I'm sorry, Madoka."

"Hmm?" Madoka looked at her. The image of Elise's eyes overlapped with Audrey's, nearly making her flinch.

"I'm sorry for sleeping in for so long," Audrey fidgeted with her hands. "Turns out, I'm not really good at PVP. And–" She quickly cut in before Madoka could question what that meant. "I'm sorry for not healing Eena. I was jealous, so I thought in some sick kind of way that not healing her would make her leave you alone."

The mention of Eena made Madoka nearly jump, the events of last night played in her mind again. This time, however, the fear she expected never arrived. She shook her head before she allowed a single stutter out of her lips.

"I-It's fine, Audrey."

"You," Audrey studied Madoka. She averted her gaze, unsure of how to breach the truth inside of her yet. "Do you like Lady Eena?"

"Audrey," Madoka whined. "You know I am unable to answer that."

Audrey remained silent, simply waiting for her to answer and face the feelings of attraction towards her. Madoka shifted and squirmed, but there was really nothing left for her but the truth, right? The princess's gaze looked just like Elise's.

"I don't," Madoka admitted honestly. "Kind gods, I don't."

Something splashed on the back of her hands. Tears. She was crying fresh tears from the combined pressure memories and Audrey's questioning stare. The girl simply relaxed and wore a slightly smug smile. Then she felt a tight embrace wrap around her waist as the princess's soft head thudded against Madoka's chest. She knew why the girl was happy, but for once, she did not feel an urge to run away. The hug was different this time and it was something she wanted. She was not ready to answer her just yet. She sent a silent apology to the true Princess. Even if Elise had told her to not keep Audrey waiting, there were things that had far greater trouble than her own feelings so she could not truly afford to distract her more than she probably did.

"Did you dream last night?" Madoka asked softly into the back of Audrey's blonde hair. The girl did not respond, instead continued to bury her face deeper into her chest. "Audrey?"

"I—" Audrey finally peered back up at her with big eyes full of energy. Kind gods, she must have gotten a lot stored inside of her from sleeping so long! "I dreamed that I was changing somehow… But I have forgotten about it all already. It was quite nice having regular dreams, you know."

Changing. That was exactly what was happening to her, was it not? Not only her, but everything between them was shifting in a direction Madoka could trace. Should she reveal to Audrey the changes she dreamed of were real? Suddenly, the room went dark. A shadow greyed out the day, freezing the air around them and a loud chorus of bellowing noises rattled the window. Audrey looked away, her hair whipping Madoka's chin as she turned. She sputtered, but quickly joined the princess to look out at the commotion going on outside. Terror spread within her heart as she saw what filled the sky.

"What is that?" She asked Audrey, but the girl was equally confused as she stared up at the strange cloud blanketing the sky.

"Brown… Fur…?" Audrey's eyes lit up suddenly. "Those are Cel'Row!"

"What?" Madoka felt suddenly relieved. The other adventurers outside pointed upward and cheered. Their faces were covered by the moaning Cel'Rows flying above them, but the sheer volume of their herd blotting out the sky made her realize why such an event was created by the Guild. There were thousands of the beasts, though she only saw their bulbous underbellies. Legs did not protrude out of anywhere on their bodies. Instead, disproportionate amounts of large and thick tentacles stuck out of them like bundles of straw from their sides. "I– I've never seen anything quite like a Cel'Row."

"Me neither," Audrey murmured. "Welp, we're going to join the PVE Event anyways, right? Better get outside then and hurry with the others. Go, go, go!"

Madoka felt slightly at ease at the prospect of hunting such creatures, but their chaotic thoughts suddenly pierced her own. She stopped Audrey at the door by catching her Golden Hand. The girl abruptly slammed in the door anyways, making Madoka's heart stop after she noticed the glowing wrist was a stump. She pulled Her Highness's hand off!

"Madoka?" Audrey turned, but when she saw her Golden Hand in Madoka's grip, she panicked. "Hey, I need that!"

The Godtouched hand suddenly wriggled free from her hand like a bird flying out of its cage, then shot over back to the Princess's wrist and reconnected as if nothing happened. Madoka groaned. She made a mental note to yank her by the other hand next time.

"The Cel'Row, Audrey," she warned. "They're running away from something."

"That's," Audrey paused, nervousness filling her blue irises as she pondered. "That's not good, is it? Well, we'll have to get back out there. If the Uracksheegal comes through, then…"

Both girls fell silent as the herd of flying Cel'Row's bellowing chorus grew more distant and the sky became brighter. Audrey's face became illuminated by the morning sun, dappled in pale gold. Madoka knew what would happen next and she was determined this time.

"We'll face Her and whatever's next head on together, Audrey," she finally said. After a small nod, Madoka held the door open for her. Something fell on the floor on the outside with a soft thud. A pleasant blue shimmer caught her eyes from the floor. A pendant…?

"Huh," Audrey knelt down to pick it up. A small scroll also rolled next to it, so she held it up with the jewelry. Madoka could not read it, of course, so she instinctively assumed that the precious piece was a gift and belonged to Her Highness. But who would dare to send such a clear declaration of love to a Noble? As expected, Audrey's face darkened into a frown and she suddenly ripped the letter in halves like a gross loaf of bread. She stuck the pendant out to Madoka as if it was a poisonous snake and scoffed. "Says it's for you. From that annoying bit… Eena person. She just doesn't know how to quit! I oughta–"

Madoka was not listening to her irritated and jealous rant. This jewel… She recognized it. It was the one embedded inside the Goblin King's crown of ears. Knotting magic danced along its beautiful facets. It was clear to her that Lady Eena took care of it. Even if Madoka could not read the letter that Audrey tore up before her, she knew that this piece of jewelry was possibly her way of saying goodbye. She tucked the pendant in the storage portal, silently thanking Lady Eena and wishing her luck in her new journey. Audrey was still fuming and ranting, but paused when Madoka simply strode by her and extended a hand out to her.

"Let's go get some Cel'Row," she softly said, hoping that her growling stomach would not ruin the mood.

A soft hand reaching out and taking hers was all too common to her, but right now? It felt like a brand new beginning to Madoka.

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