The Maid and Her Princess - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

"Good lord, you look awful!" The princess looked at Madoka. She could only hide her head in shame, but the princess caressed her cheeks. "I'll get some ice and you lay here tight."
"Wait," Madoka tried to protest, but she was too tired. The princess would do whatever she wanted.
She detested herself. The princess was not someone she should rely on, even if the feelings for her remained conflicting. Every part of Madoka was bruised and weak. She could not stand or move on her own. How long will she continue to be a burden?
Fiara returned with a bag full of ice created from magic and placed it squarely on Madoka's leg. The Healers were going to help her soon.
"You're doing so well," She soothed Madoka, hopping under the covers. "Training hard for me."
"Y-your Highness," she stammered as the princess rested her head on Madoka's shoulder. "You're asleep, aren't you?"
A snore was her only response. This time was for Madoka to finally give in and close her eyes.
It seemed only like an instant that she had them closed. Madoka's head pounded as she woke, but the princess was no longer by her side. Madoka cracked an eye open and noticed that it was dark outside. A candle flickered from the translucent lantern on the table with its meager light bobbing up and down within its cage. In the distance, she could hear scribbling on parchment from a fastidious hand Madoka was all too familiar with.
She tried to speak, but only breath would leave her lips. Not that it mattered, for Princess Fiara noticed it immediately. The quill was set aside in its ink well, chair scooting away as she made her way to Madoka. "Madoka!"
"G-good morning, Your Highness," Madoka breathed. The princess embraced her again. "How long have I been out?"
Princess Fiara contemplated it for a moment. "Oh, about all day."
A whole day. Madoka's heart sank. There were so many things to clean. The princess already could tell what she was worried about.
"You're fine. The healers did their voodoo magic stuff on you," she told Madoka. "Just consider it a sick day, or something. Maybe you'll get worker's comp. Is that even a thing in this world? My step-dad used to blab about his hand in an accident about it. Who knows!"
"You're as lively as ever, Your Highness," Madoka scolded her. "And it is late at night."
"Nae waah!" the princess pouted. "You're still working even though you're deathly wounded!"
"I-It's nothing," Madoka looked away, hiding a blush at the princess's concerns. "No problem at all, we have so much work to do-"
"Oh yeah!" the princess exclaimed loudly but then she piped down after a sharp look from Madoka. "I'm sorry. I just have been so excited that you're awake, I..."
Was the princess really apologizing to me? Madoka thought. She could not process the princess's words. If anything she should be the one apologizing for her foolish training with that infuriating noble for causing her trouble. The memory of that Cherish-man made her seize up. She must not tell princess Fiara why she was so hurt.
"I-I've been working hard too, Madoka!" Princess Fiara pointed to the desk. "Had to move my studies over here to be near you at all times, but I've been making headway into these notes."
"Notes?" Madoka was curious, albeit with a certain apprehension on what they were on.
"Magic," she rose with a confident grin. "It can wait til—"
"Don't tell m-me," Madoka sat up, but her injuries rapidly caught up to her. Ringing and severe headaches struck her back down onto the bed. Her body felt broken. Her mind felt like it was dangling in a state of helplessness.
"Ugh, Madoka," Princess Fiara pet her hair softly. "When did you get so impatient? Who taught you that?"
Madoka was worried that she actually learned magic on her own. She has heard how dangerous it can be for people who don't know how to wield it properly. Concern must have been written upon her face, for Princess Fiara chuckled as they looked at each other.
"It's okay, Madoka," she soothed her maid. She tapped the stack of paper and the books next to them. Various leaves divided the stack in sections. "Believe it or not, I was and still am a straight A plus student! I was on track to a good university too.... God dammit, thinking about the past just... Anyways! The time you should be worrying about me is tomorrow when you can actually come with me!"
"Oh, kind gods," Madoka groaned.
The princess giggled.
Some time passed in a blanketing silence with only the rhythmic scribblings of the princess making noise for hours. She clasped the belt wrapped around a tome shut. Madoka did not know how to read or write, however the princess did not seem to mind. With a satisfied stretch, she went back to lay with Madoka.
"Father disowned me. It could be a lot worse. My real parents, they," Princess Fiara was talking about her imaginary fantasies again, but Madoka has long since given up on scolding her. Was she comforting her and helping her work through her problems? Or was she merely worsening her dear friend's delusions?
"They used to fight quite a lot. I would hear a lot of it so I'd hide in my room and study since that's all I really could do. My mother never tried to protect me when he came after me. Instead, she'd watch as he beat me night after night. I began to hate her too. Though, I suppose we both were victims. But what noodly armed, skinny princess like me could stop a grown man from taking what she 'owed' him, right?"
She laughed bitterly.
"S-sorry, I was venting again," she curled one of Madoka's red locks between her fingers. A habit she has kept on since they were 11 years old. Madoka recalled the healers predicting she has about a year left before the curse would overtake her. That would make them both fourteen years old. She didn't want to think about life afterwards.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Madoka choked back tears.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I wish I could understand you better, Your Highness," Madoka whispered. She didn't know why she was either. "And why do you think so highly of me?"
"You've been taking care of me for so long, at a young age," Princess Fiara said softly. "How could I not think highly of you? Even through my failures as a former princess you've been there for me."
"That's not true..." Madoka carried on.
"What about your family?" Princess Fiara asked but pulled away. "Sorry, that's probably a bad subject to switch to."
"I remember nothing of my parents," Madoka said, as flatly as saying the sky was blue. "I know I was given to the Palace to serve as a payment, but I don't know if my parents survived or knew me."
"It was a bad idea to bring parents up," Princess Fiara said. "You've been playing this game on hard mode from the start..."
It must have been awhile but Madoka drifted off again listening to the princess's stories. Her wounds have mostly healed and she knew she could stand again. She sat up and shielded her eyes from the sunlight pouring in through the window, when suddenly she felt a draft brush across her bare skin. She was naked. Oh, kind gods, she knew the only person in this palace who would want to take her clothes off.
She pictured a grinning Princess Fiara in her mind and scoffed.
She wondered what to do at first. She yawned and got dressed and decided investigate in the hallways to find out. Another maid told her to go to the library where Her Highness was waiting. Madoka wondered how long it had been since she woke up after the sun rose. This building's halls were quite old and ornate, but not as much as the Palace's halls. Each hallway was simple with less things to clean and more importantly: No areas for the princess to hide in.
It was not like there were reasons for her to hide anymore. Madoka did not know why but a small tinge of sadness colored her cheeks as she thought about that. There were no more busy events for the princess to dress up for. Wood creaked as she stopped before the library's doors. Princess Fiara was definitely learning magic, a feat that Madoka has heard takes years to do.
But she knew Her Highness was a determined woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
To Madoka, the princess learning magic was only a matter of time. There simply was nothing Madoka could do to prevent it from happening despite how much she would prefer not having to clean magical messes up. Magical talents are rare amongst commoners and take even longer to develop than a Royal.
She pushed the door open, the old wood groaning beneath her hands, only to witness the princess leaning over a pile of books.
"That's not a proper posture to stand on," Madoka instinctively chastised her princess.
"Oh!" Princess Fiara straightened herself up and greeted her maid. "Look who decided to wake up today! Are you well?"
"I am fine, Your Highness," Madoka closed her eyes in embarrassment. "You don't need to ask me."
"Don't act all tsundere on me, Madoka!" Princess Fiara pouted for a moment then her eyes lit up after looking back at the book. Tsundere? Madoka could not ask before the princess jumped excitedly. "I think I got it down. The manas thingy majigs and whatsits are drawn to me, like toro-nagashi, hitodama, or maybe kami even? I'm an atheist. Anyways!"
She turned and bumped a pile of books on the floor. Madoka rolled her eyes.
"Oops," she muttered. One by one, Madoka picked the tomes up and placed them back as the princess rambled. "I can draw them in through my body and make a core of magic inside me. Like actually inside of me as a muscle. A magical muscle. Isn't that weird, Madoka?"
"Uh-huh," Madoka tuned the princess's ramblings out as she cleaned. A bright light reached the corner of her eyes and as she turned she saw the princess standing there with her eyes closed. To her amazement, a circular ring sparkled in pure white in the center of the princess's chest.
"See?!" She exclaimed excitedly. "This is the stuff of, like, videogames! It's totally wicked."
"... I think you shouldn't do that inside."
"Right," Princess Fiara said. She opened her eyes and the core of magic faded quickly. "Forget the books, come with me."
"How long have you been at this again?"
The two walked down the entrance hall on their way out. The princess stopped and raised a hand to her chin in thought, then she straightened her blonde hair out. Madoka noted she'll have to wash it tonight, containing the sigh that would have come out at the thought.
"Since you got here, so three months?" Princess Fiara said. "Have I mentioned that I can see manas all around us? They cling closely to you, Madoka."
Madoka gulped. Three whole months of her learning how to cause more trouble. How horrifying.
"That's... not very comforting, Your Highness," she muttered. The two stopped in the courtyard, away from the North Estate and hopefully far away from the garden where they first met.
"Watch this!" The princess exclaimed. "Call me... Mage Elise!"
The horrifying thought of calling the princess by her name barely distracted Madoka from what would happen next. The princess started to form an even brighter "core" at her chest, causing the wind to shudder and the air around her to shimmer. Madoka began to back away slowly.
"You're going to hurt yourself," Madoka said, unable to hide her worry.
"If I just concentrate on reining this thing in I can hide this core. Then I can harness it," the princess grunted with an intense concentration in her voice. It was difficult to see her. The glow from the core grew as bright as the sun itself. The princess uttered a great heave and the core shrunk. Then it suddenly vanished. The force of magic caused Madoka to fall over and afterwards the princess stood there ragged. "I... I did it? I think I can use magic now?"
"That's wonderful, Y-your highness," Madoka slowly got up. "Now, you look absolutely dreadful. We must get you cleaned immediately."
Princess Fiara's eyes looked around Madoka in a mystical bewilderment. Madoka was certain she was not bluffing and instead able to see things not many could see.
"Watch this!" The princess ignored her. She pointed her finger at a nearby flower and stuck out her tongue in concentration. Madoka thought she looked ridiculous. "Hiyah!"
At first nothing happened then suddenly a spark gathered at the tip of her finger. Panic welled up in both of them. The princess's eyes widened. The spark turned into a much larger flame, floating atop of her fingertip.
"Hot!" She panicked, fanning her fingers in an attempt to let the flame disappear. But it did not leave, instead following her finger with a trail of flame. To Madoka's horror, the flames caught her dress on fire.
"Elise!" Madoka blurted her name out as the princess danced about wildly, trying to get rid of the flame. The princess bumped into Madoka, causing the two to tumble down into the garden, and in a stroke of luck the fire got put out on the wet grass. The flame gathered at her finger evaporated as it began to rain. Madoka sat up on top of Princess Fiara, or Elise. She angrily looked at her tattered dress and singed fingertip. "Now look at you! Ugh!"
Madoka could not hold onto her scolding for too long. The pair laughed at the fact that she survived an immediate danger though Madoka did not know why then they grew silent. Elise stared upward at Madoka, her breathing equal and held a calm intent, as if she was waiting to see what Madoka would do to her. "What are you looking at me like that for?"
"You look beautiful up there, Madoka," Princess Fiara said softly. Madoka realized that she was still sitting on top of her. The feeling of her resting under her, the softness of her thighs under her stuck with Madoka and made a mark on her heart. Princess Fiara was truly a beautiful Royal. "I think I can control it better if I-"
"Nope, not today, Your Highness," Madoka pulled her up and dragged her inside, hiding the warmth in her cheeks. "You're a complete and utter mess. We're going to clean and straighten you up, I swear."
"Nae waaaah!" She flailed, but it was useless. Madoka had made up her mind. The princess could not escape her grasp.
"You're getting changed out of your burnt dress too! How many times have I told you to mind yourself and not cause troubles, Your Highness. No more magic! Have I made myself clear, Elise?"
At the sound of her name, Elise quieted down and followed Madoka inside.