The Maid and Her Princess - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Madoka's boots crunched on snow and dirt. Trees toppled over and tumbled downhill in the wake of Audrey's deadly magic spell. She smelled fresh air for the first time in way too long. Below her lay a valley under a blanket of thin clouds, greens layered under a stretched cotton. Above her, the twisted sky returned to a blue sky with a sleepy sun hanging lazily in the sky.
She heard breathing huff behind her and hurried and eager steps approach her.
"Wow," Audrey said. The blue skies could not compare to the beauty of her eyes. "You can see everything here, huh. There, that speck of brown is our next stop after... Don't look at me like that! It's a town! We'll be able to figure out what the heck we want to do in there."
Madoka squinted at the town. It did not seem to be set on fire.
"Furthermore," Audrey said triumphantly. "I am no longer a level one support mage! Now, I am a level TWO support mage!"
"P-Please," Madoka begged. "Not another fireball."
"Fireball?" Audrey said incredulously. "That wasn't a fireball, I merely ignited oxygen, added more and threw hydrogen in the mix before—"
"None of that, please!" Madoka snapped. "How did you even get that strong? You had one ring around your heart and now there's two— Oh, that's what a level up means."
Audrey spun and her "improved" core burst to life. The two bands were pure blue rings of magic but swirled with different colors, mystifying Madoka. Never once did they collide with each other, dancing in a perfect and precise rhythm. She wondered if they changed colors depending on her mood.
"I cultivated mana. Well, not cultivate, but that's the best term I could come up with," Audrey tried to explain. "It's kind of like, well, focusing your soul as a bubble and stuffing as much mana into it while trying to not make it pop. Okay, look, it's just really difficult to explain! Trust me!"
Madoka stared at her blankly.
"Don't judge me!" Audrey sighed. "This is worse than explaining my magic ring to those mages back in the day. They stared in awe. Apparently, my magic is unique to everyone. Isn't that cool? Hello? React or something!"
Madoka did not utter a word and kept staring.
"I think I see a black hole whenever I absorb too much mana," Audrey pouted before continuing. "Like a huge soul trying to reach out and absorb my own soul. Gazing into it makes me feel like I'll die but that's a minor side effect of leveling up. I'm going to try and do it again!"
"Audrey Elise Dalion," Madoka said sternly.
"Eep! Okay, okay!" Audrey whined. "I won't do it unless I know I can survive. Speaking of surviving... This guy did not survive."
She took a molten and mottled talisman out of her bag. Madoka recognized the halo floating above it but it was now bent and missing half of itself.
"What did you do to it? D-Don't we need that?"
"I was told to use it as a sort of, fuel, for my magic core," Audrey shrugged. "Before you get on my case, Ares said it was okay! The talisman helped me get enough mana to make a breakthrough!"
"If that's what the kind god desires," Madoka supposed. She had no idea what Audrey truly meant. The two were marching up mountain's stone path towards the Wind Serpent God's temple. The thought of that strange serpentine talisman came to her mind. Oh yeah, she remembered. That was the one Audrey was afraid to use.
She realized the path they walked on were the rooftops of the Frost Queen's Hall. Dirt and exposed stone, she grumbled as she walked on. They trudged along for awhile and found shelter underneath a crag in the mountainside. The sun began to set like an incandescent giant crashing to sleep beyond the horizon. No thoughts of animals disturbed this holy mountain, Madoka observed silently while Audrey looked at the space. She stopped and channeled her storage portal, seemingly satisfied with their location.
"We'll rest here for tonight. Help me out okay? Or do you prefer your box?"
Madoka silently pulled the tent from the portal and quietly swept the dirty snow out with a broom. She was truly tired. The trip in the Hall of Pelé took a lot out of her.
"Hey, does that hurt?" Audrey blurted as she traced the rune on her arm. Her finger still felt warm to the touch through her cloak. "Lemme see, lemme see!"
Audrey grabbed Madoka's cloak and tried to roll it off but she shoved the former princess off effortlessly and scoffed.
"Nae waaah!" Audrey whined as she fell on her butt. "I wanna see it!"
"So impatient...!" Madoka tore her sleeve down and revealed the dangerous marking on her shoulder. "See?"
"Hmm," Audrey peeked at it from different angles. "We're matching. Kind of!"
She tore her own shirt down and revealed her own shoulder. A wriggling mark twitched her skin before retreating away. Madoka blushed at the sight of her skin.
"Get back here, you little!" Audrey slapped her back, unaware of the effect her skin's beauty had on Madoka. "When you were in your box, your shoulder started glowing like mad! This must be a gift from Ares."
"The Frost Queen gave it to me, not Ares," Madoka said. "She did not tell me what it does."
"Of course she didn't," Audrey waved her hands above her head in exasperation. "Why would a kind god do such a convenient thing for us mortals? Still, Madoka. This rune looks wicked. It's tough and blood red. It's so cool!"
"I-I thought red runes were bad," Madoka stammered. Audrey broke into laughter.
"Yeah! Bad-ass!" She laughed. "It's good to be a bad-ass!"
Madoka's head began to get dizzy from Audrey's contradictions so she did not press for an explanation and instead dove into the tent. Audrey muttered something but the maid already fell fast asleep.
She was in a dream world of that ineffable being. How arrogant, she thought. In the moment she beheld its mysterious presence, her words wilted on her tongue and the light of her own rationality slipping back into a forever-blemished darkness. Madoka struggled, feeling the creature's eyes shift their infinite gaze upon her, hearing its name, Conqueror. It was dragging her back into—
"Madoka," a soothing voice called for her. She felt warm hands tugging her feet. She felt sore.
"A bed," Madoka suddenly sprang up, nearly pulling apart the tent's thick leather. "I want a bed— oh, forgive me, Your Audrey. Er, Elise Audrey. High Audrey. Whatever."
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Audrey smiled. Madoka groaned. This was probably how Audrey felt most mornings. "How'd you sleep?"
"Terribly," Madoka answered. A hand stuck through the tent holding a plate of food.
"Come on out and eat!" Audrey said from outside. The smell of cooked meat enticed Madoka, so she begrudgingly crawled out of the tent. It was more of the bear. Audrey stayed quiet for most of her meal before asking a question. "How are you holding up?"
"I am your servant," Madoka stated. But her lips quivered as she tried to put on a stoic face. Audrey's look pushed her to the brink of admission. She sank in her friend's gaze. "It's just that... Thing in the ice. I-I never thought I would be so close to gods. I'm so small and unworthy."
She trailed off. Audrey got up and stretched then paced under the starlight. Her blonde hair strands danced in the breeze. Perhaps in a year she will get to brush it, Madoka thought. If she survived this all.
"Our business is not to know all things, Madoka," Audrey said. "As rational creatures, we ought to govern our own selves and not be troubled over things that slip by."
Madoka grunted.
"Was that Locke? Maybe it was... Lovecraft?" Audrey mused. "Sometimes things are just absurd. Like that creature in the wall of ice, threatening to thrust you in a realm of powerlessness. Should you just give up? 'Cos you feel like you're too far in the deep end?"
Madoka simply sat back, listening to Audrey's pretty words and not really understanding them as usual.
"When I first gazed into the abyss while that talisman burned in my fist, I thought I was going to die. 'Really, what a let down,' I thought. I wanted to retreat into the darkness but suddenly I started thinking of home, of my past, of you. The woman of my dreams. Then I started fighting in the orbit and dropping my thoughts. You probably do that in battles. But, uh, it was a first time for me."
"You're always in your head, Audrey," Madoka chuckled. Something about Audrey saying she was the woman of her dreams took her far back before all of this.
"Sometimes we need a bigger light or a scary unknown that makes us remember what we can truly do with the stars and dreams we see, Madoka," Audrey squeezed her hand. Even though there were magical flames, her hands were more than enough to warm Madoka's own. "Sometimes being scared of the unknown is the best for making stuff up and forging your own path. Improvise!"
"Improvise?" Madoka was reminded of Lord Leopride's lesson on being unpredictable. He used that word a lot.
"It means being creative, making things up in a fight or in uncertain situations as you go," Audrey leaned in. She was so close! "Psst! If you wanna hear it from me, a level 2 support mage: Fighting fair is lame!"
"I think I finally found out what I truly feel," Madoka finally admitted with her voice low. "You are the most scariest thing I know of. More scarier than the beast below the ice."
"I'm not that ugly! I hope!" Audrey was about to complain but an unholy and intense roar echoed from above them. Madoka heard something like the flapping of a thousand wet bed sheets fluttering in a gale. Audrey's flame flickered to ashes as the air grew colder suddenly. She pointed over the cliff at something. She realized that she did not hear any thoughts from whatever or whoever made that roar.
Madoka gasped and pointed. The head of a massive flying beast burst out the fog towards the top of the mountain. It had scales and a reptilian body with wings that stretched far into the night. Another roar shook the place as a storm began to form.
"W-What was that thing?" Audrey gasped as the raging storm began to expand straight to them. They quickly threw the tent in the portal and prepared for the storm.
"A dragon," Madoka simply said as she started to pull out her axe but realized it would be impossible to get close to it. The flapping of its massive wings were returning. "A-Amazing."
"D-Don't suppose it will let us go, right?" Audrey said.
"Nope," Madoka said. The massive beast hovered over the hillside where they were headed. Its eyes glowed yellow as it seemed to beckon them to it. "Did you get any rest, Audrey?"
"Eh," Audrey chuckled nervously as the two observed the beast. It was much larger than the bear. Madoka caught a glimpse of a brutal tail and sharp claws before it became cloaked in green wind magic and dark clouds. "D-Don't hate me, but... Yeah, I slept when you dove into the tent."
"Dude," Madoka muttered. The dragon unleashed its roar as an invitation to its trial.
Wind slashed trees and boulders, cutting Madoka's cheek. Audrey covered her face as the air currents only worsened. At this rate, they would get blown off the mountain! They barely made it behind a nearby boulder that withstood the dragon's attack. She swore to herself and wiped the blood off her cheek.
"Well. Got any bright ideas?" She asked Audrey. The creature was flying and launching wind attacks at whatever it wanted.
"Yeah, sure," Audrey complained. "Have we tried running yet? No way we'll defeat a dragon!"
"Come on," Madoka cracked her knuckles. The dragon roared and emitted a shock wave of wind and snow. Debris pelted the rock they hid behind. "Let's put your pretty words to the test!"
"That's not what I...!" Audrey shook her head and sighed. Madoka looked at her intently and then Audrey swore. "Fine! Let's do this. Can you hear its thoughts?"
Madoka shook her head no.
"Great. Well it's a big target but what if I make it mad by hurting it?"
"Then let's make it angrier," Madoka said darkly, curling her hair back as the wind grew worse.
The large beast was closing in on them. At least it was kind enough to warn them with its noisiness. As it swooped low it slashed at them, narrowly missing the boulder it swiped at. How did it miss? She wondered. Was it blind? Suddenly, the boulder sliced in two perfect halves. Kind gods, Madoka groaned. It was rather obvious they would not survive a single hit from it but now it was clear as the moonlight.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Audrey was losing her footing in the storm winds. Madoka pulled her back down and stared up at it. Both girls leaned into the winds and managed to stay upright. They were eventually able to huddle behind a mound of ice.
"Gimme a bow," Madoka said. She has chased many things out of the kitchen in the Estate, including birds. She knew how inconvenient a flying animal was and wished for something long ranged to get rid of the pesky ones. Just picture the dragon as a... large bird, right? What am I doing? She snapped out of it.
"Do you think you could shoot it down with that?" Audrey said, looking skeptically at Madoka as she prepared her weapons.
"No," Madoka said. "But that's where your magic helps."
Audrey contemplated for a moment but the dragon did not wait for them to formulate a plan. Madoka's spine tingled as she sensed an incoming attack.
"Let's get going!" Madoka pulled Audrey. A beam of green wind tore through the mountainside from the dragon's maw, letting loose a high pitched scream. The ice they ran from burst into pieces from the pressurized blast. The wind helped them skip along in its current and they skidded to a halt after the beam magic ceased its barrage.
Audrey channeled intense blue flames from her hand and released it towards the dragon. For a second, the two watched the projectiles fly towards the raging beast but instead the storm vaporized the flames.
"You gotta be kiddin' me," Audrey groaned over the wind. Madoka caught a glimpse of something shining within Audrey's bag.
"Your bag, Audrey!" Madoka pointed at it.
"What?" Audrey mouthed, before checking her bag. The bag shuddered violently in the wind but it had to be a talisman. The wind shimmered all around them as she took the glowing serpentine talisman out. This feeling and overwhelming killing intent, Madoka focused on her surroundings. The dragon was charging another attack but where could they run?
They were out in the wide open! Simple trees would not stop an attack that can split mountain boulders. Audrey looked at the talisman incredulously.
"Really? Okay, then!" She spoke to it.
"What are you doing, Audrey?"
"I-I'm going to use the talisman. Stay with me!" Audrey shouted. "I just have to time this—"
The dragon released another deadly beam of magic on their position. Madoka supported Audrey's back as the Wind magic came crashing towards them. A low humming sounded as the talisman started to glow like the twin moons. Traces of white strand gathered in Audrey's hands, constructing an aura just in time to Madoka's relief. The blast of wind split apart and threatened to break through the shield.
Her eardrums thundered heavily, but Madoka dug her heels in and nocked an arrow. Twenty three arrows remained in her quiver. She must make them count. She stepped out from behind Audrey and let an arrow fly through the talisman's aura. To her surprise, Wind magic surrounded the arrow as it passed through it. The empowered arrow screamed into a tree and destroyed a chunk of ice with ease. It actually pierced the storm and flew?
"Hey, I need a little help here!" Audrey screamed as the beam attack from the dragon continued its convergence on them. Madoka put her back on Audrey's and noticed they were dangerously edging closer towards the cliff side.
I will be the pillar of support which she can lean against! Madoka thought defiantly as she prepared another arrow. Releasing it after the dragon made it reel back into the night heavens.
"Do you think you can use wind magic to aid my arrows?" Madoka called out above the wind. She pulled Audrey before she could answer to another ice chunk. The wind seemed to be freezing different spots for them to hide behind.
"I think this talisman can do that," Audrey shouted back, adjusting her cloak and hood. "Y-Your face!"
"Don't worry about my face!" Madoka protested but after seeing her friend's concern she scoffed. "Worry for it after, okay? No doubt it's recharging for another attack."
The two struggled to stand in the blistering storm but they knew the dragon was on the move again. Audrey said not a word and she felt her friend's trust.
Madoka scanned for a clear view of the beast. Its silver scales reflected snow and moonlight, coated with a green shimmering aura, revealed themselves in the night. Audrey held up her talisman and used more of her magic. Dagger sharp rocks pelted the wind shield it manifested, brought on by mere movement of the dragon's presence. She will repay that trust, she swore.
"Shoot its wings," Audrey said. "Maybe that'll help."
Madoka looked to the swaying of trees caused by this jeopardous storm. If she aimed into the wind she could arc the shot into the dragon.
"You are what stands between us and the summit," she gritted her teeth and prepared another arrow. "Go back to fairy tale stories, where you belong!"
She watched the released arrow become infused as it passed through the talisman's wind magic. It accelerated and must have hit the beast. She missed its wings but the beast felt the pain.
"Take another!" Madoka growled, launching more arrows. Between dodging and warding off debris using Audrey's serpentine talisman, Madoka realized she was running low on arrows. She had to make this last one count. The dragon was also bloody and its flight patterns were erratic.
Violent shaking was heard in the air as it flew high above. In the brief moment before it returned with another beam of magic, Madoka caught a sight of Audrey's double magic core. It was flickering with one of the bands fading completely. Every moment counted as both girls braced for the impact. Magic collided against magic in a violent tempest. The light from the explosion blinded Madoka. The dragon's final breath attack was much more intense! An enormous crater took them off their balance but the shield remained.
"Madoka do something!" Audrey shouted. Blood and dirt from the wind slashing her skin showed. "I can't hold it for too long!"
Madoka decided to forget about the wings. Its head seemed especially armored, but the glowing green magic launching from its maw made it too easy to aim for. Adjust for the wind, Madoka breathed in her first and second Cherish technique. Just as she fired, a tree branch slammed into her from the side. Madoka screamed as the impact caused her to lose balance and her world became disoriented as she flung in the storm.
Madoka groped for anything to hold onto. She swore and plunged her axe into the ground. She dangled and flapped about like a sail in a hurricane from hanging onto her axe, but she could see the wind magic infused arrow hit its mark through the fog. She heard the snap in her arm as it locked unnaturally in the brutal winds. Madoka grimaced yet she knew all that mattered is that Audrey was safe. Wait, where was she?
A heavy boot and a ragged Audrey stepped in front of her. The core of her magic was glowing crimson red. Was it the killing intent propelling the magical rings' blazing malice? Or was it a case of her running out of energy and being desperate? Madoka watched her friend channel into the shield once more. She could hear the dragon squealing in pain as blood and wind pulsed out in streams from the many arrows that stuck put from its side. The final arrow was lodged in its eye.
Its flight wobbled and it began to launch a crashing attack on the girls in one final desperate measure. Madoka got up. She was certain her arm was broken but she did not care. It was preparing to charge and she knew Audrey and her shield could not withstand an attack.
"You're hurt, Madoka!" Audrey screamed. "What are you doing?"
"I... Am..." Madoka uttered those words as she pulled her axe out with her offhand. "Improvising!"
She shoved a screaming Audrey out of the way, ignoring the cracking in her broken arm. The beast careened and shrieked at the girl who dared to stand against it. Madoka swung her axe and as soon as she made contact with the oncoming beast's wing her world went black.
"Madoka!" Madoka heard a voice echoing out. She awoke and saw Audrey crouched over her. She could see her own blood paint the snow in splotches. She must have bounced multiple times off of the ground from taking that dragon attack. Audrey sat next to her, the Six Armed Talisman in her hand. "Heal my reckless friend please!"
"S-Sorry," Madoka mumbled. They were alive!
"You animal!" Audrey cried. "Wasn't it you that said you have your heart leaping out with worry for me? You could have died!"
The healing restored her arm and she noticed something peculiar. The rune was burning on her shoulder in a fiery red glow.  Come to think of it... did it help her in battle?
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Audrey fake scolded her maid.
"Aaaaaa I'm sorry!"  Madoka apologized as the former princess grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Why does she feel a sense of déjà vu?
A loud stomping noise came from the trees below them. That damn dragon survived as well!
"There!" Madoka pointed, but she was too weak to hold up her arm. A one winged dragon was holding onto the cliff side, screeching and howling.
"Let me get this, okay?" Audrey assured the maid. The core flickered around her heart, but Madoka had no choice but to allow her to. As the dragon's bloody maw was preparing another magic attack, Audrey herself was charging two azure fire spells in both palms of her hand as well. "Eat this, you stupid lizard!"
"It's a dragon," Madoka muttered but shielded her eyes because she knew what would happen next. The two fireballs launched much quicker than the dragon's own wind magic, splitting the beams in half and created a brilliant explosion.
Audrey dove on top of Madoka as the blast of her magic continued its onslaught. Madoka realized Audrey still was quite warm to the touch as she held on watching the outline of the large one winged dragon fall down into the depths below in the midst of the explosion.
"Whew..." Audrey breathed as she attempted to roll off Madoka but she held her there tightly. "M-Madoka?"
"We did it?" She whispered.
"We did it," Audrey whispered back excitedly. "We. Are. Dragonslay—"
The ground immediately started to rumble as something more violent pulled up viciously from below.