The Maid and Her Princess [On Hiatus]

I'll Go Further and Beyond (HotFQ 3)

III.

Madoka stirred awake feeling warmer than usual. There was someone's familiar frame cuddled up next to her. She thought the princess would be more uncomfortable sleeping on the ground. Audrey remained undisturbed, even though they must have been wandering around for weeks without a soul in sight. She must have gotten used to it. The poor girl has been through it all, Madoka thought idly to herself. Something caught her eyes.

Glowing fairy-like lights floated above her. Spirits? Little orbs of greens, reds, yellows and blues swirled above almost playfully. Beautiful, Madoka took in the sight of the spirits quietly. They bobbed in the air and paid her no mind; their forms bulbous with small strands of tentacles underneath their bodies. They seemed to push off of thin air towards a greater light. Above Madoka and the spirits, daylight made the icy cavern's roof a translucent cerulean and lit up the ruin's dome like structure. Madoka blinked and the spirits were gone.

Although this section of the ancient room seemed torn down by time itself, the ice that kept it all together showed no signs of letting it go. Daylight meant that the storm outside finally ceased. Madoka looked towards the slopes they slipped down from beyond the cracked mural and found them to be too high up. There was no chance of getting out of here, Madoka thought.

Audrey squirmed for a second and stretched. At least she did not freeze to death. Last night's embers still remained quietly in the firepit Audrey made.

"Kyaaaah," Audrey muttered. "I want sour gummy worms. And a damn bed. Especially some of those. Wha—"

Sour... worms? Madoka cringed at the thought of those being eaten.

"I can eat wherever I want!" Audrey sighed. "I studied, give me the worms... Why bring him into the picture?"

Audrey gasped and jerked awake. Then she shivered.

"Good morning, Audrey," Madoka offered. Audrey's hair was frazzled and the look on her face was one Madoka has seen many times even in the Northern Estate.

"Still here in this god awful world," Audrey sighed. Disappointment marred her pretty face. "Good morning, Madoka."

"We got work to do," Madoka sat up and stretched. "Mainly—"

"Hai, hai," Audrey waved her off but then she rolled over. "My body is stiff as hell. Give me a minute, would you?"

"How are you stiff?" Madoka sighed. "You sound like an old woman."

"S-So what if I do?" Audrey pouted. "It's not normal to camp out for weeks, you know."

"We're not normal people, Audrey."

"Well, you're not normal that's for sure," Audrey stretched and got up but stiffened from her leg growing numb. "Who wakes up so early?"

"It's day already," Madoka helped Audrey stay upright. "We have workouts to do before we go!"

"Naee waaah!"

A few minutes later, Madoka was ready to go. Audrey surprised Madoka by being compliant. She had always listened to Madoka, eventually one way or another and yet she would obey despite all her complaining. As she observed Audrey's movements and her body she noticed how toned and graceful she was. Every movement was exactly like her own. Not a single wasted motion and a quiet persistence underneath it all.

This was why Audrey was extraordinary to Madoka.

"Eh? Got some good things to say to me?" Audrey said flirtatiously. Madoka rolled her eyes.

"It's just that you've been carrying yourself well in these exercises," Madoka scoffed and crossed her arms. "As expected of you."

"Aww, don't be like that," Audrey whined, throwing her cloak on. "We have a ways to go. Though I doubt much is living inside these ruins, we should be careful of slipping."