The Maid and Her Princess

PvE Event! (part 1)

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..."