The Maid and Her Princess

Don't Hold Back! (part 6)

VI.

Audrey was stunned as if she was the one smacked by the frying pan, but she quickly recovered. Madoka helped her up, wondering why she was in such a beautiful dress. The princess was already adorable, her hair growing even longer, and her eyes seemed like they were in a daze. Before the maid could question why, the sunset abruptly changed back to broad daylight. Madoka caught it this time and saw that it was almost like the artificial sun was pulled back up by a string. Perhaps it was, but she could now simply watch it since it was still too bright to look at directly.

"So, what do we do now, Audrey?"

"Eep," the princess squeaked.

Even mentioning her name had sent her blushing. Madoka's lips curved upward. She wanted to kiss Her Shyness's sudden bashfulness away, but more importantly, she wanted Audrey to kiss her on her own now. How strange, in a time like this, she felt completely at ease now with this desire tugging at her heart. It had always been there, but as Elise said, she had kept herself waiting long enough. The girl stood up, snapped her fingers and the barrier popped with a distorted ringing sound as the Knotting magic resolved.

Madoka's hair swept into her face from the rushing wind. Freedom reigned everywhere, like this was a place no longer oppressed by the roots. Several of the floating islands were covered by crumbling corruption in the distance, but seemed to be burning away under the switching sunlight.

"You heard it too, right?" Audrey spoke. Her voice sounded like she was nostalgic over something. "She's calling for us from that big... Tree, I guess. The real Gechick."

"The real Her," Madoka mused. "The Forest Goddess."

Audrey stepped forward as the wind picked up. Despite the red earth and withered grass underneath her bare feet, she looked serene. The two were standing under a blue sky, presumably created by the Uracksheegal's magic. S=It was hard to believe that they were in the belly of a giant beast high above the world. The princess looked delicate in that dress when she turned around, but before she could say anything Madoka hurled a set of new traveler garbs at her face.

Shortly after, they landed on another island. Swords stuck out of the soil like grass stalks and crushed bones littered the ground mixed in with splotches of sand. Madoka sighed when Audrey kicked a dented shoulder plate off the side. None of the weapons seemed like they had been used in centuries. Even the metal they were made out of had not reacted to any of her magic. She knew what took place from her dreams, but even those were blurry to her.

"When I was trapped in the roots, I had the weirdest dream," Audrey spoke softly. It was quite jarring to Madoka to hear the princess speak of such a dangerous situation she was trapped in, but she stood silent. She had also noticed that the surge of magic that made her skin glow white was gone, but she still felt it inside her being. "I was speaking to Father. King Fiara. Not the other guy."

She scoffed.

"His Majesty..." Madoka had not heard the princess speak of the King in ages now. She even had forgotten how the father and daughter were to each other. Did he love her? Or was he like the Prince, pretending until it was time to strike?

"He told me he was proud of who I am today," Audrey sighed.

"He had always doted on me. Could never figure out why. How's someone like me who let her country fall to ruin be something to have pride in? He had the servants put me in that white dress, but when I looked out the window— the world outside was burning and covered in roots. Everything looked like this place,—" She swept a hand across the broken up floating islands and shattered forest below. "—Heh. That's been an old nightmare that I used to have for a while after we escaped Fiara. I searched through all the servants' faces and could not find yours. It felt so surreal, running around the Palace freely and frantically in the dress. No one was even bothering to stop me from acting out. When I tried to escape out the gate to search for you then, I felt your presence. I'm not really sure how, but I felt you were watching me. I rushed out on the stairs and looked up and there you were. Fighting for your life for me."