III.

"In my old world," Audrey said as they left the alleyways behind. "Usually someone proposes marriage with a ring."

"Oh?" Madoka asked. She usually did not like when Audrey brought up her old world and life, fearing that it might stir up some bad memories. However, the mention of marriage piqued her interest.

"Yeah, the country I lived in. Most could choose to get engaged, marry, do life together. They could even split up for whatever reason," Audrey told her. Splitting up did not sound good to Madoka, and the way she said those words confirmed it. "In Fiara, though, marriages seemed arranged. Between my endless amount of suitors and my brother's, I'd say I got the lucky end of the bargain. No one was allowed near me, until the night they sent me away."

"Sent you away..." Madoka remembered her in that maddened state. She even felt a bit guilty for not being there for her.

"Nobles, on the other hand," Audrey continued. "Heard they never had a say. The women, I mean. They'd get packaged up and shipped off to their neighbors should their dads say so. Servants, commoners, Nobles, they all got sold off one way or another. Terrible. Here in this world, I have no idea what marriage is. Or what people think about love between, well. Our orientations. Sorry, my orientation."

"I don't know what that means, Audrey," Madoka shrugged helplessly.

"Orientation is, uh," Audrey struggled to say something. If there was such a concept that she could not explain, then Madoka wondered why it existed. How dare such a thing befuddle Her Highness! "It's like this. We're both women. And we love each other."

She pointed back and forth between herself and Madoka. Women? What do women have to do with anything? What did she mean by that? She wondered. She remembered during her days in the Palace, some Noble women would fancy some of her fellow maids. Still, she could not imagine that being what love is. She did not truly know what the princess meant by orientation. Perhaps, she did not want to know.

"What do you think love is, Madoka?"

The question struck her. Madoka remained quiet for a moment. She only knew that love is a terrifying thing now that she has it. She likened it to be the feeling she felt whenever she got to touch Her Highness. Madoka instinctively grabbed her hand. Audrey froze, glancing nervously at her. Whatever emotion on her face must have caused her to be uncomfortable, because she turned away. But she did not let go.

"You look terrifying," Audrey sighed. Then she muttered to herself, but Madoka heard it. "Gonna have to get used to that look."

"Do— Do you regret loving me?" Madoka asked. Her gaze must be burning Audrey, because her own cheeks were feeling hot.

"No."

The answer came out without any hesitation. It was all she needed to hear to quell the rising heat threatening to erupt out of Madoka's chest. Audrey looked like she wanted to say more, but she did not. Perhaps, she sensed the intensity in the maid. It was new to her as well, so she assigned it as love.

It was a feeling so deep that it made her insides ache with a bone-deep longing; that even being this close still feels like an eternity away from each other.

They have meandered through this labyrinth for quite awhile, but things were eerily quiet. The princess said that the letter had a map leading to the Truth Guild's location, and in truth the path seemed straightforward. But now? They have walked until the sun was hot on their backs; they have twisted and turned between bright sunlit alleys and under shaded courtyard walls. No intent of any kind seemed apparent, but a quiet serenity. That made the tiny hairs on Madoka's neck stand on their ends. There was no one even around. Surely, a busy city like this would have even a rat within its cracks, right? Why now are things quiet? Now, a staircase of stone and brick towered over them. Audrey broke the silence once more.

"Love is a word that is not taken lightly."

"Hm," Madoka glanced down at their hands, which were firmly intertwined with each other.

"It's serious, Madoka," Audrey pouted. "It means... It means that we're in it to win it. Together and forever. Until the very end."

"When have I ever not been for you?" Madoka absentmindedly replied. Audrey had broken ahead at some point, but she did not mind.

"Well, I suppose you're right," she deflated. "I just feel like I've unlocked something... Nevermind."

"So... Who's going to get the ring first?" Madoka wondered, remembering what she first said. That seemed to strike something within Audrey, because her face turned a fascinating shade of red.

"Y-You— you..."

Madoka ignored Her Flusteredness and instead scanned her surroundings. She did not know where exactly they were in the Capital. There were no buildings or cramped spaces anymore. Only a vast sky and distant mountainside that took her breath away remained. It was far enough away from them that even the Sky Beasts were tiny dots in the horizon.

Madoka only knew that the princess seemed to know where they were. And that was enough for her. She was busy watching the blue cloak of Her Highness flutter in the wind. Blue truly was her color, she mused. The pounding in Madoka's chest had subsided despite the princess's overwhelming beauty, the fire and desire to kiss her had diminished slightly.

As to why she had this urgency brewing inside of her, she could not pinpoint where it came from. Perhaps it was the finality of that prophecy or the sudden weakness she felt from getting sick; either must have unlocked her possessiveness. Maybe it had always been there, lurking in the shadows but now, that strange Fate had gone and thrown it straight into the light.

Audrey stopped and turned. The serious look in her eyes was momentarily blinding. Here they were, standing on ancient steps in a completely foreign Capital, tying their fates together and fumbling in a completely new territory. Madoka still was amazed on how she managed to look innocent even though her expression held solemnity.

"Madoka," she said character of her name slowly. "I actually don't know what love is either. Here, old world or new. I doubt myself all the time, I say things that even I— I would struggle to uphold. I repeat myself often. I will try to reassure you over and over. My hearts don't have any room for no one else. My old world has not taught me about love. Never had enough life or means to afford it. Never thought I would have anyone to rely on or anything to do with it."

"And now?" Madoka asked.

A violent rush of wind crashed all around them, but Audrey's magic barrier kept it at bay. The air current brought fog against the translucent wall and billowed over it like a tide. In that moment, they were locked away in a bubble of their own. Just as the noise grew louder, the last of the fog had crashed below them in every direction like a waterfall.

Then sunlight enveloped the entire sky.

"Now? I will do everything it takes to keep this love close to me," Audrey broke out into a brilliant smile. "It's no longer me alone. It's no longer just I. It's us. You're mine. And I'm yours."

The path from the stairway broke out into an open uphill and narrow road. Sorry excuses for fences bordered both sides of this spiny area haphazardly, worn down from time and sand blown in from where only the kind gods knew. The footsteps on it were scarce, indicating people rarely visited. Below the fences was nothing but white clouds and fog. Ahead of them was a series of monolithic structures, jutting up from a flattened portion of the mountain like an island in the sky. Beyond it, a massive structure pierced deep into another mountain further beyond Ceghinortan.

"Looks like a humongous spear tip was thrown into it, doesn't it?" Audrey squinted at it.

When a cloud moved aside, the rest of the pierced mountain revealed itself. It was not simply stabbed, she realized that the mountain itself was cleaved in two. The structure did indeed resemble a spear. It must have been thrown by a beast comparable in size to the Uracksheegal long ago, since ancient forests and greenery covered both halves.

"That is a shard of the Holy Spear Gulzos," a voice came from behind them. "Thrown by the great God King Ceghinort himself."

Madoka jumped into a fighting stance as she faced the attacker, but was stopped by Audrey. A Cherish woman in a cloak stood on the porch, seemingly waiting for them. It was then she noticed the emblem of a Truth Guild stuck to the cloak. A furry tail swished out from behind the researcher. It did not have any of Shadow's or Ilalune's cat-like features, but instead it was bushy and flat. It was like a paintbrush, wide and made noise when it swooshed. The Cherish woman lowered her hood and Madoka could not make heads or tail what kind of beast woman she was. Two pointed ears that faced forward, a distinct triangular snout and black stripes lined her auburn fur. Audrey's breath hitched.

"F-Fox girl," she gasped. Madoka smacked her shoulder and fixed her a quick glare, assessing if she was safe before looking back to the stranger.

"And you are?"

"Grace-song," the so-called Fox girl bowed respectfully. "I'm an assistant of Lady Arudite, Ms. Madoka."

The respectful title and Reverent Noble made Madoka frown. Why was this woman addressing her like a superior?

"Mrs. Madoka, actually," Audrey snapped, but piped down after recieving a strange look from Madoka.

"O-Oh," Grace-song nodded. "I'm also the, erm, clumsy Truth Guild member who dropped something on you a few days ago. Remember?"

Upon hearing what she said, Madoka instantly remembered the Cherish beast that bumped into them when they first arrived. Suspicion crept into her eyebrows as she scrutinized Grace-song. There was no ill will underneath the researcher's hazel eyes and despite being on a raised porch, she barely reached Madoka's height.

"Ilalune had me deliver the letter to you," she continued. "I am sure you understand why she requested you here, but it's beyond me."

"Isn't this the Truth Guild?" Audrey asked. The girl was eyeing the fox girl with an odd glint in her gaze and jealousy began to spread within Madoka.

"Well, yes, per se, but also," Grace-song raised a furry hand to her chin in thought. The girl's bushy tail smacked the stony floor, but she did not seem to notice. "Not officially. It's why Researcher Arudite and Ilalune had called for you two. Here, in this Secret Garden."

"Secret Garden?" Madoka pondered the term. It sounded familiar, but where had they... Images of them meeting Ceghinort for the first time flashed in her mind. Realization and horror dawned on her. "Right, we're in a Grotto situation."

"A what?" Audrey snapped out of her momentary trance over the Cherish girl.

Tension rose sharply within House Dalion as they faced the researcher, but Grace-song waved her hands in surrender. They were in an extremely compromised position. She dared not imagine what would happen to them if they were to fall off this cliffside.

"Please, don't misunderstand! I'm merely explaining where you are," she quickly added. "I— Well, I assist Researcher Arudite and we don't mean any harm. Not like I could do that, but still."

"Explain more," Madoka growled, her hand already gripping her axe by her side.

How did they not notice they walked into a dangerous space? Was it because she was distracted by Audrey's beauty? This cunning girl, who was at this moment waving her hands frantically, could not be the source of an ambush, right? Their surroundings were nothing but air and a narrow path leading to this building. Grace-song took a breath and composed herself.

"Sorry, I— I'm just a bit stricken by you two. After all, Lady Arudite has spoken highly of you!" She bowed deeply to Audrey and then pointed at Madoka with a shaky finger. "You'll hear the explanation when we get inside, okay? This Secret Garden is home to Ilalune's magic, beyond the reach of the God King himself. Right now in the real world, you two are simply at the entrance of the alleyway in the Adventurer Guild's shopping street. Ilalune trusts you, so she had allowed you to come here."

Madoka was barely paying attention to the Cherish girl. Instead, she was searching for a way out. How had they entered a Grotto situation without even noticing? Of course, that explains so much. Horror dawned on her. A hand tugged at Madoka's sleeve. She snapped out of it, only to see a pair of narrowed eyes. She could immediately tell what Her Highness was feeling just by looking at her face. In their previous journey into one of these strange realms, they had never seen anyone inside of it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

However, she realized Her Highness's suspicion was born from some other motivation. Audrey was not thinking of any of the threats Madoka was— she was jealous and somehow inexplicably nervous over her. The princess was looking at her as if she might slip away from something. What for? And was she not the one looking at the fox girl with interest just then? Annoyance sprouted within Madoka, so she gave a distant nod to her princess.

"The cat— Er, the servant? Trusts you?" Audrey asked. That slip of her tongue, clearly was a thinly veiled jab at Ilalune. "When did you and her suddenly get along so well that she'd send you a note? What does that have to do with you?"

Madoka was also too confused to anticipate any trouble, so she simply shrugged. Audrey seemed flustered over other matters anyways. She only had an incident with the princess of Chelise once, so it was unlikely that Her Highness would be aware of Ilalune's true identity. Still, such a complication would be difficult to unveil before her and something about this Grace-song was beyond her own natural ability to pick up ill intent.

Once they reluctantly stepped on the porchway to the supposed Truth Guild's entrance, the Cherish girl held her hand over a strange pointed altar next to it. Madoka was reminded of the one that they encountered in front of Audrey's house from her old world. Strange symbols swirled beneath the altar, eventually spiraling up its column like illuminated bubbles of different colors. Something pricked inside her mind.

Recognition.

The symbols floated upward from the altar, projecting above it in chaotic combinations that she could not draw meaning from just yet. Runes? No, Madoka felt the prickling sensation itch her brain again. The word "hologram" planted itself inside her head like a boot. Each sequence flickered, cycling through a repeating pattern of the same four set of symbols. She understood them as individuals letters, but they were rearranging themselves into words. To make things worse, she heard an ethereal voice invade her head.

「Orph'Mellia sees you and opens the doors to its grand Mansion.」

Hand. Connection. Way. Path.

Her mind mulled over this odd sensation, then all of it was replaced by shock. She realized that she was reading Pnaumic Scripture. The altar whirred, its mechanisms shifting as the magical symbols continued to flow up its surface. More magic seeped from its base, crawling up the doorway. At the same time, she caught Grace-song's eyes lighting up with a scholarly amazement.

"You— You can see them, can't you?" She exclaimed. "The magic forming into things we can't see. It— Come in, come in!"

With that, she stepped past the altar and to both the girls' bewilderment, simply opened the door. Madoka groaned. She did not know what she was expecting, but she truly thought the altar would unlock the door like the key stone of the Gladeban Mines or the keypad from Audrey's world. She placed a palm on the smooth surface of the altar and immediately felt a surge of magic expand into her arm.

Unintelligible whispers struck her mind and she was struck with a vision.

The sky closes its eye. The maw gapes. The night weeps for our fallen Prince.

Oh, Sister Moons. Oh, Red Strings. Oh, Pnaumen.

A star has crashed upon the lands of Chelise, damning its people to an endless darkness. We cry out. We of humble origins. Our Nobles line up to feed themselves to you, offering their heads. Our hills are soaked with blood and ash. Our cities speak only of hunger and your name. Where are you, princess? We cry out. We die. Yet our mouths are open in prayer. Has Princess Ysmi poisoned your mind so deeply you would forsake us for her?

Oh, Pnaumen. Oh, Red Strings. Oh, Sister Moons.

The night weeps for our fallen Prince. The maw gapes. The sky closes its eye.

"Are you alright?" Audrey's voice came from behind Madoka. The vision felt vivid, like usual, but once she released her hand from the altar it felt like a distant dream.

"Y-Yeah," Madoka shuddered. The altar lost its magical light, returning back to its original inert state. "It was a vision of Starfallen Chelise. Bleak. Black. And looked like the Sky fell on it."

"That sounds like Chelise. My Father said, well, it was suffering some kind of civil war. Probably Royalty stuff," Audrey sighed. "All that fancy magic flowin' from the pillar and she doesn't even need it to open the door. Man, I don't even know why I'm disappointed."

The Cherish girl looked at them with bright eyes. Though Madoka saw the words and has seen many strange magical spells, though that altar and its subsequent projections gave her a sense of unreality. Her pointed ears were perked up directly at them, but since they were using English she seemed to be unable to understand them. Good, good, Madoka thought. If this researcher— and by extension, anyone else they encounter within this Secret Garden,— was merely an apparition of Ilalune's memories then Audrey's language was an advantage. She did not even want to think of whether the Grace-song she bumped into when they arrived was, in fact, the one standing curiously at the entranceway.

Once they stepped inside, Madoka instantly noticed the faint white hexagonal strands of Bureau magic bordering the room's walls. This building was larger on the inside than what it appeared on the outside, just like Gladeban's Truth Guild. Grace-song led the way, past an array of various exotic plants and trees. Faint voices came from a hallway further down.

No, Madoka searched for the source of the voices. One of the voices was clearly whispering in her head, coming from inside the very room she was in. She looked at a strange orange and white striped plant with a drooping bulb covered in blue petals next to the hallway, sitting conspicuously and proudly in front of a bland aged wall. Its stem, if she could call it that, was gently suspended along the walls and ceiling. It also had strange patterns of all kinds all along its vines, like a serpent with mismatched coloring and scales.

The bulb suddenly moved, almost like it was looking directly at Madoka.

"Hey good-looking, you look like you could use a visit to the Harp!"

The compliment, no doubt, clearly was an intrusive thought coming directly from that strange plant. Madoka glared at it. As if it sensed her displeasure, the striped bulb drooped and its petals fluttered in an aggrieved state.

"Good-looking, darling, accept my apologies," it whined. "Don't hurt me, baby. Fate sees through you and me. Your sickness curls inside you, its claws threatening your pretty eyes. Oh, good-looking, seek the Harp!"

A hand tugged her sleeve and her thoughts away from the strange plant. Was it trying to warn her? Or woo her? How could such an oddly flamboyant and endearing plant understand anything regarding her predicament? Audrey's whisper came from behind her.

"Is— Is that plant talking to you? Why are your ears pink?"

"I—I," Madoka would not dare to explain that a plant was trying to charm her to the princess.

"What is it saying to you, huh?" Audrey looked at the bulb with a scornful look. The plant seemed to wilt, deflated. That seemed to make Her Jealousness's alertness flare up even higher. "Am I really jealous of a plant right now? Do we need to throw hands, Mister Plant? She's mine!"

The plant did not respond. It simply wobbled, as if it was taunting Audrey. The princess bristled, immediately fuming and making a move to roll up her sleeves. Madoka groaned and steered her away from the scene towards the hallway. Audrey looked like she could pop at any moment, cursing under her breath. She heard a sly voice whisper from behind her as she followed Grace-song out, who was none the wiser of the drama between princess, maid and plant.

"Good-looking, come visit the Harp some time."

"Great, now I gotta learn how to change the color of my pigment and be all stripe-y like," Audrey muttered. "The pursuit of beauty and love— Ah, it knows not a moment's rest."

"Strangely poetic, Audrey," Madoka sighed.

After hearing that, Audrey stopped struggling against Madoka's grip. She herself did not realize that the strange plant made her feel inexplicably happier, nor did she know why. The feeling quickly faded as they trailed behind the researcher and passed by multiple kinds plants, which were quiet. However, an eerie and alien feeling crept up her skin soon afterwards. A kind god's presence.

As they passed by several empty rooms, she noticed irregularities. At first, Madoka was not sure if it was because she was a maid and saw that while things inside the room were tidy, they were not symmetrical and certainly not kept by a single servant's work. It was almost like someone, or several someones, all had an idea of what a gathering room was but could not settle on one design and instead decided to fill it up with random assortments of furniture and stationary.

The tiered seating rows and desks were made of different kinds of wood inside one of the rooms, while the walls and windows seemed sporadically placed and decorated in another. Nothing matched, from materials of the walls to the contents of the rooms. This eccentric style certainly reminded Madoka that they were inside a strange dimension. The ground under her boot had changed from hardwood to soot and white sand.

"Is it me, or is everything here kind of trippy?" Audrey remarked. She peered into one of the rooms and pointed at something inside. "The lecturn is upside down in this one and it looks like the chairs are made out of bricks."

"It's rude to point, Audrey," the maid reprimanded her. But the room indeed had an upside down lecturn inside of it. Yet, the book on top of one of its legs seemed fused to it.

"It's almost like whoever made this building is not a person, but like an alien trying to be a person," the princess noted. Madoka could not understand the exact terminology Audrey was using, but understood her comparison. Things here were not quite right.

Grace-song was silent as she walked. Even her wooshing fluffy tail had slumped as if it had lost its energy, dragging along on the floor behind her. The hallway became increasingly bizarre as well. They have traveled for a long distance inside of here, and on top of that; the whole place had morphed into an circular pathway like a serpentine throat. The dirt path became hardwood again, then stone, then back to a combination of the two.

"You remember how things were not quite right when we entered your... house?" Madoka nearly choked on the memory of that stinking, rotted temple. Audrey looked flustered, but perked up since she was using English. The Cherish researcher was acting strange. Madoka hoped her axe could handle a tiny magical illusion.

"That's true," Audrey confirmed her observation. "Secret Gardens tend to form from memories, but... Whose memories are we in?"

"Ilalune's," Madoka answered, observing the researcher ahead.

As she suspected, the lack of reaction from Madoka mentioning the name of her Royal made her realize the true nature of the Cherish girl. Or, it was luring them into a trap. As her mind became a whirlwind of worries, she peeked at her own princess. Audrey glanced at her tail, then silently shook her head as if to say she was not a threat. If she was not a threat, then what could she be? An otherworldly guide? The sudden taciturn stillness in the researcher's movements still felt unnatural.

A gasp came from Audrey. Madoka felt a strange heat filling the atmosphere and a shift in magic around them. Then, her skin became illuminated by a faint blue light. Tiny cyan strands of magic began to twist and turn along the circular hallway, illuminating the tunnel ahead. The strands became more and more familiar. Mansion magic? It explained the voice coming from the altar.

"Ilalune... Why her, exactly?" Audrey muttered aloud. "Why not... Well, you know who."

"I—," Madoka hesitated to say who Ilalune is, though she was not sure why. So she deflected and instead offered another opinion. "She might be an Otherworlder."

"Huh? That can't be right," Audrey muttered to herself. "Now that I think about it. Why does that cat maid seem so familiar?"

Madoka swallowed hard. She knew that the answer to that conundrum was coming to her faster than the princess might imagine, but she also knew it could not be her to be the one to divulge. She would be breaking a promise if she did that; one of secrecy between Royal and servant, and one between fellow servant and slave. Her foot hit a loosened rock and the blue light from the magical pentagrams blended into a darker area abead.

"The scenery's changing again," Madoka commented. An ashen flake fluttered by and the smell of ozone clogged her nose.

"A-Apologies, Miss Madoka," Grace-song was aware of the uncomfortable changes, or at least was upfront about the illusion's instability. Her voice, however, was monotonous and devoid of her initial chipper timbre. "Secret Gardens, as you know, are full of vibrant yet hollow memories. Ilalune, you might know, well— You'll find out when we get to her."

Hollow memories? The circular hallway opened up into a vast field, its improvised exit way looked like a massive jaw tore through the end of a log. They were no longer inside a building, but instinct told her that they were now standing in the blasted lands of Chelise. Madoka stopped questioning anything and proceeded towards a familiar aura emanating from a hill in front of them. Another crater, she mused. The familiar rocky ground gave it away. She had climbed up and down too many of those lately.

Madoka nearly gasped and broke the silence when she saw what was at the bottom. Another gasp came from beside her. An altar rested there, pristine and white as if no hands had touched them in the middle of the rubble. A door rested on top of its clean surface, seemingly beckoning them to approach it.

This was exactly like how the previous Secret Garden visit went— By entering a strange doorway atop of an alien platform, with nothing on the other side of it. Could it be possible that Ilalune is also an Otherworlder?

"Researcher Grace-song," Madoka started, but froze when she turned to ask the researcher. Instead of a fox girl, a skeleton was resting in pieces on the staircase leading to the altar. She immediately stepped ahead of Audrey, hairs on end. "This is definitely bad."

"Yeah," Audrey finally spoke. Her eyebrows were furrowed, clearly trying to remember exactly what happened when they first stumbled into the Grotto. "Ceghinort said that this Lost Grotto belonged to a dead god, right? I don't know why, but I'm seeing visions of the Void again. In my head. That means Ceghinort probably can't influence whatever happens past that door, likely because its an extension of its dead body. That's why the fox— No, Grace-song is a skeleton. In fact, this whole area seems to be like a membrane before we get deeper within it from the path to the false Truth Guild front. S-Sorry if I'm confusing you, Madoka. I'm trying to understand things right now."

"Mm," Madoka sighed. The door was right there waiting for them to step on the altar. "Last time we had to wade through water. At least we don't have to do that this time."

"Heh," Audrey chuckled nervously. "We were definitely a mess back then."

"Back then?"

"Eheh," Audrey covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Madoka did not know what she said to cause her to be embarrassed, but remained quiet as she observed the princess. Only a purple eye peeked out between her fingers. "Ceghinort has been guiding us here through that Cherish-girl, but I can't figure out why. If we really run into Arudite and Ilalune behind that door, there's no guarantee that it's actually them. For all we know, they got caught up in the Guardian's big attacks back in Gladeban and didn't make it."

The two fell silent after Audrey said that. That was a weight neither liked thinking about. Madoka glanced at the altar. It was dark and eerie in here, but its white stone structure still shown brightly. The door sat there, beckoning them to take the first step towards it.

Madoka took a deep breath and finally moved towards it. Right as her boot landed onthe first step, it began to rain. She suppressed a groan. Had she brought bad luck upon them by being optimistic about not having to wade in water? How does it even rain inside a building? Well, she glanced at the glittering sky above them. It certainly did not look like they were in a building anymore. She heard Audrey's own boots trailed close behind her. A hand stopped her right as she was about to inspect the door.

"What is it?" Madoka asked. She realized her tone was much sharper than she wanted, owing to the fact that she was quite nervous, so she squeezed Audrey's hand and quickly added. "Apologies, I did not mean to sound so rude. I'm quite nervous."

"Me too," Audrey whispered, but her face hardened into determination. "I just want to say, probably because things have been weird already. We're here because I want to help find a way to heal you. Ceghinort, dead gods, Ilalunes— if going through all of that means I can get an upgrade to help you it's worth it."

And if not? Madoka wanted to say, but she did not. She could be afraid aloud or silently, but she should not show it. The hand holding hers was cold as night, but she was reassured. When they went through such a Secret Garden before, Madoka was full of suspicion and disbelief. Now, she at least had a sense of purpose despite heading straight into the unknown. Even if that purpose admittedly felt a little self-serving. If Her Highness wants it, then she must follow.

The stony door was cool to the touch. It had an indentation that was shaped like a hand, clearly indicating that it was the key towards opening it. The last one she opened had a handle, no? Still, as soon as she touched it, Madoka's stomach lurched, as if the door itself was trying to yank her inside. Then, a force pressed against her.

It struggled against Madoka's strength, making her realize that something or someone was trying to exit the door.

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