II.

Wagon wheels smoothed from crunching dirt to a steady bumping rhythm upon ancient stone streets. Footsteps and loud chatters sounded over them. To save any peace from the distracting hubbub of these daily operations, Madoka left Eena's words about her hands slip away to a mutual and comfortable silence. Sir Rhev had been true to his word in personally guiding Madoka and Audrey to the Adventurer Guild Hall afterwards, however, the streets were abuzz with many other wagons and adventurer parties. No one seemed injured, yet the atmosphere was still quite stressful. Ever since the Sky fell, as they call it, activity had halted and security arose. A traffic jam, Madoka mused. The information on vehicles being backed up like this showed up in brief images of Audrey's world, filling her with grim reminders that the times are changing. Despite this, Sir Rhev no longer complained and kept his trap shut over the Commoners working. A pair of eyes suddenly bore down upon Madoka, sending a bit of a shiver along her spine.

"You two seem… close," Audrey noted aloud monotonously.

"I'll be waiting for you at the Forge, Madoka," Eena offered.

Madoka shifted slightly away from Eena, yet, turning to the Noble slowly revealed that the Sovos was not ashamed. Before the guilt overwhelmed her and she could apologize to Audrey, the princess merely turned her head away with a scoff. The Noble shrugged with an imperceptible smile, then parted ways with the wagon. Madoka did not realize why she was so jealous all of a sudden, but she heard the princess's sigh as she faced away.

"So this is what it feels like," Audrey muttered. Even though Madoka felt like she had done nothing wrong, it seemed that the girl did not want to talk about it just yet. So, silence it is.

Eventually, the ugly orange dome roof of the Adventurer Guild came into view. The building was much larger than she thought as they swung around a corner and entered a line waiting to get inside through the Guild Hall's massive side gate. Madoka poked her head from beyond the canvas of the wagon. Thanks to a combination of her Knotting magic and Audrey's own magic, the roof was no longer stained with the nasty substance released from the Uracksheegal. No sign of Eraziror, she sighed in dismay. They still had quite a lot of things to learn from him and if he succumbed to the Walk then… Madoka felt guilty for abandoning him in her pursuit for Audrey's whereabouts. Soon enough, a commotion broke out after she stepped inside the gates. Creaking, bubbling water and the familiar smell of death, instantly alerting Madoka. Could this be the Artisan Guild's part of the building? The facility was attached to the Adventurer Guild Hall, so she assumed it was probably for dropping off their commission kills. Creaking and clacking picked its way through her ears. She has heard that noise before when she encountered Ceghinort. Bones?

To her shock, she finally found the source. A large vat made of glass reminiscent of the same containment cell used by the humans in the Uracksheegal, but what disturbed her more was the bodies inside them. Each of them were the remains of Sovos, standing upright and even moving slightly. Multiple cloaked figures stood around the vat and on the walkways above it with their arms raised in a ritualistic manner. As one dropped a piece of glowing wood into the water, the flesh dissolved completely off the bodies and left bones in the magic's wake. The waters in the vat bubbled rapidly, forming cyan strands that bent and connected with each other until a pentagram revealed itself. Through it all, everyone was quiet and hushed. Were they communicating with the skeletons? Those cloaked men seemed like Night Operators to her. A hand tugged her sleeve. Audrey's.

"M-More Halloween decorations," she gasped. "Mansion magic, I think that Shadow guy called it. I gotta see them closer!"

"Audrey, wait!" Madoka tried to seize the girl from slipping away, but she already mingled with the crowd faster. Madoka pouted, but stood a bit back. As long as she could see the girl among them, she begrudgingly supposed it was fine.

"Last night, the Sky fell upon this town," a voice came from behind her, powerful enough to make Madoka jump. How did she slip under her detection?

Blue Hair, she recognized the powerful adventurer. Her strength must be the reason why Madoka felt so uneasy around her. It was the first time the adventurer had approached her willingly instead of hiding and watching her. Why was she here? Madoka attempted to greet her, but chose a more direct thing to say instead.

"You've been watching me for some time," Madoka stated aloud to her, but her voice was as low as a dagger under a sleeve. Blue Hair's eyes were not as blue as the sky, yet were not dull. They sharpened themselves through her mask and cloak covering her. Madoka was not afraid of her this time so she put her hands on her hips and gave a defiant stare back. Blue Hair pointed to the vat of skeletal Sovos instead of reacting.

"Those bodies were discovered strewn slong the roadside, battered from falling," she stared at them. Madoka was actually aware of this somewhat, during her fall from the Uracksheegal she noticed more openings released than just the one chamber she escaped from. "Several more survivors were found in the woods near the outskirts of town, left in a daze. Madoka."

The direct address to her name truly revealed that Blue Hair was indeed watching her every move and it carried a warning. Lightning flashed above them, briefly illuminating the little skin shown on the adventurer's face and carving slices of light on her. Her skin seemed soft in that moment, but Madoka saw a faint scar peeking just above the cloth briefly. If she wanted trouble, there was all these people around to witness anything wrong, right? Therefore, she glared back at Blue Hair with an even colder stare. If the adventurer could not tell she was not in the mood to talk then she had wasted all of her years here in the Guild.

"Stay away from the Sky Investigation," Blue Hair told her. Madoka could not detect any hostility in her tone, yet the warning was there. "You do not deserve Her attention…"

With that, Blue Hair walked away leaving Madoka momentarily speechless. Who is this "Her" the adventurer spoke of? Gechick…? And who does she think she is to order her? The visions of the Princess and her battle with the Prince still were fresh in her mind, but she could not understand any of the meanings behind it. Unfortunately for that powerful adventurer, it was not up to Madoka to decide whether she was investigating the Sky or not. That right to order her belonged only to Audrey.

Madoka sighed as Audrey returned momentarily with frown on her face. People around her instinctively parted for her. Some even audibly gasped and shivered at the sudden chill she exuded. Either that, or her general Aura was much more uncomfortable to others around her. It seemed whatever information she wanted from a few dead skeletons did not yield any good results. She never really smiled unless it was with her, but Madoka did not really know how or what she was doing make to her happy? She remembered how unhappy the princess was when Eena looked at her, could she even hope to make her smile at her again?

A horrifying thought briefly flashed like the lightning above in Madoka's mind. Does she even want to make Audrey happy at her own expense? Does Eena have the chance to be such a friend? She does not even make her feel the same things like Audrey does, but what are those things?

"Ul'— Ol, no, uh," Audrey struggled out a word that even Madoka could not quite decipher. Just like that, those doubts seemed to vanish. It seemed that, to Her Highness, her presence was enough to make her smile and joke. "Ul'Linia, a supposed Mansion Goddess of the Night, did not give any of those skelly bellies any of their memories back. Perhaps, it's not the Mansion that communes with Sovos. Other people recall ending up in the forest like a rough hangover, but, yeah they don't remember nothing either. Useless! That means, no one but me, you, a-and that… Eena girl know anything about what happened onboard the Uracksheegal. Would saying anything to the Guild leader make any difference? I think they'd probably would not believe us even if we explained.

Thunder clapped, as if warning her in response. Madoka shook her head, then once again with a low voice, spoke in English.

"A strong adventurer with blue hair just threatened me about investigating the Sky matters," she confided in the princess. "Right when you went over there. Said it belonged to the Dragon people."

"Right, that letter you gave me… Definitely should keep that information to ourselves," Audrey sighed, but perked up. "That Rhev guy is waiting for us next door, said something about that fancy smancy Writ of his. We got to go!"

The girl turned on her heel and prepared to dash, but stopped suddenly. Audrey peeked at Madoka, who was already prepared to stop her from running, then stuck out her hand tentatively. The maid took it, of course, and together they left the vat room and those Night Operators to their own little rituals. The next stop was closer than she thought, even though Audrey said it would be. The door swung open as Madoka shoved it aside, shielding her princess from the rain. Part of her knew how embarrassed Audrey would be at such a display, but everyone deserved to know who she was serving. Besides, her shifting uncomfortable stance as she stood there stark and mortified from the extra attention was amusing to Madoka.

"Ah, you two have arrived!" Sir Rhev's voice called out to them, interrupting her little game. He waved over to a Guild Lady who looked like she would rather be anywhere else. Madoka recognized her by glancing at only one thing: She was Orange Hair! One look exchanged between each other made them inexplicably more excited to see a familiar face. "I was announcing to her the news and deeds of my absolute saviors— she knows all about it! In fact, even the Guild Master Lady Fate is coming to greet you two personally!"

"W-Whoa!" Audrey beamed with excitement. Madoka's heart sank because of the last encounter she had with that Lady.

"Hai!" Orange Hair switched her mood almost instantaneously, pulling up that device she used to receive the summons for Madoka and Eraziror the last time. Where was he? "I've called her already."

"A cellphone?" Audrey gawked. "No, it's like a… chunk of rock. There's definitely no signal around here. How does it even work?"

Madoka felt a pressure stepping slow and deliberately down the stairs on their left. Audrey must have felt that presence approaching as well, since she immediately ceased her rambling. That device did not look like a cellphone from the information she had in her mind, but she did not know enough to dispute it. Lady Fate appeared, looking slightly more tired, but still had that frustratingly arrogant Aura all Nobles shared. She also got a better glimpse of her, realizing that she indeed was a Sovos, only that her tail was short and damaged so she did not see it. Plus, there was something far more interesting to Madoka at the time.

"You two," Fate spoke as if she and Madoka did not have any history at all. To her surprise, she was using Commoner. "My office, now. Rhev, you too."

One by one, Madoka found her squeezed inside her office even if it was spacious. There were two Nobles and a Royal, then her. Quite suffocating. It did not take long until the angry thoughts began to emerge from underneath the disheveled bookshelf. It was clear to the maid that the Guild Master did not have enough time to clean this place up since she left to destroy that lizard.

Fools! How dare you wake me! The Orange Demon shouted in Royal, but unfortunately for him the princess detected him.

"Hang on. I-Is— Is that what I think it is?" Audrey completely interrupted the two Nobles, while Madoka attempted to restrain her.

"Audrey, please," Madoka tried to catch her, but the girl had already seized the roaring cat and was now nuzzling against its fur and peering back at her in between strokes. It made her strangely endearing.

"Brute! Bitch! Brute bitch!" The cat cursed her a thousand times, even used his claws to no avail. Something made the cat stop its tirades. Perhaps, it was Audrey's ability to make anyone not angry with her for too long or the way she stroked his fur. A rumble escaped the cat's throat. "U-Unhand me!"

"Ah, it appears that King Hei Meng has taken a liking to you, Audrey," Fate smiled, but her lips did not reach her eyes and settled back down into sternness. Audrey, unaware of this, sank on the chair while embracing the supposed King Hei Meng in tow.

"Black Shadow?" Audrey nearly blurted out with a snort. Something panged from the cat. His ear twitched. Was that approval? "He's as orange as another cat I used to know."

"You two," Fate cleared her throat, her patience thinning. Audrey stiffened, but her hand still remained petting the cat. At least that is what Madoka initially thought, but suddenly the Guild Master smiled. "You have been… vastly underselling yourselves. Especially you, red haired girl. You two should have ran from the Mines as protocols suggested, but what did you do?"

Madoka gulped, but shrugged helplessly.

"It was just a lizard," she protested and then paused as if a good idea popped up inside her mind. She plucked the storage talisman up from beneath her garb. "I have its corpse in here."

"That's exactly why I have personally gave this recommendation," Rhev offered the paper to her. Lady Fate glanced at the scroll once, then rolled it into a ball and tossed it aside without a second thought. "T-They also—"

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"I heard the reports from Luxgor as well," She murmured, but it seemed as if whatever she was debating in her head reached a reluctant conclusion. "Tags. You two. Please."

"Er, okay," Audrey quickly grabbed her tag and held it up for Lady Fate. Hei Meng seized the opportunity to escape beneath the desk, but not without shooting another ray of swear words at his former captor on the way. Audrey looked dejected. "Nae waah…"

She nearly jumped when Madoka, sitting beside her, placed a hand on her free hand. An array of complicated expressions flashed briefly on her face, but soon the two both held their Iron tags out to Lady Fate. It was painfully obvious that neither girl was paying attention to any of the conversation in that office, but suddenly the tags lifted on their own. Knotting magic…! Madoka nearly jumped, but she had seen this pattern of movement before with Luxgor in that tent. The notched pieces of metal glowed with a golden light as the strands became woven into them, spinning as Lady Fate's hands also did a series of complex motions with her hands. After the glowing stopped, two silver tags fell from the air. Madoka caught both of them out of habit, handing Audrey her tag.

"Wait," Audrey straightened herself up. "We got promoted in the middle of all of that?!"

"You've finally caught up," Lady Fate chuckled. She seemed relaxed now, or at least grasped how the two operated— which was not very organized to begin with. "I see why your servant and you make a perfect pair. Madoka. You are Silver 1. Lady Eena has need of you in the Artisan Guild's Forge. Lady Dalion, however, you are Silver 3. You still can reach Gold Rank, but since you're a little behind Madoka in terms of experience I was told to hold you back a little. We're a Guild of equals, Nobility means nothing here."

"H-Hai," Audrey seemed taken aback by something, while Madoka counted her fingers and compared each number on her hands. One was less than three, so why does that mean Audrey is behind her? Does that signify she is somehow lower in rank? Her mind once again began to overheat.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around…?" Madoka questioned, but Lady Fate ignored her.

"You are to report to Arudite," she ordered Audrey. "I believe that you two still have work to do, correct? I will be off to fix the Sky's mess again, but business continues as usual here in the Circle. Once you two are situated with Lady Eena and the Truth Guild, report to Drezgor. He will arrange for you for your Gold Rank requirements. Ceghinort's blood."

With that, the meeting ended. Neither of them cared for the metal tag that they received. Yet, Madoka was too busy paying attention to Audrey and being jealous that she herself could not pet the cat before he scurried away. As both girls got up to leave in equal yet different bewildered states, the Nobleman piped up.

"I-If I may, you two," he hurried to the exit with them, but bowed before a dismissive Lady Fate on the way out. "Can I trouble the both of you with a visit to the Artisan Guild? It's the same building as the… Mansion mages. I have a feeling you would like the rewards that will follow. More… physical and richer than a silly gleaming trinket, yes? Lady Eena is next door so it's quite convenient!"

The sound of "rich" made Audrey perk up, so Madoka found herself dragged along back to the Artisan Guild. As they walked behind the Noble, Madoka sensed a sudden burst of magic shooting from Audrey and dodged it. A small jet of water? She glared at the princess, who pretended to not notice anything.

"What was that—" Madoka instinctively dodged another spurt of water from Audrey. A third one made her nearly angry, but the girl clicked her tongue. She realized that both the ordeal above and her training have indeed still carried along with her all this time. The jolting feeling of Knotting strands coursing around her body also helped her reflexes, but she did not want to admit that. She stopped, crossing her arms as she waited for the princess to finally talk.

"I'm… I'm mad at you," Audrey finally shrugged with a hmph.

"W-What?" Madoka looked at her puzzled. Audrey studied her with a frown, but instead reached out her hand and offered no further explanation. What in the world was Her Highness thinking?

Once again, Madoka took her hand. She would rather hold it than remain empty and confused. A small break in between the clouds emerged, bathing the city in desperate sunlight. The rays' brief appearance glinted off their new Silver tags around their necks, but that did not compare to the complicated feelings that she had lumped inside her throat. Within a blink, the greyness of rain clouds smothered the sun again and filled Madoka with glumness.

"I hope," Audrey started to trail off as the tiny raindrops falling around her became little ice balls crinkling her clothes as they bounced off her. "You'll choose me."

"Audrey, you…" Madoka could not complete the sentence, because loud thunder started to boom.

The Noble waved to them, offering a saccharine smile and seemingly did not notice the tension between the girls. Madoka craned her neck to the roof and realized they were completely dwarfed by the Artisan Guild's massive complex. No wonder the Guild stood out prominently among the dots when she saw Gladeban from the sky. With no further words exchanged between them, she simply entered to a rather large stage in the middle of a huge room. Without the vat of Sovos skeletons and Night Operators, the place was quite empty and also quiet. Other parties surrounded stages further back. Several of Rhev's wagons and assistants buzzed about, but immediately bowed to him when they approached.

"Here, the Artisan Guild and Companies from all around the world gather, buying Monster parts and other materials from Guild Commissions. As my Company A Joint," Rhev bowed in a welcoming manner. Audrey's eyes flashed as Madoka also glanced at several smaller stages with those Artisan Guild members. They swarmed around various parties doing their own business. "We can offer prices that only Warring can guarantee."

A murmur suddenly broke out as a commotion broke out from another gate. A massive wagon brought in a huge monster, flanked by a proud looking Gold party. The monster or what was left of it, had green scales and huge gashes left upon its skin. Its powerful hind legs and smaller top ones suggested that it stood on two legs, but what was with the top ones? Rhev, to her surprise, took one glance at the fallen beast and dismissed it entirely.

"You see," he pointed a ringed finger at the party. "We, of Warring Company's A Joint, do not accept such ruined things. Even if the beast has parts that are of Magic and Unique qualities, they simply won't do. The Artisan Guild shall take care of that. As for you two, one word from me and they will. Here—"

He handed a gleaming golden emblem to Madoka, who then tossed the badge to Audrey as if it was a disgusting fuzzy bug.

"That will get any Company A to open up for you," he said and continued talking with Audrey.

Madoka ignored him, stepping onto the stage from the stairs on the side. Touching the Storage Talisman, she immediately dumped what she could see fit on the stage based on the images of things inside of it. One by one, the stench of dead creatures began to gradually fill the entire room and overshadowed the dead beast that Gold party brought in. Finally, the loud thump of the ogre's head nearly crushed the edge of the stage. She did not even realize that everyone inside the building was looking at her. Madoka unceremoniously jumped off the stage, giving only one dry question to Rhev in Commoner. He was so flustered that he did not even realize her disrespect.

"So, how much would all of these things sell for?" Madoka asked blankly. A sudden rumble boomed from the hexagonal portal as it increased, revealing the massive beak of the Crystal Lizard as it threatened to break out and destroy the room. Madoka held it back from falling out completely with one hand.

"T-That's Legendary quality…! It's one will have to be accepted at the Capital. This facility won't be able to keep it," Sir Rhev stammered. Madoka nodded, shoving the creature up into the portal and sealed it. Soon, everyone ignored the Gold party and crowded around the ogre head.

The day went by quickly and eventually, Madoka left with a heavy bag filled with various kinds of shiny coins while Audrey held a scroll listing all of the things they have apparently sold to a very pale faced Rhev. They had to postpone working with both Eena and Arudite because of all of the so-called business Madoka brought them. They apparently joined the gawking crowd at some point, but she never noticed as she was busy dumping dead monsters. All of the emotions from last night seemed to drain away, leaving her with a dull face once again.

"Well," Audrey sighed. "I may or may not have forgotten that stuff we have been lugging around all this time."

"Yeah," Madoka sighed blankly. "At least those dead monsters won't mess with my head when I touch the storage talisman anymore."

Audrey remained silent, but the Twin Moons showed their faces to the world and bathed her in light. She reluctantly placed the bag of shiny coins in the portal and hurried on, avoiding Her Greediness's distracted gaze upon them as they jingled. This night seemed much more heavier than usual and Madoka's eyes were unsure where to land, darting and flickering away to other people. She did not sense any voices for now. She still had many questions and messes she could not properly clean in her head despite the knowledge that the Uracksheegal was right above their heads cloaked from their sight. That particular piece of knowledge downright disturbed her. Instinct told her to be prepared at all costs and never let Audrey out of her sight. However, with the way things between them are right now, all she could do is accompany Her Highness in silence.

She was being led away from the Guild but gave no contest to Audrey's hand. Dirt clung to their boots, but she supposed they could get washed later on. Business could continue with or without them for even a night. The familiar view of the inn soon came and they entered without anyone noticing them. Madoka scanned the crowd then relaxed after seeing no visible threats. That was until someone nearly threw themselves at their feet before they managed to even get to the stairs. A man? He was covered in a thick layer of cloth, which hid a plate underneath it that had seen better days. Madoka immediately stepped between Audrey and the dirty rag lying on the cloor.

"You two…!"

"Why are you bowing to us?" Madoka groaned. In the glint from the lamp's glow revealed the familiar tree crest of Esmeralda. "Get up and speak, man."

She was not sure if her visit to the Uracksheegal changed the way she spoke or Eraziror. That Sovos was nowhere to be seen at the moment, but the floorboards creaked as the hands pushed themselves off the ground.

"H-Here!"

An axe lay flattened on his palms. He was surrendering, not threatening. She sighed with relief, since the last time she was in the inn people gave her trouble. The golden tree emblem was more prominent on the weapon's handle. It was obvious to her that the frazzled man took more care of it than himself. It was then Madoka finally recognized this pile of rags. He was the Captain of that fat Esmeralda Noble they battled and owner of the jumpy horse named Salzeberry! The axe's blade glowed yellow, suggesting it was a… Madoka struggled to remember the weapon quality's various aura. It was Tier 2. "You two thumped us awhile ago by the Frost Queen's River, remember?"

"What?" Madoka somehow found the large axe thrusted into her arms as the former captain looked like he was in full retreat all over again.

"My memory… it's not what it used to be, one moment, clouds, sky, axe in hand… then I'm face first in the dirt and the morning light blinded my eyes," he rambled. A hand tugged her sleeve.

"I think this guy's off his rocker," Audrey whispered from behind her. It was clear that she did not remember the fat Noble Kieron either.

"Look, man," Madoka started. "Just don't cause us trouble anymore, okay?"

"We'll not be seeing each other by morning," the former captain said earnestly, almost in a pleading tone. "Kieron, that bastard, had already escaped to the desert and is causing trouble. If the Sky doesn't get to him, the Esmerald will. And I— I won't be around to see any of it. You didn't see me neither!"

With that, the man bolted out of the door like a startled bird.

"Huh," Madoka could only be amused at that point. "He is as jumpy as his horse."

Audrey's eyes glanced towards the exit where he left without a trace of memory of who that man was. Madoka gave a humorless chuckle again, but did not want to remind her of that terrible time. They had enough of those reminders already for today. The inn room they were staying in had been mysteriously repaired during her time away from it, but the Knotting Strands told her no lie. So, Madoka simply reinforced the door and then attended to her princess like she normally did. Neither really said a word, until Audrey was sitting upright against the wall halfway tucked into bed.

Madoka shifted nervously on her own side of the bed, which was previously unused the whole time. Mixed emotions filled her. She wanted to sleep in Audrey's bed by her side again, but was she still angry with her? Reality was tough to face, given that it was the princess's sudden declaration. It has been awhile since she felt this shameful before Her Highness. Audrey seemed to not notice the storm within Madoka and she was not willing to part with it, fearing that it would only make things worse. Was it Eena's fault? It could not be the Noble's, for it has been engraved into Madoka's being that she was supposed to serve only Audrey and allow no other Master between her.

The rustling of a scroll and a light flickered on. Audrey's magic, controlled perfectly and bobbing above her side of the room. The bright blue light cast a shadow and divided the two further apart. Then, the princess began to read.

"Ceghinort's Blood Within Us - The Following Bill of Sale is Ordained as True.

Sold Items Descriptions:

18 Fresh Goblin Corpses - Solid Quality, In tact, perfect condition, to be processed by Artisan Guild 7 Broken Goblin Corpses - Solid Quality, Damaged, fees waived, to be processed by the Artisan Guild 3 Troll Corpses - Magic Quality, Severed in uneven halves, heavily wounded, to be processed by Artisan Guild 1 Ogre Head - Unique Quality, In tact, Eyes missing, to be processed by Artisan Guild

Sellers: Madoka, Silver I Rank Audrey Dalion, Silver III Rank

Buyer: Warring Company A Joint

Sum: 18 Silver Coins for the Goblins, 3 Gold Coins for the trolls, 2 Gold Coins for the Ogre Head

Division rates: Monthly."

As the girl read the number of coins in the bag, her voice became more excited. Madoka pondered if she remembered they had far more than just that bag inside the talisman. Audrey suddenly turned and faced her, pointing to a section on the pages. The symbols and recognition in her head did not reach reconciliation. A pang of something dangerous happened in Madoka's mind in that very moment. She wanted to learn to read.

"Says here, the quality of monster parts," Audrey pointed at the carvings. Madoka went blank, as she could not understand the drawings. "Solid monster parts possess no magic, and therefore are used commonly for and by low level adventurers. Magic quality parts do. The next two types of quality are rarer and stronger."

"How rare?" Madoka thought about the dragon scales she wanted to show Eena tomorrow. "How much stronger? Are the dragon bones Legendary?"

"I dunno. They're called Unique and Legendary," Audrey muttered. "I said I felt like I was in an rpg, but this is just blatant, isn't it? Uniques possess extremely rare traits and are infused with unique Monster magic. Probably because they work with the God of Tomorrow, which no one really can use, heh, besides you. Those dragon bones might come in handy later for ranking up your crafting skills on. That's an, uh, inside joke. Legendary parts are like, end game material. In our case, we're rich! Rock and stone!"

Madoka's breath hitched, but she could not stop herself from finally asking the question that truly mattered to her.

"Are you…" she hesitated when Audrey turned to face her again. "Are you still mad at me?"

A shocked look flashed across the princess's face, but she quickly had a new expression of realization on. One that made Madoka pause. Then remorse and an unspoken battle between two sides spread across Audrey's complexion before she finally landed on the victor's explanation.

"I— I'm not mad at you," Audrey admitted. Madoka breathed an even deeper sigh of relief. "I'll watch my words a bit more from now on, Madoka. Sorry for making you worried and blame yourself all this time."

The girl patted her side of the bed and gestured for her to come, which Madoka nearly pounced on. She never thought she wanted to be this close to her, but after everything that happened so far she could not help it. There was probably a hundred things the princess could have said, but that apology of hers was enough to Madoka. As she lay down next to Audrey, she caught the girl smiling to herself with a smug satisfaction reflection in the moonlit window's glass. However, Madoka was simply to tired to figure out why and drifted finally off to sleep.

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