Chapter 32

"Hup! Ow!"
The princess was not quick enough to dodge most of Madoka's simple strikes. She has shown Elise how to dodge most attacks and anticipate them though she simply claimed she was not coordinated enough. Madoka knew that with more practice and pain the princess could learn a few Cherish sword style movements. She could use them in the future, Madoka figured.
"It's not fair!" she whines, as Madoka bats her side with her wooden sword. "Ach! I chose to be a support mage for my character job class! Ach!"
"I'm not hitting you that hard," Madoka sighed. "Or going as fast as I could be."
"What did you say to me?"
"Nothing, Elise," Madoka feinted a strike to Elise's right side, but tripped her with a sweeping kick instead. She toppled over like a crumbling wall of variegated bricks.
"N-Now that was just cheap," the princess dusted herself off. She once again refused to accept Madoka's hand to help her up.
"Don't be mad at me," Madoka closed her eyes. "This was your idea."
"I know, I know," the princess got back up.
"Dodge like this. Learn my reach," Madoka demonstrated, pivoting herself with her feet. "You've seen me do this many times while using your magic on me."
"You just want revenge!" the princess scoffed.
"Well, it's easy to get right now," Madoka teased.
"You!"
A water beam shot at her, but Madoka blocked it with her wooden sword. Elise shook her head.
"A shame I can't just use magic in this training," the princess sighed. "I could probably test it later but you know why I won't for now."
"Basics," Madoka guessed aloud. "For what it's worth, princess, you're getting better."
"Bah!" Elise focused on her feet and muttered something.
The birds above were circling above them. Their thoughts were carefree. It was a hot day for training, Madoka thought. She will wash the princess off tonight.
"Madoka?" Elise was asking Madoka something. "You here?"
"Oh, sorry," Madoka wiped some sweat off her forehead. "It's quite warm out today, isn't it?"
"Right?" Elise agreed. "We could go to the lake!"
"That will have to wait until your training is done," Madoka chastised her. The princess sulked.
"Nae waah," she whined. "Now I know what training under Uncle Leo is like."
The name made Madoka pause again, her attack stopping right at the princess's ankle. Elise jumped over it anyways.
"Lord Leopride," Madoka trailed off. She has not forgotten the duel between the two, though she was not sure if it was real or not. She assumed that the duel was not real though the scar on her palm was. "Is he still here?"
"What about him?" Elise looked puzzled for a moment. "Of course he's around."
"Ah," Madoka contemplated it for a moment. "Will he return soon?"
Elise stuck her hands to her waist and scrutinized Madoka. Was that jealousy on her face? Madoka could not guess why.
"Why are you asking for him?" Elise asked with a frown. Madoka resisted the urge to look at her scar and instead looked away. Elise was muttering something, but Madoka could hear her. "Hmph! I'll show you I'm better."
Elise was motivated to improve over the following weeks. Madoka could no longer surprise attack her easily and her movements were no longer sluggish. They did more hiking outdoors, though she did not like those as much as doing her duties. She found herself riding Ciara more and more, with the struggle of getting Elise on horseback not getting easier. Madoka sighed whenever the princess dragged her to the forest, but she was her maid and somewhat of her bodyguard.
They traveled further and further in until Madoka was convinced they no longer were in the Northern Estate's territory now.
"So far, I've mapped most of this forest out," the princess pulled out a notebook and scribbled more on it. "There's still two notable places that we've yet to check out."
The pair rested from the sun beneath the shade of trees. Elise would not be afraid of the fuzzy bugs if she could not see them, so Madoka chose not to say that they were around them. They walked by a few, but Madoka was not in the mood to point them out. The birds were chirping above, too high up to hear their thoughts.
"Notable places?" Madoka asked. She could pick out bits and pieces of the letters that Elise was teaching her how to read at nights in the library, although there were symbols not quite any letters in the books she was learning. Elise also had the map from the library.
"Remember the labyrinth I mentioned way back..." Elise stopped when she realized Madoka clearly did not. "Anyways, that's around this area. There's also another place I'm interested in investigating before I really start expediting plans."
"Right, plans," Madoka absently kicked a stick as they rested, ignoring her remarks about another place. Elise jumped up and nodded. She wore a strange hat, made of straw and leather. Her outfit was also strange. The princess apparently requested from a tailor in the village to make it. She called it her safari explorer outfit and urged Madoka to not laugh at how silly she looked. It was odd, since she was not sure what a safari is if she was the only one observing wildlife around her.
"Yup, yup! Plans, Madoka!" Elise said, but looked bitter. She checked her map. "Now it's a few hundred meters ahead... that way! Catch me if you can!"
She took off. Madoka grabbed her ax and followed her.
"Don't run off!" Madoka chased after the princess. The two were laughing, though. It was careless but Madoka felt freedom in the forest. The princess was quite agile, improved from Madoka's supposedly brutal training the past few weeks. The two hopped over a fallen log. There was an unusual silence from beyond. Elise paused and waited for Madoka. "I... I gave you a head start."
Madoka breathed. Elise chuckled.
"Just beyond these trees should be the labyrinth's entrance," she bumped shoulders with Madoka. Madoka shot her a concerned look. "W-We're not going in mind you! Just going to uh, look at it!"
"For some reason, princess," Madoka said as she followed Elise. "I don't believe you."
"Relax," Elise said. "The entrance should be closed. Ah, here it is."
The two passed through a clearing in the woods and came into view of what the princess was talking about. Madoka was in awe of the towering ruin. A large structure, overgrown with nature, stood in the center of the opening. On its face had a large door sealed tightly shut. Madoka was relieved that it was at least closed, so the princess could not open it easily.
Madoka figured she would have enough time to restrain the princess if she tried to pry it open.
"I'm not going to open it," Elise sighed, pulling out her notebook and marking her map with it. Madoka shrugged. "Yet."
"Please don't joke with me like that, Elise," Madoka sighed. The princess looked at her but said nothing and returned to writing notes in her book.
"According to legends," the princess said, tucking the book away. She contemplated for a minute, before taking it out again. Madoka sighed. Elise forgot what she read already. She cleared her throat after Madoka snickered and read a passage. "The labyrinth distorts time and space. The first floor connects to one entrance near the Palace and various other places for quick access in case of emergencies. There are no monsters... yet."
She shut her book and tucked it in. Madoka felt uneasy about monsters.
"It makes me feel a lot smaller in the world," Madoka mused, looking up at the towering door. There were runes on each side of the door. For a moment, a sick curiosity struck her and she wondered how to open the door.
"Right?" Elise said in amazement. "It's totally cool, like... oh. Ach!"
Elise clutched her arm. The tattoo on her arm, Madoka realized, was moving again. The princess rolled up her sleeve and checked it.
"This tattoo, as you might have heard," Elise explained. "Is a Mark of Ascension, kinda like a key for a labyrinth. I guess this body's previous owner had that right and passed it onto... Nevermind me! I'm fine."
"So that marking can open the door?" Madoka asked, scared that Elise would try it. Elise still waved her hands at her alarm.
"Yes, but it's complicated," Elise said, holding her arm as the tattoo wriggled on her skin. "It's kind of a mark that shows a person has already been there before... But I'm not sure how I got it."
"I told you, remember?" Madoka reminded her, though she did not know why. "You had a nightmare and used magic in your sleep."
"I guess so," Elise murmured. "Anyways, this is the first spot I wanted to see. Let's go home, Madoka, before this mark tears my arm off."
The mark seemed to be pulling away towards a certain direction. The two watched it tug towards another clearing in the woods. Elise suddenly had a mischievous grin on her face.
"I thought you wanted to go—"
"Yo! It's like a videogame puzzle!" Elise headed towards the clearing. "Come on! Come on!"
The usually careful Madoka sighed but could not stop her princess. They were inevitably going to get into dangerous things but that is what their training is for, she supposed. The two approached the clearing and found the remains of an overgrown metal plate. Elise kneeled on the ground and palmed the earth off of it.
"Is it a round shield?" Madoka looked at the object.
"It's a plate to stand on!" Elise got up and stood on it. As she did, the plate embedded itself further in the ground with a clicking noise. "Uh, don't comment on my weight."
Madoka would not have said anything but then the earth trembled. A flock of birds scattered out their perches amongst the branches like white petals in the wind. Both girls hung onto each other until the tremors stopped abruptly.
"Do you think that the labyrinth door opened?" Elise asked. Madoka helped straighten her up. The two peered closer at the labyrinth entrance. Only half the door was cracked open, with the runes glowing with magic. An ominous feeling slipped through the opened door, making Madoka's skin crawl. "That's totally wicked."
Elise checked her marking again to discover it was pointing towards another spot. Even Madoka could guess another plate lay across from them. Her guess was correct as the two approached it. Elise did not waste any time and stood on the mossy and dirty plate. A click was heard as it sank into the ground with blue mana strands pouring out from beneath the princess's boots.
"That didn't happen before," Elise said but was cut off as the earth began to tremble again. The two held onto each other as they wobbled. "N-Not again!"
They barely withstood the violent shaking, though the forest became silent once more. Elise looked back to the labyrinth's opening. Her jaw dropped and she pointed to it. "The door is open, Madoka!"
"T-That's wonderful, Elise," Madoka's legs quaked, regaining their senses. The two inspected the newly opened labyrinth but not up close. "It makes me feel uneasy."
"Me too," Elise said. "My legs feel like jelly. We should definitely get back home now. Tomorrow or the next day we can search for the next location."
Madoka looked back before following the princess back. Its ancient stone steps beckoned all who looked. Is it fine that we can just leave that open? She thought. She realized the princess mentioned a second place which made her nervous.
"What other location?"
The princess turned and faced her with a grin.
"Those spooky ruins!" She said with a wicked look.
"You mean the ones we have to walk around?"
"Yeah!" Elise said excitedly.
"Isn't that a sign of danger? Everyone tells us to avoid it!"
"Yeah!"
The princess teased her with a funny face. Her enthusiasm seemed to be increasing much to Madoka's dismay.
"Are you scared, Madoka?"
Madoka scoffed, but she definitely did not want to go to those ruins. "Are you sure you're not afraid of the ruins yourself, Elise?"
"Yeah!" She repeated herself again. Her enthusiasm was beaming. Madoka rolled her eyes. "Come on, I can picture the scary stories we can tell. We can call them the 'Madoka and Elise Adventures!'"
Madoka was not sure about it but they traveled home without speaking of the labyrinth. She could only imagine what her father, the King, was thinking when he let her loose up here. As they pulled up to the gate, Madoka halted Ciara and an ominous feeling overwhelmed her.
"Madoka?" Elise asked.
Was it truly...? Madoka sensed no tension from Ciara but she knew someone familiar was there. They were rounding the corner. Now!
Madoka climbed up on the horse's back and leapt off, her ax drawn. She landed squarely on the familiar figure's chest and knocked him to the ground with her knee. Ciara neighed, nearly shaking Elise off her back, but Madoka had her ax drawn to the man's neck already.
"Madoka?!" Elise shrieked.
"Lord Leopride?" Madoka was hostile and confused. Yet, she looked intently at an equally shocked Lord Leopride staring up at her beneath her ax's blade. She had one question for the Cherish-man. "How are you alive...?"