Chapter Text
The refined cotton of the regal blanket draped down the mattress as Malenia awoke from her rest. Last night’s sparring with Godwyn had forced her to go to bed early, her energy sapped despite, or perhaps, because of her victory.
Forcing her body to stabilize itself, she slowly got up from the bed, it’s luxurious comfort calling for her return, what’s a couple more minutes of slumber?
Well, not today. Today she had to meet with Miquella (again) as he continued to enhance his craft with the revered Unalloyed Gold. Already the prototype had shown much promise, despite it being entirely artificial, its blessed form binds itself to Malenia as if it was a natural extension of her being. And the duel with the crown prince had proven true Miquella’s theory. Never again would Malenia be reliant on another to provide protection to her and her brother.
Her vision was blurrier than usual, of course, she was naturally born with poor sight, yet every day that passed it became, if ever so slightly, worse. The rot that had cursed her to be without three of her limbs was the same rot slowly blinding her, a ceaseless plague that would’ve killed her without Miquella’s help.
Her beloved brother, bearing a curse of his own, was one of the few in her life that held nigh unending love and understanding. Even when the rot had ravaged her body to a point where it seemingly had a will of it’s of own, Miquella and his Unalloyed Gold was there to stave off the pestilence, even if it was for but a night of reprieve before the malison returned to its host, affectionately burying it’s root deeper and more unrelenting then the last time.
She could only hope that he could find a permanent cure to the pestilence, perhaps maybe, she may regain true eyesight and be able to see her twin in his full radiant glory.
Inspite of her vision, she still retained enough practical function to find her way through the palace and to Miquella’s quarters: A large artisan workshop where the prosthetics were created. Below the workshop, a large garden filled with flowers which had just blossomed provided a beautiful view from the balcony. Here she found her brother, admiring the beauty of nature as lavender butterflies gathered around him. She moved to speak to him, but before she could even utter a word, Miquella wrapped his delicate palm around her sole flesh-hand, before guiding her down the stairs. He giggled as Malenia gasped, she stammered for an explanation for what he wanted from her. But all he provided for an answer was playful banter. Although Malenia could easily resist, she towered over her twin afterall, she chose to go along anyways.
“How could some time spent in the royal gardens hurt” thinking to herself.
And so, the two would find themselves on a bench overlooking a graceful pond, Miquella sat down his sister while he went rummaging for something to eat. Quickly, he would find some sour grapes to munch on, they were not his thing necessarily, but he knew Malenia loved them. Feeding her from his hand, delicately dropping each grape into her mouth, she cheerfully bit down and savored the taste of sourness mixed with undertones of earthy goodness. Pulling up a decanter, Miquella let a small stream of the sweetest wine touch his lips, the ambrosia was more than suitable to quench both of their thirst.
Malenia had only just finished eating the grapes before she was offered something to wash it down with, of course she couldn’t possibly deny such a treat. Her mouth opened as wide as she could as the red wine flowed as a river down into her mouth, the waterfall of ambrosia washing away the sourness on her tongue.
Grabbing the bottle with her prosthesis, she held Miquella’s nape in her free hand and reciprocated to her brother the feeding. Watching merrily as he hurriedly gulped down the wine, pushing back softly to signify a thirst quenched. Malenia dropped the bottle and vigorously wrapped Miquella in her arms, Miquella would follow in suit, his arms wrapped elegantly around her back in turn. They hugged tenderly, brother burying his face into his sister as she gazed down in a blissful trance.
This was where she belonged, where she was most joyous, hand-in-hand with her brother, wasting the days away in frolick and whimsy and spending the nights reading by the fire. Where she could gaze upon his golden hair and warm smile. Even if it meant her vision was weak and her eyes unfocused, arms and legs aching, and having an ancient pestilence writhe inside of her. She would suffer through it all for this, to be with her brother.
But as she continued to cuddle with her twin, Malenia felt a certain, familiar leaf brush up against her robes, and then, a couple more. Wettish and a little slimy. these weren’t the vibrant green leaves of the oak surrounding the two, rather, they were reddish in hue. Turning around, she could at first only vaguely make out the leaves' shape, but in time, her eyes would focus on one of them, a brilliant orange leaf with a scarlet vein running through it. It was almost shockingly similar to the leaves of the proud Erdtree.
“Erdtree…”
“Erdtree?”
“Erdtree???”
The realization raced through her mind, her thoughts scrambled as she realized that this wasn’t reality, it was a farce. She wasn’t ready, sh-she wasn't ready, she can't leave now.
“Please, a little more time,” she said in a shaking voice. A lone tear leaving her eye. Miquella looked up in worry, his eyes gazing into hers, her face frozen.
Before the little one could even mutter concern, he vanished from underneath Malenia, a void replacing his presence. The world around her began to evaporate like a drop of water in the scorching sun, fragments sucked into a singularity. She had little time to process it all, a mercy one could say, before her universe disappeared. The life she built in her mind as a reprieve from the sufferings of her prison whilst she slumbered.
She had never gotten used to the chronic pain of her birthright, and dissociating from her mortal-self for so long has not helped. Her muscles ached and her spine forced itself back into shape, cracking as the skeleton supporting her strained. But the pain of the humors was nothing to pain of the gnawing curse that had infested nearly every crook of her body, her stomach was screaming at her, as the rot had progressed like a tumor, demanding a sustenance exceeding a footsoldier’s daily rations on its lonesome. She lurched up off her chair and wobbled as she attempted to find balance amongst the bog of her enclosure.
It is here that she begins to collect her senses, and finally, knows what awoken her. As the prosthetic legs collected themselves, another pair of footsteps was heard; heavy, yet swift, a Tarnished finds what they have been looking for.
Gathering her strength and gritting her teeth, she had little time to prepare for her opponents challenge, she was weakened and torn from slumber. Yet still, she knew no adversary that had bested her since she had first picked up the blade. Pridefully proclaiming to her opponent, the words that have been echoing in her mind:
“Heed my words, I am Malenia, Blade of Miq-”
*Swoosh*
*ZAP*
Malenia dropped to the ground as she felt a scorching heat engulf her mind, nothing, not even the blast of Radahn’s Spear against her armor in Caelid could compare to the shock of the bolt as it spasmed through her body. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, feeling the immediate sting followed by the unrelenting flame of Madness seize her brain. Tears fell down her cheek as the pain engulfed her senses, her hands clenched around her hair under her helmet, legs buckling as the sweltering heat spared no crevice of its inescapable torment. She could do naught but wail as her fragile psyche was mangled beyond all belief, the dreams of her slumber, or more accurately, fragments rushed back to her in a torrent of despair, echoes of her false-life bounced up and down her brain rearranging her burgeoning thoughts and effectively paralyzing her even further. Incapacitated, Malenia was a sniveling husk.