Maidenless No Longer (Elden Ring)

Chapter 36: Millicent

A/N: The forbidden lands! We finally made it to the Mountaintop of the Giants! Wooo!

Ohey Millicent, fancy meeting you here.

-x-X-x-

She'd come far, hadn't she? And yet... she could tell, she still had further to go. Inhaling and exhaling, Millicent stands upon the Mountaintop of the Giants, gazing out at the snowstorm currently buffeting the surrounding area. For the moment, at least, she has to take shelter in these ruins. There is no other choice. But soon, she'll move on again. She feels... drawn, in a way. Drawn ever Northward.

Her savior had not called upon her again. Millicent had trained her blade arm tirelessly, but he did not need her assistance. Perhaps she had been foolish to think he would. It was clear that their paths had finally diverged. He had his destiny, and she... she had hers. Indeed, Millicent's memory was beginning to play tricks on her.

She vaguely remembered walking this path before. And yet, at the same time, it felt like she'd never been here in her life. It was a strange sensation, to be sure. She was not entirely sure she enjoyed it. But as far as a guiding light was concerned, it was the best she had. Yes. Her purpose... her purpose seemed to be in the North.

But then, what was her purpose? What was to be her destiny? If she'd had her own choice, Millicent would have liked to have stayed by her savior's side. The Tarnished who had come upon her in that Church so long ago and given her back her life... Millicent would have done anything for him. But he did not need her, not truly. In the same way that a King did not need a Beggar.

With nothing else to guide her, Millicent had come North to this snowy place. But where did it all end? Were her memories her own? Was her body her own? What... what WAS her purpose?

In the midst of this introspection and the snow falling all around her, the red head doesn't hear the hooves approaching, at first. In truth, she doesn't hear him coming until he's already upon her. Luckily, it's not an enemy. Millicent gets to her feet, sword in her prosthetic hand, but she does not lift it. Instead, her eyes widen as she realizes just who's managed to come upon her little campsite.

As her savior, the Tarnished, hops off of his Spectral Steed and strides forward with a smile on his face, Millicent flushes. What was he doing here? Had he come for her? No... no, that would be ridiculous. Still...

"T-Tarnished. To think... to think we'd meet in such a place. What could your purpose possibly...?"

Millicent trails off, and then flushes even harder and ducks her head in embarrassment. She had been about to question the man who had not only saved her life but given her back her arm. She had been about to assail his integrity and strength of character, by calling his intentions into doubt. What an awful wretch she was, deep down inside. She would need to curtail such impulses... it was unbecoming of one such of her.

She was just shocked, to tell it plainly. The Tarnished... she'd had her savior pegged as the next Elden Lord. Call it what you will. Intuition. Hopeful Optimism. But still... he had seemed so capable and so strong. And Millicent knew what the Tarnished in general were after. As a whole, the group were not quiet about their purpose in the Lands Between.

She had assumed that HER Tarnished was no different, even if he'd shown himself to be incredibly different all the same. She had believed he sought the throne of the Elden Lord beneath the Erdtree and hadn't considered another possibility for even a second. What other reason would he have for gallivanting across the Lands Between? What other reason would he have for all his heroics and brave deeds?

He would make an excellent Elden Lord. But then... why was he here, in the lands long forbidden by the Two Fingers? Why was he here, instead of in Leyndell sitting upon the Elden Throne? The Royal Capital awaited, or so she'd thought, but he'd come here instead? Bypassing it like she had?