Maidenless No Longer (Elden Ring)

Chapter 44: Melina

A/N: Melina has limits. We passed them a while ago. Alas, there are no brakes on this train.

-x-X-x-

The crumbling ruins of Farum Azula are surrounded by a massive raging storm filled to the brim with dragons and flying Beastmen. To even reach the remnants of the ruined domed city was a perilous journey, to be sure. But at the center of the ruins was another storm, a raging tornado that moved so fast that not even the crazed, broken denizens of Farum Azula dared to brave it.

It was to the very edge of that tornado that her Tarnished had brought them. It was on an expanse of ruined floor floating just off of the side of said tornado that he'd forced them to lie down. And it was that tornado now that expanded to cover the three of them as the world itself seemed to reverse in time, everything flowing backwards as Melina shut her one open eye as tightly as she possibly could with a grimace.

For a long moment, she feared that this was to be their end. Perhaps her Tarnished had finally bitten off more than he could chew. Perhaps they were doomed by his hubris, by his vanity, by his greed.

... But no. The tornado passes them by, and for a long moment they are barely protected by the downward dip of the crack in the stone he'd found for them to lay in. They are buffeted, but with his strong, masculine hands grasping at their own, it's as if nothing on this world or any other could possibly blow them away.

And then it's over, and the winds die down. Slowly, hesitantly, Melina deigns to open her eyes. What madness has her chosen champion wrought now? What has he done? As he sits up beside her, Melina does the same on one side of him, while Malenia does so on the other. She pays the red-haired demigod they've brought along for the ride no mind, however.

Instead, she focuses on their surroundings, taking in the... arena they seem to be in. The fully intact arena, with the pillars that had been in ruins mere moments before now standing up straight, and an arena floor that had been consumed by a tornado now completely untouched and pristine once more. The circular stadium is massive in size, and was likely the pride of Farum Azula, once upon a time. Indeed, if this is just the stadium, the domed city in turn must have been insanely impressive at the height of its power.

As they rise to their feet, Melina continues to gaze around, gawking at the restored scenery. Until, that is, her eyes lock onto something floating in the air off in the distance, in the very center of the arena. No... no, not something. Rather, someone. Melina's one open eye grows wider as she recognizes the form of a massive two-headed dragon curled in on itself, arms and hands crossed over its chest and wings folded in close to protect it from the elements.

Its not flying, but simply hovering there, as it protected from the elements... or rather, from time itself. Melina's jaw drops open, and even to her ears, her voice is rather shrill.

"Is that... is that the Dragonlord Placidusax?! My Tarnished... please do not tell me you brought us back in time to the past where Placidusax still reigned!"

She's not expecting a verbal response, which is why Melina is quite surprised when she gets one.

"No!"

Except, that's no masculine voice. That's very much a woman's voice... Malenia's voice specifically. Whipping around, Melina finds that in her moment of distraction (and to be fair, the curled, hulking form of Placidusax is QUITE the distraction) her Tarnished had moved on Malenia, taking the Blade of Miquella by surprise. The red-haired swordswoman had clearly let her guard down around the Tarnished. Not surprising, considering he'd beaten her silly and then helped her save her brother, seemingly out of the kindness of his heart.

As such, when he'd walked right up beside her and yanked the needle from beneath her breast, Malenia had been unprepared for the sudden seemingly inexplicable act of betrayal. As her brother's needle is removed from her, the Scarlet Rot returns with a vengeance, bubbling up from within Malenia's body in under a second.