A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Part 1, Chapter 1 - Farewell

The sun bled across the horizon, waving calmly as the colours of the sky went off to die. Everyone was peacefully sitting in their homes, except for two people who were standing in the middle of a silent street. They were a boyfriend and girlfriend, frowning together while not removing their gaze from each other. The guy was sitting on his brown horse, dressed as an Obscurian soldier - in a uniform that consisted of a shirt, trousers and shoes in hues of purple. His lady wore a thin white dress made of lace, which reached her knees. Neither of them wanted to do what was required of them, but the universe didn't care about their feelings. The woman sighed, preparing herself to speak.

"Here we are, Jeffrey. The moments of the time we still have together are fleeting one by one. My heart aches with desperation, and I know yours does too. This is indeed the worst period of history we've encountered during our lives. Everyone is turning against each other, and some people simply can't be trusted anymore. It is going to be hard, but we will manage to earn our happy ending as long as the cause of all this gets undone. It hurts to say goodbye. We both know what we're getting into, yet the pain still doesn't stop."

Jeffrey sighed. "The despair of this situation might as well be infinite, and so war matters more than anything else. I shall leave now."

"Wait!", Melinda shouted behind him as he started to leave, "Douglas is coming, and I told him that both of us would be there when he arrives. I don't want to spread misinformation."

As he turned around to face her, he smiled at her. "It is considerate of you that you told this to me. Douglas has always been someone that we both respect, and we can't act carelessly when the feelings of our friends are in question."

Once Melinda nodded, a black horse appeared on the horizon, getting nearer and nearer to them every few seconds. It could be seen that its rider was a blonde man with deep black eyes, which matched his riding uniform. On his face, there was a still expression of determination, and he was making the horse move as if someone were behind him, chasing him relentlessly. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped right in front of the couple, jumping off the horse as soon as he got the opportunity to do so.

"Douglas, how I have missed you! You have come to my house as a friend, and as a friend, I am awaiting you. Come in, have some tea, and we can talk about anything we want. Perhaps you could explain to me what Ingrid has been doing as of late?"

She said it in a rather cheerful manner, looking more than ready to hug him, but he was just standing there, frowning about who knows what. As to not disrupt anything, he explained:

"Ingrid has gone to her family reunion so she can say some of her relatives goodbye due to the drafting for the war."

Just when he was about to continue his conversation with her, she gestured to him to keep his mouth shut with an innocent smile on her face.

"Don't be so impatient, Douglas. We haven't even entered my home yet, and there's time for everything. Besides, the tea's going to get cold if we don't start drinking it soon, and cold tea is a special kind of disappointment."

"You know, Melinda, I've always found your friendship meaningful to me, but I think I should form a tighter bond with you..."

Those words immediately made her burst into laughter. "What are you talking about? You have always been a good friend of mine. I feel no need for anything to improve."

"Well, actually... There's war now, and there's no better time to comfort each other. They can't draft the crown prince of Obscuria, and you're staying here as well. The dangerous reality of the world can be ignored for a little while. My heart has been desperately seeking companionship recently, and I believe that we should have a more special relationship because we're supposed to be best friends, but we have been separated from each other for a while."

Melinda frowned at him, for the only other way for her to articulate her thoughts was to stare at him blankly.

"I don't know what it is that you're expecting from me. Stop talking in riddles! I'm sorry if I seem rude, but you're not helping yourself at all by talking in a vague and mysterious way."

He gave her an empty look, unaware of what to do next.

"By the way, who do your parents want you to marry?", Melinda gladly changed the theme.

"They have moved that for next year. I know that you're probably expecting the bride to be someone of noble origin, but all that such marriages have to do is to be convenient for the kingdom. In a year, you can expect me to have an unconventional bride."

She blinked in confusion. "An unconventional bride? What do you mean?"

"Well, someone who no one would really expect to be chosen, but who could not only bring a lot to the kingdom, but who could also get well-acquainted with the members of the royal family."

"And who is this mysterious person you're talking about?", Melinda inquired curiously.

Douglas sighed. "Let's talk about that while drinking tea, shall we?"

"We shall," she chirped in response, trying to stay closer to Jeffrey than him without being too close to him.

As the sun became closer and closer to being replaced by the moon, they sipped tea and talked in Melinda's living room. It was a comfortable place to stay in. There was nothing of too much luxury, but it suited all of her needs. Everyone was sitting on tall brown chairs that surrounded a small coffee table of circular shape. On the left side of the room was a green sofa with several pillows shaped as squares on it, which were coloured in white, brown and red. The floor was made of planks that were covered by nothing, except for the rectangular brown rug below the coffee table. There were not many pictures on the white walls, only one, actually. It was positioned in the middle of the room, and it clearly showed a ship getting away from the shore in broad daylight.

"Jeffrey, I have something I want to discuss with Douglas in private, so I'm asking you to leave for five minutes," Melinda said as politely as she could.

"I shall respect your demands," he responded, having tried to assume what was going on.

"So, Douglas, what is it that you want to tell me?", she inquired once Jeffrey left the room.

For reasons that Douglas himself did not fully know, her presence engulfed his heart with emotion. He tried to answer, but he could not find the right words to do that. A part of him tried to tell him that it was a foolish errand, and it made him wish to be able to have more control over himself. However, he didn't have time to do anything significant. Someone rang the little bell on the front door of the house once he started to speak.

"Oh, they must have come to draft Jeffrey early! Sorry, Douglas, but you must leave. I wish you a fine farewell!", she said, smiling.

"A fine farewell to you as well!", he told her, struggling to smile.