A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 4 - The Meeting

The night had soon fallen, and much of the world lay at rest. Not a person walked outside, not a single drop of rain came from the sky, not an animal voiced itself. Believing that Melinda would do nothing, Patrick slowly walked away from her room after he had come to see how she was behaving. In front of him, she didn't do much of anything, just how he wanted it to be. He was headed towards the dining room of the house he owned to have a meeting with his followers, who soon caught up to him. 

The room was lit by nothing but candles. The only ones were on the table, so barely anything could be seen. The table was long and large, standing right below a chandelier full of candles that have burned out. On it was just the white tablecloth, made out of the finest silk. Those who served Patrick didn't know who the previous owner was, but they assumed that the person's life must have been pretty comfortable.

"What are you going to do now that you have lost?" one of them spoke once they stopped pondering about it.

"It may have been a loss according to common sense, but not everything can be looked at through the same lens. We couldn't have expected someone as talented as Grey to appear on the battlefield, and we could use that to our advantage."

"How are we going to achieve that?"

"Tell me something, Huxley. If you were a mouse trapped in a large cage with no hope of escaping, how long could you withstand it?"

Huxley stared at him unblinkingly. "It depends on the conditions, I guess."

"That's a good point. Under the right conditions, even the hearts of the bravest heroes can crack. I forced her to become my apprentice under the threat of her parents' lives, and she will learn everything she needs to know. But it won't be easy for her. I will break her in every way possible until she succumbs. A time will come when she won't be able to take it anymore. Then, she will realise that the darkness comforts one's soul more than light."

"And you're sure that she won't escape?"

"Yes, I'm sure. If she tries to defy me in any way, I'll put her in her place."

Huxley smirked. "If I'm not mistaken, you'll use torture spells?"

"Your enthusiasm makes me very happy, Huxley. I'm honoured to have someone like you on my side."

"Thank you, master," Huxley replied with a smile.

Upon remembering something, a woman started to tremble, glad that her superior and those who genuinely respected him weren't paying attention to her. Her hair was red as the cherries that grew lush aplenty in the spring, which had become so distant even when it was there. Her brown eyes seemed cold from afar, but all the crying she had done was easy to notice. Her eyebrows were twitching constantly, looking like even the smallest bit of dust could bother them. Then, she raised her hand to end the silence.

Patrick stared her down before speaking. "Yes, Mrs Collins?"

"What have you done to the Lady of Prophecies?"

"I promptly took care of her," he replied, smirking.

***

The Lady of Prophecies was lying down on the grass. While the wolves were howling and the crickets were chirping in the distance, she was trying to get up from the puddle of blood that had formed around her. Luckily, she wasn't wearing any sort of robe or gown, as was expected from those like her, but the first old rags she could pick early in the morning instead. However, the wound in her chest was fresh and large, and she was scarcely able to move. 

Every bone, every atom of her body remembered the intensity of her torture, which they would never be able to forget. A man she did not know captured her shadow somewhere around noon. Aware that just a bit of luck could have gotten her out of this, she wanted to scream about how unfair all of this was, but it was apparent to her that she would gain nothing by doing so. He made her dance to his cruel song with the help of his magic, and not once did he show hesitation. When she thought that he was over, he took out a blade and stabbed her in the stomach with all his might. She could feel the vigour he did it with, and she justifiably assumed that he hated her and was mad at her simply for existing.