A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 9 - Unexpected News

Melinda had no clue as to what was going on outside of the room she was locked in. She barely even went out of the room, and when she did, she waited for the moments when she could be sure that Patrick or any person working for him was nowhere near her, using her magic to get in and out of the room. She always urged herself to get up when she woke up early, no matter how sleepy she was. That became her favourite part of the day, even if it was only for a few minutes and even though she didn't find out anything of importance yet. She was sure that someday, she would succeed in doing so, although the piece of information she would find would probably be something very trivial. 

The day after Viola settled herself in the castle, Melinda woke up early once again. She gently stood up, causing one mere plank to creak, silent as a bird chirping from a distance, which, strangely enough, she didn't hear this time. She yawned and blinked to keep her eyes open more easily. She hastily looked through all the files in her brain to see if there was a spell for unlocking doors that she had remembered from the past. She had no opportunity to finish that process before her captor unlocked the door himself. 

There was a smirk on his face. She smiled at him, her thoughts a dark shade of red. She wanted to remove that air of superiority and smugness from his face, yet she couldn't lift a finger in her defence when she was near him, let alone something as extreme as that. The only option she had was to play along. 

"Hello, Mr Hemmingway. What could you be doing here on such a tranquil day that's full of possibilities?" she chirped.

"Oh, you aren't at all aware. That's amusing."

She could have asked a question, but she stared at him instead.

"Viola's prophecy has spread across the country. Everyone knows about it. She was invited to the latest meeting of the Obscurian council yesterday and she's staying at the place in case she has any more visions. Douglas was there to help her."

"How do you know all of that?" Melinda asked loudly.

"I have informants at all kinds of places."

Melinda removed her glance from him, focusing on the floor.

"After what I did for them, they're going to forget about me. I have sacrificed so much, but it's not going to matter. It was never going to matter after all," she whispered.

"Then why are you doing it if you knew it was never going to matter after all?" he inquired after having walked close to her.

"It's only an assumption. Besides, it was my choice due to me having a need to be of great importance in the grand scheme of things," she answered with reluctance.

"Great importance isn't always for the greater good."

"I know that, but you don't know me."

"If you insist, I will leave you alone. I have to say one more thing before. I found you another companion, so good luck."

"Wait!" she shouted as he turned towards the door, "Why is Frank so silent as of late?"

"You always raise all the wrong questions," he told her, slamming the door right in front of her eyes. 

***

Day changed to night and day again and it meant nothing. The sky was still cloudy and Melinda got up swiftly once more. She was wondering who her next companion could be, and she wanted to welcome them properly. For minutes and minutes, she stood right behind the door, doing nothing. She didn't wish to disturb Frank, who had just woken up and was sitting in a corner. He would get up soon as well.

Frank got startled by the creak of the door. Patrick came through it, leading in a woman who looked as if her hopes and dreams had been crushed. Her hair was a dark blonde, not because of genes, but because it has been a while since she last washed it. Her hazel eyes had two seas caged within them, two seas that would not be at peace for anything in the world. She wore a magenta coat that had been bloodied on the inner side. Melinda struggled not to drop her jaw in shock, for she knew the woman, and she couldn't think of a reason why her coat could have ended up in such a state.

Not willing to say anything, Patrick pushed her into the room, and she almost fell onto the floor in her white heels. She managed to stomp harshly on the parquet at the last second, thus preventing herself from doing that. She and Melinda glanced at each other with frowns on their faces, neither of them having to utter a word, for they both knew how the other one felt at the moment. As soon as she noticed Frank, she pointed at him.

"That man," she turned to Melinda once again, "Who is he and why is he here? I figured that I would have heard about him if he was important enough to have been kidnapped by Mr Hemmingway."

"For the sake of privacy, perhaps it is for the better not to be too open about his identity," Melinda voiced herself with a stern expression.

Frank laughed in the background. "And perhaps it is also for the better not to worry about every potential danger that this situation could bring to us and reveal something about me. After all, I'm the one who's being talked about here."

"And why have you been so silent lately?" she questioned, surprised by her own frankness immediately afterwards.

"I assume that such behaviour would be seen as normal by many in my conditions, Madam Grey," he hissed, causing her to have enough satisfaction with his response.

"It's nothing serious, Wendy. We haven't met each other properly yet," she explained to the other woman upon seeing her flabbergasted facial expression.

"I thought the two of you would have had enough time to perform that thing in such solitude, especially when you have been presumably kept here for a while now. Who is he anyway?"

"Not much time has passed since our captor brought him over here. Also, he's Frank Jones. I'm honestly astonished by the fact that you don't know him at all."

"Oh, he's one of the members of that family? I believe Douglas talked about him to me at some point, but I probably forgot about it."

Oh! I forgot about something as well! Melinda pondered, trying to look normal.

"Have no concern. Really, have no concern. The wounds that just happen to be bleeding through the inside of your coat seem to be the bigger issue here," she told her, forming a smile that showed her teeth bright and clear, having no clue how to handle this in a way that wasn't overly unpleasant.

"Dearest friend, have faith in me, these wounds are something you shouldn't be focusing on," Wendy replied, forcing a smile.

Determined to find out why Wendy was talking to her in a way that was nothing like she usually spoke to her, she led her to a corner of the room opposite of where Frank was. Wendy tried to get out of her grasp, but even when Melinda wasn't wearing armour, it was almost impossible to even attempt to fight against her if you were a woman with a small and untrained body like Wendy was.

"I beg you to have no fear. Tell me what's bothering you as if it were the most mundane of things. I'm not a friend who would betray or mock you. Those people don't deserve to be anyone's friends. Perhaps we aren't the closest of friends, but perhaps it doesn't matter. Whisper it into my ear, and then Frank won't be able to hear any of it."

Melinda's words and all the care behind them made Wendy pause for a moment. She could hear every inflexion in her voice, and she fully sensed the lack of artificialness behind her speech. She wasn't nearly as impressed by the fact that Melinda crafted it right on the spot as she was impressed by the meaning behind those words. Wendy wasn't friends with a lot of people, and most of her friends wouldn't be able to go for such encouragement. It didn't mean that she didn't appreciate them, merely that she perceived Melinda as a person of many caring words. Both of those sides had their virtues and flaws, and without them, they couldn't be who they were and bring light into her life and the lives of others, so she loved them for all that they were. Her heart ached from that many sentimental notions, it appeared as if it could be broken easily any time soon. She therefore sought to change the topic.

"How are your parents, Melinda? I implore of you to tell me this."

"They're in the very next room to ours," Melinda answered in a voice that contained no life inside of it.

Wendy gasped. "That's horrible!"

She coughed on purpose to lighten the mood at least slightly.

"I suppose it would be nice if we got to know each other more properly. No matter what happens, it would be a great way to pass time."

As both Frank and Melinda agreed with her on what she said, they sat on the floor and started to tell each other stories of their childhood before their oppressor could inflict yet more misery upon them.