A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 12 - Plotting

Patrick was preparing for his business trip when a letter shining in a dark hue of purple appeared out of thin air and fell onto the floor of his study. He picked it up in the blink of an eye, observing the front and the back of it to see if there was any mention of the name of the person who sent it there. There wasn't. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering who could have sent it to him. Without any hesitation from his side, he opened the letter and began reading it.

He finished the task in under a minute with a smirk on his face. A plan started to take form in his head, a plan that would leave Maria's reputation in ruins. He was thoroughly enjoying himself before remembering that he had to send Maria an answer as soon as possible. Dealing with her wrath again was something that he didn't want to do at all. 

He sat in his chair, staring at a blank piece of paper above which a quill stood with all its tallness and might, and next to it stood a bottle of ink. No one and nothing produced a sound while he was busy pondering. It lasted for a few minutes before he commenced slowly writing his response to what Maria had written with the neatest handwriting possible.

Dear Maria,

I can say with full certainty that your letter warms my heart. Believe in me when I tell you that you will be very satisfied with being my second in command. While I will still be in charge, you will be right below me, just a notch. You will be able to give out orders, and a lot of them, but be vigilant. If you attempt something reckless, I will bring you down like you never could have imagined. I hope that you don't have any more questions. Working with you was, is, and will remain an experience like no other. I have never met a person like you beforehand. There are certainly people of wisdom and courage, yet no one in the land of Obscuria is as wise and courageous as you are, both at the same time. I have no reason to doubt the decision of the Obscurian Field For Magic to choose you as the leading mentor in the land. But remember your limitations and my advantages.

Greetings,

Your Beloved Partner.

His heart beamed with joy while using the spell for sending the letters to give her a reply of flattery that paralleled the one within the original letter. After that part of his plan was done, he turned to the other letter, sending it immediately as well. Before leaving his study, he remained in the chair for a while, daydreaming, imagining the screams and calamity that would ensue once his plan succeeded. 

***

The children were crying in the distance as Kevin entered Maria's room. He was lucky that she had fallen asleep, or else another episode of arguing and lying would have occurred. His mind went to the tranquillity his children were able to experience every time they did not cry. Their souls were blessed with a gift they themselves didn't know they had. And, even though he was aware that all periods of life had something in them that was wrong, his heart couldn't help but wallow in bitterness. 

Sighing, he grabbed the doorknob. He held onto it until his right hand went red, he held onto it with all the force within himself, but he could not for the life of him muster the courage to open it. As his veins started to freeze, he went back to the happier and better days. 

He was but an adolescent sitting under a tree, always carrying a book with him, lying on the grass, thinking about his future. It was at that age that he met her. At first, what they had was nothing more than an acquaintance, but, as time passed, they began to form a friendship, and from that friendship blossomed a relationship that was the most freeing and passionate experience his youthful heart knew at the time.

In his late twenties, what he wanted the most, other than protecting his country, was to marry her. She seemed to have eerily similar feelings to his, despite the all too easy to presume difference between their souls due to the careers they pursued - one in the military and the other in the field of magic. Now she barely even looked at him, and he was lucky if she spoke a loving and frank word to him. He never expected the times to change that much. 

Still, he opened the door. Everything was dark, except for the spot on her desk where a candle had remained lit. He stroked his chin, wondering why she would have done that. He tried to not focus on that as he walked towards the opposite end of the room. Each step he made was slow and hesitant as if he were walking on ice. Closing his eyes for a moment, he accustomed to the darkness he subjected himself to in front of him, turning it brighter and brighter in his mind, closer to reaching white second after second. He put a finger on his forehead, pressing it tightly, defending himself against all the words that swarmed through his brain.

He bumped into the chair at the desk, letting out a small cry of pain. After he returned to reality, he noticed two letters without envelopes from that angle, one stacked on top of the other. Thus that one enticed him the most, and it also had his wife's handwriting on it, so it felt like he had no other choice than to take it and read it to himself. His soul hurt from the treachery he was committing, even though its size was small. He knew he had the right to disrespect his woman's privacy for once because of her frustrating secrecy, but it appeared to be much wrong.

There's no going back. You have chosen to take this path, and you cannot stop taking it.

He exhaled. His conscience was right. Quickly, quicker than he could snap his fingers, he took the letter, reading it without a blink. A minute passed, and he, his mouth having become a black hole, let it fall onto the floor like a leaf falls from a tree in autumn as Maria came into the room again.