A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 18 - A Key To The Secret

The person at the door was Amanda Collins once more. As she observed the room with a stern glance, Melinda inhaled, patiently watching her search for anything that could be considered suspicious. She was certain that the woman heard the numerous footsteps and voices coming from there. In her head, a clock was ticking, echoing through her mind louder and louder with each second that passed. Even though they worked hard to remove the evidence, she couldn't help but believe that there still was some trace that would reveal the truth. She would have turned around to check, but it was too late, so she did nothing but stand there with the others and anticipate the end of the process. At least everything ended in about a minute. Melinda was unsure whether or not she could have withstood more of that.

"Your behaviour has improved, according to my estimations," she remarked. "Now that the deed is done, I need Melinda Grey to come with me immediately."

Melinda did not know what to say. Once again, she remembered the time Amanda caught her in the study. She was told that she would have to face severe consequences if she wasn't careful. She was also aware of the fact that the blame for this situation could have been easily pinned on her at the time, despite there being no proof that anything happened. She simply breathed in, ready to face whatever was thrown at her.

"There's no need to be this unnerved, trust me. I want nothing more than to share a crucial piece of information with you," Amanda spoke in a nonchalant voice.

The blood that flowed rapidly within Melinda's veins seconds ago slowed down thanks to those words. The cogs inside of her brain twisted and turned, forming theories of what the information could be. She nodded, unable to form a sentence that felt right, continuing with forming her theories. Amanda then offered her a hand which she took, after which they got out of the room. Nothing was uttered for quite a while as they strolled down the hallway. The silence was unflinching, overpowering everything in sight. When she noted that several minutes must have passed, she decided to initiate the conversation.

"I thought you desired to speak with me, Madam Collins," she announced, staring right into her eyes.

"I ought to bide my time in case a person shows up nearby," Amanda explained, and Melinda took the effort to make it clear to her that she now fully understood the situation. 

Although an eternity seemed to have passed when they reached the nearest room Amanda deemed private enough for their conversation, Melinda was relieved. Silence gave her enough time to ponder a lot of ponderings, due to which she pondered the situation was in for the thousandth time, her pain never fading. Now she could temporarily distract herself from them by conversing with another person. It was better than neverending isolation from the outside world, despite what she knew, or all the things she did not yet know, about the one she was supposed to converse with.

Right after Amanda opened the door, she noticed that they had made their way to the study. She concluded that the study must have been chosen as the place where they would converse due to the feeling of authority that imbued it, and she believed that she couldn't have done it herself, especially because of the differences in their lives and thinking. Melinda followed after Amanda as she walked into the room. As soon as both of them sat down, Amanda began talking.

"You're not going to believe what I heard last night," she said, her eyes wide open.

"I can't disbelieve anything if I have no context as to what you heard," Melinda responded in a monotone voice.

"There is an evil plan our boss has, and it's very cryptic for reasons I do not know. However, I understand the gist of it. He's going to send his troops to ride across and burn down a village," Amanda explained.

Melinda furrowed her eyebrows. "That's what you would expect from him."

Amanda frowned. "And that's not even all of it. That fire will be nothing more than a warning. He is going to wait for a while and use shadow magic to cast fire on the royal palace. It will spread far enough not only in nature but in the hearts of the people. He claims that this will help his ideals rise to the top of the country."

Melinda clenched her fist. "That ill-minded man will attempt to usurp the throne!"

Amanda stared at her as she opened the drawer nearest to her to take a parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. She placed them over her stomach, covering them with her hands. 

"I need to write a message. Do not tell anyone about this," she announced as she turned around to face her.

Once she was done with that, she went to get out of the room when Amanda grabbed her hand, looking constipated.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that even at the threat of my head being cut off," she hissed, leaving Melinda stunned for a moment.

Melinda immediately pushed her aside. "I am an adult, Amanda. And, to be honest, I didn't expect this, even with you being you."

As she went out of the room, she thought that perhaps she was not behaving appropriately, but she realized that, even if she was, this wasn't the kind of situation to behave appropriately in. She walked as if she were doing the ultimate act of her life, constantly glancing around her shoulder. Her brain focused on the endless planks on the floor and all the stairs near her to the point of insanity, every step she was making tiring her feet more and more, creating an illusion that she was stuck in an eternal cycle of hell because everything seemed the same to her. The moment she reached her room, she allowed herself to stand for a few seconds and rest a little at last before getting in and attempting to do her hastily formed plan. Her shoulders resting on the windowsill, she commenced writing the letter.

Dear Maria,

Do not inquire me where I got the information to do this from, but I have managed to conclude a crucial thing. Disappointed because of his last battle, Hemmingway is going to burn a village to give everyone a warning before finalizing his plan. After enough time passes, he is going to set fire on the royal palace and not much more, just enough to help his ideals rise. This is an obvious attempt of his to usurp the throne. According to the prophecy, he will have to "stride against the rising darkness". I believe that this is Hemmingway's intent - to nullify the prophecy by challenging Jeffrey to a duel and then kill him. I am sure you will believe so as well after reading this. I hope you are training him well. We have nothing left to lose but the hope in our hearts, and everyone is counting on you to help us in these dire times. I trust you to succeed in your endeavours. And please, do everything in your power to save me and my friends. We need you more than ever before.

Sincerely,

Melinda.

She was done with the letter earlier than she had expected since the needed words came to her mind with ease, so she opened the window to increase the amount of the rays of the sun that came into the room, focusing on the shadow that the letter made. After the shadow turned purple, she drew a rectangle in the air, sighing in relief as she saw the letter vanish, returning to praying that everything would go well.