A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 21 - Hatred

The following day, Melinda woke up around the same time Frank and Wendy did, her back still hurting from the punishment. That and her sleepiness didn't help her stand up quickly, because of which she lay on the floor for a long time. She couldn't observe much at the moment, yet she could see that her friends were staring at her, their eyes wide open. Hours were to pass before her first magic lesson of the day, so she wasn't concerned about not getting ready on time. It took her a while to do it, but after she was done, she noticed an envelope standing on the edge of the nearest window. A smile appeared on her face, making Wendy stare at her.

"Look, Wendy!" she shouted, pointing over to the letter.

Wendy turned around and smiled as well. "This news brings great joy to my heart. To be honest, I wasn't expecting Maria to answer with such haste. Perhaps things truly are getting better for her."

"I would be very glad if that were confirmed," Melinda remarked.

"I do not understand what we are waiting for," Wendy spoke, her gaze widening once more. "We should open the letter before a random individual comes and interrupts our plans again."

Before Melinda could say anything, Wendy walked over to the window. She snatched the letter as fast as she could and returned to her former position in the blink of an eye. Frank saw what was happening and placed himself between the two of them, him and Melinda standing still as Wendy opened and read the letter.

The letter said:

"Dear Melinda,

I much appreciate what you have done not only for me but for your country as well. Not everyone would have been able to do the same as you. I am certain that you have suffered greatly for it afterwards, and I can only wish that your hope has persevered, but it has to be for all of us. I apologize if it seems like I'm pressuring you. It is not my intent to darken your mind even more than it already has been darkened. I suppose you would like to hear what I have been doing. I have informed the Obscurian Field For Magic as soon as I got the chance, and we have taken action. We are preparing hard for what will come. More people are training now, including Jeffrey. Everything should go well if our enemies don't find a way to leave us off-guard, but I promise you and your friends that we will be too watchful for that to be able to happen. 

Sincerely,

Maria Thorne."

Melinda grinned. "I cannot believe what I am hearing. I have to inform my parents about this."

Wendy pointed at the hole in the wall she noticed on her first day there. "Speaking of which, perhaps we could use this for our late-night mission when everyone else is asleep."

Melinda frowned. "I thought of that too, but it turns out that it wouldn't be any more convenient than simply entering the other room through the door."

Wendy nodded with a smile. "That is a reasonable conclusion, thus we will follow your plan. Frank, what do you think?"

Frank nodded, looking as if he were somewhere other than there, unwilling to say anything else.  All of them could only think about their plan that day, even Melinda during her magic lessons. They did their best to keep their fears and paranoia at bay, hoping for the best. 

***

That day was slower to them than any other they spent in their captivity. Melinda enjoyed looking at the sunset most of the time, but in this situation, she could not wait for the night to come, glaring at the sun every passing minute, sighing as much as she could, as if that would make time pass any faster. Deep in her heart, she knew exactly how pathetic it was to yearn for something so small, but a part of her viewed that small situation as part of the larger one, in which an amount of misery Obscuria hadn't experienced in years would finally come to pass.

When they were sure they could hear nothing but people snoring in the distance, Melinda opened the door. As always, it creaked loudly, forcing them to halt their movement for several seconds in the belief that they might have been heard. However, the snoring remained, and they continued moving. 

They had almost reached the door, but the smiles on their faces waned when a person suddenly appeared in front of them. It was Amanda, and she was glaring at them. 

"Where did you come from? You weren't around merely moments ago," Wendy spoke, her mouth wide open.

"That is not important," Amanda remarked. "What is important is that you are wandering around this house late at night, and I think the bulge in one of Melinda's pockets is there because of the answer to her letter."

Melinda crossed her hands. "Who did this house use to belong to in the first place?"

"My family was killed for this house," Amanda said, still glaring. 

Melinda breathed heavily to hold in her anger. It may have been irrational of her to blame Amanda for how she was feeling, but her glare pierced through Melinda's soul, reminding her of all the times she prevented her from succeeding in her plans without having to suffer immensely for it. She did not care about the kindness Amanda might have had in her heart, the fact that Wendy trusted her, nor about both her friends standing close to her. The hatred in her heart could not be silenced or stifled anymore. 

Amanda's shadow grew purple and Melinda clenched her right hand as if she were holding a blade before either of them could remember how the spell went, even though Melinda was casting it. Her memories were telling her everything she needed to know. When Amanda had realized what she was trying to do, it was too late. She had already waved her hand and touched her. She sank the nails on her right hand into Amanda's shoulder, gritting her teeth together, filling the woman's bones with her resentful memories of her. 

The spell may not have been the same, but her emotions were fresh, and she was a good learner, which made it work better than she had expected. Amanda tried to utter a word, but everything that came out of her mouth was shrieks. Melinda used her other hand to keep her mouth shut, worried that she would wake up at least one other person. She stood above her flailing body, her eyes cold as ice, contempt making it even colder. As Amanda's face started to turn blue, indicating that she was going to pass out any time soon, Melinda removed her hands from her, continuing to glare at her.

Once Amanda passed out, Wendy furrowed her eyebrows. "I believe only a tyrant could do this without regret."

Melinda's jaw dropped on the floor. "You would earnestly rather trust a woman you just met than one of your closest friends?"

"You did not need to go this far!" Wendy shouted, waving her hands.

"You will wake everyone up," Melinda whispered.

Without a response, Wendy swiftly turned around and stormed off to her room. Stunned by this, Melinda attempted to go after her but was stopped by Frank's gripping of her right hand.

"Leave her alone. She will regain herself shortly. Then, we will resume our mission," he told her, and as she nodded, he let her go.