A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 9 - The Library

Melinda's spine ached as she entered the palace library, its bones feeling the cruelty the flames on Maria's sword had. The chandelier in the middle of the room, white as a pearl and full of candles, was not shining, as it was still day. From the ceiling to the floor, the place was covered with books, most of which had covers in dark hues of brown and were old as time itself, while the minority of them were bought on Melinda's many trips and quite new, some even younger than Melinda herself. All across the floor, a large brown carpet with several red patterns of roses lay. The sounds her heels made did not echo throughout any of the castle halls this time, although her steps were still hasty and stiff, for the rug was soft. She smiled, imagining her feet pressed against it. However, she knew how inappropriate that would have been, so she turned around the corner, trying her best to forget about that thought.

Briefly glancing at the windows with drawn black curtains, she slowed the flow of her footsteps, unable to avert her gaze from the labyrinth she was in. Every sound inspired intrigue, every end inspired wonder, every scent inspired comfort. The space seemed eternal, and that was how she knew it would stay with her forever. She would never grow tired of it, for there would always be something she hadn't noticed. This time, in the reading chair, she observed a phenomenon she had never observed before. Malcolm was reading a book with red covers she couldn't tell the name of, closing it once he noticed that she was standing eerily close to him, her face resembling a stone.

"I never meant that when I told you to release the person inside your heart, but I am still capable of accepting it," he spoke, his eyes wide open.

"I am pleased to hear of your acceptance. For a hauntingly long time, I pondered what you were going to tell me, contemplating on how I was going to tell you everything for hours as I watched the winds blow the leaves and butterflies fly by in their one day of life."

Malcolm smiled at her. "You do not have to fear my reaction, and you should not allow that undesirable thought to overtake your mind even for a second. You are the queen, and I am nothing more than your helper.

"I cannot disregard the wishes of the person closest to me," she said with a sigh.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Your wishes are my wishes. That's what I'm here for."

She smiled at him, her eyes gleaming vividly. "I have not enough words to thank you for the warmth you have brought into my life, as you are the sole person in front of who I can break the illusion."

"I never imagined we could form such an intimate relationship. I suppose you weren't excepting the creation of our close friendship either."

"You are indeed in the right. I have never expected that, seeing you as a mere underling, but I will forever be grateful that you shattered my prejudices," she told him, resisting the urge to embrace him.

Unexpectedly, after all those minutes, he remembered something. "Why did you come here in the first place?"

"I desired to revisit my favourite book, its gentle flow of words, endearing characters and satisfying exploration of relationships never failing to enchant me, for the now-deceased author writes in a way that will defy time for all of eternity. However, your presence, although simple friendship, is more enchanting to me, and one of a person I have to learn so much about. Fortunately, unlike most other persons in my life, you interest me, and I am unable to deny my respect towards you," she explained, her cheeks having become slightly rosy.

"I was not aware I was that interesting," he announced, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled at him. "You are an erudite and charming man with a significant political position. Why shouldn't I consider you interesting?"

"Speaking of politics, what are your further plans, my queen?" 

That question removed the blood from her face, making her answer in a voice bereft of emotion, yet not a careless one. "I have been studying the ancient language of Xar for a while, and I admire the way it was constructed. I should obtain the dictionary I found at Hemingway's house anytime soon for the benefit of my citizens. I have also been forming theories about why the language has perished, and I came to the most logical conclusion, you will admit. They must have thought it overly complex for the people to keep using, as though they have no respect for the beauty and thought everything that comes from our mouths ought to have. English, taken from the humans of Earth thanks to the dimension-crossing bridges due to it being their most spoken language, is confusing, to say the least. It is serviceable enough, and many captivating things have been said with its words, yet it dares to have no system of accentuation, plenty of similarly spelt words being spoken much differently, and I am certain I could find a lot more problems if I sat in my study and wrote down all my feelings towards the English language. It does not have the air of wisdom that Latin has, the air of elegance that French, my favourite human language has, nor even the sometimes too aggressive feeling of authority that German has. Xarian is a great language that deserved a way better fate than it got, and even if it takes me years, I am going to return it from the dust and darkness it has been choked by for centuries."

"Your hatred towards the English language is one I believe is vastly undeserved, even with all of the tongue's problems," he said, his eyes wide open. "Also, do you not have any other plans? Is that not going to derail from your evil?"

"I would never come unprepared to a happening I organized," she responded unblinkingly. "When I hold my following rally, I will make it sound as though wealth is going to be distributed as equally as possible while the poor are all getting jobs and basic resources they need to live. However, in reality, I will hide the workers of the lower class at a secret location so that my citizens would not find out that they barely receive anything in the most torturous of positions, and we affluent people will bathe in gold's light. It will be a glorious age."

"Slavery... How do you intend to hide slavery?" Malcolm muttered.

Melinda smiled. "The same amount of money would be spent in both cases, and everyone trusts me enough not to check any of the more private places within the borders of this kingdom without my permission."

"Why would you want slavery? That is rather ridiculously malevolent of you, Melinda."

Melinda left out a deep sigh. "I will not live if there's no one to feel my pain. Suffering has been carved into my veins so much that it needs to spread, establishing its dark presence with the help of others' torment, and who better than the most insignificant and vulnerable? They would be unable to do anything against it, even if they tried."

"You really do have a unique vision, don't you, Melinda?"

"Yes, Malcolm. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have one," she told him, the tone of her voice cold and harsh.

He gently wrapped his arms around her neck. "You don't need to be serious all the time. Imagine spending every second of your time pondering about something which you feel as if you must do in an instant, shaking from the immovable fear of failure, scolding yourself for stopping to rest for one moment, the lively gleam in your eyes dullening. That would be a tragedy, wouldn't it?"

"Thank you for worrying this much about me, friend, but I will be fine, especially with you by my side. The wisdom surrounding us will defy the conventions of society and morality, for the wise are not always good and the good are not always wise, unlike what some people may believe. We shall not let either of our hearts become bereft of the pleasure they feel, even as the forbidden threatens to end us. We will treat that territory like a tree full of peaches - rob it whole and eat the fruits greedily. Are peaches not delicious?" she spoke, her voice resembling a birdsong.

He nodded, holding her hand. Her soul warmed ever so slightly due to their hands' union, and it was impossible for her to focus on anything else as they walked out of the labyrinth, planning to go to the dining hall for lunch. After they had arrived there, she spent an hour sitting in her chair in silence even when he yearned to talk to her, thinking about the reformations she had to make. She needed to start enacting them quickly, otherwise, her time to do so would fade.