A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 4 - The Princess of Obscuria

Aside from schemes and political affairs, another thing that mattered to Melinda was caring for her child. The loss of the girl's brother did not make being near the girl herself harder but instead made her draw more attention to her since she was her mother's precious little only child who would soon learn how to talk and behave and be a proper lady in general. She was glad to have such a nice and lively daughter who had an imaginative spirit as well, as she could see all the time.

A recent example was on a day that seemed as though it would be abhorrent. The dream that served as an introduction to that particular day was among her worse ones, yet another cursed memory she could not bear to look at for a second, let alone several hours. She noticed that her sleep had become even shorter than before, which was to be expected, for as she weaved her web more and more, she became less and less optimistic.

She lay in bed for several hours before she slowly crawled out of it, her eyes half-open, and she was trying her best not to close them again. While her maid was helping her put her dress on, she turned away from her, staring at the wall until the whole thing was done, a scowl stuck on her face. That did not change for the rest of her morning routine nor during the breakfast, which she consumed at a glacial pace. 

The worst part about that mood was that there was not much of a reason for it to be there in the first place. She knew that she needed to get a grip as quickly as she could, so, without telling anyone, she went to an empty meadow for an hour and sat under the tree, doing absolutely nothing but observing the birds and the clouds. At first, there was nothing unusual in sight, but as the sky started to darken and the clouds started to become greyer and heavier, she left, well aware that it was the perfect time to do it. However, although it was certainly a pleasant part of her day, the bad mood she had did not yet go away.

Not long after, something she did not expect at all happened. Thinking that her daughter was still asleep and that she would wake up somewhere around ten, she let out a deep sigh and went back into the castle with an overwhelming feeling of hesitation. Before she could reach the stairs, she heard a creak from afar, her blood turning cold. She wondered where the creak could be coming from while shivering and holding onto her dagger, which was previously hidden in the folds of her dress, as though her life depended on it. 

While walking towards the stairwell, she could not think about anything but the noise, the shivers that were crawling solely down her spine in the beginning spreading throughout the rest of her body, and she felt like it would never stop. She heard the sound over and over again in her head, seeing various disturbing images, all of which led to the thing the universe turned around, one thing that no one can quite escape: Death. It crawled out of the earth, crept in the shards of the ice, and crackled in the voracious flames, thus uniting everything and making everything futile. Someday, everything would unite in it, and that truth could not be denied.

She let out a deep sigh of relief and put her dagger away upon realising that her mind had tricked her once again. The person that stepped out of the shadows was not threatening - quite the opposite in fact - with their petite body, innocent blue eyes that shone with the enthusiasm for all the wonders the world had to offer, and pink lips that always formed a pretty smile. Her daughter, whose white dress swayed in the wind that came from the outside, was running towards her, holding a piece of paper in her hands. Raising an eyebrow when she noticed that paper, Melinda stood still, a smile slowly appearing on her face, hugging the child when she got right in front of her.

"Oh, what is this?" she asked in a melodious voice that her daughter knew very well. "Would you be willing to show it to me, young lady?"

"It is a poem," the child chirped. "I wrote it for you, mother. Please do read it."