A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 18 - Another World

Around a month after the whole situation with the history book, Griselda's nineteenth birthday came. While she regarded it the same way as any other, her mother was more excited than ever. She held immense preparations - inviting a ton of guests, making sure the food and drinks are the best they possibly could be, meticulously decorating the inside and the outside of the palace with countless flowers, ribbons, balloons, and such, buying a bunch of presents her daughter would love without her knowledge, instructing the orchestra on what to play and so on.

Her excitement was contagious, so contagious in fact that everyone and everything near her could feel it. Even nature itself seemed to be affected. The sun shone through the curtains like gold, blinding everyone with its radiance, and illuminating the flowers until they resembled precious gemstones. Birds sang and butterflies danced in the clear blue sky with the utmost harmony, mesmerising those who saw the scene. It was all quite beautiful, and that beauty did not look like it would fade any time soon.

The party was scheduled to start at noon, which led Melinda to wake her up at seven, something that she did not mind. That reaction was to be expected, as she woke up to a nice breakfast in the courtyard, consisting of a pitcher of chamomile tea, a large plate of strawberries with whipped cream, a stack of pancakes with maple syrup and blueberries smeared all over them, pieces of honey-filled toast with a bowl of molten chocolate near it, as well as a whole box's worth of biscuits.

Griselda raised an eyebrow at all this extravagance. "Why'd you serve so much food, mother? Is anyone else supposed to come over here?"

Melinda's already rather wide smile became even wider. "No, why'd you think that? If we're wealthy, isn't it our right to spend as we'd like to? Who wouldn't want to have all this for themselves? We merely happened to have enough money."

Griselda scratched her neck. "Wait, hasn't our country been driven into poverty since the fire, and then into even further poverty? Where'd you get all this money to waste from?"

Melinda laughed, her laughter resembling that of a songbird. "Don't you worry about anything, my dear, especially not on your nineteenth birthday. It's simply that if I want money, I'll do everything in my power to gain as much of it as I can. There's nothing more to it, I swear. Just eat your breakfast already."

Nodding suspiciously, Griselda picked up some of the strawberries, soon moving on to the rest of the options. In a few minutes, she forgot everything that had been tormenting her, and when her mother saw her moving her plate away, she beamed at her, immediately ready to start a new conversation.

"So, how do you feel about this special day?" she asked, lightly waving her right hand.

Griselda stroked her chin. "I'm not saying that this isn't a marvellous day, but to be honest, I don't feel like I'm nineteen. Not only have I not confessed my feelings to Anthony yet, but I also don't know anything about the world. I hardly have any idea what lies beyond this palace. I have no clue what waits for me, nor what I want to be, or how I am supposed to behave as Queen. Everything's far less simple than I'd thought, especially in this family. I have a feeling that I'm obliged to make some grand choice, and that if I choose the wrong option, I'll be doomed for the rest of my days. What do you have to say about that?"

Melinda patted her on the shoulder. "I've trained you to become Queen to the best of my abilities, and everything else comes later. A birthday is not a day on which you should think such thoughts, but when you do, you should know that I'll help you with everything, so don't hesitate to tell me then. It'll also help when you marry Anthony at last, which will happen soon because he's turning eighteen in a few days. Since that plan will be successful, the hardest part will pass, and together, we'll be able to do anything, even with all the inconveniences. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"