A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 25 - A New Leaf

In the background, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was still playing. They had no idea what had just happened. It was triumphant for sure, but not everyone was going to see it that way. Griselda did not see the moment as a particularly triumphant one either. She was sobbing over her mother's cold dead body, not believing what she had just done. At that moment, she thought that she was inconsolable.

"Griselda, what's wrong?" Maria asked in a gentle voice while tapping her on the shoulder.

"I killed my mother," the young lady said while sniffling. "I am an orphan now. I have nobody by my side. She may not have been the best of people, but I've always loved her to some extent, and I don't know what to do with myself now that she's not here. I feel like I've been engulfed by the darkness, completely isolated and alone."

Maria pulled her into a tight hug. "It will be alright. You have many people that love you. Sure, they may not be family, but family is not always about blood. Sometimes, it is about those who you admire and respect and who admire and respect you back. There are many of those people, you just don't see it. We need to go now. We need to notify everyone as soon as possible."

Reluctantly, Griselda followed right behind Randall and Maria as he carried the head and she carried the rest of the body. After a few minutes, they'd reached the dining room. Everyone was chattering amongst themselves with much excitement, sometimes stopping to enjoy a slice of stuffed turkey or a glass of red wine or something like that. 

When the group entered the room, everyone looked at them awkwardly. Even from afar, what they carried was clear. At seeing the remains of their Empress' corpse, they began whispering amongst themselves, their reactions vastly conflicted. Jane was one of the people who were there, and she sobbed heavily at seeing her best friend dead. Griselda had concluded that Jane had never learned the truth and that she never would. How sad it all was.

"Hey, why are all of you so grave?" said George from the back of the room. "She's dead, and she's not coming back! Let's celebrate!"

"Sure thing, adulterer," Officer Wellington said with a snort. "Are you going to stop saying nonsense or am I going to have to kill you?"

George thought that he was making a dumb farce, but it turned out to have been serious when Wellington pulled out his sword. Luckily for him, George had brought one as well, just in case.

"Don't do it, George," Hilde whispered. "It might cost you your life."

He shrugged. "It's going to be fine, Hilde. What can he do to me when there are so many people on my side ready to help me?"

Without hesitation, he went over to Wellington to fight him, and the whole room turned into a battlefield. Half of the people there supported the Empress and half of them didn't. Everyone had someone to fight, even Maria and Griselda, but fortunately, both of their opponents were individuals that they didn't know personally. Wentworth was also back, and he was duelling Jane. They all knew very well that, no matter what happened, it was going to be a disaster.

And it most certainly was. The walls, the floor, the food, the drinks, the decorations - they were all stained with blood. The janitor was going to have so much work to do the following day. Body parts of dead people flew everywhere and landed in all sorts of places. Wellington, Jane, Maria and Griselda's opponents were all dead with George, Wentworth and the aforementioned women all surviving, but it was still a disaster on both sides. Those good guys, Hilde and Anthony all ran away the moment other people stopped blocking their path.

It was the beginning of a new, but still uncertain political climate. Melinda's minions all had to go to their war crime trials, but it was going to be more difficult now that they had started a civil war within a rather ruined country. Slavery was no more, and the money Melinda had earned unfairly was divided properly. The class division was being dealt with. Humans were notified of everything, which was complex in and of itself, but at least they were all able to work together now. 

Griselda had given all the oppressed states their independence after marrying Anthony and becoming the queen of both Obscuria and Eade, turning their absolute monarchies into constitutional ones, knowing very well that turning them into democracies was not possible - at least not right there and then - and that giving the advisors most of the power could be of great help. Melinda's book was burned just in case. At the moment, it didn't seem that impressive, but hope still rested inside all their hearts, mostly Griselda's. After all, there was still a chance for a bright future, which they were surely going to achieve with time.