A Tale Of Shadows (Wattys 2023) - REPLACED BY DIVINE ASCENSION

Chapter 6 - The Royal Palace

In the first four months following her capture, navigating Melinda's absence was tumultuous for everyone who knew her, especially her boyfriend Jeffrey. Life without her carved a bleak, dull void into his heart. He never had much to do during the day - he was a farmer living in a small house who had to take care of the poultry and the cattle and tend to the plants and also keep his living space in good order, but when all that physical labour that distanced him from the disappointment that was reality was over, he had a hard time thinking of what to do with himself.

He most commonly hung out with his other acquaintances or read books or went for a walk to see what was going on in Peros even if not much went on in such a small town, but his mind was never occupied for long. Every day, he thought of her, but she was never there. Every day, he woke up at dawn, but she didn't lay awake beside him after a terrible nightmare, eternally grateful for his words of comfort. Every day, he recalled all the beautiful memories they'd made together over the years, and now they were nothing more than that; memories. Perhaps she'd never return, and herself remain a beautiful memory forevermore.

No, don't! Don't think of it like that!

That painstaking routine remained until he received a letter on an otherwise normal day. After having woken up at dawn once more and gotten ready for the day, he put on his brown trenchcoat and boots, walking outside to collect whatever mail there was, even though he hadn't expected any to come. The January snow climbed up to his ankles and the thin layer of frost beneath it startled him momentarily, because of which he'd have fallen if it hadn't been for his swift reflexes. Breathing heavily for a couple of seconds after that, he clutched the doorknob tightly with his right hand, moving his gaze towards the front porch.

In the middle of the starkly white snow, there was a beige envelope with a bloodred round seal. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he picked it up as he would have any other letter, only to be surprised when he read its contents. It went like this:

Dear Mister Bush,

We are terribly sorry for what happened to Your girlfriend. Receive our deepest condolences. We know that it may seem as though we have given up already, addressing her like we would a dead person, but it is difficult not to think in such a manner. Hemingway is merciless, and he can hardly lose these days, therefore we can only hope that things get better, however weak that hope may be. We have been at sea when it comes to what we should do next, especially because the Royal Council of Obscuria had been unable to gather for a while, but now that they are, we will host a meeting at our palace tomorrow at eleven in the morning, which we are letting You know because You must come here. It may or may not be of help, but it is crucial that we all work together if we want to make progress, and we thought that You would want to be there because we are making plans on what to do when it comes to Your girlfriend. That is all.

Sincerely,

The Bellerose Family

For the next several minutes, he stared at the parchment in wide-eyed shock. This news was both great and terrible; great because there was hope for his girlfriend to be saved, especially now that the royal family was involved, and terrible because he had to confront the issue that tormented him in front of tons of people, especially now that despair was still fresh and hope still uncertain. However, he knew that he couldn't stay at home for anything in the world, so he let out a heavy sigh and took the letter with him as he entered the house again, mentally preparing himself for the following day.

The following day came fast, particularly in the later hours. He'd gone to bed at nine and fallen asleep the moment he closed his eyes, waking up at dawn after hours of pitch-black nothingness. The clock ticked six after he'd gotten ready for the day, leaving him to be bored until eight, when a carriage had come to pick him up, the travel to the palace lasting less than half an hour from the other side of town due to how small the place was. His chauffeur wasn't much of a talkative person, and he didn't much care to observe the inside of the carriage, so he was stuck in his thoughts until the chauffeur's voice woke him up from his trance.