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

Chapter 17 - Hatred

Melinda's walk back to her room was more than a little difficult after the initial feeling of triumph. Her body was overcome with fatigue mere seconds after that, and Huxley quickly walked in the opposite direction from her, having many other errands to run, not caring in the slightest about what was going to happen to her afterwards. She had to pass through countless hallways and climb countless stairs, which made her wonder if she was going in circles for a monet, but then she recognised her room all of a sudden, and everything became better. It was a rather slow and painful walk, but at least it was over. She could rest now.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?!" Agatha exclaimed just as she was about to sit down on the floor, seeing the horribly limp state her body was in immediately.

Melinda let out a deep sigh. "It's not much, it's just some consequences for my actions, but I can't lie and say that it didn't hurt at all. I was tortured because Amanda told her superiors about what I'd done. I'd do it all again, though, for it didn't even cost me that much. The real issue here is Amanda. I know that she doesn't have much of a choice if her narrative about having been deceived is true, but I don't know how I'm supposed to trust her. Everything's complicated. All I need after all of this is rest and for Maria to answer as soon as possible. We're all counting on her."

"I know that Amanda can be trusted," said Agatha, placing her right hand onto her chest, where there was still dried blood on the magenta overcoat from the mysterious wound, as she noticed from a mere glance.

"How do you know that?" said Melinda, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have a connection with her that you haven't told anyone about, perhaps? Don't think that you've been subtle. You behave suspiciously when you think that no one's watching, but I'm ever watchful, for in my position, there's always something to be watched because nothing is certain anymore. It doesn't mean that I don't trust you anymore, but it seems to me that you're hiding something."

"Fine!" Agatha shouted desperately, sickened by what she perceived as an invasion of privacy. "I'll tell you if you want to know so much! The reason I'm here in the first place is my being caught with Amanda after our attempt to steal the book for ourselves had failed. Finn had it, and he was supposed to send it back to his family permanently, but Amanda, pointing her musket at him, ordered him to surrender the book, which he did, and then he stole the musket, giving me a near-fatal shot in the chest. 

Luckily, when Patrick came onto the scene, the book had already been hidden, but he knew what I was going to do, and so he took me here because I couldn't cause Amanda any trouble. Finn had already escaped. To make up for it, Amanda has helped me very much, and we've become closer ever since. What does that warrant if not trust?"

Melinda gasped, truly surprised by this turn of events. She couldn't have expected this from Agatha at all, but it explained so much. She finally had her answers to many questions she'd wanted to ask her, but strangely, she partially wished that she didn't have any of them now. Pale as ghost, she stared at Agatha with widened eyes for what seemed like an eternity, causing her to shiver with her whole body. This was all so different from what she'd anticipated. She thought she'd have a peaceful day with her friends while waiting for Maria's letter, but it looked like she'd wished for too much. That feeling was more harrowing than the torture itself.

"How could you?" she uttered after quite a while of silence. "This isn't trust, and I'm talking about both of you. You don't know what her agenda could be, and I don't know what your agenda is. You fell for the spell of the book so thoroughly that you almost killed an undeserving man for it, you, a woman who, above all else, used to advocate for peace and understanding, now surrendering yourself to a lifetime of indulging in perilous power amongst various obstacles. I still love you, but I don't know how I'll ever recover from the shame you've brought unto not only me, but also yourself."