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

Chapter 3 - Mrs Maguire

Melinda absolutely did not waste the opportunity to revel in her triumph. For the next few days after the revolution, she mocked and tortured her slaves whenever she could, in complete disbelief at their actions. She felt that her disbelief was justified, as she could not grasp how anyone could do something that ill-advised. As much as he was shocked by her behaviour, Randall kept his head low, trying his best not to react to what she was saying, which work helped a lot with, although a thing he always wanted was a little more rest. No unexpected visitor came and nothing disturbed the usual cycle of events, but it did not last long.

On the fateful day it happened, she woke up as slowly as she usually did, walking towards the palace calendar once she got out of bed. Not only was checking it all the time something that she thought she needed to do, but she also remembered that on that day, there was an important event, but she could not remember what it was at all. Her disappointment when she observed the calendar was immense, for she discovered that George and Hilde's marriage was going to begin in a few hours. Her blood boiling in her veins, she hastily walked out of the room.

"My queen, what is happening to you?" Jane asked, appearing out of nowhere, startling her a bit.

"The wedding is today, and I thought you would remember it," Melinda responded, her face pale, which caused Jane's eyes to widen.

"I am more than willing to help you with the preparations. What did you plan on wearing?"

"The same attire I wore when I married Douglas," Melinda said, her voice bereft of emotion.

Jane blinked twice. "But you are not the one who is going to be wed to George today."

Melinda scowled. "I want to send a clear message to the two lovers. It also helps that they refused to invite me. Why do you think I never showed you my pink envelope?"

"I am sorry, madam," Jane said, her head bent down.

Melinda let out a particularly sweet laugh. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my dear. There is no reason why you ought to waste your time with petty concerns. I need to be there soon, after all."

Nodding, Jane followed her while the two of them were heading to the royal bedroom. She smiled upon being engulfed with the scent of her expensive rose perfume, dreamily inhaling it on her way towards the wardrobe, blessed to be able to feel such a beautiful smell. Of course, everything else in there was beautiful as well, especially the glistening chandelier full of candles that was hanging right over her head. It was no wonder that just like at that exact moment, birds flew to the edges of the windows and sat there for a while, singing their enchanting song for anyone who would listen.

The creak that came from the closet caused her to wake up from her daydreaming. While the Queen was searching for the dress she needed among a myriad of them, her hands shaky, she observed all of them one by one, barely able to hold her breath. Her eyes were overwhelmed by the many vivid colours they took in at once, from light to dark, in more shades than she could count. She also noticed the numerous differences in texture, design and length, wondering how one could have that large a number of dresses that were all unique to some degree.

It did not take Melinda that long to find the dress, and when she picked it up from the floor and asked Jane for help, the other woman immediately went to her required position. She let out a brief sigh of relief when she saw that it was not too hard to put on, finishing the task in only a few minutes. After she was done with that, she began searching for the veil, stunned when Melinda gestured for her to stop for a moment.

"Before we go to the wedding, there is something I need to tell you," she said in a serene voice, making Jane's face lit up like that of a little kid that was given a new toy.