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

Chapter 4 - Leaps And Bounds Above

After waking up on the first day of the war between Obscuria and Eade, Susanne did not want to get out of bed. It was not because of the plight of the poor or the horrors of war but because of reasons that only she would understand. She sighed, knowing that these reasons were entirely selfish, but she felt her beauty had lessened, and her relevance had died out completely. There was nothing else that she could focus on, no entertainment that could distract her from these petty concerns, nothing that made her happy to exist. Even the shining sun could not put a smile on her face. She had no clue how to make things better.

Begrudgingly, she got out of bed eventually. With the help of her maid, and with a lot of time, she put on a long and frilly yellow dress and applied heavy layers of makeup as well, finishing it off with spraying an expensive perfume made out of white lilies all over herself. When she heard laughter coming from the royal court, she ran to her desired destination, not hearing the urging of her maid, not caring if she was going to trip and fall onto the cold marble floor. After all, she did not want to miss out on a single second of amusement they were participating in.

In a way, it was strange that they were chatting amongst themselves so calmly on the first day of a new war, but she quickly dismissed it, knowing that not everything can be deadly serious all the time and that sometimes, people want to ignore their problems and just have a little fun. What disturbed her way more was that they were having so much fun without her, as it had always been since Melinda came into their lives. At least that woman was on a battlefield far, far away from her, or else she would have felt an overwhelming urge to punch her in the face. She woke up from her thoughts once Theresa walked over to her with a bemused look, starting to talk with her immediately.

"Hello, Theresa. How are you doing? I am doing great, but I wanted to know if there is something I could help with."

Theresa shrugged. "I am doing as great as I can in times like these, but I need no help. I am certain that you have your own things to deal with, so I will leave you alone."

Susanne waved her hands in the air. "Wait, Theresa, please do not think that I am foolish! I know how to find resources when I need them, and I will find a way to prove it to you. Please let me help you."

"You do not understand my struggles. For countless months, I have been noticing the Queen's suspicious behaviour, and I noted it all to discover what has been going on with her and why. I am afraid to say this, but I believe that she deserves to be dethroned," Theresa whispered into Susanne's left ear.

Susanne smiled before whispering her answer. "I am glad that someone else understands how despicable she is. She needs to be taken down for sure."

Theresa scowled, placing two fingers on her chin. "Alright then. What do you think about the Queen locking up all the impoverished people into concentration camps?"

"I have seen what they are capable of doing," Susanne said through gritted teeth. "One of them killed an old man who had done nothing wrong, and this is not the first time such an incident had happened. We need to keep them away from us and protect our power."

Theresa did not flinch at all. Although the answer should have been shocking, these words have become something that she got used to due to hearing them countless times, even when the conversation was not supposed to be about politics. It was also to be expected for a woman like Susanne to espouse these beliefs. Thus, without hesitation, she explained her point:

"For someone you hate, you seem to have quite a few things in common with the Queen. Both of you pay way too much attention to beauty and wealth, as well as getting as many people as possible to admire the false persona you have created. You both talk about how it is good to be away from the poor to protect your power, although she falsified one of their crimes by murdering the old man herself, obviously enjoying the privileges that you earn from their suffering without having to even glance at those who give you everything that you have. I mean, do you remember all the jewellery that you bought recently? Do you remember complaining about how you lack dresses, even though you have many of them? Do you remember looking at your barely visible wrinkles and saying how unfair it is that you look like this while the forty-three-year-old Queen looks like she is twenty-five? I could list even more evidence, but then we would be standing here like this all day, whispering about this topic while everyone around us is having fun. Forget what I said and forget her. Be who you are because that is what matters in the end."