Divine Ascension

Chapter 6 - The Meeting

Time froze yet again as Maria Thorne kept standing at the doorstep, still as a statue and pale as the face of Death. Her obsidian eyes shone with a hue of sorrow, and her caramel lips, usually known for their lovely smile, were now downcast in utter defeat. But how could it have been otherwise? It was impossible to feel anything but defeat when it suffocated one like a deadly gas, crushing one's heart and soul, leaving no hope to be released. The winds of cold chilled the air, blowing intensely at Maria's long brown hair and knee-length yellow summer dress with white polka dots, letting some dried leaves in as well. 

Realising she had been standing there for much too long, Maria at last swallowed a lump in her throat and entered the house with soldierlike determination, refusing to bend her head in shame even a little bit and allow Patrick the satisfaction of knowing just how much he'd outwitted her. Still, he was sitting in his chair casually with his legs crossed, smirking smugly all the same, witnessing the turmoil in her soul from her eyes alone. Such things never escaped him, after all, though that hardly mattered during a moment as fateful as this one.

"Good evening, Madam Thorne," he chirped, gesturing her to advance towards him. "I see you've come to pay me a visit. How lovely is that! Your husband the general must have been against it at first, but there was nothing he could do when he found out I had invited you. Ha! So, how is he doing? What are his plans to stop me? 

There's no need to rush your answers, though. I may not have prepared anything fo you to eat yet because I've been so busy with Miss Grey over here - she will tell you earnestly just how great of a cook I am - but you will be served shortly. The night's young, so there's plenty of time for us to discuss whatever we see fit. 

I've always liked the night, you know, and though some people may say that it's not too surprising, I just think that the night is nice. It's a quiet, mystical time of day when the whole world stops and one can simply reminisce the wonders of life while wandering empty streets all alone. So anyway, you may sit down now. I'll bring you a chair and a cup of tea because this surely isn't going to end any time soon."

Melinda nodded solemnly because he was indeed a great cook and because she, too, thought the night was nice, unable to do anything else. For now, all she could do was play along, but she stared at the wall ahead of her in determination because she would surely come up with something else very soon. With bated breath, she watched as Maria sat down and sipped slowly from her cup of warm mint tea, disturbed by how sharply it contrasted with her memories of the two of them sitting in Maria's courtyard and reading nice, pleasant literature that helped distract from the darkness of the world that often seemed inescapable. 

Soon, she was woken up from her thoughts when she heard Patrick talking to Maria, on the edge of her seat as she wondered what he could possibly have to say to her, having no idea what it was but knowing that any word that came out of his mouth would be of absolute importance to the course of Fate itself.

It tended to be that way with such people, which she herself knew very well. If one was important enough, then their every breath, every choice, every step, it all shaped the future in a manner that was not at all insignificant. It knew to be difficult at times, but she supposed that there was little that she could do about it. 

After all, there was no one better to shape Fate than the person who had studied its inner workings since the beginning of her childhood and who had made it her entire life, knowing the peaks and summits of such an existence, always striving to do the right thing at the expense of what suited her. Even now that she had been kidnapped, it was still her task to shape Fate, for without her, the realm had very few odds against the influence of evil. 

However, there wasn't much time to think about that, given that a very important conversation was going on, so she simply listened and left all those complicated thoughts for later.