Hi guys, sorry for my horrible late update. It's exam season so I have little time in my hand, anyhow, I'm here now. This chapter is actually the foundation for later occurrences in the story. So I hope you'd be satisfied:
"Pamela, Pamela!" Alther was shouting desperately and shaking Pamela who wasn't moving. With great force he lifted her and wished to have listened to DomDaniel about learning more practical spells. He ran to the ramblings to find help at one of his friend's houses. As he was running and checking each and every house he bumped into Brian who was going inside his house.
Brian stood for a moment and his glance kept going back and forth from his terrified face to unconscious Pamela. "What have you done to her?" he opened the door completely and forcefully took Pamela from Alther's hand without stopping to hear his explanations. "Just be quiet and hold the door open." Brian snapped at Alther who had to take a breath and remind himself of the situation to not smack him. He held the door open so Brian could carry Pamela to the couch.
After making few attempts to wake her up by shaking her and splashing water at her face he bolt up. He didn't see Pamela's eyes opening who was trying hard to make a sound but was unable to do so. Her eyes closed again from exhaustion but Brian's raged voice forced them to open again. "What did you do to her?" he repeated and took Alther by collar who had opened his mouth to answer. "Don't try innocence with me. How could a girl like her who is so strong and was well just couple of hours ago become like that? Huh? Tell me." he yelled.
Alther too took his collar. "I did nothing. She just fainted and all I did was help." he struggled to keep his hold on Brian as he was much taller and bigger than him. "So stop yelling and come back to your senses." their constant shouting gave Pamela headache she opened her mouth to call their names but only a low voice came out that none could obviously hear.
"And you just happened to be there at this time of night_" Alther stopped Brian with a wry grin forming on his face.
"You're worried about her, right? Then you should be thankful about my presence, otherwise god knows what would have happened to her." he tried to reason with him.
Pamela took another shot. "Alther... Brian." her low voice didn't reach them again. She snapped at herself that she could do better and clutched the white fabric on the sofa. "Brian... Beetle." she finally screamed his surname to have their attention. They both looked at her swiftly. Brian sat beside her and Alther crouched in front of her.
"You okay?" asked Brian and took her hand but she pulled it out silently, making a statement. "What happened? Did he_" he started to yet again blame everything on Alther as he wasn't fond of him from the beginning.
"It was just me. I just fainted but nothing serious." she smiled to relieve their worries. "Thank you for helping me." Pamela told Alther who seemed to be finally relaxing.
He stood up. "I'll go to get something. You need to energize." he returned her smile but didn't stay to hear Brian's apology and walked out. Brian sighed and looked at her face. He couldn't read anything from her eyes but the way she was avoiding him was meaningful to him.
"Why did you faint at seeing a man?" he asked a little harsher than he wanted to.
Pamela smirked mockingly at him. "I'm sorry that I fainted at such a bad time. You were in the middle of thinking." she didn't answer him and stood up. "It won't happen again. Tell Alther that I'm at the Wizard tower." she started to walk off but he ran to the door and closed it. "Anything else?" Pamela folded her hands patiently and gazed at him.
Brian leaned against the wall. "Why did you faint?" he had to know but Pamela only maintained her smile. "I know what I said but the reason I needed time to think was because I had to find a way so that we can have everything without sacrificing ourselves. It's because I care about you." he shove his hair out of his face and waited for her to answer.
She stared at her shoes and took a deep breath, deciding how to answer him. "You care about me? sincerely?" she didn't take her eyes off the ground.
"Of course I do. What kind of question is that?" his honesty made Pamela smile with sorrow. She looked up.
"I saw the person I want to kill tonight." she started which made Brian crease his eyebrows in concern. "I still want to have him killed but I fainted at the sight of him, this means that I'm still weak in front of him." Pamela started pacing the room with her arms folded. "Brian, what I need is support. You may think that I have all the support a person can have but there's one thing missing and that is you." she gazed at him and stock the tip of her thumb and index finger together. "Just a little, I need just a little of your qualities to have my plans work." she smiled as she finished.
Sitting on the table in the middle of the living room, Brian rubbed his neck in frustration. "So you mean to use me?" he summed up her words. "Be honest." he said as he saw her smile fade. Pamela sat on the couch in front of him and nod her head which made his eyebrows rise and laugh in disbelieve. "Wow Pamela, you really are someone to fear. You mean there's no difference between your enemies and those people surrounding you? Is that all I am to you?" he demanded, raged.
Pamela shook her head. "There is a huge difference." she confessed as she never wanted to go this far in hurting him. "They are all just pawn in my chess game but you are the person whom I'll only want to use his brain as a faster route to reach my goal." she sat back, tired from such an eventful night.
"I saw the way the Princess was smiling at you, it was friendly." Brian stated from the things he had seen during the meeting. "I don't care about those soldiers or anyone else since they obviously want you for your wit and power but the way Princess was looking at you was trusting." He stared at her who seemed to become uneasy from the conversation and her glance kept going to the door. "Even though I don't like it but so was the Extraordinary Wizard's annoying apprentice." He had to pause to concentrate again after mentioning Alther. "Are they pawns as well?"
She watched the door cautiously to stop the minute that Alther came in. "They're not." she replied and Brian let out a sigh of relief. "I won't use them but that doesn't mean I will protect them against the casualties along my way of getting what I want." she lowered her tone to make sure no one could eavesdrop. "That's the difference. The only person whom I'll make sure to protect is you."
"You won't use them but might let them suffer? What did they do so wrong to get in your way?" Brian couldn't believe how little he knew Pamela while he thought to know her well. "You make me wonder of my difference with them." he exclaimed just as quietly.
"You… you remind me of the life I had and lost." she blinked the tears in her eyes away. "Tonight I saw the man who had done those things to me. Until now, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember his face." she laughed bitterly. "Funny, isn't it? I recognized his face instantly. He was still alive and well while my family are dead." she hit her chest as Brian's face was filled with sympathy. "This Pamela you see in front of you… this terrible, cold Pamela is the result of his actions. How can I rest when I still have nightmares about him killing all of my loved ones, trailing me through marsh and striking me with ThunderFlash?" she had to stop so she wouldn't break completely.
The door knob turned in its place and Alther came in. He was holding a white box. Swiftly Pamela wiped her eyes and planted a smile on her face, making Brian speechless.
Putting the box on the table, Alther looked at them victoriously. "Found something." he exclaimed happily and opened it. "It takes great skills to find food in the middle of the night." He started taking out the plates and Pamela laughed with him as if nothing had happened. Brian wasn't listening to them and just thought about her past.
A week later:
Pamela went into Cerys's room after being announced to find her talking with Artemis. "Good morning, your highness." she did a military salute as she was now the army commander.
"Hi, have a sit." Cerys smiled and motioned at a chair next to Artemis who shifted in her place with a disapproving glance. "We were just chatting so I figured to steal you from the army and have you join us."
Sitting on the chair in a way to have a perfect angle of Artemis's expressions as well as Cerys's, Pamela smiled as well. "I can't complain to that. I too need some time off from all those soldiers." she teased but Artemis turned to her as if catching her red handed.
"I thought you said that your devotion to the Castle drove you to become the commander. Certainly that devotion is strong enough for you to not feel any exhaustion." she ignored the troubled glances of Cerys and only stared at Pamela to unnerve her. Suddenly as if amused by something Pamela burst into laughter. "What is so funny to make you laugh with such joy?" Artemis asked harshly, annoyed.
Pamela turned to Cerys who seemed relived at seeing her no hurt by Artemis's harsh way of talking. "Your highness, I'm certain that the only reason behind princess's discomfort with me is because the way we see the world is different." She glanced at Artemis's puzzled expression. "By your way of treating me, I can only assume you consider me a foe." She didn't let any of them deny the fact -which only Cerys tried to and Artemis stayed silent in confirmation. She brought her both hands up. "If you divide the world vertically there will be two groups. This Pamela's people." she smiled and sliced the air. "And your highness's people."
Artemis frowned at that. "What are you trying to say?" she inquired hastily since she was starting to fear the way Pamela was looking at her. Her eyes always seemed to hold a secret that made the frightening.
Pamela ignored her and clapped her hands together. "But if we change our perspective and see the world horizontally." she opened her finger and made a circle with each of her hands. "There only will be one team that we exist in since the horizontally way of viewing the world consists of people who lead." she raised her above her head at that. "And people who follow." Pamela let her hands drop. "In that kind of world we are in a same group. So what will it be your highness? Will you see the world horizontally or vertically?" she leaned back in her chair and waited for Artemis to get a good grasp of her intention.
Trying to ease the mood, Cerys tried to laugh. "Such an ingenious way of seeing the world. Of course we are all on the same side. Right Artemis?" she eyed Artemis to agree but she gulped and shook her head.
"I'm sure my world is divided vertically." answered Artemis without knowing the satisfaction her answer brought upon Pamela. "There is indeed a group of people following you as there will be for me." she finished and stood up. "I need to go." without waiting for anyone she rushed out of the room. From corner of her eye Pamela saw her grip her chest.
Turning to Cerys with a hurt expression, she decided to be honest. "I'm sorry to have ruined your talk Cerys." she really was sorry about that but grateful at the same time.
"Please don't take it to heart, she's just 15 and naive. She'll come around." Cerys tried to reassure her. Pamela took her hands and squeezed them.
"I sure hope so." she answered and finished her tea while talking with Cerys about everything from the Castle people to the sailor she had been seeing called Milo. After making sure all was done perfectly she excused herself and left Cerys's chamber.
Pamela looked closely at every open door she passed in the corridors. There were so many different kinds of things and she had to learn them all. As she was walking her mind went again to the night she had seen that man. She wanted to kill but had fainted at the sight of him. The thought of such weakness made her want to kill herself.
Finally, out of the palace she made her decision and put her hand on the brand on her arm. As expected Tertius Fume appeared with the same bored expression on his goat like face. "What?" he yawned.
"I'm the army's commander per your order so now it's your turn." Pamela went straight to business when seeing him like that to not lose any time. "I need you to find someone for me."
Tertius Fume floated around her which drove her nuts but she said nothing. "Who?" he asked.
Pamela kept circling in her place to keep track of him. "I don't know him by name but can only recognize him by face. You have spies everywhere, don't you? He was in the Wizard Way last week, same day at 8 pm sharp. Can you find him?"
He ran his hand through his beard. "Okay." he agreed curtly.
"Why are you so one worded today?" asked Pamela as he was still circling her. Frustrated she hit the ground with her left leg. "I promise you that if you don't stop now I'll_"
Tertius Fume laughed mockingly. "I'm a ghost you can't do anything." he said wryly but Pamela also smiled, at least he was talking now.
"I'll go through you." she threatened and Tertius Fume stopped with a disapproving look. "Find him as fast as you can. I don't know why he's in the Castle but it can't be anything good." she muttered the last sentence to herself.
He floated a little away from her, taking her threat quite serious. "Okay, will contact you when I find something." he disappeared before Pamela could ask him why he wanted her as the army's commander. Anxious about how she'll kill him when she finally sees him; Pamela went to the army's training grounds.
Her first acts as the army's commander had been to insist that they read more so that they can use the knowledge to their benefit and appoint Daren as their instructor. She had no interest in military but had to be there due to her deal with Tertius Fume. After Pamela made sure everything was going smoothly, she sat on a chair to relief the pain in her legs. She started wiping her eyes to maintain them open since she had next to no rest the night before. "Lady Pamela, His Majesty is here for you." the soldier's voice made Pamela's eyes bolt open and look around.
The Queen's father was standing in the doorway of the training ground and all the soldiers were bowing to him. Without any hesitation and to keep her dignity Pamela stood up and strode to him. Her glance went to Artemis who she had not noticed standing behind her grandfather with a man behind her. There was no way she would lower her head in front of them so she stood firm and smiled. "To what do we owe the pleasure, your royal majesties?" she kept her eyes fixed on the Queen's father's face.
He observed everything in the training field with his eyes before returning her gaze. "I was curious about you so I thought what better way to find out than to come myself." his voice was gentle as if she was his granddaughter. "I hope I'm not keeping you away from your work." he added politely.
"Not at all, Your Majesty." answered Pamela just as politely and looked at Daren. "Continue your work, I'll take it from here." she commanded sternly but shifted back to her nice face as she looked back at the Queen's father who seemed impressed by her. She motioned her hand to show them around.
They walked around the training ground and into the doors where they walked with Pamela in lead and that man behind Artemis. He seemed oddly familiar to Pamela but she was sure that she had never met him before. When she was giving them a brief tour of the place, the Queen's father smiled and turned to look at Artemis.
"See Artemis, I told you she was perfect for the job. Having so many accomplishments at such a young age is truly fascinating." he complimented and gazed back at Pamela who was eyeing the irritated look on Artemis's face. "She was worried that having a young person in such positions would bring problems."
Pamela laughed graciously. "You flatter me Your Majesty. Receiving these words of compliment from you is my pleasure and makes me inspired to work harder." she shifted her glance to Artemis who seemed anxious. "Princess, I will do my best. Please rest assured." her sarcastic tone made Artemis's eyes widen at her sudden personality changes as she glanced at her grandfather who seemed oblivious to such things.
Without waiting for Artemis's answer, Pamela continued her tour around the place until they were back at the gate. She exchanged some small talk with the Queen's father that made her a charming person. A guard came and delivered a message to him as to attend an urgent meeting. After he went off happily, Pamela turned her attention to Artemis who seemed uncomfortable there.
"Did you enjoy the tour, Princess?" inquired Pamela. Daren came to call her but she stopped him with her hand to hear her answer.
Artemis smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Yes, thanks to you I now know what I need to have to fulfill my duties." she tried to make her voice sarcastic but couldn't stop the shake in it. Pamela understood what she meant by that. Her claim to take Pamela's positions didn't make her happy but she smiled just like her.
Pamela's harsh retort was ready that she noticed Artemis's lips being pressed against each other. Her eyes shifted to Artemis's hand gripping her skirt to stop it from shaking. Changing her way of approach, Pamela took a step closer to her. She suddenly remembered Artemis's conversation with Cerys that she had heard the night before. "What are you so afraid of?" asked Pamela softly as she used Artemis's opinion of her being scary to her advantage. Forcefully but at the same time softly, she grabbed her shaking hand and brought it up with a smile. She held them between hers'.
Her touch made Artemis's eyes tremble. "Princess, haven't overcome your fear?" she expressed and fixed her gaze on her startled eyes. Pamela knew that Artemis had been searching her background the week before and had only heard of her bold actions. Artemis gulped and glanced around for help but no one came to her aid.
"You're being rude." Artemis said with her trembling voice becoming firm. Pamela's eyebrows went up from surprise from such answer. "How dare you lay your hand on the body of a royal? You are just a commoner." Artemis pulled out her hand. Pamela's mouth twitched and she entangled her hands that were now empty together to control herself. Still looking a bit frightened Artemis looked at the man standing behind her. "Let's go." she went off, leaving Pamela still in shock. The soldiers bowing was the last straw.
Furious to be humiliated in such way, Pamela almost ran to the palace. She found her way to Martin and James's office which was located next to the royal library and kicked the door open. They both looked up from their work. "What happened?" asked James, shocked to see her like that.
"You two have work to do." Pamela went to sit on the chair next to them. She was still angry from suffering such humiliation from a person she had thought to be normal. "How dare she?" she muttered angrily and took the glass of water James gave her.
She took a sip but was still angry. So angry that her tight grip on the glass made it break in her hand. A shriek of pain escaped her lips as a pieces of glass went through her flesh and made her hand bleed.
"Pamela!" warned Martin too late and ran to her with a napkin while James shove the glasses aside. "It's a bad cut." Martin tried to stop the bleeding without success but Pamela no longer felt the pain.
"Go and find out everything about the man that's always with Artemis." she ordered.
James crouched beside her. "Okay but you need to first take care of that bleeding." he expressed with worry. Being frustrated, Pamela shove their hands away and smirked with fury. Her smirk made them take a step back from her in that dangerous state.
"You must make him come to our side." her voice trembled from rage. She would make everyone accept her authority even Artemis using any way possible.
The real thing starts from the next chapter J
P.S. Just a little heads up for those who have read 'Mystery in past': Artemis is actually Harry and Diana's mother in there but not yet in here.
