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.

"What could it be?" the other woman asked excitedly while trying to listen only to her.

A gleam appeared in the Queen's eyes. "You know, Jane, everyone finds it near impossible to trust anyone today, especially me. However, my observations have led me to conclude that you are not like all those people who act obsequiously towards me to gain an advantage and that you have a lovely personality as well, which is the highest compliment I could ever give someone. I would very much like you to be my confidante, but I am not certain you could handle it. I am a little more complicated than you would expect, after all."

Jane laughed awkwardly. "Although I understand what you are trying to say, I am certain I could handle it, for the countless lovely parts of your personality will surely make up for the unsavoury ones."

Melinda shrugged. "Perhaps you are in the right. I mean, every person has virtues and flaws."

After that, she looked around and saw that they were done, leaving only the makeup to worry about. She stood still as she waited for Jane to open the right drawer, knowing that it would not take her too long because it was in the first one, falling into a well of thoughts. The conversation, and the friendship that was to be built from it, obviously contained lies, but Melinda could not help but wonder how many, which sent a shiver down her spine. Their presence had become so mundane that she had a harder time differentiating them from truth every day. Once several minutes had passed, she heard Jane's footsteps approaching, thus waking up from her thoughts.

"I just remembered my recent visit to the royal library," she chirped. "On one shelf, which I did not pay much attention to, I happened to see copies of every Jane Austen book. Do you know whom they belong to? Is the person still alive?"

Melinda smiled brightly at her. "Yes, I am still alive. I also feel a need to mention that I tend not to buy books too much, or else I would have a problem when it comes to fitting them on my bookshelves, as well as enough time to read them all, but Jane Austen deserves it more than any author of fiction I have ever read. Her writing style is admirable and memorable, yet not too complicated. Her characters are filled with life, populating settings that, while satirised, are carefully constructed, which causes them to be not only detailed but also natural. The amount of praise I am capable of heaping upon that woman both as a writer and as a person is neverending, but I have decided to spare you. Have you ever read anything from her, because I got the feeling that you must have? If not, then you should get on to that as soon as possible."

Jane nodded gleefully. "Oh, what a coincidence! She is my favourite author as well, and I can attest to everything you just said. I am so glad to have the same name as her."

"I really like that name as well," Melinda said right at the moment when Jane was done applying makeup onto her face.

Jane's smile widened. "We are done at last. I am certain that there is nothing more to do, which means that we can go now."

Melinda raised a hand. "There is one more thing to tell you before I can make you my confidante, and I am not going to waste my time. Jane, I am the first person in the history of the world of Magis who is immortal."

Jane laughed at that statement of hers for about a minute, which seemed like an eternity to her. However, she could not blame her at all, for she could not have expected a different reaction. Although there was not a single person that she knew who could deny she was special, immortality has always been overly nebulous to imagine, even for her. Sometimes, she wondered if all of this was an elaborate dream, but not long after, she would remember that anything could happen in a world full of magic. It was significantly easier to live that way.

"Jane, I am not being facetious. An extremely rare book of magic has been bestowed upon me, and it contains a spell that grants immortality and preserves youth, but the spell can be undone, and I cannot let anyone else use it. I can show it to you if you would like."

"That is wonderful, my queen," Jane said, radiating with excitement.

"Thank you, although you can call me by my name since you are my confidante now," Melinda said, a bit more flattered than she thought she would be. "We can finally go to the wedding."

Melinda and Jane were smiling and talking to each other with utmost happiness the entire time during their drive in the royal carriage, while Gilbert, already knowing what the Queen was planning due to his habit of checking the calendar, glared at them every few minutes. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not understand how the Queen could be acting so carefree as if her intentions were audacious. He was not too angry with Jane, for, from the few conversations they had, he could conclude that she most likely was not fully aware of the situation she was in. After a while, his face went blue thanks to the memory of what the Queen did to the revolutionaries. At least there was hope that she would not pull off anything like that any time soon.

It did not take them as long to arrive at their destination as they had expected, but it seemed that the wedding had started a bit earlier than it was supposed to. Melinda rushed out of the carriage while Jane was struggling to catch up with her, taking a glance at all the pretty white bows, bouquets full of some of the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen, especially pink and white roses, and other carriages that were parked near the gate of the royal palace, but not observing them too much since she did not have time for that. All the guests were already seated, staring at the bride and groom with smiles on their faces. The groom was dressed in a black suit with white buttons and a bowtie, while the bride was wearing a short veil made of lace and a long, tight dress that was full of pearls. Her surroundings were so beautiful and jovial, that they made her want to vomit.

"Before we confirm this marriage, does anyone here have anything against it?" the speaker asked while everyone's heads were turning in her direction. For a while, people whispered words of curiosity, concern and gossip, stopping only when they heard her answer.

"I am against it!" she screamed, pointing at the bride and groom, her face turning red, thus causing Hilde to lean against George's shoulder and start crying.

"I remember my old scars when I see her, George," she whispered into his ear, believing that Melinda would somehow not hear her. "I cannot bear the fear of new ones."

Melinda rolled her eyes at her. "How cruel do you think I am? All I ask of you is to cancel this wedding and follow my contract."

"It is true love," Hilde said, her voice trembling.

Melinda snorted. "Fine. If George is not willing to leave you at the altar, which is understandable, I will give him a warning and a deadline of six months to undo this process and marry me instead. If that does not happen within the given timeframe, there shall be war. I think we all understand my motives here."

His whole body shivering, the speaker tried his best to ignore everything that just happened and get it over with as soon as possible, unable to get the thundering echo of the uninvited guest's heels against the cement out of his mind. Not a minute after, she got into the carriage, slamming the palace gate on her way there. During her return to her own palace, she was sitting still with crossed arms, talking to no one. It was an abysmal day when it came to her plans, but at least she was safe in the knowledge that they were not completely ruined, because not only was there hope for George to fulfil his promise, but also, based on the whispers she heard on her way out, her citizens were mostly on her side, and with that knowledge, she could do a lot more than she already did.