Chapter 88 Oracle
Melissa woke up with sweat all over her body, she was hyperventilating. "Stop… please stop," she repeated, her eyes still closed.
Richard rushed down from his bed and held her. "Hey," he put his arm around her. "It is a dream, wake up," he said and she opened her eyes.
Her gaze settled down on him and she was surprised. "Richard?" She said, her hand shaking, "you… you are here?" She asked, holding him and feeling his entire body.
"Of course I am, I will always be here," he comforted her, rubbing her back and she just stared blankly at the void. "Are you okay?" He asked with the softest voice he could muster.
"I was back…" she whispered.
"Back? Back where?''Richard asked, though he already had a preliminary guess about what happened.
"The world that I died in. This time, I didn't die, you did… you said you'd support me even with your life," she recounted, her voice shaking with each utterance. "I… I don't want that. Richard… I don't want you to die," she said, suddenly looking directly into his eyes. "Promise me you won't," she said, her eyes bulging out, with seriousness, it was a maddening gaze.
Richard didn't even think much, he just wanted her to calm down. "I promise," he replied.
Melissa laid down back gently. "I hate reliving that world. It is just pain, sadness and guilt over and over," she exhaled. "What time is it?" She asked.
"It is seven thirty," he replied.
She fell back into his arms this time around and smiled. "I like this," she said.
She knew Richard wouldn't say much to her, instead he'd let her do what she wants at the moment. Maybe it was because they have been friends for quite a while but she knew no one else could ever understand her like he did. He knew when to talk, when to just stare, what to say, every time. She smiled at him when she noticed he was all dressed up.
"Are you going somewhere?" She asked.
"Yeah," he said. "We have mail, Beatrice called me to go get it," he said.
She stood up immediately. A mail? A mail meant their made up team had started their job and they were going to give them mission reports. "Doesn't that mean we have to meet in no time," she sprang up from her bed in her silk nightgown. "I have to get ready," the urgency in her voice made her giggle.
"You don't need to giggle, you are queen, remember? You are Luna, so calm down. We will have the meeting whenever you are ready," he said.
"Oh no," she replied. "Beatrice doesn't usually remember that I am Luna, I am not interested in scowls today, she still blames me for letting her let loose last week, even though she had every bit of fun."
Beatrice had complained all week how that moment of fun had drawn her behind in her schedule. She'd gotten scarier since that week and had gone full blown Beatrice on her. She finished the entire paperwork within three weeks in four days, and made sure Melissa had done the same. The only reason Melissa hadn't broken down in tears in front of her was because she always had Richard to herself every night. Looking forward to that got her through the day every single day.
Richard laughed. "That woman scares everyone," he looked at her and then subtly added. "You look good in that though."
Melissa grinned with her teeth out wide. "I know," she said and just turned away, walking straight into her bathroom.
She quickly dressed up and Richard left to get the mail. By the time she was out of the bathroom, Vanessa and Candice were in her room to resume their job. She greeted them casually and just left them in her room as she picked up the necessary things and left, though not without hearing Vanessa protest that they needed to arrange her hair and put some makeup on her.
Melissa didn't have time for those. Apart from the paper work she's done, the entire week has been boring. The council had called a meeting and she had reinstated Alina as head of council. She didn't even press an argument. The rest had been shooting glares at Ronald anytime they met randomly. They weren't speaking anymore and Catherine has been appearing with him everywhere he goes. She wasn't even bothered by her. She knew she would need that attachment one day. Though she knew Catherine wasn't as insecure as she was, she knew she could still exploit her.
Melissa was already in their meeting room and she was doing push ups while waiting for them, she knew Beatrice would say it wasn't very queenly. While she was into the whole exercise, she discovered there was a flat file attached to the base of the small shelf in the room. She walked up to the shelf and tried to put her hand underneath and feel it, but her hand would not go in.
She wouldn't have spotted it, if not for the fact that a bit of its tip was out. She was amazed she'd never notice it all this while. She pushed the library down to its side, causing a loud crash as it landed and exactly that moment Beatrice slid open the door. She stepped in and her mouth was left agape immediately.
They stared at each other for a while and Melissa wanted to start explaining when she pointed to the files.
"That was why I overturned it,"Melissa reolied. She tore off the files from the base.
She placed it on the table and it read. "In case you should find it, Melissa Dunham, Luna of Dunham. These files contain everything we know about the underground organization among us called the Oracle."
She glanced towards Beatrice and Beatrice shook her head. She flipped the first page and there was a picture attached to it. It was a building with a placard, Infinite Zoos, placed on the building.