~ The Spirits That Whisper ~

Niana sipped the lukewarm water in an attempt to rid the bitter taste of metal at the tip of her tongue. Now that the child was seated across from her at the table, the scent was so strong it brought tears to her eyes.

"Tell me," The voice of a small girl pleaded. "Tell me it all."

Niana sighed, wondering what the poor child looked like. Her smell of death was the strongest one she had ever encountered before in her profession. It was so overwhelming it made her wonder how the child was still alive at all. If Rubika hadn't told her it was a little girl, Niana would've thought she was a walking corpse.

"Please wait a moment," Rubika replied, sliding over a glass ball to where her mother shifted in her chair. "My mother needs a little time to communicate with the spirits."

Niana nodded at her child's words before reaching a wrinkled hand out to the familiar cold sphere. The second her fingers came into contact with it, a series of screams and visions clouded her mind.

Rubika watched her mother make expressions she had never seen before. For the first time in her life, she thought her mother looked scared.

"Child," Niana said after some time. "Your body is a vessel."

Winter's hand tightened on Henrik's under the table.

"In fact," Niana continued, fingers tracing the glass orb. "Your soul is the second to inhabit this body. First it was the soul of a young boy and now it is the soul of a woman whose seen death."

Winter said nothing.

"Your soul reeks of death. Your body reeks of death. Yet somehow, against the gods' wishes, you are very much alive. Your existence should not be a thing in this world. This is why the gods are angry."

"Will, will the Gods do something about it?"

Rubika answered her this time, "The gods don't interfere with earthly matters. Instead, they have vessels to carry out their wishes. You should be cautious of those people, not the gods."

"How odd," Niana said softly. "It seems that a wandering soul entered your body the moment the original soul was returned to the boy. You. You are a wanderer. You have seen another life."

"Is that why the gods are angry?" Winter asked.

Niana shook her head. "The spirits whispered to me that the gods that are angered are the astral gods. You were originally created to temporarily carry someone else's soul. Once you died, your body was supposed to pass on. However, now that another soul has entered the body, this soul is able to use and borrow their powers."

Henrik clicked his tongue. "If they're so angry about her blood, why don't they just stop lending her their powers?"

"The spirits sense that your blood connection to the gods is not one that can be broken so easily," Niana explained. "Tell me, why are you in such a dangerous place, Princess?"

Rubika gasped. The girl in front of her was the Princess? Of course, rumours about the Princess had reached even those in the Black Market. She was rumoured to have beautiful silver hair and snow-white skin. Her beauty was said to be akin to a frozen flower. Rubika longed to pull off the child's mask to better see her face.

"Can you ask them if Aiden... uhm, the Prince. Can you please ask them if the Prince's soul is restored?" Winter pleaded, leaning forward towards the woman with the sphere.

Niana nodded. "They tell me that His Highness' soul is complete. What was once half, is now two halves of a whole."

Winter let out a sigh of relief.

"You, however, must be cautious of those who carry the gods' wills as their own." She said, drawing her hand away from the sphere. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."

Winter dejectedly placed her pouch on the table and told them to keep the rest of its contents.

From what she learned, the original Winter had passed away in that cramped attic. Her soul, which was one half of Aiden's, was returned to its rightful owner. In that brief moment that balance was restored, Illia's soul had entered Winter's body that remained as a momentary vessel.

Since Winter had Imperial blood, she was capable of using affinities through the Royal family's blood tie with the astral gods. The gods had never planned for Winter's body to exist any longer than needed to store Aiden's soul.

"Please be careful," Rubika said, bowing to the two customers with a frown. "These parts aren't safe, so please return home quickly."

"Yes," Winter replied. "Thank you for your help."

"Uhm," Rubika stuttered. "I know it's not much, but please accept this since you paid us far more than needed."

Rubika handed Winter a small black candle. Winter took the candle wrapped in paper and examined it carefully.

She explained, "My mother and I hand make these, since it's a part of our culture. It's nothing much, but with the help of the spirits we were able to make candles to ward off Black Magic. Since this is the only place that will accept us, we took measures to protect ourselves from the long term effects of being exposed to it."

"Thank you," Winter said with a soft smile from behind her mask. "If anything happens and you have no place to go, come to the Palace and say I told you to."

Winter meant every word she said. Rubika and Niana weren't bad people, they were people who were met with bad conditions. They reminded Winter of herself.

"Yes? Yes!" Rubika replied in a daze. "I also promise that we'll keep what happened today a secret. My mother and I believe in confidentiality."

After exchanging pleasantries, Winter and Henrik decided to leave the market.

"All you have to do is learn to control your affinity and stay away from people who carry out gods' will," Henrik told her as he drew her into an embrace. "I can't be with you all the time, so be careful."

Winter sighed as his warm magic hugged her. "I know."

"I'll find ways to communicate with you, so keep an eye out. Make sure you learn what you can about the investigation, but don't be suspicious."

Winter nodded as she shut her eyes. The darkness of the market was replaced by a blinding white light as the pair was whisked away. When Winter opened her eyes again, she was back on her balcony. Henrik was nowhere to be found.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, which had now returned to its original colour. After pulling her mask off and taking off her cloak, she carefully slipped inside her room.

She carefully hid the book and the baton under her bed, before slipping into her sheets holding the candle. There was a way to ward off Black Magic? Winter turned the candle over in her hands, thinking about how to protect Aiden from Catrina's grasp.

She yawned, before slipping away into a state of sleep. The girl who was cursed with the omen of death clutched onto the black candle like it was her lifeline.