Darkened Fate

It was bigger and slightly spacious inside than it looked from the outside. It stretched further until you stopped to see right in the center, was a woman, clad in a blood-red robe. Its hood was lowered, covering half her face, but her smile was ever so evident even in the dark. She sat at a round table and atop it was a spread of tarot cards.

The only illumination was four lamps on each corner of the tent, that glowed a purplish and green hue. "My, my, who do we have here." she spoke which startled you, "For whatever reason might it be that you have found yourself inside my domain, shall we find out?" her voice was like velvet, it was sultry and seductive. Alluring and tempting to the ears, you found yourself walking towards her slowly like there was an invisible rope tied to you, pulling you closer.

"Come and have a seat," a chair suddenly emerged from the darkness and stopped in front of you, by the table. You slowly walked towards it and sat down, "You have been brought here for an answer, "Why am I normal? Why do I not have power? Who am I?" she quoted as if she was staring right through your deepest thoughts.

"You're the real Elderwood Seer aren't you?" you couldn't stop the question that passed your lips. The Elderwood Seer was said to appear to people who need answers to their questions the most, and their prophecies were not something to laugh at. Those who ignored their fate received punishments and far worse fates than the ones they ran away from.

She only shrugged, "Is there such a thing as a fake? But that's not why you have been brought to me." she shuffled the cards twice before spreading them on the table, "Choose five, or it shall choose for you," she said, motioning to the cards.

You hovered your hands on top before you felt it once more, a pull, and before you know it, you pulled five, they felt heavy in your hands, "Flip them on the table," and as you did, her face grew darker with each shown card. "You have one hell of a darkened fate young lady," she said lowly.

You flipped the first card, "The Lovers reversed. You are bound to a dark prince, and you have already met them." she grinned, giving you goosebumps, "You shall suffer from this love, and you will lose something great in exchange for it," she said grimly.

Then the second, "The Magician reversed, your answer to your powers isn't the lack of it I'm afraid, it's the nature behind it that shall terrify you. The power of darkness hides within you, and it is only a matter of time before it seeps out of you, but you mustn't let it consume you." her prediction was more like a warning than a read of fate.

The third, "The Empress, upright. There has yet to condemn you fully, this tells of your growth. You shall shed yourself of your old skin, and embrace a newfound self of beauty and power. However, beware of your suitors, they tend to not coincide with one another." she laughs teasingly, "With beauty comes those who try to covet it, choose your prince wisely, I'll say, but I believe you already have." she stated in a matter-of-fact.

The fourth, "Ahh yes, The Moon--reversed," she grew glum once more, her voice dropping lowly, "You must embrace this darkness and learn to control it before it controls you. Overcome your fears and insecurities, for the more you run from it and succumb to it, the more it will take over you." she warned, staring right at you from her hooded eyes.

The fifth, "..." she only gasped, standing up she walked towards you in haste, grabbing you by the chin, and before you could react, you were already staring at the abyss where her eyes were meant to be. Your heart quickened as she stared through you.

"Death," she whispered. "It will come to you, and when it does, you will choose to make sacrifices for it. And when death takes you, you shall accept it." was her last words before letting you go.

A sense of dread washed over you, but before you could ask, she held her hand up to stop you, "You will understand soon, the meaning behind my words. It shall come to you willingly unless you choose to deflect it. Now go, your prince is waiting," she said before motioning you away.

"But I haven't paid yet," you argued which made her turn towards you, making you tense.

She shook her head, "You will pay a price greater than anything in this world may ask of you. I will not accept your money, now leave." she sneered, making you leave in haste.

Once outside the curtain doors closed off, and you turned to see that Caelum and Rowan were no longer alone, there also stood Dorian, frantically looking around. Rowan was shouting your name, "Emilia, where are you?!" you hurriedly ran to them.

A sense of relief washed over their faces, Rowan grabbed you, hugging you, "Hold up, what's the matter?" you asked.

"What do you mean? You've disappeared!" Caelum replied, shouting, looking angry, "Where the hell did you go to? We've been looking everywhere for you." he argued, frantic and frustrated.

"There you go again, doing things that make us worry, what if something bad had happened to you?" this time, it was Dorian who spoke, anger also evident in his voice. Pushing Rowan gently off of you, you took a look at their faces. Remembering the words of the Elderwood Seer, "beware of your suitors, they tend to not coincide with one another." your face suddenly turned red.

Clearing your throat and regaining composure you replied, "I'm sorry, I went inside this fortune-telling tent over there--" you pointed towards the alley where you could've sworn the dark purple tent stood minutes ago. "I swear it was there, but then again she only does appear to certain people," you added, lowering your voice to a grumble.

"What are you talking about? There was no tent." it was Rowan who replied, "We went all around everywhere, looking for you. We thought you got kidnapped or something, or worse killed!" he argued, frantic.

Taking a deep breath you said, "But I could've sworn it was there, and I've only been gone for a few minutes." you ascertained, but they only looked at one another and shook their heads.

"You were gone for two hours Emilia, we were so close to reporting you missing to the Knights," Caelum affirmed, ruffling his hair with frustration, then he sighed, "But none of that matters now, you're safe," he assured you.

You glanced at Dorian who stood there looking at your exchange, "And what are you doing here exactly?" you asked him directly, making him stiffen.

He looked away, scratching the back of his neck, "Well, I just happened to see these guys running around calling out to you, and when they told me you disappeared, I got worried and joined the search." he explained, still unable to look you in the eye.

"Thank you for worrying about me, though you found yourself worried about me once more, I'm glad you're finally talking to me again," you assured him, giving him a smile, and making him blush.

"But about the tent, it truly was there." you started, "I met the Elderwood Seer, and she said that she's only revealed to those who are in need of answers. I suppose that is why she disappeared as soon as I had my answers." but her answers to you only brought up more questions.

"Oh right, I heard about that. The Elderwood Prophecies they called it, and it's said that if you ignore the prophecies, awful consequences await their fate." Rowan explained, "What did she say about yours?" he asked.

You shook your head, knowing that they might not understand, and considering the darkness behind her words, it will only worry them further so instead, you said, "It was pretty vague and most of her words were confusing. But she did say that it's not that I don't have magic, it's just that it hasn't surfaced yet." you explained, hiding the fact that your magic might be evil.

"Well, then that's great! It means you do have magic!" Rowan exclaimed excitedly, far more excited than you. 'If only you knew,' you thought to yourself.

Dorian clapped, grinning widely, "That's great news Em, maybe when we get back, we could ask the headmistress if you could join in on some of the magic classes, you know in case you just needed the right practice." he insisted happily.

You forced a smile, "I mean, let's not be hasty. I'll talk to her myself, but joining a few classes probably won't change anything," you shrugged, refusing to get your hopes up just because of a few words from a blind old crone.

"Well, we better get going then, it's almost six o'clock. And Sylvan Grey's is in the opposite direction, Dorian," you called to him which made him whip his head towards you, "want to join us?" you offered, thinking it would rude not to invite him after putting him through all that trouble.

He nodded, his mouth hung open awkwardly as if he has something to say but then thought better of it and closed it, "Well then, shall we gentlemen?" you motioned your arms for them to go on, and after an awkward second, they nodded and went.

As you walked towards Sylvan Grey, you made small chatter, "Where did you go to Dorian?" you asked, in an attempt to lift the awkward tension between the four of you, or three, considering Rowan just kept walking in a quipped manner.

"Uh, well I went to the Brute's Forge with the other Knights, and I saw Crius there with Aiden." Dorian had a habit of calling people by their last names, but he always called you with a nickname. "Then I went to pick up some stuff from dad's shop, and that's when I met up with these two," he explained, motioning to Caelum and Rowan.

"Right, how's Mr. Aidair doing?" you asked, continuing the conversation.

He brightened up, "He's doing great, thank you for the potion by the way. It truly helped him loads," he beamed at you brightly, grinning widely. He perked up as if remembering something, then he started rummaging through the bag you have just noticed he was holding, then took out a package, "This is for you, he asked me to give it to you, that is," he said, hesitantly.

You took it, "I wasn't expecting anything but, thank you for this," you smiled once more, shaking the package, "I'll open it later." you put it inside your own bag.

You noticed Caelum's face looking annoyed, "Are you alright Cal?" you suddenly asked. His eyes widened, not because of your inquiring but because of how you called him. "What?" you asked once more.

He cleared his throat and shrugged, "It's nothing, just getting a bit hungry," he grumbled, making you laugh.

"Sorry, I understand the grumpiness of being 'hangry', we'll be there soon and you'll get to eat," you told him still slightly chuckling, making him blush slightly. It was evident since he was so pale, so the pinkish shade on his face made it ever so obvious.

Without further ado, you've reached Sylvan Grey's and you've noticed that everyone was already there, waiting for you, "Hey guys, sorry we're late. We got caught up in the sightseeing," you reasoned out.

You noticed Kieran eyeing Dorian, slightly glaring, "Uhh, we ran into Dorian on the way, so I invited him. I hope you don't mind," you added.

"No, of course not. The more the merrier!" Damara replied cheerfully.

"Well then, shall we?" and you all went inside. The tavern was slightly getting crowded because of dinner hours, so you immediately took a seat at the vacant tables. It took two separate tables to fit your whole group.

Kieran and Caelum sat beside you as always, along with Rowan, and Dorian. The rest of the girls, Sitara, Damara, Corvina, and Briony sat together at the other table but were still in earshot. You ordered your food, "I'll have the adventurers casserole, the amethyst potion, and some banana-chocolate waffles for dessert."

"A creamy rabbit stew, one chicken soup, a Gastons Gratinee, and a crispy roasted duck," Sitara gave out the orders for the girls, "Oh and four slices of apple tart tatin for dessert, and a pitcher of red berry iced tea," she added grinning, excited about the food.

"I'll have the roasted rack of lamb, and the conchiglie pasta for my friend," Kieran ordered for both him and Caelum.

"I'll also have the lamb, and a ginger ale," Dorian added his order, "I'll have the baked mushroom and potato gratin," Rowan interjected, and the food was ordered.

After the barmaid left, the atmosphere was slightly awkward between the boys so you cleared your throat and said, "Oh yeah, I got to meet the Elderwood Seer earlier," which piqued the other's interest.

"Really? What did she say?" it was Briony who asked. "I heard she doesn't show up in front of the same person twice," she added.

"What's the Elderwood Seer?" Kieran asked, confused.

"She's this seer who apparently appears only to those who are in need of her or troubled with questions of their fate," Briony replied, "Wait, does that mean you're troubled Emilia?" she asked, looking concerned.

You hesitated, wondering what exactly it is you could tell them without having them worry, "Uh, I mean she said that she was also surprised to see me, but if anything else, she said that it's not as if I don't have powers, it's just that they haven't surfaced yet?" you retorted, ending it in a question.

They gaped at you before they erupted in excitement, startling you and the other people near your tables, "This is amazing Emilia! It means you're not a powerless witch after all!" Damara exclaimed, clearly lack of tact, making you wince.

"Maybe you just needed a bit of practice," Sitara suggested, also grinning happily for you.

"I told her she could ask the headmistress to let her join a few magic classes," Dorian insisted once again on the idea, adding fuel to the already burning flame.

Their excited voices overlapped one another, giving suggestions and advice. Though you were happy and glad for their encouragement, you can't help but shake the feeling that whatever it was the seer told you about your powers, it was anything but good.

You raised your hands, telling them to stop, "Alright guys, I appreciate everything you've said, really I do, but let's just take this one step at a time. We're not even sure yet, but I promise you'll be the first to know if I suddenly gain the ability to raise the dead," you said jokingly, making them laugh.

Caelum beside you didn't speak, he just stared at you, "What?" you asked in a whisper, but he just shook his head. "Nothing," he replied before turning away and staring outside to look at the passersby.

Once your food arrived, you ate heartily, and as they shared their moments of the day, all you did was listen and appreciate their smiles and laughter. A constant feeling of dread passed through you because of the seer's words about the last card you picked, "Death," and you couldn't forget her voice. It rang in your ears in repeat.

"Death," you unconsciously said but not louder than a whisper. "It will come to you, and when it does, you will choose to make sacrifices for it. And when death takes you, you shall accept it." was her words, which will continue to haunt you.