The dead of night settled over the settlement of Eastchapel, and the performers had returned their caravan to its idle state at its edge.
The performance had ended, and Coriel's mother lay her head on Coriel's lap, slowly drifting into slumber. Of course, shouldn't the older woman be tired by such an exciting day? Coriel certainly felt fatigue etch itself into her limbs.
"You look at her differently…" Coriel's mother whispered through a yawn. "Like you… look at Elien…"
Before Coriel could muster a response, withheld by surprise, quiet breaths echoed through the storage carriage. Her mother had fallen fast asleep.
Look at her… like I look at Elien…?
When even her mother had noticed, how could Coriel deny it?
How could she say she had no interest in the Fortune Teller?
When she was sure that her mother was fast asleep, she wrapped her coat around the older woman before slowly letting her head down onto the ground. She stood up, slowly, stretching upwards as she let out a yawn. How long had it been since she had last slept? On the trip towards Eastchapel, she had been more intent on keeping watch over her mother, and had only taken short rests when Caramine was with her.
It still remained that her prime motivation for traveling with the performance troupe was to reach her father in the Capital. It was only a bonus if she could simultaneously reach the Witch-King and inform him of the crimes of his houses.
But then again, what if the Witch-King refused to take her seriously? What if they were acting under his command? She had known of Kings who had robbed her of everything, the Red Prince included. What if August Lunastre was a man just like that?
What if involving herself further, would also cause her to lose that much more?
Should she fade into silence and hope that the Noble houses who had murdered Elien would forget about her?
Or should she risk it all so that they might live in peace?
She knew there was only one answer.
Stepping past the walls of shelves and boxes that separated the storage carriage in two, Coriel moved to the back portion.
Caramine sat at the edge of the storage Carriage, looking listlessly at the deck of tarot cards in front of her. There was a table beside her, where she had placed the cards, and a small lamp overhead set the area in a soft orange glow.
"Are you all right, Ms. Caramine?"
She glanced up towards Coriel, smiling slightly. "Will you still refer to me formally?"
Coriel shook her head, laughing. "No, Caramine, sorry…"
She sat down beside the Fortune Teller, glancing at the deck of cards.
"Will you read my fortune?" Coriel asked suddenly.
"I thought you didn't want to know such things… it's a lie, anyway. Why would you want my lies?"
Ah… I didn't really mean it like that. Did something I said in passing stick with her…?
"I was wrong to say that your divination was a lie, I was just used to fortune telling being used in a negative context, I was a bit fearful… it definitely has truth to it, this is just how Fate works, I'm sure."
"But if this is really the truth, then haven't I doomed so many?"
"Read my cards. I'll show you that you don't doom others."
Caramine seemed hesitant, biting at her lip as she glanced back at the cards. She was wrestling with it, Coriel was sure.
Coriel took Caramine's hand in hers, smiling. "Trust me, just this once."
Caramine sighed. "Alright, just this once. It's only three cards… anyway… just three cards…"
"No, draw five."
"Five? But I was only ever taught to draw three?"
Coriel smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Let's try something new today, I'll teach you this."
Coriel reached towards the deck first, beginning to shuffle them. She cut the deck with one hand, then placed them back on the table. Caramine seemed quite impressed by this.
"Ah, are you sure you're not the master fortune teller?"
This was a simple flourish, not particularly well-taught. But to soldiers who had very few things to do in their spare time, cards was often a go-to way to pass it by…
"The river is not a painter, but a painter might learn new techniques by watching it."
Caramine looked a bit puzzled when Coriel parroted this idiom. This was something that had been told to her by her lord, Sannis of the Oasis, the half-brother of the Red Prince, Tristinis.
"It means that lessons won't come especially from a master, anything can give you insight or new revelations. I am not completely versed in tarot readings, but I can still teach you something that you don't even know." Coriel smiled, gesturing towards the deck of cards. "So, draw five cards. Let's begin."
Caramine's hand reached towards the deck, hovering over the top card. She grimaced, her gaze shaking. She felt nothing but dread.
But then, she felt warmth as Coriel placed her hand on Caramine's, guiding it toward the deck.
"It's going to be alright. You won't be unhappy because of these cards, I'll make you smile."
Coriel's voice was low, but it was comforting, soothing.
"Your… your mother said something similar. You really are alike, aren't you?" Caramine spoke sheepishly. Her cheeks had blushed, but her eyes had filled with determination. How could she act foolish when she was being supported so readily? Over some cards made of paper, no less…
She carefully examined the first card as she flipped it over. There was a portraiture of a woman lying awake in bed, cupping her head in her hands. A curtain of nine swords lay behind her, the slitted eye of a snake peering within.
"This is the Nine of Swords, drawn in an upright position. Therefore, it represents anxiety, hopelessness, and trauma." Coriel noted. "Do you know what it represents when drawn first?"
"The past, right?" Caramine felt more like a student than a Fortune Teller now. She did not know what Coriel was up to, felt like she was guessing more than answering…
"Indeed." Coriel drew Caramine's hand towards the second card, flipping it over.
It showed a crowd of men and women glancing up towards a bright sky. Kings, peasants, clowns, and fools were amongst them, it did not matter who was present at all. They were all human under the watch of the angel peering through the clouds, blowing his trumpet.
"And this?"
"Judgment, reversed, representing guilt and self-loathing…" Caramine murmured, looking at it listlessly.
"And what place does this card take?"
"The… present…?"
Caramine looked quite distraught as she answered.
But Coriel just shook her head in response.
"Remember, there are five cards now. If we revealed the past and the present back-to-back, how could we space them out accordingly? Would the future come next, and we would front-load all revelations? What would the remaining two cards entail then? The far future, and a future even farther past that?"
"Then… what is this card?"
"The influence of the past on the present." Coriel smiled. "Judgment, my guilt, my self-loathing."
It was representative of the guilt she felt for the past she lived.
Before Caramine could express her worry, Coriel drew her hand to the third card, flipping it over.
It showed a man unburdened by life, bathing in sunlight. He carried a flower in his left hand, and a long stick with a bindle in his right, which hung over his shoulder. There was also a small dog at his feet, following the man in his expression of life.
"The Fool, upright, representing new beginnings, the start of something great. This is my present…"
Caramine let out a relieved sigh. She had really been stressed out by these revelations. To someone who believed that these cards really had an interest in examining the fate of others, she was like a herald of terrible news. And by that, she felt eternally burdened.
But this is something Coriel sought to relieve.
She drew the next card herself, showing it off to Caramine.
"The future is represented by the Wheel of Fortune, Reversed, which represents the loss of control, misfortune. It seems I may encounter some bad times in my future…" Coriel chuckled.
Caramine's gaze flickered with worry. "The future isn't the last card?"
Coriel shook her head.
"There's a reason I wanted you to draw five cards. Because the future doesn't necessarily mean that it will be like that forever…"
Coriel raised her hand and touched her fingertips against the edge of the fifth card, flipping it over.
"There is always potential in the future."
It was the Hermit, drawn upright.
Caramine's eyes softened, the edges of her lips quivering.
The Hermit, when drawn upright, represented wisdom, someone who sought enlightenment, someone who reflected and grew.
"Because you never looked at the full picture, how could your divination have doomed anyone at all? All these people, all of their futures, don't they all have potential?"
It told the story of Coriel, who suffered misfortune, but ultimately grew because of it, and became a wiser person in the end.
It was a blessing, light at the end of darkness, an ultimately kind outcome.
Tears cascaded down Caramine's cheeks. She bowed her head as Coriel embraced her, placing her head on her chest as she sobbed.
"You only looked at it in one way, but there is a whole world that studies fate, there are so many ways to determine it, and even then, fate remains changeable. You'll be alright… everyone you've ever drawn for will be alright." Coriel tried to soothe her.
No one could ever truly know what had been determined for them, what an inalienable destiny would eventually bring. Fate was only the pathway chosen to walk upon, it was only the travel, never its destination.
She did not know if teaching Caramine such a thing had a good effect, but it was all she knew to try. She had come to realise she cared more for the red-haired woman than she had first anticipated.
What are two girls sharing secrets, but lovers without the world's blessing?