Crownless Consort-Chapter 51 - : Three Card Draw

"A proposition?" Coriel seemed a bit taken aback. "If it's marriage, I'm sorry to say I'm not so interested at this time..."

The tall man chuckled, waving his hand. "No, it's nothing like that. Even if it were, you're not quite my type..."

Redansia leaned against a large box within the moving carriage, shaking a bit underneath his towering form.

"Would you like to join our troupe, Ms. Coriel?"

Coriel raised an eyebrow, glancing up at Redansia. Underneath the lamplight, finally having emerged from the shadow, she was able to get a true look at his appearance. His hair was a deep dark-blue, like the sky of the Blackbaast's cavern, his eyes emerald-green. His clothes were neither fancy nor disheveled, and his long hair was neatly tied behind his head. He seemed just like... a man, neither enigmatic nor outstanding. Was this really the leader of a performance troupe?

"Join your troupe? And perform with you?"

Redansia nodded his head. "We recently... lost one of our performers, Heathrow. He was a decent man, but he liked to drink. Well, calling it 'drinking' would be an understatement... for all of his kindnesses, he was torn apart by his greatest indulgence."

"You want me to replace him?"

"If this is something you desire, it would be very beneficial to us."

"What kind of performer was he?"

"He was... a clown." Redansia scratched at the back of his head nervously, smiling sheepishly.

Thinking for several moments, Coriel shook her head. "I'm sorry, I have no wish to be a clown. I want to live a simple, peaceful life. I don't know if I can find that simplicity if I become an entertainer..."

I have no love for clowns... the Thousand-Faced One's festivals always scared me as a child... and the outfits they wear... aren't they simply terrifying? What kind of child would find that entertaining? The crazed ones? 

"If it's a simple life you want, then why head to the Capital? It's a place that serves as the direct antithesis to your desires... there are too many things that go on in the Capital, too many things to account for in your daily life... wouldn't it be easier to stay here in Eastchapel?"

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"My father is in the Capital, so we must go to him. I would be fine on my own, but I would rather my mother stay under his care." Coriel stated simply. "It is not a matter of peace and simplicity being unachievable, I will make a life like that wherever I go, but I must fulfill certain conditions before I am satisfied with my station in life..."

"I see." Redansia replied simply. He didn't seem disappointed or enthused, he seemed devoid of any reaction entirely.

This struck Coriel as odd.

At the edge of the carriage, Caramine began to explain the meaning of the card she had turned over to Marien. It had a simple illustration of a winged angel, golden brilliance cloaking its head in gold, pouring liquid in between two golden chalices.

It was turned facing towards Marien, causing Caramine to smile awkwardly.

"This is the Temperance card, drawn in the spot representing your past experiences. When it's facing you, it symbolises something that is usually inherently negative. Perhaps as a child, you felt some sort of imbalance in your life, maybe something you lacked or needed to take control of? Feeling impatient, or even going to extremes may be key points here."

Marien thought for a moment, curiously pondering the topic. After a while, her lips curled up sheepishly.

"When I met Coriel's father, Vassaunt, I was indeed an impatient young girl. It felt so stuffy in the town I grew up in, and I became so enthralled with the life that he lived. He was bound to nothing, trying to find wealth wherever he traveled, and it certainly did not matter where he went, he was adaptable and had the mind to live without settling. I went with him, and that was certainly impulsive, I only left my parents a short note. Indeed, this is something I often fear that I may have passed to Coriel, leading to her own despairs... perhaps we girls were only meant to fall for the handsome merchants..."

Marien stared somberly at the wall, a pained smile plastered on her expression.

"But the past is the past, even if it has once had a direct influence on the present, we don't need to allow it to affect the future." Caramine tried to reassure the old woman, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Indeed." Marien chuckled. "Oh dear, don't mind me. I've grown too contemplative with age. Come, tell me of the next card."

Caramine reached her slender fingers towards the second card.

The illustration on the card pictured a man and a woman holding two goblets in their hands, gazing soulfully at one another. The woman had a wreath of olive leaves laced within her hair, and the man a crown of flowers, both dressed fancifully.

"This is the two of cups, and facing me, symbolises an upright position. This is something inherently positive. In the position of the present, it must mean the current life you live is something you are very happy with. Whatever misfortune or mistakes you made due to your impatience in the past was not something you let affect you at this point in your life."

Caramine's smile seemed to brighten as she saw this card.

"You have far too strong a bond to be apart. Perhaps you will separate, but reconvene shortly after, you will never be too far from each other, in heart and in person. Is this man in your life your husband, perhaps?"

Marien chuckled. "Ah, Vassaunt... well, maybe this is indeed true. This is the whole reason we're traveling to the Capital instead of going home, I suppose. Really, is that the case? I always assumed I loved him far more than he did I."

Caramine shook her head. "This isn't a card that speaks so one-sidedly. Reunions can only happen like this when both parties are equally invested in making it happen. This must mean that he too wishes to see you once more."

"I'm glad to hear it. Although, it wouldn't have mattered to me either way. I know I lose my beauty with age, this is something I always anticipated. Vassaunt loves our daughter, I never needed to retain his love. He is a kind man, a gentle man, a wonderful man..."

Caramine turned over the last card, taking a peek at its illustration. There was a nude woman drawn on its surface. She was beautiful, and imbibed with a sense of regality by the light that enshrouded her. Her flowing red hair wrapped around her slender form, falling down her legs onto the ground below.

Caramine placed the card back face down, frowning. Her gaze grew dark, and she seemed unhappy with the situation before her. The card was facing Marien, it was reversed.

"What is it, Ms. Caramine?" Marien asked worriedly. "Is my future unfortunate? Is that what you've seen?"

Her divination had become a bit shaken, she seemed uncomfortable, still saddened.

"I... dislike... giving people unhappy readings... I don't wish to make you worry, I hate making others worry over things like this, but I'm not Graham, I can't manipulate how the cards are drawn..."

"You mistake me. It's not the card I'm worried about." This time, Marien placed a hand on Caramine's shoulder. When the fortune teller looked up, she only saw the kind, warm expression of the older woman. "I hope you won't be unhappy because of my cards, Ms. Caramine. Like you said, it is only a warning, right? This is something I can change, it's in my own hands, not yours. So, tell me, what is it you saw?"

Caramine bit at her lip, forcing the words out of her mouth after several moments of hesitation. She flipped over the last card, representing Marien's future.

"The card in the position of your future is the World, but it is reversed... you may not find closure in your future. There may be a problem that will be unresolved, or you will worry for something that you cannot see through towards the end..."

Caramine's eyes slowly began to well up with tears, letting out stifled sobs as tears dripped down her cheeks. Marien reached out, embracing the red-haired girl as she crooned, "oh, don't you worry. I've lived a happy life so far, there can be no regrets. This card, it was only a mistake, Ms. Caramine."

Caramine pulled away from Marien, slowly standing up. "It's late, I should rest... you should too, Ms. Marien. You've traveled far, haven't you? We'll be in Eastchapel soon, but you should still recover while you can..."

She began to walk towards the front end of the carriage, slowly turning around to face the older woman once more. Her words were a bit hushed this time, but she forced them out of her mouth.

"Thank you..."

Caramine bowed her head, disappearing into the shadows, where Redansia had already embraced and vanished.

When Caramine had retired to the carriage ahead with the other performers, Marien returned to her daughter, sitting beside her at the edge of the open carriage.

She had laid her head in her lap, falling asleep peacefully after Coriel had draped her cloak over her. Coriel in turn stared out at the road that passed them by, their home growing ever distant with each passing second. But it did not really matter, she had no attachment to a place, only the people she loved. And her father was in the capital.

She held the silver insignia she had taken from one of the attacker's corpses in her hand, flipping it between her fingers like a coin.

This belongs to whoever killed my husband, to whoever tried to hurt my mother...

She grimaced, biting into her lip.

Do not put my father in danger as well. I'm coming to the Capital myself. 

Do not make me become the person I once was.