Daughter of War

Chapter 16 - Fortune

Thora and Alden are awoken the next morning by a small group of servants.

"Good morning, your highnesses," Damia says with a small bow, "It appears the king has raised me to be the head of your staff."

Thora looks to the cluster of women that now flutter around the room, talking softly amongst themselves.

"What is that smell?" Thora asks, as a foul smell it's her nose, making her stomach launch.

"Your breakfast," Damia beams, a serving boy steps forward and uncovers the tray he holds, presenting it to Thora.

Thora looks to the tray of eggs and bacon, a breakfast she would usually enjoy, but today, the smell makes her stomach churn.

"Get it away," Thora says, gagging as she covers her mouth with her hand.

Thora practically leaps out of bed and runs to the window, she lets the cool morning air hit her face and she takes several deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Alden asks, standing behind her and rubbing her back.

"I'm fine," Thora breathes, keeping a hand rested on her chest, "The smell, it's nauseating."

Thora hears Damia snap her fingers and the serving boy leaves quickly.

"Shall I send for something else?" Damia asks, Thora shakes her head, unable to think of food, "Very well, well today the king does not have much planned for either of you, but you do have a session with the royal painter in the afternoon. There is also a travelling circus in town today, I can have some guards and a carriage assembled if you'd like to go see it?"

"That sounds fine," Alden says, he keeps his hands on Thora's shoulders until her face regains colour.

Later that morning, after Thora finds something she can stomach to eat, Alden and Thora leave the castle with an escort of guards and head into the town closest to Coldin. The find the circus easily, a giant tent is set up on the edge of town, surrounded by a convoy of sideshow wagons.

But before they go to the circus, Alden and Thora walk through the town, they meet their people and give coins to the poor, much to the surprise of quite literally everyone.

Thora and Alden walk through the carnival line and watch the jugglers and jesters. There are fortune tellers, acrobats, and caged wagons holding 'mysterious beasts from the unknown'.

Thora comes across a black wagon with golden letters reading: 'Fortunes and mystery', a woman sits at a table outside. The woman is old, with white hair and heavy wrinkles set on her face, she is hunched over and draped in black and red robes. She watches the crowd who walk past her, watching them move her eyes like an owl's, wide and calculating as if she knows all of their secrets. The woman shuffles a deck of cards in her old, weathered hands.

"Princess!" the woman calls, smiling a toothy grin at Thora, "Come, know your future!"

The woman curls her crooked finger and spreads out her deck of cards on the table.

Thora looks over to Alden, he is still watching the jugglers with wide-eyed wonder, Thora slips away and stands in front of the woman.

"Who are you?" Thora asks.

"I am Ragana," the woman beams, gesturing for Thora to sit, "Daughter of Saga and Damian, seer of the Ranite clan."

"Witch," Fredrick spits, he steps forward and grabs Thora's arm, "Princess, we should leave before she claims our soul."

"Grab me like that again and you'll lose your hand," Thora growls, pulling her arm out of Fredrick's hold.

"I assure you, I am not in the soul collecting business," Ragana says with a cackle, she presses a hand over her heart and gestures for Thora to sit again, "All I wish is to read your future."