The Warlock

4: Pythia

A week had passed since the beginning of the school year. Asteria was currently sitting in her Tasseomancy class, half listening to her teacher talking about coffee grounds and half looking out the window at the birds in the tree.

For the past week they were learning about the theories of fortune telling and more specifically coffee cup readings. Asteria found it interesting, but also quite dronning as the teacher's hawklike stare never escaped every single thing her and her classmates did.

"The time has come, students! Now we will start with the actual practice of coffee readings. You will partner up and practice reading your partner's fortune in the coffee grounds."

Asteria looked to her right side, sending a small smile to the guy next to her. He was a nice kid, who she befriended on her second day of the class, the two of them sharing in of the boredom of the class and the fear of the teacher.

Harlan moved to sit next to Asteria when their teacher, Amalda, whooshed her hand and sets of white cups meant for Turkish coffee appeared in front of everyone. She flicked her fingers again and two cezves filled with black coffee appeared. Asteria took the cezve and put it in her cup.

"Now, enjoy drinking it and keep thinking about your fate and the future," said Amalda with her melodious voice.

"Ugh, I don't even like coffee," commented Harlan, scrunching his nose.

"Drink up."

Asteria took a sip from her coffee. It was a beverage she could drink at anytime anywhere. Her mortal friends used to joke that she was addicted because every time they saw her, she would be carrying a mug with coffee around. After she was done, Asteria put the saucer on top of the cup and swirled it three times clockwise. Afterwards she turned it upside down and left it to cool down. Then she took off her necklace, a present from her parents for her fifteenth birthday, and left it on top of the cup's bottom.

Harlan was repeating her every move, evidently that he did not listen at all about what should be done.

"You need to wish for something and put on top of it something that's important for you," instructed the girl.

"Once your cups cool down, you'll take your partner's cup and read their fortune. And don't forget to write it down!" Amalda finally had stopped walking and sat down in her chair. Her hawk like eyes looked around the students.

After a couple minutes Asteria took Harlan's cup and began looking around it, trying to distinguish the symbols and images they had learned about.

"You have three very clear paths that you'll have to choose from in the future. On one of them there is a person ... I think it's a woman, she has very big eyes. She is looking out for you. And there are a lot of sea creatures down the path. It will be a good path, you'll have a lot of fortune and good luck down this path ..."

"Quite excellent, Miss Atwood." Almada's voice startled Asteria, making her drop the cup in her lap. "Oh, don't worry about that." The teacher flicked her finger again and the spilled coffee grounds disappeared.

The teacher made her way back to the large chair. Asteria and Harlan shared confused looks. The class ended soon. Asteria made her way out faster than usual, not liking Amalda's hawk eyes on her.

The first year was about to enter her next class when the Headmistress' shadow appeared in front of her, making Asteria follow it up the stairs and into the Headmistress' office. The girl's heart was beating fast. She could feel sweat forming on her forehead. Was she in trouble? The Headmistress was scary from afar, but up close her presence was even more terrifying.

"Good afternoon, dear."

Asteria's eyes went wide. She did not expect that this icy woman could possess such a soft voice. She mumbled a greeting and awkwardly shifted her feet.

"Please, take a seat." The Headmistress pointed at the large armchair in front of her desk. "Don't be scared, you're not in trouble."

Now this confused Asteria. Still barely able to utter a word, she cocked her head to the side in question. Mustering up the little courage she had, Asteria asked:

"Then what am I here for?"

"You see, dear old Amalda told me about your exceptional fortune telling skills. You might have heard that this is supposedly one of the virtues of the sorcerers, albeit it's quite rare. There hasn't been one in the school in at least a decade." The Headmistress took a sip from her tea. "Amalda is not one of them, although she is quite skilled in teaching about it and noticing ... raw talents."

"And you think that I can tell the future?"

"Almost certain about it. That's why we will do a simple test." The Headmistress got up and went to a crystal ball." Now to people, who can't tell the future, it will look like this. A simple crystal ball."

The Headmistress set down the ball on her desk and sat down. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on each side of the ball. After a minute she sighed and opened her eyes. Asteria thought at first that it was a trick of the light, or just an aftershock of the absurd claims, but the woman's eyes were glowing.

"Give me your hands and close your eyes." The Headmistress' hands were somewhat rough. "Now open your eyes. Do you see something in the ball?"

Asteria looked at it. The crystal ball was no longer transparent. It was pitch black.

"Yes ... umm ... it's black. And there's a very faint shape of ... an animal's head, I think."

Asteria blinked and the black smoke and the head disappeared. The Headmistress let go of her hands and leaned back in the large chair. Asteria put her hands in her lap, not meeting the Headmistress' gaze. What was up with teachers and staring at Asteria today? It was quite unsettling. The two of them sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes. The girl was feeling awkward and nervous.

"Well, Miss Atwood. From now on you are to come after dinner here. You'll be having additional lessons with me," said the Headmistress finally.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Asteria wrinkled her eyebrows. "Are you a sorceress? Can you see the future?"

"Yes although, not many know about my seer abilities. And they shouldn't know about you as well," answered the woman. "You are not to tell anyone about any of this."

"What? Why?"

"Some people fear the future and those, who can see it. And what people don't understand, they tend to fear it. In many cases they try to get rid of it. That's why magicians stay hidden from the mortals, and that's why the very few seers nowadays are also hidden, because in the past they were persecuted. Although it's not a modern practice nowadays, there are still those who would go after a fortune teller."

The Headmistress continued telling her about her newly discovered skills, answering each and every one of her questions patiently. With each passing minute Asteria felt more at ease in the woman's presence. After an hour the Headmistress announced that it was time for Asteria to go. The girl was about to open the door, when the Headmistress called after her.

"I'll be expecting you tomorrow. And don't forget, do not tell anyone about it. Not even your brother. Sometimes even our closest ones can turn their back on us." The Headmistress took a pen in her hand. "Also, you can call me Pythia instead of Headmistress, sounds too formal."

Asteria nodded and exited confused. It seemed to be her main mental state that day as everything confused her. Maybe the Headmistress, Pythia, could read thoughts as well. Asteria pondered on the topic, walking up the stairs towards the Fate Tower. 

****Hello! Thank you for reading, and I hope you are enjoying it! Please don't forget to vote and comment, letting me know what you liked and didn't  <3 <3