บท 9: Fortune Teller
To avoid the knights who were looking for her Rosie looked around to find a place of hiding. She saw a triangular tent between the two houses. The princess decided to sneak in, making an old woman flinch in surprise.
"Oh, hello, good… morning?" said Rosie.
Rosie looked around the tent and it seemed she had entered the shaman's store.
"You want to see the future?" asked the old woman as she smoothed out her crystal ball.
Rosie smiled awkwardly. "Er… I am hiding from someone."
"You didn't bring any money?" the old woman asked, narrowing her eyes.
Rosie shook her head uncomfortably.
"Are you a thief?" she asked once again.
"Of course not!"
"Through this way!" shouted a knight, startling Rosie. With a quick movement, she squatted under the old woman's chair. Rosie covered her body with a tablecloth.
"You want to see the future?" asked the old woman to the two knights who opened the tent. The two men glanced at the old woman and scanned the entire room without her permission.
"Do you see a girl in a boy's dress with pink hair, Old lady?" asked the knight in a rude tone.
"You have money?" replied the old woman, making the two men groan in annoyance.
One man stepped forward with his coin pouch out, but the other knight held him back. "Don't waste your money on this fake prophecy. She's just a swindler. We'll just find the princess out."
The two men left the old woman's tent. When she didn't hear any sound, Rosie came out and sat in front of the old woman.
"Finally," she said with great relief.
The old woman ignored Rosie. She was busy pouring herself a cup of tea and took out three different colored flowers.
"You're a princess?" asked the old woman, making Rosie widen her eyes in surprise.
"You know, Grandma?"
"The two men earlier were knights from Duke Montgomery's castle and word spread that the prince and princess of Villiers were visiting. So, most likely, an important person was tucked out of their sight."
"Oh…"
Rosie looked around the tent once more.
"You live here, Grandma?" Rosie asked, not seeing anything important. In the tent, there were only flower ornaments, golden birds, and deer antlers like other fortune-tellers.
"No, this is my place of business. I have a house elsewhere."
Rosie laughed at the old woman's answer just now. She had already guessed that the old woman was just a fake fortune-teller.
The Kingdom of Westalis was a Kingdom that had a lot of magical powers. In the palace itself, there was a special tower to accommodate the mages. However, from what Rosie read, Duke Montgomery's territory was a magical neutral area.
This was linked to an incident twenty years ago, where rumors had it that the massacre of the Montgomery family was the result of the seizure of a special magical stone. So after that incident, the King of Villiers got rid of all the magical powers in this place.
"Grandma, don't you want to lock me up and charge an outrageous fee? I'm a princess, you know," said Rosie jokingly.
The old woman smiled for the first time. "And face off against Duke Aslan? I've earned his generosity many times. I don't want to cause any more trouble."
"Oh? Do you know Duke Aslan? What have you done?"
The old woman was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "It is nothing. I just managed to trick some stupid people around here into believing I am a shaman. Then, they complained to the Duke."
Rosie burst out laughing at that. The girl couldn't believe she had met such an innocent old woman. Rosie's laughter caught the old woman.
The old woman chuckled softly at the memory of people desperately paying her to see what gender their future child would be, or whether they could win their bet or not.
Remembering it again made the old woman burst out laughing.
"Oh my… are there still people who believe that kind of thing until now?"
"Of course! Some outsiders who visit are still tricked by my scam," she replied with a chuckle.
Rosie really had no idea. How could they believe in such a thing as prophecy? After her laughter died down, the old woman started to open up more and told Rosie a lot. Rosie's intention to go home before noon was even forgotten.
The old woman was a very pleasant chat mate. In the afternoon, she even made Rosie a meal and Rosie ate it voraciously.
Rosie didn't realize that the sky had darkened and Rosie was about to go back to the Duke's castle together with the old woman closing her business.
"Good night, Grandma. It's nice talking to you," said Rosie, waving her hand away.
"You too! If you have time, come again! Maybe I can help you adjust your new soul and body!"
Rosie didn't listen to what Grandma had just said. She rushed to find a location where she placed her horse. She remembered some shop signs and a wooden fence where she tied the horse.
Now Rosie panicked because she couldn't find the horse. She ran here and there in search of her missing horse. She sometimes asked passersby, but no one knew where the brown horse was.
"Hey, do you see my horse?"
"No, I am sorry, my lady."
"Oh, come on! How do I get back now?" Rosie asked desperately.
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