Chapter Text
Wind whipped in through the open castle window, striking Eli with a sudden hit of cold. She didn’t flinch, she was far too used to it for that. Despite its continual lashings, Eli continued with her preparations. A cloth bandanna that was dyed cyan, a simple hair tie and commoner clothes lay on her bed. With these Eli began to make her transformation, from royalty to an inconspicuous citizen. She tied her hair up in a ponytail, wore the bandanna over her mouth and nose and changed into the commoner’s clothes, her royal heritage was all but erased. Climbing onto her windowsill, she prepared for the jump that would free her from the shackles of her birthright, the mere movement that would take her from castle-bound royal to just another person. Hesitation wasn’t uncommon in this moment, but it was different this time. She glanced back at the dress that rested upon her bed. “How long can I keep doing this?” she wondered, she never wanted to stop but the possibility was ever-looming. Someday she had to start taking her position more seriously, someday she would have to accept the political power she had. It wasn’t that she was unprepared for it, she just hated the freedom it took away.
She was at an impasse with herself. On the one hand, she loved her kingdom and wanted the best for her people. On the other, she wanted her own life too, to be able to live normally, venture outside without constant monitoring and to be treated like a regular person. Unfortunately, a compromise did not seem possible. It was one or the other and she knew she’d never be able to bring herself to choose. Sighing, she looked away from the dress, shutting away her royalty and castle-bound existence to venture forth into a regular civilian life.
Tension built up in her feet as she prepared to leap, the tree wasn’t far from the windowsill. The ground was, however. Missing this jump could be the difference between life and death (Or at least a shattered ankle.) yet Eli could approach it without fear, she took a few seconds of mental preparation and suddenly kicked off. For a brief moment, she soared. Until she was met by the firm bark of a branch, she grasped it confidently and firmly, pulling herself atop the sturdy wood. Once she was atop the branch the rest was easy, she slowly climbed her way down the tree until her feet met the soft grass below.
It wasn’t far to the town, the castle could still be seen from it. It loomed over like a headstone. Once she arrived in town, she was greeted by the usual chaos. Screaming children playing in the streets, bread and meat being sold on stalls, people enraptured in conversations with one another, totally oblivious to the outside world. She found some form of beauty in it, the normality of it all. She made her way down the stone path, she did everything she usually did; she bought some bread, looked around at the florist and spoke with some local women. They always seemed to approach her first for whatever reason, she found it odd but it never really bothered her.
On her way down the path, she stopped for whatever reason at a small shop. Trinkets adorned it’s window, metals and gems combined to make heart shaped rings, necklaces and etc. To her they were nothing, if she were to compare them with her own jewelry they’d be as dull as dirt. But still they captivated her somehow. “They were for Valentine's day.” a voice suddenly chimed from behind Eli, she jumped in shock. She turned to face the woman. “Heh, sorry to scare you. You just seemed interested.” the woman said.
“Oh, it’s fine.” Eli replied, muffled by her mask. “I’m not buying, just looking.” she took her leave, feeling slightly guilty for not buying anything. Ultimately she didn’t see any reason to. It was Valentines jewelry and the day had already passed, not that she had anyone she could give it to anyway.
Continuing down the stone path, something else caught Eli’s eye. Something entirely new. It was a purple tent erected in a previously empty patch of land, it was adorned with starry patterns and golden trimming. It looked entirely out of place in the grey-brown town it had made it’s home. Eli was intrigued by it, she figured it was some form of fortune telling tent. She was never one for superstitions, but for whatever reason she felt drawn to the tent. It emanated a magical, magnetic air that she couldn’t help but be taken in by.
Darkness enveloped her as she entered, the silky material of the tent’s opening closing her off from the outside world. Two lit candles on the table before her were the only source of light. The table was adorned with a white cloth, a set of cards with blue backgrounds sat in the centre ominously. Eli’s gaze continued from the cards, looking up and up until she was met with another woman. “Hello.” she said casually, entirely breaking the atmosphere the room had been establishing up that point. Just as the tent did, she captivated Eli as well. She examined every aspect of her, her striking green eyes that reminded her of an emerald ring she had seen at the trinket shop earlier, her distinctive purple hair, her skin that seemed silken and soft. She admired it all, she would have admired further but she was sure the woman would have noticed her gawking at her chest. Eli was torn from her trance by her suddenly continuing to speak “Y’know, when someone says hello you should probably greet them back.” she smiled at her, patiently awaiting her greeting.
“O-oh. Hello.” Eli said, cheeks flushing in a mix of embarrassment and attraction.
“So, do you want your fortune told?” the purple haired woman asked, leaning her head on her hand “After all, it’s what we do best at Nozomi’s travelling tarot tent.” she smiled wider “Then again, we don’t do anything else!”
Eli giggled a little, she felt at ease immediately. “Yes, please. How much?” she enjoyed how casually Nozomi was addressing her, it was a refreshing change.
“Hmm. Usually it’s ten. But I’ll let you pay eight.” Nozomi said, stretching in her chair and awaiting her payment. Eli quickly handed it over to her, smiling as she did. Taking the money, Nozomi began fiddling with her cards. “So, what’s your name?”
“Huh? Why do you need to know that?” she asked, suddenly defensive. She didn’t want to give away her identity, despite how comfortable the atmosphere was.
“I need to know your name and face to read your fortune. Did you not know that? So that bandanna's gotta come off.” she responded, immediately reaching over to pull the bandanna down. Eli didn’t do anything to stop her, just letting her remove it.
She attempted to rationalise just why she let her do that “Well she’s a traveler, so it doesn’t matter. No one here knows her so they won’t believe her if she tells them.” she thought. Saying her name was surprisingly easy, she had expected herself to hesitate and mutter and yet she didn’t.
“Eli? Pretty name for a pretty girl.” she casually complemented Eli, waiting to see her blush before returning to her cards. She lay them out in an unusual pattern, Eli had seen tarot readings before. They had never been like this. She opened her mouth to question, only for Nozomi to answer as if she had read her mind. “It’s my own spread, best one for predicting the future. First card tells us a basic concept for your future, second tells us how it’ll come about, third clarifies the second and the fourth shows how it’ll change your life. Simple, right?” Eli nodded, utterly enraptured by the cards.
Death. The very first card was death. Eli recoiled in fear at the sight of the card, only to be met with laughter from Nozomi. “Relax. Okay, so see how it’s upright? That means change and new beginnings. Not actual death.” Eli let out a sigh of relief. “Who knows though. Actual death is certainly a change, isn’t it?” she teased, beaming as Eli’s expression briefly grew fearful, before changing to a look of mild annoyance, and finally to a small smile.
Nozomi was glad she found her joke funny, a lot of people didn’t tend to appreciate her sense of humour, it made her happy knowing there was someone who did. She turned over the next card. The Lovers, she looked at Eli and raised an eyebrow tauntingly. “The lovers. I’m sure you can guess that one.” she only blushed and nodded in response. “So, seems like you’ll find a lover and they’ll change your life. Lucky you.” Nozomi couldn’t take her eyes off of Eli at that point, she had barely spoken to her but she couldn’t help but feel jealous at the concept of someone having her. “I’m guessing you don’t have a partner then, Eli?” she asked, fiddling with the corner of a card.
“No, I don’t. My parents aren’t all too interested in me having one. Neither am I honestly, I’ve never found anyone I’ve liked that much.” she shrugged her shoulders, glancing back down at the cards and trying not to stare at Nozomi too much.
“Well, judging by the cards that’s gonna change, ain’t it?” she asked, tapping her finger on the next card, anxious to turn it over.
“We’ll see.” Eli responded formally, cautiously watching the card Nozomi was tapping.
“Yeah. We’ll see...” Nozomi mused, turning the third card. “The Empress. That represents femininity and beauty. Other stuff too but I don’t think they matter here. Guess that means your destined lover is gonna be a pretty girl, huh? Lucky.”
“I’m not quite sure I understand.” Eli muttered in disbelief, looking over the cards again. “Can you go over that card again?”
“Okay. Well, The Empress card is all about beauty and femininity. A good example is me.” she giggled, obviously kidding. Despite it being a joke Eli agreed in earnest. “And the third card clarifies the second, which was the lovers. This means that you’re gonna have a lover who’s a girl. Understand?” Eli blushed at the concept and nodded in understanding. “Right, onto the fourth card…”
Both of them tensed up as Nozomi turned the card, as soon as she turned it she looked at Eli, awaiting any interesting reaction. “The devil? And why is it upside down?” Eli asked, shock and slight terror evident in her voice.
Snickering, Nozomi explained “If it’s upside down it has a reverse meaning. When the devil is right side up it’s got stuff to do with being trapped, so when it’s upside down it represents breaking free.” she smiled at Eli. “So just like with death, it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’m still confused, what do all of them mean together?” Eli asked, staring at the cards and trying to make sense of them all. Nozomi laughed, amused by the confusion of her untrained eye.
“Well, first there was Death. Meaning that in your future there’s gonna be some change. Then there was The Lovers, meaning that change is gonna happen through you falling in love with someone, then The Empress which tells us that you’ll fall in love with a beautiful girl. Then finally there’s the upside down Devil, which explains that because of that girl your life will change with you becoming freer. That make sense?”
Eli pondered all of it, none of it seemed possible to her. Her life was at a standstill, she couldn’t believe that it would just suddenly change in the way Nozomi predicted. She couldn’t begin to imagine who the lover could be, she rarely got the chance to meet anyone new and she definitely wasn’t attracted to any of them. In fact the only person who she had found attractive in recent memory was Nozomi, and she was a commoner and a traveler. There was no way it could be here.The concept of breaking free the final card proposed was preposterous to her too, she was the eldest daughter, what choice did she have?
She didn’t move from her seat, she didn’t want to leave. Not yet at least. “So, you said you’re a traveler?” she asked, watching as the other woman carefully put her cards away.
“Yep. Have been since I was young, always going from place to place.” she smiled “It gets lonely, but I enjoy it.” she stopped with her cards, focusing all her attention on Eli. “It’s rare I get people as interesting as you though, Eli.” she paused for a moment, before flashing a mischievous smile at her “Or as pretty!”
She smiled back, face reddened slightly. “Thank you. But I don’t think I’m that interesting.”
“But you are! You’ve got that exotic hair and those icy blue eyes, I’ve never seen those before. They almost make you look like one of the royal family.” she smiled unknowingly. Eli was half tempted to tell her right then and there, but she knew it would obviously be a bad idea.
“How long are you going to be here for?” Eli asked, hoping it would be a while.
“Not sure, business is pretty good here. So I’ll probably set up for a while.” she said, smiling. “Why? Are you hoping to see me again?” she teased, she knew she had hit the nail on the head by the look on Eli’s face. “Well, tell you what. I’d like that too.”
“Well, uh. Good. So you’d like to see me again? As in. Fortune telling for me?” she asked.
“Hm. Maybe. I also need someone to show me around town, I’m pretty lost here on my own…” she commented, looking absentmindedly upward. She knew Eli would volunteer to do it, she had been hoping for it ever since she had walked in.
“I can do that, don’t worry. I know all the good places.” she said, excitement welling up at the prospect of seeing her again.
“Perfect!” Nozomi replied, “How about tomorrow then?”
“Harasho!” Eli exclaimed, she had gotten so excited that she slipped into her native language. “Sorry, I mean. Good.” Nozomi looked at her with a mixture of confusion and enjoyment.
“What was that? It was so cute.” Nozomi leaned over the table and smiled at Eli. “I didn’t think you could be that cute, Eli. You seemed too dignified.”
“N-nozomi-San, please. I just got excited.” she tried playing it off as if nothing happened. She couldn’t explain what she had said, it’d make her identity far, far too obvious. Everyone knew the royal family were originally foreigners, Nozomi would figure it out for sure. “A-anyway, can you explain some more cards to me?”
Her eyes lit up slightly at the concept. “Sure! Which ones do you wanna know about?” she asked, flipping through her deck.
“All of them, I have plenty of time.” Eli responded.
By the time they had finished, the day was coming to a close. The insides of the tent seemed to dim even further as the sunlight died away. “Oh uh, Nozomi-San. I should probably go now.”
A slight frown flickered onto her face before she responded “Okay Eli. Seeya tomorrow.” she gave Eli one last smile, returning to her cards once she had left.
It was already far too late for her to be out, she would have to sprint to make it back to the castle before anyone realised. Yet, she didn’t sprint. She ran, and stopped. Once again she found herself at the trinket shop, one heart shaped ring distinctly stuck out to her. A familiar green gem embedded in it. Without hesitation she entered and bought it, not wearing it but keeping it in the small bag provided. Only afterwards did she sprint home, thankfully no one realised she had left. Placing the ring on her bedside table, she smiled. Taking in the green of it’s gem and thinking of Nozomi. For the rest of the night each and every thought was about tomorrow. About her.