Estella was the pride of the family, which consisted solely of Estella and her mother. She was the best dancer in Rome. When Estella was little, she could see things just before they happened, precognition it was called. But as she grew, so did her gift. By the time Estella was sixteen it had reached the point of premonitions, though never on command. These premonitions were usually triggered by a smell, such as the scent of lavender, a touch, as in the feel of sand beneath her feet, or a sight that links the object to the vision. Perhaps a face in a crowd. That's exactly what started Estella's adventure on the mind-boggling day, long ago, when our tale began.
Estella was performing for the king when she received the vision. She twirled gracefully in her form of a pirouette as a scene played out for her eyes only;
The king was seated in a grand hall much like this one. As he rose to commence the feast, a man in black robes, across the hall, flung three arrows from a bow. The king fell to the ground, unmistakably dead.
Estella pulled herself out of the premonition and scanned the crowd in front of her, knowing that something had triggered the vision. There were no abnormal smells and all she could feel was the silkiness of her elegant costume and the coolness of the slight breeze. It had to have been something she had seen. All of a sudden she spotted it, the face of the king's attacker. But what could she do? To leave the stage now would be an insult to the king. She could be beheaded for it! She did the only thing she could, and finished her dance. Her mind raced as she danced and she was grateful that her body had memorized the motions, as her mind was in no fit state to remember them. Estella never took her eyes off the stranger, for she knew she would lose him the moment she did. Then, just as she struck her finishing pose, something strange happened. Her gaze never leaving the man, a bright, white light flashed abruptly. It seemed to occur, not before Estella's eyes, but she behind them. Blinded for an instant, Estella lost her balance, staggered backwards, and landed hard on the stage. Her pride and her tailbone severely bruised, Estella got to her feet to lukewarm applause, the fled the stage as quickly as possible, into her dressing room.
Upon exiting her dressing room, Estella felt no inclination to find the stranger. In fact, she had no recollection of the man, nor the premonition, at all. Instead she felt a sense of something missing, an empty space, almost as if she had forgotten something. She shrugged it off as something unimportant, chores or homework maybe, and made her way home.
