Chapter 8: Fortune
"Sumia, I don't think this is really to the best of my interests. I'm not so sure that I need to see a fortune teller." The two meandered under the midday sun as Cordelia and Sumia found themselves traversing the merchant streets of Ylisse. Sumia was excited to spend the day with her closest friend before Cordelia left for a lengthy mission, dedicated to protecting the border between Ylisse and Plegia. Sumia had wanted to give Cordelia a special treat by taking her to a fortune teller/love guru who had quite the reputation in the city, as many of the booth's fortunes were said to come true.
"Don't tell me you're not the least bit curious as to what he might say! Sully told me all about him, and how he was the one who told her that she'd fall in love with a man no other woman sees, and now she's engaged to Kellam, you know?" Sumia stated in response to her friend's skepticism. They quickly reached the small shack, secluded and quaint, covered in dark purple and blue hued curtains with silver accents that marked the home of the fortune teller.
"I still don't know about this, Sumia. If I wanted to rely on fortunes to guide my future, then I'd just come to you and your… petal pulling. I'm just not one to listen to hypotheticals," Cordelia said.
"Come onnnn. It'll be fun! Come on, come on, come on!" Sumia urged her friend in, holding Cordelia's hands and practically jumping up and down in excitement.
Cordelia sighed, but with a smile on her face, she conceded. "All right, all right," the redhead said, reluctantly walked into the hut. The first thing that she noticed was the strong smell of cinnamon hanging in the air from more than an adequate amount of incense. Several strange carvings lined the walls, bizarre symbols etched into them all. Cordelia walked closer to inspect one of the carvings, giving it an intense stare when a raspy cough from the corner of the room startled her.
She looked towards the source, catching a glance of a figure sitting at a low table in the shadows of the room's corner, so concealed that Cordelia would have noticed him last. She couldn't make out what the figure looked like as they wore a heavy hooded robe over their face, concealing most details the face would otherwise convey. The figure soon spoke up, revealing to Cordelia that they were a man. "A questioning soul coming to learn what fate has in store for them? Well, well, sit down, young one, and I shall reveal what the future holds for you." He gestured to the opposite side of the table,motioning for her to situate herself there, and quickly proceeded to grab a few items from the side.
Cordelia took the seat almost reluctantly as she waited for the man to end his preparations. The prophet pulled out a small sheet of parchment, a quill, and a small bottle dark ink. He dipped the quill in the ink and held it close over the parchment, while reaching his other, obviously weathered and wrinkled hand out to the pegasus knight in an inviting gesture. Cordelia hesitated at first, but resigned to reach out and hold the hand of the man. His head instantly reared back as he took in a deep breath and his other hand raced over the parchment. It took only a minute for the man to finish writing down on the parchment, and as soon as he was done he let go of Cordelia's hand and handed over the writing. She took it and went to her coin purse, but the mysterious man held up his hand, saying, "No payment necessary. Have a nice day, ma'am."
Cordelia was more confused by this than anything else. "You don't ask for a fee? How do you stay in business?"
The cloaked man merely chuckled at this. "It would be quite terrible for those paying for merely wanting to know what the future has in store."
Cordelia was shocked at hearing this, but decided to concede to his wishes and bowed to the man, leaving the hut feeling somewhat unfulfilled. Sumia was pacing back and forth in front of the curtained entrance and suddenly jumped in front of her friend as she came back out onto the street. "So," pondered Sumia "What did he say?"
Cordelia held up the note as she said, "He didn't say much. Just gave me this short note." Sumia patiently waited as her friend unfolded the note and read it aloud.
The one who has risen above the fell
Will be the one to lead the paragon to her wedding bells
Their love conquering that cursed blood of his
A true selfless act that will save all of Ylisse
Both Sumia and Cordelia took their time to process the written words. It was Cordelia who spoke up first. "The one who has risen above the fell? Does he mean the fell dragon? It could reference the exalted bloodline, right?" A hint of hope stained her voice with the thought of being destined to be with Chrom.
Sumia scratched her head. "I'm not sure. 'Risen above the fell'... wouldn't that technically mean they were among the fell in the first place? And this 'love conquering that cursed blood of his,' I don't think Chrom would call his blood cursed."
Cordelia sighed as she put the note away. "Well, whatever it means, as every story goes, I won't fully understand the prophecy until it happens. Now come on, Sumia. I want to spend my last day in Ylisse with my best friend before I get sent off for who knows how long."
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A year has now passed since that day in the hut, and two lovers were walking down the shops, looking around for the items they will want as part of their wedding day. Merely window shopping at the moment, the smell of cinnamon from one small store bought one of the two to a halt. She looked at the hut and the smell brought a smile to her face. She reached into her bag and pulled out a coin purse and laid it at the entrance of the hut before running off to catch up with her fiance.
A/N: Hey everyone i know it has been quite a while since i updated. Really sorry about that. Well for that here is two whole chapters. Sorry again for the delay
