114 A Woman's Intuition
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Arturia Pendragon felt something was amiss.
It was a subtle niggling feeling that kept her from being more attentive in her current charge's endeavor.
She was currently accompanying her master's mother, Lucia Aelfryth von Schweinorg, in a large building containing various shops that was called the mall, along with the fellow female retainers, Scáthach and Rider, in tow.
The four of them had been wandering from one shop to another, following after the Schweinorg female leading their group through the busy crowd.
Anything that had caught the Wizard Marshall's dear daughter and the others from their window shop viewing, the items and clothes were either packed into bags or sent directly to the Schweinorg castle for safe delivery.
Needless to say, the amount of items and apparels bought by the three women could no longer be counted in two hands after the first few minutes they entered the mall.
Arturia herself wasn't as attentive as she was before.
She was still mindful of her surroundings, but since there were no signs of danger, her thoughts would turn inward and she would be deep in thought.
The few occasions when the female Schweinorg would use her as a dress-up doll were not even enough to fully divert her focus from musing on certain things, much to Lucia's quiet amusement.
Time had passed, and before Arturia knew it, the afternoon had set in.
Now, she and the others had adjourned for lunch in the far corner of a modest pastry shop that was of Lucia's choosing.
Scáthach and Rider had finished their lunch, and had left temporarily to peruse the other shops that they didn't get the chance to visit earlier, which left Arturia largely alone with her master's mother at the table for most of the duration of the lunch.
Known to have a large appetite, Arturia had just finished her lunch after the seventh serving and was now in silent contemplation.
Lucia herself was sipping on her freshly brewed (refilled) coffee, her attention directed on the thin modern device (tablet) that was in her right hand.
The silence at their table was comfortable, peaceful even.
Arturia thought that the silence would last until Scáthach and Rider would arrive. But, it did not last long as it was broken by her remaining companion.
"A penny for your thoughts, Arti?" Lucia spoke aloud, snapping Arturia from her people watching.
The blonde haired swordswoman blinked, causing the female mage to turn her head to her and raised a brow.
"You've been rather quiet throughout our little shopping quest. It's not that difficult to tell that you're deep in thought." Lucia elaborated with a gentle smile.
Arturia blinked again, then shook her head slowly with a small smile of her own.
"Nothing dreadful. As you say, I was just deep in thought." Arturia answered.
"Is it related to my son?" Lucia asked, continuing when Arturia blinked in mild surprise. "Knowing you, Arturia, anything related to my boy never fails to make you go deep in thought."
The realization of being read so easily by the other caused Arturia's cheeks to flush red and looked to the side shyly.
Her reaction did not go unnoticed as Lucia laughed softly behind her elegant hand, her red lips curving into a beatific smile of amusement.
"Fufufu, I suppose I shall take that as a yes then." Lucia teased.
Arturia maintained her silence, knowing that protesting would simply cause the other woman to want to tease her more.
She had been around the black haired woman to know that she has the infamous mischievous side that she had inherited from her father.
The only saving grace that both her and her son, Hadrian, were not as bad as the Wizard Marshall, whose mischievousness can be on a different level for most of the time.
Having enough of her fun, the black haired mage regained her composure.
"Then, care to share your thoughts?" Lucia inquired, smiling.
Arturia sighed.
There was no other way, but to indulge the woman.
At the very least, Arturia can take comfort that Lucia seemed to be genuinely curious as to what she was thinking about so deeply regarding her master.
"Since yesterday, master has been acting oddly." Arturia began.
"How so?" Lucia lifted an elegant brow.
"I can't describe it, but I feel that there is something worrying him. I'm not exactly sure…" Arturia frowned in thought.
"Is this what your instinct is telling you or is it what you felt from your bond with him?" Lucia tilted her head slightly.
"… Both." Arturia settled, a bit unsure.
Lucia sighed, setting down the tablet on the table.
"Then perhaps, it might be better to wait for him to tell you himself, whatever that issue might be. Knowing my son, Hadrian would come to you if there's something that you need to know. For now, just exert patience and wait. Approaching the subject on your own might make him hesitate to confide in you, despite the bond you two have. If it's important, it'll only be a matter of time he informs you about it."
Reluctantly, Arturia nodded her head in agreement.
The two women left the pastry shop once Scáthach and Rider returned from their venture.
By the time the four left the mall, all four women were holding their bags in each of their hands.
Even Arturia was no exception, despite her inattentiveness throughout the time she was accompanying them.
Still, the three women's purchases were far more than she had bought combined, and she caught more than a few eyes turning wide in a comical manner as a result whenever they crossed paths with other groups of people.
Some of the shop owners and employees were used to their presences, but visitors of the mall were not familiar to their routinely ventures.
Hence, the gawking, pointing and whispers at their wake.
Arturia supposed those moments were the fun part of her day.
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Later on, after arriving at the castle and splitting from the three women, Arturia was confronted with a solemn-looking Zelretch, who politely asked her to speak with him in his office.
What was discussed inside was never made known to Hadrian and the others.
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