THE FORTUNETELLER

The carriage rattled and bumped around on the road that was full of potholes. According to Harry, their destination wasn't far from the Academy, presumably to make monitoring the estranged mage easier.

"What does this estranged mage do that allows her to be under the protection of the Academy? " Layla asked Harry.

"I'm not sure of the exact details myself, but I heard she runs a fortune-telling business and she does serve as something of a spy. Her customers don't know she's an estranged mage though. And she's a powerful mage that doesn't harm anyone, so they let her be. "

"Fortune-telling? Does that mean she can see the future? " The ability to see the future would be an amazing ability. It was probably the same spell hermits used in getting the prophecy.

"Unfortunately no, there's no spell that can be used to see the future, at least none that we know of. She probably just uses possessions to see memories and gives general advice based on that. Plus, she sells a few potions to people too. "

So no future seeing spell. But the fact that the estranged mage was allowed to sell spells was surprising. Just how useful was she?

As if he knew what she was thinking, Harry told her:

"She can probably defeat all four of us, albeit with great difficulty, but the chances are greater than fifty."

Now that was scary. Was it really safe to keep someone like that around. However, she didn't have time to think it over completely as they arrived at the fortuneteller's.

Layla was slightly surprised at how their destination looked like. It was a story building, fronted by a large gate. The house was shielded by large trees, and two guards stood by the gate to prevent any funny business. They were most likely from the Academy.

They didn't take the Academy's carriage, so they had to be inspected before being granted entry.

The residence was even larger from the inside, but it didn't have any decorations. Apart from the large trees from which the sounds of crickets and birds came, to the paved road, there was really nothing of note.

A servant came and led the to the fortuneteller's chamber. The interior of the house was as bland as the outside. The first thing one saw was a large waiting room, now devoid of guests. It had a few vases of flowers, and that was all.

The chambers they were headed to was in the uppermost floor. It was large, and like the rest of the house, had almost no decorations. A table and chair stood in it's center, with large shelves in all four corners of the room. There was also a curtain that hid the bedroom.

The mistress of the house, or rather it's prisoner was lounging on the only chair reading a book. She had green hair and green eyes. She also wore a pair of reading glasses.

Taking off her glasses, she looked at them, obviously displeased. She was in her sleep wear and probably didn't enjoy being disturbed before her bedtime.

"Oh, Sheila, how lovely to see you here. It's not everytime one has the head of the Academy in their home. Although, it'd be nice if you informed me before coming, I've had a long day and don't like being disturbed."

"Excuse me, I don't hear you using Lady Sheila's appropriate honorific. " Ellen replied angrily. This was the most emotion Layla had seen her show, and she still remained mostly expressionless. It was nonetheless scary, but everyone in the room didn't do as much as flinch, well except for the servant who had brought tea.

"Please, don't mind me. Sheila was my teacher and I think of her as a mother, and it'd really weird to use a honorific. Besides should you be speaking to your senior so rudely. "

So Sheila was the fortuneteller's former teacher, and Ellen's senior. The fortuneteller seemed to want to anger Ellen, who easily fell for her trap.

Ellen looked like she wanted to say something but Sheila stopped her, the conversation wouldn't go anywhere with both of them bickering at each other.

"Forget about the honorific issue. We came here to discuss something important, and the sooner we are done with it, the better. Is that clear, Ellen? Elora? "

Neither argued anymore, so they all sat.

"Well, what do you want from me? " Elora, the fortuneteller asked as she drank the tea.

"I assume someone came to you to possess someone. "

"Oh really, I don't seem to remember."

Now it was Sheila's turn to be angry, but she managed to stay calm and continued.

"You may take this as a joke, but your actions are graver than you think. You attacked the savior by possessing her. Do you know what will happen if this issue is escalated. "

Elora's eyes widened before returning to normal. Layla wondered if it was okay for her to know of her existence.

"I see, things make more sense now." This time she sounded serious.

"What makes more sense? "

"I was wondering why a random non mage had access to an amulet. I definitely thought I could get away with using a weak possession spell on someone. When I began the spell, the hair began changing color. It was a bit scary and exhilarating at the same time. I didn't expect my target to be the actual savior."

"Who was your client? "

"I didn't get to see their face, like a shadow shielded it. All they wanted me to do was to make them appear in the target's mind. "

The same unknown person, they were always related to everything.

"You accepted a job from such a shady client? "

"Well they brought a lot of money, so I thought I could risk it. Besides I was quite intrigued by the unusual identity hiding spell."

Sheila didn't seem to believe her and continued staring at her with her eyebrows raised.

"Don't believe me? Your people admitted him, you can even ask them."

Sheila said nothing in reply.

"Is that all? "

"Yes, for now."

"Am I going to get beheaded? "

"Nothing of that sort. "

After a beat, she added:

"Is that the savior. Looks scrawny, maybe I can train her. "

"No, there'll be no need for that. And we'll be taking our leave. "

"The offer is still available for consideration."

Sheila didn't reply. Defeated, Elora stood up to walk them out.

"I'll walk you out. "

No one objected, so Elora escorted them outside the house, a fake smile plastered on her face.

As the carriage prepared to leave, Elora's expression changed, her fake smile turning into a hateful glare. Layla shuddered slightly.

Was Elora one of her now plenty enemies?