The Midnight Moon [ONC 2024]

Chapter 7: The Fortune Teller

'You know,' Vanteray said as we walked towards her caravan, 'you don't have to make it sound like a chore...like something unpleasant.'

'And you don't have to blur the boundaries between what is and isn't acceptable. You knew how I would feel about the price you set, and you set it anyway. Because it amuses you.'

'You think I am doing this for fun? To tease you? You were always more sensitive than you would have the world know, Hereward.'

I scoffed. I wasn't sensitive, and I was convinced I hadn't been since I became a man. I was cold and calculating, that's what I was. And that's what made me good at my job. 'So why are you doing it?'

'The reasons matter little at present, but they will become clear in time, I can assure you.'

Vagueness. That was another of Vanteray's characteristics. Of course, if I pressed her on it, she would argue that she couldn't tell me what she didn't know. I had been here before, don't forget.

She climbed up the steps and opened the door to the caravan. I followed behind, stepping inside and closing the door behind us.

The room inside was a blend of the colourful - reds, pinks, greens and blues - which was toned down by the colours of night: black, dark grey, deep purple and midnight blue.

In the centre of the room was a table. Two chairs were placed either side. A fire was burning low in the little stove, making the space pleasantly warm. The smell of incense and woodsmoke hung heavy in the air, but it wasn't cloying.

Vanteray went straight to the stove and filled the kettle with water from her water barrel.

'Sit,' she called out over her shoulder.

I took my seat - the chair closest to the door - and looked about. The inside of the caravan was both the same and vastly different (if that was possible) compared to the first time I had visited the fortune teller. She had lived and worked in this small space back then, so a ladder had led up to a space above the rear half of the caravan, containing a mattress where she - and I - had slept. Yet it never felt cramped, only cosy, I remembered.

I was not happy with all this remembering. I was beginning to feel sentimental as I called to mind the moments of passion, the ease of Vanteray's company, the love I had felt for her. I didn't like it. It was fifteen years ago, but I swear it could have been yesterday. Yes, it was I who had persuaded Vanteray to stay here in the woods outside Morteton, only for her to tell me a few months later that she hadn't stayed for me.

I smothered a sigh, and tried to inject some reasoning into my mood. I was missing Annie; her absence was still too raw. And, no doubt the fact I hadn't been here in a year also had its part to play as memories long left in the past if not forgotten, resurfaced as I once more became acquainted with the surroundings.

Vanteray placed two cups of tea down on the table, one for each of us. 'Drink,' she instructed as she sipped her own.

It was green tea with mint. My favourite.

'I haven't forgotten, Hereward. It's your favourite,' she said, echoing my own thoughts.

I nodded appreciatively.

'I made sure I had some in...just in case it was you the cards had spoken of. Although we have sparred a little with words this evening, I am glad you have returned to me.'

I placed my empty cup down on the table and gave her a look, which I hoped said, do not drag me down that path again. [ONC - approx 8000 word mark]

She smiled softly, but I could have sworn there was a fleeting sadness in her eyes that I hadn't spotted before. But, as quickly as I had noticed it, it was gone.