Sanara looked down in shame; intricate leather shoes filled her field of vision. She reached for Faust, her little feline companion that had somehow wandered into this imposing man's arms, as she finally looked up.
"I'm so sorry Your Majesty, I--,"...
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Sanara spent the afternoon at the market gathering food for the next few days. She mentally ran through what she would be making for the rest of the week. A vegetable soup for dinner since it was just her, rice with beans for tomorrow, a hearty meal of meat and potatoes for Sunday, and bread for breakfast. She would usually have the previous day's leftovers for lunch the next day. The palace provided lunch for the guards.
Liren always said her food was better. She had a feeling he was just pulling her leg. The snacks available at the balls would be so unique. All kinds of dishes she had never even heard of before with ingredients that came from all over the world. Each dish would be better than the last. There was no way the simple things she knew how to make could ever compete with what the palace served daily.
She halted abruptly when a cat darted out from the stall next to her. The calico creature rubbed up against her left almost causing her to trip and throw her freshly bought produce all over the street.
Sanara stuck out her hand to steady herself.
"It seems this message is for you," she heard a weary voice croak. The voice wasn't the only one battered with age. She looked to her left to see an old lady walk out of the tent, its contents obscured from vision. The old lady pulled the curtains to the side and stepped into the street to retrieve the cat that darted away from her hands and behind my legs.
"Interesting," the old lady seemed to be considering something.
"Your name.... It's Samara? Is it?"
"Sanara," she corrected the oracle lady. She had never considered taking up the seer's offers before. But for some reason, the elder lady seemed to be assessing the young woman.
"The feline's fear will help him find his fate," she muttered looking into the distance before focusing her eyes back on Sanara. "The feline's master is meant for your minding." She smiled and stepped closer to the woman in front of her.
The old lady pressed her thumb between Sanara's eyebrows and closed her eyes. Sanara stood there in confusion. Passerbys peered over in interest and whispered to each other. They started when the old lady opened her eyes with a gasp.
"Sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to startle you," she assured the young lady when she stepped back at the sudden reaction. "It's never easy to reach another's spirit guides no matter how many times I do it. And yours are desperate to communicate something with you."
Sanara nodded as if she understood exactly what the old crow was talking about. She was about to continue on her way home back to the cottage when the old lady placed her hand on Sanara's shoulder.
Sanara looked at her curiously.
"Your guides told me you will not be attending the ball. You will find what you seek among the roses. You know which ones I'm referring to." She paused in thought, briefly closing her eyes. "Yes, those that you are thinking of now. Those are the ones. You will find the material of your dreams among the roses. You understand, child? Good. Now go."
