blue dice #1

castle/thunder cloud/crown/fish/apple/witch

 

I knew it would be a good day, in spite of the coming storm.  I knew the time was coming for my fulfillment.  Of course, I am no psychic, so I had to get the help of a professional.  My mother swore by Madame Arguiol, so that was good enough for me.

She had her little shop on the main square, like the cheesiest of TV show psychics, and I think she even chose her decorations to give that effect.  But for the special customers, there was another space in her magical wonderland where real wonders took place.  It didn't have the colorful tapestries and beads of the "commercial" part, it was a back room, like a storeroom, dark and a little musty.  The bricks in the walls were large, almost like stones in a dungeon.  She never turned on the light; maybe there wasn't even a light in the room.  She always led her special customers in with a large candle.  The table was a folding card table and the chairs old wooden stools.  It was the least like a medium's seeing room as it could be.  I'm sure that was also on purpose, not that she had run out of money for decorating.  Surely, she wanted her powers to be clear and her customers undistracted by baubles.

On that great morning I went to visit Madame Arguiol.  There was no rain, but there were grumbles of thunder and electricity was in the air.  It was a day to start something grand.  The Madame welcomed me inside and ushered me past the carnival style room, with it's thick and brightly dyed carpets and cloths, and into the darkness of the back room, the true seeing room.  We sat on the stools and the Madame stared into the flame of the candle intently.  There was no sound but a distant dripping of a leaky pipe somewhere in the walls.  I didn't even hear her breathing or mine.  After some time, she spoke.

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"What are you referring to, Madame?"

"This grand plan you have.  This person you seek.  None of it is necessary."

She wasn't putting on any strange voice for my benefit, it was her normal speaking voice, perhaps a little breathier as she put her energy into reading the fire.

"It is a very important goal for me, Madame.  I know it can be done.  I know I am the one to do it."

"Yes, you know a lot, it seems.  You already have the crown on your head when you look in the mirror.  You should listen more to what others tell you when they look at you, instead of only paying attention to your own voice."

I couldn't take it as an insult, it was just a standard warning anyone could give.  There are dangers in shooting for the stars, and people who fear those who try.  The Madame glared with more intensity at the flame and rubbed her mouth with one hand.

"Well, now, it seems you have several roads you can take.  I think you will take the worst one.  But I want you to remember that there are others.  They aren't as appealing, they might look like harder roads.  But in the end they will serve you better than that poisoned prize you seek.  You are about to bite into something you won't be able to swallow."

I waited patiently for her to tell me the key to my plan.  To confirm it, really, I was already sure of what I would find on this glorious day.  Finally Madame Arguiol sat back and cleared her throat, saying in a calm voice, "What you want you can find among the leaves and the roots, where the water flows but little.  There is your...princess, I suppose."  She waved her hand dismissively at the last part, but I knew she just didn't want to show her awe at the grandeur to come.  Surely she could see it.  She was a psychic, after all.

The Madame rose from the table and gestured for me to do the same.  We walked out to the street door and I pulled out my wallet to pay.  The Madame stopped me.  "Your mother already paid for you the last time she was here, she thinks you need to hear what I have to tell you."

"Oh yes, she's very right.  My mother is always right about everything," I smiled.  How well my dear mother knew me.

The Madame stared at me for a few seconds, trying to glean some other evidence of my coming greatness or uncover some weakness even I had ignored.  Then she opened the door for me and said, "Good luck to you.  You don't know how much you'll need if you keep chasing that one fish in the sea."

I smiled brightly and took my leave.  Now I had to figure out where exactly there were leaves and roots and water for a princess to wait for me.