The Crown's Obsession

Once Calhoun let go of Raphael's hand, the man wiggled his fingers, "The King sure has a good shake," he complimented, with a smile on his face, "Please take a seat. I am guessing you are not here just for a visit now?" Raphael walked around the table and sat down after Calhoun had taken the seat first.

Madeline noticed the table wasn't clear and clean as she had noticed earlier. There were some engraved markings on the wooden table—designs which she didn't understand. There were lines and circles around, inside which the words were written. While her eyes curiously were looking at the table, the man in front of her noticed Madeline looking at the table.

"I want you to take a reading of her," ordered Calhoun, his back leaning against the chair and Madeline's eyes stopped roaming around on the table to look up at the two men. Were they here for her? When Calhoun had told her that he had work, she had guessed it was for his sake.

Raphael looked surprised as Calhoun had never brought a lady in here to take a reading. Mr. Sparrow looked like a madman because of his dull face and droopy eyes. Because of his appearance, most of the people outside this building look at him like he was a drunk man.

Calhoun took women from here, but he had never brought one from outside. It made Raphael continue to look at the human girl curiously.

"It doesn't look like the lady believes in it," commented Raphael. How did he know that? Asked Madeline to herself. Was it so easy to read her expressions? "But that is alright. It doesn't matter if one believes it or not. Are you ready for me to read to you?"

Madeline didn't know what that exactly meant, but according to the fair in the village, one used to tell about the fortune and future, answering questions that were asked to fill their pockets with coins.

She heard Calhoun say, "Raphael is an expert when it comes to reading. You can ask the questions you have been having in your mind. You don't have to speak it loud."

Though she was a simple village girl, Madeline had always kept her feet on the ground without building castles up in the sky with empty clouds. She didn't believe in things like these, but with Calhoun who was telling her she could question, it somewhere made her put her faith with him, that she would get the answers.

"Okay," she replied to Raphael's question. The man pulled out a pack of cards, shuffling it in his hands.

Raphael placed the cards on the table in a curved line before looking up at her, "Please pick three cards from the lot," he said, his eyes focussed on her hand when Madeline randomly pulled out the three cards one after another and he cleared the other cards to place them aside, "This is always the fun part."

Madeline had once accompanied Beth in her reading, but she had not taken part in it. One reading costed a whole silver coin, and it was too much money. She now saw the man turn around the first card she had pulled. Leaning forward, she saw it was a skull. Her eyebrows furrowed as she had never heard a skull being part of the pack of cards.

Raphael had a grim look on his face, and he turned the second card that had a flower, a tulip to be specific. When he went to the third card, Madeline pursed her lips to see there was a tombstone.

"Am I going to die?" asked Madeline on seeing the tombstone, her eyes lifted to look at the man who was dealing with the cards.

"The cards don't mean exactly what you think they are, milady," replied Raphael, "You have a strange order in here. First is the representation of death; people usually have it in the opposite order."

"What does that mean?" Madeline had an unsettling feeling in her chest.

"You had a near-death experience," said Raphael, his eyes looked her curiously.

Calhoun was the one to say, "We were hoping you could answer that."

Raphael's eyes shifted to look at Calhoun before going back to look at the girl, "If the incident has taken place already, it won't happen again."

"She was found standing at the edge of the tower window. Sleepwalking," commented Calhoun and Raphael's eyebrows went up.

"It is possible that you are trying to get to something, that you have not found out yet?" Raphael asked her, "The dreams that we see need not always be bizarre of the day but it sometimes tries to reach out for the window that is shut. Do you know that vampires don't dream, if they do, it is considered to be something very important, unlike humans."

Madeline remembered the night of the ball when she was sleeping. She had woken up covered in sweat as the dream was about Calhoun finding her back in the castle. It was a nightmare that day. When her eyes slowly drifted to look at Calhoun, he didn't hide the chuckle, "Selective dreams, Maddie," he said to her.

She then asked Raphael, "What do you think it meant in my case?"

"You are trying to go back to what belongs to you. More precisely to say something that once was part of you," Raphael started to explain, "When our body goes to sleep, it goes to a state where the soul is at ease, making it easier for it to move. I am no God, milady and only a card reader. The second card speaks of a love which is the representation of the flower, but then it also speaks about mortality. Acceptance of who you are and the tombstone is your association with death," saying this, Raphael's eyes went to fall on Calhoun.

Madeline's own eyes followed the sight of the man that was on the King.

"It means you either kill or get killed," said Raphael.

That was not helpful at all, thought Madeline to herself. Her head was even more muddled than it was before stepping into this room.

"You're confusing her, Raphael," came the calm voice of Calhoun and Raphael who had a serious look on his face quickly put up a smile.

"Lady Madeline, if I may speak further," asked Raphael to have Madeline nod her head. She wanted to hear something that would make sense to her, "I will not tell you what you want to hear, because I don't hold such information, but I can tell you that there's something that is trying to reach out for you. There are wide possibilities of what it might be. This phase that you have right now is the one where it is pleasant, after which comes the destruction. It is your choice what you will pick…"

"Pick what?" asked Madeline, her eyebrows furrowing further, and she leaned forward from her seat, waiting for him to continue for his words.

Raphael said, "I don't know about that. Only time will tell you," Madeline felt her shoulder droop slightly, "We can have another reading after two or three months later to see if there's any change in the combination of the cards."

Madeline nodded her head, "Thank you," she thanked the man.

Calhoun who was quietly listening to them, stared at the cards that were on the table. He heard Raphael ask him, "Would the King like to have a reading?"

"No thanks," replied Calhoun, a smirk falling on his lips. Calhoun had got his reading only once from Raphael, and he never got it again. Calhoun believed, that sometimes the suspense was better than knowing everything.

He could see that Raphael's hands were itching to shuffle the cards so that Calhoun would touch the cards. Seeing they were done here, he stood up, and the others stood after the King. Calhoun said to Madeline, "I will be out there in a minute."

Madeline bowed at Raphael and took her leave from the room as it seemed that Calhoun wanted to speak alone with Raphael. When the door closed, Madeline stood between the two rooms- one with the room full of people while the other where Calhoun was.

With Madeline who left the room, Calhoun stared at Raphael, "If you will be kind enough to cut down the bullshit and tell exactly what was with the card reading," he smiled at the card reader.

The smile on Raphael's face rose up, "I told her what she needed to hear. It seems like you have taken a liking towards her. Planning to take her as your wife?" Calhoun stared at Raphael, not wanting him to deter from the main subject, "She is not like us. I am not sure about the combination."

"Explain," said Calhoun, his red eyes on Raphael.

"She appears to be the complete opposite of us. And when I say opposite, it means a direct opposite," Calhoun raised his brow, understanding what Raphael was speaking about, "You might need to look at the lineage. Might find some answers there."

After a few seconds, Calhoun said, "Thank you for your time, Raphael. And for the lead."

"Anytime," Raphael bowed his head.

Once Calhoun made his way out of the doors, the card reader picked the last card, adding the three cards back to the deck. Shuffling them in his hand, he spread them on the table. His index and middle finger walked across the cards before picking one of them. The first and only card Calhoun had picked years ago, which had hands that were covered in blood. The destructor.

"I wonder...did the card change but I have a feeling that it hasn't," murmured Raphael looking at the card.

Madeline watched Calhoun smile at her, his eyes looking at her in fascination. The intensity in his eyes didn't reduce when it came to looking at her, which she was still getting used to.