Page 2 of The Oracle's Journey

“Emmelina, I have someone to introduce,” King Herment said. “This is Ozanna Black, and she would like to be your guardian on your upcoming journey.”

The girl froze in place for a heartbeat and then turned massive hazel eyes on me. “It’s you!” she exclaimed. Lifting the skirts of her blue gown, she dropped her shoes and bounded towards me. “Ozanna! That’s your name!”

She threw her arms around my neck, embracing me as though we were old friends. I couldn’t help but grin at her lack of comportment, placing a hand on her back when she almost pulled me off balance.

“This is my daughter, Emmelina,” King Herment said, with a brief twinkle in his eye.

“Hello, Princess,” I said, trying to gently untangle the girl so I could bow.

“Emmelina isn’t one to stand on formalities.” He waved a hand, halting my attempts to pay respect to the princess. “It seems she likes you.”

“So it does,” I agreed and offered the King a pleading look.

He nodded and called to his daughter. “Please let Ms. Black have her neck back.”

Emmelina let go and stared up at me, in awe.

“What is it you would like me to do, Your Majesty?” I asked, trying to keep my attention on King Herment and not the girl’s odd behavior.

“As you may have noticed, the Princess operates very ...” He paused as if looking for the right word, “differently. She inherited the talents of an Oracle from her late mother, and I’m afraid it’s particularly potent. Unfortunately, it means she can be a danger to herself when she can’t tell reality from her visions.” I nodded, aware that Oracles being depicted as mad women had real roots. It was a difficult talent to navigate, and I did not envy a single one of them. “The household staff are often cowed by her behavior, and the guards are afraid of punishment if they mishandle her. I need somebody who can both handle and protect her on a journey.”

“Ah, does this journey involve a dowry?” I asked, perhaps not as formally as I ought to have, but the princess had started to orbit around me, taking in nearly every inch of my appearance. Repeatedly. It was disconcerting.

The King shook his head and pressed his lips together, hard, before answering, “There is no dowry. The King of Dophesan’s younger brother has a gift for divination. The mages have determined that they would be a good pairing to produce future talents.” He paused and added, his voice taking a dark turn, “I’d not send her away otherwise. See her safely there, and I’ll give you an additional fifty percent.”

An additional fifty percent? The Order would only accept the amount specified in the contract. Anything more would go directly into my pocket. Typically, a patron would offer anywhere between an additional two and five percent. The amount on this contract was … well, a lot. It made sense considering the young woman required special handling due to her unfortunate talent. The additional money could buy me some good fur-lined leather gear. Perhaps even some pieces of plate. Although not a greedy person, I relished the thought of upgrading my equipment, and maybe replacing my deteriorating boots. My Order stipend wasn’t terrible, but it would take a while to save up for those things. I’d do the job to the best of my ability on principle but now I had something to look forward to!

Emmelina stopped when she once again came between me and her father and said “I can’t wait to meet Nicolas. We have already fallen in love without eyes.” She pressed three fingers to her forehead, turned, and then gracefully bounded from the great hall the way she’d entered. The attendants and guards in the hall all lowered their eyes and shuffled their feet, as if uncomfortable with the girls’ antics.

Cowards, afraid of that tiny thing.

I found the encounter delightful, if a bit odd, having been a barefoot wild-child myself at one point. However, seeing someone of Emmelina’s station being allowed to behave that way was strange. Perhaps they’d not pressed her too hard due to her debilitating talent. King Herment permitting Emmelina to be herself raised my estimation of him, despite his kowtowing to the parliament of mages.

“The job is yours, if you’ll take it,” the King said, a curious blend of sadness and relief in his voice.He sank further into his seat, wilting before my eyes.

I bowed from the waist and said, “I’ll see her safely there.”

CHAPTER 2

Ozanna

Istayed at the castle for two days preparing for the trip with the guardsmen—not so much for the logistics since I was simply along for the ride, but to familiarize myself with the people involved. Normally, I would listen and not interject, but they wanted to take the north road that spanned the entire length of the mountain range and then some. When I told them of the rumored elven bandits, the guardsmen brushed off my suggestion to take the southerly road. They offered no reasoning for their decision, but I wasn’t surprised. In my experience, men with power, or at least perceived power, could be like that. It was why I tended to avoid them in personal matters.

The day we left Cudcona, I had an unpleasant encounter with the Princess’s maids. I was situating Emmelina in the carriage and had expected them to join us inside. The blonde, blue-eyed maid, Eve, declined, saying she’d rather go by horseback. The slender matron with gray threaded through her wheat-colored hair, Judith, said she would rather sit with the driver, claiming she needed the fresh air. I sensed they just did not want to be caged in with the odd little princess. I called them cowards before closing the princess and myself inside the carriage.

I had been on many bridal journeys, and they’d always been full of twittering girls, their mothers and aunts, courtiers, many carriages, and guards from multiple households. I wore skirts for this trip, newly purchased in Cudcona, anticipating the need to blend in with the ladies and maids. But the angel-faced princess sitting across from me in the carriage traveled with a dozen of her father’s guards, a pair of maids that did not like her, and myself. I couldn’t help but think of how lonely that must feel for Emmelina.

Empathy for her situation aside, I disliked that the caravan was so small. It lacked the typical safety that comes with traveling in numbers, which left me uneasy and restless. After a week of boring, quiet carriage riding and undistracted paranoia, I was set to start climbing the walls. Something was off and I couldn’t understand what my instincts were trying to tell me.

I sat by the window so I could keep my eyes on the northern side of the road. The mountains weren’t far off, only just obscured by the forest. There was nothing to see this morning, just like the mornings before. Only trees and scurrying fauna, but I couldn’t help but feel we were on the edge of … something.

I glanced over at Emmelina to find her staring up at me with haunted eyes, contemplating something I couldn’t quite track in her expression. It was the first time in days she’d appeared mentally present.

“Did you have a question?” I asked.

“Can I call you Oz?” Emmalina asked, kicking her legs as they dangled just above the floor of the carriage. She was so petite. “He calls you Oz. I like it.”

“Hm. Nobody calls me that. Who’s he?”

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