Page 6 of Her Highland Prophecy
Before she could register what was happening, the gypsy was in front of her, tugging at her arm.
“It’s all right, lass. Ye don’t have to believe me, just come back for a moment.”
Wary that the woman was trying to con her again, Diana nodded and let herself be pulled back to the center of the tent. The gypsy released her.
“Wait here. Esmeralda has something for ye.”
When Diana nodded, confirming that she would wait, the older woman released her and moved to the shadowy corner in the back of the tent. There was a trunk there that she hadn’t noticed earlier.
Diana still felt like a raw ball of nerves, her mind unable to process everything happening. Her fate sounded like something out of an Ancient Greek Tragedy.
The gypsy rummaged through the items in the trunk for a moment, almost folding herself in half to reach something in the bottom and emerged with a triumphant sound, holding a small pouch.
She approached Diana and handed it to her.
“A gift,” was all she said as she indicated that Diana should open it.
She released the drawstring with clumsy fingers and a racing heart, and then reached inside and pulled out a necklace of some sort.
No, not a necklace, she realized when she got a better look. A medallion. Sitting in the middle of a silver chain was an oddly shaped flat disk with a single blue gem sitting in the middle.
She traced the edges of the shape. It had six sides, none of them equal. It was almost as if someone had cut out a triangle from a pentagon without caring if the lines were straight when they did so.
It was beautiful, and Diana felt like it was thrumming with energy in her hand. Alarmed, she looked back at the woman.
“Thank you, but I cannot accept this. I already wear my mother’s necklace you see,” she said, touching the blue stone set in the middle of the heart pendant around her neck. She also did not want to put on the strange medallion but thought it prudent not to say as much. “She gave it to me before she died.”
“Ye must have it,” Esmeralda insisted. “It is an insult to refuse a gift,” she added with a severe look at Diana.
“All right. Thank you,” Diana replied hastily and pulled back her hand. The older woman already seemed angry at her. There was no reason to provoke her further. “Will you tell me about it? It is such an unusual shape.”
The gypsy smiled, showing off her gold tooth again.
“What ye hold in yer hand has been in my family for many centuries. More than six hundred years it has passed from mother to daughter. And now it comes to ye.”
Diana looked at the medallion in shock. If what she was saying was true, the medallion she held was priceless. The historian inside her longed for the library. She would be able to compare it against other items from the era and narrow down its origins.
“This is a very generous gift. Are you sure you want to give me this? It sounds like a family heirloom and I would hate to take that away from your daughter.”
The gypsy eyed her with interest.
“Och, lass. I have no family left. When I die, the secret of that medallion will die with me.”
“What secret?” Diana asked warily. The energy that she could still feel coming from the medallion clutched in her fingers scared her. She wasn’t sure what it meant.
The gypsy leaned in closer, and when she spoke, her voice was low.
“It will help ye meet yer destiny.” At Diana’s incredulous look, she continued. “I see that ye do not believe me, but ye will. Ye will.”
Her eyes were unfocused for a moment before she looked Diana straight in the eye.
“Take the medallion to the cave hidden behind the elderberries. The one that is hidden in the green valley and guarded by the swan and the bear. Look for the spot where the medallion fits and when ye find it, wait for the exact moment the sun appears in the horizon before placing it. This will unlock yer fate.”
Diana looked at her incredulously, her green eyes wide.
“Ye will not regret it if you do. This I can promise,” the gypsy said.
Diana could sense that she was being dismissed. She thanked the woman and hastily made her way out of the tent into the cool night air, deciding never to use the medallion.
