The Lady & The Seer {REIGN}

Chapter 3

"Lord Raeona is quite odd," Mary spoke, grabbing a cherry out of the bowl. The group of girls sat beneath a weeping willow tree, eating our lunch. A couple of lazy swans floated by us on the lake. The weather was perfect, blue skies with a little bit of clouds for shade, so it wasn't too hot. Finally, something I liked: being outside.

"He is mysterious." Lola added.

I adjusted the skirts of my dress. "He said he had a wife who died."

"Hm, is he the one that has no siblings?" Kenna asked. "The ki- my friend told me he is the only heir to his fathers title."

"So it would be extra important for him to have children." I remarked.

Mary tilted her head. "I suppose so. Anyways, there are plenty of eligible men at court."

"Speaking of men, we should go around and tell the story of our first kiss." Kenna suggested with a devilish gleam in her eye. She definitely had a story to tell.

Everyone scoffed.

"Oh come on! It's all for fun!"

"No, I don't want to. I haven't had mine yet." Aylee blushed. Lola And Greer giggled.

I sat up straight. "I haven't kissed anyone either."

"What! You guys are silly." Kenna groaned.

"I hope I get married soon," Aylee said. "Because of what Nostradamus said."

The girls grew silent and shot each other knowing looks. I knew I had to be missing something important. Clearly, they were not jumping for joy at the mention of him.

"Who is Nostradamus?" I asked. The other girls looked at each other again.

Lola cleared her throat. "He is the court seer."

"What the heck is a court seer?"

"He claims to see the future. He told me I'm not going to go home again." Aylee's voice dropped to a whisper.

Lola put a hand on her shoulder. "Didn't he say you're going to meet a tall, dark, handsome man? So maybe you're getting married."

"He told me I'll fall in love with a man with a white mark on his face. That hasn't happened." Greer muttered and rolled her eyes.

Aylee's face only became more concerned. "Lola, I thought he told you you'd meet the tall and handsome stranger."

"I think he's full of it." Mary said. That seemed to settle the matter of his legitimacy.

I hesitated to ask yet another question. "Is He the one who was sitting by Catharine yesterday?"

"Unfortunately. He always hangs around her. I think she's the reason why he hasn't been executed for heresy yet." Yet. As if she did expect him to hang in the future.

I nodded. More questions swirled around in my mind. I said nothing. No one can see the future, that's ridiculous. He must be one of those fakes like from the fair.

"New subject!" Mary clapped her hands and grinned. "The harvest festival is coming up."

That elicited a chorus of ooohs and aaahs from the rest of us.

"That's always fun. I love a good festival." Kenna's eyes were dreamy like she was remembering past parties.

Lola rolled her eyes. "You just like that you get to buy a new dress!"

"Maybe! That's not a bad reason to like it, though!" She objected. Mary, Aylee And I laughed.

The conversation dissolved into talk of what we were going to wear. We decided that we would all put our collections of dresses together and borrow from each other. I left the picnic feeling hopeful about my new life at French court.