Closed The Tea Connection (Amelia)

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„Do you wish to get to know me better then, Miss Cross?“ Valerius asked. He thought that it was a strange thing to say of her, especially after she had made those accusations. What in Rhysol’s name did Amelia Cross want from him? Did she want to fix him, like his dear sister? Was she looking for a way to bribe him? Hurt him? „No matter, I’m glad that you aren’t going to pass judgement on me. That is something that only Rhysol is allowed to do. But why do you think that my eyes are blurred? Do the lines of my hand lead directly into my mind, into my soul? Are you a telepath as well?“ He sounded as if he were mocking her. Valerius Nitrozian was indeed hiding more than just a bad habit or two, he was hiding secret upon secret, but he had worn that mask so long, he had tried to shape himself into a man that his grandfather would approve of for so long, that his mask had almost become reality. There was hardly anything left of the child he had been before indoctrination, insults and threats had taken effect on his mind. Soon it would be all gone, and he would finally be free of himself. „Watch your tongue, Miss Cross“, he hissed. „I am not a spoiled child, but a grown man, a Nitrozian, a member of one of Ravok’s most powerful families. There cold be consequences if you insult me. Do you really think you can fix me and set my mind straight? Others have tried to do that before. It didn’t work.“ He realized that his voice had become a bit louder towards the end, and he looked around again, wondering if anybody had heard him. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to allow her to read his fortune in a cafe. He should have taken her to the Nitrozian Estate. He should probably just leave, but something – he wasn’t sure what – made him stay. He leaned back in his chair slightly and tried to look normal and relaxed, as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on so that nobody would become suspicious. Besides, it wouldn’t be wise to insult a woman whose father was a member in the Black Sun, although he had relatives in the same organization. „I apologize for the tone of my voice. I didn’t mean to offend you“, he said, a bit stiffly. „You claim that I need a fresh perspective, but where would I get such a fresh perspective? Which city would want me? Zeltiva? Nyka? Syliras? And what kind of fate would be left for me if I shed my pride? Can you tell me that as well? You claim all those things about me, but you aren’t offering any solutions.“

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia just smiled. She always let by that tactic when she was lost. After all, a smile confuses like nothing else. And since he didn’t really request a straight on answer, she didn’t push it forward. But even if he had asked, she probably wouldn’t have had any trouble laying out that she was interested in getting to know the man closer. Problem was, she was not interested in him as most would assume a woman of her age would find a single Nitrozian interesting. She seemed to be interested in him more like psychologist; she wanted to understand the way he thought. Ah yes, the true nature of the woman began to come out.

It would be a lie though, to say she didn’t feel offended by the man as his tone of voice changed to a clear mock, his words questioning her talents and skills. But she would stay calm, for the most part ”You’d be surprised how much the lines on one’s hands can show” was her simple answer. There was no need to defend her skills, why? Because he was attacking her knowledge. A man who was this interested in this would not attack, this only means she touched a sore topic…her manner of speech didn’t help much either, but it still didn’t mean she had to defend her knowledge and skill. ”but cards show even more”

The way he reacted to her little comparison to the spoiled child, it amused her enough to drag out a smirk from the woman. His threads didn’t seem to bother her, as she had her father to protect her, but above all, she was sure he was one of those dogs that was all bark and no bite, probably too sure for her own good, but pride was a sin of her own aswell. ”but dear Valerius, not even once did I call you a spoiled child, you assumed I did…assuming things can end bad, a man interested in politics should know that” a little mock of her own if you may, all topped off by the most innocent looking face she could pull off without laughing ”as for fixing you, I have no desire to even attempt that, because I don’t see you as broken…I read what I see, but I never stated my own feelings about the things I said…you once again assumed how I felt and what I wanted” her voice, unlike his, was calm and she had little to no interest in making a scene here.

From the tone of his apology, Amelia had trouble to tell, was he honest? Probably not, but since he didn’t give her the time to accept or decline his apology, she didn’t find it important anymore. ”because I am a reader, a reader is an observer…we don’t give solutions unless they are matters of life and death, because your own fate and fortune is in your own hands. Usually a person who hears the things I read, finds the solution or the path…but if you are so interested in a solution….a new perspective, visit Sahova, Nyak….or Mura…those are sure to open your eyes to new things, and open your mind…Mura is sure to accept you…not that sure about Sahova or Nyak” completely ignoring his mention of Syliras...the woman had no desire to remember this city.

Amelia let the palm of Mr.Nitrozian go and sat back, looking around for a short instant before turning back to the man ” …I saw greatness in your hands Valerius, you might become what so many in this city only dream of…but you won’t if you try to live by the pattern people in this city shape, can you guess why?”

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„I am willing to believe that the lines of my hand can tell you something about me, to some extent at least. My hands are part of me. But cards? They don’t have any connection to me. How do cards work?“ he asked. Was she offering to ask the cards now? Was she offering it out of the goodness of her heart or because she wanted to know more about him, so that she could use that knowledge to her advantage? Did he want to know more? He hadn’t liked most of the things she had said so far, but he was so impossibly curious. He wanted to know if he would ever become more than the weakling Valerius Nitrozian. He didn’t ask her to use the cards, but neither did he tell her not to. He just looked directly into her eyes for a moment before he pulled his gaze away again. „I apologize for misinterpreting what you said then“, he told her. „You are right, assuming things can end badly, but you, Miss Cross, could have worded it a little better and left less room for confusion. I’m however glad that you have no intention of fixing me.“ He said that with a certain amount of sarcasm in his voice. It was true that she had never voiced her opinion on the things she had said, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t secretly judging him. „Sahova“, he murmurred. She could see that the city interested him. He had been fascinated by the Nuit for a while. He didn’t like mages, and he didn’t trust them, but still, he had always wondered if they knew of a way to preserve one’s youth, apart from becoming one of them. There were few things Valerius feared more than old age. He didn’t want to become old, ugly and useless, and he didn’t want to die before he became somebody that people would remember, for centuries to come. He didn’t want to die at all. As she told him that she had seen greatness in his hands, he nodded, pleased. „Will I become Rhysol’s chosen then?“ he asked. He wanted to receive his god’s mark, to become a Druvin or even more and live for Rhysol and only for Rhysol so that he couldn’t doubt anymore. If he were Rhysol’s, he was sure, all the other feelings would go away. „No, I cannot guess why“, he admitted and hated himself for it. He didn’t like admitting that he didn’t know everything. „Can you enlighten me?“

[Amelia Cross]

”well, you are right and wrongs, hands are so much more personal and they don’t lie…but they aren’t really detailed, you can say that they are vague…while cards offer a lot more fleshing out to the things they speak of, you can ask additional questions and they will answer…but they are nothing but cards at the end of the reading, they aren’t that attached to the person they speak of, so the chances of them lying are much higher…” funny how Amelia referred to cards as living and breathing organisms, that could feel, attach emotionally and lie even. But that was how she was thought to behave and it was how she would keep it, even if everyone would make fun of her. Cards had a soul of their own.

”Please, just Amelia, I have a dislike towards being referred to as ‘Miss Cross’…”It was so clear that the man still thought Amelia to be suspicious, maybe even dangerous? It always amused how people thought that she was either a thread or a spy…what was the same thing in her eyes really. She just wondered, what did Valerius think of her now? Did he also think she was looking for secrets, she could use against him? Or maybe he had thought far enough to think she was here to distract him from a possible assassination? Maybe he even had some new, and never ever heard before theory on her motives…those were always fun to listen to.

It wasn’t really hard to notice that Valerius was interested in the city, of all the cities she mentioned, that seemed to be the only one that rang some king of bell. What seemed odd, as Mura would clearly be much more acceptant and he seemed to also be interested in the scaled woman of the white isle. But as said before, Amelia was not the type to judge, if the dead city interested him more, it was his choice. Too bad she couldn’t really add much on this, the woman only knew the city as a place where ‘Mages are free’ and her father called it a dead city…but other than that, she knew close to nothing…she even had no idea what a Nuit was, the main population of the city.

The next question seemed to be natural, but Amelia wasn’t sure was it smart to answer it. ”perhaps…greatness can be measured in more than just that, though, it is the most likely path and I wouldn’t doubt that it’s what awaits you…” She wasn’t surprised that Valerius didn’t know the answer to her next question, he seemed like he wouldn’t really approve of the answer, but she decided to explain, after all, she brought it up.”you see, if you follow the shape failures follow, you will never become more than a failure…a lot of the people in this city are blind to the truth, they refuse to see and to show others, they form patterns they want others to live by…forming them in the way they want to see them, its not a bad thing…if the one formed really desires it…but if a family of merchants forms their child into a merchant…while he could be someone else, someone greater and he wishes to be more than a merchant…it’s a sin…” her voice had grown almost sympathetic and soft, almost. ”do you see what I mean?”

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„Amelia then“, Valerius replied, even though he didn’t entirely like calling her by her first name. It created a certain familiarity between them that he wasn’t sure he wanted, but refusing to call her ‚Amelia‘ would give her the wrong impression. „Tell me, Amelia, if I told you to ask the cards for me now, what would you do? If I wanted to know who I would be ten years from now, would you just draw a random card? I want to understand your trade. I want it to make sense to me. It doesn’t, not right now.“ It seemed to him as if she treated the cards like living, breathing beings. That was of course ridiculous. Cards were inanimate objects made of paper, they didn’t have any feelings, and they definitely couldn’t think for themselves. Whatever power they might have came from the fortune teller that was using them, and if the fortune teller was ignorant, the cards were useless as well. While Valerius couldn’t deny that he was intrigued, it was all a little unpredictable and confusing. „The most likely path?“ he asked. „What do you mean? Are there other paths for me?“ He wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to be anything but Rhysol’s chosen. If Rhysol marked him, his grandfather would be proud, his aunt finally wouldn’t look down on him anymore, and everybody would admire him. It was the easiest path, and yet he couldn’t help but ask her, because nobody had ever talked about such things to him. „What other options are there besides following the rules of your society and allowing your betters to shape you?“ „You speak of the truth, Amelia, but what is the truth? Have you seen the truth? How did he realize it?“ She had said that people in this city were blind to the truth, but what did she mean with that? Was she not as faithful to Rhysol as she seemed to be? Some of the things she said could amost be called heretical, and yet, for some reason he coudln’t quite figure out, he was reluctant to tell her that, to get mad at her, but decided to let her go on instead. „Is what I am doing a sin then?“ he asked. He had a hard time grasping those concepts. He had been doing exactly that all his life. He had done what he thought his family and his god would like and dismissed his own thoughts and feelings as irrelevant- because they were. As far as he had been concerned that had been the only option, the least unpleasant one. „Could I be different, greater if I turned from my current path?“

[Amelia Cross]

She never really thought of how dropping the formalities, created a sense of familiarity, to her it was never about this, it was about stopping the ‘Cross’ pattern. She just didn’t like being called ‘Cross’, what might seem bizarre to most, since the above-average life she had here was all thanks to her father, she should be proud of it, but no. The tittle ‘Cross girl’ had worn on her, she was nothing but her father’s shadow, so she tried to get rid of the tittle as soon as she could. Usually giving off the wrong impression to the people she talked with.

Explaining how tarot reading worked completely was not an easy task, it toke her nearly a year to understand the way it worked and how some laws were meant to be bent and how others were rock solid, and trying to break them would only backfire. The fact most everyone had their own approach on the bendable parts, didn’t really make explanations any easier, since she would have to add in those countless ‘but some people’ and so on, and so forth, making it more of a lecture….no, she didn’t want that, now what would be the best way to explain it? ”it does sound weird now that you speak of it like that, but it’s a lot easier and at the same time, a lot harder than you might imagine…after all, it’s a science” ”so much for not confusing” the girl was sure she had confused Valerius already, but if he was already confused, there was little to lose. ”my own teacher, has thought me to let my cards…touch others, I would give you my deck, to hold while they get the sense of your energy, shuffle them…while you ask the question desired…I must however note, that the question must be honest and I should know it, otherwise I cannot put together the story the cards see, and it would generally be a waste of time…” her voice was rather passive at this moment, most would think that the topic was not all that interesting to the woman if they only heard her speak now ”but every reader has their own way of reading, most I have encountered refuse to pass their deck to the person they are reading to, relaying on just the energy they provide with thought….”

His questions followed a clear pattern, this one didn’t catch Amelia off guard, but she still didn’t really want to answer it as clearly as she could have ” There is always a different path possible, there is always a path even if you turn away from the main road…but is it better or worse, is not for me to speak, I told you, I just read…its not my task to judge the decisions of others, or their paths…” she could have been clear, but no…this was not only a lot more fun, but a bit safer aswell.

”I ask that to you, if they really are your betters, and you want to be them, then let them shape you and live in their shadows…live as a copy of their lives that might never gain anything more, most likely less, than they did…but is it really what you want? If you looked at yourself in a mirror, would it be what you want to become? A copy of someone who judges you? Why not shape yourself in your own way?” and while she spoke as someone who would never allow someone to form her in their own way, she was indeed a liar. Amelia might not wish to become a copy of her father, she didn’t let him or her mother form her…but she was still driven only by the force to be acknowledged by them, and the city she loved…

Truth is a strong word, a word a liar like Amelia used much too often ”truth is like art, where one sees beauty others see a mess, where one sees truth, others see lies…the problem with people here is…that nobody wishes to see the truth behind the lies, because dear Valerius, every lie is born from truth…every rumor has a seed of truth that makes it real, and even more painful” this woman had a hard time to be straight forward, especially when it came to topics upon what she could keep on speaking and speaking, about nothing ”people here live in facades, masks and lies…and think it to be normal, tell me, is it?”

The interest Valerius showed in his future, in greatness and power, it was not a surprise…but it was a bit frightening. Yet, Amelia refrained from leaving her role of an observer and just answered ”yes, if you turn away, and chose your own path…you have power and greatness in front of you, a life you could not imagine in your wildest dreams…but will you do it, or will you stay with the pattern people show upon you? To become their shadow?”

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„A science“, Valerius repeated. „What I do at the Kelvic Research Institution is a science, but how can something as unpredictable as fortune telling be a science? Does it have rules? Can the results be repeated?“ He paused for a moment, thinking about what he was going to say next. He had hardly shown any emotion when they had met, but he seemed almost human now. Valerius Nitrozian, it seemed could feel anger and frustration and curiosity – and be almost obsessed with certain things, such as what fate had in store for him. „Let me touch your cards then“, he asked her. There was a sense of urgengy to his voice. „I promise that my question will be an honest one. I will be as honest as I can be, everything considered. You said that you just read, that you do not judge, but I need a little more clarity. I promise you, Miss …“ He shook his head and corrected himself. „… Amelia, no matter what you say, I will remain calm. There will not be any consequences for you.“ In most cases Valerius didn’t want to be judged. He didn’t care about the judgement of others anyway as he was above them, but this one time he wanted her to be clear, no matter what. He wanted to become more, he wanted to become somebody that people would remember, but he didn’t want to stray from his current path if he didn’t know where it was leading. Valerius Nitrozian was afraid of being different, but even more he was afraid of the unknown. „I do not want to live in anybody’s shadow“, he insisted, and his face darkened for a moment. He had always wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, to serve Rhysol and study Kelvic like his aunt, but the way Amelia worded it it sounded strangely unappealing. But if it was wrong to model himself after his grandfather, what kind of man should be become then? And what if that man turned out to be somebody that his family wouldn’t like? „I want to become more, better.“ She had said that he would have power and greatness if he chose his own path, a life that he couldn’t imagine in his wildest dreams. He wanted that! She had told him that he needed a fresh perspective. Did it really not matter where he want? Why couldn’t she give him a definite answer? Were all fortune tellers like that? Should he threaten her, bribe her so that she would give him a better answer? Or try to remain calm, out of fear that she had found out a few things about him that he wasn’t proud of? In the end he just sat a little straighter and looked at her intently, almost pleadingly. He wanted to know.

[Amelia Cross]

”if you claim that all science should be predictable, you automatically claim that your research is useless, since you predict the outcomes, no?” she didn’t think before asking this, it was probably the only line within the whole conversation they had, that she didn’t think over before letting escape her lips. ”It has rules, it has layouts, patterns we follow to see…and with the use of these rule we can repeat the outcome…of course, to each individual the reading will differ in its content , I can tell you what awaits you in the nearest ten years, what would be the way you meet the woman of your dreams and what your children might be like…I can tell the same things to someone else, but the reading itself is a little different depending on who I read to” Amelia just couldn’t help but want to look for a way she could explain this to Valerius, a way he could relate and gasp it ”think of it as poison, different organisms react to it differently…” finding fun and loving examples just wasn’t her thing.

Amelia had to admit, when she came to meet the man today, she had no idea that she would be talking of fortunetelling and explaining it to him. But what surprised her even more, was that Valerius began showing emotion, with every little thing Amelia said, he seemed to react more and more human…it was pleasant to see, but she somehow was worried, what if his reactions got too sharp? She didn’t feel like dealing with a man who might not fully control his actions. And as much as she could feel sympathy to the way he desired to know those little things about his life, she was still unsure, weather it was the best thing to do…then again, she was the one who offered it, she could have just stayed silent.

Living in a shadow of someone you wished to impress or be like, it was one of those things Amelia believed everyone feared, and therefor she understood him, maybe better than anyone else. And every little bit of doubt Amelia had of reading the more detailed part of his fortune, was shattered with the way that he looked at her. No, it was not that look that would make a woman melt, she looked at this man and doubted he could do that if he tried…but he looked at her, and she saw a child, and as much as Amelia liked to lie about it, she had a soft spot for children. ”very well then, if you can promise me that I will not serve consequences for your lucky or unlucky fortune” she replied, trying to sound distanced.

Reaching into her velvet bag, she toke out her deck of tarot and placed them on the table, it was clearly old and the illustrations on a few cards had partly worn off by now, just like the back-pattern of the cards. Yet, they were still sturdy, she was sure they would survive no less than a few more years if cared for. Gently she pushed the deck over towards the center of the table and looked up at Valerius ”shuffle, let them meet your energy” she stated simply while taking yet another sip of her tea, that had been getting cooler by the chime. But she looked at his hands carefully, a deck of tarot held more cards than a playing deck and the cards on their own were bigger, it was always a bit amusing to see people struggle with them.”when you are done, let me hear your question and pass the cards to me”

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„Science needs to be predictable to some extent, but that doesn’t mean that it’s useless. New discoveries can still be made. It is obvious that you’ve never dealt with any science besides fortune telling.“ Here Valerius sounded slightly mocking. She claimed that what she was doing was science, she was going to such great efforts to convince him, but was it really? And why was she comparing her trade to poison now? Did she want to deter him? Not tell him what fate, what the gods had in store for him? He wanted to know, and if what she did was poisonous, then so be it! The mention of the woman of his dreams and his potential children made him frown very lightly. He desired neither wife nor children, although he would likely have to get married at one point as it was expected of him. That woman he would marry, it wouldn’t be a dream, but an unpleasant, unwelcome duty. He didn’t tell Amelia that tough. It was none of her business. She would either stare at him or tell him that he needed a change of perspective again. “There won’t be any consequences, Amelia, I already told you that. Whatever other flaws I may have, I don’t break my promises. Give me the cards … please.“ He carefully took the cards, almost as if he were worried they would bite and began to shuffle them. She had talked about letting them meet his energy. What kind of energy did he have? Did she mean djed? How could mere cards be able to feel his energy? It didn’t make any sense! „I have two questions, Amelia“, he admitted. „One just will not do, I’m afraid. I want to know what my life will be like in a year if I stay on my current path and what it will be like if I leave it.“ He passed the cards to her and looked at her. „Please tell me what you see.“

[Amelia Cross]

The feeling of being mocked, it was not a feeling anyone would enjoy, but Amelia didn’t let it bother her, why? Because even though he might mock her behavior, thoughts on the trade and everything she found to be so dear and precious, even if he claimed to not believe it…at the end, he was still desperate to have Amelia read him his fortune. So all in all, the Cross felt superior to the spoiled child that was Valerius. ”if you say so..”

From the corner of her eye, Amelia could see the small frown on his face, once again it came up on the mention of women and now, children. She attempted to put together the picture, the reason of why a man as young could feel like this when a woman is mentioned. Her own guess was that his hearth might have been once broken, maybe there was a woman who had left a notable influence on his life? Maker forbid, he might even have children. ”would that explain his initial lack of emotion? A broken hearth?” she had built almost a story in her head, of how that could have evolved. Too bad she had little to no actual understanding what his reasons were.

Once the cards had been picked up, she followed his movement. The girl loved to observe, and she believed that it was easiest done by the way someone handles new things, challenges even? Well, it looked like it did come off as a challenge to the man, and not because he wouldn’t be able to handle the cards, he was actually quite good at it compared to some lesser skilled examples she had met in the recent times. What really made up the challenge, was that from where she sat, it still looked like he didn’t believe in the cards and was worried…then again, she wasn’t half as good in reading people as she was in reading cards.

His question was reasonable, even the fact he wished for two to be answered. She could do that, but since the cards had lesser feeling of this man, she was worried that her own thoughts and predictions might wear off on a reading that should show alternative paths. ”too late to turn back” she reassured herself as she began laying out the cards.

Valerius’s first question was clearly easier to answer, as that was his mind-set, so she began with that. She put down four cards, all face up as she had little to no interest in playing the mesmerizing fortune teller this time, she just wanted to get things done. The first card, was the representation of Rhysol himself, but just like many gods, it was the illustration of his domain, chaos, nothing but a darkly colored mess. Chaos was the only way Amelia saw this good, neither good nor evil, just chaos that fed on chaos. The card next to it, much more confusing, as it was the card of the eight swords, a young woman tied up, between eight sharp blades. ”Rhysol, our father, you will have gained his approval, his attention…but…at the same time you will have lost something, your free will. You will be tortured by self-doubt, lack of discipline and weakness among other things… yet, that is all emotion wise, you will have gained power…but...it won’t ease your mind,” for some reason, wording things to Valerius seemed harder than to most other of her clients, but she tried. ”you see, not everything is taken care of from the moment that you are noticed by a god, some things, only get harder and that is a thing you must understand”

Keeping the next two cards in mind, she looked over to see the card that so clearly identified that his career would have grown, at this point, she started to wonder, maybe the pal lied? Maybe she had seen it wrong and he might be better off here, not going to other cities? ”career, your job will most likely be coming close to what you wished for, but the thing is…you are in a shadow, a tall and skilled shadow of someone who does not believe in you, that your hearth is not guided by the right things…”

The last card, it was an amusing thing to see, forced love, maybe even one-sided…this was something that she couldn’t link together. If the mark of Rhysol made sense, the evolution of his skills and climbing the ladder of society was all understandable…how does this work with one sided love? ”love…it doesn’t really say directly, but by that time, you will have a lover…might even be a marriage consideration, but…” she explained before turning away from the cards to look at him ”I think the cards might have played a trick, they say that this is a forced-upon love, relationship…maybe this is just my impression of you Valerius, but you don’t seem to be the kind of man who would let someone be forced upon them”

”tell me, what exactly you wish to be a bit more fleshed out, on this path, and I will answer, as this takes a few layers to be detailed”