Chapter 10

"I must tell you something, sister." Anna looks scared and a little sadder than she had yesterday, and I suspect she's found something out about the opium mystery that she doesn't necessarily like.

"Yes?"

"Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go down to the kitchens to see if I could get a glass of warm milk or something of the sort." Why she would want to do that when she used her crutches, I hadn't the faintest idea. I didn't question her about it, wanting to hear her point with greater need.

"I saw Hans… I saw him with a silver box, much like the one you described! He was filling it with something; I couldn't tell what it was by candlelight. I can't believe we ruled him out so quickly! He's still living in this place! How can we know whether the box is Jack's or Hans'?"

Because… addicts have silver or white hair, I thought, but found myself not wanting to admit this to my sister.

"What if it's both of them?" I replied instead, then realized that saying that was not much better.

"I honestly hope it's neither of them. Oh, I prefer my ignorance to this. Ever since you told me, I've been seeing both of them in a stranger and stranger light."

"I'm sorry, Anna. I wish it were all untrue. The sooner this whole extravaganza ends the better. Every time I come to see you, Jack always finds me. I'll start falling in love with him if this goes on much longer."

Anna was silent for a moment. When I looked up, I saw that she looked positively shocked. The shock turned into a sly grin. "Why, Elsa! I never took you as one who fell in love or did childish things like that."

For a moment I was confused, then I realized she was teasing me because of the things I said during our fight. Smothering a grin I replied, "You've found me out, sister. I am just as susceptible to love as you are, it seems."

We both laughed together, and for a moment, it seemed as if our lives were content and our troubles were no more. How I wished for times like these to last an eternity.

Hans stepped into the parlor and we stopped, Anna still trying to smother giggles with her hand.

"Find something amusing, ladies?" he said as he stepped in, that usual slippery smile on his face. My insides knotted.

"What? This doesn't have to become someone's funeral when I walk in," he said it teasingly, hoping for a laugh, but despite Anna giving him one, I didn't.

"Oh, Hans, we were just speaking of womanly things you wouldn't want to hear about," I said, giving him a look that obviously meant I wanted him to leave. Not many stood up to that look. Almost unsurprisingly, Hans did.

"I don't mind that, Ms. Arendelle. Though I have 13 older brothers, I am not completely ignorant to the inner workings of a woman."

Silence.

"If you want to talk to Jack, he was about to go into town. You can still catch him outside the stables, I think."

Flame licked up my throat and I wanted to spit at him, tell him to stay away from Anna and take his dealings away from this place, but I couldn't. All I could do was glare at him as I walked out the door.

Jack was already next to his horse, adjusting the bridle and tightening the straps, when I found him. In my haze of anger, I grabbed his shoulder, turned his face toward mine, and hissed, "I'm coming with you," before striding off to collect my horse.

When I came back out, I half-expected him not to be there anymore. By then, I had calmed down some, and realized that my behavior had been utterly rude and rather incriminating. When I found that he was still standing there with his horse, I blushed in embarrassment.

"I apologize for the… outburst you just witnessed. I was just so angry and completely finished with all the niceties that I— I couldn't." I looked down as I said this, curling Nessa's reigns in my fingers and uncurling them.

To my surprise, Jack chuckled a bit, then laughed aloud. "I'm so sorry. It's just—" More laughing ensued, and I couldn't help the amused grin forming upon my face. "I've never seen you so angry. I insist that it was as amusing as it was frightening. I would never want your anger to be directed towards me."

I let out a small chuckle, then said, "You are wise for hoping it never occurs, Jackson Overland."

We looked at each other, smiling, and I wondered if he had thought about what happened the day before as much as I had. Would we ever speak of it? Would it ever happen again? I secretly, sincerely, deep inside, hoped it would. I felt like doing it again just now.

"Um, I was about to go into town. I mean, I'm guessing you already knew that based on your words from before… Anyway, I was just going to return some books to Dr. Rafferty. I don't know if you really want to come." The blush is palpable on his cheeks, and that warm feeling from yesterday is returning, and I never want it to leave.

"I'm willing. We can do other things besides return books." I wanted to live forever in his depthless blue eyes.

"Then we shall sing and dance and do whatever you wish to do," he replied with a big smile, grabbing my suddenly by the waist and lifting me onto my horse while I cried out in surprise and flailed in his arms.

We were off to the town.

Dr. Rafferty, upon seeing me again, was pleasant but acting a little strange. Perhaps it was because of what I asked of him earlier and who I was with at the moment. Did he know what addict's characteristics were like? I wondered, then was distracted by Jack once again as we left.

We walked along the street, having paid someone to watch our horses, and came across a violinist playing music for a waltz. Jack turned and bowed exaggeratedly, drawing a smile from my lips, and I curtsied in return, taking his hand and letting him lead me in dance.

Though we were in a much different setting, it reminded me of when we first met, that night at the party. I had thought him frivolous and flashy and a bit loud for my tastes, but at that moment he was so much more. He was someone who saw the things that made people different, someone who fought for what he believed in, someone who cared and felt so strongly.

"Remember when we first danced like this? At the housewarming party?" His breath tickled my ear, and I felt shivers course through my body.

"Yes," I replied, speaking into the soft shell of his neck and jaw. I was suddenly reminded of how I'd drawn my lips across that very spot, and turned my face away, flushing.

"I didn't think you liked me very much, honestly."

"I thought you were a shallow person in search for a bit of flippant entertainment." He drew back from me and gave me a look of shock and mock displeasure. I grinned and shrugged. "I thought you might want honesty."

He rolled his eyes and grinned back at me. "No, I appreciate it, really. Do you still think I'm a shallow nutter?"

"Do you think I do?"

"Well, I suppose you don't anymore. Usually people stay away from those types."

The song swelled, and he twirled me around. When it ended, we parted, and he bowed exaggeratedly while I curtsied. Jack bowed at the violinist and put a few coppers in the cup beside him, and we carried on along the street.

We must look like a couple courting, I thought to myself, and smiled at the notion.

"What are you all happy at?" Jack said, and I regretted thinking anything at all, because now I was reminded of how this all would end very quickly.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said, quite solemnly, and knew Jack would get all concerned, so I looked up and around for anything to change the subject to.

Before he could speak, I forced a smile and said, "Look! Over there, a psychic! They must be new; I've never seen them before. Wouldn't you like to go and get your future told?" The prospect of it excited me, and now it was easier to convince Jack I was alright because I felt fairly alright at the moment.

"Okay, we'll go then," Jack replied, a little hesitant. He was probably wondering why I was so happy, then sad, then happy again. My plan was to not acknowledge it until he forgot it ever happened.

Inside the psychic's shop, there was first a series of tables with strange wares such as crystals, bunches of herbs wrapped together, candles, and items that looked suspiciously like human bones. Something was burning and giving off a distinctive perfume that I had never smelled before and filling the entire place.

"Incense," Jack whispered to me, and I grabbed his arm as he walked forward and led me past the tables to a door that a woman was seated next to. She was old, but in a way someone could only describe as graceful, and all she did was pull a tasseled cord hanging beside her and smile at us amiably.

A few seconds later, another woman opened the closed door, leading a short, middle-aged man out. The woman looked young, but you could tell she was wearing makeup and I wondered how young she really was. She was dressed almost like a gypsy, and she had too many bangles on her wrists to count.

"Welcome, welcome! My name is Celia, I'm assistant to the psychic. Come in, come!"

Celia leads us down a narrow hallway to a small room with a circular table inside. We sit, but there's no one in the room besides us and Celia. "She'll be here in just a moment."

"What a tragic story," a sudden voice says, and we look to the doorway to see a woman dressed all in black, a third eye painted in the middle of her forehead. She is old, older than the woman outside the door, but just as lovely. I wonder what tragic story she's talking about, then realize she may be talking about Jack and I.

Before either of us can speak, the woman says, "Leave us, Celia, you're not needed." The other woman looks a little disappointed, but says nothing as she leaves the room and closes the door behind her.

"I am Arcadia, and I will be your psychic today. You are a couple, I'm assuming? Doing this for a bit of fun?" Her voice is raspy and enchanting, and I find that I admire her already.

"A couple? Well," I take a glance at Jack and find that he looks as unassuming as I feel. "I… guess you could say that."

Arcadia chuckles, and she looks at the both of us in a way that makes me feel as if she knows everything about us already. "Then let us begin, shall we? What's your names? I like to use first names only, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I'm Jack, and this lovely woman right here is Elsa," Jack says, and I smile at the compliment.

"Hm, I think a tarot reading would suffice for you two. Are there any specific questions you would like to ask?"

I feel a little skeptical and decide to say, "How specific can we get? May I ask… How about what the highlight of my day was yesterday?"

Arcadia grins, and I know she enjoys proving my skepticism wrong. If she can. Jack just looks like he's getting thoroughly entertained by it all. Taking out a deck of cards which I assume are the tarot, Arcadia starts shuffling. When she's finally finished, she takes one card from the top of the deck and lays it out on the table.

The card features two people, each of them holding cups, embracing each other. A shiver runs down my spine as the mood of the room suddenly turns mystical.

"Two of Cups. The highlight of your day, actually both of your days, was interacting with each other. I won't describe the details if you don't want me to." The psychic looks pleased and slightly suggestive. I can feel that my eyes are wide.

"Then carry on with your reading, Arcadia," I say quickly, because I feel too many things are out in the open already. Arcadia smirks.

"Very well. I think we should do a simple three-card spread. Past, present, and future."

She lays out the cards, face down. Three for Jack and I.

The first card is one decorated with a hand holding a large goblet with water overflowing from it. Underneath the image, Ace of Cups is printed in big lettering.

"Not surprising. The Aces always symbolize the start of something, and the Ace of Cups symbolizes the seed of love that is planted in the beginning of things. Did you meet one another at a party?" We nodded in reply.

"I thought so. The overflowing cup tells me of the drink and celebration. Let's see the next card."

The next card is one that makes my cheeks go warm. Two people are holding hands, a rose growing in the ground beneath them, and a deity with wings and a garland on their head is in the air behind them. The caption read: The Lovers.

I hear Arcadia chuckle. "This one should explain itself. In the present, you two are lovers, you balance one another and know each other well. It doesn't require much to explain this card to most people. On to the next card."

The last and final card is one of a cloaked person looking down at the ground, which is littered with five cups. Three of the cups are knocked down and two are standing.

"Hm. This isn't a usual card for people such as you two. This card is the Five of Cups. It usually means sadness, grief, disappointment, and regret, but that's not the feeling I'm getting from it at the moment. I would take it as a warning. If either of you do something you know you're not supposed to, or take your love for granted, the sadness in this card will come to you. Be careful in the future, both of you."

I am suddenly afraid. Did the card predict what will happen when I find out the complete story behind the opium? When I confront Jack about his… addiction?

"Thank you for your time, Arcadia," Jack says quickly, apparently sensing my distress. He pays and we leave, myself silent the entire time.

"You shouldn't listen to that psychic, she was just trying to scare some money out of us," Jack said, his hand on my shoulder. I step away from him.

"Would you be able to drop me off at the library? I just remembered I had wanted to look something up."

Jack's face falls, and I want to touch his cheek and tell him that everything's fine, that everything will be okay. But it's not true, so I don't.

When we get outside of the library, we stop and Jack says, "I'll bring your horse over. You shouldn't have to walk back to her alone."

I nod silently in reply and go to open the door when Jack grasps my arm and pulls me into an embrace, kissing the top of my head. He pulls away and turns without a word, and I am lost, lost in my love for him and the danger that awaits.

A/N: new chapter super soon yayyy! took me forever to write this though ugh. Yeah, I wanted to mix things up a little bit cuz people were always interacting in fancy rich houses or on the moors and I was getting bored so psychic! Tell me if you guys liked it :) To answer OoPoPcAnDy's and 12's questions, no Jack doesn't know Elsa knows he's an addict (though he's suspicious about her behavior) and yes Hans and Jack live together. Hans is a guest of the Overland family, remember? We're gonna get some history in the next chapter, and then maybe Elsa will confront Jack about the drugss o.o