Chapter Text
There was an excited buzz in the air in the small town of Amherst as people walked around the annual apple harvest festival trying to figure out where to go first while the children ran towards the infamous maze. The town was decorated with bright reds, dull browns, and dim oranges to match the leaves.
Jane led the group from booth to booth as they all took in the different attractions. The line for the apple cider booth was already long, filled with women in gorgeous plaid gowns and men in boring suits. Emily and Sue followed behind the group as merchants constantly tried to get people's attention. Autumn was not Emily's favorite time of year by any means but it was hard to deny the beauty of their surroundings.
She had forgotten her scarf in her rush to see Sue as soon as possible and as the sun slowly cascaded the sky, the cold slowly snuck up on her. "Look!" Lavinia pointed in front of them, "A psychic!". She watched as Lavinia practically dragged Abby and Abiah towards the booth. Jane and Toshiaki strut quickly to catch up to them. Emily and Sue lagged behind continuing their slow pace, their hands casually brushed as they talked about whatever came to mind.
By the time that they made it to the booth, Lavinia was already asking the poor old lady about her future husband. The lady shuffled her tarot deck, her eyes a piercing blue as if she could see into her client's soul. "Alright, Miss. How old are you?" The lady spread the cards out on the table.
"15!" Lavinia bubbled with excitement. Emily rolled her eyes with a slight smile as she watched her sister's eyes fill with wonder.
The psychic's eyes momentarily met the poet's. The cold sent shivers down her spine as the psychic studied her. Sue unwrapped the scarf from her own neck and pulled it around Emily's, "Here."
"Won't you be cold?" Emily asked, the blood rushed to her cheeks. Sue shook her head and turned her attention back to the psychic.
"If you're getting your cards read all you have to do is pick three," the psychic explained. "The first will represent you. The second will represent your future or current partner. And the third will represent your future together."
"Oh my god!" Lavinia grinned ear to ear. "Wait," the blonde's face fell as she realized the brevity of the cards she got. "What if I choose the wrong card?"
"There is no such thing," the lady reassured everyone, "you will choose the cards that were meant for you. Any other questions?"
"Do you only do love readings?" Emily asked. She had no interest in such things. No desire to marry a man. She wanted to know more about her future as a poet.
"Yes," the lady responded plainly. Emily sighed. Sue giggled, making the poet's ears turn red.
"Come on, Emily," Lavinia pleaded with her, "It'll be fun."
"Alright, Vinnie." She didn't want to ruin her sister's fun.
"Each reading will be one-on-one," the psychic clarified, "As only you are entitled to know your fate." Which was ridiculous Emily thought, knowing this group of people they'd just tell each other.
With that the group moved to some of the seats in front of the town band, switching off as whoever's turn it was to be read. As the rest of the group gossiped, Emily and Sue shared hushed conversations about everything and nothing all at once, completely oblivious to the rest of the world.
Lavinia went first, of course. She came out with a new sparkle in her eye and a whole list of men she thought could be her future husband. Second was Jane, who was less than thrilled with her picks. Abigail followed after that and returned worried about her future husband and so on until all those that were left to go were Emily and Sue.
"Sue," Austin said, walking over with George, "Are you enjoying the festival?"
Emily glared at her brother. "She was until you got here."
Sue laughed, "Yes, I am. How about you guys?"
"It's just you two now," Abiah said, coming back from her reading.
Emily glanced at Sue, who smiled back at her, "Do you want to go first?"
"Why don't you go first, Em?" Austin suggested, rather unpleased, "Sue and I are in the middle of a conversation." Emily scoffed. Sue shouldn't have to deal with her nuisance of a brother.
The two girls exchanged a look and Sue shrugged. Even if Sue did go first, Austin wouldn't leave her alone. "Whatever," Emily said to Austin before walking towards the booth.
"Welcome, miss," the psychic greeted her.
"Hi," Emily's voice wavered. Emily couldn't deny that this lady was intimidating as the nerves found its way to her voice.
"Alright," the lady fanned the deck across the table, "Please pick three cards."
The poet didn't understand why her hands shook the way they did. She carefully picked up the first card that caught her eye and handed it to the psychic.
"The High Priestess." The image was of a royal woman sitting on a throne with a book in hand. "Hmm, okay." The witch stared at the card a bit longer, as if it were speaking to her. "You aren't allowing yourself to truly see. Something is holding you back from being with the one you are meant to be with." The lady picked up the card, handing it to Emily to hold. The woman pointed at the picture. The royal woman's entire attention was on her book, "There is this disconnect between you and your intuition. You're too caught up in another world. You have to open yourself up to the possibilities of what's right in front of you."
The lady flipped over the next card. "The Star." The lady smiled to herself, "Your potential partner is hopeful for your relationship. There's something unexpected about this card, perhaps someone different than your usual type." It was at this moment Emily decided that this was bullshit. Emily didn't have a type. Emily never had a crush before. "You may already know them or are just about to meet them. They hold you in the highest esteem and see your relationship as special."
Emily loved strange things more than anyone else in Amherst but what this lady was talking about just seemed like complete nonsense.
"Judgement." The lady hummed to herself. "There will be a situation in the near future that will change this relationship. With every situation there must be a decision. IT will either make or break your relationship with this person so be cautious. But in the end the decision is up to you." The strange woman stared at the cards and muttered to herself as Emily watched fearfully. "Please send in the last of your group."
It took a moment for Emily to process all of this in such a short time, she couldn't decide if she believed it or not. "O-okay, thank you," Emily said, politely getting up from the chair and bowed awkwardly. She made her way back to her group of friends slowly, struggling to wrap her mind around her future.
Her thoughts came into focus when she saw Austin touching Sue's cheek. She marched over to her best friend and said, "She's waiting for you," as calmly as she could. Sue nodded and got up. Emily sat next to Austin, crossing her arms.
Only when she was certain her best friend couldn't hear or see them anymore, she turned to Austin swiftly and swatted his arm. "Stay away from my best friend!"
"Ow!" Her brother whined, soothing his arm, "She had an eyelash on her cheek."
"I know what you're doing and it won't work," she huffed, "Sue's too smart to fall for your tricks."
Austin rolled his eyes and left. George hesitated before following him making sure to wave at Emily as he did. The poet tried not to roll her eyes. "Em! What did the psychic say?"
The entire group's attention fell on her and she was reminded why she hated hanging out with this group of gossips. "Someone likes me, I guess?" She had failed to figure out all the psychic's riddles.
They all squealed and the speculation began. "I bet it's George."
"Ew." Emily cringed.
"He's had a major crush on you since we were kids," Jane said, snobbishly, "Anyone with eyes could see it."
"Totally," Abby agreed as she always did.
"I don't know, maybe it could be Frazer?" Abiah questioned.
"It has to be George," Toshiaki insisted, "He's obsessed with her."
Their voices fell away as the guessing game continued. Emily's attention wandered far off in the distance trying to catch a glance of her best friend. Her mind was already wondering what Sue could have possibly pulled. And she prayed that Sue's soulmate wasn't Austin. She selfishly hoped that Sue didn't have one.