Despite the bumping and jostling that Flora experienced in the carriage, she fell asleep after about an hour after they left the capitol. A hand gently shook her awake. "We are breakin' fer lunch yer highness."
Flora's eyes sluggishly opened, squinting at the light flooding in from the open door. She blinked a few times and made her way out of the car after Amelia. Her feet crunched on loose gravel as she stepped onto the ground. The entire party had already dismounted from their rides and were watering the horses. Amelia fell in step behind behind Flora as she made her way to where a few of the men were sitting and starting to dig into their lunch. One of the guards shyly handed both Flora and Amelia a plate with some bread and an apple.
Plate in hand, Flora spun around, looking for a place to sit that wasn't so... dirty. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw one of the guards smirking at her. Well, if that's how it was going to be, she would find a tiny dry tuft of dead grass for her and Amelia to sit upon. Luckily, her skirts were thick enough that they cushioned her from the hard ground and rocks.
Amelia had already begun to much on lunch as Flora examined the plate. The piece of bread barely even looked like that. Who would voluntarily eat something like that? She casually glanced at Amelia, seemingly unfazed with the state of the food. Maybe it wasn't so bad then. Flora brought the bread up to her face, taking a hesitant bite of the bread. Flora twisted her head away from the group as she struggled to keep herself from gagging. Whatever she had just eaten was more similar to paper than bread. The taste of dust lingered in her mouth as she put the plate back down cautiously.
"Not up to your standards princess?" Flora turned to see a snide look plastered on the prince's face. Even though he was a good ten feet away he must have seen her reaction to the food, how embarrassing. "It must be difficult, seeing how the rest of us live." This comment garnered a few snickers from some nearby guards.
With her cheeks heating more with the laughter at her expense, she snipped, "I'm quite all right your highness." She looked back down at the food, dreading that she would need to eat it after showing some bravado. "But, I find it amusing to see a royal acting like they are some kind of hero among commoners." Flora turned away from the prince and shoved a piece of the bread to the back of her throat, desperately trying to miss her tastebuds. Amelia passed a canteen of water over to Flora as she choked down the bread silently. Thankfully, the apple was fine, it being fresh produce and all. One would find it hard to go wrong with that. At least there was time for a reprieve from all of that bouncing in the car.
After about an hour, Flora entered the carriage as the men packed up and prepared to get back on the road. She was still fuming as Amelia took her place beside her and the scholar across from her. Feeling that her face was obviously scrunched up in displeasure, Flora tried to relax it. There wasn't going to be another time that she showed weakness to Prince Andrei. She would rather eat that nasty food for the rest of her life.
There was a jolt as the carriage moved forward, signaling a start to the next half of the day. Sighing, Flora stared out of the window, picturing her favorite novel playing out in her head. The scenery of the Pranian countryside blurred into a picturesque dream sequence staring a handsome prince rallying to steal the princess away from the evil king. If she unfocused her eyes, she could see the dashing young man galloping beside the carriage on a beautiful white stallion, his silky hair flowing in the wind. Off in the distance she spotted the villain's lair, just mere lengths from his location. If only he could...
Flora was startled out of her fantasy by a tap on the shoulder. Disgruntled, she faced Amelia giving her a 'what?' look. Amelia timidly nodded towards the scholar who was expectantly looking at Flora. Amelia whispered, "he's called yer name three times yer highness." The last bits of Flora's fantasy dissolved from her mind as she nodded to the scholar, encouraging him to speak.
Lord Garin rubbed at his arm, a little nervous now that he had gotten the princess's attention. He cleared his throat before speaking in a deep timber, "This may seem a little odd." Again the man coughed awkwardly. "I've been meaning to ask, may I see your hand?"
Flora snatched her hands together in a blink, shocked by the brazen comment. Amelia was just as surprised as her, her mouth agape. Flora pressed her gloved hands into her lap, scrutinizing the large man. Surely he wasn't looking to do anything inappropriate. In that moment, Flora realized just how alone Amelia and she were as the only females in the group. Straightening her back, she asked, "why would you need to touch me Lord Garin."
Sheepishly, the lord rubbed the back of his neck, a blush growing on his face. "I mean no harm your highness, it is just..." He avoided her gaze as he continued, "I have noticed this aura coming off of you, and as a scholar of magic, I would like to take a closer look." It was Flora's turn to blush this time. Seeing her discomfort, Garin waved his hands in front of himself. "No, no, no, your highness. It is nothing like that. I need only make contact with your palm." Flora considered her options, figuring out how to best turn him down. The scholar met her eyes for the first time. They were blazing with the look of hunger that only someone who had spent their whole life learning could have. "Your highness, when I first met you, I noticed that your energy is not of the natural sort." Flora's ears perked up at the comment. Seeing Flora taking an interest, Lord Garin went on, "normally, I would not be able to sense any energy coming from someone, but I can see something emanating off of you, indicating that you hold powerful abilities."
Curiosity overcame Flora as she reached out her hand slowly. "Alright Lord Garin, but I wish to know what you see."
The scholar nodded enthusiastically, but didn't touch her palm. "Your glove your highness." Flora pulled off the glove, not enjoying the cold of the box. Garin eagerly clasped Flora's hand, a muffled sound coming from his mouth. Flora grimaced as their skin connected. The lord's hand was somehow both cold and sweaty, and it felt as if a slab of meat had encompassed her hand. Garin stared at Flora as they were linked, but his focus wasn't ON her as if he was staring at something invisible that only he could see. "Yes... yes... maybe that is it..." He blinked as if he had shifted back into himself. With surprising gentleness, he released Flora's hand, deep in thought.
She jerked her hand back towards her body, trying to not make it obvious she was wiping it on her dress. Shakily, she pulled her glove back on and stared at Lord Garin. "So what did you see?"
Lord Garin smiled in a way that wasn't quite creepy but definitely a bit weird. "It was as I thought your highness." He nodded to himself, agreeing with his own discovery. "Are you aware of the fundamentals of magic?"
"You mean the three basic types?"
"Yes, yes, there are the three basic types. Those who channel their magic, those who create magic innately from within themselves, and those who have spiritual connections." Flora nodded, not sure where he was going with this. "Now, a handful of people have what we scholars call the 'sight', where we can see the nature of one's aura. Now, this does not necessarily mean that it manifests itself through actually 'seeing' the energy, but I digress." Flora was barely able to keep up with his train of thought as he continued, "so, I am one of those individuals that has this sight. Depending on the person who has magical abilities, the energy coming off of them ranges in intensity."
Flora interjected, "what exactly does that mean?"
The scholar nodded again. "Yes, yes, so depending on the depth of one's abilities, the energy they emits changes. For example, if one has a strong propensity for magical energy, their aura is stronger, bolder as some might say." Again Garin rushed past his comments onto his next thought, "now, some might have problems touching those with higher energy, but personally I do not see where their trouble stems from. It is not like it will burn their eyes or anything. You would think that they were looking at the sun."
"So... what does mine look like?" Flora was desperately trying to pull his attention back to answering her questions.
Lord Garin stroked his beard, pulling his attention back to her. "Yes, yes. Now, your energy is quite different than what I've seen before. I am assuming that your abilities lie within the spiritual category... well not assuming, I am close to 100% sure that they are spiritual in nature." Flora nodded her head in response. "So you believe that as well. Now, when I see those who are spiritual mages, their aura is normally greyish or whitish in hue. Depending on their specialties, the energy surrounding them is clouded. Even after seeing a few other spiritual magic users, it is still a strange feeling. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that I have that much experience in them. They are few and far between, and you can never really tell what is behind their power." Again Lord Garin snapped back into himself, struggling to stay on track. "So, the energy surrounding you is quite unique. How should I phrase this... it was almost as if it was clear?" He studied the air around Flora as if he could still see something. "Yes, yes, clear as almost if there is just light coming from you. It is quite bizarre. You must have a strong connection with something." He scratched his beard, again lost in thought muttering to himself, "maybe spirits? Maybe not. Deities? Maybe... Maybe even 'the beyond' if the energy is that strong..."
Flora jumped up in the chair, his last sentence striking something in her. "Lord Garin, what would it look like if I, for example, was connecting with the beyond?"
"Well, I would not have a good answer to give you. I believe anyone who would have such an ability would experience the sensation differently." He tapped the window frame, stewing over the possibilities. "I would gamble that it would be hard for a human to grasp anything that they saw in 'the beyond'. The stronger the connection, I feel, the clearer the sense."
The world felt like it stopped for a moment as Flora pondered his words. She had been able to see SOMETHING, but it was always so murky. Maybe she was connecting with something, but the bond was too weak to make anything out. Flora considered carefully before asking tentatively, "so, let's say someone could connect with 'the beyond,' what would they be able to do?" Flora paused and Garin stayed silent, waiting for her to go on. "Do you think that they would be able to..." Should she really say anything to him? Looking at his face, he seemed more interested in the theory of Flora's abilities rather than the actuality of them. "predict the future?"
Lord Garin went very still as he contemplated his answer. "Now, what you are suggesting is quite... rare. Impossible some might even say."
Flora backpedaled, trying to turn the conversation away from her. "I mean, theoretically." She searched her mind for the perfect way out. "Like, if someone had this ability in the world, somewhere."
For once, Lord Garin had little to say. "I suppose, but, no never mind." He shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts. The scholar looked out the window, and muttered to Flora, "well, thank you your highness for indulging an old man for a time." He didn't look back at her as he lost himself even deeper in thought.
Amelia gave Flora a worried glance, anticipating a problem in the future. Flora raised a hand, silently telling her, "I think it will be fine." Was she sure of this? No, but she was quickly realizing that the man who was going to be a hands breadth away from her for almost two weeks could teach her so much, or he could put her in danger. Either way, the scholar wasn't going to learn too much more about her ability. Flora was going to make sure of it.