Twenty years previous to the main story.
The small young woman sneaks carefully up the front steps of an old, ivy covered cottage. Her hooded cloak moves gently, unsettled by her movements a mouse jumps out from beneath the falling apart porch and skitters across her feet. She jumps in surprise, a small gasp escaping her perfect red lips. She seems tense as she glances around. her nerves get the better of her and she double checks for any prying eyes hiding in the shadows. Before her courage deserts her, her hand darts out from beneath the folds of her cloak, pausing briefly before knocking on the wooden door.
"Now, now. There is no need to sneak around like that. I know the reasoning behind your visit to me this evening." a voice croaks out from within. The front door slowly opens, as if propelled by some unseen force, to reveal a desolate, murky interior with very little furnishings.
"How can anyone live like this?" the young woman thinks to herself.
"The same reason as no one will notice your visit. No one takes much notice of me these days, unless, of course, they need something."
The young woman walks in wearily, unsure whether or not the being behind the voice had read her thoughts. She shuts the door behind her and begins to speak. "I have come about . . . "
"The future and gender of your babies. Yes, yes, I know." the voice interrupts impatiently.
"B-b-babies?" the young woman struggles to squeak out. "B-b-but the doctor . . . "
"Pah! Doctors!" the voice scoffs, the dismissal of the medical profession clear. "Think they know everything they do. Now come in here where I can see you."
The young woman moves to follow the voices orders, curiosity overwhelming her unease. She walks further into the dimly lit interior, she coughs slightly from the cloying smoke of too many incense sticks lit in too small a space. She passes through a doorway, brushing aside cobwebs as she does so and enters a small sitting room. She is greeted by the sight of a small elderly lady, for there was no other word to describe her but ladylike, sitting majestically in an old rocking chair. She rocks slowly back and forth whilst working on her crochet.
"Two heirs there will be. One of light and one of dark. One to tear the world asunder and the other to bring the pieces back together. The seeker must seek but be aware that all is not as it seems." her voice cries out, the ring of truth echoing through it.
"Is that supposed to be some sort of prophecy?" the young woman scoffs in disdain. "You didn't even answer my question. I came to find out the gender of my unborn child, not listen to superstitious nonsense spouted by some lonely, dementia riddled, old woman! Besides, aren't prophecies meant to rhyme?" The old seer can almost taste the disbelief in the young woman's voice.
A low chuckle rumbles from the chest of the old seer. "Whatever has made the young people today believe prophecies had to rhyme? And girls you will have twin girls. Happy?"
The young woman turns to leave, obviously unhappy with how the meeting with the seer has gone.
"I knew I shouldn't have come here" she thinks to herself as she strides towards the front door. "What a waste of a trip. Two babies? Ha! Obviously the old bat has been by herself for far too long. The scan at the doctors office only showed one heartbeat after all. And girls? Probably just a guess." Still she could not help the small sliver of doubt that crept in caused by the seer's words.
"Be careful of your thoughts my dear, one never knows exactly who is listening in." the seer speaks out. "Besides, this trip was not a waste. You gained knowledge, and knowledge is always a gift, although sometimes an unwanted one."
The young woman stops her hand resting lightly upon the door handle.
"Remember my words."
She turns quickly to confront the old woman, only to find the rocking chair sitting empty, gently moving back and forth as if someone had just gotten up.
A chill makes its way down her spine as she lowers her hood. Her long ebony curls cascade down her back as she loosens them from the tight bun they were once confined in.
"This has really given me a headache" she thinks rubbing her temples in an attempt to ease some of the discomfort. Her young face pale and pinched with pain, she once more glances around the now empty cottage before turning to leave, bringing with her the scent of incense.