"They call it the Fate Stealer. The sister of my cousin's neighbor in Hans Town said she saw it with her own two eyes. Apparently, she takes a soul every time she does it."
"That must be the reason why some of the merchants have been lurking around the towns then. It's best not to go outside when the moon is full."
Gavin glanced behind and couldn't help but ask the waiter who had come to their table once they settled down to have a meal. "This friend, may I ask some questions regarding this Fate Stealer they are speaking about?"
"I can tell you more but," the waiter looked at the group, eyes especially noticing the extravagant clothes of the ladies in the group. "It will be great if the master can..."
Gavin was about to speak when suddenly, Princess Carrie pulled out her purse, giving it directly to the waiter. "I want to order ten drinks for us."
"What are you doing?" Gavin asked the princess in a low voice but she only ignored him.
"This Young Mistress is really generous. I'm going to get the drinks for you then, my lady," the waiter said with a smile.
When the waiter was gone, she turned to Gavin and straightforwardly said, "You don't know the traditions outside the mainland, do you?" Then she shook her head, disappointment written all over her face. "Poor you, really."
Gavin suddenly felt embarrassed as he genuinely lacked experience and knowledge about the world outside. It must be said that even in class lessons, it was forbidden to know things about the life outside the borders. This included how businesses like taverns worked. To add more, Gavin was prohibited to read books about "other creatures" as the family preferred to label them as. Even retrieving the information about the town with a strange disease was just pure luck. It just happened that one of the professors was someone who favored Gavin and so he gave him the book about that town. All of which, of course, the Alpha King wasn't aware of.
The "peculiar book keeper" and knowledgeable Princess Carrie began to mix the drinks and drank one herself, receiving surprised reactions from the three hunters, Keagan, Tamara, and Gavin. "So, what is this Fate Stealer those men mentioned about? I only heard about the Moon Oracle near this town. Aren't they the same?"
Rain continued to pour down outside as the waiter joyfully refilled the cup and handed it to Princess Carrie. "The lady knows a lot. It is indeed the place where the Moon Oracle resides. Some say it is the Moon Goddess herself, some say it's just a spirit living in that tree. Anyway, the Moon Oracle is the one that can say about anyone's fate while the Fate Stealer is the one that steals that fate. By these names, we all know that they are opposite of one another, right? But one day, things became interesting and one person claimed they are just the same."
The group moved closer as they listened carefully to the waiter's story. Princess Carrie drank more of the beverage and gestured for the waiter to continue.
"It happened a few days after a big storm. A farmer's daughter went to the mountain to praise the Moon Oracle, especially with the fact that the houses are not destroyed even after that big storm. It became a tradition for the people living near that mountain. She went there, wanting to pray as usual when all of a sudden, she noticed blue smoke surrounding the roads, the trees, everywhere on that mountain."
"Blue smoke?" One of the hunters, a young man named Asher, asked. "Could it be... a spell?"
"The young sir guessed it right. It is indeed a spell. But it is not just an ordinary spell. Because when that farmer's daughter went home... she found her family members lying on the floor, all dead. Their bodies and faces looked as if life had been sucked out of them. After that, everyone who became acquainted with that woman experienced the same thing. What's interesting is that the known enemy of that woman's family became strangely lucky after that night. The other becomes too fortunate in life and the other suffers continuously. It is why people began calling it the Fate Stealer. Because that creature that spread the blue smoke on the mountain managed to steal the fate, or the future, of a person and instead gave it to another."
"But fate can be good or bad. It can only be a coincidence as far as we know," Tamara, the woman who rarely spoke, commented.
Gavin nodded in agreement. "People in these stories are the only ones who surely know the truth..."
"The young master and young lady spoke logical words. This is what I almost believed at first, too... Until more and more people began to experience the same thing. The thing is, there are others who have intense good luck after climbing that mountain and passing their "bad luck" to their enemies, too. It sprouted rumors that anyone can actually alter one's fate - stealing and giving it to enemies of the climbers," the waiter said then looked around first before he said in a lower voice, "Rumors said this is done by a special creature... Of witches."
Gavin's eyes turned more serious as he couldn't help but glance over Princess Carrie. The moment he did, however, he was shocked to find that the other had her eyes shut, her cheeks red.
"Prin-" Gavin almost called but realized he couldn't simply utter such formalities. Clearing his throat, he paid the waiter and thanked him, especially telling him they would be back tomorrow if the waiter had more stories to tell. As soon as the waiter looked at the bags of money he received, his face lit up like a child.
"Please call me if you need more drinks or food upstairs," the waiter said with a wide grin.
Gavin gave his thanks as he moved to the princess' side and began tapping her shoulder, "Carrie."
Scanning around the tavern, he saw different men looking at them like hawks. "Asher, lead the rest upstairs."
"Your High- My Lord, let me help you carry the princess," Asher suggested, about to carry Princess Carrie when a hand stopped him from doing so.
"It's fine. Tamara, your room will be next to Princess Carrie. Can you assist her change her clothes later?" Gavin asked as they all headed upstairs where the rooms were located.
"Ahhh! Help me! Help me!" Keagan's screaming voice resonated in the hallway suddenly.
Tamara turned to Gavin and with an expressionless face, she said, "I will look into that man child." Then without another word, she turned and left, leaving only Gavin still carrying Princess Carrie in the hallway.