Chereads / The Death Collector / Chapter 12 - Chapter 11: Madame Isadora (Part 1)

Chapter 12 - Chapter 11: Madame Isadora (Part 1)

Madame Isadora Blackwood

Inside of the tent the world was unknown of the outside. 

Those inside were enveloped in a world of faded grandeur and eerie silence. The interior of the tent was dimly lit by flickering candlelight, casting long shadows that danced along the walls like specters in the night. The air was heavy with the scent of ancient incense, its acrid aroma clinging to the fabric like a shroud.

Threadbare rugs lay scattered across the floor, their once-rich patterns faded and worn with age. Cushions and pillows lay discarded in darkened corners, their once-plush surfaces now flattened and faded with time.

A man walking forward kicked one of the cushions hindering in his path forward. However, the harsh action towards a harmless bundle of cotton could also be the result of the annoyance now bubbling within the deep confines of his otherwise tamed attitude towards this one woman's arbitrary decisions at time, if not most of the time. 

In the center of the tent, a low table stood draped in moth-eaten cloth, its surface littered with tarnished trinkets and faded relics of a bygone era. Crystals lay scattered haphazardly, their surfaces dull and lifeless, while the worn edges of tarot cards peered out from beneath layers of dust and neglect.

At the far end of the tent, the gypsy sat hunched over her table, her figure shrouded in shadow as she peered into the depths of her ancient crystal ball. Her eyes gleamed with an otherworldly wisdom, casting an eerie glow that seemed to pierce the darkness around her.

"Isadora Blackwood, I am talking to you!" the apprentice loudly exclaimed as a way of getting some of his frustration out towards her; fully thinking she was lost in another one of her oracle mysteries and wouldn't hear his insolence.

Her crystal like blue vibrant eyes a stark feature against her withering with age and time skin, opened as she threw a knowing glare at him causing him to stand straight in his path and look around embarrassingly.

"I can listening very clearly, Silas. Do you forget with these same ears I can even hear what others can." The gypsy's voice echoed through the ungracefully aged space, soft yet haunting in its intensity.

"I apologize Madame, I just wanted to divert your attention to the fact that although we-" he halted midsentence, correcting himself before he further annoy her, "-You have dealings with the beings beyond; they don't provide us with much other than knowledge and wisdom which seldom pays us worth nothing more than a penny of two by those stingy wisdom seekers." He threw a look of disappointment in the direction of the entrance of their tent where he could hear the chatter of the ones waiting for them outside.

 "To fill our bellies and preferably put some decent clothes on our backs we must work with the beings that dwell on this plane. This is the last day of the fair, tomorrow we pack up and leave and who knows when you will decide to stop and make another camp for dwellers attraction and start earning. We still have time to make some more money, I suggest we make a good use of it."

 "I see your point my money grubbing apprentice; however my decisions are not my own alone." Isadora replied going back to focusing into the unknown with her eyes closed.

Silas sighed rolling his eyes as she closed hers, but as soon as her eye twitched even a bit, he schooled his expressions again. 

"Yesterday was such a good day after a long time, we made quite a few benefits, I thought if today would be the same as yesterday we would be able to get out of this dingy old teepee of a tent and perhaps get ourselves one of those fancy marquee style yurts." he grumbled under his breath.

Much to his disappointment, the entire day today, Isadora has been lost either to her mind or the crustal globe in front of her. It was as if she had been expecting something all morning but still confused as to what. 

It has managed to keep her on the edge and that resulted in Silas getting reprimanded more than usual today; that too on a serious note rather than just as a tease which she often did for fun. 

Silas escaped in his own happy place of mind as he daydreamed about his marquee that brought a smile on his face and began making his way towards the entrance to send away his Madame's pursuers

Just as he made his way, a loud gasp coming from the direction of Isadora made him halt in his advance and quickly turn back.