Arthur didn't wake until long after camp had been pitched for the evening, coming to as Henry and Rebecca were enjoying their supper of magically-prepared food. Groaning, he put a hand to the tender spot in the back of his head, sitting up as he scrunched his eyes and nose.

  "What happened?" he asked, blinking as he looked around him. "Oh, my head... What happened?"

  Henry exchanged glances with Rebecca. Remember the story we've come up with.

  "What... do you last remember?" she posited hesitantly.

  Arthur frowned. "I remember singing a jaunty tune. And then something hitting the back of my head before I blacked out." His eyes widened. "Were we attacked?"

  "Not exactly," Henry slowly replied. "You passed a low branch, and it whipped back and smacked your head."

  "I did?" Arthur's expression grew lopsided. "Odd. Usually, my cat-like reflexes would have warned me."

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. "'Cat-like reflexes?'"

  "Well, truth be told, I'll let you both in on a little secret." Arthur winced, still rubbing his head. "Every move has a sound, however small or quiet. I usually pick up on this sound right before it hits me, so I'm honestly flummoxed as to how this got the better of me. I didn't hear a sound at all!"

  Henry did his best to ignore Rebecca giving him a bug-eyed look as the same realization hit him as well; the apple, with Rebecca's hex placed on it, had been completely silenced, and hadn't even generated the customary whistle or whoosh of air as it had hurtled at Arthur's head.

  "It was fast," Henry went on. "Really fast. We didn't even have time to warn you!"

  "Really?" Arthur gave them a strange look, before he sighed and sat back. "Well, I'll take you kids' word for it. Can't be helped, I suppose."

  Henry and Rebecca breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

  "Pass me a scone, will you?" Arthur held out a hand. "Me being injured, and all."

  Rebecca's mood was greatly relaxed compared to her earlier disposition; Henry attributed it to both the wonderful dinner as well as their shared hand in Arthur's incapacitation. As the nighttime sounds of the forest droned on in the background, the trio were engrossed in their conversation, the dim light of the campfire bouncing off their faces as they sat around it and spoke.

  "I'm honestly surprised," Rebecca was saying. "You weren't supposed to be able to find our cottage. Usually, the spell of illusion would have held for a good few weeks, and we had just re-cast the spell."

  "As I told Henry," Arthur shrugged. "The Divine Hand of Providence guided us. Luck was on our side."

  "I don't believe in luck." Rebecca thumbed her nose at him. "Not the sort that landed you perfectly at our doorstep, anyhow."

  "Maybe your spell faltered?" Henry ventured.

  The mage shook her head. "Doubtful. Master Nezwick cast the spell himself, and his work is usually superb. Unless..." She paused. "You're certain you're not mages as well?"

  "Last I checked," Arthur sniffed.

  "Then the spell must have been countered by a powerful charm, something potent enough to dispel even Master Nezwick's work." Rebecca cocked her head. "Are you carrying something like that?"

  Both boys shrugged. "Not that I know of," Henry replied.

  "In either case, it wasn't luck that brought you to us. Everything happens for a reason, just as your arrival was the will of fate, not luck."

  "Is that so?" Arthur smirked. "You're a believer in fate?"

  "Our destinies are predetermined to a certain extent," Rebecca continued, crossing her arms matter-of-factly. "The future is but a number of possibilities made real by our actions in the present and past. Each branch has a percentage of coming to fruition based on the now and the was, and magic allows a glimpse into this future.."

  "That's a bit pedantic," Arthur scoffed. "Let me guess, you're able to read our futures?"

  "No, you oaf," Rebecca snapped. "I can divine your fortunes. The future is a mercurial and fickle thing, always changing and shifting. I can only give you estimations of where your future will flow; I cannot predict any sudden turn or clash you do on your part, and it is in no way concrete."

  "Capital." Arthur sarcastically extended a palm. "Well, work your magic, then. Tell me what I already know, that I'll be Knight-Regent one day and so forth." He winked. "A copper piece for you if you lay it on me sweetly."

  "Stop mocking me, you fop." The mage batted his hand aside and emptied a small pouch on the ground before her. A deck of cards spilled onto the dirt, the ornate illustrations catching Henry's eye; he had heard of something like this before, from other squires who spoke of it in hushed tones.

  "Is that the Knight's Tarot?" Henry's eyes widened.

  Rebecca nodded, turning to him in surprise. "You've dealt with it before?"

  "No, I've only heard stories." He shuddered. "They're said to bring bad luck. Sir Gallant never partook in it, and he made sure I didn't either."

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "It's just a deck of cards," Arthur cut in. He picked up one of the cards and looked at it, turning it in his hands. "Well drawn too, I should add."

  "Give me that!" Rebecca snatched the card from him and wiped it on her tunic, grabbing the other cards as well. "These cards are attuned to magic hands, my hands in particular. Your grubby paws can easily throw off their balance."

  "Card balance. Right." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

  The mage shuffled the cards in her hands, before dealing a set of six cards before Arthur.

  She turned over the first card, revealing a number ten atop a shield. "The Ten of Shields. Your past is one of family legacy, a strong foundation formed through generations of service and honor."

  Arthur smiled, but said nothing.

  Rebecca turned the next card, revealing an illustration of two knights jousting at a tourney. "The Tournament. You currently seek to prove yourself, or to gain the recognition of your peers."

  The smile on his flickered, but still he kept silent.

  The next card was the number six atop a sword. "The Six of Blades. You will face a decision where retreat is an option. Whether or not you do is up to you."

  The fourth card depicted what seemed to be a squire, wearing a large backpack and wielding a sword. "The Squire. Your ally is one who will teach you humility and learning." Rebecca glanced at Henry. "Or it's rather self-explanatory."

  Henry felt his spine crawl; was there merit to Rebecca's words after all?

  He almost missed the fifth card, depicting an ornate golden cup.

  "The Grail. Perhaps you'll find whatever it is you're truly looking for in the end?"

  Arthur's smile was gone now, a serious expression having taken its place.

  Rebecca turned over the final card, showing a knight in plate with a golden halo above his head. "The Eternal Knight. Your honor, or the actions that contribute to it, will stand immortal in the face of time." She swept up the spread and shuffled it back in the deck, thoroughly jumbling the stack once more. "Satisfied?"

  A grin slowly spread across Arthur's face as he laughed. "Very impressive! Were you not a mage, I'd have believed it myself!"

  Rebecca frowned. "Explain."

  "Well, obviously, you being a magic user, you selected those cards in advance and pulled them from the deck," Arthur mused. "Or maybe you just made up their stories on the spot! Who knows? Better yet, who cares? I was certainly entertained!" He laughed again, tossing her a copper coin he pulled from his belt pouch. "As promised. You certainly delivered!"

  "Keep your coin," Rebecca spat, throwing it back at him. "I'm a mage, not some street magician."

  "Fine, suit yourself," Arthur snorted. He shot a sly look at Henry. "Henry! Would you like to try?"

  "N-no, I'm fine," Henry stammered. He could feel his heart beating with unease in his chest. "Really. I think I'll turn in for the night."

  "Is that fear I sense?" Arthur drew his face near Henry's, his teeth glinting in the dim firelight. "Poor Henry. I thought you were braver than that!"

  "I'm not scared!" the squire replied hotly. "It's just... it's against the Codex. 'A knight's path must be walked with courage, not certainty; with trust, not foreknowledge.'"

  "Oh, come now, it's just a harmless card trick," Arthur sniffed. "I've already forgotten mine, so what's the harm? It's not like you're violating a core tenet of the Codex or anything."

  Rebecca cocked her head. "The 'Codex?' Is this some sort of knight's code or something?"

  "It's a knight's very life!" Henry sat up straight as he spoke, ignoring Arthur's annoyed sigh. "A knight lives and breathes by the Codex! Without it, he may as well be a renegade in armor!"

  "So you keep saying," Arthur muttered.

  Rebecca put a gentle hand on Henry's shoulder. "Well, the choice is yours, Henry. But I will say, I doubt a simple divination, and an uncertain one at that, will turn you into a renegade."

  "Can't have two renegades in the party," Arthur piped up. "That job's already mine."

  Henry sighed deeply. The voice in his head, that of Sir Gallant's, echoed and reverberated within his mind; The Codex is your life. Follow it, and you will lead a just and noble life. Break it, and you are no better than the beasts we have faced.

  And yet, Arthur's tarot had piqued his own curiosity, the instinctive, youthful desire to simply know tugging at his soul.

  He looked at Rebecca. She was right, and so was Arthur, to an extent; the future was uncertain, in the mage's own words, and subject to constant change. What, indeed, was the harm in simply knowing what may or may not come to pass?

  "Alright," he finally said, nodding. "I'll do it. What's my fortune?"

  "Top man!" Arthur clapped him on the back. "Deal him in, mage!"

  Rebecca nodded and shuffled the cards again, dealing out six random cards as she had done for Arthur. As she began turning them over, Henry felt his gut recoil with growing unease as she explained each one.

  "The Five of Chalices." The card showed the number five atop a cup. "Your past is one of loss and suffering. I'm sorry."

  Henry nodded, feeling his chest swell.

  Rebecca turned the next card, which depicted a pair of riders, a knight in plate and his squire, on the road. "The Quest. You are on a great journey in search of greater meaning."

  "No kidding," Arthur chided sarcastically.

  The next card showed a picture of a siege tower in the midst of a battle. "The Siege. You will face great obstacles and trials on your journey."

  The fourth card was turned, revealing a band of various people. "Hmm. Interesting. The Alliance. You will have strong allies to help you on your journey, stronger than expected."

  "Tell him something he doesn't know," Arthur yawned.

  As Rebecca put her hand on the final two cards, they suddenly burst into flame, causing her to yelp in surprise. The boys jumped as well, before helping her to throw dirt and earth onto the smoldering cards as the flames were stamped out.

  "What gives?" Arthur stared at the smoking cards, his eyes wide. "Was that your doing?"

  "No! This has never happened before!" Rebecca's expression was a mix of shock and fear. "I... I don't know what this means!"

  Henry's stomach dropped into the abyss as he swallowed, hard. The trio sat in silence for a minute, with only the sputtering and crackling of the campfire behind them. It was a long minute before Henry finally reached out with a trembling hand to turn the burnt cards over.

  The fifth card depicted a trumpeter, horn to his lips. The image was barely discernible amidst the blackened paper.

  "The Herald." Rebecca's voice was hushed, apprehensive. "A great change awaits you, something that destiny itself has planned. Whatever it is, it will be immense."

  The final card was burnt nearly beyond recognition; Henry could only make out something round.

  " I think that's The Round Table." Rebecca squinted, taking the card from him. "It signifies the completion of a cycle, something broken made whole."

  "And the whole fire deal?" Arthur pressed. "Is that relevant to anything?"

  "I already said, I don't know!" The mage packed her cards back into her pouch, her movements hasty and unsure. "I can only guess it means something momentous will occur regarding those cards."

  "I thought you said it was uncertain?" Henry cried. "That the future was fickle and so on?!"

  "It is! But my cards catching fire isn't normal, either!" Rebecca wrung her hands. "Master Nezwick is going to kill me if I don't replace these cards!"

  As Arthur and Rebecca began to bicker with each other, Henry's stomach felt like lead in his gut. Feeling genuinely tired now, he gingerly crawled over to his sleeping pad and turned in, facing away from the still burning campfire.

  The soothing summer sounds of the forest helped assuage his unease and lulled him to sleep. As he felt his eyes closing, he thought he could see something just beyond the campfire's glow, further into the trees.

  He dismissed it as his tired mind playing tricks on him as he shut his eyes, falling into slumber. He could have almost sworn he saw a pair of eyes, glinting in the dark and staring right at him.