After the princess left, Yeri’s life more-or-less went back to normal. Her daily routine was the same as it had been before- wake up, eat breakfast, tend the garden, eat lunch, work on crafting some potions, eat dinner, go to sleep. The routine was comfortable and normal and incredibly boring. And through the boredom, Yeri’s mind would wander.

It was so easy for her mind to drift back to the princess who had visited. Chaeyoung had been beautiful and elegant but also so incredibly confusing. Yeri’s mind constantly drew back to when the princess.

It was a strange realization of that the princess had admitted to. Was it strange for a woman to prefer the company of women? It had been so common in the coven she had been raised in. She had heard of women being attracted to men but had never seen it until she had left. It did explain why most of the couples she had seen in the nearby town had been ones consisting of a man and a woman. Maybe it was different for those with magic? 

But soon enough, her routine shifted. More time spend on potions than absentmindedly gardening. 

After all, it was time to go to market.

The next town was only a few hours of travel but not worth making the trip often. She only would go to the market once a month and sell her potions. Potions long had been her specialty and people tended to trust them more than other types of magic, which led to a steady group of regulars.

Going to market was always tiresome but worth it. Getting into town and setting up her booth was a slow and quiet endeavor, but by time she was finished the rest of the market had also sprung to life.

“Hello Miss Yerim!"

Yeri smiled at the young boy who was barely big enough to see over the edge of the booth. He was almost always her first customer of the day. “Hello there Jisung. What do you have for me this month?”

The boy smiled and placed a silver coin on the counter.

After a moment he seemed to remember something and began digging through the bag he had at his waist. “Mom made this for you!” He placed a small wooden figure next to the coin.

Yeri picked up the figure and slowly traced the design with a finger. It was in the shape of a tiger, elegantly shaped from cypress. She knew that the carver was a woman struck by a mysterious illness that sapped her strength. Her son went to market monthly to buy a strength potion from Yeri so that she would become mobile and active for part of the month. Potions could not heal something of that magnitude, but it could prevent it from getting any worse.

Year but the figure in her bag. She would be sure to display it once she got home. “Make sure to give your mother my love”

“Always Miss Yerim!” The boy scampered away on the rest of his errands.

Yeri's usuals all came and went. Potions of all kinds bought and traded for, customers of all walks of life browsing and buying. Health potions, vitality potions, and passion potions were the most common but Yeri always had a few special orders come in.

“Good day at the market today?”

Yeri looked up at the voice, smiling. “Haechan!"

Haechan had been the first person she met after leaving Irene’s coven. He had seen her in a dream and knew that she needed a place to stay and recover. It was because of Haechan that she had been able to find a home for herself and continuous business at this market. He became like a younger brother to her, albeit an annoying one on occasions. Those with magic always stuck tightly together, even if they no longer lived within a coven.

“Would you care for a fortune?”

Yeri raised an eyebrow, “Now is this in exchange for something or freely given?”

The seer laughed, “Am I that untrustworthy? Freely given.”

“You have been known to try and gain things from people through trickery.”

Haechan waved her comment off “I only try that on my friends, not my favorite fellow magic-touched.”

“Oh I’m your favorite? I ‘ll have to tell your boyfriend next time I see him.”

Haechan spluttered “That’s different and you know it!”

Yeri grinned at him “You know I’m just teasing. Now, what kind of divination have you been working on recently?”

A grin spread on his face “I’ve been working on my bone throwing. I finally found the perfect final piece for my set and I’m itching to read with it.”

“Then a bone reading it is.”

Haechan untied a small bag from his belt and shook it gently. He whispered a few words toward the bag before carefully upending it on Yeri’s booth.

The contents seemed to be small animal bones alongside other small collectable items like an acorn and a strange rock.

He began observing the objects closely before pointing to a seashell that was underneath a small piece of bone. “This bit means you’re going to get a lot of money. Maybe already have? Oh and this-” he pointed to a rusted coin and a polished coin side by side “ties truth and magic together.” 

He paused to stare at the arrangement of the items, a look of confusion coming across his face “There is also a tie between love and fate. Possibly a woman? It does seem close enough to be bundled in there.”

Yeri paused to process the reading. “I recently performed a soulmate finding spell for a woman, could it be related to that? It paid super well too.”

“It could be; it does seem to line up with everything here. And it seems that-” Haechan froze “Yerim, did you perform a soulmate spell on the princess?”

Yeri froze “I may have taken on a job for a member of royalty.”

He raised an eyebrow “You did that knowing that Irene and her coven may retaliate against anyone doing magic on behalf of the crown. You did that after being on already bad terms with her.”

“Maybe I did it just to get her attention?”

Haechan shook his head “I know you're smarter than that. What’s the real reason”

Yeri shrugged, “It paid really well and I was sought out by name. I’m not a seer like you but I know how it feels when destiny knocks on my door. This was more literal than most times.”

Haechan looked down the bones, looked back at Yeri and then back down at the bones again.

“You may not know it yet, but you’re already in the middle of some deep .”

Yeri rolled her eyes as Haechan scooped the bones back into their pouch. “I may be, but I know I’ll make it through. And I know you’ll help me if I need it.”

He laughed, “You definitely are going to need it."