She was beautiful. Every fiber of her body emenated fluid grace. She had hair like ebony satin, and eyes like a storm. Popy had never seen the young woman before, but something about her reminded Poppy of herself. She sat down and dropped a smooth stone into Poppy's hand. Poppy didn't look down, but she instantly felt the stone grow warm in her fingers. She stared into the maiden's eyes and saw a world of images swirling around.
"You have a plain history. You aspire to be something great. You will one day experience many great things. You hold fragments of a memory in your mind, but nothing that adds up. You are troubled by this, and lose much sleep over it. If you one day find the last piece to this memory, you will yourself feel completed."
   Poppy knew that it was time to usher in the next person, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to tear herself away from those eyes.
"Th-th-that will be all."
"Use it well." The girl spoke in a soft voice, gesturing to the stone in Poppy's hand. "If you respect it, it will guide you."
And then she was gone.
   Apparently that girl had been the last customer, which gave Poppy a few moments to investigate the stone in her hand. It was red, like a ruby, but something about the warm energy told Poppy that this was no ordinary gemstone. It was shaped like a flower with cupped petals, but the carving had not been done well. Poppy should have thrown the stone onto the takings pile, but a gut impulse told her to keep it. She slipped the stone into her bodice, where its warmth comforted her. She tiptoed from the tent and walked to tell her father the sucess of the day.
   She walked around to her father's tent. She heard the voice of his most trusted confidante, Max, and stopped to listen.
"Max, I-I've been feeling guilty. All of these years, and Poppy's never known about her sister."
"Who, Daisy?"
Poppy tore herself away from the conversation for a moment. Who was Daisy. A sister? She leaned in again to listen.
"Yes. She's gone fourteen years without knowing. It just kills me to know that I never knew what happened to Daisy. She could be married off to a prince and be the queen of some hamlet, or she could be toiling away in some farm. She could be dead for all I know."
Poppy thought she heard her father choking back a sob.
"If I tell Poppy, she'll run all over creation trying to find Daisy. I can't blame her. I'd do it myself, but I need to keep Poppy safe."
   Poppy stepped back. She couldn't bear to hear anymore. A tiny sob escaped her throat, and she raced towards her sleeping tent, afraid to let anyone see her tears. True, she had never known this Daisy. But she felt an obligation to find this sister of hers. She sat down on her cot, took off her boots and began to think.