Esmerelda had assumed that night in the restaurant was the last time she'd ever see Duncan, the man who'd incurred her wrath. Truth be told, she'd honestly fallen quite badly for him, and didn't understand how he could refuse her offer of a life with her. As the years had gone by, she'd almost forgotten about him, but the encounter with Duncan and his wife rekindled old emotions like gasoline on a fire.
A week afterwards, she still ached to cause mischief in his life; Esmerelda had always had a taste for vengeance. The old queen was dead now, dying in her sleep two years previously. The new queen was rarely seen, staying more in the old country, barely ruling over the clans of gypsies at all, preferring to let them govern themselves. Esmerelda knew that noone was monitoring her any longer. The few who might've known anything about the old queen's decree against Esmerelda using her powers were no longer in any position to affect Esmerelda. The new queen had her own circle of advisors and confidantes.
So late one night, Esmerelda prayed to darker gods to bring her an opportunity to use her powers once more. Every gypsy has a gift, you see, to affect the more "normal" humans. Many have the ability to entrance via dancing or music, and some have a gift of prophecy. Few actually have strong magical powers, beyond a little illusion type magic. But some have stronger powers, and a connection to the wilder parts of nature. Esmerelda was one such gypsy. She felt it an affront for her to be bound by the old queen not to use her powers as she saw fit, and while conjuring up a darker eldritch spirit to plead her case, she related all of this in her prayers.
The spirit came to her as a shadow, at first making no acknowledgement that it understood what she said, or even her intent. But shortly after she finished her plea, it spoke in an ephemeral, almost smoke-like way with a whispering voice, "Child of the Romany clans, the dark lords have heard your plea. Soon the time of your vengeance will be at hand. Be always watchful and know your opportunity when you see it, then seize it, in the name of mischeif and darkness....."
The shadow melted away before she had the chance to dismiss it, which gave Esmerelda a bit of discomfort. Spirits that were summoned usually had to be dismissed. If a spirit could leave of its own accord, it meant that she had never had any control over it. Esmerelda was slightly worried. Could she be tempting the fates? Esmerelda pushed the doubt out of her mind. Doubts had no place in her life, as doubting led to weakness, and that was something she couldn't afford. It was nothing, she reasoned, simply a coincidence.
One week later, the spirits words were proven true, when the fates brought opportunity right to Esmerelda.....