I said..." the golden stranger spat, "KNEEEEL!" he roared, banging his stick on the ground and creating a huge blue flash. All around me, people froze in place, and started... kneeling? Even the ones that didn't speak English kneeled obediently. Why...
I'd originally visited Stuttgart because my sister, Catherine, who was attending medical school there, begged me to come visit her. Our mom had not been thrilled that she was moving so far away from our home in Harlem, New York, but had let her go reluctantly. However, Cath really, really wanted me to come visit. I'd acquiesced after a whole lot of nagging, but I thought we'd be spending the day at her house, watching crappy TV shows in German, and trying to figure out what was going on.
Instead, she met me at the door in a dress so bright that it may have temporarily blinded me. Cath wore a bright vermillion gown that dropped down to her ankles in asymmetrical swoops of deep red silk. Gold embroidery decorated the dress in graceful swirls that resembled plants reaching for the sun. The dress was lovely, no doubt about it, but it definitely wasn't something to wear to a movie night. Her platinum blonde hair was styled, too- she had pulled the top part of it into a crown braid that wrapped around her head, accentuating her deep hazel eyes. Something was up, I was sure of it.
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No shit, Sherlock, my mind snarked. It did that sometimes.
"What's with the ball gown?" popped out of my mouth before I could stop it, much to my chagrin. My first words to my older sister in person in three years, and it's a comment on her clothes?
Thankfully, she didn't take offense. Actually, she seemed a little... sheepish?
Cath wouldn't meet my eyes, and her smile seemed equal parts mischievous and guilty.
"Hey, Elizabeth! I missed you!" she enthused. Yeah, she's up to something, I thought. She never calls me Elizabeth. Ever.
"I missed you too!... So what's with the dress?" I narrowed my eyes, refusing to let the matter drop.
Cath looked guiltily at my shoulder instead of my eyes. "Well, I was thinking. This is your first time in Stuttgart..."
"Cath..."
"And I got an invite to attend this gala at a super cool history museum," she rushed ahead.
