Fantasmical 2023 Entries

Karma's a Bitch

It's a universal rule, really - don't accept gifts from strangers.

If only I hadn't been drunk...

***

I swayed on my feet as I gulped down another shot. The spicy liquid burned my throat as I dropped the cup and squeezed my eyes shut, coughing. That night I'd disguised myself with  sunglasses and a gray scarf along with a black body-hugging dress that covered me completely. So far, it was working pretty well.

The club was a great coping mechanism; alcohol made me forget my heaviest burden: the truth of my past. Here no one would judge me - I was yet another drunk woman.

I raised my hand weakly. "Another round of shots over here, please," I drawled to a bartender over the blaring music. But since I wasn't exactly sober, it sounded more like, "Anudde rund o' shots o'er here, plllease."
Regardless, the bartender nodded with a wink.

As I blinked sluggishly, my eyes flicked to my watch. I nearly did a double take; it read 3:48 a.m. Father would wake at 5:00, and the club was almost a half-hour from the castle.

Jumping up, I knocked down multiple shot glasses, and they crashed to the ground as I stepped over the mess and wove my way through the heavy crowd.

"Madame, your shots!" The bartender called, but I ignored him as I approached the exit. Two guards stood at the door, nodding as I staggered by.

As soon as I burst out, I started down the street - or I attempted to, at least. Putting one foot in front of the other was nearly impossible with a spinning vision. My knees wobbled as I took a step forward.

Suddenly my shoulder slammed into someone else's, and I stumbled back.

"Hey! W-watch whhhere you're goin'," I spat. I whirled around to look at who I'd bumped into, expecting an apology. Instead, a young man dressed in all black hit me with his cold gaze.

"Aren't you gon' apologize?"

Silence.

"Don't you k-know whhho I am?" I demanded, threatening to blow my cover.

"Oh I assure you, Nyx Ambrose, I know who you are." He finally replied, calm and quiet. Promptly shoving a cardboard box into my arms he leaned closer.

"I bring a gift, Princess," he breathed, grinning as his eyes glittered dangerously. "From someone who calls themselves...an old friend." Stepping back, he bowed politely. "I'll take my leave now, I have other errands to attend to." He turned the other way but looked back after a moment. "I'm only a mere messenger, but my advice? Make your choice carefully." Spinning on his heel, he disappeared into thin air.

I waved my hand through the space in which he once stood, utterly confused. "Hello? What choiccce? Who- Who're you?" Nobody responded to my slurred questions. I looked around, but no one else seemed fazed by the incident.

I glanced down at the box in my hands while my head raced with questions. Who was that man? How'd he just disappear like that? Was that a joke, or was he being serious?

And most important of all - what exactly was in the box?

***

I got home at 4:45 sharp, fifteen minutes before my father would wake. Rapidly changing into a nightgown, I drained a glass of water and went to bed, placing the box on my nightstand. Only minutes later did a blaring alarm go off in the King's chambers.

I eventually drifted off to sleep for a few hours before waking up again. After throwing up in the toilet, I freshened up and dressed myself in an emerald-green satin gown that snatched my waist. Normally I'd stop to appreciate the look in my mirror, but instead I walked over to where I'd placed the mysterious box. Tentatively, I picked it up, my brows furrowing.

Flipping the package over in my hands, I noticed something I hadn't before; a note in messy handwriting stuck out from the backside of the cardboard:

Keep it closed, and you bring fortune upon yourself. Open, and the puppeteer will work his magic. Choose wisely.  - your friend

Bloody hell? What's that supposed to mean? Who's the puppeteer, what magic are they supposed to work?

Hear me out: I tried. I really did - I tried my hardest to keep the pot from boiling over. I pressed on the lid, containing it as best I could.

But in the end my curiosity prevailed; I grasped the lid with sweaty fingers and flung it off, peering inside.

I'll say this: whoever wrote the note wasn't kidding.

Because resting in a bed of red and yellow wires lay a ticking time bomb.

1:00:32

1:00:31

1:00:30

"What the fuck," I muttered frantically, pushing it as far away from me as possible. Pressed against the far end of my bed, I read the next note from afar:

Fail to obey the next set of instructions and you will be responsible for your beloved sister's death. Funny how karma works, isn't it?

Was this about-

No. It couldn't be. My pulse skipped a beat.

"Estelle," I whispered in terror once the message sank in, mentally smacking myself. I never should've let that girl go downtown on her own. Damn her and those adorable puppy eyes.

59:58

My hands shook violently as I slowly reached for the rolled up parchment nestled beneath the bomb. Unfolding it revealed another message that left me chilled to the bone.

Submit yourself to us at 13 Mohawk Lane immediately.

Mohawk Lane? Wasn't that a good hour from the castle? I wouldn't get there in time even if I started now.

59:00

58:59

"Alright, I'm going, happy?" I yelled, my voice quavering. Pulling on my boots, I looked around at my room one last time.

If karma meant death, then I probably wasn't coming back.