Just a normal night of watching Disney movies, you had fallen asleep and think everything is a dream until things started to get...weird.
(Do not own the art)
Started; July 18/ 2024
Ended; 00/ 0000
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As we walked to the theater, I stood between Hercules and Meg, each standing side-by-side, protecting me from whoever. I get curious as something catches my eye. I wander from the two of them, slowing down my pace. This stall was small and could fit a maximum of two people. It's almost like a fortunetelling tent; I quickly looked back at the two men I was just with, seeing they were only a few feet ahead. Taking this chance, I quickly hopped into the tent. Is it a brilliant idea? Probably not, but this stood out from everything else.
As soon as I walked into the tent, it was just a round table with two chairs facing each other and a dark brown cloth behind the chair across from me.
"Uh? Hello, excuse me, pardon the intrusion."
That was when the curtain ruffled and revealed a woman in fortunetelling clothing.
'What the fuck?'
"Ah, come sit, sit. And I will reveal all."
The fortuneteller is an enigmatic woman in her late 80s, with silver hair cascading down in loose, wild waves, framing a face etched with deep lines that hint at a life full of untold stories. Her dark, piercing eyes seem to see beyond the present, always gleaming with an otherworldly knowledge. She wears a long, flowing robe of rich purple velvet adorned with intricate gold symbols that shimmer faintly in the candlelight. Her hands, thin and veined, move gracefully over a worn deck of tarot cards or a crystal ball, each gesture slow but purposeful. Her raspy yet melodic voice carries the weight of ancient wisdom, drawing her clients into a trance-like state. The air around her smells faintly of incense and dried herbs, adding to the aura of mystery that clings to her.
I did as she instructed and took my seat across from her. She did the same, and we sat silently for what seemed to be minutes until she finally spoke.
"You're a great traveler, and this will not be your last stop, for this world is one of many you are destined to visit."
She takes my hand into hers and stares into the crystal ball. As it slowly starts to glow an ominous purple, the room begins to get heavier with the scent of incense oils and herbs, making my head dizzy, unable to focus on anything but the crystal ball. Slowly, I can see silhouettes, but nothing is distinguishable.
"You will meet many partners along the way, and you must be wary of who you trust, for this will be your downfall."
The silhouettes and the crystal ball start to dance, not just the same silhouettes together. It's the same woman, but with every move and turn of the silhouette, she's dancing with changes to a different form, and then there's multiple. Then, the crystal ball starts to glow a black, ominous color. That's when the fortune teller broke her concentration from the ball and snapped her head up to me.
"If you're not careful, you'll be the pawn instead of the player."
I try to get out of her grip, but she pulls me back by the rest as she squeezes hard enough to where I can feel a bruise start to form, but she's not letting go of the crystal ball. Now it's starting to glow a deep, red color. Everything is getting too intense, but I can't escape her grip.
"Let me go! You crazy bitch!"
"You must find a way to go home, or else you shall fall into insanity."
That's when the crystal ball changed its silhouette and morphed into one face of despair, letting out a screech that could make anyone deaf. My heart is racing, so I try to wrestle out of her grip. I twist my arms with such force that I can feel them get a friction burn as I pull away, and I pull them close to my chest, holding them, looking down at the injuries inflicted. They were turning red, with little blood imperfections on the skin's surface. Terrified and breathless, I stand up and back away from the table.
"You're fucking crazy, you know that!?"
With that, I ran out of the fortuneteller's tent, horrified by what happened. As soon as I reached the entrance, I bumped into a familiar person. I looked up, and it was Meg. He had a worried expression on his face. He calmed down when he saw me, but worry crept up again when he saw my ragged state.
"Hey, what happened to you? Where were you? We were looking everywhere. You just disappeared out of nowhere, and then..."
Meg stopped midsentence. When he carefully saw my injured arm, he lifted my right hand.
"Nng! Ow!"
He was gentle, but the pressure of it being moved still hurt. He examined my arm and then quickly looked at me with his worried expression, and I softened. You can see the worry and terror on my face. I guess he just brought me into a hug, placing his head on top of mine, and slowly stroked my back. It was soothing after what I had just experienced, and I was getting all the comfort I could get, hearing footsteps soon approaching from behind Meg.
"There you are. You found her Meg great..."
Hercules was cut off from Meg's look of 'something had happened to her, and we need to figure out who did it.' He quickly assessed the situation and looked around but couldn't figure out what had happened in such a short amount of time. He did the only thing and asked you. Softly, he placed his hand on your back and then a gentle tone.
"Hey, it's okay, we're here now. Just tell us what happened, and it might make you feel better. Nothing will happen to you now that you're with us."
"Wonderboy here is right. Just take a few breaths and just tell us who hurt you?"
Feeling safe with Hercules and Meg, I take a minute to compose myself, steady my breathing, wipe the tears from my eyes, and finally take a deep breath and tell them what had just happened.
"I know I shouldn't have wandered off, but this tent thing caught my eye, and I wandered off, but when I went in, there was just an old lady in a crystal ball and two seats."
Meg questions why someone like that would be here in Greece; maybe a traveler that makes sense, but that would be very, very rare. Hercules is still listening intently.
"Then she told me my fortunes, and then I tried to leave because it started getting weird, and I started getting scared, but as soon as I got up to leave, she wouldn't let me go, and then..."
I stopped talking and tried not to relive what had happened, but the boys understood. They look around for this tent but can't spot where you came from. You turn around and see they're looking for where it came from, and your blood runs cold.
'It was just there right behind me. I know what happened.'
They look at each other and then back to me with a sympathetic look, but they are still on guard, knowing that you didn't just hurt yourself; you wouldn't be this scared with no cause. Hercules then slowly brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, cupping my cheek, craning my neck to look up at the tall Greek man.
"I believe something happened, and I promise I'll protect you to stay by our side."
"Herc here is right. We believe you, and I'll do everything to make you feel safe."
Both are feeling more protective than they had before. For some reason, seeing you hurt something inside of them snap and seeing you crying and bruised made their blood boil. They couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to hurt somebody so sweet, lovely, and perfect; why would they want to break something that was theirs?
