The Empress || Jack Wilder

The Empress || Chapter One

          The Riveras, excluding Alessandra, never liked to travel.  Since the man of the house, Diego Carlos Rivera, was elected mayor, the family left Windsor a total of seven times.  Whatever they needed was right within the limits of the town, and anything else could be ordered and shipped to their doorstep.

          Alessandra wanted to describe her parents as understanding people, but sadly, that was not the case.  If she wanted to get to New York, she could not tell her parents.  That night, after she received her tarot card, she packed a bag and left her parents a note on the kitchen counter.

          On the drive to the bank, she couldn't shake the guilty feeling of disappearing on her family.  Her mind was on the letter:

          Mom and Dad,
                         I know that I have disappeared before, but I am not sure that I am returning this time.  I found an incredible job opportunity that I just could not pass up.  I can't tell you where, and I feel that I also cannot include any other details.  I'm sorry, but I need to do this for myself.  I have to get out of Windsor, it's not for me.  I love you both so much, take care of Sofia.  Tell her what you have to, but please let her know that I love her with all of my heart.
                         Love,
                              Lessie

          Alessandra felt tears prick her eyes but blinked them away with the thoughts of what her future may hold.  She pulled into the bank drive-thru and quickly drained her account of any balances, stuffing the cash into her bag and speeding away from the drive-thru.  After her stop at her storage unit to pack her "emergency runaway kit" - a kit she had made once she turned seventeen with the idea of taking it and leaving Windsor for good as soon as she graduated - she took off on the highway around midnight.

          Running on the drive of joining The Eye and energy drinks, Alessandra arrived in New York with having driven twenty-six hours and only stopping six times.  She had found a reasonable motel a few blocks from the address on her tarot card.  Now, with two days alone in New York, what was she supposed to do?

          Well, if you're Alessandra Rivera, you take the ferry to Brooklyn and brush up on common cardistry and pick-pocketing.  The entirety of her first day was spent on the top decks of ferries.  When it was nearing five, she decided to call it quits and find a place to eat and count her earnings.  She pushed her way towards the dock but was shoved back by a man in a leather jacket.

          "Watch where you're going, will you?" She hissed, grabbing his wrist before he could get any further from her.  He yanked it out her grasp and shoved his way through the small crowd without a second glance.  Alice let out an agitated groan before following him back onto the ferry.  He launched himself up onto the upper deck and introduced himself.  As he did so, Alessandra moved to sit on the bench nearest to him.  She felt the need to find out who that guy thought he was.

          "Ladies and gentlemen, I am the next great magician, and I will give one hundred dollars to anyone who can tell me how this trick is done." He paused and held up a spoon.  Alessandra held back a mixture of a groan and laugh; it was one of the easiest tricks in the book.

          The man continued, "I have an ordinary spoon from Mel's Deli, right here in Brooklyn.  Check it out," He tapped it on the railing next to Alessandra.  He caught her eye, sending her a wink as he did.  Despite feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, she scoffed and rolled her own eyes. "Now, everyone please pay very, very close attention.  Because I'm about to bend this spoon with my mind."

          Alessandra stood with her arms crossed as the man made it look like he bent the spoon.  A smirk toyed on her lips as he spoke again, "Thank you.  Thank you.  Pass that around."