The Eldest Marked

7. The Wheel of Fortune

Before her mother woke Winona dressed herself in her Origin made dress, brushed her hair and teeth, and stuffed her bag with a few last minute additions. As she opened the front door to get her presents Pyxidis left there last night, she only saw the small jar of dye Harper had made her. A thorough search of the front porch led to the discovery of a torn handkerchief half dragged down the stairs. The buttercup yellow cotton still had crumbs of cinnamon sugar, most likely Fiore's infamous muffins. She would never tell her friend so, but she was glad an animal took them. Fiore may be an excellent brewer, but a kitchen witch she was not.

She placed the little jar of dye in her supply chest, along with the tattered handkerchief. If she was being honest she did regret not having them over. But it is too late for that, it's time to start her adult life. Or whatever. Winona wasn't thrilled either way.

"Time to- Oh you are ready?" Demeter asked as she opened her bedroom door without knocking. She was wearing different clothes too

"Well yeah. Might as well get it over with," she said.

"Okay Ms. Responsibility, breakfast is ready. We can eat it on the go," her mother said.

Winona put her cloak on. She summoned Pyxidis to sit in her hood to provide some much needed comfort. His whiskers tickled the back of her neck. Demeter handed her a toasted sandwich wrapped in parchment paper, her new fake ID, and a wad of dollars for purchasing things in the Origin.

"Can this get me pizza? Fiore said it was really good," Winona asked. Her mother laughed. "What? Have you heard of pizza?"

"Pizza is plentiful, you can use the money to buy it, and yes, it is good," she said. "I'll help you get some after we get you settled in."

They walked out into the garden. Winona inspected the vegetables for longer than necessary. Really, almost any will do when paying a horse. But she found herself walking the rows without picking anything but a few pea pods to pass back to her nearly sleeping rat passenger.

"I know you said you wanted to get it over with, but would you like to walk instead of taking a horse? It'll buy you a few hours," Demeter said softly from the end of their garden.

"Yes. Please," Winona said.

***

The forest opened up into a tiny clearing of clover, bright and windswept. The perfect circle of cleared land was purposeful, ceremonial in its bones. A rough hewn bench sat in the middle of the clearing. Demeter held her hand up to her face for a moment before guiding Winona to stand a few feet to her left.

"Shield your eyes with your left hand, as if the sun was too bright," Demeter said. Winona complied. "Now, focus on your breathing and really look. It'll come to you."

She stared until her eyes unfocused. When she tried again to focus, the world refused to come back into sharpness. She looked down at her feet, the soft carpet of clover was sharing the space with a smooth grey surface. Winona gasped, looking up to a world that was at once forest and also city. But nothing in her world could compare to the hive of strangers she was in, except Cyrille's house. Even then, this was more everything, more height, more shiny, more people. They walked by her without seeing, through her without notice.

"You can see both from either side, useful for walking from one place to the other without being seen. You can't just poof your way over to the Origin or you will end up splattered under a building or cut in half by a wire fence," Demeter said.

Her chest constricted uncomfortably beneath her dress. Her eyes darted rapidly between the brightly lit storefronts, to the differently dressed people, to the things she knew had to be the cars she was told about but could not believe in person. But what disturbed her the most was the lack of trees. If she focused she could taste the tainted air on her tongue, smog and cement and the stink of too many people.

She took a few steps closer to the road. The sounds were muffled, but not enough. The cars rumbled aggressively the closer she got. A man, not much older than herself, seemed to almost see her through her shrouded eyes. He kept eye contact as he stepped into the road, causing a car to screech to a halt and honk. Did he grin when she jumped?

"Can anyone see me? Do they know?" she asked, her own voice just as muffled.

Demeter pulled Winona's hand off of her face, taking the vision of the Origin with it. "Don't panic. It is shocking at first but that's why we peek before we go over. Can't have you bugging out in front of all the regular people," she said.

She guided her to sit with her on the bench until she caught her breath."Is that always what its like?" she asked.

"No, not necessarily. I can put you in a smaller town if you'd like, but this city is the closest to the cottage. And Tabitha lives here, so you'd have a friend already," Demeter said.

Tabitha, of course. Winona had felt so lonely since she moved out of their shared room. She didn't take up weaving to fill her nights until Tabitha left and took all the laughter. "Let's go then. I'll stay cool I promise," she said.

"Okay, good. Up you go then," Demeter said as she pulled her up to stand on unsteady feet. "You should either put Pyx in your pocket or send him away. He is pretty weird to have out and about."

Winona pulled the ribbon off of her bun to release her hair. Pyxidis squeaked as the tumble of tangled hair filled most of her cloak's hood. Demeter shrugged as she lead her by the hand to the other side of the clearing. "How do we?" she asked.

"View the Origin as before. Once we are in a safe spot you will put your hand down over your closed eyes, drag your hand down your face to your mouth, and bite your witch's mark," Demeter said.

"Gross," Winona said.

"It's not gross. This is the culmination of the Pact. Be proud," Demeter said. This time, she almost felt it. Or at least, she could see herself being proud. She was an Eldest, this is what she was made for.

She tried to still her heart as she returned to the strange half world between the two. The man she saw before was not there anymore. Even though there were a dizzying amount of people in the city, she had a feeling she would meet him again. They walked between two buildings, where the sounds of the people dimmed and she could breathe more easily.

"Now we check for witnesses," Demeter said. "Check the windows, check for people, check for cameras."

They turned in slow circles. "I don't see anything," she said.

"Then it's time," Demeter whispered.

She closed her eyes, covered them, and marveled at the feeling of the world shifting under her feet. The clover was no longer brushing against her ankles. The sounds of birds cut out of the surrounding air. It was warmer. Pyxidis moved nervously in her hood as she slid her hand down to her lips.

She bit the long healed scar around her ring finger and the world changed.