Forsaken Souls

Chapter I

        Nemuie was cleaning the counter. The fairy lights of her shop adding to the welcoming and warm atmosphere. She was closing her shop for the night. She heard a sharp knock on the door. At this time of night? It's probably important, or a thief. Nemuie couldn't decide which would be worse.

        She opened the old wooden door, even in the dim lighting she could tell this was an upper-classman. They stepped in. They had a dark purple cloak with the head up, making it almost impossible to see their face. Just by looking at their clothing she could tell it was silk. "I've heard you do readings?" The stranger asked.

       " Yes, in fact-" Nemuie had to stop a sarcastic remark. The Stranger walked into the light and flipped off their hood. Their long braided indigo hair falling down to about their waist. They had yellow eyes with gold eyeshadow. "I would most desire one" But Nemuie didn't hear those words.

She just stood gawking at the person before her. The Empress. Empress Ilsa.

       When Nemuie broke out of her daze. She led Empress Ilsa into her back room. It was darker here. With only a few candles that haven't been blown out. Ilsa took the set in front of her. As Nemuie sat down in front of the

       Empress, Nemuie caught her gaze staring directly into hers. Before quickly looking away. "This is different than most magicians I visit." Nemuie looked around, trying to spot what was different. '" I mean It's not a bad thing, This place has a more comfortable aura." Nemuie was flustered. She did try to make this place as cozy as possible but to hear that coming from The Empress was different.

     "Shall we begin?" The Empress asked. "Yes, now let me get the deck......". She walked over to one of her selves, it had books and miscellaneous plants, She reached over to a box, and opened it. Inside was her favorite tarot card deck. Nemuie had hand-painted most of them and had just put them away not 20 minutes before.

        She sat back down at the table and shuffled the cards. "What type of reading do you want today?" The Empress looked somewhat confused. "I don't know, there are options?" It dawned on Nemuie that she was probably the only magician that did multiple types of readings.

      She laid three cards on the table. One representing, past, present, and future. "We should start with the past....:" Nemuie gestured towards the first card. Ilsa flipped it over, without a moment's hesitation. Judgment. Its voice was nothing more than a whisper, but loud enough to drown out all other noises. "Judgement has seen your past mistakes, and it needs you to move on, to find your inner-calling, something you have been wanting to do but are too afraid to do." She stopped and looked up at The Empress. Her gaze was unmoving from the card, It carried a concerned look. Is that a hint of Amusement?

         Nemuie flipped over the present. Wheel of Fortune. Its voice was loud and clear. "You need a change, a change in scenery or in lifestyle," Nemuie said. Was that really it?. The card was done talking. "I suppose a vacation would be nice" Nemuie looked up at the Empress, A slight smile crossed her face, along with amusement in her eyes. She was joking. Good, Nemuie didn't want to talk more than she was being forced to.

       Isla did the honors and flipped the last card. Death Reversed. Nemuie struggled to hear what it was even saying, almost like it was dying or being forced away. "Something is going to happen in the future, while the roots of the event are spreading now" Nemuie reached out and tried to get more information, like whether this 'event' was good or bad, but the card was done talking.

      Nemuie walked Empress Ilsa out of her shop. She hastily went to open the door for her. Amusement flashed in her eyes. "And Nemuie...I've gathered that is your name?" Someone in the town probably told her..or....Nemuie shook the thought away. "Yes, that is my name" The Empress looked pleased with herself. "Well, you have my formal invitation to dinner tomorrow at the palace, if you would be so kind as to accept."

     Nemuie stood shocked, and Ilsa smiled and walked out of the shop. Nemuie watched her disappear into the mist. Gone without a trace.