The Queen's Curls

-1776- Adventure

The hinges on the door to her parlour squeak aggressively as a new client enters the shop. She sighs, and wishes she had her old door back.

The woman in the doorway looked to be about seventy years old, but had the clearest, most aware looking eyes the parlour woman had ever seen.

"How can I help you?" the parlour woman says, catching the eye of the woman in the doorway,

"Hello, dear," the older woman says, walking over to the counter. Her eyes were as blue as the sky on days where the clouds hid below the horizon. "I'd like to get my hair styled, please."

"Of course," the parlour woman says. "What's your name, ma'am?"

"My name is Anastasia Elizabeth Evergreen."

The parlour woman is taken aback for a few moments, but then she says, "I have the same name as you. I was given the name of my great grandmother."

"Hello, Annie dear. It's been a while since you visited me."

"Grammy?" the parlour woman says, her voice just barely above a whisper.

The older woman smiles and nods. The parlour woman dashes around the counter to give the woman one of the tightest hugs she has given in a very long time.

"I thought you couldn't travel anymore!" the parlour woman says, pulling back to examine the older woman's face.

"Well, you thought wrong, duckling. You know that you don't need this shop to travel. The ability runs in your blood, Annie."

The parlour woman sighs. "I know, I just— I like it here. I like this shop and this space that I live in and I like being able to just travel somewhere random and be happy with it because I still have somewhere to stay, instead of how I used to be, where I would travel with only the clothes on my back and a couple gold coins. I'm happy like this, Grammy."

"I know dear," the older woman says, walking over and sitting down on one of the sofas. "I'm not saying for you to just up and leave and go on some wild adventure. I'm just saying that you can leave the shop more than twice. The witch who cursed you wasn't very careful, but she was smart about how she cursed you."

"What do you mean?"

"She cursed you so that you could choose how many times you can leave each year. Since you so confidently believe that you can only leave twice a year, then you can only leave twice a year. Do you know what I'm getting at, duckling? You have convinced yourself that you are limited to this shop's travelling abilities and you have convinced yourself that you can only leave twice a year. You need to get those ideas out of your head, because they are not the truth."

The parlour woman hugs her great grandmother and says, "So this means I can leave whenever I want? I don't have to wait another year to go out and see the markets? I don't have to make Oakley and Yūrei get my groceries anymore? I can get them myself?"

The older woman nods and embraces her great granddaughter. "You have places so many limits upon yourself, duckling. Now you just need to let them go, and realize just how free you are."

The parlour woman pulls back to look her great grandmother in the eyes and smiles. "Thank you, Grammy. You have no idea how much my life has improved in these few minutes you've been here."

The older woman smiles. "It's what I do dear. And if you're ever in this year again, just come to Grammy's house and we can talk and have some tea, like the good old days."

The parlour woman grins. "Like the good old days."

"Well," says the older woman. "I must get going now. Margaret and Rose have invited me out for tea and I don't want to be late." She places a kiss on each of her granddaughter's cheeks and says, "Goodbye, little duckling, and may the wisps of time be kind to you on your adventures to come."