(A/N: At least you didn't have to wait so long for this chapter.
All righty then, the inspiration for this chapter came from our good friend Verix from Pixii's old RP. I'll even dedicate this chapter to her. Thank you, everyone, for being so patient for me, while there have been deaths in the family, my dealing freshman year of high school, my working backstage for a production, and being sick. Readers are the best.
The chapter is mostly to get to know Luna a little better, and if you've been confused about other things mentioned, such as Jacob Melomi, in this section he will be explained. It's a plot device for later possible fluffiness. =) A
lso, we introduce our darling villains.
Ah, short A/N. On to the chapter.)
Chapter 2
Cards of Fate
The smell of incense filled the room as they entered, choking any other smell. The room was covered with small charms, statues, and symbols.
In the center of the room was a small rounded table, covered with a blue starry tablecloth. In the center of the table was a beautiful crystal ball. Two wooden chairs were hastily pushed up to the table.
The old woman led Luna to sit in one of the rickety old chairs at the table, and Hekiashi sat down behind her, yawning, his back to the wall. The woman bowed again, turned, and stepped through an old door for about a minute while Luna sat down in the chair at the blue table, Hekiashi sitting behind Luna. The woman reentered, draped in dresses and many layers of eccentric fabric. Many golden chains hung around her neck and stacks of golden bracelets ran down each arm, ringing when she moved. The instant Hekiashi saw her costume, he had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. Luna smiled politely.
Luna looked down at the crystal ball, but the old woman took it off from the table. "We'll not be using that," She said silkily. "I am positive that I can tell far more for you with these. You are lucky. The Tarot Cards will read for you tonight." She set something small and rectangular, wrapped in multicolored silk, onto the table. Slowly and dramatically, she unfolded the silk to reveal a large deck of cards.
"Dear, these are tarot cards. These cards are items of fate, if you will." The old woman sat down in the chair. "By reading them I can tell you your past, present, and future. Who you were, who you are, and who you will become."
"But wait," Luna interrupted. "Tarot reading isn't really fate, the cards supposedly are used to gain insight into the current and possible future situations of the subject… Fate has little to do with it the choosing of the cards is supposed to be tapping into the receiver's subconscious-"
"Darling, let the psychic be the psychic one, dear." The old woman said rather pointedly. "You just have to sit back and relax, my dear."
Luna blinked confusedly and sat back in her seat.
"Aren't I the psychic?" She muttered to herself.
Hekiashi almost fell over snickering.
Luna twisted in her seat and raised her eyebrows at Hekiashi.
"She thinks she is more psychic than THE psychic!" He snorted. She rolled her violet eyes at him and twisted back to face the old woman. She was shuffling the cards and appeared not to have noticed.
"The cards are ready, my dear."
"First…" The old woman sighed, shuffling the deck slowly and deliberately before them, setting it aside, then drawing a card and laying it on the table facedown. "The Past Card. My dear, this card refers to-"
"The past, as it is obviously called the past card?" Hekiashi snorted again. The old woman glared at him, and he didn't break the gaze. The staring contest would have gone on for quite a while if Luna hadn't cleared her throat pointedly after a minute.
"Ah, yes. The things that led up to your present situation."
She closed her colorless eyes and flipped over the card.
"The Knight of Wands."
"You see the card, my dear. The knight. You see his face is full of eagerness. He seems to be an aggressive person. A salamander is adorned on his tunic." She drew one shriveled finger across the card, pointing at the knight. "That represents fire. His horse rears up. This card, it is full of action. Of movement. As the past, it refers to someone who has greatly influenced you. A male, perhaps."
Luna, who had been leaning over the cards intently, straightened up stiffly. The old crone was still bent over the card, and did not notice that Luna's face had paled.
"It seems you, and this one, got caught up in this situation. You didn't take time to think things through before acting."
"Next card is the Present card. This is what is happening to you at this present moment." She drew another card, laying it beside the first. "The Five of Cups."
"You see there are five cups at the man's feet. Three cups have spilled. They represent loss. At present you have been disappointed. The river in the image tells the troubled emotions are making you feel lost and distant." Luna's face was starting to turn red. "You may be cutting yourself off from the joy and love connected with home. You are not aware of the support that remains. That is represented by the two cups still standing. Your friends, ones who love you, offer their support, but you are focusing too much on the disappointment. Remember the bridge. It isn't far from view. It can lead you home again."
Luna's hands were shaking from fury, but the old crone still did not sense the danger.
She drew the last card. "The Future Card."
The woman gave no other explanation.
"The Hanged Man."
"The man hangs by his ankle, but he is very calm. He does not struggle. He has chosen to do this to gain enlightenment - the halo around his head. The Hanged Man willingly gives up his mundane existence. He wishes to attain a greater understanding that will benefit not only himself, but also his people."
The woman's eyes remained closed and did not see Luna's murderous glare.
"The Hanged Man signifies that your situation may best be improved by letting go. Thus can mean a sacrifice of something you love in favor of your best interest. It may mean that your struggle to manipulate and control things has made your situation worse. You must relax. Let events unfold. You must stop second-guessing others and their motivations, only then you discover the true meaning behind the situation.
"The Hanged Man can indicate that you may do the opposite of what you would typically do, or what would be expected of you."
"These are what the cards say, my dear."
Hekiashi stared at the cards, for the first time an insane spark of curiosity lighted. This woman had not realized her lucky gift, but what she held was true Tarot cards, true cards of power. Usually the cards drawn by the readers where fake and had no meanings.
This was real.
The Past card, a person's influence. Luna, getting caught up in a situation? Not thinking things through…
The Present Card. Luna seemed to be the hardest worker, the dedicated one. Was there something behind that? The cards said she was lost and distant…
The Future Card. A sacrifice of something loved? A struggle to manipulate and control things? Her needing to relax wasn't new… but it being deeper than that had gone beyond him.
And these cards were talking about Luna?
What the hell was going on?
Hekiashi was knocked out of his thoughts when Luna's chair rocketed back and hit him. He jumped to his feet, startled. Luna had risen. Fury seeming to radiate from her, she angrily knocked the Tarot cards from the table, scattering them on the floor.
She threw a few dollar bills on the table toward the stunned old crone and snatched Hekiashi's hand.
"Let's go."
She turned and dragged Hekiashi out after her.
Hekiashi, for one of the first times around Luna, was bewildered beyond words.
"Luna-"
"Lies!" Luna spun around and dropped his hand, glaring up at him. "Lies and babbling! You were right. It was a pathetic use of our time."
A sharp retort was on the tip of Hekiashi's tongue, but something held him back. He stopped her and turned her around.
"Luna, are you okay?"
Luna shook her head, still not meeting his eyes.
"I'm fine, Hekiashi. The stuff doesn't mean anything." She said, overdoing the casualness. "I was just being silly. Come to think of it," She said, looking up with a small smile, a light in her eyes. "I suppose we forget to get your fortune told-"
"Oh, God. Spare me."
Luna giggled, turned around, and continued to stroll.
Darkness permeated the room. In the center of a room was a desk, sitting behind it a man deep in shadow. Various scientists bustled around in the darkness, the only light illuminating the room coming from the large screen at the center of the room. With a bang, the door at the side slammed open. A blonde hair man dressed in all black rushed in, breathing heavily. He bowed to the man behind the desk before panting out his words.
"We brought in that footage from the mall, sir." The blonde boy panted, holding out a small hard drive. "Those pictures you wanted – of those two strangers – all on here."
"Well done, Bob. You have done exactly as I have asked." The man in the shadows waved a hand toward the scientist standing next to him. "Ray. You know what to do."
His assistant bowed to him quickly, wiping sweat from his brow and plugging in the hard drive in a small slot to the master computer.
And up flashed the pictures.
The first that flashed up was of a blonde girl dressed in white and black, twirling in the breeze while balancing on the fountain's bars. Soon after popped up was of the girl and another, a boy dressed in red and black, descending the main stairs of the mall. The next was of the stunned girl being hugged by the mall owner's daughter. The fourth was of the mall owner's daughter smiling at the camera, even though at the time it had been hidden, and that target girl behind her, midway through a laugh.
More and more images flashed – the target girl and boy sitting together, glaring across a grey table. The girl sprinting down the staircase while a mob of pink blurs came up behind her. The boy holding the target girl in his arms, him with a glare, her with a shocked expression. Next of the girl's face, close to the hidden camera, people spinning behind her. Her expression was uneasy. The girl sitting on a bench, her face buried in her hands, the boy standing next to her.
The final was of the boy sitting on top of the fountain's bars, the target girl in a different dress gazing at him.
"Perfect."
The man smirked in anticipation, carefully scrutinizing the girl in the picture.
"That girl…"
"Forgive me sir, oh, forgive me, but what about her is so special, sir?" The assistant muttered, wiping his brow in nervousness. "I think it's the white hair of the boy that's more unusual-"
"I'm not worried about the unusual fads of the day! It's her eyes, look at the eyes!" The man exclaimed, pounding the desk. "They're purple. And they glow. And how many people do you see walking down the street with glowing, purple eyes, eh?"
"They could be just contacts, sir. Tricks of the light, sir..."
The man leaned back in his chair, still in shadow.
"This is… different."
The room was deathly quiet.
"Could she be a Clefairy that shape shifted?" He thought aloud, pressing his fingertips together. "Or of the something I've been hoping for? Ray." He snapped his fingers. "Bring up a picture of a Clefairy."
His commands were obeyed. A picture of a Clefairy popped up next to one of the girl. The man in the darkness slowly looked back and forth between the two. He seemed disappointed, which the rest of the room sensed.
"It doesn't seem Clefairy look like her, sir." The assistant murmured, relieved, pressing buttons on the keyboard, taking off all the pictures one by one. "As I may have mentioned, sir, I'm sure she's just an ordinary girl-"
"Wait."
The man held up one hand for silence.
"Bring up a picture… of Cresselia."
The stunned assistance turned back to the keyboard and pressed a button, which brought a picture of the Pokémon Cresselia up next to the final picture of Luna, standing on the fountain's bars.
The man leaned forward, looking back and forth between the two pictures.
"Hm…"
H/P
