Author's Note: Yes, for those who know me, I have indeed started another fiction. If and when it will be finished is beyond me, so please forgive and get over it. Anyway, I began working on a Leota fiction long ago and this is pretty much the updated version of it. I've only written the beginning, so please let me know what you think by reading and reviewing (and please, no flames or I shall have Leota place a curse on you).
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing but I personal take on the story of characters created by others.
Prologue: The Fateful Note
Madame Leota,
It has come to my attention that you have a remarkable head for materializing the disembodied. There is some business I should like to discuss with you over dinner tomorrow evening.
Sincerely Yours,
Edward Gracey
The dreadful little note which brought nothing but horrors to my life should have been discarded the moment it fell into my hands. Had I known then what I know now I certainly would not have accepted the invitation, but at the time I was a young, naïve girl who wanted nothing more than acceptance; along with a stable roof above my head and bread to eat. Looking back, I know that my gifts had not developed strongly, therefore my knowledge of the future would have been clouded, though sights of the past more than clear.
Were I able, my body would tremble at the thought of those horrid few lines my eyes should never had caught glimpse of. Of course, to feel anything below my neck is now impossible thanks to my current state. But, through all the things I have lived, it has been an interesting and eventful life; one I should never wish to change (although a slightly different end would have been nice). The adventures, the romance, the parties, the magic, the fame, glory…all of it was worth the price we all had to pay in the end, no matter how high it was.
Life was hard back then, too. There were times when I, as many others I suppose, was out wandering the streets searching for room and board. Money, at times, was scarce and there were few jobs that even hired young women such as myself. But there is always a ray of light in the darkness and luckily I was able to find it. True, that light led me towards a tragic end, but I shall live on in infamy (as many I came across in life would be happy to know).
Though, I was not nor am not as terrible as they say. Like any other girl in my position, I was simply living life from day to day, filling it the way I saw fit and making the most of everything. I possessed gifts others only dream of having, and my ill reputation is nothing more than the jealousy of others. Determined, naïve, bold, honest, affectionate, magical…I was a growing young woman who had to come into her own and build her own character, but I was never evil.
Enough of this foolish rubbish. I shall begin my account of it all shortly, for there are things about me one should know first, before learning the truth of what really happened all those years ago. It begins with a young woman with nothing more to her name than a crystal ball, a worn deck of tarot cards and a crying babe tucked in ancient blanket. She was alone at the edges of a river, her hands clawing at the dirt in anger as her tears watered the ground, the constant wail of a shivering infant filling the silent night.