Author's note: I really should stop slacking off. I've got the next chapter up; it's been in the mental planning stage for longer than you know.
Segment 5: From Bat to Curse
Chapter 2: Unfortunate
(Leo)
"Amy should be here any minute," Kim remarked.
Kim and I were standing below a street sign. In one direction, it read "6TH ST." In a perpendicular direction, it read "GREEN AVE." The entrance to a subway station was a stone's throw away. This was the location Amy had told us to meet her at.
A sudden voice diverted our attention. "Leo! Kim!"
I turned my head, and Kim followed. Amy was running up to us with some tickets in her hand. "Sorry it took so long. There was a line at the ticket machine. Are you ready for the Desert of King Frara?"
"Oh, you bet we are," I assured her, and together the three of us took the staircase down into the station.
It was a fairly uneventful train ride. We found a line of three seats that were all together. Amy wanted to sit in the middle, but I pointed out that with our common tail, Kim and I had to sit next to each other. In the end, I wound up sitting in the middle, with Amy to the right and Kim to the left.
"So what's this Desert of King Frara like?" I asked Amy while we were riding.
"Well, like I said, it's a popular tourist attraction," Amy explained. "It's not half as hot as you'd expect, either. There's a little makeshift town just west of the pyramids. That's where the train will drop us off."
Kim smirked. "Sounds interesting."
Amy was right. When we emerged from the station, it wasn't scorching hot like it would normally be in the desert. It was actually more like a warm summer day. Must have been something about the climate. There were a series of tents set up along what resembled a boardwalk. To the right, some large pyramids were visible, but aside from that, it really didn't seem very desertish at all.
"It's just as the brochure pictured it," Amy confirmed. "Where do you want to go first?"
"Stay on task," Kim reminded Amy. "Our first order of business should be to ask around and see if there's anyone who's seen our map thief."
"Don't be so tense," I interjected. "Loosen up a little, Kim. We really should enjoy the sights a little. Come on, let's take a look at that fortune-teller's tent over there."
As I said this, I pointed at one tent that looked fancier than the others. A sign posted above the tent flap read:
FORTUNE-TELLER
Amy rubbed her chin. "So this Mariko is a princess. All right, let's go take a look."
(Amy)
"Hello?" Kim called out as she pushed aside the tent flap. "Is anyone in here?"
The interior of Princess Mariko's tent was lit by nothing more than a few candles set up in various places and some sunlight coming in from the windows. The dim light gave the tent a mystic feel. I couldn't help but think about what the owner must be like as I looked around.
"Sit down, please, all of you," an older female voice responded. All attention focused on the table in the center of the room, behind which was seated a female cat figure a little older than Kitty O'Brien. Her fur was a goldenrod color, and she wore a red robe. In front of her there was a beautiful crystal ball.
Obeying this lady's command, the three of us sat down in the three chairs that had been conveniently set up in front of the table. Kim sat in the middle this time, with Leo to the right, while I took my position on the left.
"I am Princess Mariko," the feline introduced herself. "I have a bloodline which goes straight up to King Frara himself. If you head south from here, his pyramid's the first one on the right. You can't miss it. Some of the pyramid's treasure still remains undiscovered. But enough about that."
About then, I turned my head and glimpsed none other than Rouge the Bat peeking in through the tent flap and listening in on us. The instant she saw me, she ducked her head out, and I lost her.
"Take your seat, miss," Mariko hissed. I did so. "Did you want a fortune-telling?"
"Yes, very much," Kim confirmed. "Tell us about our future."
Mariko nodded, and then rubbed her hand over the crystal ball. She continued doing this for about a minute, as if she was in a trance. Finally, she spoke. "The crystal ball tells me that something you believe to be true may actually be quite false. That's the fortune the ball tells."
I jumped to my feet. "Please! There isn't any detail in that. I could give a more specific fortune than that with my tarot cards."
"Now just a minute," Mariko replied, a bit of anger entering her mouth. "This is my business you're talking about. I don't take kindly to people who criticize me."
Those words said, Mariko took a vial out of her pocket and poured its contents, a quantity of powder, into her hand. She then took a deep breath and blew the powder into my face. I coughed a little, but I remained calm.
"What was that?" Leo asked after a moment.
"Not much," Mariko explained nonchalantly. "I just gave her a taste of the family curse. It should take effect in about fifteen minutes. You can go now; I won't charge you for the fortune-telling just this once."
As we were leaving, Kim turned and faced me. "Amy," she asked, "aren't you a little worried about that family curse business that the princess mentioned?"
"Couldn't care less," I replied. "As far as I'm concerned, curses are just superstitious garbage." If only I'd known.
I think that does it for the chapter. I think I've figured out by now why I'm doing so much better with Saul than with this story. I started this one badly, and I did it in a way that I can't really make it much better.