Fictionista Workshop - WitFit December Prompts

December 6, 2009 (www(dot)fictionistaworkshop(dot)com/witfit/2009-12-06/)

Word Prompt: Alabaster

Imagined Images: You are visiting the neighbourhood carnival with friends and decide to have your fortune told. As you walk in, the gypsy stops, stares at you and says, "I've been waiting." What happens next?

Creative Original or Derivative: Derivative (Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer)

Disclaimer: All copyright, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

Rating/Warning(s): T (explicit hunting details)

Genre: Mystery/Romance

Peter, Charlotte and I were visiting a local carnival in Denver. I had overheard some humans talking about it – just before I drank from them.

Right now, Colorado was clean of any other vampires. It made our hunting easier. The vampire wars were still a sore spot in many memories; and I didn't fancy destroying any more vampires for a while.

Carnivals were always an easy spot for hunting. There was a large collection of people in a small area, hundreds of concealed spots throughout the grounds, and due to the rides; many people were already screaming.

I saw a small tent pitched in a secluded corner – between a tractor business and a run-down shooting gallery. The tent was covered in bright pink, purple and blue tie-dyed pieces of calico fabric, and many beads adorned the mass of sheets. It looked eccentric. No human would dream of going in that place.

The mood originating from the tent was a strong, positive aura. The atmosphere felt almost thick uncertainness. I suddenly turned in the tents direction, and felt a moment of confusion from Peter and Charlotte, but that gave way to anticipation and desire.

I didn't like killing humans. With my unique ability to sense emotions and feelings, it was an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience for both the human and me. When I came towards any human, they would feel shocked by my approach, and then two opposing emotions of both and want and fright. The closer I would come, the stronger the emotions became. Then, as I would slowly lean at their neck – like I was about to kiss them – they would feel burning passion. They were no longer frightened of what could happen to them. They had let their hearts take over.

As soon as I would bite, a short spasm of screaming would occur, and this would make me feel terrible and frightened of myself. It was at this point that I would put them out of their misery. I would snap their necks. Then I was free to drain my prey, without any emotions influencing me.

I opened one of the cloths of the tent to get inside, and saw what looked as a regular fortune-teller's set up. There was a table draped with a purple cloth and adorned with a stereotypical crystal ball in the corner, surrounded by two small but plush-looking arm chairs.

The main table was a dark wood covered in a confusing and unorganized collection of cards and symbols. Beads lay scattered over the ground in disarray.

The human I came here for sat behind the table, arms folded neatly and staring directly at me.

"I've been waiting."

Her voice was calm, soothing, and her feelings were the same. I was shocked; no human reacted like this to me. Sensing my apprehension, Charlotte and Peter stopped immediately after me.

"Come in, you took your time."

I hadn't come in here to get my fortune told, but I decided that my thirst could wait for now. I would humour this human first.

I stalked forwards and sat on the low stool in front of the table. I felt more instant confusion from Peter and Charlotte.

The gypsy collected all the cards on her table quickly, and dealt them out in a poker like fashion. She asked me to pick one, and I picked up and flipped a grey card to see a cross like symbol.

The gypsy crooked her index finger, telling me she wanted the card.

"Now, dearie. You will be at crossroads with your mind soon. Your lifestyle choice is bothering you at the moment, and you already know this. The sooner you make this decision, the better others will fare from it."

Okay, crossroads. Lifestyle choice. So far, this woman was making no sense.

Wordlessly, she collected all the cards – minus the one I had just picked – and shuffled them before picking out the middle one. She didn't even look at it, just laid it on the table and looked at me while she was talking.

"The triangle represents three, and the line down the middle signifies the three will be split," she picked another card out from the middle of the stack, it was yellow with a sideways V shaped symbol, "soon."

She was looking at me with an expression like she could see right through me.

It was unnerving. Heck! A vampire unsettled by a mere human; a great story to share with Peter and Charlotte, when I finish business with this human.

I suddenly felt a warm touch on my hand, and jerked it back instinctively. During my internal ramble, the gypsy had grabbed my hand.

"Come on, now, don't be afraid."

She was sending out calming waves, almost like she knew I would be receiving them.

I hesitantly held my hand out, halfway across the table. She grabbed it and pulled it down to her side of the table with unnecessary force. She didn't even flinch at the cold and hard texture my alabaster hand would have to her.

She traced the creases in my palm, muttering incomprehensible words to herself. I caught words like "worried", "children", and "other".

She looked up at me again, with an expression of admiration. She was feeling sorry – whether it was for her or for myself, I didn't know.

"You will find another one day soon, someone you harbour adoration for, and you will travel. You will find others like you – and be happy. You will be eternally challenged, it will not get easier," she looked back down at my palm, tracing a small line joining a bigger one, "you will join these others, and then a special one will join you. She will change your perspective even more – you will strive harder to be good."

She seemed to be in a trance while saying all this, the words flowing out of her. I was cast under her spell, clinging onto her every word.

"You won't be scarred anymore, my dear," she was tracing one of my vampire scars, crooning words to it. I jerked my hand away. This woman seemed to know much more than I was comfortable with.

I stood up quickly, the stool suddenly crushed by a small movement of my leg. She wasn't even fazed by this.

"Thank you," I said in my most civil tone, and threw a couple of dollars on the table, before barging my way – rather rudely – out of the tent. Peter and Charlotte quickly followed on my flanks.

"What was that all about, are we not going to kill her?" Peter asked, in a hushed tone. No human would ever hear.

"She sounded like she knew too much. I couldn't tolerate to stay in there, she was too calming, too peaceful," too knowing, I added silently in my head.

"Are you all right, Jasper?"

Never in my seventy years had I heard that question being asked to a vampire.

"Yeah, fine, Charlotte. Why don't you and Peter go enjoy the carnival, I think I'll meet up with you in a few days time."

"Okay, Jasper, "she said gradually, "you know where we'll be. Um, goodbye, then."

I watched their backs disappear to the other side of the carnival, and once I couldn't feel them anymore, I walked my way to the nearby forest, which was just by the peculiar tent.

Before I started running, I could hear, "she will be in Philadelphia, my dearie," come from inside the tent.

I had no idea who she was, but I suddenly found myself heading due east, to Philadelphia.

Now, I know absolutely nothing about fortune telling, I have never had it done, nor will I probably ever (I feel a child in Africa will use $10 more wisely than me and a fortune stall). So any of the crap you read here is absolutely not true (well, it may be – but probably not).

I don't know how I got this idea. I was messing around with Alice being the gypsy, but eventually ended up with Jasper getting his fortune told and finding out some interesting things.