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Darkness surrounded Chihiro. She couldn't see anything, and her eyes felt heavy and almost closed. She stood there in a groggy fugue when, inexplicably, a piece of paper and a pen appeared before her, floating in the void. She slowly marched towards it and read the text jotted down on it:

On this piece of paper is a contract. Be not afraid of it, as this contract has but one condition; That you accept all responsibility for your actions and that you consent to accept any consequences that occur as a result of whatever you do. If you find these terms acceptable, sign your name below.

Although the contract seemed odd, and its spontaneous manifestation didn't do much to reassure her, she felt compelled to sign it. She took the pen and jotted down her name with the pen's thick, blue ink. With the final stroke of the pen, both it and the contract vanished from her sight.

Somewhere, Sometime, Somehow

Nnngh… What's that sound, Chihiro thought to herself. As she began slowly gaining consciousness, she found her peace disturbed by an airy, mechanical hissing, which sounded almost like wind. Chihiro's mind then jolted awake. Hang on, that sounds like… the inside of a plane?

"It would appear our guest is starting to wake up," a mysterious voice said. It sounded like it belonged to an older man. Chihiro opened her eyes and quickly sat up. Rather than seeing aisle after aisle of stiff plane seats, she was greeted by the sight of the soft couch she had been laying on, and a small but ornate room that was drenched in shades of blue.

"So, you've come to," the mysterious voice said to her. She darted her view to the source of the voice; A tall, hunched-over man with a long, pointed nose. He was looking at her with wide eyes, which, if the blood vessels lining the outer edges were any indication, were strained. He flashed a toothy expression, which seemed to fall between a warm smile and an evil grimace.

"We've been waiting for you. Welcome to the Velvet Room, my girl," he said. "It's not often young women like yourself come here with such… beguiling destinies." At least twenty different questions flooded into Chihiro's mind, but she decided to start with the most glaring one. "Just who are you?" She asked with audible discomfort.

The man chuckled mischievously. "There's no need to be afraid. However, I do understand your concern… I suppose being a girl your age waking up in a room with a man of mine would be… unusual, at the very least," he said sympathetically. "I… am Igor. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Chihiro wasn't comfortable just yet, but she tried to be at least… somewhat polite. "Y-yeah, good to meet you… Wait, who's 'we?'"

As if on cue, a young woman with off-white skin came out from behind a doorway with a curtain on it, carrying a tray of drinks in her hands. She had on a short, jet-black attendant's dress complete with a cap, and she had her white hair tied back in a spiky ponytail. She darted her yellow eyes at Chihiro, then back at Igor.

"Here's the drink you asked for, sir," she said, setting down the tray. "Excellent. Timely as usual," Igor praised. Cheryl smiled at this praise. Igor took one of the drinks off the tray and took a sip before returning his attention to Chihiro. "This is Cheryl," he began. "She's a protégé of mine. Cheryl, why don't you greet our young visitor?" He said, looking from one girl to the other. Cheryl shrugged and mumbled something about wanting to study as she buried her nose in a book.

Igor smiled at her. "I'm impressed at your diligence towards your studies, but you mustn't forget the social aspect of your future role…" Chihiro cleared her throat, wanting to resume the conversation so she could find out why she was here.

"I apologize; This visit is about you," he said. "This room is one only those who've signed a contract may enter." Chihiro suddenly remembered that odd piece of paper she signed. So that's what that was? She thought to herself. "All right, so I signed a contract… But what do you mean by my destiny?"

"As far as destinies go, yours is quite an intriguing one," he said, leaning forward and widening his grin. "Tell me... Do you believe in fortune-telling, girl?" He asked. "Like, as a parlor game?" Chihiro inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, don't be mistaken; this is no parlor game or attraction." He turned to the other woman. "Cheryl, I believe you said you wanted to read someone's fortune?"

Cheryl walked over to Chihiro and handed her three cups of tea. "Drink them." She demanded. She furrowed her brow. "I don't think I follow," she told the woman. "You ever heard of tasseography? You know, tea leaf reading? This is that. And I can't do it until you finish the tea," Cheryl replied firmly. Chihiro hesitantly took one of the cups. "This is a lot of tea…" she muttered.

Once she downed all three cups, Cheryl took the cups back and looked into them. Her expression became one of intrigue. "Oh, you do have quite a future waiting for you, girl…" She tilted the cups so Chihiro could see their contents. The leaves had formed themselves into concerningly-accurate shapes.

"In the leftmost one, you have an Hourglass. That means you shall be facing dangers, and rather soon. In the middle, you have a Unicorn. That means a scandal… Perhaps several, in your case." Chihiro seemed uncomfortable. "But I've not done anything scandalous…" she detested. "Who said it had to do with anything you did? It could be the scandals of those around you…"

She regained her composure and pointed at the rightmost cup. "And this one…" her face changed. "Well, that's a Moon… That means happiness, usually." Chihiro could tell there would be a catch. "But… when it's at the bottom like that, I suppose it would mean pain and suffering… Perhaps even failure." Igor smiled. "Your methods are unorthodox, but they seem to work; That's the same conclusion I had reached," he told her.

Chihiro gulped. "So… dangers, scandals, and pain...? Just what is this?" she asked nervously. "Is that really my future, my… destiny?" Igor nodded ever so slightly. "Precisely. However, destiny is an… interesting thing. If you're willing, you can change the course of your life, and override your destiny." Chihiro's brow furrowed. "How do I do that? How can I change my destiny?"

Igor's protégé cleared her throat, leading the explanation. "There shall be a mystery that'll force its way into your life. You'll have until next year to solve it. If you can do that, you shall prevail and regain control over your destiny. And if you fail…" "…Your life shall be ripped away from you, and all your efforts shall have been in vain," Igor said, picking up where Cheryl left off, never pulling his face into anything but a terrifying grin.

Chihiro attempted to ask more questions, but she suddenly felt unable to speak. "Oh dear, it's almost time for you to leave. And I completely forgot to ask you your name. But you'll be back here soon enough… When you come back, it'll be of your own free will. You can tell me your name then. Until next time…"

Everything faded to blue and then to black.