FicWad

Arcana



Chapter 0 ~ The Fool, Beginning the Journey


She sat bolt upright and awoke gasping. Someone had been calling her name. She looked around her room, auburn hair getting in her face and blocking her vision. Pushing her hair back behind her ears, she rubbed her eyes and looked around again. Nothing, nothing had changed.

She was sitting in her own white, four posted, bed. Around her was the matching white and gold bed room suit. Piles of clothes and discarded artwork littered the floor, Beautiful anime men and women decorated walls. She glanced at the alarm clock beside her. The red digital numbers said 3:33 am, and she groaned. Why the hell am I awake? She thought.

“Fine, fuck it.” she cursed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Grumbling, she decided to go she if her mom and dad were still up and headed for the door. As her black nailed fingers touched the doorknob, she heard it again.

“Jennipher.....” the voice said.

She spun around to face the direction the voice had come from. She found herself staring at her closet. She reached to her side, hand fumbling for the light plate on the wall. She flipped the switch.... no light. She flipped it again and a third time, still no light. Great... power’s out. Then she remembered her clock. She looked over at it and the little red numbers now said 3:39 am. Okay, not the power then. She thought. A dream maybe? She knew that she could never seem to control the lights in her dreams. She started to turn back to the door when the voice called her name once more.

“Jennipher”

Now she was sure the voice had come from the closet. Fear crept into her chest. She stood there for a moment trying to even out her breathing. This is stupid! I’m ten years old now I can’t be afraid of monsters in the closet!! Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath she stepped forward. Opening her eyes she took another step. The next few steps were easier. Soon Jennipher stood in front of her walk in closet door. She reached out quickly and slid the door open. Her mouth fell open and she stumbled back a step.

“Oh my god!” she gasped. Before her was an empty closet.

This has to be a dream! The closet really was empty. No stuffed animals, no art boxes, and most importantly no huge mound of clothes threatened to fall out and on to her. The closet was as empty has it had been the day her family had first moved in.


She took a step inside and looked around. Not much to see really. It was dark and smelled of cedar. After a moment she turned to walk out, that’s when she noticed the thin line of light. She turned her head to look at that thin light and it was gone. She paused, confused, then turned her head away again and there it was. She widened her eyes and looked harder out of the corner of her vision. There was a very thin square of pale green light on the floor of her closet. She memorized the spot and then turned toward it again. Dropping to her knees she ran her hands along the floor. Crawling to the far side of the closet Jennipher searched for what she knew had to be a trap door. After a few minutes of groping around in the dark she found it.

The wood was smooth in that area except for a deep grove. She dug her fingers into the grove and pulled up. Nothing happened so she tried again. This time however the floor creaked and the trap door opened easily, the door its’ self slamming hard against the far wall.

Now she could see. A faint green light filtered in from the opening in the floor, she looked in. There was a rickety ladder and what looked like coal on the floor below. Probably the basement. She thought. It was dusty, dirty, and she really didn’t want to go down there.

“Jennipher,” the voice came again.

“For fuck’s sake, what!?” she yelled down into the hole. The only thing she heard was the sound of soft laughter.

“Oh!! Fuck you!!” she yelled into the hole again and the laughter stopped.

Alright, gotta do this, it’s just a dream after all. She told herself. She started down the old wooden ladder. It creaked under her weight.

“Please, please, please, ladder don’t break on me!” she whispered. She kept repeating this silently to herself as she descended. She knew she was far too heavy for this thing. Ten years old, five foot three, and one hundred and eighty pounds. She looked more like sixteen than she did ten and she had gotten her in to trouble more than a few times for her appearance.

She was almost to the bottom when the last two struts broke. She fell, rather ungracefully on her ass into the dirt and dust.

“Eww” she whined, as she stood up and dusted off her jeans.

She rubbed her sore butt once more and then looked around. She was standing in small room. The floor was dirt and there were piles of coal in the corners of the room. On her left side was a six foot tall wall, if she stood up on tip toe she could just barely see over the edge. On the other side she saw the part of the basement that she already knew about. Same old coal shoot same old wood/coal burning furnace. Yup, basement. She confirmed mentally and turned back to the newly discovered area.

There was really nothing in this small room of the basement save an old coke machine. That’s when she noticed that the soft green light was coming from the coke machine itself. What the hell? She thought as walked toward it.

The machine really was old, covered like the rest of the room, in dust. It had to be one of the first designs. It had a door on it, so that you could open it to get a drink, instead of having the drink dispensed to you through a slot. There was also no place to put money in at and the green light was coming from inside the machine.

“Great, I’m Alice in Wonderland.” Jennipher said sarcastically, “Crawl through the rabbit hole and now it’s time for the ‘drink me’ moment.”

This is a messed up dream. She thought as she opened the coke machine. Bright, almost blinding green light spilled out from the coke machines’ open door. She closed her eyes quickly and had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted. There was nothing inside, just the bright light. Hmm, no ‘drink me’.

“Jennipher.... come,” the voice said, echoing from the green light.

She pouted, putting her hands on her hips in a defiant pose. “I’m going to what? Walk into the light?”

When she received no answer, she took a step forward. Oh why the hell not? It is my dream after all. Then placing a hand on the doorframe of the machine she stepped through.




~~*




A dark alley. The auburn ten year old now found herself in a dark alley.

She turned and looked behind her and came face to face with a wall. No coke machine. No green light. No doorway. Just a rust and burnt sienna, brick wall. She reached out and ran her fingers lightly over the bricks, only to find that it was indeed solid. Well, no going home that way. She thought.

She turned back and started walking down the alley way. Everything was so dark here. Not just due to low lighting but also the colors. There were no really bright colors anywhere. As she walked she looked up and in the inky black sky where two beautiful moons hung. One of the moons was the color of pearl. Pale and iridescent, casting pale white light and blue shadows. The other moon was the color of a fire opal. Shifting with red, orange, and darker hues. The light it cast was harsh, bathing the alley in light reds and dark greys. When she came to the end of the alley and stepped out onto the street she was in a place she could barely describe.

She found herself in what she could only call a ghost town. However, it wasn’t a ghost town like those seen in a western movie. This was a city, a big city from the looks of it. Glass and steel, but there were older elements as well. Victorian archways and intricate carving on some of the buildings. She looked around her at the dirty, run down buildings.

“This place must have been beautiful once.” She said aloud.

There were no signs of life anywhere. No people and no animals. She shrugged and started down the street.

She had only walked about a block from the alley when she began to hear the sound of rock music. It was soft, but the more she walked the louder it became. After a few minutes she realized that this form of rock music was like nothing she had ever heard before. It was as if someone were mixing different types of music together, using rock as their basis. She moved closer, finding herself in front of a nightclub. She stood outside for a moment listening to the unearthly voice singing inside. She was swaying a bit eyes closed when the door to the bar opened and someone ran into her, knocking her back on to the hard sidewalk.

She looked up and found herself staring at a huge man. His hair was ebony black cut short and uneven. The clothing he wore was dark and very form fitting. He was broad shouldered and looked at her with disgust. His skin is what she was entranced with though, that was the color of stone.

“Hey! Don’t just stand in the doorway little girl.” He said.

She got up quickly. “I was just listening to the music.” she replied.

He snorted at her and rolled his eyes. “You’re new here aren’t you.” he stated more than asked. He gave her a once over and then continued, “Go inside and talk to the man at the bar, his name is Bob.” He bent down so that he was at eye level, he smiled at her. “And now if you don’t mind, get out of my way.”

Jennipher stared at him as his words registered. Her eyes widened. “Oh, sorry.” she said hurriedly and took a step back.

He walked past her grumbling to himself, without giving her a second glance. She watched him as he walked down the street, turned a corner and disappeared. She looked down the empty road once more before going inside the nightclub.

The bar itself was the closest area to the door. Just beyond that was a seating area where a handful of people were sitting and talking. Well she couldn’t really say that they were all people. Some of the beings in this club were human, others were not. Some of the creatures that she saw in this place were werewolves, winged angels, and even demons. She closed her eyes for a moment, when she opened them nothing had changed. What a weird dream. She thought to herself. She continued to survey her surroundings. Past the seating area was a dance floor with a few ‘creatures’ dancing on it. Beyond that was a stage. She gazed at the stage looking for the voice she had heard outside. There standing at the microphone stand is what looked to be a angel. Well that would explain the voice. She mused.

She walked over to the bar and sat on the end stool furthest from everyone else. She waved at the man behind the bar and he held up one finger indicating that he would be with her in a moment. She waited, listening to the music and tapping out the beat of the song on the edge of an empty glass. Again she got so lost in the music that she didn’t notice when the man behind the bar started talking.

“....help ya with?”

She blinked and looked at big black bartender. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked.

He smiled at her and repeated himself, “What can I help ya with?”

“Oh” she smiled back. “I’m new here and the man outside said to talk to ‘Bob’. Are you Bob?”

“Yup, that’ld be me.” he said still smiling. He turned suddenly and yelled across to the other end of the bar. “Hey Janet, take the orders, we got a newbie.”

The blue haired woman at the other side of the bar nodded and turned back to her customer. Bob took off his apron and walked around to sit next to Jennipher. Once seated he began to talk.

“So you’re new, how did ya get here?” he asked smiling once again.

She fidgeted for a moment before answering. “Through a coke machine...” she said under her breath.

“What?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I came here trough a coke machine.” she said louder.

Bob’s smile widened. “Well, that’s a new one.” He reached out and ruffled her hair. “Do ya know where ya are?”

Shaking her head she replied “No”

Bob sighed and reached into his shirt pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and took a long drag. Blue gray smoke drifted above their heads, circling around only to fade and disappear. He looked at her, worry shown in his brown eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she stated, “This is my dream after all.”

Bob laughed softly and took another drag from his cigarette before speaking. “Well, you’re half right, little one. This isn’t just your dream. This dream belongs to many.”

Jennipher frowned at him, her eyebrows knitting. “No... this is my dream.” she said defiantly.

He gave her a warm smile. “I can’t really help ya, but someone will be here soon that can. His name is Miguel.”

“Miguel.” she repeated.

“Yeah,” he sighed. Then he pointed at one of the tables at the seating area. “That table there, that’s where he always sits.” He got up and walked around to the other side of the bar again. He turned from her a pulled a bottle down from the back wall, he then reached under the bar and retrieved a glass. He set both the bottle and the glass in front of her. She looked at him confused.

“Take these and sit at that table, he’ll help.” he said and turned away. He started to walk off and then turned back quickly. “Ya want something to drink?” he asked.

“I don’t have any money.”

“That’s alright, I ‘ll take care of it. What would ya like?” he replied.

She thought for a moment. “Something blue.” she said smiling.

“Okay, I’ll have Janet bring it to ya, go on over there and have a seat.” he said and turned away again.

Jennipher hopped down off of the bar stool and picked up the bottle and glass. She turned and walked the table that Bob had pointed out. She sat down and placed both bottle and glass on the table.

Once situated she looked around and noticed that the band that had been on stage was no longer there. The new band was playing something soft and soothing. She listened quietly and didn’t even notice as Janet walked over and sat a glass a creamy blue liquid on the table. After a few minutes of getting lost in the music she looked over at the bar trying to see Bob.

She found him and noticed that he was talking to a beautiful, red haired male. Who is he? She wondered. The red head was tall, he had to be at least six foot three, he wore his red hair wild and long. His face was all sharp angles and he wore a long black trench coat. Even through the coat she could tell that he was well thin but well built. His movements were languid and smooth, almost cat like. It was his eyes though that caught her attention. From what she could see his eyes were green. They were a bright new leaf green and the color extended into the whites of his eyes.

He turned a caught her staring. She looked down quickly and reached for her drink. She took a sip of the thick blue liquid, savoring the taste of cotton candy in her mouth. She knew she was blushing from embarrassment and kept her head down. While she was lost in thought the chair across from her was pulled out and someone sat down. The soft smell of cologne crept over to her making her heady.

“You can’t sit here, I’m waiting for someone,” she said and looked up. She was shocked the see the red head sitting across from her. Her mouth fell open as she tried in vain to find words to say to him.

The red head laughed and reached for the bottle of Vodka on the table. He poured himself a glass and took a long drink. When he looked at her again he smiled. His smile wasn’t very warm, but it comforted her none the less. She closed her mouth but was still staring, he was quite possibly the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

“I... I’m Jennipher.” She stuttered.

His smile widened as he reached over the table a took her hand. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her hand and then released it before speaking.

“I am Miguel, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”











TBC......