Tarot

by Marissa Kennerson

  “I’d never had coffee before I came here,” Anna said lightly. “I was missing out.”

  Daniel smiled at her. “This is where it comes from.” He walked his horse between the crops, and Anna followed beside him. “Speaking of where things come from, I’m curious to know more about you.”

  Anna halted. “What would you like to know?” She tried to keep her tone even.

  “How did you come to live with the noblewoman?” Daniel pressed as they walked toward the farm’s entrance. “We can head back to the stables; I’m satisfied,” he said. They mounted their horses again and directed them back toward the jungle.

  Anna decided to begin with the truth. “My mother died in childbirth.”

  Instead of running their horses down the wide path leading to the trees, Daniel and Anna allowed them to amble along at their own pace.

  “She was the lady’s maid, and I guess it was a big scandal that she was pregnant out of wedlock.” Anna wove what she hoped was a convincing story, stringing together half-truths and things she’d learned about life in the Hierophant’s Kingdom. “No one knew who my father was, and the noblewoman loved to always remind me that I was a worthless bastard.”

  Daniel’s face fell. “You don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” he said.

  “The lady had the other servants raise me until I was old enough to hold a broom, and then she put me to work.” Anna hadn’t even heard Daniel’s offer. She continued, her voice tight with emotion. “But it was worse than being a servant because they had families of their own. I had no one, and she knew it.”

  “I’m—” Daniel paused, cocking his head to the side. “Do you hear that?”

  Anna strained her ears. A low rumble hummed through the jungle.

  “The monkeys?” Anna asked. They pulled their horses to a stop. Anna’s snorted and tossed her head, eyes wild.

  Daniel held up his hand. The rumble grew louder, and the wind picked up, lifting the leaves off the jungle floor and rippling through the trees. A strange buzz pierced the air. Anna clapped her hands over her ears, trying to hang on to the reins as the wind whipped around them.

  “What’s happening?” Anna yelled to Daniel. “Is it a storm?” She could barely hear herself talk above the rustle of the trees and the piercing buzz.

  “Follow me!” Daniel shouted to her.

  Anna tried to pull on the reins, but her horse was taking sporadic backward steps. She fought to keep her on course as the buzzing grew louder and the earth began to shake. Daniel’s horse reared up on his hind legs, but he clutched his neck, managing to hold on. Anna’s horse shook her head violently and whinnied in distress. She tried to grab on to her mane, but the silky hair slipped through her fingers and Anna slid off, hitting the ground hard. A sharp pain shot through her tailbone, making her eyes tear. She yelped as the steeds continued to stomp above her.

  “Tuck your arms in and roll!” Daniel shouted, directing his horse away from Anna. He pulled the reins so vigorously that the leather ripped into his palm, splitting the soft skin open. “Damn it!” he yelled, wiping the blood on his pant leg.

  Anna followed his instructions and rolled out of the way just as her horse reared up and her hooves pounded back down to the ground.

  Then, as suddenly as it had come on, the shaking stopped. The wind died completely and the buzzing sound was reduced to a hum once more. Daniel jumped off his horse, holding his injured hand to his chest, and ran to Anna.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I think I’m fine.” Anna put her hand to her lower back and tried to stand up slowly. Her back was tender, but the shooting pain she had felt when she hit the ground was gone. She looked at the blood saturating Daniel’s clothes. “You’re bleeding!”

  Daniel glanced at his hand. “It’s worse than it looks.” But his face was drained of color.

  Anna ripped a strip of fabric from the hem of her dress. “Here.” She took Daniel’s hand and wrapped the fabric tightly around it. “What was that?”

  Daniel shook his head. “It was as if the land itself were trembling.”

  Anna tied off the fabric. “That will have to do for now.”

  Daniel took his hand back and nodded to her. “Thank you.”

  Anna looked up at the still trees. “Does that happen here? Does the ground tremble like that?” Anna asked. The forest was eerily quiet. Even the monkeys had ceased their howling.

  “We need to get back to the others.” Daniel stroked his horse’s muzzle lovingly with his good hand. “I’m sure they felt it too.”

  Daniel held on to Anna’s shoulder as she awkwardly helped him mount his horse one-handed. “Good thing you’re tall,” he muttered breathlessly once he was up. He took the reins in his good hand and glanced back at Anna over his shoulder.

  “And no, that never happens here.”

  When they reached the beach, the sun was high in the midday sky and it seemed like all of Cups was there, swimming and sunning themselves. Thorn, Ivy, Daisy, and Luke were on the shore, playing the game with the ball and the hand cloths. Lara and Terra were floating in the water. Daniel and Anna stared at each other, perplexed.

  “Did it really happen?” Anna wondered out loud.

  “It must have,” Daniel said.

  They rode through the gardens and West Farm, but there was no sign of any disturbance. Anna helped Daniel put the horses back in the stalls and walked back toward the beach, Daniel a few steps ahead.

  “It’s like the ocean this morning,” Anna mumbled.

  Daniel whipped his head around. “What was that?”

  “Oh.” Anna flinched. “I went out to the cove early this morning with James, and there was a storm surge.”

  Daniel’s mouth fell open.

  “But we’re fine,” Anna assured him. “It was gone as soon as it had come.”

  He narrowed his eyes, studying Anna’s face. “Anna, is there something you’re not telling me?” Daniel stepped closer to her. “These are dangerous events. You almost just got trampled, and you’re telling me you nearly drowned this morning?” Daniel pointed his finger toward the ocean. “The entire population of Cups is out on the beach today. What if it happens again?”

  Anna shrank beneath Daniel’s unwavering gaze. “It came on so fast, I didn’t—”

  Daniel held up his non-injured hand, holding the other to his chest. “You can’t hide things like this from me, Anna. Lara and I, we have a duty to protect Cups from outside forces that would harm us. We’ve worked hard to build our people’s trust and respect.”

  Anna’s lip trembled. Outside forces. For the first time, she felt isolated from the community that had so openly embraced her.

  Daniel sighed. “James should’ve told me the second it happened,” he said to himself.

  “We had a fight. Don’t blame him,” Anna whispered.

  Daniel wiped his brow. “I need time to talk this over with Lara. Truthfully, I don’t have an explanation for what happened today, and that distresses me more than anything.”

  “Please, let me go get her. Your injury.” She nodded to his hand, wrapped in her dress fabric, which was now soaked with blood. He nodded back, pale, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. Anna turned on her heel, her lower back throbbing dully as she ran toward the water.

  * * *

  Anna had spent several quiet days working in the stables when she decided to join a small group on a trip out to sea. They were gliding along on a fine wooden sailboat built by the people of Cups.

  “Thanks for coming.” Lara looked back at Daniel, who was operating the boat, his injured hand now properly bandaged, with Luke at his side. “I needed to get him away. He’s been so anxious since you two experienced that quake in the jungle.”

  “But nothing has happened since.” Anna bit her lip and glanced at Lara. “It’s been so calm.”

>   Lara patted Anna’s arm. “He just worries. I could barely get him out here for the morning. I wanted us to go for an overnight on one of the south beaches, but he refused.”

  James stepped onto the deck and plopped down behind them. “I can believe that,” he said. “He wouldn’t sleep a wink, so what would be the point?”

  Anna threw a glance over her shoulder at James. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile, but she quickly looked away. She hadn’t spoken to James since their argument at the cove, and she couldn’t decide whether she was still angry with him.

  “He’s not sleeping as it is.” Lara glanced back once more.

  “How are you doing?” Anna asked carefully.

  Lara wrinkled her nose. “It’s hard to see him so anxious. I wish I could just make it all go away.” She put up her hands and spread her fingers wide.

  James and Anna nodded sympathetically.

  “How’s your back?” Lara asked. She picked up the hem of Anna’s top and revealed an ugly cloud of purple-and-gray bruising.

  “Anna!” James gasped.

  Anna pushed her shirt back down. “It’s fine. Just a little sore.”

  James looked at Lara, his brow furrowed with concern, but Lara shrugged.

  “Let’s moor at that cove!” Luke shouted, the wind sweeping his mop of blond hair from his face.

  “We can have lunch there before we head back,” Henry chimed in. Anna, James, and Lara stepped carefully to the back of the boat to join the others.

  Lunch was crab sandwiches, fresh fruit, and cold wine. It was divine. The boys tossed a ball around while Anna sat on the sand with Lara, Terra, and Rebecca, letting the tide sweep over their toes. Even Daniel was not immune to the warm sunshine, salty air, and delicious food. Anna watched as he threw the ball to James, higher and farther each time despite having to play one-handed. She laughed as James jumped and dove, skidding through the sand to catch it.

  After a particularly close catch, a very sandy James bounded up to Anna. “Join me for a walk?” he asked.

  Anna looked at Lara, who gave a subtle nod and shooed Anna off with her hands. She stood up and wiped the sand off the backs of her legs.

  James tossed the ball to Terra and gestured for Anna to walk with him down the beach. “It’s a perfect day,” James commented. The sky was a brilliant powder blue and the crystalline sea stretched out for miles in front of them.

  “It is,” Anna agreed, avoiding James’s eyes. She worried her voice might betray her nerves if she said more. They walked in awkward silence until the rest of the group were just specks in the distance.

  “Have you thought any more about what happened the other day?” James blurted. “I don’t know how much time you need, but not talking to you is killing me.”

  Anna stopped and placed her hands on her hips, finally ready to look James in the eye. “I don’t understand what you want from this.” She gestured between them. “Things are over with Ivy, but I’m too much for you right now. It’s confusing, James.”

  James placed a hand to his forehead. “I shouldn’t have said that about you, Anna. I’ve liked you since the first moment I saw you. Poking around at the air like some kind of carnival mime.”

  She cocked her head.

  “You know.” James pushed an invisible wall with his hands.

  Anna clapped a hand over her mouth, unable to control her giggles. She took a deep breath and set her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell Daniel about the storm at the cove?” Anna asked.

  “I should have,” James answered. “But you see how he is now. This is all Daniel will think about for months.” He frowned. “I was going to wait until things cooled down, then talk to you first. I thought maybe we could figure it out together, if there was even anything to figure out.” James smiled his warm smile, the one that made his eyes crinkle at the edges.

  Anna was finding it harder and harder to stay mad at him.

  “And another thing.” James placed his hand lightly on Anna’s shoulder. “Daniel takes his role very seriously, but sometimes it can cloud his vision. Whatever he made you think, Anna, none of this is your fault. He just likes to explore every angle of a situation.”

  She dropped her arms and took a step toward James. As he moved his hand from her shoulder to the small of her back, she jumped.

  “Ouch!” She winced, gently touching her bruise.

  “I’m sorry! I forgot,” he said, pulling his hand away.

  “It’s all right.” She moved closer to him, pressing her chin to his stiff, salty shirt and focusing on his sparkling green eyes.

  James leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. Anna felt like she was melting, engulfed in his warm cedar-and-salt smell, tiny sensations of pleasure spilling down her sun-warmed shoulders. One of James’s hands found the soft skin of her stomach beneath her shirt while the other found her outstretched fingers and they intertwined tightly. Anna kept her eyes closed as James’s lips touched her cheek, then her jaw, then her neck.

  His hand was sliding farther down to Anna’s leg when someone shouted their names from down the beach. They broke apart, giggling and shuffling their feet in the sand.

  “Race you back?” James narrowed his eyes at Anna.

  Anna frowned and pointed at her bruised back.

  A wide grin spread across James’s face. He leaned down, scooped Anna up in his arms, and tore off down the beach.

  The Fool sat at a small writing desk in his chambers. He had lit a fire and wrapped himself in a thick wool blanket to combat the cold. Bembo sat at his feet, head resting on his little paws and providing the Fool with some much-needed companionship while Drake was off training with the other squires and their cadre of knights.

  He was attempting to write a new poem, and it was not going well. Ever since Anna had left he’d felt a giant space in his heart, in his day, where she had always been. The Fool tapped his feathered quill on the depressingly blank sheet of paper. He was stuck.

  Suddenly Bembo let out a low, rumbling growl.

  “What is it?” the Fool asked, leaning down to stroke the fluffy dog. Bembo shot to his feet and ran to the door. It was then that the Fool heard the heavy footfall of boots approaching his room.

  “Bembo, go hide!” the Fool hissed. “Visit the Magician later. She will keep you safe.” Bembo obediently jumped into the bed and burrowed under the covers just as the chamber doors burst open.

  Two large guards stomped inside and grabbed the Fool by his arms. They dragged him from his chamber in his stocking feet, the wool blanket falling to the floor in a heap.

  “Can I at least put on my shoes?” the Fool pleaded, but the guards ignored him, continuing to drag him down the cold stone hallway. They pulled him roughly down several flights of steep stairs as they traveled into the bowels of the kingdom. It quickly became clear to the Fool where the guards were taking him—the castle’s dungeons. He wanted to scream, but he knew that, deep underground and surrounded by feet of stone on all sides, no one would hear him.

  The guards finally stopped in front of a cell and shoved the Fool inside, slamming a heavy metal door behind them, leaving the Fool alone in the dark, dank cell. He crumpled to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. Freezing, wet, and unable to see a way out, the Fool cried softly.

  “Magician, if you can hear me, come get me,” he whispered. The Fool concentrated on the thought, but his heart fell as he was hit with the realization that perhaps she, too, was being dragged down to the dungeons. Their plan was falling apart. He wondered if the Hermit had managed to escape, and how they were ever going to save Anna if they were all locked away.

  The Fool heard faint voices outside, and for a moment he allowed himself to feel hope, but when the door clanged open, it was Senator Bassett, standing alongside a guard.

  “Hello, Fool,” he said with a wicked smile. “We have a few q
uestions for you.”

  “And you had to ask them here?” The Fool’s words came out in a strangled sob. “I need to see the King, you awful snake!”

  Bassett chuckled. “Oh, he knows. He’s the one who gave the order.” The Senator’s expression turned sour. “Get him up,” he snapped to the guard. The Fool scurried backward, but the guard was twice his size. He grabbed the Fool by the elbow and stood him up. The Senator delivered a brutal slap to the Fool’s face.

  “Just in case you’re thinking of lying to us,” the Senator said. “We will not tolerate anything but the truth.”

  The Fool gritted his teeth. “Can you at least give me the courtesy of explaining what this is about?” He wrenched his elbow from the guard’s grip and shook out his hands, trying to think of what Drake would do if he were in this position. He probably wouldn’t have gotten himself into this position in the first place, the Fool thought.

  “This is about your colluding with the girl and helping her escape.”

  The Fool gasped and put a hand to his chest. “I did no such thing.”

  Bassett sneered. “Before this night is over, I will know the truth.” He waved to the guard. “Bring them in.”

  The guard leaned out the door and signaled to someone in the hallway outside. Two more guards appeared, pulling off their close-fitting hoods.

  “I want you to see how much I am going to enjoy this,” one guard snarled.

  The Fool felt his stomach churn with fear. “Please!” he yelped. “I can’t believe you would suggest such a thing. Just let me see the King.”

  “The King is too soft and too quick to believe your lies. You’ll deal with me.” Senator Bassett stuck out his thumb. “After you deal with them. When they are done with you, you will tell us how the girl escaped and where she went.”

  “But I have no idea how she escaped.” The Fool rushed toward Bassett, and a burly guard pushed him against the wall.

  “What a lovely boy,” the guard jeered. “It would be a shame to ruin such a pretty face.”