A secret command and a prediction

Liv woke up to the sound of a snap. Bright, crisp, sudden and she was aware once more. Had she ever not been?

She looked around to see Emmaline sitting next to her, smiling, and Allyndra across from her staring with one eyebrow raised. Liv blushed, shifted in her seat, then pushed her chin up. No reason to act foolish in front of this woman. Less reason to give Emmaline any fuel to work with.

What had she been… right--the card.

There on the table between them was a single face up card with silver mists fading away from around it’s edge.

“The Tower,” Allyndra said. Though, honestly, Liv could have guessed that. She wasn’t much of an expert in this carnival bullshit, but still--the card had a tower on it.

It was a tall structure if the mountainous background was to be believed. All across the back of the card was a shifting environment, transitioning from a rugged mountain range to smaller foothills, then finally to grassy plains, while The Tower stood high over all of it. Or, at least, it did for the moment. On the card, a bolt of lightning was blasting into the stonework, tearing it asunder with godly power. Droplets of rain shimmered in countless stripes of translucent paint which gave off a glistening shine when they caught the light. As Liv stared at the card, the light seemed to ripple over the car and the droplets cascaded in turn as though the storm were turbulent and alive.

“It marks a dramatic change. A reckoning, or a sudden shift in attitudes,” Allyndra said.

“And?” Liv cut in. “You said you’d be specific. This is just more vague bullshit.”

“I did say that,” Allyndra agreed. “Very well.”

She reached forward, sweeping the card back into her hand then settled back into her chair. For long moments, Allyndra simply sat there thinking. While their hostess was preoccupied, Liv took the opportunity to check around the room once more. Something felt… off somehow. She couldn’t quite place it. It was like everything had shifted, or like time had leapt forward around her, leaving her completely unaware.

It felt dangerous.

As she looked around, though, everything was as it should be. Emmalinee’s purse was still tucked away under her chair, and everything about the slutty acrobat was… a normal as anything ever could be with her. Liv wasn’t missing anything either--that was the strange thing, she hadn’t even brought anything the elf could have stolen. And Cassio was there too, his hair seemed to sway about in an nonexistent wind as he shifted back and forth nervously on his feet, still too scared to make eye contact with her.

That, at least, Liv appreciated. At least someone was properly intimidated.

“I predict,” Allyndra finally announced. “That in two days time, you will return to my tent. And, when you do, the both of you will humble yourselves before me and beg my forgiveness.”

Liv snorted. “You’re fucking kidding, right?”

“You may think as you will,” Allyndra said.

“Yeah, good luck with that one!” Liv laughed. She pushed her chair out with a squeak and took to her feet. “Is that enough for you, Emmaline? Can you tell she’s just a self-important hack yet?”

“I…” Emmaline frowned but joined Liv in standing. She seemed to come to a decision and turned to Allyndra with a conspiratory smile. “I’m sorry about her. She’s always like this.”

“It’s no trouble, Miss Beaumanoire,” Allyndra said. “I have enough patience to last two short days. See you then.”

“Errr… right,” Emmaline said. Then she turned, and the two Bravos made their way out of the tent and back into the busy beachside market.