...right?

You immediately go to stand up as you say that, but the glimmer in the woman's eyes stops you from even moving, her gaze perplexing you. It isn't just curiosity or intrigue...it is a mixture of what feels like everything. Sadness, anger, grief, happiness, lust, passion, ecstasy, bliss, annoyance, frustration, smugness...all of it combined into one set of eyes that make you question not only why you came here, but also why you thought of leaving.

"That...that is definitely a question this deck can answer." She says, and you feel your breathing hitch once more as she moves her hands over the deck with a smile that feels too cheery to be real. "So, how many cards would you like to pull?" She asks, and you look in your own confusion towards her. "The more cards that are pulled, the more broad your reading will be...but it also means the less powerful the effects of them are, and the more likely you are to be negatively affected. On the other hand, pulling only one card may render your thoughts unclear as to these supposed powers of yours..." She says in a neutral tone, and you contemplate for what feels like hours before nodding your head. "Let's go with...five? That, that sounds about right." You say, trying not to second guess yourself, and she smiles back at you. "Five it is." She says, and suddenly fans out the cards in a poker-style spread. "Pick them, then. And if you feel like second guessing yourself, you can always just stop picking before you hit five or keep picking past then." She says with the cheerful grin from earlier, and the pressure feels like it is breaking you even further now.

You pick out the first two with ease, setting them face-down on the table without looking at them, but as your hand hovers over the spread-apart deck to pick the third card, doubts race through your mind. "Should you pick another card? Should you stop now and hope for the best? What if you pick something bad?" You stop thinking and just blindly pick, something that seems to intrigue the girl across from you as you take a third, then a fourth, then a fifth...then a sixth, and a seventh before stopping yourself. "What the fuck am I doing?!" You mentally chastise yourself, but when the deck is pulled away from you, the woman takes the cards and smiles wide. "So, you decided to take a few more after all? Bold choice...very bold..." She says, and spreads those seven cards in a simple side-by-side setup on the table.

After a few moments of hesitation, the first card is flipped over by the woman across from you...

"The Ace of Pentacles, Upright."

Looking towards the woman, she gives a slight smile. "It seems that the gods have granted you a favor with these powers of yours. Whether they be power over others at work, or something...a bit more than that, it is a new opportunity for you, a new beginning. Take this in stride, and continue working hard at what you truly want." She says, and you breath a small sigh of relief from that. "At least the gods are on my side..." You think to yourself, before suddenly realizing that you're just buying into her words without hesitation. You have no time to think on that much though as the second card is flipped over.

"The Page of Cups, Upright."

Another smile from the woman puts you at ease. "Hmm...a tad more specific here. They say your love life is becoming a lot more exciting, more...intriguing to you. You have a fresh perspective on things now, and it is going to make your life a lot more interesting." She says. Short, simple and to the point...it makes you start to feel pretty good. The third card is flipped over, and you maintain a smile on your face.

"The Six of Pentacles, Reversed."

"Huh? It's upside down." You say, and the woman chuckles. "That means it's reversed...let's see here..." she says, taking a moment before continuing, "While your love life may be more exciting, it seems to be very unfair as well. Perhaps someone has a bit too much control within it?" She asks with a sly grin, and a shiver runs down your spine that jolts the smile off of your face. "Regardless, there may need to be a mix up there to prevent someone from feeling like they're being taken advantage of." She says, and your mind races back to Charlotte as the fourth card is flipped.

"The King of Swords, Reversed."

Another reversed card, according to her, and you start to feel nervous. Last time, this wasn't so good for you..."Selfish, abusive...someone in your love life is getting away with quite a lot. Perhaps one of them has a low standard of love? Or maybe it is just the other is much smarter than their opposite and using that to take advantage of them?" She asks, and your curiosity of the rest of the cards turns to fear for what they may bring. "Why did I pick seven cards!? Why didn't I just stop at two!?" You ask yourself as the next one is flipped.

"The Six of Wands, Upright."

As you look at the woman, you see her bearing the same slight smile she has worn the entire reading and can't tell whether to be anxious or relieved. "Your success has been quite noticeable, and not in a bad way. People are noticing what you have done, and they're soon to reward you for it. Wear the victory like a badge of honor, you deserve to." Somehow, your mind goes right back to being relaxed from her words, and you patiently await the next card.

"Temperance, Reversed"

You know reversed doesn't usually mean good things, but the smile from the woman across from you seems to tell a different story than the ones from before. "Temperance in reverse...quite an interesting one to pull this late into a reading. Your life might feel like a gamble right now, that you need to go all or nothing into your decisions. The cards don't quite tell me whether this is a good or bad thing, but remember that sometimes patience is key." It feels...weirdly optimistic. "This isn't right, is it?" You ask yourself as the final card is flipped...

"The Empress, Upright"

A small chuckle escapes the lips of the woman across from you as she sees this, and you look over to her and see a flame brewing in her eyes. "Your relationships are stable...very stable. No matter how you advance, you will always remain stable in your love life. In fact...you may be expanding it quite a lot in the future. Be sure you only do so with those who you truly love~." She says with a small giggle, and as you continue staring at the cards, she claps her hands suddenly, standing up.

"OKAY! Well that was very nice of you to sit here for a tarot reading. Normally I would make you pay me like, a good amount of money because these things are very taxing on the mind, body and soul, but for someone like you I will give you a freebie if you do me one simple favor." She says, and you try to keep up with her words but fail to, only hearing "freebie" and "simple favor", responding with a simple "What?" in response.

"Tell me about these powers of yours~..." She coos, and your fear returns.

"...Fuck."