by R. E. Rose
“William –”
“Yes, my beloved?”
“I feel like I’m about to be married to you!” I tried to stay calm, but once I’d spoken those words, there was no doubt in my mind. This was a wedding. And I was the bride.
26.
Ceremony
It was Devon, of all people, who saved the moment.
Everyone that could be gathered for the ceremony was, and the turnout was quite the collection of characters. The wind roared outside the tent. At times, the moving air screamed and howled and shrieked like it was being tortured. The sounds made it hard for me to concentrate. William hooked his arm through mine and held on tightly. I looked around us. Then I spoke quietly to William.
“This is a marriage, not an initiation,” I said.
“That is the initiation,” he replied, curtly.
“But, but that’s ridiculous,” I said. He held even more tightly to my arm.
“Jane, all marriages are ridiculous –”
I interrupted him. “They’re not supposed to be!”
“This one is important if we’re to keep the company together.”
“You mean the circus?”
“Yes, you can call it that if you like. Pay attention.”
“What is so important about the carnival-slash-circus?”
“It’s important because it’s a time of transition. Some enter the tarot cards, others leave, some take on new roles, others leave old roles. It doesn’t happen often, every hundred years or so.”
I stopped talking for a moment and processed what he told me. I listened to what was being said by the Judge, an older gentleman, a bit jowly and serious and appropriate looking for his role as a judge.
Then I noticed the tell-tale twinkle that came from his watch; twinkles always let me know if the person before me was from the cursed deck. And that watch would be magical, but I’d have to collect it at another time. I looked over at Maisie, and she beamed a smile at me as if I were her own daughter getting married.
I was in love with William, that was true, but we hadn’t spent enough time together to get married! Yet, this wasn’t a real wedding; only an initiation necessary to keep the powers in Meadowvale, in check.
William and I needed to be in charge together to keep the magic status quo. As I understood it, Maisie’s power and position would revert to me, and Silvio’s powers would lessen and maybe even revert to William, and when that happened, William could walk between the two realms equally. He would no longer have to spend more time in the Cheshire. He would be able to spend time with me, and I with him because I, too, would be initiated into the Cheshire.
It all actually felt very good and made so much sense which was strange for me. I’d never really wanted to be married again. But somehow this all felt right.
Now the worldly woman spoke to us. She was dressed in saffron coloured robes, and the long burgundy sash looped over one shoulder and down between her ample breasts sparkled – magical! I’d have to collect that sash at a later time, too. She wore a tiara, and carried a glittery scroll in one hand and a scepter in the other.
“Welcome, Jane and William, to this ceremony of service. You will be united as a couple; whether you choose to consummate this union is your choice. But once the ceremony is completed, you will forever be bound by your duties to the forces in your charge.
Meadowvale is a vortex for magic. Your union will keep the vortex grounded and give the town the balance of dark and light required for its continuance. With this union, you release Maisie Price and Silvio Garcia from their responsibilities and bear the burdens and reap the rewards of the roles you will fill.”
Her words soothed me, as did her hair, her countenance, her demeanor, all were hypnotic. While she spoke lovely words in front of us, behind us, others began behaving badly and making scuffling moves. I heard a fisticuff start up. I turned to look.
“She’s mine!” Devon shouted.
There was Devon locked in the arms of Barkman Moore from the Strength card. Silvio Garcia and Shane Apollo also had hold of him!
“No one can take her. She belongs to me! I found her!” he yelled, and struggled.
I saw the tell-tale smoke come out of Devon’s eyes. He was turning into his real self. In moments, he’d taken on his demonic form, pointed and barbed tail lashing. But someone stepped in to catch that tail, so it didn’t take out an eye.
Maisie quickly shuffled forward, her gown making soft rustling sounds. She held a silk clutch and opened it. She reached deep inside of the clutch, deeper than the clutch actually was and pulled forth the cursed tarot deck. By now Devon was in full demon mode, and the three men were having a difficult time holding him down. Maisie opened the box and pulled out a card. From where I stood the card was perfectly clear, the Tower of Destruction.
OMG. I’d always thought Devon belonged in the Devil’s card.
“That’s not Devon’s card?” I said to William, wanting confirmation.
“Actually, it is.”
“What? But –”
“He’s the Tower of Destruction.”
“But I thought he lived in the Devil card? I’m confused.”
“He took care of the Devil card for Silvio. The Devil card is the only other card he can be locked into. In fact, all the higher arcana folk can be locked into that card, but Devon’s actual card is the Tower of Destruction.”
“Wow! Is that why he has to be in full demon mode before he’ll disappear when he’s touched with the Devil card?”
“Yes. When he’s his regular self, you can touch him with the Tower, and away he goes!”
“Then who lives in the Devil card?”
“I just told you.” William turned and looked at Silvio.
“No!” I said.
He nodded, yes.
I stared hard at Silvio. Even though I’d been told and now it was confirmed by William, I still found it difficult to believe that Silvio was him.
Silvio sensed something because he looked back and smiled at me. He tipped his hat and seemed to know we were discussing him.
“But he’s so nice, and polite, at times – and – and gorgeous. Actually, he was a jerk at my condo tonight,” I added.
Then Devon, still struggling this whole time, broke free.
Before Maisie could get either the Tower card or the Devil card over to him, he escaped the clutches of the guys holding him down.
Devon became like the Tasmanian devil from the TV cartoons, a whirling cloud of dust and smoke, and the next thing I knew, he tore me from William’s side. But we didn’t get far. There were just too many powerfully magical folks gathered together to allow for a dramatic getaway, and Devon was eventually subdued by a group of wizards.
My dress got a little ruffled but, other than that, I looked fine. Maisie walked over and tapped Devon with the Tower of Destruction card. And Devon was gone, just like that. I heard an echo of Devon’s voice, a longing whine. He swore, as well, but then that too disappeared.
It seemed we were now ready for the ceremony to continue; there was nothing left to do. I looked at William who stood near the judge and the worldly woman. William walked the few steps to come and get me, and then he walked me back to our spot.
“We’ll dispense with the rest of the reading of the ritual covenants. You can read through them later if you like, Jane. You’ll need to read through them eventually to make some of them to activate. I think we all have the gist of the situation. So, we’ll get on with it, shall we?” That was the judge speaking.
When I looked back at Maisie, she stood arm in arm with Silvio. I looked for Temmie. She made a lovely flower girl, pink baby roses in her hair and a long, cream coloured Grecian gown. It was Emilia who was nowhere to be seen. She’d given me my flowers, and now she was gone. Poor Emilia, I think she always hoped it would be she who stood here beside me. I scanned the crowd and couldn’t find her anywhere. Maisie came forward and whispered into my ear.
“If it’s Emilia you’re looking
for, don’t. She’s not invited,” she said, rather cruelly, I thought.
“I want her here,” I protested.
“Death cannot attend this ceremony. She is never invited.”
“Well, when you put it like that. But I don’t really see her as Death.”
“Doesn’t matter how you see her, Jane. The fact is, she is from the Death card and could accidentally harm your guests. So, she won’t be here.”
“The reception?” I inquired.
“No,” she said.
“Nothing?” I asked, feeling annoyed.
“Nothing. It’s not appropriate. Even she knows that. She’s making herself busy elsewhere,” Maisie said.
“I’m not sure about this,” I confessed.
“You’re never sure about anything.”
I pouted at her.
“Jane, if you want power in the realm of magic – if you want to know who you truly are and what you’re truly capable of, this is the way.”
“I don’t really believe in marriage,” I said.
“Do you believe in magic?” she asked.
“I do,” I said.
“Jane, this is a ritual, not a love marriage of man and wife, but the uniting of power,” she said.
“I know that but – I have strong feelings for William, so it feels like a real marriage. If it doesn’t work out can I divorce him?” I asked.
People around us were starting to get restless. Gaia, the elephant, was silently tossing her trunk around like she wanted to get on with it. The judge scowled at me, and the worldly woman looked confused as she picked lint from her sash.
“Silvio and I never got along,” Maisie said. “We’re not divorced as you put it, but we’ve never spent more than a few moments together for anything. There are certain rituals we have to attend together like this one. But other than those, he does his thing and I do mine,” she explained, then continued.
“You’re in a better situation. You actually like William. Who knows what wondrous things the two of you will manifest because of that love,” she said, then she signaled for the judge to get on with it.
And he did.
The judge stepped forward and closed the large leather-bound book he’d held open the whole time Maisie gave me my pep talk. He said,
“Here’s the book. Read it. Here are the papers sign them.” He slid them to William first, and then William slid them to me. I signed.
I saw Maisie’s signature there and Silvio’s. Their signatures faded and William’s and mine grew stronger.
I looked over my shoulder at Maisie, and she smiled. She looked happy once the papers were signed and returned to the judge. The worldly woman poured liquid over the two of us, anointing us with something and, thankfully, the magic stuff she poured wasn’t wet.
I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to do next, but it didn’t matter because all around us the “guests” began to disappear, quickly, until only Maisie remained and she walked toward us and handed me the deck of cards.
“These are yours now,” she said.
“You know I don’t want them,” I said.
“Nevertheless, they’re yours to do with what you will.” She looked at William, then said, “Guide her on these matters. She’s stubborn and willful and downright crazy at times.”
“Maisie, you know that sounds an awful lot like you,” William said in my defense. “What will you do now that you’re free of the tarot deck?”
“I have a daughter,” she said. “I haven’t seen her for a very long time. I don’t know where she is, but I want to find her.”
“Good luck with that,” William said, and even though his words were trite, he managed to make them sound sincere.
“What about your restaurants?” I asked.
“Yes, well, Chef Tut, he and I will be talking and negotiating. Of course, I’ll have to come up with some excuse for Devon’s poor behavior, burning down Tut’s five-star restaurant; it will work itself out. You know that the store, Maisie’s Curio Shop, is mine, Jane,” she said.
“I didn’t, but that’s fine. I don’t want it. I don’t want anything to do with the shop,” I said perhaps a little too fiercely.
“Good. Well, you can use it anytime, and you will find it useful,” she said, “You can run it, but I own it.” Good, old Maisie, always the business woman, especially when it came to real estate.
“It’s time to start our honeymoon,” William said, cutting the conversation off.
“Our honeymoon?” I laughed. “What about our reception?” I asked.
“The Cheshire realm awaits our arrival. It’s different now, well, not different, but you’ll see that realm in a much better light. And I think you’ll like it, Jane,” he said. “The reception comes after the honeymoon. See it’s not at all like a regular marriage.”
I looked at Maisie; she nodded in agreement with William’s words. And then behind Maisie, I saw Silvio. He held Temmie’s hand, and she was still dressed as my bridesmaid.
He came up to me without Temmie. “Congratulations, Jane,” he said. “It’s customary for the ‘bride’ in this ceremony to give an offering to the past couple.” I looked to Maisie for confirmation. She shrugged. Great, I thought, I’m on my own here.
“What sort of offering?” I asked him.
“In my case, my paw,” he said, quietly.
“But you have it. You stole it from me,” I said, I froze. Suddenly the paw was back. I had the paw on a chain around my neck, tucked down the front of my dress. No one else seemed to be aware of our conversation. And then Silvio spoke words I didn’t understand. They sounded Spanish.
“Ven a mi.” He repeated the words three times, and I felt the chain break and the paw snake its way down my dress.
“Aaaah,” I yelled because the paw’s serpentine movement felt horrible. I looked around, but the entire wedding party had disappeared. There was no one. The only animated players in this scenario were me and Silvio. Something prevented Silvio from stepping forward and taking the paw from me.
I’d already figured out that I’d have to offer it up to him, offer it willingly, even if the paw made its way toward him, even if Silvio picked it up and put it in his pocket as he presumably had done when he’d come to my house to get it. He wasn’t able to keep it.
I had to give it to him.
And I realized that even though I never offered the paw, Silvio could not stop coming after it. His eyes glowed, like a vampire hypnotizing his next victim. When the claw made its way down my dress, down to my feet, I gently stepped on it to slow its migration toward Silvio.
Then I remembered that in my silk draw string purse, I had the gift William had given me for our initiation. He’d told me not to wear it until the initiation was complete. I forced myself to look away from Silvio and opened the purse. Inside my white, silk drawstring a golden rhinestone bracelet sat snug and sparkling. I took it out and put it on.
I, too, disappeared from the ceremony.
I was in the land of the Cheshire, and the paw was with me as a small kitten upon whose tail I gently stepped.
The land was no longer dark and dreary but scintillated with a colourful, rainbow brilliance. At first, I thought my arrival here was the most spectacular experience ever, beyond any dream or vision I could have imagined.
Something shiny and beautiful caught my eye, and only when I started to move toward the shiny object did I realize I was no longer me. I’d become a cat. William’s gift to me was a bracelet that allowed me to change form while in the land of Cheshire. I was a Cheshire cat, in the Cheshire realm with a nearly uncontrollable desire to grin.
27.
A Garden Gathering
I wasn’t there very long when a beautiful white cat appeared from a garden across the street. It came quickly, running on delicate paws. When it spoke, I recognized the creature’s voice.
Temmie! Just before she reached me, she transformed into her beautiful human self.
“You can do it, too. You can transform f
rom a cat back into you. Try it. Just remember what you look like,” she explained to me.
I did exactly that, and in less than an instant, I was standing in the Cheshire realm in my human form. The little kitten that was Silvio's paw ran off. Temmie hugged me.
“Well, done, Jane.” She gently took my hand and led me back across the street to the garden she’d come from.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Temmie looked over her shoulder at me and only smiled. I got that wonderful Temmie tingle.
*
The garden was indescribable. It over flowed with a kaleidoscope of brightly coloured flowers and plants that created a sense of having been transported to another enchanted realm. Temmie pulled me deeper and deeper into the garden’s embrace. The scents were exquisite, like walking through a candy and bubbly bath store at the same time. I absolutely loved being in that place.
We followed a small path made of shimmering blue butterflies. At first, I was hesitant to step on them, but Temmie assured me that we could not crush these butterflies, and that they were honoured to make a path for the new divinity star.
“What?” I asked. But of course, she only smiled at me. “What’s a divinity star?” I asked, again.
“You are,” she said. “You’ll see. We’re nearly there,” she said.
Then, as we rounded a stand of weeping willow trees decorated with sparkling lights, and ribbons, and white feathers, she drew me into a gathering of others.
About twenty or more people all dressed in various shades of white stood around drinking tall glasses of frothy liquids.
“What are they drinking?” I asked Temmie.
“Ambrosia,” she said.
Some of them were sitting and chatting while others stood and sipped ambrosia from crystal cups. Someone noticed us, and the garden party came to a sudden stop.
To my pleasant surprise, I saw Emilia Darkiness.
“Emilia!” I was so, so happy to see her. We hugged, and of course, Emi rubbed my back a little longer than, perhaps, she should.
