November 1, 2013. Laindier’s Tea Shoppe. Wooster, Ohio.
“That’s when I knew it was a dream,” Jaclyn said. She sipped her tea, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
Seated across from her, she watched as Kate and Aisha exchanged glances.
Of course, they would see right through me, Jaclyn thought with a sigh. The very fact that she had corralled them off her tea shop was a flashing neon light that the dream troubled her. Their eyes said it all.
Kate’s were warm, motherly as ever despite the void-like blankness of their color. She often had that look about her, like she wanted to give Jaclyn advice or help her. She had been the first to accept Jaclyn when she arrived in the Underland. Even Calu had taken some time to get used to the situation. But not Kate. She had taken to Jaclyn almost as though she’d been expecting her, which Jaclyn suspected was the case even if she swore up and down that prophecy was not one of her gifts.
Aisha’s were more troubled, which almost looked outlandish on the usually carefree Fate’s face. She was the only one of those three that Jaclyn trusted and she knew it. Jaclyn knew she would never tell her sisters but her eyes wanted to. Her eyes wore warnings. Jaclyn wondered if this was the way her face looked when she saw her visions and wrote down the ways that people would die.
“Moira would be able to interpret better,” Aisha said, giving in to the fear in her eyes. “Nightmares are much more her area of expertise.”
“No Moira,” Jaclyn said. She wanted to sound demanding, but the words came out in a meek, fearful way that she hated.
“She’d have it sorted out for you in seconds.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near this.”
Aisha pursed her lips in a thoughtful way, but before she could say anything further, a light chime of bells announced someone else’s presence in the store. She touched the Underland pendant she wore around her neck and took a deep breath.
Jaclyn looked at her, trying to plead with her eyes. “Let me take care of this. I’ll be right back.”
She honestly didn’t know why she kept the tea shop. With all the other work the Underland and being Death demanded, Jaclyn barely had time to open more than once or twice a week and even then with very odd hours. It provided an escape. Something of her old life that she could hang on to; a place to have conversations like the one she just did. Still, actually dealing with the public had completely lost its thrill. At least, where the tea shop was concerned.
Nevertheless, she forced a smile and approached the primly dressed woman. “Can I help you?” She asked.
The woman glanced up from the box of herbal tea she had been examining and smiled, showing her teeth. The expression seemed more threatening than friendly to Jaclyn, who took a step back. “Oh, I’m just browsing. Nice place you got here.”
Jaclyn nodded, wanting to get away. There was something cold about this women. Too cold; almost unnaturally so. “Well, if you find there’s anything you need...”
The woman looked up, taking in Jaclyn’s face, her far too toothy smile still firmly held in her lips. “That’s right, Miss Laindier. I’ll do just that.”
Poor customer service or not, Jaclyn bolted for the back where Aisha and Kate waited, looking anxious.
“Is it trouble?” Aisha asked at the same moment Kate said, “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” They both had their hands on their pendants, ready to disappear home at a moment’s notice.
“She’s...cold...” Jaclyn hissed, feeling a paramount need to whisper.
“Shade,” Kate said without waiting for anything further explanation. She visibly relaxed at the word. “This time of year it’s not surprising. You’ve got nothing to fear...remember your title?”
Aisha did not look so convinced. Jaclyn felt she had to agree.
“She didn’t seem like a shade, Kate.”
“Did you know your dad was a shade?” Kate reached for the bottle of whiskey in the center of the table and sloshed some into her cup before adding the tea.
Jaclyn didn’t answer. She sipped her own tea and watched Kate’s face. There was something knowing about her, but she didn’t want to push.
“Oh, stop looking at her like that or I’m going to tell you two to get a room,” Aisha said with laugh before popping one of the tea cakes into her mouth.
Both Kate and Jaclyn put down their tea cups and stared at Aisha.
“What?” She asked, a smirk gathering on her lips.
“We should talk about something else,” Jaclyn said, feeling a strange and unexpected blush climb into her cheeks.
“Sure,” Aisha said with a shrug. “How about the torch my sister is carrying for your uncle?”