The Misadventures of Annika Brisby (24 page)

“Let’s see what the cards have to say.” Runa sat down in front of Pesha. The gypsy waved the incense smoke over the deck as she shuffled slowly, letting Runa cut the deck, and lay out some cards. She turned one over.

“The fool? Oh no!” Runa wailed. But the woman only laughed.

“It’s not a bad card,” she assured her. “It’s actually quite good. This shows your pure heart is a positive influence to yourself and others.”

“Oh. Well that’s a relief! What’s the Three of Cups mean?”

“Mmm, you have a lot of merriment to look forward to. Oh, but wait.”

“What? What is it?”

“Unforeseen danger or illness. If I were you I would stay alert tonight. You best not drink too much wine, little samodiva.” Pesha continued the reading, telling Runa to expect a new lover soon, and to be more responsible.

“Alright, enough about me,” Runa said as she stood up. “What about you Annika, do you want to have a turn?”

“Sure, why not?” Annika sat down and Pesha smiled as she ushered the smoke over the deck and had Annika cut it into three stacks. Pesha took the first card from the first pile and set it in front of Annika.

“The High Priestess card represents an ideal wife and mother. This is you.”

“Believe me, marriage and children are the
last
thing on my mind,” Annika said with a laugh.

“Well, he thinks otherwise,” she said, revealing the Page of Rods. “Who is your devoted lover? Is that where your ring came from?”

“I…I don’t have anyone special like that,” Annika said, feeling her face grow hot. “This ring was just a present.” Pesha raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and the cards do not lie. Well, whoever he is, you’re about to go on a journey with him that will change you forever. Yes, some
very
great changes are in store for you,” she continued, flipping the last card over. The image depicted a woman crying, her face covered by her grieving hands over a tombstone impaled by nine swords.

“That doesn’t look too good,” Runa said.

“No, no it doesn’t,” Annika agreed. “Pesha, is this bad?” The woman appeared stunned for a moment, but forced a smile onto her lips.

“I’m sure it’s a mistake. I never draw this one,” she said.

“But you said the cards don’t lie,” Annika reminded her.

“There are a lot of people here tonight. Their energy must be interfering with my capabilities,” Pesha insisted as she began to gather the cards from their separate piles. “I would take it with a grain of salt, my dear.”

“But
I’m
the one who cut the deck, Please, just tell me what it means, because I’ll find out sooner or later,” Annika begged. Pesha gave a reluctant sigh.

“This card represents death. But it doesn’t refer to you; it refers to someone close to you. That is all I can tell you, and I still advise you to disregard it. Sometimes a death card means rebirth. If I were you, I’d be more concerned about that journey with your mystery man,” she said abruptly and motioned for her next client to step forward.

“Thanks Pesha!” Runa said, and grabbed Annika’s arm, pulling her towards the refreshments. Annika didn’t want to think about the last card that she’d been dealt, and redirected her thoughts on the first two. Pesha’s words echoed in her ears.
‘Who is your devoted lover?’

“You don’t think Talvi’s my devoted lover, do you?” she asked Runa skeptically.

“Of
course
! He let you cut his hair,” Runa proclaimed as though Annika were asking if the sky was blue or not.

“What’s his hair got to do with anything?”

“You don’t understand,” Runa insisted as her big brown eyes grew even wider. “He’s so vain that he doesn’t let
anyone
cut his hair. Not even me, and I’m his best mate. Not even his own twin sister! I thought Yuri was going to scream when you mentioned it the other day. That’s why I distracted her. Why do you think I chose this dress?” Annika wrinkled her forehead at her friend. “I wanted the green one, but Hilda got it instead,” she wailed.

“I guess it’s a pretty big deal then, huh?” Annika said, trying to appear sympathetic to Runa’s dress situation. Runa seemed baffled at her remark.

“Annika! How could he
not
be your devoted lover? Hasn’t he been a perfect gentleman for the past week? We all see it, so why can’t you?” Annika thought long and hard for a simple answer. The truth was that she had none, other than what Yuri had said to her. She watched Talvi lead a laughing dark-haired elf around the floor. Then she looked a little closer. It was Zenzi. She thought she was going to be sick, but it faded as she took a deep breath.

“If he’s so devoted, then why is he dancing with every single girl in the room?”

“Probably for the same reason his sister is dancing with every single boy in the room. It’s their birthday party. What did you expect?” Runa gave her a nudge in the side as though to say ‘stop being so ridiculous’.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking, I guess,” Annika said, trying to brush it off, but she couldn’t help glaring just a little at the twin dancing with Zenzi.

“Of course they do. Now stop being silly and come watch the dancers with me. They’re about to start!” Runa said, leading her towards the belly dancers and drummers.

The crowd had opened to let the dancers file into the center of the ballroom. There were cat calls and howls from every corner of the room. One of the women let out a whoop as they pranced on their tip toes with exaggerated movements, arching their bodies as their loose fitting skirts caught the air. They held something in their hands that Annika couldn’t see. With every shake of their hips a series of chimes went off. They pranced in a circle and lowered to their hands and knees, curling up in tiny balls on the marble floor. The drums began to pound, starting softly but then louder and louder until the women had slowly risen, like snakes being charmed out of their baskets. They stood on their toes, with henna covered hands and arms outstretched to the ceiling. A man on the platform shouted “
Al Habibi!
” and the band started playing a Middle Eastern inspired melody. The women’s bodies began to soften and melt, their hips shaking to the drums and tambourines. Their arms moved as if they were casting spells around the room, and by the look on everyone’s face, they were indeed. The music stopped for a second, and the women’s arms shot up. Half of them bowed down as the other four chimed three times with finger cymbals. The room roared with approval as the music returned. They danced with each other, then pranced in a circle, swirling their hips and revealing their navels. There were more whistles and then they stopped and danced in the opposite direction. One of them ventured out and returned with an embarrassed looking girl in a bright red dress.

“Look,” Runa said, jumping up and down. “They’re going to make Yuri dance!”

They ushered Yuri into the center of the circle and the man on the platform started to sing. The girl with Yuri taught her a few basic moves, making slow circles with her waist, and then went to join the others dancing around them. Like so many in the crowd, Annika and Runa had started to move with the same hypnotic motions of their hips. One by one, the dancers brought elves and fairies into the center to join Yuri, who was giddy with laughter, adoration, and probably a healthy dose of wine.

A tall elf with deep blue eyes and pale blonde hair came up to Runa and Annika. He looked slightly confused, dressed in black with a sapphire vest that brought out his eyes. Annika recognized him as the man Talvi had been standing with earlier that evening.

“I don’t know how to dance to this strange music, but you two seem to have it all figured out,” he told her as he watched them dance.

“The secret is not to worry about how you look,” Runa butted in. “Everyone is worried about how
they
look—they’re definitely not watching you.” The young man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Thanks a lot, Runa. Do you know what I went through to look this good tonight?” he said, feigning a pout on his full lips. Runa giggled a little, fanning her flushed face.

“Well, perhaps
some
of us were watching you,” she admitted. The handsome elf turned to Annika and offered her a hand.

“This might sound strange, but I feel like I’ve seen you before,” she confided to him as they moved their bodies and stepped to the beats. He gave her an embarrassed look.

“I’m Yuri’s cousin Zaven. I think you’ve already had an encounter with my little sister Sevan.” She tried not to gasp as he told her he was related to the horrible girl from the Tortoise and Hare.

“I know, I know,” he said apologetically. “She needs to work on her manners. But she can be a very sweet girl.”

“Maybe when she’s sleeping! Oh, don’t even get me started!” Annika said as he twirled her in a circle.

“It would appear I already have,” he replied with a playful grin. “Let’s undo that, shall we?” With that, he stopped her and twirled her in the opposite direction, literally unwinding her and making her laugh. It was no wonder Pavelina and Milena were so sorry to have missed his company, because he was an utter delight to be around. The two of them talked and laughed and danced over a number of songs, and just as Zaven pulled her closer, Talvi cut in.

“Won’t you give me the honor?” he asked politely.

“Isn’t it rude of me to leave my dance partner?” she asked.

“It would be rude for you to refuse me when you promised me a dance,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “In fact, you promised me right in this very spot. Do you recall that day? Or are you in the habit of breaking your promises, Miss Brisby?” She kept waiting for some devilish grin of his to surface, but he only stood there, with an expectant look in his eyes.

“It’s been a pleasure Annika,” Zaven said to her with a smile, “but don’t go breaking promises on my account.” He slid his hand around Runa’s waist and started dancing with her instead.

Annika looked at Talvi, who seemed to have grown even more irresistible under the veil of pixie dust floating around the room. He held out his hand, which she took as a drumbeat began, joined by a foreign, exotic sounding bagpipe and flutes. His other hand ran down her back and pressed her close to him as a woman began to sing a hypnotic Assyrian song. He leaned down as their bodies moved together to the drums.

“I asked them to play this for you. I thought you’d like it,” he said, and she wondered if he had any idea how right he was.

The olive-skinned singer crooned and the dancers now tossed confetti in the air, landing on the ground where everyone was dancing. Whistles and whoops filled the air as the dancers around them stomped on the floor. He ran his hands along her arms and curled them around his neck, pulling her close and catching her by surprise.

“I’m trying my damnedest to be your friend, but it’s next to impossible when I know you’re lying to yourself about your feelings,” he said in her ear. She stepped away from him as soon as he said this to her, rounding her hips in slow circles and spinning on her toes like the dancers. She was intentionally avoiding him and he didn’t much care for it. He took her in his arms again, more forcefully this time, and flipped her around so she couldn’t see his face. “I know you think about me, but I’ve thought about you a lot longer than since the day we met in Sofia. So much longer…”

He took one of her hands and spun her around, then guided her back to him. His hands ran down the sides of her dress, pressing her against his leg and sinking down, then rising slowly to the drums. Annika could see Zaven dancing with Runa the same way. She couldn’t help but wonder what he had meant by what he’d just said. She’d never seen him in her life until that day in the bookstore. She danced with Talvi for a little bit, but again stepped away from him, dancing on her own. This time he took both of her hands and lifted them high as he stepped in unison with her, mimicking her steps. He reached over her head and turned her in a slow circle, until she slowly faced him.

She gave him a long, hard look, and tried to twist out of his grasp. His eyes flickered back at her, determined not to let her go again. He dipped her backwards gracefully, and when he brought her back up, the longing in his eyes was priceless.

“It’s okay. I’m so over that day in the kitchen,” she said nonchalantly. “But I know about all the girls you string along, and I’m not going to be one of them. I know you’re only being sweet until you get what you want, and it doesn’t matter what you say; I won’t let you disrespect me like that.” Talvi’s eyes grew wide, then narrow.

“What have I done?” he asked, stunned. “What more can I do to prove that you’re the only one I want? Why do you think I chased you out of the bookstore? Why do you think I came back to that place every day for two weeks, hoping to see your face just once more?” This time it was Annika who appeared stunned.

“Two weeks? Finn didn’t tell me you spent…I didn’t think you would have spent…” she stammered.

“Well, I did! And it was like looking for a fairy’s needle in a troll-sized haystack, only I realized I had a better chance of finding the needle than of ever finding you again,” he said, exasperated. Now that he had her attention, he pulled her even closer to him. “If I were that hard-pressed for a meaningless shag, why would I have spent all that time searching for you?” Annika wanted to run away, but he wouldn’t let her go.