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ARCANA
Created by Scott Schimmel

Chapter Eleven:
Cassandra's Curse

written by Phoebe

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Miyuki sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed. She breathed 
slowly, fumbling her way down one of the threads tangled in the 
dense blackness inside her skull. The threads that constructed 
the tapestry of the future. It wasn't anything but a representation 
of the intricacies of time, of course, but Miyuki rather liked the 
symbolism of the metaphor, and found it easy to visualise her 
scrying this way.

***"I'm sorry, Sumire," the young man said softly, staring down at 
the limp body of his former friend. "I had to do it." Sudden resolve 
flashed across his handsome face. "But my duty is done now... 
there's nothing to say I can't do *this* too." The blood-stained 
knife in his hand swept up and across his throat, cutting a hideous 
second smile identical to the one stretching beneath Sumire's glazed 
face. He fell to his knees, then to the rain-spattered street. He 
convulsed once, then was still, the knife clattering from the 
suddenly relaxed hand.

A man dressed in a blue policeman's uniform ran into the alleyway. 
He dropped to his knees beside the young man and checked for a pulse 
before shaking his head sadly. He lifted his walkie-talkie to his 
mouth. "Yes, he killed her. And yes, he... did what you thought he 
would do after. I guess they're both out of your hair now, huh?" He 
listened for a minute, then his face hardened. "You leave her out 
of it, you-"***

The thread winked out of existence. Miyuki exhaled in relief. Well, 
at least that possible future wouldn't happen... 

The thread reappeared and she caught her breath, clenching her fists in 
her skirt folds. It flickered madly as she fought to grasp the meaning, 
fought to force clarity onto the blurring future, fought to find the 
*truth*...

The thread disappeared. Miyuki waited a long, tense moment, holding 
her breath, but it failed to return. She sighed softly and wiped 
sweat off her forehead, her features relaxing. It *could* come back 
again, of course, though it seemed unlikely. 

Although... almost everything seemed unlikely these days. There was 
no surety, no clear path, not even 50-50 choices between one road or 
another. Lately, she had found herself actually surprised by events, 
threads that popped into existence only moments before the incidents 
depicted in them happened. More unsettling, a few unwound before her 
hidden Sight at the very moment they were happening, as if Fortune 
was faltering and sheer Chance directed instead. 

She forcibly wrenched her thoughts away, shuddering slightly, and 
straightened her skirts. At least she was certain of what was going 
to happen next. Reasonably certain.

A knock sounded at her door and she nodded to herself, smiling 
slightly.

"Come in, Sumire," she called.

The door swung open as Miyuki got to her feet, moving with sure steps 
towards the young woman in the doorway. She couldn't see her, of 
course, but she could almost touch the despair radiating from the tall 
kendoist.

"I lost control," Sumire said, voice trembling, before she fell 
forward into the slight girl's arms, silent sobs shaking her athletic 
frame.

Miyuki sighed and smoothed the older girl's hair. "It's all right, 
Sumire," she murmured. "It wasn't, for a while, but it's all right 
now."

"I almost killed her," Sumire moaned, her tone horrified. "If 
Joker -- *Joker* -- hadn't stopped me, she'd be dead." She laughed 
bitterly. "And he only managed to stop me with that little paralysis 
trick because I'd lost so much control. He'd never have been able to 
freeze me like that otherwise." She paused. "You knew?" she asked 
disbelievingly, anger growing in her voice. "Of course you knew. I 
knew you'd know, that's why I came here. But you knew, and you didn't 
*do* anything!"

"Not exactly," Miyuki said smoothly. "The future is always uncertain. 
You know this." She decided to add an extra twist. "I hoped you would 
make different choices. Believed you would, even." It wasn't true, of 
course -- she'd only realised what was going to happen when it was far 
too late for her to do anything about it, but she judged that Sumire 
needed the extra admonition.

The older girl stiffened in her arms and Miyuki smiled inwardly. 
Judgement correct.

"It will never happen again, Miyuki-san," Sumire said quietly, pushing 
herself to an upright kneeling position. "I will be a true Arcana."

Miyuki reached out and unerringly touched the tear-tracks down the 
other girl's face. "Yes," she agreed. "I believe that it will never 
happen again. And you are a true Arcana, Sumire. One of the best." 
She paused. "However..." she added. "You are also a human being. It 
is possible to be both." She smiled at her colleague, willing her to 
accept the truth of what she was saying. "Remember these tears, 
Sumire. Control of yourself and your emotions can be a good trait, 
but too much can only result in the loss of that control you prize so 
dearly. And tears. There will be tears."

Sumire smiled back. "I will remember, Miyuki-san," she said, her voice 
settling into her usual measured tones again. "Now, if you will excuse 
me, I must go and apologise to Hotaru." She stood. "Then I will pay my 
respects to a fallen foe. And a former friend." She bowed to Miyuki. 
"I owe her that much, at least."

Miyuki nodded. "If you feel it's best, Sumire."

"I do," the other girl replied, turning to go. She turned back, 
smiling again. "I feel it. Not think it." The door closed behind her 
with a soft click.

Miyuki nodded to herself and ticked off one of the items on her mental 
checklist. Sumire comforted, warned and recovered, check. What was 
next?

"Miyuki-san!" Hotaru yelled, opening the door and crashing into 
Miyuki's sanctum. "Joker told me I was going to die!"

Ah, yes. That.

Tetsuya followed the young Arcana in. "Now, now, Hotaru-chan, I told 
you I was sure we could get all of this sorted out with Miyuki, didn't 
I?"

Hotaru nodded, calming down somewhat. "That's right, you did." She 
turned to face blind Fortune, her expression more composed. "He was 
lying, right?" she asked. "I'm not going to die, am I, Miyuki-san?"

Silence.

"Miyuki-san?"

"Please leave, Tetsuya," Miyuki ordered quietly. "Hotaru and I must 
speak alone."

Tetsuya's breath caught in his throat. "You mean-" he began.

"Now, please," Miyuki interrupted, a touch more command in her voice.

Tetsuya paused for a minute, then bowed. "I'll be just outside," he 
told Hotaru softly, before making his exit.

Miyuki wasn't sure if the girl had even registered his departure; her 
face was dead white, and she stared at Miyuki, mouth gaping.

"Miyuki-san?" she begged.

"Sit down please, Hotaru," Miyuki began. "This will not be easy. I-"

Hotaru sat. "Am I going to die?" she asked quietly.

Miyuki turned away, but there was no escape. The girl's expression 
was in her mind's eye. "Perhaps, Hotaru," she said, then winced 
slightly as the other girl's face crumbled. 

Hotaru stared down at her hands for a long moment. When she looked 
up, her eyes were cold. "Joker said that it was because I was the 
Magician. That every Magician died young, if not from battle, then 
from their own abilities. That the magic unlocked inside them would 
kill them. Is that true?"

Miyuki turned back to face the girl. "As far as he knows, yes, it is."

Hotaru's face grew even colder. "I *see*. And you knew." It was not 
a question. "You *knew* that if I became the Magician I would die, 
and you actively encouraged me to do it."

Miyuki held up her hands in entreaty. "Hotaru, I-"

"You *KNEW*!" Hotaru screamed, jumping to her feet. "You lead me to 
my DEATH! Miyuki, if I die, it'll be YOUR fault! I never would have 
chosen this, if I'd known! NEVER!"

Miyuki took two quick steps forward and slapped Hotaru hard, 
grasping her chin and glaring at the other girl with her eerie white 
eyes.

"Listen to me," she hissed, as Hotaru stared at her in silent shock. 
"Yes, every Magician to this date has died young. Every one. But I 
*cannot* see that in your future. Do you understand? The death of a 
Magician is a very major event, one that shines strong in the 
tapestry of events. But I cannot see it. It is not there."

Hotaru forced herself to blink. "Wh- What does that mean?" she 
stammered.

Miyuki released her. This was the hardest part. "I have absolutely 
no idea," she admitted.

Hotaru's jaw dropped. "But... I'm not going to die?"

"Not as far as I can see, Hotaru. And that concerns me more than a 
little."

"What? Why?"

Miyuki's face twisted. "Because it is *not* the way it supposed to be, 
Hotaru. Or at least, not how I believe it is supposed to be. In the 
future open to me so far you somehow cheat the Magician's fated death, 
and that is *wrong*."

"You *want* me to die?" Hotaru whispered in disbelief.

"No! You do not... you don't understand, Hotaru. I don't want you to 
die. But I believed it was inevitable. This... twists things."

Hotaru stood up. "I'm sick of all this dodging around the point, 
Miyuki," she said calmly. "Whatever you have to say, say it."

Miyuki drooped. "You do not die," she repeated.

"So you've said," Hotaru noted, a touch sarcastically.

"Which suggests to me two options," Miyuki continued. "Either you 
remain the Magician and, against all reason, stay alive." She took a 
deep breath. "Or... or you cease to be Arcana."

Hotaru blinked. "I just... stop being the Magician? Is that even 
possible?"

"... I do not know," Miyuki whispered, her voice trembling. She knew 
she had to say this; she'd seen herself saying it. Oh, but it was *hard*. 
"I may have known once. But there's so much I've forgotten. So much 
we've all forgotten." She gestured to the cards stacked tidily on the 
table. "We dwindle, Hotaru. There are less and less of us. And what do 
we *do*? What is the true purpose of the Council of Arcana?" 

She laughed, a mirthless laugh that nevertheless saw something amusing in 
the whole situation. "We've forgotten that purpose too. Now, we struggle 
amongst ourselves for supremacy. Petty squabbles! Meaningless! And now... 
now, the Magician may no longer be Arcana."

Hotaru thought for a minute, trying to get her head around the whole 
notion. Miyuki always seemed so calm and secure. How long had she been 
secretly worried about this?

"So... if I become normal, that's bad?" she asked finally. "I can't see 
why, exactly. I'd *like* to be normal again, and forget all of this 
weird magic stuff."

"You can't see?" Miyuki asked, regaining some of her calm. "Hotaru, 
think. You're one of the most powerful Arcana, perhaps *the* most 
powerful. If you go... I'm afraid that we might all go. That might not 
be so bad, except for two things." She hesitated.

"And those things are what?" Hotaru asked. "You've told me so much 
already, Miyuki, you can't stop now."

"No, I can't," Miyuki agreed. "Very well. The first relates to our 
purpose. If we do have one, and the world needs us to fulfill that 
purpose, and we aren't around to fulfill it... Well, that could have 
unfortunate consequences, I'm sure you'll agree." 

"The second..." Fortune paced restlessly as she spoke. "*You* may wish 
to be normal. But many Arcana do not. They enjoy their power, even relish 
it. And they may do almost anything to keep it."

Hotaru gaped. "Arcana... let loose on the world, banding together, trying 
to keep their own powers somehow. Is that what you're afraid of?" she 
asked. "I... I can't believe it. Not all of them. Surely we can keep them 
in check."

"Who is 'we', Hotaru?" Miyuki asked, standing still and straight.

"The good Arcana, of course!" Hotaru replied. She gestured, taking in the 
whole of the Tower Reversed. "Us. You know." She glanced at Miyuki 
uneasily. "Miyuki-san... you *can't* think that *our* Arcana would do 
this."

"They might," Miyuki replied softly. "I have not spoken of this to anyone, 
Hotaru, yourself excepted. I am not *sure*. I cannot see what might 
happen. And this is all conjecture and possibility, nothing more."

Hotaru put her hand to her head, trying to think. *Could* it be possible? 
She flicked through the Arcana she knew, growing more and more uneasy. 
Hanako was, like herself, relatively new, but being Arcana had rescued her 
from the hardships of street life. Would she willingly give up her powers 
and return to that? Testuya seemed to enjoy being set apart from the 
common herd. And Sumire... Oh no!

"Miyuki!" she blurted. "Miyuki, I forgot to tell you! Sumire attacked me
 yesterday! Do you think that she knows about this and is trying to keep 
her powers by killing me?"

Miyuki blinked twice. "Oh, no," she said absently. "That is not related 
at all. I've already spoken to Sumire about her actions. You can be 
assured it won't happen again."

Hotaru subsided, only somewhat reassured. But the thought had suggested 
other possibilities to her.

"Joker... he tried to kill me *before* I was properly Arcana," she said 
slowly. "And now that I'm truly the Magician, he's helping me. 
Protecting me. Do... do you think he's come to the same conclusions you 
have, and is trying to keep me alive?"

"Very good, Hotaru," Miyuki agreed solemnly. "He may indeed wish that. 
For you, and all of us to become normal, although I cannot guess as to 
why he'd want that." She resumed her pacing. "But Hotaru... please 
understand this *is* all conjecture. I have no confirmation, none 
whatsoever. It's little more than a guess, based on nothing but 
uneasiness. And I'd ask you not to speak to any of the others about my 
thoughts on the matter."

Hotaru nodded. "Of course, Miyuki-san. Um... I should go. I need to 
think about this a little more." She turned to leave. "And... thank you. 
At least I know I have one true friend among the Arcana." 

Miyuki waited until the sound of the girl's footsteps had receded before 
she let herself collapse into a chair. She had told Hotaru much, more 
than she had been truly willing to, but she hadn't told her everything.

One secret, at least, would remain so. Miyuki was positive that the 
Council of Arcana were needed for something, even if she wasn't sure what 
it was. If she became certain that Hotaru's death was the only way to 
preserve the existence of the Arcana, then... then Hotaru must die. 

She flinched back from her own thoughts, ashamed of them. But it was true. 
When it came to duty... when it came to their purpose... she could not 
afford to be Hotaru's friend.

There was a faint whuffling sound behind her and she straightened 
suddenly, mouth slightly opened. "A letter from the Council?" she breathed. 
"But I didn't foresee..."

No matter. With a few excited steps she was at the small table where her 
Tarot cards were now in disarray, the appearance of the small white envelope
having displaced their neat pile. Miyuki reached for the envelope, slitting 
it open. Surely the arrival of a letter now was a good omen? She eagerly 
unfolded the message inside and held it up to her face, focusing her Sight 
on it.

The paper fell from Miyuki's suddenly nerveless hand and drifted gently to 
the floor. She'd read it quickly, but there could be no mistake with such a 
short message.

KILL THE MAGICIAN.

The words reverberated in her head as she leaned on the table dizzily. The 
Council had commanded... but for the first time, she had doubts. There was 
no further explanation, no guidance... And the future was unclear. She 
blinked. Unless...

She seated herself and feverishly reached for the cards, shuffling them 
with nerveless fingers. This wasn't as clear as her own gifts, but it 
might give some direction at least. She laid out the pattern, trying her 
best to ignore the fact that none of the cards seemed to call out to her 
especially. With a deep breath, she once again dragged her Sight to focus 
on the present and stared at the cards. And froze.

Every card was blank.

End.

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Author's notes: Whee, Miyuki gets screen time! Just a brief note - the 
Council's letters were mentioned back in Arcana #1, and it was also 
mentioned that no-one knows who the Council actually are. Just so you know 
I didn't make that up as a convenient plot device ^_^;

Thanks to Damien, Delfina and Brett and Scott Schimmel for prereading. Wai! 
You guys rock ^_^

Phoebe.