"A witch stands comfortably within her mystery and allure."

― Dacha Avelin

☽★☾

The young woman's eyes flickered with recognition as the name was spoken. As Brynn studied her for a moment longer, she became even more sure that her guess was correct. This was Joan. It had to be. She had the same tousled brown bob of hair, same dark eyes, same intimidating gaze...

"Joan," Brynn continued when the young woman still didn't reply. "Don't play dumb. I know it's you. Where am I? How the hell..." She shook her head, focusing only on the demand that was most important. "You have to get me out of here."

 When Joan remained silent, another voice called out from just behind her. "Moonfall? Who's this?" Another young woman stepped out from behind Joan, blue eyes holding Brynn's gaze in a challenging stare. Her brown hair framed her face, providing enough of a shadow that it made her look like a creature of the night. Brynn knew immediately that she shouldn't mess with this young woman, whoever she was.

"I'm not sure." Joan replied to the young woman with a curious tilt of her head. "She seems familiar somehow, but I'm not sure where I might have seen her before." She eyed the air behind Brynn, eyebrows furrowing with a panicked concern as her expression grew serious. "Were you followed?"

Brynn shook her head uneasily. "No, not as far as I know."

"Good," Joan muttered, still studying her for a moment. "I guess you'd better come in; we can't risk Sebastian or one of his cronies discovering this place." When Brynn didn't move right away, Joan took her arm in a firm grip and tugged her inside. She stumbled as she was led into what appeared to be a small common room made out of an abandoned wooden building. Padded rugs made out of burlap sacks lined the ground, lanterns flickered with small flames at the edge of the space, and empty crates and boxes were being used as seats. Most surprising of all were the people inside; what Brynn had thought was just a small crevice was actually a living space for what seemed to be a dozen people. All appeared to be women, mostly wearing dresses similar to the one Brynn currently had on. Others had appeared to have made their own simple outfits  — loose pants and baggy shirts  — out of rough black fabric. Murmurs filled the room as Brynn followed Joan inside. She instantly felt out of place, insides coiling with apprehension as Joan pulled her further into the space. They stopped near an empty wooden beer barrel in the back of the room which appeared to have been made into a makeshift table. Joan pulled up a crate and sat down on top of it, legs splayed to the sides as she straddled one of the crate's corners. Brynn wished she could do the same, if only to appear more confident than she felt in the strange space, but it wouldn't be as appropriate since she was wearing a dress. She settled for crossing her legs as she sat down on another crate across from Joan.

"Listen here, outsider," Joan murmured, leaning close so that this was a private conversation between Brynn and herself. "I don't know who you are, or where you came from, or how you know my real name..." At this she turned her head to the side to ensure no one was eavesdropping, before finding that their privacy was secure and turning back to continue talking. "So I'll give you thirty seconds to explain why I shouldn't just throw you out of here."

Brynn sucked in a breath. She had expected Joan to recognize her right away, welcome her with open arms, and immediately offer to help her find her way back to the present. This Joan clearly didn't work like that. "Wow, that's a lot of pressure. I, um... I don't think my explanation's going to make much sense, but I can give it a shot." She bit the inside of her lip, raising her gaze to meet Joan's, before shutting her eyes and continuing. "I was visiting Salem with my family. Well, Salem's what it's called in the future. Or... present day? I honestly don't know how this whole time thing works. But anyway, we stopped in this touristy witch shop of some kind where you worked. Or... work, present tense? You gave me a tarot reading and whatnot, but before I could leave the shop, I was — literally — sucked into a book. And now I'm here. But it's the past, if that makes any sense at all."

Brynn opened her eyes as she finished speaking, watching the young woman across from her. Joan sat there in silence for a moment. Her gaze was distant; clearly she was deep in thought, considering Brynn's explanation. Eventually she stood up, still saying nothing, and walked over to a wooden board that had been shoved into a crack in the wall, forming a makeshift shelf. Joan picked up a small cloth bag and wandered back to the table. She took her time undoing the strings tying the bag closed before sliding out what was inside. It was a deck of tarot cards, which had the exact same artwork as the ones Joan had read from at the shop. Joan began to shuffle them absentmindedly.

"I'm going to give you a tarot reading," Joan said at last, merging the cards into a single deck again. "That'll prove whether you're telling the truth. Or at the very least, it'll help you figure out whatever dilemma you're struggling with. Because you're definitely struggling with... something." Brynn tried not to take offense at the words as she watched Joan lay out a series of cards. This setup had five cards laid out in a checkerboard pattern. Joan flipped all of the cards over and studied them for a second, eyes darting back and forth as she picked up the details of the reading. She finally cleared her throat and looked up at Brynn. 

"First card: why this is happening. You have the judgement card. In this context I think it means that whatever problem you're currently struggling with is meant to give you a chance to reflect." Brynn stared at the card. It seemed to show a man playing a trumpet from the clouds, all types of people rising from their graves to answer the call. She nodded thoughtfully; the meaning did make a bit of sense. It fit the reading Joan had given her at the shop, about gaining a new perspective. 

Joan watched Brynn across the table with an intent gaze before laying a finger on the second card. "This second card is meant to show you what control you have over the situation. This one is..." She trailed off, raising a hand to her mouth to muffle a laugh. Brynn raised an eyebrow as she noted the amusement in the young woman's expression. "Sorry, it's just... You got the Wheel of Fortune card, reversed. It means you don't really have any control over the situation. Luck isn't on your side." Joan fell silent as she considered the deeper meaning behind what that might mean. "Hm. I wonder..." She glanced back up at Brynn, eyebrows furrowed with what seemed to be genuine concern. "I think someone may have hexed you. Usually problems are something you would have caused, or something you'd have at least some control or influence over. But whatever situation you've been thrown into wasn't your doing at all."

Brynn stared at the card. A wheel was in the center, filled with symbols she didn't recognize. A few winged animals surrounded the circle. Upside down, the card seemed unnatural. It fit the sudden feeling of dread and discomfort that filled her chest and the sinking feeling that came along with it. "I... Wow. What am I supposed to do about that?" 

"Be patient, for one. This is only the second card. The answers will come in the remaining cards," Joan replied with a roll of her eyes. She moved her finger to the third card, which was positioned in the center of the spread. "Four of wands, reversed. This card shows the root of the problem. It means... Well, it's referring to family conflicts. Lack of a good support system has caused this problem. Could it be possible that someone in your family put the hex on you?"

"I don't think my family would have any idea how to do that," Brynn replied with a chuckle. As she studied the four long poles in the forefront of the card, she remembered that Joan had pulled this same card in the previous reading, when she had explained the discord in her family now that she had a new stepfather. "But I have been pretty out of sync with them recently."

Joan nodded slowly. "It could have been a hex put on you by someone outside the family that knew about the problems, then." She returned her focus to the cards, moving onto the fourth. "This fourth card is meant to tell you what you should stop doing, which will probably bring you closer to solving the problem. Let's see... You have the eight of cups. It's kind of strange in this context, especially since I don't really understand the situation you're in, but it's talking about escaping or walking away. You should stop trying to escape the situation you're in. I won't know for sure until we take a look at the final card, but it probably means that you should be facing the problem head on, as opposed to trying to find an easy way out." She traced a finger over the eight cups sitting at the bottom of the image. Brynn stared at the card, noting the figure in the background of the card. He looked like he was walking away, leaving his problems behind. She didn't like whatever this card meant for her. If I'm not supposed to look for an escape, how the hell am I supposed to get out of here, then?

 "Okay, final card. This one is meant to tell you what you should be doing to solve the problem. You have the knight of swords..." Joan trailed off, expression full of confusion for a moment. "The knight of swords is referring to taking action and defending your beliefs. I mean, it definitely makes sense based upon what you're not supposed to be doing. I..." She took a breath that sounded somewhat shaky, running a hand down her face. She put her hands on her temples for a moment, eyes shut as she worked out whatever was going on in her head.

"I might sound crazy," Joan continued once she had calmed down a bit. She raised her gaze to meet Brynn's eyes, her stare so serious that it made Brynn want to cower in front of her. "But I feel like you're here to help us."