The Priestess and the Fool

The Priestess and The Fool

A woman sat on a stump in the middle of the woods, with two young girls around her, seated in front of her on the ground as they had time and time again. It was mid-afternoon, with the sun high in the sky. It was just turning to fall, the leaves on the tall spruce trees changing colors. The sun hitting the leaves covered the ground in shadows, with enough light peeking through to keep the bottom of the forest lit .

The woman was young, or at least she looked young, between 21-25 years old. She had obvious smile lines from years of holding a relaxed, open smile to everyone she met. She wore jeans, and a sweater, looking quite modern for being here, in the middle of the woods. The girls in front of her looked up at their teacher excitedly, wondering what this mysterious lady had in store for them today .

The two girls were sisters, named Lily and Lilac. The entire scenario started with Lilac running into the woods to escape her older sister in a game of tag, and coming across a cottage. The younger girl pushed open the door to see the Sorceress. Lily finally caught up with her, meeting the woman for herself. The sisters then made a habit of visiting every weekend for stories from the Sorceress. The Sorceress in turn her gave the young girls advice, inviting the girls more often into her cottage to bake, to read their palms, or to let them help her seal spell jars. Lilac rested her head on Lily’s shoulder as the Sorceress smiled down at the girls.

“Dear children. Today we tell a story. A story of a lost love, and a love who wanted to run and find something new. I want you to pay close attention, girls, and to remember what I tell you,” The Sorceress said, her light tone moving with the wind, feeling as if her voice was surrounding the two girls like a gust of wind. “Now, what do I ask anytime I tell you two a tale?” Lily, having answered this question time and time again just nods, before saying obediently,

“Find the lesson to be learned and forget the rest.” The Sorceress nodded, confirming the young girl’s answer, before closing her eyes, reliving the event before going into the story.

“Once upon a time…”

-

Simon couldn’t help but feel his heart drop. His foot fell like a brick onto the gas pedal as he raced closer to her house, hearing the sirens get louder. He didn't want to believe it, screeching the car to a halt as he parked, slamming the car door and pushing past the cops and other officers, looking up at the house he’d visited countless times before. The normal yellow and happy exterior to the two-story house was gone, replaced with singed edges of the floorboards, after being drenched by the hoses. Simon could just stare on in horror through to the backyard, before seeing something glistening in front of the decimated building. As Simon made his way over, his breathing hitched; it was Lily's tarot deck. Taking it in his hands, amazed that all 78 cards had evaded the fire, he inspected the card on the top of the deck, mysteriously faced up. 'The tower…it's not reversed, so it means that there's a sudden change, relating to disaster.' This was Lily's personal deck, only using it for her own readings. Lily. Where was Lily?

-

Lily shuffled the cards, feeling the worn card-stock against her fingers. Her eyes flicked upward as the babbling, scrawny red head across from her just kept talking.

"I-I mean it's not like I like-like her or anything, I just feel the need to figure out if she likes me the same way, y'know? Of course you'd know, you probably know everything, you have that deck, and you have this look in your eyes like you know something-" The boy was nervous. His aura radiated around the small room, making the candles stacked on either side of the table shake.

"Simon. Calm down. If you want a calm, open reading, then you have to center your aura, and focus your energy." Simon nodded, blinking rapidly as Lily stretched her neck out, trying to calm down the aura of the room. The room could barely constitute itself as a room, the girl's walk-in closet smelling of incense and sage, the small, low wooden table holding a cloth decorated with small stars. On either side of the cloth were thick white candles, ablaze with small flames. It was dark in order to keep them calm, shielded from the outside world as she set the deck down.

"Place your palm on top of the deck,” Lily commanded, “and don't ask your question, but feel your intention come through without speaking." Simon raised an eyebrow, starting to feel a bit foolish as he looked at Lily, hoping she would take the hint. Which she did. Lily could tell by his darting eyes, and how his pinkie finger lingered towards her left hand. He was scrawny, and small, and had too many freckles for his face. He wore this atrociously bright yellow sweatshirt, and always folded the corners of his papers during chemistry.

"Good. Hands off." He followed her directions as she split the deck, setting two decks in front of him, gesturing for him to flip one top card. Following her direction, he flipped over the top card on the right deck, revealing an image of a winding tower. Lily just smiled as she met his gaze. This was interesting. He was interesting. Lily just pushed some hair behind her ear, looking over him again. He could be useful, and nice to have around. She observed the card again, before humming in content.

"Hm. Interesting."

-

Lilac sat up, raising her arm high and getting the Sorceress’s attention. “Yes, little one?” the woman asked, looking down at the small girl, whose hair was in pigtails.

“What did the reading mean for The Fool?” The Sorceress just tilted her head, seeing if her sister would answer for her. watching Lily shake her head in annoyance. The first lesson they had from The Sorceress was learning the major arcana.

“The Fool means new beginnings,” Lily said with an exasperated sigh, “and then the winding tower, if it’s upright, means that there’s a disaster coming, or a destruction of pride or other physical items.” Meggy glanced up at the Sorceress, studying her face for confirmation, and the woman nodded her approval of Meggy’s answer.

“Correct. Now, listen. The Fool left the house, wondering what happened to his love as he took his horse and sped away from the scene...”

-

Rain started to pour on Simon as he sat on the top of his car, looking over the sleepy town of Gettysburg. Trees surrounded the parking lot, he leaned back against the windshield of his dad’s 1978 Impala. Simon couldn’t think at all, opting to shuffle the deck of cards in his hands how Lily used to. Split in half, ripple. Split again, ripple again, flips through like a book on either side, then tap the top twice for luck. He slipped the deck back into his sweatshirt pocket, rubbing his face for what seemed like the 100th time this hour. He had pocketed the deck before the police officers pulled him away from the scene, saying he was unauthorized to be there. No shit.

Simon leaned back against the windshield, his eyes going out of focus as he tried to focus on what happened to the family. Lily wasn’t there, and her Mothers were down in the basement, working on spells in bottles. But Lily’s deck was there. Her Mothers were rushed to the hospital due to the amount of smoke going into their lungs. Could it have been someone in their coven? No, no. He didn’t think they had any rivals.

“Damn it,” He said softly, sitting up before rubbing his eyes to stop himself from crying again, thinking of the worst. The rain kept coming down, and as the thunder rolled in, Simon rolled into his car.

-

“The Fool, upright. Go.” Lily prompted, as she jumped over a crack in the sidewalk in order to not break her Mothers’ backs. Lily and this Fool, as she’d been lovingly calling him, had been talking for a few months now, and she had been starting to teach him tarot.

“Um... New beginnings, innocence?” Simon said, and he was met with a proud smile from his girlfriend? Friend? Person. She was his person. Lily had this air about her, as if she was always walking on air, knowing what he was thinking before he said it. She was always able to be one step ahead of him. He felt her fingers slide into his, holding his hand as they walked.

“Correct, Si. Good job,” She said softly, keeping her eyes and head forward. His cheeks flushed pink, nodding in agreement. They were walking to her house today, as they have been almost every Tuesday and Thursday. However, as if being called by her Mom, Lily’s eyes drifted over to the forest they passed every time they went to her house. Cross two streets, take the path over the bridge, then take a right, and there was the Clark house. But Lily always lingered a bit here, by the forest by the bridge before they crossed. She told Simon that she could hear the Fae whispering to her through the branches. Fae was better to listen to than their Chemistry teacher. The Fae were far more entertaining as well. A small sigh escaped her as she tilted her head.

“I’d like to try and disappear,” She said finally, stopping and putting a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt as though she was being pulled into the woods. Lily had this sense Simon’s brow furrowed, tilting his head in confusion. He was always confused, this Fool wanting to run into New York City as soon as the last bell rang.

“My mom’s tell me stories about witches who live off of the land. Who eat what they grow on their farms and cut off from conventional society. I mean, they killed so many of us, it makes sense why...” Lily trailed off again, just looking at the forest, with the tall spruce trees and trail made of cobblestone. Simon saw her eyes drift, a sense of longing coming from her, as if she wanted to be swallowed whole by nature.

“With the whole, Salem witch trials, and how our classmates treat me, I mean please, Si. I know that they make fun of you just because you’re around me.” He fixed her hair again; Lily was fixated at the world beyond the sidewalk they stood on. She turned, leaning against him, staring deep into the wood.

“My Aunt Bella is like, a Granddaughter of one of the witches from the trials who escaped. At least that’s what she says… She has a deal with the Fae so she has a tendency to lie and be on her toes and stuff.” Lily just smiled, feeling Simon’s arms wrap around her protectively. She stiffened, feeling a gust of wind swirl around her, sending chills up Lily’s spine.

“Are you sensing something, Lily?” Simon asked, before his head on top of hers. She nodded, closing her eyes and sighing. He followed her lead, closing his own eyes as well, standing together for a moment, feeling the world pass them by. The small girl beneath him soon cleared her throat.

“A lesson.” Lily spoke again after a few moments, and pulled away from him, dropping his hand, continuing to walk before turning to face him.

“Everything will be overtaken by nature at one point or another. Us witches follow the earth for instruction and feed off of the energy that it gives us. Humans feed into their inhibition and deceive and lie. But everything ends. Everything in our society will burn and break down by forces of nature.”

-

“Why did the Priestess run away if she knew that the Fool loved her? And that she had so much left with him?” Lilac asked again, her bright green eyes boring into the Sorceress’s face, seeming like the younger girl could see right through the Sorceress tale. The young woman looked down at her hands and sighed before meeting Lilac’s gaze again.

“When you are young and practicing witchcraft, you aren’t always treated fairly in the real world, Harper. Sometimes you get these… messages from the beyond. The woods, or forces of nature. The Priestess needed a new start, to burn away her old existence. It’s not that she didn’t want to stay with her Fool, it’s just that she didn’t want to live in the Fool’s world anymore. Some worlds are not meant for some people.”

Lilac just nodded, folding up her knees to her chest, before resting her head on her knees. “She could’ve taken the fool with her.” Lily argued, looking up at the Sorceress. The young woman gave a sad smile to the girls, and stretched her arms before launching into the next portion of the tale.

“She tried. The Priestess knew she could never return home after what she had done, so she did the only thing she thought to do. To find the Fool’s tower, and to…”

-

Simon jerked awake in his bed, sensing that someone was watching him as he slept. Catching his breath, he looked around his room, which was navy blue, and littered with junk and clothing all over. He was a sentimental guy and found himself saving everything and anything that seemed to have meaning to him. He caught his breath, checking around his room. Closet, closed. The door to his room was closed, but he felt a breeze come through, and looked over to find his window open, the screen popped out.

“Shit,” He muttered softly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and checking his phone as the time read 3:58 AM. Way too early for school, but way too late to go back to sleep. The boy forced himself out of bed and glanced around his room to see if anything was missing. His laptop was still on his desk, and they left his phone. The only thing he was missing was his sweatshirt. As if he had been zapped, he blinked quickly. Lily gave him that sweatshirt, and it was the one with the deck. He ran over to his desk, looking around all over frantically for the yellow sweatshirt. He kneeled on the ground, looking underneath his bed, anywhere to find the one thing of hers that he had.

“No, no!” he cried out, slamming a hand onto the ground as he leaned back, kneeling on the ground with his heart sinking with him. Simon ran his hands over his face, forcing his bottom lip to stop quivering, forcing his eyes closed. A few moments and deep breaths later, he got up, going to close the window when he saw something flapping in the wind. He squinted, finding one of the cards, pinned to the side of his window. Simon’s heartbeat sped up as he realized which it was. It was the High Priestess, reversed. The card that the deck associated with Lily was there. He unpinned the card quickly, looking down at it. He closed the window with his free hand, and he attempted to recall that card’s meaning with little to no avail. He opened the notebook on his desk, filled with information she’d given him about the cards, and found the Priestess.

and muttered, “Repressed feelings, and having a lost inner voice..” He closed the book, falling back onto the bed. ‘Lily, what in the world did you do?’ He whispered, hoping the words would carry to wherever she was now.

-

Chemistry. A witch’s worst nightmare. Although Alchemy was close to chemistry, the two didn’t line up completely. Which meant although Lily had to take the class, and was damn good at it, she saw that she truly had no reason to be there. A balled-up sheet of notebook paper hit Lily in the back of her head. She closed her eyes, cursing internally as she turned around.

“Who did that?” she asked, scanning the classroom. There was no answer, there never was. Sighing, she picked up the paper, which had landed by her feet, hearing snickering around her. She unwrapped the crinkled paper.

“How original…” Lily muttered, glancing over a crude picture of what she guessed was supposed to be her, with fires all around the figure. The picture had a title, too, saying, “Burn the Salem witch,”

This wasn’t the first time Lily was ridiculed like this, and it was only her first week here. Only the first week, and with her Moms opening the first occult shop in town, it lead for them to be labelled “The Town Witches”. Which wasn’t a bad title, if you didn’t constantly get told that you were insane, as well as stoning and fire threats by the rest of the town. ‘It’s like a twisted version of Beauty and the Beast.’ Lily thought to herself, before opening a notebook, and beginning to write, making note of the person who drew the picture, as well as their name. Names were important, as with it, she could-

“U-Um.. Y-Y-You dropped your pencil..” She looked over to the left to see a thin redhead, the poor soul obviously terrified. Lily blinked, shaking her head slightly as she figured she could easily be giving this boy the worst resting bitch face ever.

“Oh, um, thank you. Simon, correct?” Lily said, giving Simon a small smile. He just nodded in return, confirming that she was correct. She set the pencil down on her desk as the teacher walked in, starting class. As soon as they broke for study time, she saw an opportunity arise. Every witch needed a coven. Lily turned to Simon, asking, “Would you like to study together? I’m shit at Chemistry.” One smile, one nod, and one pencil was all it took.

-

They took a break. The Sorceress knew that this was the longest story that she had told to these young girls, and that they had to return home in order not to have issues with their parents. The young woman moved about her cabin, which she had renovated from an old barn that she had found in the woods years ago. Her eyes trailed around the house, at the loft where she slept, to the wood-burning stove, that had a pot of stew on it, bubbling and cooking.

It was quiet. The Sorceress never quite liked the quiet, but she would rather it be quiet, than to be in a bustling city, or in downtown Gettysburg, where nothing was ever quiet. She could hear the trees here, and they could talk to her better than any of her friends ever could. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, her eyes drifting over to a pile of yellow fabric. The Sorceress stared at it, like it was a hurt animal that she couldn’t heal. It was too close to ignore, but too far away from her mentally to take care of. He had moved on. Why couldn’t she?

Two knocks came at the door, and the Sorceress moved swiftly to answer it, to see Lily standing in front of her. Lily was a teenager and was old enough to understand the true teachings of witchcraft, and the Sorceress had started teaching them her ways, in case they found that society was not their world of choice.

“Sorceress, I want to hear the rest of the story,” Lily commanded. That was like her. The older woman smiled, looking down at her with intrigue. “And why do you think I should continue without your sister?” Lily stepped inside, challenging The Sorceress.

“Because I’m older than her. And I believe there is more to the story than you’re letting on.” The Sorceress’s face fell, before nodding and keeping her composure, escorting her in. They sat at her table, the young woman closing the door before looking back at where Lily sat.

“The Priestess hid herself away, running deep into the woods. She knew that her old world did not have the intention of finding her. And everyone has a limited time until they break and give in to their new normal.”

“Even the Fool?” Lily asked, meeting the Sorceress’s gaze finally.

“Even the Fool.”

-

Months had passed, and still no sign of Lily. Simon sighed, having given up looking. There was only so much a heart could take. Her Mothers did heal in time, and had been trying to search for her with no real results. The conservative community in which they lived in didn’t put forward much effort, saying that it almost served the girl right, coming from a family of witches, that she should disappear from whence she came.

So, he grew up. He lost connection with the Clarks, as they left to go form a larger coven up in the Northwest and didn’t hear from them since. Simon mourned her disappearance through the rest of his senior year of high school, trying to move on, but everything reminded him of his Lily; his locker, where she would hide tiny chocolate bars for good luck, or drawings of good luck sigils that he would need later in the day. His basement, where they had their first kiss, and the overlook, where he had the one item that tied himself to her. All he had was the one card from her tarot deck, The High Priestess, the golden foil on the card almost worn, and the card’s image being faded from being in his pocket no matter where he went.

But, like the changing of the leaves, everything fades away. Simon lost all ties to the tarot deck, and never found the sweatshirt again. However, the loss of Lily did inspire him to go into forensic sciences and so he found himself back in Gettysburg after he graduated college, working for their police department as a detective. That’s when he met his wife, a young woman who he went to school with. They bonded over being in the same Chemistry class as Lily, and how they wondered how she just disappeared in the middle of the year. By that next year, they were engaged, and his wife was pregnant with two beautiful girls. Sisters, the second one coming three years later. Simon looked for hours at names, and finally, he and his wife settled on Lily, then Lilac. Simon had his girl back, and he promised that this time, he would never let his Lily go.

-

Lily sat back in the chair, the candles on the table lighting up their faces. The Sorceress had joined the young girl at the table and could just stare into the candles as she finished her tale.

“The Priestess never again tried to contact her Fool, or anyone in the outside world. There comes a time when you have to come into your own, and forge your own path, even if you made the wrong choices to get there.” The young woman sighed, getting up to lean against the ladder heading up to her loft, looking at Lily. “So. What was the lesson to be learned here?” Lily just sat in silence, thinking.

She finally looked up, saying confidently, “Don’t burn all of your bridges unless you have a way to get back if you need them. Connections are necessary, but easy to break.” The Sorceress just nodded, confirming Lily’s observation.

“That is one correct way to perceive it. Now. Run along home, before your parents ask what you’re doing in the middle of the night.” The young woman smiled, handing the flashlight back off to Lily, and she hesitantly escaped back through to her, leaving with more questions than she came with.

-

Simon sighed heavily, sitting at the kitchen table with Lily and Lilac, both girls being greeted with plates stacked high with waffles drenched in maple syrup. Lily looked absolutely exhausted, which was interesting, seeing as she had gone to bed earlier than normal.

“Lily, are you alright? Is there a reason why you are so tired today?” The oldest girl shook her head, knowing that her father probably wouldn’t understand that she went to go see a magical woman in the woods, who had been teaching her about witchcraft, and telling them stories.

Lilac smacked away at her breakfast, guessing, “I think she went to see The Sorceress.” Simon looked up, tilting his head at his girls with pretend interest. This was a pretend game they played, with the neighbor girls. They’d go exploring in the woods to that old cabin and playing make believe. The older man just chuckled, watching as Lily punched Lilac lightly, the older girl rubbing her face.

“Well, what was the story this time, girls?”

Lily rolled her eyes, finally cutting into her breakfast as she said, “Nothing, Dad. It doesn’t matter. Besides, you probably don’t even believe in magic anyways, so why does it matter to you?” Simon frowned, watching Lilac set down her fork.

“Well, Daddy, the Sorceress is currently telling us a story about a Priestess and a Fool, and how some worlds aren’t meant for some people… or something.” Lilac just smiled, all of the color draining from Simon’s face, listening to Lilac’s explanation. Maybe this was more than just pretend. Either way, he had to get to the woods as soon as possible. His heart rate sped up, as he stood, kissing both girls on the top of the head before grabbing a yellow sweatshirt.

“Dad, are you okay?” Lily asked, seeing her Father move so quickly. “Daddy?” Lilac asked as well, tilting her head to Simon’s quick movements.

“I-I’m fine, girls. Daddy’s just going to go for a walk. Stay here.” Lily nodded, Simon exited out the front door as soon as possible, taking one last look at his yellow house, before walking briskly down the sidewalk. It had to be her. There was absolutely no one else who it could be.

-

The Sorceress was tending her garden, her heart heavy with the fact that she was out of modern stories to tell the girls. She bent down, picking up some Rosemary and Sage when she heard a branch snap.

-

“Simon, keep up!” Lily giggled, watching the boy behind her struggle around jumping the logs, and running next to her. She stopped, letting him catch up to her as she reached a clearing with an old barn.

“Hah.. Hah… Lily, you know I’m not that fast. Anyhow, what are we doing here?”

-

Simon walked for as long as he could before breaking into a run. She had to be here, there was nowhere else she could be. How could he have been so dumb? Every lesson she made pointed him to here, and yet he never bothered to look.

-

“A lesson. Everything must go in order for change to occur.” Lily said insightfully, as she held Simon’s hand, the leaves falling around them as they sat on the long in the small clearing in the woods. The boy just looked down at her, kissing her forehead.

“Lils, I’m never going to let you go. I promise.” The brunette looked up at him with wide eyes, repositioning herself on his lap. “You promise? After all, promises are very powerful…”

-

The Sorceress sensed an aura, one she hadn’t felt in a long time, as she felt herself be drawn to it. It was loud, and panicked, and… now melancholy. She let the feeling carry her to the front of her barn, in the middle of the clearing she had waited, where she always waited.

-

“Of course, I promise. You’re my Lily, after all. I’d never let you leave without me leaving too.” Simon promised, as Lily snuggled beneath his chin. “Alright.” She said peacefully, closing her eyes as she rubbed his palm.

“Then I will always wait for you.”

-

“Lily!”

END