Chapter Text
“Jacob! Come on! I want to go to the fortune teller next!”
Maisie said, pulling Jacob between tents and other people who were also visiting the fair that night. Jacob had, begrudgingly, agreed to take Maisie to the fair that was stopping through three bridges. She had taken them to all the rides. Even though he used to be a hunter, the Ferris Wheel scared the life out of him and his knuckles turned white from gripping the handle and holding Maisie close to him. Maisie of course thought this was the funniest thing in the world and laughed the whole ride.
After all the rides and the petting zoo and buying her cotton candy Maisie wanted to go to the fortune teller. Will she ever tire out? Jacob thought, it was already a way past her bed time, they were definitely not going to get home in time for that. Well It is the weekend, he told himself, I never had a bed time growing up and look how I turned out. Maybe that wasn’t the best comparison. Jacob’s upbringing on the Inevitable wasn’t what he would call normal, and although he tries not to show it, it left him with quite a few problems.
It’s not like he could base his parenting off of crow’s, and anyone he might have had before vanished from his memory when his ship wrecked. He didn’t even know why he was in that ship. His oldest memory was waking up in the middle of the ocean clinging to a broken floorboard with a beast swimming under him. When Crow pulled him out of the ocean he hadn’t even known his name. Crow gave him that too, damn it. Every single part about Jacob seemed to circle back to the man.
Once when Jacob was on the Inevitable for a few years he and Crow got in a fight. Jacob responded, “You’re not my dad!” but Jacob knew Crow was the closest he would get to a father figure after he had lost everything, even his memories when he was twelve, just a few years older than Maisie is now.
The only clue that Jacob had to who he was before the Inevitable found him was a small handkerchief, or what he assumed was a handkerchief, that was purple with a yellow sun in the middle, the words “you are my new dream” embroidered around the circle of the sun. Crow had found it in Jacob’s pocket that night and Jacob never went far without it. The only time he was without it was when he left it in his room when Maisie and him went on their adventure with Red. Somehow he felt it held the answers to his past, but 20 years later and still no answers had been whispered from the cloth.
“I’m coming, hold your horses. The fortune teller will still be there in a few minutes, we don’t need to run!”
The fortune teller was a caravan at the end of all the tents, farthest from all the action at the carnival. The sign by the door read; “Vigor the Visionary: see-er and knower of all."
“Are you sure you want to do this Maisie, I don’t need a fortune teller to tell me my future”
“Of course Jacob! It’ll be fun!”
As they approached the caravan, an elderly woman with black hair and cyan eye shadow stepped out.
“Greetings, travelers. My name is Madame Canardist. And inside this wagon is the world famous, clairvoyant Vigor the Visionary! He has predicted the fates of emperors, the future of Pharaoh’s, the destiny of dynasties even! And he is offering a once-in-a-lifetime special, one fortune for a mere five silver pieces.”
Jacob looked down at Maisie skeptically but all she did was tug on his arm and stare up at her with her big grin.
“Alright fine”
Jacob fished the silver pieces out of his pockets and handed them over to Madame Canardist. Maisie let out a giggle and ran inside, pulling Jacob by the hand.
Once inside the door lamed shut behind them While Madame Canardist stood in front of a doorway draped with beads and curtains, concealing what was on the inside. The caravan was much bigger on the inside than it looked and Jacob pulled Maisie just a bit closer to him.
“Prepare to be astonished.He’s Telekinetic, he’s telepathic, and he’ll tell you the past, present and future!” Please welcome the world’s most prophetic prognosticator,Vigor the Visionary!”
As the woman said these words the drew a curtain back revealing—
“A monkey?”
Vigor— the monkey— sat behind a round table with a blue crystal ball in front of him. Maisie giggled and ran to the table sitting down at one of the chairs.
“Jacob! Look how cute he is!”
“Maisie, he’s a monkey.”
“Jacob, it's just a bit of fun! Come on!”
Jacob begrudgingly sat down in the chair next to Maisie.
“Vigor,” Madame Canardist said, “These people have come in search of your innate guidance. If you are willing, blink twice."
Vigor jumped up on the table, crawled right up to Jacob’s face and blinked twice. While Jacob may have let out a sound of disgust, Maisie only giggled and clapped her hands together. At least someone was getting some in out of this.
“Please! Vigor required total silence as he contacts the regions beyond!”
“Oh, sorry."
Maisie whispered and folded her hands in her lap.
Vigor turned to sit, legs crossed on top of the ball. When Vigor touched the ball its blue light changed to green and began shaking. Vigor started screeching his eyes going wide before he started to make noises that almost sounded like he was speaking. Madame Canardist pulled out a pen and paper and began to write.
“Vigor the Visionary has spoken!”
Madame Canarist handed the folded up paper to Jacob.
“What does it say Jacob?"
“ Child born to the queen Summer, too long he has been left to forget in slumber. His veins run purple and yellow blood, flower of the sun’s tears that have flood, Come home.” Jacob read aloud, “Seriously, summer and slumber? Those don’t even rhyme!”
Jacob stood and took Maisie’s hand.
“How about we go ride the Farris wheel again?”
“Really! I thought you were afraid of the Farris wheel?”
“I’m Jacob Holland, I’m not afraid of anything!”
Except that creepy monkey, but he kept that part to himself.