Curses Part 2

this is a continuation of this story. If you haven’t read that part I’d recommend reading it first.

CW: Instances of heavy dissociation

Lana scoffed, “So you’re saying that Tinkerbell has cursed me from the day I was born and is the reason for all my problems? Great. Just great. How can I get them to go away?”

“Not tinkerbell. A Fae. They’re a lot different than how most media portrays them. Not small and tiny and living off the laughter of babies. They can be just as big as you or I if not bigger. They’re fickle and vengeful, and certainly don’t like being called tinkerbell”

“What, are there fae working here?”

“Yes.” Em said flatly.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“In any case, the most important thing to realize is that you can do any number of things to ward off fae in your home, though if they’ve claimed it themselves then you might just anger them. First you’d need to prove the existence of them living in your home, or around you. If it’s been since you’ve been born then that should make it easier to track them since there will be signs all over you. Give me your left hand.”

Lana extended her hand to Em and she instantly took it, and begun tracing her fingers down her palm.

“Hmmmm,”

Lana didn’t get out much. Lana didn’t really have a social life. Lana was never really touched as much, so she wasn’t expecting to feel a soft hand grasping hers, tracing down lines that were far more sensitive then she realized. Her hand twitched.

Em snapped her head up to look at Lana and she frowned, “Keep your hand still”

Lana avoided meeting her eyes, “Sorry, I’m just a little ticklish.”

Em’s frown turned into a soft smile, “Oh, my bad. It’s just your palm is very interesting.”

Lana chuckled, unsure if this was flirting, “How can it be interesting?”

“Well you’re marked of course. but not just by a fae.”

Lana cleared her throat. Definitely not flirting, “Marked by what? “

“Well I see a divine entity here, some fae over there, and then right at the center there’s… something strange. I don’t think I know what this mark is.”

Em let go of Lana’s hand. Lana moved it closer to her face. Her uninteresting palm stared back.

“Uh… how do you see all that?”

Em pulled off her glasses and waved them, “Special lenses. Wanna try?”

Lana shook her head, “I’m good. What am I supposed to do about all this?”

Em reached into a drawer and pulled out a three-ring binder filled with paper. She licked a finger a flicked through a few pages, “Well, first you gotta find them. After that, you just gotta ask them. Let’s see,” she looked up at Lana and squinted, “You didn’t ever happen to join a church did you?”

Lana pointed her eyes at her feet, “Raised Mormon. Why? were they right?”

Em shook her head and turned another page, “not quite. I mean… sorta. There is a guy that calls himself ‘the one true god’ but there’s a lot of other gods out there too, so he’s really just pranking them all. Nice guy though.”

“So why am I marked by a divine being?”

“Well a lot of churchy rituals gives you a mark on yourself that doesn’t really go away ever. And almost anyone who’s prayed to ‘the one true god’ has one. It doesn’t do much. So we don’t need to worry about it. It probably just means an angel watches over you or something.”

Lana looked uncomfortable. She buried her face in her hands, “Okay sorry, I know this is probably a dumb question but what do angels do?”

Em skipped a few pages, “Mostly just fuck around and appear in people’s dreams. They’re kinda lazy, if we’re being honest. Especially when they don’t fix the printer jams that they cause.”

Lana chuckled, “I take it some work here.”

Em shook her head, “Not anymore. They usually get fired after a week because head honcho wants them to do more than they’re willing. They always have an excuse like ‘oh I was busy saving someone’s soul from the depths of hell’ or ‘oh sorry, my celestial watchdog ate my car keys’ or my personal favorite excuse that I heard, ‘I just had to impregnate the next woman who will give birth to Jesus Christ. That ones a hoot.”

“Wait, are they?”

“Nope, You get tired of that the third time you hear it. It kinda loses it’s joke value. Ah here we are! Stay right here, I need to go print some things and then I’ll be right back! If you leave the cubicle I’ll probably forget what I’m printing.”
Em stood up from her chair and moved past Lana, and ran off in a direction. Lana stared at Em’s empty chair. It looked comfy. She looked over at the binder. What was in there? With a curious glance she scooted her chair forward and reached for the three ring binder.

“pssst”

Lana jumped up from her chair and instantly pulled her hand back. Had she done something wrong?”

“Hey you.”

Lana let out a yelp and turned around. Staring back at her was a girl with horns that curled out at the side of her head into ram horns with bright red skin and pitch black eyes.

Lana’s eyes darted from the horns to the girl, “Uhhh, Hi?”

The girl with the horns gave her a little nod and a smile, “Sup? You the new trainee?”

Lana shook her head, “No, I’m… Cursed?”

A look of recognition crossed the horned girls face, “ohhhhh, got it. Sorry, We’re supposed to get a new trainee pretty soon and Em’s supposedly training them. thought you were them. Never can tell when the seer’s full of shit.”

Lana stared at a wall with a confused look, “Right. The seer.”

“Yeah. the seer.” The horned girl offered no explanation, “What’s your name kid?”

Lana quickly remembered something, “You can call me-”

The horned girl rolled her eyes and scoffed “Come on, I’m not a fae. I’m not gonna steal your name. Plus that’s ‘Can I have your name?’ duh.”

“Oh. It’s Lana.

“Lana! That’s a pretty name. You pick it yourself?”

Lana quirked an eyebrow, “Y-yeah. Why.”

The horned girl gave her a toothy grin, “Me too! My name’s Maddy. What are you cursed with?”

Lana scratched the back of her neck nervously, “Um, people keep forgetting me.”

Recognition crossed Maddy’s face, “Ohhhh, that’s why Em took you on. She always did love a good memory curse.”

“Are you two friends?”

Maddy nodded, “We’re coworkers, but I guess I’d call us friends. I don’t get out much on account of well…” Maddy gestured to her face.

If Lana was overwhelmed by all the new information being blasted to her, she hid it well. If she was having a small anxiety attack over the fact that demons, angels, and faeries existed, and also were lazy or fickle or worked for the government, she hid it well.

“Uh-huh.”

Maddy paused and looked at Lana, “You okay Lana?”

She was not hiding it well, “Yeah. Yeah I’m fine.”

Maddy leaned in, “Fine? You don’t look fine. You’re crying.”

Her eyes darted around the room. She took a big gulp, standing to her feet, “I um… just need some air you know. lots of sounds, lots of stimuli.”

“Hey careful. If you leave that circle bad shit might happen.”

Lana froze at the line on the ground at the edge of the cubicle. Right. Right just hold it in until she comes back. Lana bit her lip and looked at the ground. Her brain suddenly lost focus on everything and her vision clouded over. She placed her hands on her legs as she sat back into the chair and stared off into the distance. She hardly noticed when Em returned.

She felt like she was swimming through molasses. Her body felt heavy. She could feel someone calling her name but it was hard to focus on it. Her body moved on her own when she looked up and saw Em through the haze.

Em cocked her head, Lana could hardly hear what she was saying.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. The touch felt warm and kind. Another hand was placed on her shoulder. She felt another hand but something was around one of the fingers. Something that burned against her skin. The pain pulled her out of her haze and the burning sensation faded. she placed a hand on her head and looked up at Em.

“Lana, are you okay? You there?”

“Burning. Your hand was burning my skin.”

Em looked at her hand. A thin silver ring adorned her ring finger, she held that one up, “This one?”

Lana nodded, one hand on her face.

“Interesting. This is silver. The only type of people that would hurt is…” Em paused.

Lana scratched the side of her face softly, “what?”

“Well it’s just a theory. But I think we should be done for today. I’ve prepared a packet for you that should help you find what you’ve been cursed by and how to help them find you. It’s also got a copy of my card in there with my extension here, and also my personal number if you find out anything. Take care of yourself alright?”
Lana placed her free hand on the packet and rubbed her shoulder. The burn mark was gone.

“Thank you Em.” Lana got up to leave and paused at the circle, “You won’t forget me once I leave right?”

Em shook her head, “We’ve got a charm that we use for these instances that I’ll be taking home with me. I promise you, I won’t forget you. The Curses department is here to help.”

Lana nodded and took a step outside with a deep breath. She had some Answers. Time to find The fae that was cursing her.