Who is Madame? What is Katria?
Wondering about this mystery woman was the least of her worries. Where was she? How did she get there?
Nezani decided it was better for the time being to go with the whatever it was that was happening and find a way to escape and run back to Aunt Marie's when she could.
Wearing a look of confusion, she turned on her heels to see the largest set of doors she had ever seen. She guessed the height to be about 5 stories tall, solid, polished, shiny wood doors with gold branches at the bottom.
Nezani took a step forward and lost her balance. Looking down, her fall had created ripples of tiny waves in the floor. The longer Nezani stared down the larger the ebb and flow of the wave felt beneath her.
“Don’t look down child you’ll get seasick.” Jane barked.
“Chin up! Eye forward! Through the doors!”.
Complying Nezani jumped up and walked quickly to the doors. Assuming the weight of the door by sight, Nezani put her full weight into opening the door.
WHAM!
The doors easily parted for her, and she found herself on the ground again, on the other side of the door.
“Yikes! The doors get the newbies every time. I can guarantee you those are the lightest doors in here, how are you going to get all the way to the top like that?!”
Looking up Nezani focuses on two big brown eyes looking back at her.
Rubbing the sore spot on her head she began to get up. Vision still blurry from the fall she takes in the person standing before her. The young man stood tall smiling back at her, instinctively her eyes shot back to the ground and a pair of luxurious black velvet loafers caught her eye. Continuing her body scan of the young man she takes in his bright yellow fitted suit and the plethora of gold jewelry that adorned his body.
“I look fly don’t I? My name is Ambrose, I’ll be taking you to see madam today, but first you need to change come with me”.
He said waving his hands at her current outfit with a look of playful disgust.
They walk to a mirror that’s inside of a small fitting room.
“Go in and change” Ambrose gestures her into the room and closes the velvet curtain behind her.
Confused Nezani asks “I’m sorry but what am I supposed to change into?”.
“What do you mean everything you need is in there, take a look at the mirror and imagine the flyest outfit you’ve ever seen”.
Deciding to prove the young gentle man wrong, she walked into the small dressing pulling the curtain closed behind her before turning to look into the mirror.
"The flyest outfit I can imagine huh?", she said looking at herself in the mirror.
*WHOOSH*
“Alright come out let me see what you’re working with?” Ambrose says. Startled Nezani opens the curtains, looking down and then over to Ambrose she notices they are now in matching yellow suits.
“Nah slim, I know I’m fly and all but only one of us is rocking this yellow suit today and I’m not changing try again.”
Nezani goes back in and looks into the mirror.
She thinks back to a moment earlier in the day while she was sitting on the overpass watching a young woman walk by in a long flowing print dress with her Afro wrapped up in matching cloth.
She remembers how regal the woman looked and how she wished she could be that pretty.
WHOOSH!
“Okay, let’s see what you’re rockin with this time”
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Nezani opens the curtains to reveal a long flowing yellow and burgundy print dress and her hair manicured and wrapped in a matching print scarf.
“Now that’s amazing, you look delightful” Ambrose says. “You kind of match my fly, I like that. Now let’s go Madam is waiting and she gets restless”.
They walk out of the big black door she had fallen through but this time they didn’t walk into the hotel lobby. They walked into what looked like someone’s living room. Looking around there were windows everywhere, the sun shined into the room intensely.
The middle of the room is sunken a few steps down and there are large white pillars around the parameters. An abundance of greenery adorns the rest of the space. Nezani notices a large aloe vera plant at the base of one of the pillars reminds me of her home.
All the furniture is white with gold trim and accents.
“Ambrose is that you with the newbie? I’m in the lab, I must get this elixir to room 211 by lunchtime, you know how Jane gets when we’re late for room service”.
The voice rattled in her skull but the room was quiet. How was it that someone was speaking to her but she could not hear it with her ears.
“You heard her, let’s go” Ambrose to walked briskly down the hallway that seemed to appear out of nowhere and at the end of the long white hallway where large golden doors with black cracks all along them.
Ambrose glances at his watch “Snap! I have to head to class. I can’t be late! Just go through those doors at the end of the hall she’s waiting on the other side”.
As she blinks Ambrose disappears, seemingly evaporating in front of her.
The walk down the hallway seemed to last forever. Remembering her experience with the black doors lightly presses her hands on the gold doors and pushes. The door only slightly moves.
Again, the voice starts speaking in her head “push harder there’s important stuff in this room you can’t expect them to just let you in so easily”.
Nezani put her entire body weight on the door and starts leaning in and pushing. Heavy the door barely moves as she puts all her strength into pushing it. Slowly creeping open Nezani sees what looks like a chemistry lab with beakers and flasks everywhere.
After quickly scanning the room her eyes focus on a large Afro in the center of the room. Sitting atop of the large cloud like fro sits a sparkling gold top hat dazzling with constellations dancing around its parameter. The woman is wearing a white patterned print lab coat and matching skirt and white blouse.
“Hello again beloved”.
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After everything she's seen, Nez stands in awe of the woman's presence, taking in her smooth copper skin and majestic dark golden brown eyes, her neck and hands graced with even more gold than Ambrose.
She sits gripping a staff with praying hands on protruding out of the top.
"I told you I would see you later, did you not believe me?" Madam asks matter of factly.
Unable to get words to come out Nez shrugs and says to herself turning to examine the room "I don't know what I thought".
Flasks and tubes fill the tables, cotton candy puffs of smoke hover on top of them. One produces so many bubbles that they touch the ceiling. Nez leans in to look closer and realized she can't see anything in the containers.
"Your eye isn't trained yet child, it will take you awhile to really see everything that's in this room" Madam says in her head.
"Trained?" Nez speaks out loud. "You heard that? Interesting". Madam says out loud.
"In any case I've decided its time you come back to where you belong, learn about your family and fulfill your purpose as the leader of your family”
My family Is gone.
“I know, I was there at the funeral. There’s nothing left for you in that world. And I think your parents would have wanted you here. Plus you have tons of family here. While you get everything sorted I’ve arranged for you to stay here in my familys hotel. Everything on the house of course: Room & Board, meals and help training. We only ask that once you awaken and you’re trained that you help us in our cause to proect --”
"Where is here??" Nez interrupts. PLUCK! "Oww!!" Nez exclaims, "What the heck was that?!".
"That was your spirit guide, you can't see them yet, but your training has already started" Madam says.
“Lesson number one child, never interrupt a mage when they’re talking”
"Moving on, do you accept the terms we have provided?".
Nez thinks for a second. Last night she was homeless, sitting on a bridge, watching people the time passing slowly. With nothing to lose she sighs in agreement.
"Wise choice beloved"
"Ambrose!" Madams words echo through her skull.
Within a blink Ambrose is standing in front of them.
"I know you're busy but can you please show Nezani to her room, and then take her to the registration and awakening?" Madam asks.
"Of course Madam, can I trouble you for a ride I have a test today and I'd like to reserve my mana." Replies Ambrose.
“Very well” Madam says and with an exhausted wave of her hand she shoos them away to what seems like the most posh hotel corridor Nez has ever seen.
They keep walking past several uniquely decorated doors, with ornate handles. Her attention was drawn to the small light emitting from the bottom of each door.
Mind wondering about who is behind the doors she looked up at the doors to realize that there are no numbers on the doors.
"Where are the room numbers?" Nez questions
“They’re there, you just can’t see them. You don’t know the person inside; do you expect them to just show you their room number”. Ambrose answers.
Nez looks up to see room number 1111. “Well how come this room has a number?” Nez questions.
"Welp, this must be your room, if you can see the number. Go ahead open the door".
Nez grasps the door handle, and it seems to come alive in her hands warmly inviting and pulling her into the room.
As the door swings open Nez sees there is nothing there, just a white space. She looks up at Ambrose who is looking back at her unperturbed.
"Well what are you waiting for? Walk in" he says.
As she steps into the room a familiar scent of her mother’s apple cranberry crumble hits her nose. She twirls around as if to breathe in the scent with every cell of her body. As she turns her room starts to take shape.
"My room!" Nez exclaims. Around her the room from the home lost takes shape.
“Boring!” Ambrose shouts.
“You could have any room you wanted but you choose this?!” he exclaims.
"Here's your key, whenever you want to return to your room simply hold the key in your right hand and visualize the corridor we are in.”
“Now that you’ve created this boring space, let’s get moving. The walk to Tee Birdy is a little far.”
Walking out of her door, Nezani turned and took another look at the space she had created.
Why did I create my room from home?
“Don’t worry it’ll be there when you get back and if you find yourself growing bored, you can always change it” Ambrose said with a knowing smile.
Walking back through the hallway the pair stopped in front of a pair of elevator doors.
“So, there are normal ways to get around?” Nezani said sarcastically.
“Kind of” he said pushing the down arrow to call the elevator.
The elevator came quickly, and the pair stepped into the elevator.