NEFERTARI
We've Become Disillusioned
So We Run Towards Anything Glimmering
It did not take long for one of the festival attendees to accept the offer the tent provided. A tri-coloured desert beauty parted the cascade of silks like the sea and stepped into the cool shade from the bright spring sunlight. Gold glittered at her throat, her ears and across her body where splashes of ink and snow danced. The mare was lithe, pistons long and delicate like a dancer. The way she moved was captivating, as if she knew the whole world would eat from her hand and thank her for it.
Nefertari waited patiently while the woman appraised the tent, taking in all the fine details of the rather rudimentary setting before her striking gaze fell to the reader herself. Her regal features are accented by the sheer silk draped across the bridge of her nose, obscuring only slightly the sooty muzzle and gold hoop that lay within. The woman radiated sensuality and her scent spoke of worship at the altars of gods only the ancients could identify. Her presence was absolutely intoxicating.
Rarely did the clairvoyant find herself overwhelmed by another woman in this same way. She had spent much time among the noble houses and high society parties, and all of them had pretty ways and beautiful smiles, but their existence was shallow. The vixen before her was an endless pool, and she wanted nothing more than to drown in her depths. If they had ever encountered each other before, the psychic was certain she would have remembered her.
Languidly the stranger produced three coins, placing them gently atop the silken cloth. Nefertari moved the coins to one side, out of the way of the center of table and began to shuffle the deck with a bemused expression. “Past, present, future,” she breathed, taking the woman’s essence deep into her bodice, tasting the spice of clove on her tongue. “If there is an answer you desire, I will see if the universe has the answers that you seek.”
The mare continued to shuffle the cards. Though gilded, they were well worn, the gold leaf fading at the corners, gentle creases where they had been handled with less than a delicate hand. The images of suns and moons flashed as she moved the cards between each other before she lifted her warm gaze to the woman opposite her, watching her beneath a fringe of delicate gold lashes.
“Do you have a question you wish to ask the cosmos? Or perhaps you would like to know what the stars have to say for you,” the question flowed from flirtatious lyrics, a sly smile playing about her sooty maw. The desert queen was enthralling, and it was much too easy to mirror her sultry qualities. Briefly, and only briefly, the clairvoyant pondered what she might look like under moonlight, oasis water dripping down her spine and the scent of warm sands mixed with exotic spice.
art by pacificdash character by scapeh table by sunny
