Slumber One

In a large home, deep in the woods there lives three women and one young child. The women were strong practitioners of magic. The oldest and wisest, Afua, was in charge of the girl's education. The second oldest and most kind, Sethunya, was in charge of her manners and grace. The youngest and weakest of them, Zina, was entrusted to teach her independence. And they had. Each of them had kept her close to the home they raised her in. And each of them raising her lovingly like any aunts would. Each warning her to be absolutely careful when walking the woods. And to keep her companion droid close as possible. To promise not to go off the path that they agreed upon. And she agreed.

That was seventeen years ago. Now she was a young woman, tall and beautiful. Curled hair, strong, and sweet. And today, she wasn't as careful as she was told to be. Her aunts meant well, but she felt like they were being overly cautious. So taking the path away from her normal one, she wandered aimlessly. And in a few moments, she found herself in front of an odd looking ancient metal heap. One that wasn't anything she had ever seen before. As she approached it with a large smile. Bijou, the young girl's name was, came up to it as her droid ran after her. He shouted after her,"We're supposed to be staying on the path,Bijou! You promised your Aunt Afua that you'd stick to it since you were-""I know I promised since I was five, Onyx. But haven't you wondered what the woods outside the path were like?",she asked. Bijou pushed the hood of her cloak down. Turned to him slightly, as he called,"No. I don't want to know more about the woods! I want to stay on the path like we promised!"

"Oh Onyx, you're just being a worry wart!",she joked as she touched the metal. It was cool under her touch, and it felt strange. Rougher, brittle like it would break apart if she breathed on it too hard. Bijou dragged her hand along it and flakes of paint fell off. It was amazing to watch. Her eyes widened when she touched a spot that wasn't as rough. It was glass. Dirty glass. Dirty glass that felt like it was made differently than the glass she was accustomed to. When she tried to guess what it was, Onyx moved her hand from the frame of it. And he sputtered,"Bijou! D-don't touch th-that! It's rusted old metal! You could possibly get tetanus from this thing!"

"Onyx. That only happens if you get cut by rusty metal. Not touching old paint.",she said. Bijou smiled as she stepped back from the machine. In a low voice, she asked,"Mind telling me what this thing is, Onyx?"

"Bijou, it's an extremely old car. Possibly back from before the ban of fossil fuels.",he responded. An old car. One that ran on old fashioned gasoline. It looked absolutely beautiful. And it was a weird shade of blue that she hadn't seen before. Walking around the vehicle, she said,"It's beautiful. I can't believe it's just out here. I wonder if it has anything in it."

"Don't touch it! What if it has rats or worse?!",Onyx shouted. He walked after her as she pulled the car's door open. When she did that, a rush of super warm musty air came out. No rats came out, but a small pile of trash fell out at her feet. Looking over at him, she asked,"Does trash count as worse? Because I think we'll be fine."

"Just what if there's rusty metal in there?",he asked. Shrugging, she said,"Shine your light into it. It'll help me out."

Sighing, he did as asked revealing dozens of old fast food joint bags and wrappers. Some weird smelling rags that Onyx identified as possibly alcohol. Bottles and some forms of boxes. Which she ignored as she dug around them and she made a small noise when she found something. Onyx nervously asked,"What? What's going on? Did you hurt yourself, Bijou?"

Pulling it out, she showed it to him. In an excited tone, she said,"An old CD. It's so beautiful looking. It might even have music on it."

Holding it up to him, she gave him a pleading look. And with a sigh he put it in himself and turned it on as he said,"You're right. It's an old artist but her music was well loved in the twenty first century. I think the disk is damaged, but this song can play."

Bijou smiled a little as the outdated music started to play. Then she started to dance like she felt like it. Her eyelids shut as she started to catch onto the lyrics. Singing the words softly as she grabbed Onyx's hands, dancing with him. She got so caught up in the song, she failed to notice the sound of footsteps. She let go of her droid's hands as she lazily twirled herself. When she came back to her partner, the hands were warmer. And they had more fingers than her droid's had. Then an unfamiliar soft voice started singing along with her. When her eyelids finally fluttered open, she saw a beautiful woman in front of her.

Eyes as dark as the night's sky. Skin just as dark as Bijou's and hair in a bun on the top of her head. The woman had froze when she opened her eyes. She gave a wholehearted smile as she said,"Oh,hello...I-I didn't mean to startle you. I just...I heard you singing and I enjoyed your dance um, my name is Tamifa."

Letting go of the woman's hands she backed away. Looking up at her, she smiled a little. Then she said,"My name is Bijou. So do you just randomly dance with strange women you meet in the forest?"

"Do you just randomly dance in a forest frequently?",Tamifa asked with a smile. Realizing that she was kind of being ridiculous herself, Bijou said,"No. Onyx and I were just exploring..I just. I found that old car and it was just the best part of the..wait where is Onyx?"

Looking around, she finally noticed Onyx standing near the car. He was fine, just a bit confused and looping the song. Onyx's golden eyes checked their faces and Bijou asked,"...uhhh, would you like to dance one more time before I go home?"

"Sure..if you'll meet me here tomorrow?",Tamifa asked. A hopeful smile on her face as Bijou nodded. And then said,"Of course. I would love to."

"Great.",she said. Tamifa took Bijou's hands and they started dancing again. A big grin on their faces as they danced. When the song was over, Bijou left with Onyx. And she asked,"Can you keep a secret, Onyx?"

"I won't tell that you did this. And I..I will help you come back tomorrow.",Onyx said. She hugged him tight and she said,"You're the best, Onyx. I love you."

"Yeah, Yeah...I really hope I don't get dismantled for this..."