“Exactly what I said!”Ursula said in a voice that rang with exasperation.“Goddess, Willow, this is going to take forever if I have to explain everything to you twice.”
“Just explain it to me once but do a better damn job of it!”Willow yelled back and Ursula blinked in shock.
“Now, there’s the spirit I know and love.”Ursula leaned over and drew Willow into a quick hug.“Like I said, we have met before but not in this life.In the past we have been sisters, best friends, hell even in one life I was your gods be damned boss!Our spirits are connected through time, and we are destined to meet in each lifetime.Until we are able to stop this cycle, then we will continue to connect and my role will be to guide you.”
Willow frowned as her mind struggled to process that.“What cycle?”
Ursula grimaced.“That is not something I can share with you.”
“What the hell kinda guide are you, if you can’t tell me what the hell is going on?”
“One who knows what happens when I share too much and when I share too little.”Ursula stood up from the couch and moved over to the bed on the other side of the room.“Willow, it is in my best interest to make sure that this time, this life, we finish what is meant to be and banish that which is not.And yes, I know I sound like some whiskey drinking, tarot reading oracle that sits in a tent looking at some crappy looking crystal ball in a circus, but that is all I can say at the moment.You just have to trust me.Now, why don’t you take off that fugly as hell sweater you’re wearing and climb up on the table so Aunty Ursula can get to work?”
Willow frowned.“What the hell for?Because I know you are not talking about me getting a tattoo.I am not the tattoo type and there is nothing wrong with my sweater, it’s warm and functional.”
Ursula tilted her head and looked at her sympathetically.“Aww, now sweetness.When was the last time you picked up a fashion magazine and the style of anything you saw was referred to as warm andfunctional.That sweater is—” Ursula’s gaze raked over the garment in question and she frowned.“I’m sorry but what color would you call that?Drab?Is that a color?”
Fighting the wave of warmth sweeping up her face, Willow glanced down at herself.“Green, it’s a warm, olive, khaki green color.”
Ursula’s brow rose.“Really?Because I have seen green and it is fresh and beautiful.That,” Ursula waved a dismissive hand in her direction, “is neither fresh nor beautiful.If drab is not a color, then it should be andthatwould be the palette.Now, take the damn thing off and climb up on my table and let’s get this done.”
Willow watched as Ursula marched over to the medical table and sat down on a rolling stool.She then started messing with the things on the table in front of her.“Ursula, I am starting to come to terms with the whole meeting in ‘past lives’ thing.So, if that's true then you know me better than anyone alive and then you have to know that I am not the tattoo type.”
Ursula stilled and turned the stool to stare at her.“And just what in the hell do you consider the tattoo type?”Willow opened her mouth to answer but stopped, when Ursula held up a hand.“And your explanation had better not have the words biker, large, man or gang in the answer.”
Willow bit back her answer because she may or may not have been about to use one or more of those words.Her silence however was just as condemning apparently.
“Oh, my goddess, youhavebeen living a sheltered life this time around have you not?”Ursula said with a shake of her head.“Willow, there is more at stake here than your delicate sensibilities and what you think you might want.You don’t know it now, but youneedthis tattoo.”
Willow heard the sincerity in Ursula’s tone and moved to stand beside her.Standing this close Willow could see urgency in her eyes.“Why?”
“I can’t explain it to you as I’d like to,” Ursula said with a sad smile, “but I can tell you that the tattoo will help to keep you safe.”
“Even from the likes of Marcus?”Willow whispered.
“Especiallyfrom the likes of Marcus.”
Willow thought about that for a brief moment.“Then I guess I’m getting some ink.”Willow took off her jersey and the shirt she wore beneath it.Not that she would ever admit it to Ursula, but the damn thing was itchy as hell, and she needed the extra layer for protection.When she was in the tank top she’d put on that morning, she sat on the bed, holding out her arm.“I guess a small little something on my arm wouldn’t be too bad.Maybe a butterfly?Or perhaps a rose?”
Ursula made a funny noise and Willow looked up from where she had been picturing the rose on her arm.“Um, Willow, I have already sketched out the design for you.”Willow frowned as Ursula slid a drawer out from the table and pulled out a folded piece of paper, much larger than Willow would have thought was needed for a small butterfly.
Willow’s jaw dropped as Ursula unfolded the sheet of paper again and again until it was completely open.The picture was so detailed and so beautiful it took her breath away.In the center of the page were two beautiful lifelike black wolves, one with arctic blue eyes, the other a startling green, their eyes the only color in the entire picture.The rest of the detail was managed with simple shadings of black.Each animal snarled as if attacking and Ursula must have spent hours perfecting the detail.The entire image was framed to make it look like the two animals were ripping through the page.
“Ursula,” Willow breathed when she was able to take in some air, “this is stunning.Truly it is, it’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Ursula said shyly with a small shrug.“I started sketching this years ago and it took me a long time to perfect it.I was worried that I would run out of time, especially when Marcus went all stalker crazy on you today, but it’s done and it’s perfect.”
Willow stared at the image and the more she took in the detail of it, the more she wanted that tattoo.She didn’t have to be a genius to work out that there was no way that image was going to fit on her arm, even if it wrapped around it like one of those sleeves she had read about.
“Where?”
“On your stomach,” Ursula answered, reaching out to pull Willow a little closer to the table and urged her to climb up.
“Will it hurt?”Willow whispered as she pulled the tank top off and lay back on the bed in just her bra.
“There will be pain,” Ursula answered as she reached out to light a couple of candles Willow hadn’t even noticed sitting on the table.The air filled with the scents of lavender and white jasmine, both a calming essence that helped to purify the air.“But you and I both know that the best things in life come with sacrifice and Willow?I promise you, the outcome of this will be one of the best things in your life.”
Ursula took a while to get the placement of the image exactly where she wanted it.Willow shivered when she sprayed something on the paper, soaking it completely, before peeling it back, leaving the image behind.Willow swallowed hard at the sight of the dark ink against her white skin.
