Lucy Voss (aka Scorpio) sheds light on the nuances of individual tarot cards by bringing them to life in her tarot-inspired fiction.
There was a loud knocking on the main door of Pentacle Manor Conference and Catering Training Centre. The Queen of Pentacles saw the time and wondered who was arriving so early. That day’s event was not due to start till 10am. She went to the door herself as the staff had not yet arrived and opened it to see two poorly turned-out people standing in the porch.
“Er…?” she began.
“We’re from Six Pentacles Employment Agency. We’ve been sent to ‘elp.”
“Oh, I see,” said the Queen. “The staff entrance is round that way. And another thing: I asked for just one person.”
“Well, you’ve got two of us,” said the older one, “me and my brother go everywhere together.” “Please go round to the staff entrance and we can discuss this further.” The Queen closed the door. She sighed. Neither of them would be suitable to wait at table, they were too scruffy, and it was the Dining Room where there was a shortage this day.
The Queen went round to the kitchen and servery area. The other students and trainers were coming in ready to start preparations.
“Not those two” mouthed the Knight of Pentacles who was overseeing the place-settings in the Dining Room.
“I’ll have to have a word with the Agency later,” said the Queen. “Neither of them is suitable to face the public, but it’s too late to change them.”
“Well,” said the Knight, “we could put Four in the dining room. He hasn’t the pleasantest manner, but at least he won’t drop plates.”
“Ok,” said the Queen, “and these two Fives will have to help out with cleaning and washing up.” “Three!” called the Queen. “Can you show these two Five Pentacles where things are, how we do things, and so on” she asked. “After you’ve got them to wash their hands and the girl has tied her hair back.” Three rolled his eyes and took charge of his unwilling helpers.
“No,” said Three Pentacles later, “the food is for the delegates, not for us. We have our own mid-morning refreshments. Leave those biscuits alone.”
“Why?” asked one of the Fives, “there’s all this food here and we’re hungry. No breakfast in our house.”
“There’s a fifteen-minute break in half an hour’s time, so you’ll have to wait till then.”
The Five Girl snatched a couple of biscuits anyway and crammed them into her mouth. Her younger brother followed suit.
Once the delegates to the conference had been served their coffee and home-made biscuits the Fives and Three Pentacles went to the room to collect the used cups. The Fives managed not to drop or break any crockery but they loaded it noisily onto the trolley and clattered their way back to the servery.
“Now load the washing up machine,” said Three, “and set it going,” he added as the pair looked as if they were going to leave the crockery unwashed. “We have our short break now, then we start getting ready to serve lunch.”
“I’m off now,” said the Five Girl,” this is menial work. C’mon,” she said to her brother.
“No.”
“I said c’mon,” and she grabbed his arm.
“You go, I’m staying.” He went back to the dishwasher and began to unload it. Once free of his sister’s influence he became less truculent. He was obviously unfamiliar with catering practices, and inclined to be clumsy, but he was at least another pair of hands and did what he was told. (Things were getting very busy and there wasn’t time to “ask nicely”.)
Eight Pentacles was plating up the desserts. He was behind schedule as he was having to monitor Five, who, as already mentioned, Did What He Was Told but didn’t know enough to use his initiative – or perhaps that was just a pose.
“Five” said Eight, “we’re short of blackberries. Can you go to the vegetable garden and get some more?” He gave Five a bowl.
“Where’s the vegetable garden?” asked Five.
“Out through that door and round to your right,” said Eight snappishly, “and be quick, we’re running late.”
Five went into the garden, he went round to the right, but he couldn’t see a vegetable garden, or any black berries. He wandered round; there didn’t seem to be anyone he could ask and while he wasn’t enjoying his day at Pentacle Manor, it was better than some other places where he had sometimes reluctantly worked so he thought he would make an effort. He eventually found some black berries in a secluded and fenced off part of the garden and returned.
Eight was in a hurry, something he didn’t like, so he asked Five to add some of the blackberries to the dessert. “Service!” he shouted, and the Pentacle waiters took the dishes away.
Within a few minutes the King of Pentacles appeared. He was very angry, in that quiet way of Pentacles which is more alarming than a fiery outburst.
“We have had to send for an ambulance. One of the guests has been poisoned. Some of the others might be affected. Who put this stuff in the dessert?” and he pointed to the black berries. “Who was plating up? Was it you?” Five Pentacles shook his head. “No, probably not,” said the King, “Who. Was. Plating. Up?”
“Oh,” said Eight Pentacles returning to the kitchen, “I was. Is something not right?”
“Not right?” echoed the King. “Explain. You were supposed to put blackberries into the dessert. These,” said the King pointing to one of the abandoned desserts, “are not blackberries.” Eight Pentacles looked more closely and turned pale.
“Where did you find those?” he asked Five.
“At the far end of the garden, fenced off.”
“What were you doing there?” asked the King. “And why did you send him on his own?” he asked Eight.
The Queen and the Knight of Pentacles returned to the kitchen. “The ones who are all right have gone, the one who was definitely poisoned is on his way to hospital and the ones who don’t feel well are waiting and seeing. The paramedics had a look at them, but the poisoning case was urgent so they had to leave. I’d better get back to the “waiting and seeing” ones.”
The King addressed his staff sternly: “There will have to be a full refund of conference fees; our reputation will suffer, at least in the short term; Knight, I’d like you to ring the Six Pentacles Employment Agency and say that when we ask for temporary catering staff we mean catering and not a body to make up the numbers. We expect not to be charged for today.”
He called Eight and Five Pentacles to follow him.
“I was only doing …” began Five
“what I was told,” finished the King. There was a small space at the back of the kitchen where there was a table and some bookshelves. The King took down an illustrated reference book: “What are these?” he asked, pointing to some blackberries.
“Blackberries,” said Eight nervously.
“You said black berries,” said Five. “I didn’t see anything like that (pointing) but I brought you some black berries, like you said.”
“You brought black berries all right,” said the King. “They are called Belladonna.”
Eight Pentacles went faint.
“What’s Belladonna?” asked Five.
© Lucy Voss, September 2023
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