The Midnight Express

DrStein

Literotica Guru
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May 7, 2005
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OOC: This thread is open to one other female character. Set in modern times, but with an air of nostalgia to it.

The train left the station shortly after sunset. The velvety night sky was unobscured by the city glow not far out of the station. And it was truly a beautiful sight to behold. So thought the passenger in one of the more up-scale boxes. He was a handsome young man. No older than his mid-twenties with long raven black hair and dark eyes. His features were a misture of Slavic and Italian, giving him a very continental look. This young man was an internationally famous illusionist. His real name was Dexter Wolfe, but most people knew him by the name D.S. Lupus.

He was currently in Europe on vacation, and wanted to see as much of the continent as he could during his time there. It was actually refreshing to go somewhere that he wasn't recognized. Though his act was famous in the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan, he hadn't cracked the European market just yet. No matter. All things in due time.

With a stretch, Dex stood from his seat and stepped out into the hall. He knew there would be almost no one in the dining car at this time of night, but he wanted a snack. He tended to eat very little on and off through the day, and rarely ate a big meal in one sitting. It was one of the things that had allowed him to maintain a slim figure his whole life. His lanky form along with his sweater and slacks gave him a look of grace and refinement, almost like a nobleman from a bygone era.
 
She sat at a corner table, slowly stirring a cup of coffee. The cream she had just poured into it made lazy hazel swirls in the cup. Darkness had come too quickly for her and she pouted at her reflection in the window. She had very much wanted to see the trees whizzing by, the pastures with their cows, lakes and rivers and sky. Instead she saw black and her disappointed expression staring back at her.

She brushed a strand of long blond from her face and set it behind her ear. She was dressed for travel with her hair pulled back into a sleek pony, her powder blue sweater, and an old pair of comfy jeans. At 5'11" she had always felt awkward, hence the trademark sandals, always flats. The horrors of high school dances with boys faces pressed into her breasts had made sure of that.

The train car rattled across the tracks and she sipped her coffee carefully to prevent spillage. The noise of the car door opening caught her attention and her eyes flitted up to the figure of a man as he entered.
 
Dex saw the one lone woman in the dining car sitting at the corner table. Something seemed to be bothering her. Far be it from him to sit by and do nothing. He casually strolled up to the small coffee bar and got himself a mug of earl grey tea. He then turned and without a word sat across from her.

He smiled warmly and proceded into a quick routine. He took an empty coffee cup from the tale behind them and covered it with a napkin. He drew the napkin away a second later to reveal a votive. He clapped his hands together, and when they parted he produced a red candlestick as if from nothing. He set it in the votive and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a small flame danced on the tip of his index finger, which he used to light the wick. To finish it off, he blew out the flame on his finger tip, which visually morphed into a tiny flower that he handed to her. He did the whole thing while humming the melody of Cante Partiro.
 
She smiled to herself as he sat himself down across from her. A whole train car full of tables and he picks hers...

She monitored him curiously as he covered a mug with a napkin. Who was this guy? Her interest was piqued as it turned into a votive and she watched him, eyes dancing and giggled as he performed for her. Happily she accepted the small flower he extended to her and brought her blue eyes up to meet his gaze.

"Wow, that was quite the trick!" She smiled and raised her arms to set the flower into the ribbon holding her hair. "Do you often approach strangers and do magic tricks for them in dark train cars at night?"
 
"Only lovely young ladies who could use some cheering up," Dex answered with a shrug. He leaned back in his seat and took a sip of tea.

The girl seemed to him the lonely beauty. Many men felt intimidated by gorgeous women, and so many of these girl spent a large portion of their life either single or unsatisfied. He wondered if this was the case with her, and perhaps if her being on this train had anything to do with it.

"You have me at a disadvantage, though. I don't know your name."
 
She smiled at him and took a sip from her cup.

"Nor I, yours, kind Sir." She pulled her feet up into her chair and hugged them, resting her chin on her knees. She gazed out into the darkness again and sighed before turning to the man to respond.

"I'm Linnea." She spoke softly and turned her eyes to her coffee.
 
"Dexter," he responded back frankly.

He furrowed his brow at the sight of her closing off the way she did. "Is something wrong?" Having been an illusionist for years, Dex had become rather adept at reading people. He had to in order to keep up with his audiences. Of course, it did have other benefits.
 
She smiled softly at him before responding.

"No, nothing in particular. I just feel a bit sad. It's dark outside, its quiet inside and trains seem to be a bit lonely by nature, don't you think? A train whistle has always sounded lonely to me. Maybe I'm absorbing the mood of the train." She smiled again and looked up at Dexter.

"Where did you learn that trick?" Linnea motioned to the candle lit on the table, who's wax was now melting, sending small wet drops lazily sliding down it's length.
 
Dex leaned back in his seat once more and shrugged. "Oh, you know... Around." It was his usual answer. He had a peculiar sort of magic and never shared any of his secrets, even to his fellow magicians. They were at once in awe of and frustrated with his abilities.

"I can always show you more. Just because you think a train sounds lonely doesn't mean you should have to be lonely yourself."
 
Linnea giggled behind her hands. What an interesting person to meet.

"I'm sure you know many little tricks. My little brother would be in awe of you. Can you pull scarves from your mouth? Or coins from behind ears?" She giggled again and smiled.
 
"Too easy." Dex slowly reached forward and brushed Linnea's hair with the backs of his fingers. When he pulled his hand back, he was holding a rose with the thorns removed from its stem.

He carefully removed the bud from the stem and with a quick twirl between his fingers, the stem turned into a rolled up silk scarf that he quickly unfolded. He then took the bud in his hands and covered it. When he opened them again, a small sparrow was sitting in his palm looking quizzically at the humans. Dex opened the window and let the little bird fly out.

He closed the window again and smiled. "If you'd prefer, we can talk about this in my cabin. There's less space, but it's warmer and much more intimate."
 
Linnea looked at him quizzically for a moment before answering.

"Uh...I'm not so sure I should." She avoided his gaze and focused instead on the falling drips of wax on the candle. An idea sprung to mind and she raised her eyes again.

"Would you teach me some of your tricks?"
 
Dex considered her question a moment. There were certain things he could and couldn't teach her. Many of his secrets had to remain just that. For now, anyway. The world wasn't ready.

After giving it some thought, he finally answered. "Only if you promise me that you can keep a secret."
 
Linnea giggled again and searched his face for a smile. He seemed much to serious for a man performing party tricks for her amusement.

"Of course I can keep a secret." She mocked offense and winked at the man before smiling up at him shyly.
 
With a small smile, Dex stood up and moved back to his compartment, motioning with his head for her to join him.

As with most train rooms, it wasn't much. His accomodations were very nice and he had more space than an average seat would have had. But there was a certain charm to the place that was difficult to describe.
 
Linnea stepped into his compartment and looked around.

"Wow, they're small aren't they? I suppose it's worth it for the privacy it buys you. I only bought a ticket for a regular seat. It does have a curtain to draw across and the seat folds down, but it's not quite the same, is it?"

She crossed her arms across her chest nervously and peered around the room.
 
Dex sat down and produced one Euro after another from thin air. "Have a seat and we'll start with coin magic."
 
Linnea sat on the small cabin bed and smiled as the coins appeared in his hands.

She giggled. "Ok." She watched his hands carefully, waiting to see what she was about to learn.
 
Over the next hour, Dex taught her how to palm coins, how to produce them from thin air, how to make them disappear with no sleeves, how to turn one into four, how to roll one across her knuckles, and some of the finer points of sleeving.

He knew she still had a lot of practice to do, but it was a good start. "This is actually how most magicians start out, doing simple coin and card tricks and working their way up from there."
 
Linnea concentrated hard at her hand, and willed her fingers to function properly. After a while, it got easier to flip the coins around and make them appear and disappear.

"Wow this takes a lot of dexterity, doesn't it?" She laughed, eyes smiling and put down the coins in her hands. "It's very interesting work! Is this just a hobby for you or do you perform professionally?" She grinned at Dexter and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Wouldn't it be neat if people really could do magic? Not just tricks and illusions but real, actual magic?" She smiled dreamily as her mind wandered, images of sorcerers and magicians floating in her head.
 
Dex decided to test the waters a little. He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "Do you think the world would be ready for such a thing? Think about it. Name one thing that technology can do that magic couldn't do much more efficiently.

"Everyone's after convenience and luxury. Think of how the upper class in the middle ages exploited literacy and the movable type printing press to gain advantage over the illiterate peasant class. Now think of what would happen if those same types of people got ahold of the ability to cast spells and warp reality.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rain on your parade. But if there is real magic out in the world, one can only imagine how closely it must be guarded."

He was aware that he hadn't answered her first question. The truth was he didn't want to just now. She genuinely seemed to enjoy herself practicing these simple parlor tricks. Why shift the topic of the conversation to him? Dex hated talking about himself for more than a minute at most. He felt like he was opening himself up more to exposure when he did so. And such a thing could be far more harmful to the people around him than he cared to think about.
 
Linnea pulled her legs up underneath her and clasped her hands in her lap.

"I think magic exists. I think you're right though, that it would have to be kept hidden. If it fell into the wrong hands, so many things could go wrong."

She leaned back and put her hands behind her on the mattress.

"I'd love to know real magic. It would make everyday life so much easier." She closed her eyes and saw college papers done in an instant, expensive clothes suddenly clad her frame, her long blond hair pulled up in an extravagant style with the snap of her finger. "Yes, it would be very interesting to happen upon real magic."

She smiled again and flushed slightly red.

"I'm sorry, I seem to be rambling. Please don't let my fantasy world scare you."
 
"Well, you're not the only one." Dex allowed himself to start slouching into his seat. "Imagine the chance to use your gifts to make a difference to other people. The chance to actually make a difference in the world around you."

From nothing he produced a deck of cards. He began to deal them with a Vegas "bullet deal" at the window. As each card touched the glass it vanished again. "But then, we can always amuse ourselves with parlor tricks."
 
Linnea giggled and watched the cards disappearing. She sat up on her knees and reached for the deck from Dexter's hands.

Scrunching up her nose again, she concentrated hard before winding up and throwing a card at the window. It crashed softly into the glass before tumbling to the floor.

She laughed and handed the deck back to him.

"I guess that one cannot simply be copied when watched." She winked at her new friend before backing up, resting her back against the wall of the compartment and stretching her legs out in front of her.
 
"Magic is very much an art form," Dex answered. "It takes passion, dedication, and good hands." With a wave of his hand, he restored the deck as it had been before. He spread the cards up his arm starting at his palm. A quick push of his fingers on the first card cause the whole line to flip over face up. He snapped his arm back, leaving the cards airborne for a second before he whipped his hand back out to catch them all in one clean scoop.
 
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