The tent's interior will be shrouded in darkness. Only a small, out-of-date tallow wick will glow faintly on a low table covered by an artfully knitted tablecloth. In front of the table, a small sitting cushion will nonverbally beckon visitors onward.

The alien will wart its way to the cushion and lower its backside onto the soft, welcoming surface in an attentive posture. The cushion will wriggle itself into the perfect position.

Silence will fall.

After a well-measured amount of silence, soft music will begin to play, the drawn-out sounds of a husky saxophone whispering through the mysterious tent. A slight current of air will ruffle the tips of the alien's tentacles, make them swing with the rhythm of the tune. The visitor from the icy wastelands of Titan will relax and grow an additional orifice equipped to hum along.

A curtain of glass beads in the tent's unfathomable depths will sparkle in the mellow light and emit clicking noises. The alien's eyestalks will swivel into the direction of a veiled silhouette stepping into whatever light will fill the space.

A tall, hooded, humanoid, female figure* will approach the table, her long, flowing silk robes of midnight blue sparkling with tiny stars woven into the fabric.

The alien's eyestalks will quiver slightly and follow her graceful movements in perfect synchronisation as she takes a seat.

The lady's eyes will gleam softly in her hood as she will address her visitor with a melodic voice.

"Welcome to Earth, traveller. What would you wish to know?"

The alien will quickly add four new orifices, each fitted with an assortment of vocal chords. It will experiment for a moment and then address the lady in a four-voiced orchestra.

"What am I?" and, overcome by curiosity, it will add another pressing question: "Who are you?"

"They call me Destiny, and..." Her thoughtful glance will wander to the corkscrew appendices. "I name you Twisted Fate."

———

* In the future (as well as the past) it will be discussed if she can choose her form at will. But this discussion will remain fruitless as she never was and never will be one to reveal her secrets.

Silence will fall again. But not for long—with a muttered curse at all those authors bossing it around, Silence will get up and leave the scene.

The alien will clear its throats.

"My name's Fate," the first one of its orifices will say.

"Twisted Fate," the second one will add, with a grin.

The third one will huff, the forth one will pout.

Still lacking a WiFi connection, Twisted Fate will fail to make sense of its new name. "Why?" all four orifices will ask.

Destiny will pick up a cup of tea that will happen to sit on the table and take a sip. Then, she'll lock eyes with two of the seven eyestalks of Twisted Fate. "You see, Fate is actually an old friend of mine. But she's a fickle one, and I haven't seen her for a long time. So, I thought I'd name you after her. But to distinguish between the two of you, I thought I'd give you a different first name. And, with those appendages of yours..." She will gesture at the corkscrews still projecting from her guest, "I thought that Twisted would suit you. I hope you like it."

Twisted Fate will study the woman and get strange vibes of not being told the whole truth.

"May I call you Twisty?" Destiny will ask.

Twisty will shrug its warts. "As you wish. May I ask you another question, woman?"

"Sure, Twisty."

"How can I become the supreme ruler of this planet?"

A smile will form at the corners of Destiny's lips. The smile will spread and her eyes will gleam in mirth.

"Well, I knew you'd live up to your name. Unfortunately, it would be cheating to tell you how to twist your own fate, Twisty. I fear you'll have to find the answer to your question on your own. But don't fret. A brilliant and adaptable young entity like yourself will learn the ropes in no time at all."

Time, who will enjoy a deserved holiday away from everything* will hear his name** and peek into the tent. He will take in the situation with one glance and realise he is not even needed as a supporting actor in this story. He will grin at Destiny though.

"Hello, my dear. Long time no see. Care for a drink and chat about the good old times?"

Destiny will reciprocate the grin and pick up her knitting bag.

"Anytime, old mate. What about the little pub at the corner of the Milky Way?"

Without another glance at Twisty, Time and Destiny will leave the tent and follow their own business straight out of this story.

Silence, behind the scene, will fall once more, mutter a silent curse, tear his contract to shreds, and silently follow Time and Destiny's tracks to the pub, direly in need of a drink himself.

Twisty, left to fend alone for world dominion, will search the tent for someone or something to support his quest. He will sniff Destiny's teacup, check under the tablecloth and the sitting cushion,, and venture into the back compartment of the tent.

The cushion, dedicated to his job of making backsides feel comfortable, will bounce after him, squeaking hopefully for Twisty to sit again.

In the back of the tent, a shiny, silvery thing will wait. Upon seeing it, Twisty will open all his orifices and fall back unto the happily wriggling cushion.

———

* And especially stories where he was featured as a supporting cast with the sole role of stopping himself at inappropriate times.

** Although Time may seem deaf at times, he has a knack of hearing his name at all times.

—————

Twisty by EvelynHail. Scary, isn't it?