Sorcery & Sirens

by Iris Woodbury

  Her mom wiped the sleep from her eyes and stretched until her flannel pajama sleeves dropped to her elbows. "Just one day of the week I'd like a lie in babe," she yawned. She dragged her slippered feet over to the kitchen counter. "Mmm, coffee!” She poured herself a mug of it. "So, what's the occasion?"

  "Nothing, I fancied something sweet and we've got nothing else in. When I'm big fashion designer and finally get a place of my own, I'm gonna keep my refrigerator stocked with all sorts of goodies. No more of this poverty crap. You, me and Jade will have donuts coming out of our ears."

  "Watch your mouth. Anyway, talent or not, you won't be a big fashion anything if you don't get accepted into university. Have you heard from anyone yet?"

  Crystal shook her head. "Not yet."

  This conversation was quickly going in the wrong direction. She needed to turn things around, so she leaned across the kitchen island, and gave her mom the warmest, sweetest smile she could muster.

  "Moooom. I don't suppose you could give me some money for the renn faire? The others are going this morning and I said I'd go too, if I could."

  Her mom rolled her eyes and sat across from her daughter on the island. "You've spent the allowance your father gave you already?"

  "No, not really. But I don't think what I have will be enough."

  The timer went off on the oven and Crystal got up to retrieve her buns. As she did so, she heard a repetitive thump thump thump as Jade clambered down the stairs, one step at a time. For someone so small and slim, she sure made a lot of noise.

  "Something thmellth yummy," Jade said, entering the kitchen. She climbed up next to her mom and "oohed" as Crystal set the freshly-baked buns down in front of her. Crystal picked up a palette knife and prized the metal lid off the icing.

  "Crystal's cooking breakfast," her mom said.

  "Why?"

  "Good question."

  Crystal looked up from icing the buns and batted her eyelashes innocently at her mom. At the same time, she put a fully iced bun on a plate and slipped it over to Jade. "There you go." She swung over to the refrigerator and pulled a pack of apple juice from the fridge. Eat up, Squidge," she said. "But be careful, the buns are still hot."

  "Is Ella going with you to the Faire?" her mom asked.

  Not that again. "Leave it alone, Mother."

  Her mom rolled her eyes and helped herself to a bun. "If you two talked, then maybe you could work things out. Just saying."

  "Can I come to the faire?" Jade asked.

  "Not this time, Squidge. I'm going with the gang from school."

  Fat blobs of tears filled Jade's eyes and her small fingers trembled as she reached up to rub them. "B... B... But I wanna go..." she wailed.

  Crystal wrapped her arms around her baby sister and kissed her hard on the top of the head. "I'll bring you something back, Squidge, I promise. I love you, baby." And she truly did.

  Her mom got up from the island and then came back just a few seconds later with her open purse. "Here," she said. She pushed the notes into Crystal's hand. "And make sure you bring something back for Jade. I'm not kidding."

  "Awesome, Mom, thanks."

  "Now go get dressed." Her mom wrapped her arms around Jade then wiped the runny mucus dribbling from her youngest daughter's nose.

  Crystal grabbed a bun for herself and hurried upstairs to dress for her trip. Her mom was the best. Sometimes.

  Crystal jumped out of the car and let the day wash all over her face. Fall was her favorite time of year and she loved to bask in it. She breathed the crisp air in deeply, and stretched her tired, travel-sore arms as far as she could. Their journey had been long and tedious, with traffic queues delaying their arrival by an hour or so.

  Stu slammed the trunk of his car. He carried a small black bag in his hands. With a wink and a smile, he clambered onto the back seat and reemerged a few seconds later, dressed as a pirate.

  "Whoaa," John said. "I didn't know we were dressing up."

  Stu raised his arms above his head and did a swashbuckling twirl in the parking lot. There was something strange about this outfit. Crystal couldn't quite put her finger on it, perhaps the cut, perhaps the color, but it stood out more than any other costume being paraded around them.

  "You like?" he laughed.

  "I had no idea you were gonna dress up," Crystal replied. "You specifically told us jeans and such."

  Stu laughed and locked the car. "I didn't wanna put you off coming in case you thought I was a weirdo."

  "We do," Nic laughed.

  "In any case," Stu continued, "if I'd told you I was dressing up, would you have dressed any differently? I don't think any of you have costumes, do you?"

  Nic laughed too. "Not me, that's for sure. I had no idea you were into all this, you dark horse. Now you've got me wondering what other secrets you have?"

  Stu winked at Nic and handed John his plastic sword. "You should try it, John, makes it all so much more fun - it's only role-playing." He moved in a little closer and nudged him with his elbow. "Plus, the girls here love it, know what I'm saying?" he chuckled.

  John grinned and nodded. "Alright. Let's go get our tickets, shall we?"

  The entrance to the faire looked like the wall to a medieval castle. They were numerous ticket offices to the right, with hefty lines of tourists, waiting to pay for admittance.

  "I don't like the look of those lines," John said. "It might be a while before we can get in."

  Crystal shrugged. "It is what it is. What can you do?" She watched the stares from passers-by as they sauntered over. All eyes were on Stu; it was like the other three didn't exist. Crystal also noted that the smiles were friendly, and it dawned on her this was a community, like any other, to which Stu clearly belonged, and they did not.

  Despite John's concerns, the wait wasn't bad at all. Inside the faire, Crystal was bowled over by the vision before her. Set in woodland, a world of medieval pleasures opened up before her. The place was swarming with tourists, wandering from one attraction to another, keen to sample everything, as she herself was.

  To her left, thespians strutted across a wooden stage, quoting what sounded like a familiar scene from Shakespeare. Intrigued, she opened up her site map to see what was being played. Oh, right, it was what she'd thought it was after all. They had studied Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mr. Cecil last year, but in class it hadn't seemed quite so much fun. To her right were numerous shopping stores, and concession stands were scattered about the grounds, selling an assortment of knickknacks and mouth-watering food. If she could, she wanted to try everything.

  They were standing by a weapon shop, selling both real and plastic weapons, including bright swords, colorful daggers and heraldic shields.

  "Check this out," John said. He had picked up an ornamental dagger, with an intriguing blue blade.

  "Something for the kids at Christmas?" Nic asked.

  "Shut uuuup, it's Merry Brandybuck's Barrow-blade from Lord of the Rings, he stabs the Witch-king in the leg." He made a low stabbing motion. "For the Shire!"

  Nic laughed, "Oh my God, you total geek!"

  The general public wandered here and there, some dressed normally, but many attired in costumes from different eras. Outfits varied from pirates, to courtiers, to jesters, to wizards, though by far the most common outfit among the women were lusty wenches. The faire was rampant with corseted breasts, and bosoms of all shapes and sizes were hoisted up proud and high for all to see.

  She didn't know how anyone could be so bold. But she admired them for having the courage to bare so much flesh. And with so many of them here, none seemed out of the ordinary. She wondered what it might feel like to dress so provocatively. Would Jake notice her more if she did? Would she want him to? She blushed at the thought. In any case, she was hardly likely to run into Jake here. He was way too much of a jock for this.

  Trumpeters heralded the arrival of a procession of elegant courtiers. She recognized the iconic Henry VIII at once and admired
the costume of his beautiful queen. She knew a little of this tyrant's history from television, but she had no idea which of his six wives this queen represented. The group waved majestically to the tourists, then wandered on to another part of the faire.

  Nic waited until they had all passed before speaking. "I bet they're sweaty under all that heavy fabric."

  "Yes. But they looked like they were having a marvelous time," Crystal said. "Not a bad job, walking aimlessly, around and around the faire, doing the queeny hand thing and smiling a lot. I could do that."

  "Why don't you?" Stu suggested. "You can rent a costume for the day. You should do it. It's a lot of fun."

  "Really?" The thought was oddly appealing. Perhaps her inner geek was alive and well after all. Her heart sank when she thought about the cost. "Oh, but is it really expensive? I don't have a lot of money."

  "No, not really. Look, if you want to do it, I can help you pay."

  Crystal opened her mouth to object, but Stu stopped her.

  "It's fine, really. My treat. Plus, it'll be more fun for me if we're all doing it. I won't feel like such a lemon. Go on and have a look." He pointed to a tent she hadn't noticed before. An older woman emerged wearing a medieval dress, and her companions applauded her new look.

  Nic shuffled impatiently on her feet, apparently uninspired by the whole thing. But then her gaze fell on a young man chewing on a fat turkey leg. Her eyes lit up with want. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm super hungry."

  "I could eat," John agreed. "I overslept and missed breakfast."

  Crystal wasn't especially hungry. While they talked about food, she wandered to an artist's shop just a few feet away. On sale were an array of numbered prints, all signed by the artist. Some were very colorful, some were black and white, but all were monsters. There were dragons, wolf men, giant squids, ghouls, and shuffling zombies to name a few. But it wasn't monsters she had on her mind at the moment. When the others joined her, she idly picked up on of the prints, and tried to make her voice sound as casual as possible.

  "You know, I wouldn't mind checking out the costume rental shop," Crystal said. "I mean, you know, this whole dress up thing could be kinda cool, maybe."

  Stu turned to her, his face beaming. "I knew you'd go for it," he grinned.

  "Could we go there next, maybe eat after?" Crystal suggested.

  John and Nic instantly looked down in the mouth. "I'm soooo hungry," Nic said. She cradled her belly melodramatically.

  "Where's the costume shop?" John asked. "Maybe Nic and I can go get a quick bite of something and meet you there?"

  "Good idea," Nic agreed. She almost drooled as a young man dressed in very revealing tights wandered past snarfing a cheesecake-on-a-stick. "We can get something light now and all have a big lunch later on."

  "Okay," Crystal said. "We'll meet you there, then."

  Stu pointed out where the costume shop was on the map to John.

  "Got it," he said, and John and Nic headed off toward the food court.

  "I can't wait - you're gonna feel so different once you're out of your mundanes, you'll see," Stu said.

  "My mundanes?"

  "Yes. Mundanes just means your regular clothes. It's like a whole difference experience here once you dress up."

  "You actually bought this though? You don't just rent a different costume every time?"

  "Nah, this is who I am here, it's not just a costume for me. And if you like it, which I'm thinking you just might, then make sure you buy a costume on e-bay, not from here. The cost to buy costumes in the rental shop is ridiculous."

  "We'll see," Crystal said. Maybe if I had the money. Or I could make my own.

  The costume shop was strategically placed within a few feet of the faire entrance. Costumes for women ranged from wispy nymphs to heavily embroidered courtiers, and then of course, there were the lusty wenches. Crystal went up to a rack outside the shop and examined a bright red see-through red silk thing. It was risqué, sure, but ever so pretty. She took a look at the price tag. Oooookay. Maybe not.

  They were greeted at the entrance by a slender blond assistant. She herself was dressed in a black and dark green, witch-like outfit, with Boleyn sleeves, fairy wings and wicked step-mother cuffs. It represented neither one thing nor another, and the more Crystal examined it, the more influences she saw.

  "Welcome, my lady," the woman said. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of green, and Crystal supposed she wore contacts for dramatic effect.

  "Hello," Crystal replied. "I'm... looking for something to fit me."

  "Of course," said the woman. It was as if dress up were the most natural thing to be considering in the world. "Follow me inside."

  While Stu remained on the outside, toying with more pirate costumes hanging on the men's rack, Crystal followed the woman in. As expected, there were clothes presented all over the walls, which were layered for examination on long extending hooks. The whole place smelled of pressed linen and mothballs. She liked the appearance of the courtier costumes best. She took one down and held it up against her body.

  "Wow, these are even heavier than I imagined," she said out loud.

  The assistant looked over but said nothing. Instead, she remained seated on a small stool over by the shop entrance and left Crystal free to browse undisturbed.

  Crystal wandered in a little deeper. Her hands ran freely across the outfits, at different times sensing the coldness of silk, the roughness of lace, or the softness of crushed velvet. Deep in the back of the shop, the smell of mothballs intensified. Here, the older, less popular costumes were on display. The styles were old-fashioned, and the space felt a little neglected, as if this section was rarely rented out.

  Crystal's eyes landed on a black crushed velvet outfit with purple trim, very similar to the dress she'd designed for the Homecoming banquet. She took the dress down, and holding onto the top of the hanger, twirled it around in the air. Unlike her dress, the bodice front was laced, but instead of a white shift at the breast, the material was dark-purple lace. In place of the black toile, leaf-shaped sheets of sheer black lace, similar to the bodice flowed softly down to the ground. There was no label inside the dress but the tag on the hanger suggested it was her size.

  "Where can I try this on?" Crystal asked.

  The assistant rose from her seat, and without a word, led Crystal and the dress to the very back of the shop.

  "Wow, these stalls go back much further than you think," Crystal observed. "This place certainly didn't seem that big from the outside."

  "I imagine not," the assistant replied. There was no wall in the rear and no exit to leave through. Instead, a heavy black curtain was draped across the entire section. The assistant found a fold and raised it for Crystal to pass through.

  "There's a lot of material there," Crystal said. "It might be easier to lift if you cut some of it back."

  The assistant smiled but said nothing. Crystal shrugged and passed through into the changing area, the dress folded carefully over one arm. "Tell my friends I'm back here if they ask." The curtain fell with a gentle swish behind her.

  "Yes, my lady, I shall." She bowed and left.

  Crystal smiled; the woman was certainly keeping in character.

  Inside the room was an ornate mirror with a very ornamental antique silver frame and two brass hooks at the side, attached for customers to hang their clothes on. It was a strange room, completely shrouded in layer upon layer of the heavy curtain fabric. It wasn't square, in fact it was almost circular, and it wasn't especially well lit. Still, what little light there was from the diffused sunlight, coming in over the top of the curtains, seemed sufficient for the task in hand.

  Crystal changed quickly; the dress slipped smoothly over her head and appeared to be a perfect fit. She couldn't have tailored it better herself. She pulled it down across her tummy and the soft velvet sat perfectly snug into the contours of her body. It felt weird; it wasn't just a perfect fit; Crystal felt like the dress was part of her. Odd. The
designer must have had me in mind. For a moment she stood and admired her reflection in the mirror. The dress made her look beautiful. I've got to wear this!

  "Stu, come check this out," she called, at last.

  There was no response.

  "Stu?"

  It was odd. Not only was there no reply, but she noticed for the first time there was total silence. They really should do something about these thick curtains. She strained her ears to catch the far-off noise of the faire visitors, but she heard nothing. Perhaps the curtains are sound proof? She checked herself front and back, one last time, then headed back to the store to find Stu or one of the others. She lifted the heavy material, but there seemed to be a second fold to the curtain. She lifted that too, only to find another as she stepped forward.

  Well, really! She lifted this drape, only to find another. Perhaps she'd picked the wrong spot to exit; after all, the room was circular so she might easily have made a mistake. She walked backwards but there seemed to be more curtains going back than there were going forward. She decided it was time for help.

  "Miss, umm, Miss," she called. "I seem to be a bit stuck here, could you come and help me, please?"

  Silence.

  This is annoying. With a little more urgency, she started pressing forward. She figured if she kept going in a straight line, sooner or later she'd hit a wall or find her way back into the shop.

  "I'm so not happy about this," she yelled. Yet no matter how many steps she took forward, she encountered neither wall nor air, just an endless succession of these terrible curtains to nowhere.

  And then at last, she heard something. Not the something she'd expected, but a bird song. Still, anything was better after that dreadful silence. She focused on the sound and made a bee-line for it. With one last swish, the final curtain fell behind her. At last she found herself out in the open.

  But where is everyone? There was no shop, and no faire beyond. Perhaps the stores had hollow rears, and she'd found her way all the way to the back. She didn't think the structures had been built into a hill but perhaps she was wrong. Very odd, she thought. But then, why couldn't she hear anyone? Even if she was all the way on the other side, the faire couldn't be that far away, and it had been plenty noisy at the entrance. The curtain hung over an opening in the hillside. There were no other exits from stores at the faire, and to the right and left alike was a great expanse of grassy hill. And on this side of the curtain she saw a shimmer to the fabric she hadn't noticed before, the heavy black fabric now looked almost watery. This is all very, very bizarre.