by Jamie Davis
“Just because I told Mom I’m not having sex to prove her right doesn’t mean I don’t have the same rights every other girl my age has. I’ll have sex when I’m good and ready, and I don’t have to tell you anything about it.”
Her dad opened his mouth to say something then shut it. He looked at her mom, and the two of them shared a look that told Cari she’d won this particular skirmish. She resisted the urge to smirk in satisfaction. Her parents were so easy to manipulate.
“Just sit down and eat with us. Dad and I are going away for the weekend again, and it’s important we spend some time together before we leave.”
“You’re going away?” Cari asked as she slid into her seat. “Let me guess, another road race, or is this one a couples’ golf outing?”
“Actually, a bit of both. I have a triathlon on Saturday in Raleigh, and then we’re meeting work friends of your father’s in Atlanta for golf on Sunday. We’ll be back late Monday evening. You’ll probably already be in bed, so we’ll not see you until Tuesday morning.”
Cari shrugged. She wasn’t surprised the two of them wouldn’t be home with her. They had their lives and she had hers. The three of them had drifted apart more and more in recent years.
“I hope you guys have fun. I’m planning on spending the weekend with Julie and Stella at the Ren Faire.”
She couldn’t help but notice the glances her parents exchanged.
“I don’t know why you don’t approve of the Ren Faire. We used to go as a family when I was little.”
“Mom and I just wish you’d spend the money we give you on something other than swords, daggers, and your silly costumes. We hoped you’d give up this obsession long ago.”
“It’s not an obsession. It’s where I fit in, where I belong. The people there aren’t pretentious business executives without anything interesting or meaningful in their lives like you two.”
“Those pretentious executives are the ones who make your extravagant lifestyle possible, Cari,” her mother snapped. “I think perhaps it’s best if you take your plate up to your room. None of us are going to be able to finish dinner at this rate, and I need to eat something since I’m in training. Maybe you’ll think about what you said and remember how much of what you have you get from us, young lady.”
Cari stood up. She knew she’d gone too far. That didn’t mean she was going to apologize, of course. She picked up her plate and the chilled water canister and went upstairs. She couldn’t believe they’d sent her to her bedroom like that. What was she, ten?
Cari kicked the door closed with her foot after entering her room. She set the plate down on her desk and looked around her sanctuary at home. Almost every wall was covered in competition posters from various HEMA events. The pink walls her parents had painted underneath years ago only peeked out here and there around the edges.
She shook her head. Cari knew her parents weren’t the worst in the world. Heck, at least they were still together, unlike most of her friends’ parents. They just didn’t understand her or accept her the way she was. Couldn’t they see she didn’t want to be just another teenager going to high school?
Cari had always had trouble fitting in at school. She’d been big for her age and more mature than most of her classmates. She was smarter, too, and mastered things the other kids took much longer to understand.
That was why she hung out with Julie and Stella when she wasn’t at the gym. They were two girls she’d met in the community college history classes she took outside of high school. She felt like she had so much more in common with the two nineteen-year-olds than her sixteen-year-old classmates.
Cari looked at her desk chrono. Both Julie and Stella were at work right now, so she couldn’t jump on the holo with them to tell them about her parents and the latest clash with their unconventional daughter. She flopped down on the retro beanbag chair next to her bed and decided to finish her dinner while she watched a holovid on sixteenth-century fencing techniques. Swordplay always settled her mind and helped her sort out her feelings. At least when she had a blade in her hands, she knew who was on her side and who wasn’t.
Chapter 2
The next day after school, Cari decided to skip her usual trip to the training arena across town. She wasn’t ready to apologize to Master Thorne yet, and he wouldn’t even let her have a practice bot, let alone spar with a live opponent, until she did.
Instead, she told her car to drive her home and settled in to thinking about what she’d take with her to the camp-out at the Ren Faire this weekend. She was looking forward to seeing the bladesmiths who came from all up and down the coast to sell their wares at the Faire. She’d bought all her steel at one of the weekend Ren Faires in the region, including her favorite rapier and dagger combo.
After saving her money for several months, Cari was ready to buy a new sword. She had her eye on a saber this time. It was a blade style she was still mastering, and she was keen on having a real, functional version to practice with at home and in the arena against the bots.
She’d have to hide this purchase from her parents like she had some of the others. That wasn’t a problem. Cari had gotten more than a few of her mother’s mechanical engineering genes, and it had paid off when she built the hidden panel into the back of her closet where she kept her swords on a wall rack she’d installed there.
Cari liked working with her hands, crafting things, and had always wished there was a bladesmith close enough for her to apprentice with on the weekends. She’d created all her Ren Faire costumes, including her scabbards and her basic weapons harness to hold her rapier and dagger. If she was going to buy a new sword this weekend, she would need to check out some of the available options so she could buy the raw materials to craft a new scabbard and belt to go with it.
Cari pulled up the sites of the two weapons sellers and bladesmiths who frequented the Renaissance Faire on the weekends. Hopefully, they would have a list of the stock they were bringing to the Faire and the blade dimensions available.
The online sword shopping occupied her time for the remainder of the drive home. The chime signaling the completion of her trip caught Cari by surprise. Looking away from the holo screen in the car, Cari realized she was sitting in the garage at home with the vehicle already docked and charging again via the solar array on the roof.
Her parents’ work sedans were parked in their docking stations, but her dad’s Tesla was gone. The missing sports car meant her parents had already left for their weekend away. A glance at her personal comm screen showed the flashing message icon. She had been so wrapped up in looking at the swords online, she’d failed to notice it when it came in.
A small part of her felt bad they’d left without giving her a chance to apologize for last night’s outburst. Both her parents had left for work before she got up this morning, probably because they planned on leaving halfway through the day. She’d hoped she would see them before they left for their trip, but they must have decided to leave early.
It irked her she’d missed their call. Cari didn’t like it when she argued with her parents, even though it seemed to happen too often. They used to be so close as a family. Lately, that had changed, and it saddened her a little.
After grabbing her coat from the seat next to her, she climbed out of the car and went inside. Sure enough, there was another light flashing on the home holoboard in the kitchen. Her parents had left a message here, too.
“Play messages, Alex,” Cari called out to the home’s digital butler.
The chime sounded, and then a holographic video of her mother started playing, hovering over the kitchen counter.
“Cari, your father and I were able to slip away from work a little early today and decided to get started on our trip south sooner than expected. I made sure there was plenty of food for you in the fridge. Make sure you take enough with you to the faire camp-out so you don’t starve. Dad and I’ll be home late on Monday, so don’t wait up for us. We can all have a nice breakfast on Tuesday morn
ing, and you can tell us all about your weekend with your friends. Love you!”
Her mother signed off with a wave and a blown kiss, something she had done when saying goodbye to Cari since she was a little girl. The hologram disappeared as the message ended, and the blinking light on the console built into the kitchen counter stopped. There was only the one message.
“Well, Alex, it’s just you and me once again.”
“I’m sorry, Cari. Was there something specific you wanted?”
“No, Alex, disregard.”
The home’s digital butler chimed once and fell silent, waiting to be invoked with a specific voice command.
Cari grabbed a meal bar from the cabinet and filled her chilled canister with water from the faucet before heading up to her room. She wanted to get into her Ren Faire costume as soon as possible. If her parents had left for their weekend trip early, there was no reason she couldn’t do so as well. Stella was getting to the campsite tonight after work, and Julie would be there first thing in the morning. Cari could have everything all set up for them so they could all get an early start on the Faire’s festivities.
After pulling open her closet door, Cari started picking through what her mother called her war chest, the small subset of swords her parents knew about. On one side was a series of pegs and hooks set into the wood paneling of the closet. Swords, daggers, and a selection of other blades hung from the weapons rack. Most were blunted practice blades of one type or another, but a few were what she would call real weapons.
On the opposite side of the closet, there was an array of Renaissance-period men’s clothing. There wasn’t a dress among them, much to her mother’s consternation. Cari had tried to explain to her mom once how only the men’s styles of the day allowed her the freedom to carry weapons and be prepared for sparring and dueling. She told her mother she and her friends believed they should dress as they would if the Renaissance period were to return today, with women having equal rights under the law.
She pulled out a pair of red-dyed leather breeches, then selected a matching pair of knee-high boots to go along with the pants. For her top, Cari donned a white cotton shirt, pulling it over her head and down to cover her sports bra. A blue wool waistcoat, with gold piping on the seams and brass buttons on the sleeves, went atop the shirt.
After looking in the mirror to appraise her appearance, she grabbed the final part of the puzzle: a black, broad-brimmed hat with one side of the brim folded up and pinned to the crown. Cari tied her blonde hair back at the nape of her neck with a length of leather cord, then braided her hair with the cord running down through it before securing the end of the braid. She finished the ensemble as she settled the hat on her head at a rakish angle.
Satisfied with how she looked in her outfit, Cari considered the weapons to accompany her choice of garb. While she could select a practice weapon, Cari decided to go with her favorite blade. She reached up to the side of the weapons rack and released a hidden catch she’d designed. The rack swung aside with a smooth action she was quite proud of. Behind it was a much more extensive layout with many more blades from which to choose.
She reached out for her favorite custom rapier, took it down, and turned it so the polished, tempered steel blade caught the overhead light. She’d had the weapon made especially for herself, according to unique specifications. It had taken her more than a year to save up birthday and Christmas money on top of her weekly allowance before she could afford to order the custom blade from the area’s top bladesmith.
The rapier was a cross between a typical Italian rapier, suitable for thrusting and penetrating hits, and a type of blade called a side sword by most modern enthusiasts. Side swords were better suited for cutting and slashing attacks. The combination offered her a nice balance between the two styles, giving her the decent reach of a longer rapier with the slashing efficiency of the side sword. As far as Cari was concerned, it was the perfect blade, at least for her.
After sliding the custom rapier into its scabbard, she settled the sword’s belt diagonally across her torso so the blade rested on her right hip where she could easily draw it with her left hand. For her off-hand weapon, Cari selected a basic ring dagger of excellent quality she’d purchased at the Ren Faire just a few months ago. That blade went into the scabbard on her left hip, tilted to the front just enough that she could cross draw it with her right hand at the same time she drew the rapier with her left.
Cari stood admiring her costume in the mirror and snapping a few holo-selfies to send to her friends when a strange chime sounded from down the hall. She’d never heard that sound before, so she called out to Alex.
“Alex, what was that chime? Do you have an alert or message to share with me?”
“The sound to which you refer was not from my system. I have no messages or alerts for you at this time.”
“Where did the sound come from, then, Alex?”
“The alert chime came from your father’s upstairs office.”
Curious, Cari left her room and headed down the hallway to the small office next to her parents’ bedroom. Her dad kept a home office, but it was really more of a hobby room where he liked to restore old video games and electronics from years ago.
Opening the door, Cari looked inside. There were drab beige cases in various stages of disassembly scattered around the room, both on the floor and on the two long tables along the wall. In the center of the room stood her father’s desk, where he displayed his pride and joy, an old desktop computer with an actual physical monitor and keyboard, not a holographic interface.
The chime sounded again and drew her attention to the restored computer on the desk. Her dad must’ve forgotten to power it down before leaving for the weekend. Cari crossed the room to see if she could figure out how to shut it down. The thing would probably overheat and burn down the house while no one was home.
As she approached, Cari saw a flashing text prompt on the screen. It drew her attention right away.
Fantasma DLC update downloaded. Click enter to install it.
Fantasma? That was odd. Why would her dad have a program named after that old, imaginary world from her childhood? She smiled and wondered if he had created something for her as a surprise gift.
Curiosity got the better of her. She had to know what this program did.
Cari reached out with a fingertip and tapped on the word “enter” on the ancient flat screen several times before realizing it was too old to use even a simple touch interface. She had to utilize the old-fashioned physical interface of the keyboard and mouse below on the desk to activate it.
She placed her hand over the restored Logitech mouse and moved the archaic pointer on the screen until it hovered over the word “enter.”
She clicked the left button, and the screen cleared for a second before another prompt appeared.
New warrior subclasses installed. Click yes to choose one.
Cari clicked “yes” again, and another screen message appeared on the display.
Choose class:
Paladin
Duelist
Ranger
Cari smiled to herself. The choice was obvious. After sliding the mouse up, she clicked on “Duelist” in the menu. A final message appeared on the screen.
Are you certain you wish to enter Fantasma at this time?
Click yes to continue.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure,” Cari said aloud. Excited curiosity overcame her earlier desire to get to the Ren Faire early. This was much more interesting than setting up camp all by herself.
Cari clicked “yes,” and the screen cleared again. She wanted to see what her father had hidden in this program. It had to be for her.
The old LED monitor started flickering, and at first, Cari assumed it was broken. She reached out to slap the side of the flat screen when a series of solid colors started flashing on and off before her, filling the screen then going black for a split second before the next color filled the screen.
The flashing s
eemed familiar in some strange way. It was as if she’d seen this before sometime in the past, but Cari couldn’t remember when or where. It made her a little dizzy watching the shifting color patterns, and she started to reach for the power button on the front of the ancient computer tower to shut it down.
She failed to turn it off. She couldn’t move her arms.
In fact, Cari couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen and its pattern of flashing colors. It felt as though her eyes were locked in place.
Darkness closed in around the periphery of her visual field, creating a narrowing tunnel in front of her until the surrounding room disappeared and all she could see were the colored monitor flashes. Then the room dropped away from her, or rather, it was as if she fell backward from it, down a hole as the light above drifted farther and farther away.
The last thing Cari remembered was the strange chime sounding again as the distant light dwindled to nothing.
A woman’s voice followed the chime. “Welcome back to Fantasma, Cari Dix.”
Chapter 3
A thousand tiny jackhammers pounded away inside Cari’s head. She opened her eyes for an instant, then closed them as the bright sunlight rushed in. The tempo of the pounding increased as soon as the light hit her retinas.
Cari remembered the flashing lights on the monitor at home and realized she lay on her back on a soft surface. The lights must have caused some sort of seizure or something. She raised her hand towards her forehead to shield her eyes from the glare. Slowly, she opened them again.
She blinked as the room swirled into focus and shifted her eyes from side to side, taking in her position and the strangeness of the space in which she found herself. She was in a bed atop a rough woolen blanket.
After levering herself up on one elbow and taking her hand from above her eyes as they adjusted to the light, Cari looked around. Her broad-brimmed hat lay on the floor next to the bed, where it must have fallen when she landed here. She figured “landed” was the right word since the last thing she recalled was falling backward in her dad’s office at home.