[Druids Bidding 02.0] RenFaire Druids: Dunskey Castle Prequels

by Jane Stain

  “Let us have the clan chief and his wife preside over our lead place in the procession, where we shall always partake in ring-out. Emily.”

  Vange looked around for her best friend.

  Oh, there’s Emily.

  “Aye?”

  “Come up here and head the procession.”

  The clan leader had a smile on her face as she skipped forward to stand where the new tradition called for her presence.

  Aw, she’s having so much fun.

  “Clan. Fall in.”

  Hearing the call to fall in, Vange obeyed. She lined up behind Jessamin and Aga, who had headed outside just in front of her. They all smiled at each other.

  Something’s missing, but I don’t know what. Oh well.

  And then Peadar was at Vange’s side, and all was right with the world. He offered her his arm.

  “Ready to process, lass?”

  “Aye.” Vange hooked her arm through his and felt the little rush she’d forgotten he gave her whenever they touched. Now she was having real fun.

  Dall took his place at the beginning of the procession next to Emily, and they all started walking. As they walked, they sang and had great fun.

  Emily was having the time of her life. She was on the arm of her sexy highlander husband, the envy of every woman on the faire site, and the two of them were leading ring-out. They marched sometimes, and everyone behind them marched too. They danced sometimes, and everyone else danced as well.

  They started the clan’s kilted men on the non-period but so delicious Can-can dance, kicking up their kilted legs and showing off the neon shorts all wore underneath, and the crowd went wild, whistling and cheering and applauding. It was a heady feeling, entertaining so many people and being loved by all of them.

  Emily bowed graciously at the customers who waved at them, and Dall bowed with her.

  All the merchants in their booths waved at her and Dall, smiling. She waved back like a queen. She saw Simon out there at his booth with his family, and Murray at his weapons booth. She smiled so big at them, they ran up and gave her hugs.

  Dall wasn’t jealous or threatened. He just laughed.

  All the way around the village the two of them led the procession, singing one of the faire’s many songs that gently told the customers the faire was closed and it was time for them to go home—so that our parties can start.

  Farwell friends from in our shire

  To our homes we now retire,

  Let our voices e'er sing higher

  When we're met together.

  Let union be in all our hearts.

  Let union join our hearts as one.

  We’ll end the day as it begun.

  We’ll end it all in pleasure.

  Too soon, the ring-out parade was over. Down the road, Emily saw that Siobhan was coming up the ranks to escort her and Dall to their trailer to change for the evening, and then Emily would have a blast watching the night show.

  But then Jessamin, Aga, and Bethany were right behind Emily and Dall, squealing and laughing and practically talking right on top of each other. It took three rounds of their conversation before Emily understood it.

  “Ooh, are we going to show you all a great time.”

  “Yeah, we’ve made reservations at the best restaurant.”

  “Uh huh. And then we’re all off to the hottest dance club.”

  “Oh, and Vange said to remind you we’ll change in their hotel room instead of in your trailer, because she brought presents of new clothes for the both of you.”

  “We brought a change of clothes with us.”

  “Yeah, see? So we’re all ready to go.”

  “Oh yeah, and Peadar said we should all go and grab him and Vange.”

  “How did he put it?”

  “‘Because you know how Vange likes to talk. You’d best drag her away or we’ll never get out of here.’”

  “Ha ha ha. Those two are so funny.”

  Like waking up from a dream, coming out of the druid’s complacence spell happened gradually. As it did, fear overtook Emily.

  We can’t fall back under that spell. This was our one chance. Yay that it worked, but …

  Emily put on her best actor’s face though, so as not to make her three new best friends afraid of Emily herself instead of the real enemy.

  As she frantically looked around for Vange and Peadar, she saw Siobhan’s determined face coming at her from closer up the road. But Vange and Peadar were closer, chatting with some of the clan as if they meant to stay at the faire site overnight.

  They will stay overnight if we don’t get over there and snap them out of it.

  Grabbing Dall’s hand and Jessamin’s hand, Emily pushed through the crowd toward Vange and Peadar.

  18 Vange & Peadar 6

  Emily was both panicked and annoyed.

  I am so sorry, all of you who had to put up with me when I was young and clueless.

  Jessamin thought their mad dash through the crowd toward Vange and Peadar was a game.

  Come on, Emily, be patient. How could she know otherwise? Just rein her in.

  Made playful by the giddiness of being invited out with her clan chiefs—such a momentous outing—Jessamin poked her friends as she pushed by with Bethany and Aga in tow, and she laughed when people turned around to see who had done it.

  Jessamin talked to the people, too, but Emily was too worried about actually leaving the faire site to pay attention to what it was she said.

  “Vange.” Emily called out.

  Her friend and Dall’s son were happily chatting with some of the faire Scots.

  “Come on, Vange.”

  Vange looked up at Emily and smiled, but then she went right back to laughing and joking with people who were strangers to her.

  Yep, Vange is under the druids’ spell, alright.

  Emily was getting desperate, but she didn’t dare let Jessamin, Aga, or Bethany see that.

  They have to be having fun, or they’ll fall under the spell, too.

  Using her actor training and experience, Emily kept her voice upbeat and excited, rather than afraid and panicky. Now she was right next to her friend.

  Dall kept hold of Emily’s hand and helped out by making their chain of people a circle behind his son Peadar, if only he and Vange would turn around.

  Emily did the talking.

  “Turn around, Vange, Peadar. Dall and I want to talk to you.”

  Thankfully, the two complied with out Vange making a wisecrack.

  My hold on reality is so tenuous, even that might throw me under the spell.

  Dall clasped wrists with Peadar.

  Emily talked a mile a minute, apprehensively glancing over her shoulder to see that Siobhan would be on them any second.

  “Vange, Peadar. We’re taking Jessamin and her friends out on the town tonight. We have to start running for the SUV now. They have a great restaurant and a hot club picked out for us to see. Besides, I hear you have presents of clothes for me and Dall back at your hotel.”

  Thank God. They’re waking up. Come on. Wake up faster. Shake the spell off and help me with the situation again.

  They did, and Emily breathed easier.

  “OK.”

  “Aye, lead the way.”

  In the nick of time, the group was on the run toward the main gate out of the renaissance faire and into the parking lot.

  Emily smiled now that she did hear Bethany and Aga and Jessamin talking.

  Their cluelessness snapped you out of the spell, Emily. Be thankful. You may yet need them to wake you up. Two years was long enough to be under the spell. No more.

  “Yeah, our reservation is for eight.”

  “OK, so that gives us half an hour to drive to Vange and Peadar’s hotel and 75 minutes for us all to shower and change.”

  “It’s a tight schedule, but it’s doable…”

  That talk ought to keep them out from under the spell all the way out to the SUV, and I’m pretty sure we’re safe once we ge
t through the gate and out into the parking lot.

  But there were strangers manning the main gate. And in her waking state, it was obvious to Emily that they had been ordered not to let faire people leave easily. She could only imagine how that conversation had gone, but plainly they had been told to detain whoever was leaving as long as they could.

  Yeah, so that one of the druids can come work their magic and turn us back into zombies.

  One gate guard held out his hand at them, beckoning them over.

  “Gate passes, please.”

  Emily showed her ‘Faire Staff’ badge and gave the guard a look.

  “They’re with me.”

  The guard shrugged.

  “They may not be when they want to come back in.” He smiled at the customers who were leaving and told them to have a nice night before he turned back to Vange and the others, who he was claiming to be concerned about. “Just trying to help you out.”

  But the pause had been enough.

  Here comes Siobhan.

  Emily wanted to put her hands over her ears, but in her growing panic she couldn’t think of any theatrics that would explain why she would do such a thing.

  Jessamin, Bethany, and Aga had shown their gate passes and were still talking excitedly about the evening ahead.

  Good. Keep that up. Ack, she’s almost here.

  The guard was on Vange and Peadar now.

  Peadar was trying to reason with him.

  “Nay, we do not have passes yet, lad, but we will be with my kin all the evening and return with them beside.”

  The guard rolled his eyes.

  “The beer’s in the pickup, buddy. OK, if you don’t have passes, you will need to be with a staff member.”

  Vange gave him a look and put her other arm around Emily.

  “We are with a staff member. That’s what we keep telling you.”

  Siobhan had arrived, and of course she tried to bring everyone back into the faire site.

  “Short Shakespeare are here as a special treat for everyone tonight. Maybe you heard about it? They’re going to do Romeo and Juliet backwards. Come on. I’ll get you all seats up front where you’ll be chosen as volunteers to go on stage.”

  But Emily’s guildmates surprised and overjoyed her. She hadn’t noticed before, but all the people Jessamin had poked had been following along behind them. They had quite a crowd gathered. Probably a third of the guild of 60 people.

  Jessamin spoke.

  “That’s OK, Siobhan. Bethany and Aga and I are going out on the town with Dall and Emily, right?” She turned and smiled proudly at the chiefs of the Scottish clan they were all re-enacting on the faire site.

  Emily nodded yes, and so did Dall.

  The guild cheered and called out encouragement.

  “That’s so cool.”

  “Maybe we can all go out tomorrow, eh Dall?”

  “Yeah. We would love to show you our favorite hangouts, too.”

  Wow, I had no idea we were so popular. What else have I been missing?

  Dall held up his hand, and the clan grew quiet, visibly anxious to see what their leader had to say to them.

  “We would be honored if the entire Scots guild of actors would meet us at the Hastings Hotel tomorrow at eight in the evening for a clan gathering in casual modern dress. Please go and tell the others, and while you do, please come up with some games we can play and some modern music we can dance to.”

  They all cheered some more.

  “That’s my man, Dall.”

  “Awesome.”

  “Way to go.”

  Dall pulled Emily close to him so that she shared in this moment, which she appreciated. The guild was on fire with excitement about Dall’s invitation to them. Someone started chanting, and before she knew what was going on, they all had joined in.

  “The Hastings Saturday at Eight.”

  “The Hastings Saturday at Eight. Huzzah.”

  “The Hastings Saturday at Eight. Huzzah.”

  The saying was repeated all up and down ‘the shire’, as they called this faire site.

  Emily turned to Dall, laughing.

  “We had better get to the Hastings and make some kind of arrangements. Ha heh heh.”

  With his arm around her, he led the seven of them out the gate past the guards while Siobhan just stood there with her arms crossed, trying to hide the fact that she was frustrated.

  “Aye, and we shall, lass.”

  Emily had been riding in the back seat of the SUV next to Dall for twenty minutes when Jessamin got a phone call. Which reminded her. She tapped on the driver’s shoulder.

  “Vange, let me use your phone.”

  “I … I don’t have it anymore, Em. I’m between phones at the moment.”

  “Ooooh K. You’ll have to tell me that story sometime. Bethany, can I borrow your phone? I left ours in Celt Camp.”

  Bethany handed it to her.

  “Sure, if you’re calling inside Australia.”

  Emily handed her a large cash bill.

  “I’m calling the US. Please let me know if this doesn’t cover it, and I’ll pay you back. Promise?”

  Bethany took the large bill with a look of pleasure.

  “Oh, this will cover it. Thanks.”

  Emily called her parents for the first time this trip to Australia.

  “Hi Mom, it’s Em.”

  “Is everything alright, Sweetheart? Did Vange get there OK?”

  “It’s going well so far, Mom. Will you get Dad on the other phone? I would really like to hear both of your voices for a little while.”

  “Oh. Sure, I’ll take you with me and go get him.”

  Her dad’s voice came on the line then, and Emily felt guilty for not calling more often, even though she had only neglected her family under the druids’ magic influence.

  “Hiya Em. How is the plan going? Are you going to be able to break the c—”

  Emily didn’t think anyone could hear her dad, but just in case, she cut him off.

  “I can’t talk long. I’m borrowing Bethany’s phone. Here, on the count of three, both of you say, ‘Thank you, Bethany.’ One, two three.”

  Here’s hoping they take the hint and keep quiet about the curse.

  Bethany giggled when they thanked her.

  “I called just to hear your voices and to let you hear mine. To connect. I’m so sorry for not doing that often enough. I promise it will be a more regular habit from now on.”

  Tears flowed on both ends of the phone line.

  “We love you, Em. Give our love to Tomas and Tavish.”

  “I will. Love you too, bye.”

  “Bye Em.”

  Emily wiped her tears and handed back the phone.

  “Thanks, Bethany.”

  “No problem. It’s gotta be tough, being so far away from family.”

  “It is, but I didn’t expect it to be. I was foolish.”

  It was a fabulous night out. Just as they had promised, Bethany, Jessamin, and Aga had picked out a marvelous restaurant and a fun hot spot to hang out in afterward. Everyone had a great time.

  Dall and Emily had rented the hotel room adjoining Vange and Peadar’s and got some rollaway beds so they could all get ready faster and crash there for the night. They got up early to make arrangements for that night’s party before they drove back to the faire.

  The hotel desk people didn’t say a word about his kilt or her matching long plaid dress. Or when everyone else came down in similar outfits. They raised their eyebrows when Dall asked to see the manager, but they said they would let him know they wanted to speak with him.

  Emily used the hotel’s business center to send out a bunch of emails while they waited, inviting people to start that clan website and forum she and Vange had dreamed up and promising to be on it as soon as she could.

  At last, the hotel manager came down from his room to see them. Even though it was seven in the morning, he was clean shaven and wore an impeccable business suit. He spok
e to Dall as he came down the hallway toward them, holding his hand out.

  “Hello, I am Mr. Perry. You wished to see me? I trust all is well?”

  Dall clasped forearms with him.

  “My gratitude stretches to you for arising at such an early hour.”

  Mr. Perry smiled, clearly a bit charmed by Dall’s accent and amused by their traditional Scottish clothing.

  “Well, now I’m intrigued. What brings you down to see me?”

  Dall released the man’s forearm.

  “We have sixty guests coming this evening for a time of festivity. We wish to engage a hall here in your hotel.”

  “Ah, I’m sorry. We have but one such hall, and it is already engaged. You might try Hintel House, across town.”

  Emily’s heart sank.

  Well, that’s just our luck. Darn it. I suppose one of us will have to stay here and redirect people to the other hotel. Maybe Vange will stay here with me…

  Emily and Vange shared a sad ‘oh well’ look.

  But Dall was not giving up.

  “We have secured accommodations here at your inn. Mayhap we could invite our guests up into our two rooms to pass some time with us?”

  But Mr. Perry was shaking his head no.

  “A party of sixty in two regular rooms would disturb our other guests too much, I’m afraid. Parties of that size are only allowed in our hall or in our suite rooms, up on the top floor. Renting the hall is less expensive, but alas, it is engaged. Your best bet is Hintel House. If you like, I can call them for you.”

  Hope bloomed in Emily’s heart. She turned and looked at Dall.

  He was smiling.

  We have this. Wow, what a change from Mr. Simmons taking care of us. And hahaha. I could almost thank Siobhan for keeping us so complacent we didn’t spend any of the money we earned because of Murray insisting we demo his weapons for him. We owe him. Big time. There must be twenty thousand in that Australian account, and that’s not even touching the US account we have for our antiques business.

  Dall held up a hand to stay the manager from leaving, and then he handed the man their debit card.

  “Please use this to verify that we can pay, and then do show us the largest of these suite rooms you have, and let us discuss your food and drink service. We also will require music.”