“Another Renaissance faire?” asked Jenny.
“Yeah. Just up the road. It’s funny, I don’t even remember hearing it advertised anywhere.”
“How much is a ticket?” she asked, a little doubtfully.
“The guy I saw said admittance was free.”
“Really?”
“That’s what he said.”
“How long is it going for?”
“He said today was the last day.”

Not a moment later, Jenny was back up in her room changing in to her deep purple Renaissance gown, wearing a lovely white shift with large poofy sleeves beneath it. But by the time she was slipping on her soft, black princess shoes and throwing her hair back into an elegant bun, no one had yet responded to any of her texts.
“Weird,” she mumbled as she sent out a new batch.
She added a few finishing touches to her costume (including a lovely little satchel for money) and was rubbing some lightly tinged Burt’s Bees over her rose bud lips when she suddenly received everyone’s replies at once.

“i wsh i could go! i have a dentst apt in 30 min. cavities :(“ was what each and every one of them said.

Not even anyone in her family was available.
She was inclined to be really disappointed (and more than a little confused) about this development and considered not going.
“There will be other faires,” she said half-heartedly as she despondently admired her reflection. Suddenly, it appeared that there was a flash of something behind her. She turned in surprise, to see what it was but the next thing she knew she was trotting up the street within sight of the faire.

“Ummm… ok,” she said eyeing a group of masked creatures walking beneath the golden archway of two rearing unicorns that marked the entrance.

She surely didn’t remember walking this far (or even leaving the house) but she was already there and just so happened to be in costume. It may have been more fun with friends, but one look at all the shops, activities, and shows told her that she’d still be able to have quite a bit of fun by herself.
She approached the gate and there met a young man with flaming red hair, green dragonfly wings sprouting from the back of his jade suit, and a pair of mischievous auburn eyes glinting behind an emerald green mask with thorny branches forming earthy horns.

“What’s a lass like you doing without a proper escort?” he asked with a slight Irish lilt as he completely ignored the person he was taking the ticket of and examined Jenny.
She laughed lightly and smiled.
“Waiting for everyone I know to get back from the dentist.”
“Ah,” he said, the glint in his eyes all the brighter, “aye. Common time of year for cavities isn’t it?”
“Apparently,” she said with a partial grin and a shrug.
“Well,” he walked away from the people waiting to be helped and offered Jenny his arm, “I’ll not have a fair maid wanderin’ about this place on her own. Plenty of strange beings been about lately and not a few mysterious circumstances. A lass as pretty as you is like to be kidnapped by a faerie.”
There was something hiding just behind that seeming harmless, roguish smile of his that made Jenny quirk an eyebrow but she found herself taking his arm anyway.
They meandered through the faire stopping to examine shops (some selling silk so soft you could hardly feel it, another claiming to have genuine dragon eggs), watch bizarre performances (the sword swallowers and fire jugglers were all rather peculiar even before you noticed their pointed ears), and of course to dance to various musicians using anything from a pan flute to a daxophone.
“You’re a beautiful dancer,” he said to her as they breathlessly left a quartet of violinists that had been playing almost inhumanly fast.
Jenny laughed as she remembered him doing splits and break-dancing to the Celtic tunes.
“Thanks,” she said, still giggling.
“If you’d like,” he said, his hands clasped behind his back in mock shyness as he gave her a sidelong glance, “later tonight all the musicians will gather and play together for a sort of masked ball in the glade. “
Jenny’s eyebrow rose incredulously, “Glade? You… do know what state we’re in, don’t you?”
He grinned and nodded for her to look behind. She followed his gaze and discovered that the entire faire was surrounded by a thick wall of pines that went as deep as she could see.
“Well,” she said slowly, “that’s… interesting.”
She turned back to see him grinning all the wider.
“But I still couldn’t go to a masque,” she said coyly, with mild surprise at how little the sudden appearance of trees disturbed her.
“Osh, aye, and why not?” he asked, his smile disappeared and his accent became thicker as he was surprised into forgetting to guard it.
“I don’t have a mask,” she said with a shrug and a slight smirk.
His eyes glinted as an almost wolfish grin returned to his face.
“Ah, but that is easily remedied.”
And with that he produced a beautifully intricate mask, seemingly out of nowhere. Jenny gasped slightly as her hand unconsciously reached out to it. It looked like a glistening, royal blue wind had been suddenly solidified during a swirling gust. He caught her doll hand in his before she could touch it and pressed it to his lips, sending an electric warmth up her arm.
“May I?” he asked lifting his eyes to hers but keeping his mouth close enough that his breath tickled her fingers.
Jenny nodded dumbly and pursed her lips to prevent the laughter growing in her throat. He slid behind her and gently cupped the mask over her eyes and tied the silken ribbon behind, caressing her neck as he pulled it back to make it tight.
“It suits you, Jenny,” he hummed in her ear.
She glanced up to see a mirror before her and gasped again when she thought she saw a pair of wings sprouting from her back. She blinked and the illusion was gone, and as she blinked again so was her uneasiness.
“What’s your name?” she asked, certain she had not told him her own, as she met his eyes in the reflection.
“Odhrán,” he smirked, “and perhaps later this evening, I’ll tell you one of my other nicknames…”
They stood silently for a moment, examining the other in the mirror, until Jenny realized that the sky was already darkening.
“It’s not that late already,” she asked in surprise as she looked to find the sun burying itself behind the trees.
“Aye,” he chuckled in here ear, “it’s often hard to tell how time goes by.”
She turned to question him but he had already caught her still tingling hand and was leading her toward the trees.
“Would you like anything to eat?” he asked, suddenly bringing a huge éclair from a table of goodies behind them to his mouth.
Jenny looked around and found that they were already in a clearing filled with masked dancers and musicians.
“You know, you’re not being very discrete,” she said, freeing her hand from his to put her hands on her hips.
“What do you mean?” he asked innocently, his mouth half full of pastry.
Jenny glanced around at all the fairy rings growing in the field.
“What does your Mistress call you?” she asked tilting her head upward with knowing.
“Osh aye. I haven’t a mistress. Unless you were hoping for the job…”
Jenny laughed as he offered her a small cream torte.
“Sorry, I haven’t a taste for fae food.”
Odhrán half choked.
“Fae food, is it? What on abrid makes you think that?”
Jenny smirked and crossed her arms.
“I wonder…”
“You think,” he said in a low voice, setting down his pastry, “that I’m some sort of fantastical creature? Luring you to a magical faire that I might trick you in to eating enchanted food and so be able to spirit you away?” He continued slowly toward her as he spoke until they were all but touching and he leaned nonchalantly on the table with one hand, “So that I can keep you for eternity?”
“Pretty much.”
He cocked his head and grinned.
“Smart lass.”
“What does your Mistress call you?”
“Peaseblossom,” he said, his lips twitching slightly with amused annoyance, “but I very much prefer Odhrán.”
Jenny laughed and turned, selecting a strawberry pastry from the table to create a small space between them. He watched her expectantly as she held the treat but she let it hover by her mouth without tasting it.
“And why would you want to ‘spirit me away’ for eternity?” she asked, examining the pastry in her hand.
“Why?” he said, stepping close again and playing with a lock that had fallen free from her bun, “how many reasons would you like? I had come to over three thousand before I was driven half mad and could resist taking you no longer.”
Jenny only half concealed her smile.
“Oh… three should suffice.”
“Three,” he repeated, the grin evident in his voice, “well then, I’d have to choose your beauty, that does not belong in the mortal realm, your wit and knowledge, and your incredible imagination.”
“That’s technically four,” she said with a smirk and a sidelong glance in his direction.
“Aye,” he sighed, releasing her hair and letting his hand brush her neck, “it’s nigh impossible to narrow down so low.”
Jenny smiled down at the table and felt a slight warmth in her cheeks but showed no other signs of acceptance or denial.
“If,” she said carefully, “I choose to stay with you, will I be allowed to see my family and friends.”
“I can’t take them all,” he said hesitantly, “nor do I think would they all be happy about it.”
“Of course not,” she said, lightly amused as she imagined what some of their reactions would be, “but would I be able to see them?”
He opened his mouth to respond before she hurriedly added, “and speak with them.”
He smirked at that.
“You suspect me of trickery?”
“You already admitted to it.”
“Oh,” he said, blinking, “that I did. My you’re a quick lass. The way you speak you ought to have been born fairy. I mean to fix that mistake.”
“Were you going to answer my question?”
“Aye,” he sighed with exaggerated exasperation, “ye’ll be able to visit your family and friends.”
He smiled as she once more examined her pastry and wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
“Although,” he began again with gentle hesitance, “if they have even an ounce of sanity in them, they won’t remember your visits and will often think them dreams.”
“Then they’ll remember me,” she said with a smirk before biting in to her pastry.