How To Kidnap a Sidhe Prince--Chapter 1
With thanks to the many authors who inspired this tale, and to the good people, cis and trans, in the cast of the Florida Renaissance Festival, who inspired some of the characters.For Casey (she/they), it all started when she was working security at the Miami Renaissance Faire.
Since security had to wear modern garb instead of the usual quasi-historical costumes, Casey was only wearing one little piece of the medieval: a pair of calf-length boots from Gary Connor's stand. They were comfortable boots with a nice sturdy sole and worth every penny they'd paid for them.
She'd just finished their rounds between the jousting field and the central food court. Today had been a pretty calm day, so far. No pickpocketing attempts, no rowdy drunks. A little boy had gotten separated from his parents around noon, but less than five minutes after Casey'd brought the tyke to the information booth near the front gate, the parents had arrived there, relieved that their son was all right, and immediately launched into the "What have I told you about walking alone?" that all worried parents ask in that situation.
"Casey, anything happening on your end?" asked the voice from the walkie-talkie. It was Mark Tyson, a massive boulder of a man who'd gone by his last name for so long, only about half the cast even remembered his given name.
"Nope. Four o'clock and all's well." Joe had already reported in from the western food court. Nothing to worry about on that end, either. They all might just get through the rest of the day without any more incidents at all. Tyson said something else to the security team, but at that moment, the blonde literally ran into Casey, making it a bit harder to concentrate.
She was pretty, and looked young, maybe about twenty years old. She was wearing a rust-colored gown with bell sleeves. Corset-style lacing at the sides of the waist gathered the fabric to hug her body tightly, showing off its slimness, and the collar and the ends of the sleeves were embroidered. Her strawberry-blond hair was elaborately coiffed, and her skin had a golden glow. Her eyes were slightly too green to look natural--colored contacts, maybe?--and the elf ears she was wearing looked very realistic. Probably one of the kids from the wealthier side of town, enjoying the opportunity to dress up as a fantasy character.
Casey took in all these details in an instant; there was something about the blonde that simply commanded attention, especially since she looked absolutely terrified.
"Forgive me, sir," she said--Casey shoved down her feelings about being misgendered--and was about to run off again when Casey grabbed her gently, but firmly, by the shoulder. (This was against the rules, for liability reasons, but Casey knew this girl needed help and wasn't about to let her go sprinting through the crowd to cause more chaos.)
"Hey," she said. "It's all right. Now take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong so we can help you."
"Oh! Th'art a lass. Forgive me again." Still not quite accurate, but more welcome than "sir." The blonde took a deep breath and said, "I cannot stay here. The Unseelie are after me. They've already taken my betrothed--"
"Slow down. You said someone kidnapped your fiance, and now they're after you?" Casey sighed. Not only was the calm of the day shattered, but this was going to require police involvement. "Come with me to the information booth. I'll call this in, and we'll get the police here to take care of things right away." They pushed the button on their walkie-talkie. "This is Casey. We've got a situation here. All security meet me at the information booth in five."
On their way to the information booth, the blonde got downright chatty. "I am Aurora, a minor noble of the Seelie Court. I am betrothed to Caomhan[1], but he was taken by Medb[2] of the Unseelie Court after our attempts at a treaty failed. They mean to ransom us in exchange for their demands--"
"Wait. Back up. This Unseelie Court--is that a gang?" Most street gangs didn't use the names of mythical beings; maybe this was part of a drug cartel? It wasn't exactly a secret that the heads of successful cartels had mansions in Miami.
"Medb does send roving gangs after the Seelie to get what she wants, yes." Something about Aurora's story was very, very wrong, but it was all internally consistent, and the fear in her eyes and voice was genuine. She was in some kind of very big trouble, and she and her fiance had been caught in the middle of a turf war. That much, Casey was clear about.
They passed by a band singing "The Wild Rover" as the audience clapped in time. "So then you disguised yourself as an elf and came to the Renaissance Faire why, exactly?" None of this made sense.
"Disguise? Faire? So this is the Other Side, then," Aurora said, as if whatever this Other Side was, it was the obvious reason for whatever she was thinking. "I know we have not been here in a long time, but the wall between us has been too broad for centuries." No, thought Casey. This is crazy. There's no way she means what it sounds like she means.
"So what's the situation with this young lady, then?" asked Tyson as she approached the information booth. "Did she get too handsy with one of the cast?"
"Did she what? No, she says she's being chased by someone, but her story--Just listen to her." Casey was not about to repeat Aurora's account of what was going on; let them get the story straight from the source and come to their own conclusions.