Regynn Winters

A Day at the Faire

((Thanks Marachius for writing this story with me! Yes it's long, we usually tend to write long stories when we work together.))

Regynn looked in the mirror, her eyes widening at the sight that greeted her. She ran her hand down the blue skirt, brushing at the non-existent wrinkles then she smoothed the pristine white fabric of the blouse, blinking at the amount of cleavage it revealed, “Oh… hello there.” she muttered. She glanced up at her reflection, noting the crimson hue on her cheeks before she tugged the fabric back up.

The priestess glanced at the curtains that separated her sleeping area from the rest of her flat where Marachius was sat, waiting for her so they could go through the portal to Stormwind and attend the Darkmoon Faire. Another quick glance in the mirror and Reggy took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, she fixed a patent smile on her face as she stepped into the living area, “Okay then, I’m ready when you are.” she said as she made a concentrated effort not to make eye contact with her friend.

Hearing Reggy, Marachius leaned forward and pushed himself up off the sofa. “Alright. Darkmoon Faire, here we…” and then his words faltered as he looked at her. Standing up, he turned to face his friend with a surprised look on his face. “Wow. That dress looks…  Wow. I didn’t know it’d… Wow..”

Regynn looked down, then back up again, “I think they forgot part of it. Or is it supposed to look like that? And how do you suppose these pieces stay in place?” she touched the edges of the plunging neckline of the blouse then looked at Marc with a raised brow. “It’s a beautiful dress and I really appreciate it but... “ she stopped and shook her head, “No. It’s great, let’s go before the faire packs up and leaves.”

“Yeah. It looks nice. You look nice,” Marachius stumbled over the words. “It didn’t look like that hanging in the window. But if you don’t like it, we can go see if we can exchange it for something else.”

“Well if I take it back I can’t wear it today. But if you’re okay with that?” though it was a question Regynn didn’t wait for an answer, “You’re good with that. Great, give me a minute to put some clothes on.” She ducked back behind the curtain and within minutes reappeared in a pair of dark brown trousers, a white blouse with long sleeves and her a tabard. She shifted her head, her hair flipping back from her face as she turned to Marc, “There. Now I can be seen in public. Faire first or dress?”

Marachius blinked a couple of times as he tried to catch up with what had just happened. His mind started working again once he heard Reggy’s question.

“I guess Faire first,” Marc answered. “They’re only going to be around for a little while. The store will still be there once we get back.”  Marachius took a step over to the door of the flat and then turned back to Reggy. “And if you want to take the dress back and find something different, we can do that tomorrow. But you did look nice in it.”

Regynn grinned, “Yeah but I don’t think I could get much down at the docks wearing it, I’d spend my whole time pulling it back together or risk spilling out all over the place. I guess I could save it for a special occasion. But when would that be? Oh, maybe I could wear it out to dinner one night with Jonah? Do you think he’d like it?” she fell silent for a moment as she stepped passed Marc and out the door, “I’ll have to think on it a bit.”

“Yeah,” Marachius said quietly. “Dinner.”  The paladin stepped outside and waited for Regynn to shut her door and lock it. “You’ll have to show your friends the dress. See what they think. They might even know of a better place to look.” As the two started walking down the street towards the portals, Marachius scanned the area. “So, what do you want to do first when we get to the Faire?”

“Hmm. Well, we could play some of the games. Oh! I heard that have races, maybe you could get in one and make enough money to buy the rest of your armor. I suppose we’ll want to get food at some point. I hear you can’t go to a faire without trying the food. And I think there’s live music… The Chieftain Elites or something or other…”.

As they stepped through the portal in Goldshire, coming out on the other side on Darkmoon Island Reggy grew silent, her eyes widening as she took in her surroundings. When a gnome offered them a ride on mechostriders down the hill she took a voluntary step back, darting a quick glance at the paladin. Without sparing her a look Marc shook his head, “No thanks. I think we’ll walk.” The priestess let out a breath of relief and grinned at her companion, falling into step beside him.

The walk wasn’t long and soon they were standing at the gates to the faire. Reggy stood, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in all the different races of people mingling together with no thought of strife, the banners of brightly colored silk flapping in the breeze and the cacophony of noise swelling out to greet them. She giggled girlishly, grabbing Marc’s hand and tugging him forward, “Everything! I want to do everything!”

Marc stumbled a bit as Reggy unexpected pulled him forward. He chuckled as he got his footing and followed her under the banner. Crossing into the fair, Marc looked around at all the sites before seeing the ticket booth. The paladin took the lead and pulled the priestess along with him to the window.

“One book of tickets, please,” Marachius said as he put a couple of coins down on the counter. The vendor took the coins and then passed the ticket book forward through the window. Taking the book, he looked back to Reggy. “Well, this should cover at least a little bit of it.” Marachius flipped through the tickets as he looked down the path of the faire.  “Where should we start?”

They decided to move down the row, stopping to play games along the way, one in particular becoming entertaining to the passers by who paused to watch. Regynn tossed the ball across an open space, hitting the edge of the target and Marc teased her at her inability to score a point. Soon enough they were competing against one another, the banter that had been somehow missing since his arrival in Boralus, once again causing much laughter and raised eyebrows of anyone with in hearing. After about 10 minutes they two of them stepped away from the game, each of them lugging an enormous plushie gifted to them by the other.

As they moved further down the row Regynn’s pace picked up as she made a bee line for yet another booth. Inside the booth was a round table covered in small bowls filled with water, each bowl contained a brightly colored fish, she nodded toward the fishing poles laying across the counter then turned to Marc with a smirk, “You’re always fishing the canals, go on then, give it a try.”

“Well, I usually go for larger fish,” Marc said with a grin. “But okay.” The paladin sat down his giant stuffed animal and handed over a game ticket to the game vendor and picking up a pole. He took a moment to listen to the rules of the game and then tried to figure out what the best plan of attack would be. Then he went at it. After several minutes, and a few more tickets, Marc sighed heavily and stepped back to admit defeat. “I’d probably do better if I had my own pole,” he said with a smirk to Reggy.

“Ha! You’re not going to let a little game beat you are you?” she took the fishing pole from him and placed it back on the table, eyeing the remaining selection critically before picking out another and handing it to the paladin, “ You’re just not holding your mouth right.” she smirked.

Marc rolled his eyes as he took hold of the new fishing rod. He flicked the rod a couple of times in the air before nodding. Marc rested the rod in the crook of his arm and pulled out the book of tickets. Tearing off another one, the paladin slid it over to the vendor and then took up the rod  again.

Holding the fishing pole in the air with both hands, Marc closed his eyes for a moment and and just felt the weight of the pole. Opening his eyes, the paladin searched the different bowls of fish before finally settling on one. Tilting the fishing rod back, Marc flicked it forward and the bobber twisted through the air. It hit the lip of the bowl and bounced into the air before falling back into the water.

“We have a winner!” the vendor called out, only slightly enthusiast, and then stepped over to the bowl. He took the bobber out and picked up the fishbowl, carrying it back to the paladin and the priestess.

Regynn’s grin was almost as big as Marc’s as she punched him lightly on the arm, “See. I knew you could do it.” she looked at the fish floating forlornly in it’s little bowl then frowned, “He looks sad, what are you going to do with him? Think you can keep him in your barracks?”

“Maybe not,” Marc answered. He looked at the little fish in the bowl for a moment. “Think you’d have room for him in your flat?”

She squinted and surveyed the bowl with a critical eye, “Yeah, I think so. If I shift a few things I can sit him on the window sill. But then I’ll have to keep the window shut so no birds fly in and eat him. Hmmm… maybe on the dresser. Yeah, I think that’ll work. Are you sure you trust me with your new pet?”

“Silly question,” Marc said with a smirk. “Of course I’ll trust you with my fish.” The paladin leaned over and looked down into the bowl. “Not sure I’d give you my horse to take care of, though.”

Regynn burst into laughter as she took the bowl, “I think that’s a smart move. Besides, he wouldn’t fit in my flat for sure.”

Marc reached over and tapped on the side of the fishbowl. “I think his name is Uther. The mightiest fish in all of Darkmoon.” Marc grinned at Reggy. “I bet he’d be a great guard fish for your flat, too.”

“I will feel much safer at night knowing he’s watching over me.” she nodded sagely before giggling softly, her laughter accompanied by the loud rumbling of her belly, “Now, we better get food before Uther becomes sushi.”

Marc chuckled and stopped looking into Uther’s bowl. Glancing around, he eventually pointed further down the path. “Looks like some tables over there. Might have someone selling food nearby.”

Following Marc’s outstretched finger Regynn nodded, hefted her giant plushie on her hip and clutched the bowl gingerly, “I think you’re right. You know we have to get all the usual faire… fare… no matter how bad it is for us. We’ve waited forever to come to the here, I say we act like kids and indulge in everything, even if it makes us sick.”

“Ahhh.  Now I see why you didn’t want to wear the dress. You were planning to lose your lunch all over the place. Just make sure you cover up Uther’s bowl before you start.” Marc put his giant plush over his shoulder and turned towards the picnic tables. “I suppose it would be rude for us to not try everything that looks good. Especially given how long it took for us to get here.”

Regynn wrinkled her nose in distaste, “I will not get sick! I have the constitution of a horse. I think. I’ve actually never tested it.” she gave Marc a doubtful glance, “Okay, maybe just the stuff that looks good. And smells good.”

“Definitely. Just the stuff that looks good.” Marc led the way towards the tables and as they got closer, thy could see the food vendors just past them. As they stepped up to the counter, the two shifted their winnings in their hands so that they could get a better look at the signs that listed all the different varieties of food. “What should we start with? Not sure I’ve ever had crispy frogs legs before.”

“Oh yummy.” she said with obvious sarcasm. “Surely they have something that doesn’t croak when you bite it.” She looked over the menu, “I think I’m beginning to see why I waited so long to come to one of these things.”

Marc pointed to the funnel cakes. “Let’s start with some of those. And some fizzy drinks.” The vendor nodded and wordlessly put two funnel cakes and two mugs on the counter. The two passed some coins to the vendor and took the food, moving over to one of the empty tables. As they ate, Marc looked around at all the people wandering past on the path.

“Probably don’t want to eat too much. We don’t want to get sick on any of the rides.”

Regynn looked at the stuffed animals sitting at the table with them then glanced at the fishbowl, “How are we going to ride rides with these guys in tow? Tell you what, you ride and I’ll sit with the stuff.” she suggested, hoping she was able to hide her apprehension.

Marc watched Reggy for a moment while he ate a piece of his funnel cake. Then he looked at the stuffed animals and nodded. “You’re probably right. Guess we can come back next time and try all the rides.”

“No! Don’t let me stop you from having fun, you go and I can stay here. It’s fine. Really.” Guilt at ruining Marc’s fun almost made Regynn agree to go on the rides until she heard a high pitched scream coming from their direction. She turned back to look at the paladin with a slight tinge of green to her skin.

She swallowed thickly and opened her mouth to speak when a loud voice came over the air, announcing the Elite Chieftains. Her fear of the rides all but forgotten, the priestess grabbed her plushie and the fishbowl and headed off, calling over her shoulder, “Come on! We don’t want to miss the music!”

Marc watched in surprise as Reggy made her way past the food vendors. The paladin shoved the last of his funnel cake into his mouth, almost choking in the process, grabbed his stuffed animal and took off after his friend. As the crowd started moving towards the stage, Marc lost sight of her several times but every few moments, he’d see her plushie pop up in the crowd. One time he was certain that he saw Uther pop up as well. Pushing his way past the people, the paladin finally managed to catch up to Reggy just as the music started.

The priestess already had a look of excitement on her face when Marc got next to her. The paladin smiled broadly as her turned towards the stage. The band began playing in earnest and he could feel the music wash over them. “I never knew anything could be this loud,” he thought to himself.

Regynn blinked when the music started, momentarily startled by the noise but before she knew it she found herself tapping her foot and bobbing her head, her body seeming to keep time with the drums of its own volition. The vibration went from the stage into the ground, across the arena and up through her feet, strumming every fiber of her being as surely as the undead male strummed his guitar. She felt a thrill run up her spin as the orc screamed out the all but unintelligible lyrics of the song. She could feel her previous tension melt away and she laughed with the joy the music brought her.

She turned to look at Marc, feeling her gaze he looked back at her, “Thanks for bringing me here. This is great.” she said. He cocked his head to the side, his expression questioning so she said it again, this time a bit louder. His face, scrunched up, as he shook his head and pointed toward the band was comical and Regynn was giggling as she leaned over, inches from his ear and shouted, “Thanks!”

Marc smiled and nodded, giving Reggy a thumbs up. The rest of the concert was energetic, and just as loud, and the crowd enjoyed it. After the band strummed their last chords and left the stage to raucous cheers, things began to quiet down. Staying close together, the two started making their way back to the main path of the fair with the rest of the visitors. Eventually, they managed to pull free of the crowd and stepped over to the side.

“That was pretty impressive,” Marc said with a grin. “You seemed to enjoy it.”

Regynn had been humming to herself as they walked, she nodded, hefting her plushie onto her hip, careful not to slosh out anymore of Uther’s water, “It was wonderful. This whole day was wonderful. I can’t think why we waited so long to come. I almost wish we didn’t have to go back.”

“Me, too,” Marc said with a slight sigh. “But at least we know what’s here and we can always visit the next time they come to town.” The paladin glanced around at the thinning crowds. “Speaking of which, rides will probably have to wait until next time. We should probably start making our way back home.”

“Well at least there are portals to take us back.” she commented as they made their way to the dock and the way to Stormwind.