2015 Realms Faire Stockade Brigade Day 1

Here ye! Here ye! House Waibel is hosting the Stockade Brigade. Warrants of arrest have been issued for select authors accusing them of witchery and wizardry. The pillory has been erected and the trial dates set.

Good people of Realmsdom, I call upon you to bear witness to these trials and offer your testimony for or against the author's crimes.

Points will be awarded for wordsmithing a comment in your best Olde English afore 8 of the clock in the Eastern time on the following scale:

5-Ye speak as one from the days of Queen Bess.

4-Ye could pass muster as a Ren Faire cast member

3-Ye could pass as a Ren Faire attendee

2-Ye wouldn't be foolin' yer mother

1-Ye stand out like the sun in a cloudless sky

An e-book will be given every day to the witness who scores the most points. Fear not, your daily score will be accumulated and the person with the highest score shall receive a special prize at the end of the week. So, brush off your Olde English and prepare to testify.

Today's wordsmither will receive a copy of Meradeth Houston's Travelers.

*Sheriff Mary unrolls the scroll*  Here ye good people of Realmsdom. Before you stands Lady Meradeth Houston of the shire Nowhere in the hamlet of Montana, presently a ‘guest’ in ye olde Realmsdom Stockade Brigade, courtesy of her highness, Lady Mary Pax, and overseen by me, Lady Mary, the honorable Sheriff of Realms.

Sir Henry has accused Lady Meradeth of the feat of traveling through time, an unlikely tale if you ask me, but perhaps his charge has merit, based on these writings confiscated from the Lady Meradeth when she was arrested.

I wasn’t sure if I felt more like Alice in Wonderland or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I sure wasn’t in Kansas anymore, but it felt like I’d fallen down a rabbit hole.

Another girl outside the stall brushed her hair in the mirror. It took me a second to realize she wore a very prim and proper school uniform, complete with an ugly plaid skirt and pressed shirt. She looked me up and down but said nothing. Though from her head-to-toe inspection of me, she clearly disapproved.

I scanned the room, trying to figure out what else was different. The mirrors were clean—no random lipstick marks or haze from cosmetic spray.

A deeper flare of panic kicked my heart into high gear as I realized Joan had ditched me. I checked the other stalls, each as spotless as the one I materialized into, but other than the other chick at the mirror, I remained alone.

My hands shook as I pushed my hair away from my face.

A sob hitched in my throat, but I forced it down. I had to keep control of myself until I got my butt back where I belonged. Then I could freak out, preferably in the comfort of my room, under my blankets. I’d make a little fort and bring ice cream. My room—I just had to think about my room. Wait, did I even have a room here, wherever I was?

The other girl threw me one last carefully bland look and left the room. Something told me she would go report me to the school authorities. For a second, I thought about trying to catch up to her, but my voice caught in my throat. I took a deep breath and realized if I wanted to get back to my school I needed to figure out where I was. Pronto.

I could Travel from here—I didn’t have to know my starting point—but I’d already managed to get myself in the wrong spot once today. The smartest thing to do would be to stay put until I figured out where I’d landed.  

Taking a deep breath and clutching my textbook to my chest, I pushed the outside door open.

As I glanced around, goose-bumps rose across my back. The layout of this school looked identical to my own. Lockers lined the hallway across from the bathroom door, and the low murmur of voices resonated from the classrooms surrounding me. Of course, there was one big difference. This place was most certainly not a public high school—and not the one I’d left a minute ago.

“There you are. What took you so long?”

I jumped and stifled a scream as someone addressed me.

“Um, I think you have the wrong person.” I turned and met the boy’s eyes. A rush of blood swirled under my skin. He had the best green eyes. They were also unmistakable.

My heart froze in my chest.

Joan’s brother, my boyfriend. Dead boyfriend. Alive and kicking—well, currently he laughed and stood a little too close to me. I struggled to breathe.

“Henry.” I pressed back against the door to the bathroom. The word “ghost” dangled from the tip of my tongue, but I managed not to say it to his face. It would have been rude, and he didn’t look like a ghost. I couldn’t see through him, and he smelled good—ghosts didn’t have a smell, did they?

Have ye anything to say in your defense, Lady Meradeth?

I beg your pardon, I was unaware that traveling through time was a crime! I am deeply sorry for any trouble I might have caused. But, really, I don't see what the big deal...um...what I mean to say is, I am afeared that I do not understand what all the trouble is. Surely each of you have wished to travel in time!

There are so many wondrous things to see. Why, just before I came here, I had the most delightful luncheon with Shakespeare. He didn't like what I had to say about Romeo and Juliet, but I guess you can't blame a gal for trying... Hmm, but that might not be a name you recognize. Let's see, perhaps you would be interested in meeting someone such as King Arthur and his Knights? Time travel can certainly make that possible. And oh! The fun things you might see!

Surely, something so innocent as exploring the different events in history shouldn't be something to be punished. Would you not like to go back and see your departed family? Or perchance forward, and see the marvels of the future? If you let me go free, I might be tempted into taking you on a journey you won't soon forget, or at least tell you tales of all the mysteries I've seen!

What say ye, my good lords and ladies of the realm? Is the Lady Meradeth deserving of the stocks for her time traveling ways?

To learn more about Meradeth Houston and her books,

visit her blog at:

http://www.meradethhouston.com/

Be sure to visit the other games for 

lots of fun and prize giveaways!!!

~Riddle Me This ~ Dueling Bards ~ Phasers ~ Unicorn Hunt ~ 

~Who Roams Here? ~ Beware the Vortex ~ VelociRaffle ~

~  The Hero’s Dilemma ~ Hall of Doors ~ The Joust ~ 

~Drench-a-Wench/Soak-a-Bloke~