Caine was driving the caravan, Cassandra was supposed to be held, but she’d fallen asleep on Caine’s lap. It had been a busy week—scratch that; it had been a busy year. With each day, they were closer to the supposed Dark Kingdom where these black rocks were taking them, but it was a two steps forward, one step back type of adventure, with far too many shenanigans to count.
Their last shenanigan had involved Pincosta… or Adira propping in to tell them about some tree… with everything going on it was hard to decide what constituted a shenanigan.
Caine was looking forward to another day of peaceful travel before whatever came next, especially given her ribs were still aching a little and Cassandra was still a little shaken from her time in prison. Caine hoped Cassandra would never spend time in a cell again, it didn’t suit her, she was a princess after all.
But Caine supposed they’d been on far worse adventures, and thought she hated to admit it, they probably had far worse yet to come, too.
The sun had begun its descent, casting golden light over the distant mountains, when Caine saw something that didn’t belong—a bright fair in the middle of a clearing. Colourful flags swayed in the breeze hung between large tents, music floated through the air, and lights twinkled under the setting sun.
Caine brought the horses to a stop, considering what her next steps was.
That was when Cassandra stirred, sitting up fast in surprise. “Woah! I did not read about this on the intinerary!”
The caravan’s halt drew others from inside to see what was going on.
“Wait! Is that a travelling fair?” Rapunzel leaped out of the door, rushing closer to the edge to look down at the fair. “Guys! It’s a fair!”
“We have eyes…” Caine’s own eyes narrowed at the princess.
“Now this is the type of distraction I like to see!” Eugene announced, grinning as he rubbed his hands together. “Food, games, maybe a pie-eating contest for Lance?”
“I heard that,” Lance called from inside the caravan, his nose already drawn to the scent of roasting meats drifting from the fairground. “I hope there’s a pie-eating contest. Me and the girls would win, easy peasy… or easy pie-sy?”
Keira and Catalina crossed their arms, neither seeming impressed by the joke.
Rapunzel beamed, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “It looks so magical! We could use a break.”
Cassandra, climbed down from the caravan to stand beside Rapunzel. “Are you sure, Raps? We agreed to try to avoid distractions?”
Lady Caine smirked and nudged her. “Relax, Cass. It’s a fair. Scared of some fun?”
Cassandra shot her a half-hearted glare, but couldn’t hide the slight upturn of her lips. “Are you implying I’m not fun?”
“You’re gorgeous and brave, but…” Caine looked away. “Fun?”
“I can totally be fun!”
Caine laughed as her new girlfriend grabbed her.
“That’s it guys, we’re going to the fair!” (check out the fair)
“I’ll show you fun… we’re playing a game of cards on the caravan on our way to the Great Tree! But we are avoiding this fair… I've got a funny feeling about it.” (avoid the fair)
As they approached the entrance, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.
“Well, look who it is.”
Eugene groaned inwardly before turning around. There, leaning casually against one of the brightly coloured game booths, stood Stalyan. She looked more amused than hostile, spinning a silver coin between her fingers.
“Stalyan,” Eugene muttered, half a smile creeping onto his face. “What brings you here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“I thought you were at least considering being good…” Eugene crossed his arms. “Conning people outta their money isn’t my definition of good…”
Stalyan laughed. “Maybe I just enjoy a good fair game?”
“She does enjoy a good fair game,” Caine confirmed.
“Besides…” Stalyan lowered her voice as she came closer to the group. “None of my usual tricks work on these games. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“Why not?” Cassandra furrowed her brow, a sense of unease slowly intensifying. She exchanged a look with Caine, who shrugged.
“Still fun though, loving the challenge” Stalyan added, flipping the coin once more. “But just a little heads up—there’s something off about this place. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I will.”
Cassandra still looked a bit uneasy though. “Maybe we should leave—2”
Caine slung an arm around Cassandra’s shoulder as they walked in. “Relax, babe. Let’s enjoy ourselves. What’s the worst that could happen? Besides, I’m great at these sorta games! I’m gonna win you the biggest stuffed animals thei fair has to offer!”
Cassandra laughed. “Unless I win it for you first.”
“Is that a challenge?”
Eugene frowned as Caine and Cassandra wandered off. Seeing Stalyan had put him slightly on edge, at least until Rapunzel’s arm linked with his. “Eugene, look! There’s a boat ride! Boat rides are kinda our thing soooooo…” She smiled brightly as she dragged him towards the ride.
“And we’re obviously going to go find the food! Right, girls?” Lance turned around to see the girls running off and away from him, when he checked his pockets he was unsurprised to find his wallet missing. “Ah… children.”
(Follow Cassandra and Caine)
(Follow Rapunzel and Eugene)
(Follow Lance and the girls)
Cassandra and Caine strolled hand-in-hand through the fairgrounds, the bright lights flickering above them as they passed colourful game booths. The sounds of carnival music and the occasional clink of coins filled the air. Despite the festive atmosphere, Cassandra couldn’t shake the nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something wasn’t right.
Caine, however, was clearly enjoying herself. She squeezed Cassandra’s hand, pulling her toward one of the larger booths. “Alright, here’s the deal,” Caine grinned. “I’m going to win you the biggest prize in this place.”
Cassandra smirked. “You think so? I might just win it for you first.”
Caine raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, right, I’m not about to be outperformed by a princess.”
“You mean again, right? Because I have outperformed you plenty of times, my love.”
“Careful or I will still win the biggest prize, but it won’t be for you!”
They approached the booth, where a gruff man in a brightly patterned vest stood in front of a row of bottles, each carefully stacked in a pyramid. The objective was simple—knock them all down with a ball. But the bottles were oddly shaped, and something about the way they glinted in the fading light drew Cassandra’s attention.
“You each get three throws,” the man explained with disinterest. “I also need you to sign this waiver…” he slipped two pieces of paper over which both signed without questions.
Caine paid the fee and eagerly picked up a ball. “Watch and learn, Princess.”
She threw the first ball, which soared through the air… only to pass by the side of the top bottle without knocking any of them over.
“Hey! That throw was perfect!” Caine complained, her brow furrowing.
“Was it?” Cassandra teased, leaning against the booth with a smirk.
Caine huffed and lined up her second throw. This time she put more strength behind it, but again, she missed. “The balls are oddly weighed.”
Cassandra folded her arms. “I thought you said you were good at this.”
Caine’s lips twitched into a frustrated smile. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”
“A little.” Cassandra’s smirk deepened.
“Well why don’t you try? Seeing as you still have three balls left.”
“Gladly.” Cassandra threw her first ball into the air, catching it before her eyes narrowed at the bottles, she took a deep breath and threw, knocking over one of the bottles.
“Not bad.”
“Better than you, my love.”
Caine blushed and crossed her arms.
Cassandra missed with her second ball but knocked over one more with her third ball.
“Pick a keyring…” the man behind the counter, pulled out a box of scruffy keyrings.
Cassandra smiled. “Well, my love, which prize do you want?”
Caine’s shoulders tense.
Cassandra, deciding it’d be best to not pick on Caine too much more, picked out a rose keyring for her. It didn’t look like it’d last long, but she felt proud all the same.
Caine ignored the gift, though, focusing on her final ball. Her competitive side was in full swing now—she had to win something for Cassandra. Preferably something better than a keyring! But for that she’d have to knock all three over in one shot and for whatever reason, her shot today just wasn’t good.
Then, a thought crept into her mind, an old trick Stalyan had taught her. It wouldn’t be hard… Stalyan had said her tricks didn’t work here, but what had that even meant?
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching too closely, Caine slipped a pointed coin from her pocket into the palm of her throwing hand, slipping it between the seams of the ball to add weight. She tossed the ball, hoping the added force would finally knock the bottles down.
To her surprise, not only did the ball miss, but the bottles seemed to shimmer and shift, rearranging themselves without being touched. Caine blinked, confusion settling in. “What the—?”
Suddenly, the booth owner’s smile turned eerily wide, and the air around them thickened. “Oh dear,” he said, voice dripping with false concern. “It seems you’ve broken the rules.”
Cassandra’s unease spiked, her eyes darting to Caine. “What did you do?”
Caine didn’t move. “I may have… cheated. Just a little.”
“Of course you did.” Cassandra rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “I’m sorry about her. She’s not a good loser. I promise she won’t do it again.”
The booth owner’s eyes gleamed with malice. “I’m afraid you’ve violated the terms of the game. And there’s a price for that…”
“Oh, how much? I’ll pay—” Cassandra began.
Before she could finish, though, the bottles on the shelf rattled violently, and a glowing, dark mist swirled out from them. It wrapped itself around Caine’s wrist and pulled her forward, her arm jerking as she stumbled toward the booth.
“Caine!” She rushed forward, grabbing onto her, trying to pull her away from the booth.
“We’ve been needing someone to manage the ring toss,” the booth owner grinned.
Cassandra’s grip tightened. “Yeah, no, she’s already got a job… we really have to be leaving!” But she wasn’t strong enough.
Caine was dragged over the side of the booth and seemingly vanished.
“Caine!”
“So… three more balls?” the booth owner offered.
Cassandra crossed her arms, shaking her head firmly. “I don’t like it, Raps. Something feels… off about that fair. I’m sorry, but we’re sticking to the plan.”
Rapunzel's face fell, her shoulders slumping. “But it’s so pretty! And—”
“Tempting! Pretty and tempting!” Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the distant fair, still feeling an odd, nagging discomfort in her gut. “It’s too pretty. Too… perfect.”
Lady Caine chuckled, leaning in closer to Cassandra. “Gorgeous and paranoid, that’s my girl.”
Cassandra shot her a glare, but her expression softened quickly when Cassandra’s face lit up at.
“We’ll a game right here on the caravan while moving towards our objective.”
“Sounds good to me!” Caine replied, a grin spreading across her face. She slid her arm around Cassandra’s waist. “I’ll happily beat the lot of you at a game of cards any day.”
Rapunzel sighed dramatically and climbed into the front seat of the caravan with Eugene, a deep pout on her lips. “Fine… cards it is.”
As the caravan rolled on, the fair shrinking in the distance, Rapunzel leaned against Eugene, still sulking. “I just wanted to see the lights up close.”
Eugene glanced at her, squeezing her hand. “Yeah, I know, Blondie. But maybe Cass is right—I mean you know what our group is like, I bet something would have gone wrong! We’d lose all our money to some rigged carnival games? Or get cursed by a mysterious fair owner?” He laughed. “We get in enough trouble already.”
Rapunzel huffed, but smiled faintly. “I guess.”
Back inside the caravan, Cassandra was dealing the cards, her brow furrowed in focus. Caine lounged beside her, watching her with a mix of amusement and adoration.
“You’re really on edge about this, huh?” Caine asked, tilting her head.
Cassandra sighed, flipping over a card. “I don’t know what it is. I just had this gut feeling—like something bad would’ve happened if we stayed. I didn’t want to risk it. Too many things have gone wrong lately.”
Caine leaned back, arms crossed behind her head. “Honestly, as long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we go. Could be a spooky fair or the middle of nowhere. Makes no difference to me.”
Cassandra looked up from her cards, smiling. “You’re such a softy.”
“Only for you.” Caine smirked, leaning in closer. “Now, are you going to keep talking, or are you going to actually beat me at this game?”
“I’m going to destroy you at this game,” Cassandra said with a smirk.
Lance ended up winning. His prize was the promise of pie at the next town.
THE END