A Chance Affair

Disclaimers: I did borrow a little bit of the characters, like Xena, Gabrielle, Ares, and Artemis from the TV show "Xena: Warrior Princess" which belongs to MGM. So, please bear with me. Thank you.

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The short strawberry blonde haired woman reluctantly laces up her brown Doc Martens boots, and looks into the mirror one last time.

"Come on Rhi. You'll have fun. I guarantee it." The wild curly redhead says as she pulls the black velvet cape around her shoulders, then notices the somewhat reluctant look on her friend's face. "Please Rhiannon? Help me out?"

The young woman sighs. "Alright Ver. I'll help."

"Oh, thank you. I know you're going to have a great time." She heads for the door. "Okay, let's go."

The drive down to the fairgrounds is pleasant. Having left the confines of the hustle and bustle of the city is a relief for Veronica. As soon as they reach past the city limits, she rolls down the window to breathe in the fresh pine scented air.

The young blonde shakes her head at her childhood friend and laughs. Ever since they were kids, Veronica has always enjoyed the outdoors. The two of them used to spend all of their summer nights out in the yard sleeping under the stars, or in Veronica's tent.

The redhead parks the red Jeep Cherokee in the grassy field following the entrance sign of the fairgrounds. They walk through the field of vehicles all parked in neat double rows. "Okay, now I have an extra cape at the booth you can wear. You'll need to keep it on since you're in jeans."

"And what's wrong with my jeans?" the small woman states.

"Humor me, will ya? You know everyone here aside from the customers are in costume."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't these people have regular lives by the way?"

"Rhi, what's wrong with you? I'm normal --- wait, don't answer that. Look everyone has a regular life and job. This event only happens once a year. We all look forward to it. It's our opportunity to travel back in time and have fun with it." Veronica shows her pass at the front gate to a large bellied gray bearded man wearing charcoal jodhpurs with black boots and a loose white drawstring shirt.

"Ah good morning Veronica. And good morning to you young lady." He dips his head in a courtly manner.

"Morning Walt." Veronica states.

Rhiannon chimes in with, "Morning."

They walk through the dirt covered roads, past chickens and goats, and little wooden shops just beginning to open.

"I can't believe I'm at a renaissance fair." Rhiannon comments and follows her best friend into the booth that has been designated as Veronica's Shoppe of Crystals, Tarot