Next up - Mary meets a dancer, although there is a cute twist to it.

 
Not a single bit of air moved in the stifling heat as Mary wandered thru the dusty, dirt streets of Las MexiCaliVada where the Renaissance Southern Fair was being held. She was hot, sweaty and still angry about the blow up between herself and Sir Dash. She hated being called a "kid" no matter who it was and from a perfect stranger it was even worse. "Well, at least I'm away from that bunch now and I can go about my business of looking for Wildfall and Koumori, if they even ended up here when they go teleported," Mary said to herself. There certainly wasn't a lot around there except sand, dirt, scorpions and giant spiders that were the size of a man's palm. Mary said to no one in particular, "I haven't seen a Tarantula since the last trip with Capt. Horatio and father." Mary suddenly missed the Captain and her parents. She hoped they all were well after realizing that some time had passed since she last saw them. Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts of missing everyone, she continued on her walk.

She looked around her and observed many colorful tents with pointed tops and colorful flags or banners mounted on the points. Problem with the flags and banners was that there wasn't any air to make them actually fly so they just hung there like limp, colorful rags matching the color of the tents. Inside the tents there were activities like arm wrestling, drinking and eating contests, lots of half naked dancing girls moving in and out of the tents trying to earn a coin or two. A few drunks whistled and made crude remarks as the girls passed them, but not one was parting with any money. There was a gum and candy stand set up and kids of all ages and sizes were trying to get as much of the sweet stuff as they could. Throughout the area were various vendors selling all manner of wares and foodstuffs. Off to one side, in a large open area, an archery contest was in full swing. Men gathered around, placing money on the contestant they felt would win. Along with the contest was quite a display of archery equipment and items needed for making all kinds of bows as well as the bolts and arrows.

Mary just shook her head and continued on looking down, what passed as a street, to a clump of dilapidated, buildings and homes in disrepair. They all appeared to be made of some type of clay that reminded her of the adobe buildings she had seen in the desert across the ocean. She spotted a blacksmith shop, a tailor shop, a market and even an over price coffee shop displaying a foamy cup of coffee on a sign outside the shop. These buildings stood out from the rest because they were is such good repair.

As she walked, she felt she was being followed and turned around to find a girl about her own age behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and her mouth dropped open as she stared at the girl. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her because standing in front of her was an exact duplicate of herself. Even tho the new self was dressed in less clothes, they could have passed for identical twins. Mary shook her head, blinked her eyes a couple times and wiped the sweat from her face and eyes to make sure she could see clearly. She spoke to the girl saying, "Who're you and why're you following me? Do I know you? Do you know you look just like me? Where are you from and how did you get here?"

The poor girl just stood there not believing what she saw and finally found her voice. "My name is Diana Lynn and I am from the Eastern Side of North Ireaca. I followed you because you look just like me and I wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It's very easy to see things called 'mirages' in the desert. I came with a group of dancers and never left. We have a home not far away, if you'd like, you can come in out of the heat, get a cold drink and some food. We don't have a lot but we're always ready to share. You look like you could use a little rest. What are you doing here in this place?"

Mary smiled at the girl and introduced herself; "I'm Mary Katherine O'Toole. But call me Mary Kate. I'm also from North Ireaca but the Western Side. I live in a town called Seaside Town. I got teleported here after looking at a picture that this Uncle Crimbo put in a package that was left at my home with a letter saying to come here. My friends Wildfall and Koumori were teleported also but I have no idea if they are here. I'm looking for them now. I thank you for your offer of getting out of the heat and a drink would be nice."

Diana smiled and replied, "Did you come to see Uncle Crimbo? He should be sober about now. Come let me introduce you and then we can go to the house." Mary followed Diana to "The Shack," a building that looked to be the best and biggest in the town. As they walked thru the doorway, Mary saw a fat, disheveled-looking man who smelled of booze and sweat. He held a bottle of some kind of foul smelling liquid in his fat, grimy hand and as he lifted the bottle to his lips, he saw the two girls standing in front of him. His eyes bugged out of he head, he blinked, shook his head and dropped his bottle, causing it to shatter when it hit the hard packed floor.

Suddenly he was stone cold sober and attempting to stand, he said, "Wut's going on here? Did that no good looking bruver of mine send you two here to play a trick on me? Hic I don't like tricks played on me but I like to play them on everyone elths. Hic." Staggering he lurched forward and fell flat on his face yelling, "I needs a drink, me eyes are playing tricks on me. I'sh seeing two of dem girls." The elves that had been in the background came running up to help Uncle Crimbo to a chair. One of the elves handed him a bottle, staring at the girls he told Uncle Crimbo, "If your eyes are playing tricks on you, then mine are, too. I really do see two girls who look alike." The rest of the elves nodded and backed away, not knowing what evil had just befallen them.

The girls broke out in a loud burst of laughter and after gathering themselves together, Diana introduced Mary to Uncle Crimbo who by that time had drunk himself into oblivion and had passed out.

The girls turned, walked out of The Shack and across the street to Diana's home and sat down in the coolness of the neat little house. The outside wasn't much to look at but inside was warm and inviting with a table and chairs in the dining area, a couch and some comfortable chairs in the living room area. Mary saw stairs that led to a second floor which probably was where the bedrooms were located. Diana handed Mary a cold glass of water and as they relaxed, they started laughing again, remembering the looks on the faces of Uncle Crimbo and the elves.

"They obviously have never seen twins before," both girls said at the same time and again burst into laughter.

I love that this bit used Uncle Crimbo, as the Crimbo pair had been kind of missing until this point, honestly. At least, during roleplaying.

I love it when Mary strikes out on her own, although her work with Wildfall (and sometimes others) is quite good as well. It was fun seeing her interact with the other girl as well. Anyway, that is it - with this piece, we've finished with roleplaying. Fifteen roleplays strong- and now it's time to go onto the Finale - and next up is the Finale Prelude!