The next two weeks passed in a hectic blur. I saw Allan fairly often in that time, but it was never for very long. We would usually just eat lunch together. I was tempted to suggest another ghost hunt, or even to go back to the one we hadn’t been able to help, but we were both too busy. The whole castle was busy.

Every employee was working as much as they possibly could. The renaissance fair was approaching and I couldn’t believe the amount of work that was going into the event. This place was going all out, and when I said all out, I meant it.

As the fair approached, I set aside a few nights where Greg, Allan, and I could practice sword fighting some more. Greg and I were getting pretty good, but granted, that was in comparison to Allan, so I wasn’t actually sure what that meant.

When the first day of the fair arrived, I cleaned rooms for the first half of the day and then I was stuck at a ticket booth for the next half. The flood of people that showed up was overwhelming. There were a lot of people in costume, so many that it was actually strange to see anyone dressed in modern clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt looked entirely out of place here.

When my shift was finally done, I changed out of my working clothes and went out to enjoy a little bit of the fair. To my surprise, Greg came along with me. He seemed to be having a marvelous time complaining about everything until he stopped suddenly, his eyes wide.

“What’s up?” I asked. “You look like you saw a ghost.” I laughed at myself.

A grin stole across his lips. “I hear bagpipes Jessica,” he breathed. “They were not in Scotland when I was alive, but in my centuries of haunting, I grew fond of their sound. We have to go find them!”

I smiled at his enthusiasm. It took us a few minutes of wading through the crowds and vendors, but at last we found the small stage. Three men stood on the stage, decked out in kilts, with bagpipes resting on their shoulders. Benches were set up in front of the stage, but they were all full so I decided to stand in the back. When I glanced at Greg, I saw that an enthusiastic grin was still plastered on his bearded face.

He closed his eyes and breathed deep. “This is the music I have longed to hear,” he whispered.

“I’m very glad you found it,” I said with a laugh. I pulled a program of events out of my pocket. “Oh hey,” I said, “Allan is doing a show right after these guys. Good call on leading us here.”

His grin faded. “Do you intend on lingering for the oaf’s show?” His frown deepened when I nodded.

We stood there as the men played their last song. When they bowed, the crowd started clapping and though he knew only I would be able to hear it, Greg clapped enthusiastically as well. With the musicians finished, a portion of the seated audience got up. I quickly seized one of the front seats. As we waited for the next show to start, a new group of people filed in and filled the benches. When I looked around, I noticed that it was mostly moms and kids. I felt weird being the lone teenager.

As the darkness deepened, there was a movement to the side of the stage and someone walked up the steps. It was Allan, and I tried not to laugh aloud as he took center stage. His costume was always ridiculous, but tonight it was even more so. This jester outfit had so many garish colors smashed together that it almost made me cringe. As he set down the bag of tricks he carried, the bells on his hat jingled.

“Good evening everyone!” he shouted as he turned to face the audience. He was using his ridiculous, over the top English accent. I could see Greg grimace.

“What a lovely show I have in store for you tonight!” As if pulling them from out of nowhere, he began to juggle three balls. While he juggled, his smiling face slowly turned into a deep-set frown. Some of the children giggled when he pulled an exaggerated yawn. Still juggling, he pretended to fall asleep before he woke with a start, all the while never missing a beat.

“My goodness this is boring!” he cried. “I mean, we’re in the thirteenth century! We’ve all seen someone juggle before.” Catching all three of the balls, Allan tossed them over his shoulder. The kids giggled again.

“How about we make it a little riskier?” he asked as he reached into his bag. He pulled out three eggs.

As he started tossing the eggs, I could hear the little boy sitting next to me lean close to his mom. “Doesn’t he know that you’re not supposed to throw eggs?” the boy whispered. “He’s gonna get in so much trouble!”

I laughed at the boy’s comment. Allan had started tossing the eggs higher and higher. It was hard to watch; I just kept waiting for the moment he missed one.

“Do you guys like magic?” he asked as he juggled. A few kids yelled out in the affirmative. Allan smiled. “That’s good, because I’m about to do a magic trick! When I toss all three of these eggs up high, I will make them disappear. Are you ready?” As the kids leaned forward in curiosity, Allan braced himself and then tossed all three eggs high in the air. I watched the eggs closely, waiting to see if they disappeared. They never did.

Allan took a step back as the eggs came crashing down and splattered against the stage. He took a deep bow. “Tada!” he cried.

One little kid jumped out of her seat. “They didn’t disappear!” she yelled.

Allan straightened his posture, his eyes wide as he stared down at the broken eggs. “My goodness, you’re right!” he declared. He gave a hopeless shrug. “I guess I’m not magic after all.”

I rolled my eyes so hard that it almost hurt. I had fallen for a cheeseball. Allan turned back to the bag and pulled out the unlit torches I had seen him juggle with before.

“I would like to call my assistant, Ashley, to the stage,” he said. Everyone clapped as a girl walked up behind him. She was carrying a bucket of water.

Allan turned his attention back to the torches. Pulling a small flask from his pocket, he took a long drink, but I noticed that he didn’t swallow. He put the flask away and lit the torches. Then he began juggling. It was just as impressive to me as the first time I saw it and I could tell that the entire audience was enraptured.

When he was done juggling, he caught all the torches in one hand. Before I could anticipate what he was doing, he brought them closer to his face and breathed out. A massive burst of fire shot from his mouth. The audience cried out in surprise as a second and third fireball erupted over their heads. When whatever liquid in his mouth was gone, he took a bow as the girl behind him dumped the bucket of water over him. The children screamed with laughter.

Tossing away the soaked torches, Allan thanked the assistant as she left the stage. He took off his hat and wrung it out. With another bow, he stepped back to open up an instrument case.

“Do we have to listen to his wailing again?” Greg asked. I frowned at him. He knew very well that I liked Allan’s voice. He was being a grump on purpose.

“What shall I sing about?” Allan asked casually as he lifted the mandolin from the case. “Let’s see,” he murmured as he twisted the tuning pegs. After thinking for a moment, he began to sing:

“Welcome all ye lads and lasses,

gathered here from all the masses.

Let me spin a little song,

that we can sing all night long!”

He bowed as people began to clap. When he stood back up, his eyes scanned the crowd until his gaze fell on me. His smile widened.

“I’m so happy to see a familiar face in the audience!” he cried out. My heart stopped. This had better not be headed in the direction I thought it was. “My dear friend, Lady Jessica, has come here tonight! Jessica, would you mind coming up here onstage?”

My heart burst into overdrive and I felt like it was shaking my whole body. He did not just do that. I was going to kill him. Pursing my lips, I just shook my head.

Allan glanced at the rest of the crowd. “Could we give her a hand everybody?”

The audience started clapping and I could see a couple of people looking in my direction. Folding my arms, I stayed firmly stuck to my chair. What would he do if I just never went up there?

“Oh dear,” Allan said, “It looks like she might need a little encouragement.” Jumping down from the stage, Allan jogged over to where I was sitting. Laughter spread through the crowd as I continued to shake my head. Reaching out, he took my hand and started to pull me out of my seat. I gave him the dirtiest glare I could manage as I resisted him. He was dead to me.

As a moment passed, I gave in and let him lead me up to the stage. It took all of my self control to not cover my face with my free hand.

“Don’t trip over your own feet!” Greg called after me.

I wish I could have yelled out a retort. Walking up the steps of the stage, Allan pulled me to the very center. Glancing out over the crowd and seeing all their eyes on me was freaking me out. I swallowed and turned to Allan. Hopefully I didn’t look like I was about to throw up.

Dropping to one knee, Allan moved the mandolin into a playing position and began to pick out a tune.

“My lady Jessi fair,”

he sang,

“The maid with the flaxen hair.

There is a ball tomorrow night,

and I was wondering if you might,

enjoy my company for that time,

until the bells of midnight chime,

and come with me

my lady fair,

to the dance there!”

As he finished the song with a flourish, the crowd burst into cheers. Pushing the mandolin out of the way, Allan reached out and took my hand.

“How about it?” he asked. “Will you go to the ball with me?” He leaned a little bit closer, still projecting his voice. “I know I’m just a jester, but I would feel like a prince if you said yes.”

I shrugged nervously. “Sure,” I said, “why not?” My face was bright red. Jumping to his feet, Allan wrapped me in a tight hug. My eyes widened in surprise.

“You can kill me for doing this later,” he whispered in my ear.

“Oh, I will,” I replied just as quietly.

When we parted, he clapped for me as I walked off the stage. I didn’t go back to sit in the crowd to watch the rest of the performance, I was too embarrassed. I stayed in the shadows behind the stage, just out of sight from the audience and Allan.

“You can stop your grinning now,” Greg said dryly.

I raised a hand to my mouth. I hadn’t realized that I was smiling at all. My heart was still racing from having to go up there in front of everybody. Only now were the words of his song sinking in. I couldn’t believe it. What he’d done was mortifying, but it was also really sweet.

A few minutes later, the audience clapped loudly again and I knew that Allan was done. I walked out from behind the backdrop of the stage to see Allan stepping off of the platform into a small swarm of children. He got little kids to like him so easily. It was kind of astounding. I could see him laugh as he passed around the mandolin, letting the kids play with it for a moment.

Eventually he straightened his posture and looked around, his eyes falling upon me. Stepping away from the children, he ran over to where I stood.

“Your face when I called you up there!” he said with a laugh. “You looked super mad. I was scared that I was going to have to pick you up and carry you onstage!”

I glared at him. “That would have been a sight,” I muttered, “but don’t you worry, I’ll get even with you real soon.”

His laughter turned a little nervous. “I look forward to it.”

I took a deep breath as we walked back to the stage and Allan started packing up his props. “So is there really a ball tomorrow night?” I asked, “Or did you do all of that just for show?”

Allan feigned a look of shock. “Of course there’s a ball!” he cried, slinging his bag and mandolin case over his shoulder. “There’s one in the courtyard each night of the fair, but you need tickets to get in and I got us tickets for tomorrow night. I’m relieved you said yes. Otherwise, I’d probably have to ask Greg.”

The ghost scoffed as we walked away from the stage. “You would be so lucky,” he muttered.

I laughed. “Well,” I said, glancing down at myself, “if I am going to a ball tomorrow, I think I’ll need a fairy godmother. I look like a cave troll in this dress.”

Allan smiled. “You don’t look like a cave troll,” he assured, “but if you’re interested, I think I have access to a fairy godmother. Come on.”

My curiosity was piqued. I followed him through the vendors until he led me back inside the castle through one of the back gates. We went through a few twisting halls until we reached the Wardrobe.

“I pulled a few strings with my mom,” he said, taking a key from his pocket. Opening up the doors, he turned on the light and we found ourselves in the immense costume closet. I couldn’t stop the excitement that swelled within me.

“You can pick any one you want,” he said with a gesture to the room.

“Do you mean it?” I asked, “Any of them? Even the super expensive ones?”

“Yep,” he said, laughing at my reaction, “just make sure you’re careful with the dress, otherwise, my mom will kill me. She told me so quite plainly.”

I smiled as I walked down the aisles of dresses. I couldn’t believe it. They were all so beautiful! As I looked at them though, I soon realized that they were all way too big for me.

“Is there like a kid’s section?” I asked. I heard Greg laugh. “I happen to be crazy short, with the curves of like, a twelve year old boy.”

Allan tried to stifle a laugh as well. “Sure,” he said, “over here, in the back.”

I followed him as he led me to additional racks of dresses. These were much smaller, but also more pastel-y. “Oh boy,” I muttered, “this is going to take some searching.”

And so, for about the next hour, I searched. I felt bad for Allan, but he stuck around the whole time anyway. At long last, in an overlooked corner, I found the perfect one. It was black, of course, with lacy sleeves and a tight bodice. I stared at myself in the changing room mirror for a long time, marveling at it. Granted, it was a little too long, but I would make it work. After I had decided on it, I quickly changed back into my uglier dress.

When I walked out of the dressing room, Allan looked at me, disappointed.

“Don’t I get to see it?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Sure, tomorrow night.”

He heaved a sigh. “I guess I can wait,” he said as he headed out of the Wardrobe. I followed him, holding the dress tightly as excited butterflies infested my chest.

“Well then,” he said as we stood out in the castle hall, “I shall see you tomorrow evening.” He smiled at me. “I thought we could eat at seven, and go to the ball at eight.”

“Sounds good,” I replied. I turned to leave.

“Good luck on your sword fighting tournament too!” he added as I began to walk away. “I’ll come see some of it if I can get away!”

I glanced back at him. “I’ll keep an eye out for you!” I said as I turned a corner. Then, I all but floated back to my room.