Company

Chapter Eight

I think I was in waaaay too deep.

I had this sudden realization after Orsnick refused to call me Jane during the duration of the day. He would only call me by my character name, Oswin. He wouldn't call anyone, by their real names, actually. It made me feel very uncomfortable. This was supposed to be a fun game, right?

"Orsnick, please call me by my actual, real name," I grumbled, fumbling into the car. The costume that Bree got was surprisingly comfortable. She found these awesome legging like pants that were very comfy. I made a mental note to figure out where I could find them. The boots felt awesome as well, they didn't pinch or feel stiff when I walked around in them. My favorite bit was the vest, which comfortably fit over my white peasant shirt. It was made of this thick cotton-y material that moved with my body. It had a little cinch at my waist, which showed off my figure. It had these multiple buckles and buttons all over it, making look more ornate and stylish. I wasn't the kind of girl who was into clothes, but damn, I was totally loving this ensemble.

"Who is this Orsnick you speak of?" he replied, fixing his chain mail. I rolled my eyes. "My name is not Orsnick. It is Lord Astor of Greglund. You must address me by, 'my lord' or 'Lord Astor' to show your loyalty to the house of Greglund. If you do not show my the respect and loyalty I demand, you shall be dealt with accordingly."

"You're allowed to use contractions when you speak, you know," I told him, slightly growing annoyed with his "Lord Astor" character.

All of a sudden, Orsnick spun around and glared at me, his face serious. "Now is not the time to critique the various characters you will interact with. I need to win. I need to show that witch that I am just as powerful, just as smart, just as terrifying as she is."

"That witch?" I asked, very confused.

"Abby's character. She's a sorceress named Estrella. She is the leader of the House of Menath. In the game, she stripped the Greglunds of power, causing the Eastern Islands and the individual towns inside them to fall into economic despair. Lord Astor, Orsnick's character, is the last remaining member of the Greglund house. He is trying to bring her and her army down," Violet explained, as Bree glued elf tips onto her ears, making them look pointy at the top.

"Uh-huh," I mumbled, tying to take seriously what Violet just said.

"Estrella is also the current protector of the Central Kingdoms. She protects the various lords and the land they have from invaders. In return, they made her their military leader. They turn to her in times of crisis. After Lord Astor's declaration that he would take back the money his family lost, they turned to her, trying to figure out what to do. She saw it as an act of war, and now they're at each other's necks," Violet explained, again, trying to bring me up to speed.

"This is really confusing, Vi," I groaned. I slumped down into my seat, whining about how I wasn't informed beforehand.

"It's really just a game of capture the flag," Drew clarified, putting in a set of fake fangs on his bottom teeth. "Each house wants to infiltrate the other, and find the thing that will bring the leader to surrender."

"In reality, it's a pseudo-LARP, set up by the LARP Park. It's so they can monitor us easier and make sure no one feels unsafe," Matt added.

"When did you all learn about this?" I demanded. They all shrugged.

"We signed up to do this a long while ago," Bree clarified. She was the most abnormal looking of all of us. Her rainbow hair was tied into an elaborate updo, with flowers sticking out of it. Her makeup was off the wall, with crazy green and blue eye shadow all over her eyes, and body glitter dusted everywhere. She wore a dark blue dress with sparkles all over it. The hem was jagged. She had light blue and white tulle cape-thing, that was secured to her arms by sliver strips of fabric. She wore black dance shoes with intricate patterns painted onto them in silver paint. "Oh and one more thing. I almost forgot your cloak!" She paused from glueing the elf tips and grabbed a dark grey cloak that was on the floor. She threw it to me, and it hit me in the face.