"Hey, Cas, I've told you about Charlie, right?"

"The girl you dress up with; yes, you have."

"We LA- okay, you know. Anyway, she told me to bring you along this time." He can't look at me, so of course I know what answer I've got to give.

I smirk. "I wouldn't dare defy an order. What are your roles?"

"Well, Charlie's the Queen, which she really enjoys. I'm… uh… I'm currently her… handmaiden."

I laugh. "Handmaiden?"

"You know I only stumbled across this at all! I forgot to ask if I could stay with her, and then her condition was that I LARP with her and the only position she could give that quickly was handmaiden… but she says I'll be her knight, soon."

"Who would I be?"

"Her cousin from a far-off land. Any other position kind of… forces a commitment. And uh," he scratches the back of his neck, "if you don't like it, we don't want to force you into staying. But, um, being the Queen's cousin means you can do pretty much anything you like all weekend."

"So it's your attempt at advertising the very best side."

He grins. "Got it in one."

"Why not your cousin?"

"No handmaiden's cousin would be rich enough to come visiting, and you'd be forced to work the weekend. Wouldn't be a brilliant advertisement."

"What would I be expected to do?"

"Dress in period clothing. That's about it. Everyone knows 'cousin come visiting' means 'prospective member', so no one expects you to be any good – they'll try to sell it to you, too, so they'll ask you to join instead of just dragging you in. You'll get a lot of people fawning over you, because you're royalty. But basically, dress up and do what you feel like doing."

"Do I have to quote Braveheart?"

He fixes me with a level, unamused stare. "People will think you're quoting with the way you speak, Cas, so no need to worry there."

###

"This is itchy."

"What were you expecting?"

"Less itchy clothing."

"It's a cheap costume. Plus, there'll be people in worse, trust me. Potato sacks are way more itchy."

"Are we meeting Charlie before we get there?"

"Yeah, make sure you've got enough of a backstory cobbled together. We can't text each other to figure it out, for obvious reasons."

"Oh yeah, fair enough."

"Sit still, you're gonna make me crash. It'll be better when you stand up."

I huff, but cease trying to find a comfortable position. There isn't one, anyway.

Charlie's hair is a really bright red, but I guess she can't be expected to dye it just for the weekends. She also hugs Dean in greeting, which isn't something I see often. Dean looks uncomfortable as he pulls away, so I grin at him.

"You must be Cas, my cousin." We exchange smiles before she presses on. "Now, because you're late," pointed glare towards Dean, who smiles sheepishly, "we don't have much time to get a backstory together. I figured we could just say you're from the West and wanted some time off from your royal duties there. You'll be the second-youngest sibling of your lot, and if anyone questions you further, just give them a look like you'll send them to the stocks. It really works. And if you ever need help, just ask someone in armour to send for me, and that if they can't find me, to send my handmaiden. I'll just send Dean, either way, but asking straight out for my handmaiden is weird. Got it?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Great! Just relax, they're cool. Now let's get going, I need to be there right from the start – opening ceremony, Dean!"

"Yeah, yeah, cool it. You're not my Queen yet."

"I am in half an hour, and if I'm not at Moondoor then, I won't hesitate to pull rank."

"I could have you dead in a ditch by then. We have a next in line to the throne already." He gestures to me.

"Oh please, there'd be a revolt."

"I dunno, it would take time for them to catch up. I could have the troops rallied by then. They loved my Braveheart."

"Of course they did, Dean."

"Shut up and let me drive, woman."

"I don't appreciate your misogyny, but sure."

Dean flicks on the radio then, and the three of us can sing along to the rock songs. Dean grins at this, seeming not to notice Charlie and I exchange similar looks that seem to say merely 'Stockholm syndrome'.

We arrive just as the ceremony is scheduled to start, and I see why Dean insisted we were dressed for the journey – Charlie's already told me I should wear a long-sleeved shirt and jeans underneath; most people do and the cheap stuff's too light for it to matter. Dean grumbles about how she didn't tell him that, and I can see myself really liking Charlie.

"Come on, boys, it's time for the Queen's speech."

Dean and I stand to the side of the space reserved as a sort of stage, listening to Charlie give a speech to fill in people on what has happened in recent weekends and what is scheduled to happen this week – a small amount, actually; it seems this weekend is one for free LARPing. I do my best simply not to appear entirely befuddled.

"This weekend, dear friends, my cousin from the West is visiting. This is Castiel," she gestures to me, and Dean gives me a subtle yet strong push onto the stage. I go to stand near Charlie and give a solemn nod, unaware and unprepared. "I expect you all to afford him the same respect you would me and extend him every courtesy. If I find you have not, the consequences will be grave." She gives me a subtle tap on the side, and I leave the stage. She wraps up the speech, and the three of us gather for a brief chat before we must disperse.

"Okay, the market's that way, which is where I suggest starting for the day. Don't buy anything from anyone, the trustworthy merchants change every week. In any case, all you have to do is talk formally – which, I hear from Dean, would be natural for you. Exert authority where you need to, but just have fun. If you leave the marketplace, get a knight to tell you, and make sure someone notifies me. I'll get Dean to fetch you for dinner. Okay?"

"Uh… yes."

"Okay. We'll see ya later, Cas."

Dean presses a quick kiss to the top of my head, and then we split up.

The marketplace has a lot going on. There are people from the four… regions, and there is a lot of them. It's loud, many people trying to 'flog their wares', and their wares vary from food to clothing to weaponry, and I'm not sure how much of it is fake or real.

Those from regions other than Charlie's cast me suspicious glances, whilst Charlie's mostly ignore me. I keep wandering between stores regardless, trying not to linger long enough for anyone to expect me to buy anything.

I end up at some stocks, and whilst I assume I am in the wrong kingdom now, I linger to watch the proceedings from a small distance. Someone who looks like a goblin is reciting something to someone in a red outfit, which I assume denotes him to be from Charlie's kingdom.

"You are to be held here for an hour before you are to be executed for plotting to murder our righteous King. Have you anything to say for yourself?"

"I am innocent, I merely took a wrong turn and ended up in your kingdom! I had no intentions of murder… and I do not understand where you got that idea." He suddenly makes eye contact with me. "Oh, your majesty! I apologise for your seeing me in this state!"

I nod at him, and the goblin waves me over. "You hold a higher rank than this treacherous peasant?"

"I do."

"He is the visiting cousin of our fair Queen." The man in the stocks has an uncharacteristically smug smile for one about to be executed, suggesting my inexperience is to work to his advantage here. The goblin's long-suffering look further supports this point.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and the laws of our four Kingdoms clearly state that one of the monarchy use his or her rank to release a prisoner from a death sentence if their case is not solid, is that not so?"

"It is." After a glare to the prisoner, the goblin turns to face me. "What is your name?"

"Castiel."

"Well, Castiel, would you like to exert your power to release this useless peasant?"

I haven't been coached in this and I'm unsure what to do. I have seen some other LARPers call 'time out' and I reason that it is better to ask than to fumble and cause reckless harm to Charlie's kingdom. I make the T symbol clumsily, "Time out. Would releasing him cause consequence to the kingdom, or would he simply be free?"

"He'd basically just be free, but you're only allowed to free one prisoner per weekend." The goblin appears relieved to take his teeth out, and merely resigned to the loss of his case.

"All right, then. Are you two okay to continue?" The goblin nods, putting back in his teeth, and the prisoner gives me a look to say 'the sooner the better'. "Time… in, then? I would choose to free the prisoner, if you please."

"Of course." The goblin releases the man in red, and he stands up and rolls his neck. The goblin then leans towards the man, hissing, "but watch your step. I would not count on your luck so much next time." He stomps off, leaving just the man and me.

"Thanks, man. He's had it out for me for weeks, we work together and I got a promotion when he didn't… it's not really in the spirit of things, but whatever, right?"

"What would have happened had you been executed?"

"We should really go back to our kingdom; I'll show you around or something. Execution means you have to make a new character or bow out gracefully, because your character's dead. That means you have to start from the bottom again, so it's best to avoid it."

"Oh, right."

"So you're checking it out? Considering joining?"

"Ah, kind of. I was… pushed to. Someone I'm close to enjoys it, and he suggested I give it a try. He's friends with Charlie – the Queen, I'm not sure if you know her name? – and as his rank is lower, we agreed I would pose as a relation of the Queen instead."

"Oh, the handmaiden? Yeah, he's made a bit of an impression." The man laughs, and it's not mean, but it suggests Dean's reputation isn't wonderful.

"Um, what's your name?"

"Benny."

"Thank you. What kind of impression?"

"Nothing too bad, really. He just turned up and got a role near the monarchy because he's friends with Charlie. No one's really keen on that kind of an 'easy ride', but no one really cares about the handmaiden position and if he gets out of it, it'll be 'cos he earned it, so… and yeah, if you keep at it, you'll get the same kinda stigma attached to you."

"Great."

"It's better than starting at the bottom, trust me. What do you want to see?"

"I don't know. I've seen the marketplace, but it's easier if I stay there, so… would you mind teaching me about it? I guess."

"Oh yeah, no big deal. I started out as a merchant's assistant here, actually, so you're in luck."

###

When Dean comes to fetch me, I know how to detect the good stalls from the bad, what sells well and what never sells, what is a good price or bad, and much more. Somehow Benny tells me it all in a fairly interesting way, so the information is all stored.

"Made a friend, Cas?"

Benny chuckles. "I'll see ya around, Castiel. Thanks again."

"I rescued him from the stocks, so he repaid the favour by teaching me about the markets."

"What, just looking isn't enough for you?" Dean shakes his head in a nice way, and we head towards Charlie's tent.

"Never has been." We grin at each other.

"Castiel!" Charlie exclaims when we arrive. "How did you find it?"

"He's been learning about the marketplace."

"How did you get someone to teach you? The merchants are notoriously secretive."

"I rescued a man who was wrongfully to be executed, and he used to be a merchant's assistant."

"Okay, now I really want you to stick around; that would be so useful."

I shrug. "Maybe every so often; it was pretty interesting." Dean only comes up for one weekend a month; handmaidens and knights are aplenty, so he doesn't need to be around all the time, like Charlie does.

"Travelling merchant. My kingdom doesn't have one. I'm supposed to choose a merchant to sell our kingdom's wares within the other kingdoms, rather than just at the marketplace. And, of course, you'd need a knight to protect you." She smiles at Dean, and we both know it's a bribe.

"Well, how could I say no?"

I've never LARPed and I can't remember exactly what was said about this LARP in the episode. Pretend any discrepancies are because they're set in different universes. Thanks xo

(next chapter gets shorter)