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Set your story at a Regency-themed fair.

Posted in Short Story on Jun 7, 2024

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✍️ 12 stories

My Fair Lady

Submitted to Contest #254

My Fair LadyIt happened at the fair. Our eyes locked, our hearts entwined and our lives tumbled.Sir Carlton Winslow, my good chum from university and myself, Sir Riley Fenwick, decided to take in the ever popular local market fair to delve into delectable street fare hawked out by costermongers and imbibe in some hardy ale dispensed by wanton wrenches. The bawdy sights and cacophony of sounds would provide a good diversion from our unending pressures of the late season of concerts, ballroom galas and afternoon teas we young blades were expec...

31 likes 46 comments 46
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The Lady and The Lovers

Submitted to Contest #254

“This is the best day of my life.” Or at least I thought that’s what Allison said, but it was difficult to understand her around the mouthful of loosely-themed “Rake Funnel Cake” that she had purchased mere seconds after stepping foot through the gates of the fairground. “Your bar might be a little too low,” I replied, hand shielding my eyes from the late afternoon sun as I studied the dusty scene in front of me. The annual Lords and Ladies Regency Fair was trapped somewhere between a convention, a renaissance festival, and a ...

20 likes 10 comments 10
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A Portrait Of Love

Submitted to Contest #254

From her tightly fixed chignon, a strand of amber hair escaped the claws of Alyssa's neatly placed clip, caressing her cheek as it fell. Lifting the tips of her fingers from where they had danced on the keyboard, she pinched the hair back into place and resumed typing. For a few more seconds, there was a hidden rhythm in the tapping of her unpainted fingernails until, in a culminating moment, the enter key was pressed. She read the message aloud to ensure its meaning could not be misinterpreted. To whom it may concern,  While I apprecia...

18 likes 8 comments 8
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The Sorceress's Coronation: A Tale of Revenge and Royalty

Submitted to Contest #254

Kyle Peirson had become the chinwag of the village by doctoring a poorly nag. Chucking the creature bits he knew to act as an evacuant had him pegged as a warlock. Lucy, the lass who'd taught him such tricks, came under the screws. Ere she too scarpered at the king's bidding, she hoofed it out of the country to learn how to square accounts for her brother's demise.After years with nary a hex or hocus-pocus, it was high time to give those who'd done Kyle in a taste of their own medicine. Lucy Peirson bobbed up during the King's knees-up."Well...

13 likes 14 comments 14
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The Regency Fair

Submitted to Contest #254

The Regency FairThe rolling hills of Somerset were bathed in the warm glow of the June sun, casting long shadows that danced with the breeze. It was the perfect day for a Regency fair, an event that the entire county looked forward to each year. Preparations had been underway for months, and now the day had arrived, bringing with it a sense of excitement and anticipation.Lady Eleanor Prescott, the hostess of the fair, stood at the entrance to the grand estate, her blue eyes sparkling with delight. Dressed in a gown of soft lilac, she embodie...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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A Right Old Carve-Up

Submitted to Contest #254

After battling through Brighton’s Saturday evening traffic, Phil was relieved to find that there were plenty of spaces in the trader’s car park. He guided his white Citroen Berlingo van into a space next to a row of expansive blue and white marquees.He was delivering seven sides of venison, eight shoulders of lamb and three whole pig carcasses. They were for the carvery section of the Old Steine Regency Fayre. Taking place on The Level, the large municipal park just behind the gothic St Peter’s Church in the centre of town.After searching fo...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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Someone who changed her life without realising it

Submitted to Contest #254

The most people who change our lives are our parents, or siblings and at most our grandparents and friends.They help mould it, stringently at times, lovingly at others.Lovers mould and change your life too.In fact, she had had a few such loved ones in her life.When she was fifteen, she saw him raking up the leaves from his garden. A quiet shy girl she was, it wasn’t until he had seen her quietly mowing her lawn at evenings that he spoke to her.“Hi.”“Hi,” she said.He paused awkwardly with the broom for a moment and she blushed, ever so slight...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Seeing Double

Submitted to Contest #254

Viscount Edward Ridgely held out his hand to receive the dainty, gloved fingers of the incomparable Lady Paulina Sinclair, as she stepped lightly from his phaeton, followed closely by her Aunt and chaperone, Lady Agatha Westcott. Her eyes immediately widened at the sights of Bartholomew Fair before her.  ‘Is it what you were expecting, Miss Fletcher?’ the Viscount asked, his lips curving with amusement at the look of wonderment on her pretty face.  If Lady Sinclair suffered a pang of guilt at being referred to by her twin sist...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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Not Handsome Enough to Tempt Me

Submitted to Contest #254

In one minute, Marianne could shut down her computer and begin getting ready for the event of her life. The event she had been waiting years for. The event where she just knew that everything was going to change, because how could it not? Not Handsome Enough To Tempt Me had been in the works three years ago but something had always gone wrong. Weather conditions, venue cancellations, Covid. There seemed to always be an obstacle in the way of her happiness. And not just her happiness, she knew. But the happiness of every Jane Austen fanatic i...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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The Hour and Minute Hand

Submitted to Contest #254

The Hour and Minute Handby: Catherine Ream The sun rose behind Georginton Valley, glossing the sky with luminous colors. Today wasn’t an ordinary day for it was the annual Georginton Valley Regency Fair. The event that our small town is most well known for and caters towards quite the crowd. One year, however, distinguishes itself amongst the others; this is where our story proceeds. This year, I was twenty and an aspiring fashion designer so to answer your question, I created my dress of which I spent months on. I constructed a classic che...

9 likes 0 comments 0
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Faire Play

Submitted to Contest #254

It was hard to tell the difference between fantasy and reality at Greenbrier. A few things were obviously genuine. The musicians playing quadrilles for guests engaged in the rigors of Regency dancing. The gardeners planting daffodils and tulips in showy displays along the paths where guests strolled and gossiped. And Greenbrier Manor House, which had been built to impress. And to last.Crafted of Indiana limestone, it served as a private boarding school for wealthy Midwesterners seeking a New England elite education closer to home. A private ...

8 likes 1 comment 1
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Garden of the Fae

Submitted to Contest #254

Amelia tarried at the threshold of the grand ballroom, her tresses of golden hue gently tousled by the wind, as her emerald eyes took in the grandeur that society had taught her — no, forced upon her — to covet.Candlelight basked the room in a warm glow, reflecting off the jewels and fine fabrics that adorned the affluent. The ballroom itself, a whirl of colors and laughter, seemed like a scene plucked from a fairytale. Yet, as she stepped into the throng, — her heels clicking softly against polished marble — the air felt stifling, heavy wit...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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