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Ms. Alya smiled as she looked at the clock. “One last thing before you go for the weekend,” the young redhead told her class. The rustling stopped and several groans could be heard from her students. “It’s not more homework, don’t worry,” she teased.

“I want you to know that we’ll be holding our annual Rennfest in one month. It’ll be all weekend. So in all your classes we’ll be working on things for the Rennfest. Expect to make banners and do a lot of painting in art class! It’s our favorite fundraiser every year. We’ll have a costume contest, games, and all the things you’d see at the state festival every fall. Start thinking about what you want to do, we’ll be looking for people to help out as well.” Her speech lit up the eyes of most of the kids and she smiled inside. “Class dismissed!”

The weeks passed quickly. Tables were organized. Several students who lived on local farms came together to get livestock brought in to help make a rendition of a medieval peasant’s farm. Others planned out the bake sale, with one student promising to work on renditions of medieval foods. The weather warmed as spring approached and claimed the season from winter.

Linda thought about things she wanted to do for the festival. The blonde girl talked to her social studies teacher, Mrs. Anderson, one afternoon. Mrs. Anderson was a woman in her early fifties, her curly hair graying, but tall and thin.

“Mrs. Anderson, do you do a jail and bail at the Rennfest? That’s what I heard from some of the other students.” Linda asked, twirling one blonde pigtail idly.

“Of course dear. Usually we put the principal in there and people pay to keep him there. We made several hundred dollars off of students who wanted Mr. Alexi in jail last year. He even wore a jester’s costume. Do you have someone you want to put in jail I assume?” Mrs. Anderson replied with a gentle smile.

“I’m thinking about it. It’s all for a good cause right?”

“It is. We bought new computers for the library last year from the money we made.”

“All right. Thanks Mrs. Anderson!” Linda said with a wave as she left.

The fateful day arrived with a crisp breeze and sunshine. The local town came out in force in support of its school. Kids rode the pony and they goggled at the cows. Little old ladies sold pies and cakes to all and sundry. Linda arrived wearing full pirate’s regalia, complete with feathered tricorn, vest, boots, and an eyepatch. On her hip was a foam sword, a cutlass which settled easily to her hand when she found Ms. Alya.

The young science teacher was outfitted in a pale green dress that went well with her eyes. When she spotted Linda, the teacher smiled. “It seems you’re a bit far inland, Linda.” Ms. Alya joked.

“If you want the best loot sometimes you have to do the unexpected,” the girl replied with a sassy smile.

“And what loot are you looking for today? Gold and jewels I assume?” Ms. Alya laughed.

“Princesses. And it seems I’ve found me one!” Linda had her sword in hand. “You’re coming with me, Princess Alya! I’ll get a nice ransom for you.”

Ms. Alya laughed for several moments before she raised her hands in surrender. “And me without a knight to protect me! What shall I do? I’m the prisoner of the ruthless Pirate Linda!”

“Now march that way!” Linda pointed with her sword. She nearly poked a passerby and quickly withdrew her blade. “Sorry about that Mr. Leister,” she said as her shop teacher walked by dressed as a monk. Ms. Alya bit her lip to stop herself from laughing even more. “You’re going to be my prisoner today!”

“I am? So much for my picnic plans!” Ms. Alya led the way with her hands still raised to where she knew the jail and bail were normally set up. People smiled and laughed as the two made their way to one end of the fest. There was a table with a cashbox there and a sign. The sign, a wooden marquee, was painted with black and white stripes. In red letters it said, “Pirate’s ransom! Pay to free the princess!"

Ms. Alya quirked an eyebrow and then looked around. Nothing else was visible except a tree. “It seems we’re missing your ship and a prison, Pirate Linda.” Ms. Alya noted, turning back to her captor.

Linda smirked and pointed at the tree. “Stand there, Princess, if you know what’s good for you!”

Ms. Alya complied, leaning back against the tree, crossing her arms. “This seems easy to escape.” She noted.

Linda smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary as she reached under her table and pulled out a dufflebag. Ms. Alya immediately knew what was going on and laughed.

“I was wrong, you did think of everything.”

“Time to silence that pretty little mouth of yours, Princess. Can’t have you calling for help!” Linda said as she pulled out a roll of tape.

Ms. Alya raised an eyebrow again. “They didn’t have tape in the old days you know.”

Linda nodded with a frown and then yanked out a scarf, getting a nod from her teacher. She put the tape away and approached the princess. “You don’t mind right? I talked with some of the other teachers and they made sure I knew to get your permission first.”

“They probably didn’t want to haul the cage out of storage again this year. Yes, it’s fine. But if I give you four mmmphs, ungag me okay? And I’ll need a break later.” Ms. Alya agreed. Then she smiled. “Let’s see if we can do better than Mr. Alexi did last year. Get me a big ransom Linda.”

Linda smiled back, pact made, and folded the scarf before knotting it in the middle and pressing it between Ms. Alya’s lips. She knotted it under her teacher’s hair.

“Now to make sure you never escape!” Linda proclaimed. The young girl took a length of hemp rope and pulled Ms. Alya’s arms back around the tree. She soon had her teacher’s hands tied back hugging the tree. The next rope went around the woman’s hips and chest to anchor her in place, with more loops to tighten up the bindings trapping the princess’ arms. Ms. Alya tugged feebly at her bonds as Linda then wrapped a rope around her captive’s ankles to hold her feet in place.

“There. No escape for you.” Linda mocked her captive, who whimpered into her gag. The pirate then picked up something Ms. Alya hadn’t spotted at the table earlier: a horn. Linda blew it, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

“Attention everyone! I have taken prisoner the Princess Ms. Alya! If you do not pay me a ransom fit for a king, she will be my prisoner forever and I will send her to Davey Jones’ Locker! Who here will pay for her freedom?” Linda called to the crowd.

Ms. Alya twisted in the ropes, not attempting escape but drawing focus to her situation. “Plmhfm hmlp mm! Hm ghn't mfghpm!” The teacher pleaded.

One of Linda’s classmates came up first with her parents. “Here. I’ll pay you ten dollars if you keep her prisoner.” The girl, a Hispanic spitfire named Sofia, passed Linda money.

“Sofia, this is for her rescue, not to keep her in prison,” Linda explained patiently.

“Doesn’t matter. She can stay your prisoner until she changes my grade on that last paper.” Sofia declared.

Linda thought fast. “Okay. Ten dollars it is, thank you.” Linda looked at Ms. Alya quickly, then back to Sofia. “Can you do me a favor and get me a jar real fast?”

Five minutes later there were two jars on the table. One was labeled ‘Ransom’. The other was labeled ‘Princess Prison Fees’. Linda took donations and put them in each jar dutifully. Two students, Eric and Mark, made donations while arguing over whether Ms. Alya should be freed or not. The teachers were also split. Mrs. Anderson paid to free Ms. Alya, twenty dollars into the jar. Principal Alexi put forty in the jar to keep Ms. Alya a prisoner. “Better you than me!” He told the English teacher with a grin. She shook her head good-naturedly at his words. Mr. Leister matched that donation and paused, thinking. “Next year I can build a set of stocks if you like,” he offered. Ms. Alya’s eyes grew wide at the idea.

At day’s end, Principal Alexi gathered the teachers and students up to Linda’s table. “Pirate Linda, we’d like to know if Princess Alya’s ransom has been paid. Do you have the totals for us?”

“I do. Princess Alya’s ransom totals $533.53.” Linda proclaimed proudly.

There were murmurs and some clapping in the crowd. “Seems people like you, Ms. Alya. You beat me by a hundred dollars. So is that enough to earn the princess her freedom Pirate Linda?”

“I’m afraid not Principal Alexi. The people paid to keep Princess Alya a prisoner a total of…one thousand forty-nine dollars and sixty cents.”

Everyone murmured, eyes wide, jaws dropped at that announcement. Even Ms. Alya stopped squirming when she heard that. Pirate Linda gave the principal the jars.

“Thank you everyone for the contributions!” Linda called as the crowd slowly dispersed. She turned to her prisoner and reached up to pull the scarf free first.

“Linda, that’s amazing!” Ms. Alya exclaimed as Linda began freeing her captive.

“I know!” Linda beamed. Then she smiled at her teacher with a mischievous look in her eye. “I’ll tie you up tomorrow a bit better and see if we can get more money.”

Ms. Alya just shook her head and laughed.

Description
Ms. Alya smiled as she looked at the clock. “One last thing before you go for the weekend,” the young redhead told her class. The rustling stopped and several groans could be heard from her students. “It’s not more homework, don’t worry,” she teased.

“I want you to know that we’ll be holding our annual Rennfest in one month. It’ll be all weekend. So in all your classes we’ll be working on things for the Rennfest. Expect to make banners and do a lot of painting in art class! It’s our favorite fundraiser every year. We’ll have a costume contest, games, and all the things you’d see at the state festival every fall. Start thinking about what you want to do, we’ll be looking for people to help out as well.” Her speech lit up the eyes of most of the kids and she smiled inside. “Class dismissed!”

The weeks passed quickly. Tables were organized. Several students who lived on local farms came together to get livestock brought in to help make a rendition of a medieval peasant’s farm. Others planned out the bake sale, with one student promising to work on renditions of medieval foods. The weather warmed as spring approached and claimed the season from winter.

Linda thought about things she wanted to do for the festival. The blonde girl talked to her social studies teacher, Mrs. Anderson, one afternoon. Mrs. Anderson was a woman in her early fifties, her curly hair graying, but tall and thin.

“Mrs. Anderson, do you do a jail and bail at the Rennfest? That’s what I heard from some of the other students.” Linda asked, twirling one blonde pigtail idly.

“Of course dear. Usually we put the principal in there and people pay to keep him there. We made several hundred dollars off of students who wanted Mr. Alexi in jail last year. He even wore a jester’s costume. Do you have someone you want to put in jail I assume?” Mrs. Anderson replied with a gentle smile.

“I’m thinking about it. It’s all for a good cause right?”

“It is. We bought new computers for the library last year from the money we made.”

“All right. Thanks Mrs. Anderson!” Linda said with a wave as she left.

The fateful day arrived with a crisp breeze and sunshine. The local town came out in force in support of its school. Kids rode the pony and they goggled at the cows. Little old ladies sold pies and cakes to all and sundry. Linda arrived wearing full pirate’s regalia, complete with feathered tricorn, vest, boots, and an eyepatch. On her hip was a foam sword, a cutlass which settled easily to her hand when she found Ms. Alya.

The young science teacher was outfitted in a pale green dress that went well with her eyes. When she spotted Linda, the teacher smiled. “It seems you’re a bit far inland, Linda.” Ms. Alya joked.

“If you want the best loot sometimes you have to do the unexpected,” the girl replied with a sassy smile.

“And what loot are you looking for today? Gold and jewels I assume?” Ms. Alya laughed.

“Princesses. And it seems I’ve found me one!” Linda had her sword in hand. “You’re coming with me, Princess Alya! I’ll get a nice ransom for you.”

Ms. Alya laughed for several moments before she raised her hands in surrender. “And me without a knight to protect me! What shall I do? I’m the prisoner of the ruthless Pirate Linda!”

“Now march that way!” Linda pointed with her sword. She nearly poked a passerby and quickly withdrew her blade. “Sorry about that Mr. Leister,” she said as her shop teacher walked by dressed as a monk. Ms. Alya bit her lip to stop herself from laughing even more. “You’re going to be my prisoner today!”

“I am? So much for my picnic plans!” Ms. Alya led the way with her hands still raised to where she knew the jail and bail were normally set up. People smiled and laughed as the two made their way to one end of the fest. There was a table with a cashbox there and a sign. The sign, a wooden marquee, was painted with black and white stripes. In red letters it said, “Pirate’s ransom! Pay to free the princess!"

Ms. Alya quirked an eyebrow and then looked around. Nothing else was visible except a tree. “It seems we’re missing your ship and a prison, Pirate Linda.” Ms. Alya noted, turning back to her captor.

Linda smirked and pointed at the tree. “Stand there, Princess, if you know what’s good for you!”

Ms. Alya complied, leaning back against the tree, crossing her arms. “This seems easy to escape.” She noted.

Linda smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary as she reached under her table and pulled out a dufflebag. Ms. Alya immediately knew what was going on and laughed.

“I was wrong, you did think of everything.”

“Time to silence that pretty little mouth of yours, Princess. Can’t have you calling for help!” Linda said as she pulled out a roll of tape.

Ms. Alya raised an eyebrow again. “They didn’t have tape in the old days you know.”

Linda nodded with a frown and then yanked out a scarf, getting a nod from her teacher. She put the tape away and approached the princess. “You don’t mind right? I talked with some of the other teachers and they made sure I knew to get your permission first.”

“They probably didn’t want to haul the cage out of storage again this year. Yes, it’s fine. But if I give you four mmmphs, ungag me okay? And I’ll need a break later.” Ms. Alya agreed. Then she smiled. “Let’s see if we can do better than Mr. Alexi did last year. Get me a big ransom Linda.”

Linda smiled back, pact made, and folded the scarf before knotting it in the middle and pressing it between Ms. Alya’s lips. She knotted it under her teacher’s hair.

“Now to make sure you never escape!” Linda proclaimed. The young girl took a length of hemp rope and pulled Ms. Alya’s arms back around the tree. She soon had her teacher’s hands tied back hugging the tree. The next rope went around the woman’s hips and chest to anchor her in place, with more loops to tighten up the bindings trapping the princess’ arms. Ms. Alya tugged feebly at her bonds as Linda then wrapped a rope around her captive’s ankles to hold her feet in place.

“There. No escape for you.” Linda mocked her captive, who whimpered into her gag. The pirate then picked up something Ms. Alya hadn’t spotted at the table earlier: a horn. Linda blew it, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

“Attention everyone! I have taken prisoner the Princess Ms. Alya! If you do not pay me a ransom fit for a king, she will be my prisoner forever and I will send her to Davey Jones’ Locker! Who here will pay for her freedom?” Linda called to the crowd.

Ms. Alya twisted in the ropes, not attempting escape but drawing focus to her situation. “Plmhfm hmlp mm! Hm ghn't mfghpm!” The teacher pleaded.

One of Linda’s classmates came up first with her parents. “Here. I’ll pay you ten dollars if you keep her prisoner.” The girl, a Hispanic spitfire named Sofia, passed Linda money.

“Sofia, this is for her rescue, not to keep her in prison,” Linda explained patiently.

“Doesn’t matter. She can stay your prisoner until she changes my grade on that last paper.” Sofia declared.

Linda thought fast. “Okay. Ten dollars it is, thank you.” Linda looked at Ms. Alya quickly, then back to Sofia. “Can you do me a favor and get me a jar real fast?”

Five minutes later there were two jars on the table. One was labeled ‘Ransom’. The other was labeled ‘Princess Prison Fees’. Linda took donations and put them in each jar dutifully. Two students, Eric and Mark, made donations while arguing over whether Ms. Alya should be freed or not. The teachers were also split. Mrs. Anderson paid to free Ms. Alya, twenty dollars into the jar. Principal Alexi put forty in the jar to keep Ms. Alya a prisoner. “Better you than me!” He told the English teacher with a grin. She shook her head good-naturedly at his words. Mr. Leister matched that donation and paused, thinking. “Next year I can build a set of stocks if you like,” he offered. Ms. Alya’s eyes grew wide at the idea.

At day’s end, Principal Alexi gathered the teachers and students up to Linda’s table. “Pirate Linda, we’d like to know if Princess Alya’s ransom has been paid. Do you have the totals for us?”

“I do. Princess Alya’s ransom totals $533.53.” Linda proclaimed proudly.

There were murmurs and some clapping in the crowd. “Seems people like you, Ms. Alya. You beat me by a hundred dollars. So is that enough to earn the princess her freedom Pirate Linda?”

“I’m afraid not Principal Alexi. The people paid to keep Princess Alya a prisoner a total of…one thousand forty-nine dollars and sixty cents.”

Everyone murmured, eyes wide, jaws dropped at that announcement. Even Ms. Alya stopped squirming when she heard that. Pirate Linda gave the principal the jars.

“Thank you everyone for the contributions!” Linda called as the crowd slowly dispersed. She turned to her prisoner and reached up to pull the scarf free first.

“Linda, that’s amazing!” Ms. Alya exclaimed as Linda began freeing her captive.

“I know!” Linda beamed. Then she smiled at her teacher with a mischievous look in her eye. “I’ll tie you up tomorrow a bit better and see if we can get more money.”

Ms. Alya just shook her head and laughed.