Her Medieval Fantasy Ch. 01

"So, it's like improvisational theater?" I asked, sitting in the now empty college classroom. Class had ended, but Malcolm and I were still talking.

"Yeah, LARP is pretty much similar. Live Action Role Play is what it stands for. It's basically a Dungeons and Dragons tabletop, but in real life."

My geeky eyes were shining behind my glasses. A girl like me, brought up on Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings--a geek, to put it simply, could not dream of something more interesting. I would always make these Elven warrior characters in RPG fantasy games and assume the role--now I could literally be one. Well, not literally, but close to it.

The concept of LARP was simple. A group of people meet in a certain place for a few days, where they pretend to be characters in a fictional setting, dress like them and act like them. Malcolm and his gang had been doing it for a few years, and I had recently befriended them due to our common geeky tastes. Most of my friends throughout my life had been guys anyway--it's not like guys would run after me for dating and sex, not with with my fashion style more conservative than a young girl in a Catholic school's, big glasses, my most daring hairstyle being my typical ponytail, and the fact that I was such a nerdy bookworm that I was the very essence of "not sexy."

Not like I didn't try. Part of me sometimes wanted to wear skimpier clothing and makeup; to feel sexy and feel the attention of boys, but I never really found the courage for it. I was stuck in that bookworm girl since high school. But hey, it made me friends with guys like Malcolm and his gang, who certainly weren't complete nerds like me either. They were more on the "cool geek" side, where you wouldn't be able to tell they were geeky at first glance. They all had some semblance of style unlike me, and were generally attractive enough that easily swayed me was having a different crush on a different one every week, including Malcolm.

"So you're in?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'm joining!"

The guys had spent enough time with me to know I was every bit a sword and sorcery fan as they were, so they invited me to their once-in-every-three months LARP session. Malcolm's family owned a large area of farmland with a forest adjacent to it. He and the gang had built a few simple wooden structures there, and the two opposing sides, consisting of about 15 each, would raise tents together, effectively creating encampments. The immersion was going to be incredible.

Malcolm and I left the classroom and met with Ryan and Mark, who were delighted to hear I was coming. As we were entered Ryan's dorm room to hang out there, Mark turned to me.

"Oh, one thing, Kylie," he said. "Just so you know what to expect, we're all guys over there. You're definitely the first time a girl's ever joined."

I shrugged. I was used to being the only female among men. Being the only one among 30 was definitely unusual, but I could handle it just fine.

"So what character do you want to role play?" Ryan asked.

That was the beauty of LARP, you could become someone you weren't--a mage, a mercenary, a sorcerer. I decided I'd be an Elven warrior, and the story would be that I had joined the Red Mercenaries--one of the two opposing groups of fifteen, to fight the Blue Mercenaries. Obviously we'd fight with foam weapons. Suddenly, that got me thinking.

"Shit, I don't have any costume though," I remarked. Malcolm had shown me pics of their costumes and armors, and they were super elaborate. After all, total immersion was expected. No phones, no modern objects, only historical/fantasy costumes and props were allowed. "Should I buy one?"

"Don't worry," Malcolm said, "I have at least five spare costumes and armor at the ranch. We'll find you something."

I knew the costumes armors were all super masculine though, and that wasn't quite what I had in mind for my character. I was thinking of a beautiful, feminine Elf like Arwen more than a tomboy Viking--the femininity was something I really wanted to lean into, but hey, it was my first LARP. I could always get a better costume for the second one. What was certain, was that there would be a second one for sure. I knew I was going to have fun.

I had no idea just how much fun it was going to be.

We drove to Malcolm's ranch in the weekend. As described to me by the others, it was an enormous piece of land, more than adequate to be the setting for a medieval fantasy adventure. In the distance, I could already see the blue encampment, ours, and the red encampment, that of our "enemies."

"So the story-line is simple," Collin said as I walked with Malcolm and Ryan past the ranch house, and towards the wooden cabin where Malcolm kept all his props and armor for the LARP events. "We're the Blue Mercenaries and we fight against the Red Mercenaries. The reason for the fight is because we're both fighting for larger kingdoms, we're paid by them, basically. But since we're not bound by loyalty to them, any number of options can happen."

"So we might have a diplomatic solution with the Reds?" I asked.

"Sure," Ryan answered. "It all depends on the role-play. We may ally, have a truce, etc. The story-line has been going for years, and it evolves based on the sum of our choices as players. It evolves organically."

"And the role-play?"

"Simple enough. Once you have your costume, you'll be in character, and the role-play begins. We address each other as our characters and act like them, but if you really need to say something in real life, you just use the code-word: out of game, and we'll know the role-play is dropped momentarily."

That part got me the most excited: being in role-play for a whole weekend without dropping character, talk about immersion and method acting. I couldn't wait to get out of this modern world and enter a medieval one. I also couldn't wait to get out of my clothes. Of course, I was expecting a cool armor to replace them, but I'd soon be proven wrong.

We entered the wooden cabin, and Malcolm looked for a few minutes, but then he came back with a concerned look on his face.

"We got a bit of a problem," he said. "I always have spare armor in case newbies join for the first time, but I've been told there were more than usual this time around. We're out of spare armor."

"Shucks," I said. I had really wanted to role-play as a badass warrior. "Ok then, do you just have some medieval clothes?"

Malcolm shook his head, not knowing what to do. "Nothing," he said. "Literally the only piece of costume left, if we can call it that, is this." He pointed to some iron restraints on the ground: ankle cuffs held together by a chain, wrist cuffs also held together by a chain, and a collar.

"Ah, fuck" Ryan said. "This is a problem, eh?"

I stepped in, trying to find a solution. "Don't you have anything at all? Just a tunic, it can be the simplest one ever. Heck, I don't really have any obsession over playing a warrior. I'll be a maid, or a servant, I can just wear a really simple tunic."

Malcolm explained to me that they were literally out of all the tunics and costumes they had in the place. It was starting to dawn on me that the weekend might be ruined for me, and that I'd have to come back three months later. I had looked forward to the whole immersion thing--the chance to lose myself in a different world, but without a costume, this was starting to look impossible.

"Guess there's only one option left," Malcolm said. "You'll just enter the game zone with your modern clothing Kylie. I'll issue a statement that we made an exception because of a mistake."

My heart sank in my chest. "What? But that's going to ruin it!"

Ryan put a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Kylie, honestly, it's not that important."

"Not important?! The whole point of this thing is to create the most immersive atmosphere. I'm gonna look out of place and ruin it all with my 2020's look!"

"What else are we gonna do?" Collin asked. "We invited you to join, you drove all the way here. Least we can do is accommodate you."

This wasn't accommodation, it was betraying the entire nature of what the LARP was. I couldn't destroy the fantasy setting by entering with my modern clothes on.

"Then guys, you know what?" I said. "I think I'll leave and drive back home. I'll get myself a costume and come back for the next session in three months."

"Kylie..." they said, despondent.

"No, for real, I'd feel much better this way than by ruining the entire vibe. Honestly, I was already feeling iffy about being the only girl. You had this whole guys' thing going on, and I was going to barge in as a girl. I want to do it even less now that I'm gonna have to keep my modern look."

The guys looked super disappointed, but they couldn't do anything but shrug. Malcolm apologized for the inconvenience, and I assured them it wasn't a big deal. I left the wooden cabin and began walking back to my car.

Truth is, it was a bigger deal than I admitted to their faces. I had hyped myself up for weeks--looking forward to the event like crazy. Role-playing in a medieval fantasy setting was a dream about to come true. Now it was postponed by three months.

I told myself three months was not that much, but I couldn't believe it. Fuck man... I was THERE, at the location, the experience I had waited for and hyped myself up over was right in front of me, but I couldn't have it.

And that's when I stopped. An idea crossed my mind. The craziest damn idea I had ever had. An idea so crazy, I couldn't believe I was seriously considering it, and yet, I was.

I didn't want to give up on this weekend. I really, REALLY wanted to experience that LARP. With my heart racing, I turned back and walked to the wooden cabin, entering energetically as the aloof, despondent guys were discussing how it sucked that I had to go.

"Kylie?"

"I have a solution," I declared, pointing to the cuffs and chains Malcolm had shown.

"I'll wear those."

"It won't make your clothes look any more medieval, Kylie."

I took a deep breath. Telling them my idea was going to take a lot of courage. "You're not getting it, are you?"

****

The Blues were gathered at their encampment. A large wooden table was in the center of the camp, and the fifteen men were discussing their plans for the weekend--debating whether they would try to fortify their defensive strategy, take the offensive to the Reds, or come to a diplomatic solution. All of this however, was being done "off-game." The Blues weren't talking as the in-universe Blues, but as the real-life people. The game officially started in 10 minutes, at which point they would have to switch into character.

"So I heard that friend of yours is coming," one of the guys said, addressing Malcolm's gang. Of the fifteen Blues, seven were of the group of friends of Malcolm that I was also a part of. "The girl," he added.

Milo, one of my friends, confirmed to everyone that I was indeed coming.

"That's cool, we've never had a girl in the game," one of them said, and the entire assembly nodded in approval.

"What is she going to play as?" another asked. "It would be cool if we could have a seductress. She could role-play as a kind of geisha, and use seduction methods to thwart the Reds."

"Come on guys," Milo said. "It's not cool to jump to the conclusion that she should use seduction just because she's a girl. As a matter of fact, she'll be playing a warrior."

"Is she gonna be wearing super skimpy armor?" another one of the guys asked, causing a few chuckles across the table. "I don't wanna sound sexist but like, female warriors in fantasy are always half-naked."

It was now Henry's turn to come to my defense--he was also one of my good friends that I hung out with as the only girl in the gang. He said: "Ok, let's make something clear, guys. Kylie's more of a nerd and a geek than any of us here. She's a bookworm library dweller type of girl--showing her ankles is too sexual and daring for her. That's how she is and you're all gonna have to respect that. Not only is she going to be a warrior, and fight among us as an equal, she's gonna be wearing one of the typical armors Malcolm has."

"I don't know man," one of the guys said, obviously disappointed. "We have a girl in the game for once, and she's gonna be a warrior like the men, act like the men and dress like the men. Wouldn't it have been cooler if the fact she's a girl was emphasized more?"

Milo shrugged. "She decides her character, not us. As far as we're concerned, we'll treat her like she's just one of the men. No making her feel separate or unique as the only female, O.K?"

The assembly would have nodded, if it wasn't for the sudden whispering going across the table. A few were looking over in the distance, in the direction where the wooden cabin was. Everybody looked over in that direction, and began whispering more.

Everyone's jaws dropped. Especially that of the guys in my gang, like Milo and Henry. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Malcolm was approaching along with Ryan and Collin, but there was someone else with them. Someone half of the assembly had never seen. That someone was a girl.

And that girl had metal cuffs on her ankles, held together by a chain, more cuffs on her wrists which were chained together behind her back, with a collar around her neck...

And nothing else. She was wearing nothing else. Only these metal restraints and chains. Otherwise, she was totally naked, bare as the day she was born, her bare feet walking on the grass, her breasts completely exposed, every inch of her body completely vulnerable and totally offered to the fifteen male gazes around the table.

They reached the table. The girl was flushed, breathing hard, and was looking down with an obvious air of extreme shyness, even shame, on her face.

"Please welcome Kylie to the game," Malcolm said.

***

"Ok..." Malcolm said. This was after I had returned in the wooden cabin and given them my solution to our conundrum. "You claim that you're actually willing to... to be completely naked for an entire weekend, around 30 guys, 7 of whom are your every day friends, wearing only these restraints. I'll buy that for a second. But what is the in-universe explanation for you being kept naked while we're clothed and armored?"

I told them we still had 40 minutes before the game started, so we had time to sit down and brainstorm. So that's what we did. We sat down, and ideas began being thrown around.

"Maybe you're a kind of druid," Ryan said, "and you have to stay naked so you're more connected to nature. Nudity connects you to Mother Nature, and you draw your power from her."

I made sure to be polite and not tell him how lame I found the idea. I just shook my head and said: "I'm not into druid or magical characters."

Collin's idea was that I'd be nude because it was simply in my character's religion or culture to consider nudity normal. I just sighed at the idea.

"But that wouldn't explain the chains and collars," I said.

"Then don't wear them. Just be nude if you don't want to break immersion with your modern clothes."

"But if I'm just nude, it won't look or feel specifically medieval. Iron chains and a collar will." The guys didn't seem to understand that I didn't just want to be nude, I wanted to be nude... and chained and collared. I really wanted those.

I made it seem as is if I wanted those for the "medieval, ancient look" factor of the irons and the chains, but the truth was... Well, I wanted them for another reason altogether, but I couldn't just admit it to them.

I noticed Malcolm's thinking expression. When I asked him if he had an idea, he was very hesitant to say it. "It's a really stupid idea, I don't think you'll like it..."

"Well say it and I'll decide if I like it or not."

He seemed kind of hesitant. "Well I was just thinking... it's a medieval setting right? Values are different. And we're all male warriors, a male-only mercenary band. Maybe they just look down on your character because she's a woman. They don't take the idea of a female warrior seriously, so they admit her into the war-band on the condition that she has to be kept naked and chained."

I listened intently. "Like a status symbol?" I asked. "Of me being inferior?"

"Right. Something like that, but it's a really dumb idea, forget about it."

The other two agreed. "You came here to be a warrior, to be empowered," Ryan said. "Your nudity should empower you somehow. The druid idea at least does that."

"Yeah," Collin added. "Forget about the chains, Kylie, no one will care."

"I'm not letting go of the chains," I declared, almost snapping at them, as I snapped out of my thoughts. I had replayed Malcolm's idea in my head a few times, and my instincts were all flared up. "Let's go with Malcolm's," I said. "I want that one."

The guys gave me a dumbfounded look. "Huh? Why?"

"Because it's... it's..." I felt my cheeks go red with embarrassment. "I know it's gonna sound weird but... it's kind of hot."

"Hot?" they said, and I instantly covered my face with my hands out of embarrassment.

"Urgh..." I groaned. "Yeah. I don't know, there's just something kind of hot about a girl trying to join a male group, and they keep her chained up and naked. Keep her in her place, submissive and everything."

"Do you have submissive fantasies?" Collin asked.

"Always did. It's my biggest turn on. I always get aroused at the thought of men subjugating me." I noticed how they were looking at me like they were staring at an alien. "What?"

"Nothing," Malcolm said. "It's just that it's a bit of a surprise coming from you. We didn't think you were..."

"What? Capable of sexuality? I know I'm an asexual looking bookworm, but I have a sexual side too, you know? I'm more than just this side of me you always see, I'm more than... than this." I looked down at my good-girl, model student clothing, and groaned.

So I got up, took off my shoes, my socks, pulled down my pants, and on I went, until I was completely naked in front of my male friends. I had never felt so liberated, and taking all that clothing off was such a relieving feeling that I didn't even have time to feel embarrassed.

"Chain me up," I said.

***

"Please welcome Kylie to the gang."

They did. I returned their greeting, flushed and aroused beyond my mind. It was crazy to have fifteen male gazes ogling your completely naked body, seven of whom were your everyday friends. I even saw one or two of my classmates in the rest of the group.

"So, here's some heads up for the role-play," Malcolm said. "Kylie's character is called Ellewine, she's an elven warrior who wanted to join the Blues. We accepted her, but we're a medieval society, right? And all males at that. We figured the most immersive thing would be to be straight up sexist about it, hence..." He looked at me.

Hence keeping the only girl completely naked and chained up, I thought. No need to hide the obvious.

"So, remember," Ryan said. "In game, we're keeping her naked and chained as a status symbol to keep her inferior and humiliated. The roleplay is that she wants to be one of the men, but we're not letting her. Got it?"

Everyone nodded. Well, it was now time to officially start the game. Everyone went into their characters, and they began speaking about the battle plans not as players in a LARP event, but as genuine soldiers in a genuine medieval setting.

Malcolm gestured for me to sit down on one of the chairs, but I refused. It wouldn't have fit the roleplay we were going for, with me being kept inferior as the warband's only female. I didn't want to be one of the men, or even feel like that, I wanted to feel completely kept apart and segregated. Much of it was already working: being kept completely naked while all the men were fully clothed, it gave me such a strong sense of being kept apart and segregated within a power hierarchy where I was the lowest. But I needed more.