Scooby Doo! Meet Ellie Machine

The Grasp of the Gnome (Part 1)

Tonight was the night of the Royal Knight's Faire, and I was at Daphne's house with Velma getting ready. She had ordered a long, royal purple princess dress with a matching tall hat. I, on the other hand, despite the historical inaccuracies, had chosen to dress like a pirate with Shaggy and Scooby. "Why are you a pirate again?" Velma asked me, bored and reading a book on Daphne's extravagant bed.

"Because, while princesses were beautiful, they never really stood for anything except for being figureheads. Sure, there were a few exceptions like Queen Elizabeth, but we mostly hear about what the kings did. Pirates, on the other hand, were fearless and withstood harsh conditions in the name of freedom and being able to do what they wanted. Heck, there were even female pirates.

"In fact, there were even a couple of pirates who were both women dressed as men, and they fell in love with each other but didn't say anything because they thought the other was actually a man and didn't want to blow their cover. But they accidentally saw each other naked and discovered they bother were women. Then they ruled the seven seas, more fearsome than ever. There are statues of them all over the world," I told her, smiling.

"Wow. That's actually really cool," Velma stated. "But it's medieval faire, and I think being a princess or a maiden or something is more appropriate."

"And that's your opinion," I said, smiling stiffly. She returned the smile, and we both turned to look as Daphne emerged in her dress. I gasped and gave her a thumbs-up. "Daph, you look beautiful!" I exclaimed. "Thank you! Oh, I just hope Fred likes it. Or even notices it," she said, sitting on her bed next to Velma. "Now, put on your pirate costume!" she urged. I laughed and went into her closet to change.

I had chosen to wear a tan shirt with puffy sleeves that went with a black corset over top of it, and skintight pants and knee-high boots, with a green sash and matching headband. Adding to it my necklace and some gold hoop earrings with a couple of rings, I was all set.

I walked out and did a bit of a strut. "Wow! You look really good, Ellie!" Daphne exclaimed. I smiled. "Thanks! I wasn't too sure about the corset, but I think it works better than without," I said. "Oh, for sure!" she agreed. "Very nice, Ellie. Even for a pirate," Velma conceded. "Thank you," I said with a nod. Even though we had buried the hatchet with each other a few days ago, we were still trying to get used to each other now that we were back to being friends.

There was a honk outside, and we all rushed out to meet the guys. "Like, arrrgh, fellow pirate wench! What say ye to like, a root beer when we get to ye old faire?" Shaggy greeted me. I laughed and went along with it. "I say ye add some ice cream to it, and we have a bargain for true treasure!"

"Yo ho ho!" Scooby joined in and we all laughed. "Oh brother," Velma groaned as she climbed into the front seat with Daphne and Fred, who dawned a full suit of armor.

We all chit-chatted as we drove there, with Shaggy, Scooby and I making more pirate jokes. "Hey Ellie, how far off are the pirates' era from the medieval era?" Shaggy asked.

"Oh, not too far off. The medieval era lasted for centuries, up until about 1500 A.D. But the pirates' era peaked from about the 1650s to the early 1700s. So, technically speaking, it's not too far off, but it's enough for people to get mad at pirates at a medieval faire," I explained.

"How do you know all of this stuff?" Fred asked from up front. "I'm interested in pirates, what with the way they lived, how they pillaged, the stuff they took. All of it is just really interesting to me," I said with a bashful shrug. "Like, that's really cool," Shaggy remarked with a smile, and I blushed. "We're here!" Velma announced loudly, and as soon as we parked, we climbed out and entered the faire.

"Peg-leg Shaggy says, 'arrg, shiver me timbers,' and, like, break out the barbecue turkey legs and the mutton kebabs," he announced.

"Aye-aye, Peg-leg Shaggy, sir," Scooby said with a salute. "Why ye scallywag! Ye promised this pirate a root beer with ice cream! Prepare to walk off the plank for mutiny!" I exclaimed, and Scooby laughed so hard he fell to the ground.