Slipstream
The tube shudders and shrieks as it pulls into Camden. Ondine watches the flickering panels of colour reverse-fade into the familiar ads and posters lining the platform.
She checks her texts, seeing if Jamie might have replied as the reception kicks in again. A new one beeps in.
Gotta work tonight, promise it’s the last weekend. Xxx
She glances up to the person across the carriage. Not a person, not really, although his disguise gives some clues to his fantastic heritage.
The redcap across smiles and taps his hat. He snickers and leaps to his feet as the tube draws to a stop. The passengers stand and mill at the doors and the redcap shimmies closer to Ondine, although she ignores him as best she can, staring at the doors, willing them to open.
The train purrs and the lights flash a moment before the buzzing peal shakes the silence.
‘Safe journey with the Hunt, Pristine One,’ whispers the redcap, and he skips out to the stairs.
I wanted to write a story that combined concepts of the folklore tale The Wild Hunt, in which faerie lords pursue a quary on a magical hunt. I wanted to consider how the hunter is sometimes also hunted. I decied to set the story in a modern(ish) setting, focused on a hedonistic group of magical beings that teleport through time - using this magical power to transport themselves to epic moments in dance and club culture. I liked hitting up nightclubs a lot from the late 90s through mid 2000s, particularly places like Fabric and The End in London.
Most of my writing has an associated song. For this story, the song is I wanna dance with somebody. In particular, the cover by the artist Bootstraps. It's a wonderful song, originally written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam for the artist Whitney Houston. A classic 80s pop hit, it sounds so upbeat and catchy - but the lyrics are actually very sad - someone living it up and showing they're doing amazing - but in reality they just want to dance with somebody who loves them. I've always loved fast songs played slow, and the Bootstraps version fits so well.
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