The Games Player – St Patrick’s Day
There must be some Irish blood in me somewhere,
because I love St Patrick’s day – although will not go as far as drinking green
Guinness. But what I have really enjoyed
after the last few years, since Steve and I go together, is paying a visit and
playing a game – and this year, the O’Brien family were the lucky choice.
Tom O’Brien is a local builder, a very successful one,
married to Orlagh and with two children, twelve year old Shelagh and nine year
old Corrin. So it was about six in the
evening on a Friday, and I knew that Tom O’Brien was in a town some distance
away and would not be back until late.- a perfect time to visit.
I even dressed up for the occasion – while I normally
wear black or brown, today I was wearing a green cowl necked sweater, and
leggings with over the knee green suede boots.
I even had a green stocking pulled down over my head as I let myself in
through the front door of their detached house.
There was certainly plenty of noise, and the sound of
a television playing, so I sneaked a look in the front room. Corrin was sitting on the couch, watching the
television. He had short dark hair, and
was wearing a grey polo shirt, jeans and sneakers.
He was on his own, so I presumed his sister was
somewhere else – and there would be time to find her later, as I made my way to
the kitchen. Orlagh O’Brien was sitting at the kitchen
table, a green and grey scarf wrapped loosely round her neck with a grey
cardigan over a green top and her long brown hair over her shoulders. The legs of her dark blue jeans were tucked
into a pair of knee length black leather boots – and her eyes were wide open as
she saw me standing there, a gloved finger against my covered lips.
“Hello, Orlagh,” I said as I came in and closed the
door. “Please, no screams or shouts for
help – we don’t want your children to be scared, do we?”
“You’re her - the Games Player?”
“I am – I hope you also appreciate the fact oi have
dressed for the day,” I said as I slipped off my rucksack.
“Oi – tell me you are not going to try an Irish
accent?”
“That depends,” I said with a smile, “do you think
your children will play along more readily if I do so?”
Orlagh looked at me, and then shook he head. “I don’t get why you think this is a joke.”
“I don’t Orlagh – I take this very seriously,
including how your children will feel, hence the question.”
“yeah – I can see you are serious,” Orlagh said
quietly. “No, not the comedy accent –
but the occasional slip might help. So,
what are you going to do?”
“First, tell me where Shelagh is.”
“Finishing her homework – she has a dance class
tomorrow morning.”
“Fair enough – so we’re going to tell Corrin first, get him to play my game of The Irish
Robber, and then we go and fetch your daughter.”
“So are you going to tie me up first?”
I looked at Orlagh, and then said “what is your
daughter wearing?”
“Shelagh? Green
jumper, jodhpurs, brown boots – why?”
“I have a different idea…”
Corrin looked round as Orlagh walked into the front
room – and then he saw me, his eyes wide open as she said “What’s happening?”
“Well,” Orlagh said as she looked back at me, “we’ve decided
that you and Shelagh are going to play a game with me until your dad gets
home. The game is called the Irish
Robber – and this lady here is the Irish Robber.”
Corrin looked at me as I said “hello Corrin – I’m here
to make sure your family have a very special if different St Patrick’s Day.”
“How will it be different?”
“Because” I said as I came alongside Orlagh, “I am a robbing
pixie – hance the green. And I need to
make sure you as a family cannot stop me taking all your nice things.”
Corrin stared atm me, as Orlagh said “I know it sounds
a bit scary…”
“It does – but it sounds exciting as well,” Corrin
said, “so how are you going to stop us raising the alarm.”
“Well, as the man of the house, I think I should start
by making sure you can’t stop me – and I assure you, if you do as I say, so
will your sister and your mother. Okay?”
Corrin nodded as I opened my rucksack, and took out
some rope. “So, I need to start by
making sure you stay quiet – so your mother is going to use her scarf to keep
you quiet. Mummy, take your scarf off
while Corrin opens his mouth, and pull it between his lips – twice.”
“Don’t worry Mum,” Corrin said as his mother slowly
unwound her scarf and he opened her mouth as she pulled it back between his
lips, then wrapped it round his head and between his lips again before she tied
the ends tightly together at the base of his neck.
“Hos does that feel,” she said as she stood in front
of Corrin and put her hands on his shoulders.
“Hllchhp,” Corrin said as he closed his lips over the
gag.
“Good – sit down on the chair, Orlagh, and keep your
hands where I can see them. Corrin, turn
around please, and put your hands behind your back.”
Orlagh sat down, her hands on her lap, as she watched
me put her son’s hands together behind his back, palm to pam, and then wrapped
a doubled over length of cord round his wrists to hold them securely
together. “Fhjhllssntghht” he mumbled as
he turned to look at his mother, while I doubled over a longer length of rope
and passed it round him at his stomach.
“Well, I don’t think you’re going to get your arms
free,” Orlagh said with a little laugh as I made sur her son’s arms were secured
to his sides, two bands round his stomach and his upper arms.
“Now I want you to lie face down on the couch,” I said
quietly as Corrin walked over and laid himself down, turning his head and
looking at his mother as I crossed and tied his ankles together, and then secured
his legs together below his knees.
“Now then, young man,” I said as I pulled the rope
between his legs and tied the ends off, “do I have to make sure you cannot get
off this couch while I take your mother to talk to your sister, or do you
promise not to try and get off.”
“Hphrmhhsss,” Corrin said as we both noticed the
darkening material at the corners of his mouth.
“Good – we’ll be back soon, and then we’ll be like
you,” Orlagh said as she stood up, and Corrin settled to watch the television,
his head on the arm of the couch.
“So far so good,” she whispered as we left the room,
“I just hope Shelagh is as cooperative.”
“Well, we can arrange that,” I said quietly, “but
first, put your own hands behind your back…”
“Shelagh? Have
you finished your work yet?”
We both stood outside the door as I hear da young
female voice say “yes – why?”
“Can I come in?
I have a surprise for you?”
“okay,” the voice replied, so I opened the door and Orlagh
went in first. Shelagh was lying on her
bed, and I saw the grey jodhpurs she was wearing were tucked into a pair of
high brown leather boots with straps round the top, her own long brown hair
over her shoulders. She stared at her
mother, and then at me as she said “what’s going on?”
“this is a Robber Pixie,” Orlagh said, “she already
has Corrin secured and quiet downstairs, and you can see what she had done to
me.” Before we had gone in, I had secured
Orlagh’s wrists together behind her back, and wrapped a longer rope round her
upper arms, securing them to her sides as the two bands framed her chest. Her cardigan was open now as well, the sides
pulled open to show her green top.
“Is she a real robber?”
“Oh no – this is all a game, and we will play until
your dad comes home, then we can tell him all about it. So I need you to play as well, all right?”
Shelagh slowly nodded as I put the bag down and took
more rope out. “thank you – now, I need
you to stand up and put your hands behind your back, so that you can be just
like your mother.”
“We’ll be just the same, I promise,” Orlagh said as
Shelagh slowly stood up and turned round, biting her lower lips as I bound her wrists
tightly together behind her back. I also
bound her arms to her sides, taking the rope round above and below her chest so
that they were held firmly against his side.
“Did you do this to Corrin as well?”
“I did – and he likes it,” I said as I tied the ropes
off, “do you?”
“It’s – different.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said with a smile. “Now, we’re going to take a walk down to
join your brother soon enough, but I think I need to make sure that both of you
are going to stay quiet and stay in this room while I look round. SO sit on your bed, little one, and your
mother is going to sit on the bed behind you.”
“Okay,” Shelagh said as she sat down, and Orlagh sat
behind her, holding her daughter’s hand in hers. As she did this, I took another rope and tied
it round their waists to hold them together, before I used shorter ropes to
secure their chest ropes together.
I then rolled up two white silk scarves, using one to
cleave gag each of them before I said “now don’t move – and don’t try to escape
because if you do, I have to tie you even more tightly afterwards.”
“Whllbhhhff,” Orlagh said, Shelagh nodding as
well. To be fair, even if they could
stand up, the way they were secured together Orlagh would have her daughter hanging
from her back – not the comfortable, so I was sure they would stay there.
I left them in Shelagh’s room while I searched the
rest of the house, finding many nice things to take with me when I left. Putting them into my rucksack, I came back to
the room and untied them from each other.
I could see their gags growing grey at the corners of their mouths, as I
said “Right – let’s go and make sure your brother is still where we left him.”
Corrin was indeed where we left him, looking over as
his mother and sister came into the room with me.
“Hthrrhrhr – rhdeehtthphl?”
“Yhssss,” Shelagh said as I helped her and her mother
to sit on the floor, and then used more ropes to secure their ankles together,
as well as their legs below their knees.
Corrin giggled as he heard the squeak of their boots rubbing against
each other, the mother and daughter looking at each other.
“Now then, “I said with a smile, “the robber pixie has
to leave – but I will be in the kitchen.
I just need to done thing to make it more difficult for you to move.”
I then helped Orlagh and Shelagh to lie face down,
their heads resting on cushions as I pulled their ankles back and secured them
to the ropes round their chest. Corrin
was laughing at this – until I hogtied him as well as he lay on the couch.
“Now – have fun,” I said as I left them trying to move
in their bindings, and slipped into the kitchen – then out of the back door…
Return to the Games Players index