The Play's the Thing

By Katie-Marie Lynch

When all the world's a stage, a sleepy Welsh village sits square in the spotlight. When the thrill of mysteries unfound beckons their parents away, twins Kayleigh and Lucy are shipped off the spend their summer holidays with their aunt and uncle. Angry at being left behind, they head out in search of their own adventure, but what they find defies all reason. In the blink of an eye their world is turned upside down as unseen forces work to pull the inseparable sisters apart and engulf the people of Y Pentrefan in a never-ending torment of Shakespearean proportions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katie-Marie Lynch
• Release date: Aug 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005723958

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Meet the Author

Katie-Marie Lynch is an author, filmmaker, and self-proclaimed Shakespeare fan-girl, passionate about young people and accessibility within the arts. Born in Birmingham, UK, she completed her Masters in Creative Arts and Enterprise at Warwick University. In the Winter of 2021, Katie-Marie finally found the confidence to pick up her quill and pour out her heart in this enchanting debut novel, fully embracing her theatrical passions. When not at the theatre, she enjoys visiting historical places, diving head-first down research rabbit holes and tormenting her neighbours with overly enthusiastic bouts of musical frenzy at the drumkit.

© Declan Lee

The right of Katie-Marie Lynch to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published in Great Britain in 2022

By Cosmic Fox Publishing Ltd.

Copyright © Text Katie-Marie Lynch 2022

Copyright © Text Sherriden Beard 2022

Copyright © Cover illustration Sherriden Beard 2022

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

To the endless support and supply of caffeine,

I can no other answer make,

thanks and thanks again.

THE

PLAY’S

THE THING

Katie-Marie Lynch

CHAPTER ONE

FROM THE TOP

The more you say yes, the more adventure you’ll find. Trust me, girls. That was easy enough for Kayleigh and Lucy’s mum to say, hurrying around excitedly preparing, armed with a huge army-style backpack, and about to set off on yet another mission to somewhere exotic that the twins could only dream of.

The closest that Lucy had come to any adventure was the trip to see a performance of Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe with her college theatre group. She had always been curious about the superstition surrounding The Scottish Play, never really able to fully buy into it.

Macbeth, she thought to herself, half-hoping that something might happen. Macbeth, Macbeth!

We’ll be back before you know it, their mum chimed in from the other room. Kayleigh rolled her eyes. It was easier to pretend that she didn’t care, but deep down she felt nauseously jealous. She had always wanted to join her parents on one of their expeditions around the world, hunting creatures only thought to be of legend, but every year, this year included, their parents said they weren’t quite ready for it just yet.

It’s just too dangerous. You’ll appreciate it more when you’re older anyway, their stepdad, Tony, interjected as always in the most unconvincing way. Let’s just wait and see, hey? He had said this every year since his unwelcomed arrival, and every year he had had the same reaction.

It wasn’t so much that they hated him, but it was Tony that had taken their mum away from them on a spontaneous trip soon after their father had passed away. When they returned, their mother had a shiny diamond on her finger and suddenly everything changed. It was as though they weren’t allowed to mention their father’s name ever again. It had all happened a little quickly for the girls’ liking and had never sat well with them. Neither had any intention of calling him dad any time soon.

Their mum might have been over it, but they certainly weren’t. His name would always be Tony and never dad, no matter what their mum tried, and that was final.

This year, however, there was a slight change of plan. While Kayleigh and Lucy’s parents were to take on the search of an ape-like creature reported to be seen in the forests of Canada, the twins would be spending their summer in a quaint village in Wales. A village that could only be described as out in the sticks, and with a population smaller than that of their college.

Lucy scanned through an unpacked map left out on the kitchen table. I think I’d rather stay at home, to be honest. At least our friends are here. For a moment, it seemed that nobody was listening as everyone carried on about their business, until Kayleigh looked up with a crinkled nose.

Where’s the adventure in that? she jeered who, although she would never give her sister the pleasure of admitting it, felt just as uneasy and nauseous at the thought of spending a whole month with strangers in a strange village. How could she not be dreading the idea of spending the next six weeks with her aunt and uncle, when she could instead be chasing weird and wonderful creatures on the other side of the world.

Your sister’s right, I’m sure you will make the most of it. I’ve not been before but you’re both bright girls, you’ll find things to do, Tony rambled, lazily picking up the map and forcing it messily into his backpack unfolded, avoiding the judgemental glare from his wife. Cari can’t wait to see you either, I’m sure you’ll love them ... in time. Lucy tried to force a smile while her stepdad continued with his pitch.

Great, droned Kayleigh sarcastically to herself, rolling her eyes as she helped her mother forcibly squeeze a life jacket into her pack. "It’s funny how we don’t have anything to do with our aunt and uncle, but then suddenly when they need a babysitter, they’re on the scene."

Hurrying to the door in excited fervour, Kayleigh and Lucy’s mum called back over her shoulder as she reached for the handle, Your tickets are on the fridge, now make sure you aren’t late. They’ll be there to meet you at the station at about twelve-ish. The twins nodded in reluctant unison as their parents gathered up the last of their belongings and threw them in the back of the car, rather unceremoniously.

Tony stopped for a moment and turned to the girls with a pleading smile. If you get there early enough maybe you could find a nice pub for lunch or something? The prospect of food always made things feel better, they supposed, as they waved their parents off with unenthusiastic smiles.

For a while, the girls sat in the quietness of the kitchen island and enjoyed the silence. It’s not like they’d check, Lucy mumbled through a mouthful of burnt toast. We could just stay here. I can’t say why, but I just feel like we should, you know?

Her sister chuckled, "Ha! and what, make up some exciting story about our trip for when they get back? Ah yes, what a beautiful place it was, thank you so much for sending us there rather than letting us come with you! ... actually, to be fair that would be fun! Probably more fun than the real thing."

She took a moment to consider the possibility of staying, before shaking her head. "I bet Tony would check in on us, wouldn’t he? It is his sister, after all. We’d be so done for if they found out we hadn’t even set off," Kayleigh reasoned.

Lucy swung her legs under the table, irritated at the whole situation. With a heavy sigh, the girls grabbed their suitcases and snatched the tickets from underneath a fridge magnet with the word Australia encrusted in glitter.

***

The journey felt so long that the girls were sure it would have been quicker to walk there, suitcases in tow. With each station they reached, time seemed to stand still, almost going backwards as the further they got from London the more old-fashioned things seemed to get, as the people that looked like them, wearing jeans and hoodies, and watching films on their phones, were slowly replaced with folks you might see in an episode of Poirot, or perhaps from their grandparents’ old photo albums.

Climbing onto the final train, a quaint little steam engine with only three carriages, the twins ascended the aisle until they found a comfortable table seat and settled in for the remainder of their journey.

Kayleigh pulled out the bottle of water she had just purchased from the station services, as Lucy blinked her eyes open and rubbed the sleep away, exhausted from the morning’s rush. Opposite them sat an old man with a grey beard and a flat cap, reading a newspaper, though the girls knew that he was staring right at them as though they were a specimen in a museum.

The ticket inspector walked down the aisle to break up the awkward silence, punching holes in the tickets with a polite smile, but when he got to the girls, he stared at their tickets a little bit longer.

Is everything okay? asked Kayleigh. What has Tony done this time? I bet he’s bought us the wrong tickets, she pondered aloud. Eventually, the young inspector grinned, punching their tickets.

Oh yes, everything’s quite alright. Enjoy your trip, ladies.

***

Emerging from a cloud of smoke, Kayleigh and Lucy appeared on the platform, exhausted, with rumbling stomachs and their heavy suitcases at 12.01 pm.

Here goes nothing, muttered Lucy unenthusiastically, dragging her feet along the concrete before quickly altering her expression to face her cheerily smiling aunt and uncle. Kayleigh, who was normally the happy-go-lucky one of the duo, let out a sigh of regret. They were the only ones to get off that platform and it was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breath.

Their aunt and uncle were easy to spot since they dressed as though they had stepped out of a Charlie Chaplin film. Jac even had the signature Chaplin fluff above his top lip, while Aunt Cari donned a pretty pair of cat-eye glasses and a huge carpetbag that looked as though it had been stolen from Mary Poppins herself.

Once the cloak of smoke had cleared, it became apparent to the girls that the station looked like something from a bygone era. The quaint and picturesque station house, nestled in amongst the trees and cobbled paths, with painted wooden seats and hanging flower baskets, was a million miles from the hustle and bustle of the grey city life they were used to, where birdsong and colour were a forgotten memory.

It even smelt different to the busy city station that they had first departed from, and reminded the girls of the oaky smell of burnt wood when they had chopped down the trees outside their house. There was simply one track, a small café, and a single member of staff for as far as the eye could see.

The young gentleman, also competing for the title of best moustache, beamed at them as he looked up from his papers. Kayleigh and Lucy wondered how long it had been since he had last seen customers here.

Welcome to Y Pentrefan, my poppets! Aunt Cari was already running towards them before the girls had time to think of an appropriate introduction. It’s so good to see you both! I’ve heard so much about you! she called lightly, before embracing them both in as big a bear hug as such a small woman could manage. The girls wondered if they would ever be able to pronounce the name of where they had arrived, or even spell it.

They had only heard about the existence of Aunt Cari and Uncle Jac about a week prior and didn’t know much about them at all. Having been bought up to understand the importance of occasional harmless lies, however, the girls chimed politely We’ve heard so much about you two, too. Thank you so much for having us! together in poetic unison.

Cari and Jac brimmed with so much warmth and familiarity, and the girls began to hope that maybe the six weeks wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe they wouldn’t be like Tony.

As Jac took off his dusty, old bowler hat and ruffled his wispy brown hair, they looked around at the picture-perfect setting, a stark contrast to what they had known in London, and finally began to acknowledge that, while this place certainly wouldn’t be as exciting as the discovery of a mythical creature, it would be more exciting than being stuck at home.

"How’d ya fancy some Sglodion*¹ ladies?" Jac asked with the gruffest Welsh, working-class accent the girls had ever encountered before, compared to Cari’s soft, dulcet tones. It took them by surprise a little, though the girls tried hard to keep a straight face.

Lucy found that she liked being called a ‘lady,’ but all Kayleigh could focus on was the hope that they weren’t expected to speak fluent Welsh. It’s not something they had even considered before their departure, but if she had known she would have swotted up.

"He means chips, the Twmffat!*² Don’t worry, you’ll get used to him, although I’m still working on that one myself some days." The girls laughed politely.

Chips were exactly what they both needed. Chips were familiar, and familiarity was comforting after landing in the middle of nowhere.

There’s a great little pub on the other side of the lake over there. Lovely grub if you’re hungry? said Jac, pointing with a rather meaty finger from the little boat at their side of the lake over to a spot in the distance across the water. Hearing their stomachs rumbling, the girls eagerly hauled their suitcases over a dusty, unkempt lane towards the boat.

They had never been somewhere so quiet. The lack of electrical buzz was evident straight away as though their ears had been cleared of something waxy for the first time. Neither Lucy nor Kayleigh could remember ever seeing a lake so clear and deep before.

The smooth reflection from the water however did remind Lucy of their tenth birthday at the ice rink. It had been her turn to choose where they were going to celebrate that year, but when it came to stepping out in her brand-new ice skates, she suddenly felt sick at the thought of leaving the platform, terrified of what might happen if she dared to let go of the safety rail.

She remembered pushing past the fear and launching herself into the middle of the rink where, slowly, she found her footing and began to enjoy herself. While her sister did initially tease her for choosing to do something that scared her, later that night in their bedroom, she admitted that it was a pretty brave thing to do. Lucy now knew what she had to do, she had to push past her fear. She was here now and would have to make the best of it.

Kayleigh was also looking at the water and letting her mind wander, but she was thinking about her parents and all the seas of the Earth that they could have crossed together, if only their parents had believed they weren’t just children anymore. She could forgive Tony, perhaps, if he had let them join. He just wanted to keep their mum to himself. Who knows what great creatures she may have discovered, and what stories she would have to tell her college friends?

Still, though, she wanted to make the most of it, just as her mum had always encouraged her to. She wanted adventure. Lucy did too. But the most challenging part of their Welsh adventure so far was listening to Uncle Jac switch between Welsh and English, and their Aunt Cari enthusiastically gossip about the lives of her neighbours, as if they had already met them.

The twins had learnt to smile and nod at times when they didn’t have the foggiest idea about whom or what either of them was talking about. It had only been an hour or so, maybe the excitement would wear off and then they may just be able to get a word in themselves. Nobody could talk this much forever, surely?

Richard, bless our Richard. Despite the lack of flow in conversation, it was hard to not be charmed by Aunt Cari’s excitement about the people in her life. His back’s been giving him some awful jip lately. Can barely stand up, poor sod, Aunt Cari said sympathetically.

Man looks like he’s bent in half! Jac wasn’t typically the person to start the gossip, but he did not mind giving his opinion about people in ways that he, and he alone, seemed to find hugely amusing. He would latch onto his wife’s every word like a snake to a charmer. Kayleigh and Lucy would never dream of talking about people in the way that their aunt and uncle did, especially while knowing that that person was standing within earshot.

On the other side of the lake, the scenery opened up to reveal Y Pentrefan in all its glory.

Is this it? The twins mouthed silently to each other as they looked out at the small, quaint but distinctively different village. Surrounding the village were green, rolling hills strewn with tall trees, while small chocolate box cottages lay scattered around in no discernible order.

At the centre of the village, like a beating heart, a small country pub sat proudly, looking out onto the lake, a sign hanging above the door of the pub which read ‘The Board and Deck’ in flaky gold paint. While the place looked very peaceful, if not slightly isolated, it seemed like the last place the girls might find any adventure.

Kayleigh and Lucy couldn’t have been more wrong. For while on the surface of this small village lay a stark and unextraordinary hue, within its depths they would have just as much an adventure as their parents were currently having on the other side of the planet, albeit of a different kind.

Sglodion (/’sglɔdjɔn/): Chips, French Fries

Twmffat(/’tƱmfat/): An idiot

CHAPTER TWO

Y PENTREFAN

The Board and Deck was a country pub at the heart of its community that bustled with eccentricity and was about the same size as their living room at home, except with an open fire and exposed beams taking up much of the space. How they wished their room could look like this, now that would be the talk of the college.

It was a world apart from the pubs that the girls knew of in London, but there was a character about the four walls that the girls appreciated more so than fancy lights and modern furniture. Inside, that same uniqueness and eccentricity followed, with more character than they could shake a stick at, as the occupants dressed in the same manner that Kayleigh and Lucy were beginning to become accustomed to. These were not people who cared about what others thought.

The pub was so busy that the girls could barely see the walls around them, with each chair filled with people all about as chatty as their aunt and uncle, which seemed to be a theme of this quaint but quirky town. News here spread like wildfire, with the occasion to be just as destructive.

Let’s sit here and warm ourselves up. Ah, lovely! Cari offered in her soothing voice, wrapping her coat around a nearby barrel and pulling out a seat from another table to make more room in a cramped corner of the pub.

Scooch yourselves over ‘ere, Jac beckoned, gesturing for the pair to pull a seat near the fireplace. It was so cramped that the girls couldn’t fit their legs under the table and had to swing them over away from them, just inches away