RP-Castle Party: Part One

[fridamoonbeam]

((Okies, all. In this thread there is no word minimum, but I do ask that you perfom some action, or line of dialoge so that other rpers have something to work with. It'll be more fun for all that way.

Anyway, have fun everyone!))

The highly anticipated evening had finally come. it was said to be the biggest event the kingdom ever held. The invites were sent to many lands, stretching to the far corners of the earth (and beyond in some cases unknown to them). The royal wedding (or 'weddings', due to the sea witch) were not as monumental. News of the party spread throughout the land over the past year. The residents of Italy talked in wonder about the event, and what they'd do if offered the chance to attend. No one in their right mind would turn down the opportunity to be a guest. Well, not all in the land...

Eric sighed gazing out the windows over-looking the entrance. He observed the various guests stepping out of their carriages. He didn't know most of them. These posh crowds brought little to be desired. The parties had gotten better then they used to. Galas among the nobles were more often then not, also used as an opportunity to partake in much needed delegating, and diplomacy matters. A king's duty. Parties were fun and it wasn't as if Eric didn't enjoy them when he wasn't the center of attention. At times when he and his princess attended parties and events together, they would sneak off during some course of the evening. It was simply escape the stuffiness and just enjoy the other's company.


He was becoming more comfortable with his calling in life. He was in debt to Ariel for that. She actually made these galas more enjoyable. The former mermaid seemed to find the brightness in any situation, or the life in what was all desolate of it.

With another sigh he turned to his standing mirror to give himself a brief glance over. He was dressed in a well tailored military style uniform, buttons aligned his torso, dark with crimson stitching at the edges. He looked over in Ariel's direction with a smile slowly spreading across his face, dimples coming to the surface. "You look beautiful." he said appreciatively, taking in how lovely she was. He strode over giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Are you ready to greet the guests?"

***************************************

Hidden under a veil of secrecy was the gypsy Esmeralda. She let the hood fall to her shoulders as she gazed on the castle. Notre Dame was the only other thing she could compare it to. Beautiful and majestic. But not even beauty could sustain a gypsy. Stone walls no matter how magnificent, were still stone walls. Though, the threat of being trapped within wasn't there. Liberating, really. She wished Clopin, Djlai and Quasimodo were here to see this with her. She felt guilty at that moment about her brother, her kid and the bell ringer. But they knew why she couldn't stay in Paris.

Frollo was insane. Nothing was safe in that man's path of destruction. Homes and families were being torn apart all in his mission to find her. After a meeting among a few of the elder court brothers and sisters and a plan was decided. They put out a rumor. Esmeralda was dead. muggers had taken advantage of her till she had no fight left.

The lie had to hold, just to stop the madness. Part of her felt like a coward for leaving. She wanted to stay behind and fight for her people. But her presence in the city was doing more harm then good. In this time she could still use it to find a way to stop the man for good.

The strange letter had found her, inviting her to a ball in Italy. Well, gypsies did love parties. The Court of Miracles was constantly throwing a celebration, no reason needed. This evening she'd enjoy herself. The gypsy was intrigued by all the different people there. She wasn't blind either. If she ran into the right person, spoke her cause, then she could stop Frollo. Nice fairy tale she just painted in her mind.

She entered the doors, a servant took her cloak, without asking, which surprised her at first.

"Allow me, Signora."

"Merci." she said dryly as she watched him carry the cloak off. She had to make sure she knew where to find it if she had to get out of there. Escaping wasn't something a gypsy ever could rule out.

Raising a brow in interest she looked over the hall. She wore a figure hugging red dress with a purple sash hanging just over her dancer's hips to show off her little waist. It was the very same she wore when she performed the 'Dance La Esmeralda'. She also wore her traditional gold hoop in her ear, with a tiara in her black waves. She smirked; smoldering green orbs eyed the place in interest. It wasn't as lively as the Festival of Fools. A lot of people seemed pretty uptight and come from wealth. They didn't usually take kind to her. However she was still fascinated enough to want to stay. After all, who was she to judge based on appearance?

***********

Well this was fancible!

It was about a week and a half's time, when they were making a stop in-between jobs to pick up the crew's mail. Last time, Jayne had gotten a hat from his mother, and Mal and Zoe got that pain in the pegu, Tracy from their solider days. Anyway, this time he got an invite to a party, in some place called 'It-taly'. The doctor went into some explanation that it wasn't possible since It-taly was a country back on earth hundreds of years ago, or something like that. River babbled something about time lines and dimensions. Half the time he just tuned both of them out. They made his head hurt.

When he got to the place a massive grin was plastered on the big man's face. The gorram place was huge! Had to be tons of treasure and things of the like inside. What he took away was his business. What the Captain and Zoe didn't know, didn't hurt them any. He could stake the place out for pretties. He'd have to be more creative with his weapons since he was guessing they'd search him before going in. Besides, this was a chance to eat something other than moldy protein. He wasn't none too picky about what he ate, but that stuff got old even for him.

He stepped inside, and had to hold in a whistle. Place was even more fancy on the inside. Tons of places to sneak out of too when he got the goods. He'd have to be on the look out for guards in the mean time, keep an open eye on things. Speaking of eyes open; lot of fine looking women here too! More then one kind of pretties was okay by him. Looked like a bunch of snooty alliance types too, but again he didn’t mind since money was around

"Ahem, Signore , may I take your hat?"

Jayne promptly removed his yellow and orange yarn hat and shoved it carelessly to the much smaller servant, as he scoped the place over. "Better make sure it gets back ta' me."

"I'll guard it with my life, Sir." the servant remarked to the big man.

Yep, this place was all right so far....

[vidia]

It was difficult to explain how it had happened. Athena was not of this world anymore, having departed more than ten years ago after the incident with the music box. But even spirits were entitled to some happiness, and now, Athena was going to receive hers. She had become one with the sea foam the day she had passed away, as all mermaids did. Moving fluidly through the sea with the children of waves and even seeing some of the spirits of air as Athena went on in the after life had given her a some sense of being, at the very least, but there was not a day that did not pass by where she didn't think of her family. Still, Athena strove to keep on her existence, as small as it had been. She did hear of how her husband and daughters were at times, but they were only mere bubbles of news. The only one that had really been a surprise to her had been the news of her youngest, for her darling daughter had been rumored to have become a human.

Athena would have never imagined that it could have happened...Ariel...a human? It almost pained Athena, for it was proof of how she no longer had a true influence on those of the living. They were all living their own lives, and Athena could only watch on. Now Ariel was even farther away than ever, and sometimes Athena felt as if she would never hear her daughter's music again. Being a soul of the sea, she still felt attachment with the rest of her family, but her link to Ariel was fading.

But Athena continued on, until some news came to her that she didn't expect. For living ten years with only pure thoughts and good actions, she had earned something: a day to be amongst the living. Spirits sometimes had these things, although it was never for certain if, even if they did visit them, the living would remember the spirit's return the day after. Athena didn't care though, just to be alive, even for a moment, would mean everything to her. She had pondered over when she could have this one day for almost a year, until Athena came to her decision. She would go on land. It certainly would be a new experience, and she would finally be reunited with Ariel again...and perhaps even meet her daughter's husband.

It had been an impossible choice. Either way, Athena felt as if she would be sad--either sad that she couldn't see her husband and daughters of the sea again, or sad that she wouldn't see Ariel. Yet Athena was in the sea all the time, even if her family was unaware of it. She just had to see Ariel, her lost one. Shortly after Athena decided, a piece of parchment had appeared in her hand. An invitation to a ball being held at Ariel and her husband Eric's kingdom. It was the perfect chance, and Athena had been looking forward to it.

On the night of the ball, Athena had risen from the sea foam, one foot following another out of the waves. It was a strange thing to suddenly have legs, but being gone for so many years, the feeling wasn't as foreign as it would have felt if she had been a mermaid for those years. A light lavender gown with white lace edging that matched her shell necklace. Her gold crown still sat in her auburn hair, yet for the first time in years, Athena actually felt the weight of it. It was a comfortable, familiar feeling. The body was still more like a shell itself than an actual living vessel...she felt wind, but she could not feel the cold. But it was enough. Athena smiled fondly and looked towards the well-lit castle.

Soon, Athena entered the hallways, looking around curiously. It was almost as beautiful as the palace in Atlantica. A servant had moved towards Athena as she glanced around, but then he stepped back when he realized that the lady wasn't wearing a cloak of any kind [how strange!]. And even stranger...she looked almost exactly like Princess Ariel, only older.

There were so many humans! Athena felt out of place, but the graceful queen moved onwards, stepping lightly around all of them. Till finally, behind a fair-haired woman and her beau, Athena could see her daughter and her prince. A smile instantly formed on her face, and she closed her eyes, hand clutched closed to her heart. It had been so long...Ariel was all grown-up, yet she could recognize her easily. She had grown to be so beautiful, and her Eric was rather handsome as well. But most importantly, she could tell they were happy.

----------

Okay, so maybe Chel wasn't really invited. And maybe it was possible that she was considering swiping something from the palace if she believed she could get away with it. Still, Chel was here now, and there was no turning back now.

She and Tulio had been in a new town, and after a fun day of traveling around and exploring, they spotted a group that was rolling a couple of dice and Tulio had decided to try his hand at gambling. The prize? An invitation to some fancy ball in Italy. Chel had never exactly cared about being royalty--just being rich, but she did think it would be interesting to visit a palace. So she had used her ways to convince Tulio that she deserved the invitation. Unfortunately, the invitation looked like it was only for one, and honestly, even if it wasn't, Tulio had some thing with Miguel and Altivo tonight, and who was she to get in between their friendship? Besides, that might just mean more gold for her [hey, if she could steal gold from a temple, she could steal gold from anywhere].

Not that her new life with Tulio had influenced her to be less greedy, but it never hurt to have some extra gold lying around.

Chel stepped through the doors, causing a few to turn heads. "Huh. It looks like I'm under-dressed," she murmured to herself, brushing her ebony hair over her shoulder with a shrug. But her clothes were usually considered foreign, considering all the traveling she did these days, so Chel was anything but uncomfortable. She would be uncomfortable if she was wearing what THEY were wearing, geez, those shoes looked like they pinched.

Chel moved past the man at the door while he was taking some other guy's hat, her bare feet stepping carefully on the cold floor. A few made way for her when she walked, shocked at the woman's clothing and strange appearance as Chel searched for someone to make conversation with--at least to find out what this was all about. Tulio and Miguel [mostly Miguel] would want a good story.

A woman with tanned skin and emerald eyes caught Chel's attention...she didn't exactly look like the others here, either. Hmm. Well, mind as well. She moved over towards the woman, before giving her a friendly tap on the shoulder. Chel wiggled her fingers in a wave. "Hellll-lllooo," she greeted, grinning, and then crossing her arms. "Nice earring," she winked.

--------

Sixteen years old.

Melody was really excited for this ball...the funniest part being, that she had told her parents that she was going to a party of a friend's that night. They really had no idea that she was going to go back in time and visit THEM, BEFORE Melody was born. It was interesting how it worked out like that. Maya was in on the plan too, although she couldn't come, no matter how hard Melody begged. Still, she was determined to have fun tonight, even if she was by herself. She couldn't wait to tell her parents about it later, too.

Unfortunately, Melody hadn't really been invited...although it wasn't really her fault. Not existing in the same time period probably had something to do with it. She just hoped that they weren't checking for the invitations at the door or something like that. And it wasn't like her parents from the past would automatically let her into the ball either, even if she probably looked at least somewhat familiar to them [how couldn't she?!].

So it was nervously that Melody walked into the ball, dressed in a dark pink gown which had actually been a present from her mother a while ago. She giggled at little at thought of what her mother would think of it now, at this ball...now that it was BEFORE she had bought it...before she had even met her. It was funny to think of how right now, Melody was only a little younger than her mother! She probably looked more like her than ever, although little did she know, there was someone else that looked like Ariel at the ball as well.

"Signora?"

"Huh?" Melody responded, surprised at the sudden voice, only to see that it was one of the servants...she knew him too! Only younger. Melody's face brightened at first, and she giggled quietly to herself, knowing she couldn't say anything. He raised an eyebrow but continued to hold his hand out towards her blue cloak, and Melody handed it to him. "Thank you!"

Melody entered the ball room, and it looked very much the same as it did now. She smiled. It felt kinda weird to be in a place that was your home, yet not exactly.
But it was still exciting.

[ooc: yeah I had no idea about the whole Athena thing XD I've never played someone who died before but I hope it was okay! Sooo excited for this thread]

[WickedElphie]

James Norrington had not been in the best mood the past few months. His abysmal failure in attempting to re-capture Jack Sparrow weighed on both his pride and his conscience. He had almost caught up with the pirate when a hurricane had sprung up out of nowhere, and instead of turning around, he gave the order to sail thought. It had been a disaster. It would cost a small fortune to repair The Intercepter and several of his best crewmen had been injured.

Governor Swann had been very kind about the ordeal, merely suggesting that he take some time to rest and regain his bearings. However James could not overlook his failures, his dishonor and had resigned his commission. He was in the midst of packing all his worldly possessions, with the vague notion of making sail for Tortuga or some other port where he could disappear into a bottle, when the invitation arrived.

It was a curious thing, inviting him to a gala and assuring him he need not worry about transportation, that it would be provided. It was strange to be sure, but there was no reason to rush his descent into his personal hell. He'd put on a brave face at the party, and then allow his fall from grace to take him where it would....

He dressed in formal Navy wear, not having the opportunity to purchase anything else. A carriage arrived, and it first it looked normal enough, but once it began to move there was a strange sense of speed as if it were a ship powered by strong sails or a bird gliding on the breeze. And then, as suddenly as it had begun moving, it stopped.

The carriage door opened and James found himself at the entrance of a beautiful castle that certainly was nowhere in Port Royal. Feeling somewhat like he was in a dream, he entered. A servant was there to take his overcoat, and he nodded politely before moving on to the ball room.

There was a diverse group there to be certain. It seemed a strange sampling of people from across the globe. And yet that didn't help him feel any less out of place. Taking a drink from an offered tray he found an unobtrusive spot to observe the passers-by.

****
Tony wasn’t sure about the crazy party invitation that he and Priya had gotten. But after everything that had gone down with the Dollhouse, anybody would be paranoid. They called Echo and Paul who were deep underground, and they checked into it and nada: Wherever it came from, Rossum wasn’t behind it.

“For what it‘s worth, I think we should check it out. We helped save the world. I think we deserve one night.” He looked at his gorgeous girlfriend. She had always been more cautious than him. He knew a lot of that came from everything that ******* Nolan had done. But sometimes she needed to let go and take chances. Even if it was hard.

“Come on. We’ll sneak in weapons just in case. And I still have my amped-up skills from the last time Topher put me in the chair.” Normally that was something of a sore spot, but he figured in this case it might be reassuring…

He couldn’t believe that Priya had actually said yes. The two of them had dressed to the nines for once and he could feel his heart beating faster watching of Priya in that dress. (But really, it was easier to count the times when she *didn’t* make his heart race. Which was never.)

“So are we ready to go?” The paper had told them to head to a spot downtown. It was a hall rented out for wedding parties and stuff like that. But when they opened the door it looked a lot bigger on the outside than the inside. And it was a different crowd than he’d been expecting too. It looked like some kind of costume party. “Did it say anything about costumes on the invite?”
****

As third in line to the headship of the Ushiromiya Family, Jessica was expected to attend a lot of social functions-most of which were boring as hell. She’d much rather hang out with her friends from school doing normal teenage things than go to stuffy parties where everyone fake-smiled, talked about the weather, and munched appetizers.

But she knew it was important to her family that she do well and know ‘the right people’ so she put up with all that crap, and then when she got the chance, she’d go back to being ‘Jessie’, a regular high school girl. Or almost.

The weird thing about this invitation though was that it was for just her and not her parents. And even weirder, Kanon had gotten one too. Kanon was one of the teenagers from a school for orphans her grandfather had set up that worked as a servant for their family as a kind of job training and chance to make some money. But he was much more than that to her. The truth was for the past few months she’d kind of had a…crush…on him.

But when Jessica had confessed her feelings to Kanon, he’d turned her down, saying that he was only ’furniture’ and couldn’t fall in love with a human. That had hurt, but she tried to keep a happy face. The thing was, though, those feelings hadn’t gone away, if anything they’d gotten stronger. So, even though Kanon wouldn’t be with her, she’d tried to encourage him to create a secret ‘Kanon’ (even though she knew that wasn’t his real name) apart from the servant, who had his own emotions, likes, dislikes and personality beyond the stiff politeness. A ‘him’ that he could like.

Her parents had decided it must be some weird escort system to protect the guests and had given them both permission to go. Her mom had made her wear a weird fancy Western dress with a pink skirt and a cream top. Jessica’d managed to fight hard enough to lose the hat and wear her hair in a ponytail the way she liked it though. And no matter what she was wearing, she had to be excited. This was almost like a date….with Kanon-kun. She could already feel herself blushing.

“Ummm…So are you all set to go? The boat should be here soon.” Her heart wouldn’t stop beating so fast. Even when they arrived in front of a castle that could put her grandfather’s mansion to shame, all her thoughts were on Kanon.

Man! How embarrassing! She tried to laugh it off as they entered the grand ballroom, but she bet he could see right through her. “Sooo…now that we‘re here, Kanon-kun, do you want to maybe get a drink or something?” She pointed to the punch bowl on the refreshment table across the room.

[1luckyunicorn]

(Hey, where'd you guys get those cool sigs from? Oh, if you want me to edit anything in here Vi, just le me know!)

“Ooo, Tip! I think we made it!” An enthusiastic voice exclaimed.

“You sure we left in the first place, Dash?” A slightly deeper voice asked from nearby. “It looks just the castle.”

“Well, I saw her go in there.” The first speaker, a light brown walrus, confirmed. He and his friend Tip, a rather undersized emperor penguin, observed from the sidelines as assorted people streamed inside the castle.

“Must be havin’ some kinda shindig tonight.” Tip remarked. “I wonder why she didn’t say anything to us about it?”

“Maybe she forgot.” Dash suggested as he watched a young couple, a blonde woman and her date, enter.

Earlier, the duo had been back home wanting to find something fun to do for the day when they stumbled across the young princess in the process of… using some kind of spell? They thought she would’ve had enough of that hoodoo stuff after all the scary business with Morgana all those years ago, but curious, they stayed to watched, unnoticed by Melody. Some sort of doorway or portal had eventually opened up, and, after some hesitation, they had finally decided to follow Melody when she went inside it. After all, they were practically a team! All for three and three for one! However, the animals were surprised to find themselves back home apparently… what was the deal?

Tip turned to Dash, his usual cocky grin on his beak. “Let‘s go find her! Betcha she’ll be surprised to see us!” The added promise of a party was very appealing to the both of them as well: the food, seeing all the people, the food...

Puffing his chest out, Tip swaggered past the doorman with his head held high, giving him a nod as he did. “Hello, my good man.” He said, trying to sound as suave as possible. Dash waddled after him, trying to imitate Tip, but gave the man a toothy grin. “Good evening!”

****

Antoine Depardieu took what was probably his thirtieth cursory glance in the small mirror he had bought with him from his hut in Knothole Village. Not a single yellowish-gold-hued hair was out of place, his blue-and-gold military uniform was clean and pressed, and his boots were polished. Even the gold buttons aligning the side of his uniform was probably as clean as the first day his father had first worn this uniform (he had spent several hours alone polishing them, after all). Perfect.

Feeling reassured for now, the Mobian coydog placed the mirror into his pocket and patted the area where it was. He wanted to make a good impression on Prince Eric and Princess Ariel, as well as the other guests who would be at the celebration. Admittedly, he found it rather strange that he had been summoned here tonight, as opposed to one of the other Freedom Fighters like Sonic or even Princess Sally herself, but who was he to turn down such an opportunity? Better himself then that fool Sonic! After all, the hedgehog certainly didn’t have his extensive knowledge of fine manners and royal protocol, something he had leaned from his parents. The others had also found it odd. He had never even heard of a land called Italy, and neither had the others, but Sally, after some consideration about whether or not it could have been some sort of trap set up by their longtime arch-foe, the usurper Robotnik, was apparently alright with allowing him to accept. However, he had been given a communicator to take with him just in case things got hairy. But He had no intentions of using it -- he was sick and tired of having Sonic constantly get him out of trouble. If something bad was going to happen here tonight, he was going to find some way to handle it by himself, with no help whatsoever!

The castle was certainly a sight to see! He had faded memories of Castle Acorn, the place where he and the other core Freedom Fighters had called home before the coup, but he imagined this palace might have been grand enough to rival even it. Feeling a little unsure of himself without Bunnie or any of the others here to back him up, he took a deep breath and stepped past the man standing at the door. Weren’t there any other Mobians here? He hoped so as he headed in the direction the doorman had indicated to him.

As he looked out over the grand ballroom, he gulped. He was probably the shortest person in the room! There sure were a lot of beings that looked like Overlanders here…. He didn’t have many particularly fond memories of them, largely owing to his scary encounters with Robotnik and his assistant Snively. Well, hopefully these were nice ones.

[Zavi]

In the between-meal quiet of the Ushiromiya family kitchen, Kanon read the invitation over again. This had to be a mistake. Who would think of inviting furniture to a gala like this? No one else received an invitation or had even heard of this place…a belief Kanon revised as soon as he heard Jessica reading hers in the hallway.

Not Shannon, not Natsuhi-sama, not Krauss-sama, not even Kinzo, Master of the house. Just Ushiromiya Jessica and himself. In the back of his mind, Kanon had a hard time believing this wasn’t some witch’s trick, or at least a sick prank. He’d had enough of that for his lifetime.

Still, it wasn’t very witch-like to distribute tea party invitations without first brutally murdering its honored guests. Denying an honest invitation would be both rude and a dishonor to his escortee, especially since she was of the proper status.

So, against all odds, Kanon readied himself for the mysterious party. Granted, he didn’t expend much more than usual effort, as his servant clothes fit the formal setting and he just didn’t have the means (or desire) to shop like Jessica. When she met him, waiting for the ship, she was…

No. Furniture didn’t think such things. He silenced his thoughts.

“Ummm…So are you all set to go? The boat should be here soon.”

“Yes, I am.” The reply escaped curtly, a stumble. Suitable words for furniture who didn’t belong to this class in the first place. And when, with Jessica, he first laid eyes on the towering palace, his thoughts were confirmed. Kanon wanted nothing more for this whole thing to be over…

Kanon masked a strange glance at Jessica as they passed the high arches to the ballroom. Why was she giggling now, of all times? Was it all the western attire, and some even more exotic? Was she nervous? Was it him? Maybe it wasn’t his right to understand, but he could still wonder. Hopefully when they returned to the Ushiromiya mansion, Jessica would at least start acting normally again.

“Sooo…now that we‘re here, Kanon-kun, do you want to maybe get a drink or something?”

“Of course, Milady,” Kanon took no time in fetching a glass of western beverage. He handed it to her, a blank expression on his face. “Your drink.”

***

Just looking at this pitiful excuse for a castle made the sea-witch’s tentacles wrinkle in disgust. At least at the moment, Ursula didn’t have any tentacles.

Ursula (or in this case, Vanessa) ran her fingers through her chestnut locks, looking through the haze of evening for any familiar face. They trickled in slowly through the castle gates, rarely in groups larger than two. No one she recognized, or wanted to. If her plan fell into motion like it should have, there was no room for any unexpected recognition. At least not unitil the mer-wretch and her sailor had guffawed more than she could sand at this Poseidon-forsaken party. Stealing that invitation had taken sweet time out of her day, and the last thing witchy wanted was to throw out an opportunity like this. Had she gotten rid of Triton like she should have, he would’ve been rolling in his watery grave…

She wrapped her cloak tighter around her violet dress, taking as deep a breath as her bodice and corset would allow. Soon enough she’d be out of these wretched human clothes with princey firmly in her tentacles. Two for the price of one? Not a bad bargain.

“You’re mine,” she muttered to herself as she entered the ballroom sans an escort.
Well, sure as the underworld she wasn’t expecting a guest list like this. What awful human affairs was that prince up to that he had to invite a smorgasbord of “individuals” from every corner of the sea?

She repressed a scoff as she stalked into the middle of the crowd. At least with these crazies around, she’d be better able to blend in. More time to scout out the party’s oh-so-wonderful hosties. Just thinking about them made her nauseous. She wasn’t sure what was rose: lurking in the presence of the mer-villain and her hunnksickle crony or the inevitable interactions with the guests…

[fridamoonbeam]

Esmeralda snuck a glance over her shoulder. She greeted the mahogany skinned girl with a smirk. "Thanks." She turned to face her, resting her weight on her dancer's hip. The girl could have passed for a gypsy. But she doubted she was. Her clothing was a give away that she wasn't. "Your skirt is beautiful."

The gypsy stole another glance around the room, seeing she and the other woman weren't the only ones that looked out of place. She never thought a kingdom would ever hold a ball like this. Was that some kind of fox in a soldier's uniform? And what were those creatures coming in the front door? It looked like a little black and white bird, the other reminded her of elephants she'd seen in traveling circuses. "Hey, can I ask how you got an invite?"

****************

Jayne was pleased they didn't search him for weapons. The mercenary had borrowed some of that tape the doc used for patchin' hurts. He didn't think of how Simon might need to use it later on. Wasn't his problem. He pretty proud how he managed to stash vera, couple hand guns, and some grenades. Mal always thought bringing grenades was too much.

Ha! Just when he didn't bring 'em is when he'd be Zhuibu he canque by Reavers. Jayne really disliked showing fear of any kind. Big man had a lot of pride. But he shuddered every time they came to mind. Luckily, Jayne was a man that could forget things easily when he wanted to. A nice distraction was a pretty girl with black hair that reminded him of River. He was hopin' that she wasn't moon touched like the little crazy person. Jayne was confident he'd know what he needed to soon enough. He approached her with a broad grin. "Hey there Beyobeh, aren't you the shiniest thing in the verse." he winked. That usually was a good line to open with.

((OOC. Everyone, now post as much as you want! . Just make sure someone posted before you so you don't double post. Also, there is no word minimum. This is gonna be a fast pace RP. i just ask that you write some dialoge or action for an rper to respond to. Oh and have FUN! I didn't mean for these last two posts to be so long btw LOL

Nicole send me some pics and I can make you a sig . LOL, I dunno if its too soon for Jayne to be hitting on Mel. He's going to be hitting on a LOT of girls, just FYI XD. ))

[1luckyunicorn]

Antoine jumped in surprise and turned to see who was addressing him. It was an Overlander woman with long ebony hair was. She was quite pretty for an Overlander, with bronze skin and vibrant emerald eyes.

“I am not exactly knowing, mademoiselle. It was delivered it to our village one day by a mon ami of our‘s,” Antoine replied. he didn’t want to give out any details and say that Sonic’s Uncle Chuck had been the one to drop the invitation off at Knothole Village -- that was sensitive information after all, and he didn’t know who this person was. “He said that a carriage had bought it to him. Strange, no? This is being my first party.” He proudly interjected with a smile before wilting somewhat. How pathetic that must’ve sounded. Already the hapless coydog felt he was off to a bad start. What else was new?

****

The servant at the door didn’t have much of a reaction to the odd little duo who had just walked in, other then a raised eyebrow and a slight shake of his head. He could only assume that the penguin and walrus knew the princess.

To both marine animals, this was kinda weird. They had never seen people like some of the guests before (as if humans weren't weird enough already). Tip and Dash waddled down the length of the hallway, calling out Melody’s name as they did. The nobles in the hall let out little gasps and cries of shock and fear as the two animals passed by them, but Tip and Dash paid them no mind, intent on locating their friend and finding out just what in the world was going on. Finally, when they came to the ballroom, they spotted the graceful silhouette of the young princess and the distinctive dark pink ball gown she had been wearing before leaving.

“Who’s she talking to?” Tip asked.

“I dunno, but he’s big… and uh, kinda scary looking.” Dash replied, his voice slightly tremulous. Now to be fair, he and Tip were far less cowardly then what they had been before meeting Melody, but every now and them, both would have little moments where they would lapse back into their old way.

“Aww, I’m not afraid of some funny-dressed human!” Tip stubbornly set his jaw and balled his flippers into fists. “C’mon, we faced a sea witch and survived! Who else can say they’ve done that?”

"Well... Ariel and Eric did." Dash pointed out.

"C'mon, you know what I mean."

Feeling emboldened thanks to the avian, Dash nodded and waddled out onto the floor, followed by Tip, making a beeline for Melody. However, one older woman headed towards the refreshment table wasn’t watching where she was going and stepped on Tip’s flipper. With a squawk of pain, the penguin leapt back when the woman lifted her foot, startled by the noise, and felt himself bump into someone’s legs. Groaning slightly, Tip looked up to see who he had collided with. “Sorry about that...” He started mumble.

[fridamoonbeam]

The corners of the gypsy's mouth curled. So the coyote was French. Could it have been another underground in Paris she wasn't aware of but with animals? And here she thought gypsies were outsiders! Frollo must have not known about them, otherwise he demonize them too.

Esmeralda was very curious about the creature and how many others were like him. She did note his vague answer, which she wasn't going to reveal a lot about herself, not yet anyway. "A carriage found me too." Not quite, she been staying with a family just outside Florence when the letter was delivered to her. She chuckled softly at how embarrassed he seemed. It reminded her a little of a certain shy bell ringer. "You must be really excited, Mon Ami?" she winked. "I'm Esmeralda by the way, what do you go by?" she asked him with a smirk.

[Aquanaut]

Ariel sat in front of her dressing table, making final adjustments to her hair and makeup. She had never really cared that much about her appearance, but now as Queen, she had to look her best. She smiled a little, thinking about all of her sisters and how they were constantly primping in front to the mirror. What would they think of her now...

She stood up smoothing out a green dress that wasn't too elaborate, but was still nice. The redhead looked over at her husband and smiled. They had been married for almost a year now, and everyday felt like a new adventure. Ever since she was a mergirl, she had loved to go exploring and discover new things. But even with all the adventures, the thing she loved the most about being a human was that she got to spend everyday knowing that there was someone beside her to share all of those adventured with. She would never have to feel like she was alone or signaled out for being herself.

"You look beautiful. Are you ready to greet the guests?"

“Thank you. I'm ready,” she said placing a light kiss on Eric's lips, “How about you?” Ariel knew that Eric hated parties. She always tried to make sure to stay fairly close to him at these functions so that she could help him navigate away from certain guests that neither of the particularly wanted to talk to.

“We might still be able to cancel the party if you would rather not go anywhere...” she said jokingly, smirking a little.

--------------------------------

When they received the invitation, Priya had serious doubts. It seemed really suspicious for them especially to get an invitation like this. They had both been off the radar for years being in the Dollhouse. Priya wasn't even an American citizen so she didn't really have any records for anyone to find her, especially with an invite such as this.

She was a little less worried when Echo and Paul told them that Rossum wasn't behind it, but that only opened more questions. If Rossum wasn't behind it, then who was?

“For what it‘s worth, I think we should check it out. We helped save the world. I think we deserve one night.”

Priya was still a little unsure though. She hadn't always been this way. She was usually a free spirit, and sort of went wherever the wind carried her. But after Nolan and the Dollhouse, she had been more cautious, more worried that things were going to go very wrong before they even remotely got better. “I don't know...this random invite still seems a little sketchy to me...”

“Come on. We’ll sneak in weapons just in case. And I still have my amped-up skills from the last time Topher put me in the chair.”

She sighed, staring at her boyfriend. They had been through so much together, and she felt like she had known him for years and years. “There's no way I'm talking you out of this is there?” she siad, with a small laugh. She frowned a little at the mention of the tech. She hated what that technology did to them and what it was being used for in the world. She didn't want to go anywhere near it anymore, and really didn't want Tony near it either. “Okay, we'll go. We have to at least investigate right?” She really didn't like the thought of weapons being brought and violence happening at a place like a party, but she figured she especially wouldn't be able to talk Tony out of carrying some kind of protection for them.

Priya changed into a purple dress, a little glad that the Dollhouse still had the wardrobe with all of those clothes in it for any occasion that fit her perfectly.

“So are we ready to go?”

She nodded at Tony, smiling a little, getting a little excited for the party. It would be fun getting a chance to get all dressed up and go out with the man she loved. They arrived at the place on the invite though, and some of her worries cam back to her. Something was *definitely* going on here. A huge place like this could never fit into that reception hall!

“Did it say anything about costumes on the invite?”

Priya looked down at the invitation again, reading it over. “No, they're not mentioned at all...how is this possible? This room is too big for that reception hall...”


(OMG Sorry this is so late and kind of crappy xD It will get better, I promise!)

[fridamoonbeam]

“We might still be able to cancel the party if you would rather not go anywhere...”

Eric laughed taking her hands into his. "I think its a little late to fake a fever at this point... and I'm not very good actor." He shrugged before offering his arm out for the former mermaid to take. They walked down the grand hallway that was lined with oil paintings of past members of the Italian royal family. He waited at the top of the staircase before Grimsby could make the annoucement for their entrance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you their majesties King Eric and Queen Ariel."

He gave a quick smile stepping out from the curtain then began to step down the staircase, offering a smile to the faces. There were more people then he had been expecting! He gave Ariel another to reassure himself the evening was going to be fine. He may have been more naturally shy, but often shyness came off as being rude. He didn't want to do that, but so many people could be a little over-welming. Eric's eyes scanned through the sea of people and saw a beautiful woman with auburn waves in a purple gown. She looked so much like... But that was impossible.... Wasn't it?

((ooc. Kelly it was great, no worries . Also, Eric noticed Athena but I dunno if we want it to be too early for them to talk to her yet or not xD))

[1luckyunicorn]

"You must be really excited, Mon Ami?"

Antoine’s expression couldn’t have been more surprised when the woman suddenly spoke a word from his own native tongue. He hadn’t run into any fellow countrymen in years! He thought that a lot of people failed to appreciate his accent, or worse, poked fun at it and the way he spoke English (it wasn’t his fault that it was such a hard tongue to master; he hadn’t been born in the English-speaking Kingdom Of Acorn, after all).

“Well, I suppose,” He finally answered in French after getting over his shock, trying to downplay his excitement and act cooler.

"I'm Esmeralda by the way, what do you go by?"

Esmeralda, huh? It certainly was a lovely name, enough to rival Sally. Always the gentleman, he bowed and replied, “I am Antoine Depardieu, mademoiselle. Shall I be ascoting you to the barroom?” He offered after straightening up, having noticed that she had come alone.

He meant to say "escort", but was ignorant of his error -- "ascot" sounded very similar to "escort" to his ears. He proffered an arm to Esmeralda, ignoring the difference in their respective heights.

[fridamoonbeam]

"Really? I think this is pretty exciting." Esmeralda smirked at the sudden aloufness he was trying to gain, such a man thing to do. "Can I ask what part of France you come from?" Esmeralda questioned him curiously.

“I am Antoine Depardieu, mademoiselle. Shall I be ascoting you to the barroom?”

Esmeralda chuckled lightly. "Quite a charmer aren't you?" He and Clopin would have made for some interesting interaction. Her brother would probably love him just for being a talking animal.

She glanced over her shoulder momentarily to other dark skinned girl to see if she wanted to continue the chat that had barely started. "Coming along?" she asked with a grin.

"Merci, Antoine." She reached down and cupped her hand around his elbow. The gypsy towered over him. So far she'd met another dark-skinned girl and as it was a Country man. The gypsy had to wonder who else she'd meet at the castle.

[vidia]

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you their majesties King Eric and Queen Ariel."

Athena turned up to look at the both of them, excited. She gave a deep sigh with a feeling of completeness, now that she had seen them. Athena couldn't wait to talk to them...it wasn't as if she had all night. Like some sort of fairytale, the vessel would only last for a certain amount of time. Athena wasn't aware of how long it would be, but her body would begin to dissipate when it happened. Athena couldn't afford to waste time in meeting the king and queen of this castle, and for another matter of fact, she didn't want to.

After the two descended down the stairs, Athena made her way over to them. She didn't run or push or do anything unseemly, of course, as being the Queen of Atlantica, Athena had always had a natural grace, but anyone could have seen the impatience in her eyes. It was a trait that had been passed down to most of her daughters, especially Ariel.

Athena reached the young king and queen, and she stood in front of them, giving them a mermaid's bow, with the arms at the sides, the bow of the head and torso. The former mermaid had never curtsied after all, so the thought did not occur to her. Athena smiled brilliantly at Eric and Ariel, especially her little Ariel.

"Thank you so much for the invitation, your Majesties. Your home is lovely," Athena began, wondering if her daughter would remember her. She wouldn't be surprised if she didn't. Ariel had been so young when she had...when she had passed away. Thinking about it made her eyes grow as little misty, so Athena pushed it behind her.

--------------------------------

"Thanks." Chel smirked at the compliment but the question about the invitation caused her to flinch inwardly. That sounded almost accusative to her because of the way she had obtain the invitation Uh, well, how was she gonna put it for this girl? Tell the truth? Nah, that wasn't like her. She was finalizing the lie in her mind when the coyote answered, however. Chel's eyes opened wide.

O-kay...that was a little weird. She had seen some odd things in her day, back in El Dorado especially, but a coyote with a French accent? She put a hand on her hip, green bangle jangling. This was a good escape to get away from the invitation question, and hey, they were getting along so well. She'd have to turn down THIS invitation, to go along with them. Chel winked at the girl. "No thanks. Have fun, honey."

She began making her way over to the refreshment table to see what type of grub this royal couple would have, when something bumped into her. Uh...what WERE they, exactly? They looked sort of familiar, but...ai-ai-ai, if animals were invited, why couldn't thieving girls? What type of king and queen were these people?!

“Sorry about that...”

"Don't worry about it," Chel replied with a wry smile. "You okay?"

"How did YOU get your invitation?"

--------------------------------

That was strange. Melody could have SWORN she heard a familiar voice. No, make that TWO familiar voices...but just as she turned around to try to find out who it was, she was approached by someone. Melody had never seen him before, but then again, there were a LOT of people in this room she had never met. He looked...er...well-built. But nothing could have prepared the young princess for the next words she heard coming out of his mouth.

"Hey there Beyobeh, aren't you the shiniest thing in the verse."

Thank goodness Melody hadn't taken a cup of punch, because she would have spit it EVERYWHERE. WHAT?! Beyobeh? Shiniest thing in the...what was that, universe? Wow, well that was a compliment, but the self-conscious girl wasn't really equipped to answer something like that. Instead, she sort of just stuttered for a moment. "Ah..uh...I-I..Oh! M-Me? Well..." Melody began, cheeks budding bright red. She gulped and forced a sentence out. "Th-Thank you, but I don't believe so. Um...I'm Melody," she said, deciding to introduce herself because she really had nothing else to say. The princess curtsied.


[OOC: OKAY, hope i'm not rushing it with the Athena thing and with Chel and Tip and Dash! XD sorry i took so long !! i FORGOT!]

[fridamoonbeam]

Esmeralda gave a wave to the girl before strolling with the coyote away from the entrance. There was a long beautifully decorated table with different kinds of wine and punch. She glanced down at Antoine. "I'm gonna grab something to drink."
***********************

Uh Oh. Crazy girl.

She was reminding him of River for the wrong reasons now. He wasn't ever one to have a liking for stammering. He hated when a person couldn't just spit out what they were thinking. A thought did pierce his brain. What were the age laws in this place? He'd gotten in trouble in the past for not checking. But those girls SEEMED old enough! Shouldn't that count for something?? Damn Alliance. "That sounds real' nice, Melody. Tell you what. I'll go get a couple drinks then you can tell me more about your lil' self." Without waiting for a response he turned and stomped over to see what kind of booze these people had. Some whiskey would hit the spot.


A huge grin spread across Jayne's face seeing the woman who was getting some wine. She reminded her of Inara, but not as classy, which meant she had to be more fun! Must have been some kind of companion. With that Shenti, no way she was under-age. He could probably afford her, too. He slid nice and close up to her, shooting a charming grin. "Hey there, Meili So how much are we talkin' to have a go with you?"
*****

Esmeralda turned her head at the man. Her green eyes blazed with anger, fist clinching her wine. "WHAT did you ask me?" she asked through gritted teeth.

*****
Jayne, oblivious to her anger repeated. "How much would you be to tussle with for the night?" the mercenary said running an eye over her figure.

((Ooc, Vi, it was great! I'm going to give Kelly a chance to have Ariel reply to Athena before I post for Eric again. BTW, Jess, You've been given you cue for you navy man xD))

[WickedElphie]

James had stood in the same spot near the punch-bowl, watching as the other guests arrived. He didn't know what to think of the appearance of seemingly sentient animals, but the incident with the Black Pearl had done much to break down his customary skepticism. He recalled stories his mother had told him as a boy of men being led into fairy realms. Perhaps that was what this was.

Well it wasn't as though he would be missed. Everyone would assume his shame had driven him from Port Royal before he had even taken the time to collect his things. Perhaps a few individuals would sigh and offer half-sincere regrets, but he doubted whether anyone would truly grieve. He raised his glass in a mock-toast and muttered, "To losing one's self. May we never be found."

His melancholy was disturbed by a tall lanky man with the look of a pirate, though rather different clothes, being rather aggressive with his attentions to a dark-skinned young woman. Unable to restrain his instinctive chivalry, the ex-commodore reproved him, "Sir, I think the lady would prefer to be left alone."

*********************************************************************
Tony nodded. "You're right. The inside here looks bigger than the whole first floor, forget the one room." But how could they have been moved from one place to somewhere completely different?

"You don't think someone had one of those remote zappers, and knocked us out and brought us here?" There was a piece of tech that could knock out anyone who was or had once been a doll with a push of a button. But he and Priya had been zapped before and he'd had a splitting headache right before and after.

"Whatever's going on, we keep our heads down and our eyes open. If something's going down we won't be helpless," Tony promised, instinctively falling into the thought patterns of a soldier, both back in Afghanistan, and in the war against Rossum. "We should probably try and mingle a little. See if anybody else knows anything."

*********************************************************************

"Oh no, Kanon-kun..." Jessica looked down a little sadly at the drink in his hand. "What I meant was, that you should get yourself a drink, if you were thirsty."

She bit her lip and finally stared him in the eye, her resolve strong. "Kanon-kun, I know at home all that furniture stuff I don't really understand gets in the way. But we're not home. We're far away from Rokkenjima. At a ball. A costume ball by the looks of it. Like Cinderella. So for tonight let's just be who we want to be. And then when the clock strikes and we have to leave, we'll go back to being our regular selves."

"So for tonight, I'm Jessie, and you're...the real Kanon-kun nobody knows about." More than ever she wished she knew his real name.

[1luckyunicorn]

(I think you're doing just fine too, Vi.)

"Can I ask what part of France you come from?"

“France?" He had never heard of France before, being that France (or at least it‘s equivalent) went under an entirely different name on Mobius. “I am from Mercia," He continued in French. "I have not been there in ten years.” He sighed. He often found himself homesick for his home country; he hadn’t been there since he was ten.

"Quite a charmer aren't you?"

Antoine couldn‘t help but grin broadly and puff out his chest a little bit with pride. He loved getting compliments -- it wasn‘t everyday that he got them, after all. “Well, I learned from the best. I am definitely the most charming out of my colleagues.” How he wished Sonic was here to see this! That hedgehog would’ve been so jealous!

Much to his delight, she accepted his invitation to escort her to the ballroom. Esmeralda then excused herself to go get a drink. As she did, Antoine looked around the room, scoping out the other guests as well as his lavish surroundings before glancing over his new friend’s way. A strange man had approached her. He noticed the look of rage flash across Esmeralda’s face when the man spoke to her. He had always had excellent hearing. While the man used strange slang he wasn't familiar with, it wasn’t difficult to catch the implication of his words. Antoine bristled -- how on earth such an indecent individual could be allowed into this gathering? His first impulse was to go over and say something, but the man’s size was what caused him to hold back. He looked like he could quite easily pick Antoine up and fling him across the room like he was nothing. If there was one thing that Antoine feared, it was the idea of physical harm to his person. Coward! A voice accused in his mind. There you go again. Tonight was his night to make a fresh new start, and he didn’t want Esmeralda to think he was a coward too. Taking a deep breath, Antoine made his way over to the refreshment table.

"Sir, I think the lady would prefer to be left alone."

Another Overlander who had also apparently seen what was going on intervened. While Antoine didn’t recognize the uniform he wore, he could still tell from both it and the man’s bearing that he was an individual in a position of power and someone to be respected. Hopefully that scoundrel would take notice and leave. Antoine waited to see how the first man would react.

*****

Tip found himself looking up into the face of a dark-haired girl with bronze skin. Sometimes he forgot that humans were a pretty diverse-looking bunch. “Never been better.” He said, trying to laugh off his pain. He was gonna be feeling that tomorrow, he was sure of it. Getting to his feet, he winced when he put pressure on his left foot.

"How did YOU get your invitation?"

Awkwardly, the bird scratched the back of his head with a flipper. “Uh, yeah… haha, that’s a funny story. See, we're… um, not really invited actually. We’re here trying find a friend of ours. Pretty girl, long dark hair, big blue eyes, wearing a dark pink dark. You seen her?”

By this time, a concerned Dash had gotten through the crowd and waddled over. “Tip, are you okay? I hear you scream.” Notching the woman standing there, he sent her a smile. “Oh, excuse me. I’m Dash.”

Tip rolled his eyes. “I didn’t scream… that loudly. “ He mumbled the last part under his breath.

[fridamoonbeam]

**************
"Mercia? I haven't heard of it before. It sounds intriguing. You'll have to tell me about what you remember." Where on earth coudl that have been? She' done a lot of traveling. That was the life of a gypsy, but this place could have been a secret kingdom. Its not like talking coyotes ran around Paris.

She raised a sarcastic brow at him but her smile stayed soft. He was also a ham."So are you a preformer?" Most hams usually were. Clopin was the biggest one she knew but there was never a dull moment with her brother.

***********
Jayne twisted his neck to a fancy dressed man. "I wasn't talkin' to you. It's none of your gorram business. You wanted to rent 'er out, You shoulda said so 'stead of jus' standin' 'round" It was hard for Jayne to take the guy seriously when he was wearing that goofy wig. Jayne snatched it off his head and tossed it out a near by window. See how he'd like that! "The lady and I was just havin' us a conversation, weren't we?" he asked her.

************



((OOC: It may be OOC to have Esme not saying anything at this point but I'll thhink of a reason why but I wanted to give you guys a chance to reply to the wig snatching xD))

[WickedElphie]

James grit his teeth. The insult to his honor at having his wig, a sign of his former status, stripped away was great indeed. But far more insufferable were the aspersions the lout cast on the young woman's conduct.

" I had no intention of doing any such thing, and your gall to assume the lady is a member of that profession is astounding. You will apologize or you and I will settle this outside." His sword was strapped to his hip, not having been confiscated, and he also had a gun under his coat. "Sword or pistols. Your choice."

[fridamoonbeam]

Jayne shot the man a murderous glare. He wasn't no reaver. But the Mercenary would kill a man in a fair fight, or if he thought one was going to start, or for a woman, or if he was being bothered.

This guy was doing all of them at once! Well if he was gonna start one Jayne didn't mind taking up the offer. "I take a likin' ta' guns." In some planets swords were more common, for what ever reason. Jayne prefered to get the job done and avoid the fancy fencing. "Ready ta' go?"

*****

Esmeralda was boiling over with rage. It wasn't as if she hadn't gotten those kind of offers from men before. Most of the time it was after she'd dance. Which made her more angry since dancing to her was a to express herself, and feel liberated not to be someone's property! She was about to give the big man a piece of her mind when another spoke up.

Was that a solider? Well, that was new. It was just completely strange that she just observed the exchange, falling uncharacteristically quiet. She couldn't say she'd miss the wig. It did nothing for him. but it must have bruised his ego. His real hair was nice, brown with sublte gold at the ends really brought out his eyes. At the mention of a duel, she rolled her eyes. Men. "I've got a better idea." She smirked at the mercer, while lowering her eyelids in a sultry fashion.

***********

Jayne stepped closer and grinned at her. "Yeah...."That was more like it!

***********

She tossed the wine into the bigger man's face. "You can start by getting cleaned up. Wine is hard to get out."

**********

The blood was flowing in other places besides his brain as he didn't see the wine splash. He was MAD. Tease! But at that moment he collected enough sense to know people were starting to look at them. "You're loss." It was a stupid comeback, but he always needed the last word. There was plently of other woman there and he had a job to do anyhow. He walked away muttering curse words in Chinese

******

Esmeralda glared as he walked off and turned to the other man. While she was a *little* flattered by his efforts, she had a distrust of militay men since she was young and had to be apprehensive. "So now what are you wanting?" she asked folding her arms.

[Zavi]

Kanon stared at his drink with the kind of uncertainty that only comes from picking the wrong glass. He guessed he was thirsty, but he could get his own drink later. He had gotten it for Jessica-sama in the first place. Did the drink still belong to her, or was she giving it to him—a gift?

Were furniture supposed to accept gifts? Humans, maybe, but that was for Milady to decide.

"Kanon-kun, I know at home all that furniture stuff I don't really understand gets in the way. But we're not home. We're far away from Rokkenjima. At a ball. A costume ball by the looks of it. Like Cinderella. So for tonight let's just be who we want to be. And then when the clock strikes and we have to leave, we'll go back to being our regular selves."

“But I am furniture,” Kanon said as plainly as if it were answer C on a test. He could feel a stinging presence on his shoulders, wondering if the other guests were watching. Pass, or fail. The woman in the western fairy tale only had until midnight to decide, watching the clock tick must’ve felt…like he felt right now…

But somehow Cinderella had found love above the whim of the clock-strike, with a prince. Someone she shouldn’t have. Like Shannon and George back on Rokkenjima. Cinderella should have felt ashamed to usurp her own place as furniture, to find what furniture wasn’t meant to see. Kanon had always wondered why the story had a happy ending.

Maybe he should have trusted Jessica-sama’s words. If he didn’t find a shred of truth in them, what respect was he giving her? If Kanon too had time, and Milady was giving him permission to use it, maybe he should honor her wishes. And when the clock granted him mercy again, he could return to the normal he understood.

“Yes, Jessie…sama.”


---

As the couple of the evening appeared at the head of the ballroom, Vanessa peeked through the misfit crowd with narrowed eyes. Poised for the kill, she observed whatever she could from her end of the room—the prince uncomfortable, like usual, and his sweetheart about ready to—

Witchy snuck behind the broad shoulders of some oafish human before she blew her guise. Hadn’t there already been enough times where she’d cut things too close? For Poseidon’s sake, she hoped Eric didn’t catch too long a glance. Any surprises could bring her plan to its fins, or at least ruin her grand entrance. She’d be saving that for a more appropriate time. Although by the looks of things, the mayhem had started without her. She shrugged it off: she’d have her time to play soon enough, once her unfavorite duo pranced their way center-stage.

She’d get this party started one way or another. But what an audience! She hadn’t expected one like this. Just what had Ariel been teaching her princey-poo? The value of leaving dangerous creatures in the living room?

By now most of the guests had discovered good company in the not-belonging feeling, and mingled with snippets of small talk, some more offensive than others. And some involving wig-tossing. Not bad for a royal gala. But what caught Vanessa’s eye was a slightly more normal-looking couple, tucked suspiciously by their lonesome. Hopeful that a little snooping would do her good, she waded past the womenfolk and the hulking humans to see what the hush-hush was all about.

“I take it you’re just as lost as everybody else?” She said from behind the human couple, an eye still on the other pair of ballgoers.