Let The Spectacle Astound You

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

Characters: OPEN
Progress: Continuous
Summary: The party you've all been waiting for: the Grand Ball of Alexandria!
Location: Palace Alexandria
Date: June 21st, 1803
Warnings: TBA. Eventually, Violence.

For weeks, the palace had been abuzz with activity; even more so than usual. On top of the usual hustle and bustle of daily life, there were the extensive preparations to be done for the festival, and this, the grand finale. The palace's largest ballroom had been decorated from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Long elaborate draperies of silk and chiffon in white and cream, the stairs lined in a rich, crimson carpeting. Gold and silver everywhere, framing the large windows and the door opening out to the courtyard. A warm summer evening, with the roses in full bloom. Flowers adorned every table, column, and doorway. It wasn't just the ballroom that had been decorated, however; the entire palace was decked in regalia, the staff having obviously anticipated the crowd to be much larger than usual.

All around the palace, inside and out, the guard was on high alert. Every guest was greeted, checked, and in the case of the higher-ranked, announced to the company at large. The sun had not quite set, and already the ballroom was half full; nobles and low-born alike, natives and foreigners, all dressed in their best. The guest of honor had yet to make her appearance, but no one seemed to be fussed by the fact.

But the night was young, and there was bound to plenty of seeing and being seen before the night was over.

[[ooc: Here we go, everyone! Party style still applies. Tag in, tag each other, mingle, HAVE FUN!... while you can. Thread jumping and ninja tagging is encouraged. ^.^]]

Update: A fist fight broke out on page two. Feel free to ninja in to spectate, generally comment or gasp, or just read it and have a laugh. Appropriate authority figures... Squall, Steiner, etc may need to step in.

Comments

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"It's...interesting." She said after a moments thought. "I have been to things like this before but I do not remember much of them, so I am trying to learn how they work." She shook her head and smiled weakly, looking slightly away. "I cannot help but be nervous, I'm sorry. It's...hard to relax with all these people around."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He was curious to what she meant by not remembering going to events, maybe she had GF memory loss like back on his world. He really didn't question it. He smiled at her and replied, "Well, you know what I do in situations such as this, I ignore everyone I'm not focused on and have a good time." Irvine saw a table full of drinks and replied, "Excuse me, for one moment," then walked over to the table and grabbed two drinks. He then promptly handed one to Terra and stated, "A drink for the fine lady?"

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"I am not very good at ignoring the things around me," Terra said, sighing faintly. "I was trained to fight from when I was very small, it made me a bit paranoid, I think."

She fell silent as he walked away, her eyes watching him through the crowd until he returned. "Oh, thank you." She took the drink with a faint smile and took a small sip of it. "Why do you keep calling me a lady?" She asked suddenly, turning to look up at him. "Edgar does that too. I'm not royalty, I'm just a soldier. I'm not even really that anymore."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He shook his head with a smile and said, "It doesn't matter if you are a solider, or royalty. You're not a man, you're a woman, a very elegant woman. And I will tell you this, a lot of people will start calling you lady." He took a sip of his drink as well, before placing it on a nearby table and added, "So this Edgar person you mentioned, is he a friend of yours? A lover maybe?" He liked to know as much about a person as possible, so that way they could feel much more comfortable around him. His attention, his eyes and his soft smile were directed to Terra, just listening to what she had to say.

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra didn't know what to say to his compliment, so she said nothing, just looking up at him trying to figure it out. She wasn't used to this sort of attention without it being from Edgar, and she'd gotten used to just not understanding what the King meant. It was different somehow than with Edgar.

She flushed faintly at the question about lovers and shook her head faintly, turning to look away. "No, he isn't my...He is just a good friend. I'm not even sure I can..." She trailed off and shook her head, not going to let herself fall into her 'can I even love' funk. "He's a king, actually." She added, deciding to focus on thoughts of her friend instead.

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

"A king, you say? Very impressive Terra. But if he is just a friend, then he a very lucky person to meet someone as beautiful as yourself," the cowboy stated, charming her with his smile and his words.

The sound of music filled the air which caught Irvine's ear. He smirked then bowed in front of her and asked, "Ms. Brandford, I hope it is not terribly rude, but would you do me a great honor if I could have this dance?" He extended his hand out still bowing to her waiting for her reaction.

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra just seemed confused by the compliments, where a normal girl might have been flustered or flattered. She was trying to piece them together somehow, to make it make sense, and it just didn't really work.

"Dance?" She went perfectly still for a moment. "I...do not actually know how to dance, though I don't think I would mind if I did." She thought the dancing looked fun, except she didn't even know where to start.

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He was a bit confused at what Terra stated. Not knowing how to dance? Oh Irvine was going to remedy this right now. He straightened himself up and replied, "Then let me help you feel the rhythm of the song." He grabbed her hand gently and pulled her towards him as he began to lead going through the music. He simply instructed, "Just let your body move with the beat and flow with it and your partner. Dancing is not hard to do, trust me on that."

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra almost yanked her hand away instinctively as Irvine took it, except she realized a second soon enough that he probably meant her no harm, he was just trying to be helpful. "Alright."

She tried to move with him as best she could, her head tilted slightly down to watch his feet, and then glancing this way and that as she took in the feet of all the other dancers. The half-esper was graceful, but it was in a soldiers way, not a dancers way. Still, she was doing her best. Even if she seemed to be concentrating very hard on it.

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He chuckled looking at Terra look around almost everywhere then said, "Terra, just relax...go with the flow of the music. You don't have to be perfect, trust me, no one here is." He could tell she really distant with him, or maybe she was like this with everyone, he couldn't tell. He twirled her a little bit then pulled her into him hand around her waist. He wanted her to have fun, above all else in this dance.

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"I am not worried about being perfect." She said softly. "But I should at least be doing it rig-" She cut off in surprise as he twirled her around and her eyes went wide, and when it stopped she didn't even seem to realize his hand was on her waist. She did laugh softly...it was almost a giggle really.

"Okay, that...spin? was fun..."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He nodded and danced a little more with her. He found it comforting that the girl was having fun dancing. "I see you're enjoying yourself, well if you trust me, I'd like to do something else." He danced a little more before dipping down with Terra then back up, still having a smile.

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra didn't have a clue what to expect when Irvine suggested that trust was involved, and she had a split second to realize what was going on, her eyes wide, as he suddenly dipped her backwards. Her hands grabbed at him hard as she thought she was being dropped, but then he was bringing her back up, and she flushed faintly, surprise evident on her face.

"That...needed more warning."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He smirked at the fact she held him tighter and replied, "My apologies, but I assure you I would never allow such a woman to fall to the floor." He twirled her again, and continued before stating, "So how do you like dancing on the ball room floor, Ms. Brandford."

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"I am just not used to movements like that where I am not in control," she shifted faintly as she steadied herself and tried to resume the dancing. "But it is..." She smiled some. "Entertaining."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He chuckled slightly and replied, "Well I'm happy that you are enjoying yourself." The song started to slow down a bit as he twirled her out, then pulled her back in, finally tilting her body back slightly. The music faded as he lifted her back up to her feet and replied, "I know I'm probably not the best dancer, but I hope gave you a reason to find others to dance with, Ms. Branford."

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra was not as surprised by these movements the second time, and even managed to move with Irvine fairly well for a minute or so. The half-esper learned things like this fast, physical things, after years and years of ingrained training. Though she did tread on his toes a number of times.

"I don't know," she admitted softly. "Maybe I will, though I don't know who else would wish to dance with me. And I am still stepping on your feet half the time..."

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

He shook his head and stated, "Are you always this pessimistic? You were great out there, and you didn't step on my feet that much. Trust me, a lovely lady like yourself will get approached by many guys." Irvine gently grabbed her hand and stated, "I must be off, but it was quite a pleasure dancing with you Terra." He kissed the back of her hand, then left taking a bow to her and walking back into the crowd again.

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

"It's not, I mean, I don't mean to be..." She honestly wasn't trying to be negative...in her mind, she wasn't being negative. She was just...not understanding. And she honestly believed there were things she just couldn't 'get'.

Still, Irvine was already intent on leaving, though he did manage to get a last blush from Terra when he kissed her hand. "Thank you for the dance." She called out after him before drifting back to her corner.