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 was a bit after Garnet's introduction that Terra would step up next to her and offer her a faint smile, her arms curled around her stomach as she shifted faintly from foot to foot. "You mentioned you were a summoner," she said softly. "But you left out the part where you were a queen."

She doesn't seem upset. Most of Terra's friends were connected to Royalty in one way or another. She seemed almost amused.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

The stab of guilt once again in her stomach; Garnet was beginning to think she'd have quite the ache in her belly by the end of the night, if such encounters continued. She turned to Terra, and then cast her eyes slightly downward. Even dressed in such finery, in that moment it was quite easy to see the normal girl beneath it all.

"I'm sorry... I hadn't meant to lie to you. It's just that... my situation is very complicated. There are certain things I must keep from most. I had hoped to separate myself, from my position. I don't wish for people to always look at me as 'the queen'."

[alittlebitesper.livejournal.com]

Terra shook her head almost as soon as the queen began to apologize. "It's fine, honestly." Her gaze flicked to the nearby guards for a moment. "Truthfully, one of my closest friends is a king, so it does not matter to me one way or the other." It had at first, with Edgar. He was a king! And she was merely a runaway soldier, albeit a strange one.

But he had worn her down to the point where she actually forgot he was royalty half the time. "Oh, Happy Birthday." She seemed to remember suddenly, smiling brightly.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

The young queen was obviously relieved, although the guilt lingered. She'd been about to ask Terra about this King friend of hers, but was momentarily derailed. She smiled modestly. "Thank you," the customary response to well-wishes, before she jumped back to the previous topic. "You know, it's strange... you're not the first person who has told me they have other friends who are of royal upbringing."

Actually, now that she thought about it... both Penelo and Rydia had said as much, and Ashe was herself a Queen...