Event: Eiko's Birthday Ball

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

Characters: OPEN to all party guests
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: A big party for a small girl. Yep, it's Eiko's birthday and she's having a ball.
Location: Lindblum Grand Castle
Date: March 21st, 1804
Warnings: N/A so far

Nobody could say that Regent Cid wasn't generous when it came to his adopted daughter, Eiko. In fact, some said that he was too indulgent. But on this, the evening of Eiko's tenth birthday, the citizens of Lindblum were ready and eager to celebrate. A free ball! Free drinks, free food, and a free pass into Lindblum Grand Castle. Many had failed to acquire tickets in time and were disappointed, but the lucky few piled eagerly into the castle.

Security was tight, and every single guest was checked by the guards before being allowed to enter. Once inside, they would find a wide and sumptuously decorated ballroom. A small group of musicians played slow and ambient music, while the party guests swayed across the floor dressed in all their finery. What could only be described as a flock of moogles flew or scurried around the room, offering glasses of champagne and various sweet treats. Regent Cid himself sat on a grand throne at the head of the room, nodding graciously at the guests who came to pay their respects. 

The ball was already in full swing, and the party would go on for a long while yet.

[ooc: Don't worry if you didn't comment to Regent Cid's earlier post requesting tickets. Handwaving is just fine if you want to hop in. It's party style - go tag and mingle! Thread jumping and ninja tagging is encouraged.]

[ooc: Eiko has made a very loud announcement about a celebrity couple's engagement. Feel free to overhear, react or congratulate.]

Comments

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet stared at her in disbelief. "Two years?" It had been only a few months ago she'd been in Alexandria, selling food to a very loyal collection of Alexandrian soldiers. She knew there were many people who seemed to come from different times... but two years from one visit, to the next?

Suddenly, the problems of the world came back to the front of her mind, and her nerves were forgotten. "I'm sorry that you had to be ripped from your home twice." and she sincerely meant it

[danceawaypain.livejournal.com]

"It's alright," Penelo assured Garnet. "I'm tougher than I look." She had to be. Just to reinforce her statement, she smiled and nodded once. "But Vaan's here with me, and my friends. Adventure here or adventure in Ivalice, it's all the same, more or less."

Then to put aside those weightier matters, she looked Garnet up and down. "I do like your sense of style. It's so elegant." Impractical in every way for traveling, but suited for a noblewoman, and tasteful compared to some of the garish choices by other women of her acquaintance, especially in Rozzaria.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet glanced down at herself, a quick reminder of the start contrast between her own garb, and Penelo's. Alexandrian fashion aired on the revealing side of traditional, but Penelo's ensemble invoked more the feeling of Cleyran society. "Ah, thank you. Although, I'll be honest with you, yours seems more comfortable. Corsets and petticoats get really irritating after a while."

The queen stopped, mentally backed up. "Did you say, Vaan? Wasn't that the name of the person you mentioned before? Back at the shop in Lindblum?" Yes, Garnet remembered that day rather clearly, their friendly banter, and how she'd advised Penelo not to waste her money on a souvenir statue. It was so long ago, now...

[danceawaypain.livejournal.com]

For a moment, Penelo struggled to remember that meeting. It had been so long ago, an innocent encounter, or so she had thought at the time. Her memories were more concrete around her surprise at discovering the one she'd met was royalty and not just another girl. Yet it was entirely reasonable and likely she had mentioned Vaan, so she nodded. "That's right. We've been friends since we were little."

More than friends? Not in the way one might think. But absolutely partners, and good ones at that. "I really depend on him. I'm surprised I managed without him here for all that time." Although in truth, she wasn't all that sure she had managed. Or maybe she had and time was playing tricks on her memories.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet smiled softly. "Well, I'm glad that, if you have to be away from home, at least you have each other. I don't know how I would feel, if I suddenly found myself in another world, without anyone I knew."

Pausing, the queen took a moment to give Penelo a good look. Two years; she could see it, in the subtle changes of her face, the length of her hair, all subtle indications of time gone by. "Do you have any plans to come back to Alexandria?" she asked, slightly hopeful. A lot could change in two years, and what had once been appealing about Alexandria, may have no longer held any relevance to this Penelo.

[danceawaypain.livejournal.com]

"I'm sure we will," Penelo assured her, although it would be more likely to be a visit than a lasting stay as she'd once hoped for. That much she remembered. The appeal of settling down, being rooted somewhere. Yet it felt so far away now, and quite unlikely too. So much so, that the dancer no longer even considered desiring it. She felt it was better to be content in her present circumstances, than wish for something that would never be. "Vaan will want to see everything, and Alexandria is on the list."