EVENT: The Budehuc Ball

[quicksmart]

(( PART 2 has started! ))

The day of the ball is finally upon Budehuc, and there is a distinctive hum of excitement in the air at new life entering the quiet castle. The evening has just begun, and the weather is fantastically clear outside and still light. All day there has been the hustle and bustle of curious traders flocking to the castle to assess whether it is now a worthy trading place again, and there are many unfamiliar faces walking the castle grounds, exploring. Extensive preparations have been made, directed by none other than Sir Euram Barows himself!

“The ball will be an impressive display of the wealth, ingenuity and importance of the people of...what's this castle called again? Oh right, Budehuc. The theme: Bright new beginnings. Everything must be bright! Spread conversation pieces across the room; sculptures, art, a tapestry or two, that sort of thing. The oppressive grays of the stone need to be polished until they shine, or covered with more aesthetically pleasing tones. There must be a tablecloth, embroidered preferably, on every table and contrasting but matching drapes and flounces on the walls!”

These were the instructions given to the workers, and every detail, word for word, has been carried out… to the best of the workers’ abilities, anyway, because Euram’s vision is quite grandiose and Budehuc has hardly the materials available for such an event! The consequences of such instruction has resulted in Budehuc castle looking fairly colourful for a change, although the alterations appear to only be visible in well-traversed paths that lead to the ex-war room, which has now been transformed into a ballroom. The changes outside of the room include having moved any remaining sculptures and paintings still there from after the war to the front so that they can be seen. 

Opening the door to the war room, however, is like opening the door to another world. It's an assault of color, all of it clashing quite horrendously. There are brightly colored tablecloths, rugs and flounces. If you look closer some of the flounces are in fact bed-sheets because they ran out of material due to the short time frame, and some of those bed-sheets appear to have been painted the appropriate color by the workers, probably to please Euram and get him to shut up.

Still, there are finger foods, fine wine and tankards of ale spread upon the tables at the outer edges of the room and a small band tucked away in the corner playing live music for the dancing guests in the middle. Waiters and waitresses are constantly moving around to set items of food or drinks down and pick up glassware. 

The room is relatively quiet right now, with people sure to be trickling in and out as the night goes on!

(( OOC: Whew! Thank you very much to Junabi for providing an excellent description of the alterations that Euram has made to the castle! This post is basically a mingle post, so thread-jumping and replying to everybody is encouraged! You can start multiple threads wherever you want and everybody can reply to anyone! For re-reference, most people's outfits can be seen here.

Depending on when the first part of the ball slows down, a comment will be posted indicating "PART 2" and then you can play out the events at the conclusion of the night, after the ball has died down! ))

Comments

[quicksmart]

[ She catches sight of Jeremy and perks up a little, glad to see a familiar face that she won't be arguing with tonight. She smiles at him, waving back as she goes to meet him half-way. ]

S-Sir Jeremy! You look very noble. Did you just arrive?

[flowingstrike_loser]

[Smiles back.] Yeah. It took just a little while for me to get ready, but I made it! [Recalling her compliment.] A-ahaha, I think you're the one who looks fetching this evening.

[quicksmart]

O-oh.

[ BLUSHES. Her face now matches the trim on her dress. :C ]

I-it's really nothing, I wanted to pick something practical and more alike my normal clothing, and -- [ She gestures to her boots. ] I have never worn high heels before, so I was quite concerned that I would look childish...

[ Rambling, and then she realises she's rambling, and tries to change the topic! ]

Is your outfit comfortable?

[ omg the dumbest question. ]

[flowingstrike_loser]

I could definitely tell that this wasn't your normal dress! You still look like Agnes. Just more embellished. It suits you.

[Seems to have no trouble talking about her, but himself?]

Hm. It's... slightly more, uh, form fitting than I thought..

[quicksmart]

Ah, I noticed--

[ Wait, that's not the right thing to say. ]

Well, I did not notice-notice, but.

[ She spins around and quickly grabs a glass of wine from the passing waiter and quickly offers it to him to once again change the topic. ]

W-would you like this?

[flowingstrike_loser]

[Lucky for Agnes, he can be on the oblivious side and this is one of those times. He gets distracted easily by her offering.]

Sure, thanks. [Takes it and has a small sip, not wanting to be rude and ignore her.] Hey, where's that Caesar kid?

[quicksmart]

[ She breaths a sigh of relief, but then panics again at his question. ]

Oh, I... I don't know. I have not seem him in a few days, to be honest.

[flowingstrike_loser]

What? I thought you guys were like this [crosses two fingers together]. Guess he's got to greet a lot of big shots tonight?

[quicksmart]

[ She shakes her head, looking a little bit -- sad? ]

He probably does. His affairs are his business, however. I am actually not working for him anymore.

[ She fidgets with her hands, uncomfortable. ]

[flowingstrike_loser]

Huh? Why not?

[quicksmart]

We had... a bit of a falling out. A disagreement of sorts, really.

[ She forces a smile, though. ]

Just because somebody is a Silverberg, doesn't mean that they are like Lady Elenor, I am afraid. Not that this would have come up with Lady Elenor...

[flowingstrike_loser]

[Thought anyone who could live with Elenor would have no trouble, but it looks like he was wrong.]

Are you sure you're not the one who needs a glass of wine right now?

[quicksmart]

Ah, but I am only 17...

[ H-has never had wine before, either! She looks slightly uneasy at the suggestion, but doesn't want to appear immature. ]

[flowingstrike_loser]

O-oh, right. [Doesn't want to be responsible for two underage drinkers. He does want to help her take her mind off what was troubling her though.]

Would you like to dance, Agnes? [Said that a little more loud and quickly than he intended.]

[quicksmart]

[ Her mind had been dwelling on Caesar now because of their conversation, and she did look quite deflated, but then she becomes completely distracted, once again blushing. ]

W-with you?

[flowingstrike_loser]

Yeah, of course. Would you mind?

[quicksmart]

O-of course not! I would love to dance with you!

[ She looks very relieved that Jeremy is the first person to ask her to dance, mostly because she doesn't really know how to and feels relaxed enough around him to not be too embarrassed about messing up. ]

I must apologize in advance if I step on your feet...

[flowingstrike_loser]

[Laughs while rubbing the back of his neck and tries not to sound nervous himself.]

Don't worry about it. I'm not the smoothest ballroom dancer myself.

[Takes her hands gently in his.]

You ready then?

[quicksmart]

Y-yes.

[ She shows a brave smile and clasps his hand tightly -- probably a little too tightly -- as she timidly makes her way away from the tables to the dancefloor. ]

[flowingstrike_loser]

[W-wow. Wasn't expecting her to take the lead as she did, but simply allows himself to be dragged along.]

[quicksmart]

[ That was the only part she knew how to do! Now that she's at the dance floor, however, she's looking around at the surrounding dancers, trying to figure out what to do. ]

H-how does this begin...?

[flowingstrike_loser]

[Hopes she doesn't notice him glancing at the other dancers as well. As he mentioned, he's no expert at this, but he was the one who gave invitation.]

It's easier than it looks. Here. [Holds one hand out at his waist and the other at his chest.]

[quicksmart]

[ She has never even been hugged probably ;;;;;; She hopes that she isn't bright red as she rests her hands where he places them. She's still looking over at the other dances, trying to see what other girls are doing. ]

How do they know where to step?

[flowingstrike_loser]

I thought they went in a circle. [That's what it looked like to him anyway.] You put your feet together and then just step? [Tries it himself, still holding onto her.]

[quicksmart]

[ She wasn't expecting him to try it out quite yet, her eyes still focused on a particular couple. She gets pulled in the direction he steps though, accidentally stepping on his feet already as she stumbles. ]

Ah! I-I'm sorry, Sir Jeremy. I wasn't ready--!