Perilous Waltz

[Wolfsong]

OOC- I'm back guys! Glad to see I didn't miss to much. Here I go!

Christina smiled her thanks at Forrester, laughing at what he said to Bertram. "Boys are all the same," she said. "You would much sooner stuff your mouths then anything else. My brothers are exactly like that." She shook her head, laughing. "Have fun, but just watch out Forrester, I'll get you if I can." She smiled sweetly at him.

Maxwell smiled as he saw Christina smile. She looked so lovely that way. He leaned back against a wall, just watching. He could see some fancy-dressed ladies standing nearby, watching him almost like a vulture eying its next meal, but he ignored them. He had eyes for one person tonight, and no puff-up popinjay was going to disturb her while he was around.

[silvanis2.0]

OOC: Welcome back! It seems you keep this thread alive

Forrester felt a surge of blood rush to his face and he felt his brain scramble to speak. A dance with Christina sounded wonderful and terrifying at the same time. He certainly would enjoy spending time with her, but his bad knee could very well mess up any chance of appearing dapper. He swallowed hard and found his words again.
"Very well, but pinning me to a wall with your knife is cheating," he said, glad that his response wasn't a heap of nonsense.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- My, that's a cheery thought. I'll try not to leave again then.

Christina laughed again. "Alright, I'll play fair." She smiled at him, feeling quite glad she had met him. He was really nice, sort of a father figure.

Maxwell noticed one of the ladies finally coming toward him. Shrugging off the wall, he walked in the opposite direction, managing to walk quickly while still seeming at ease. The danger to this was it brought him closer to the dance floor, leaving him more of a target to anyone seeking a partner, but if he could slip through just right...
He didn't make it.
A lady with bright red hair and a dangerous light in her eyes seemed almost to appear in front of him. "Would you like to dance?" she asked, smiling sweetly.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his tongue seemed to be glued to the bottom of his mouth. He'd never been able to talk to girls, though Stephen never had any problems, much to his disgust. Before he could form any words, she took his hands and dragged him onto the floor.
"Heaven help me, how can I watch Christina now?" he wondered. "Blast it all! I hope this dance ends soon!"

[Ally-Ann]

~+Orion+~

Orion walked through the servants' quarters hall, his heavy boots echoing and bouncing off the walls. The hallway was narrow-- only two grown men would be able to fit shoulder-to-shoulder width-wise-- and it was dimly lit with slow-burning candles that sat on posts inside hollowed-out squares in the stone walls. The floor was made of stone slabs, and as the knight passed the shabby, wooden doors, he wondered if the majority of the servants were put to work, or if they were being granted leave-time like he was. He supposed it was the former, seeing as the ball seemed to be running smoothly thus far. His long strides soon had him at the end of the hallway, where there was a simple wooden door with an iron doorknob. The knight twisted it, pushed open the door, and found himself standing in a wide, beautiful corridor, with white walls, tall, arched windows with silver panes that let the bright sun shine through, and the ceiling was decorated with beautiful frescoes of cherubs, nymphs, and gods, circling round in-roof windows. Along the walls of the hallway, there were white-painted doors spaced apart from each other quite generously, and Orion then knew that he was in the guest quarters, where many of the guests from far, far away would be spending the night, most of whom were likely nobles and vassals. The lower castes would be getting different rooms that weren't quite as nice, but still decent and up to par with the best inns in the land.

After walking down the long corridor, Orion walked through a pair of double doors, stepping into the main foyer of the castle where the ball was being held, where people mingled and chatted and laughed, the sounds of hundreds of people greeting Orion's ears. The knight inhaled deeply through his nose, relishing the scent of fine, smoked meats, rich cheeses, heavenly desserts, and marvelous aroma of sweet wines, cordials, and beers. As he walked through the crowds, chin held high and back straight, Orion found himself feasting his eyes upon a few noble women, all of whom were dressed in silk and satin gowns that were either solid-colored or floral-patterned. They laughed merrily with noblemen, glasses of cordial and wine held daintily in their hands. The knight kept his head facing forward, but he watched them out of the corner of his eye as he plucked a stuffed mushroom from a silver platter that a servant was carrying around. They seem to be some of the highest noblewomen here. They're even wearing cosmetics, he mused to himself, vaguely wondering if his "favorite" cousin would be attending the ball. Biting into the mushroom, he turned his attention to a man-- a vassal, to be specific-- who was busy with sloppily stuffing his mouth full of smoked turkey and chicken. Orion inwardly grimaced at the sight and continued to walk through the crowd, bowing at the waist a few times for a few women and complimenting some men on their attire.

Though he thought the princess's large birthday ball to be absurd, Orion would be lying in saying that he hated it all.



~|Josephine|~

Josephine smiled at Lachlan, nodding at him before dismounting from her horse with ease. "Yes please, thank you," she replied, grateful that he was willing to take Alphonse to the stable. She removed her pack of clothes and accessories from her saddle, slinging it over her shoulder. Alphonse looked from Josephine to Lachlan, huffing slightly and giving the man a strange look of disdain. Josephine rolled her eyes, placing her hand on her hip. "Oh, come on, Alphonse, you're not above staying in a stable." The Arabian horse simply blinked and looked away from her, not at all amused. The noble waved her hand flippantly at him. "Fine, be that way."

[silvanis2.0]

When Forrester was left to his own devices, he went to find his sister. He scanned the see of nobles and peasants without any luck. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, however, since the typical noble attitude had always rubbed him the wrong way. With so many in one place the disdain for everyone else was almost palpable. He sped up his steps as much as his knee would allow and accidentally brushed by another off duty knight, Orion. He knew the fellow only as an acquaintance, but it was nice to see a familiar face. Before he could flag down his fellow official, a cloaked figure drew his attention.
The person was tall and thin, and masked head to toe in a black robe and hood that obscured a shadowy face. The strange person seemed to be scanning the crowd for something... or someone. Forrester's training kicked in and his hand flew to the hilt of his sword. As he drew it, the black clad figure saw him and darted away into the crowd, instantly disappearing. Forrester sheathed his weapon and pushed his way past as many guests as he could manage but the figure was nowhere to be seen. How was he the only one that had spotted the person? He looked around the large hall. Where were the knights? Where were the guards? Something was horribly wrong. He had to find Orion.
----
Lachlan smiled.
"You and Doyle will get along fine," he said to the Arabian as he took the reins.
Doyle harrumphed and refused to look at Alphonse. Lachlan rolled his eyes.
"Lovely," he turned his attention back to Josephine, "I will see you inside, I hope. Perhaps if you run into Lady Stephania before I do you might calm her down a bit?"

[sarahleinaar]

-- Serephine --
Serephine smiled as Will talked to Erin. She noticed a young man wandering alone and felt the need to talk to him.
She smiled at Will and Erin. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," she said giving a curtsey. She gracefully walked through the crowd and though several gentlemen asked her to dance she kindly refused. She finally came upon the young man (Orion) and smiled.
"Hello, I saw you looking around. Are you looking for someone," she asked kindly.

-- William --
Will watched as Serephine walked away. "But-" he started to say but she had already left. He sighed and shook his head.
He looked at Erin and smiled. "She's very outgoing. Never can stay in one place at the same time.
What about you? Are you a noble," he asked not really sure what she was.

[silvanis2.0]

She watched from her darkened corner of one of the dimmer rooms that had been flooded with people. She had been instructed to wait until she was seen before she acted. The black robes that her master had provided were itchy and hot. She shifted uncomfortably, feeling the throwing knives strapped to her belt scrape against each other. These people were blind and complacent. Nobody bothered to look around and take in their surroundings when there was music and food to distract them. Just as she was about to take up a new post, the black-robed woman locked eyes with a young guest. She grinned beneath her hood. Finally. Deftly she made her way through the crowd toward her target.
OOC: First come, first serve. Which of you noble characters wants to engage our minor villain? (Don't worry, everyone gets a chance to face at least one before the end of the ball. It's just a matter of whether you want your characters to have a chance to mingle at the ball or not before the plot moves forward.)

[sarahleinaar]

OOC: You could probually have her talk to William. I haven't seen the person I've been talking to in over 2 days so I guess he can chat with someone else.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- Sounds like fun. But I'm open to whatever you want. Christina is handy right now...

[silvanis2.0]

OOC: Sarah gets dibs on this one, but you can have the next one, Wolfsong! ^w^
When she was out of sight, she ditched the robe behind a decorative suit of armor, tucked her knife belt under her skirts, and turned on the charm. She moved gracefully and demurely through the crowd like a proper noblewoman. She stole small glances at her target, hoping to gather clues about his fighting style and weapon. When she was near the young man, she gave him a friendly little grin.
"I do hope that I am not too forward, and I know it is improper for a lady to ask a man," she said, dropping her eyes and fiddling with her hands, "but would you care to dance with me?"
She stole a shy glance up at him and quirked her lips in an innocent half-smile.

[DecooPunk]

OOC: I should have replied sooner ^^; sorry.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- okey-doke. I'll see you tomorrow then!

[sarahleinaar]

William looked up as a beautiful noblewoman came up to him, asking him to dance. He looked at Erin who seemed to be distracted.
"I'll meet up again with you later," he told her, and giving her a curt bow he turned to the lady who came up to him.
"I would love to m'lady," he said, and with a smile he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
"So, what is the name of this daring and beautiful noblewoman before me," he asked with a smile as they started dancing.

(OOC: Sorry Wolfsong! )

[silvanis2.0]

(OOC: Sorry >.<" See you tomorrow!)

She giggled at the remark and slipped into an easy waltz.
"I am Aerona Fairbank," she replied with that same little half-smile, "and what may I call you, my very complimentary lord?"

[Wolfsong]

OOC- and whoops! Here I am. Lol, here's my post for today. Good night.

Maxwell was quite grateful when that particular dance ended. He was actually a very good dancer, but he found the dressed-up, made-up ladies to be a bore and something to disdain. There was nothing fake about Christina. She was real, couldn’t seem to help it. She never spoke a false word, and usually tried to look on the bright side of things. “Now she’s a proper lady,” he thought. “I’ll see to it she has only the best of everything in her life.”
He quickly pulled away from his partner, but he did remember to thank her for the dance before running off.
Maxwell eventually re-spotted Christina, who still sat at the table, but was eying the dancing couples longingly. He smiled faintly, studying her delicate face. She was the most graceful girl he knew, and she didn’t even seem to try. It was as natural to her as being kind. Though he would never admit it, dancing with her was a treat.
He glanced around, then spotted Forrester. He seemed troubled. After a moment’s thought, he walked toward him. His dark cloak caught between his legs suddenly, so that he almost stumbled. Tossing his shoulders back to get it out of the way, he kept walking toward Forrester.
“Is something wrong?” he asked the knight. “You seem troubled, if you don’t mind my saying. Can I help?”

[silvanis2.0]

Forrester almost jumped, his nerves were wound so tightly.
"Something is very wrong here," he said in hushed tones, "I do not see a single on duty guard in this room. Not only that, but there is a very suspicious looking person wandering in the crowd. Whoever it was was wearing a black hooded robe and I could not see their face. They have disappeared. Perhaps you can try to track the person down while I-"
At that moment a scruffy looking peasant bumped roughly into him.
"'Scuse me, m'lord," he slurred, "had too much ta drink."
The peasant blinked several times at Forrester, as if trying to focus.
"Yore one o' the king's guards, yeah? Mind showin' me to the latrine?" he asked, swaying unsteadily.
Forrester sighed heavily.
"Of course, sir," he said to the drunk man before turning to Maxwell, "keep an eye out, will you?"

[sarahleinaar]

I swear I replied back to you... huh...

"My name is William, but please call me Will," he said. "What kingdom are you from Miss Aerona," he asked twirling her once.

[silvanis2.0]

"Ooh," she giggled as she twirled, "it is nice to make your acquaintance, Will. I am from... ohhh."
She suddenly pulled away and hugged her stomach before groaning again.
"Oh dear, I thought that cheese looked wrong," she mumbled, "I am so sorry, Will. I... I need some fresh air."

OOC: No worries ^w^

[sarahleinaar]

Will automatically went into pity mood. "Oh no. Here, let's go out to the garden," he said taking her arm and leading her outside.

[silvanis2.0]

"Thank you," she said breathlessly, clinging to his arm.
Once they were well away from the crowds inside the castle and relatively out of sight, Aerona gave up the charade. In a blink, she pulled out of Will's grip, backed him against one of the garden's stone walls, and held one of her knives to his throat. She clamped her other hand over his mouth.
"Make the slightest noise and I will be certain that you will never speak again," she hissed, scanning the area again before looking him square in the eye, "now listen. You have been selected to take part in something incredibly important to this kingdom. Think carefully about your next move, Will. If you refuse, I have orders to kill you. If you accept, you must fight me and prove your value."
Her eyes swept the garden once again. Satisfied that they were still alone, she continued.
"I warn you, if I am aiming to kill I never miss."
She backed away from him with her knives at the ready, awaiting his decision.

[sarahleinaar]

Will was surprised at her act. He definitely didn't see that coming. But he had been trained to be prepared for things such as this.
His eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly. What did he have to lose? Besides his life... He was trained by the King's finest knights to fight so he would be a fit bodyguard for the princess.
"I accept since I seem to not have a choice in the matter," he said pulling out his sword and pointing it at her.

OOC: Sorry it took so long! I ended up going out to dinner with my mom.

[silvanis2.0]

A wicked grin spread across her face.
"Let us begin."
She rolled to one side and launched two knives at Will's head.
OOC: Aw, yay!

[sarahleinaar]

Will quickly dropped down but not quite so fast enough. One of the knifes grazed his cheek making him wince. He grabbed her two knifes off the ground and threw one at Aerona and just barely missed her. He cursed under his breath and ran and stood back up. He picked up his sword and looked at her.
"When exactly do we know if I am 'worthy' enough," he asked spitefully.

OOC: And then we ended up watching a movie called, Now You See Me. IT'S AMAZINGGG.

[Davidizer13]

Stephania polished off a second roll, licking her fingers to get the sticky honey off of them. She looked up - there was a commotion somewhere in the hall - was it a drunken brawl? She rolled her eyes and considered one more trip to the table, but the crowd was pushing in the other direction, away from the unfolding drama. She pushed through them, apologetically elbowing between the partygoers.

That was when she saw someone else doing the same - a black-robed figure, slipping through the gaps in the crowd. She had a strong sense that someone was up to no good. "Beg pardon, sir?" she asked, reaching out to touch him, still quite a ways off. It must all be a misunderstanding, she thought, I must be reacting too rashly, I mustn't get involved. But there he was, moving back towards the fight...

[Wolfsong]

Maxwell nodded and watched Forrester lead the intoxicated man away. He chuckled quietly to himself and grinned. So he was searching for a person with a black cloak? He glanced back at his own, then shook his head. No, Forrester would have known...so he checked himself off the list, grinning. Probably had their hood up, to count as suspicious.
In the back of his mind however, a thought triggered by his own experiences in the dark field of skulking, he expected they'd probably ditched the cloak by now. While good for slipping in, it made one stand out in this crowd of brightly colored peacocks. Though you never knew, considering how dense some people are.
So he had two jobs. Search for a person wearing the black cloak, and seek it in a hiding place. While he doubted the cloak itself would have any distinguishing marks, it would be something to get to Forrester. He was doing this as a thank you to the man anyway, for helping slip Maxwell in. So he wouldn't have to put himself out too much.
That in mind, he went cloak-hunting.

[silvanis2.0]

Aerona flung another sword at his heart.
"You will know, trust me."
---
The hooded woman watched the noble with the black robe. She didn't know his face, so he couldn't be one of her master's men. What had he been speaking with the knight about? She carefully slipped out of her robes and hid them beneath one of the feasting tables. They were told not to track any of the guests, but this man would have to be an exception if the master wanted everything to run smoothly.
---
He had to be sure that the fight was not one of theirs. Surely nobody was stupid enough to stage one of their tests inside the castle. Just as he was about to inspect the fight further, he heard a small voice amid the din. Of all times to be seen! He whirled around to take stock of who was calling to him. It was a peasant woman. He smirked. She should be easy to silence. Swiftly, he ducked into the crowd to change into more appropriate attire before approaching the woman.

[sarahleinaar]

Will shook his head and flung to the side as yet another sword came towards him. "This is stupid," he said taking a few of his own daggers out.
He ran over to Aerona and tackled her onto the ground. "You may be some weird assassin or whatever you are, but I am still a man and quite determined I might add," he said holding down her arms with one hand, making it so she couldn't move. With the other hand he threw her other swords to the side.
"Also, I'm just way to young to die," he said with a small chuckle. He starred her into the eyes.
"So, am I worthy to live yet," he asked still jholding her arms down with one hand, and putting one of his own daggers to her throat with the other.

(OOC: Is he supposed to die... or do the mission? haha)

[silvanis2.0]

(OOC: Naw. I highly doubt any of our characters will die, actually. ^w^)
"That depends. Do you have it in you to kill me, Will?" she asked, taunting him with the shy little voice she had used to get him to dance.

[sarahleinaar]

Will grimaced. He didn't like to kill people but he would if needed.
"I would, but then you wouldn't be able to tell me what your doing here, and since I highly doubt your working alone I want you to tell me what it is your doing here and what the hell it has to do with me," he said angrily.
(OOC: Sorry, Will gets mad quickly... Hehe, and okay. Just lemme know if I do anything out of place... haha)

[silvanis2.0]

"That is fair," smirked Aerona, "you pass. Everything will be made clear to you soon enough."
She stamped her foot twice on the cobblestones. Six large men stepped out of the bushes and drug Will off of their comrade.
"Do not struggle. My friends will take you to one of the dungeons, but do not fret. You aren't a prisoner. We just cannot have you running off and telling anyone about this. See you around, my complimentary lord."
She picked up her lost weapons and disappeared back into the castle.
(OOC: No worries! He's allowed to have a personality You can describe the dungeons as you like. It probably won't be long until Will has company.)