Comfort and Joy

[simplestgift]

Who: Come one, come all! ...In formal attire.
What: A Christmas ball, old world style.
When: December 1st, beginning around five in the afternoon and ending when the last person leaves.
Where: The rec center.
Summary: Earth's eighteenth-century peeps are throwing one hell of a party.
Rating: Well, considering no one is serving water? Probably PG-13 for alcohol consumption and the results thereof (there's coffee and hot chocolate!).

The recreation center has been utterly transformed.

The doors open to a host of candles and a warm, old-world smell and feel. The scent of food and spices hangs in the air—mulled wine, wassail, evergreen boughs, fresh bread and roast meat. Cream brocades, simple but elegant, are draped over the walls. Traditional red rugs have been thrown over the floor. Gone are the billiard tables, ping-pong, and foosball. It looks like a different place entirely, every table impeccably dressed with light linen cloths and set with fine china and crystal. At least one-half of the room is cleared and ready for dancers.

The tables are lit with candles, and five chandeliers have been temporarily added to the room for more light, giving the room a golden glow instead of the sterile luminescence of fluorescent lighting. On the tables, boughs of evergreen and holly surround the candles, and mistletoe has been hung discreetly here and there. In one corner of the dancing area, by a large and beautifully decorated fir tree (Buffy’s insistence), the musicians are set up to play, unobtrusive to the diners but essential to the dancers. Leading them is Frederic Chopin himself, and few here can say they have had anyone better play for their pleasure.

Things will begin with a grand dinner late in the afternoon, with a light supper (mostly consisting of cold meats, bread, and other lighter fare) at around nine o’clock. The selection of food on the tables is enormous. Most of it is meat-based and some of it is simply meat. Roast beef with mushrooms, goose in giblet gravy, herbed chicken, baked salmon, and a whole pig are among the choices. There is some hope for vegetarians, though, with spinach mixed with bread crumbs and cheese on small toasts, turnips (or rutabagas if you speak American), onions, carrots, parsnips, mashed potatoes, asparagus in breadcrumbs, and savory onion and wild mushroom pies. There is hot fresh bread and rolls with butter and heaps upon heaps of small mince pies filled with fruit, molasses, and yes, a little minced lamb. Moreover, there are fresh winter fruits like oranges and mikans and many different desserts, such as Christmas pudding, a rum chocolate dessert, and spotted dog with custard. Sit and help yourself. For a complete list of the food offered, take a look here.

Among the drinks throughout the evening are wassail, tea, hot chocolate (less sweet and much more intense than most modern characters would be used to, made with cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of cayenne pepper), coffee, brandy, wine both mulled and plain, port, sherry, and gallons of rum punch. Even though the food is fantastic, overseen by Jack Aubrey, the conversation is the point of the game, and who knows who they will wind up sitting beside. At the center of each table is placed a pineapple as a sign of welcome and wishes of prosperity.

There is dancing light as the music itself, with Archie Kennedy and Elizabeth Swann teaching the steps of each dance before striking up the music and letting everyone go to town with it. They are poised and elegant but relaxed and seeming to glide as they demonstrate the motions with an effortlessness that comes with years of practice. They were both raised on these dances and this sort of social function and seem completely at home here. The dancing begins after dinner with the minuets and continues after a light supper with some informal English country dances. Anyone unused to dancing like this may find that it’s harder than it looks, but when one gets used to it, it feels very graceful, beautiful, and…fun! The activity will only end when there are too few dancers left to continue, and will continue all night if possible. As dancers pass each other or move hand-in-hand, eye contact can be made, quiet words exchanged, subtle (or not) messages passed as they spin through the room, or perhaps the room spins while they remain still.

It might depend on how much they’ve had to drink.

Those who do not wish to dance have other activities to participate in. In one corner, card tables are set up with multiple decks of cards stacked up, and there is even a box or two of dominoes and a handful of dice. The tables themselves are round and made of polished rosewood or mahogany. This area is well-lit and on the opposite end of the room from the musicians and dancers, probably as a mercy to the tone-deaf Horatio Hornblower who loves cards but can’t abide music. Here, discreet (or indiscreet) gambling is inevitable. There may be no money here, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to wager.

Are you lingering at the dining tables, drinking and talking loud and laughing with friends, or will you shyly sit and watch the dancing and games and hope to be invited in? Are you sitting quietly alone and listening to the music as your foot taps on its own, or are you unable to sit still and ready to dance all night if they’ll let you? Are you playing cards with a few new acquaintances, or are you hanging on someone’s arm and helping them cheat?

Whatever you do, have fun.

Comments

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia's laugh is rich and highly amused.

"So kind of you to say, but I am ruined forever between Buffy's Thanksgiving feast and this party. Oh well, a bit of extra padding will be good through the winter."

[simplestgift]

"There's not a pad on you, if I may say so." If he were a lot drunker, he might consider saying, Except for the two, of course. Four, I suppose. But he is not that drunk and wouldn't actually say it no matter how drunk he gets.

It does not, however, occur to him that this may be taken offensively.

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia smiles, taking the comment as it was intended with a happy smile and accepting it for as it is. "So very kind of you to say, Archie, but I fear I am in for many miles of jogging. Well, no regrets, food was meant to be enjoyed and devoured. I love the puddings."

[simplestgift]

"Captain Aubrey is a brilliant man." When he isn't being a little dense. "You look radiant tonight, you know."

[shadedsunlight]

"Thank you, thats kind of you to say. Honestly, I didn't do anything, no makeup and my hair is so plain. Giles was a dear and picked out a dress for me." so she rambles, some nerves setting in. Yes, she knows sh can look quite nice with minimal effort, and she has faith in the dress picked out for her, but she still worries. Christmas ball, everyone dressed to the nines, she hate to be out of place.

[simplestgift]

"You don't have to do anything besides shine." Sorry, Ginia, it's a ball. He is required to flirt with all the girls he doesn't consider a relation.

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia laughs lightly. Yes, she may have a boyfriend she loves dearly and deeply, but compliments are always nice little things.

"Oh, stop it, Archie, you're being far too flattering."

[simplestgift]

"Flattery is exaggeration spoken by a man for his own benefit, not truth spoken for a lady's; therefore, I must protest, Miss Ginia."

[shadedsunlight]

"Such a charming gentleman. I'd let you accompany me for a dance, but I'm afraid my eyesight hinders things slightly. Such a pity, I've always loved group dances. Elegant choreography and all."

[simplestgift]

"Then perhaps we'll dance on our own, and no one will mind us."

[shadedsunlight]

That brings a bright smile to her already cheerful face. She'll take any opportunity to dance, even with her vision gone.

"That sounds like a lovely idea. I'd enjoy that very much."

[simplestgift]

"Come along, then, Miss. I'll tell you the steps." He leads her to a less-crowded spot in the room. "We'll begin by honoring each other. I shall bow, and you courtesy. All you must do is bend your knees. Your hands should be in front of you, your arms rounded."

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia follows along with a hand lightly on his arm. She carefully takes her place and curtsies gracefully. She may be a modern woman, but she's one with years of dance, etiquette, and a bit of training in her.

[simplestgift]

He starts quietly talking her through the motions, taking her hands and directing her gently. It'll require a couple of rehearsals before they can do it real-time, but it's a fairly simple piece. When they are ready, he waits for a good point in the music before they begin.

[shadedsunlight]

It's a matter of trust as she works through the motions. Trusting in his abilities to lead, in her own feet and sense of balance, there's a whole lot of trust in dance, but soon she gets the steps down. When the music begins anew, they start again, Ginia putting all her focus into each step while still trying to feel the music and move naturally.

[simplestgift]

For his part, Archie is there to keep her from diverting into chairs or tables. For a blind woman, he feels she is doing very well. And, since this is a ball, he must put it in these terms:

"Heaven forbid you dance when you can see, or we should all be spoilt forever. Nothing would seem as fair."

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia laughs quietly at the compliment, taking a second to wave it off with her hand.

"Oh, stop it, Archie, you're embarrassing me. But... I do admit I've had years of dance lessons, I suppose that's where it helps the most."