simplestgift: (Turn away.)
Archie Kennedy ([personal profile] simplestgift) wrote in [community profile] lucetilogs2012-12-01 11:05 am

Comfort and Joy

Who: Come one, come all! ...So long as you're appropriately dressed.
What: Luceti's second annual Christmas ball, old-world style.
When: December 1st, beginning around five in the afternoon and ending when the last person leaves.
Where: The Battle Dome.
Summary: Earth's eighteenth-century peeps are throwing one hell of a party. Again.
Rating: Well, considering no one is serving water? Probably PG-13 for alcohol consumption and the results thereof (there's coffee and hot chocolate!).

Upon stepping into the program at the Battle Dome, snow crunches beneath your feet. Great flakes of it drift silently from the dark sky above. And ahead...





The chill in the air is penetrated by the promise of warmth and light within the castle. As you approach, the music and festivities from inside reach your ears--tambourines and laughter and the clink of china dishes.

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--and you're only in the entryway.

Inside the dining room, cream brocades, simple but elegant, are draped over the walls. Traditional red rugs have been thrown over the floor. The single long feast table is impeccably dressed with light linen cloths and set with fine china and crystal.

The tables are lit with candles and chandeliers, giving the room a golden glow. On the tables, boughs of evergreen and holly surround the candles, and mistletoe has been hung discreetly here and there. In one corner, by a large and beautifully decorated fir tree (Buffy’s insistence), musicians are set up to play.

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.

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, 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.

In the ballroom, 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! In fact, it's perfectly acceptable to goof off during these dances, as long as you're charming enough that people aren't irritated with you when you mess everyone up. 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 quiet room, 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 quietly away from the ballroom, 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.

This being a castle, there are other rooms to explore. Up in the towers are bedrooms, nooks and crannies, and a large private library. Sneaking back to the kitchen between meals for a preview or stolen taste of supper to come is not out of the question, either.

Are you lingering in the dining room, 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? Are you content to enjoy the presence of people, or are you exploring the castle with a special someone?

Whatever you do, have fun.
complicatedliar: (sideways glance)

[personal profile] complicatedliar 2012-12-05 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
He tilts his head and gives her a smile, completely disguising the fact that he has no idea what she means by the strapless gown comment, other than it seems like an invitation to note well yes, that is a lovely bit of skin you've got exposed there. He covers her hand on his arm with his own, out of habit, and escorts her back into the castle, heading toward the ballroom.

"I do not know if Stark is in the ballroom." It's a warning, and an offer. He'll let her go before they get there if she doesn't want to risk being seen with the pariah of Luceti.
lorentzian: (pic#4059928)

[personal profile] lorentzian 2012-12-05 09:23 am (UTC)(link)
It seems rather like the courtly ridiculousness Asgardians are given to, so she lets it slide. Normally such pomp would make her laugh, but considering the rest of the physical contact they've shared this evening, it suddenly pales to insignificance in comparison.

"Ah," is all she says to that, rather short and suddenly none too pleased. The slightly twisty downward set to her mouth shows what she thinks of that. Jane is acutely aware Tony will eat her alive if he spots her with Loki. And he wouldn't actually be the only one. It's imagining what Pepper would say to her that gets her to wince.

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

"I..." She trails off, obviously thinking hard, slowing her steps if not outright stopping.
complicatedliar: (smirk)

[personal profile] complicatedliar 2012-12-05 09:29 am (UTC)(link)
One corner of his mouth tilts up in a wry smile. "It is all right. I understand."

He understands that anyone who wants any sort of friendship with him must act as if it is a dirty secret. Again and again he asks himself if it is worth it, and why it would bother him to begin with. He still hasn't quite decided, though he can always rationalize it as a means to make useful allies and gain information.

He stops before they are within sight of the doors and releases her hand with a bow. "My thanks for the dances."
lorentzian: (pic#4059794)

[personal profile] lorentzian 2012-12-05 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
She feels bad. And then hates herself for feeling bad that he feels bad! Wow, this has been a night of extremely confused feelings for her, on the whole.

So all she does is turn and give him a slightly apologetic smile when they reach the doors. Then, as carefully as she can, she gives him a shallow curtsy.

"I really should be the one thanking you. You're a pretty good teacher, as it turns out." Said somewhat wryly as -- per their occasional mathematical conversation -- she already knew that.

But still. Her smile fades as she regards him for a moment more, actually looking a little -- just a touch -- sad. "... goodnight, Loki."

With that, and without looking back, she leaves him to proceed through the doors and vanish from sight.
complicatedliar: (and i had a dream)

[personal profile] complicatedliar 2012-12-05 09:48 am (UTC)(link)
He backs away. Well, to play this right, they can't come in even close to together. All he says, quietly is, "Goodnight, Lady Foster."