The Masquerade[Victorian Era RP/CLOSED]

[Thisba Liadon]

Lila withdrew her hand and gave Sir Gregory a small smile. "The honor is all mines'. Truly. You graced the masquerade with your presence. Something that has been missing in the recent years."

Her attention was on Mark once he appeared and spoke. "Thank you..." She turned way. "Gentlemen....if you will follow me."  

[pizzasage]

'Nice mansion.' The words echoed in Gregory's head for a moment before he realized exactly what they meant. 'Nice mansion?!?' What's this? None of the usual bloody fluff talk? No empty pleasantries? I thought those were de rigueur for this kind of event. I'll have to pay attention to this Mr... La'crosse, I think. He had been talking to the hostess when the musician had been announced, but he thought he heard the name right. Some good, honest conversation might be just the thing to break the dull tedium of an upper-crust party...

When lady Delamere invited them to follow her, Gregory glanced over at Mark, then back at the hostess. "Ah, of course," he replied, and moved to follow at a safe distance...  

[Thisba Liadon]

She lead her two guests into a large room that was lavishly furnished and decorated. There were a few other guests already in here. Chatting quietly. Lila turned to the men.
"Please.....make yourselves at home..."  

[pizzasage]

"Thank you," Gregory replied with a slight bow. The iron clad laws of ettiquete seemed to have been relaxed just enough for comfort at this ball. Might that have something to do with all the guests being so young? he wondered. Lady Delamere must have planned it that way. What a stroke of genius!

As the hostess went off to attend to some other duties, Gregory glanced around for a member of the serving staff... and almost before he had done so, one was at his side. Amazing, he thought. How do they do that? He appeared almost from nowhere!

"May I bring you something to drink, Sir Morgan?" asked the immaculately dressed middle aged man. "Perhaps I might recommend a particular wine..."

Moments later, Gregory found himself with a glass of red wine, of a vintage and brand that had gone in one ear and out the other. Wine tasting was not one of his skills. Experimentally, he sipped it. His eyebrows went up several notches for a moment. This is outstanding, he thought. I wonder how much this is per bottle... On second thought, he decided he was probably happier not knowing. I should nurse this, he decided. Just a bit to take the edge of the evening off, but I have a feeling I'll need my wits about me tonight.

All that being done, he glanced around at the other guests. He had yet to be drawn into any conversations, so he thought he might drift about until he was pulled into the orbit of some discussion or another...  

[Thisba Liadon]

Lady Delamere returned to the room where the guests were suppose to be gathering. The band was playing a song that she did not particularly like. Then again...she did not really like dancing. It always seemed like a form of acceptable flirting. Something she herself did not enjoy.

Then again she was not a normal girl. She took no pleasure in getting tarted up, dancing or meeting 'gentlemen'. She was not interested in marrying though it had been made perfectly clear she was to chose a suitor or else one would be chosen for her.

She stood off slightly to the corner. Over looking the gathering. So far so good. She accepted a glass of the wine provided and took a sip. A very good one. She took another small sip. Savoring the rich taste lively taste.  

[pizzasage]

(( I'm creating an NPC here. Let me know if you want a full profile on this dude... ))

Gregory was just beginning to enjoy himself. The wine was superb, the music was interesting, if not engaging, and the atmosphere was physically more comfortable than the south Pacific heat. But then he was approached by an immaculately dressed young man who seemed to recognize him...

"Good evening, Sir Gregory Morgan!" he greeted cheerfully. Gregory estimated he was somewhere in his early 20's, but beyond that, he did not know. "Lovely night, isn't it? And quite the vintage to accompany it, wouldn't you say?" he clinked his wine glass gently against Gregory's. "It's a welcome surprise, seeing you back in civilized lands. Some had almost given you up as a lost cause!" Gregory had all but made up his mind: he hated this man already...

"But then," the man continued, "we've had a dull, boring run of conversation in here. Surely, an adventurer like yourself could tell all sorts of amazing stories. What do you say, old chap? Do regale us with a tale or two."

Theodore Ashford, son of Lord Edmund Ashford, was dangerously bored at this ball... It had only just begun, true, but he craved entertainment. And who had the good Lord seen fit to deposit, but Sir Gregory Morgan, recently returned adventurer from the Dark Continent and the South Pacific! Oh, this would be fun... At the very least, discomforting Sir Morgan would relieve the boredom for a few moments...  

[Thisba Liadon]

((That won't be necessary.))  

[x-Lady_Vixen-x]

Carriage wheels rode towards the mansion. A guilded horse harnessed to it. A blonde man leading the way. And inside the carriage, a twin.

The Princess fanned herself, smiling a sneer. She was dressed in ornate yellow and black, like a wasp in a spider's web. They arrived at the quaint little place. She sniffed in disdain, then let out a small hollow laugh as her escort and brother held out his hand to take her inside, opening the dorrs for her.

"Ohhohohoh! Now time for a snack!"  

[pizzasage]

Ambushes of this sort were not what Gregory was used to. "Ah, yes, it's good to be back," he replied slowly as he tried to figure out the angle of this new assault.

"So come on, sir, tell us!" goaded Theodore with subtly false good humor. "Tell us a story or two! Some tale from the dark corners of the Earth to liven up the hum-drum high society life."  

[korinzu]

---Sir Mark La'Crosse
------A Wealthy Laid Back Famous Musician

In the room of gathering guests did Mark wander, and as equally displeased with the music as the beholder of this event, though unknown to either of the displeasure for it. The taste was not right for the atmosphere, and the tempo was off. And just as well, this masquerade Ball of the Aristocrats also served for finding pleasurable suitors. Having lived as a beggar, a poor man, a thief on the streets, forcefully on his uncle, he had an appreciation the other's did not, and a wild side and disregards for proper manners at times. But that was his flare that made him separate from the whole.

"Enough with this rubbish!" Mark spoke from under his black mask. Walking to the stage of the live band, He pulled away the maestro, took his conductor's wand from him, and reinstated the song instantly. The piece itself was not right, but it just needed some adjustments. instructing with the wand, he changed the tempo and the flow to something more somber and relaxed, heightening the low base instrument player's parts, while giving the high pitch instruments a softer, long wind play. the result was a calmer, cooler atmosphere that brought ease. "keep them operating like this." He spoke to the Maestro, handing him back his wand as he left back to the floor, and meeting many out casting glances.

"He might be maestro, but I am known for my musical prowess as is my family, this is a better result." He said simply before walking past them.

 

[pizzasage]

(( Oh, that reminds me... I have a picture and a mask for Greg. ))

"I'm sure far flung isles are far too vulgar a topic for a party like this," Gregory said, evading.

"Nonsense!" declared Theodore. "Do tell, what unspecified services to the crown warrant such an honorable welcome upon your return?"

A word stuck out in Gregory's mind... "Unspecified ones," he replied. "And if Her Majesty sees fit to describe them that way, who am I to argue?"

He was desperately searching for a new gambit to play when the man from earlier commandeered the band. The young man with all the annoying questions was distracted, and Gregory knew just what to do about that.

He sidestepped neatly away and soon lost the antagonist among the milling guests...  

[x-Lady_Vixen-x]

Len led his sister inside; he too, dressed in black and yellow, though it was his sister who look more of royalty. Immediantly, she pouted. "I've only entered, and I am already bored! All these people are probuably OLDER than I am!"

She waved her fan over to the table where the food was aligned. "Go and see if they at the VERY least have brioche!"
He smiled, giving a small bow and doing as she instructed. And meanwhile, Kagamine flitted off and about, hoping to bring attention to herself.  

[pizzasage]

Gregory threaded his way through the guests and headed for the food. On the way, he dodged any waiters or other staff he happened to notice as well, since his objective wasn't just to acquire food, it was to escape from Theodore as well.

On the way, he realized a new guest had made an entrance... well, two of them, to be precise. Kagamine, princess of... where, again? Damn, that dandy and his idiotic questions had me distracted... Such lapses in attention could be fatal. Gregory berated himself, but only for a moment. That would be her brother... Len, I believe his name was. Gregory hadn't been paying much attention when they were announced, but he had a fairly good head for names. And these were easier to remember than most of the jawbreakers he had been introduced to in the preceding few years.

There wasn't much time to ponder. Gregory hit the table a moment after Len did, and he immediately began picking out wholesome morsels. I need to keep out of general sight, he thought, at least until I know what kind of people I'm dealing with here...  

[x-Lady_Vixen-x]

The cunning butler raised an eyebrow. Something about this man amused him greatly by his actions. But he pretended to search amoung the buffet for the bread. "Here to get away from the riff-raff?"  

[Thisba Liadon]

The hostess stood just outside on the large room that all the guests were currently in. She seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with the head of her staff. A serious one it seemed because she shook her head. Lifted her dress to just below her ankle and hurried off. Away from the guests. Her servants scurrying after her.