aterat | A Winter's Ball

Entry tags:

A Winter's Ball

Who; Everyone!
What; The Ball promised by Halcyn!
Where; A newly (and quite abruptly) renovated ballroom in the Noble District
When; December 15th, evening
Warnings; None as of yet, though there is some mischief afoot for those looking for it

The morning of the 15th, the day of the Ball, opens with a letter under every door, reminding the residents that today is the day, that the Ball to celebrate and be merry is upon you. It also includes a small golden ticket that all attendees are asked to present at the doors to be allowed into the hall in the Noble District. It bids the attendees to enjoy themselves, forget their worries for a time, and is each personally signed by Halcyn.

Arrival | Under the Mistletoe;

The chill in the air at the change of seasons makes for a cold journey to the Noble district, though the streets are well-lit (an improvement in the otherwise dilapidated quarter in the first place) and at the end of the street indicated in the invitation letter, stands a beautifully restored building wreathed in white lights and adorned with wreaths and holly. All roads and citizen paths have lead to the ballroom today, and it is a beacon of civilization in the otherwise unused quarter. A guardsman is checking tickets at the door, and allowing admittance to the foyer of the ballroom.

The foyer is also decorated in trees adorned with shining lights. There are people flitting about with trays of champagne and people are greeting each other, gathering in groups and generally enjoying one another's company. Six archways lead further into the ballroom, and into what seems to be a seating area with round tables atop which glittering floral arrangements sit and to which servers bring meals for those who have a seat. At the top of each of the six arches hang six bundles of mistletoe.

Some are able to pass beneath the bundles with no issue, but others may find their way blocked by an unseen wall, unable to escape the arch until someone joins them, and a kiss is exchanged. It could be innocuous, even a cheek would suffice, but who's to know that without experimentation?

Try the Grey Stuff, It's Delicious

In the dining hall, meals are limited, but there are options for various palettes and even a vegetarian option. There is wine and champagne, and also non-alcoholic options of you're less inclined to partake. The music from the main ballroom, accessible through a set of ornate double doors, is muted here, providing a sense of ambiance but not overpowering the conversations that may occur at the tables scattered about the room.

The desert is the same for all who try it, though, and fluffy (is oddly colored) meringue that is simply to die for, but it seems to have some strange side effects. As the night progresses for those who've eaten the strange confectionary, they will begin to feel more and more happy and carefree, but also much more open. Those who are reserved about their feelings or their thoughts, even their histories, will feel less inclined to be so withdrawn. That couldn't possibly make anything awkward, could it?

Shall We Dance the Night Away?

The main even by far is the grand ballroom. A 15 piece orchestra sits atop a small stage to the north of the dance floor, their music varying between melancholic, haunting, warm, and uplifting, and the citizens are quite enjoying the time to let loose and dance the night away with their partners.

Spiral staircases lead to the balconies on the second floor overlooking the dance floor below, affording tired dancers chairs and refreshments with which to rest in order to return to the floor below. The music here, due to acoustics, is muted which affords a more intimate place to converse.

Even more intimate are the outdoor balconies accessed from either side of the second floor. Here, small sconces have been lit to afford a romantic glow to the area, but the light is dim enough to enjoy the glittering starlight above. The flames also give the area some warmth, warding away the chill in the night air and allow guests to enjoy the solitude of the area without freezing. The music out here is a pleasant background hum, making the setting even more romantic and ethereal.

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"It's okay. We used to always be together. Even when we weren't we could be," she tapped her head. "We had special connections. But he's better off home with the others. They need him more than I do." Someone had to keep them all together and he'd always been very good at that.

"It's always fun when unexpected things happen. Isn't it?" At least that's the way she liked to look at things. "The big one is Christmas on December 25th. There's mistletoe, cookies, big trees that people decorate, and lots of presents. It's supposed to be a religious holiday but I think most people just care about the presents and food now. And Santa."

His head cocked to the side when Arkady tapped her head. But that was just beyond him except the special connection. He had his wayfinder which Aqua had connected the trio through. So maybe that was the kind of connection she was referring to.

But he could only smile and then nod at the question about unexpected things. That had been his whole journey before the darkness and that's where he'd chosen to look instead of the darkness of his last ten years. The rest of it he could understand having seen it all at the Ball represented with different things, but the last part got him.

"Santa? Who's that?"

"Santa Claus! A big man with a white beard and red suit and hat that lives in the North Pole. On Christmas he travels the world with his sled in and flying reindeer to deliver presents to good kids." There was no hiding how excited she seemed to talk about that. Even if it was just a fairy tale she still found it fun. It was nice to think about such a wholesome story.

Arkady's words and enthusiasm were met with confused and blinking blue eyes. "So this Santa Claus gives presents? But why?" And he wondered if he'd ever heard of this Santa on his travels around the different worlds, but was pretty darn sure that he hadn't.

"And you said reindeer fly? Do they have wings?" This is one person who has no idea.

"To make the nice boys and girls happy!" She leaned in close to him and lowered her voice. "Or just as a fairy tale to make sure kids try their best to be good." She shook her head.

"No, they don't have wings. They have magical powers, like me. And one has a glowing red nose!"

Terra was intrigued as to why Arkady was lowering her voice but he listened all the same. So this Santa guy might be made up instead? Then why all the stories?

His head tilted at the last part. He didn't even know what a reindeer was but now, were they real? Questions, Terra now seemed to have them in abundance. "What does a reindeer have a red nose for?" And what colour were they normally if they were real?

"To lead the way on foggy nights of course! A flying sleigh needs headlights somehow, right?" The way she said it made it seem like it was a very obvious thought. "His name is Rudolph!"

He nodded along, but more questions kept coming to mind. "So..do all of the reindeer have names?" It would make sense if they did, but of course Terra didn't know that. And if only one reindeer had a red nose, would only one be enough for this Santa to be able to see?

"Of course, silly, why wouldn't they? There's an entire song about it!" She smiled brightly. "They all fly with him but Rudolph leads the way."

"Oh." Terra didn't want to ask Arkady all of the questions he had. "So maybe this Santa is kind of like a fairy godmother." Maybe this Santa person should definitely meet Cinderella's fairy godmother. He would bet they had an awful lot in common.

"Maybe! Do you have those where you're from?" She looked both excited and curious at the prospect.

"Uh..well someone I knew had one but she was the only one that I've seen." And Terra had met the Fairy Godmother too, having had the privilege of watching her magic completely turn around things for Cinderella.

"So they're real? I wonder how you get one!" There was no hiding the fact that Arkady thought it might be a really cool thing to have. "Your world sounds interesting!"

"I really don't know how." Terra replied with a shrug. Seriously he could use one now and then but now that Arkady mentioned it of sorts, it sounded like everyone could use one of those.

"But I only found them in one world. I don't know how she even had one." And of course he'd been so busy on his own quest and then he got busy protecting Cinderella from the unversed so she could get to the Ball safely.

He never thought to ask how.

"Aw, maybe it's just unique to that world. They sound nice though." It was interesting to Arkady to learn just how many unique things there were out there. "Did you travel to a lot of different worlds? I've only been to 3. This one, one before, and my own!"

"Uh..you can do that?" Terra was kind of surprised to hear about this but he didn't doubt Arkady. "Well I guess it isn't all that crazy considering we all traveled here..even if we're not sure how."

Only the keyblade wielders knew about that along with masters and magicians like Master Yen Sid and Merlin. Well Scrooge McDuck knew too whoever that was. But that was according to Ven that he knew. Maybe others did too and just kept it a secret.

"So..ya to answer your question. But I was looking for answers. It wasn't..a vacation or anything."

"I think I can do anything I want to. At least that's what we theorized about our powers." But they really didn't know for sure, which she wasn't too keen on telling someone. People always seemed to react weirdly to that. "But I didn't do it on purpose. I got taken to the first place and then taken to this one. I wouldn't leave home if I had a choice. We kinda had something important happening there. Something big." And bad. But she was curious about people who could travel by choice.

"Oh. It seems like it'd be a fun vacation," she leaned and titled her head. "What answers were you looking for?"

"Huh." Terra said, wondering about that. Wouldn't that be something to do things just because he thought he could? With that he could've passed the Mark of Mastery exam without a second's hesitation though he still would've wanted to win 'fair and square' as Zack had said back in the Olympus Coliseum.

He could totally relate to the something important since he'd been looking for Sora along with Aqua and Ven when he unexpectedly showed up in this world. But maybe they were thrown out to other worlds and were looking for him too.

The answers question was easy enough though. "We were sent on assignment to find another Master." That wasn't counting the Unversed obstacles or all of the world hopping through the Lanes Between that they'd had to do to make sure the Princesses of Heart weren't in danger. He didn't see the harm in mentioning the other worlds but he didn't want to bring up the Unversed.

"You're a man of few words, aren't you?" she chuckled and shook her head with slight amusement. He reminded her a bit of some of her other friends, people who thought a lot but kept the majority of those thoughts to themselves. Not that she could really talk herself, she kept most of her more negative thoughts or depressing thoughts to herself. Deeply hidden under layers of smiles and forced excitement.

"Did you find them? The other Master?"

Terra's hand reached up to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Ya I guess I can be." Maybe he needed to change that. Had it bugged Aqua or Riku or anybody? No one he could think of said anything about it. But then he spoke to Zack okay and Riku later..hm.

It was a hard call, but maybe she was just pointing it out to be kind or so that he was aware of it? He really had no idea.

But her voice shook him out of those thoughts. "Huh? Ya, ya we found him." It was hard to say because he was..not the nice man he tried to pretend he was. But in the end..

"It took a long time. And it turns out he was our own master's friend since they were kids."

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A Winter's Ball

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