InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I am confusion"

Bellum Letale Tempus (bellum_tempus) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-06-24 11:21:00

Entry tags:

plot: tempus, plot: xi

Russia, Day 4
Who: Group Xi
What: Dinner for the Grand Duke
Where: Alexander Palace
When: Day 4 (OOC, this will probably be open through the weekend)
Warnings: Could be anything. It's a party post.
Notes: Put your character's location in the subject line!

Dinner is an opulent affair.

The formal dining room has place settings for all scheduled attendees. Darcy and Helena are seated at either side of the Grand Duke, who keeps taking liberties with his hands that everyone at the table can see (including Vlad). The dinner is informal, and parties can dine at their leisure while enjoying the other activities of the evening.

The ballroom is chandelier lit for the evening, and an orchestra plays formal dance music, though the collection of nationalities present means that anyone can dance without standing out (as long as they're appropriately attired). There are curtained alcoves off the ballroom that afford some privacy for those so inclined. Lvov will stop his spies periodically, reminding them of the price of betraying him, while Pavel will be watching Joanie from a distance throughout the evening.

[Guests: Helena, Darcy, Vlad, Luther, Joanie, Nicky, Ella, Tegan]

Palace employees are all working the evening of the dinner/dance, and they have access to clothing in the guests' rooms (should they want to crash the festivities), and to the entire palace (should they want to work).

[Palace employees: Oliver, Will, Sam, Rosalie, Jane!Vaughn]

Outside the palace, the mob has seen Vlad, and they remain convinced he's Rasputin and that Jane!Vaughn and Ella are his witches. Even Alexandra seems to feel the same way, as she keeps drawing him aside and whispering to him. The mob is also still in pursuit of a Beast and a Tiger. Therefore, our village-hangers-on have been forced to hide in and within the palace, to keep from getting pitchforked. This group better sneak a bath and some clothing if they want to enter the palace proper.

[Hiding in the Palace: Daniel, Sebastian, Lily, Bernadette ]

[This is a party style thread. Put your character's location within the palace in your subject line. Have dinner, mingle, dance, sneak into one of those alcoves, go take a bath in a huge claw-foot tub, steal clothes, eat the Grand Duke for hitting on your woman, have fun!]

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Re: Dining room

nobleblood
2010-06-25 12:09 pm UTC (link)

He nearly began to nod but caught himself just in time, pretending to have been turning his head to offer a greeting to the man seating himself on his left. He is dead, yes; but I suppose not even that is enough to keep people from thinking he's returned. In his opinion the supposed 'holy man' was nothing more than a fraud, and the tsarina had been a fool to ever trust him. It took him a few moments to respond, as his attention was momentarily caught by the guests seated across from him and their questions of when Nicholas was returning. He... asked us to help him, to help his family. There was the faintest trace of regret, like a wisp of smoke, when he realized that the children actually thought they were going to be rescued. I told him we would - what else could I say?

Vlad leaned back slightly, just enough to catch a snippet of conversation behind him, something about Alexandra and Rasputin and somewhere in the palace. It made him pause for a moment, faint alarm bells sounding, but he shook it off. Ah... yes. Before, when we were all sent to different places to complete a task, there was a girl who made us markers. I'm not sure what the full extent of her ability is. He hadn't been able to get a close enough look to determine much of anything, but he'd seen just enough to ignite his curiosity. The people hated Rasputin, Helena, but I think they also feared him. Especially with the monarchy in pieces, people are impulsive and not thinking clearly... which is why I hope Pavel can do something to get us out of here before things get worse.

The sound of her laughter was comforting, and it went a long way to calming some of his anger. I suppose it would not look very good if I hit him either. Pity. It seems I will just have to be content with sneaking you away. His plate was swiftly taken away with everyone else's and the next course brought out; in the sudden flurry of movement, Vlad could have sworn he saw Alexandra watching him, but she had disappeared out of the room as quickly as she had appeared.

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Re: Dining room

old_fashioned
2010-06-25 03:06 pm UTC (link)

She felt her stomach sink faster at the mention of the children's hope, and it was easy to see the worry quickly flutter across her face, completely out of place to anyone but Vlad. There was nothing else you could have said, she reassured him. There's nothing we can do. Mina huffed, muttering something like You simply can't stand for what is about to happen but Helena shooed her away. As much as she hated the idea of anything bad befalling Anastasia - for she had grown so fond of her - or her family, the fact remained that tragedy was the only end to their story. There is nothing we can do, she reassured Vlad once more, and then reminded Mina, or perhaps she was more reminding herself of that matter.

Helena couldn't help touch of jealousy on the edges of her thought. Now that's impressive. Getting out of this situation was of the utmost priority, and knowing things were only going to get worse didn't help the worry and the urgency that flooded her. The chatter around her was now turned to the rumors floating about in the town, the people at the table clearly not thinking much of what the locals were gossiping about, or in this case, what they were afraid of. The words were a mishmash of English - for her and Darcy's sake she suspected - and French, the native language of the speaker. She put on her best attentive face, with Mina helping to do a quick translation. Even without her though, she could pick up a few key phrases, bypassing the Mad Monk talk or whispers of witches in favor wild rumors of even wilder animals in the forest: a beast and a tiger and who knows what else. Did you say Daniel was here? It was rhetorical, of course, and she tried to keep an ear out for a better description to be sure. Do we know any tigers back at Bellum? One day she would stop asking such odd questions.

There was another hint of a giggle. Perhaps we'll be lucky and you can sneak in a solid hit when we're on our way home. Or she could too. The man deserved a good slap, maybe two with the way he kept brushing up against her knee. As the dinner courses changed once more, everyone was momentarily distracted and she took the opportunity to look over in Vlad's direction to meet his gaze. She didn't expect to see Alexandra herself staring so intently at Vlad, and Helena turned away to look down once they sat a new plate in front of her. When she lifted her eyes, the woman was gone. You seem to have caught the attention of the tsarina. Former or not, it was hard not to think of her without the title.

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Re: Dining room

nobleblood
2010-06-25 04:31 pm UTC (link)

I know. We should not be here in the first place, and even if we did warn them of what was coming... I think it would still be too late. Too many things had gone wrong over the years, little things that added up to spell disaster for the tsar. As he'd told Javert, Nicholas wasn't a cruel man; just grossly incompetent and unprepared to lead an entire country. It was one thing to read about it in a book and quite another to experience it, though; and he wished for Helena's sake that she hadn't spent so much time with Anastasia.

He chuckled internally at the hint of jealousy, relieved to know he wasn't the only one who was envious of such an ability, especially in a situation like this. Fitting in was hard to do on your own, and without some kind of aid it was nearly impossible. His fork was halfway to his mouth when he caught a passing mention of a beast, and combined with Helena's question it made him freeze entirely. Damn it, yes... we were separated when he went to look for Ella. I think he turned into the Beast to cover more ground. Of course he would have gone and gotten himself noticed. As if Rasputin and witches weren't enough, now the mob had another thing to go after. I was not aware that we had tigers, no. Still, there could be new people who were brought into this without knowing.

Vlad liked the sound of that idea, and he made a mental note to keep his eye on the Grand Duke as the night progressed. Once they were back in Bellum, it wasn't as though hitting a major historical figure would matter one way or another. He managed to meet Helena's gaze for a moment, too busy trying to keep his eyes down and hoping that no one else noticed Alexandra's attention. Dracula was surprisingly silent, but he wasn't too pleased about being noticed by the Empress either. I know, and I doubt it's a good thing. She should have no reason to recognize me... Unless she thought he was someone else, which wasn't a much better alternative. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than for the dinner to end. As soon as you have the chance, Helena, see if you can get away from our guest of honor. We might be able to lose him in the crowd, and hopefully he will become too occupied with someone else to look for you.

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Re: Dining room

old_fashioned
2010-06-25 11:34 pm UTC (link)

Hearing Vlad confirm it, that yes Daniel probably is the evening's newest topic of conversation, made her eyes narrow slightly. She couldn't blame him, of course. The weather was more than a bit cold and if he was looking for someone, the better senses would have helped. But being seen? Well, what was done was done, and Helena idly tried to give no credence to such tall tales. The tiger could have been a new resident and she quickly tried to go down the list of people she knew had just moved in whilst simultaneously thinking of tiger tales and while a small handful came to mind, she couldn't dwell on it further. Not with too many distractions about. Then we have a lot of people to make sure go home. She still wasn't sure if the entire building was about, but certainly there was more than just her and Vlad and their friends. She hoped Pavel knew that, if he truly could help them.

Helena nodded, thankful that she was supposedly engrossed in conversation to cover up her slip. She seemed to think that Alexander was probably mistaking him for someone, but she hadn't come to a conclusion as to who yet. It is definitely a sign that we've overstayed our welcome here. They could hear the music from the next room, albeit faintly, but once the music changed the the Grand Duke turned to Helena to lavish her with his attention, and his hands. He leaned in close to whisper something once more, and she hesitated before nodding, giving him a small coquettish smile. He beamed back at her and kissed her gloved hand once more, the wince only felt across the connection. He wants to dance. He won't leave me be until then, I think. I'll try to get one out of the way as soon as possible and then I can slip away without too much protest.

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Re: Dining room

nobleblood
2010-06-26 12:50 am UTC (link)

If Pavel keeps his word, then hopefully everyone will get back safely. Being left behind was something he carefully avoided thinking about, not wanting to worry Helena any more than he already had. The building would bring them back eventually, whether it be in a day or a week or more, and they simply had to survive long enough to see that day.

Vlad laughed mirthlessly, thinking that they'd overstayed their welcome after the first five minutes of arriving. I think you-- The thought was cut off abruptly by a rush of displeasure, and it took every ounce of willpower to not throw his fork at the Grand Duke's head. Of all the people to have a dinner held in their honor, why did it have to be this idiot? He wants to dance, does he? There was nothing that could convince him to stay in the dining room while they danced, even if it did mean encountering the tsarina again. Alright. I will stay close by and cause a distraction if his hands wander too far. 'Distraction' being a rather broad term, and he had more than a few ideas already.

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Re: Dining room

old_fashioned
2010-06-26 01:32 am UTC (link)

Nothing too violent now. She was teasing, of course, although it didn't sound like she would be too upset if he leapt across the table right that second. If it was anyone but the Grand Duke himself, she might have even relented. But they had their little roles to play until they could finally escape and attacking the guest of honor was a definite no.

Mina didn't approve of this, as usual. You shouldn't be encouraging such behavior. Although it was easy to feel her irritation at the man beside them, and the highly suggestive things he kept whispering in her host's ear. A man in such standing should never-- Helena did her best to shoo her aside if she continued to rave about how quickly times had changed.

I suspect then, Helena said, there will be many distractions. He's quite handsy as is and we're just at the table. She sighed inwardly. You'll be glaring daggers at him the entire time, I imagine? That was hardly inconspicuous.

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Re: Dining room

nobleblood
2010-06-26 03:13 am UTC (link)

Of course not. As much as he wanted to inflict moderate to serious bodily harm, he knew he had to restrain himself. He could manage that for Helena's sake, at least. I can behave myself for the length of one dance.

Dracula was surprisingly silent, but it seemed that the sound of Mina's voice annoyed him more than Helena's did. He didn't say anything to indicate such, but he really didn't need to. Vlad was just glad that he didn't have to spend five minutes trying to get him to keep quiet.

I can provide as many distractions as necessary. He would shove five different women in the Grand Duke's direction if that was what it took. And I will not be glaring daggers at him the entire time. Dracula scoffed in disbelief, and he relented with a sigh. Well... not the entire time. He'd given up trying to focus on the various conversations, as they all repeated the same thing and it looked as though people were beginning to migrate to the ballroom anyway.

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Re: Dining room

old_fashioned
2010-06-26 04:29 am UTC (link)

There was a slight twitch at the corner of her lips, if he was looking, just the beginnings of a little smirk. Of course he could behave himself for one dance.

More soft mental laughing. I'd start to worry if you didn't, she admitted easily. Her plate was being cleared away as most of the other guests were moving to the next room. Sure enough the Duke began to stand, as did Darcy, who excused herself for a moment to probably run off to the powder room. Helena cursed inwardly as now she had the Duke's full attention. He wound her arm around his, the other hand touching the small of her back to lead her to the ballroom. One dance and hopefully some other woman will try to catch his eye. I'll slip away and I'll be all yours. And if not, you could always try to cut in. It was a half joking suggestion, but a suggestion nonetheless. She gave the room one quick glance around, pretending to be awed by her surroundings before meeting Vlad's gaze for one quick moment, trying to reassure. Then the Grand Duke vied for her attention and she let him lead her out of the dining room and onto the ballroom floor.

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	Re: Dining room nobleblood 2010-06-26 05:26 am UTC (link)
	[Continued over here.] (Reply to this) (Parent)

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