InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Make me a sammich...."

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!]

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

Re: Ballroom

nobleblood
2010-06-26 07:31 pm UTC (link)

Helena... He didn't like leaving her, regardless of where it was, but to be seen in the company of the man believed to be Rasputin was incredibly dangerous. The last thing he wanted was for the people to turn on Helena and call her one of his 'witches' as well. At least the palace was guarded, which meant it was the safest place for her right now. Alexandra kept whispering, talking about Alexei and her husband and begging him to help them, which kept attracting curious and even suspicious stares from the other guests. This was bad.

No, you cannot put yourself at risk to save me. I have more of a chance getting away outside than in the palace, but you need to stay here. Distract them if you can but do not make yourself too obvious. If I find a safe place to hide then we can go from there, but do not leave the palace until you hear from me. Please? Vlad was already planning his escape route, trying to placate the tsarina as he maneuvered past a couple to get next to the Grand Duke. He tried to appear indifferent, as though he didn't realize who was dancing next to him, but desperation was starting to seep through.

The music reached its end, and there was a pause as there always was between dances, which was when Vlad saw his chance and acted. Now, Helena. With a wide smile he turned towards the Grand Duke, exclaiming that the Empress had just been speaking of him. He dropped his arms and stepped away, inwardly tense and ready to bolt as soon as he had the chance.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Ballroom

old_fashioned
2010-06-26 11:04 pm UTC (link)

But... She didn't want to argue with him, not now. She didn't want to say that the palace would be a madhouse once he left and the empress would look for him. Alexandra was going to kick up a fuss, Helena was almost sure of it now, judging from the way she was talking to him. Even from a distance the desperation was easy to spot, both in Vlad trying to leave and in Alexandra trying to make him stay.

On his cue, Helena slackened in the Grand Duke's embrace, and acted as surprised as she could when Vlad left the tsarina in their care. Alexandra began to protest, not wanting to be interrupted or away from her Rasputin. Helena quickly interjected, pretending to misread the woman's worries. She curtsied deeply and made a big fuss, reassuring the Empress that it was no trouble at all to be excused from the next dance. The Grand Duke seemed none the wiser and took a step to Alexandra, to continue on their dance as protocol dictated.

Go. Hurry. She took several steps back away from the two and cast a frantic glance to Vlad without thinking, urging him away both with her mental voice and a look, hoping that no one was noticing. The music had finally begun and she weaved through the throngs of guests, assuming everyone was starting to dance. From the edge of the crowd she turned back to look at the Grand Duke, and saw they were dancing but almost awkwardly so. His face was a mask of politeness, his movements wooden, his smile slightly strained, perhaps uncomfortable. Probably because the tsarina wasn't looking up him. Instead she was staring at Helena from across the room, the narrowing of her eyes obvious even from this distance, having seen the familiar look that passed between her and Vlad, probably making all manner of assumptions about it.

Damn.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Ballroom

nobleblood
2010-06-26 11:13 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't the best plan, and Vlad knew that, but he also knew that he had to get away before it was too late. He backed carefully into the crowd, trying to appear at ease and none too eager. Alexandra wasn't pleased or convinced, but he couldn't worry about her now; they really didn't have a lot of options.

Be careful. If you need any help, just say so and I will come find you. His reluctance to leave was all too obvious, but the crowd of dancers was thick and ever-moving, so it didn't take long for him to be swallowed up in a swell of bodies. He couldn't wait to see if anyone was following him, and he didn't dare try to listen to the conversation.

He slipped through the crowd, and once he reached the door he was gone in a flash.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -