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Tweak says, "I miss the old orgy room."

Daniel Christopher Morgan ☀ Morgaine Le Fay (tothenunnery) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2016-11-03 10:22:00

Entry tags:

!au, !fairytale, alexander yates, alexandra turner, andy lang, beckett samuels, bren gallagher, catalina reyes, daniel morgan, david ryan, eligio serafini, ellie morgan, etienne norbert, finley melville, freddie morgan, garrett landry, hannah ryan, irving midgley, juno melville, krista landry, liam walker, raegan mallory, sabrina shipton, scott morgan, sean riesling, shannon andrews, vincent dilaurentis, zane rosen

Who: ANYONE AND EVERYONE; people of royal, noble, and poor birth alike. Only known villains weren’t expressly invited, otherwise the ball is open for everyone to attend, or attempt to crash
What: A royal ball
Where: The kingdom of Camelot, in the land of Fairytales
When: Early to late evening, feel free to time jump around in your own subthreads
Warnings: Let’s keep it to PG-13, for the sake of fairytale fluff

Camelot had always been the largest kingdom in any land, both in its sheer size and its many riches. Since it’s inception, the land of Camelot had always thrived, as if the very ground it covered had been blessed by magic. Most people in Camelot believed that it actually was, since everything that ever grew out of the ground only flourished, and most stories and legends originally came out of their kingdom. They never had droughts or famines, the people of Camelot never went hungry, even those of common birth. The ruling monarch always managed to find a way to send aid to those in need, including to many outside of Camelot’s borders, when they had the extra resources, and they often did. The kingdom was a happy one, for the most part, though no kingdom was perfect, even a great one like Camelot. Of course there were still always some problems, no matter how plentiful the land was or how generous your king, but the generosity and near mythical quality of the kingdom helped to set it apart from the rest.

Among the believers of magic in the land, there were also people in Camelot who thought that there was some kind of mysterious, mystical force that protected the kingdom's land and the lake that ran through it, as well as Camelot castle itself. What some people didn’t know was that it was actually true, to some extent, and that in the middle of the lake was a veiled island called Avalon, a place of great power that was also tied directly to the Morgan family’s long and legendary history. Ages ago, there had been a sword in a stone, and the once future king of Camelot had pulled the sword out of its resting place. Since then, the royal line had always been of Morgan blood; a family of knights, heroes, and kings of legend. The sword itself was passed down through the men in the family, each having to pass the test of pulling it back out of the stone, in order to prove their worth to rule the kingdom of Camelot, and then that sword was theirs throughout their (hopefully) long and happy reign until it was time to return it to its resting place. For as long as there had been magic in these lands, there had been Camelot, and for as long as there had been Camelot, there had been the Morgans.

Everyone knew the stories of the Morgan family, the sword in the stone, and King Daniel's story in particular. How Daniel had been placed under a sleeping curse by a powerful sorceress before he could pull the sword from the stone and take his rightful place as king. Years had passed before he was finally woken up by true love's kiss, and it had been the kiss of a commoner that had done it, not from a princess or another prince, or even a noble, as most people had expected. Zane Rosen had woken Daniel from his curse and just like every other Morgan king before him, he fulfilled the prophecy he and every Morgan male was born into and pulled the sword from the stone, taking his rightful place as king once the dragon was slain and the kingdom was secure again. Since then, his rule had been as happy and as fruitful as all the others, made all the more so by the fact that he had Zane at his side, and all of Daniel's years as king had been filled with immense joy and happiness that seemed to touch the entire kingdom, and not just the happy two.

Camelot castle in itself was a thing to behold. Of course it was exceptionally grand just in size, with countless rooms to wander through and decadent furniture and trimmings throughout the interior and exterior of the palace. There was a vast courtyard outside of it with a large stone fountain, numerous stables for the horses, and many high turrets from which to look out of for a spectacular view of the kingdom. The ballroom itself where the party was being held was one of the biggest rooms in the castle, lit by chandeliers and candlelight, banquet tables of food and wine, as well as a group of hired musicians in the corner to play music for the people who wished to dance all night. There was also a pair of double doors that led out to a balcony, and a throne positioned at the other end of the ballroom for when King Daniel and Zane wished to sit and observe the festivities, as well as comfortable sofas and cushioned chairs for any guests who might wish to sit and rest their feet for awhile.

Unlike balls held by Camelot in the past, this one was unique, for one reason in particular. It was an open invitation to everyone, both of royal and noble birth and commoner alike, and that invitation extended beyond Camelot’s borders to other lands. That idea had technically been Freddie’s, who had seemed suspiciously eager when he’d asked Daniel about it, but Daniel had welcomed the idea wholeheartedly. It was the perfect way to celebrate Camelot this year, as well as the anniversary of his and Zane’s love, by opening up the celebrations to anyone who wished to attend. Camelot was about extending the hand of friendship, after all, and what better way to do that then to have a ball where any and all could attend if they wanted. It wouldn’t be the end of everyone’s problems, of course, especially for those who were still in the midst of wars, but maybe it was a start. Something that could even help bring people together. Daniel could hope that it might still be the start of something. Tonight, as the gates of Camelot opened for the first of its arrivals, that’s what this all felt like. The start of something great.

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Vincent/OPEN

payingthepiper
2016-11-07 12:15 am UTC (link)

There was always room for another musician, at a ball, especially one as large as the one that the king of Camelot had proposed to throw. Vincent could have gone on his own merits, of course. The ball was open to anyone that wanted to go, which was what had caught his attention in the first place. Otherwise, it was just another ball where the rich and powerful met to posture and position themselves to try to prove that they were the richest and the most powerful of all. He'd have been welcomed just the same as everyone else, at this ball, no matter how he presented himself... so long as he didn't wear the same clothes he'd worn when he'd lured an entire village full of children away from parents who hadn't appreciated them, hadn't treated them well. No one would recognize his face, dressed as he was; he'd made a point of keeping his hood up, while he was luring away first rats, and then children.

If he'd truly wanted to, he could have attended as Vincent, son of Lord DiLaurentis. His parents hadn't officially disowned him, after all. It would have been too embarrassing to do that, to admit that their son was such a disappointment. Especially after they'd traded in so many favors, ruined so many people's lives to correct the 'problem' with his hearing. Namely, the fact that he hadn't had it in the slightest, hadn't been able to hear a single word that was said to him for the first ten years of his life. He'd been a little beast, then, he thought. Cut off from everyone, not understanding why anybody was behaving any certain way, what they wanted from him, what they expected of him. After they had fixed him, so many things in Vincent's life had become so much clearer... but he didn't love his parents for it. For what they'd done because they couldn't stand that their child was less than perfect.

And so he'd left, as soon as he was old enough to strike out on his own. As far as he'd heard, when he'd listened in at a tavern in the city he'd once called home, his parents had said that he was away, at a school. A very expensive school, in another country, where he was learning everything he needed to know, to be a better lord. What they'd do when he didn't return, Vince didn't know, but that wasn't his problem. His only problem was finding a way to repay the debt that had been accumulated when his parents sacrificed anything that they had to, in order to restore their son's hearing. What he did, what he was doing, helping the poor, saving the defenseless from the adults in their life who were meant to take care of them but didn't, wasn't going to make it up to the people who had been hurt by his parents' quest, but there was no helping most of them, anymore.

As for Vince, working as a traveling musician hadn't lost its charm, yet. He'd been right, about them needing plenty of musicians for Camelot's ball. They'd been hiring anyone that turned up with enough skill to follow along and an instrument of their own, when Vincent had introduced himself. His flute wasn't in the best of shape, nor was it the nicest of the instruments among the groups of musicians that were switching out over the course of the night, but it had served him well... as was the uniform that the musicians had been given. He blended in, wearing that royal blue, with everyone else wearing the tunic and hose that marked them as just another member of that group. No one paid attention to the musicians, which was exactly what he'd intended. He was on a break from his turn providing music, instructed to go get something to eat, something to drink, to enjoy the party. Vincent would do just that... but, of course, also keep open ears that had been bought at a dear price for anything that might require some attention from the Piper.

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Re: Vincent/OPEN

beavampire
2016-11-12 09:01 pm UTC (link)

Sean enjoyed being a musician for several reasons. For one, the prestige of being an entertainer was hard to pass up. It gave him an ego rush every time somebody got excited to hear him play, especially in a smaller town where he should have been less known. Even at his age, even when he had eternity left to live, Sean preened at the idea of someone knowing him. His eternity, though, that was the biggest reason for his enjoyment of his current job. It brought in money, of course, which was far preferable to being poor and hungry, but it also allowed him to travel constantly, never staying in one place so long that people would start to pick up on the fact that people tended to go missing around him. If he didn’t stay long in a town, it would be one or two people at most, homeless people who wouldn’t be missed when he took them off and made a meal out of them. It was the pitfalls of being a vampire that designated that he needed blood to survive, but it was one of only a few pitfalls. He greatly enjoyed being a vampire.

Compulsion was the biggest perk, honestly, and there wasn’t anybody who could tell him otherwise. Although he had to stick to entertaining people at night outside of the harsh rays of the sun, it didn’t interfere that much with his life. The majority of people sought entertainment in the pubs at night regardless, and if he really wanted to he could just compel them to give him their money and make them think they had the performance of their life. One time somebody started to notice that he was only ever seen at night, and Sean had compelled him into remembering that he had been seen a few times during the day. No harm, no foul. Of course, Sean ate the guy three days later, but bygones.

The party being thrown by Camelot was the biggest in all the realm, and he would have been stupid not to sign up to play for it. It was easy money, and allowed for fraternization in a crowded area. One or two people going missing from the party to satisfy his craving wouldn’t likely be noticed when there were this many people dancing around and getting drunk. Which reminded him—he greatly needed something to drink to make him forget the outfit he was required to wear as a musician. Sean liked darker colors, so the blue… The blue made him feel like he was some nerdy scholar somewhere sucking up to a librarian. He grabbed a goblet of ale off of a table that probably belonged to the man trying pathetically to flirt with the woman next to him, and then upon noticing Vincent alone in the corner, grabbed a second one and headed in that direction.

Sean enjoyed being a shit-stirrer, so seeing someone who was so clearly trying to avoid the presence of others meant that he just had to go and bother the gentleman. At least he was coming with the promise of ale? It probably wouldn’t be comforting to the man whose space was now going to be invaded. “I thought the whole loner-chique thing went out with the plague…” He stated simply, holding out one of the goblets as a peace offering. “Name’s Sean. I’m here to keep you company.”

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Re: Vincent/Sean

payingthepiper
2016-11-19 12:51 am UTC (link)

It wasn't a surprise when someone joined Vincent, but it certainly wasn't welcome, either. Even if the other musician wasn't recognizable by virtue of his own uniform, Vincent would have remembered him, on his attitude alone. Vincent had gotten very good at identifying trouble before it could sneak up on him, and this man practically screamed 'trouble'. He gave him no more than a quick glance, flute still braced loosely between his fingers, trying to decide if it was worth his while to try to bespell the stranger before he could get in his way and ruin his chances of hearing anything useful that night. There was an even greater chance that taking care of the problem right there would cause him more problems than Sean was actually worth, unless he found some way to lure him away from the crowd before he played him into compliance.

"That's funny, I don't remember asking for any." There wasn't any bite to it; less than five minutes with Sean, and Vincent was already fairly certain that letting him know that his presence bothered Vincent was the fastest way to find himself with more of it. He'd grit his teeth quietly, keep his voice soft, mild, as pleasant as it had ever been. If he was lucky, Sean would lose interest quickly. It had worked for him, before. Usually with constables, people looking for the Piper who had lured children away from yet another town. He didn't always take them all, of course. Sometimes, the last time, he had, but sometimes all it took was one or two lured away for the rest of them to start shaping up, treating the rest of them the way that they ought to be treated. Vincent had always found them a decent home somewhere else, when he did take them; the fewer he had to take to new homes, the easier it was. It wasn't exactly discreet, traveling with a pack of children, especially when he happened to snatch them from the wealthier residents of a town. The ones that wanted their heirs back.

He should introduce himself. There were plenty of Vincents in the world, he imagined, he ought to be safe, but he was accustomed enough to living quietly, living without drawing any notice to his face, just the hood that he hid under, that he gave a name that wasn't exactly his own without a second thought. "I'm Vin." It ought to be safe; he hadn't bothered introducing himself to anyone else working that night. Why should he bother? They were all just there to be paid, unless they'd come there together anyway. Most of them had no interest in meeting, or befriending, anyone new. That was exactly what Vin liked about this sort of job. No one ever tried to make it personal.

Of course, he had no decent explanation for why he was hanging around alone, instead of trying to mingle. Excuses flooded through his mind; none seemed quite good enough, quite the right thing to explain. Sean hadn't asked him to, though. He'd only mocked him for standing alone in the first place. Vincent didn't feel the need to try to explain it, regardless, but he wondered if most people would. If most people would try to come up with some reason why they didn't feel like talking to anyone, when they happened to be in the middle of a party.

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Re: Vincent/Sean

beavampire
2016-11-19 08:33 pm UTC (link)

Sean liked this one. This ‘Vin’ was clearly smarter than he gave him credit for, which while not that great a feat considering Sean assumed everyone was stupid unless proven otherwise, was still impressive as Sean also didn’t often admit to himself that somebody wasn’t as dumb as he assumed. He had a complicated personality where he both thought he was better than everybody and also hated himself at the same time, which was a weird complex that he didn’t care enough about to try to explain. Most of the time he plastered a smile and deflected with violence, but deep down in it he hated the world, and thankfully so far nobody figured that out. He’d rather be seen as immature than have people try to talk to him about his feelings.

“Nice to meet you, Vin. Nice flute.” Sean held the second goblet out to him again, nodding in emphasis that the man should probably take it. He wouldn’t let up until the other man at least took a gulp of the beverage seeing as he was being all uptight and strange. Sean had found that ale cured most people’s shyness in fun and embarrassing ways, and he would eat his own tongue if it wouldn’t work the same way for this gentleman who was so clearly attempting to shrink away from the world. Sean got that, he really did, considering how hard it was to live as a vampire at first. It took him a while to play into the benefits of vampirism and stop despising what he was. He was pretty sure that Vin here wasn’t a vampire, so their stories probably didn’t compare as much as he wished they did, but that didn’t change anything.

“Most people come to these things to make friends and cozy up to royalty in order to get something from then,” Sean’s nose wrinkled at the idea of ever sucking up to anybody. That was for somebody without compulsion to get whatever he wanted. He didn’t need to grease the palm to get the things he desired, even from people like the good king. Sure, he didn’t ever have unaccompanied access to Camelot’s royalty, but he was content with taking the money from the lesser-known royals, law enforcement, and vagrants the world over. He really enjoyed taking all of the money from an abusive brothel owner a few nights prior and eating his only son and heir. That had been beautiful to see.

A servant came up to them then, his grin showing his eagerness to please as he carried a tray of food. Sean glanced at him, realizing he wasn’t about to just leave, as though he were desperate for the attention from the two musicians. Sean’s eyebrow cocked up, and immediately his pupils dilated as he began the process of compulsion. “Leave us. Now. Go dance on the table over there.” The servant paused, looking confused for a moment, before bowing and doing as he was told. He wasn’t a very good dancer, not very coordinated at all, so it wasn’t long before he fell and knocked a goblet of wine into the lap of Lady Cecily, who was beside herself. Sean snickered.

“Always good to have dinner and a show.”

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Re: Vincent/Sean

payingthepiper
2016-11-23 09:57 pm UTC (link)

No matter how little interest Vincent had in taking the goblet, he did get the impression that Sean wasn't going to withdraw his offer until liquid touched Vincent's lips. If Vincent had been there to drink, and have a good time, he might have been amused by it... not that Vincent was ever really anywhere just to drink and have a good time. It wasn't his sort of scene, drinking and having a good time. Drinking usually meant sitting on his own in a tavern, hood drawn up to hide his face, in the sort of place where no one would look twice at a man with his hood pulled up to hide his face because they didn't want anyone looking too closely at them, either. That was the only sort of place that Vincent really relaxed, the kind of place where no one would even remember him in the first place, no matter what he did.

Stifling a sigh, Vincent reached out with the hand that wasn't gripping his flute to take the goblet from Sean's hand, raising it to his lips and miming taking a drink. He doubted that the other man would even notice if the level had changed, before and after his pretend sip. That, and he doubted that Sean would stay interested all that long, once he'd given in and given him what he wanted... in this case, accepting his offered drink.

That changed, of course, when Sean spoke to the serving man. Vincent might miss more things than he'd like to admit, but when it came to compulsion, it was unthinkable that he'd miss the signs of it. The pupils, that might have escaped his notice. It wasn't about the looks of things, for Vincent. No, it was about the sound, and there was something about the sound of Sean's voice as he spoke, as he gave the man the instruction to go dance on the table, that Vincent caught immediately. There was a quality to the sort of sound that enchanted someone, that bound someone to the will of the one creating the sound.

He ought to know. It was what he did. It was his trick. And here was this stranger, using it skillfully, with nothing more than a simple statement. An instruction. It seemed as if Vincent ought to be able to catch the power of that voice, to transpose it somehow to his own uses. If he could just hear it a little more... hear Sean use it a little more. As little as it appealed to Vincent that he'd taken advantage of a servant, made the man go off and do something that could easily get him in trouble, and could have gotten him or someone else hurt, there were plenty of people there, at the ball, that Vincent wouldn't mind seeing embarrass themselves. Just a little.

"Impressive." A hint of admiration warmed Vincent's voice, only partly feigned. After all, he didn't want to overdo it.

He had a feeling that it wouldn't be that hard to get Sean to show off for him, just a little. Vincent was familiar with the kind of men that didn't mind using whatever means were necessary to get what they wanted, or just to amuse themselves. He spent most of his time with them, when they were the only ones that didn't care about the Pied Piper's own misdeeds.

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Re: Vincent/Sean

beavampire
2016-12-10 10:07 pm UTC (link)

When Vincent complimented Sean, he didn't think anything of it. He knew his ego was rather large, and that wasn't something that was likely going to change while he had the power to do whatever he wanted. There might have been a time when he was a nicer individual who actually cared about other people, but years of being jaded had changed that. Sean could barely remember being human anymore. Nowadays his motto circled around whether it made his own life better, consequences for others be damned.

Sean pried his eyes away from the entertainment he'd created, his smile slowly slipping into a sinister grin. It wasn't as though he held back on his compulsion in his life; he used compulsion along the lines of breathing. It was as natural for him as eating was; which, okay, some could argue that feeding on blood wasn't a natural way to eat, but it was for him so it still counted. Still, he appreciated being complimented on it. It wasn't like there were an abundance of vampires running around with his particular skill set. He had to work to get to the point where he used it so fluidly that he didn't need to repeat himself.

"Don't know what you're talking about," He snickered, nodding in the direction of the chaos. "Looks like our friend isn't a very good dancer. Pity." Not that Sean had been expecting him to be. He just didn't look the type. Still, the entertainment didn't last nearly long enough for his wandering mind. He was bored, and nothing seemed to be quenching his thirst for adventure. Even trying to bother Vincent wasn't working out. The man seemed to get his game too quickly, which took all of the fun out of his teasing. Couldn't even find a decently angry person these days.

"How's your drink?" He asked innocently. He was getting hungry himself, but even he knew better than to bite somebody in the middle of a celebration surrounded by guards.'

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Re: Vincent/Sean

payingthepiper
2016-12-13 11:29 pm UTC (link)

"It's fine." Vincent assumed it was fine, at least. He couldn't imagine that the King of Camelot would serve anything less than the best, at a ball. He had standards to keep up, after all, and plenty of people who would make a fuss over it if they weren't satisfied with the wine. Of course, there was no guarantee that the same drinks were available to the peasants as the nobility could get their hands on, but Vincent couldn't see any way it could have been separated out, if anyone was trying to keep the peasants from getting their hands on the good stuff.

Vincent did hate wasting the drink that he was holding, but it wasn't as if it was going to do anyone else any good, now that it was in a glass. He imagined that the bottle, if someone had taken it and sold it, would have been able to feed a peasant family for months. The wine itself, though, was only useful for getting drunk, which was something that Vincent had no intention of doing.

The level in his glass hadn't changed at all, of course. He'd claim that he was just taking very small sips, if anyone asked. And if Sean got pushy about it... Vincent would be interested to see if he'd be able to influence someone who had abilities to influence, himself. His was far less subtle, in execution, though he liked to think that he had quite a bit more delicacy when it came to the suggestions that he gave. Much better than asking a waiter to dance on a table, at the very least. Sean would be lucky if no one caught on to what he was doing, or at least to the fact that someone had been messing around with the help's minds.

Sean didn't seem intimidated by the fact that Vincent had figured out that he'd done something; his attempts at pretending that he had nothing to do with the waiter's decision to go dance weren't even slightly convincing. Of course, Sean probably thought that he could persuade Vincent just as easily. Maybe he could. Magical ears might not protect from everything.

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