Deritain Masquerade Ball (IC)

[Kingdom of Derita]

The princess smiled and curtised to the servants in return as they led her to the ballroom where everyone was. "This place looks fabulous, I can't remember the last time we threw a big public ball like this at home." Serisa told herself as she looked around, hoping to find somebody who wasn't preoccupied with a coneversation.

A passing member of the small group of nobility in Derita looked at the Princess. He smiled at her. His dark coffee color skin a black hair in deep contrast of the Princess, who carried the same looks of the servants.

" Your Highness, If I may say so, this is hardly public, only the cream of the crop of society are allowed inside such a place. This is the Crown Prince's private villa. Once we leave the single road leading here will be destroyed. No one will even remember where it is."

[Nuridia]

"Well that's a sensible precaution I suppose." Serisa said to the noble. He was tall, dark and handsome from what she could see of him with his mask on. "At least it'll be fun while it lasts." she smiled.

[Valaran]

Christopher II took her hands and the overhead musicians began to play a soft waltz song. 30 feet Above the musicians was a simmering dome.

Christopher II lead Lyanna in the dance. Arriving nobility of derita smiled and followed the Prince's lead.

"So, you've been awfully quiet." ventured Lyanna as they danced. The Princess was slightly nervous to be the center of attention, though she was hardly unused to it. After all, very similar things happened back at home "Is something on your mind? Or should I not pry?" Was William dancing there as well? And who is that? she thought as she saw her brother dancing with another woman in a quick glance, before returning to smile disarmingly at Christopher.

[Kingdom of Derita]

"Well that's a sensible precaution I suppose." Serisa said to the noble. He was tall, dark and handsome from what she could see of him with his mask on. "At least it'll be fun while it lasts." she smiled.

The man smiled.

" I am Adonis, Duke of Vanessa, please, dance with me.

Christopher II took her hands and the overhead musicians began to play a soft waltz song. 30 feet Above the musicians was a simmering dome.

Christopher II lead Lyanna in the dance. Arriving nobility of derita smiled and followed the Prince's lead.

"So, you've been awfully quiet." ventured Lyanna as they danced. The Princess was slightly nervous to be the center of attention, though she was hardly unused to it. After all, very similar things happened back at home "Is something on your mind? Or should I not pry?" Was William dancing there as well? And who is that? she thought as she saw her brother dancing with another woman in a quick glance, before returning to smile disarmingly at Christopher.

Christopher spun her around in a single graceful move.

" I have never been one for parties, my sister says I am anti-social and uptight, but I disagree."

[Valaran]

Virania spun her new acquaintance around and dipped him down,, making sure that she would keep the lead in this dance of diplomacy and personalities. The topic of a new conversation hung roughly on her mind. Most of her talks were either arguments, intense political discussions, or warm recollections of things past, and it seemed to her that two of those three options would not warm very well to this, or any, prince. Of course, small talk was always an option, but the constant sibling-naming and interest-listing bummed Virania out.If she could stay alone and sip various types of alcohol out of a large glass, she could, but that was out of the question for now. Her second most well-known topic of conversation seemed her only hope.

"I know relatively little of the monarchy of Valaran." She lied. Of course she knew about the monarchy, it was her job to know as much as possible about every leader of every nation, from a democratically elected president to a tinpot dictator. But of course, you can only learn so much information second-hand. Sometimes you have to go straight to the source. "Do tell me about how much power do you have in your nation, your history, etc."

William wasn't going to exactly argue with Virania taking the lead. Instead, he was enjoying being with his new acquaintance; it certainly beat the meaningless pleasantries he was likely to find from some of the other guests.

"Oh." He actually hoped she would talk about her own experiences and nation, but she seemed to not really want to open up. Not that he could blame her, there was certain stuff in his own past that was best left well alone. "Well, what exactly do you want to know about us? Our monarchy hasn't wielded absolute power since a small revolution in 1700s, though we still have certain influence should the Emperor choose to wield it. Thankfully, my brother Edric, doesn't go in for that kind of thing. Besides, democracy has united the disparate realms of the Valaran Empire far better than the monarchy ever did; we were always having revolts before; now the various factions are at peace."

[Nuridia]

"Well that's a sensible precaution I suppose." Serisa said to the noble. He was tall, dark and handsome from what she could see of him with his mask on. "At least it'll be fun while it lasts." she smiled.

The man smiled.

" I am Adonis, Duke of Vanessa, please, dance with me.

"Well you're certainly straight to the point, aren't you?" Serisa asked Adonis, blushing slightly under her mask. "It would be my honor, Your Grace." she said, dipping into a curtsy and holding out her hand for him to take so that the dance could begin. There was so much color and life here, it was all very exciting.

[Kingdom of Derita]

"Well you're certainly straight to the point, aren't you?" Serisa asked Adonis, blushing slightly under her mask. "It would be my honor, Your Grace." she said, dipping into a curtsy and holding out her hand for him to take so that the dance could begin. There was so much color and life here, it was all very exciting.

Duke Adonis took her hand and lead her down to the dance floor. He lead her in the same dance that the others had started.

[Valaran]

Christopher spun her around in a single graceful move.

" I have never been one for parties, my sister says I am anti-social and uptight, but I disagree."

Lyanna twirled gracefully, her dress seeming to shimmer between azure and black.

"Well you certainly dance well enough for them" she replied jokingly. "But you don't like parties? Is it meeting all those people?"

[Kingdom of Derita]

Christopher spun her around in a single graceful move.

" I have never been one for parties, my sister says I am anti-social and uptight, but I disagree."

Lyanna twirled gracefully, her dress seeming to shimmer between azure and black.

"Well you certainly dance well enough for them" she replied jokingly. "But you don't like parties? Is it meeting all those people?"

He lead out of the center of the ballroom and closer to the wide windows, pass them was a lush garden, past that was the outer wall of the palace and the Poupre Mountains that stretched south. He looked at her.

" I am not sure. I have always wanted to be Emperor, but I never really like talking with people. I have always talked to people. At the Versa de Palace I have 300 servants that do whatever I tell them. Here, I must speak with delegates and princes, and princesses. I haven't even told anyone of the true reason for this ball-"

He cut himself off. He turned to the windows.

" Please, let us go into the gardens."

[Valaran]

He lead out of the center of the ballroom and closer to the wide windows, pass them was a lush garden, past that was the outer wall of the palace and the Poupre Mountains that stretched south. He looked at her.

" I am not sure. I have always wanted to be Emperor, but I never really like talking with people. I have always talked to people. At the Versa de Palace I have 300 servants that do whatever I tell them. Here, I must speak with delegates and princes, and princesses. I haven't even told anyone of the true reason for this ball-"

He cut himself off. He turned to the windows.

" Please, let us go into the gardens."

Lyanna followed the prince, slightly unsure of how to react to the sudden stream of information she was receiving. At least he's willing to divulge all of this stuff to me, I must have done something right. She looked back at him, before turning away, confused by the intensity in his eyes. Maybe I should trust my instincts here, though, the last time she had done that, things hadn't gone so well... she snapped back of out that bad memory and turned back to Christopher

"Sure, let's go out there if it helps. Its looks lovely in the evening sun anyway."

[Nuridia]

"Well you're certainly straight to the point, aren't you?" Serisa asked Adonis, blushing slightly under her mask. "It would be my honor, Your Grace." she said, dipping into a curtsy and holding out her hand for him to take so that the dance could begin. There was so much color and life here, it was all very exciting.

Duke Adonis took her hand and lead her down to the dance floor. He lead her in the same dance that the others had started.

The dance was stately but not stiff. Adonis seemed like a most enchanting and fascinating man, and Serisa had only just met him. "So my lord, do you have anything that you'd like to say about yourself?" "This country is very lovely by the way, you must be proud of it." the princess said as they twirled around the floor. He wasn't the prince but he didn't have to be.

[Allied Connurist States]

Connor and Emily hadn't even engaged in conversation with any of the other guests for the whole evening, or at least that how it seemed. They had spent almost all their time dancing together. Connor, was by no stretch of the imagination, good at dancing, but he wasn't awful either; and could just about not make a fool of himself. However, he didn't care. The couple were completely lost in each other's eyes. It reminded Connor of the first time he laid his eyes on Emily; and his heart literally skipped a beat. He quickly thought of how amazed he actually was that he was in this position, being not only married to the girl of his dreams, but also having vast wealth and ruling a nation.

Regardless, it was inevitable that at some point soon, they would have to talk to someone or something similar.

[Zercera]

William wasn't going to exactly argue with Virania taking the lead. Instead, he was enjoying being with his new acquaintance; it certainly beat the meaningless pleasantries he was likely to find from some of the other guests.

"Oh." He actually hoped she would talk about her own experiences and nation, but she seemed to not really want to open up. Not that he could blame her, there was certain stuff in his own past that was best left well alone. "Well, what exactly do you want to know about us? Our monarchy hasn't wielded absolute power since a small revolution in 1700s, though we still have certain influence should the Emperor choose to wield it. Thankfully, my brother Edric, doesn't go in for that kind of thing. Besides, democracy has united the disparate realms of the Valaran Empire far better than the monarchy ever did; we were always having revolts before; now the various factions are at peace."

"That's rather different from Zercera." Virania mused. "Our monarchy wielded absolute power for over a thousand years before it was brought down half a decade ago. And the revolution that led to it's downfall was more than small....." Virania trailed off, her mind, as well as gaze far away from the stately halls of the prince's retreat. It was back in the craggy mountains and rolling valleys of Zercera, through it's blood-soaked cities and towns, sitting inside it's tar-covered jungles and soot-ridden factories. But still, one's mind may never fully return to the past, and just like that William once again found himself dipped down near the floor, the polyester lining of Virania's simple yet beautiful dress scraping upon his legs. She soon let him back up, and began to dance with an angry vigor unrivaled among the other guests.

[Kingdom of Derita]

As people were dancing and musicians played Princess Christina walked down the steps into the ball room. Two guards followed her.

Christina was 25, two years older than Crown Prince Christopher and three years older than Princess Alanna. She was also slightly taller than Alanna. She wore her long black and brown hair down around her shoulders. She wore a pink mask with feathers. She smiled as she looked at the other guest. Her perfect white teeth shined.





Princess Alanna rushed over to her cousin. Alanna was beautiful, but Christina was drop dead gorgeous in her opinion. She had been awarded most beautiful woman in Derita, that was saying something.

" Christina, it is so good to see you. How are you?"

"Wonderful cousin, please, who is here?"

[Kingdom of Derita]

Connor and Emily hadn't even engaged in conversation with any of the other guests for the whole evening, or at least that how it seemed. They had spent almost all their time dancing together. Connor, was by no stretch of the imagination, good at dancing, but he wasn't awful either; and could just about not make a fool of himself. However, he didn't care. The couple were completely lost in each other's eyes. It reminded Connor of the first time he laid his eyes on Emily; and his heart literally skipped a beat. He quickly thought of how amazed he actually was that he was in this position, being not only married to the girl of his dreams, but also having vast wealth and ruling a nation.

Regardless, it was inevitable that at some point soon, they would have to talk to someone or something similar.

Princess Alanna lead Princess Christina to the couple. The Royal pair smiled at the other Royal pair.

" Emperor Connor and Empress Emily, may I introduce my myself and my cousin Princess Christina, and I am Princess Alanna, Daughter of Emperor Almahn II. Please, you been so quiet, let us talk."

[Allied Connurist States]

Connor and Emily hadn't even engaged in conversation with any of the other guests for the whole evening, or at least that how it seemed. They had spent almost all their time dancing together. Connor, was by no stretch of the imagination, good at dancing, but he wasn't awful either; and could just about not make a fool of himself. However, he didn't care. The couple were completely lost in each other's eyes. It reminded Connor of the first time he laid his eyes on Emily; and his heart literally skipped a beat. He quickly thought of how amazed he actually was that he was in this position, being not only married to the girl of his dreams, but also having vast wealth and ruling a nation.

Regardless, it was inevitable that at some point soon, they would have to talk to someone or something similar.

Princess Alanna lead Princess Christina to the couple. The Royal pair smiled at the other Royal pair.

" Emperor Connor and Empress Emily, may I introduce my myself and my cousin Princess Christina, and I am Princess Alanna, Daughter of Emperor Almahn II. Please, you been so quiet, let us talk."

Connor, who was partly surprised by what seemed like the sudden appearance of the two Royals, began "Ah, sorry. We just lost track of time.... you know? Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I must say this is a wonderful palace. Is there anything in particular you wish to talk about?" Meanwhile, Emily had decided that she really wanted a drink, and with this in mind she spoke.
"It is a true pleasure to meet you both, but, would you mind if I went to find a drink for Connor and myself? I am sure my husband can keep you entertained whilst I'm gone."

[Kingdom of Derita]

Princess Alanna lead Princess Christina to the couple. The Royal pair smiled at the other Royal pair.

" Emperor Connor and Empress Emily, may I introduce my myself and my cousin Princess Christina, and I am Princess Alanna, Daughter of Emperor Almahn II. Please, you been so quiet, let us talk."

Connor, who was partly surprised by what seemed like the sudden appearance of the two Royals, began "Ah, sorry. We just lost track of time.... you know? Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I must say this is a wonderful palace. Is there anything in particular you wish to talk about?" Meanwhile, Emily had decided that she really wanted a drink, and with this in mind she spoke.
"It is a true pleasure to meet you both, but, would you mind if I went to find a drink for Connor and myself? I am sure my husband can keep you entertained whilst I'm gone."

Christina laughed softly.

" A palace? Is that what Christopher is calling it? This is merely a villa in the mountains. Beautiful, wonderful, but not a palace. Not in my opinion."

[Allied Connurist States]

Connor, who was partly surprised by what seemed like the sudden appearance of the two Royals, began "Ah, sorry. We just lost track of time.... you know? Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I must say this is a wonderful palace. Is there anything in particular you wish to talk about?" Meanwhile, Emily had decided that she really wanted a drink, and with this in mind she spoke.
"It is a true pleasure to meet you both, but, would you mind if I went to find a drink for Connor and myself? I am sure my husband can keep you entertained whilst I'm gone."

Christina laughed softly.

" A palace? Is that what Christopher is calling it? This is merely a villa in the mountains. Beautiful, wonderful, but not a palace. Not in my opinion."

"Well, you could have fooled me. If this is merely a villa, I can only imagine the beauty of an actual palace here in Derita. I feel ashamed that I have not traveled to this nation before, as it is clearly picturesque, at the very least. In fact. if I recall correctly, we've never even had diplomatic relations. Who knows, perhaps tonight could change that?"

[Kingdom of Derita]

Christina laughed softly.

" A palace? Is that what Christopher is calling it? This is merely a villa in the mountains. Beautiful, wonderful, but not a palace. Not in my opinion."

"Well, you could have fooled me. If this is merely a villa, I can only imagine the beauty of an actual palace here in Derita. I feel ashamed that I have not traveled to this nation before, as it is clearly picturesque, at the very least. In fact. if I recall correctly, we've never even had diplomatic relations. Who knows, perhaps tonight could change that?"

Christina lowered her mask and smiled. Alanna took over.

" That would be wonderful your highness, I have never don a diplomatic meeting with someone, so how should it go?"

[Allied Connurist States]

"Well, you could have fooled me. If this is merely a villa, I can only imagine the beauty of an actual palace here in Derita. I feel ashamed that I have not traveled to this nation before, as it is clearly picturesque, at the very least. In fact. if I recall correctly, we've never even had diplomatic relations. Who knows, perhaps tonight could change that?"

Christina lowered her mask and smiled. Alanna took over.

" That would be wonderful your highness, I have never don a diplomatic meeting with someone, so how should it go?"

" Well, it can go how you want it to go. For me, if it's not done by telegram, there's nothing wrong with just talking to each other and finding out how we can help each other. Of course, it doesn't have to be done right now as we speak; there is still plenty of time for us all to enjoy ourselves."

Emily, carrying two glasses of the finest wine, returns, and after handing one to Connor, says "What's been going on then?"

[Kingdom of Derita]

Christina lowered her mask and smiled. Alanna took over.

" That would be wonderful your highness, I have never don a diplomatic meeting with someone, so how should it go?"

" Well, it can go how you want it to go. For me, if it's not done by telegram, there's nothing wrong with just talking to each other and finding out how we can help each other. Of course, it doesn't have to be done right now as we speak; there is still plenty of time for us all to enjoy ourselves."

Emily, carrying two glasses of the finest wine, returns, and after handing one to Connor, says "What's been going on then?"

Alanna looked at the Empress.

" Me and your husband were speaking of diplomatic activities. And I agree with him, it doesn't have to be done right now."

[Allied Connurist States]

" Well, it can go how you want it to go. For me, if it's not done by telegram, there's nothing wrong with just talking to each other and finding out how we can help each other. Of course, it doesn't have to be done right now as we speak; there is still plenty of time for us all to enjoy ourselves."

Emily, carrying two glasses of the finest wine, returns, and after handing one to Connor, says "What's been going on then?"

Alanna looked at the Empress.

" Me and your husband were speaking of diplomatic activities. And I agree with him, it doesn't have to be done right now."

"Okay then, so it benefit both Connor and I if I were to ask, say, What's Derita like? I know that I'm unfamiliar with it, and I'd assume that Connor is also. It is always good to learn about anything, and other nations are no exception."

[Kingdom of Derita]

Alanna looked at the Empress.

" Me and your husband were speaking of diplomatic activities. And I agree with him, it doesn't have to be done right now."

"Okay then, so it benefit both Connor and I if I were to ask, say, What's Derita like? I know that I'm unfamiliar with it, and I'd assume that Connor is also. It is always good to learn about anything, and other nations are no exception."

Alanna smiled.

" We are friendly people, though a little vain, we try to keep it inside. We see our selfs and everyone else as perfect. The nation is large, over 480,200 square miles, not including our land in Africa and our two protectares.

Most of us are Omitheist, believing in all religions, it is very confusing and I rather not speak about it. We speak French-Deritain, a variation of French. We are lavish people of high quality taste of culture. Our military is one of the best in the region though not really used.

We are currently doing through a wonderful Golden Age, as for the last 215 years we have been at peace, it was broken through our victory in the Second Rhine-Prussian War. We are mostly rich and prosperous. We can easily survive in lavish comfort, as we do now, without the help of outsiders. Though we are happy to make friends, we like to help solve problems.

We currently are unfortunately in a entanglement with our northern island neighbor of Great Hyruke over trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Our Ambassador is going on his second term of office and a transcontinental railway is near completion."

[Allied Connurist States]

"Okay then, so it benefit both Connor and I if I were to ask, say, What's Derita like? I know that I'm unfamiliar with it, and I'd assume that Connor is also. It is always good to learn about anything, and other nations are no exception."

Alanna smiled.

" We are friendly people, though a little vain, we try to keep it inside. We see our selfs and everyone else as perfect. The nation is large, over 480,200 square miles, not including our land in Africa and our two protectares.

Most of us are Omitheist, believing in all religions, it is very confusing and I rather not speak about it. We speak French-Deritain, a variation of French. We are lavish people of high quality taste of culture. Our military is one of the best in the region though not really used.

We are currently doing through a wonderful Golden Age, as for the last 215 years we have been at peace, it was broken through our victory in the Second Rhine-Prussian War. We are mostly rich and prosperous. We can easily survive in lavish comfort, as we do now, without the help of outsiders. Though we are happy to make friends, we like to help solve problems.

We currently are unfortunately in a entanglement with our northern island neighbor of Great Hyruke over trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Our Ambassador is going on his second term of office and a transcontinental railway is near completion."

"Well, it appears our nations are quite different" remarked Connor. "Firstly, as a nation, we see ourselves and everyone else as imperfect; as we don't see perfection to be possible, for a number of reasons that would take a while to explain; we mean no offence or anything" Connor sipped his wine, and so Emily became the driver of the conversation.

"Well; most Connurists are atheists, and the others don't believe in a God in the conventional sense. Our only national language is English, although French is the most popular foreign language. In fact, Connor and I studied French in high school, but that was a while ago, although we reckon we can still hold a conversation in French.
Militarily-wise, only our air force has seen real combat; but all of our armed forces are highly trained.

When it comes to recent happenings; well; we haven't been in power for very long, but aside from that, we've only implemented minor legislation so far. We're also a large nation, with just over 3.5 million square miles.

[Valaran]

"That's rather different from Zercera." Virania mused. "Our monarchy wielded absolute power for over a thousand years before it was brought down half a decade ago. And the revolution that led to it's downfall was more than small....." Virania trailed off, her mind, as well as gaze far away from the stately halls of the prince's retreat. It was back in the craggy mountains and rolling valleys of Zercera, through it's blood-soaked cities and towns, sitting inside it's tar-covered jungles and soot-ridden factories. But still, one's mind may never fully return to the past, and just like that William once again found himself dipped down near the floor, the polyester lining of Virania's simple yet beautiful dress scraping upon his legs. She soon let him back up, and began to dance with an angry vigor unrivaled among the other guests.

"I assume you were involved in the revolution then? Its alright if you don't want to talk about it..." he offered, though his eyes told a slightly different story. God she changes pace fast. Its actually kind of exhilarating and unnerving at the same time. He certainly wasn't used to her taking complete control, let alone the almost violent mood swings in her dancing. But at the same time, Viriana was quite unlike anyone else he'd ever met; the prince was intrigued and he could certainly put up with a few dancing moves to learn more about his new companion.