Shortly before 7 o'clock p.m..
Palace of the Azure Hall, Utica, Entrance Hall.
Past two gates, the Golden Portal and the Silver Portal, the Public Gardens behind the former and the Forecourt behind the latter, the main building of the Palace of the Azure Hall stood. Formerly a castle to fend off enemies, it was now a palace of richness and splendor, but without tackyness - and it was the centre of government of the Sultanate of Kyrenaia, temporarily, and the centre of government of the Ilkhanate of Utica, permanently.
Today, however, matters of the internal governing of Kyrenaia were of little concern to Prince Damir ibn-Razia, a man with a mop of brown hair on his head and golden eyes looking from a sharply cut face - nearly as sharp as the tailcoat he wore. After all, this was a white tie event and he was to attend to greeting the guests upon arrival.
And he was happy, that he wouldn't do so alone. With him at the main entrance into the Main Building, which was at the end of a set of wide stairs flanked by statues of animals endemic to Kyrenaia, stood his beloved daughter, Aurelia bint-Damir. Her skin was olive as his, a few shades lighter, maybe, her hair naturally blonde, her eyes sparkling blue sapphires. She wore a floor-length red dress, which emphasized her lithe built and slim shoulders due to the fold-over sleeves draping softly off her shoulders and giving her generous neckline enough room to tease but not showing anything. A natural waistline had always looked best on his daughter, Damir thought, as did a side slit allow her more ease of movement. They also learned from the last time, not giving her ten centimeter heels again - although she had lobbied for her horseman boots, she still wore heels - with modest three centimetres of height, a compromise.
She smiled to her father, before she motioned him to come close, fixing his bow tie with a smile.
"Quite a lot of people come here today, right?", she asked in a whisper as behind them the last preparations were completed. The Ball itself would begin in an hour, but the guests would arrive sooner, Damir and Aurelia serving as the ones to greet them, while several of the Kyrenaian guests were already present.
The Main Entrance Hall now served as a ballroom, a circle with a diametres of roundabout 30 metres, was panelled with Zellij Tiles, which made it difficult to see, where there were walls, pillars, the dome above them, and where which ended and where not. The floor, on the other hand, was tesselated, in different shades of blue creating a feeling as if one was walking on the surface of the very ocean itself. Right opposite to the portal, a large door led into the throne room, but that would remain closed tonight, while several Ogee Arches led deeper into the Palace itself - some of them were leading down service hallways, others into governmental or private areas. Those leading into governmental areas were guarded by men of the Tabardariyya, the Sultana's Lifeguard.
In general, quite a few of the men with the fearsome large axes and in lamellar armour were present and on guard to make sure, that nothing happened... neither to the guests, nor the hosts and least of all the handmaidens, for as usual, the HGA dispatched its finest to serve this evening, four examples of which were to wait with Damir and Aurelia at the entrance. They were young women, beautiful ones wearing clothing of white silk, a length of it running from the back of the neck down the left side of the neck to the right breast, around the back to the left and up to the right side of the neck, a knot at the back of the neck keeping it together, lowleg harem pants and veils.
They were tradition for every more important function at court and today again, Kyrenaia would honour that tradition.
The first meeting of the guests with that tradition were the four with the Prince and his daughter by the door, they would offer non-alcoholic refreshments to the guests from far away - the alcohol would come out later, when the party officially started. The music would be provided by these young women for the first stretch as well, a small stage already holding a small ensemble playing a few warm-up pieces, before the TBA's band took over with livelier and less formal music.
"Indeed.", Damir said with a smile, facing the door. "It will be quite an important occassion, too. Just as it should be!" He grinned and nodded to a man of the Tabardariyya, after which he and a comrade dragged the door open, letting in the cooler night's air - foreigners usually wouldn't believe how cold the desert got in the night. He knew, that it would be a fun evening. "Let the party start!"
