Ball of Lonesome Hearts (IC|Semi-Open)

by **Hospe** » Mon Oct 10, 2022 11:22 am

Daniel chuckled at the Duke's antics before saying. "Nothing in particular, I just wanted to introduce myself. This is a very beautiful place. Thank you for having me."
He lifted the gift box. "I'll be going to hand this over now."

by **Astares Amauricanum** » Mon Oct 10, 2022 12:22 pm

Regis and Shiho listen to Boltzmann's explanations as he pats them down.
"Thank you for the directions. Have a nice evening Sir." says Shiho as she and her husband gather back their papers and the gift, before entering the Archducal Hall proper.

Once inside, the Blachkor couple follows Boltzmann directions, and indeed, near the wooden stage, they spot Marija sitting as expected. With smiles on their faces, they approach slowly as not to startle her.

"Good evening Your Majesty, and happy birthday." says Regis once they are within talking distance, as he bows his head deeply.
"I am Prince Regis Blachkor, of the Federalis Imperium of Astares Amauricanum. This is my wife Shiho."

"Your Majesty, a good evening to you. Happy birthday." she adds as she bows deeper, in a Japanese way to greet someone of Marija's status.

"We would like to present you with this small plaque, as a birthday present. We know it's not much, but we hope you'll like it nonetheless." continues Regis as he presents the small silver plaque engraved with Marija's coat of arms.

by **Glevensium** » Tue Oct 11, 2022 1:07 pm

After looking over the identification provided, he looked back down at the clipboard again and narrowed his eyes. Nodding, he set the clipboard down onto his desk. "Alright milord, and this is your aunt, I'm guessing. I'm going to have to pat you down if you don't mind," he said as he rose from his chair. "My, uh, female colleague will be doing that for your aunt

They accept, afterwards, Viscount Stuart looks for a noble lady to dance with. Maybe he will find a bride?

by **Romilija** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 4:05 am

Boltzmann
He nodded, and patted Alexander down, from top to bottom, while his female colleague did the same for his aunt. He noted the fact that Alexander seemed to be scanning the room as he patted him down.

He was clear, as was his aunt.

"You're clear to go on through." he said, before taking a sip of coffee from the mug on his desk. "And uh, looking for somebody?"

Milena
At the compliment, Milena averted her gaze. While she knew he was sincere, she couldn't exactly agree with his sentiment.

"Thank you," she said simply. "But, really, uh... it's not a big deal. I should have come in my best if I wanted to be noticed. It's a proven fact that..." she stopped for a moment and took her wineglass from the table. "...that people like extravagance. And tend to pay little attention to... plainer things."

She let out a sigh as she sat down again, taking a sip out of her glass. She wondered if he'd even keep talking to her, after finding out about how low her status was compared to his. If he wouldn't just forget about her the moment he met someone flashier, someone gaudier.

"And yet you, an Emperor, are staying here and talking with me," she continued to say. "Why? Surely there are prettier people, more interesting people to associate with. I'm... I'm just a little pearl in a sea of diamonds."

Pierre
She giggled! Oh dear... at least she was taking his gaffe in stride. He knew of others who would gasp at such a mistake.

He cleared his throat hastily. "Ahem... then I will get myself fixed up and see you at the bar, Miss Enid! I ask that you refuse the seats beside you, for... uhm..." His head raced as he searched for what words might complete his thought. "...for nothing would make me happier than to sit close by your side!"

He clenched his jaw. Father would shake his head at his flirting prowess.

Without another word, he made straight for the bathroom, slower this time. No more bumping into pretty-looking ladies, thank you very much.

He looked at himself in front of the mirror. With the comb he kept in his satchel, he made his best effort to comb his hair into order, making several attempts that only marginally restored the shape of his hair.
With that failing, he wet his hair slightly with water from the sink, but it would just not budge.
At least not all his hairs were standing up anymore, making him, in his own opinion, appear like an uncouth madman.

And there was the fact that Enid had told him that she rather liked how his hair ruffled. He smiled at the thought that she would be happy to see that not all the kinks were worked out.

He was not done yet, though. He turned his attention to his shoes. Those cruel, cruel shoes. Thankfully, only one of his socks had gotten itself stuck, but he wasn't optimistic about it. He pulled at the bottom part of the sock close to the shoe, hoping to release his sock out of its entrapment, but it stubbornly stayed on.

Again, not a surprise. He knew these shoes well enough to absolutely despise them. Still, he would prefer to join Enid as soon as possible.

He pushed at his shoe, hoping to force his foot out of it so he could readjust his stocking, but the blasted thing was clinging tight onto his foot. He sat on the tiled bathroom floor, hoping to have better luck at it that way. He got it to move—just barely. Damn. This might take a while. Hopefully not too long though.

Neda
Neda regarded the box with interest. "Ah, I see you've brought a gift," she said, raising her brows. "Thank you. I'm sure Marija would be happy to receive it."

She waved as he walked off, though couldn't help but wonder just what his gift was. A necklace? A ring? Though, the way he carried it, it seemed to have a bit of heft to it. What would be that heavy though?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard what sounded like two people approaching the table, and when she turned, there, sure enough, were two young ladies, who soon stopped near the table. She stood up to greet them.

One of them bowed and introduced herself as Duchess Marcella, of the United Island States. She looked a dazzling figure in her themed dress: a pink gown turning white close to the hem, decorated with several roses. A floral wreath decorated her voluminous pink hair.

At her side was a young woman with orangeish-brown hair, wearing a strange mix of plate armor and a white dress. Her bodyguard, surely.

Neda smiled as she regarded Marcella, and placed a hand at her chest as she greeted her. "Your Royal Highness. The honor is all mine. I love the floral theme you went with. I feel rather upstaged now," she chuckled.
She meant the compliment. Her own attire, an ankle-length affair that was a light blue with gold accents throughout, was nothing to be scoffed at, sure—but she thought the Duchess looked stunning! Perhaps she ought to try pink sometime.

Marija
Marija sniffed the glass of red merlot as she held it in her hand, its sweet, moreish aftertaste still lingering in her mouth and prompting her to take another sip, which she did. Its taste served to relax her and put her mind off her seemingly ever-present worries.

Looking to the side, she noted with interest that Neda was entertaining a strapping young man, light brown of skin and wearing a dark double-breasted kind of coat. The gold of his circlet appeared to shimmer even from this far away. From the looks of him, he must have been the Prince from Hospe— Daniel?
The man had a bit of a pretentious fashion sense, she opined, but Neda appeared to be enjoying his company well enough. She hoped he had as good an impression of her as she did of him.

That hope, however turned to worry that something had gone awry as he appeared to be turning to leave.
She caught herself unthinkingly taking another sip from her wineglass at the thought, and noted with concern that she had just taken a rather large sip as she felt the warmness of the drink spread throughout her belly.

With a sigh she set her glass back onto the table. She ought to mingle with the guests a while, or check on the bachelors she had called on; it was no good for her to just laze around on her high chair sipping wine as she waited for the party to start in earnest, no matter how tempting it was.

She moved to stand up, but caught sight of a couple approaching her, dressed in matching gray vests: the woman, a Far Eastern lady with faint signs of age, of pale skin and dark, neatly done hair, and the man blond, and appearing an imposing figure with his trim beard and round-rimmed glasses.

She put her hand over her stomach as she stood up—to not stand at attention when greeted by any of the guests would be a dishonour to them.

The man introduced herself with a formal bow. He was Regis Blachkor, uncle to the Astarian emperor. He introduced his wife as Shiho, and she made a deeper bow than he did, in the typical Japanese manner.

She stepped down from the stage using the short steps to the side, in order to shake their hands, but before she could do so, Prince Regis held up in front of her a small plaque.

Engraved in silver was her coat of arms as Vice-Queen of the Netherlands. It consisted of the Vojislavljevic arms—a bend dexter—supporters two lions rampant. Above the shield, the royal Helm of the Netherlands.

She took the small plaque in her hand and smiled at its excellent craftsmanship. Though they insisted it wasn't much, it wasn't exactly child's play to make plaques like these.
"You went through all this trouble for me?" she said quizically, with a light smile on her face. It truly warmed her heart to see such consideration. "Oh, thank you, I like it very much, it's—umph.."

Marija covered her mouth as she let out a little burp. She must have spoken too fast in her excitement. She hoped they didn't notice it. Ahem...

"It's very thoughtful of you," she continued, before extending her hand to shake.
"I hope you're finding things to your liking. My sister and the Archduke spent a lot of time making sure the hall would look just as splendid as it did during the ball parties of old."

by **The Selkie** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:33 am

Romilija wrote:[...]

Pierre
She giggled! Oh dear... at least she was taking his gaffe in stride. He knew of others who would gasp at such a mistake.

He cleared his throat hastily. "Ahem... then I will get myself fixed up and see you at the bar, Miss Enid! I ask that you refuse the seats beside you, for... uhm..." His head raced as he searched for what words might complete his thought. "...for nothing would make me happier than to sit close by your side!"

He clenched his jaw. Father would shake his head at his flirting prowess.

Without another word, he made straight for the bathroom, slower this time. No more bumping into pretty-looking ladies, thank you very much.

He looked at himself in front of the mirror. With the comb he kept in his satchel, he made his best effort to comb his hair into order, making several attempts that only marginally restored the shape of his hair.
With that failing, he wet his hair slightly with water from the sink, but it would just not budge.
At least not all his hairs were standing up anymore, making him, in his own opinion, appear like an uncouth madman.

And there was the fact that Enid had told him that she rather liked how his hair ruffled. He smiled at the thought that she would be happy to see that not all the kinks were worked out.

He was not done yet, though. He turned his attentiion to his shoes. Those cruel, cruel shoes. Thankfully, only one of his sock had gotten itself stuck, but he wasn't optimistic about it. He pulled at the bottom part of the sock close to the shoe, hoping to release his sock out of its entrapment, but it stubbornly stayed on.

Again, not a surprise. He knew these shoes well enough to absolutely despise them. Still, he would prefer to join Enid as soon as possible.

He pushed at his shoe, hoping to force his foot out of it so he could readjust his stocking, but the blasted thing was clinging tight onto his foot. He sat on the tiled bathroom floor, hoping to have better luck at it that way. He got it to move—just barely. Damn. This might take a while. Hopefully not too long though.

[...]

Enid, of Gofana Descent, of the Tribe of Dochaid.
I smiled and gave him a small wave, then turned towards the bar... two seats, one for me, one for him, for he wanted to sit next to me - luckily, I had a small handbag along, with which I could make it clear, that a spot next to me was to be kept free.
But I guessed, that I'd be waiting for a while: While I had told him, that I liked his hair a bit messy, I did not estimate him to be too willing to entertain that notion, crush or not, and I knew, how stubborn a boy's hair could be, thanks to my brothers. I had no idea about his socky problem.
What I knew about, though, was, that he was not much of a flirter, not yet - he had guts, though, me having a drink with him was a bit of a reward for that.
I smiled, as I arrived at the bar, spotting three free spots.
I chose the middle one, put my bag down on one and sat down.
"Whiskey, please, on the rocks.", I asked of the barkeeper, "A local brand, if possible."

by **The Grand Western Empire** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 9:47 am

Romilija wrote:Milena
At the compliment, Milena averted her gaze. While she knew he was sincere, she couldn't exactly agree with his sentiment.

"Thank you," she said simply. "But, really, uh... it's not a big deal. I should have come in my best if I wanted to be noticed. It's a proven fact that..." she stopped for a moment and took her wineglass from the table. "...that people like extravagance. And tend to pay little attention to... plainer things."

"Yes, but in a sea of extravagance, the plainer things stand out. Or at least, that's what I think,"

Romilija wrote:She let out a sigh as she sat down again, taking a sip out of her glass. She wondered if he'd even keep talking to her, after finding out about how low her status was compared to his. If he wouldn't just forget about her the moment he met someone flashier, someone gaudier.

"And yet you, an Emperor, are staying here and talking with me," she continued to say. "Why? Surely there are prettier people, more interesting people to associate with. I'm... I'm just a little pearl in a sea of diamonds."

"Even the worth of a pearl can exceed the worth of diamonds, provided it becomes rare enough," Anderson said as he took a seat as well, "And maybe there are more interesting people, but I find I'd rather talk to you right now. May I ask what it is like being the daughter of a royal family if it doesn't dredge up any bad memories? I was the founder of the King's House of Anderson, so I didn't experience growing up as royalty, but I've always wondered what it is like."

by **Brettenwald** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 10:57 am

Lux Pulchrae wrote:
Brettenwald wrote:"Hm." Gunnar scanned the letter, then folded it, placed it in a pocket and followed Helena into the ballroom with a friendly nod of thanks to Boltzmann. He and Helena had joked about it leading into some grand adventure or conspiracy on the way here- after all, "ask for Boltzmann" left much to the imagination -but regardless it was interesting to know that his presence here had more in common with an episode of The Bachelor than he'd perhaps expected.

To that particular end, Her Imperial Majesty was already engaged in conversation with someone of about 30ish whose demeanor screamed "new-money upstart". Damn. Gunnar was content to wait his turn, however.

"Care for something to get the lead out?" Helena had disappeared and now reappeared with a Scotch on the rocks for him and a glass of champagne for her.
"Don't mind if I do. Champagne again? I should start buying stock in Veuve Clicquot."
"Like Coco Chanel once said, my friend, I only drink champagne on two occasions: when I am in love, and when I am not."

There was a general sense of what now? between the pair. Neda was indisposed and they didn't know anyone here, so...

Seeing the other two in a similar position as he, Constantino introduced in a heavy accent “Ciao, Constantino de Massimo. Of Lix Pulchrae”

"Oh, hello." Helena gave Constantino a friendly smile. "Helena Cärrino, Brettenwald. I must say, it's a nice surprise to hear of a familiar nation. I was beginning to think everyone would be a complete stranger culturally."

Gunnar took a split second to size up the competition. About as well dressed though the sash was an inspired touch, several inches shorter, softer & less granite-like in aspect than His Lordship.

"Gunnar Askinen." A firm handshake. "Let me guess, you got Boltzmann's memo as well?"

by **AHSCA** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:23 am

Romilija wrote:Neda smiled as she regarded Marcella, and placed a hand at her chest as she greeted her. "Your Royal Highness. The honor is all mine. I love the floral theme you went with. I feel rather upstaged now," she chuckled.
She meant the compliment. Her own attire, an ankle-length affair that was a light blue with gold accents throughout, was nothing to be scoffed at, sure—but she thought the Duchess looked stunning! Perhaps she ought to try pink sometime.

Ooh taboo to upstage the Hostess of the party, but she seemed to be taking in in good stride. "Many thanks for the compliments, Your Grace. I hadn't given it a lot of thought, it's just tradition to embrace nature and flowers for any kind of formal outfit so I kept the tradition alive. But you look beautiful if I may say say, blue compliments you very well. And what a lovely place this is for a party too, the design is simply stunning and beautiful. Compared to where I'm from where things are far simpler."

by **Astares Amauricanum** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 12:10 pm

Regis and Shiho chuckle internally when the Vice-Queen burps a little, but do not show any sign on their faces. Seems like someone drank their wine too fast. thinks the Astarians in the back of their minds.

"Thank you for your kind words, we are glad that you appreciate your gift Your Majesty." replies Regis before taking her hand and giving her a firm handshake, followed by his wife, whose handshake is less stronger, with more grace, as befitting of an Astarian noblewoman.
"And it's no trouble for us to do it. The craftman who did it, who is one of my nephew's friends from the nobility, takes great pride and liking in doing special things like this." adds the Prince with a warm smile.

"We find the party very much to our liking indeed." continues Shiho. "Even though this Vienna on this side of the Multiverse is a bit different from the one we know, this place is very enjoyable, and this party even more."

by **Lux Pulchrae** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 9:29 pm

“Heh. You guess correct. Did not think you were single as well.” he scratched his bare chin “I did not intend to find a wife tonight, but it would not bother me too much if I did.” Constantino shrugged, then looked to Helena “Miss ‘elena, you’re familiar with my country?” he asked.

by **Horasia** » Fri Oct 14, 2022 7:42 am

Dr. Nyyrikki Häkkinen and Dr. Allacaya Marinnen
Nyyrikki Häkkinen felt almost at home as he and his wife entered the entrance hall of the Archiducal Hall. While the sites of the Horasian intelligentsia tended to be neo-Baroque, 19th-century Neo-Gothic was also widespread, particularly in the site's large temples. It reminded him of how he and his parents went to the temple of the goddess Saga, who in Horasian Asatru is considered the goddess of enlightenment, intellect, knowledge and wisdom. A popular goddess for academics and students, but also important for the common people, she is considered one of the two mothers of the Horasic people alongside the goddess Freya.

Nyyrikki's parents were both practicing professors at the University of Kingsstead, the capital of Horasia. He not only belonged to the class of the horasian intelligentsia (consisting of scholars, artists and journalists), but was also born into it. He studied political science at his parents' alma mater. After his Master of Arts, he worked scientifically, after his doctorate he managed to get a diplomatic position at the imperial court of Empress Sofja Gyldana. The power of the empress and the court here was very limited, but it played a major role in foreign policy. She now wanted to go to the Holy Roman Empire to conduct diplomatic relations there, then she found out about the ball in the Archduchy of Austria and decided to send a diplomat there. This was now Nyyrikki. And that was carefully chosen. Only nobles were admitted to the ball, but in Horasia there was no longer any hereditary nobility. So something had to be thought about. The equivalent of the nobility in Horasia was the intelligentsia mentioned above, also known as the epistocracy. They had sole access to the civil service, were only allowed to bear noble titles, the imperial lords (the monarchical heads of the provinces of Horasia) and the empress descended from them and, despite legal equality, they had certain social advantages compared to other parts of the population.
So Nyyrikki's title "Doctor of Political Science" was worth about as much as the petty knight's or squire's title.

The Horasian was nervous. Luckily his wife Allacaya was at his side, walking beside him on his arm. The two were dressed in attire appropriate for the occasion but clearly laid out in accordance with Horasian etiquette. He wore his long, blond hair tied in a tight ponytail, which makes his narrow face appear even narrower. His water blue eyes stood out from this one.
He wore an open justaucorp which was finished in a dark shade of gold and overlooked with a rococo leaf pattern of the same colour. Beneath this was a beige suit waistcoat similarly decorated and underneath a white shirt. His trousers were also beige
His wife's dress was also striking, but a little more modern. It was a deep burgundy and covered in glitter. It reached to the floor at the back, but was short at the front, exposing Allacaya's legs. The top was cut in the shape of a toga, with one shoulder covered on the left and one shoulder bare on the right. Her neckline was low, and her typically Horasian white skin contrasted starkly with the color of her dress. Her hair was fawn brown and a shoulder-length blow-dry, which framed the face with the gray, large eyes and the wine-red lips.
For an ignorant man, these clothes may certainly be too garish and presumptuously revealing, but the worldly knowing recognizes this couple as Horasians and their dress accordingly.

They went to security and Nyyrikki introduced himself: "Hello, sir," he said in a distinct accent that those familiar with the language would identify as Finnish. "I'm Dr. Nyyrikki Häkkinen and this is my wife, Dr. Allacaya. We are the guests from Horasia".

by **Hospe** » Fri Oct 14, 2022 3:20 pm

As Daniel walked towards Marija's table, he noticed that there was a large blond man and a woman with Asian features already addressing her. Not wanting to interrupt whatever conversation they were having, he dawdled a bit and took the opportunity to have a quick look around.
There was a fair haired trio making small talk, the two guys were young enough that at least one of them got a letter from Boltzmann too. There was also a really good chance that one of them was with the beautiful girl with the mink stole.

by **Romilija** » Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:30 pm

AHSCA wrote:"Many thanks for the compliments, Your Grace. I hadn't given it a lot of thought, it's just tradition to embrace nature and flowers for any kind of formal outfit so I kept the tradition alive. But you look beautiful if I may say say, blue compliments you very well. And what a lovely place this is for a party too, the design is simply stunning and beautiful. Compared to where I'm from where things are far simpler."

Neda
"Why, thank you," Neda smiled. "I don't usually get to wear this dress in particular, so it was nice to get it out of the closet for once." She made a slight bow. "Thank you for the compliments. The Archduke and I are very happy how the renovation turned out."

She made a brief glance at the Archduke behind her, still at table with Elisa. To the uninformed observer, he looked insane as he laughed breathlessly, slapping his knee at a joke only he could hear as Elisa looked at him with bewilderment.

Neda furrowed her brows. If she were to talk with the Duchess now, they'd have to do so at another table—or risk an unproductive—and perhaps rather funny—meeting.

"Now, Your Royal Highness, I'm told you were hoping to establish relations. Were you looking to get business out of the way first things first, or would the two of you like to get settled in a bit before we get down to business?" she smiled at Marcella and Asuna.

The Selkie wrote:I smiled, as I arrived at the bar, spotting three free spots.
I chose the middle one, put my bag down on one and sat down.
"Whiskey, please, on the rocks.", I asked of the barkeeper, "A local brand, if possible."

The balding barkeeper placed the glass he was cleaning onto the bartable. He turned to face and placed the glass onto the table.

"Certainly, Madam," he said with a courteous bow before immediately swiping a bottle of whisky from the shelf.

The fellow poured the bottle into the whisky glass and put in two large cubes of ice with a metal tong. He placed the drink in front of Enid.
"12 year old single malt whisky, madam. Reisetbauer & Son: a local distillery, just as you requested."

He flashed a bright smile as he leaned in, with seemingly something else to say. "Drinks are free, ma'am, courtesy of His Highness the Archduke. He insisted that I inform everyone making use of the bar that he demands you drink liberally." He leaned in conspiratorially, grinning as he looked at the Archduke, who appeared to be laughing hysterically as he sat at table, his face beet-red. "I would not follow that advice so strictly though—just look at how His Highness has fared."
He let out a chuckle before continuing his work with a lingering smile on his features.

The Grand Western Empire wrote:"Yes, but in a sea of extravagance, the plainer things stand out. Or at least, that's what I think."
[...]
"Even the worth of a pearl can exceed the worth of diamonds, provided it becomes rare enough," Anderson said as he took a seat as well, "And maybe there are more interesting people, but I find I'd rather talk to you right now."

Milena
She nodded as she took in his words. Fair enough.
Perhaps she shouldn't drown herself in self-pity as much. He was right, after all: anything different tended to stand out, whether it was plain or extravagant.

And hey, she certainly stood out enough to catch his eye in particular. That ought to have counted for something.

May I ask what it is like being the daughter of a royal family if it doesn't dredge up any bad memories? I was the founder of the King's House of Anderson, so I didn't experience growing up as royalty, but I've always wondered what it is like."

"Well, my parents were older when they had me. They had five children then waited a while before having me. As the youngest I had a lot of freedom growing up, and had a lot more time to do what I wanted than my siblings, but because I was so young compared to them, I couldn't really relate to them much. When I turned fifteen, my eldest brother was expecting his first child."
She let out a sigh. "Sometimes I wish I was a bit closer to their age growing up."

Boltzmann
Boltzmann placed a hand on his bald head as he held a clipboard in the other. He eyed the two newcomers expressionlessly, fighting to keep his eyes open as they walked up. The man looked like he came straight from the 18th century, he noted with amusement, while the woman had more modern sensibilities, while still appearing stately enough.

He introduced himself and the woman he was with. He was Dr. Nyyrikki, and his wife a Dr. Allacaya.

Boltzmann narrowed his eyes. Doctors? Did they get the wrong place?

He checked his clipboard. Their names were on there.
Huh. Either they preferred to go by their academic titles or they were distinguished enough academics to be exempt from the rules. Odd. Not that he cared much, so long as they weren't a danger to anybody.

He placed the clipboard onto the wooden desk before standing up from his chair. He regarded the couple with a nod.
"Welcome," he greeted them as he motioned to a stocky woman wearing the same black security vest. She moved to stand by his side, and nodded at the two in greeting.

"We're just going to need your identification before we pat you down. After that, the two of you can go on through," the gentleman said. "Is that..."
He stopped himself as he battled to stop his eyes from closing on their own. Damn. He felt almost drowsier than before he had the coffee.
Nevertheless, he shook his head, and hopefully his drowsiness with it, off, continuing: "...Is that alright with you two?"

Marija
She nodded along as they spoke, happy to see they were enjoying the party—and the city as well. She'd always been rather fond of it herself.

"It's good to find that even across the multiverse, Vienna is still as wonderful as I know it," she chuckled as she placed the plaque in her dress pocket. "It truly is a wonderful city, isn't it?"

Yes, even centuries ago Vienna was one of the crowning jewels of the Empire. The Emperors of day past thought so much of it that they called for the Imperial Diet—the body where issues affecting the Empire as a whole were deliberated on by the various princes—to be perpetually seated in the city, which only further served to increase its status.

"Oh, speaking of Vienna, do the two of you enjoy Viennese cuisine..? I've always loved Viennese goulash."
Ah, Wiener goulasch. Tender beef shanks and soft potato dumplings, richly flavored by thick, meaty stew. She found the taste unrivaled by anything short of the fruity flavour of apple pie. Oh, apple pie... the mere thought of it made her rub her belly.

...The softness of which made her acutely aware once again of her widening waistline...

Right. She couldn't indulge too much.

The sight of Prince Daniel, all by his lonesome, brought her out of her reverie. Perhaps she ought to check on him.

She made a quick bow as she turned to face Regis and Shiho again. "Oh; if you'll forgive me, I have to be off. There's something I have to attend to. Thank you again for the thoughtful gift," she said with a wave before walking off in Daniel's direction.

"Daniel milord," she called out to him as she approached. She thought to inquire about how he found Neda, but noted the box he held in his hands. "Oh my goodness; is that a gift for me? Oh, no, is that for Neda? How nice of you if so," she grinned.
She couldn't rule out the possibility. Some men, she found, were fond of giving gifts to show their affection. Perhaps Daniel was one of those people.

by **The Selkie** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 5:16 am

Enid, of Gofana Descent, of the Tribe of Dochaid.
I chuckled with the barkeeper, who had poured me a 12 year old Reisetbauer & Son Single Malt - it sounded promising and it was even more promising thanks to the fact, that I didn't have to pay.
"Everything's for free, eh?", I asked rhetorically, "I'll have you know, that I am a soldier and that the Archduke should be thankful for me not bringing some of my girls along... otherwise, he'd be poor by morning!" I grinned at that, raised my glass. "To the Archduke and the birthday child. May they both be happy!"
The whiskey was...
"Hm... good stuff..."
...a nice, sweet and smoky smell, fruits and cocoa came to mind, a thick taste and with a dash of smoke and a finish, which left little to be desired.
"Reisetbauer & Son, you said?" I nodded, having taken a small sip and gently placing the glass back onto the table. "I'll have to remember them."

by **A m e n r i a** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:03 am

Somewhere in the Black Pillar Association Office, Singapore, Empire of Amenria

Jonathan combed his jet black hair to his right as he looked into the mirror. The face of a 40-year old veteran looked back at him, the years of experience as a boxer and a now-reformed villain showing in the slight hints of wrinkles adorning his face. The circular pin he wore on his black vest, bearing the symbol of his noble house; a black piller with a pair of dragons coiling around it, glinted under the lights of the room. He stepped back and took one last look at himself, to make sure he looked good enough for the foreign royals he was about to meet. A stylish suit? Check. Impeccably-styled hair and moustache? Check. He turned around to face the younger man standing behind him.

"Hey Matthew, how do I look?"

Matthew looked up from his phone, awoken from the tranced induced by the work files displayed on his screen.

"You look great, Boss! I didn't know you could rock something more formal than what you usually wear."

Jonathan chuckled.

"Well, kid, you become the head of a Ramadhan subsidiary, you gotta know how to dress up." He glanced at Matthew's phone and pointed at it.

"Nothing left for today, right?"

"Nothing, sir. Whenever you're ready, we can start heading to Romilja."

"Nah, I'll head over the terminal myself. You take care, and try to keep the barrel of monkeys from being too wild, yeah?"

Matthew grinned nervously and bowed.

"Thank you, sir, I will."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

With that, the Patriarch put his hand on his underling's shoulder and patted it before leaving.

"It's gonna be a long night." Matthew sighed to himself.

Archducal Hall, Vienna, Romilja's universe

A lone man, even older than Jonathan himself stood before a table right at the entrance, SECURITY labeled on his vest.

"Hey, I'm here for Vice-Queen Marija's ball. Is this the right place?" Jonathan asked.

by **The Grand Western Empire** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:20 am

"Not being close to your family..." Anderson looked at the table, "Well, you are still part of their family, so it is never too late to talk to them more," Anderson swirled his wine around in his hand before taking a sip. He was unsure whether or not to carry on his line of questions. "Could you tell me more about this universe's Austria? I didn't have time to learn more about it when I arrived, but I'm quite curious. And I want to more about you, if possible."

by **Hospe** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 11:43 am

Daniel was surprised that she actually walked over to him but he found the gesture very kind. He replied finding himself smiling. "I'm glad you like it, it's yours." He handed her the gift box. "It's lovely to meet you, milady. I hope you have been enjoying your party."
Daniel wasn't sure he wanted to get married just yet but one thing he was sure of was that he liked impressing ladies so he was glad the princess was excited about her gift.

by **Romilija** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 3:27 am

The Selkie wrote:"Everything's for free, eh? I'll have you know, that I am a soldier and that the Archduke should be thankful for me not bringing some of my girls along... otherwise, he'd be poor by morning!"

"Hahaha! Believe me, madam, you should see the Archduke's soldier friends. I have never since seen men who could drink so much..."

"Reisetbauer & Son, you said?" I nodded, having taken a small sip and gently placing the glass back onto the table. "I'll have to remember them."

"Ah," he said, placing the glass he was cleaning onto the bar table. He crouched down and appeared to fetch something from below the counter. Soon enough, he emerged, and placed another bottle of Reisetbaur & Son onto the table and gestured toward it. "Perhaps you'd be interested in buying a bottle right here then? Just 100 schillings, ma'am."

Boltzmann
He stood up from the chair with a grunt as he picked his clipboard up from his desk.
"Empress' ball, not Vice-Queen Marija's, though she is the birthday girl," he corrected Jonathan with a grin. "But you're in the right place. It'll just be your identification and a patdown before I can let you in."

Milena

The Grand Western Empire wrote:"Not being close to your family..." Anderson looked at the table, "Well, you are still part of their family, so it is never too late to talk to them more."

"Oh, no, I get that... it's just, oh..." She hesitated for a moment on whether he had to know, but figured, since she had his attention, she might as well. "...Well, my eldest brother has twenty kids now, and my fifth brother is travelling the world on horse-racing championships. They all have lives of their own now. It's not easy."

She took another sip of wine, taking in its faintly floral aroma.

There was also her third brother who'd landed in jail for insurance fraud, but she thought this wasn't the best place to talk about him, not in polite company at least.

"Could you tell me more about this universe's Austria? I didn't have time to learn more about it when I arrived, but I'm quite curious. And I want to more about you, if possible."

"Our universe? What do you—oh... That whole multiverse conundrum is still a bit confusing to me, sorry." She gave a shy giggle.
"Well, in the west is Austria proper, which includes this city, Vienna. People mostly speak German here. In the east is Hungary, also ruled by the Archduke of Austria, where they speak, well, Hungarian. When Ma was still alive, we mostly visited the German part, but Hungary is a nice place to go in the spring."

Spring, her favourite time of the year. There was no better way she liked to spend her time than to trim hedges and water flowers, watching them bloom throughout the season...

"You... you'd like to know more about me? In that case, uhm, speaking of spring, do you like gardening?" she posed the sudden question. "It's always been an, uhm... interest of mine, and... I was just curious."

Marija
"Ah." It was for her.
It wasn't that she didn't expect to receive gifts, but she thought that perhaps the Prince was interested enough from the get-go to try and win over Neda with nice gifts. She felt a tinge of disappointment at that theory becoming less likely now, but Providence had other plans, she supposed.

She looked at the box (which, coming from a man with the Prince's fashion sense, was probably expensive by itself). It felt somewhat heavy in her hands as she gave Daniel a smile. "Thank you, milord. What is it, if I may ask?"

by **The Selkie** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 7:12 am

Enid, of Gofana Descent, of the Tribe of Dochaid.
I smiled, but shook my head.
"I know, that a girl's handbag is supposed to be a bottomless pit, but sadly, mine is not one of those. I'll have to decline.", I told the barkeeper, "Thank you for the offer, though."
I still took the bottle, though, examining it.
It did look quite elegant, though.
Putting it back on the counter, I asked: "Any other local whiskey brand you would recommend?"
I involuntarily asked myself, what Pierre would drink... and where he was.

by **AHSCA** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 11:16 am

Romilija wrote:Neda
"Why, thank you," Neda smiled. "I don't usually get to wear this dress in particular, so it was nice to get it out of the closet for once." She made a slight bow. "Thank you for the compliments. The Archduke and I are very happy how the renovation turned out."

She made a brief glance at the Archduke behind her, still at table with Elisa. To the uninformed observer, he looked insane as he laughed breathlessly, slapping his knee at a joke only he could hear as Elisa looked at him with bewilderment.

Neda furrowed her brows. If she were to talk with the Duchess now, they'd have to do so at another table—or risk an unproductive—and perhaps rather funny—meeting.

"Now, Your Royal Highness, I'm told you were hoping to establish relations. Were you looking to get business out of the way first things first, or would the two of you like to get settled in a bit before we get down to business?" she smiled at Marcella and Asuna.

Taking a free seat, Marcella smiled and sat down. "It would do be great pleasure, My Lady, if you have a moment to spare to work out some quick details now. I suspect our respective Foreign Ministers or other Ministers of State can work out the finer details but I think we can get a few quick things out of the way. Embassy exchanges for starters, culture and education, scientific research even. Simple matters of trade and commerce anything in particular you might want to discuss right now, otherwise we can as I mentioned defer to our respective ministers."

by **Saalenia** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 1:48 pm

Philip of Saalenia and his sister
Today was a big day for Philip of Saalenia. Nervousness set in as they entered the Gothic entrance hall. The young nobleman came from the house of the Saranians, which was not only the most influential noble house in the Principality of Saalenia, it was also the home of Princess Katarina II, who was also his mother.
The principality was a very small country, but its fertile soil and strong banking structure made it very prosperous, giving it international prestige and renown. Still, it would be a powerful opportunity for the small country's ruling family to marry into the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire; An empire of sheer geographical size. This was an honor for the young nobleman. When the Princess found out that a ball was being held in the Archduchy of Austria for precisely those purposes, she sent him there straight away.

Philipp dressed up for the evening. He wore a black tailcoat and black waistcoat with a white shirt underneath. His legs were clad in white jodhpurs with black boots. These indicated his status as a knight. He had short, blond hair in a gentleman's cut.
By his side was his twin sister, Daliah, who resembled him but didn't look alike due to the fact that they were fraternal. His sister was an important component in this endeavor. When marrying a noble man, he is always accompanied by a chosen wife, who is usually a relative, such as a mother or sister, but could also be a family friend. The Principality of Saalenia is organized matriarchally and women have social, political and economic dominance. His sister was also the hereditary lady of Saalenia, which means that she will be the next princess. Only women were allowed into politics. Both aristocratic ruling positions and democratically elected institutions or general officialdom were only accessible to women. Since noble marriage also had a political and diplomatic component, Philip could not determine the individual conditions. With non-matriarchal societies, marriages were very difficult to organize. The empress of the empire was female, so it couldn't be a patriarchy. But still, Philip could only own a limited number of properties, which is why the head of the family often had to take care of dowry, since matriarchal structures were not known.

Daliah wore a dark blue pencil dress that was backless. She wore two gloves of the same color that reached to her elbows. She wore her blond hair loose and a sapphire-studded necklace adorned her neck.

"Well, are you ready for the ball?" Daliah asked

"I'm curious to see which people will be there," he replied

"Try to be charming and be yourself, I'll take care of the surrounding stuff".

The two approached security. Daliah eyed him and began to speak.
"Good evening, dear man," she said in German, the principality's official language. Their Saalenian dialect was very close to the standard language, but had a distinctive nasal component that is often heard in northern Germany. "My name is Daliah from Saalenia and I am accompanying my brother Philip from Saalenia, who is registered here".
Philip just nodded in agreement.

OOC-Note
Since the ball is taking place in Austria, I assume that German will be spoken there, like in Saalenia. If this is not the case, please note it and ignore the comment on the language in my text.

by **The Grand Western Empire** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 2:08 pm

Romilija wrote:
Milena
["Oh, no, I get that... it's just, oh..." She hesitated for a moment on whether he had to know, but figured, since she had his attention, she might as well. "...Well, my eldest brother has twenty kids now, and my fifth brother is travelling the world on horse-racing championships. They all have lives of their own now. It's not easy."

She took another sip of wine, taking in its faintly floral aroma.

'20? Good Lord...' Anderson thought deeply before sighing, "I... Kinda know the feeling of being unable to reach out to your family. But I would rather not speak of the topic of my heritage and birth. It brings back poor memories..."

Romilija wrote:"Our universe? What do you—oh... That whole multiverse conundrum is still a bit confusing to me, sorry." She gave a shy giggle.
"Well, in the west is Austria proper, which includes this city, Vienna. People mostly speak German here. In the east is Hungary, also ruled by the Archduke of Austria, where they speak, well, Hungarian. When Ma was still alive, we mostly visited the German part, but Hungary is a nice place to go in the spring."

Anderson nodded, "Sounds much like our version of Austria, except in my world, Austria no longer controls Hungary. They lost it in a very... Bloody war that had repercussions for all of Europe."

Romilija wrote:Spring, her favourite time of the year. There was no better way she liked to spend her time than to trim hedges and water flowers, watching them bloom throughout the season...

"You... you'd like to know more about me? In that case, uhm, speaking of spring, do you like gardening?" she posed the sudden question. "It's always been an, uhm... interest of mine, and... I was just curious."

"I like seeing the aftermath. I respect the dedication people put into gardening and I enjoy looking at the results. Visiting greenhouses is a habit of mine when I'm unsure what to do next for the Empire. The calmness of the plants and the silence let me think properly. But I myself never had the time to learn gardening. Being an Emperor is tiring, and occasionally miserable, business." Anderson shook his head.

by **Horasia** » Sun Oct 16, 2022 2:19 pm

Dr. Nyyrikki and Dr. Allacaya
[spoiler=]

Boltzmann
Boltzmann placed a hand on his bald head as he held a clipboard in the other. He eyed the two newcomers expressionlessly, fighting to keep his eyes open as they walked up. The man looked like he came straight from the 18th century, he noted with amusement, while the woman had more modern sensibilities, while still appearing stately enough.

He introduced himself and the woman he was with. He was Dr. Nyyrikki, and his wife a Dr. Allacaya.

Boltzmann narrowed his eyes. Doctors? Did they get the wrong place?

He checked his clipboard. Their names were on there.
Huh. Either they preferred to go by their academic titles or they were distinguished enough academics to be exempt from the rules. Odd. Not that he cared much, so long as they weren't a danger to anybody.

He placed the clipboard onto the wooden desk before standing up from his chair. He regarded the couple with a nod.
"Welcome," he greeted them as he motioned to a stocky woman wearing the same black security vest. She moved to stand by his side, and nodded at the two in greeting.

"We're just going to need your identification before we pat you down. After that, the two of you can go on through," the gentleman said. "Is that..."
He stopped himself as he battled to stop his eyes from closing on their own. Damn. He felt almost drowsier than before he had the coffee.
Nevertheless, he shook his head, and hopefully his drowsiness with it, off, continuing: "...Is that alright with you two?"

[/spoiler]
Nyyrikki and Allacaya agreed to the procedure. The man seemed to be very tired, he was probably here very early.

"I have here a letter from the Empress of my country, in whose service I am, documenting my identity," said Nyyrikki. "Furthermore, I have my normal identity card and my wife also has it with her".

The document that Nyyrikki pulled out was written in both Finnish and the local language and contained the following text:

"In the following it is confirmed by me,

Prof. Dr. Sofijaa Gyldana, constitutionally elected Empress of Horasia, Patroness of Science and Art, Queen of the Finns, Duchess of Edinburgh, Châteauvillain and Châteauroux, Princess of Orange, Countess of Schellenberg and the Champange, Lady of Kingsstead, Princley Garden and Rubeno, Guardian of the Constitution, Chancellor on the Imperial Court Council,

that the bearer of this document is Nyyrikki Häkkinen, Doctor of Political Science and Imperial Councillor, who is in my service and in the service of my court".

Among them was an effigy of Nyyrikki and a signature of the Empress of Horasia. The title of Imperial Council was actually an honorary title and therefore rather symbolic, but the Empress decided that Nyyrikki should get it so that it could have some kind of titulary a little bit like the ones here.
Both also agreed to the procedure of scanning. When asked if it was okay for both of them, Allacaya replied.

"I suppose in terms of safety we both have no problem with that," she looked at Boltzmann with a flirtatious smile. "In any case, it's not me who should have a problem with the palpation".

Nyyrikki kept his face straight. Maybe not a good time, he thought. Maybe people here are not so tolerant when married women flirt.

by **Romilija** » Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:14 am

With an undaunted smile, the barkeep placed the bottle back under the counter.

"Ah..." he considered her question. "You may enjoy a Wieser double malt, produced in the beautiful Wachau valley northwest of here," he said, taking a bottle of such from the shelf and placing it onto the counter. "Oh, or a Broger wheat whiskey, from Vorarlberg in the west."

He flashed a smile. "Whichever you should like, ma'am; whatever you choose I shall always be proud to patronise my countrymen's hard work."

Pierre
Mon Dieu.

His hair was probably even worse then when he'd combed it, before he'd started this forsaken quest. He was sitting on his bottom on the tiled floor of the bathroom now, tugging furiously at his shoe. By now he was out of witty quips about the situation, or even any thought or consideration besides "Get off, dammit!" or a French obscenity or two.

Gritting his teeth, he kept at it and kept at it and kept at it... He was starting to lose hope, but finally—
AGH! A horrible, horrible pain in his groin! He deflated as he reeled from the pain, and lay down on the floor, puzzled by what had happened.

It passed by too quickly for him to notice it in the moment, but it was clear from the location of his recently removed shoe close to his groin that when it had flown off, it had impacted him and caused his current suffering.

"Well—" he gasped between tired breaths as he stood up, neither the pain nor the sweat he had to wipe off his forehead helping things, "at least I can... adjust... my sock now..."
He did so and pulled his sock up to reach his breeches at the knee.

He pointed fiercely at his shoe while holding it up. "The rest of my clothes never misbehave, but you... you hate me, don't you?"

It was as though these shoes were made to frustrate. Big enough to have room for things to get stuck in, and small enough to be an absolute pain to put on and off.
God... he had half a mind to just go on with the party without his shoes, neverminding the stares.

But no, he had a lady to attend to. It would not do for him to not suffer, if only for her.
So he put his foot in the shoe to put it on again, and pushed, holding onto his sock so that it wouldn't get stuck again. After a strong effort, he was able to get it on.

"YES!" he let out a loud cry as he leapt with joy, before covering his mouth self-consciously.

Too loud. What would people think he was doing in here? Ack... how careless of him, even though he really was that overjoyed that this was over and done with.

Pierre made his way to the bar after a good minute of searching. He shook his head with a sigh. The hall, while certainly beautiful, he found far to big and easy to lose oneself in. Although he noted with embarassment that there was the possibility that his own clumsiness was perhaps to blame as well.

Among the small contingent of people seated at the bar, he could easily spot out Enid. Her bright white locks stood out among people with comparatively normal hair colors... and, on another note of embarrassment, her legs, peaking out of the slits of her dress, stood out to him as well.
She had... very pretty legs.

Oh, what was he doing?

He shook his head at his voyeurism and made to join her at the bar. He gently moved her bag from the barstool chair onto the counter in front of him, and sat himself down at her side.

"Mademoiselle... joy fills my heart at the sight of you once again," he smiled, leaning against the bar table and placing his hand on his hair, "and at the thought that I should look presentable in your sight."

Though his clothes were all in order, his hair was in not much better state than it was when he'd made his 'fateful collision'—his dogged approach to freeing his sock from his shoe, which included more than a few rolls across the bathroom floor, had seen to that.

But this fact was unbeknownst to him, and he let out an internal sigh, relieved to have delivered that line without any slip-ups. He'd thought it up on the way here, and hoped it might put a smile to her face.

Neda
A feeling of nervousness set into Neda's chest as Marcella took a seat at the table.

At the risk of sounding rude, she couldn't let the Archduke disturb things.

"Elisa, forgive me for the inconvenience but could you move to another table for the moment? Duchess Marcella and I will be discussing something."

With a nod at Neda and a brief glance at Marcella, Elisa tapped her father on the back and whispered into his ear. He nodded brusquely before standing up and turning to leave, Elisa standing close by, perhaps to ensure he did not fall over in a drunken stupor.

Neda sat down again, flashing Elisa a grateful smile and wave.
"I hope he does not cause her so much trouble." She let out a chuckle as she turned to face Marcella, placing her arms on the table.
"Funny world this is: the daughter having to watch out for her father rather than the other way around."

AHSCA wrote:"It would do be great pleasure, My Lady, if you have a moment to spare to work out some quick details now. I suspect our respective Foreign Ministers or other Ministers of State can work out the finer details but I think we can get a few quick things out of the way. Embassy exchanges for starters, culture and education, scientific research even. Simple matters of trade and commerce anything in particular you might want to discuss right now, otherwise we can as I mentioned defer to our respective ministers."

Neda nodded along as Marcella spoke. She certainly wished to discuss these basic matters, but there were a select few other things she wished to discuss as well.

"Of course. I look forward to discussing this with such an amicable company as yours. Will your attendant be taking a seat with us? She's free to, if she likes," she said, gesturing to the vacant seat left by the Archduke.

"We'd be happy to receive a diplomatic mission from the UIS, and I think it would be excellent if you could establish your embassy in Belgrade." Given that it was the capital, it was common sense for consulates to be seated there—and convenient too—the city was home to the country's largest and busiest international airport, after all.

"I would personally recommend Stari Grad, the old city district. There are a number of vacant spaces in the heart of the old city offering a picturesque view of the cathedral, St. Radovan's."

Boltzmann
Huh. With all the titles the Empress had boasted, he had expected the Doctor to at least be coming with a noble title of some sort, but it appeared the most he had was 'Imperial Councillor'. Maybe he came from a place where academic titles were considered noble.

But, eh. It didn't matter. He was on the list, and his identification checked out. Besides, a man had the right to enjoy himself with his wife in fine company, didn't he?

He moved to pat Dr. Nyyrikki down, but was caught off guard by what Allacaya said. Did she flirt? He looked to Nyyrikki, but found no trace of approval or indignation on his face, not even unease.
He shook his head slightly when met without a response, before proceeding with the patdown.

"My female colleague will be the one seeing to you, ma'am," he told Allacaya with an inscrutable expression as he started checking Nyyrikki, at which point the stout young lady moved to do so. When she was done with her, she gave Boltzmann a nod, and he nodded back in reply as he stood up in turn.

He quickly moved to sit at his desk as his colleague went back to her post.

"You're clear to go on through; enjoy yourselves," he sighed, putting his head in his palm. It deeply puzzled him why a beautiful young woman would joke around with him. He was probably some thirty, forty years her senior—and he didn't even look younger than his age. A veritable old fart, if there ever was one.

Saalenia wrote:Philip of Saalenia and his sister
Today was a big day for Philip of Saalenia. Nervousness set in as they entered the Gothic entrance hall. The young nobleman came from the house of the Saranians, which was not only the most influential noble house in the Principality of Saalenia, it was also the home of Princess Katarina II, who was also his mother.
The principality was a very small country, but its fertile soil and strong banking structure made it very prosperous, giving it international prestige and renown. Still, it would be a powerful opportunity for the small country's ruling family to marry into the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire; An empire of sheer geographical size. This was an honor for the young nobleman. When the Princess found out that a ball was being held in the Archduchy of Austria for precisely those purposes, she sent him there straight away.

Philipp dressed up for the evening. He wore a black tailcoat and black waistcoat with a white shirt underneath. His legs were clad in white jodhpurs with black boots. These indicated his status as a knight. He had short, blond hair in a gentleman's cut.
By his side was his twin sister, Daliah, who resembled him but didn't look alike due to the fact that they were fraternal. His sister was an important component in this endeavor. When marrying a noble man, he is always accompanied by a chosen wife, who is usually a relative, such as a mother or sister, but could also be a family friend. The Principality of Saalenia is organized matriarchally and women have social, political and economic dominance. His sister was also the hereditary lady of Saalenia, which means that she will be the next princess. Only women were allowed into politics. Both aristocratic ruling positions and democratically elected institutions or general officialdom were only accessible to women. Since noble marriage also had a political and diplomatic component, Philip could not determine the individual conditions. With non-matriarchal societies, marriages were very difficult to organize. The empress of the empire was female, so it couldn't be a patriarchy. But still, Philip could only own a limited number of properties, which is why the head of the family often had to take care of dowry, since matriarchal structures were not known.

Daliah wore a dark blue pencil dress that was backless. She wore two gloves of the same color that reached to her elbows. She wore her blond hair loose and a sapphire-studded necklace adorned her neck.

"Well, are you ready for the ball?" Daliah asked

"I'm curious to see which people will be there," he replied

"Try to be charming and be yourself, I'll take care of the surrounding stuff".

The two approached security. Daliah eyed him and began to speak.
"Good evening, dear man," she said in German, the principality's official language. Their Saalenian dialect was very close to the standard language, but had a distinctive nasal component that is often heard in northern Germany. "My name is Daliah from Saalenia and I am accompanying my brother Philip from Saalenia, who is registered here".
Philip just nodded in agreement.

OOC-Note
Since the ball is taking place in Austria, I assume that German will be spoken there, like in Saalenia. If this is not the case, please note it and ignore the comment on the language in my text.

A pair, a man and a woman, approached Boltzmann's desk. The man looked like a typical noble hailing from the Empire, while the woman looked excellent in her fashionable dark-blue dress. He regarded the both of them with a nod, and listened as the lady introduced them both.

He noted the accent with which she spoke, nasally and reminiscent of how people spoke in northern Germany. He had worked with people from that region before, though, so it wasn't hard for him to understand her.

"Welcome," he said, eying the clipboard in his hands. For his part, he spoke standard German, albeit with a slight Austrian drawl. "Yes, your identity checks out. No need for identification; I'm just gonna pat you down, to expedite the process. I mean, I'm sure the two of you are legitimate. No sense in it, right?" he said, giving the two of them a tired look.

'20? Good Lord...' Anderson thought deeply before sighing, "I... Kinda know the feeling of being unable to reach out to your family. But I would rather not speak of the topic of my heritage and birth. It brings back poor memories..."

"I understand... but if it's any consolation to you now, you're an emperor now," she gave an encouraging smile. "And a very good one, I'm sure, despite your difficulties in the past. That's something to be happy about."

Anderson nodded, "Sounds much like our version of Austria, except in my world, Austria no longer controls Hungary. They lost it in a very... Bloody war that had repercussions for all of Europe."

"Oh, that sounds really bad," Milena frowned. "Was it a revolt? Here in our world, there are mounting pressures on the Archduke to force his daughter to marry Hungarian nobility and have her heirs become Kings of an independent Hungary. It's called the Nemzet movement. I'm really worried for Princess Elisa; nobody should ever be forced to marry someone they don't want to."

"I like seeing the aftermath. I respect the dedication people put into gardening and I enjoy looking at the results. Visiting greenhouses is a habit of mine when I'm unsure what to do next for the Empire. The calmness of the plants and the silence let me think properly. But I myself never had the time to learn gardening. Being an Emperor is tiring, and occasionally miserable, business." Anderson shook his head.

"Ah..." She felt bad as Anderson related his struggles as Emperor. Even a person with not nearly as much responsibility on her shoulders, she still knew it must have been hard. Maybe there was something she could offer.

"You know, if you ever wanted to... unwind from your duties, you could visit my house. I... I have a garden there, and I'm really, uhm, quite proud of it."

"I-I know you probably don't have much free time for yourself," she added, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted with them. "But, uhm, we could sit on the grass together and... enjoy it together, just the two of us. Sipping tea... breathing in fresh air..."

...Falling onto the grass and laying there when day turned to night...tiring from a long day just as the sun did. Sleepily holding hands under the twilight—

And whispering a prayer, in the hopes of hearing it repeated from the other. A prayer oh so short but oh so dear:
I love you.

Wouldn't it be nice?

She said that last sentence out loud as she looked his way again, completing both the sentence she had left trailing and what she had kept privately in her thoughts. And she smiled again, with hope that he would take her meaning. And if he did, that he would reciprocate.

Elisa
Archduke Michael let out a loud groan as Elisa led him away from the Empress' table. His shoulders were slumped down as he walked, his eyes on the floor, and Elisa held him up for fear that he might suddenly falldown—if not from passing out, perhaps from not noticing someone walking right in front of him!

"Please, father, hold yourself together!" she begged him.

"Don't you *hic* worry, Elisa. You are my *hic* strength. With you I shall never *hic* fall!" he assured her enthusiastically, but contrary to what he had just said, he appeared to be nodding off.

This would not do, she thought, and the Archduke was soon greeted by a sudden wake-up call in the form of a kick. A sudden pain shot throughout his shin, at which point he yelled, "AAGGGH!"

"Stay strong, father," she said. "Just like you always tell me to do."

"Struck, by my own flesh and blood!" he cried out miserably. "Oh, the *hic* pain in my heart—and my shin—ah, it's setting in again, agh!"

She winced at her father's pained cries, but it had to be done.

"Sorry," she said half-heartedly, before grabbing him by the hand and dragging him with her as she picked up the pace. Before anything else, she had to get him to the safety of a chair, where there'd be a considerably lower chance of him passing out onto the floor.

by **The Selkie** » Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:50 am

Romilija wrote:With an undaunted smile, the barkeep placed the bottle back under the counter.

"Ah..." he considered her question. "You may enjoy a Wieser double malt, produced in the beautiful Wachau valley northwest of here," he said, taking a bottle of such from the shelf and placing it onto the counter. "Oh, or a Broger wheat whiskey, from Vorarlberg in the west."

He flashed a smile. "Whichever you should like, ma'am; whatever you choose I shall always be proud to patronise my countrymen's hard work."

Pierre
Mon Dieu.

His hair was probably even worse then when he'd combed it, before he'd started this forsaken quest. He was sitting on his bottom on the tiled floor of the bathroom now, tugging furiously at his shoe. By now he was out of witty quips about the situation, or even any thought or consideration besides "Get off, dammit!" or a French obscenity or two.

Gritting his teeth, he kept at it and kept at it and kept at it... He was starting to lose hope, but finally—
AGH! A horrible, horrible pain in his groin! He deflated as he reeled from the pain, and lay down on the floor, puzzled by what had happened.

It passed by too quickly for him to notice it in the moment, but it was clear from the location of his recently removed shoe close to his groin that when it had flown off, it had impacted him and caused his current suffering.

"Well—" he gasped between tired breaths as he stood up, neither the pain nor the sweat he had to wipe off his forehead helping things, "at least I can... adjust... my sock now..."
He did so and pulled his sock up to reach his breeches at the knee.

He pointed fiercely at his shoe while holding it up. "The rest of my clothes never misbehave, but you... you hate me, don't you?"

It was as though these shoes were made to frustrate. Big enough to have room for things to get stuck in, and small enough to be an absolute pain to put on and off.
God... he had half a mind to just go on with the party without his shoes, neverminding the stares.

But no, he had a lady to attend to. It would not do for him to not suffer, if only for her.
So he put his foot in the shoe to put it on again, and pushed, holding onto his sock so that it wouldn't get stuck again. After a strong effort, he was able to get it on.

"YES!" he let out a loud cry as he leapt with joy, before covering his mouth self-consciously.

Too loud. What would people think he was doing in here? Ack... how careless of him, even though he really was that overjoyed that this was over and done with.

Pierre made his way to the bar after a good minute of searching. He shook his head with a sigh. The hall, while certainly beautiful, he found far to big and easy to lose oneself in. Although he noted with embarassment that there was the possibility that his own clumsiness was perhaps to blame as well.

Among the small contingent of people seated at the bar, he could easily spot out Enid. Her bright white locks stood out among people with comparatively normal hair colors... and, on another note of embarrassment, her legs, peaking out of the slits of her dress, stood out to him as well.
She had... very pretty legs.

Oh, what was he doing?

He shook his head at his voyeurism and made to join her at the bar. He gently moved her bag from the barstool chair onto the counter in front of him, and sat himself down at her side.

"Mademoiselle... joy fills my heart at the sight of you once again," he smiled, leaning against the bar table and placing his hand on his hair, "and at the thought that I should look presentable in your sight."

Though his clothes were all in order, his hair was in not much better state than it was when he'd made his 'fateful collision'—his dogged approach to freeing his sock from his shoe, which included more than a few rolls across the bathroom floor, had seen to that.

But this fact was unbeknownst to him, and he let out an internal sigh, relieved to have delivered that line without any slip-ups. He'd thought it up on the way here, and hoped it might put a smile to her face.

[...]

Enid, of Gofana Descent, of the Tribe of Dochaid.
I smiled at the barkeep, nodded. "Thank you for the recommendations. I'll come back to you, should I feel the desire to try them tonight."
I really was thankful - while we Selkie prided us in making the best whiskey of them all, others had good whiskey as well and sometimes a bit of testing was not bad. Besides, my brother collected whiskey bottles, contents optional.
He'd love a bottle or two from the Archduchy, I was sure.
And then, someone moved my handbag.
I was about to call him out, when I noticed Pierre, who tried to be suave and who's hair looked about as messy as before.
"Mademoiselle... joy fills my heart at the sight of you once again...", he told me, "...and at the thought that I should look presentable in your sight."
I hummed as I looked him over, once down, once up.
Looking him into the eyes, I said: "You look good, I especially like your hair." I smiled at him, shifting slightly so that I faced him, a bit of leg peeking out. "Not too orderly, but also not too messy."

Ball of Lonesome Hearts (IC|Semi-Open)

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