A Debut For a Princess (IC)

[Abetton]

This is the IC thread. If you're interested in still joining, please go to the OOC Thread.

Castle Liek - chambers of Princess Peri

Evening was setting in on this chilly winter day. Down on the grounds a host of horse drawn carriages were departing the grounds to pick up the guests for the most anticipated day, the debut for the young 14-year-old Princess Peri of Abetton. It was her special day because this was her debut to the world, to say hello world, I'm not just a Princess, I'm Abetton's Princess! It would mean some royal responsibilities to come, nothing major, not like her brother who was the heir apparent to the throne, he had more responsibility on his shoulders but they were still young yet and this was another night to be youthful. This debut was going to probably rival all future debuts to come, Peri was inviting a whole host of foreign guests to her party, rather unusual to have a wide range of invites, these were traditionally among Abetton's nobility with the odd foreign guests here and there but after her little sister, Princess Chrysanthe had a birthday party that was similar, well why not do the same for her debut. Birthday parties were kind of behind her now as a young noble lady, the debut was more the big thing to look forward to.

Debuts go back centuries in Abetton and traditionally they've been an affair among the Kingdom's young women. Less about finding a potential suitor as more traditional debutante balls were and more just about celebrating someone's coming-of-age in some way or another. They could feature dancing and dining, they could feature an expedition somewhere, Princess Beatrice in 1899 went on a cross country trip. Peri opted for the classy with her, a ball, dancing, dining, mingling, and quite a few young men there too. Though currently betrothed, it's always good to keep options open should circumstances between her and her fiancee change, or maybe someone else will find someone here? You never know! Besides, a Princess should be cordial to both sexes regardless of marital or engagement status.

Peri right now was held up in her chamber to be prepped and ready before she'd make her grand entrance once enough guests arrived, a chance for them to lay her eyes on her and go "ooh and aah" sort of being fashionably late to one's own party, build up the suspense and anticipation. Tending to getting her dressed and ready was her maid, Sara Whitley. Sara took care of Peri's makeup and started working on her hair next but found herself interrupted by the entrance of the Queen, Queen Ophelia and Peri's mother.

"Your Majesty, good evening." Sara bowed before the Queen getting ready to tend to Peri again but Ophelia raised her hand "Good work, Miss Sara, but allow me if you will."

"Of course, Your Grace." Handing over the combs, brushes and sprays for the Queen, Sara stood aside to watch.

"Good evening, Mother."

"Evening, darling. My my how pretty you look, truly going to be the talk tonight."

"I would hope so, it's my debut after all."

"Indeed it is, my dear. "

"What was your like, Mother?"

"Not quite as big and elaborate as your own but quite lovely. All women and no foreign dignitaries. But that's the benefits of being a Princess as opposed to the child of a Minor Duke and Duchess. Easier for you to attract many guests from all over to your heart's content. Speaking of though, I did take a peak at the guest list. I noticed a certain island princess among them."

"Father and you agreed, the guest list was mine to make, and I decided I wanted to let it be open and wide spreading with a few handpicked."

"I know, dear, I know, I'm not here to talk you out of it. I believe you can handle it but you do know you'll have guests of the Sultanate present."

"I know. But you said you trust me, and I believe all guests will get along fine and I believe I will be a most gracious host that nobody would dream of speaking out in an ill mannered way."

"That's my girl. You'll do fine tonight but also remember that I will be there as well so don't hesitate to lean on me a little too. Ah you truly are growing to a beautiful young lady before my eyes."

"Thanks, Mother. Miss Sara, would you kindly go join the maids and butlers down in the ballroom to greet our guests? Mother can help finish prepping me."

"As you wish, Milady."




Chambers of Princess Chrysanthe

The youngest of the family, Chrysanthe was as excited for her big sister's big night as anyone else was. Her maid in attendance, Margaret had a difficult time trying to keep the young girl from fidgeting too much to get her dress and hair set. "Milady, please, I do need you to hold still just long enough to finish."

"Sorry."

"I know it's an exciting and festive night for all but you have to still be ready to be in show."

"I'm just happy Peri is letting me come. I couldn't go to Lady Charlotte's or Lady Gwenelle's Debut." Charlotte was their cousin, older than Peri and in many ways like an older sister to both of them. She was currently the Regent of the island territory of Abetton, until Peri came of age and married into the title with her current fiancee. Gwenelle was another young noble lady, a couple years Peri's senior but a friend nevertheless, she actually came from their mother's duchy and was also set to take that over.

"All right, few finishing touches and we'll be set." Getting her hair just right, the trim of her dress perfect now the young Princess was set. "Well then, Milady we should expect your Sister's guests soon enough, so let's make a good impression so that when she enters, she'll have everyone in awe."

Chambers of Prince Linely

While the girls were tended by their slightly older maid servants (older in a manner of speaking, both in their early 20s), Linely was tended to by his manservant, Shaun. A boy actually about the same age as the young Prince. Another relative of someone in the castle staff, good to start young and get a good work ethic going. "Milord, just about set."

"Thank you, Shaun. I look all right?"

"Like a million Florins, Milord."

"Excellent. I still feel a bit odd being at Peri's own debut."

"She did insist on you being there."

"Yes, I think she's hoping to set me up with someone. Or at least let me meet a lot of women."

"Well wouldn't hurt to be open to it. Plus this past month, you've shown yourself to already be a Prince with his fingers on the pulse of global affairs."

"Well that went well for oh about five minutes."

"Well could have been worse, I suppose, Milord. Either way, I think that took some fine diplomatic skills, even if not warmly embraced, you show your aptitude as future King. And to think, so many responded to Her Highness' debut from all over the world. I'd say you might have a little something to do with that. She might too."

"You could be onto something, Shaun. All right, I'm set. Let's head down, shall we?"

"Yes, Milord."

---

The Ballroom Floor

Now the preparations were finished, the first set of guests were arriving now. Food was set out, music was already playing. Upon entrance guests would certainly see the lavish design of the castle, it was plenty old, not as old as the Historic Castle in Sauvile Metro, which now stood as a tourist attraction more than anything else, though that castle could still be used as a secondary residence if needed. Art adorned the walls of Abetton high society and culture, various Deities of the Abetton Paganism were depicted in various styles and poses encompassing different facets of life and society. Weather, sun, crops, animals, the seas, the sky, everything and anything. Some resembled constellations of the sky others would be entirely foreign. Crosses were present too, not representing Christianity in this instance but they had their own meaning depending on where it sat. Could mean the royal family, could mean life, could mean well just about anything. Paintings and portraits of monarchs of old, including the current family. Pictures of the capital from centuries past do present. Antiques and priceless furniture, some older than the building itself. Chandlers that once adorned the orange glow of candles now lit with electric lights were on the ceiling, which too had plenty of special art.

the maids stood at attention to greet new arrivals as they'd walk through the entrance hall, the written invite that was out for everyone by the head butler too was here to open the doors to begin the entry. Whoever was here first "Madams and Sirs, I welcome you to Castle Liek." Or some variation of that depending who would walk through the door. This was the special evening for the Princess, now all that was left was things to go smoothly this evening.

[Allanea]

Official Message from House Blaken-Kazansky

To Her Royal Highness, Princess Peri Latimer, the Imperial and Royal House Blaken-Kazansky send their greetings. As it is most unfortunate that none of the members of our House could attend Your Royal Highness' doubtless lovely debut, it is necessary for us to express our congratulations to Your Royal Highness through the traditional medium of gifts.

First, in light of the fact that Your Royal Highness is a person doubtless of the most refined taste, please accept from this House a gift of a silver necklace, decorated with diamonds and a single ten-carat sapphire.

Second, in light of the fact that Your Royal Highness is a person who doubtless enjoys the elegant things in life, this Royal House sends you a pair of Kubotan shoes, which is a fashionable brand of pinpoint shoes in Allanea, worn by young ladies of the highest standing.

Third, in light of the fact we all enjoy also the lighter and most delicious things, please accept also a delivery of Dhaal Fruit Sherbet, in an engraved silver casing.

For your esteemed Royal parents, we send also a case of champagne Reserve L'Empereur, from His Majesty Alexander Blaken-Kazansky's private reserves (and thus the label).

On behalf of the entirety of Blaken-Kazansky, I wish Your Royal Highness a successful debut.

Count Terenius Otoryn,
Secretary of Her Imperial and Royal Majesty,
Queen Cassiopeia Blaken-Kazansky, Empress of Greater Prussia, etc. etc.

[Hanoverian Great Britain]

To be traveling by herself to a much foreign, distant land would have been much of a challenge for the young Mary. Nevertheless, the petite, red-haired, and cheeky Duchess of Sussex was jubilant enough for all the surprises ahead. For Mary at least, talking to a much younger, particularly a fourteen year old royal would be certainly a new experience for herself. This event, as much of a surprise as it might have been, could most likely be her chance to socialise with those roughly of her age or era rather than with those at least decades older than herself, such as her various European royal relatives. Nevertheless, as her kitten heels emit the first few sounds as it touches the ballroom floor, Mary quickly found herself in awe at her surroundings. At the same time, her rather unconventional choice of apparel, consisting of an all white pair of wide leg pants, inspired directly from the late great actress, Katharine Hepburn, complete with an also white undershirt and shirt jacket, would also definitely have the people around her in awe aswell. Nevertheless, for now, while waiting for the said person of interest to arrive, the seventeen year old Mary stood still in the near center of the room, hovering around herself as her eyes "scanned" the beautifully decorated walls and alike.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

The Ballroom Floor

Now the preparations were finished, the first set of guests were arriving now. Food was set out, music was already playing. Upon entrance guests would certainly see the lavish design of the castle, it was plenty old, not as old as the Historic Castle in Sauvile Metro, which now stood as a tourist attraction more than anything else, though that castle could still be used as a secondary residence if needed. Art adorned the walls of Abetton high society and culture, various Deities of the Abetton Paganism were depicted in various styles and poses encompassing different facets of life and society. Weather, sun, crops, animals, the seas, the sky, everything and anything. Some resembled constellations of the sky others would be entirely foreign. Crosses were present too, not representing Christianity in this instance but they had their own meaning depending on where it sat. Could mean the royal family, could mean life, could mean well just about anything. Paintings and portraits of monarchs of old, including the current family. Pictures of the capital from centuries past do present. Antiques and priceless furniture, some older than the building itself. Chandlers that once adorned the orange glow of candles now lit with electric lights were on the ceiling, which too had plenty of special art.

the maids stood at attention to greet new arrivals as they'd walk through the entrance hall, the written invite that was out for everyone by the head butler too was here to open the doors to begin the entry. Whoever was here first "Madams and Sirs, I welcome you to Castle Liek." Or some variation of that depending who would walk through the door. This was the special evening for the Princess, now all that was left was things to go smoothly this evening.

The Prussian-Polish delegation

Crown Prince Berengar entered the ballroom at the head of the group, wearing the drab uniform of the Prussian-Polish Land Forces. Had he been allowed to, he would have come in his utility uniform; alas, the outside world had sensibilities, sensibilities that had to be followed. But the faintest bit of grey dust seemed to settle on his boots, the faintest bit of stubble on his cheek, and dark circles lay under his eyes. To boot, the slight smell of dust, gunpowder, and motor-oil still clung to him even after several hot showers.

He looked a lot less like a Crown Prince, and more like a washed up, exhausted veteran.

The extravagance of the castle...did not gall the Prince Berengar, but it seemed alien to him. The servile maids were far more of an issue; he had washed his own dishes and made his own bed for as long as he could remember. Already visibly tense as he paced back and forth waiting for the doors to open, he nearly jumped when the maids greeted him, and returned their greeting with a mumbled, shaky 'thank you'.

A castle in Abetton was the worst place a Prussian-Pole could be. Ironically, however, the paganism was the least issue at hand here. Prussia-Poland had allied with pagans and it would do so for the forseeable future; Lazuanne, Danceria, the Free Lands, and Lillorainen were all allies, and all had paganism to a great extent. No, the issue lay with the simple fact that Abetton was a traditional monarchy. Prussian-Polish nobility were supposed to be frugal; they were supposed to do the menial labor of their households with their own hands. They were supposed to shun foreign nobility like the plague; foreign nobles, after all, recieved their titles through blood, and not through military merit.

Berengar thought of none of this, of course. There was only one thought -- more exactly, one person -- on his mind, and it was definitely, definitely not the princess.

Immediately after Prince Berengar were a pair of young girls - Mariana Giuseppe and Sophia Hillshire. Mariana was the older of the two; she was olive-skinned and tanned, and seemed, perhaps, to be an Arab or a Kyrenaian. Her hair, however, was blonde - not bleached blonde, but close enough. She was wearing business attire: firm leather shoes, white button down shirt, red tie, black blazer and slacks, with a light-brown winter coat on top.

Sophia, on the other hand, was recognizably European; pale skin, shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a green dress over a white shirt, and a pair of black stockings and a pair of firm shoes.

The two chatted quietly in Italian, with Mariana grinning broadly as she stared at the halls(and at the other guests), while Sophia kept her head down for the most part, and only occasionally stopped to glance, a little longer, at a few of the paintings.

Bringing up the rear was a strange, tall woman in chainmail armor. She took up position near the back, and scanned the room. Perhaps she was waiting for someone?

[New Visayan Islands]

Engr. Victor A. Cui
Castle Liek, Sauville, Abetton
August 25th, AD 2021
1853 Local Time

At 24, going 25 on October, Victor Cui had found himself back in his social element, an element that came with the territory of having spent the later part of his secondary education, the five years of civil engineering, and the first year as a civil engineer (already including the licensure exams, naturally) as part of the Confederation's First Family. Each of the Cuis had taken to double-masking, a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask with the Seal of the President of the New Visayan Islands on the right side covering the lower half of their faces; COVID-19 may be no issue for either Abetton or the Confederation, but masks and physical distancing were lessons that the Visayans learned well. This extended to the four Executive Security Officers present, two each for his parents; he and his sister Elizabeth were old enough to no longer warrant an ESO detail six months after his father Francis left the Presidency, but both parents would have ESOs detailed to them for life.
As to why the Cuis were invited instead of any member of the incumbent executive branch, Victor did not know; he did suspect, however, that this was in recognition of his father's efforts in opening the Confederation up to the world around her. That this was a former President did not matter.

Dr. Francis dlT. Cui, DBA
Castle Liek, Sauville, Abetton
August 25th, AD 2021
1901 Local Time

Trust Victor to be the one to take point, Francis thought as he saw Victor ahead of the party. His firstborn had always been headstrong, so it did not surprise the man who was once President of the New Visayan Islands (and is now the Chief Administrative Officer of Victoria Associated Industries) to see Vic take the lead. His wife, Theresa Alexandra, was to his left, while his daughter Elizabeth was three meters to their right, keeping her distance and greeting the occasional maid whilst being watched discreetly by one of the two ESOs nominally assigned to Theresa; just because both children had outgrown the need for an Executive Security Office detail did not mean he or his wife could risk them.
Francis smiled behind the masks; this was a refreshing change of pace, especially since it was only over a week since he and the former Presidents attended the funeral of one of their own.

Grammar.

[Hospe]

Duchess Calista was already having a tiresome day, between Daniel and Ayla's yapping throughout the journey and having to review over thirty proposals from building companies offering their services to construct a new rec centre in inner city Freeland, she just wanted to find a quiet corner with a large mug of rosé. Yes, a mug. A large one.
However she wasn't too tired to be awed at the sheer magnificence of Castle Liek, she had being in many castles but the ballroom was unlike any other she had seen.
Daniel sidled up to her, looking oddly princely in his black double breasted suit. "Do you think this place has wifi?"
Calista sighed. For a moment he almost sold the act that he was a responsible young fellow.
"Yes Daniel, they have wifi but you're the one who wanted to come to this party, did you really want to be on your phone the whole time."
"My fans need a status update or they might storm Abetton and I need to post this selfie I took right now, the lightning is perfect."
"First of all, you don't have fans. Second, you have maybe one fan and you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her."
Daniel looked around. "Ayla said she was going to look for a bathroom."
Calista smoothed her dark red evening dress, even though there were no wrinkles in sight."Probably setting up a sniper rifle for any girl who talks to you too long."
"She's not that into me."Daniel protested blushing.
"Just go ask where you can drop the gifts, I'll find her." Calista instructed.
"Find who?"Ayla popped up in that creepy way she tended to. She looked lovely in a shimmery black dress with a somewhat suggestive slit, too bad she was crazy.

Calista pinched the bridge of her nose."Okay, listen up you two. We're not just here for herselves, we are representing the entire kingdom. So, no running around looking for wifi passwords, Daniel."
"HEY..".
"Quiet! She silenced him. "This is a really nice place, and if we have to leave early because of something one of you did, I'll have you both executed."
Ayla and Daniel nodded solemnly.
"Alright, game faces everyone."

•A box of chocolate coins, custom made on orders of the royal family.
•Tsavorite earrings, also custom made by the royal treasury.

Just in case, you want to know how they look:
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1584549

[Holy Marsh]

It was good to make connections. The Imperial Shrine had its dalliances and alliances with other monarchies but it was a minor Shrine and so was its influence among the truly mighty. With the Arch-Bishop being from the Commune Shrine, that fact only became more wildly obvious. Still, the rise of the Azen Queendom and the gaining strength of the Royalist Council in Akila had given the Shrine a boost, and given her father the confidence in finally giving her permission to attend this debut. Marchioness Serveria had been desperate to get to know some non-Marshite royalty, someone outside the Shrine, for some time. Oh she liked them well enough but she was destined for service in two years and wanted to get out and see other nations before then. And Abetton was just the sort of nation she wanted to see.

She arrived to the debut with two guards, who were quietly dismissed and hung back outside. They would remain alert but they all had full confidence in Abetton's security competency. The Marchioness herself entered with no entourage or fanfare, walking briskly and with barely contained excitement in a burgundy, long-sleeved ensemble suited for the occasion. She was greeted by the Head Butler- a quick and easy smile and nod was her response- before entering Castle Liek. It was, as expected, rather well off. It was tall, broad, lavish, and just loud enough to signify that it was a party. Food and drink flowed easily and music helped set the mood. Different, very different, from her own. Space was at a premium in the Theocracy and the estate of the Serveria was more purely functional than it was ceremonial. She found herself lost gazing at the finery and the decorations, lazily making her way into the center until she nearly bumped into Mary. Thank Marsh she hadn't- whatever it was they were serving was beyond delicious and she didn't want to drop it. "My apologies. Got lost staring at the walls!"

[Katase]

Clear from the east, their sat the peninsula that just barley touched Abetton via a narrow land passage through some rugged terrain, that landmass is home to Katase, a Japanese Principality that too like Abetton was largely a minor player in world politics and the region and also home to a share of young nobles all with their own rituals and customs. Being neighbors, Abetton and Katase usually had a friendly relationship but it was a relationship that didn't come overnight, it was largely cold at first in the earlier centuries, neither really trusting another, the occasional military battle to maybe oust one or the other but that was then, this is now, new dynasties could mean new changes and over the past century that was happening and even the young nobles had become acquainted and friendly. Princess Peri had visited Katase last summer and even dressed the part wearing a summer themed yukata while hanging with the two Princesses, Yukiko and Momiji. The non-identical twin sisters of Katase. Two of Katase's Princesses, only outranked by their elder brother and sister-in-law, they were twins, close as can be but still sharply different in personalities. Yukiko or Yuki simply she'd be happy to call herself, was a bit more shy, a little more quiet and introverted, friendly and warm for sure. Momiji was extroverted, outgrowing, brash and blunt. She didn't like you, she'd say it to you straight up. Tonight both girls were dressed in western style ballgowns, custom tailored for them by a designer back home. If Peri could show a willingness to get into their culture, they likewise could get into her own.

The trip from Katase to Abetton wasn't too bad, just a circle by ferry around the coast to Abetton's Southern coastline then a train ride up to Sauville and onto the castle. Yeah both nations you'll find tend to be a bit old fashioned, yes planes certainly existed but frankly few used them except those who really needed to go somewhere in a hurry, like business tycoons or whatnot. Well you could say the same for them but well they had time, COVID and all, one can't be too careful so both simply left early and used the trip to ensure they'd be safe and sound and all was well.

Their carriage pulled into castle grounds and both were helped out by one of the attending butlers. "Good evening, Miladies, welcome. Please head inside."

"Thank you sir." Yukiko said with a bow

Momiji gave a silent nod in agreement of her sister. "Damn, I should have picked better shoes or broke these ones in better." Momiji complained

"Want to trade? Mine feel fine."

"No sense in you being miserable, I'm sure I'll manage."

"At least we had the sense to not wear high heels."

"How do women walk in those, I'll never understand."

The sisters conversed a bit more as they entered, laying their eyes on the castle for the first time. "Wow this is so beautiful!" Yuki exclaimed "Momo, Momo, get a picture of this."

"I didn't bring my phone or a camera, did you?"

"Shoot, I didn't...."

"Well we'll be here a few days anyway, I'm sure Peri will show us around."

"Seems there's a few people here already, hope we're not late."

"I don't see her around so I'd say we're on time."

"utoh, were we supposed to bring gifts?" Yuki noticed some had brought along gifts.

"The invitation didn't say we had to so I guess we could have."

"Maybe I should at least call for something, some flowers or something..." Yukiko instinctively reached for her phone but she too left it behind.

"It's fine, like I said, we're here a few days, we can always get her something later. Let's enjoy the party huh?"

"Sure sure."

"I'm going to see what they at least have for food, I'm starved, you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine, you go ahead, I'll be here."

"All right."

Yukiko left to her thoughts began to take admiration of the art that adorned the wall, rich in Abetton's culture and history no doubt. She carefully shuffled her way over to get a closer look.

Momiji on the other hand made her way to the refreshments, picking out what she thought might look good, crab cakes and punch, yeah pretty nice, guess they opted not to serve alcohol given the abundance of teens and some smaller children around. It seemed every kind of food option was here from small finger foods to fancy looking deserts to consume, well she wouldn't go hungry. "Easy Momiji" She muttered to herself, "Don't make a glutton of yourself." She reminded herself, no doubt Yukiko would if she were with her. How could she not eat right now, neither really ate much today so much to do to get ready well also some time wasting. Well teens will be teens after all.

[Brettenwald]

"Ei!" Kairan slapped his little brother's hand away from his charcoal AFJOR dress uniform, standing a wiry 6'2 in black dress shoes polished to a mirrorlike shine. "You mess with that epaulet one more time-"
"Don't you two make me regret bringing you here," their dad warned in his I mean it voice. "The three of us are guests at a major diplomatic event, and you're at an age where I shouldn't have to keep you in line. I will not allow you to dishonor our family. Have I made myself clear?"

Magnus was a fairly laid-back guy who was in line with the Brettain ethos of free-range parenting, but teenagers were teenagers.

"Very," the two boys responded in unison, and his expression softened before ruffling Māris' hair and giving Kairan a clap on the back. "I know you're nervous, I was scared as hell of my first big social occasion. Just don't take it out on each other, alright?"

Magnus' teenage years were considerably more adventurous than his three sons' had been, what with the mid-to-late Eighties being... difficult for the Empire. His cousin's father had seemingly gone mad at last, paranoia and fascism both transforming Brettenwald from an isolationist but generally inoffensively conservative state into a totalitarian hell of omnipresent Garda troopers in the streets, crackdowns on freedom of speech and belief, and often-violent resistance from the left & riots between left and right. His formative years, therefore, were viewed in his mind largely through the windows of an armored Mercedes 560SEL: the desperate, hunted look of the common citizen on the street, his classmates' inability to even make eye contact with him, and an all-pervasive sense of dread that this was only going to end in the complete disintegration of his country. Of course, in the end history proved him wrong and proved that the gods were good. Alerik (he hated just thinking the bastard's name) killed himself in a car accident and His Majesty dropped dead of a massive heart attack a year later, throwing the line of succession to Thomas. Thomas the dark horse, Thomas the chunky-bodied boxer, Thomas the second-best, Thomas the immovable object for his younger brothers and cousin against Alerik's unstoppable force of fists and seemingly random rage. Thomas the fucking terrified, as he'd confessed over after-dinner cigars a few days after his coronation. It wasn't a story he'd told them yet, though the flight back home would present an excellent opportunity. They had a right to know, after all.

Speaking of the boys, he was quietly proud of how well they'd turned out. Māris was wearing a tuxedo like his father and looking significantly less uncomfortable in it than you would expect a 15-year-old to, and Kairan's uniform was immaculate as always. He'd flatly refused to wear a tux since he said it made him look like a blonde Austin Powers, so this was judged to be an acceptable alternative by Palace butler Felix Torrhensohn, who served as His Majesty's valet on the rare occasions His Majesty allowed him to and was thus the absolute last word on traditional gentlemen's style. The castle environment was nothing new to the three; Magnus had spent a great deal of time in the Imperial Palace growing up and all four of his kids had been there at least once. He would have brought Felix and Meyhan along for the ride as well, but they were a little too far out of the desired age range for youth attendees in his opinion. Whatever the case, this was going to be an interesting night... especially if any AHSCAn or Kyrenaian guests happened to be here and notice each other.

[The United Anime Kingdoms]

Continuing the need for heirs and lineage within the Royal House of Elric, as well as secure alliances with other kingdoms, A young prince and his father travel to the far-off lands of the Kingdom of Abetton. Prince Naofumi Iwatani Elric, Duke of Melromarc is the only son of Prince Kazuma Satou Elric, Duke of Isekai. And as being the only son that hasn’t married yet, it was wise to start mating with many of the other royal houses to secure a future heir once Emperor Edward Elric dies. It is true that he is the Immortal-God Emperor, but though immortal he may claim to be, immortality does not last forever, well not forever in this case. To keep the royal lineage alive when all other members of the royal house die, there must be one spare to inherit the throne, not to cause a cataclysmic civil war. Plus, this is a fantastic opportunity to create alliances with other kingdoms and empires. Prince Kazuma was pretty excited for his son to be out dating and bring nations closer to the empire, but Prince Naofumi was having concerns.

You see, Prince Naofumi had an outing with one of the largest noble families in his ruling province of Melromarc at the age of 16 (The UAK’s official age of consent). Lady Malty Melromarc was his fiance, chosen by his father. But of course, the courtship didn’t last. Not only did Lady Malty steal money from the Royal House, but also accused the prince of sexual harrasment creating a large scandal, all not so long ago too. Of course, the evidence not only was insignificant, but new evidence brought through that Malty was a convulsive liar, and dare one could say, a savvy mistress. Naofumi was declared innocent, but his deception of romance was shattered. Nonetheless, the family has sent the two to secure marriage and an alliance. On horse and carriage escorted by the guards, they raced through to the castle of which this ball was going to happen. Prince Kazuma was fixing up Naofumi, making sure he looked his best for the princess.

“Have you combed your hair?”

“Yeah”

“Colone?”

“Put it on back on the yacht”.

“Breath mints?”

“Popped them in”. To think such an amazing night, yet Prince Naofumi seemed uninterested. Giving his history, Prince Kazuma isn’t surprise.

“Hey son. I know you had your troubles with love. But please look at it like this. IT is to secure alliances and a constant flow of heirs. Our glorious immortal-god emperor, your great grand uncle, though is suppose to be immortal, he will die. We need to make sure the lineage is stable. So at least try to secure a marriage. IF not for love, than for empire and family”.

“... Alright father. I’ll try”. Through the thick of the cold winter night, they arrived at the castle, and greeted by the head butler. The princes, dressed out in military uniform, adorned with medals and orders, complete with an officers cap, walked down the hall of the castle which shows paintings of monarchs of the past. A nation of tradition. A perfect fit for an alliance with the empire.

[Lux Pulchrae]

"I'm about to finish up. Sit still!" the elder sister commanded as she finished up her sister's appearance. To be honest, she was quite nervous too. Both of them were. For the elder sister, Cecile Marie, this was her first international outing alone. Or rather, without Cleone. As queen, she was currently the highest official representing Lux Pulchrae abroad and wanted to prove she could handle herself. For the younger sister, Margot Louise, it wasn't her first debut, but it was her first international event. As they arrived, Cecile was finishing Margot's crown braid, which was a traditional style for Luxo-French noblewomen. With her long hair, there was much to braid.

"Why do I even have to do this? I did mine last year."

"Because I said you were going to do it. Well, mother and father did, but I did too. And, yes, you did yours last year but that was just 'local' boys. Tonight it's international boys. Maybe even royal boys, ooh. And you might make some new royal girl-friends, fellow debutantes. Yay!" she half-halfheartedly cheered, knowing it'd annoy her sister more. "Plus I wanted some time a little break from Filomena. I'm proving myself here and Cleone is proving himself with handling her."

"Father had issues with you marrying an Italian, let alone the king." Margot argued "I doubt he'd like royal foreigners."

"Well tonight you're a foreigner, so don't worry about it. Remember, I'm not representing Lux Pulchrae here, you are." she was also representing Lux Pulchrae as it's queen but she thought it worked better to motivate the reluctant debutante.

For the event, Margot wore a modest white debutante dress with its wide skirt almost down to her feet. Along with it she wore a classic pair white evening gloves and heels. To top it all off, a dazzling tiara atop her brunette hair. Similar to Cecile, she was of fair skin and thin but, developed, a little more fuller.

Cecile wore a long, formal dress but a thinner skirt. It was white as well and she wore evening gloves, and while the dress already covered her shoulders, she added to it with a white fur shawl. On her crown-braided head also sat a tiara.

"You remember your etiquette right?"

"Not really, you trained longer than I have."

Cecile, while being the older sister, stared at her with the eyes of a mother.

"I'm just kidding. Geez. Of course I do." Margot responded with a typical teenage attitude.

"Lord, help us this night." Cecile prayed as the two exited the carriage and entered the castle. Greeted by servants, they smiled and greeted in return. With their eyes, they awed at the aesthetics of the ballroom. Nothing in the vein they haven't seen but it was still something beautiful. Seeing as other foreign dignitaries were also arriving, they slowly walked the room and talked.

"So, you nervous yet?" Cecile asked.

"Maybe." Margot responded in an unsure tone.

Realizing they had been speaking in French the whole time, Cecile switched to English. "Merde. 'ow good is your English?"

"Better than yours." Margot laughed. But she had a point, it was better and there was less of an accent, still some, compared to Cecile's. Even though they had a six-year age gap, they mutually felt a generation apart. Especially now that Cecile has matured rather quickly while becoming a wife, queen, and now more recently, a mother.

"Why don't you talk to some girls first. Then we'll meet some boys." the queen suggested.

Berengar thought of none of this, of course. There was only one thought -- more exactly, one person -- on his mind, and it was definitely, definitely not the princess.

Immediately after Prince Berengar were a pair of young girls - Mariana Giuseppe and Sophia Hillshire. Mariana was the older of the two; she was olive-skinned and tanned, and seemed, perhaps, to be an Arab or a Kyrenaian. Her hair, however, was blonde - not bleached blonde, but close enough. She was wearing business attire: firm leather shoes, white button down shirt, red tie, black blazer and slacks, with a light-brown winter coat on top.

Sophia, on the other hand, was recognizably European; pale skin, shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a green dress over a white shirt, and a pair of black stockings and a pair of firm shoes.

The two chatted quietly in Italian, with Mariana grinning broadly as she stared at the halls(and at the other guests), while Sophia kept her head down for the most part, and only occasionally stopped to glance, a little longer, at a few of the paintings.

Margot complied and saw two girls who had appeared to come together, though one seemed a bit young and the other was dress a bit...mannish, in Margot's eyed. She looked back to her sister who nodded and smiled as if to say "Go ahead!". Giving it a try, she greeted them "Bonsoir." Crap, English. "Good evening ladies. Forgive me if I interrupted. My name is Margot Louise de Elise-Bourbon, of Lux Pulchrae. It is a pleasure to meet you both."

[Kyrenaia]

Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris.
Officially, we were here for the Debut of Princess Peri Latimer of Abetton, the younger sister of Prince Linely, who had impressed my Uncle Mahmut al-Zahir, the former Kyrenaian Grand Vizier. That, and to give my sisters their diplomatic debuts, for unofficially, this was Ballroom Diplomacy.
Kyrenaia had, as of late, a bit of a rough standing in the World - Jazirat Alshahwa and the recent kerfuffle with the UIS were only the tips of the Iceberg and I was sent out to better Kyrenaia's Standing in the World. To show, that we were not only good for offending people.
The carriage arrived at the splendid Castle Liek and I smiled at my sisters and as we stood in front of the gates, I offered my arms to link for both - hey, if I had to be here, why not arrive in style?
Speaking of Style, this was a white tie event, so I wore tail coat, white shirt, waistcoat and white bow tie together with black trousers and leather shoes. A boutonnière, a red rose from my Uncle's Gardens, completed the outfit together with a pocketwatch and a scarf (it was bloody cold, but then again, it was winter around here).
My sisters, meanwhile... wait, the other way around: My sisters were the Princesses Aisha and Siham bint-Idris, black haired young women with golden eyes, Princesses of the Ilkhanate of Sarepta and twins (to the point of being known as The Twins in the press). They both attended the Haram Girls' Academy in Utica and were proud Sareptans.
This showed in their dress: Aischa wore Fistan Alshams, her bustier red with golden thread wrought into it, her midriff bare, and ankle-length harem pants, a red, translucent silken veil on her head. A necklace hung around her neck, its pendant a small drop of gold decorated with carvings and lines.
Siham, on the other hand, was less of a Sareptan Princess and had always been more of a Gathian Princess - our Uncle Adil, a childless old man, ruled as Khan over the Khanate of Gath and he had taken a shine to Siham and she to him, to the point of naming her his successor. As such, it was no wonder that she wore the traditional dress of the Gathian Fishermen and Sailors, the Fistan Mutarij or Scaled Dress. The name was an omen, as it was indeed made of fishleather, in her case of a matte golden hue, which was composed of a bodice hugging her form, pants of fishleather hugging her long legs (seriously, several of her teammates at the HGA Horseman Team had to convince enterprising young men, that she was not up for grabs) and a skirt of the mane of some poor sea creature, which hung around her hips, its front open. Her back was free, but protected by a short cloak of feathers, golden, while she wore white gloves on her hands. Boots protected her feet, a slight heel to them.
It was a wonder, that she didn't carry a sabre on her side, but small blessings... speaking of blessings, of course we would be bringing gifts - carried by the three Personal Handmaidens, we all had, led by my own Shirin Bayd.
My sisters on my arm, I noticed, that we were by far not the first, but certainly not the last either - it would be a lot of fun, I knew it.
Smiling, I thanked the butlers and led my sisters inside.

Ida Findehoof.
Despite being a Trainee with the Teressian Ambassadorial Corps, I was not here in a diplomatic function - mainly because I was a trainee and because a friend of my family had asked me to accompany her son to this debut of a foreign Princess. The Waldburgleute von Lattenzaun were minor, but old Teressian Nobility from the Nother, from the Wißenthenland, and Eyk's father was a Commodore in the Principality's Navy.
He had served under my Grandmother and the two were well enough acquainted for me to be on good terms with Eyk and his brothers. Granted, his mother, Rieka, the Waldburgfrau von Lattenzaun, had hoped to have one of the Findehoof Children to marry one of hers, but neither was Eyk in the focus nor was I.
Rather, Wehrhart was to be brought together with my younger sister Kiah. Eyk was wholly interested in his music and I had a... I'm not sure what exact term to use for Berengar, but I know, that I am not a single.
Try fitting that into your social media relations tab.
Meanwhile, Berengar was the reason, why I was here. I had been reliably informed, that he would be here tonight and I haven't seen him in so long... he was finally back from War and I had written letters and received his, sent care packages... one even included a CD with Christmas songs for him and his fellow soldiers to enjoy, sung by me and a couple of friends - we might be as far away from Christians as one can reasonably can get, but I knew, what the holiday meant for him.
There have even been two songs in Polish.
But here we were. Eyk wore a smoking, looked dapper as a young man of his age reasonably could, and I wore a floor-length evening gown in black, which had a small cleavage, but not too much. It hinted, but it didn't show.
He helped me down the carriage, linked our arms, but a reasonable distance apart. Eyk knew of Berengar and he was honestly looking forward to meeting him, and besides commenting, that I looked beautiful in my dress, he hadn't even tried flirting with me.
He knew, that he was my excuse to be here and he had honestly told me, that it was fine.
The Castle was beautiful and the paintings were quite interesting - especially if one was an art historian. I was not, but I still found then cool. The crosses were a small bit confusing: I knew, that our hosts were not Christians, but I knew, that they were also not of the Cult of the Tree of Life...
Well, I had other, more important things to worry about: Berengar.
And seeing to it, that Eyk made a good figure as well, though I was reasonably certain, that he would be alright.

Eoin Clipthóir of the Tribe of Dundalk.
I knew, that Viola, Cousin Vi (we stemmed from different branches of the Lomanócht-Family), would have loved to drive up in her sports car, but the carriages had one distinctive advantage: She could board them without much issue, especially when one looked at her dress.
As this was white tie, she did not wear the short silver cocktail dress with the neckline to the navel, but a long evening gown with a natural waistline and a plunging neckline, offering a good look of her two huge argumentation amplifiers. The dress itself was of embroidered sheer silk, long sleeves covering the arms and back. A beaded waist belt had the skirt attached to it. It was all in silver silk and she looked stunning.
I wore a smoking, a boutonnière on my chest, a blue rose, fitting her hair.
I knew, that I had a snowball's chance in a volcano with her - with we were distantly enough related, that it would not be weird, but we were 12 years apart. Besides, I liked Cousin Vi, but not in that way. I had her as my date because... well, it was not only Princess Peri debut.
I would not hijack it, though. I would have a dance with her, though.
That was all secondary, though, as I linked arms with Viola. She looked at me with a smile.
"Back straight.", she commanded, "Have self-confidence, young Marcach, and the world belongs to you."
"Like that wedding in that one weird place?"
"Where they stared at me in that one temple?", Viola asked and grinned, "Yeah, sod that weird place. But yes - like that. Now..."
I straightened my back.
"There we go. Who knows, with that attitude, you might even have more then a dance with a Princess tonight!", she teased and I blushed. "Let's get to it!"
What Viola had not mentioned was, that she had found a friend in that one weird place. She smiled and led me into the magnificent, if maybe a bit too splendory palace (at least for my taste) and walked not as if she owned the place, but like she owned a place very much like it.
While untrue, she had self-confidence and I acquired some through her.

[Hanoverian Great Britain]

It was good to make connections. The Imperial Shrine had its dalliances and alliances with other monarchies but it was a minor Shrine and so was its influence among the truly mighty. With the Arch-Bishop being from the Commune Shrine, that fact only became more wildly obvious. Still, the rise of the Azen Queendom and the gaining strength of the Royalist Council in Akila had given the Shrine a boost, and given her father the confidence in finally giving her permission to attend this debut. Marchioness Serveria had been desperate to get to know some non-Marshite royalty, someone outside the Shrine, for some time. Oh she liked them well enough but she was destined for service in two years and wanted to get out and see other nations before then. And Abetton was just the sort of nation she wanted to see.

She arrived to the debut with two guards, who were quietly dismissed and hung back outside. They would remain alert but they all had full confidence in Abetton's security competency. The Marchioness herself entered with no entourage or fanfare, walking briskly and with barely contained excitement in a burgundy, long-sleeved ensemble suited for the occasion. She was greeted by the Head Butler- a quick and easy smile and nod was her response- before entering Castle Liek. It was, as expected, rather well off. It was tall, broad, lavish, and just loud enough to signify that it was a party. Food and drink flowed easily and music helped set the mood. Different, very different, from her own. Space was at a premium in the Theocracy and the estate of the Serveria was more purely functional than it was ceremonial. She found herself lost gazing at the finery and the decorations, lazily making her way into the center until she nearly bumped into Mary. Thank Marsh she hadn't- whatever it was they were serving was beyond delicious and she didn't want to drop it. "My apologies. Got lost staring at the walls!"

It had been a few minutes since Mary's eyes began to tentatively scan her surroundings like a rover on Mars. However, after some time, this process came to a halt when she was bumped into by an unknown stranger from out of the blue. As sudden as she was bumped into by this unknown stranger, the subsequent apology also came quick and sudden afterward. As it happened, Mary's little face rapidly shifted between three emotions at once; from a muted silence to an exasperated shock and finally to a conciliatory smile. "Oh, it's alright. To be fair to you, I was also lost staring at the walls myself!", replied the duchess in a much cheerful tone. Soon enough, what followed was Mary extending one hand out to the marchioness, in an apparent desire for a handshake, as she bellowed out an introduction, "Anyhow, I am Mary, Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover. It's nice to meet you!".

[Eritei]

Anna tended to her hair as the carriage went on its journey towards the castle. Her sisters, Evelyn and Tieria, looked at their sister and giggled a little bit.

"What?" Anna said, still fiddling with her hair even more.

"You care too much about your hair Anna, just let it be already, you checked it when you got here," Tieria said.

The triplets were called "The Jewels of the Empire", all three of them being the first set of triplets in the Imperial and Royal Family. This isn't any of their first official outings, however this is their first outing together without any accompanying chaperone.

"You know, if you focused a bit less on your hair maybe you could help me with mine sometimes," Evelyn teased, Tieria giggling a bit at the comment.

"You already know how to do your own. Besides, I think I look better this way," Anna said, finishing with her hair.

The three of them were all dressed appropriately for the event. They al wore similar gowns, Evelyn wore a blue dress with her hair down, Anna a white dress braided with a bun, and Tieria wore a red dress with her hair in a normal bun. All three of them wore the crimson sash and star that came with the Most Royal Order of the Vine. The three of them were going to meet fellow young royals, their mother wanted them to get a taste of royal life without their parents, since they were still young and their mother didn't want them to lose focus of their reason for being the Princess' of the Empire.

Still, the three of them were finally going to attend a royal event alone. It was exciting for the three of them, and they would get to meet all kinds of new people.

"You know, it's kind of weird not having mother or father with us," Evelyn said. Even though they were almost grown adults, she couldn't sake the weird feeling.

"I know, but at least we can wander off now without mother frantically searching for us," Tieria said.

"Still, weird feeling," Evelyn said back.

They all sat in silence before Evelyn chimed back in.

"Don't forget though, mother asked us to be courteous to everyone, so try not to look bad, even if we're alone we're still representing the family," she said.

"Yeah we know, but even mother doesn't follow that rule much you know that," Tieria chimed in.

Evelyn let out a small sigh before saying, "Yes, I know, just don't overdo it, I wouldn't expect her to care if we're ourselves however."

The three of them chatted together during their ride to the castle until they were let out by the guard. Each one of them thanked the guard before walking up to the castle. When they entered they were met with something that felt like home. Although more Pagan then Catholic, it reminded them of the Milan Palace where they lived, large and elegant, paintings everywhere. Once the butlers took their coats they decided to split up.

"I'll be over in the main room, don't lose track of where you are!" Tieria said, going off immediately to the snack stand and the main hall of people.

"She's going to be disappointed when she joins the navy," Anna said as their sister left earshot.

"She sure is. I'm going to go look at art, you just take it easy out there," Evelyn said, walking off to admire the castle.

Anna was left by herself now, and decided that she would join the main ensemble of people that had already gathered in the hall.

I should probably keep Tieria in check for now, don't want her eating too much, she said to herself as she walked towards the main body of people.

[AHSCA]

Princess Gisella Villa

I'd been in Abetton four weeks now, that was to allow me to pass through quarantine procedures, even though it's two weeks, Marcella insisted I play it extra safe with a couple extra weeks. AHSCA and Abetton both had been spared the wrath of the horrid pandemic that was plaguing the world, but that said vaccinations were starting to roll out, but given we hadn't really had anything yet, we were pretty low on the priority list compared to the harder hit places. I know the Sultanate of Kyrenaia was really slammed by the virus, I can imagine they'd be on the top of the list. Anyway, yes four weeks of held up quietly in a hotel room somewhere, rather lonely, because I'm here alone. Sad to say, not a guard, not a attache, not a date. Big sis really kind of washed her hands of this event, Abetton didn't really seem to care much about us, even though their Prince did write something to quell a rather intense mess up, mostly of her causing but well, no, I shouldn't say it, I mean it was just a heated disagreement. Seemed most felt that way about it, that sis was in the wrong, I partly agreed but I still think even the Sultana could have handled it a bit better herself. Maybe uh 90-10 split here? Well with that culminating in an impeachment, needless to say her mood still hasn't seemed to bounce back yet. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to be of some comfort to her when it all went down. Well since that day, she's just quietly gone about business of the state, only meeting with those who need to be met with and moving on.

I thought back to when I presented our invite to the Abetton Princess' invitation to her Debut. Marcella scoffed, "Oh so more can ridicule me? Forget it! Go if you want, I'm not interested. " She then stormed back to her office. I think she knew it was likely people from Kyrenaia would also be there, I was given plenty of caution too, well even if they were, I wasn't going to let that stop me, we weren't sworn enemies now, just well on frosty terms, maybe chilly at best... I can only hope the festival will pick up her mood in the coming weeks. For now, I was here, watching the faint outline of a snowy landscape pass me by in the early evening. This place was very pretty, the city was lit up bright but still looked like an old painting. People seemed to line the streets to catch glimpses of us foreign guests roaring down the streets to meet the Princess on her big night. I was looking forward to meeting the Princess, well I sure hoped I would be, I know plenty will be clamoring to meet her as well, people with a lot more to offer and reason to meet with her than me. Before long my carriage came to a stop at the glorious lovely castle. This was even nicer than our palace back home, which itself was already nicer than most residences...I was kind of well intimidated to say the least as it seemed a fair few people already arrived. There I stood, my hair flowing behind me, wearing a blue strapped dress that left my shoulders, arms and neck bare, yikes I'm not used to the cold weather here but at least this is an indoor event. A silken wrap pinned by an artificial flower piece. A fancy gown indeed, gifted to me for this event by a designer back home. It was nice, I liked looking so pretty. Well here goes nothing, with as much confidence I could muster and my eyes just narrowly focused, I made my way inside and further into the crowd. A lot of people here, going to be tough to really get into it.

[Holy Marsh]

It had been a few minutes since Mary's eyes began to tentatively scan her surroundings like a rover on Mars. However, after some time, this process came to a halt when she was bumped into by an unknown stranger from out of the blue. As sudden as she was bumped into by this unknown stranger, the subsequent apology also came quick and sudden afterward. As it happened, Mary's little face rapidly shifted between three emotions at once; from a muted silence to an exasperated shock and finally to a conciliatory smile. "Oh, it's alright. To be fair to you, I was also lost staring at the walls myself!", replied the duchess in a much cheerful tone. Soon enough, what followed was Mary extending one hand out to the marchioness, in an apparent desire for a handshake, as she bellowed out an introduction, "Anyhow, I am Mary, Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover. It's nice to meet you!".

That could have gone a lot worse. Talau was not exactly the world's greatest wordsmith, nor most graceful, but she would have been mortified had she been to blame for the first real disaster (non-fashion related) of the debut. Luckily, Mary seemed to be in good humor about the whole thing. "I am Marchioness Talau Serveria of Jebasa, Grand Theocratic Empire of Holy Marsh. A pleasure to meet you, Duchess Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover of...Sussex?" She finished quizzically, hoping she had remembered the small briefings she had been given while en route. It helped to know a little about the people you were expected to meet with before you attended such a large and unusual soiree.

[Lux Pulchrae]

Speaking of the boys, he was quietly proud of how well they'd turned out. Māris was wearing a tuxedo like his father and looking significantly less uncomfortable in it than you would expect a 15-year-old to, and Kairan's uniform was immaculate as always. He'd flatly refused to wear a tux since he said it made him look like a blonde Austin Powers, so this was judged to be an acceptable alternative by Palace butler Felix Torrhensohn, who served as His Majesty's valet on the rare occasions His Majesty allowed him to and was thus the absolute last word on traditional gentlemen's style. The castle environment was nothing new to the three; Magnus had spent a great deal of time in the Imperial Palace growing up and all four of his kids had been there at least once. He would have brought Felix and Meyhan along for the ride as well, but they were a little too far out of the desired age range for youth attendees in his opinion. Whatever the case, this was going to be an interesting night... especially if any AHSCAn or Kyrenaian guests happened to be here and notice each other.

While Margot had her conversation, Cecile observed until she had seen an older gentleman with two boys. “He must be high up if he’s here.” Cecile wondered. Hopefully she was right. But another matter caught her attention, how would she approach him? Normally at these types of things, in her experience, women didn’t approach men and were always introduced by other men. And even in these more international settings, she had Cleone introduce her.

“No matter.” She mumbled to herself “You’ve got this. No need to make it awkward, you’re not some ditzy housewife, you’re the Queen of Lux Pulchrae. Just walk up and greet him. You’ve greeted people plenty of times.” Taking the first step, Cecile walked towards the man casually “Good evening sir.” giving a slight bow “Cecile Marie de Elise-Bourbon, Queen of Lux Pulchrae. Pleasure to meet you.”

[Deblar]

Sophia Fowler; Deblarian Delegation

Sophia Fowler talked on the phone with her father, Benjamin Fowler- who just so happened to be the President of the Republic of Deblar, while she rode on an old fashioned carriage on the way to the palace.

“I’ll be alright, dad. You don’t have to worry,” she’d tell him

“I know,” Benjamin would say on the other end of the phone in his signature Jamaican accent, “I just want to make sure.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” she’d say, attempting to reassure her worried father.

“Oh, alright. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do at that age — actually, check that; don’t do anything I would do.”

Sophia chuckled. “Will do.”

“Stay safe. I love you.”

“Love you too, dad.”

With that, she hung up the phone, trying to bring her attention elsewhere. She wore a green dress, with a pin of the flag of Deblar on her chest, and she had managed to tie her kinky hair into a braid beforehand, with some assistance, of course. Butterflies filled Sofia’s stomach; it wasn’t often she went on these functions on her own and without her father, much less one this large. When she received the invitation, she was excited, though at the same time frightened. Sometimes she had some trouble believing her own words of reassurance that she often gave to her worried father, bless his heart. These feelings came with a vengeance, though she took a deep breath and began to feel calm. “You’ll be just fine,” she told herself. “It’ll be just…fine…”

Just then the carriage arrived at the palace. As Sophia exited, she thanked the guard politely and made her way towards the entrance. When she entered, she was astonished by the lavish design of the palace. She whistled in amazement, taking a moment to take it all in before continuing on to the hall, which she noticed was quite crowded. Upon entry, she looked around, noticing the rather large amount of royalty that had shown up. She couldn’t exactly say she was royalty herself; Deblar last had a monarch in the mid 1800’s, before forcefully being subjugated by European colonizers, and after regaining independence became a republic. Oh well, she figured. She went on through the crowd, looking around as she went.

[Hanoverian Great Britain]

That could have gone a lot worse. Talau was not exactly the world's greatest wordsmith, nor most graceful, but she would have been mortified had she been to blame for the first real disaster (non-fashion related) of the debut. Luckily, Mary seemed to be in good humor about the whole thing. "I am Marchioness Talau Serveria of Jebasa, Grand Theocratic Empire of Holy Marsh. A pleasure to meet you, Duchess Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover of...Sussex?" She finished quizzically, hoping she had remembered the small briefings she had been given while en route. It helped to know a little about the people you were expected to meet with before you attended such a large and unusual soiree.

Sensing the apparent hesitation from her new friend in pronouncing her names and title, Mary quickly reassured the former with a brief and silent smile, assuring the marchioness that she had got it right. "Then it is a pleasure to meet you, Marchioness Talau Serveria of Jebasa, for I am much thankful for this opportunity", simply replied the duchess. Soon afterward, as a means in starting a brand new conversation, Mary quickly attempts to bring the focus onto her starkly long name in comparison to that of the marchioness's, as she began addressing the subject in a much enthusiastic manner. "And yes, my name is indeed Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover", began the duchess as she then quickly took a brief pause for a few seconds, seemingly in an attempt to catch some air before further droning on her exceptionally constructed name. "Now, you might not be familiar with the names I just mentioned but I can assure you, that at least some of these names, with the exception of those of my grandmother, mother, and older sister, all belonged to the likes of these very famous old actresses that my grandparents and parents used to be friends with, at least when they were alive of course", blurted Mary excitedly. At the same time, in what is perhaps an ironic twist regarding the names, Mary herself had never actually been able to meet any of the aforementioned actresses, with one of them, namely Katharine Hepburn, having passed away due to old age just a few months before the duchess was born. In the case of her grandmother however, whom was roughly of the same age as the aforementioned famous actresses, Mary was able to spend much time with the former until at least when she was eleven years old, when her said grandmother eventually passed away herself.

[Kyrenaia]

Princess Gisella Villa

I'd been in Abetton four weeks now, that was to allow me to pass through quarantine procedures, even though it's two weeks, Marcella insisted I play it extra safe with a couple extra weeks. AHSCA and Abetton both had been spared the wrath of the horrid pandemic that was plaguing the world, but that said vaccinations were starting to roll out, but given we hadn't really had anything yet, we were pretty low on the priority list compared to the harder hit places. I know the Sultanate of Kyrenaia was really slammed by the virus, I can imagine they'd be on the top of the list. Anyway, yes four weeks of held up quietly in a hotel room somewhere, rather lonely, because I'm here alone. Sad to say, not a guard, not a attache, not a date. Big sis really kind of washed her hands of this event, Abetton didn't really seem to care much about us, even though their Prince did write something to quell a rather intense mess up, mostly of her causing but well, no, I shouldn't say it, I mean it was just a heated disagreement. Seemed most felt that way about it, that sis was in the wrong, I partly agreed but I still think even the Sultana could have handled it a bit better herself. Maybe uh 90-10 split here? Well with that culminating in an impeachment, needless to say her mood still hasn't seemed to bounce back yet. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to be of some comfort to her when it all went down. Well since that day, she's just quietly gone about business of the state, only meeting with those who need to be met with and moving on.

I thought back to when I presented our invite to the Abetton Princess' invitation to her Debut. Marcella scoffed, "Oh so more can ridicule me? Forget it! Go if you want, I'm not interested. " She then stormed back to her office. I think she knew it was likely people from Kyrenaia would also be there, I was given plenty of caution too, well even if they were, I wasn't going to let that stop me, we weren't sworn enemies now, just well on frosty terms, maybe chilly at best... I can only hope the festival will pick up her mood in the coming weeks. For now, I was here, watching the faint outline of a snowy landscape pass me by in the early evening. This place was very pretty, the city was lit up bright but still looked like an old painting. People seemed to line the streets to catch glimpses of us foreign guests roaring down the streets to meet the Princess on her big night. I was looking forward to meeting the Princess, well I sure hoped I would be, I know plenty will be clamoring to meet her as well, people with a lot more to offer and reason to meet with her than me. Before long my carriage came to a stop at the glorious lovely castle. This was even nicer than our palace back home, which itself was already nicer than most residences...I was kind of well intimidated to say the least as it seemed a fair few people already arrived. There I stood, my hair flowing behind me, wearing a blue strapped dress that left my shoulders, arms and neck bare, yikes I'm not used to the cold weather here but at least this is an indoor event. A silken wrap pinned by an artificial flower piece. A fancy gown indeed, gifted to me for this event by a designer back home. It was nice, I liked looking so pretty. Well here goes nothing, with as much confidence I could muster and my eyes just narrowly focused, I made my way inside and further into the crowd. A lot of people here, going to be tough to really get into it.

Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris.
Once we were inside, it was the general phase of looking around and seeing, who else was present - I had the rough feeling of being watched more intently then usual for such occassions, for but a moment, but it passed.
Still, I smiled, both of my sisters on my arms.
Looking at the women present, and being fair about the age groups (let's be honest, my sisters were pretty, but with those two adult women, who came in shortly after us, they simply could not compete yet, likewise comparing them to a teenager, who barely lost their milk teeth was unfair, too), they were the prettiest - well, with one exception.
Gisella... well, she was cute.
And pretty.
And she was dressed impeccably.
And Siham rammed her elbow into my side.
"Hey.", I made and looked at her with a furrowed brow.
"Don't stare.", she said in Kyrenaian, then looked to Aischa, "What do you think?"
"You do recognize the girl, don't you?", my other sister asked and Siham nodded. "I'm going to get something to drink. No need to overwhelm her!"
Siham grinned and pulled me away, towards Gisella.
"You know, what Mister Safir had said?", she reminded me.
I nodded. Be courteous... and see if you can't get a few nice images for the yellow press.
I took the lead for the last few meters.
"Hello, Gisella.", I greeted, switching back into English, "How do you do?"
Extending my hand, the gesture made it quite apparent, that I would take her hand not for a shake, but to lead it to my mouth and to breath a kiss onto its back. Siham, in her quite impressive dress, threw Gisella a smile and waited until approached.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Ida Findehoof.
Despite being a Trainee with the Teressian Ambassadorial Corps, I was not here in a diplomatic function - mainly because I was a trainee and because a friend of my family had asked me to accompany her son to this debut of a foreign Princess. The Waldburgleute von Lattenzaun were minor, but old Teressian Nobility from the Nother, from the Wißenthenland, and Eyk's father was a Commodore in the Principality's Navy.
He had served under my Grandmother and the two were well enough acquainted for me to be on good terms with Eyk and his brothers. Granted, his mother, Rieka, the Waldburgfrau von Lattenzaun, had hoped to have one of the Findehoof Children to marry one of hers, but neither was Eyk in the focus nor was I.
Rather, Wehrhart was to be brought together with my younger sister Kiah. Eyk was wholly interested in his music and I had a... I'm not sure what exact term to use for Berengar, but I know, that I am not a single.
Try fitting that into your social media relations tab.
Meanwhile, Berengar was the reason, why I was here. I had been reliably informed, that he would be here tonight and I haven't seen him in so long... he was finally back from War and I had written letters and received his, sent care packages... one even included a CD with Christmas songs for him and his fellow soldiers to enjoy, sung by me and a couple of friends - we might be as far away from Christians as one can reasonably can get, but I knew, what the holiday meant for him.
There have even been two songs in Polish.
But here we were. Eyk wore a smoking, looked dapper as a young man of his age reasonably could, and I wore a floor-length evening gown in black, which had a small cleavage, but not too much. It hinted, but it didn't show.
He helped me down the carriage, linked our arms, but a reasonable distance apart. Eyk knew of Berengar and he was honestly looking forward to meeting him, and besides commenting, that I looked beautiful in my dress, he hadn't even tried flirting with me.
He knew, that he was my excuse to be here and he had honestly told me, that it was fine.
The Castle was beautiful and the paintings were quite interesting - especially if one was an art historian. I was not, but I still found then cool. The crosses were a small bit confusing: I knew, that our hosts were not Christians, but I knew, that they were also not of the Cult of the Tree of Life...
Well, I had other, more important things to worry about: Berengar.
And seeing to it, that Eyk made a good figure as well, though I was reasonably certain, that he would be alright.

Eoin Clipthóir of the Tribe of Dundalk.
I knew, that Viola, Cousin Vi (we stemmed from different branches of the Lomanócht-Family), would have loved to drive up in her sports car, but the carriages had one distinctive advantage: She could board them without much issue, especially when one looked at her dress.
As this was white tie, she did not wear the short silver cocktail dress with the neckline to the navel, but a long evening gown with a natural waistline and a plunging neckline, offering a good look of her two huge argumentation amplifiers. The dress itself was of embroidered sheer silk, long sleeves covering the arms and back. A beaded waist belt had the skirt attached to it. It was all in silver silk and she looked stunning.
I wore a smoking, a boutonnière on my chest, a blue rose, fitting her hair.
I knew, that I had a snowball's chance in a volcano with her - with we were distantly enough related, that it would not be weird, but we were 12 years apart. Besides, I liked Cousin Vi, but not in that way. I had her as my date because... well, it was not only Princess Peri debut.
I would not hijack it, though. I would have a dance with her, though.
That was all secondary, though, as I linked arms with Viola. She looked at me with a smile.
"Back straight.", she commanded, "Have self-confidence, young Marcach, and the world belongs to you."
"Like that wedding in that one weird place?"
"Where they stared at me in that one temple?", Viola asked and grinned, "Yeah, sod that weird place. But yes - like that. Now..."
I straightened my back.
"There we go. Who knows, with that attitude, you might even have more then a dance with a Princess tonight!", she teased and I blushed. "Let's get to it!"
What Viola had not mentioned was, that she had found a friend in that one weird place. She smiled and led me into the magnificent, if maybe a bit too splendory palace (at least for my taste) and walked not as if she owned the place, but like she owned a place very much like it.
While untrue, she had self-confidence and I acquired some through her.

Berengar
Berengar's heart leapt slightly as he saw Ida enter. As far as he was concerned, she looked radiant.
"Ida!" he called, as he ran up to her. He flung his arms around her and hugged her tightly, not noticing Eyk for the moment.
After a bit, he broke the hug, and gazed into her eyes. He seemed somewhat worse for wear; his were a little bloodshot, and were ringed by deep circles. Some stubble had grown out as well, but still, he was recognizably the same young man who had fallen for her a year ago.

"I've missed you." he said.

Maria "Blazes" Błyskawica
Błyskawica, or 'Blazes', as her friends and family knew her, smiled as he saw Viola enter.
The two went back...not that long, actually. They had met a short while ago, in a strange, far-off Middle Eastern country of little note that had been invaded since then. They had exchanged a few words, and Viola had given her a blue ribbon; which she now wore, tied still around her arm.

Perhaps it was mere coincidence that they had met again, but she would make the most of it. She fell in silently behind Viola, before suddenly speaking; "Ey there, Viola. How you been? Who's the lad with you?"

Margot complied and saw two girls who had appeared to come together, though one seemed a bit young and the other was dress a bit...mannish, in Margot's eyed. She looked back to her sister who nodded and smiled as if to say "Go ahead!". Giving it a try, she greeted them "Bonsoir." Crap, English. "Good evening ladies. Forgive me if I interrupted. My name is Margot Louise de Elise-Bourbon, of Lux Pulchrae. It is a pleasure to meet you both."

Mariana and Sophia
Mariana nodded and stuck out her hand for a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you!" she said. "I'm Mariana Giuseppe. Come from 'round Italy."
Sophia, for her part, bowed her head slightly. "Good evening, my Lady." she said, quietly. "My name is Sophia Hillshire, at your service."
A moment passed, before Mariana picked up after Sophia. "So, what brings you here?"

[Katase]

Just then the carriage arrived at the palace. As Sophia exited, she thanked the guard politely and made her way towards the entrance. When she entered, she was astonished by the lavish design of the palace. She whistled in amazement, taking a moment to take it all in before continuing on to the hall, which she noticed was quite crowded. Upon entry, she looked around, noticing the rather large amount of royalty that had shown up. She couldn’t exactly say she was royalty herself; Deblar last had a monarch in the mid 1800’s, before forcefully being subjugated by European colonizers, and after regaining independence became a republic. Oh well, she figured. She went on through the crowd, looking around as she went

Princess Yukiko

Honestly she kind of lost track of how long she stared at the paintings on the wall. Boy art was mesmerizing, it just made her imagination run wild. To be honest, Yukiko had considered possibly writing under a pseudonym but she'd have to balance that with government duties. She may not be THE ruling Princess but she still was meant to have some of the responsibilities with her elder brother, mother, sister-in-law, other lords and ladies of Government. It was a lot, plus when the time came to marry, she'd likely have her own Domain to be rule over. Ack, no time to think about that right now, this is a party time is now to enjoy it, but where did Momiji go? She wondered and maybe muttered out loud. There seemed to be more people here than when she and Momo arrived, a lot more people she started to move through the crowd, a lot of strange faces indeed, she wondered how many might be foreign how many might be native to this land, with her eyes darting around the room to find her sister she bumped into Sophia. "oh, I beg your pardon." Yukiko bowed with an apology.

"She sure is. I'm going to go look at art, you just take it easy out there," Evelyn said, walking off to admire the castle.

Princess Momiji

Finding the urge to resist over indulging on the food, Momo too began to wonder where Yukiko wandered off to? Well in her attempts to find her led her off the beaten path, now wandering the same halls as Evelyn. The invitation and attendants who welcomed them did say they'd be allowed to wander most of the castle and things were well marked that eventually they'd likely find their way back to the main ballroom but for now, it was kind of nice to be out in the quiet, only if Yuki was here to admire it with her. Oh well, time for that later for sure. "If I may be forward to assume, guessing you and I have the same trek of mind." Again, it's worth noting, Momiji isn't as shy compared to Yukiko, she was just as happy to strike up a conversation with a total stranger.

"Kujo Momiji" She wasted no time to introduce herself "You may call me Momiji if you like, I don't mind." Momo was a nickname reserved for people close to her, like family.

[New Visayan Islands]

Victor Cui
Castle Liek

The princess herself had turned 14, which to Abetton was reason enough for a debut as far as Victor understood. Naturally, he thought that she was far too young, and hope to God that the girl enjoyed a peaceful life several years down the line.
For the meantime, Victor would pass by every other group, seeing people he was unfamiliar with enjoying themselves, but for some reason he couldn't help but shake off the sense of kindred with the Prusso-Poles who were getting reacquainted with people he remembered his father referring to as the Kyrenaians...

[Holy Marsh]

Sensing the apparent hesitation from her new friend in pronouncing her names and title, Mary quickly reassured the former with a brief and silent smile, assuring the marchioness that she had got it right. "Then it is a pleasure to meet you, Marchioness Talau Serveria of Jebasa, for I am much thankful for this opportunity", simply replied the duchess. Soon afterward, as a means in starting a brand new conversation, Mary quickly attempts to bring the focus onto her starkly long name in comparison to that of the marchioness's, as she began addressing the subject in a much enthusiastic manner. "And yes, my name is indeed Mary Katharine Märtha Lauren Alexandra Audrey Hanover", began the duchess as she then quickly took a brief pause for a few seconds, seemingly in an attempt to catch some air before further droning on her exceptionally constructed name. "Now, you might not be familiar with the names I just mentioned but I can assure you, that at least some of these names, with the exception of those of my grandmother, mother, and older sister, all belonged to the likes of these very famous old actresses that my grandparents and parents used to be friends with, at least when they were alive of course", blurted Mary excitedly. At the same time, in what is perhaps an ironic twist regarding the names, Mary herself had never actually been able to meet any of the aforementioned actresses, with one of them, namely Katharine Hepburn, having passed away due to old age just a few months before the duchess was born. In the case of her grandmother however, whom was roughly of the same age as the aforementioned famous actresses, Mary was able to spend much time with the former until at least when she was eleven years old, when her said grandmother eventually passed away herself.

That was cool, being named after some actresses that the family knew. She knew that foreign actresses were considered highly valued and admired members of their societies, so no doubt piling on the names was a sign that you expected some of that glitz and glam to filter down to the newborn. It was a heck of a mouthful. Made for good practice working out a long sentence without delay or hitch. Maybe that was the real reason behind it. "I might be a little too ignorant of your film culture, sorry. Which ones are from actresses?" Talau asked as she tried to sus it out herself. "Alexandra?" She asked hopefully, a stab in the dark atba culture she knew nothing about.

[Eritei]

Princess Momiji

Finding the urge to resist over indulging on the food, Momo too began to wonder where Yukiko wandered off to? Well in her attempts to find her led her off the beaten path, now wandering the same halls as Evelyn. The invitation and attendants who welcomed them did say they'd be allowed to wander most of the castle and things were well marked that eventually they'd likely find their way back to the main ballroom but for now, it was kind of nice to be out in the quiet, only if Yuki was here to admire it with her. Oh well, time for that later for sure. "If I may be forward to assume, guessing you and I have the same trek of mind." Again, it's worth noting, Momiji isn't as shy compared to Yukiko, she was just as happy to strike up a conversation with a total stranger.

"Kujo Momiji" She wasted no time to introduce herself "You may call me Momiji if you like, I don't mind." Momo was a nickname reserved for people close to her, like family.

Evelyn had been wandering the halls for a little time now. Although the feel of a castle was almost normal to her, she was encapsulated by the pagan art that surrounded her instead of the Christian art that she would usually see. Her love for art coming from her mother, she was always encapsulated by new and interesting things.

During her silent trek she noticed someone walk up to her, she assumed another guest at the Debut. After introducing herself Evelyn was quite happy to strike up a conversation.

"Well, Momiji, I'm Evelyn Zaccaria, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "And I agree, we do have the same trek of mind, if you enjoy looking at art and getting purposefully lost that is," Evelyn smiled a tad bit by her own comment. She's always loved wandering the halls of the palace back home without any idea where she was.

"Might I ask where you're from? The invitations never mentioned a guest list." She asked. She was always interested in peoples homes. Most of her friends from school were from outside of Milan and Evelyn never once stopped listening to them about what life outside the big city was like.