Princess Ball

[Bloom]

Today had been completely exhausting! Stella had woken her up way early, and since then it had been go, go, go! Facials, manicures, pedicures, skin treatments, hair styles, make-up... it felt like it was never going to end! It had been fun, for sure, but there was only so much pampering Bloom could take!

In the end, though, it had all been worth it. Her and Stella looked simply beautiful. Stella was going to blow them all away at the ball.

Speaking of which, it was finally here. Stella was off somewhere doing last minute things and waiting for her grand entrance after all the guests had arrived, so Bloom had been set loose to find her own entertainment. So far, that involved sampling the food as the guests were only starting to arrive. So far, no familiar faces. Hopefully that would soon change before she just up and ate all the food.

[Tag: Early comers to the ball, and eventually everyone that was invited. Party time!]

[Tecna]

If there was one word that could be used to describe Tecna besides 'logical,' it was 'punctual.' She was a firm believer in the axiom 'the early bird gets the worm,' and to this day, living her life by that belief had never failed her. Punctuality had always gotten her what she wanted; the best seats at a symphony concert, the opportunity to stand out amongst everyone else at an interview for a highly competitive internship the previous summer, and now, the chance to scope out all of Solaria's magnificent art pieces on her own before the crowds started to gather around them to ooh and ahh without really having the slightest clue what they were oohing and ahhing over. Tecna truly hated pseudo-sophisticated people like that; though the thought of how uneducated some individuals were put a bad taste in her mouth, what made her wrinkle her nose even more was the thought of the people who pretended that they were intellectual. She had to work for her intellect and the fact that some people found it perfectly fine to sully the name of education by putting on false airs infuriated her.

But that was a matter to think about on another day because today was Stella's day to shine. Not that her friend didn't do that everyday, it just so happened that on this particular day, Tecna had to endure it without complaint.

Spotting Bloom a few feet away, Tecna hurried over to her friend's side. With a close-lipped smile, she then remarked in an amused voice, "Somehow I do not think Stella will appreciate it if you consume all of this food before she has a chance to try it."

[Bloom]

Popping another bite-sized morsel in her mouth, Bloom almost choked on it when Tecna’s voice suddenly startled her. She hadn’t even noticed her friend’s approach. Chewing quickly and swallowing the food down, she coughed a few times and blinked her eyes rapidly to try to keep them from watering.

“I know, I’m just so nervous!” she admitted, clearing her throat. Finally looking at Tecna, Bloom’s face lit up in an excited smile. “Oh Tecna, you look gorgeous! I love your dress!”

[Countess Cassandra]

Cassandra watched the others from her vantage point near, but not too near, Radius. She was hoping that she'd be able to get a glimpse of her new stepdaughter - something she was quite hoping would be a good thing. Of course, finding her was finding a needle in a haystack. In an uncharacteristic show of nerves, Cassandra bit her lower lip, finding the taste of her lipstick disgusting.

Oh, she hoped Stella and her own daughter would get along...

[Tecna]

At Bloom's compliment, Tecna uncertainly adjusted the skirt of her dress. "You think so? Well, I suppose that should make up for the fact that I feel dreadfully uncomfortable, not to mention naked." With a purse of her lips, Tecna added dryly, "Stella picked out the dress, I am afraid. She loved it and so she wouldn't let me choose another, but it is my belief that the top is missing a bit too much fabric."

Crossing her arms uncomfortably over the daringly low cut dress, Tecna sighed as she simultaneously wished that she was back in her normal clothing. She simply wasn't cut out for the princess life.

[Bloom]

“That’s so like Stella,” Bloom laughed, wiping her hands on a napkin and turning away from the food. “I’m sure she’d tell you that fashion should always win over function. I doubt there’s a gorgeous dress out there that is completely comfortable.”

In all honesty, Bloom found her dress to be quite comfortable, but she got where Tecna was coming from. Her friend always chose function over fashion as it was more logical to be comfortable. Why did girls punish themselves like this, anyways? An image of Sky’s smiling face flitting through her mind quickly reminded Bloom of the reason.

“But it’s only one night, right? And it has to be perfect for Stella. Isn’t this so exciting? A whole party dedicated to her!” Bloom chattered, hoping to take Tecna’s mind off her discomfort. She really did look beautiful.

[Baltor]

Baltor stood in the shadows, watching, waiting, plotting. He had sensed his opposite here and he was quite eager to see her... and make her suffer. Pity he hadn't destroyed her those seventeen years ago but it would be well worth it now. Especially since that wretched sister and those hapless do gooder parents were no longer an issue. Daphne was dead and who knew where "Mumsy" and "Daddy" were. Dead hopefully.

[Riven]

It seemed lurking in the shadows was a popular pastime of the party guests. When they arrived on Solaria, Riven had left Sky and Brandon to go do some surveying on his own. Brandon was still recovering and he didn’t want to cause any setbacks unless his gut feeling proved to be true. Among Christine’s list of realms that were going to be attacked by this evil wizard was Solaria, and if he was an evil wizard he would choose the biggest party of the year, if not longer, to make his appearance.

Leaning against the wall, his eyes slowly scanned the room. It was quickly filling up with old women in gowns that he could camp under, and men... he had no idea how to describe what those pansies called formal wear.

Spotting King Radius, he had his mark. The wizard would probably try to make a show out of attacking the king, wanting to show off his powers. Riven was determined to keep an eye on the King, just in case.

[Tecna]

bloom said:

“But it’s only one night, right? And it has to be perfect for Stella. Isn’t this so exciting? A whole party dedicated to her!”

Tecna smiled as she surveyed the growing crowd of people, all of whom were in attendance to celebrate Stella's formal debut into society. It was quite stunning, really, just how many people had come and Tecna suspected that the numbers would just keep growing as the evening progressed. Why, half of Solaria must have received an invitation - not to mention the countless numbers of royals from other realms!

Again fidgeting with her dress, Tecna sighed. For as much as Bloom was right about this being only a single night, from the feel of it, it was going to be a very long one. But at least the party was good for one thing - so far, it had done a fairly good job at keeping her mind from dwelling for unhealthy lengths of time on matters like the latest news circulating around the school that a powerful wizard had broken out of Omega.

[Baltor]

There, the redhead. The bane of his existence. If only he could come with a nice neat way of getting her out of the picture, out of his hair. He'd worry about that later, right now, he wanted to amuse himself. His eyes flicked about the room, trying to spot someone, something to be the target of his mischief.

So, which of the two blonds would be it? The male? Or the female? Female was the one the whole party was for - but the male... oh, the male... He was close with that Dragonfire chit. He'd do. But... he always could use a decent minion...

Silently, Baltor made his way over to the blond male and stood behind him, quietly observing each move, each gesture, everything. Everything that made him, him. Ah, now that would make things interesting if he took on his identity and caused some merry mayhem. Oh, yes, that would be entertaining. The only thing that could spoil his ruse is if a seer saw the events - so, he'd have to make sure that the seer didn't see this. He'd find a way. Oh, yes. He would find a way. He chuckled to himself. How perfectly wicked.

[Bloom]

When Tecna lapsed into silence, Bloom had just thrown a contemplating eye toward the food again when she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her, but it wasn’t the normal feeling. It was strange, yet the presence felt almost... familiar. Shivering involuntarily, she wrapped her arms around herself and began to scan the crowds. The room had grown quite full since she’d first arrived, and after looking around her immediate vicinity, she reached farther.

There, on the other side of the room, was not the presence she sought, but one that she hadn’t expected to see and therefore offered her a moment’s distraction.

“Wow, I never would have thought Riven the type to attend a fancy ball,” she said to Tecna as she caught the magenta-haired specialist’s name and gave a wave.

If Riven was here, surely the other boys must be too. Already she could feel the butterflies beginning to stir in her stomach.

[Tecna]

Following Bloom's gaze, Tecna's eyes briefly settled on Riven before she frowned. Bloom was right; Riven wasn't exactly the type one would expect to find at this sort of thing. Even if Stella had invited him, and even if common courtesy demanded that he accept the invitation, Tecna couldn't help but suspect that there was a better reason for Riven's presence. Because, honestly, it was ludicrous to think for a second that Riven would be swayed by the rules of etiquette. No, Tecna thought, her body immediately tensing, this had something to do with that wizard. Doubtlessly, Riven was here to scope out the potential threat. After all, Solaria was a highly powerful realm, ranking up there next to Eraklyon and Andros. It only made sense that the wizard would eventually make his way here - and on what better day to do it than during one of the biggest celebrations of the year? It would be so easy for him to blend in with the crowd...

Turning her gaze around the room to look at the countless numbers of guards at their stations, Tecna mentally shook her head. For as skilled as the Solarian Royal Guard was, if that wizard made an appearance and decided to attack, she knew that they wouldn't stand a chance. The odds just weren't in their favor.

[Riven]

Although his gaze remained mostly fixed on the King and his immediate surrounding party, Riven periodically flicked his eyes about the room for anything suspicious. So far, nothing out of the ordinary, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to go down.

His eyes suddenly drawn to some sudden, quick moment across the room, he looked over to see Bloom and Tecna, the former of whom was waving at him. It was good to see her back among the walking, not that he cared where she was. He had to admit to himself, though, that both girls looked really hot. He didn’t dance, but maybe there was more to these fancy parties that warranted an appearance. At least the sights were good.

His face retaining his normal expression, something between cocky and stoic, he nodded his head in response to Bloom’s greeting before turning his eyes to Tecna. Judging by her expression and the way she was now scoping out the room, she was thinking along the same lines as him.

[Bloom]

When Riven’s acknowledgement turned out to be nothing but a nod of the head, Bloom stopped waving. She should have expected that. He was never that glad to see anyone. There was no doubt in her mind that he was here under duress and would probably skip out as soon as possible. It reminded her of the time they’d had that cleaning party. He wouldn’t dance, and barely talked unless one counted throwing insults and sarcastic comments at them.

How Musa had ever got it into her head that he liked her, or that he was boyfriend material she would never know. He could be a good guy, and Bloom really believed he was deep inside, but he wasn’t someone to date.

“I’m going to go say hi. Coming?” she said to Tecna, already making her way toward Riven.

[Tecna]

Pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Bloom's voice, Tecna started before she covered her surprise by flashing her friend a smile. Inwardly, however, she couldn't help but reprimand herself. Today of all days was not the day to get lost in her thoughts. She had to stay alert, on her toes. It would not do to be caught off guard (that was exactly how one got one's self in major trouble) - even if it was just by Bloom.

"Perhaps we should just leave him alone," Tecna finally answered, her tone reluctant, as she again turned her gaze over at Riven. Seeing him look at her, she gave him a brief incline of her head before she continued, turning back to Bloom, "He doesn't look like he cares much for company."

Truthfully, though, Tecna suspected that he was on the look-out for anyone of suspicious character and what she didn't want to do was distract him with useless conversation while he was attempting to do such.