❀ May Day Masquerade ❀

[ensorceler]

may day!


[ The castle grounds holding the gardens have been transformed into a spring party sensation. Tall banners carrying the Tudor rose have been arranged in a representation of a border surrounding the celebration and events, but there are no real walls or barriers. It might make guarding difficult for the few in her employ, but that's hardly Queen Anne's problem. Nobody will be kept away unless they arrive with no mask (or representation of a mask), and although it might be hard to tell considering it's a masquerade, there will be some people (not many) from the city who have decided tentatively to accept Anne's invitation, helping fill in the crowd.

The theater stage has been covered in flowers of all sorts, as are the four wooden thrones arranged in the center. Each seat is taken, a tie for both King and Queen making for double the fun! Robb and Lucrezia have dressed as Orion and Diana, while Zelos and Galadriel have chosen Odysseus and Penelope (with a little help). The tops of their heads have been left bare, at least for the opening ceremony.

In front of them stands Anne in her costume, and she waits for the crowd to quiet before she speaks. ]

Good citizens of Cair Paradisa and City Royale, you come here today to seek pleasure and company, and I have never seen a finer or more unique looking peoples. I know you may find it difficult to smile in the wake of such recent tragedy. All here have known loss, but we have not let it conquer us, have we? God is with us. Brave souls here risked the unknown to discover the cause, while other remained to help rebuild. I am fiercely proud to see such dedication to one another, and I can only hope such unity continues to blossom! The work on the city will continue, as will the rehabilitation of the survivors most affected by calamity.

But today we spread our arms wide and heartily welcome summer. Today we make merry and keep our loves close. Today we celebrate an unprecedented event, two Queens and Kings!

[ She turns and walks over to the thrones, where the ladies hold crowns of roses in their laps and the men crowns of wooden antlers. She names each as she settles the crowns atop their heads. ]

Queen Galadriel. King Zelos. Queen Lucrezia. King Robb.

[ In playful deference, Anne will lift her skirts and curtsy to the four of them when they stand to announce that the festivities begin! ]



{ Maypole Dance || Dance Floor || The Feast || Music & Donations || Maze & Wine Fountain || Bonfire }

Comments

THE LABYRINTH / WINE FOUNTAIN

[ensorceler]

[ The ample maze might be easy to get lost in normally, but today things are a little different. Well, one could still find themselves at a dead end if not paying attention or just wanting to wander, but should any enter, they'll find that small banners with arrows have been placed at certain forks, guiding any curious soul towards the center.

And why find the center? Because that's where the wine fountain is, of course! Mingle, drink, lounge on a bench, and drink some more! Just don't go swimming in it too early; other people have to drink that wine, after all.

For people who aren't in the maze for the wine, well there are plenty of nooks and crannies for children to play hide-and-seek. At night it will be even more beautiful, with twinkling lights decorating the labyrinth, and even nearby topiaries and trees. ]

[kalinda]

[Wine fountain? MORE LIKE HELL YES FOUNTAIN.]

[sworn]

[Who needs an entire fountain of wine? Honestly.

But okay, Vereesa moves beside this woman and acquires a glass for herself.]

Re: THE LABYRINTH / WINE FOUNTAIN

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler is never really one for social gatherings. Oh, once, back when he was on top of the world, he'd go to things like this on a nightly basis. Everyone wanted him at their party. The ultimate status symbol, to have the Once-ler appear at their event.

But that was a long time ago, and the Once-ler is not quite the man he used to be. He wouldn't have come at all, if Anne hadn't dragged him here. So he's found a nice quiet area of the maze, a cup of wine and is largely keeping to himself. He did bother with a mask and costume, at least. He can't even pronounce the name of the guy Anne told him to dress as, let alone know who the guy was. Some Earth guy who made a cart, that was what he got, don't ask him who he's dressed as]

[ensorceler]

[ It isn't hard for Anne to find him with how tall he is, even if she hadn't known his costume. She's spent a good chunk of the past fortnight in the Once-ler's company, on the expedition and in his rushed work for the party upon arrival, so maybe he's had enough.

But he doesn't get a say in the matter, Anne sitting on the bench near him and waving a hand to the spot next to her. She's removed her cage-mask temporarily so she can eat and drink, white glitter painted around her eyes in a back-up mask. ]

[wolfchild]

Is that meant to be a clock?

[ why do you have a clock on your face ]

[heal_theworld]

[Martel wasn't actually expecting to see Once-Ler here, since she knew he wasn't a social person. Unless someone had dragged him from his tower and made him dress up. So when she sees him by the fountain she blinks and goes over to him. She's wearing a purple dress and her moon mask and the scarf around her neck.]

So who pulled you out to a party?

[hardenedimmortal]

[Upon learning about the May Day celebrations, Adam had scrabbled to put together a costume. With the theme and the lack of a date, he had a bit of a time figuring out which costume to choose. But it finally came to him, in a hit of pain soaked inspiration.

He stepped up to the wine fountain dressed like Takezo Kensei, a story famous where he came from and the person that he once was.

Humming slightly, he lifted his mask in order to take a sip of the wine.]

[waterproofed]

[guess who's going to check out the maze? That's right, this guy! He's dressed as his namesake Perseus, with complete toga and mask. nevermind that the mask is actually Zeus, shh]

[wilder]

[At some point in the evening, Zelos can be found in the wine garden taking a break from the festivities and dancing and what not. He's wearing decorative armor, cape and mask with his hair carefully braided back with white flowers and ribbons braided into it- oh and now a wooden crown of antlers that's pretty cool too. Though hey you probably already saw that at those opening dance things- which for Zelos and Galadriel were not a disaster so yay there. ]

[Except he's taken that off to sit in his lap as he sits on a bench, sipping on a glass of wine. Because hey, who in their right mind passes up the wine fountain? Seriously.]

[hellofist]

[Instead of actually following the signs, Cass has purposefully gone in all the wrong directions so she could wander the maze for real, but only after making it to the center to claim a glass of wine for the journey.

Her mask doesn't actually do much to hide her identity but it doesn't really matter, she knows that once she started actually speaking to people they'd be able to guess who she was anyway. She'd wished for a dress to match and Lucrezia had provided the shawl to obscure the scars on her back.

She's enjoying herself so far, but the maze might be the best part of the whole party. Anyone who wants to wander with her is welcome, of course.]

[storiestotell]

[ Because mazes are clearly made for children to goof around in, Katherine can be found roaming the pathways when she isn't caught up in one of the many games of hide-and-seek happening with the others. ]

[schrodingersghost]

[As soon as Danny successfully sneaks away from Sheena he takes off for an isolated corner of the maze. No way did did he wanted to be seen in public wearing this outfit. He looked like a reject from the Medieval Zone.

Anyone care to catch the teenager very obviously sneaking away from everyone?]

[not_nikkiheat]

[Kate strolls leisurely through the maze, sipping her wine. The mask she's wearing itches a little, but it goes so well with the dress she'd chosen, there was no way she is taking it off. Every so often, she trails her fingers along the wall of the maze, simply enjoying the evening and being dressed up.]

[ino]

[ she's just wandering around in her dress and mask, taking a look at everything that's set up. and ... wow, is that a wine fountain? so fancy ... ]

[tapshoetomove]

[Luke is dressed up wearing this mask doing one of two things:

A) Curiosity killed the cat, as his mask might imply. Luke's trying to figure out what sort of drink is in that wine fountain. It doesn't smell like punch...

B) Exploring the Labyrinth! And by exploring he's running through the maze laughing and finding places to hide and occasionally jumping out and scaring people.]

[ofhope]

[ When he's not having to dance and when he's through eating, this is where Joshua will be, although he'll have found a less occupied area of the maze to sprawl on a bench as if taking a nap (even if his eyes are open most of the time). He's still hard not to notice with such a bright suit, his black tie and mask barely enough to dim it down. ]

Re: THE LABYRINTH / WINE FOUNTAIN

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ He had wandered into the maze, needing to be away for a moment - away from the people, the press, the happy faces and smiles. It was to much and he needed to be away.

He wandered through the maze slowly, his gaze swinging back and forth through the hedges, the prongs of his horns making the motion grander, somehow. He paced through the hedges, quiet, he might have been a ghost if not for the brightness of his outfit, the dark shadow of his hair.

When he came to the wine fountain he had the momentary thought of drowning himself in it, but resisted and simply took a cup and filled it before he took a nearby seat and sipped, listening, the rubies in his ears glittering like fire. ]</sub>

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer had already been planning on going to the party before Carson's disappearance, and after having spent all day holed up with Blue in the clinic and lots of debating and soul-searching with herself, she'd decided to go ahead and go anyway.

That didn't mean she had to talk to anybody, of course, and once she'd heard tell of a wine fountain, she decided to get drunk. Hey, taking care of clinic stuff could wait til tomorrow, and she'd had a rough month. Her simple yellow mask would hopefully hide the fact that her eyes were red-rimmed from crying.

She sat at a bench rather away from everyone, looking thoroughly miserable.]

[cyan_maid]

[Jane has no interest in the wine fountain, but she does in the rest of the labyrinth. Why? Because it was just someplace to avoid talking to too many people. Usually she would be keen on this sort of thing, but...after losing so many of her friends in such a short span of time, even a beautiful party like this can't properly cheer her up.

She is dressed rather simply, but the ensemble suits her well enough.]

[commandsthewind]

[After all the dancing and whatever else she had partaken in, Elizabeth sought somewhere quieter, taking a cup of wine from the fountain, settling herself on a bench, carefully arranging the long skirts of her costume, she watched contently the many glittering ladies and men go by, even if it wasn't as grand as she was used to, it was still a little more familiar than all that. Her half mask at least ensuring that most of her observation was kept subtle.]

[cloaklikeblood]

[After roaming around and occasionally joining in the dancing, she wanders through the maze and finds herself at the wine fountain. Although she didn't drink much alcohol, a little wouldn't hurt. She settles herself on a bench and sips at the wine]

Re: THE LABYRINTH / WINE FOUNTAIN

[theyseekhimhere]

[Percy is wandering the maze rather slowly. It was a marvelous party to be sure, different than he was used to perhaps, but still something familiar. He had decided not to dress up as a lover of legend as he had no one to go with. Instead he wore this with a matching pale gold mask. Parties hadn't been the same since his marriage and the subject of lovers made him think of her. So with no friends at this strange place he explores the maze.]

[last_rat_standing]

[Bond eventually finds himself at the center of the labyrinth, under the pretext of keeping an eye on any overzealous party-goers of course. He helps himself to a glass of wine and stands back, ever attentive eyes scanning the crowd]

[strangewonders]

[The May Day celebration in full swing could have easily held its own against the ones usually held in Ingary's cities and Howl had been enthused by the prospect of a good party, at first. Then came the nagging thought that only a few short months before, he hadn't been entirely sure he'd even see another May, and that line of thought had called for getting spectacularly drunk. Thankfully, the maze was thoughtfully labeled, and the wine plentiful, and it wasn't until much later that he had to deal with the fact that the sleeves on his jacket were something of a tripping hazard, and mazes were much harder to navigate backwards and drunk. After the third wrong turn resulted in him picking bits of hedge out of his hair, he managed to conclude that perhaps his plan had contained a few flaws.]