❀ 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

[dorkwonder]

Do you think he's dangerous? Steph has a lot of concerns over him, and he's caused some problems in the past.

[hellofist]

[She doesn't answer right away, just watches him while they dance.]

Have you talked to him?

[dorkwonder]

No, not yet.

[He hasn't gathered enough intel on him yet. Keeps her gaze, figuring none of this will come as a surprise to her.]

[hellofist]

[She stops moving, frowning up at him in the middle of the other groups of people around them. It's not surprising, but it's disappointing that he hasn't changed at all.]

Still so judgmental. Would say, talk to him yourself, learn him yourself, but that doesn't... work, with you. You judge based on- what you think you know. Doesn't matter... who we really are. You decided what to see, even if it's wrong.

[dorkwonder]

[Tim matches her frown. Maybe is more "judgmental" than his friends, but that's because he's not as willing to cross the line as they are. Maybe if Cass took an approach more similar to his...

Leans in closer to her, so he can speak in a voice only the two of them can hear.]

Cass, I judged based off of information given to me. You know how much Steph cares for Lucrezia, she sees her like a sister. But Lucrezia being with Joshua changed everything. He's so dangerous that Superman had to intervene before.

[hellofist]

[He steps closer and it's hard to let him, to let him get closer when she's still so angry with him.]

You judged me wrong. What makes you- what gives right, to do that? To decide who is bad, who is good, with no... experience? Without knowing us?

[dorkwonder]

How much do you know about them, Cass? Your new friend Lucrezia has threatened me before. The threat carried weight to it, it wasn't someone saying it in a semi-joking manner. Ezio would kill here if it was permanent.

[hellofist]

I know what I see. That's enough, for me.

[dorkwonder]

[Tim can feel his blood boiling. If it was humanly possible for steam to come out of his ears, it would be happening.]

Because they're all so nice to you hear, you don't care that Lucrezia endorses her family murdering innocent people, and Ezio is a mass murderer in his world?

[hellofist]

[She keeps looking up at him, keeps frowning at him, until she can't do it anymore. It's too hard, losing him all over again. Losing his approval, his acceptance. She doesn't want to, but maybe she never had to begin with. Maybe he still thinks killers never change and she's just been doomed from the start to want to be loved by him and never really feel it. Not for long, anyway.

She takes a step away from him now.]

It doesn't matter... what I say. How I answer. Once you... decide how something is, it's done.

[dorkwonder]

[Releases his hold on her, the anger shifting into more frustration. Why are Steph and Cass so adamant to defend the people who have killed so many?]

The problem is, Cass, you're not listening to what I'm saying. I'm still gathering information, trying to decide what I want to do next when it comes to Joshua. I tried being friendly with Lucrezia, and made an attempt with Ezio, but in time I saw their true intentions.

[Pauses for a moment, debating bringing up how they might live in a fantasy world, but Ezio and Lucrezia's victims' suffering is all very real. Decides to go a different route.]

I change my mind based on the facts. If you ask Ezio how he feels about murder, and if he would kill anyone here if he could, or if he has...[If Ezio and Steph keep secrets from Lucrezia, he's sure Lucrezia and Ezio keep secrets from Steph] and see if there's any remorse there. See if Lucrezia has any remorse for the suffering her family has caused. If there is, then I'll honestly try and be more open minded. If not...then I hope you think long and hard about what you read.

[hellofist]

[That sparks something new in her, all the sadness gone and nothing but anger left. When she steps close again it's to reach for him and grip the front of his shirt in her hand.]

Not your tool. Stop telling me- what to read, who to trust. What I see, so you can use it. I'm not- your spy.

Don't gather information. Talk. They're people.

[dorkwonder]

[A thousand different thoughts flash though Tim's mind in a second. His mind takes him back to the night he almost killed Captain Boomerang. He didn't try to kill him on an impulse, he spent hours planning for it, calculating all the possible variables and outcomes. At the last second, just before Boomerang hit the pavement, he caught him.

Dick was proud of him, Bruce wasn't. Usually, when Bruce is disappointed in him it cuts deep. In that moment, he didn't care. Instead, he started to think about how he was the only one who could protect Gotham. Right now, he's feeling the same about Paradisa. Steph's been here so long, that compromising the code seems to come before protecting the code. Cass' is letting her emotions get the better of her. Rather than thinking logically, she's thinking emotionally.

And he...well...she has a point. There's a reason why the two of them only worked together temporarily in Bludhaven. Cass likes to do her own thing and he likes to call the shots when he works for others.]

You're right, I'm sorry. [Keeps a steady gaze. He is sorry. Not for how he perceives the others, but for upsetting her.]

If you don't mind, I'd like to go get a drink. [Flickers his eyes over to her hands, and then back at her.]

[hellofist]

[It's strange, seeing him really mean it when he says he's sorry and still having it feel so false. But his body doesn't lie, he is sorry. Maybe later that will count for something, but it doesn't now. Now, she just lets him go.]

Enjoy party.

[But they're both done here, after that. He's shut down and she doesn't want to try to get back in, so she turns to walk away instead.]