HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[paradisamods]

All that clamor from the lion dance prancing down the halls should be enough to draw attention to the party, even without actual invitations. If not the noise, then perhaps the delicious smell wafting under every door and leading back to the ballroom.

The castle is vain, if nothing else. It has decorated the ballroom in the deepest red and brightest gold with auspicious greetings in the common language tastefully posted about the hall. May your happiness be without end, one says, while another goes May all your wishes be fulfilled. Small order, all things considered.

Round dining tables (with the turning glass part) are set up in the middle of the hall, each with about ten chairs and piles of food fit for a whole village. There are two more lion dance teams hopping about the hall and making a racket while occasionally nabbing that dumpling straight from your chopsticks. That should the least of your concerns, however, with many residents still aiming to settle their grudges before the new year.

Watch your back.

[ ooc; IC mingle log for Lunar New Year plot, feel free to make your own threads! ]

Comments

[dgaf]

[ She raises her eyebrows in disbelief. Yeah sure. ]

You think they would love you if you loved them first. It doesn't work like that.

[ensorceler]

[ It's hard to resist the urge to laugh in Effy's face, because she does think it's laughable someone half her age believes to already know the ways of the world...even a magical world she is still fresh to.

But she doesn't laugh. She could list everything she's done for the people in the city, how she's tried to rally those in the castle, but she doesn't, because to defend herself would only give this girl an upper hand.

Of course she wants to be loved by everyone. Anne has just learned it will never happen. ]

It is bold, and wrong of you to assume what is in my heart and theirs. All I do, I do for the saving of their souls, and the comfort of their conscience.

Since I have arrived here, I have done what I can for these people as would any good Christian, and will continue to do so. It is they who make the choice to walk with the Lord or turn away, but it is not my place to force anyone's hand or heart.

[dgaf]

[ Effy is a proud one who thinks that, yes, she knows all the ways in the world. As far as she's concerned, she is both infinitely wise and invincible. She thinks she knows all the secrets of the universe that adults have grown too daft and mundane to understand.

But she isn't so wise to know not to laugh in a queen's face. ]

Aren't we in Heaven? You don't pay for your wishing by donating to Oxfam here.

[ensorceler]

[ The laughter is insult enough, but the girl's comment only draws a sad stare. Does she think herself to be dead for some reason? In any case, it's clear she hasn't yet suffered the hardships that come with living here, and for that alone Anne rises above petty anger, and instead can only offer pity in her gaze.

Poor child, it seems to say in a strange earnestness, before she returns to her dining. Let her think what she will, for awhile longer at least. ]

[dgaf]

[ That stare reminds her of Katie fucking Fitch and her special look that says I'm so much better than you, I'm only letting you breathe my air out of pity. She would be smug as hell to be compared to a queen.

Effy pretends not to care, leaning back to fish out a cigarette and a lighter, quietly lighting one up. She tips her head far back and blows the smoke up in rings, away from Anne at least. Who will be the first to break the silence? She's content to wait and see for now. There was a time when she didn't speak for a whole year. One night is nothing. ]