Debutants' Ball - Alphonse Delaunay - 14/2/2023
Feb 18, 2023 18:27:41 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, Velania Kalugina, and 1 more like this
Post by Alferron Blackbriar on Feb 18, 2023 18:27:41 GMT
The crash of a hundred champagnes against the ceiling of the ballroom rang, as glass and liquor spilled in every direction like fireworks in the sky. The clamour that followed served to mask the small chant and single fingersnap of the culprit who lay at the centre of the pile.
"Really, we're leaving so soon? And you, without a new bedfellow?"
"Shut it Delenarr." Alphonse hissed the words, trudging out of the gates of the Miller Estate and along the short walk to the Gilded Mirror, his red tailcoat and cravatte completely soaked. "This is as much as I can do to save face right now. I have dealt with humiliation before but this was supposed to be a new start. A fresh beginning, ruined already. Damned feyfuckery, I swear if I ever find who did that I will drive a dart through their chest!"
"Doubful." The drake chuckled. "That'd really cause you to lose face. Anyway, it is a shame that we both come away with little to show for it."
"Yes, well I'd like to see you try to flirt while covered in glass shards and champagne, see how well you do. No, it's better this way, we made a bit of impression and hopefully we were just about able to escape without notice."
It was at this point that Alphonse felt something in his pocket, something that wasn't his gold pouch or one of several darts he had stashed throughout his outfit. He withdrew it and regarded it in the moon's light. A pressed red tulip, shimmering with faint magic.
"Or perhaps not. She knows. Lady Miller knows. Just fantastic. And who even is that Elias to implore Lady Miller for a dance on my behalf? I am not a charity case, for goodness' sake, don't make me look desperate!" The words grated out of his mouth. "The objective was to establish ourselves as a serious name in this city and we have failed. Fair Velania, fair as she is, was far from the best dance partner one could have, and you damn well know I worked with what I had, did you see my tango drop? All that to be outmatched by Elias and their masked partner. And look, everyone there, I am sure they are nice, lovely, warm, wonderful people once you get to know them, for sure, but we all know the most important person there was Lady Miller. And we left no impression. If I was able to secure that dance I would have at least impressed upon her my good nature and objectives, if nothing else."
"Yes, your 'good' nature. This is all so banal. If I were in my true form I'd simply enslave a mountain colony and be done with it."
"Yes, well, lack of ethics aside we have to play the game like this now to get what we want. And we need to ramp up our efforts. We need to get contacts, find some sort of niche in the market, some kind of good Daring Heights lacks, perhaps raw material that it has to import, or maybe we can even export to K'ul Goran, maybe even further afield? I know the Feywild deals in magic and stories and whatever but surely even they need material goods and labour. We will invest in land, invest in people, consolidate our resources and build. You will have your mountain, Delenarr, and I will build an estate that rivals Miller's. We will become a big name on Kantas, and then-"
"Exact our revenge on the pretenders on our lands?"
"They'll see it as such, of course. But we're not doing that, right? We're not so petty. We're just taking back what belongs to us."
"Indeed." Delenarr snarled. The pair slunk through the service entrance of the Gilded Mirror. It would simply not do to be seen in the reception in such a state.
"Really, we're leaving so soon? And you, without a new bedfellow?"
"Shut it Delenarr." Alphonse hissed the words, trudging out of the gates of the Miller Estate and along the short walk to the Gilded Mirror, his red tailcoat and cravatte completely soaked. "This is as much as I can do to save face right now. I have dealt with humiliation before but this was supposed to be a new start. A fresh beginning, ruined already. Damned feyfuckery, I swear if I ever find who did that I will drive a dart through their chest!"
"Doubful." The drake chuckled. "That'd really cause you to lose face. Anyway, it is a shame that we both come away with little to show for it."
"Yes, well I'd like to see you try to flirt while covered in glass shards and champagne, see how well you do. No, it's better this way, we made a bit of impression and hopefully we were just about able to escape without notice."
It was at this point that Alphonse felt something in his pocket, something that wasn't his gold pouch or one of several darts he had stashed throughout his outfit. He withdrew it and regarded it in the moon's light. A pressed red tulip, shimmering with faint magic.
"Or perhaps not. She knows. Lady Miller knows. Just fantastic. And who even is that Elias to implore Lady Miller for a dance on my behalf? I am not a charity case, for goodness' sake, don't make me look desperate!" The words grated out of his mouth. "The objective was to establish ourselves as a serious name in this city and we have failed. Fair Velania, fair as she is, was far from the best dance partner one could have, and you damn well know I worked with what I had, did you see my tango drop? All that to be outmatched by Elias and their masked partner. And look, everyone there, I am sure they are nice, lovely, warm, wonderful people once you get to know them, for sure, but we all know the most important person there was Lady Miller. And we left no impression. If I was able to secure that dance I would have at least impressed upon her my good nature and objectives, if nothing else."
"Yes, your 'good' nature. This is all so banal. If I were in my true form I'd simply enslave a mountain colony and be done with it."
"Yes, well, lack of ethics aside we have to play the game like this now to get what we want. And we need to ramp up our efforts. We need to get contacts, find some sort of niche in the market, some kind of good Daring Heights lacks, perhaps raw material that it has to import, or maybe we can even export to K'ul Goran, maybe even further afield? I know the Feywild deals in magic and stories and whatever but surely even they need material goods and labour. We will invest in land, invest in people, consolidate our resources and build. You will have your mountain, Delenarr, and I will build an estate that rivals Miller's. We will become a big name on Kantas, and then-"
"Exact our revenge on the pretenders on our lands?"
"They'll see it as such, of course. But we're not doing that, right? We're not so petty. We're just taking back what belongs to us."
"Indeed." Delenarr snarled. The pair slunk through the service entrance of the Gilded Mirror. It would simply not do to be seen in the reception in such a state.