Ch. 19
Oy vay, I can't remember when I said the ball was going to be. So it's going to be the day after all that just happened. So that'd be today. Get it?
"Rose! It's stunning!" Sandry gasped as she saw the completed version of her dress. It was stunning; Rose had outdone herself. The color was perfect; Sandry knew the soft white would compliment her well. The diamonds and silver, which Daja had helped some with, formed an intricate pattern around the material. The material itself was soft and delicate. Sandry quickly discarded her clothes and stepped into her dress. She felt the cool satin lining slip over her head, then the heavier silk. She adjusted the angel-cut sleeves around her shoulders, watching the cut away fabric float softly around her. She sucked in a bit; it was snug in her waist, but it fit well. Since Sandry was never one for very poofy dresses, Rose had accommodated this taste and simply made a long train. Rose decided that trains were very elegant, and took full advantage of it, decorating it with intricate beadwork and filigree. Sandry twirled around, admiring the perfect cut and ultimate fold of the costume. Rose spontaneously clapped her hands with pleasure, causing Sandry to smile. Sandry let her thoughts wander as she admired her form in the mirror. 'I wonder what Briar will think. I wonder if I'll bring him back to my room after the ball…will he think it's too forward of me? I know that I won't have sex with him,' she blushed at the thought, 'but I wouldn't mind a little fun…' Her eyes shone with anticipation. "Rose!" She declared, "what shall I do with my hair?"
Briar had expected nice clothes for the ball; after all, Sandry was taking care of it. He hadn't, however, expected this! The heavy cloth would drape nicely over his figure, he knew. He also knew, from being Sandry's male clothing model, that the cut would accentuate his broad shoulders and trim waist. He fingered the tunic: it was, of course, green. She had worked small thorns around the priest-cut collar, bringing in his own personality. He smiled to himself, thinking: 'Tonight just might be fun after all.'
"Daja, would you help me?" Tris wandered into Daja's room, with her elbows sticking out in odd directions. Evidently, there was a zipper (AN: is that an anachronism?) down the back of Tris's dress. Daja stepped over and fastened Tris's dress up for her. The dark emerald color worked wonders for her complexion, it really emphasized her red hair. The empire cut disguised her heavy-set figure, and even helped to slim her down some. Tris would look pretty tonight, she was sure.
"Neal, you look very nice tonight," Kel said cordially. She was still slightly upset at his obvious infatuation with Sandry, but she figured they had to leave sometime.
"Thank you, Kel. You look quite elegant in your dress." Kel nodded, sniffed, and moved away.
"Very affable tonight, aren't we, Neal?" Cleon asked with a smirk on his face.
"Elegant my ass. You know, it is always good to have fake compliments on hand at functions like this. When pressed, I always say, 'elegant'." Neal nodded smugly to himself. Cleon looked disgusted.
"She does look elegant, you ungrateful git! You wouldn't know a beautiful girl if she knocked you down with her sword and yelled out, 'I'm beautiful!'"
"I do too know a beautiful girl when I see one. After all, if Lady Sandrilene isn't beautiful, then what is she? Good-looking, striking, handsome, gorgeous, the epitome of loveliness, attractive, eye-catching, smart, pretty, appealing, hot, sexy, tempting, alluring, stunning, magnificent—"
"Fine. You just go on with that train of thought. Meanwhile, I'll go find someone that is possibly in my league, and pursue them, eh?"
Briar knocked timidly on Sandry's door. "Sandry? May I come in?"
"Of course, Briar." He heard footsteps crossing the room, muted heels clicking on the stone. She pulled the door open, and there she was. Briar felt like everything around them had melted. She literally sparkled. No, she shimmered. Whatever she did, she looked absolutely perfect doing it. She smiled up at him. "I'm almost ready. Would you please fasten this for me?" She held out a diamond necklace to him. With trembling fingers, he pulled the sparkling strand around her creamy neck. His fingers brushed against her skin; the coolness of it calmed him down some, yet the warmth generated by the brief encounter made his britches feel a shade too tight in nether regions. It took him a minute to fasten the band of stones, but he eventually figured it out, only muttering one cuss word in the process, something about "damn smith-mages can't figure out a way to make the fucking thing…bastards…hell…" Sandry smiled.
"Language like that certainly will not be expected at the ball tonight. But for some reason, I don't think I would mind myself. It makes me feel like I'm back at Discipline, before all this shit happened. Ehm, stuff, I mean. You know, before Beats and the fire and all…" She ducked her head.
"I know. That seems like forever ago, doesn't it? Now look…here we are, in the fanciest clothes I've ever seen, and you most definitely aren't serving thieves their water." Sandry opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her Uncle's voice.
"I'm going down now, Sandry. You and Briar should be ready to descend the stairs in five minutes, alright?" They confirmed their ability to be ready, and he left. They could faintly hear someone announce his arrival, and deep murmurs through the crowd about how frail he was looking.
"Briar, no matter what, I want you to be with me. You won't leave me, will you? I know it's a lot to ask of you, to come to Namorn and all, but I don't think I could do it without you…" Her eyes looked pleadingly up at him.
"Sandry, you know I'd go anywhere with or for you. You don't even have to ask, it's understood." She smiled up at him, and he gently kissed her. "Now, I think we need to get ready to go down. Everyone's waiting to see you."
AN: I just realized I had forgotten a/b Cleon. Oops. Damn. The "when pressed, I always say 'elegant'" line is from the movie Emma, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan! Ewan sings! And some other people too, but I can't remember who…anyway, I didn't feel like writing the ball scene tonight, so that'll come tomorrow. It'll prolly be the only thing I post tomorrow, b/c I forsee it taking a while and a little bit of research. It'll prolly be a long chapter, b/c I think I'll need to do descriptions of some stuff. Plus, there'll be the shake-down b/t briar and neal, or neal does whatever, or maybe that'll come after the ball…I haven't decided yet….hmm…again, open to suggestions, update your fics, I'll review them, but first! Review mine (.
3 babooshka. (oh, contrary to popular belief, I am not a Russian grandmother. I am not even a mother. I am 16. I am not russian, I am more german, but I look irish or summat, b/c I have redhair. I just thought I'd tell you.)
Oy vay, I can't remember when I said the ball was going to be. So it's going to be the day after all that just happened. So that'd be today. Get it?
"Rose! It's stunning!" Sandry gasped as she saw the completed version of her dress. It was stunning; Rose had outdone herself. The color was perfect; Sandry knew the soft white would compliment her well. The diamonds and silver, which Daja had helped some with, formed an intricate pattern around the material. The material itself was soft and delicate. Sandry quickly discarded her clothes and stepped into her dress. She felt the cool satin lining slip over her head, then the heavier silk. She adjusted the angel-cut sleeves around her shoulders, watching the cut away fabric float softly around her. She sucked in a bit; it was snug in her waist, but it fit well. Since Sandry was never one for very poofy dresses, Rose had accommodated this taste and simply made a long train. Rose decided that trains were very elegant, and took full advantage of it, decorating it with intricate beadwork and filigree. Sandry twirled around, admiring the perfect cut and ultimate fold of the costume. Rose spontaneously clapped her hands with pleasure, causing Sandry to smile. Sandry let her thoughts wander as she admired her form in the mirror. 'I wonder what Briar will think. I wonder if I'll bring him back to my room after the ball…will he think it's too forward of me? I know that I won't have sex with him,' she blushed at the thought, 'but I wouldn't mind a little fun…' Her eyes shone with anticipation. "Rose!" She declared, "what shall I do with my hair?"
Briar had expected nice clothes for the ball; after all, Sandry was taking care of it. He hadn't, however, expected this! The heavy cloth would drape nicely over his figure, he knew. He also knew, from being Sandry's male clothing model, that the cut would accentuate his broad shoulders and trim waist. He fingered the tunic: it was, of course, green. She had worked small thorns around the priest-cut collar, bringing in his own personality. He smiled to himself, thinking: 'Tonight just might be fun after all.'
"Daja, would you help me?" Tris wandered into Daja's room, with her elbows sticking out in odd directions. Evidently, there was a zipper (AN: is that an anachronism?) down the back of Tris's dress. Daja stepped over and fastened Tris's dress up for her. The dark emerald color worked wonders for her complexion, it really emphasized her red hair. The empire cut disguised her heavy-set figure, and even helped to slim her down some. Tris would look pretty tonight, she was sure.
"Neal, you look very nice tonight," Kel said cordially. She was still slightly upset at his obvious infatuation with Sandry, but she figured they had to leave sometime.
"Thank you, Kel. You look quite elegant in your dress." Kel nodded, sniffed, and moved away.
"Very affable tonight, aren't we, Neal?" Cleon asked with a smirk on his face.
"Elegant my ass. You know, it is always good to have fake compliments on hand at functions like this. When pressed, I always say, 'elegant'." Neal nodded smugly to himself. Cleon looked disgusted.
"She does look elegant, you ungrateful git! You wouldn't know a beautiful girl if she knocked you down with her sword and yelled out, 'I'm beautiful!'"
"I do too know a beautiful girl when I see one. After all, if Lady Sandrilene isn't beautiful, then what is she? Good-looking, striking, handsome, gorgeous, the epitome of loveliness, attractive, eye-catching, smart, pretty, appealing, hot, sexy, tempting, alluring, stunning, magnificent—"
"Fine. You just go on with that train of thought. Meanwhile, I'll go find someone that is possibly in my league, and pursue them, eh?"
Briar knocked timidly on Sandry's door. "Sandry? May I come in?"
"Of course, Briar." He heard footsteps crossing the room, muted heels clicking on the stone. She pulled the door open, and there she was. Briar felt like everything around them had melted. She literally sparkled. No, she shimmered. Whatever she did, she looked absolutely perfect doing it. She smiled up at him. "I'm almost ready. Would you please fasten this for me?" She held out a diamond necklace to him. With trembling fingers, he pulled the sparkling strand around her creamy neck. His fingers brushed against her skin; the coolness of it calmed him down some, yet the warmth generated by the brief encounter made his britches feel a shade too tight in nether regions. It took him a minute to fasten the band of stones, but he eventually figured it out, only muttering one cuss word in the process, something about "damn smith-mages can't figure out a way to make the fucking thing…bastards…hell…" Sandry smiled.
"Language like that certainly will not be expected at the ball tonight. But for some reason, I don't think I would mind myself. It makes me feel like I'm back at Discipline, before all this shit happened. Ehm, stuff, I mean. You know, before Beats and the fire and all…" She ducked her head.
"I know. That seems like forever ago, doesn't it? Now look…here we are, in the fanciest clothes I've ever seen, and you most definitely aren't serving thieves their water." Sandry opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her Uncle's voice.
"I'm going down now, Sandry. You and Briar should be ready to descend the stairs in five minutes, alright?" They confirmed their ability to be ready, and he left. They could faintly hear someone announce his arrival, and deep murmurs through the crowd about how frail he was looking.
"Briar, no matter what, I want you to be with me. You won't leave me, will you? I know it's a lot to ask of you, to come to Namorn and all, but I don't think I could do it without you…" Her eyes looked pleadingly up at him.
"Sandry, you know I'd go anywhere with or for you. You don't even have to ask, it's understood." She smiled up at him, and he gently kissed her. "Now, I think we need to get ready to go down. Everyone's waiting to see you."
AN: I just realized I had forgotten a/b Cleon. Oops. Damn. The "when pressed, I always say 'elegant'" line is from the movie Emma, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan! Ewan sings! And some other people too, but I can't remember who…anyway, I didn't feel like writing the ball scene tonight, so that'll come tomorrow. It'll prolly be the only thing I post tomorrow, b/c I forsee it taking a while and a little bit of research. It'll prolly be a long chapter, b/c I think I'll need to do descriptions of some stuff. Plus, there'll be the shake-down b/t briar and neal, or neal does whatever, or maybe that'll come after the ball…I haven't decided yet….hmm…again, open to suggestions, update your fics, I'll review them, but first! Review mine (.
3 babooshka. (oh, contrary to popular belief, I am not a Russian grandmother. I am not even a mother. I am 16. I am not russian, I am more german, but I look irish or summat, b/c I have redhair. I just thought I'd tell you.)