Seymour had only been able to learn very little about the sort of apparel expected of one associating with high society. As he fumbled with the elaborately-embroidered waistcoat that had been laid out for him, he thought that it seemed to involve many, many ornate buttons, and he hoped that he'd gotten them all aligned correctly. He was already quite nervous about the possibility of embarrassing Audrey if he couldn't manage to fit in, and the last thing he needed was to show up looking like he had no idea what he was doing.

The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see who they belonged to. Though she wore a mask, he would be able to recognize Audrey anywhere, and he smiled as she approached.

Audrey was tempted to feel self-conscious, but reminded herself that she had no reason to be fearful anymore. Her pink and white gown was a softer color and a different fit than the sort of thing she usually wore to these events, and not long ago she would have decided it wasn't eye-catching enough, no matter how pretty she might think it was. But now she no longer had to worry about attracting a suitor, and she felt she could trust that Seymour cared for who she was and not what she wore.

"You look lovely." He stated, staring at her in the tender way no one else ever had.

Audrey beamed, and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before reaching over to help him with his own mask. "And you look very dapper."

She knew that Seymour had to be nervous when it came to attending upscale parties, and she'd requested for it to be a masquerade in the hopes of making it easier for him. She'd gotten herself through some of the more difficult things she'd had to do by trying to pretend it was someone else and not truly her, and she thought that perhaps being able to keep his face hidden for a time might help Seymour in a similar way.

"Are you ready?"

After a deep breath, Seymour nodded, and offered her his arm. Audrey felt butterflies in her own stomach, but for a very different reason. After all the time she'd spent hoping that someone, anyone, might be willing to give her a second glance, she couldn't even describe how thrilled she felt to step into a ballroom arm-in-arm with someone she fully believed was the finest man anyone could ever hope for.

It was by far the most opulent event she'd been able to throw yet. She supposed that her house's funds weren't technically tied to Seymour's yet, but while she couldn't quite understand why, he didn't seem as if he wanted much to do with the money his plant had been bringing in. He'd told the household staff to help themselves, and they certainly hadn't hesitated to use the opportunity to put together a grand spectacle. She wasn't particularly surprised, as they did have good reason to want to impress their guests.

Being from only a minor noble house, not to mention being fairly new to this circle of people, Audrey doubted any of them cared all that much about her upcoming wedding. Still, these occasions seemed to be considered a wonderful chance to show off their best clothing and impressive entourages, and so plenty of important guests had come, and it had of course been deemed necessary to have a grand event to welcome those who had traveled over. Seymour stuck close to Audrey's side as they made their rounds around the room to greet everyone, and seemed quite relieved when they had finished and were able to slip off to a quiet part of the room.

"It looks positively splendid in here. You've done a wonderful job with the flowers." Audrey hoped to put his mind at ease with the words of praise, but she very much meant them as well. Seymour had told her that Mr. Mushnik had been called away to visit his sister, though she was sure Seymour had been capable of taking on more responsibilities from his master for a long time. And as the two of them had worked together to set up flowered garlands and bouquets throughout the room, it had almost felt like old times again. Though she thought it was even better than old times, as now there was no more staring at Seymour wistfully and wondering if she had any hope that he returned her feelings.

Though as Seymour took in the room, he looked far more troubled. Especially due to the plant he'd been trying very hard to avoid, which was now sitting proudly on display, having reached a size and multitude of sprawling vines he'd never imagined. He swallowed, suddenly feeling as if there was a stone in his stomach. It only made sense that they would pull the plant out when the estate was full of people they wanted to impress, but the mere sight of it pulled up memories that made him feel sick.

Though she didn't know the reason, Audrey knew that he seemed especially anxious, and tried to think of a way to distract him from his worries.

"Look, I believe they're starting the music up. Would you care to dance?"

It did seem to distract him from his original thoughts, but it brought on a different worry. "I-I'm not sure I would know how…"

"A basic waltz isn't very difficult. I would be happy to show you, if you would like."

While still a little hesitant, he couldn't deny that he did rather like the idea of being able to dance with her, and he followed as she led him over to a clear space among the other nobles that were beginning to pair off. He knew very well how clumsy he could be, and was careful to never let his concentration wander too far away from making sure he didn't step on her feet. But even so, the opportunity to hold her close made everything else able to fade a bit from his thoughts. And as he started to fall into rhythm alongside her, realizing just how easy and comfortable she seemed to find being beside him, he felt very much as if next to her was a place where he belonged, no matter what else might be around them.

But unfortunately, the moment only lasted so long before…

"Pardon the interruption, but do you have a moment to discuss a proposition?"

Seymour squinted at the glint of candlelight off a masked face, and instantly recognized the tone of voice people used when they wanted to talk about the plant.

He immediately looked at Audrey, desperate for any reason to stay with her instead. But she didn't seem to notice his distress, and only smiled as she gave him an encouraging nod.

"You can go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Before he could have any chance to protest, he was practically dragged away, and almost immediately surrounded by a crowd of people clamoring for his attention. He looked back over his shoulder, trying to spot Audrey in the crowd. She waved cheerfully, but his heart only sunk with the realization that he had no chance of being able to make his way back to her through all of the people pressing around him.

The words of the crowd were all muddled together as everyone talked at once, but he knew it was all the same promises of fame and fortune if he let them do what they wanted with the plant. He tried not to cringe, and wanted very, very badly to be anywhere else. It was only the thought of trying not to make a scene for Audrey's sake that made him decide against the idea of covering his ears and running away. But soon came another sound, one much more horrible.

The giant plant's stem suddenly went limp, and the pod came crashing limply to the ground. The thud echoed through the room, and everyone fell quiet as they turned to look.

Seymour felt like the breath had been knocked out of him, almost as if he had been the one slammed to the floor.

'Please, not now. You know I can't now.'

The amount of time the silence lingered wasn't anywhere near enough for him to figure out what to do, and it wasn't long before everyone was clamoring around him again, wanting to know what happened.

"It just has to be fed…" He mumbled, trying hard to push back the panic rising within him.

"So, feed it!" One particularly loud voice blurted out what they all must have thought was an obvious and easy solution.

"I can't feed it, not now."

A member of the staff appeared, tugging at his arm to grab his attention. "I'll feed it. Where do you keep the plant food?" They offered, no doubt wanting to avoid any risk of losing the admiration the plant had earned the household.

"It doesn't eat plant food. And I can't feed it now."

He didn't know how to handle this. He'd spent almost his whole life as someone people didn't look twice at, and now there was a plant lying on the ground and a crowd of looming faces surrounding him, asking things of him, demanding things of him, and he was stretched thin trying to play the part they wanted to see.

Finding it harder and harder to breathe, he scrambled to pull at the mask on his face, filled with the sense it would suffocate him if he kept it on any longer.

"Why don't you leave me alone? All of you."

His voice started off almost numb, but started to rise as more and more panic began to well up.

"Just go away! Leave me alone!"

The mask slipped from his hands and fell to the floor, but he didn't even think to pick it up again, too consumed by the need to be away from the eerie, lifeless faces.

"Everybody, go away! Leave me alone!"

Audrey could only watch helplessly as he frantically shoved his way through the crowd, much faster than she could manage to follow. The servants seemed positively mortified at one of the guests of honor causing such a scene, and were swiftly moving to control the damage, trying to distract the stunned visitors with drinks and trays of food. But as much as she usually worried about trying to please everyone, Audrey found that in that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care what the other nobles thought. It was clear that Seymour wasn't alright, and he was more important to her than anything else.

Taking advantage of all the commotion, she managed to slip unnoticed out of the room. She'd find Seymour, and she wouldn't come back until they managed to sort everything out, even if it meant she never came back at all.