[b]Marceline Chen[/b]

[hider=4:34 PM]The door opened and another male came in, obviously older than the rest in the room and quite interesting in appearance, to say the least. He certainly had a sense of style and self - that was evident in the way he commanded attention by his entrance. 

She had already refilled her water and was back to trying to sober herself up, watching the male over the top rim of the plastic cup as he settled into a chair and introduced himself. Marceline eyed his red wine and made a mental note; he was someone to get to know.

Not even a minute after the Southern gentleman's arrival, two more males swept through the door, and for a second she internally pouted at how uneven the genders were now. But the thought was dashed immediately, as she realized the two were most definitely not part of their motley crew. 

The Michael Aust guy flew through introductions and before she knew it they were all being herded toward a limousine by the surprisingly attractive chauffeur bearing a surname from that Tennessee Williams' play. 
[/hider]

[b]5:30 PM[/b]
The limousine ride was relatively uneventful, as no one really spoke to each other and they couldn't really see through the windows of the vehicle. Quite the bummer for Marceline, as she was hoping to catch glimpses of the (presumably beautiful) landscapes they were passing. Instead she resorted to drinking more water and occasionally taking out her small journal from her messenger bag and jotting down a few thoughts and scribbling a few doodles to pass the drive.

By the time Félix announced that they had arrived at their destination, Marci had reduced herself to feeling only slightly buzzed so as not to make herself look silly for first impressions. This was, after all, the moment they've all been waiting for. The rather major down side was that she had to pee like all hell, her bladder wanted to explode. She tried to pay no mind to it, though, as they all filed out of the car onto the property.

There were no words to describe the magnificence of the Manor. It was beautiful and grandiose, something out of a classic novel. Marceline's artistic eye was flying at a mile a minute as she did a three-sixty where she stood, snapping mental pictures of everything and anything. It was a small talent of hers, remembering details as if she had a degree of photographic memory. Probably how she passed academic classes in college, honestly.

The head of the Manor sped down the stairs and fussed around the group, spewing out names and delivering multiple kisses on everyone's cheeks before throwing them all in a flurry of greetings and more introductions. His energy washed over Marci like the smell of good cooking and she couldn't help the wide smile that followed her all the way into the home as they all followed the right-hand woman on the tour. 

In all the excitement she had forgotten just how much she had to use the toilet, and with a quick, although very sincere, "thank you" to Klara she took her room key, bid a "See you guys later" to all the other guests, and half walked/half cantered up to to her own space.

With a [i]click[/i] she unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping into a room after her own heart. Her mouth hung slightly open as she closed the door behind her, keeping her almond-shaped gaze wandering around the gorgeous area she'd be spending the next two weeks in.

It was minimalistic in a homey, modern cabin way. The wooden floors and walls were all an off-white, not too pristine so as to imitate a clean doctor's office. There was a couch, as well as a few comfy bean-bag chairs spread around the lounge area, with a desk big enough to spread her photos, pencils, and sketchpads on. The colors were all blacks, whites, and greys, with the occasional splashes of deep dark blue or sandy tan. In the bedroom there was a king-sized mattress, topped with plenty of pillows and covered by deep burgundy sheets. Marci picked up the small note from the bed, grinning at how cute Sol was.

She wandered back out into the living area and dropped her bag off on the couch, finally noticing that there was a balcony she had access to. "No way…" she breathed to herself as she reached down into her bag to fish out her polaroid camera, her journal, and a pen.

[hider=On the balcony]Marceline stepped out onto the balcony, the breeze blowing strands of hair out of her face as she stared out at the rolling green and expanse of forest that lay ahead of her. She moved to the railing, placing her journal down on the patio table so that she could hold the camera up to her face. Squinting through the eyehole, she snapped a photo of the landscape, placing her hand near the slot to catch the little square as it slid out.  

"A photographer, mm?"

Startled, Marci whipped her head around to find one of the other girls coming out from the door adjacent to hers. So they shared a balcony, then. "...I don't think we were introduced, haha. I know my name, and you know my name, but I don't seem to know the name of the lady who broke the silence back at the lounge."

Marci laughed softly, both out of embarrassment for being jumpy and at the reputation she’d impressed upon her. “Yeah, you’re Evelynn, right?” she said, lightly shaking the photo in her hand to air it out. “I’m Marci.” She put the photo in the hand that held the camera and extended the free one for a handshake. “Nice to meet you. And yeah, hah. Bachelor of Fine Arts, at your service." Lynn's grip was gentle, as was sort of expected, and replied, "Nice to meet you, Marci. Fine arts, huh? That's crazy!"

"To be honest it’s half the reason I agreed to come to this… thing. Figured there'd be plenty of photo-ops.” Marci shrugged slightly, retracting her hand and squinting her eyes now at the photo she’d taken.

"Me, I'd like to think I'm...um, I'm not...too bad at painting… But you're right, it's so...so beautiful out here." There was that nervousness that Marceline had noticed about the girl in the waiting room. She offered a warm smile, nodding her head as she glanced back out. "Yeah, it's gorgeous. Are you going to the ball tonight?" Marci asked, trying to keep the other female comfortable in conversation.

"I think I am, yes...I would love to get to know more about our...err. Animated hosts, hah. That Sol, right?" Marci laughed and nodded her head in agreement, pushing the hair back behind her ears so the wind didn't keep toying with it. 

"He's crazy and I absolutely love it," she replied, “At least he’s not the scary type. His mother is kind of… Not as enthusiastic as the others though…” She bit her lip, worried that the word 'creepy' was going to slip out of her mouth. When Gertrude had come forward to greet her, it had felt very strange. The kisses barely touched the air near her cheeks, and Marceline couldn't help the thought that Gertrude had already decided not to like her… 

"Yeah… his mother. I don't know, I don't think she likes me a whole lot." She watched as Lynn shuddered. "I'd like to stay as far away as possible from that one." 

Grunting in agreement, Marci placed the photo and her camera down beside her journal and leaned her forearms against the railing. "Mm, yeah, I don’t really think she liked me either… Ah, well. Hopefully we won't have to interact with her too much anyway, seeing as she doesn’t speak much English. Did they leave you a dress as well?" 

"You'll find me in the olive green tonight." Lynn nodded, then rested her cheek in her palm and smirked over at her. "You're going, right?"

"I’m sure you’re going to look great, that color will look wonderful on you," Marci replied, her artist's eye already imagining the olive green on the girl's skin tone. “And of course, wouldn’t miss the chance to dress up and see what this place has got." 

"Oh, I'm so excited." Pushing her hair out of her face, Lynn continued. "I really liked your necklaces earlier, by the way. They were really… I don't know how to say it, but they made you seem like such a free spirit, haha. I'm glad… at least. It's a lot nicer to be stuck, or should I say 'cordially invited' to stay here, with a bunch of normal folks, and not some psychos… I could have sworn this was a job interview process or something, haha."

“Oh, thank you very much." Marci grinned and fingered her necklaces fondly, tracing the chains with her nails. “Yeah, being stuck with psychos is never usually a good thing, I imagine. A job interview process? That’s funny. I never even thought that that was a possibility. What kind of job interview would give you $5,000 upfront, hm?” she teased. It said a lot about the type of person Evelynn was, if she thought this could be anywhere near a job interview. At least it meant she had purpose.

"Hey, anyone super desperate to make a big splash on their employee to be? Imagine, five grand up front… It was probably a silly thought, but I ended up bringing work trousers and dresses like this one… and some party wear as well. Though it doesn't compare to their little gift, haha… " Suddenly the girl was blushing, and Marci's chuckled as she said, "Oh god, I probably come off as some moneyhungry idiot, hah… "

"No, not at all. We're all probably quite star-struck by all of this," she replied, gesturing to everything around them. "What do you think of the others, anyway? If you don’t mind me asking. You don’t have to answer, of course." She wanted another opinion, seeing as she wasn't really straight-minded upon first meeting the group.

"The others? I haven't properly spoken to anyone yet, but I know everyone's much more attractive than I initially thought, haha. Especially that woman...Kim? And also the young gentleman. The other ones I got a little nervous of at first glance, but they both seem like such refined gentlemen. I'd really love spending time getting to know them better." Lynn paused to bite her lip, then continued. "Our chauffeur’s hella sexy though, haha. Chauffeur. Bartender. Félix? Though he seems so...far away. I don't know, he was clamming up when I spoke to him. He just brought my bags in, actually. Though he's got this mad charm about him. God. French people, right? They could be calling me all the swear words they know and I'd still be giddy, haha." 

The other sighed dramatically as a joke, and Marci threw her head back and laughed at how true the statement was. “Yeah, he’s quite the looker. Promise to keep my paws off him.” Marci winked, watching Lynn squirm a little at the joke before the girl playfully punched her in the arm. "Mancandy galore. I'm sure we won't be seeing a lack of cute faces around… What about you? Did you get a chance to speak to them more?"

“No, not really. I suppose I’d better get to it when we all get to the ball, probably helps to make buddies with the people who’ll be on my team if shit goes sour here." Marci let another few chuckles out, although there was that awkward air around the statement, seeing as there was still so much time for something to truly go wrong. “They all seem nice enough, though. You said that Felix had just brought your bags in?”

"Yep, Félix got my stuff. Yours come by yet?"

“I should probably check, in case he’s been knocking this whole time haha. It was really nice meeting you. I’ll see you later?” Marci said as she gathered her stuff from the table. 

"See you, Marci. Was a pleasure, truly it was. Definitely looking forward to this evening." Lynn flashed her a wide grin, which Marceline reciprocated, before turning to head back to the door. She paused halfway and spun around again, glad to see that the other had her back turned to her. Feeling spontaneous, Marci brought her camera back up to her face and snapped a photo of Evelynn gazing out at the territory, taking it as it was printed out and bringing it to her.

"Here, a first souvenir. Can't wait to see that dress." There was some flirtation in her tone, but that was just how she was towards people she liked. She caught a glimpse of Lynn's pink cheeks as she headed back inside her room, hearing her say "First of many more, I hope" behind her.
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Back inside her room, she heard a knocking. Depositing her journal and camera on the desk, she hurried over to the door and swung it open, now face to face with the one and only Félix Dubois. "Oh! Hey! I'm so sorry, were you waiting long?"

Marceline stepped aside so that he could bring her luggage through the door. "No, not at all, Madam. Where would you like your bags?" he replied.

"In the bedroom, if that's okay?" The man nodded and proceeded to place her bags down in there, returning to find Marci shedding her parka onto the couch. "Is there anything else I can get you, Ms. Chen?"

She shook her head, flashing a warm, grateful smile at him. "Not right now, I am absolutely perfect. Thank you so much."

Félix gave a small grin in return and bowed his head slightly as he made his way towards the door. "I'll see you later, buddy," Marci sang playfully as she plopped down onto one of the bean-bags with her phone, which, she noted with interest and slight disappointment, had no reception. She heard him chuckle under his breath before the door clicked closed.