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[color=lightgray][color=#6C72C6]Time:[/color] Evening
[color=#6C72C6]Location:[/color] The Ball
[color=#6C72C6]Interactions:[/color] [@Oso] Ambrose [@HylianRose] Lucian [@Tae] Mina [@Remram] Nolan [@Lava Alckon] Drake [@CitrusArms] Stratya 
[color=#6C72C6]Mention:[/color] [@samreaper] Kazumin
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Marina had been making an obvious face as she watched Charlotte Vikena walk in, her mouth agape, and her brow lifted. She pictured the girl wearing her usual pretty ribbon in her hair and some lacy white thing last she saw her. This was not the same girl… Was it? 



She tilted her head sideways to get a different look at her, finding herself remembering how much she enjoyed the female form, when her chest suddenly tightened. [color=#6C72C6][i]She really does resemble her.[/i][/color] Marnie let her gaze shift to Lucian and saw the same recognition. Her expression softened. However, she couldn't help but wonder if there was more than that for a moment, her brows furrowing in confusion.

However, her attention soon snapped toward the next entrance the moment the herald’s announcement strangled itself into: [i]Mr. Kazoo…the Skip Meister.[/i]


Her brows lifted, and a loud noise escaped her lips as she nearly burst into laughter. 


Then she saw him: the cowlicked blonde from that morning, skipping and sliding through the ballroom with sunflowers bobbing from his hat. 


A delighted gasp escaped her and she commented, her voice pitching upward, [color=#6C72C6]“No way!”[/color] 


Marina watched, fascinated, her eyes sparkling as she followed his every move. Then, without invitation, or the slightest concern for dignity, she began to follow along from where she stood. 


A tiny hop. A shoulder shimmy. One hand lifted her fan like a prop while her feet attempted some clumsy imitation of his skip-and-slide.  [color=#6C72C6]“....He’s too nimble for my toes.”[/color] The over-confidence in her movements was the only thing between Marina and the floor.  She was clearly not good at it, but she also did not care. 


[color=#6C72C6]“Now that’s how you enter a ball.”[/color] she declared, giddy, giving one last silly twirl before catching herself with a laugh.


Even if she had found Kazoo’s performance grand, she could not help but notice the effect it had in painting the final touches on the masterpiece of denial. Everyone had loved it, even King Edin. Whether or not it had been his idea, it had certainly served him well.



[color=green]"Count Sebastian Blackwood and the Lady Mina Blackwood of Varian!" [/color] the herald then announced. And that was enough for Marina to become positively thrilled. She hadn’t seen her dear friend for weeks now and she simply could not wait a moment longer. 

She watched as her and her uncle greeted Edin and for a moment she pondered if she had been supposed to do that. Then she shook her head. She would have called him Peedin. That was for certain. Then she’d be standing trial tomorrow with Lord Ravenwood , and Ambrose would have that vein in his forehead pulsing all night. 



When Mina finally approached–or [i]well[/i] bumped into Ambrose, her attention remained on him. Marnie was a little jealous, because she had wanted to talk to Mina first, and it made her want to kick the marble ball floor. But before she could complain, the looks on their faces made her pause. 

She sucked in her lower lip as she vaguely recalled that there had been something between them once upon a time. Something old enough to have gathered dust, but clearly not old enough to stop hurting.  Her gaze shifted to Lucian, partly to see if he was seeing this too, only to realize he had been staring at Mina in a type of way himself.

Marina blinked.

Then her eyes moved back to Ambrose.

Then to Mina.

Then to Lucian.

A long, low whistle left her lips before she really thought about how it would make everything more awkward.


And of course, because there was apparently not enough happening, more people came over.  

 
[color=#B3EBC0]"Um, hello there. My apologies if we are interrupting."[/color] 

Marina turned toward the speaker, and her smile brightened sincerely.

[color=#B3EBC0]“We offer our humblest greetings and respect to the royal family of Varian. My name is Nolan Edwards, youngest child of Duke and Duchess Edwards of Soralia, and this is my brother, Drake Edwards, eldest child and heir. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”[/color]

Then his eyes met hers, and she waved happily at him.

[color=#B3EBC0]“It’s great to see you again, Princess Camilla. You look…”[/color]

Her brows lifted.

[color=#B3EBC0]“You look lovely tonight.”[/color]

The fact that he seemed to need a second to find the word made her cheeks warm.

[color=#B3EBC0]“Very lovely.”[/color]
That, unfortunately, made them worse.

[color=#6C72C6]“I—yes. You too!”[/color] Marina replied, a touch too quickly.

[color=#B3EBC0]“I, uh, I hope this night has found everyone well so far. Have you all been able to enjoy your stay in Caesonia?”[/color]

[color=#6C72C6]“I meant lovely back to you in a very manly and masculine way,”[/color] Marina informed him, circling back to the topic he had just tried to run from, because she had overthought it as well. For a reason beyond herself, she put her hands on her hips and straightened her posture. [i][color=#6C72C6]“Obviously.”[/color][/i]

Her gaze started to shift about but she was already expecting the outcome of her behavior and she defensively ordered them: [color=#6C72C6]“Nobody make a face at me.”[/color]

Then she shook her head as if she was waking herself from a slumber. She lifted her fingers and snapped them sharply as she announced, [color=#6C72C6]“Alright! I have many matters needing attention, and my brain is very disorganized from the chaotic manner of events that have just unfolded!”[/color]

Before she could even think properly, the beautiful knight-savior herself, Captain Stratya Durmand, approached and, of all things, asked Ambrose for a dance.

Marina’s eye twitched as her hands remained in the air.

[color=#6C72C6]“Okay! Ambrose, you are dismissed to the alluring,the darling, Captain Stratya!”[/color] she declared, like she had granted permission for a military deployment. [color=#6C72C6]“But now everyone’s eyes on Marnie, please!”[/color] She pointed down at her face and smiled cheekily. 

[color=#6C72C6]“Now nobody move a muscle. Nobody talks!”[/color] She turned her pointed fingers into finger-guns then aimed them straight at Mina. 

She crossed the distance in an instant and threw her arms around her dear friend with absolutely no regard for dignity, manners, or whatever strange romantic tragedy had just been floating in the air moments prior.  Marina glomped her with the force of several weeks of absence, squeezing her tightly before planting a flurry of affectionate kisses across her cheeks and temple.

[color=#6C72C6]“I missed you, I missed you, I missed you,”[/color] she declared between kisses, finally pulling back just enough to beam at her. [color=#6C72C6]“And you look SO good, Mina! Wow!”[/color] No wonder she was breaking hearts tonight. Marina decided she probably didn’t need to say that though. 

Only when Marina had felt as if she had properly greeted her friend did she whirl back toward Nolan, remembering herself with a little gasp.

[color=#6C72C6]“And you!”[/color] She pointed at him, though her smile softened almost immediately. [color=#6C72C6]“Lord Nolan Edwards. Hello properly. I have been hoping to see you.”[/color]

Her cheeks warmed slightly, but she lifted her chin as if that hid the former. [color=#6C72C6]“I have a present for you, actually.”[/color] She informed him. [color=#6C72C6]“A very important one.”[/color] Then, as if a bell rang somewhere in the corner of her brain, Marina turned abruptly to Drake.

She stared at him for a second, then offered him a smile. [color=#6C72C6]“Hello there, Lord Drake Edwards,”[/color] she said. [color=#6C72C6]“This is me greeting you. Hi.”[/color]

Her gaze shifted about the group one more time to make sure all had been addressed. [color=#6C72C6]“My point of order ceases. Please go about as you were.”[/color]
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