kittyluna45

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: The Bar Heading towards the Bar
Skills: N/A

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Constance was enjoying the conversation with Tony, and the drink, but her mind did occasionally wander, as her ears did pick up little snippets of conversation around the room. Nothing too much to make out what other people were talking about in depth, but it was hard to miss some things. However, she was trying to have fun and distract herself at that point. She had an idea of how she wanted the evening to end and it was not with talks of ghost and conspiracy.

It was hard to miss the sound of bones cracking and the swearing in French. She turned to look, and saw that Lawrence was yelling at the school teacher Constance shared her bathroom with, and his own family member. What was shocking was to learn was that was the woman that had nominated the teacher. It seemed that the family were all well aware of whom had nominated whom. Constance personally didn't want to know, as she knew the moment she knew whom had nominated her, she would try to suck up to the others to get their vote and ignore the person whom clearly had the good taste to nominate her.

She turned back to her companion and decided to ignore the rest of the drama going on in the room. She could figure out the blackmailer later, and she could figure out how she was going to make sure she won the award later. For the moment, she let her attention slide back to her drink and Tony.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Dining Room -> Heading towards the Bar
Skills: N/A

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Constance looked up as Eleanor spoke and simply nodded to acknowledge her words at that point. Dinner had been quite interesting and even she had known it. ”Thank you for the lovely meal Mrs. La Lune” She said before Eleanor spoke again and then swept out of the room. She hoped the older woman had heard her, and would keep that in mind. Constance stood and gently brushed herself off before letting her eyes fall upon the man across the table. She smiled softly and then went to walk around the table to him.

”I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to head to the bar now, Tony.” She offered him a small smile, hoping to rescue him from Millicent. She seemed to be rather insistent on prodding people, and well, Constance had plans in mind with Tony, and him getting needled and prodded to death by the magician were not on the table.

Tony smiled in return, standing and buttoning his jacket. ”Getting a head start at the bar sounds lovely,” he replied, and began leading the way out of the room. ”Thank you for the meal, Mrs. La Lune,” he added before leaving.

Constance followed him out of the room, remembering that the bar was across the way and the foyer. ”So, what was your favorite course of dinner?” She made sure to keep at his side, her eyes looking up at him as she kept a pace of him as they made their way to the bar.

Keeping a leisurely pace, Tony replied, ”Well, I wasn’t kidding when I said that the tiramisu was some of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve had a lot of excellent tiramisu, at some of the best Italian restaurants in the world, and their chef genuinely came very close to matching them. I think if he was Italian himself, he probably could have taken the top prize. How was your eggplant parm?” he asked as they reached the door at the other end of the foyer. He held it open for her, waiting to follow her inside.

”Thank you. As for the eggplant parm, it was delicious. I do wish I could have tasted the tiramisu, but it has been so long since I’ve eaten so much in one day. Maybe tomorrow I can get a bite of your dessert. Only if you're comfortable with that idea.” Constance chuckled softly at that idea as she walked into the bar and looked around.

”Of course, I’m happy to share,” Tony answered as he looked around the bar, seeing who else had decided to come straight to the bar: Elaenore, Lena, and… Lawrence. Trying to avoid eye contact at least for the moment, he led Constance to the bar. ”Hello again, Leon. Do you have any more of that Glenfiddich?”

“Hello Mademoiselle, Monsieur.” Leon nodded to each of them in turn. “I do. And you Mademoiselle, do you want something?”

”I would love a glass of champagne, please. And Glenfiddich huh? Good taste.” Constance had noticed that the awful man from dinner was in the bar, nursing some more booze, but chose to avoid him for the moment. She was scouting the room, hoping she could find a nice quiet corner table that she and Tony could sit at, and just chat for some time.

Leon nodded and set to pouring the drinks for the pair of them.

Tony nodded in response to her comment. ”I try not to drink too often, but when I do it’ll be a nice scotch, not some cheap beer. I’m guessing you probably don’t drink much yourself?”

”You’d be correct. Not too much. I think today is the first time I’ve had so much champagne in a while. Or wine. But this is a celebration, so why not let loose a little.” She smiled softly as she looked at Tony.

”Very true, an awards ceremony is as good a time for some drinks as any,” Tony replied, with a slight smile. He looks around the room as Leon pours their drinks. ”Fortunately it’s not crowded in here yet, so we should be able to find a table easily enough.”

”That would be lovely. Maybe a nice corner table, something a little… intimate?” Constance looked at Tony, smiling as Leon pushed her drink towards her. ”Shall I go find us one?”

”Sounds perfect, I’ll be there in a minute,” he replied, smiling. He waits at the bar while Leon begins preparing his scotch.

Constance smiled, picking up the glass of champagne and went to go find a nice corner seat. She wanted to avoid the drunk that had caused so much trouble at dinner, especially since he had some opinions that she didn’t agree with. She soon found a nice quiet corner table, with a few nice high back chairs, and tucked away from most others. She sat down in one of the chairs and set her drink down and sat down in the chair and waited. The night was going well, and it was looking like it was going to end very well.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Dining Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance made some polite talk during the course of the cheese course, and listened to what Beatrice and Elizabeth had to say, but couldn't really agree or disagree with their pairings as she had no cheese to try.

As dessert was brought out, she was ever so thankful the butler asked if she wanted dessert. "Not tonight Mr. Wadsworth, thank you for asking. I'm sure it is splendid, please let someone else have it." She smiled softly at the butler, and then picked up her water glass and took a nice long sip. He nodded and took it away, and she let out a small sigh of relief. The hostess didn't seem to be offended by the fact she was rejecting courses left and right. She would find a way to make up for it another night, as the desserts had looked delicious, but she couldn't risk it.

She perked up as she heard someone mention dancing, but it was a conversation a little too down far the table to join. Was there really another dancer there? Maybe she really did have some competition in that manner. She would have to talk to her later. Maybe the next day, as she had some tentative plans for the night.

She heard the magician, Millicent, speak up again, and her tone seemed a bit off to Constance. Was she insinuating something? She lifted her water glass again and took another long sip, as she tried to put her own thoughts together. Something was off here. However, Constance didn't have time to dig into it, and accuse the other nominees of something.

With that shoving of thoughts down once more, she turned towards Tony and offered him a smile. "Care to join me after dinner for a drink in the Bar?" She wanted to make it very clear towards anyone else that he was hers for the night, or at least that was her plan. Also this way she might be able to save him from Millicent's grilling.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Dining Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance watched as the serving staff swapped out the main dishes for the next course, and she had to blink for a moment as she saw the platter of cheese placed before her. Constance couldn't honestly remember when she had seen, let alone eaten so much dairy, but knew that the amount she had eaten with dinner probably had been more than enough.

She had to think about do this. She didn't want to seem rude after all, or that she was some sort of picky eater. However, she had been given an opportunity by that gentleman that had punched the rude man in the face earlier excusing himself due to feeling ill. She had an idea formulating in her mind, not a devious one, but one that would make her seem like a polite and considerate guest.

"I do apologize but as an athlete I usually try to eat so healthy, and my diet is not use to such rich and delicious food. I will have to pass on the cheese course tonight, but thank you for giving us so many wonderful food options." Constance turned to look at Eleanor and smiled softly, hoping she did not upset their host as well as ruin her chance of winning the award.

She picked up her glass of water and sipped it slowly, looking around the table again. She wanted to say more, ask more, but what could she say, or would ask? Dare she ask whom nominated her? No. She didn't want to know, especially in case it was that really disgusting man that had nominated her.

Her mind turned again to the photos. She had already decided none of the other nominees had their hands in this. No, that wouldn't make any sense. (Of course if she was any good detective everyone would be a suspect but, Constance never claimed to be a good detective.) However, the fact that no mention of anything wanted or anything at all still bothered her. Usually didn't blackmailers demand something? Maybe they were biding their time. That worried her again. Maybe they were waiting until she won the prize and then would wait for the money.

Her eyes went back to the handsome Tony and she offered a small smile. Oh yes, a distraction would be very well warranted that night.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Dining Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance was listening to the conversations going on around the table at that point, trying to pick out things that might help her. She did hear a bit about the conversation about how everyone there had been nominated, and that some of them had been nominated by members of the family. Did that mean that someone at that table had nominated her? Whom had done that then? She let her eyes linger around the members of the family left at the table, because she doubted the rude one had been the one to nominate her at all, given that he seemed too interested in booze and 'real women.'

She continued to make small talk with the family members around her, taking bite after bite of her food as she willed herself to not think about it anymore. The wine did go down smoothly, and the taste of the food was excellent. She soon finished her own meal and dabbed her lips clean and set her napkin down, and then gently set her silverware on the plate in such a way to indicate that she was done with her meal. The polite conversation continued around her it seemed, and she made sure to continue to chime in where needed.

The other problem she was beginning to realize with knowing now that someone nominated her was the blackmail. She had tucked that away into the back of her mind since she had finished burning and disposing those photos. Someone here clearly wanted something from her. What was it was the real question. Money? Her to throw this award and not get the prize? It had to be a family member, given the fact the photos were there when they arrived. That had to make sense.

She once more shoved those thoughts down, and took another sip of her wine and looked over to Tony and raised her glass a bit to him. She was still looking forward to possibly talking and maybe more once dinner was over.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Dining Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance was listening in to Beatrice's conversation about how the wine paired well with the salad dressing, when the salad places were soon cleared away and the main entrees were brought out. Constance had been looking forward to this, but her smile nearly faltered when she saw what was on the plate in front of her.

Eggplant parmesan was a vegetarian dish, yes, but it was loaded with calories! The breading and oil alone would skyrocket her calorie count for the day, and the cheese, ugh, don't even get her started on the cheese. They probably used something calorie laden to get it nice and golden. Heaven knew what else was in the sauce besides the tomatoes. She had chosen vegetarian because it was suppose to be the safe option, but looking around the table, nothing was safe. Sauce on the steak, sauce on the fish... Then she remembered, this was France. They drowned most of their food in sauces and butter. She had been doomed from the start.

She was jarred from her thoughts by Beatrice once more and her smile resumed at it's normal functionality, never letting on for a moment that anything had crossed her mind about the food. She would just work it off, as she had planned to earlier. She picked up her fork and knife and delicately cut into the parmesan and started to eat.

Constance had to admit to herself, the food was good, and when the handsome older man across from her spoke up, she chimed in to add her two cents, and for her part, she got his name out of it. Tony~ His name was Tony. She also got the promise of maybe interacting with him more later, which did make her happy. That could be one way of working off the calories, if he was so inclined.

The woman a little further down and across from her spoke up and introduced herself and Constance paused for a moment. She had heard of Millicent before, as another entertainer. Magic really wasn't Constance's forte, but she had to admit it had it's place in the entertainment industry.

Constance picked up her wine glass and swirled it for a moment before taking a sip of the lovely red wine. The La Lune's really did know how to make a good wine, and how to pair it with their food. Even if the food was caloric hell for the ballet dancer, she had to admit this was some of the best food she had had in a long time, and so she continued to eat and make small talk.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: The Dining Room
Skills: N/A

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As the foyer filled up, Constance watched the other nominees arrive, and looked each of them over subtly. Not one of them really looked like they had bothered too much with the dress code, in fact, one of them looked more like he was ready to hit the beach more than dine! She did notice that one of the others, an older gentleman that she thought looked rather dashing, had dressed up and pressed his outfit. She smiled to herself at that. That, there, was a man that knew how to present himself. She rather hoped she was sitting somewhere close to him to be able to strike up a casual conversation with him.

She did notice the scene being made as one of the nominees arrived, a drag queen, do a death drop. Constance was a little impressed, as that did take some amount of flexibility to do so, but this was not the moment for her to do such a move. This wasn't some drag brunch or drag show. This was a formal dinner, for goodness sake! Was was it that it seemed that almost everyone there, aside from the man in the cashmere blazer, didn't know basic human manners?

The doors to the dining hall opened and Constance filed in with the others and found the seat with her name on it. It as just her luck that the man wasn't quite next to her, but more kitty-corner across from her. That would make trying to strike up any conversation a bit tricky, so she would put away those thoughts for after dinner. It was her luck that she was right next to their host, Eleanor. She could win some points for the award, showing that she was truly the perfect candidate after all.

As they all sat down, the rather rude fat looking man made a rather disgusting comment about the drag queen that made Constance look over at him. If it had not been a polite setting, she might have given him a piece of her mind. 'Fake woman?' Ugh, what a disgusting thing to say! She turned her attention to the salad that was placed before her and picked up her salad fork and knife and tried to make some small talk with those around her.

The rude man made another comment, this time insulting the drag queens profession and sexuality, and Constance's knife slipped across her plate with a jarring screech. She, herself, was queer and saw no harm in that. There was also nothing wrong with drag queens! They were performers as well in her mind, not as prestigious as ballet performers, but performers none the less. She still not dare say a word or do anything, but it seemed that the situation remedied itself.

A young man, whom Constance was pretty sure was that Youtube guy, got up and punched the rude LaLune so hard that his nose was bleeding. The man that Constance had been eyeing got up and went to fix his nose. "Oh, so he's the surgeon. Good to know." She thought to herself as the situation was resolved by Elanor dismissing the rude man, and everyone returning to their meal.

Once the kerfuffle had been resolved, Constance found herself chatting with Beatrice about the Salad, blissfully unaware of the salad crimes being committed at the other end of the table.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Evergreen Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance looked over to the other bathroom door, then to the counter and paused. The little timid woman, Renee, had left her bag there. She was most likely going to come back sometime before dinner, and so Constance decided the nice thing to do was give her a little time to do so. She walked over to the door that went to the other woman's room, unlocked it before walking back to her room and closing the door to the bathroom and locking it so the little timid thing couldn't come inside. For all Constance knew, Renee could just be playing pretend. She could easily be the blackmailer. Anyone could be the blackmailer. The maids, any of the LaLune Family, any of the other reward nominees.

She huffed and pushed those thoughts out of her mind and walked over to her suitcases. She picked one one of the firm case suitcases and set it upon the bed and zipped it open finding her mini travel steamer and mini travel iron. "Alright, we have about thirty minutes before dinner, we do want to look our best~"

At that moment there came a knock on her door, and she blinked. More blackmail? She narrowed her eyes as she walked over and paused by the door. "Whom is it?"

"Mr. Wadsworth at your service, Mademoiselle. Felix Wadsworth. Head Butler. I am here to collect your dinner selection card."

Constance took a breath at that. Of course. It was 4:30 PM, the time that they had said they would collect them. She walked over to the desk and picked up the little card and then walked back to the door and opened it. "Thank you Mr. Wadsworth. I do appreciate it."

He took the card, and bowed slightly. "If there is anything else you shall need, Mademoiselle, just let myself or one of the other staff know. We will be happy to help you."

"There is nothing else at this time. Thank you." With that, the gentleman was off, and Constance closed and locked her door again. She let out a sigh and brushed her brow a bit. Sweat? Her? Why was she suddenly nervous about dinner?

In the back of her mind she knew why she was nervous. The looming threat. Just because the pictures were gone did not mean that the blackmailer was gone. What was worse was she didn't even know what they wanted! Usually didn't blackmailers make demands of some kind? Money? Jewels? Anything? Isn't that how it usually went? This one had just left the photos. No note, no cryptic words. Nothing.

Constance walked back over to the case and pulled out the steamer and plugged it in so it would start warming up, and then did the same with her iron. It was only a few minor wrinkles she needed to steam and iron out, but everything still had to be perfect for the welcome dinner. It wasn't the black tie dinner or the award ceremony, but Constance was still going to look her best.

She started with the pants, finding a nice flat surface to lay them out on, and ironing out the bottoms, and making sure the creases were nice and crisp again. The pockets were pressed, she wouldn't be needing them after all. She would be using a clutch to carry her phone and any identification she needed with her to dinner.

Next, she steamed out her blouse, making sure there were no wrinkles and that the shoulders draped just so. She was content with her wardrobe choice for that night, and smiled as she fished out the last detail to tie it all together, the shoes.

By that point as she let her items cool down and hang, she figured that the timid little thing would be done in the bathroom so she popped back in to do a few last touches. She touched up her make up and her hair, making sure that every curl fell just right as she decided to leave her hair down for dinner. With that, it was time to change.

Her dirty clothing were gently deposited into a traveling laundry bag that had the neat label for dirty on it, and would be placed next to the wardrobe for the next few days. She reminded herself to ask Wadsworth or one of the maids about the laundry facilities when she saw them next, as she really hoped she wouldn't have to carry dirty things home. Her dirty clothing mingling about with her clean clothing? How scandalous!

She gently slipped on the pants first, zipping up the side zipper with ease before slipping the blouse on. She fluffed up her hair gently, and then slipped on her shoes next. She deposited her phone, some money and her ID into her clutch, as well as a small thing of lip gloss, before snapping it close. She did one last look over in the mirror, and after plucking one stray hair from her self, she determined she was once again perfect.

She looked at the map once more before deciding to tuck that into her clutch as well and set off for the dining room with a few minutes to spare. She wouldn't make a grand entrance, but she would make the perfect one.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω Officially Done

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Location: Camp Half-Blood -> Cabin #4 -> The Beach
Skills: N/A

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Stella felt Arbor rub up under her hand, and whine a bit as he looked up at her as they exited the cabin. She offered him a small smile, and rubbed his head lovingly. Sometimes she swore that her pet was more empathic than anyone gave him credit for, especially in moments like this. She gently scratched behind his ears and went back to following Andy towards the beach, her bag slung over her shoulder, and her weapons tucked away in easy to reach positions.

She looked around the camp as they walked to the beach, making sure to take it all in, just in case. She wasn't sure that this quest was going to be quick given everything that was happening. She took in the scent of the strawberry field and waved over to her siblings still working over there. She knew that she wouldn't be seeing them as well for a while and wanted to remind herself that there was a lot on the line... that this quest was an important one. As well as remind herself she had plenty to come back to, besides her dads. She silently followed Andy, taking step after step towards the beach together.

Château de La Lune

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Constance Monroe

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Location: Evergreen Room
Skills: N/A

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Constance looked over at the door as it opened and looked over at the rather meek looking woman there. Before Constance could say anything she had introduced herself as Renee, set down a bag and backed out. Renee... she was the teacher, right? Constance scoffed to herself as she walked over to the door Renee had walked through and locked it, effectively locking the other woman out. Clearly the woman had been invited as a seat filler. What would a preschool teacher have done to earn the award that Constance was up for. Some of the others she could understand. Surgeons saved lives, other entertainers did work, but a teacher?

She took another moment looking at herself in the mirror before she heard a knock at the door. "Ah, perfect timing." She walked out of the bathroom and to her door and opened it.

"Your Luggage, Mademoiselle." The maid offered Constance a smile as she gestured to the small pile of luggage by the door, before starting to bring it in. It took a moment, but soon all the bags were inside the room.

"Ah, thank you." Constance gently reached into her pocket and pulled out ten Euro note and handed it to the maid. The maid looked puzzled for a moment before tucking it away.

"Merci Mademoiselle. Do you need anything else at the moment?"

"No, thank you." With that, the maid departed and Constance went to lock the door to her room. She picked up her two garment bags and swept across the room to put them into the wardrobe. Those dresses had to be in the best condition for the next few days. It was then she spotted the pile of papers on the desk and walked over to look them over.

She looked at the card with the wi-fi information and went to type it into her phone. No use using up her precious date when they were offering free wi-fi. The second card had the options for that nights dinner on it. She did have to mull that over for a moment. While steak would probably be the tastiest, and given the La Lune reputation the chef would be incredible, red meat was always the fattiest of the bunch. Fish might have been a safe options, but they were in France. It meant some buttery creamy sauce with the fish, and that was too many calories for Constance. She picked up her pen and checked the vegetarian option. The safest option for her calorie wise. She had already splurged that day with the grapes and champagne. She was going to have to get up early the next day to jog it off, or find another way to burn off the calories.

She picked up the next paper to see the itinerary and paused. Relax? Enjoy yourself? Enjoy the pool? No, Constance thought. She would spend the day keeping herself limber and stretching. She couldn't truly afford a whole day to relax.

The next paper was a history of the Chateau but when she picked it up, what was under it caught her attention. It looked like an innocent photo. She went to pick it up, and saw there was another, and another. There were several photos there, and with each one her expression grew more and more panicked. How... how had anyone known?

She looked around the room and her eyes landed on the trashcan. Thankfully she had a lighter in her purse, and the trashcan was a beautiful metal container. She dashed over as quietly as she could, photos in hand and then over the trash can lit each one on fire and let it drop into the receptacle, one by one. She watched to make sure that each photo burned up into nothing but ash, and then paused. What if the butler or maids saw the ash? No. She couldn't be caught.

She lifted the bin and carried it to the bathroom and to the toilet. She lifted the seat and then dumped the ashes into the water, brushing it out with her hands. No one was going to see these photos. No one. Once she was sure all the ashes were in the toilet, she flushed. Twice. With the evidence disposed of, she walked back over to her room, set the bin back down, and then went back to the bathroom and washed her hands. She looked up at herself in the mirror and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Perfect. Now... time to change before dinner."