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glacial_queenThe last time Karla had been here, she'd been incredibly nervous about how that evening would turn out and affect her future. Standing in the Keep tonight with a crowd of people around her--some of them almost complete strangers--made her almost laugh at how naive her fear had been the last time.
Her Offering was nothing. This was the completely terrifying night.
A small gong echoed through the room. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then, after a pause, a fourth time. Four times for the four sides of a Blood triangle, the fourth side being what was held within the other three. Like the three males--Steward, Master of the Guard, and Consort--who formed a strong, intimate triangle around a Queen.
Lord Mallory shuffled around, making certain that everyone was lined up according to Protocol, light Jewels to dark, first all the males and then the females. A pair of double doors opened in the rear of the room and Karla glided forward to take her place on a small dias, then turned to watch her friends--her Court--file in behind her.
She took a deep breath and completely ignored all of her future Steward's hard work and Protocol and called out, "Prince Regan, will you serve in the First Circle?"
And so it began.
[NFB for distance, some text taken from Heir to the Shadows, Chapt. 16]
Her Offering was nothing. This was the completely terrifying night.
A small gong echoed through the room. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then, after a pause, a fourth time. Four times for the four sides of a Blood triangle, the fourth side being what was held within the other three. Like the three males--Steward, Master of the Guard, and Consort--who formed a strong, intimate triangle around a Queen.
Lord Mallory shuffled around, making certain that everyone was lined up according to Protocol, light Jewels to dark, first all the males and then the females. A pair of double doors opened in the rear of the room and Karla glided forward to take her place on a small dias, then turned to watch her friends--her Court--file in behind her.
She took a deep breath and completely ignored all of her future Steward's hard work and Protocol and called out, "Prince Regan, will you serve in the First Circle?"
And so it began.
[NFB for distance, some text taken from Heir to the Shadows, Chapt. 16]
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Arrive and Mingle
Date: 2013-05-13 10:18 pm (UTC)Meet, mingle, chat with people. Everyone here is going to be one big happy family in few minutes, right?
The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 10:24 pm (UTC)Delicate rings for females' fingers, and, ahem, larger ones for males'...members, yes.
Karla would be sliding her Rings onto her ladies. The males would get theirs in their hands and could put them on later. In private.
Post-Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 10:25 pm (UTC)Well, probably yelling.
Re: Arrive and Mingle
Date: 2013-05-13 10:33 pm (UTC)Jono was standing mostly around the edges of the room, quietly studying the people who were mingling therein. The actual Glacians that he knew here were few and far between. But every now and then, he caught a glimpse of familiar faces from Fandom, and let himself feel a little more at ease for it.
Huge blue landen? He felt more than a little bit out of place, not that he was letting himself show it.
Re: Arrive and Mingle
Date: 2013-05-13 10:41 pm (UTC)Now, if he could just stop fidgeting with the finger that he'd been wearing the Consort's ring on. Karla had taken it back so that she could present it to him properly during the ceremony, but so help him, it left his hand feeling naked...
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 10:50 pm (UTC)Draca stood behind her, her sibilant whisper telling them the number of years their contract was for. Most of the contracts were for three years, though there were exceptions.
"I will sign," they said, and Karla stepped forward to offer each a Ring.
[Ping here for your name to be called, feel free to ping into the main thread for other conversations/reactions]
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 10:57 pm (UTC)He was terrified. And he wasn't showing that, either.
But there was a sort of quiet pride about him as well, and there was a little smile on his face as he watched people step up, one by one, to accept a position in Karla's Court.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:02 pm (UTC)As it stood, he had changed his clothes and showered, and he was feeling a little more human for it after a weekend of binge-drinking in Hawaii. A small cat hanging around in his coat pocket was probably the lesser of the possible vices he could have brought with him in order to take part in this moment.
For you, Karla. He was sober and limiting himself to a single cat tonight (fine, the only cat he had) just for you.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:13 pm (UTC)Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:16 pm (UTC)...That didn't mean everything was going to go smoothly.
"Lord Warren Kenneth Worthington the Third, will you serve as Consort to my Court?"
She bit her lip, trying to bite back tears of joy and happiness.
Re: Arrive and Mingle
Date: 2013-05-13 11:17 pm (UTC)She was, however, enjoying soaking in all the Pride.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:17 pm (UTC)"I will serve," Warren replied, chin raised and wings slightly spread.
All pride, now. All pride.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:19 pm (UTC)She stood quietly, waiting for her turn.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:20 pm (UTC)"I will serve," he replied, barely managing to refrain from adding a 'luv' at the end.
Joni added a squeaky meow instead. She was helpful like that.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:21 pm (UTC)Draca stepped forward and hissed, "The Lady Karla offersss you a contract with a duration of one year. Will you sssign?"
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:24 pm (UTC)"The Lady Karla offersss you a contract with a duration of one year. Will you sssign?"
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:27 pm (UTC)A year?
No, that was more than just a punch in the guts. With people stepping up left and right, strangers stepping up left and right, taking three-year contracts, being offered one was a stab in the heart.
But he would sign. He would bite his tongue and he would sign, even while he struggled to breathe.
Karla would be hearing about this later.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:34 pm (UTC)Zero hesitation. The fact that his term was shorter than a good many of the other ones struck Jonothon as a little odd, yes, but he assumed Karla had good reason for it. She was stuck with him, contract or none, for a long time, after all. That she was only offering him a year didn't change the fact that he fully intended to pester her for as long as he was able.
Besides, they were marching off to war in practically no time at all. His handful of landens against the Blood. The odds that he'd be alive in a year in order to see his contract expire...
Jono was a realist, today, so soon after a brutal reminder in his own world of his own mortality. He'd take his year without complaint, and he would sign.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:38 pm (UTC)That wasn't a normal question, but Karla didn't care. This was her Court and she did what she wanted.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:46 pm (UTC)But she had her reasons and she was going to firmly stick to them.
She stepped forward, her gown whispering on the floor, and held out her hand. The first Ring she offered him would be put on later. The second, she was reaching for his hand to slip it on. "My Consort," she said, slipping his ring onto the ring finger of his left hand, instead of his right. "I welcome your service and you into my Court."
*I love you.*
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:46 pm (UTC)After listening to the others, and picking up on Warren's surprise, she readied herself for the next question, not certain how much time was going to be asked of her.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:57 pm (UTC)"Thank you, my friend," Karla said, finding 'friend' too small a word to encompass all they meant to one another. "Thank you for serving in my First Circle."
Here's your Ring, Jono. Keep your expressions regarding the feather motif to yourself, thanks.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-13 11:59 pm (UTC)"The Lady Karla offersss you a contract with a duration of one year. Will you sssign?" Draca asked solemnly.
Re: Arrive and Mingle
Date: 2013-05-13 11:59 pm (UTC)She was sipping her wine very slowly, looking out for trouble. Or people she knew.
Re: The Ceremony
Date: 2013-05-14 12:05 am (UTC)"I will sign," Raven said. She managed to keep her displeasure from her face.