Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

[madame_de_fer]

WHO: Select Orlesian and Fereldan Nobility and the Inquisition
WHAT: Josephine and Vivienne have orchestrated a good-will soiree in response to this dastardly rumor.
WHEN: Drakonis 15, Evening
WHERE: Skyhold Great Hall
NOTES:
- A list of nobles in attendance can be found here. The list was provided by the mods but there will be no npc support for them. Play away.
- A secondary outside party is being held in the valley in the tent town for anyone who couldn't/wouldn't attend and/or behave in the fancy pansty party.
- The goal of the evening is to clear up a spurious rumor about Cassandra and Leliana, with secondary goals of establishing the Inquisition as a respectable presence in Thedas (and fish for more money). Any major disruptions that would Game Over the court approval should probably be brought to the advisors and/or mods.



To say that Josphine has far outdone herself with this little soiree would be the understatement of the year. The Lady Ambassador has pulled out all the stops in providing a festive and yet elegant stage for this political intervention. Because sometimes gossip can be more deadly than a sword.

The Great Hall of Skyhold has been converted into a grand receiving hall, glittering with hundreds of lights around the room, in addition to the repairs accomplished to the original chandeliers. Of course, there has been artful placement arranged so there are a few shadowy corners for rendezvous of the more suggestive nature. Just in case. The majority of the floor has been cleared for dancing, and a fine troupe of musicians have been installed for the bulk of the evening's entertainments. Some members of the Inquisition have plans to entice attendees with their own artistic performances in addition to the group of mages performing illusory tricks to oohs and aahs.

For those who feel their energy flagging, there are chairs set against the walls, with a few tables interspersed between. Servers hired for the evening circulate the crowds with wine, fine Orlesian and Nevarran reds as well as crisp whites from Antiva. Refreshments are set out on buffet tables, tasteful and extravagant nibbles, including imported cheeses, spicy saucisson, dried fruits and nuts, and the highly sought after deep mushroom and anise petits fours that are all the rage in Orlais.

Comments

[eolasemah]

Sina smiles helplessly, shaking her head with a sympathetic look, though she's given pause when she remembers something.
"...Isen once shot an arrow up Fen'Harel's nose," she says in a near whisper, "...a statue, of course. Isen and Nari and I-- well, they got in trouble themselves, but the Keeper was displeased with me for being there." She continues smiling, even it becomes more bashful, and a little uncertain. "...no...rapping on knuckles, though I suppose it wasn't too dissimilar?"
She has a strange look on her face, as though resurfacing a memory that hasn't been worth bringing back in years. "She clasped my hand and warmed her own until it was burning hot, and I couldn't pull away till she let me." She tilts her head, then shakes it. "...it only happened once or twice. I never disobeyed her intentionally."

[foxsays]

"There were lots of other punishments that my mother could come up with; brothels are busy places, there's plenty to keep a girl busy. Scrub this Araceli, dust that, I want to see my reflection in those tiles my girl. Polishing endlessly. Some of my tutors would make me copy things until my fingers ached and I had ink up to my knuckles that I had to scrub out, but they all learned very quickly that sending me to the kitchens wasn't a punishment, I liked running around there too much and the cooks were only too glad to have someone who wanted to be there so they never kept me scrubbing or washing the dishes if they could show me how to help them cook instead. That was dangled as a carrot, everything else was the stick. It make shock you to learn that I was something of a willful child, it was why I left home by my fifteenth birthday even though my mother wasn't in a real hurry to have me gone."

The thought of burning though makes her wrinkle her nose, curling her hands away and into her gown as if she might shield them, conjuring memories of the smell of it and how it sticks in your nose for hours after and she shakes her head to clear it.

"I take it both of you having magic means that it wouldn't burn you the same way something would me, say the time I wanted to test to see if the stove truly was hot for myself."

[eolasemah]

These punishments still sound strange to Sina, even as accustomed as she's become to humans and their ways of living. She is, of course, not shocked by Araceli being willful-- in fact, few things have shocked her less in her life. She smiles.

"Oh, well it didn't actually... it wasn't actually burning," she tries to explain, "just hot. It didn't leave a mark." She looks consideringly at her hand. "I think I'd burn same as you, if I were to touch fire without some manner of shield."