smallestopener | The Princess Birthday Ball

The huge, white tent sprawls on the lawn beside the lake. It has been transfigured there for a very special occasion. A stone walkway leads from the bar to the tent - the pavements are wide enough that ladies' dresses won't trail on the ground as they make their way to the entrance. Over the draped curtains of the entrance way is a large banner which reads "Happy 7th Birthday, Ingress".

Once inside, the honored guests will be in the midst of an enchanted ballroom. There are balloons drifting in bunches from the circular tables lining the sides of the large dance floor. Floating candlabras glow with gentle light from above. There are trees in large ornamental pots interspersed throughout sparkling with fairy lights from real fairies.

One long banquet table is positioned on along the side of the ballroom - there are treats of all description. Little finger sandwiches, chopped up fruit, cookies, cheese and crackers, and other child-friendly h'ors douerves are presented to make sure the dancers are sustained throughout the the party. There are large bowls of ice cream (kept cold with magic)and sundae fixings. Punch bowls of sherbet-flavored drinks await ladling into crystal goblets. But most impressive is the large birthday cake with blue, purple, and pink icing roses festooning it.

Ingress is busy greeting her guests in her gown - a birthday gift from Amy and Susan - but soon she'll be dancing to the music provided by the overlarge Gramophone in the corner, which is playing a wide array of dancing music from waltz standards to court music to pop hits of the 20th century.

Tom, who's pretty tired from the magical effort required to pull this off, is in the background making sure his little girl is having a perfect party, and Princess Amy is helping Ingress in her hostess duties.

Come in and enjoy the party!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hi Millie and Wade! Hi Snow!"

She curtseys. She's been practicing.

"I'm glad you came."

Snow and Millie curtsey back, and Wade bows. Wade's been practicing keeping around floor level, lately.

Millie and Wade are dressed much like a prince and princess would be back in Snow's kingdom in the Homelands -- something like you might see in the old-fashioned storybooks, with lace and dark velvet. Millie has a tiara, but Wade put up enough of a fight not to have to wear his crown. Snow has opted for a fancy yet less-than-entirely-authentic dress, as she has become very appreciative of modern fashion and the way it allows you to actualy move and breathe.

"We're glad to be here, Ingress. Happy birthday -- the party looks wonderful."

"Your dress is pretty, Snow." She bends over to talk to Millie and Wade. "You guys look very nice and fancy, too."

Standing back up, she addresses Snow again. "We're going to have dancing, too. And cake!"

Snow beams and passes the package to Ingress.

"Thank you, Ingress. You look quite lovely, yourself."

Millie and Wade snap to attention at the mention of cake.

"Perfect. Everything a party should have. Do you want to open your present now, or would you rather wait until later?"

"Um.... I think now!"

Snow indicates the box and Millie giggles.

"Then by all means, open it."

The box contains a rather nice dress, in the same style as Snow herself wore at that age. The color scheme has been altered somewhat to a lovely shade of blue, but it's not obvious if you weren't there back in the old days.

But this is just something simple. The real present is in an ebony scroll tube with Snow's royal crest etched on the side.

Within, a sheet of parchment. Snow wrote it herself with quill and ink in elegant calligraphy. The wording is highly formal, but the basic gist of it is that Ingress has been named as an heir to the throne of Snow's old kingdom.

The actual power is effectively nil -- while Snow is perfectly able to name another heir to the line, tradition requires right by marriage and bloodlines to carry more weight than any declaration. And odds are, the land she rules over has been considered a dictatorship for the past 560 years. So Ingress is behind Millie and Wade in line for the throne and doesn't really have any more power than before, but still a genuine princess.

"I love the dress! It's so pretty. Thanks, Snow.

Then she reads the scroll. She sounds out the bigger words and her eyes get very wide. She knows what "heir to the throne" means.

"Really????"

Snow stands regally and nods.

"Yes, Ingress. You're a real princess. I'll admit the tube, dress and parchment are just replicas Bar provided, but it's all authentic. And I have full authority to grant this title to you. The actual politics are a bit tricky, but suffice to say you're as much a royal as I am."

A queen who hasn't seen her kingdom in over half a milennia where, odds are, none still living can recall her reign and might prefer the dictatorship . . . well, at least Ingress can't get to the Homelands.

"I never thought I'd be a real princess! This is great!!!" She is bouncing up and down, clutching the scroll to her chest.

Millie, who has been trying very very hard to keep from mentioning the gift before Ingress opened it, now joins in the bouncing with much joy.

"Yay! Now we're BOTH real princesses!"

She hugs the younger girl. "We are, we are! Princesses in the House of Arch!"

Millie hugs back, grinning.

"This is gonna be so much fun!"

"That's what parties are for! I have to say hi to other people but I'll find you guys later."

Snow grins warmly and strokes Millie's hair.

"Of course, we won't keep you from your duties as a hostess. Happy Birthday, Ingress."

With that, the trio move to mingle.

The Princess Birthday Ball

Re: Greet the birthday girl

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