The Princess Birthday Ball

[smallestopener]

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!

Comments

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's lovely," says Cimorene.

"And I am enjoying myself. Very much. I finally got to meet Ingress, and she's absolutely adorable. She's our kind of princess, make no mistake."

You know. The good kind.

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"Well, of course she is," says Amy with a smile. "You didn't think I was going to teach her to be the other kind, did you?"

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"The thought of it never even crossed my mind," says Cimorene, grinning, "Besides, I don't know that you can be taught to be blond and vapid, can you?"

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

Amy laughs. "No, I believe that comes naturally."

Thank heaven for fairy gifts. Amy doesn't think she would enjoy being blond and vapid.

"Are you enjoying the party, dear?"

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

Cimorene wouldn't enjoy it either. That said, her sisters seem to like it an awful lot.

"I am enjoying it. And the music is fantastic. Where is it coming from?"

She can't see an orchestra anywhere.

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

Amy grins.

"From the Gramophone," she says, indicating the rather large and improbable contraption behind her.

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Gramophone?" she says, looking at the device with interest. "It looks complicated enough to do just about anything. How does it work? Is it magical?"

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"It plays music. I think that's all it does. And I assume it's magical. And well, it works like this."

As one record ends, Amy chooses another and sets it on the Gramophone. A moment later, Gershwin comes drifting out into the party.

"I don't know what all the songs are, but I like them."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Huh," says Cimorene, suitably impressed.

"I like them too. I've never heard most of them, but then, they're not about my father's wonderful deeds, so that's not unusual."

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

Well, "Embracable You" is suitably impressive.

"Is most of the music at your court about your father's wonderful deeds?" asks Amy. "How very odd. I can't imagine that makes it very easy to dance at balls."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Most of the ones with words," she says wryly. "Unless they were about the rare beauty of one of my sisters."

"Though there were dancing tunes enough also," she says. She smiles, "When I was five I asked the court minstrel to write a song about how fast I could climb a tree. For some reason, he was too busy that week."

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"Our court poet wrote a great many poems about my sisters. He once spent two weeks trying to come up with a way to accurately describe my hair, other than 'mouse.' And then he gave up."

She grins. "I would have liked a poem about my treeclimbing, but I can only imagine the reaction I would have gotten."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"He can't have been a very good poet then," says Cimorene, suitably unimpressed.

"But yes. I'm afraid the long-lost poetry of our tree-climbing days will remain unwritten. It's a shame really. It probably would have been wonderful."

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"It would have been epic," laughs Amy. "Perhaps we shall just have to write it ourselves."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

Cimorene giggles, "You know, I think we may just have to. Let me see...

Princess Amy, at five years old
never did as she was told
Instead of going to balls and teas
she spent her free time climbing trees

What do you think?"

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

Amy laughs. "Oh it's perfect. Now let me try. . ."

She thinks for a moment, and then

"Cimorene, a princess rare,
Ran off to a dragon's lair.
She wasn't blonde, she wasn't vapid,
And she could climb a tree so rapid . . . ly."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

Cimorene laughs loudly and applauds, "Wonderful! I think we would make a fine pair of court minstrels, Amy."

Yes. They would.

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"We would. And if the kitchen maiding and dragon librarianing ever doesn't work out, we can always go off and become minstrels."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"I'll ask my next few rescuers if they've heard of any job openings lately," she says laughing, "I'll have them keep an ear out for me."

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

Amy giggles.

"Marvelous. You could write a song to ask them, and sing it to them, as a demonstration."

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Do you think that would send them away any faster? Or would it confuse them and make them stay longer?"

This is a very serious question. Clearly.

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"I think it would depend on the rescuer," says Amy, after a moment's hesitation. "It is frightfully easy to confuse most princes, though, isn't it?"

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

"Usually saying 'I'm Cimorene. Can I help you with something?' is enough to do it," she says, shaking her head. "It earns me more than my fair share of completely dumbfounded blank stares."

Re: Greet Amy

[kitchen_maid]

"Oh, I'm sure," says Amy. "Silly things, princes."

But kings are a whole other matter. Or so Amy finds.

Re: Greet Amy

[dragonvolunteer.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, Cimorene has found that too.

"Very silly," she agrees, "I'm sure they feel I ought to be too blinded by their radiance to say anything at all."