smallestopener | Ingress' 10th Birthday Party Extravaganza!

Out by the lake, there is a large construction dedicated to the 10th birthday of Lady Ingress of the House of Arch. Ingress has had birthday parties on this site before - there was a birthday princess ball her 7th year, a playground party for her 6th.

This party is different from either of those. Tom, Door, and Ingress worked on the design for months.

There are three ways to get into the birthday party.

Guests can go through the hedge maze. It's enchanted, of course, but the walls shift places at a docile rate. The path is wide and firm, so this is the easiest way to enter the party.

Guests might also try the obstacle course of tubes to crawl through, walls to climb, ropes to swing over deep ball pits, curly slides to fling themselves down. The only enchantment on this entrance are anti-falling charms.

Or guests can bounce through the giant bouncy castle!

Once they've passed through either of the three entrances,they will enter the clearing for the birthday party proper. Picnic blankets are spread out over the grass, and there are plenty of chairs scattered about. Paper lanterns float above people's heads with purple and green streamers linking them together.

A long table overflows with plenty of cold water, birthday treats, and other refreshments. There is a cake with lots of icing roses, of course, and ice cream. Each guest may help him or herself to a Wizarding cracker in a large basket at one end of the table, and there is space beside it for gifts, should guests wish to bring one. Gifts are not expected, however.

Most importantly, there is Ingress, a little girl in the comfortable gray uniform of a Herald-in-training, who is not so little anymore.

Come and have fun!

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Amy accepts the glass. "Oh, that's fabulous," she says, after her first sip.

"You have the best birthday parties," she tells Ingress.

"Tom and Door and I planned this one for a long time. I wanted to do the bouncy castle but then we kept going with ideas."

"Sometimes, the more ideas the merrier," Amy says.

"The castle is very impressive, I must say."

And Amy? Knows a thing or two about castles.

"There's a little one at the May Fair, but this one is lots better. I can do flips in it. Like, ones where you flip in the air!"

"Goodness!"

Amy wonders, briefly, if Tom put anti-broken-bone charms on the castle.

(Mothers fret about these things.)

"Well, every princess needs a castle," Amy says. "And I could not be prouder of this particular princess."

There are so many safety charms on this party that it's a wonder people aren't choking on the magic in the air.

"Thanks, Amy. I'm going to go to Valdemar for the whole of July, and I've already gotten to go for a couple of weeks."

Her summer holidays there are getting longer. Soon enough, it will be her summer holidays back home that are too short.

Except, of course, that choking (on magic or anything else) would not be safe, so presumably some sort of anti-choking charm takes care of that.

"And what will you get to do on your next visit?"

"Oh, I'll work on my studies of Valdemar and practice my fighting and visit with the Heralds and the older kids when I can. I'll probably serve as a page again, too, but I'm not worried about the mean girls at court. They're not worth the effort."

"That sounds a very sensible approach," Amy agrees.

Fully two thirds of what goes on at court isn't worth the effort, though Amy doesn't always have the option of avoiding it.

Then again, you don't get far in Ambergeldar if you tick off Her Majesty, so people tend not to be mean to her.

(At least, not to her face.)

"I think so. So far it's been okay."

She licks some errant icing off of her finger.

"I've already met some new friends today. I knew if there was a big bunch of stuff then more people would come."

"It really is a very fabulous and impressive party," Amy says.

Certain details will not be reported to Susan.

Amy has learned that lesson.

"It's not quite the same as a princess birthday ball, but I like it fine."

"Well, you've already had one of those," Amy says reasonably.

She remembers it well. She got engaged at it.

"It's good to do new things."

"That's what Door says, too. I don't think Tom likes to unless we make him."

"Not everyone does. But I suspect Tom would have to agree that this party was an excellent, if new, idea."

"The hedge maze was his idea."

She is very proud of this fact.

"It's a pretty fun maze. It's not too scary for the grown ups."

"That's how I came in."

It's kind of the only option for pregnant with twins.

Well, that or hedge clippers.

"And you weren't scared at all!"

See?

"No, I wasn't."

Amy smiles.

"I am probably being horribly greedy with the birthday girl's time, and should let you talk to your other guests."

Ingress clambers to her feet. She does like running around at this party.

"You can come watch me bounce in the bouncy castle if you want. I can do flips. Or if not, I'll come back and say hi in a little bit."

"Have fun, darling."

Amy waves good-bye, for now.

Ingress' 10th Birthday Party Extravaganza!

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