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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

smallestopener

Her eyes widen. Door's told her much about the Marquis.

"I'm ten, actually" she says. "And thank you very much. Would you like a glass of punch or cold water? We have both."

From:

youowemeafavor

"Ten! Imagine that. And how does one get to be a big and brave ten-year-old and have word spread about them all over London Below?" The last time he saw her, she was significantly smaller and significantly less like an actual person he might want to waste time on. But since her sister is his charge, or at least someone to whom he's got a sort of relationship, it's only fitting that he pay equal homage to Ingress.

"You do know you're quite the talk of the town, don't you?" It's not meant to frighten her. Merely to make her feel every bit as important as she should on a day like today. When he sets his mind to it, he can be very good with children.

A shame he doesn't set his mind to it more than once or twice a century.

From:

smallestopener

She laughs. "I'm a Lady of the House of Arch with blue hair, so I guess it makes sense. Lots of people talk about us."

Ingress isn't really scared of the Marquis. Perhaps she's a little wary. And maybe just a little in awe.

He has a lot of pockets in his coat. Some of them are bulging. With who knows what kinds of stuff!

From:

youowemeafavor

"You are a Lady of the House of Arch. That makes you London Below royalty. And as is fitting for a young Princess, one has to celebrate these affairs properly." Children are so adorably easy to read; he sees her eyes move to the many pockets of his coat. Reaching into one of them, he comes up with an ornately wrapped box, ribbons trailing long off its side. The small card attached to it is simple and to-the-point: Best wishes, de Carabas, but the wrapping might just be hammered silver. When she gets round to opening it, she'll find a perfectly lovely charm necklace inside, replete with a miniature dagger, a miniature obsidian boar, a miniature silver key, a miniature golden rat, and a miniature bronze door. More, of course, can be added and none are enchanted. Or at least not particularly enchanted.

Yet.

"Now, young lady. Shall I put this over with the other gifts for you? After all, you must be exceedingly busy on such a grand and important day. I'd hate to take up too much of your time."

From:

smallestopener

"Oh, you can if you'd like," she says. "I'll open them and write thank you notes soon. But... I could open it now. If you wanted me to."

It's such a pretty present!

From:

youowemeafavor

"It's your party, milady Ingress, and your decision. Far be it for a lowly Marquis to make the decision for you."

There just might be a definite twinkle in his eye. Usually, his gifts come with a hefty debt. Today, however, is different.

From:

smallestopener

"I think I shall open it, then," she says, and then giggles. She holds out her hands to take the present, and once it's in her hands, the wrapping parts in two after a moment, and the ribbons cascade to the side. The box is already opened.

She takes out the bracelet carefully, without setting down the box in its silvery wrapping. Her eyes are glinting blue, green, and gold, and her mouth is in an "o".

"Wow. Oh, it's everything from the Underside."

From:

youowemeafavor

Her little exclamation makes him laugh. "Not quite everything, Lady Ingress. I've merely got it started for you. Perhaps your sister and Lord Ostium will fill in the other five slots for you. Then again, I had so much fun navigating your hedge maze, I might do it myself."

She's quite adorable, blue hair and all, and birthdays are something to be celebrated.

From:

smallestopener

"I think I will. That will be fun." She stares at the charms, examining each one carefully. When she gets to the bull, she frowns slightly.

"Door said Daddy told her about you. About how you'd have to help her if she needed you. You knew him, right?"

From:

youowemeafavor

"Yes, I knew your father." That's an easy thing to be truthful about. He won't go so far as to say they were friends, but he doesn't really say that about anybody.

"And she was right. If she needs me, I'll help her." There's only a fractional pause before he continues. "And you."

From:

smallestopener

"I thought you already did and so your debt was paid," she says, her eyes glinting brightly again. She may be ten, but she knows what's what.

"What was my father like?"

She wants to know because her memories are faded and it helps her remember better when others talk about Portico and Portia. Tom and Door have taken their places in most things.

Edited Date: 2009-06-19 03:11 am (UTC)

From:

youowemeafavor

Lady Ingress, the youngest surviving family member of the House of Arch, is a proud ten years old today. Far be it for him to upset her on her birthday.

So he doesn't. "What was he like? Portico was kind and smart and very, very wise. He wanted to bring the Underside together, you know. At his core, he was a man of peace."

The word lovely comes to mind, but he applies that to so very few people that he really can't see clear to using it now. There is, however, one more thing he can say.

"And he loved his family very much."

From:

smallestopener

That's what everyone says when she asks. But no one says what he did when he was a child that was funny or naughty or what made him laugh or what his favorite subject to learn was. She wishes someone could tell her more of that.

But that's okay. She has photographs and Door's stories, and that will be enough. It doesn't make her sad anymore. It makes her curious and a little wistful.

Nothing to ruin her birthday party.

"That's nice to know," she says, because it is.

From:

youowemeafavor

Some other day he can tell her more, if she's curious. About how they met, and why he's so indebted to the family, and what brought them to that place, and what happened right before the family was attacked. But those certainly aren't stories for a birthday party.

Once again, he bows deeply.

"Lady Ingress. One would suspect that the guest of honor has better things to do than stand around wasting time with an ancient and silly Marquis who merely wanted to pay his respects and wish her a grand and happy birthday. I think we've accomplished that, don't you?"

Surely there are others here she'd like to play with. Besides, the type of thing he considers play would probably be most distasteful to her.

From:

smallestopener

She curtsies back.

"I suppose I would like to go through the obstacle course again. First I'll show Door my bracelet. Thank you, Marquis, for my gift. Oh, you should be sure and get some cake. You can have an icing rose; there are plenty on the cake for guests."

From:

youowemeafavor

"I thank you kindly. Give my best to Lady Door and Lord Ostium." He'll save referring to him as Tom Riddle for when it's just the two of them.

"If you ever need me, just use the rat." If she can't figure it out, he's certain Door will help her but really, all she need do is call on him while holding it. "And one more time: have a very happy birthday." When occasions for happy wishes come so few and far between, one ought to take advantage of them. An icing rose sounds utterly decadent, terribly sweet, and... he thinks he'll help himself to one before heading back through the hedge maze.