first story!

[Guest dustbuni1]

srry this is'nt finished yet, i sorta got a little stuck. any suggestions?

Prologue

It was remarkable how much attention could be attracted, merely by an invitation. No one knew who’d sent them, but they all knew where to go and when to show up; and they all assumed that they must’ve been sent by someone of great importance, to not even put their name on the envelope. Indeed, there was no return address either, just a time and a place and the full name of the person that it was sent to. And they all planned on

showing up, for a person would be a fool to not attend when you were invited by

someone important. It was to be a masquerade ball, and it was to be held at 55 Tenclep Street at 10 o’clock next Sunday night. On the lower right hand corner of each invitation was a scented drawing of a rose, and the lettering was done in fancy gold script. There were only one or two invitations sent to each town, and when someone received one they were the talk of the entire county.

“Did you hear?” people would say, “My father’s mother’s brother has a step niece who’s best friend’s cousin is going!” and there would be shouts of congratulations and cheers and “how very exciting” and then people would be quite content with the gossip and they’d go and tell every one they knew; and so word of the event got around rather quickly.

Chapter 1

Although at first glance you would not know it, Nicholas was actually very spry. He was a tall young man, with an athletic build and a talent for sneaking about. It was about 11 o’ clock, Sunday night and guests were still arriving late to the social event of the century. Nicholas had not been invited, but he really never was invited to this sort of thing. No one really knew who he was, in fact. Nobody ever cared to ask, either. He loved attending fancy events. It was the sneaking in that annoyed him; it was such a hassle. Currently he was slinking into the shadows and up against a wall in an alley way down the street from the event, to let a late arrival pass without seeing him. She was speaking animatedly to her guest, waving her feathered mask around in the air so that the tip of the feather just barely brushed Nicholas’ face.

“That was too close,” he thought, “oh great-” He pinched his nose to keep a sneeze at bay, but to no avail.

“k-choo!”

“Bless you” said the dignitary.

“But Martha, I didn’t sneeze.” Said her guest. Martha, who feared that she was hearing things, responded, “Oh, but you’re such a wonderful person, really, bless you bless you.”

“Oh. well thank you very much.” Said her guest. And they went on chattering down the street.

“Hah-choo!” sneezed Nicholas again, rubbing at his nose to make it stop. He sniffed, “Much, much too close.” he thought. When the coast was clear, he stalked along with more care, and if he heard anyone coming he’d scamper off to a side street to let them pass. It was a chilly night, just cold enough to get his blood running and keep him awake. As he arrived at the gala, he noted the security at the door; he was holding a list of names, assumedly those of the invitees, and checking people at the door. He scanned the castle, for indeed the place seemed to be a castle, for any means of entry aside from the main door, but was disheartened when he saw that there wasn’t any.

“Damn… Well I guess there’s always the next time.” Nicholas sighed aloud. In the back of his mind, though, he thought, “Yeah right.” Just as he turned to leave, he saw a young woman on a bench; sobbing into her hands behind some shrubs. He walked up to her.

“Excuse me, but are you going to be alright?” he asked. The woman sniffed and then replied, “Yes, it’s just… never mind, I don’t mean to be a bother.”

“No, it’s not a bother. Why are you crying?”

“My guest just left me,” she said between tears, “and if that weren’t enough now there’s no one to show up with to the masquerade and I’ll be the laughing stock of the town if I don’t have a guest.”

“I’m sorry.” Nicholas replied.

“It’s nothing you did.” She said, brushing her hair from her face.

“Is there something I could do?” He asked.

“No, I shouldn’t be keeping you, though. The person that you arrived with is probably getting anxious.”

“Do you want to hear something funny?” Nicholas asked. The woman looked at him.

“I’m not here with anyone either.” To this the woman looked at him quizzically.

“You don’t mind showing up alone?” she asked him.

“It’s not that.” He said

“Then what is it?”

“I’d rather not say.” Nicholas responded. It was the truth, he didn’t want to tell her the reason that he’d come alone, but she got it out of him eventually.

“You wouldn’t mind coming to the ball with me, then, would you?” asked the woman.

“Not at all. It would be my pleasure.” He said, “Might I ask your name, though?”

“Oh, yes. I’d nearly forgotten; my name is Rosetta. And yours?”

“I’m Nicholas. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The inside of the palace was even more impressive than Nicholas had imagined it to be. The walls towered high above the many couples dancing on the extensive marble ballroom floor. There were tall, decorative, pillars placed at strategic intervals around the room to support the ceiling, which was a painted replica of the sky. This room was indeed crowded with people; all dressed appropriately for the occasion. The men wore elegant jackets and cloaks trimmed in gold or black. The colors were mostly dark blues and greens aside from the classic black, but there was a splash of maroon and sapphire along with an occasional emerald scattered throughout. The women all wore long full gowns and satin gloves. They dressed more vibrantly in golds and reds and metallic blues and luminous yellows. All wore beautiful masks, some were rather sleek and elegant and others were flamboyantly decorated with long feathers and glitter and embroidery. Others still fell somewhere between the two with shorter feathers or fewer long feathers and just a touch of glitter if any at all.

“Shall we dance?” beckoned Rosetta.

“I’m not much of a dancer, really, I don’t know how –”

“Oh, you can’t be that bad.” said Rosetta, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him into the middle of the room.

“No, really, I can be.” Nicholas insisted as he was being dragged away.

“Then let me lead.” Rosetta said gently, and he did. Rosetta was a very graceful dancer. Nicholas stumbled around a little, but he really wasn’t that bad.

“Sorry,” he said, half embarrassed half apologetic.

“It’s alright, its ok; you’re really not doing such a bad job.”

“Really?” he asked.

“mm-hmm.” She nodded, giggling.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“No come on, what is it? I’m really awful, aren’t I?”

“No, it’s not your dancing. It’s just that you’re so self conscious. It’s kind of cute.” She said. Nicholas blushed.

“You really ought to lighten up on yourself, though.” Rosetta added. Nicholas blushed harder.

“You’re a nice man, Nicholas. I hope that we meet again after tonight.”

Nicholas sniffed, “thank you, I hope to see you again sometime too.-excuse me” Nicholas turned his upper body to the side lowering his mask, “Aaachoo! *sniff* achoo!”

Nicholas sniffed again, “Sorry,” he said, raising his mask back to his eyes “I think it’s all the feathers in here *sniff* I’m allergic to them.”

“Hmm.” said Rosetta thoughtfully, “It’s a beautiful night. We might go outside.”

“That’s a good idea; but I’m not sure if we can leave yet *sniff* people are still *sniff* still arriving he-hachoo! *sniff*”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I just ha-have to blow my nose. Ha-hachoo! *sniff* would you *sniff* excuse me for a moment? Heh…”

“Yes, of course.”

“Heh- thank heh-heh- thankyou, huh! Hah-choo!” Nicholas managed as he got out his handkerchief.

“hhh-hchu!” he sneezed again, this time slightly muffled. Nicholas felt awkward as he blew his nose afterwards. He never liked doing it in public, especially not in front of someone as beautiful as Rosetta, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Is that better?” she asked concernedly.

“Yeah,” Nicholas sniffed and cleared his throat, “yes, thank you.”

[elements]

great story! I want to see if they meet up again at a later time!

[VoOs]

Very nice story, indeed!

[And Beat Him When He Sneezes]

You've got my interest. But I have to ask, will there be any female sneezing?

[Elle]

Quite delish! Please keep going! *Gives you puppy dog eyes* Pwease?

[Sneesee]

Very yummy! I love it that he was allergic to the feathers, mmmmmmmmmmmmm! Thanks for sharing with us! Lovely writing!

[tma]

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok.... did you Know that Regency men totally Rock my world???

And cute, self-conscious blushing Regency men. *swoons*

I would Love to read more if you are so inspired. *does happy dance*

[Guest dustbuni1]

thanx! but like i said im stuck for wat to do right next! help!

[And Beat Him When He Sneezes]

thanx! but like i said im stuck for wat to do right next! help!

Female sneezing's always fun.

[tma]

My thought... Rosetta has taken him away- we get to hear more about her feelings about him. She and Nicholas get into a discussion (perhaps about feeling embarrassed and things that have happened that feel embarrassing). And find out more about each other.

Then of course they bump into each other again- if you are into the whole allergy thing- perhaps she unintentionally exposes him to something else that he is allergic to- and it takes them a while to figure it out. With of course him growing increasingly flustering and her becoming increasingly amused and inexplicably excited.

Just some thoughts. But... whatever grabs you will work best.

If you want to discuss some more ideas or details or anything (I know that I Hate being stuck) Please feel free to pm me.

[polychrome]

Hehe, my first thoughts were of Poe. I like it so far.

Maybe she has noticed him sneaking into other such events in the past and has set an elaborate trap?

[tma]

Oooooo!! I Love that idea.