The Duke's Grand Mystery Ball! [Open]

[Parth Makeo]

As the Miqo'te listened to the bet, she merely chuckled. "Oh is that all? I'm sorry, but you only know my LAST name." a sip from her glass as she inspected the other before her. "I don't just give out my name to anyone after all." taking in the Duke and his friend. "But if you want a real fun gamble, I have one." her lips turned into a sly smirk and her eye raised. Wanting to know if this man had any intent to continue with a small chase or not. "What is it that she gambled on? I might be able to 'raise' it instead."

 

Arala was always loving a good chance to enjoy herself. Especially like this. her ears wiggled a bit and her tail swayed. She could feel at ease at least with this atmosphere.

[Amnesic]

The Duke held up a single finger in protest and gave a flashing grin. “I am afraid, Miss Makeo, that the bet was I had to recreate the exact same trick upon you that I played upon Miss Mewrilah. I only ever answered her surname for I do not know its predecessor, so your point may be considered nullified by technicality...But, a new bet is assuredly welcome and even more enticing to me if Miss Mewrilah is fine with you stealing her…date,” he said slyly, putting heavy emphasis on the last word. He stole a glance at Muijh, still giving a clever, but charming grin.

 

“I am curious though, how will you attempt to ‘raise’ a romantic dinner at an expensive restaurant of your choice? Shall I take both of you?” he commented jestingly, taking another sip from his wineglass.

 

He did not want to embarrass her too badly, but she seemed to be tough enough to handle some teasing. He did not mind losing, but winning was becoming his better option now as romantic encounters were not in his best interests.

[Parth Makeo]

she smiled a bit more at the mention of a date and dinner. Yet she saw that as merely too simple. "Oh my, no..." The Miqo'te then placed her glass down and insisted on something else.

 

"You know my last name...but maybe if you can find someone in this room who knows my mother...I'll do you one better. Dinner? No. We can head down to Costa Del Sol, enjoy three days there and if you play your cards right, things might get...better. Just have to get information on my mother and her profession. But to make it harder...You only get three guesses! And each wrong guess removes a day off we spend." her own little bet was simply to test and tease. Unlike his other companion, Arala was more forward and outward than she could be. 

 

she hadn't mentioned her daughter or that she had no husband, and a lack of a ring clearly shows nothing about it. "So what do you say...Duke? Up to the job? Your assistant got my last name for you."

 

Among the crowd, someone does know her mother...and that person was out there somewhere. Unaware of the bet. All the Miqo'te did for now was wait for a response. She eyed the duke carefully, sizing him and Mewrilah up. "I hope i'm not ruining your time here, dear." she asked Mewrilah.

[BasedRNG]

Muijh had been watching the exchange too flustered in her own thoughts to speak up, now that it looked as though her response told in panic might come to fruition. She had crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from the Duke at his teasing. 

 

"Two things, oh Duke." she replied, turning back to the group. "First and foremost, of course I don't mind one bit if you were to take her on this date, as I was hardly serious in the first place. Second, I should hope you don't regularly have two or more women to take to romantic dinners."

 

She was clearly embarassed and was trying her hardest to go back on what she said, not that her attempts themselves were anything short of transparent. But then, it seemed, that a miracle had occurred in the form of Makeo offering to 'steal' the date to which she had convinced the Duke to agree. Her reddening face quickly lost its new pigment and a look of joy befell her, ears and tail perking up almost instantly. 

 

 

"By the Twelve, of course you aren't ruining my evening here! If anything, you're a complete life saver!" It took everything in Muijh's power to stop herself from jumping to hug her savior as tight as she could. After all, it would bave ruined both their dresses, and then no one would be happy. 

[Amnesic]

“The difficulty of your challenge is very tempting, but I want to know first what you would expect from me if I lose. Forming a hypothesis from both of your demeanors, I feel that neither of you have made thine choices out of personal affection for me nor, Miss Makeo, can I hardly expect you would want the same from me if I am unsuccessful,” the Duke replied in a factual manner. Slowly, he finished off the last of the water in his wineglass and set in back on A’ih’s tray and made two hand motions to her.

 

It translated roughly to: “Find Darius Fallstone, bring him to me.” Yes, tediously enough, the Duke had actually made a sign for his name out of necessity. A’ih immediately recognized it and took off at her swift pace, an almost grateful look showing in her eyes while her face remained expressionless.

 

Uncrossing his legs, he gracefully ascended from the throne he had been resting in, showing his actual height to be about half a head taller than an average Hyur Midlander. Giving a jesting smirk, he looked to Muijh. “I should hardly think she has saved your life here, Miss Mewrilah; what I had planned for you was much less painful than a romantic dinner.”

 

Though, to Muijh’s disadvantage, there were very few things in this world that would be less excruciating than a romantic date with someone you had no chance of having feelings for. Even he would only have fun with it because he could make her nervous.

 

[align=center]~*~*~[/align]

 

The Hyur girl interrupted briefly, excusing herself from the table with something along the lines of “Dear Prince, there’s someone I need to check on; I’ll be right back,” likely with a shred of sarcasm in it that she could not resist. It made the aching she was suffering from start up again where the long period of relaxing in the seat had muted it to mild discomfort, but she was not exactly in the best of moods. Today had simply been a rough day at work and she had been looking to relax and she was very quick right now to take compliments as flirting. She had heard the name Bloodsands Consortium a few times before, and it was not something she had interest in anyhow.

 

Was it a bit rude to up and leave him like that? Sure it was. She would just have to figure out a way to explain herself later if she got tracked down. Luckily, she had left with her glass, so she did not have to worry about getting any more of…Malbec, he called it? Eh, to her it was simply a drink that the Duke had recommended to her very early in the ball for the low alcohol level. She did not want to get herself drunk or anything tonight, she knew she would be hurting enough in the morning as well and the hangover would not do very much for her.

 

Every step hurt, so she walked very slowly across the ballroom to a bar where she was hopefully out of sight of the Elezen who had introduced himself as Prince Klari. Then a familiar voice she had not wanted to hear either assaulted her ear.

 

“Ah, madame, I do hope your radiant eyes do not ignite my clothing again,” said the familiar voice of Darius Fallstone. She struggled to withhold her groan of despair, managing to muffle it into a sigh.

 

“What do you want this time?” she asked exhaustedly, too far in disbelief to make any sarcastic responses.

 

She did have to figure, as vain as it was, she must clean up very nicely if these people honestly thought she was high class.

 

[align=center]~*~[/align]

 

The aged Elezen man had finally finished with his book around this time and began inspecting the bindings on it. He had actually had not been reading it, but instead had been allowing the glue in the bindings to set right and prevent the pages from not opening fully. It was not exactly his plan to have taken his work with him, but he had entirely missed out on the news of the ball until only a few hours before it was to begin. He had come here in hopes of finding some more scholarly types like him and perhaps to get an idea of who this Duke was in person. So far he had done neither of those and he really felt like some wine first. He would have to figure a nice place to put the book at though, it was actually quite rare.

[BasedRNG]

"I may not have any sort of romantic feelings for you, but I still would enjoy a treat to dinner. My line of work doesn't exactly pay its dividends as well as I would often hope, you understand." It would appear that Muijh had regained control of her emotions and was back to her previous witty self. She shifted her weight to her left and crossed her arms yet again. 

 

"As for my description of our new friend here, you and I both know that was a figure of speech, milord. She did not literally save my life, granted, but Miss Makeo here did relieve me from a good deal of wracked nerves."

[PrinceKlari]

"Silly lowborn girl..." he thought. 

 

Prince Klari could always recognize one of his own. Orphans, forgotten children of whatever conflict destroying their families. He knew she was out of place the moment she spoke. The "Prince" in his name came not from his birth but the flair for which he fought with in the pits. He then studied Ishgardians on his trade routes in the early days of the Consortium. Their painstaking attention to manners and etiquette intrigued him, so he adopted many of their ways. Klari may have seemed refined and polished outwardly, but he knew Pearl Lane...and her people just as well.

 

Klari stood up from the table after the woman abruptly left. He'd mention it later but he realized there was no wine in his system. He made his way to the bar, ordered a glass of whiskey, downed it then a glass of dry Riesling, one of his favorites to sip casually. He left a generous tip.

 

"Now where did she go?" he said internally.

 

Klari scanned the room and quickly saw she was talking to a brusque gentleman. He noticed her lack of interest in the man's comments and even picked up on a sigh that could have easily turned into a loud moan of exasperation. He walked near her and nodded to the gentleman then turned and quick whispered to the woman.

 

"Your acting needs work..... "

 

He smiled and walked back upstairs to survey the party a bit longer.

[Amnesic]

The only thing that kept the young Hyur girl from whirling around in fury was the fact she was too exhausted to bother. She still found his remark to be agitating and rude despite the hypocritical matter she had done it to him first, but she simply clenched her teeth and ignored his presence. Her actions likely did not make sense to others, but she understood what she was looking for here. It was not doing her any good being like she was, but she had gotten to the point to where every single flirt agitated her strained nerves and the girl was simply exhausted of it. It was odd that she should hate receiving compliments, she could admit that to herself, but everything seemed to have "implications" to it right now.

 

“Ahh…So that’s why you reject me; he’s taken your heart has he not? Alas—” Darius began to say.

 

“Oh, just stuff it. What is it you keep bothering me for?” she said, trying to hold back from putting in any stinging words.

 

“Hah! Then he’s even more the rival of-” Did nothing stop this guy from running on? He must assume he is safe being so far away from a candle.

 

“Seriously, just cut the charades and spit it out already.”

 

“Whoa, feisty are we? Ahem, would you like to purchase one of my special beauty elixirs.”

 

“Are you saying I’m not beautiful then?” There. That should throw him off balance for a while.

 

“You are more radiant than-”

 

“Darius Fallstone, the Duke requests your presence for a matter of importance,” said a voice from someone previously unnoticed beside her. She jolted her head to the side in surprise to see the Duke’s servant girl standing there. She was a bit unnerved by how silent and emotionless the Miqo’te managed to be; it was sort of inhuman. All the other servants actually visibly responded to statements, she even acted like a brick wall when she spoke.

 

As the initial shock faded away, her mind turned to something else: what in Eorzea could even the Duke want with this nitwit? The thought almost brought a smile to her face even though her developing headache was beginning to pain her.

 

“Ah, yes. I shall follow immediately,” Darius said in formality and began following the servant back to the Duke.

 

She had to give a bit of mental thanks to the Duke and the servant, regardless if they had meant to drive Darius away from her or not.

[align=center]~*~*~[/align]

“You know what, Miss Makeo? I think I shall accept your challenge regardless of the terms; it shall be quite enjoyable to fight against the unbalance in this situation. I must warn though, the performances are due to start soon and as result it may take me all night to get back to you with my results,” the Duke Rhett replied with his charming smile, quickly glancing over to see A’ih ironically bringing Darius back from the same bar where Miss Makeo had been.

 

He had a reason for calling Darius up: he may be incompetent and a terribly business-minded, but he also had a special talent for being a rumormonger. The rumors were not always reliable, but Mr. Fallstone had managed to work his way into the toughest of secrets and his skill at rapid collection came in handy sometimes. He could likely come up with something that would help him in this challenge. It was not cheating, technically; Darius was just another guest at the ball.

 

"...And, Miss Mewrilah, I understand exactly what you mean. My profits are not nearly enough to purchase all I should ever want or need either; just enough to give an accurate impression of such a situation," he jested, his smile growing to a sly grin.

[BasedRNG]

She watched from some yalms away as Mr. Fallstone approached the young woman, his obvious schemes wretching her stomach to almost unprecedented levels. Muijh did have to chuckle a bit as it was clear that he was failing. Things like that, the utter failure of a complete sleaze, were always a personal favorite of Muijh. She wasn't always the best judge of character, but thanks to her brother's teachings, she had learned the basic patterns of the bottom-feeding, money-hungry extortionist types. Her joy faded, however, as she noticed A'ih returning with him, her stomach beginning its wretching yet again. It was at this point that she realized that she had seen this man before, when she first arrived and saw him and the Duke conversing. It was brief, and she knew neither of the two at the time, but now her brain was starting to connect the dots.

 

Muijh quickly decided to abandon the thought. After all, she would have to deal with him soon enough, it would appear, so she chose to enjoy her current conversation to the best of her ability. 

 

"'Tis a cruel thing to tell someone so far beneath you of your financial troubles, my lord. Especially if you can throw a ball with its own performers. Speaking of..." Muijh made a small laugh as she spoke, a clear friendliness having returned to her voice. "What performances will there be, Duke? We won't be required to dance, right?" 

[Amnesic]

The Duke watched as Muijh responded to the antics of Darius with the general response every female got when messing with him, not being able to resist smiling at the humor of it. It was not common to see a person acting as a wolf in attempt to get sales, but that is what made him stand out among the rest. To be truthful, he only usually ended up getting deals from people who were desperate enough to actually buy whatever thing he was hawking just to get him to leave; in that manner, it actually worked. It was quite hard to tell if he was really just a social genius or just some fool who had stumbled across a unique plan.

 

“I personally think it would have been more cruel to leave the illusion there, Miss Mewrilah,” he continued in his joking manner. “But, without jest, there shall be a expansive number of performances tonight, all done by fine and numerous musicians from across the lands. The dancing is not required, in a strict sense, but a very large number of the attendees will be likely to do so. The supper shall come after and then shall the end of the event… yet, it seems quite short when I list it like that, does it not?”

 

A’ih and Mr. Fallstone were still approaching and would have been already present had he not decided to halt and try another group of people. A’ih seemed to say something to him and he stiffened in realization for a moment before moving on from them. A mental sigh of exasperation had to be given. He really did not give up sometimes.

[BasedRNG]

The momentary relief that Muijh felt as Fallstone stopped for another target quickly faded when A'ih redirected his attention again. With a sigh of exasperation she turned back to the Duke to resume her conversation. She debated to herself for a brief instant if she should take a strategic retreat. Perhaps to the powder room? She decided against it as it would look far too suspicious in timing. 

 

"That, my good man, is outstanding news. And aye, it does seem a tad short... Such a shame that you won't be seeing much of me after this, eh? I'm simply too pretty to--" She stopped laughing near instantly as the man of her dread had arrived, her face turning sour from its innocent smile. Quickly righting herself, Muijh looked him straight in the eyes. 

 

"Greetings. Who might you be? And before you ask, no, I am not interested, thank you."

[Amnesic]

As if by miracle, Darius paid little attention to Muijh or Miss Makeo, only giving a short and distracted greeting as his attention was focused entirely upon the Duke. A’ih simply walked around the back of the throne and reclaimed her position beside her master, emotionlessly nodding her head again.

 

“Darius Fallstone; greetings, greetings and all that. You called for me, fair Duke of the Isles?” he asked, an almost frightened tone in his voice but his face only showing inquiry.

 

“Are you still attempting to make sales?” the Duke asked with a frighteningly still expression and calm tone.

 

“Er…now that you mention it, yes I am. I do dearly apologize, however! It just gets-”

 

“Darius, you need not worry so much about your business right now. Now, I have something I need your assistance with and if it goes well, I may need to make a large addition to my next purchase from your supply.” As he calmly spoke, the Duke Rhett drew an elegant, diminutive record book of sorts and began writing on it with a quill stored inside.

 

At hearing the last part, the man’s face quickly gave way into a brief shock of disbelief that was predictably expressed in his last statement. There was also a level of pride and relief mixed in, something that could only be achieved with a man like Darius. “Well, well! I thank you profusely for seeking my succor when you have so many others to choose from. Whatever it is, I shall manage it with such expertise you would think it only a trifle to my skills.”

 

“I would expect no less of thee, Mr. Fallstone. Here you are, and please, do refrain from grieving my guests with your persuasive marketing fashion. They only have so much money after all,” the Duke replied with a chuckle and a striking grin as he silently removed a slip of paper and handed it to the man.

 

Darius quickly read over it and gave a stylish nod of his head, though appearing more silly than anything due to the peculiar mustache. Giving an exaggerated bow, he gave a wolfish grin to both of the Miqo’te ladies and headed off into the crowds again.

 

“Oh, how he runs on. I had begun to believe he would not relent!” remarked the Duke when he had finally vanished, laughing again.

 

[align=center]~*~*~[/align]

 

The young Hyur girl had taken her chance and found her way to another secluded table while Darius was being withheld by the Duke of the Isles. Her attempt at seating herself was very awkward due to the aches she was suffering and though she could resist the urge to whimper, the wincing could not be avoided. Though, to great relief, sitting down alleviated the pain well enough for her to think about other things.

 

The comment about her acting was still stuck in her mind, but she was suddenly too tired to feel hostile about it. She was more inclined to just let it go right now. At least all of her training on how to hold her tongue had prevented her from doing something foolish just then and she had not made an unwarranted enemy of someone; even if it was some moron she figured was trying to act like royalty or something.

 

As she slouched back in her chair slightly she looked down at her dress again. The racy, low cropping of it had been a terrible, terrible idea. Though, looking at herself in the reflection of the glass, she had to admit she made it look appealing at least.

 

Modest still would have been better.

[BasedRNG]

"Aye, he does seem gifted with an extra pair lungs. But what I find more curious is you, my lord." 

 

Muijh passed an inquisitive glare over his visage. 

 

"Pray tell what was written upon that paper. I can see no reason why you should keep anything secret from us. And on that note, why send him away so quickly when you'd so clearly asked for him by name."

[Amnesic]

A’ih had caught a glance of what the paper had said, being as she was stationed right at the Duke’s shoulder, and she was internally curious of what was going on. Her inquisitiveness had since overridden the strange feeling she had been trying to understand earlier, allowing her to ponder it in peace until his statement stopped her concentration.

 

“Well, Miss Mewrilah, there is no need to be suspicious of me. I simply wrote to him explaining how I have been working on a deal with a prolific client and I need some information on who they are before I make any decisions. He is to meet me after the second dance to discuss the details more specifically,” the Duke replied in a factual manner. “And to tell the truth, I dismissed him as he seemed to discomfort you and the sooner he gets me the intelligence, the better.”

 

This statement was truthful in comparison to what she had managed to read from the note and his explanation was as fluid as common conversation, suggesting to her that this was the truth. But, A’ih knew her long-term master much better than that. He was up to something, regardless of what his countenance told.

 

“Now, what was it you were saying?” he continued, a charming smile on his lips.

[BasedRNG]

Muijh could sense that something about that description seemed familiar, but lacked the necessary information processing skills to put the pieces together. As a result, the comparatively simple Miqo'te pushed the subject from her mind and did away with her doubts of the Duke. 

 

"Very well. As I was saying, I am simply too pretty to be allowed to slip through one's fingers, never be seen again. Wouldn't you agree, Duke?"

[Amnesic]

“Well, well! A fine piece like you, Miss Mewrilah, would be hard to pass on, but…” the Duke trailed off as he scanned the room briefly, pretending to search for someone despite already knowing where they had gone. After a few seconds he let his eyes fall to the young Hyur girl in the left corner, across the room from them and then made a brief gesture in her direction, smirking at Muijh as he prepared to set another little plan into action.

 

“How do you think you compare to her?”

 

He leisurely gazed at each of them a multitude of times, making an exaggerated and obviously feigned sigh when he finished. Shrugging his shoulders, he grinned at her roguishly.

 

“Mayhap…if you sat at the same table together, I could come to a conclusion on which of you is the most charming.”

 

He felt like adding that he was a bachelor, but he knew that might push this little test too far and sabotage it immediately. Where would be the fun in doing it so quickly? It was always more enjoyable to let it go on a little longer, until the participants were assuredly catching on.

[BasedRNG]

"It would appear you would like to make a new wager, Duke. I may be stunning, this much is true, but I hardly pale in comparison to her. Nevertheless, I accept your challenge as you have ours." Muijh turned to walk in the direction he had specified, a slight sway in her hips as she walked. She waited only a moment for him to follow along before she continued on her path. 

 

After making her way through the crowd, Muijh arrived at the table of the young Hyur girl, where she politely sat down in a seat not too near so as not to scare her. She began with a calm and polite greeting, quickly transitioning to her reasoning for invading her space, namely that she had been put up to a challenge of beauty and charm against the poor girl, and hoped that she did not mind too much.

[Amnesic]

The young Hyur girl started at the approach of someone at her table, but almost gave a sigh of relief when she saw it was a female this time. At least now there was the hope she could get through a conversation without either being fawned over or flirted with. A lot of her frustration had been lifted, and she hoped this was not someone simply jealous because she was “more gifted” in “certain areas” than they were. Maybe it was shallow to think that, but she had been through more than one conversation that specifically covered just that.

 

“No, I really don’t mind at all! By the Twelve, you don’t know how much of a relief it is to finally talk with another girl here…” she replied, attempting to be polite and managing to hold back her irritation when the little contest was mentioned. “A contest between you and me? What in the hells for?”

 

Okay, most of it. Regardless, she looked over to where the Duke’s throne was and her irritation transformed into a light laugh. He had sat back down all the way over there, talking to the other Miqo’te woman and paying absolutely no attention to them. She was not very well educated, but she understood what had just happened. She nodded her head in the Duke’s direction.

 

“You figure he’s going to look our way anytime soon?”

 

[align=center]~*~*~[/align]

 

The Duke had seated himself yet again, and signaled A’ih to fetch a less sweet wine for him. As she immediately began her brisk pace across the ballroom, he turned his attention back to his other guest.

 

“Now, Miss Makeo, for what reason have you turned so silent? You might be able to do a fair impression of A’ih if you can maintain it,” he remarked jestingly, giving one of his charming smiles.

 

Perhaps with Muijh temporarily occupied, he could try to indirectly get some information to assist Darius’ search. Blind searches were difficult for anyone, even to a practiced information broker like Mr. Fallstone. It was a long shot, but he was going to need it.

[Parth Makeo]

(im sorry i really had so much going on i forgot about this for a while...pardon if i am short replying)

 

Arala merely looked up. "Huh? Oh just taking things in." she admitted while watching and listening to everything she could. "Maybe we could go somewhere a bit more quiet so we can talk about things without distractions?"

[PrinceKlari]

Prince Klari saw that the Hyur girl's eyes were fixed upon the "Duke". He realized that if he wanted answers she wasn't going to be the one to give them. But she could lead him to someone who did. I mildly irritated Klari that this "Duke" was unknown to him still, but he would make it his business to find out who was funding the lavish party. 

 

He briskly walked back down to the bar to get a better view. His long Duskwright ears helped pinpoint the conversation between the Girl and another Miqo'te woman. 

 

"Hmmm...contest. If I know the Duke's type that girl will either be dead or scarred in more ways than one by dawn." He thought. 

 

Klari sighed. He knew that if he wanted to get to the bottom of the mysterious "Duke" he would have to ignore whatever befell any of the guests. His assistant, Arianne, often lamented his heart was both a weakness and strength. But today he would have to ignore it. Besides, the girl was exceedingly rude to him, not to mention obviously out of place in such lofty company. 

 

He made sure that he walked past their table as he made his way to the "Duke's" throne, knowing his guards would spring into action. He sat his glass of Riesling on the final table before the dais and noted his attempt to woo the Miqo'te at his throne. Klari eyed the armed men slowly turning their attention to him. He shouted up to the throne...

 

"DUKE! Prince Klari of the Bloodsands Consortium. You feast in my city and have not the nerve to introduce yourself to her handlers!" he bowed sarcastically.

[BasedRNG]

Just as Muijh was opening her mouth to respond to the girl with whom she shared a table, there was a loud yelling from the direction of her host's throne. It pulled her attention almost immediately, and she would have questioned it's source had she not noticed that the Duke was back to speaking with Makeo. Her curious gaze turned to an intensely furrowed brow and she shot out of her seat almost instantly. She started moving towards the Duke and his two current guests with a determined, angered frown. How dare he simply use this 'contest' to get her out of his hair for a while?! Muijh was certain she would give him quite an earful as soon as she managed to figure out the words.