Beautiful Little Things

[Felicity Mason]

Seven. Felicity was seven today.
She woke up, same as every day. Ate breakfast. Helped Mommy feed her little sister, Celeste. Then it was back into her room to get dressed for the day.
That was about where her day stopped being so typical. On her bed was a pretty dress that her Mother had insisted she wear today. Blue shimmersilk, ribbons, bows, lace... It had everything. It was pretty enough, Felicity supposed. Not something she could get away with wearing more than once, of course. But today was a special day. It was her birthday, and that meant Felicity could dress like a princess and eat cake and chocolate until she was sick.

The party Mother had planned was supposed to be small... of course, Felicity knew better than to actually believe that for a second. Mother never did anything unless it was absolutely perfect and extravigant. She would not have Felicity wear such a pretty dress, if she didn't have something special up her sleeve.

Once Felicity was dressed, she pulled the little round curlers out of her shiny blond hair. Mother taught her how to do this part herself. One by one, she unrolled each spiraling curl until her head was full of bouncing blonde spirals. Mommy would be proud! The little girl looked this way and that in the mirror, picked up a blue ribbon and tied it carefully in her hair.

She smiled, so proud. She was seven now! And that meant that she was ready to be a Lady, just like mommy. She could dress herself now! Do her own hair! As she examined her reflection, so proud of herself, she felt something... strange. Her reflection was pretty, but she didn't feel like herself. There was the vague realization that perhaps she was trying so hard to make her mother happy, that she was forgetting who she really was?

...Then a voice rang out, announcing the arrival of the first guests. Felicity immediately forgot her breif moment of clarity as she was swept up in the excitement of her special day.

She turned on her heel, and half ran half stumbled down the long stair case to the ballroom. She stopped at once, taking in the scene. Mother had certainly outdone herself this time.

"Wow," she sighed, standing in the middle of the stair case.
Every where she looked, colorful streamers hung everywhere she looked, tables were laid out with bright cloths and pretty dishes. And then there was the dessert table. Her eyes found the rows of chocolate treats, cute cupcakes, assorted candies.
And of course, the cake. It was tall, covered in bright yellow and white frosting, little purple candy flowers dotted the frosting.

This was her cake. This was her party. This was her day. Mommy did say seven was an important year, after all!

 

[Malok]

"Do I have to?" the Mandalorian whined for what seemed like the one millionth time. Silas, the youngest member of the famous Clan Verd, found himself dressed in a rather "fancy" button up shirt of white and a pair of slacks. A dark tie had been incorporated into this attire, as well as a vest. He was, at least by nine year old standards, handsomely dressed...and that annoyed the kark out of him. There were several hundred thousand things that the Jedi Initiate would rather be doing, such as playing Super Brawl Brothers on the Holobox. But nooo, Isley insisted that he go to some birthday party for a friend of his. And the worst part was, Isley wasn't even there yet! He was still in hyperspace, on his way over from whatever mission the CIS had him doing, and had sent him ahead, along with Silas' elder sister @[member="Ginnie Verd"], his niece @[member="Adela Verd"], and his sister-in-law @[member="Phoebe Verd"].

A sigh of surrender escaped the lips of the young man as the air speeder slid to a halt outside of the palace on Imerria where the Archon resided and Silas disembarked without another word. He walked, slow and somber, to the door and was admitted by a servant who then lead the young man to a table loaded with presents. Silas' gift, a modest box of blue wrapping paper tied with a pink bow, contained a present that he had picked out himself...but he did not anticipate having to give it to someone he didn't know. He thought it was going to someone in the Jedi, maybe that pretty @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]; but alas, such as life. Silas stepped on his tippie-toes in order to place the box on the table, and then turned, looking for the birthday girl. If he was going to come to her party, the least he could do was say hi and play nice, right?

So, putting on his best smile, Silas looked high and low until he saw little Felicity. He then stepped forward and extended his hand. "Hi!" he said, grinning, "I'm Silas Verd. Pleasure ta meet ya!"

@[member="Felicity Mason"].

 

[Feena]

Feena had been... busy. Not just with the party, the guest list, the wordrobe, the cake... With, well, everything. Her arm was starting to get feeling back in it from that... unfortunate incident in her apratment. Such an annoying complication that had been. As if she did not have enough to worry about., now she had someone out for her head. It had taken so much convincing for her to finally come home. In her delerium, she had actually been afraid that returning home would make her family a target. Perhaos that was still a fear of hers...

But today was for her daughter. Today was Felicitys day, and Feena was not going to spoil this birthday for her, no matter what. She was just going to have to be careful and make sure the castle was secure. And of course, the guest list would discourage any attack as it was. Nobody was going to try anything with a room full of Force users at a kids birthday party.

Feena smiled weakly as she waited. She would trust Keter to make sure Dis was safe. All she had to worry about now, was that the party went as well as it could, because after today, life was going to be very different for the girl. After today, the real teaching began. She knew this day was coming, and honestly, Feena was dreading it. She hadn't even spoken to Keter about it.

As the first guests to arrive finally arrived, Feena went to greet them, missing (to her regret) the look of amazement on her daughteers face when she finally made it down the stairs. When she had led the guests in, Feena smiled at her daughter as she stood frozen on the stair case. She had done her hair all on her own. And though Feena could pick out a strand or two that she would have to fix later when she had a moment, she had done a remarkably good job. The bow was a very sweet touch.

Before Feena could step forward and say anything to her, the boy, Isleys brother, got to Felicity first. She watched from afar, observing, studying. There was a moment when the thought actually croissed her mind:
-She's going to be very pretty when she grows up-
but that was gone in a second. She was too young for Feena to worry about that.
For now.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

@[member="Feena Mason"]

And once more Dis had been turned into a fairytale. Keter shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like having this many strangers in his home, but they were Feena's friends, and she obviously trusted them. He hoped he trust wasn't displaced. Since the incident...he had been a lot more high strung. His red eyes continually swept the hall from the shadowed balcony. People we arriving. Ah, there was his daughter. He couldn't help but smile. She looked so precious. Though she had been distant, Feena truly loved her daughter. Keter just hoped she would stay for longer than just a week this time.

Barnabus would be patrolling the walls alongside some of the Confederate soldiers, and Slevin would be at Celeste's side all day. He hoped Feena wouldn't forget to dote upon their youngest as well on this day. The blond sighed and rolled his shoulders. He was just trying to avoid going down there, of facing the Confederates after what had happened. They had proven themselves incapable of protecting their own Archon. His opinion of them was no real secret after that incident. Still, he could be...civil at least. For Feena. For Felicity.

With some reisgnation, he headed downstairs to join the party.
@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

That cake was all the girl wanted to think about. She took one step after another, eyes never leaving the centerpeice of the party. Not until a boy approached her when she was at the bottom step.

The blond girl froze, unsure what to do, to say. She glanced at her Mother, smiling at her from afar. This was the first boy her age that Felciity had met! What was she supposed to do? Her mind went blank. Why was she so nervous? Mother had taught her how to greet new people. She knew this!
She practiced this, bowing and curstying for important people, for her superiors. But what about a boy her own age? No, not her own age. He seemed older. So what did that make him? Her superior? Probably not. What was she supposed to do again?
Her body dipped like drooping petals, slow, careful. It was a half bow, not quite low enough, but still a respectful enough way to greet a new... person.

"I am Felicity Melodia Mason. It is a pleasure to..." She stopped mid sentence, noticing the hand he had extended out towards her. Hand. Hand. She was supposed to do something here, she just knew it! She glanced at Mother again, looking for guidance, then slowly, awkwardly reached her own white gloved hand out.
"....Meet you."

@[member="Keter"] @[member="Silas Verd"]

 

[Isabella Denko]

Isabella practically skipped into the palace a huge grin on her face. She had never been in a palace before, this place was amazing! The home she lived in with her parents was huge but this was wow. The five year old spun around in her pink party dress as she still gazed at all the cool things that were in this place. In her blonde hair she had a matching pink bow to top off her outfit.

The young girl didn't often get to go places so this was quite the treat and she was absolutely thrilled to be here for a birthday party. She had never met the birthday girl but that didn't keep her from coming or bringing a gift wrapped up in yellow blue polka doted paper with a matching bow. Izzy had picked out the present herself and was excited to see what the birthday girl thought. She was also excited to meet someone else her age.

As she went to look for the birthday girl she couldn't help but notice all the pretty decorations. It was all very purddy. The cake looked super yummy too. Izzy had tried to make Puffcakes with her mom once but they didn't turn out too well and ended with a mess. Hopefully she could try again one day but that was another story. Right now she was at a party and it was exciting. She was sure that there would be games too!

@[member="Silas Verd"] @[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Malok]

Living in a castle already gave the young girl before the Mandalorian the aura of being a princess. Upon initial inspection, Felicity did not seem to be the brat-type, nor he cooties-type, so Silas was perfectly fine withher! Like a true princess, she lowered into a curtsy, to which Silas responded like a "true gentleman". Just like in the holovids, he placed a hand upon his chest and lowered himself into a half-bow that was just as low and respectful as hers. Then, upon standing straight, he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle shake before grinning and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"You must be a princess!" said the Youngling whilst smiling. "Your castle looks awesome and you look like the princesses in the fairy tales. Except, you don't have any mean witches floating around. Oh, and your bow looks really pretty! Can we go explore?"

Yep. Silas was bouncing from subject to subject like a true nine year old. Could you blame him? Before Felicity could respond, however, his child-level attention span drew his attention to the latest person to enter the castle. 'Twas Isabella Denko, and Silas gave her a wave before returning his attention to the princess.

"So, whaddya say?"

@[member="Felicity Mason"], @[member="Isabella Denko"].

 

[Sanna Legra]

Now being a new member and apprentice Templar in the CIS, Sanna had felt that, in order to keep good terms with all the right superiors within this faction, it meant attending every type of party she was invited to. Even if they were birthday parties for the leader of the CIS's daughter. This would actually be her first time meeting either the Archon, her husband, or her daughter. Best to show them, she though, that while she might've been from the past and forced into this present that she wasn't anything like a savage. If nothing else she was grateful that she wound up here and not in the hands of the Sith or any other dangerous hands.

Entering the home of the Masons Sanna was dressed in a decent light green dress while her hair was kept more proper. While she might have been the more wild type she knew to keep a good composure when meeting with people of importance or occasion; something her human mother insisted she learn. The only one thing was that her tail had been poking out from the rear of the dress, her own little customization to compensate.

Waiting to say hello to the little girl in the princess-esc outfit, whom she assumed to be the birthday girl, Sanna was looking around at anything and everything, even catching the attention of some others in the process. Everything was so new to her that it felt like stepping into a story from her time, predictions of what the future would be like. Advanced and yet familiar in so many ways. Her ears twitched now and then when she noticed people staring at her. And you'd think they'd never seen a Human Torogian hybrid before. What made it even more strange was while she looked to be about twenty Sanna had the mind of her 15 year old self that was originally frozen in stasis. A side effect from the system having to reboot during the many centuries or rest.

At one point she saw the two @[member="Keter"] and @[member="Feena Mason"], figuring they were her parents by the look of them. She wondered what it was like to live a life like this. Grand as people thought of perhaps not so, and a lot more common than people would suspect? She couldn't be sure unless she was ever in that position.

When she finally reached @Felicity Mason she gave a little smile and said "Hello. You must be the one who's turning seven today, right? Big day birthday girl and all?" She waited until she introduced herself before saying "Hi. I'm Sanna. I really like your dress. It brings out your eyes."

@[member="Silas Verd"] @Isabella Denko

 

[Keter]

Keter strode into the hall. His wife was as always welcoming all their guests personally. That little touch of humility to make the evening so personal for everyone. The blond smiled. He was left with patrol duty, as he liked to call it. He could see his daughter already garnering some attention, and smiled encouragingly at her. If things got out of hand, he was there for her. But he wouldn't intefere until she asked him. She was a capable girl, she would do well. The blond felt great pride at seeing his little princess turn seven. In time it would be Celeste's turn, and it would be as magnificent a celebration. He leaned against the wall, keeping his red eyes fixed on the group.

@[member="Sanna Legra"] @[member="Silas Verd"] @[member="Isabella Denko"] @[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

A Princess... A... princess. Felicity blushed, flattered. As the boy bounced from subject to subject, Felciity shuffled her feet, awkwardly trying to find a way to converse with him. She wasn't about to tell him she wasn't really a princess. She did like to think she was one, after all. When he grabbed her hand, her blush turned bright scarlet. She didn't know what to say! So, she nodded. Explore. Felicity knew the castle like the back of her hand...
But since Felciity usually wore gloves, perhaps that wasn't quite as well as she thought. There were still rooms that Mother didn't want her to go in...

Another woman approached. Felicity didn't know her, but she was nice. More complements. Felicitys ego was growing by the minute. She smiled. First her bow, then her dress. Mother would be very proud.

"Thank you," she replied, dipping into a curtsey, "My mother picked it out."

@Sanna Legra @Silas Verd @Isabella Denko @[member="Keter"]

 

[Malok]

Another curtsey...Yep, it would take a lifetime before Silas would ever forget the nickname that Felicity now earned herself in his mind. She was very proper, just like the princesses in the holovids, and bowed, and was was polite too! The young Mandalorian couldn't help but have a grin on his face; for he finally met royalty! "Your Mother..." he began, trailing off. One could clearly see the gears in his mind clicking along as he mulled over the logic that adults could formulate in miliseconds. "If you're a princess...Then she's the Queen!" he gasped, stepping back. "I didn't know the Confederacy had a Queen! Do you have guards and stuff? And, and...Oh, exploring! Yes. We should explore!" Like a basketball, he bounced around from subject to subject with no end in sight.

Then, they were joined by a rather tall, rather feline looking woman and Silas waved excitedly. "Hi! My name's Silas!"

@[member="Felicity Mason"], @[member="Isabella Denko"], @[member="Sanna Legra"].

 

[Felicity Mason]

Mommy? A Queen? Well... it made sense. She wore pretty dresses, and lived in a castle. And didn't her Daddy always call Mommy 'Queen'? Felicity honestly had not thought about it, but she supposed it made sense. But she was always gone, away from her castle. Away from her.
The child looked to her Mother, then to her Father. If Mommy was a Queen, then did that make Daddy a King?
Somehow, that didn;t seem right.

"Oh- Err..." How was she going to answer all the questions excitedly being flung at her?

"I suppose she is a Queen? She's in charge of a lot of things. And. Guards, yes we have them. Mommy doesn't go anywhere without them now. She got hurt and now she needs protection."

That was honestly all she knew about the attempt on her Mothers life. Daddy brought her home and she had her arm in a sling. That was all she was allowed to know. She waited until Silas was finished speaking to the woman. It would be rude to interrupt.

"I... Oh, I could show you the courtyard," she offered, trying to think of places to explore that would not get her in trouble, "Shall I show you?"

@[member="Silas Verd"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

A hand reached down and shook @[member="Silas Verd"]'s while Sanna said "Hello there. You seem the real eager and full of excitment type." After that she stopped and listned as the two children converesed about going to see the courtyard. She simply waved them off before turning her attention to @[member="Keter"]. Walking over she bowed and said "You must be the husband to the Archon, yes? I'm Sanna Legra. One of the newley appointed templars of the CIS."

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Keter]

The blond watched as Felicicty easily made a new friend. She truly was her mother's daughter. The blond shook his head and laughed. A small beep in his sight signified that Barnabus had returned from his patrol. Good. That meant he would be able to keep an eye on Felicity now. Keter could hardly follow his duaghter around everywhere - she had to learn to be more adventurous and independent. Besides, he had to make an appearance at the main hall for the sakes of Feena's guests. And then the somewhat older woman left the children and approached him. Keter kept a polite smile on his face as she bowed and introduced herself. So formal, so seeking of acceptance. His eyes could see the micromovements betraying her discomfort. It was miniscule, but still there. His smile almost slipped into one of reassurance before he clamped down on the urge. The woman before him seemed young. Soon enough Felicity would be that age and charging across the galaxy doing whatever it is she wound up doing.

Keter bowed his head back, mindful of decorum though never having really cared for it much himself. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Legra," he replied, his smile becoming more sincere. Though not quite like his wife, Keter had a passion for meeting new people. Having grown up a slave had left him curious as to how others lived and what they had experienced. "I am Keter Mason," he added, finding himself trying to place the woman's species. He had never come across anyone like her, though the feline traits would certainly narrow down his search for information. "I hold no rank in the Confederacy myself, so don't worry about any formalities," Keter continued with a smile. Hopefully that would somewhat reassure her. "What do you think of our home?"

@[member="Sanna Legra"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

Despite his somewhat intimidating look, Sanna was glad to see that this man, while apparenlty holding no rank despite being the husband to the ruler of the CIS, he still had a very open tone to him. Not stuck up or all high and mighty like she expected. But then Sanna had never actually met any of those types of people in person herself.

Answering his question she said "Oh it is very lovely. Seems architecture and art has changed a great deal since my time." with a very casual sense of letting that be known. Given her past and her discovery she could assume that people were bound to know one way or another that she was frozen in stasis for hundreads of years.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Her time? Well that was certainly a conversation hook if he had ever heard one! He tilted his head to one side as he reached over to the table beside him, picking up a glass of champagne before remembering himself and grabbing another to offer to the woman before partaking himself. "Oh? Do you hold an interest in such things? I must say that I never truly looked to deeply into aesthetics myself," the blond admitted, glancing about. "I had this place built with practicality in mind. Though it pleases me to hear so many voices here again..." he said, momentarily losing himself in memories before shaking his head clear.

Though the husband of the Archon, Keter was not particularily integrated with the Confederacy, and many little tidbits of news slipped by him, including personnel reports that did not directly involve him in some way. Feena had insisted upon checking the guestlist, and he had let her organise everything. So he had no idea how young the woman before him looked compared to her technical age. He rolled his shoulders as he spoke again. "In any case, how are you finding life as a Templar? I trust your Master has made you feel welcome?"

@[member="Sanna Legra"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

When @[member="Keter"] handed her the drink she thanked him before answering his question of if she was into art and all. "Not too much. But then I never really left home when I was younger, so it's not as if I've actually seen a lot. But I'm just comparing it what I HAVE seen. Which isn't that much really...." She sipped her drink after seeing how awkward that was phrased before he asked about her templar life. "Well it's fine enough. Just takes a little time to get used to how things have changed is all. Never even knew about any Templar order in my time. In fact there wasn't any Confederacy either. Least what I was aware of."

 

[Keter]

Her continued references to time were curious, but Keter chose not to press that issue. He hadn't exactly had an enlihtened upbringing either. "Well...been travelling far from home long then?" he asked, choosing to focus on that aspect instead. "The galaxy is a big place, I hope you've been handling it well," he added, almost challengingly though he smiled to make it clear he wasn't questioning her competence. "I remember the day I left home for the first time....it was...a while ago," he said, gazing into the liquid in his glass as he swirled it around, remembering Hutta. His family. The Sith who had trained him. All so far in the past...

@[member="Sanna Legra"]

 

[Sanna Legra]

"Far is an understatement." she siad with a little huff. she sipped her drink before seeing the way he was looking into his drink, obviously in his own thoughts about when he'd left home as he mentioned. She knew that look. That was the same one she had for a while after getting used to being far away from everything she knew, both in the sense of distancer and also time. There basically no way to turn back now. "Are you alright?" she asked, making sure @[member="Keter"] wasn't getting too lost.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

He nodded as he looked up from his drink, downing it. Best not to make guests worry. "I am fine, thank you. Just reminiscing. I am sure you understand. But anyway, never mind my past. What of your home? Which planet do you hail from?" he asked with a tilt of his head. It was a far politer way of asking exactly what she was so he didn't end up inflicting some hideous cultural misstep upon her. "Have you been back to visit?"

@[member="Sanna Legra"]