[NYE Party] happy new year and lots of fun

[nascensibility]

Who: EVERYONE, but especially you!
Where: Wonderland Ballroom
When: New Year's Eve
Rating: PG - PG13 (will change if applicable)
Summary: New Year's Eve Party
The Story:

[ Previously in the month all residents received an invitation to a formal event: a black tie affair to ring in the New Year. The ballroom and adjacent areas are decked out for the party starting at eight o'clock sharp, meticulously planned and executed, glittering décor to match the no doubt glittering attire as music pours into the halls from the dance floor.

Bars flank each side, service for all manner of alcohol unless a minor requests something, and the primary setting stage features an enormous clock for the countdown. ]




[ Where will you be when the clock strikes midnight? ]

Comments

[mandrakes]

Ah. I can certainly sympathise.

[Maybe not in the way she might think, but he understands homesickness well enough to be able to describe it quite well.]

We can speak of it, or not... Whichever you prefer.

[spiritofgoodness]

It used to be a beautiful place. Until a curse forced us out and ogres took over the land in the nearly three decades we were gone. I went back, a few months ago.

[ She smiles a bit sadly. ]

Our castle, our home, was in ruins.

[mandrakes]

[They might be from different places, but the things she talks about are more than just stories to Regis. Such a story could have come out of any land on the Continent or off it.]

I'm sorry.

[A sentiment like that could easily sound hollow, but there's a depth of feeling to it as Regis says the words.]

[spiritofgoodness]

Thank you. There's been quite the debate back home. Go home and rebuild or stay where we currently are.

[ She lets out a breath, watching it puff out in front of her. ]

Though now we've been cursed back to that land, so I suppose the choice was made for us.

[mandrakes]

A difficult debate to resolve.

[And one he doesn't envy, but one he understands.] I'm afraid something of the opposite is true for me, but given the choice, I believe I would make the choice to return to where my people came from.

[spiritofgoodness]

[ Snow lets out a soft breath. ]

That's what I think I'd like to do. Where we're at is modern: indoor plumbing, medicine, hospitals, technology. Going back home would literally mean going back in time. But it is our true home. We would never have known about modern life if not for the curse.

[mandrakes]

Your perceptions of 'modern life' are... somewhat different to mine.

[Bearing in mind that they seem to come from similar time periods originally, 'modern' has become a concept that's entirely subjective.]

But convenience can undoubtedly be tempting.

[spiritofgoodness]

It is and...more to the point, I don't think my daughter who has lived her entire life with convenience could be talked into leaving that all behind. And that would mean my grandson wouldn't come with us either, I'm guessing.

[ Snow pauses, realizing she needs to explain why that's significant, why visits couldn't simply happen. ]

In order to get between worlds, you need a portal. And they're extremely rare, sometimes dangerous to find. If we were separated, I have no idea when we would see each other again.

[mandrakes]

[The concept of needing a portal to travel between worlds is not an unusual one to Regis. Indeed, there are many closed portals blocking the way back to the world that his own people came from, so many centuries ago.

They had come through it, but none had been able to go back since.]

A risk I could understand not wanting to take. Did you ever come to a decision?

[spiritofgoodness]

Not before we were forced there by magic anyway. Decision made.

[ She looks down, wrapping her arms around herself a bit. ]

I wound up losing part of my family anyway.

[mandrakes]

[He understands loss. He understands it very well indeed.]

... I'm sorry.

[This has to be hard to talk about. With decades of dealing with loss behind him, Regis still finds that it can tear at him.]

Sincerely.

[spiritofgoodness]

[ Snow clears her throat, looking at him with a soft but sad smile. ]

Thank you, truly. I know eventually, it will be okay. Someone here has told me as much. But it will take time before we're all reunited again. More time.

[ She says those last two words to herself, sadly. She's already lost 28 years with Emma. Now it will be 29 and she wonders if that number will simply keep going up. ]