<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/ac/Eikichi_Characters_44.png)</div>Name: Stephen<br/>Location: Ballroom -> Banquet Hall<br/>Tagging: None - Open<br/>Mentioning: Many.<br/><hr/><strong><em>That dreadful sound of monotony.</em></strong><br/><br/>Even after the shift of the song Stephen remained in the background. He decided, aptly, that he had no interest in dancing lest one of his retainers recognized the familiar apparel and tracked him down. Whether it was the various levels of scolding or the fact that the night would be cut short Lord Becket was adamant on remaining in the shadows. It was probably for the best considering he really did have two left feet and no sense of rhythm. One of the main reasons this would be the part of the evening that he’d happily avoid. He planned to spend most of the evening exploring the castle and getting to know some of its occupants since it seemed likely the young Lord would be spending quite a bit of time here rather than in the country. Yet instead of being able to freely explore, to his heart’s content, it seemed the hosts were keeping them confined to various portions of the room. He couldn’t blame them with the crowd as large as it was it was probably better to keep people from getting lost or into some kind of trouble. The problem was Stephen wanted to simply explore and get into whatever mischief might be instore.<br/><br/>For now the only choice he had was to take it slow and see what else the hosts and the party would have to offer him. He walked through the crowd, around the ballroom, shuffling past people while keeping his gaze on the various dancers who’d taken to the center. If there was nothing else for him to do he’d at least take his time to go over the various guests and see if there was anyone of interest who might peak his attention. There was only a handful that’d ended up catching his attention; ranging from the Egyptian masked male and his dancing partner or from the countess who’d taken to dancing with someone other than the count. He let his gaze wander over the dancing couple as a brief distraction from how pent up the ball was currently making him. While he watched he continued to stalk his way through the crowd, casting occasional glances towards the ballroom entrance. He noticed two of the latest guests to arrive both of which were sporting unique masks, though judging by the masks everyone was wearing perhaps the most unique thing about them was how little they stood out compared to everyone else. But then again one couldn’t have guessed the strange masks the guests would drag in with them. Yet still, something kept his attention on the woman; the lady with the mask shaped like a bat and finally the woman whose mask left two large horns extended out.<br/><br/>Before he could start to ponder about the ladies, they were swept up with the rest in taking to the center. Not that it was something poor to be swept up in; the dance was a large apart of this event after-all. If he’d had more interest in it he might have joined the maiden from before. However, it wasn’t them being swept up that stopped his pondering mind. The sound of a bell and the Count and Countess taking stage at the bottom of the stairs is what preoccupied his attention. There announcement might have been a saving grace to him, if it wasn’t for the fact that they were simply trading one brightly lit cage for another. Well, at least the new one provided some refreshments. Besides while Stephen might like to watch the lovely ladies who were strolling the center of the ballroom the setting had started to become a bit of a bore, so it was at-least somewhat better for his attention and action seeking personality to wander around the new setting. So once the Count and Countess made their way back into the crowd he began making his way past the crowd and instead headed into the banquet hall.<br/><br/>As much as he might have been stirred at the prospect of a new surrounding he still took his time. Whether it was the dancing ladies which enchanted his gaze, and attention, for long forgotten minutes at a time or if it was the lure of stalking those that had caught his eye it caused him to delay his entrance to the banquet hall. There were of course various things about the ladies that caught his attention in particular but those vulgar thoughts had to be dismissed so he could turn his attention toward the adventure that was before him.<br/><br/>So when Lord Becket finally did enter into the Banquet Hall the first thing he did was gaze over the surroundings. It seemed a few people had already taken their seats and begun eating. So Becket made his way over to the large banquet table which had all the food sprawled across on display and for ease of access. He took one of the empty plates and bowl, filling up the bowl with soup while picking out a few choice cuts of beef and lettuce for the plate. He brought the plates over to a vacant table. He set down the food before casting his glance to the empty seat in front of him and couldn’t hold back the visible twitch of her lower lip. If someone did decide to sit with him, or beside him it meant he would more than likely need to keep his mask on during the meal. That in itself wasn’t a terrible problem for him. The mask he’d chosen did obstruct some of his vision but the curved shape of the beak did not impair him from eating. So he could just keep the mask on while eating and not have to worry about any watchful interlopers. While it certainly wasn’t ideal there was little else he could do if he wanted his privacy kept.<br/><br/>--- --- ---<br/><br/>While Lord Becket was setting his food down and taking his seat, he did not notice the commotion which had begun in the corner of the room. He heard the faint mutters and shouts, along with the bulk of people now muttering amongst themselves. But since it wasn’t entirely within his interest he remained oblivious to the fact that one of the hosts had been murdered. That obliviousness would be short lived; where It was the murmuring of the other guests, someone that loved to pry and gossip, or his own interest in as to why security had gathered in the corner it certainly wouldn’t be long till he was either told, herd, or sought out what was causing such an eerie commotion. But for the moment he was less concerned with what had people preoccupied in the corner and was more interested in the slab of meat that was resting on his plate and the stew that was getting colder by the second.<br/>