<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/ac/Eikichi_Characters_44.png)</div>Name: Stephen<br/>Location: Ballroom<br/>Tagging: ----<br/><hr/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Lord Becket had decided to abandon his carriage, and much of his entourage, at the gates of the castle. Using the gathered crowd as the perfect distraction for the bulky semblance of figures who wanted to set themselves up amongst the Lord for nothing more than its name-sake. It was a rather disgusting tradition, in Stephen’s humble opinion, though that was thanks to his own personal bias which craved the independence that the country had allotted him for so many years. Some might have balked at the Lords bachelor status, but that was simply another hazard of his time in the countryside where there were no nobles or regals to be married off to. That’s not to say Lord Becket didn’t have his fun, but none of those he’d associated himself with would have been anything close to marriage worthy in their rather single-minded aristocratic society. If he’d even raised such ideas he balked at what his brother might have done, or what foreign waste-land they would have shipped him off to.<br/><br/></span></span><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/16/cb/f5/16cbf55faf52994c2477afd5671cc270.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">But that’s what not tonight was about. He’d accepted the invitation to mingle with those he’d now be sharing some time and company with; but in truth the masquerade ball was his excuse to rid himself of his new title and find himself amongst less savory characters. To bring back the excitement he’d been deprived there these long two months of lord-ship. To complete the façade the Lord had thrown out his original ornate gold mask, leaving it in among one of the many bushes along the drive and instead opting for the raven mask that he’d hidden amongst his attire. With this, not only would it give him the anonymity he craved but it made it unlikely for the entourage he’d just ditched to be able to readily find him. Hopefully it would give the Lord just enough time to get involved in something that got his heart racing again.<br/><br/>Of course his heart was racing, he had no idea of just how excited he’d be to actually be free again. Even if that freedom was for just a few brief moments before he ended up being sprawled back into a life of complete annoyance. Once the black raven mask was fasted around him, he tightened the straps into place and then began the arduous tasks of ascending the steps into the manner to see what exactly all the fuss was about. Part of him was tempted to begin wandering the castle to look for something entertaining, but being a social creature by nature he naturally began to follow the flow of guests who were making their way out of the main hall and instead gathering in the ballroom where the Count and Countess had begun to dance. <em>‘Huh’</em> He cast a side-long glance at the dancing couple before noticing the few stray members of the crowd moving to join them on the floor. He, however, was not the type to allow his feet to guide his whims. So instead the Lord remained blended into the crowd, taking tentative steps around the dancefloor and watching the various guests who were gathered, seeing if there was anyone who might catch his interest. Otherwise, before he ended up dragged into a dance or running into some entourage, the Lord was contemplating simply leaving the ballroom all-together and just heading somewhere else a little less.. crowded.</span></span>