There was a sad smile on the Queen's lips as Tehr spoke about the thought of meeting with the recently passed away noblewoman. Nonetheless, she listened to him quietly or a moment and seemed to become thoughtful for a moment as the teasing words had a small smirk rise up to the corner of her lips about the sheathing swords and the matters of the play, a warm-hearted chuckle leaving her lips soon after. Gazing upon him with warmth evident in her eyes, she spoke again in a teasing tone.<strong>"I would think that you get plenty of practice with your sword but of course I am always happy to see your skill with it. Yet I am more than aware of the way things can come up at the different times."</strong>She leaned forth and sought a kiss from his lips, a small bit of a smirk crossing her lips momentarily.<br/><br/><strong>"As for the play that nights bring, I can understand missing a night because of all that is taking place. I think that this event may well require you to be well rested and focused for the gala, so I think for the immediate moment I should keep from taking you up on your inviting offer to stay tonight."</strong>Pausing momentarily after saying that, letting her eyes take an appreciative long glance at him again, she then spoke in a slightly mirthful tone once more.<strong>"After the gala is over and you no longer have the confusion all of that brings resting on your shoulders I would very happily welcome you to share the bed here for the whole night if you were willing to see to exhausting myself to rest."</strong>There was a bit of a challenging tone to her voice, a bit of excited eagerness tempered with a bit of caution, but then again not even the guard captain was close enough to hear her words then and there.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The next evening brought with it the flowing long dresses and the finely polished shoes, as well as teh height of fashion in the formal wear being put on display as lavish outfits were presented each trying to outdo the others it seemed at the gala being held by the House Saari. There was a sizable gathering present, enough so that even with the rumors about the man-hating ways the ladies of the House were sometimes accused it was clear that they held a place in the Londinium's heart and a place there was all the more secure with the posh display available at the grand hall.<br/><br/>There was a small itinary on the paper about enjoying the start of celebrations at the House Saari's compound and moving over from there to the docks and aboard their new, large addition to the ships serving their trade, a large merchant-man bedecked with fair tables and with kitchens noted on the paper to be already playing host to both exotic ingredients and skilled chefs, the second portion of the celebrations meant for the more select crowd that included Tehr, the first part being more to socialize and have a wine and dine gathering for the people the House Saari was trying to hold in peaceful contact with, especially with their current trades on-going.<br/><br/><strong>"Pleased to see you again,"</strong>a voice spoke as soon as the young man had crossed a threshold, a raven-haired, slender woman spoke as she stepped towards him. Dressed in a flowing black dress with silver sash wrapped around her waist and the flowing skirts covering her legs giving the illusion of gliding towads him rather than walking, Jesanie d'Saari was certainly looking pleased to see him present, a warm smile upon her lips. Though it might have to do with the gruff, displeased look of a pair of older gentlemen that had been chatting her up a moment before.<br/><br/><strong>"Marie is speaking with the Matron at the time, and the house Elders are present."</strong>She nodded towards the back at a pair of sealed double doors, beyond the dance-floor hosting a number of people waltzing to the tunes played by a band on a slightly elevated stage not too far away, a band of women playing it seemed and given the insignias, they might just be house members showing off rather than servants or hired bards.<br/><br/><strong>"So, umm..."</strong>She paused for a moment as she looked at his face seeming to look for clues about his mood and thoughts at the time, before drawing a long breath and speaking in a lower voice to him, seemingly leading him towards the dance-floor.<em><strong>"Karin is likely to attend at the ship but she isn't too eager to follow the matron's word on this, elder decision or not. She's gotten quite willful. Though I think we all have some of that. Trying to raise independant and strong daughters and then complaining if they don't just accept the old ways seems a tad counter-productive I'd say but still."</strong></em>She offered a faint smile, though there was a short hum as the two of them could see the pairs of people dancing. Old and young alike seemed invited, though with House Saari there appeared to be a fair bit more ladies standing a bit off chatting than gentlemen lining the walls discussing things.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, a few familiar faces could be seen in the crowd. Both the head and the grandfather of the House Staro were present nearby, talking to a bit of an odd pair, a dwarven man elbowing a human lad in the thigh and laughing merrily, the two noblemen seemingly amused despite the slightly improper behaviour of the openly laughing dwarven man and the young man standing besides him. It took a moment to recognise the dwarven man actually carried the Forgefist emblem on his dwarf-sized suit, as did the young human lad besides him for whatever reason.<br/><br/>There was a noblewoman he had once helped out in the streets of Londinium, chatting with who appeared to be a daughter, haughty and standing stiff in her corset-laxed dress.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Despite several rewrites and awkward attempts and even a halted attempt at writing an interlude of things going bump in the night, the post came together as is. I have a bit of thoughts of a night-encounter that might take place between the events, but I dropped it in favor of advancing a bit, and yet came to a short halt here as I thought of trying to slip into the scene.<br/><br/>I hope this is not disappointingly short, and that it provides at least some hooks on getting back in motion, but nevertheless, I posted since I was taking way too long with trying to get things to look right already.</div></div>