The Stroke of Midnight (OP and Allies)

[Felicity Mason]

Her smile faded somewhat. His hands felt warm, even through her gloves. She was still thinking about poor Glyph inside. Would he still want to tell her his feelings after this? Maybe she should confront him about it later?

"Mom sent me away when she heard about it. Back to Imerria with family. She didn't want me to have to deal with the press in my condition. I know why she did it. It makes sense."

But she'd wanted her mothers support. She'd wanted her to touch her face and tell her that she did a good thing. She was so busy now. Only Father seemed to have any time to spare for her, and even then it was rare.

"I think father is proud of me. And Uncle Barnabus. Mom is just glad I made it out alive."

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

"Ah, I see." He said noting her fading smile. He glanced back to the party for a moment and then back to her. Noting the final song about to play before midnight, he smiled once more and moved a little closer. "Sounds like the last song before midnight is starting..." he said as he reached up and moved a single lock that had fallen in front of her face. "I uh...don't suppose you'd care to dance?" He was thankful to whatever gods there were that it was a slow song. Because he admittedly had two left feet.

As he waited her response, he'd simply stand there smiling in his usual friendly manner toward her.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Dance? Again? The blond blinked twice at him, then gave a careful nod. What harm could come of dancing? It was fun. It was a good way to socialize. Mother taught her well. She obviously taught her to dance for a reason.
the feel of his finger brushing against her forehead startled her. In the bright white moonlight, she knew that without her mask on anyone could recognize her if they walked outside. But she didn't want to put it back on. Not now.

"Only if we can dance out here. I don't... I don't want him to see me right now."

She didn't explain who she was referring to. She cast a glance to the window, nervous. This night was not going as planned. Not at all. And yet, it felt like fate was handing her the perfect first time romantic scenarios. Everything she day dreamed about, but none of it felt right.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

He frowned slightly as he tried to deduce who it was that she was talking about. He hadn't seen her before, so he had no idea. But in the end, it didn't really matter. "I had kind of hoped for nothing less." He replied with a smile.

He took a few steps further into the courtyard, and straightened up. Making fun of himself, Viper exaggerated his formal posture just a bit, as he held out his hand for her to join him.

 

[Felicity Mason]

She gave a smile in response, dipped into a perfect bow. Always practice that bow. Her mother was the Queen who bowed. It wouldn't do for her daughter to be anything but perfect too. She took his hand and stepped closer. Tonight was full of surprises. First Glyphs confession. Now a dance with the space wizard who saved her life. She had a feeling that there was still more to come, especially later tonight when she called up Owain.
She'd never seen a cantina before. She was really looking forward to that.

"Did my message get out?" she asked suddenly, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

As they began to dance, her sudden question took him by surprise. He didn't stop dancing though, and instead continued on smoothly leading her around the courtyard.. Viper then looked at her and smirked. "Saw a holo of it on Ossus." He said with a wink. "That...uh...made for an interesting debriefing with the Jedi masters, let me tell ya."

He gave a laugh as he recalled the Jedi and their faces. "I took the blame for it though. So Corvus got off easy. In point of fact it really was my idea in the first place. So I was glad they didn't come down on her too much."

Viper spent another moment reflecting on it. "It was worth it. Every bit of it. I wish it had never happened...but since it did...it was worth the trouble and the pain to get the message out about what ASA is really like."

He didn't know what else to say. She seemed to have a lot still on her mind. So he decided to stay quiet again to give her a chance to get anything else out, that she might want to say.

 

[Felicity Mason]

So the message had gotten out. Even so far as Ossus. She let out a sigh of relief, so glad it hadn't all been for nothing. If something had to come from this, she was glad she at least got the message out about the Authority.

"...So where have you been?" she asked suddenly, gliding along with him, "After the invasion, I mean. I was hoping to talk to you again, but by the time I could, you had already left."

She couldn't stand just dancing in silence. She had to talk, or she would grow so nervous her face would grow the color of blood.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

"I'm sorry Felicity. I wanted to stay. Truly. I did. But I had to get back to the academy." He let out a disappointed sigh as he too would have liked to talk to her a bit more before he left. "But with all the confusion, all the wounded...the fact that when we got back, I was holding the Queens daughter....with all that. There was just no time, before I was recalled. I technically wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. Myself or Corvus. Quite honestly, I think Corvus only came to keep me out of trouble." He finished with a small laugh.

"Besides princess." He teased gently, remembering her space wizard comment earlier. "I'm just a Jedi. Nothing really important about me. You were what mattered." At this point the music began to die down. As it did, Viper gave her a little spin. The music finally finished, and in to finish off the dance at this most auspicious event. He pulled up her hand and softly planted a quick kiss.

"Come. We should get back inside. I'm sure your mother will have things to say to everyone gathered." She was a remarkable person. For one so quickly thrown into the horrors of war, she handled it remarkably well. He could tell she was different now. But nobody could be expected to come out of that unchanged. Even if they had been trained for it.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

Glyph hadn't so much as moved, hadn't spoken to anyone, hadn't even tried to look for someone. No he was simply sitting there, utterly confused and rubbing his forehead as his hand passed under his mask, his other hand hiding his face. What he was thinking about was simple, why had Felicity's cousin ran off like that... did she go to tell felicity, maybe laugh at a guard's fears with her cousin. Maybe she just had to go, or someone was there to meet her... He had no idea and his mind continued to drift on as he stopped rubbing his head and ate from the plate he had found, a friend of his from the kitchen sitting with him and talking about some serving droid he needed help fixing.

"Ill help you another day Samuel, i need some air, something on my mind... meet me out back in thirty minutes, ill work on it back there." He stood up slowly and didn't even bother putting down his mask, walking out of the room with his head turned towards the stares, talking as he walked. "Well so much for that night, im going to have to remember what her cousin said though... good luck on my part telling her... so beauti-" Before he finished his words he knocked right into [member="Felicity Mason"], tumbling down to the ground as he tripped, groaning as he lay there. "For heaven's sake..."

 

[Felicity Mason]

" You were what mattered."

If Felicity wasn't blushing before, she was certainly blushing now. The way he looked at her, spun her around, kissed her hand. Maybe...? Was it possible that Viper was her dream prince? He was a Jedi, sure. Jedi couldn't be princes. Felicity wasn't even sure they were allowed to date. But still...
Maybe...?

The moon was bright. Perfect. Sure, he was a little bit older than her, but then, her own mother and father weren't exactly the same age either. She kept smiling, looking down at the fresh green gardens at their feet.

"Y-yeah, we should but, um....?"

She raised her eyes, shy. She could try to have her first kiss here. She didn't know anything about this Space Wizard, but he was very sweet to her, and she did owe him her life. Maybe... well, in the stories, the hero received a kiss from the maiden, right? She closed her eyes, leaned in-

And then she was shoved aside, nearly falling over.

"Hey! Watch where-!"

She stopped, catching a glimpse of him through her blond curls. Her eyes widened, she quickly turned her head away. The chrono struck midnight at that moment. The sound was enough to pull her to her senses. It rang loud, jlouder than her own heartbeat.

She glanced at [member="viper"], letting her hand fall away from his. Her face was bright scarlet. She couldn't do this. She would talk to Viper later... if he didn't realize what she was about to do. That would be positively mortifying.

And [member="Glyph"]? She would have to face him soon. Very soon. He was her body guard. She couldn't avoid him. He would take her advice. He would tell her to her face exactly how he felt. She would listen, she would hear him out. But not tonight.

Felicity did the only thing she could think of to do at that moment. She picked up the hem of her skirt and ran. She ran faster than she thought she could, the heels of her pretty white shoes clicking loudly on the pavement. She knew how to get out now. How to escape the Palace from here. She couldn't go back now. She had to go with her original plan. While mom was distracted with the party, she was going to go out. She was going to get her mind off of everything. Off of all the awkward. All the things that she just did not feel ready for.

She hadn't even noticed that her mask had been left on the bench.

Panting, the blond stopped a good distance away from the gardens, sitting up against a low wall beside a flowering bush. She took out her comm, glancing behind to make sure she wasn't found.

"[member="Owain"]? It's me. Felicity. Um... About that date. Could we do that tonight?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Felicity Mason"]

He saw her, not Felicity, well ya her. But he saw her when her back was turned, in the dress that her 'cousin' was wearing. This obviously made him think she was her cousin and he shrugged as he moved over to the bench, looking at something that was laying there and picking it up as he frowned. "Huh, i see she lost her mask, well shame." He decided he could get Felicity to return it next time he saw the woman, taking a seat and only then noticing @Viper. "Sorry to interrupt your talk... i wasn't watching where i was going."

 

[Owain]

Meanwhile, somewhere in Theed...
----------
"Ooooh, idee idee idee idee idee idee aye!" they all sang, swinging their mugs, tankards and glasses in tune with the song, sloshing the contents all over the floor. No one cared, they were already lost in the festivities.

"One night the stars started falling!" sang the first man, a farmer from the outskirts who had come in to the cantina on the night of Naboo's Victory Day (as the locals called it, or so he had heard).

"Full of ASA ass!" sang a brunette woman, Selene if he remembered correctly. A tailor.

"They thought that they could take us!" continued another man, this one a burly fisherman.

"But they just gave us sass!" added Owain, grinning. The people of Naboo may not have been famous for their parties like some of the more wild places in the core worlds, but damn if their good spirits weren't infectious!

The crowd laughed along with them as they danced arm in arm in a line on the bar counter. "Ooh, idee idee idee idee idee idee aye!" they sang together, moving onto their second verse.

"Down they came to the city!" Selene sang, her braided hair whipping about.

"S-shouting and yelling!" the fisherman quickly added with a grimace. Improvising a song was hard!

"Looking for an easy win!" Owain blurted out, raising a few incredulous laughs from the drunken crowd.

"But we didn't like what they were selling!" the farmer finished, raising a loud bawdy cheer as they all moved into the final verse, their dance somehow ending up as a folk one, with a lot of kicking and high leg movements. Owain had no idea what was going on, but he didn't care - this was why he loved hitting up the cantinas.

"Ooh, idee idee idee idee idee idee aye!" the quartet chanted in tune with the simple tune being played by the band.

"And now they've all run off!" the fisherman started.

"So we dance here and sing!" Owain laughed.

"Because our Queen saw us through!" the farmer continued.

"So we look for a victory fling!" Selene finished, and everyone cheered as the song wrapped up.

Owain downed his drink and hopped off the bar, smiling widely as he made his way through the congratulatory crowd towards the door. he needed some air. The cantina was packed and a bit stuffy, but it was proving to be a fun night. Whilst all the nobles had their fancy shindig up in the palace or whatever, the common folk of Naboo were having their own parties to celebrate their victory over the foul ASA.

The chill evening air felt pleasant on his skin as he stood in the street, looking around. The lights were on and decorations hung from many a building. It was all so vibrant and bursting with life. Quite unlike any place h had ever been to before. His chrono beeped and he blinked in surprise, activating it to see who it was. His eyes went wide when he saw who was contacting him. Felicity? But...how did she get my contact details? It took him only a moment to figure it out. Uncle Elliot. Of course. That meddlesome old fool. Shaking his head, Owain answered.

"Hey Princess....oh...uh, sure. I'm in this nice little place just off the grand avenue. Want me to fetch you?" he asked, somewhat surprised. Now of all times? It was getting late...though these kinda festivities would last until the next day...or evening going by how everyone was being so energetic.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[VlPER]

Vipers thoughts were a bit of a whirlwind suddenly. As he looked into her eyes, her expression changed. She was obviously running through quite a few thoughts and emotions herself. When she closed her eyes and began to lean in, Viper, taken by surprise began to mimic the movement. It was strange to him. Viper had only really thought of Felicity as a friend. His own personal interest lay elsewhere. Yet here he was, moving toward Felicity as she was to him.

The moment ended in a less than graceful, or romantic manner as some random person plowed into them headlong. He instantly frowned at the careless rudeness of this person. However, Felicity began to speak her mind before he could. At least, she began too.

Viper watched the next few seconds with a calculating eye. Her sudden lack of words when she realized who had shoved into them. Her scarlet red face as she quickly took her hands from Viper's grasp. And then she ran away.

With a shake of his head, he was fairly certain this was the person she seemed to be trying to avoid earler. "Woman." He thought to himself. Turning toward the newcomer he was not acquainted with he smiled. "I noticed." He said with a small chuckle. "But you're fine." Viper then walked over and extended his hand. "I'm Viper. A pleasure to meet you." It was then he noticed the mask in his hand. "Oh, I'll take that if you don't mind. I know her personally, and will be seeing her later."

Naturally he had no idea who the man was or what his relationship was with Felicity. But, Viper did mean to see her one last time before leaving and thought it appropriate to ask for it. After receiving the mask, Viper would excuse himself and head back inside to the party. He wanted to hear what the Queen had to say for their fallen heroes.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="VlPER"]

He shook his hand at the man, signalling that he would not need to worry about the mask. "Ill give it to her the next time i see her, dont worry about it. Oh, and im Glyph by the way... do you know why Felicity's cousin keeps running off like that?" He realized the man for what ever reason might not know Felicity.... though something else would be extremely apparent. The fact that Glyph had thought Felicity was not herself but a cousin of hers, he having never seen her face under the mask he still had in his hands.

 

[VlPER]

Viper raised and eyebrow at Glyph for both his refusal to hand over the mask, and his question about "Felicity's cousin". " Ugh....what are you talking about? That wasn't Felicity's cousin...That was Felicity." Although Viper was going to be annoyed if he missed what the queen was going to say, he had a feeling this man was about to turn pale. And he was curious enough to stay and see if his suspicion was correct.

[member="Glyph"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="VlPER"]

Glyph didn't quite hear him as his mind was focused on something else, his eyes looking at the mask as he turned it in his hand and pondered something. Whatever Viper had said would have turned him pale indeed, but for now all he did was sit there, saying nothing and giving no indication that he had heard the man.

 

[Felicity Mason]

"Yeah. Come find me. I'm just inside the palace walls. By the east side gardens."

The blond girl sighed, pushing her fingers through her blond hair. She had lost her feather barrette somewhere during the party. Her mask too. And now her hair was starting to fall out of the intricate hair style she'd worn for most of the night. Even if she changed her mind, she didn't look like a pretty princess anymore.

She gently thumped the back of her head against the cold stone wall behind her. Tonight had been more than even she could handle. She'd been to war and back, and now she was troubled by the idea that she might be growing up after all. It was so stupid. What she needed now was more stupid. And Owain was exactly the kind of person to go to for that.

In the distance, the chime of midnight had faded. Soon her Mother would be giving her speech. Soon. And she wouldn't be around to hear it.
[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

He sighed and nodded despite himself. "Alright, I'll see about busting your cage songbird," he replied before shutting down the communicator. Well, good thing he hadn't drunk too much then. Muttering under his breath about Princesses and confusing girls and people just being naive, he set off towards the palace. East side gardens, he knew where those were. Except...wait, there was no way he was going to get in. He wasn't on the shindig guest list or anything. Eh, he'd improvise. He always did.

Alright, time to put that Sith training to work! Basic infiltration 101! Objective: Palace Gardens! Target: One Felicity Mason! Get in, grab, get out, all sneaky like. Owain tapped his chin as he walked. Oh yeah, he could think of a few things. It'd be stupidly dangerous, but whatever...or he could just claim he was going back to the guest room Felicity had arranged for him in the estates within the palace grounds. Yes...he could get into the palace easy, he only had to sneak into the gardens. Pfft, never mind the planning then. Basic stealth was something he could do.

Whistling a merry tune, he quickened his step as he headed towards the fine elegance of the Queen's Palace.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"I'm the galaxies biggest idiot."

She poke out loud, pulling her knees to her chest. She felt like a little girl, hiding from imaginary monsters. They were all in her head. What was wrong with her? She never would have hesitated before. She would never have been this afraid. She would have known what she wanted and would have taken it. Without fear. Without hesitation.

But now she just didn't want what she'd dreamed about before. She'd seen war, she'd seen death. The Galaxy was so much bigger than just her. She'd dreamed about silly things like true loves kiss and the perfect first date. But now she knew excitement and adventure. She knew danger.

And she wanted more of it.

[member="Owain"]

 

[VlPER]

Viper stared at the man for a moment who seemed to have suddenly gotten lost in his own thoughts. "Well, good night I guess." Viper said to the odd fellow and walked back in to the room full of people he didn't know. "Gah. Dang you Corvus." He muttered to himself. "Why couldn't you have come? At the very least, I would have had someone in this crowd I knew."

Viper finished his grumbling, and made his way toward the Queen. He was at least going to find a good spot for the speech.