Glorious (Viktor X OC)

Preperations For the Ball

The next day Verity went with her mother to find a new dress. They settled on a beautiful blue gown so dark it was nearly black. The dress was imbedded with a thousand tiny diamonds causing the dress to sparkle and glimmer with each step. It looked like stars against the night sky. The gown had a V neck, a tight bodice and flared at the waist into a large skirt. To match, Rosalind purchased her daughter a tear drop Diamond pendant on a silver chain and two tear drop diamond earrings. Finally, they purchased silver flecked low heels.

The theme of the ball was a classic: starry night. The color scheme was navy blue, silver, gold, and black. When Verity and her mother returned home, the entire mansion was slowly being enveloped in these colors. The pair did a walk through of the progress so far, starting in the entry hall and going to the ball room.

The guests would enter through the main hall, then turn right to walk through the portrait hall and into the grand ball room. The Ainsworth manor ball room had 8 Crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and each wall was covered in priceless paintings with the biggest piece being a family portrait of Renford, Rosalind, and Verity. A stage had been erected against the back wall for the musicians and Verity to perform on. Against the left wall small round tables dripping with crystal embellished navy table cloths had been set up for rest or business. Verity was sure her father would spend most of the night at these tables poaching for new clients and finalizing deals. To the right was a large open balcony with smaller balconies shooting off it that wrapped around the manor. The balconies over looked the fairly large and meticulously kept gardens.

"Its all looking quite well," Rosalind said, nodding her head once. "Take today to practice your pieces for the party and rest up. You must look your best tomorrow. Oh, and be sure to memorize the guest list," Rosalind said, handing Verity a thick packet of papers. Each page had a small photograph of the guest and a profile of their accomplishments. "Please pay special attention to the young gentleman with a star beside their names. Your father and I have flagged them as good matches."

"Yes, mother," Verity said.

"You're dismissed to your room. Go to the practice room after three hours," her mother instructed.

Verity nodded, then took her leave. She greeted each servant she passed by name and they all smiled back. When Verity got back to her room, she began to flip through the packet. A few names were quite familiar to her such as Councilor Heimerdiner, Councilor Medarda, and the others. All of her father's business partners had been invited along with all the families on Bluewind court. Even minor merchants, houses, and nouveau riche families had been invited. Verity smiled when she got to Jayce's page, relieved to see he and his mother had replied 'yes' to their invitations.

One page in this packet gave Verity pause. It was a face she had never seen before: Alek Tariost. The photo showed a man with bronze skin and jet black hair. He was handsome.

Verity knew the last name well. Clan Tariost was a shipping empire and one of the wealthiest mercantile clans in Piltover. Her father and the head of clan Tariost, Laurence Tariost, were good friends and partners. So who was Alek? Well the answer to Verity's question was in ink right before her eyes. It read:

Alek Tariost: New intelligencer of clan Tariost. Distant blood relative of Laurence Tariost. Private education. Lived in Bilge water for three years. Returned to Piltover last week. Age 23.

Verity frowned. Those who went to Bilge Water were in large part fugitives from some authority or another. Did Alek flee there until his problems were sorted, or was he sent there on behalf of the clan? And if he was raised in Piltover, why had Verity never even heard of him? Sure it wasn't uncommon for members of large clans to reside in obscurity, but any future clan intelligencer would be in the spotlight from a young age.