The Midnight Ball

3

Note: The closest I could find for Margarette
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Ismie stood at the entrance of the grand hall, took another fortifying breath to help settle her nerves, schooled her features into a hopefully serene and friendly smile then entered

She saw everyone mingling and conversing. They'd had a bit of time to get to know eachother, but since she was the last to arrive, she really didn't know anyone, only of them..

Elinore saw her, excused herself from her company and came to her

She looped her arm with hers

First came the elder Lord Pembrough and his son, Elinore's husband

They were all politeness and friendliness. Ismie felt her nerves ease

Next she took her towards a group of girls, they looked to be on their way to becoming good friends already

They were introduced as Adelaide of Brendale, Bernadette of Grendal, Santana of Strega, and Iliana of Termain

They were all nice and friendly, only Bernadette seemed shy, and Iliana has a bit more reserve than the others, but Ismie liked them immediately

There was a young man who hovered close by, he was introduce as Bernadette's brother, Callum. He was shy, just like his sister

Then came the pairs which were obviously siblings, first there were Ramonda and Nyongo of Ghoko. They gave her the impression of immense strength, both physical, and of character

But she still liked them, and thought she'd never want to be considered anything but a friend by them

Then there were the royal siblings from Narhund. They looked a lot a like, but differed in personality. Anushka greeted her very civilly, but seemed too formal and restrained, while her brother, Navid, seemed of a similar disposition to Ismie. He gave her a warm dimpled smile, and she thought they might become very good friends

After that were the siblings from Fleuria, Marie and Henry. They had the same colored hair and eyes, Henrey's more green than his sister's, were both of medium height and had almost the same air. Henry was perfectly civil, Marie seemed haughty at first, but on further observation, she was actually shy and reserved

The last pair of siblings were the royal heirs of the empire of the sun, the only twins present. They gave off the same air of cold control, perfectness, impeccableness, and disinteredness. But they did meet the standards of civility. They looked very similar to eachother, Mariko being a more feminine, slighter version of Keijirou, but while her chin was pointed, his was cleft

Naturally, Ismie didn't warm up to either of them

There were five people left, a group of three girls, one had her back to Ismie, and her hair was a beautiful flowing curtain of dark silk, the others, one looked sweet, while the other looked as if she belonged in an icy landscape

The dark haired one was Maragarette of Rosenberg, the strawberry blonde was Anastasia of Oshkul, and the pale blonde was Freja of Nefferi

By those three, she was given the frostiest reception, dripping with desdain, especially from the dark haired beauty. Her gaze was as hard as steel

Surprisingly, Freja, the one who looked like an ice Queen was the least horrid of the three

Once she turned to go to the last two people in the hall, she heard those three: Who does she think she is, coming so late, getting Lady Elinore to treat her as if she was better than anyone else

Elinore had been called briefly by her husband, and heard none of it

They continued: Must be too daft to manage on her own. A shame to her family..

Ismie's heart contracted painfully, but she gave no indication that she heard, in spite of their deliberately non covert glances aimed at her

Elinore came back, and gave her a heartwarming smile

The last pair in the room were two large men, one larger and paler than the first

They were introduced to her as Fredinand, the brother of Margarette, whome, unlike his sister, was all charm, and Nikolai, Anastasia's brother, who was very imposing in stature, but seemed the least clever and charming of the two