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crossover_chickSo yeah, I think it's time for a 30 Dances:
6. Formal – Surrendering
What had possessed her to come here?
Alice sighed as she leaned against the wall, arms folded. She didn’t belong here. She hadn’t belonged in this world since she was seven and a half. Hell, she didn’t really think she’d belonged to it before then, either. Balls, fancy teas, debutante parties – they’d bored her as soon as she’d understood what they were. She’d vowed that she’d avoid fiddly formal events like these at all costs.
Yet here she was, in a formal gown and her hair done up, at one of the greatest balls ever thrown by a noble family. She felt beyond out of place – like a wolf in a herd of elephants. I should have insisted on staying behind and looking after our camp. Stupid persuasive friends. . .
Well, at least said friends were enjoying themselves. Marty and Jennifer were out on the dance floor, Jennifer walking Marty through the steps of a quadrille – they laughed whenever Marty stumbled or missed a turn. Doc was chatting animatedly with a man in purple robes by the refreshments – Alice couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it seemed like quite the discussion. Victoria was also by the refreshments, entertaining questions from a cheerful-looking young man while others waited nearby – the blushing belle of the ball, just as that Fae had promised. And Victor –
Victor was coming her way. Alice quickly straightened up to greet him. “Hello, Victor. Enjoying the party?”
“Well enough, I suppose,” Victor said with a little nod. “How about you?”
Alice sighed. “Frankly, I’m a bit bored,” she confessed. “I’ve never been to a ball before. I don’t know what to do.”
“Ah.” Victor looked away for a moment, then back, a slow blush starting to creep up his neck. “W-well – w-we – we could d-dance,” he suddenly said.
Alice looked up at him, surprised. There was a strangely hopeful look on his face. Did he really want to dance with her? “I – I don’t really know how,” she said, feeling, for some reason, shy. “I only had two lessons before--” She cut off, certain Victor could fill in the blank.
Victor’s face fell. “Oh,” he said quietly.
Alice felt a stab of guilt. She hadn’t meant to upset him. Goodness, how on earth did he do this? She was Alice Liddell, the girl known as Red Riding Hood, the brave and mighty hunter of beasts, the one whom they whispered was mad, a witch, a devil in human form. And yet, whenever Victor was around her, she turned into this silly little girl with a crush! How did he affect her so strongly?
But he does look so cute in that bow-tie and black suit, her thoughts whispered treacherously. And he’s so nice and sweet and polite. . . .
She sighed. She really needed to learn how to control these emotions again. Victor had mixed her up completely. “But I suppose that didn’t stop Marty,” she continued. “If you really want to, I’ll give it a try.”
Victor brightened back up again. “Really? Well then. . . .” He offered her his hand. She took it, and he led her out onto the dance floor. “It’s not really that hard,” he assured her as they took their positions. “And no one will notice if you make a mistake. My own clumsiness will distract them, I’m sure.”
Alice thought he was being rather hard on himself. Wasn’t this the same boy who climbed trees (and towers) like a squirrel? She gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Victor blushed again. He had no business being so cute like that. “T-thank you. Now, if you’ll just put your hand here. . . .”
It took them a moment to get the positioning right, due to their rather extreme height difference. The orchestra changed as they prepared, launching into a slow ballad. Victor started to lead her into a waltz – but then stopped, looking thoughtful. And a bit nervous, for some reason. Before Alice could ask what was wrong, he abruptly put his arms around her and pulled her close.
Alice started briefly at the sudden contact, but soon found herself relaxing. She let her head rest against his chest, putting her arms around him. He was quite warm, she discovered, and comfortable to lean against. And if she listened very carefully, she could hear, quite faintly but still there, the beat of his heart. She closed her eyes and smiled contentedly as they began swaying to the music.
Perhaps there was something to be said for these events after all.
Look at that -- it's "The Tale"-verse! This is an incident that'll be in an upcoming chapter, after they get away from Victor's less-than-welcoming hometown. (Yes, I'm still working on it, along with "When Worlds Collide," "There's Always Tomorrow," and "Love Will Find A Way." My new modus operandi is to do a page on one of them each night -- like, tonight was "There's Always Tomorrow.") Count Bonejangles is hosting a ball, and the gang ends up attending. It's part of Victoria's "Cinderella" story arc. The Fae mentioned is actually this universe's version of the Cheshire Cat -- they help him out of a tough spot, and he grants them a boon.
-HD: And it's not all in riddles? He was feeling helpful that day, wasn't he?-
*giggle* Anyway, I thought of this dance shortly after looking at the prompt. Alice, in my head, has never really been one for dressing up and going to fancy parties like this -- hence her complaining at the beginning of the story. The other girls of the group practically had to drag her along. As you can see, though, she ends up enjoying herself. At least for now -- there's another story about this same dance that shows what happens shortly after this tender moment to ruin things.
-TTV: *frown*-
I'm sorry, but I have to drag out the whole "will they or won't they" aspect until the "Snow White" chapter.
-TTV: You really need a version of them who just decide to date instead of dancing around the subject.-
Well, I don't think it takes long for the Secundus versions of Victor and Alice to get together. . . .
Anyway, what else. . . The whole "only two dancing lessons before the fire" topic comes up again briefly -- I believe that was first seen in "Falling For You." And Victor's in a bow tie here simply because I saw some concept art of him in one, and thought he looked adorable. Other than that, this piece is really all about the fluff. Though I did get to wondering where exactly Alice's head would fall if she was pressed up to Victor like that. Victor's got ten inches of height on her (6'3" to her 5'5"). I THINK she'd be able to hear his heartbeat -- it makes for a better story, anyway. (She'd be wearing high heels anyway, wouldn't she?)
The title comes from the Alanis Morissette song of the same name. I've mentioned before it's the V/A song that's most specifically Tale-verse, so it only made sense to plop it on this story. :)
In other news, I made a discovery today during Corpse Bride -- we actually do know roughly when Victoria and Barkis's wedding takes place! Time of day, anyway. During the ceremony, we briefly see Finis looking at his watch and motioning for Barkis to hurry up. It was only today that I realized you can see the actual FACE of the watch, and thus where the hands are pointing! His watch doesn't have any numbers, but the hands appear to be in the 12:05 position. So it seems that Victoria and Barkis had a noon wedding with an evening reception.
-M: What happened in-between?-
*shrug* I dunno. Tour of the town? Planning the honeymoon?
-TTV: *shudder* Poor Victoria.-
Yeah, I know. I still want to know what day this was, of course -- damn you, unclear timeline!
Not much else going on -- I'm planning a trip to the mall sometime this week, though. Depends a little on the weather. Maybe Wednesday?
-TD: Anything special you want to buy?-
Well -- Hot Topic DOES apparently have new AMA shirts. . . . Though really, what I need are a couple more Corpse Bride ones. The only shirt I have with Victor on it is long-sleeve. *considers searching eBay*
6. Formal – Surrendering
What had possessed her to come here?
Alice sighed as she leaned against the wall, arms folded. She didn’t belong here. She hadn’t belonged in this world since she was seven and a half. Hell, she didn’t really think she’d belonged to it before then, either. Balls, fancy teas, debutante parties – they’d bored her as soon as she’d understood what they were. She’d vowed that she’d avoid fiddly formal events like these at all costs.
Yet here she was, in a formal gown and her hair done up, at one of the greatest balls ever thrown by a noble family. She felt beyond out of place – like a wolf in a herd of elephants. I should have insisted on staying behind and looking after our camp. Stupid persuasive friends. . .
Well, at least said friends were enjoying themselves. Marty and Jennifer were out on the dance floor, Jennifer walking Marty through the steps of a quadrille – they laughed whenever Marty stumbled or missed a turn. Doc was chatting animatedly with a man in purple robes by the refreshments – Alice couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it seemed like quite the discussion. Victoria was also by the refreshments, entertaining questions from a cheerful-looking young man while others waited nearby – the blushing belle of the ball, just as that Fae had promised. And Victor –
Victor was coming her way. Alice quickly straightened up to greet him. “Hello, Victor. Enjoying the party?”
“Well enough, I suppose,” Victor said with a little nod. “How about you?”
Alice sighed. “Frankly, I’m a bit bored,” she confessed. “I’ve never been to a ball before. I don’t know what to do.”
“Ah.” Victor looked away for a moment, then back, a slow blush starting to creep up his neck. “W-well – w-we – we could d-dance,” he suddenly said.
Alice looked up at him, surprised. There was a strangely hopeful look on his face. Did he really want to dance with her? “I – I don’t really know how,” she said, feeling, for some reason, shy. “I only had two lessons before--” She cut off, certain Victor could fill in the blank.
Victor’s face fell. “Oh,” he said quietly.
Alice felt a stab of guilt. She hadn’t meant to upset him. Goodness, how on earth did he do this? She was Alice Liddell, the girl known as Red Riding Hood, the brave and mighty hunter of beasts, the one whom they whispered was mad, a witch, a devil in human form. And yet, whenever Victor was around her, she turned into this silly little girl with a crush! How did he affect her so strongly?
But he does look so cute in that bow-tie and black suit, her thoughts whispered treacherously. And he’s so nice and sweet and polite. . . .
She sighed. She really needed to learn how to control these emotions again. Victor had mixed her up completely. “But I suppose that didn’t stop Marty,” she continued. “If you really want to, I’ll give it a try.”
Victor brightened back up again. “Really? Well then. . . .” He offered her his hand. She took it, and he led her out onto the dance floor. “It’s not really that hard,” he assured her as they took their positions. “And no one will notice if you make a mistake. My own clumsiness will distract them, I’m sure.”
Alice thought he was being rather hard on himself. Wasn’t this the same boy who climbed trees (and towers) like a squirrel? She gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Victor blushed again. He had no business being so cute like that. “T-thank you. Now, if you’ll just put your hand here. . . .”
It took them a moment to get the positioning right, due to their rather extreme height difference. The orchestra changed as they prepared, launching into a slow ballad. Victor started to lead her into a waltz – but then stopped, looking thoughtful. And a bit nervous, for some reason. Before Alice could ask what was wrong, he abruptly put his arms around her and pulled her close.
Alice started briefly at the sudden contact, but soon found herself relaxing. She let her head rest against his chest, putting her arms around him. He was quite warm, she discovered, and comfortable to lean against. And if she listened very carefully, she could hear, quite faintly but still there, the beat of his heart. She closed her eyes and smiled contentedly as they began swaying to the music.
Perhaps there was something to be said for these events after all.
Look at that -- it's "The Tale"-verse! This is an incident that'll be in an upcoming chapter, after they get away from Victor's less-than-welcoming hometown. (Yes, I'm still working on it, along with "When Worlds Collide," "There's Always Tomorrow," and "Love Will Find A Way." My new modus operandi is to do a page on one of them each night -- like, tonight was "There's Always Tomorrow.") Count Bonejangles is hosting a ball, and the gang ends up attending. It's part of Victoria's "Cinderella" story arc. The Fae mentioned is actually this universe's version of the Cheshire Cat -- they help him out of a tough spot, and he grants them a boon.
-HD: And it's not all in riddles? He was feeling helpful that day, wasn't he?-
*giggle* Anyway, I thought of this dance shortly after looking at the prompt. Alice, in my head, has never really been one for dressing up and going to fancy parties like this -- hence her complaining at the beginning of the story. The other girls of the group practically had to drag her along. As you can see, though, she ends up enjoying herself. At least for now -- there's another story about this same dance that shows what happens shortly after this tender moment to ruin things.
-TTV: *frown*-
I'm sorry, but I have to drag out the whole "will they or won't they" aspect until the "Snow White" chapter.
-TTV: You really need a version of them who just decide to date instead of dancing around the subject.-
Well, I don't think it takes long for the Secundus versions of Victor and Alice to get together. . . .
Anyway, what else. . . The whole "only two dancing lessons before the fire" topic comes up again briefly -- I believe that was first seen in "Falling For You." And Victor's in a bow tie here simply because I saw some concept art of him in one, and thought he looked adorable. Other than that, this piece is really all about the fluff. Though I did get to wondering where exactly Alice's head would fall if she was pressed up to Victor like that. Victor's got ten inches of height on her (6'3" to her 5'5"). I THINK she'd be able to hear his heartbeat -- it makes for a better story, anyway. (She'd be wearing high heels anyway, wouldn't she?)
The title comes from the Alanis Morissette song of the same name. I've mentioned before it's the V/A song that's most specifically Tale-verse, so it only made sense to plop it on this story. :)
In other news, I made a discovery today during Corpse Bride -- we actually do know roughly when Victoria and Barkis's wedding takes place! Time of day, anyway. During the ceremony, we briefly see Finis looking at his watch and motioning for Barkis to hurry up. It was only today that I realized you can see the actual FACE of the watch, and thus where the hands are pointing! His watch doesn't have any numbers, but the hands appear to be in the 12:05 position. So it seems that Victoria and Barkis had a noon wedding with an evening reception.
-M: What happened in-between?-
*shrug* I dunno. Tour of the town? Planning the honeymoon?
-TTV: *shudder* Poor Victoria.-
Yeah, I know. I still want to know what day this was, of course -- damn you, unclear timeline!
Not much else going on -- I'm planning a trip to the mall sometime this week, though. Depends a little on the weather. Maybe Wednesday?
-TD: Anything special you want to buy?-
Well -- Hot Topic DOES apparently have new AMA shirts. . . . Though really, what I need are a couple more Corpse Bride ones. The only shirt I have with Victor on it is long-sleeve. *considers searching eBay*
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Date: 2010-08-09 10:35 am (UTC)And, as Eleven would say, "Bow ties are cool".
I need more Eleven icons...