Princess Brawls

Penny had not seen so many of society's fineness looking so odd. The parents of all of the female girls mingled and guffawed a room over. It was this room, her parent's grandest sitting room- magically enlarged for the occasion - that the girls were supposed to bond. Off to one side was a table adorned with light pastries, tea, and other delicacies. There was a modesty screen that shielded a small, impromptu powdering room where the girls could change into their sleeping garments. House elves had prepared a small bunk for each girl off to the side - quaint by pureblood standards, and extravagant for the means of a slumber party. For whatever the adults said, this soiree was, for all intents and purposes, just that - a sleep over. A play date.

Penny felt strange - as the eldest hosting girl, she ought to be in the lead. But there were so many other capable girls there, that she felt at a loss. She stood there, looking quaint in one of the least auspicious outfits her mother would allow her to wear. She had even managed to make Shadow look a bit presentable, last she had seen her rebellious younger sister. She hoped only to give the other girls no reason to think her a weak link, to think her someone to be bulldozed, nor someone to be considered a threat. Penny hoped to coexist peacefully with the other girls her parents were carefully grooming her to compete against. After all, she needed a fiancee, and the pool was dwindling, and the other girls were so beautiful...

Penny sought for Audrey, sure the Montague girl would save her once again. Any time her eyes, happened to fall on a girl - most dressed as she was and being attended by house elves eager to take their overnight bags - she did her best to smile and draw attention to the refreshments table, if it pleased them.

Penny seriously doubted her ability to get through this night.

Audrey felt very much at home in Penny's house, even with the unusual amounts of people piled into it. She felt the eyes watch her as she walked through the Macnair's sitting room, that had been turned into the perfect slumber party room. Audrey stood out just a bit, because everyone there was in desperate search of a husband, and most everyone viewed the other girls in the room as a threat. Audrey, on the other hand, wan't very worried about marriage. She had never had trouble finding guys, and she was sure whenever she did want to get married, she wouldn't be fighting her childhood friends for the nearest guy with the most connections.

She noted some of the house elves, that smiled secretively when she passed. Audrey had always been nicer than most towards them, and they loved her for it. She also noticed the other girls apparel. They almost all looked like they'd been dressed by their mothers, just to impress the 'competition'. Audrey herself looked nice, but the style suited her. She didn't feel like a doll playing dress up like most of the other girls probably did.

As she waded through, she saw Penny. She looked nervous, and her cheeks were practically shaking from the effort she put into having the constant smile that was expected as a host. She walked up behind her slowly, laughing slightly at her dishevelment. "Need a hand with the formalities, love?" she asked, a kind but amused smile on her face.

Whenever someone put pure bloods together into a confined space the results proved disastrous. Everyone was able to each under each others skin and cause drama with such skill that Gisele could only assume it was part of their shared genetics. The men were always had when grouped together - the overwhelming testosterone made for one giant ego completion. But in some ways the women were worse with their backstabbing and scheming and vanity. But at least the women already had husbands.. the insecurity of the teenage girls before her became vaguely terrifying when you factored in the raging hormones and fierce unspoken competition between them. Whoever had called together this sleep over had clearly lost their marbles.

With a joyous smile plastered on her face, Gisele made her rounds of the room to greet people and chat. Millie and Della weren't coming, Cerelia and Katarina had managed to keep themselves relatively invisible, and there was no one of the male species invited. Gisele anticipated that until the adults had dispersed to their various manor homes and mansions, she would be unable to drink and be merry in peace, making this 'party' quite boring indeed for a little while longer.

Gisele had claimed a top bunk for herself already, which her belongings had been lazily thrown on. The girl herself was talking to a blonde French girl, who attended Beauxbatons and looked throughly out of place among the Hogwarts majority. Quickly boring of their discussions of the French seasons and countryside, Gisele's eyes began quickly scanning the room for signs of anyone she could pull away to talk to. Their host looked a bit disgruntled and Gisele made a mental note to stop over and talk to her later but right now she looked busy enough.

"Mmm, yes." Gisele agreed with whatever the blonde was talking about, as she no longer bothered to be listening.

Penny's savior had arrived, in the form of a very confident looking Montague girl. Audrey always looked at ease and though she said even she had times where she didn't feel so confident, Penny simply could not believe that Audrey ever left home without her go-get-'em attitude. Penny adored the girl for the strength she was so comfortable with, the ease she so readily projected. Right now, she would have fought for just a fraction of her best friend's personality.

The words floating into her ear, though full of a playful tease, were absolute relief for the sixteen year old girl. She whirled around, her eyes finally wide with the confusion and anxiety she had managed to lock away as best as she could. "Please!" she whispered, looking frantic. "My mother psyched me out right before the party started with one of her 'Now remember, this could ruin your life if you act stupid' lectures. I have a bad feeling and I think it may be possible that I will die tonight."

Audrey laughed and smiled. "Oh, no no. That won't do. Your mother should have more faith in you. You're doing just fine." She said, reassuringly. Audrey had a huge amount of faith in her friend, and though she would take the reigns if Penny really did need it, she knew that her friend could handle things just fine. She was one of the most well conducted purebloods in the teenage society and Audrey considered that an understatement.

She watched the adults begin filing out of the enlarged room, and started scheming in her head. She could depend on Penny to impress all of the parents in the room, but it was closer to Audrey's speciality to impress the wilder of the guests here. Audrey almost feared the worst as she asked, "Penny, what exactly do you have planned for the guests tonight?"

Adolphus Avery had never had much time for the Macnair family and had never hidden his distaste. It was for that reason that his daughter could not quite get over the irony of being in the Macnair home amongst their servants and their children, seemingly with complete approval of her father. Of course she was not as naive as to believe that and take it for face value.

She was only there at her step-mother’s insistence. Adriana had wanted Erica to socialise and understand the weaknesses of those she was going to come up against and so, ever dutiful, Cerelia had to go with her. Had it not been for her social climbing step-sister, the event would have brushed over Cerelia completely.

It had, in a way, anyway for she was stood alone, watching as her step-sister socialised with an expert air. It had tested Cerelia’s temper to the limit just getting there but this took the biscuit.

Sighing heavily, Cerelia picked up her overnight bag and made her way over to the bunks. It wasn’t until she reached them that she noticed someone else had already claimed the one she’d gone for. Cerelia’s face brightened against all better judgement and she dropped her bag before launching herself at Gisele. Her arms curled around the other girl’s neck and she hugged Gisele close to her body, never before feeling as glad to see Gisele as she did in those moments.

“Oh my gosh...I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with this on my own.” Cerelia pulled back and smiled warmly at Gisele before stepping back, suddenly feeling foolish. “How are you?” Cerelia asked, putting her bag down on the bunk next to Gisele’s. “I feel as though we haven’t spoken in forever, Elle. You need to fill me in. Venice is a world away from home. Do you know if Kat is coming?”

Penny shook her head, sounding frantic. "No, Audrey, I have nothing planned. Should I have something planned? Oh, Merlin. My mother and father told me to do this, they arranged it, I thought this was their ordeal. Oh, goodness, I totally under-thought this forsaken slumber party! What are we going to do?"

Color rose in her cheeks as she kept her voice as low as humanly possible when shrieking in terror. Her eyes remained nervously on her best friend, certain that she had no way of saving the night.

Not to much time later Gisele was able to detach herself from her French companion and return to the gloriously boring solitude of her bunk. Parties such as this always started out boring but when everyone arrived and the adults disappeared things tended to get a little more exciting. But Gisele's solitude didn't last long as she was attacked by a blonde oh-so-much more beautiful than the last.

"Cerelia!" Gisele cried, returning the hug with enthusiasm. "I've missed you! You have to tell me everything, darling. Was it just as beautiful? Did you have a good time? You must have. Look at you! You look tan." Gisele's grin filled her face and stopped the flurry of questions that she wanted to ask. Cerelia really hadn't been gone too long but without her in the dorm there was a piece missing. And it became extremely hard to forget her absence with the new companionship of Katarina, who seemed to attach to her with no one else to go to.

"Kat said she was coming I think." Gisele pondered momentarily "But I haven't seen her.. Have you talked to her yet? Or did you just get back?" The return of a friend (no matter how short of an absence) often turned Gisele into an overexcited schoolgirl as she clamored for details about non-important events she had missed. People going away was simply not something she enjoyed. And Gisele had genuinely missed Cerelia. Despite the awkwardness when they found themselves alone together, the two had become even better friends than before. As long as Gisele pretended that kiss had never happened. And pretended she wasn't deeply tempted to kiss her again. And again. And again.

Gisele's eyes scanned the room for the long, brown hair of their friend but she was disappointed. No Kataria.. at least not yet. The selfish part of Gisele didn't mind that Cerelias best friend was running late if it meant she got some more time with her favorite blonde. She couldn't do this sleepover alone.

Some things never change, Audrey thought to herself with a laugh. "I thought you might say that. Don't worry, doll. I have everything taken care of." She said, watching closely to see when all of the adults have left. "Your parents want you to show the girls that you're a threat, and you're confident enough to play nice. That's why they wanted this. The actual party, is different." Audrey explained. Penny wasn't stupid, but sometimes Audrey knew when to take advantage of oppertunities that Penny would overlook.

Audrey gave her friend an excited, but pleading look. "You're not going to like it, but if you trust me, this party will not turn out badly. I think we're a bit to old to sit around drinking soda and eating popcorn all night, don't you think?" She said, with a sly smile. The girls coming, Audrey thought, are purebloods. Meaning they expected to party like purebloods as well. Audrey was just as excited for the party as she was to have a chance to bring her tricks out of the bag.

Penny bit her lip, sure that, though Audrey meant well, something would go wrong. Not because she had a lack of faith in the young Montague girl - quite the opposite, really. Penny had always looked up to Audrey, because the girl could do everything that seemed so impossible to Penny. Penny struggled with her self esteem, her body issues, with boys, with confidence, parents, with everything really - and Audrey was incredibly comfortable in all these aspects and more.

Penny was just worried that this was a situation destined to fail, regardless of Audrey's good intentions and best efforts. Audrey looked sincere in her pleas and Penny gnawed on her lip before blurting, "Alright. But, please. Don't do anything too off kilter."