#dovey.para

[lovelyfxxl]

P R E S E N T I N G

_____________ M I S S D O V E Y S T G E O R G E ___

to her majesty queen eleanor hanover.

the room was long and narrow with all the furniture seemingly removed, or perhaps never having been decorated, aside from a pair of ornate thrones at the far end, elevated on a stage where a small assemblage of flamboyant courtiers attended the queen and fawned over the various little gems who traipsed down the carpet for presentation. it was all very... glittery. dovey did not know what sort of reception she expected to find here, but the inherent ire these socialites bore towards americans proved markedly more than whatever daydreams she'd entertained leading up to this night. the familiarity immediately set her upon edge.

dear emily took great care in going over with the 'young' ones under her guidance, and then going over with them again, each proper step in this meticulous orchestration. first names and titles would be announced, one was to promenade down the aisle lined with eager onlookers to the edge of the stage, then bow and/or curtsy at a respectable height, and be appraised before being dismissed to enjoy the festivities of the evening. none of that might have bothered her a tick had all the eyes on them not felt so terribly abrasive from the very beginning. "oh, it is bending at the waist and knees, it cannot be more frightening than crossing an ocean, right?" dovey half hissed, half whispered before the doors opened for the lytton family, which presently included the motley crew of wards.

aera froze like a frightened mouse, it seemed, while hari floundered a bit. this sort of affair was not among their innumerable talents, and it riled an all too familiar indignation to think her friends might be thought less of by this parade of flounce for that. without a second thought, dovey stepped forward with the express intention of drawing attention, negative and otherwise, towards herself as she, quite unlike her companions, relished the performance of it all. was she not here to entertain as it were? casual confidence kept her chin raised and eyes meeting only the monarchy to which she was meant to be impressing until the very moment her head bowed. no one would claim her manners practiced, her countenance perfect, nor even graceful, but captivating? dovey could pull that off, for a moment at least.