Jasper smiles putting his hand on hers, " I would love to keep you company, Cerene." he walks towards the house.

Richard put on a faux serious face as he nodded at Juliana's reprimand, and listened to the waiter describing everything. Richard wondered whether the waiter was as competent as his illustrious clothes seemed to indicate. As they reached the kitchen doors, Richard was surprised at the waitress' severe manner but found it slightly amusing. 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' came to mind somehow. "You could call her 'The Iron Lady'. Of course, whether she'd take that as a compliment or not is hard to say...Anyway! Shall we meet the chef?" Richard laughed lightly as he pictured a stereotypical chef, a Frenchman with a twirly moustache. Richard didn't have time to register that he was actually enjoying himself here.

Juliana bit back a small laugh when Mark shuddered at Richard's comment. *I guess this guy's real scared of her. Maybe she's the head of the waiters and waitresses?*
"R-right this way," The waiter pushed open a door, his face slightly red. Juliana curtsied slightly at the man before walking in. The kitchen amazed her. It was much larger than she had expected it to be, and much busier. *Is this really the kitchen on a place so old?* She wondered, watching the servers pile food onto their trays and the chef's underlings cooked at mad speeds. "The man himself is in his office." He pointed a slightly shaking finger to a corner door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed back in the ballroom with a tray of food." And with a bow, he hurried off to join the others in uniform.

As they walked into the kitchen, Richard looked rather stunned. The waiters were scurrying around and the cooks stirring, chopping and generally doing a myriad of activities pertaining to cooking, and the room was huge and smelled of fine foods. "This is certainly the most magnificent kitchen I've ever seen...certainly better than mines....thank you!" He shouted the last part to the waiter as he left to go and serve. Richard looked over to the chef's office. "Let us see the man himself...and I wonder why the waiter was shaking? Still scared of the Iron Lady or is the chef scary too?" As he spoke, Richard walked over to the door, and knocked on it slowly.

Juliana followed, careful to not disturb any of the workers, pondering Richard's comment. "Let's hope the former..." She murmured mainly to herself, standing a bit behind Richard as he knocked on the door. The door opened on it's own, and a woman who resembled an older, female version of their waiter was sitting in a chair, desk covered with recipes in front of her.
"Oh, hello... and who may you be?" She asked in a suspicious tone, eyeing the group. "Guests are to be in the ballroom, not in the kitchen. Who brought you here?" She demanded, bright green eyes flashing slightly.
Juliana suddenly understood why Mark had seemed so... terrified. *This must be his mother... quite the intimidating woman.* She took an indiscreet, deep breath to help ease her nerves. "One of the waiters led us here so we could give you our personal compliments. The wine is simply marvelous."
The woman smiled a little and seemed to become much more... motherly? "Well, that's certainly a compliment. Thank you."

Richard gulped as the woman asked them who they were and demanded what they were doing here. He shuffled his feet a bit at this new situation, and unexpected hostility, and his mind went blank. He couldn't think what to say, and would have stood there for nearly an eternity were it not for Juliana taking over and speaking to the chef. Given a chance to calm himself, and the woman's change of demeanour, he managed to make himself appear a bit more normal.

"Yes, the wine is wonderful. And the food- simply delicious." He smiled. "So, being interested guests could you, ah, tell us a bit about this event?" He hoped his less than subtle question would at least elicit some sort of informative answer.

The chef smiled warmly at them and gestured to the seats. Juliana curtsied and took one, suppressing the urge to fist pump at their success. "The master of this manor had sent a request to me, asking if I could cater for a very special event. I've never seen him - or her - but I was told this would be the perfect time to test my skills. I don't know much about this ball, really. I came for the challenge of a long event, since I've only ever done short caterings. Though the master never did tell me how long this would last..."
Juliana, now downcast, had to resist slumping in her chair. Instead, she thought. *How can I get more information? The letter had to say some more in it... either she knows and isn't allowed to tell, or she just doesn't realize how important the information may be...* She studied the chef, who was watching the group, probably waiting for a response. *No, she must know something. She seems too smart to be fooled.* "Why did you take the job if you didn't know the length of it?"
This seemed to shock the woman, and Juliana allowed a small smile. *Got her.*

ORP: Okay... I'll keep going, then.

RP: "Wh-what do you mean?" The chef looked absolutely sure of herself, but the stutter at the beginning confirmed Juliana's suspicions.
With a pleasant smile, Juliana pinned the woman to a corner. Metaphorically, of course. "You said you had never done a long catering before, and came for the challenge. But then you just said you were never told how long this would last."
The woman had a slight eye twitch, and Juliana resisted the urge to smirk. *You could've gotten out of that one, chef. Very easily, too.* "Th-that's... I said that wrong!"
"Then why do you keep stuttering?" Though she was normally timid and wouldn't be this assertive, Juliana wanted to get to the bottom of this all. And she could completely change if it got her closer to what she wanted. Her posture was much more self-confident, and her eyes were now sparkling oddly. "If you said it wrong, then you wouldn't have anything to be nervous about." She was pulling facts from crime shows and books, everything possible to get the woman to crack.

ORP: Sorry! Another long stretch, I know. I shan't be doing it again. Something came up, no need to worry though. I'll have to edit my post to fit in with that.

Richard sat down, awkwardly trying to avoid messing up his fine clothes as this chair was rather different from the one in the lavish sitting room they had been in earlier. He listened intently to the chef, who was thankfully still acting nicely, but frowned at the mysteriousness of her statement. An unknown host hiring a chef all for this. Who was this host? And why were they doing this? Not that he didn't like the whole event, but he was intrigued by the mystery of it all. Perhaps his fascination with mystery came from his childhood reading of Sherlock Holmes; in fact, his own books, which had sold a miserable amount of copies and been received with less than great critical reception, had been detective stories.

Before Richard got too involved in his thoughts, Juliana asked a question. He smiled as he realised what she'd done, and the chef looked surprised. *Here was I thinking how influenced I was by the great detective* he thought. As Juliana continued to press her advantage and push the woman, Richard marvelled at Juliana's reasoning. He hadn't been so quick thinking, unfortunately, and simply sat there as Juliana pressed the woman further. He also noted that Juliana was much different, even more different from before when she had changed so much from the near wreck he'd first met. He decided to take a turn at breaking the woman. He really should have felt bad about trying to do such a thing, but somehow the heat of the chase had taken hold of him. *The game,* thought Richard with a touch of a smile at his lips, *is afoot. And it's really very...fun.* He wondered once more whether it was wrong to think that, but only for a second, for he said, "You can tell us the truth, surely? We are guests, invited here (in a sense) for a purpose. So we surely have a right to know what's going on? Come now, unless there's some secret you can't tell us, you can tell us. Or is there a secret? Does your state inform us that there is?" Richard's voice had taken on a tone of mock innocence and questioning.

ORP: Alright. I was more worried something bad had happened IRL.

RP: Juliana was glad when Richard finally came in, she wasn't too sure she'd be able to crack her on her own. She could see slight fear in the older woman's eyes, and immediately began to wonder what could've been written in the letter.
"The Master of the party told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone." Her voice was firm, nearly defiant.
The red-head's eyes lit up like a child, and she smiled. "He never said you couldn't *show* anyone," she pointed out, much like a child finding a loop hole in their parents' rule.
The chef nodded slightly, then opened a draw of her desk, pulling out a letter in yellowed parchment. *Couldn't this person, who is evidently wealthy, have afforded new paper?* "I suppose you're right... and I myself am curious as to what this letter means as well." She handed the parchment to Juliana, whose eyes ran through it quickly, being the speed reader she was.
'Dear Mrs. Felipe,
I've heard you are an amazing chef, and I would like to put your talents to the ultimate test. Would you be my head chef for a masquerade ball? I warn you, though, it will be a long night. Never-ending, even.
Best Regards,'
"I'm unable to read his hand writing... but I'm sure it's a man's. It's not... feminine enough for a woman's. Too heavy, too... bold, I guess? It just doesn't seem like the writing a woman would have." Juliana's face screwed up a bit as she tried reading the name of the mysterious 'Master'. "But this is how the last bit of it goes:
'P.S. Tell no-one of our little 'arrangement'.'"
Juliana handed the letter back to the chef, who took it and shoved it back in her drawer. "Satisfied now?"

When the chef pulled out the letter and handed it to Juliana, Richard was rather glad that they had got a result. He read the letter over Juliana's shoulder, and though he was glad at last to be getting closer to the bottom of this mystery, he was left with a rather cold feeling after seeing the message. It just sounded...sinister. And then the P.S...nobody would say that were there not something sinister going on. Despite his previous eagerness and even joviality, Richard felt a little less eager about the mystery now. He'd thought that it would perhaps be a bit lighter...but now, now it just seemed chilling. Maybe he was over-reacting, but he couldn't help it. He sat back in his chair, and some of the colour had left his face; he looked rather pale.

He thought for a minute. He agreed with Juliana's assessment that it was a male writer, though they couldn't be absolutely sure, especially if the writer was being deliberately misleading (although he doubted it), and the word choice seemed rather disturbing. "I think you're right about it being a man. And look at the words. 'Amazing' suggests he's sucking up, 'ultimate' suggests a finality, 'warn' is just plain sinister and 'arrangement' written the way it is just makes it sound illegal. And of course the 'never-ending' is disturbing. I can't tell if this is some sort of twisted joke now or something really rather more...gruesome. Any ideas on what to do now?"

Juliana noticed her partner's chill and suppressed a smile. *And I though *I* over thought things. I wonder what's going through that man's head...* She was snapped out of her through process by the chef's response. "You two must get back to your dance, and I have work that needs to be done. As Master said, this is a long night. So go enjoy yourselves."
Feeling as if leaving now would be best, and since there was really nothing else they could do, Juliana nodded and got out of her chair. "Thank you, ma'am." With a curtsey, she left through the door, leaving it open and looking back to Richard. *Well, what do you all think of that? Since I know you're all different parts of my mind, the different views, different thoughts, we should be able to figure something out,* Juliana 'said' to her characters, for once glad she had them.
*Your boyfriend's right,* One replied. *It's sinister. You chose such a wimp, to be scared by a slightly intimidating letter.*
That voice's opinion irked Juliana. *Richard is *not* my boyfriend. I just met him tonight, and we want to get to the bottom of this. Don't be such a child. And he isn't a wimp, simply someone who over thinks, much like me. Though you're both right - that letter was intimidating.*
*Over thinking,* Another said. *Over analyzing. He probably just wanted it to sound more interesting, and the PS part could easily be something more personal between the two. After all, the woman had no wedding ring on.*
*Don't even go down that path,* Another scolded. *It's quite a scary letter, but I wouldn't call it sinister.*
Juliana shook her head slightly, now regretting letting the voices have a conversation. *Alright, alright. We'll go investigate. Now all of you, *shut up* so Richard and I can figure this out.*

Before anything more could be said, the chef dismissed them. Realising nothing more could be done here, Richard followed Juliana out of the door. As he did so he noticed that she seemed distant, as if her mind was somewhere else...almost as if she was doing something in another place. Then he remembered what she'd said about the characters in her head, and wondered if that had something to do with her slight change. *Is she talking to them? Is that even possible?* With serious intent, Richard tried it himself, wondering if he could awaken something in himself. *Um. Hello? Anyone there?* Standing at the door, Richard and Juliana, both distant, must have seemed rather strange. However, Richard had no reply however hard he tried to probe the depths of his consciousness. Suddenly he realised what they were standing there doing, and snapped out of his reverie. "We'd better get going," he said to Juliana, looking back at the chef who had a puzzled expression on her face. Richard walked out of the kitchens and back towards where they had come from, wondering all the while, *what now?*

Juliana nodded and followed, having not seen Richard's moment. "You're right. Let's head back to the ball, just so this mysterious 'Master' doesn't get suspicious. Then after, we can go investigate some more." She felt something fall on her cheek, and she took off her mask, noticing some of the sparkles had fallen. "Oh, crap..." she muttered, brushing her finger over her cheek and noticing it had been her glitter that fell. With a sigh she put it back on, making sure it fit right. With a small blow, she sent the sparkles flying into the air, making a small wish for her writing to be successful, whether in this world or her own. "Do you think there's any other masks around here? Or duplicates?" She asked Richard, worried about hers. She thought the sparkles were what made it, and that the mask just wouldn't be the same without them.

As they walked back to the ball, Richard continued to think about the whole thing. His slight turn had worn off by now, and he was again more interested than intimidated. He wondered what was happening...and then Juliana stopped beside him, and took off her mask, and blew away the sparkles that had fallen off. He thought that the random nature of the event was strange in itself, but he couldn't help but remark mentally upon Juliana's natural beauty. He paused for a moment, then cleared his throat before answering her. "Umm...well, I don't know...Mina said earlier that they were perhaps representations of personality so maybe not if they're meant to be unique. I wonder if all the people at the ball have been...'taken' too. And if not, who are they?" The image of clockwork robots under the masks flashed into his mind, and he smiled as he remembered that exact plot in his favourite TV show back in the old world. *Am I really thinking of that as the 'old world' now? And if so, is this the new world? The colonists finding America?*

ORP: No! Not those creepie clowns! Those things gave me NIGHTMARES! 0,o

RP: Juliana pondered that thought, then another one came to her. "I'm not too sure about this, but... usually in stories and movies, aren't people who have something in common taken? Like social misfits, criminals, people with the same dirty secret, unknown relatives, the like." *Well, I certainly fit into the first category...*
*No dur.*
*Shut up,* was her response to the sarcastically annoying voice. *You aren't wanted at the moment.*
"Wait, did you say a resemblance of the personality?" Once more, the red-head took off her mask, looking at the small, plain black thing. The one rose looked so lonely... yet the sparkles complimented it nicely, making the whole thing come together in an odd way. "Well, that certainly makes me quite the plain person, doesn't it?" She joked, placing it back on her face.
An idea hit her about the first thing she had said, bouncing back to the real issue in front of them. "They can't be!" She exclaimed, an excited smile on her pale face, and she clapped once in accomplishment. "If we were all taken from our homes, then this would be a mass panic, not a masquerade! I have an idea of how to figure more out before we go searching on our own, too. It won't be as threatening, either. Though maybe not as fun... I'm not much of a dancer..." Her excitement ebbed away, going to depression at the last sentence. "Maybe that wouldn't work, then..."

Richard listened carefully to Juliana's hypothesising. As she mentioned that everyone must have something in common, he thought there was something in it...maybe they were all criminals. He'd been arrested once in an alarmingly out of character event, where he'd got drunk and been disorderly. His cheeks flushed red at the memory. But that hardly counted as being a real criminal, surely? He was hardly the Godfather. He was about to open his mouth to agree with the idea that everyone, if taken, must have something in common, when Juliana's realisation hit her. "Of course! It seems obvious now..."

Then, he flushed red once more when Juliana mentioned dancing. "Um...I'm not a dancer myself. I mean...well, what's this plan? Let's discuss it before dismissing it." They had arrived back in the big ballroom now, and there were less people dancing, apparently exhausted. Going back to the subject of masks, Richard remembered what Mina had said what his reflected...well educated but rarely speaks about it. He glanced at the dancers, and he even recognized some of them by their masks. *Some people don't tire, do they?*

Juliana took a mental note at Richard's flush when she mentioned the whole common because of criminal thing. *Who is this man?* She wondered for the first time, surprised at how much she had let her guard down in her presence. Something she had been taught to never do around anyone. *And why do I feel safe around him? He's still pretty much a stranger to me...*
Going back to the question, she snapped herself out of her little 'moment'. "I was planning on dancing with the people who seem as if they... belong. The ones who seem more like they're in their natural habitat. I'm sure the ones like us, who've been taken, are going to have a different... 'aura', I guess you'd call it. They'd be the more shy, reserved people, probably away from the crowd. If one, or both, of us can get... er... *cozy* enough with one of these locals, we may be able to find out more about this entire scheme. And if not, no worries, there's still this entire place to explore." She scanned the crowd for the perfect example and spotted a man she found quite attractive. He was rather tall, probably around 6'1", dark brown hair, and a light tan. His mask covered nearly his entire face in black, and had intricate designs weaved into it, mainly in colors of orange and red. One weaving seemed to look suspiciously like an instrument, and Juliana thought for a moment it was a bass. "Like him." She hoped her face wasn't as bright as the warmth in her cheeks was suggesting. "He seems as if he's in his natural environment, like he does this all the time. Someone from our own world wouldn't have that much confidence or naturalness to them, since masquerades are nearly non-existant now."
*You want to dance with him, don't you?*
*Shut up. I know I want to. He's... really, really hot.*
*Someone's hormones are getting out of control.*
*I said shut *up*. I do *not* need this right now.*
Her cheeks felt a bit warmer, and she silently cursed the mysterious master for not giving her a larger mask, since the one she currently had only covered to her cheekbones, leaving the rest exposed, freckles and all. "Even though he isn't dancing," she added, just now noticing he was off to the side, watching the dancers instead of being one of them himself.

Richard raised his eyebrows as the entirety of Juliana's plan was revealed. *Oh wonderful* he thought. *But I'll give it a go. The logic makes sense.* As Juliana pointed out the man, he felt a stir of some emotion inside of him that was just a little big negative. He dismissed it quickly, and looked around the room himself. He noticed a woman standing near the piano, appreciating the music. She was about as tall as he was, with a long black dress and gloves which were evidently extremely expensive. Her hair was long and blonde and her mask was small and white but decorated in small expensive jewels which managed to avoid the trap of being too garish and instead very elegant. A thought then came into his head; the woman was similar, from what he could see, to someone he'd known back in the old world. Before he could lose himself in that dangerous track, he dismissed that thought too. Until now, with both unknown feelings dismissed, he hadn't felt any emotional complexity in a while.

Richard cleared his throat, and noticed that Juliana's cheeks had reddened slightly. He hoped he'd avoided any show of what had been going on in his head as he said, "Well...it's time to see how our social skills have come along. I hope we don't make any mistakes...I mean, it seems quite old fashioned here. Anyway, shall we?"

Juliana managed to pull herself back to the way she was before, fighting a split in her mind. And fighting against the voices that were threatening to comment. For once, she managed to suppress them all, but her will was stronger than usual, too. "Oh, wait... how do we tell the other when we've found out something? It'd be odd if we questioned, then went off on our merry way..." There was a slight impatience in her, the part that really wanted to dance with the mystery man before he found another to dance with. "I guess we'll just figure that out on our own. Good luck with your search, Richard." And with a small curtsy, the red head made her way to quiet man leaning against a wall.
She curtsied as she came up to him, fighting her extreme nerves at not only initiating a conversation, but with a *man* no less. "G-good evening..."
He smirks a little, obviously finding her nervousness amusing. "Good evening to you, too. What brings you to my quiet little corner?" For a second, she manages to glimpse his eyes in light. They're mainly green, but get a hazel hue around the pupils.
"W-Well..." *Should've thought this through!* She chastised herself, annoyed at her stupidity. "I thought you may be a bit lonely. It *is* a ball, after all..."
He chuckled quietly and gave a slight nod of the head. "You thought wrong, though. I'd rather stand and watch."
*And leave it to me to pick out the most difficult!* "W-Well... would you mind one dance with me? But I warn you, I'm not too good..."
He chuckled once more and shook his head. "You're rather backwards." He takes a step back, and for a second, Juliana worries she's lost him. But then he bows, and holds out a hand. "Good evening, I am Vaughn. Would you care to dance?"
Though she tried fighting it, Juliana couldn't stop the blush from creeping onto her cheeks, contrasting sharply against her pale face and black mask. Since she couldn't manage a word, she just takes his arm, and he gently pulls her close. The two begin to waltz, and she's surprised that she isn't stepping on his feet. "I-I'm just warning you now, I'm not very good..."
Once more, then man chuckles. "You're doing perfectly fine. Just follow my lead."
He twirls her a little, and she finds herself closer to him. "I'm Juliana..." she mutters, just now realizing she hadn't introduced herself.
*Smooth move.*
*Shut it.*
"D-Do you play...?" He gives her a questioning look, and she feels her blush spread. "Th-the double bass. It's on your mask, so I was wondering if you play."
"Ah! So you know what it is!" He exclaims, smiling widely, his green eyes shimmering. "In fact, I do. I had originally been asked to come and play, but as soon as I arrived I was told that I was no longer needed. So I was given a mask and told to enjoy myself."
Another twirl, and the two are a little closer. "But isn't that rather rude of them? To ask you to come and play for the ball, but instead telling you that your talents are unnecessary?"
"I suppose, but... I'm glad they did." He gives her a small smile, and again, she feels the blush spread a little. "Your eyes... are they naturally purple?"
"A-Ah... yes. I was born with them..." *Since this man is obviously from this world, and contacts are probably unheard of. Boy, am I glad I know there actually *are* naturally purple-eyed people.* Then her mind strayed to a song she heard when she was younger that had something to do with a purple people eater... She brought herself back, knowing she'd have to pay more attention now.
He watches her a bit, and she begins to feel uncomfortable. She'd kept her mind occupied with the mission, but now that it had gotten to this... "You were called to play? By whom?"
It's his turn to feel uncomfortable, and Juliana can tell. His dancing becomes a bit more tense, and his moves don't feel as fluid. "I don't know much... the Master of this dance had requested me to play. He hadn't said anything else."
Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get much more out of the mystery man without having to explain herself, Juliana dropped that route and went back to the drawing board.
The duo dance for a little more, before Juliana finds that he has led them to the garden door. Vaughn separates from her and holds the door, bending slightly. "Would you like to enjoy the garden with me?" He asks with a small, polite smile.
Juliana smiles in response and surveys the dance hall quickly and inconspicuously, hoping Richard would see her leave in case he found something important. And, she needed to know where he was.

ORP: And, the writer needed a reason to stop writing. XDDD