Into the Storm or Hades

[Briar Erwood]

Her dress was beautiful, and expensive, which made it more tragic that Briar, most likely, would rip or tare or stain it at some point tonight. It was a pale pink color with a patterned lace over it that swished and swayed as Briar moved. It reminded her of flowing water and for a moment her mind was not in the carriage on the way to her first ball as a debutant, but instead was in a world where water could be a light pink color and have soft white foam around the rapids. Would it change the taste, she wondered to herself. Shakespeare might disagree with her, for water by any other color must taste the same. Did Shakespeare ever consider such outwordly nonsense. Did he sit at his desk with his quill and consider that things that were one way not only could be, but aught to be another. If so, was that how he and others in his trade created such strange and wonderful worlds. Did the ancient humans do the same as they made fairy tales? She could have sworn that she read or heard somewhere that fairytales were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth and there for changed at each retelling. How confident of someone to decided that they could tell the story better then those befo-

"Briar" The voice of her mother cut through the thoughts in her brain and Briar looked up to realize that the carriage had stopped. They had traveled such a long way while her thought spun loosely in her brain. Her mother now looked at her with a combination of worry and affection. "Do try dear, to keep your wits about you tonight my dear." She all but sighed. Briar felt the shame in her throat and swallowed. She nodded at her mother then fallowed her and her sister out of the carriage with the help of a foot man. 

The room was beautiful. As she gazed up Briar saw a series of large chandeliers and the way the flames glimmered and danced on the candles, like they were alive, she thought. Her mind started to wander then, to escape her grasp but she held tight to it. It always wondered like this when she was uncomfortable, almost like it was trying to escape the place it was, and tonight she was very uncomfortable. Her arms were tense at her sides as her mother floated around the room. Briar had never once floated in her life, at least she was pretty sure she hadn't. Instead she just walked like a mere mortal fallowing her Goddess mother. And suddenly in her mind there was Persephone, the maiden married to the God of the Underworld. Had she floated around parties like these, had she giggled like the girls around her, aware that her husband might be in this room. Did it scare her? Would she have welcomed kidnapping to get away from this feeling of being watched? Or was she able to-

And then Briar felt herself bump into someone. It wasn't hard, nothing was knocked over, thank God. But it was solid enough that it required acknowledgement. 

"Oh my word, I am so sorry I wasn't....I was distracted." She hurried forcing herself to take stock of where she was and who she had bumped into...and  her heart sank slightly as she realized that she did not know who he was and there for knew not his title. Was he a lord? And earl? A waiter that she ran into? Well judging by the clothes not that last one. Still the young girl was left floundering as her mother had been distracted by a gentlemen talking to Briars sister.

[Benedict Bridgerton]

I'm not bound by                                  

Evading his mother was certainly a skill . . . one that Benedict felt he was improving with each passing ball or grand event he was to attend. Tonight's, was no exception. From the moment they entered, he could already see it in his mother's eyes. Scanning the room, encouraging him to approach the Wallflowers and dance with them. But Benedict made a swift leave from her side; being the second son did after all have its advantages. And fortunately, Colin was far more agreeable. ◈   ◈   ◈  ◈  ◈ Never the less, as Benedict made his way deeper into the room and thus, placing more of a distance between him and his mother -- as well as the young woman she was talking too -- he was determined to keep such distance and perhaps find refuge standing by the drinks. Or being in the company of one who would not stir gossips among all the mamas. Or perhaps -- "Oh my word, I am so sorry I wasn't....I was distracted." Benedict had bumped right into someone having not looked where he was going and instantly felt guilty for it. Even more so that she was the one who was apologizing first. ◈   ◈   ◈  ◈  ◈ "The fault rests with me," he told her with a smile as he properly looked at the young woman -- her words indicating that she was a bit flustered from the collision. "My sincere apologies," he added. "Are you alright?" He further asked with a continued smile and an underlying tone of concern. Fortunately he was not holding a drink -- yet -- otherwise it may very have well spilled on her dress. And Benedict had enough sisters to know what a disaster that could be. Though as he looked at her, he realized that he was not quite sure who she was. Tag Briar Erwood

                        the rules of society.

[Briar Erwood]

He was taller than her, which wasn’t surprising, most people were. Sometimes she wondered how she was so short and her siblings were so much taller than her. It seemed somehow unfair. But her mind didn’t wonder about that right now, instead, it managed to focus on the situation. Because if anything made her mind focus on the here and now it was panic. There were very few ways to handle a situation like this and Briar was never good at handling social situations. There was a short of a curse that came with being one of a larger family that lives far out from most society and it was the fact that you never had to learn how to interact outside of that family. Instead, you made friends with the people who had to like you by virtue of your last name.



”I am quite fine thank you, good sir. But I must apologize I do not believe we have been formally introduced, I am Lady Briar Erwood.” Briar curtsied quickly. She prayed that her mother would turn around quickly and save her...or maybe not. Maybe her mom would try to convince the man to dance with her, then Briar would be out on the dancefloor where only tragedy can happen. In a perfect world, Briar would get through this season without once stepping foot on that hellish ground.

[Benedict Bridgerton]

I'm not bound by                                  

It was quite nice to see the young lady not take offense to the collision. Some would have perhaps been rather . . . offput by his apparent lack of awareness of his surroundings. Others, may have tried to use it as a reason to speak to a gentleman -- or a Bridgerton in his case. Though, she did not seem to fit either and for that, Benedict was quite relieved. His inner thoughts further confirmed when she admitted to not knowing his name as they had not been introduced. Further relief spread over him upon the reveal that they had not meant which saved him any embarrassment in not recognizing her. ◈   ◈   ◈  ◈  ◈ "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Erwood." He knew the family name -- and was fairly certain he'd met her brothers -- but as previously established, he had not met her before. Perhaps this was her first season . . . not that Benedict was arrogant enough to believe he knew every young woman in the ton. "Benedict Bridgerton," he introduced with a smile, as he bowed in greeting and purposely leaving out any title from his name. He was after all, the second son -- a term he rather loathed when used negatively. "I hope I did not keep you from something or someone when our paths collided," he said -- and asked -- with a light hearted tone, though meant the words in case her chaperone was looking for her. Tag Briar Erwood

                        the rules of society.

[Briar Erwood]

Bridgerton, she knew that name at least and was sure her brothers had tried to brief her on the Bridgerton men. She had tried to pay attention of course but she had failed as she often did, and now she could not for the life of her pull any information of this one, other than he was the second son. Not that that mattered to her. If the second son ment so little the third daughter was next to nothing. No, the Erwood name would have to suffer many tragedy's before Briar's birthplace mattered much to anyone.

Briar glanced over her shoulder to her mother, who was still deep in discussion with her sister and a gentleman. “I don’t believe so, most someones or somethings are already engaged with my sister Morgan.” She gestured over to where her taller, more graceful, and more sociable sister was laughing politely to some joke the gentleman near her had made. As she did Briar caught a glimpse of the dance floor where well-bred ladies spun with handsome men. The womens dresses swayed with them but were cut too straight to puff out like her mothers old ball gowns, instead they just swayed with the movement of the dancers, all in pastels and greens.

“They look like Larkspur,” Briar said, the way the skirts moved reminding her of her family's gardens full of the tall thin flowers.She then remembered where she was “I’m sorry what an odd thing to say, please forgive me.” She rushed out, horrified that she had said the first thing to pop in her mind.