bon appetit ((burke family + invite))

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After months of discussion and arrangement, Millicent and the family elves had gotten the manor in order and prepared to host a rather formal feast. Other than having her mother-in-law joining them, their future in-laws from Hector's arrangement were also slated to attend. She wasn't sure of the exact time yet, but she made sure there was plenty of time allotted time before and afterwards for chatting and leisure.

Millicent was sitting in the drawing room sipping a relaxing cup of Earl Grey. Surrounding her on the walls and throughout the room were various artifacts the Burkes had possessed for generations ranging from taxidermy dioramas, ancient vases with dried flowers, a magnificent harp that was playing a light tune, some family portraits, and one of the many libraries scattered throughout the property that tied the room together.

@Hector Burke @Melanthius Burke @Cecelia Burke @Minnie Bulstrode @Bellona Lestrange

Reaching the front door in record time, Hector panted as he grasped the door handle. Turning to check the other two were still following and had been cleaned up, he used this moment to get this breath back.

"In," he croaked assertively, wearily flopping his arm in the direction of the door.

@Melanthius Burke

Quickly casting the cleaning spell on Bellona and himself, Thius frowned as he looked towards his brother. He was always so serious, and now that involved ruining the fun he and his girlfriend were having!

He so badly wanted to sneak his brother a sleeping potion out of pettiness even more now. A good night's worth of shut-eye, all for disturbing them. They weren't doing anything inappropriate! Or at least he didn't think they were doing anything questionable; they were fully clothed, what kind of trouble could they have gotten into?

Back to where they started from, Thius stepped towards the side of the door and softly stated, "Ladies first." It would probably take her a bit longer to get herself fixed up, so he wanted to give her a head start.

@Bellona Lestrange

Andrea fiddled nervously with the handle of her tea cup. She wondered what was raking Hector so long. Not that she cared. He was to be married, and that was that. She cleared her throat and decided to make conversation with his mother and grandmother, "So Hector tells me he is to be married soon. That's certainly.... News." She smiled softly, "I guess me and Idina are lucky that even though we are technical royalty, our father trusts the head on our shoulders. Idina would throw a proper tantrum at even the idea of an arranged marriage." She forced a realistic laugh and sipped her tea. 

@Millicent Bulstrode Burke @Cousin Skeeter

It felt like one of the unexpected visitors popped out of nowhere as she observed Millicent go over the menu for the night's dinner. Acheflow glanced over at her. A royal family that didn't believe in arranged marriage? How preposterous!

"Yes, Hector will be meeting his bride-to-be tonight." As she had to make final approval of any arrangements, Acheflow was pleased with who was chosen to be his match from photo alone. Now she just had to meet the young woman for herself.

@Andrea Herrera

Andrea put a smile on her face, that even though forced looked genuine, due to years of practice, "I'm sure they will make a lovely couple." Be cool, Drea. Be cool. "I do apologize again for intruding. We had no clue that tonight was such an important night. Hector insisted on us staying." 

@Cousin Skeeter

"I won't be long," he insisted, kissing Melanthius's cheek as she passed him and then a surly-looking Hector. Just a few minutes in the bathroom to ensure everything was in place, and she'd return to the drawing room. She thought Melanthius could make her excuses for now.

Where was the lavatory, exactly? She asked one of the house elves, who said there was one down the hall. She was just about to follow his direction, when something occurred to her as she looked at the staircase. Perhaps if she made the excuse of assumption... she may actually be able to speak to Cecelia if she found where her room was...

Climbing the stairs she looked down the corridor of the empty landing. Walking to the end of that corridor, she tried saying gently to a few of the doors: "Cecelia?"

@Cecelia Burke

After Bellona was allowed first entry, Hector planted his hand upon his brother's shoulder and practically steered him in the direction of the drawing room. Glancing inside a mirror to ensure his hair was in place, he re-entered himself. His Grandmother and Mother were back and had resumed their positions. Something hung in the air like a bad smell.

"Sorry about that," he said graciously, "I was just making sure my brother and his partner were back in time for dinner. He was showing her the delights of the grounds, and I believe she was very impressed, Grandmother."

A smile came over him. Before he had scolded and berated Thius for wandering, but now he was acting as if he was the best possible host.

@Melanthius Burke @Andrea Herrera

His cheeks flushed a bright red after being kissed. Merlin, she was so wonderful... Now he had to act more formally again. He'll have to thank Mippy later for covering for them.

Thius quickly used his wand to get the loose strands of hair back into place. Walking over to a nearby mirror, he checked over his appearance to ensure that nothing was out of place. Then he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Just moments ago, his brother had been nagging them for being out, now he's covering for them too? How peculiar.

"Bellona was quite fond of our carnivorous plants in particular."

Pulling out a comb, he twisted his hair out of the tie that held it back. His hair was momentarily a bit of a floof ball.

@Hector Burke @Andrea Herrera

Bellona paused. Behind one of the doors, a voice had spoken back. She pressed her fingertips to the door, and put her ear against it.

"It's me, Cece," she responded quietly, keeping her eyes peeled for the slightest sign of movement. "Thius told me a little about what's going on... but what is going on?!" she whispered desperately, "Are you all right?"

She couldn't get away with doing this for very long. Cecelia had to start talking, and start talking quickly.

@Cecelia Burke

"I didn't expect us to have more guests than what was planned, but our table settings are flexible, thankfully." Acheflow sipped her glass of wine as she looked over at the young woman. "I am his grandmother, Acheflow, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She glared at Minnie who was still making a fool of herself by acting like a freakshow member. Then she looked at her grandsons. "Oh, did she? I'm grateful to hear that. I've always taken great pride in the family gardens."

@Andrea Herrera @Hector Burke

Cece sighed in relief st Bella's voice, "Oh Bella. It's awful. Grandmother is saying I'm going to be arranged in a marriage since I can't be trusted. I'm basically confined to my room all summer." Her voice had a tint of wine to it as she was upset and frustrated

@Bellona Lestrange

"... I'm sorry, Cecelia."

And she really was. She knew that Melanthius and Hector (despite his austere temperament) would be worrying about this, but they both still loved her very much. If only she could find the words to comfort her right now, but she didn't have the time to be stood there.

"Perhaps if you show how sorry you are, they won't be so hard on you. Even if you're not sorry - just do a bit of play acting. They might let you off!"

She sighed.

"Sorry - I've got to go now. I just wanted to talk to you. I'll see if I can come up again at some point, okay?"

@Cecelia Burke

Meanwhile, as the dust began to settle within the Burke household, something else was causing a stir outside of it. The small, individual shards of white granite that made up the footpath were vibrating ominously, then lifting as though they carried no weight at all, and then spun into what became a vast cyclone of wind and leaves. The cyclone lifted up, up and up: like a reel of thread, then gradually ebbed away from the bottom, revealing several pairs of feet.

Despite the strength of the blasting winds, neither one of them appeared dishevelled or affected by it in the slightest. They were only gazing around their new perimeters, taking it all in: Mother, Daughter and Son. But they were not alone. Stationed at their heels were three fox-like creatures of varying colours and patterns. The boy's fox had a single, fatter tail. The Mother's fox had four, thinner tails.

She was the first to step forward, the fox following suit.

The bright, striking colours and whimsical patterns of their traditional formal clothing made every British wizard look extremely drab in comparison. The house walls seemed to shrink by the light of it all. But as Fuyuko Tokugawa raised her hand to rap lightly on the outer door, it was clear by her polite, amiable countenance that she was neither comparing or judging her surroundings to what she was used to.

Saburo, on the other hand, was both entranced and mystified by the house that had appeared before them. It loomed over him like a dark fortress: nothing like the bright and airy fantasy that was their home in Japan. Suddenly he felt a clammy sort of dread clutch at his chest and he turned slightly pale, gazing up at the sinister walls and thinking about his beloved sister being the Lady of it. How trapped she will feel! He glanced to her wordlessly, knowing better than to reveal his concerns to her now.

Or ever.

"Tomo," he whispered, smiling back at his zenko companion. The fox followed him forwards, seemingly nervous. Tomo was a very handsome zenko, with dark reddish brown fur and a swishing, white-tipped tail. Saburo may have been doing a good job of concealing his feelings but Tomo, who often reflected his owner's, wasn't doing so well at it.

When his Mother knocked on the door, Saburo stood back behind her, slightly behind his sister. They always would enter by order of age.

@Sakura Tokugawa

Hector would have been gnawing his fingers through if he did such a thing.

Then, as he drifted towards the window to try and obscure the tension in his expression, he thought he saw something. Then he definitely heard something. There was a lot of shrubbery barring his view so he couldn't make it out, but he thought he was seeing quite a lot of colour and hearing the whistle of a strong wind.

"What is that?" he whispered, as a cone of wind lifted higher and higher into the sky.

Turning back to face the drawing room, he was just about to tell them that he thought the guests had arrived when there was a knock.

As she, her brother, and their mother walked up the steps to the house that was said to contain her betrothed, Sakura accepted her fate without issue. It was already quite different than what she was used to back in her native Japan. She hoped her husband was at least handsome, that'd make fulfilling their marital duties a breeze. No matter what he looked like, however, she knew she was bringing honor to both of their families.

Her robes were colored in pinks and greens, similarly to her namesake. Her makeup was done lightly and in natural colors, working to emphasize her beauty.

Sakura petted her two-tailed kitsune gently as they got to the door, waiting to be invited inside. She looked at her brother and Tomo, who was exposing her brother's nerves. "It will be okay, Saburo."

@Saburo Tokugawa

Hearing the door, Acheflow stepped over to it with a small smile on her face. The guests were finally here! They wouldn't have to worry about Cecelia acting up for the remainder of the night, and the unexpected guests that arrived not too long ago would compensate for the dignity her granddaughter suddenly lacked. Acheflow was determined for it to go well!

Opening the door, she nodded to her guests and greeted them. They were dressed so colorfully that now she wish she considered telling her grandchildren to at least add hints of color to their suits, especially Melanthius. Didn't he have more hues than black to choose from? Now that she thought about it, she didn't recognize what he was wearing. Hmm.

She was going to have to mull over ways their presentation could've been improved later; she had to let Hector's future wife and her relatives inside. "Hello, Mrs. Tokugawa, we've been anxiously looking forward to meeting you and your children. Come on in and make yourself at home."

@Violet @Saburo Tokugawa

Now that he managed to get his hair slicked back again, with the exception of one stubborn strand that tickled his forehead, Thius was getting the rest of his hair to be contained within the band again. Scanning himself in the mirror, he was quite pleased that the cleaning spell did a good job at removing any notable hint of dirt. As he did the spells so quickly on Bellona and himself, Thius was concerned that the execution would be much sloppier than he was used to.

Then he too noticed the same gust of wind his brother did. Hm, that was odd. Then there were small hints of color. Thius glanced at his brother. Guess his idea to hide a sleeping potion would have to wait... Taking a seat on a couch, he awaited his lady's return as he watched his grandmother rush to answer the door.

Cece sighed when bella had to return to dinner. Now she was alone again. Then, she had an idea. Sure, they took her crystal, but she could still make herself known. She went over to her shelf and pulled out an album. She smirked and inserted the disk before taking a seat on her bed as loud rock music started blaring through the speaker, echoing through the quiet halls of the manor.

"Mrs Burke," she greeted, bowing to her respectfully. No doubt her children would do the same, with Saburo dipping the lowest. "Thank you for your hospitality and kindess. Ojamashimasu."

Another light bow, and the woman entered through the doorway. When she walked into the drawing room where she could see the family gathered, her golden-coloured kento padded alongside her and sat, proudly swishing its tails to the ground. The two of them bowed - creature and owner alike - to the Burkes and other guests sat inside there.

"Nice to meet you," she said, her English pronounced fairly well but with clear indications of her native language. "I am Fuyuko Tokugawa. My daughter..."

But just then something very loud blared down from the ceiling above, and Fuyuko turned her eyes skyward. Although she hadn't the slightest clue what it was and whether it was commonplace for English homes, she couldn't continue to speak through it very easily.

He smiled at his sister and nodded to her, before the door was answered.

"Ojamashimasu." Saburo mirrored his Mother's greeting and, sure enough, his bow was the lowest. Following suit, he made it as far as the hallway before there was a massive ruckus from above him. Tomo looked as though he was going to swing back his head and start crying along with it, so Saburo put his hand on top of his head to calm him. He was also looking up at the ceiling, however, wondering is the sudden noise was customary...

It wasn't very nice, but he knew better than to show or voice his dislike of it.

Finally, they've arrived. Her nerves had been eating at her, and she hadn't been able to release any of the tension that's built up in her body. Millicent exited out of the dining room and back into the drawing room so she could greet the guests. Now that they were here, they could sit down for a lengthy multi-course dinner, engage in some sort of mild leisure activity after, and she could relax.

The moment Millicent could take a deep breath and introduce herself, there was suddenly a loud racket coming from upstairs.

Cecelia.

Narrowing her eyes, she shot them at Melanthius to go take care of it. Hector was about to meet his bride, and neither she nor Acheflow were in the position to cut the noise.

Bellona had just about made it downstairs when she heard the music blaring out.

"Or just ignore everything I said..." she cursed under breath, pursing her lips at the ceiling.

She liked Cecelia and understood her frustration, but there was no reason for her to bring Melanthius into it. Didn't she realise it wasn't just reflecting poorly on Hector and her Mother, but Thius as well? Bellona rolled her eyes.