RPG Reality of Sin [M-LSV]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Though they had just met, being around Allen was giving Sena a strange nervous feeling. It wasn?t really unpleasant, but rather almost like he was still feeling dizzy like he had felt earlier when he had just arrived. [I]I really am tired,[/I] he thought. But the way Allen seemed to almost look through him with his brown eyes and his kind smile, it reminded him of? Sena mentally shook himself, bringing himself back to what Allen was saying, [I]I must be imagining things, he can?t possibly?[/I]He concentrated on answering Allen?s question only to stop again at the mention of where he was from. [I]Sutton Texas? Why does that sound so familiar?[/I]

A moment later it hit him. He had been there shortly before his father disinherited him, though he had thought that the name of town there was Sonora and that Sutton was the name of the County. Perhaps he had gotten it backwards and the name of the county was Sonora and the town Sutton. It had been nearly seven years since his father had first flown to San Antonio to visit relatives and then had rented a car and driven out to Eldorado to meet other members of the families that pretty much ran their polygamist group.

While the purchase was being finalized his father had instructed him to drive around to any town close to Eldorado and one of them had right next to the freeway exit from the interstate that took them to Eldorado. It had been a quiet pleasant little town and the people were very friendly as well. If his father had not used him as a scapegoat to throw the authorities off since both Utah and Colorado where their group was situated was cracking down on polygamy he would have been part of the group that moved there once construction of their complex was complete.

[I]Careful,[/I] he thought to himself. [I]Don?t get upset; focus on what?s important here.[/I] But the memory hurt, he had only been doing what his father had been doing, what his father had told each and every girl and woman that he took. He did not understand why he had been treated as evil when his father had done the same thing. And he had never been as rough as his father, he did restrain the girls but he had never beaten them like his father did, ever. [I]So why did father kick me out?[/I] He wondered for the thousandth time. Sena thrust the thoughts aside; he did not have time for this.

?[B]Sutton, Texas?[/B]? Sena smiled in return. ?[B]It really is a small world, it?s been a while but I?ve been there.[/B]?

Allen had an unreadable expression on his face when he answered Sena, ?[B]You?ve been there?[/B]?

Sena nodded. ?[B]Yes, my family purchased some land in Eldorado, Texas, just north of Sutton. I haven?t been back since homes were built on the land, but I did drive to the few towns in the area to see what they were like, if I remember correctly your town was the one right next to the interstate. It was a very pleasant and peaceful little town.?[/B]

?[B]Ah yes, peaceful and pleasant, nothing like this place.[/B]? Allen replied.

Sena just smiled again. ?[B]Yeah I guess this place could be considered intimidating, before I lived on my own, my parents had a very expensive home, nothing like this mansion of course, but still, it wasn?t exactly small either.[/B]? Sena turned to look back at the sea. ?[B]Still it is quite different, I suppose once we?ve been here a little longer it won?t seem quite so grand.[/B]?

He turned back to Allen, glancing at his watch as he did so. Looking at the room and checking out the place had taken longer than he expected. It hadn?t seemed like they had talked for very long, but if he was going to be ready in time for dinner he needed to get started.

?[B]It seems that it is almost time for dinner, I really need to go and get changed. Perhaps we can talk again later?[/B]? Sena said.

Allen flashed another one of his smiles at Sena, ?[B]Of course, if we are too be roommates it would be more pleasant if we were not strangers to one another.[/B]?

He turned, the conversation over and headed towards his bedroom. Sena followed and then headed into his room. There was no mistaking it this time as the feeling similar to one of butterflies in his stomach intensified. The question was, why was he feeling this way around him? [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Engel]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]Sean ran a hand through his teal-blue hair and gazed around watchfully, looking for someone who could of possibly been Roland. Of course, the females were quickly eliminated. Sean breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing the right side of his face slowly. At least his roommate wasn't Ben. He seemed like the suave kind of guy that would get on his nerves quite quickly. With a sigh, he leaned back against the french double doors. It'd be best to watch the people separate into their pairs of roommates.

Slowly, Sean began to tap his foot to an invisible beat, watching everyone walk past. Several of them stopped to ask his name, but he smiled and shook his head with a simple, " 'Name's Sean." and gave them a simple wave as they went off to find their roommate. This was probably the most irritating part about this, the whole separating into roommates. It lead to much confusion and frustration.

Finally, a rather middle-aged man with a finely pressed jacket and the jovial smile that you'd expect to see from a warm father, approached him with a flute clutched loosely in his fingertips. Sean sat up and smiled, looking around. This must of been his roommate. Taking the first action, Sean extended his hand and spoke with his sharp German accent.

[b]"My name's Sean, Sean Enttausch. Pleased to meet you, Mr...?"[/b] Sean had been a master of courtesy, and actually managed to enjoy the warm handshake given back to him by the man with the flue.

[b]"Well, Sean, my name is Roland Peters, but you can just call me Ry. And I, am your roommate."[/b] Ry brandished his flute at him benevolently, and it was Sean's turn to give him such a kind smile as he'd first recieved.

[b]"I take it you're a musician, Mr. Pe....Ry?"[/b] Sean had visibly reddened at his slip up and bowed his head in a soft gesture of apology.

[b]"Indeed, I am. This flute has been my best companion over the years and I couldn't part from it. And don't worry about the name thing, kiddo. Anyway, what do you do for a livin'?"[/b]

[b]"Heh, I'm 24, I didn't know that still qualified as "kiddo." But, anyway, I'm a storyboard writer and artist for a company called Blizzard North, we make video games and stuff like that. It's quite enjoyable as long as I'm not swamped with demands, and even then, it's still kinda fun."[/b] Sean was easily warming up to this man. He radiated a type of comfort.

[b]"Oh? Well, what courses did you take in college, then? You did go through college, right?"[/b] Ry listened patiently for his reply as Sean decided what to say.

[b]"Well, I went to a college in Germany. Our frat parties are much better than the American's,"[/b] Sean allowed himself a joke, it was always nice to be able to laugh. [b]"But I took courses in 2d and 3d art, creative fantasy and realistic writing, and musical composition and preformance. I'm actually somewhat of a singer myself, but I never preform in front of audiences."[/b]

[b]"Well, perhaps, Sean, we can pull you a bit out of that shell! Tell you what. You should preform tonight at dinner, I'm sure we'd love to hear your voice."[/b] Sean's eyes went wide and he laughed.

[b]"I'll think about it. Should we head to our room?"[/b][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[b]OOC:[/b] I really hope this is okay. >_<

[Redemption]

[INDENT][size=1][color=Sienna]Ally watched as Ben and Sean disappeared into the fray of confusion that now echoed loudly through the halls of the Master?s estate. It had been so quiet beforehand ? so quiet it unnerved the young French woman. She had heard that silence before, when she was still serving active duty for the military. A visible shudder ran down her spine. Trying not to think much of it, Ally picked up her luggage and made her way towards her assigned room.

After pushing past many people, and around servants and maids, Ally finally made it to her room. The door was still shut, however. Her roommate mustn?t have turned up to the room yet. Ally wasn?t going to wait for her so she opened the door to a lavishly adorned room that took her breath away. It reminded her of the time before the French Revolution, when Marie Antoinette was still alive. Two overly large beds, fine red cedar dressers, ornate mouldings on the edges of the roof. It was all magnificent.

She walked over to one of the beds and started to unpack her things. Amongst all her clothes were her most valuable possessions ? her medals from her service. Every time she gazed upon them, Ally thought of her comrades that didn?t make it home. She had kept these medals inside of a lockbox that could only be opened by fingerprint ID. It was unnecessary to have them under such tight security, but to Ally, they were more important than most things in her life thus far.

A few minutes later and Ally had finished unpacking her clothes into the closest dresser to her bed. She felt uncomfortable in these luxurious surroundings. After all, being a soldier meant you lived with the bare essentials. Her training had never left her, and from then one, she had only lived with as few possessions as possible.

She looked around in amazement, before wondering where her roommate could have got to. Ally left her room in search of her roommate, not wanting to be alone in that hugely ornate room.[/size][/color][/INDENT]

OOC: Anyone can come across Ally if they like.

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Back in the huge bedroom off the main room that was his Sena took a moment to take in just how luxurious it really was. Everything from the soft silk sheets and bedding was simply perfect. But still it was a bit disappointing considering what the e-mail had said?
[INDENT]Within the walls of my home, everything you ever wished for will be granted to you. And I mean....everything. All the deepest, darkest desires of your heart will be yours. Whatever pleasure you seek for yourself...will be granted to you. If you desire love, sex, money, drugs, food...all of life?s commodities will be yours.[/INDENT]
Though the entire area, even to the level of subtle privacy in regards to having a roommate, was luxurious and suitably impressive, it just didn?t fit what he had been expecting. Had this Dante Lui'ci even been sincere when he said ?[I]And I mean?everything.[/I]? Or was that something that would only happen after staying in the home for six months and being declared the winner?

Sena picked up his belongings with the intent of putting things away and seeing if he had anything remotely suited to wear to dinner in such a grand place, a thought that was redundant as opening the tall wardrobe revealed several types of suits and tuxedos made of the finest materials he had ever seen. And each and every one of them were just his size. With a smile Sena ran his right hand along one of the finer silk tuxedos in soft black and white. It was even the style he preferred to wear, one of a more casual and yet still stylish look.

A quick look in the other drawers revealed other clothing just as rich and well crafted as the tuxedo was. Quickly he pulled out what he needed and went into the huge bathroom to change. It didn?t take long and a few minutes later he turned around to face a huge set of floor to ceiling mirrors in the restroom. A few turns to make sure everything was in place and then he stepped back into the bedroom.

Only this time he noticed what seemed to be a slight movement in the hanging tapestries on the wall behind the bed. He had given little thought to them other than to note that they were of an Oriental origin and that the style suited his tastes. But it surprised him that there would actually be enough of a draft to move such a heavy tapestry. Or rather the section between the bed and the bathroom.

Curious he moved to check it, even going so far as to peek behind it. To his surprise there was a slightly opened door leading elsewhere. Of all the things to be found, he had not expected to find a lushly padded room that to be blunt was for nothing more than two individuals to amuse themselves however they saw fit. With yet another huge bed and sofas and chairs with the same soft silk material and bedding that was in the main bedroom. Just thinking about what such a room was for was almost enough to make him blush a little since though he preferred little girls, he had been anything but discreet when it came to members of both sexes since he was kicked out by his father.

A quick glance at his watch showed that he really didn?t have enough time to explore the room. He closed the door with a smile as to what it implied, making sure the tapestry was in place when he stepped back. And as he walked back into the main room towards the door leading to the hallway, he wondered if his roommate had a similar room and if so, just what was in his room.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=Plum][SIZE=1]Jennie clutched her duffle bag close as she padded through the halls of the huge house, trying not to look as overwhelmed as she felt. This place was like a mueseam and a maze all in one. She didn't think she could find her way back to the front door by herself, even if she tried. The thought was unnerving, but she shoved it aside.

When she reached the room she'd been told to find, her roommate was just stepping out. She didn't bother to hide her relief.

"Hi!"

The other woman turned, smiling ever-so-slightly. "Hello." Her voice was accented, lightly - French, it sounded like, and smooth: dignified. Jennie held out her hand, feeling rather awkward.

"I'm Jennie. Your, ah...roommate?" The other woman nodded, shaking her hand.

"Ally. I'm Ally."

Awkward silence.

Jennie could only stand it for a second before she bounced on her heels, once. "I'm just going to put my things inside, and....uh...do you want to explore or something?" She looked back at Ally over her shoulder, admitting. "I don't want to wander around in here...alone..." She half frowned, looking at the ceiling. "I mean, [i]look[/i] at this place! It's..." She shoved the door open, tossing her duffel for the non-claimed-looking bed, wincing when it bounced off. She shut the door anyways, shrugging. "It's just [i]weird[/i]." She found herself biting her lip, and made herself stop. No need to look, yanno....even [i]more[/i] nervous...
[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Nucifer]

[SIZE=1]Allen saw the much uneasiness Sena had towards him. Allen kept his meaningless smile on throughout the whole conversation. He wasn?t sure if he let out any extra information slip. He thought over his words carefully. Yet as Sena said his story about Eldorado, Texas it seemed awkward feeling between them. Whatever it was the conversation seem to end fast and Sena excused himself to his room.

Allen sighed letting his muscles relax as he let go of his smile. Allen turned and walked over to his room. He went through the curtains and sat down on his bed. He sat his luggage on the bed and unzipped the large black gray luggage. Hair brush, tooth brush, and glasses were on the very top on the neatly stacked on top of everything. He saw a cherry wood bureau far left of his bed. He got up and put his glasses and hair brush on top of the bureau. He held his tooth brush and looked around for a bathroom.

He saw a bathroom in his room. He was relieved at having privacy in this house. The mansion has tons of staff and 10 other people wondering around this huge mansion. Yet he worst feared was sharing a bathroom with his room mate. He wasn?t comfortable with any living arrangement with a male. As his parents feared of his ?evil? been exposed, he feared it even more.

He opened the bathroom door and it seemed as though it had a golden toilet seat to match the room. The bathroom cabinet mirror was an antique much like the rest of the furniture in his room. He opened his cabinet and placed his toothbrush. Toothpaste, razor, and shaving gel were already placed, sort of expected. There isn?t much to see or explain to a bathroom. He walked out of the bathroom not seen much as he was content with a working toilet.

He went back to his luggage and took out his set of clothes. He placed his neatly folded shirts, pants, and sweaters in a cherry wood drawer next to his bed. He found a few sets of clothes already placed for him. All the clothes were too rich for his taste, too high quality material. The middle drawer had silk dress pants. He looked at the bottom drawer and saw different styled and colored dress shirts. Was he supposed to wear this for the dinner, first good impression?

Even if the clothes were too fancy for his taste Allen had to wear them. He had to show he appreciated what Dante Lu?ci gave to him. He laid down some black silk pants, black suit coat, white dress shirt, and a red silk tie. Allen took of his shirt and put on the dress shirt. It felt soft and fragile against his skin. He carefully button up the shirt making sure not to pull off any seams. As he got to the last button someone walked in, Sena?

[B]?Hello??[/B] Allen cleared his throat putting on his smile. Even though he wanted Sena to leave so he may get ready his smiled welcomed him. At least Sena didn?t catch him shirtless.

[B]?Sorry, may I help you??[/B] Allen politely asked

[B]?Oh, my pardon. I was just simple looking around. I wanted to see if your room had the same contents of my room?? [/B] Sena said simply.

[B]?Oh, well you may look around if you wish?.?[/B] Allen flashed his famous smile. Yet as he looked at Sena he could see him staring at one particular part of his room. He seemed to look past Allen, behind him to the small shelf of dolls. It seemed to bother Sena quite a bit.

[B]?Oh, I found that in my room. I use to make dolls similar to does when I was young?.? [/B] Allen slowly explained.[/SIZE]

[Neko]

[COLOR=DarkRed][I]Mariko's room, 5:40 PM, near dinner time.[/I][/COLOR]

Mariko looked up at the clock on the wall from her little corner of the room. Only 5:40. Time seemed to pass so slowly here! And the other two girls weren?t helping the time pass very quickly, either. Nobody seemed interested in a little girl in this huge mansion.

That woman who had introduced herself as Wendy, though, had managed to catch Mariko off guard, speaking to her in Japanese when Mariko was sure she?d have to use English to converse with people. Perhaps there[I] was[/I] at least one person here that Mariko might be able to confide in while she was here. But, no, it was too early to determine that yet. Mariko knew she had to be cautious around these people. She was suddenly finding herself in the middle of a contest with no clearly set boundaries, with a group of adults or near-adults, who were probably all much more familiar with the workings of competition than even her, for whom every day on the streets was an uphill struggle.

She would have to be very careful about what she said, and to whom she became close with, if she wanted to have any hope of staying in this contest for very long.

[I]Well,[/I] she thought to herself as she stared out at nothing,[I] I guess I should head to the dining hall, if there?s nothing left to do here.[/I] She stood up, stretching her arms out slightly to loosen up, and began heading for the door. After being silent and unmoving for so long, her sudden movement caught the other two girls by surprise.

[B]?Hey, where ya goin? girl??[/B] the blonde girl asked in a cheerful, carefree voice. Wendy didn?t say anything, but the fact that she had kind of jerked where she was sitting betrayed that she, too, was interested in knowing where this girl, so quiet she practically didn?t exist, would be heading off to.

[B]?I?m...going to head out and find the dining hall,?[/B] Mariko replied quietly. [B]?...Dinner...should be starting soon.?[/B] And with that, she walked out, closing the door gently, but firmly behind her. She took a short breath, turned to the left, and began walking down the hallway.

As she walked down the lavish halls, so finely decorated and beautiful as they were, her mind simply couldn?t help but finally turn to the matter of the monetary prize that this Dante Lui?ci was offering, and what she could even fathom doing with it on the slim chance that she actually won? What could she, a homeless runaway with no family, possibly do with all that money? With no happier thoughts to turn her mind to, Mariko contemplated these new thoughts as they teased her imagination. But money was useless to her; she merely wished for a family, to be surrounded by people who loved her.

[I]I?ve heard,[/I] she thought to herself, [I]of powerful men in the world, who have so much money they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Could buy anything they want.[/I] Was that even possible?

[I]Yes,[/I] a voice in her head said. [I]Of course it?s possible. In this day and age, you can buy anything with enough money.[/I]

[I]Anything...?[/I] she wondered.

[I]Yes, anything,[/I] the voice answered.[I] Even...love...[/I]

[I]Even Love[/I]...the words echoed through her mind. A sudden determination set itself inside her mind. If she won, she could buy herself a new family. She could buy herself people who would love her as their child, not people who would use her like some sick toy, like daddy, or cast her off completely, like mommy. She could finally win the life she had clawed for tirelessly, day after day, out on the streets, the life she deserved after what the fates had cast to her.

She had only to win.

There was a servant-boy (literally, he couldn?t have been more than two years older than her) waiting at the next corner she absentmindedly turned. Which was convenient, because to tell the truth, she had no idea where she was. [B]?Oh, miss Mariko,?[/B] the boy said, noticing her before she fully registered the fact that he was there.

[B]"Oh, hello, there,?[/B] Mariko greeted politely, bowing her head slightly. [B]?I was wondering if you maybe knew where the dining hall was??[/B] She felt a little embarrassed to have to ask something so simple, but this place was just so huge that she couldn?t really be expected to be able to find her way around on her own.

The boy smiled cheerfully. [B]?Of course, miss Mariko, please follow me.?[/B] And with that, the boy turned around, glanced back, nodded his head, and lead her to the dining hall.

...Which turned out to be about a minutes walk from her room. She had gone in a big...[I]big[/I] circle around the room containing the dining hall without even noticing it.

[B]?You?re a bit early for tonight?s banquet, aren?t you, miss Mariko??[/B] the boy observed.

[B]?Yes, well...I had nothing better to do with my time, so I thought I?d take my seat early,?[/B] Mariko replied with an apologetic smile.

[B]?Ah, I see,?[/B] the boy responded, nodding his head. [B]?Well, if you?ll excuse me, I must be off. Servant stuff to attend to, you know,?[/B] he laughed. With a respectful bow, the boy turned on his heel and disappeared behind the corner.

A little disappointed that she hadn?t been able to return the boy?s courteous gestures of respect, Mariko turned around and swung open the door to the dining hall. As she walked in, the lights all simultaneously turned on, illuminating a room so vast to Mariko that it seemed to dwarf the size of any room she had ever seen before. Massive paintings of powerful historic figures hung from the walls, ornately carved furniture stood all around. A long, elegant table stood as the centerpiece of the room, with a grand, almost throne-like seat at the head of the table. As Mariko walked slowly up to the head of the table and took a seat on the right hand side closest to the head-chair, she smiled inwardly, for the first time in a long time, as visions of her goal swam back into her head.

She had but to[I] win[/I], and that was what she would have to do.

At [I]any[/I] cost.

[Imp]

[color=indigo][size=1]Wendy was humming to herself at that point. While she was doing so, she checked her watch--the time was 5:40. Mariko had just left the room.
[i]Yeah, so now I'm stuck with the roommate I like less.[/i]
Wendy did have to admit that she found Mariko to be a sort of interesting person, and even reminded her of herself a bit. Thisd was another example of Wendy's secret social side: she sometimes had a certain fondness of a person, but was too shy to tell them. One perfect example of that was when Wendy was in high school, and she had those types of feelings towards Amy, a girl in her art class. Amy apparently seemed to be in need of a friend, and was usually in a crabby mood and complained about things. And she was struggling in her art class and most of her other classes. Yet, Wendy had an unexplainable fondness for her. But, Amy was in a grade higher than her, so by the time she graduated, Wendy lost the chance to make friends with her.
[i]Gee, and will this happen to Mariko as well?[/i] Wendy thought.

"Hey, what's that tune you're humming?" Cecille's question brought Wendy back to reality.

"Oh... it's from a song I wrote," Wendy replied.

"Oh, really?" Cecille's response was more of interest than of sarcasm.

"Well, anyways, I'm going to see what I can do to get ready for the banquet--and perhaps see what's down that little hall."
Wendy pointed to a shallow-looking hall at the corner of the bedroom.
"Oh, and you might want to get ready as well... well, I think you look perfect enough already. Seriously, I think that dress looks cute and elegant on you. But oh well."
Wendy felt kind of uncomfortable saying the compliment, but she felt a little good afterward anyway.

As Wendy walked down the shallow, brightly lit hall, she thought about the upcoming dinner.
[i]'Twill probably be formal... but I wonder if the outfit I'm wearing would be okay already? I really wish I brought that black dress I have back at home. But...[/i]
At that point, Wendy saw a door that stood ajar to her left. She pushed it aside and turned on a light switch, only to reveal an expansive closet space. There were lots of different items of apparel in it, all rather classy-looking and well-organized. There were a series of different coats in one area, a whole wall full of dresses, a large hat rack containing at least twenty hats in the corner, a shoe rack in another corner, a large jewelry box on a table in another corner, another wall containing some slightly more casual clothing items, and... there were too many things to list. There were so many that Wendy's heart raced from the very sight of these things.
"Dante's kidding me!" Wendy said aloud. "Where did all this stuff come from? I saw this coat over here in a department store once--for about two thousand pounds! This is all looking too good to be true, if he asks me..."

Wendy then remembered the email she had received. It said that "everything she wished for would be granted" to her inside the mansion.
[i]Come to think of it, I might want to wash the clothes I'm already wearing... Ohh, I just hope this is the right thing to do...[/i]

A while later, Wendy walked into the bathroom which was right across from the closet. As with the closet, Wendy's eyes went wide when she saw the interior. The shower was huge and seemed to double as a hot spa. Along a side of it were shelves containing various shampoos, soaps, and other things. There were also three sinks in the room, apparently one for each of the girls.
[i]Ohh, I wish I had time to take a shower beforehand... My hair looks a little frizzy from sleeping on the airplane.[/i]

Next to one of the sinks was a wall of small shelves containing various things such as perfumes and lotions and hairsprays. Wendy looked rather surprised when she saw a familiar-looking bottle that looked to contain a gel-like substance.
[i]Hey... I ran out of this stuff at home! I know this helps with frizz! Gee, I guess Dante took his word for it. His psychic abilities are seeming rather remarkable. It's almost as if he's a ghost or vampire, some sort of supernatural being. Whether that's true or not is beyond me, but...[/i]
Those thoughts ran through Wendy's mind as she picked the bottle up and went back into the closet, closing and locking the door behind her.

Minutes later, Wendy was walking back into the bedroom. Instead of the previous outfit, she was now wearing a long purple dress that was coated in black lace at the bottom. On top of that she wore a black velvet shawl with a silver rose pattern on it. Below that she wore a pair of black boots that looked almost exactly like the ones she wore before, but were more comfortable and looked brand-new. And, her hair didn't look frizzy at all, and she was holding a small black purse. The only thing that didn't change was her necklace--the same one she wore before.

"Oh. My. GOSH!" Cecille exclaimed. "...Where'd you get that dress?"

Wendy giggled and pointed behind her, to the small hall.
"In the closet, silly."

Wendy walked over to her bed and transferred a few things from her bag to the purse she was now carrying: her pen, notebook, and gris-gris bag. (As usual, she smiled broadly while holding the gris-gris bag.) Also she put the red envelope lying on the bed inside. When everything was ready, Wendy headed for the door leading outside the room.

Wendy remembered the path she had taken from the entrance to her room, so after walking down the stairs and making a turn or two, she soon found herself at the front door. A man--possibly an assistant or servant--was standing by the door. Instead of a black man with a white suit, though, he was a white man with a black suit.

"Ah, Miss Fayworth," the man greeted. "Planning to leave so soon?"
The man had a sinister look on his face.

"Um... no," Wendy replied. "I'm just trying to find the dining room--you know, where we're all supposed to meet. And I thought I'm not allowed to leave this place..."

"Indeed you're not," the man agreed. "I was simply testing you. By the way, you should find your specified location by going down that hall over there, down to the end and turning left, then making your first right. Got that?"

"Pretty easy," Wendy said as she walked off to the hall the man pointed out.

Minutes later, Wendy opened the door to the dining hall. Inside was a long, fancy-looking table in the centre, surrounded by a bunch of beautifully carved and polished wooden furniture against the walls. Many of them were chairs that looked to be rather comfortable, and many were paired with round, shiny glass tables--each with a bouquet-filled vase on it. Various paintings hung above them on the walls, and the ceiling looked much like the ceiling of a cathedral, decorated with stars and angels, and a sun in the centre.

Wendy didn't look around at the room itself for too long, especially when she spotted Mariko sitting at the far end of the centre table on the right, right next to what looked more like a throne than a chair at the head of the table. Wendy looked at Mariko for a while--she seemed to be deep in thought. Then, slowly, taking a deep breath beforehand, she walked towards her, and eventually sat down in the chair right next to her. But when she sat down, she instinctively looked down at the table instead of at Mariko. Maybe it was because she was shy, or maybe it was because she didn't want to disturb Mariko's "deep thought process".

"Hello," Wendy said almost automatically, still not looking at Mariko. But once she caught herself greeting the girl sitting next to her, she gasped and sat up straighter, then turned her head very slightly towards her.
"Oh, sorry for disturbing you..." Wendy muttered hastily.

Mariko then turned her head to look at Wendy, but didn't say anything.

"This really is an interesting place," Wendy commented, staring off into space, "full of interesting people. Sometimes I wonder why some of these people came here, whether for greed, victory, well... who knows... Of course, I... have no clue why I decided to come, but..."
At that point Wendy was almost talking to herself. But then she quickly pointed a question at Mariko, hesitating beforehand.
"...So why did you come here? What made you take up on... the offer?"
Wendy paused for a moment.
"...Um, if you don't want to answer... Well, it's okay to--it's not like I would take advantage of you to make you lose this--I hate to say it--competition. Of course, such evil acts would be bad karma. I'm not that keen on 'winning' myself, but I'm mainly worried about what happens to the 'losers'... But anyways."
Wendy felt like she had said too much. She found it hard to look at Mariko while she awaited her response.[/color][/size]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: If you don't know what a gris-gris bag is, you didn't read my previous post carefully enough.

[Redemption]

[INDENT][color=Sienna][size=1]Ally couldn?t help but give a slight chuckle to herself. Her roommate seemed like she had boundless reserves of energy. Whether it be from nervousness or if it was true, the young French woman felt it was rather refreshing. Jennie came up to Ally?s side as the two started to walk down the corridor of the bedrooms. The chaos of moving in had dulled down quite a lot. Everyone must be out exploring the expansive mansion. The sound of waves crashing outside was music to Ally?s ears. It was soothing? calming.

[b]? Jennie??[/b] Ally asked tentatively, wondering if she had her roommate?s name correct.

[b]? Uh huh??[/b] Jennie replied, still bouncing on the balls of her feet. Ally didn?t notice it when the two first met but it sounded like the young woman beside her was a native, meaning she was an Australian.

[b]? Would you like to come with me down to the beach??[/b] the French woman asked coolly, trying to be somewhat friendly to the person she would most likely be rooming with for a time to come.

Jennie froze up. Ally stopped and looked around at her, wondering what was wrong. Was it something she said? There was an awkward silence for a time before Ally sighed in resignation, shrugging her shoulders softly.

[b]? I will take that as a no.?[/b]

Ally continued on down the hall, her thoughts mulling over Jennie?s apparent discomfort at her suggestion. Moments later Jennie caught up to her, not wanting to be left alone in this huge mansion. There was silence between them. Ally sighed within herself. She didn?t know what to do now, and she even wished that Sean, or even Ben, would come to her rescue and start some sort of form of conversation.[/size][/color][/INDENT]

OOC: Any takers Engel, BK?

[Horendithas]

5:50 pm ~ in the hallway just outside the dinning room.

[INDENT][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed][I]What the hell am I doing?[/I] Sena thought. He had intended to simply leave the shared quarters and head back towards the entrance to find someone to direct him to where dinner would be held. But instead at the last moment his curiosity got the better of him and he had turned instead to see if his new roommate had similar furnishing like he did. He had even thought to see if he was ready to head for where dinner would be.

But of all things he had not expected to see Dolls in such a place. Without even realizing he was doing so, he pulled back a bit, clenching his hands into fists. He swallowed nervously when Allen explained that he use to make them as a child. [I]Use to make them? [/I]He shuddered at the thought. [I]Who would want to make them? [/I]

[I]Be calm,[/I] he reminded himself. [I]After all no one understands just how horrible they really are.[/I] When he had been kicked out by his family the councilor the law forced him to visit had tried to get him to explore why dolls bothered him. But it had taken very little for Sena to realize that she just couldn?t understand. So he had rarely discussed how they disgusted him even with her. She had not understood and had insisted that he was really afraid of something else. So he had told her what she wanted to hear, spoke the words required to sooth her mind so they could move on to other stuff and more importantly he could quit wasting his time as he had better things to do than talk with her.

With a start Sena realized that Allen was still waiting for him to respond. He cursed inwardly at making such an obvious mistake, flushing over the implied rudeness. He forced himself to unclench his fists and take a deep breath. [I]Think idiot! You have to say something![/I]

?[B]I?m sorry,[/B]? he said. ?[B]Though I was curious as to what your room was like I didn?t mean to intrude.[/B]? Sena smiled weakly. ?[B]The drapes don?t really work the same as a door do they? I?ll be sure to knock on the wall next to the plaque with your name before I enter again, okay?[/B]?

[I]There that should work,[/I] he thought. [I]Let him think I was embarrassed over realizing that I simply barged in. [/I] And though he couldn?t read Allen?s smile, he was relieved when Allen simply agreed to do the same and knock before entering his room should he ever need to talk to him.

Sena just nodded mindlessly and then hastily retreated to leave the room, glancing at his watch as he did so. 5:48 PM almost time for dinner. He moved to enter the hallway, pausing to take a moment to wipe his hands on his pants, as his palms were sweaty. With a sigh of relief he turned left after leaving the room and immediately headed towards the entrance. Pausing only when he encountered one of the servants who cheerfully directed him towards the dinner room. He thanked them politely and headed off in that direction. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/INDENT]

[TheResplendent]

[FONT=Tahoma][color=darkred]Sweat dropped from Ben's forehead and rolled down his shirtless body as he pounded the heavy bag with swift chop kicks and quick alternating punches. Basic movements and techniques in muay thai. He couldn't think of a better way of spending the remainder of his time before dinner then testing out the equipment in his room. Though many other thoughts were up there pretty close, but given the time constraints, Ben went with the more hard-hitting type of exercise.Ben paced himself more toward the end and brought his bag routine to an end.

[b]"Woo! Now that's what I'm talkin about. This is some good stuff this Dante fellow got his hands on."[/b] Ben said aloud as he wiped his face down with a towel, then proceeded to drape it across the back of his neck. He walked over toward the jacuzzi room, where incidently was where the shower stall was located. It was almost dinner time and Ben had to wash up and prepare himself if he wanted to make a good impression.

Twenty minutes passed as Ben stepped out into the main chamber again, and promptly threw on a nice pair of white dress pants. Somewhat unorthadox in style, as they seemed to resemble work out pants more then something you'd wear with a suit. Though it wasn't Ben's intention to wear a suit to begin with. He ruffled through his hair with his right hand and scoped himself out in the full size mirror beside his bed.

[b]"Damn Ben, you lookin good."[/b] he said to himself, making a gunshot motion into the mirror. He walked over to his clothing suitcase and pulled out his white "TapouT" shirt and tossed it on. He picked his sparring gloves off the floor and tossed them into the middle of the ring. He walked over toward the inner entrance/exit to his part of the room and looked over his former roommate's room.

[b]"Hope the dude's alright. I wonder if he did something wrong?"[/b] Ben said to himself, remembering how Kuro was summoned by Dante's servant.

He tossed a few things into his back pants pocket, grabbed a pair of sunglasses and fitted them atop his head, and finished things off with his gold chain. He looked at his diver's watch, which he kept on while in the shower and noticed the time was quite close to 6PM, yet with still enough time to spare for a little walk around. He walked out of his room and noticed one of the mansion's help standing toward the foot of the stairs leading down.

[b]"Hey chief, which way to the dining hall?"[/b] Ben asked, trying to act friendly with the servant. He figured he'd take his time, but it would be good to know where he was going when the time came.

[b]"Down these stairs, and to the left. The first room on the right passed the first hallway, sir."[/b] the servant responded.

[b]"Thanks a lot buddy, see ya there hopefully."[/b] Ben said, straightening the servant's bowtie. He continued on his way before hearing the chatter of two ladies a little bit down the intersecting hall before reaching the stairs. Ben slowed himself purposely, attempting to time his steps so he would cross their path before reaching the staircase. The two came into Ben's view, it was Ally and Jennie. He couldn't really make out what their conversation was about, though it didn't seem like much...or atleast the attempt at conversating for the sake of avoidin silence.

[b]"Well well, funny running into you here Ms. Ally. It seems our paths cross yet again."[/b] Ben said, slightly bowing his head to her.

[b][i]'Ben, that's right...his room is on this floor. Well, it's good to see him actually.'[/b][/i] Ally thought to herself as she smiled slightly.

[b]"Hello Ben, a pleasure it is running into you again."[/b] Ally said, feeling slightly more comfortable speaking with the mixed martial artist.

[b]"Who is your friend?"[/b] Ben asked, turning his attention to Jennie.

[b]"M..my name is Jennie."[/b] she said a bit nervously, as Ben took her hand in his and bowed his head to her.

[b]"A pleasure, you may call me Ben. So, are you two lovely ladies headed to the dining hall?"[/b]

Jennie seemed a bit clueless on how to talk with Ben, she seemed intently focused on him though with her eyes. He seemed like someone so comfortable in his own skin, and more then that someone who seemed to ooze self-confidence.

[b]"It's still a little early, isn't it? I mean...we'd probably change into something else if we were headed there already, right?"[/b] Ally exlained, nudging Jennie a bit with her elbow. Jennie snapped out of her trance like state and nodded in agreement, allowing on a "Mhmm" to escape her mouth.

[b]"I see. Well then, let us kill the last....oh, 20 minutes together. Then i'd be more then happy to wait for you ladies as you change and escort you to dinner."[/b] Ben said, always keeping a sincere and full looking smile on his face as he spoke.

[b]"Well, your company is appreciated...but it's not neccesary to escort us, Ben."[/b] Ally exclaimed, in a bit of an unsure tone.

[b]"Please, I insist. I shall be a perfect gentleman, you need not worry."[/b] Ben said, hoping to assure both of them. Ben looked over at Jennie who drew her eyes to his shirt, he caught it and wondered a bit himself what she was doing. He then remembered the shirt he put on and intended to wear to dinner as well.

[b]"Ah, I suppose you're wondering about the shirt?"[/b] Ben asked, not really expecting anyone else at the mansion to know anything about something like that.

[b]"Well actually...I was a little curious."[/b] Jennie admitted.

[b]"But of course, allow me to fulfill your curious needs my dear. TapouT, you see is a clothing provider amongst other things for the mixed martial arts community. I wear this with great pride in what it is I do. Many of the fighers wear the shirts, hats, what have you. Myself, i'm not much of a headgear person."[/b] Ben explained. Minutes have passed since their opening words, the three of them surprisingly managed to muster up conversation topics enough to pass the time as Ally hoped it would. [/FONT]
[/color]
[center]* * * * *[/center]

[size=1]OOC: Figured I'd let Ozy take us to dinner :P. I wanted to get the post in before I went to bed though.[/size]

[Esther]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Sorry for the crappy quality, I really wanted to post before I got left behind.[/SIZE][/FONT]
~~~~~~~~~
[COLOR=DarkOrchid][B][SIZE=1]After Wendy left the room leaving her by herself, Cecille decided it would be best to get ready for the dinner. She stood in the middle of the room and looked around for the closet.

[B]?Ah! There it is.?[/B]

Cecille opened the closet to find that all of her belongings were already hanged up. With a slight gasp of pleasure, she grabbed a red oriental-esque looking dress and walked over to place it on top of her bed. Returning to the closet she looked for her matching heels and purse. After finding them Cecille took her things into the bathroom to dress, shutting the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Cecille emerged in an all red formal outfit and a new set of make up applied. Gold dragons sewn into the dress raced and wrapped around her body, slightly glittering in the room?s light. Cecille ran her hands down her sides patting down the dress before picking up her purse inserting a few personal accessories and exited the room into the vast darkly-lit hallway. Cecille turned around closing the door and stood for a few moments looking both ways of the hallway. Hearing some conversation to one side of the hallway she walked in direction of the voices. The hallway seemed like it would never end; stopping halfway Cecille looked up at a painting that was illuminated by a lamp directly underneath it shining its light onto it.

[B]?That?s really pretty.. I wonder how much it?s worth.? [/B] Cecille studied it for a few minutes before a voice jolted her out of her focus.

[B]?Excuse me Miss. Harrison, but it?s best if you made your way to the dining hall. The dinner will begin shortly, and you cannot miss it.?[/B]

A tall man clad in tuxedo and black tie who seemingly appeared out of now where stood next to Cecille looking down at her with emotionless face.

[B]?Oh! Okay, I was on my way there..?[/B] Cecille turned around and proceeded walking towards the dining room. Turning slightly, she noticed that the servant had disappeared; almost as fast as he had appeared.

?Oh my gosh, that is so weird..? Shaking her head Cecille came to two large doors, with a gold plaque to the right reading ?DINING ROOM?.

Cecille opened one of the doors and stepped inside to a very fancy looking dining room, with a large ornate dining table in the middle decorated with candles, flower arrangements, and silver ware. Cecille looked around to see that some others had already had taken their seats, she smiled kindly saying ?Good evening? aloud.

About two people looked over and flashed a smile or nod of gratitude. Cecille hadn?t socialized with anyone yet, so she didn?t know whom to sit next to. With a glance over the attendees faces Cecille noticed that her two young room mates were seated next to each other. Cecille walked over and smiled at the two who seem to have been having a conversation.

[B]?I hope you don?t mind if I sit here!?[/B] Without waiting for an answer Cecille pulled out a chair and sat down next to Wendy, who smiled weakly.

Cecille nodded her head while putting her purse on the table waiting for the event to commence.

[B]?This place is starting to make me curious..? [/B] [/SIZE] [/B][/COLOR]

[Engel]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]Sean had went to his room with Ry and they'd had a short, but intense conversation. However, Ry wasn't feeling up to more social intereaction at that time, and Sean was forced out of the room due to polite tendancies. He walked down the halls, stroking the elaborate designs on the walls with his fingertips and muttering to himself. As he realised that he seemed to be alone, his voice grew in volume, and his sharp german accent handled the songs of his native language easily.

[b]"Wer zu lebzieit gut auf Erden, wird nacht dem Tod ein Engel werden, den Blick gen himmelf fragst du dann, warum man sie nicht sehen kann..."[/b] His loud and sharp, and yet sweet voice echoed through empty hallways, rebounding and resounding back to his ears. He smiled and continued to sing, switching into Russian.

[b]"Mezhdu vseh vremen, Bez imen i lic, my uzhe ne zhdem, Chto prosnetsia briz!"[/b] Sean grinned to himself as he sang, reciting passages from his favorite songs. He could of entertained himself endlessly and then some like this, but stopped short at seeing Ben talking to Ally and another woman. Sean was overly annoyed at his "perfect gentleman" antics and approached the threesome.

[b]"TapouT certainly sounds interesting. My name is Sean, and yours would be, ma'am?"[/b] He asked the woman that was next to Ally with a friendly enough smile. She bounced on her heels slightly and smiled back.

[b]"Jennie. Nice to meet ya, Sean."[/b] Sean looked at Ben.

[b]"I believe we already know each other, Ben."[/b] Sean said, feigning politeness. The thing about people who proclaimed themselves as perfect gentlemen, were - in Sean's experience - nothing more than skirtchasers and womanizers who were looking for a good time.

[b]"Indeed we do, sir. May I ask why you'd wish to partake in our conversation?"[/b] Ben smiled at him, both of his hands pressed together in a gesture of impatience. Sean allowed himself a devious grin on the inside. While Ben seemed well enough on the outside, it seemed like he had a nerve for patience.

[b]"Because I'm lookin' to kill time before dinner, is that such a problem?"[/b]

[b]"Not at all, I suppose."[/b]

[b]"So, what's everyone do in their spare time?"[/b] Sean asked, without really thinking about it. He was always tapping his foot to an invisible beat, and now was no exception.

[b]OOC:[/b] I would of squeezed this post in earlier, but my internet had been acting funked up. Sorry. =[ It takes place before dinner.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Kairi]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray][SIZE=1][CENTER]A loud screeching noise echoed throughout the entire mansion...speakers could be heard above everyone's heads as a soft feminine voice could be heard breathing in the background.[B]

[I]"It is not time for dinner...everyone please make your way to the dinning area and take your seats...the Master of Games will be with you shortly. Please, do not forget your cards."[/B][/I]

Dante Lui'ci was sitting in his living quarters on the far side of the mansion; far away from everyone else. Sitting in front of a fireplace, the glow of the flames radiated over his face. A warm sensatino spread throughout his entire body...not from the fire, but from the females voice...[I]it's time[/I].

Despite his new appearance, Lui'ci always required the use of his cane...a curse upon his leg since he began this game so many years ago. Slowly making his way through what seemed to be an endless string of hallways, the excitement of the night became more and more overwelming.

Upon entering the dinning room, his servants were already hadn't out everyones specially made to their most favorite meals. The master smiled to himself as he made his way to the only lone seat. The table was circular, allowing everyone to look at one another...everyone was completely exposed.
[B]
"Hello ladies and gentlement!"[/B] Lui'ci's voice was strong and direct as everyone in their seats turned to him with curious looks on their faces.

The master of games continued to circle the table, almost stalking everyone...looking them all in the eye.[B] "Welcome to my humble home...as I stated in your emails, whatever you desire will be given to you."[/B] Immidiately a wave of servants flooded the dinning room and circled the table.

[B]"These fine men and women that surround you now will answer to whatever call you ask of them."[/B] Dante Lui'ci simply snapped his fingers, and all the servants exitted just as quickly as they entered.
[B]
"As you can see, they are very efficient, and will listen to any command that you give them. But enough of formalities..."[/B] Finally, Lui'ci made his way to his seat and sat down. The smell of so many exquisite meals filled his nostrils...however no one seemed to be eating...listening intently to what he had to say next.
[B]
"I apologize...I should've waited to start this until you all were finished with your dinner, so I will maket his quick. My name is Dante Lui'ci, however I've also been known as the Master of Games. This game that you are now a part of has been going on for centuries. The rules of this game have changed over the years, however the priniciples have been handed down from generation to generation of my family."[/B]
[B]
"I hope that you all have brought your cards with you. We'll be opening them up soon enough, however I want to make clear the rules of my game. First, you must obey your cards...by not following through with your card will result in a penalty (the masters voice sounded seductive while saying this word)"[/B]

[B]"The only way to get out of what your card requires of you, is to present to me something of equal value...which will be determined by myself. However I will not tell you what would be equally presentable to me. If you lack in your offering, this will result in a penalty..."[/B]

[B]"Every so often...so that we can weed out the strong from the weak, I will be holding votes which will determine who shall leave the mansion. These votes will of course be confidential."[/B]

[B]"Other than those rules, there is nothing more I need to say. You all are adults here..."[/B] then the master turned and looked at the young girl sitting to his right...she looked nervous, and held her head down when he looked at her. Not getting a look back from her, he turned his attention back to the others.
[B]
"I know that you all know how to take care of yourselves. Oh...before I forget, Mr. Kuro has already been eliminated due to a certain complication...I won't get into anymore details.......*pause*......forgive me I find myself rambling..."[/B] Dante clapped his hands together and rubbed them together as if he was preparing himself for something. [B]"If no one has any questions...let us continue to eat. Once you're finished with your meal, you may read your card and follow it through immidiately."[/B]

Leaning back in his chair, Lui'ci rested his chin in his left palm and relaxed as he watched them all continue eating their meals, him not having anything in front of him...his appetite wasn't for food.....

***[/CENTER][/SIZE][/COLOR]

If any of you have any questions just PM me, and I will answer them asap so that you can include them in your post. Everyone who was not in the dinning room before Dante's entrance just write a short clip of you entering the dinning room before this time. Once you've finished eating your meal, you may follow through with what your card asked when you open it at the table.

[Neko]

Again, sorry, but I'll have to 'pretty it up' later. It's all done, though.

[COLOR=DarkRed]EDIT: Okay, it's good to go![/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkRed][I]the Grand Dining Hall, 6:20 PM[/I][/COLOR]

Dinner was held in utter silence, save for the clinking of dining utensils against the fine china plates. Mr. Lui?ci, the Master of Games, seemed to command a sort of presence that snuffed out all the sound from the air. Mariko looked down at the plate in front of her. It was her favorite food, onigiri and soumen, but she wasn?t really hungry. Wendy?s question had put her off her mood.

Why are you here? Why, when she had just been starting to like her, had she had to ask that question? How could Mariko explain what circumstances had brought her to this place? That she was a runaway? Questions regarding those circumstances would certainly arise, and?Mariko didn?t want to have to talk about her family. At least, not to someone she couldn?t one-hundred percent trust. Thankfully, Wendy had sensed Mariko?s unease at the question by the way she had stared blankly at her, and had dropped the subject.

Maybe she was a little hungrier than she had thought. Anything to take her mind off of her parents. She picked up on of the steamed rice balls and nibbled a little on one end of it. Dante was good on his word, that was one thing for sure; these were probably the best onigiri that she had ever eaten. It was like the chef had been brought up in a fine Japanese restaurant, and had spent his entire life making them. But then, as she glanced around the table, everyone had their own special dish ? or most of it, anyways ? in front of them. The Master of Games had catered perfectly to every possible taste of his guests.

Once she finished about half of her meal, Mariko gently pushed the plate slightly away from her, bowing in respect to Mr. Lui?ci for his hospitality. The man smiled gently at her with a smile that somehow didn?t quite reach his eyes, or at least not in the warm, friendly way his mouth did.

?Well, then, little Mariko,? he said politely, quietly, so that only she could hear, ?did you remember to bring your card??

Mariko nodded her head slightly, producing the little envelope from her dress? pocket. She noticed how Mr. Lui?ci?s cold eyes darted casually, but quickly, to the tear in the envelope.

?I-I didn?t open it,? she explained hastily. ?Honest. I just forgot your rules for a moment, and tore the envelope, but I didn?t look inside, I promise??

?Think nothing of it, little Mariko,? Dante smiled warmly. ?I understand perfectly. Go on, read it.?

Mariko slowly withdrew the card from its envelope. Her name was written in extremely fancy, rather loopy cursive, in pure gold on one side, as though someone had written her name in the molten metal itself. She carefully opened the card, her eyes darting quickly across the paper. The first part was so simple, it was almost absurd.

She missed a breath as she finished reading the last line. She looked back up at the Master of Games, wide-eyed.

?Bu-but I?I can?t do that, it?s too soon!? she whispered urgently, pleadingly, to the Master, who smiled back at her in return.

?Think of it like this, little one,? he reasoned. ?The sooner you get this out of the way, the sooner you won?t have any secrets to hide. It?s best to be honest with the other guests, or they might?grow to?resent you.? He ended his reasoning by swirling one finger through the air lazily and tapping it against the table. ?Understand??

Mariko nodded. ?Yes, I?I understand.?

The Master nodded gently and smiled, leaning back in his chair. He snapped his finger, and out of nowhere, a servant came from behind his chair and set an empty wine glass in front of him, along with a slender spoon. He picked up the spoon and tapped it lightly against the rim of the glass. A pure, crystalline sound rang softly from the glass, echoing and picking up volume as it bounced through the room. Everyone turned towards the head of the table.

?I?m terribly sorry to interrupt what, I?m sure, must be an excellent meal??? he trailed off the implied question and was rewarded with enthusiastic agreement. ?But, before we begin the rest of tonight?s proceedings, I believe our youngest guest has a few things she would like to say to us. Miss Mariko, if you would???

Mariko nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. I can do this, she thought to herself. I have to do this. I can?t just keep running away from it. She cleared her throat softly, and stood up, turning so that she could face the rest of the table. Dante sat at her side, smiling gently.

?Um?? she began. How was she supposed to begin this sort of thing? ?M-My name is Mariko?? Mariko what? It had been so long, she had forgotten her own last name. ?A-and I, I was brought here be-because I have no place else t-to go in this world. I?m here now b-because I have had to struggle on the streets of my home town to survive this long, all the while asking myself if it was really worth it.?

?The Master of Games saw this in me, and h-has brought me here because I...beause I want to find my reason to live again. I want to have a place to go that I can call home. You see??

This was the hard part. Mariko choked down what almost felt like a large golf ball before taking on this last part.

?Y-you see, I?I ran away from home. I ran because I was afraid of my father.?

?And why would that be, little one?? Dante Lui?ci asked softly, sincerely. He wanted everyone to hear this, and Mariko wasn?t going to get out of it. She could feel everyone?s eyes weighing down on her. She couldn?t hold back the tears anymore. Too many painful memories?

?I-I?? she tried, but she had to stop to stifle a sob. ?The r-reason I?m a-afraid of my father is?is because?? She paused to wipe her face on her sleeve. She didn?t want to say it, didn?t want to remember?

?But then it just came out, accompanied by a fresh outburst of tears.

?I-I ran away because every night my papa would come into my room and?and he?d take my clothess off and?he?d?he?d?do things...-!? She couldn?t finish, as she?d broken out into pure crying, but that was okay, because everyone in the room could draw the conclusion pretty easily, could figure out what 'papa' had done to the little girl. She sat down and buried her face in her hands, sobbing quietly.

The Master of Games clapped his hands together slowly, as if applauding. ?Very well done, little Mariko. Very brave of you, to confront your past so boldly...? He settled comfortably back into his chair. ?Please do continue, everyone,? he added, gesturing politely with a lazy arm. ?The Festivities have yet to come...?

---Oh, and Mariko's, well...just don't try talking to her for a bit, 'kay? She needs a moment...Mental trauma, y'know.

[Redemption]

[INDENT][color=Sienna][size=1]Delicious aromas filled the room as a group of waiters, all dressed in their very best, walked neatly out of the doors to the kitchen and to their respective hosts. Each lent in from the left and placed a meal of scrumptious proportions down in front of the now salivating dinner guests.

Ally was quite overwhelmed by the etiquette of the waiters, now standing behind the guest they were to attend to that evening. But really, she couldn?t have expected anything less. Such magnificence surrounded her. It was quite unnerving, to be honest.

Everyone seemed to tuck into their favourite meal. Ally watched them all, her military training instantly kicking in without her realising it. She analysed each one of the guests before turning to the Master of the House. Her honey coloured eyes looked over him, scanning him for any sign of weakness. To her surprise, she found none. It was as if he knew she was looking at him ? analysing him ? to try and find something about him she didn?t already know. A sharp glance headed her way from the Master and she now looked down at her meal.

To her delight, it was her favourite French dish ? [i]Coq au vin[/i]. Essentially, it was chicken cooked with a French wine called [i]Vin jaune[/i], bacon, button mushrooms, garlic and a unique type of fungi called [i]Morchella[/i]. It was a broth and it warmed ever part of your body when you ate it ? perfect for one of the snowy winter nights back in Paris.

Ally delicately took her soup spoon in her fingers and brought some of the broth to her lips. She sipped at it slightly, testing the temperature. Her body completely relaxed when the flavours of the dish tickled her tastebuds. It was heavenly. The flavours were subtle, but present. It was a sign of an expert chef that even the [i]Morchella[/i] tasted somewhat edible.

There were muffled conversations over the circular table between mouthfuls of food. Ally noticed that the Master had structured it so no one was able to hide from the others? eyes if the situation called for it. But, it was also a good way to break the ice between people that hadn?t met previously.

To her left was Jenny, her roommate. To her right was Sean ? the German, then Ben ? the South American. Ally still hadn?t figured out where he had been born. It would have to wait until after the meal. But beyond her was possibly the youngest guest of all. Her meal was Japanese, in origin. Perhaps that?s where she was from. But what was most curious about her, despite her young age, was her appearance. From what Ally could tell, she had light, sky blue hair, down to her waist, and dark wine red eyes. The young girl?s appearance instantly reminded Ally of the tales of vampires.

The meal endured onwards for some time, before the young girl had finished her meal and pushed aside her plate. It was then that Ally noticed how young she really was. She couldn?t have been more than 15. Why did the Master allow such a young person into his game? What were his motives?

Ally sighed, realising her military training had kicked in again. She pushed those thoughts from her mind and finished her own meal. In the time she had finished her meal, the Master and the young girl conversed. As Ally lent back, savouring the last spoonful of the broth, the Master egged on the young girl to reveal her past and the reason why she was here in the mansion.

The young French woman was stunned at what the young girl had to say. It deeply saddened her to hear that such horrible things were done to such a young person, at no fault of their own. Ally felt an immediate inner fury rise up at the young girl?s father, her natural protective instinct coming back to life. It seemed she wasn?t the only damaged good in this mansion. There were others, possibly ones that have no equal in the horror they were previewed to.

Once she had set her spoon in the finished position, the waiter, behind her, promptly whisked it away to the kitchen to be washed up. Ally didn?t particularly want anything for dessert, her mind reeling from the young girl?s confession. But now, her thoughts were on her own card. She thumbed the envelope nervously in her jacket pocket. What was the Master going to suggest she do, to play this game? If it was anything like the young girl?s, then Ally would almost certainly turn to either ice or water.

However, there was no use in waiting for the inevitable. Taking out the classical looking envelope, Ally pried it open with shaking hands. She could sense that the Master was now looking her way, waiting impatiently to see what her reaction would be to his card.

The young woman took in a deep breath before looking down at the card she had now pulled from the envelope. As she read the cursive words, her breath became caught in her chest. All the colour drained from her face.

It wasn?t possible?

For a moment, Ally let wild thoughts run rampant inside her mind. She had placed her hands and her card underneath the table so no one could see how much she was shaking.

It?. it wasn?t right?

Regaining her composure, Ally excused her self from the table. Sean and Ben both looked up at her as she walked off at a brisk pace, making a beeline for her room. This Master really knew how to shake a person at their core.[/size][/color][/INDENT]

OOC: A nice long post to keep things rolling. I?ll be revealing what?s in my card in the next post, since the Master is still at dinner.

[Imp]

OOC: What a big relief. I leave for a week and my character isn't... well, you know, what happens when one loses the game. I'm so excited about this post I could burst!
IC:

[color=indigo][size=1]Wendy stared blankly at the plate in front of her. Her expression was appropriately blank, because so was the plate! Not the tiniest morsel was on the plate--it was as if the food had been turned invisible. But the plate was beautiful at least--it was deep blue in colour, and had a purple trim that looked a lot like lace all around the edges. Wendy was a bit flattered--her favourite colours were in the plate. She looked around to see that everyone else's plates looked different--except they weren't empty like hers.

What wasn't empty, however, was the glass resting next to the plate. It looked like it had been handcrafted out of crystal, and the handle looked like a blue dolphin. Inside it was a delicate, amber-coloured liquid. Steam wafted gracefully out of it.
[i]Hmm, what is it...?[/i] Wendy asked herself. Then she took a sip of the drink--and smiled broadly afterward.
[i]This is the absolute best tea I have ever tasted! It appears to be some sort of jasmine tea--or maybe it was a sort of green tea. Or both. It looks to have some hints of vanilla flavouring to it... Wow, I guess Dante meant it when he said our favourites would be here! The perfect flavour, the perfect balance of bitter and sweet, the perfect aroma... I could just dance in the latious* song emanating from this feeling.[/i]

As Wendy drank a bit more of the tea (slowly as to savour the flavour), she thought of one of her favourite songs--a rather little-known song called "Wonderful Feeling". Wendy really thought she could relate to the song, and even began humming the melody occasionally.

Moments later, Wendy's stomach growled, causing her to turn back to her empty plate.
[i]Hmm...[/i] Wendy thought. [i]Wait a minute... Before dinner started, Dante mentioned all out favourite foods would be on the plate. But I am admittedly shy about my favourite, so maybe that means I don't have a favourite? Is that why my plate's empty? Well, not that I don't mind... I just hope it doesn't get to the point where I starve to death because I'm unable to make up my mind about what I want to eat.[/i]
In the minutes afterward, Wendy searched her memories for any sort of meal she remembered was simply wonderful. She thought of many different things, but none of them seemed to hit the spot. She did this a few more times, finally coming upon one possibility...

"Miss Fayworth?" said a voice behind Wendy. Wendy abruptly turned around to see a servant, carrying some sort of steaming bowl. The bowl was of the exact same colour and design as the empty plate in front of Wendy.
"I truly apologise for the wait," the servant continued. "It seems like there was some confusion as to what we should serve you. It even got to the point where some of us servants were arguing over it... But no harm done."
The servant said no more as he placed the bowl in front of Wendy.

Wendy smiled a little bit at the contents of the bowl, though not nearly as excitedly as when she tasted the tea. In front of her was a bowl of noodle soup, consisting of some sort of thin, clear noodles, a few fish balls and a scallop or two, and a bunch of various vegetables, which even included mushrooms and a few strips of nori on the side. The broth all this was in was almost the exact same colour as the tea, though Wendy figured it probably had a completely different taste.
[i]I've never seen scallops in this kind of soup before...[/i] Wendy thought. [i]I guess he... er, I... have weird tastes. What was I thinking? Oh, but fish balls are my favourite. And how'd he know nori was my favourite too? And look--spinach, zucchini, bean sprouts, tofu even... I love them too! And what do you know, they even gave me chopsticks as well as a spoon. And both of those are the same colours as the bowl and the plate--wow! Ohh, and this is the smallest soup bowl I've ever seen... wonderful! Most of the ones I see are way too huge for me--but it looks as if I might be able to finish this![/i]
Sure enough, everything tasted as good as Wendy had predicted. Yet as she ate, she kept glancing around at the other people seated at the table, as if to check for any weird expressions directed at her. (Umm, who knew a fabulous bowl of this type of noodle soup would fall into the happy hands of an Englishwoman...?)

As before, Wendy looked the most at Mariko. She felt a little bit humiliated at the question she asked her earlier, and really wanted to apologise for it. However, she could obviously see that Mariko didn't feel like talking at this point.
[i]She reminds me of me... very shy and quiet as well. I think that's the first time I've ever met someone quieter than me who I actually have a fondness for.[/i]

A few seconds after Wendy finished drinking the remaining broth out of her bowl (first time for everything), she noticed that Mariko was tearing apart her envelope and starting to read her card. Out of courtesy, Wendy resisted to urge to look at her--she didn't want to see what was in her card.
[i]I don't know what happens if I'm caught looking at someone else's card...[/i]
After that, Wendy began to take her own envelope out of her purse, when she was interrupted by Dante speaking.

?I?m terribly sorry to interrupt what, I?m sure, must be an excellent meal???
A few people cheered at this comment, and Wendy clapped a few times, though rather sheepishly.
?But, before we begin the rest of tonight?s proceedings, I believe our youngest guest has a few things she would like to say to us. Miss Mariko, if you would???
Mariko then stood up, and Wendy looked up at her, a pleasant expression on her face. Then Mariko began to speak, but she sounded awfully nervous.

?Um? M-My name is Mariko? A-and I, I was brought here be-because I have no place else t-to go in this world. I?m here now b-because I have had to struggle on the streets of my home town to survive this long, all the while asking myself if it was really worth it. The Master of Games saw this in me, and h-has brought me here because I...beause I want to find my reason to live again. I want to have a place to go that I can call home. You see??
Mariko sounded even more nervous as she continued to speak. Although she didn't notice it, Wendy's smile also faded and turned into a sort of curious gaze, backed by a little empathy.

When Mariko spoke again, she mentioned that she ran away from her father. As she said this, Wendy's smile perked back up again.
[i]Well gee, Mariko, I'm not at all ashamed of that! I remember wanting to run away myself.[/i]
Then Dante asked Mariko why she ran away. Mariko looked like she was on the verge of crying.
?I-I ran away because every night my papa would come into my room and?and he?d take my clothess off and?he?d?he?d?do things...-!?
Mariko burst into tears after this statement, covering her face in her hands and sitting back down again.

Then Dante went on to thank Mariko for speaking up, but Wendy focused more of her attention on Mariko herself. She was filled with empathy at this point, and knew exactly what Mariko was talking about.
"Child molestation," Wendy muttered, speaking more into space than toward Mariko. She really didn't know or care whether Mariko paid any attention. "Yes, bad things, very bad things..."
Then she turned to Mariko at last.
"Mariko, I..." Wendy paused. She remembered a few times when she was feeling very depressed and cried just as hard or harder than Mariko was now. During those times, she wanted above all else to be left alone. So she would not disrespect Mariko's privacy at this point--she decided she would talk to her later.

Just a few seconds after Ally hid her card under the tablecloth, Wendy took out her own card and carefully tore it open. As she did, she noticed her full name (Wendy Orla Fayworth) written in fancy-looking gold letters. Anyways, finally she took out her card, held it up as close to herself as possible to prevent anyone peeking at it, and read the card to herself.

...

When Wendy finished reading, she looked at the letter with a surprised stare.
[i]Whoa! This is all? This is it? Why I thought... Heh, this isn't too bad! I shall tell everybody everything! (I'm even afraid of saying too much...)[/i]
Wendy also saw a few other things in the envelope--some pictures in fact. There were four pictures, all of people. One of them Wendy immediately recognized, another took a few seconds to remember, and for the other two she had to flip the pictures over to find their names.

Wendy then took the spoon from the soup bowl and tapped it against her half-empty glass. Heads turned in her direction as she stood up afterward.
"Ah, Miss Fayworth," Dante greeted. "I suppose you, too, are ready to say a few words about yourself?"

"Why yes," Wendy replied, bouncing up and down a few times out of excitement. She had too many things to say and didn't know where to start... "I have a few things to say, maybe more, time-allowing!"
Then Wendy began to [i]really[/i] speak.

"Fellow members of this fate-struck planet known as Earth, I truly respect your presence. My name is Wendy Orla Fayworth. ...My father calls me Orla. Anyways, family origins are really off-topic as far as I'm concerned... Now, I admit to being a crazy person--who wants to be normal?--and in fact..."

Wendy paused a moment before continuing, another smile on her face.

"...I am a witch."

Wendy laughed to herself at what she just said. She noticed a few surprised stares coming from the audience, but nothing too disturbing.

"Yes, that means I read tarot cards and brew potions and cast spells--you know... And I am very fond of it all, really. You can say my fondest interest in the universe is in the paranormal. Hee hee! You should really be honoured. You see, one of the basic rules of witchcraft is that you shouldn't tell people that you're a witch. Buuut, that just so happens to be the [i]only[/i] rule of witchcraft that I completely disagree with! After all, what wrong with expressing youself? We are all in the Age of Aquarius, where expression is important. We are not living in the seventeenth century--thank god--where people burned witches, "pagans", I guess you might say. But paganism is more of a religion, a nature-based one, than an actual craft. Now anyways, gee, I really feel like digressing tonight. I get so passionate about these things that... Anyways."

Wendy took a deep breath to centre herself for a moment, to tone down a bit of her excitement. It felt like a very short meditation. When Wendy came out of it, she felt more calm and true to herself as she continued to speak.

"Now, people have many perceptions about witches. It is true that they're magic users, that thy incorporate paranormal elements into everyday life. But, what they don't do is evil things, like eat children or put curses on people. Witches believe in karma, the belief that everything you do comes back to you. If you do something good or helpful, you get rewarded three-fold by the divine. But, if you do something bad, you get punished three-fold for it. And..."

"Umm, Miss Fayworth?" Dante interrupted. "Look, I know how enthusiastic you are about this, but can you get to the point a little, you know...?"

"I was getting there, I'm coming..." Wendy continued, with a little bit of exasperation in the first sentence. Then she spoke as confidently as before.

"Now, a special rule about curses. If you put a curse on someone and they don't deserve it, it comes back to you nine times as strong. Not three. [i]Nine.[/i] Now, that is a rule I just recently learned, quite sadly. In my early teens, I didn't quite get that concept of karma, so yes, I did put curses on people, I admit."

Wendy was very slightly ashamed with saying this, but she still sounded very wrm-hearted with it. It was as if she was calmly asking for forgiveness. She even had her hand over her heart.

"Yes, back then there were some people I just absolutely hated so much that I actually put curses on them. Emotional problems, you know. Teenage years. Anyways, nowadays though, I look back on those curses, and you know what? They were just verbal incantations directed at people, incantations that made absolutely no sense at all! I'm really not sure whether the curses worked or not... But, another important witchcraft rule is that intent is more important than content--so maybe they did work to a degree."

"Pardon my interruption again, Miss Fayworth," Dante interrupted. "Would you mind telling us about who you put curses on, specifically four of them? And what happened to them as a result of the curse, and how you feel and felt about them?"

"Wow, Dante, first you tell me to say less, and now you tell me to say more," Wendy commented. "Anyways, Yes, as Mr. Lui'ci said, there were four people that my curses affected the most. And, I have pictures of all four of them right here."

Wendy paused a moment to take the pictures out of the envelope, and fan the out in front of her like playing cards.

"The first person was a girl by the name of Athena. She was a student in eighth grade with me. She was not in any of my classes, nor was she my friend. But we were talking once when I felt this tug at my hair. I thought she pulled my hair, so I pulled hers back. Apparently she was agitated at this and later hit me hard on the head. I was frustrated by this in return, so I put a curse on her. Now in this picture..."

Wendy took out the picture of Athena. She was a Spanish woman that looked to be about Wendy's age. She was smiling, and she was standing next to a handsome-looking man wearing a tuxedo. She herself was wearing a wedding gown and holding a baby in her hands.

"Now as you can see, now she's married and has a child. I think I recognise this man here too--this is José, one of my other classmates. Anyways, they look rather happy. Maybe the curse didn't affect them too much. I don't really blame Athena. The curse I cast was for a stupid reason. And judging by the intense depression I felt in the years afterward, the curse rebounded on me nine-fold."

Wendy took a moment to lament this depression, as if to apologise to the divine spirit itself.
[i]Well of course you forgive me, jisu-ha.[/i]

"I will pass each of these pictures around," Wendy continued, as she handed the picture of Athena to Cecille, who was sitting to her left. "Now, the second person is Aaron Brown, a boy from high school. He often teased and bullied me in my first year, even to the point where I was caught picking a small fight with him one day. Because I was caught for that and he wasn't for his other misdeeds, I put a curse on him to 'set things right'. Now, this picture of him here... Hmm, he appears to be in a gang or something. But, the gang only has five members, including him, and nobody in it seems to be too confident or sure of themselves. I guess he was finally repaid after all for his putting other people down, but I guess as usual, the curse I put on him may have rebounded on me. My guess."

Wendy took a moment to pass the picture of Aaron and his gang around.

"Now, the third person was also from high school," Wendy continued. "I didn't know her name before, so apparently it's a Lisa Andrews. She and I tried out for a talent show in school one year. It was my first time trying out. Anyways, both of us got in to the show, and the audience loved my performance of a song I wrote. But, she won the talent show. I really didn't think her singing was exceptional, so I thought the judging was unfair and put a curse on her. Now, in this picture, Lisa is, hmm, she apparently moved to America, because she seems to be performing in some show called 'American Idol'. It's a show I'm not familiar with, being from the UK and all, but apparently it's a very big hit. Good for her--I admit that she does have a great voice, and I was just jealous. I look back on myself and see that I was not half as good a singer than as I am now, but... Anyways, so I guess the curse hit me hard as usual, another contributor to my depression. I'll pass this picture around as well."

"Wendy, plase mind my third interruption," Dante cut in. "But when you say 'depression', you're being a little vague. What kinds of problems did you face in your teenage years as a result of the curses coming back to you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Wendy answered. "I think the only way I can explain my depression accurately is if I feel depressed, which I obviously don't now. I just felt like I lost my sense of purpose in life, and even thought about committing suicide a number of times. Mind you, I [i]still[/i] think about suicide, but for different reasons... That would be an affinity for the dark side of life, you know, the underworld, death, etc. But anyways, I don't want to digress, important as this may be..."

Wendy looked at Dante uncertainly. Dante nodded, as if to let her continue on.

"Now, the fourth and final person has had the biggest impact on my life. I still think about her frequently, and even wrote a song dedicated to her. That person was Lily Mosswood. Ah, good old LM, a good friend of mine during my early teenage years. In eighth grade I had two friends: Lily and Jeanette. Jeanette was one of my best friends, and still is now. But, as for Lily... Well, she was really nice to me at first--we talked frequently and seemed to be getting along well. But, a year later, Jeanette was visiting my house, and we were chatting online with Lily, who had moved to Canada. In that conversation, Lily said that she actually hated me above all else, and was just faking our friendship. She had been expressing her hateful feelings to Jeanette behind my back, and Jeanette never told me. Lily told me that she really saw me as stupid, ugly, singing like a crow, and even 'not a proper witch'. Now, today, I see most of the things Lily thought of me as quite true. I think I was ugly and foolish back then. But, because of her admitting that, I was really crushed, heartbroken... and of course put a curse on her."

Wendy paused for a moment before looking at the final picture.

"In this picture... Lily is sitting alone in a dark room, holding a three-year old son. She still looks beautiful as ever, as I remember when I first met her. She looks like she's trying to throw away a cigarette--yes, I remember she was a smoker, but pretended not to be in front of me. Hmm, she doesn't seem quite happy with her life. I think she had a boyfriend, but maybe they broke up and she's left with her son. How sad, really."

Wendy then passed the picture of Lily around, but continued to speak.

"Ohh, sometimes I feel really bad for Lily, and I hope the two of us can be friends again, so I can help her out of that situation. Anyways, another thing to note is that later on, I removed all the curses I put on everyone, and even prayed for Lily. Still, the temporary effects of the curses may have taken their toll. It is a lesson I have learned and shall not make again. It's funny--now I know how to cast curses properly, but never have a reason to do so. There isn't anyone I absolutely hate--I respect everyone, and that includes all of you. I hope you all had a wonderful supper, and a pleasant good night."

With that, Wendy sat down, bowing her head slightly. She was frowning, but still had a smile on her face--one of relief.
[i]Well, I think you did a good job,[/i] said Lenina, Wendy's conscience. [i]You spoke from your heart, as you most often do. I like that in you.[/i]

Wendy could faintly hear applause from elsewhere around the table. She just surreptitiously scratched the back of her left hand slowly yet forcefully, till it bled slightly. She began sucking on the back of her hand.
[i]Dessert.[/i]

[i]You vampire you,[/i] Lenina teased.[/color][/size]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: Yep, exactly what I would do in that situation... ^_^' Anyways, I guess I got carried away...

*[u]Latious:[/u] (adj) Absolutely wonderful and awe-inspiring, pertaining to the most pleasurable feeling ever. Comes from the root word [i]lati[/i], a word that comes from, umm, some language spoken on another planet...?

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]When Sena finally entered the dinning room he was still feeling a bit flustered over the dolls that his roommate had. He barely noticed the rich decorations or how the circular table was cleverly done to make sure everyone could see those who were present. One of the chairs was more like a throne and the girl he had talked to outside, Wendy, was already sitting next to another young girl who was sitting next to the rich chair. Other people were starting to arrive so without giving it much thought Sena choose a seat on the opposite side of where the girls were but not the seat on the other side of the throne like chair. That had to be for Dante Lui'ci and Sena did not want to be sitting right next to him.

It didn?t take long for the others to find their seats; one woman caught his eye as she was dressed in a beautiful red formal outfit with gold dragons sewn into the dress. The others were all nicely dressed as well. To his surprise when Dante Lui'ci finally showed up he was not old at all. But then he had not been close to him outside the mansion. Sena realized that he had assumed that his silver hair and cain meant he was old. Then after all the waiting, dinner finally began, and even more pleasant was that the dinner was one of his favorite dishes. Sena loved seafood, especially tuna, salmon and trout. And his was a mixture of all three served with rice all delicately flavored with a type of mesquite and honey flavor that he was fond of.

It didn?t take much for him to finish his meal. It was by far the best he had ever had. Even the soft wine to go along with it was his favorite as well. Then as a servant came to take away his finished plate, one of the girls at Dante Lui?ci?s urging opened her card and proceeded to reveal her reasons for coming and why she ran away from home. Something that caused Sena to shift uncomfortably in his seat. He knew what other people thought of polygamist communities and how they considered older men having sex with young girls sick and wrong. At least he did once he was kicked out by his father that is.

Sena didn?t know what to think once she was finished because at that moment his attention was drawn to another woman there who was opening her card as the Master was carefully watching her. Sena glanced back briefly at Dante only to freeze when his eyes shifted briefly to meet his before going back to watching the woman opening her card. Hastily Sena turned his attention back to the woman who turned deathly white. Her hands were shaking and quickly she put them underneath the table to hide it. Then to Sena?s surprise she excused herself and left. Just what in the world was written on her card that could upset her so much?

Then within moments of her leaving he turned his attention to Wendy who was tapping her spoon against her glass and then paid attention to her story as she talked about how she was a Witch and had cursed people, in fact she almost sounded proud of it! The being a witch part that is. She went on for quite a while and to Sena it almost seemed if Dante Lui?ci seemed a tad annoyed with her response, but he covered it well.

As some of the others applauded her open display of what she was Sena reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his own card, looking at his name clearly written on the front before turning it over to break the wax seal and finally open it. After watching the first couple of people he was understandably nervous as to just what would be on the card and when he finally read it, he read it again, surprised that it was so simple. Sure it wouldn?t make him any friends, but he, like the others wasn?t here to make friends. And if he was to win this he had to convince the Master that he was more worthy of the prize than the others.

Though a tiny bit of him wondered about that. Not that he didn?t think he wasn?t worthy, only that he was sure all of them had very compelling reasons for being here like he did. After all if he was to regain his rightful position and put an end to his father?s excesses, he was going to need the influence and power the money would provide. Either way it was better to get it over with, at least he didn?t have to talk about stuff like the first girl Mariko did.

He looked up from his card to see that the Master along with the others there were now watching him. For a moment he felt trapped by the Master?s gaze as if he were but a tiny little mouse facing a hungry cat. And then the feeling passed so quickly he wondered if he had imagined it as he stood up to address everyone.

Sena started by explaining a bit about who he was and about his family, ignoring the looks of distaste since he already knew people frowned upon polygamy. And sadly in some ways it was all too true since his father, something he had learned after being kicked out, did things that were not standard practice. It was one thing for a woman to submit to her lawful husband. Being beaten and tortured and forced was something he learned that most polygamists did not do, especially to their own children, and even he had never been able to bring himself to beat or torture any of the girls he had taken.

He started warming to his topic, preparing to explain that he had to win to stop his father when a mechanical sound about the Master distracted him as well as everyone else at the table. His speech forgotten as it came in full view. To his utter shock a screen came down with a video already playing, one that shook him to the core. [I]How did he?[/I] Sena thought in shock his thoughts running in circles?[I]Where did he?[/I] His thoughts? were becoming almost incoherent, as he could not believe what he was seeing!

Sena was transfixed, not even noticing that he had accidentally crumpled the card up when he clenched his hands into fists. [I]How can this be possible?[/I] For the video in question was one of him when he had first started taking the girls. There was no mistaking how her hands were bound to the bed railing above her head or the tears running down her face as she cried silently, or that the person forcing themselves on her was none other than Sena. He may have only been sixteen in the video, but the view shifted to one looking from a side view, clearly showing his face, his expression one of enjoyment. Then finally the video ended and the screen went back up into the ceiling.

Dante Lui?ci smiled almost cruelly, ?[B]Perhaps you could explain that to my satisfaction as well to these good people here?[/B]?

Sena couldn?t move, pinned by the Master?s gaze. [I]Why?! Why am I always the one being blamed![/I] He remembered clearly how he had found his father when he was but five raping and torturing his older sister. Beating her into submission. And when no one had stopped his father, even after he had seen him do it to girl after girl over the years, telling them that it was their duty to submit to their leader. Sena honestly believed that what he did was what one was suppose to do. Though he loved his sisters and felt it was wrong for siblings to do that to one another and that hurting them was wrong too.

He couldn?t bring himself to look at the others, he felt sick and angry at the same time. Anger slowly taking over as he had tried to convince the law that his father was worse than he had ever been, that he was only doing what he thought he was suppose to do. A lie that after nearly five years of telling himself that he actually on some level believed it. Sena fought the urge to leave as he vaguely remembered something about being punished if one left. Then the silence finally got to him and he snapped at Dante.

?[B]If you know about that, then you know perfectly well who taught me that doing something like that was acceptable.[/B]? He said, shaking in fearful anger. ?[B]My father, for as long as I can remember has always taken any girl once they turn twelve and has beaten, raped and tortured them repeatedly. In his own words it is their duty to submit to their master. Even my older sisters! I tried to stop him...but...all he did was punish me for interfering, for not knowing my place as he put it.[/B]? A thought that caused his throat to constrict painfully as he still remembered their cries of pain when their beloved daddy hurt them, how his father had beaten him senseless when he had tried to stop him. But a five year old was no match for a grown adult. He felt hot tears running down his cheeks.

Sena paused as Dante merely raised his right eyebrow and said nothing. Prompting Sena to speak yet again.

?[B]When the authorities came to put an end to such excess, my father,?[/B] he said angrily, ?[B]claimed I was the one who had done all this when in fact I never once beat or tortured any girl and I did not know you were not suppose to force yourself on them either.[/B]?

Then just as suddenly his anger left and Sena collapsed into his seat. ?[B]Don?t you see Dante? I have to put an end to what my father is doing, I have to make right the wrongs I have committed as well as the atrocities he is still committing.[/B]? He choked unable to continue ignoring the looks of disgust he was certain the others were sending his way. He wanted to leave to head to his room, but he knew if he did the temptation to try and pack his things and leave would be too great. Instead he looked down at his hands, refusing to look at anyone. Trying to still the shaking of his hands that were tightly clasped together on his lap. And the tears that still flowed down his cheeks.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][SIZE=1]Jennie sat playing with her knife, face burning. This had - so far - been both the best and worst meal of her life. The food had been good: a nice vegitarian pasta dish, a salad, and some sparkling cider-like drink that tasted like a mixture of peaches and apples. She'd only slowed in her eating to make sure she didn't act starving, she hadn't had a meal like that since her mother had died...

She shoved that thought off. [i]This is supposed to be happy.[/i]

But then people started talking, and the...awkwardness began. Mariko and her story...Jennie could almost feel tears forming in her eyes, so she looked at her hands. And then Ally left. That part left her confused...the other younger girl...Wendy, with her confessions...Jennie had started to relax after that. Maybe this wouldn't be all horrible...she eyed her card - propped up against her water glass - with suspicion. What did it hold for her?

She reached out for the card in trembling hands, listening halfheartedly as Sena began telling [i]his[/i] story. Polygamy made her uncomfortable, so she didn't really look up, worrying at the envelope, trying not to tear it noisily like she felt like doing....

The video was really the last straw. She only saw a glimpse when she glanced up to see what the noise had been - her gaze [i]instantly[/i] returned to her card, cheeks flushing. [i]Prude...[/i] she could still hear her classmates voices. It had been part of what made them reject her...[i]Silly little goody two shoes...[/i] Imagination or not, she hardly breathed until the video stopped and the refelection in her silverware went still. Just as she got the envelope open. So she set the knife down, and - biting her lip - slid the card out.

[COLOR=DarkRed][i]Hello Jennie...[/i][/COLOR]

She almost couldn't read past that, worried about what she was beginning to suspect was a madmad would want her to do. The rest of the card was innocent enough. Or...rather...if it hadn't been for Mariko and Sena, she'd have refused. Or tried to refuse. Or tried to put it off...but now, all she could feel was relief, and the tiniest feeling of her fears somehow being petty as she stood, twisting the card in her hand.

[B]"I..." [/B]Her voice sounded small, even to her.[B] "I'm Jennie..." [/B]She swallowed, squaring her shoulders. [B]"And I've been alone for the last eleven years." [/B]She laughed, a bitter, short laugh.[B] "Yeah, pretty dumb, huh? Compared to b-being molested...and b-being confused and abused and..." [/B]she couldn't keep the quaver out of her voice. [B]"C-compared to being h-hurt, I guess I'm pretty lame..." [/B]She looked down at her plate before raising her head.

[B]"I haven't had a friend since I started high school. Haven't had fun since before then. All I cared about was teachers...my da' ignored me, so I needed them...and the only way to get their attention was to do good...so I did good. And ignored people. And now...I lie awake at night and..." [/B]She looked around the table without meeting people's eyes. [B]"You know how sometimes you wonder that if you died, no one would notice you were gone...I don't [i]wonder[/i] that, I [i]know[/i] that."[/B] She crumpled the card, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. The words of the card came back to her. [i]Pathetic...[/i]

[B]"I just...want to stop knowing that. I want to go back to just wondering...I just...need someone to miss me." [/B] She sniffeled, sitting back down. [B]"I'm just pathetic that way."[/B]

She managed to hold back the rest of her tears...

There was enough crying going on already.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Nucifer]

[FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][SIZE=1]Allen put on his suit coat and stared at himself at the mirror. He slightly adjusted his red tie and sighed. He looked a bit over dressed. It was just dinner yet a good first impression was ok. He hasn?t met all the people in the mansion. He hoped none of his evil would come out. No crosses, churches, or holy water to contain it. He had to rely on pure will power. It made him quiver to think of been around so many people seen as it been such a long time he had a concrete conversation or around anyone other then his parents.

He walked out his room and looked around to catch a glance of Sena. He was hoping to go to dinner together maybe some friendly conversation. Allen shook his head as it seemed he scared Sena off. Sena was shaking by something as soon as he entered Allen?s room. Sena blow it off as if it was only that he barged in without knocking. Maybe he was just embarrassed that he forgot to knock or something else. He was staring intensely at the small doll collection in his room.

No sight of Sena in the entire room. Allen looked at his watch and sighed. He better head to dinner. He didn?t want to be the last one to enter. He went to the hallway and tried his best to find the nearest staff. He caught one of the maids and kindly stopped her.

[B]?Excuse me madam, may you appoint me to the dinner room. I seem to be a little lost??[/B] Allen flashed once of his meaningless smiles.

[B]? Oh, just straight forward and turn a left Sir Laizor? [/B] The maid blushed and flustered from the smile.

Allen smiled again and tilted his head. Another woman caught into his deceiving smile. Couldn?t anyone see how fake the smile was? Allen guessed it was good that she didn?t since the evil in him. Yet it hurt him a bit as his heart only belonged to one person. Ha, the only reason his on this god forsaken path of his is because of Terry.

[B]?Thank you very much?[/B] Allen said and walked away quickly.

Allen relaxed his face and walked to the dinner room. As he was following the maid?s directions he was more following his nose. What ever they were serving it smelled delightful. As he entered the dining room he saw people already sitting down. Allen quickly put on his famous smiled and greeted everyone.

Typical, everything in the dinning room was in the same taste as the rest of the rooms of the mansion. The dining room seemed to be set for noblemen. He guessed Dante was trying to seek extra comfort for his guest. Allen walked over not daring sitting next to Sena. Right now Allen was scared of conversation with him as he was shaking up the last time. Allen sat at the very end of the left side of the table.

As Dante entered and made his speech they began their feast. Allen patted his suit pocket and felt the card inside. He wondered what exactly Dante had in store for him. Allen pushed that thought aside and began to eat. A steak and mashed potatoes were placed a front of him. Allen poked the steak with his fork and can tell it was the best cut of meat. A slight smile graced his lips as steak was his favorite food.

Reminded him of the time his father would barbeque in the back yard. In does times he haven?t even hit adolescence. In time of adolescence were all he could think about was Terry or girls. Pure non-sinful years were his full attention was put on God and family. Allen thought of those times as he slowly cut the steak and placed the pieces in his mouth.

Sadly his appetite was quickly ruined as some of his comrades confessed to their dirty little secrets. He heard stories of molestation, rape, witchcraft, and just plain loneliness. Allen guessed that these confessions were pushed out by the cards they received. One woman was so shaking by the contents of her card she quickly left the dining room. Some of the people looked like there were about to cry or were. Allen didn?t know what to feel for them pity, hatred, disgrace, or remorse? He didn?t know if he should speak as he religious man in some situations or as a person. Maybe does two parts were too closely intertwined to speak as either.

Allen pushed away his plate and put his hand inside his pocket. Did he really want to read his card as it seemed to cause such mental anguish at the table? Allen pulled out his card hoping for the least dramatic card. He opened it and slowly read the words.

Allen stopped at one word. Allen lip quivered and his hand shuck violently. Allen ripped the card to shreds. How could he known? Did he let any of his evil slip? No crosses, holy water, or church to comfort him around this place. Allen couldn?t image speaking such words to anyone. How it be when the first part of the letter was so kind?.

He could see people quickly looked at Allen only to look away. There was enough drama at the table to last a life time. Allen hung his head his lip quivering his hands holding his head. How can he put this without expecting such hatred? He went against the bible something that his life, his existence was based on. Everything did not make sense anymore.

He guessed he had no choice but to speak up now. Everyone was waiting his confession as he was the latest one to read his card. Allen raised his head and saw all the piercing faces looking at him. Allen cleared his throat and thought ?cool, calm, and collected??..

[B]?I guess I first introduce me self?? [/B] Allen slowly spoke and stared of to a distance [B]?My name is Allen Laizor and I come from Texas?? [/B] Dante looked at him intensely. He could feel his hot stare on his face. He didn?t want to see anybody?s face. He didn?t want to hear anybody?s response. He blocked all noise and scenery in his mind. To him he was in a blank room reciting his sin to himself. Dante and everyone waited for his confession.

[B]?I am?.a very religious man. My father was a priest in a catholic church. As the only male out of his four children there were expectations of me. I constantly read the bible, I always went to church, and prayed my heart out. I went to Catholic school and Catholic University?.I did everything my father wanted me to do??[/B] Allen slowly spoke a blank stare and blank face. No emotion was in any of his words, he couldn?t feel anything.

?I thought that the only comfort I would always have was the comfort of god. I hoped to just like my father, to marry have children and be the spokesman of god. To preach to others about the word of god?.have my own church one day but?? Allen braced himself for the worst part[B] ?I went against the word of god. I fell in love with someone I?m not supposed to love. I could have choosing any girl, as I had many girlfriend and girls that fondled over me. But?.I fell in love with?a guy.? [/B]

Allen blink as he could almost hear his parent?s stopping him. Something they tried to hide and contain has just been spoken to ten or more people. Allen continued[B] ?Sadly, he was a strong religious man. He didn?t feel what I felt. When I told him I loved him in college he ran away from me. Transfer school and cut all connection from me. After my confession of love to him?.I was kicked of Catholic University and moved back home. My parents didn?t know at first but soon they found out as many Catholic Universities would not accept me. They hide me from the community not wanting anyone to know they had a sinful son. There public image and faith was more important then there only son?.?[/B]

Allen paused taking it all in him. After 10 seconds he started again [B]?The worst part wasn?t been condemned by my parents and god but not seen him again. There is no way I can find him?.I love him to death and do anything for him. I thought after all these years he might even in the smallest chance felt the same way. I?m a loser, a sinner, and most of all a?.faggot?[/B]

Allen couldn?t take it anymore as much as he tried to contain himself, he cried. Tears slowly ran down his face as he continued to stare of to nothing. He slowly turned back into reality were he was back into the dinner room, people staring with a piercing glance, and a mischievous smile from Dante. [/SIZE] [/FONT]

[Imp]

OOC: Two weeks I am gone and only three people post! I was getting worried there... I know I have already opened my card, but I feel an urge to respond to other people's cards...
IC:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[color=indigo][size=1]Wendy spent the next few moments after she finished speaking looking down, not talking to anyone. But after a while, she couldn't stifle her smiling. She was so happy that she had told people what she told them, like she had somehow set herself free. It was among the best feelings in the world...

But Wendy looked up when she heard a recognisable voice speak: one that belonged to Sena, the man she had talked to outside the mansion. Knowing that, she listened intently to what Sena had to say.

Sena started talking about who he was and about his family. When he mentioned the fact that his father beat and tortured his sisters, he got a few awkward stares in his direction. These stares grew even more common while he mentioned that his father convinced him that doing what he was doing was completely proper. Wendy couldn't help but get a weird look on her face and shake her head in shame at this comment.

[i]That sick little old man...[/i] Wendy thought. [i]Reminds me of Mariko's father.[/i]

Then Sena was shown a video of some sort. Wendy couldn't see it because she was behind the screen, but she could tell that Sena was horrified at it. Later on, he felt almost as nervous as Mariko had been when he explained how he was arrested for beating his sisters, something that actually his father did. During this part, Wendy stared at Sena, but felt quite a bit of compassion for him.

[i]He was falsely accused, for something he didn't know was wrong at the time. He really reminds me of a character in one of my stories--one who was in an evil organization yet didn't know the organization was evil. Ever since finding out it was evil, he started working secretly against that organization. Ooo, I think I might need to talk to him... I know I'm usually shy, but...[/i]

Wendy put this out of her mind for a moment when Jennie started speaking. She mentioned something about beeing a loner since her teenage years, and mentioned something about people remembering those who die. She then mentioned that she wanted someone to "miss her".

"Oh, well, that's..." Wendy muttered, but trailled off and shrugged afterward. Then she looked at Jennie for a while.

[i]No friends? Suicidal? Ahh, reminds me of my own teenage years, sort of. I did have friends--I just didn't feel close to them. And I actually had to see a psychiatrist because of my suicidal thoughts--silly really. It's funny how she worries that nobody will care if she dies, when all the anti-suicide complaints I heard were that people will be hurt if their close friends just die suddenly. Hey, maybe I will be her fr... what am I thinking? I don't know the faintest thing to say to her... well, I'll think of something. There are too many people to feel sorry for here.[/i]

Then it was Allen's turn to speak. He started talking about his life, the fact that he was a very religious boy, his father being a prominent Catholic priest. (Wendy couldn't help but scoff quietly at this statement. Then she shook her head and smiled at Allen.) Then he went on to mention that he fell in love with a guy. At this there was silence, a few people stared or giggled, but all Wendy did was get a spaced-out look on her face.

[i]Oh, well... what's so bad about being gay?[/i]

Allen went on to explain how he was rejected by all Catholic universities afterward and hidden by his parents from the community. He also went on to say that the thing he missed most was that one guy he really loved. He finished it all by calling himself a faggot.

"Aww, you're not a faggot!" Wendy blurted. Then she bowed her head again, just like she had done after reading her own card.

[i]But it's true though... What is WRONG with these Catholic priests? They just can't respect any relationship that is not between members of the opposite sex! But yet I have heard that in... maybe it was the Bible... that homosexuality was a sin. Poor him, he must still believe that. (I don't.) I believe that thievery and the seven deadly sins are definitely sins, but not something as silly as that... I think that's just as sinful as practicing a non-Catholic religion. Hey, that means I'm a sinner too Yay! Damn me to hell! Burn me at the stake! Ehheh... I'm getting carried away. Another person I partially feel I have to talk to.. yet another person to feel sorry for.[/i]

In the moments afterward, Wendy started to feel a little depressed--or rather, hopeless. All these other people had such problems they were dealing with life, so many reasons why [i]they[/i] should be the ones to inherit the mansion. But what about Wendy? The young woman who was perfectly content with herself and her life--she, who had no regrets for anything that happened to her in the past? She, who loved herself for the way she was? She, who did not hate any of her family members, none of which hated her? If she inherited the mansion, if she won this game, would it be seen by the others as being "greedy"? Should she avoid a possible sin and just... give up?

[i]I really surely wish that everybody could share this amazing place together,[/i] Wendy thought. [i]I hope that everyone else who has yet to speak does not have any major conflicts in their life they have yet to overcome, like most everyone else we've heard already... If there is to be one winner, I can't see how it can be me without other people absolutely hating me for it, being jealous. Moreover, if I lose, what will happen? What happened to Kuro... I haven't seen him since we all entered, I wonder if he lost...? How in the world did I get myself into this, and what will become of it?? I still put my complete trust in what fate has to offer, but...[/i]

And with that, Wendy, too, started to cry.[/color][/size]

[TheResplendent]

[FONT=Tahoma][color=darkred]Ben looked away from Sean after Ally ran out of the dining room, and looked down at his pepper steak over rice dish.

[b][i]'The perfect room, and the perfect dinner, yet something in these envelopes of ours that makes a child cry and a women run away. Looks like playing by the rules does have it's disadvantages'[/b][/i] Ben thought to himself as he took another bite of his dish. He glanced downward at the envelope in his pocket, and then back up.

[b][i]'Perhaps I'll wait a bit before I decide to volounteer myself for anything here.'[/b][/i] Ben glanced back over at Sean and just gave him a casual shrug and a bit of a grin, sending a unusually casual message considering the horrible confession they had just heard from little Mariko.

Dinner progressed on when another women stood in her place and began to bang her spoon against her glass as if she were prepared to make some kind of joyful marriage announcement. Ben wondered rather curiously what this young lady's card could say, and wondered why she looked so unusually elated.

[b]"Ah, Miss Fayworth,"[/b] Dante greeted. [b]"I suppose you, too, are ready to say a few words about yourself?"[/b]

[b]"Why yes,"[/b] Wendy replied, bouncing up and down a few times out of excitement. She had too many things to say and didn't know where to start... [b]"I have a few things to say, maybe more, time-allowing!"[/b]
Then Wendy began to really speak.

[b]"Fellow members of this fate-struck planet known as Earth, I truly respect your presence. My name is Wendy Orla Fayworth. ...My father calls me Orla. Anyways, family origins are really off-topic as far as I'm concerned... Now, I admit to being a crazy person--who wants to be normal?--and in fact..."[/b]

Wendy paused a moment before continuing, another smile on her face.

[b]"...I am a witch."[/b]

Wendy laughed to herself at what she just said. She noticed a few surprised stares coming from the audience, but nothing too disturbing.

Ben looked up with a slight rising of his right eyebrow in mid bite of his fork, his focus sliding over to Wendy's oddly seductive sounding voice as she announced her secret.

[b][i]'What in bloody hell...a witch? Is she joking or what? This Dante guy sure picked a few odd ones. Next she's gonna say she put's curses on people.'[/b][/i] Ben thought to himself, generally unconvinced by her unrealistic claim. He continued to listen on as her tone of voice tended to remain constant, with occaisional interupptions from Dante himself, urging the young lady to get to the point.

She continued on, and not so much to Bens's surprise actually went on to talk about four people she has placed curses on in the past. Pictures began to be passed around as well, Ben simply glancing at each one and passing them off to Sean next to him, each time with a smug grin as if trying to make Sean feel like Ben held him in friendly esteem, as if Ben's facial expression kept saying "Hey man, guys like you and I don't believe in this crap". The last picture came around followed by Wendy's proclamation that she respected everyone in the room and did not intend on placing any curses despite claiming she was fully adept at it. Ben leaned over to Sean and kept his voice about the volume of a whisper.

[b]"Ey, Sean...maybe she thinks not putting a curse on us is doing us a favor, no? Haha."[/b] Ben said, Sean just smiled back, not really wanting to answer Ben but was trying to be polite at the same time.

As Wendy sat down, another stood up and began his confession. It was the older man named Sena. He looked a little reluctant at first, but it didn't matter as a video screen descended with a video playing, it looked like some kind of poorly filmed home movie or something. The contents of it caused Ben's eyes to widen, as it was difficult for him to believe that a man that looked like Sena could be capable of such things. Ben looked around as other's seemed to try not to watch, while others watched on with disgusted looks. He himself felt a tad bit disgusted, as despite being with many women he never once raped one of them.

The man gave his explanation, one that would seem like utter bullshit if he weren't so broken up over the fact that his uprising was truly mislead. Ben shook his head and felt more sickened than sorry, but he still felt bad that Sena probably hasn't made many friends in the mansion thanks to his confession.

Ben glanced down one more time at his envelope, just slightly more curious now as to what kind of dirt Dante could have possibly dug up on him. He pulled it out and just held onto it, not opening it quite yet.

Next up was the woman he had ran into who was talking with Ally. Ben traced her from head to toe, thinking she was quite attractive, but not nearly as desireable as Ally. He placed his finger on his chin and leaned back as he watched her. His eyes briefly ventured over to the side of his face and noticed Dante glaring directly at him, or more specifically right into his eyes. Ben returned his eyes to the center, a bit creeped out by the odd feeling from his piercing stare.

[b][i]'...the hell is he lookin at?'[/b][/i] Ben wondered, refocusing his eyes on Jennie. She spoke about her loneliness, as it seemed to get to her a lot more then she seemed to let on. Maybe her story didn't seem like much in comparison to the others, but Ben found it hard to believe considering she seemed rather normal.

[b][i]'No friends, eh? I can be a pretty good friend, Jennie. But i'm afraid you'll have to wait your turn.'[/b][/i] Ben thought to himself, leaning back in his chair now finished with his meal. Allen was the next one up, he spoke about his father and his religion...everything seemed to set itself up pretty typically. Ben figured Allen was going to say something rather sacreligious, but he didn't expect what the situation actually was.

Upon hearing his confession, rather bluntly put at that, his eyes turned a bit apprehensive with thoughts like [i]'This boy better not try any moves on me, or he'll get an elbow straight to the mouth'[/i] ran through his head as he finally decided to kill his curiosity and open up his own envelope. He read it with a inward sigh and almost broke out into laughter after reading a certain part of it.

[b]"How many? Am I supposed to count or something?"[/b] Ben said out loud suddenly, not realizing his voice was loud enough to be heard. He stopped and looked up, just noticing that he had drawn the attention of the table.

[b]"Benjamin, it sounds as if you would like to be next? If you would, please."[/b] Dante instructed. Ben shrugged and stood up, feeling like his confession would be emotionally easier then many of the others that have been said thus far.

[b]"Ha, well. First thing is first, no? Meu nome Benjamin Moraes. I doubt anyone sitting at this table has heard of me, though internationally I am somewhat of a celebrity."[/b] Ben said as he reached into his back pocket and tossed a copy of "Men's Fitness" magazine on the table, with him on the cover with his fists up, his trusty MMA gloves on his hands.

[b]"I am a mixed martial arts fighter, I have fought on 3 different continents and my total record is 16 wins and 2 losses. 8 of those wins by knockout, 4 by submission...which in my industry, is quite good. But anyway, I guess I should get to the point, or else our gracious host Mr. Dante here will probably urge me along like our beautiful young witch here."[/b] Ben said, turning his gaze to Wendy and giving her a nod.

[b]"Let's see...I guess what the good master here wants me to admit is that I've had quite an active sex life. I mean being who I am, it's quite difficult to absolutely turn down a girl who wants to be with me. I don't think there is a thing wrong with having sex, so I won't talk about it as if i'm ashamed."[/b] Ben said as he began to sit.

[b]"Mr. Moraes, please be aware that I do know what is on your card."[/b] Dante said coldly, not taking his gaze off of him.

[b]"Hehe, hey it was worth a try, no?"[/b] Ben said, shooting a grin at Dante, who returned his look with the same indifferent stare as before.

[b]"Oook, well then. Let's see...a number? Pardon me while I run this through my head, if I had to estimate..."[/b]

[b]"Mr Moraes..."[/b] Dante started, as if implying something with his tone.

[b]"Alright, alright! 145. I've slept with 145 girls. Some more then once, and I probably could have had more but i'm quite enamored with my training sessions as well. It's safe to say I dedicate quite a lot of time to it. It's no big deal. At least in my case, it was all consentual,"[/b] Ben said, aiming his comment at Sena. Ben could almost hear Sena's quiet resentment of him and his comment, but he turned his head back to the center with an eased look in his eyes.

[b]"For the sake of our gracious host, I will even go on to say that I only wanted them for sex and tossed them aside after I was finished with them. What can I say, it's hard not to have desires when you are constantly surrounded by beautiful women."[/b] Ben said, trying to make it seem as if he said it only because Dante wanted him to. It didn't quite cover up the fact that it was true though, and pretty much everyone at the table knew it was, already grasping the idea of what the card confessions were for.

The brazilian MMA fighter sat back down and was quietly glad that Ally was not in the room to hear his confession. It probably would have made it quite hard to get any further with her if she knew. He was curious though as to what her card said, and why it caused her to run out on dinner. He looked around the table, some stares aimed at him.

[b]"Well now, there are still people left to go, no? Let's keep this party moving."[/b] Ben said, leaning back in his chair again.
[/FONT][/color]

[Horendithas]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Even though Sena was refusing to look at anyone as he fought to still the shaking of his hands and the tears that ran down his face, it didn?t stop him from overhearing what the rest of the people were saying. He couldn?t imagine what it would have been like for Jennie, in a polygamist community families were pretty big and for him it had been the exact opposite, finding time to be alone was the hart part. Even in the five years after he had been kicked out, he still had roommates and classmates as he attended college. He had never been lonely, ever. Sena actually found himself feeling a little sorry for her.

Then his roommate for this place Allen began and when he got to his secret of being gay and being in love with someone who did not return those feelings, it made sense. The odd feelings he had got around him...he had reminded Sena of a roommate he had once who was gay. Something that even though his religion frowned upon it as well, he just didn?t care, his father had lied about so many things that he doubted that being gay was even a sin. And once he was on his own Sena had realized that he liked both sexes. Though he couldn?t think of the word for it at the moment.

He didn?t look up though; Sena did not want to see the look of disgust for what he had done in Allen?s eyes. Earlier Allen had favored him with dazzling smiles when they first met. Smiles that Sena realized at that moment were merely to cover the pain Allen had been hiding. He wondered how long it had been since Allen had been separated from the guy he loved.

Sena just held his head even lower. [I]I should never have come here.[/I] He thought.[I] No one in the past five years has ever believed me when I?ve explained what happened. No one cares that once I was blamed for things I did not do, that once I fully understood what my father did was not right, I have never taken anyone against their will since. Ever.[/I] Sena shifted in his seat, tempted yet again to get up and leave for his room, only to stop and slightly glance up when Wendy the girl he had met out side the mansion burst into tears.

[I]Why is she crying?[/I] Sena wondered. [I]She was so happy when she told us she is a witch.[/I] But then at that moment Dante glanced his way, a smug look on his face, chilling Sena to the bone. Hastily he looked back down, clutching his hands together even tighter as another bout of shaking hit.[I] How does he do that? How does he seem to always know when I?m looking at him? [/I]

Before he could wonder about it further another voice spoke, ?[B]How many? Am I supposed to count or something?[/B]?

Sena did not bother to look to see who had spoken. Nor to see what he tossed on the table, he didn?t need to see it after listening to this Ben arrogantly go on about how wonderful he was. And how he had an active sex life, something that Dante pinned him down on, making him go into further detail. But even Sena was surprised when he admitted to having slept with 145 women, some of them more than once. But when he threw that final jab out about his experiences at least being [I]consensual[/I], Sena resisted the urge to laugh.

[I]He actually thinks that will bother me.[/I] Sena thought. After five years of being kept under careful watch by the law, after barely escaping prison due to the fact that his actions had happened when he was but a minor. Being poked fun at and ridiculed and even beaten up by other men who considered him a sissy for being a polygamist as well as for what he had done?Sena finally couldn?t help it, he snickered just a bit at Ben, especially when he went on to admit that he didn?t give a damn about the women, only about having sex with them.
[I]
If he really thinks that comment about it being consensual bothers me, he?s an idiot. [/I]Sena thought. He had seen men like Ben before, how they flattered and outright lied, pretending they cared about the women, only to move on, not caring who they hurt in the process, so long as they got laid. Sena sighed slightly as the shaking started to finally end.[I] Ben has certainly outdone me,[/I] he thought. [I]I raped 5 girls before I was tossed out and since then I?ve only had a handful of lovers. He?s used dozens and dozens of women and convinced himself that it?s acceptable because they weren?t forced.[/I] Sena sighed again.[I] What a fool. [/I]

Sena reached up and wiped the tears from his face, still refusing to look at the rest of the people at the table, wondering what other horrible secrets would be forced out of the others this evening.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Kairi]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray][CENTER][SIZE=1][I]Very good.......break my dear friend....break.....the transition with me so much easier when you finally learn to break.....[/I] sipping only a taste of the red wine before him, The Master of Games made a firm gaze at the members around the table who were resisting to sharing the contents of their cards. He was very very proud of those who had come forward and committed to their cards thus far, but those who were cowering...they would be swiftly dealt with.

[B]"Excuse me..."[/B] the tears and the aura of saddness enveloping the dinning table would be overwelming for anyone, but it was making Dante sick to the stomach[I]...how pathetic...[/I] [B]"Everyone...please relax for a moment...I need to say something."[/B]

There were quite a few sniffles and deep breaths around the table as the noise quietly died down. Those who hadn't shared the contents of their cards were keeping their eyes on their food and would not look up at Dante who now rose.

"I believe that will be all for the evening. I am sorry if some of the contents that you were asked to share were...personal and private. However I must warn you, this is only the beginning of the game...and for those who have stayed true to the rules...I applaud you. But don't think that the game will get any easier. For those who refuse to follow through with their cards will be punished...this I promise."
[B]
"For now, let us retire to our rooms and get ready for bed...your new cards will be delivered to you before you go to sleep."[/B] with that, Dante...seemingly in a rush left quickly from the dinning room and left everyone in their present states without another word.
[I]
I'll teach them to make a fool out of me...[/I][/CENTER][/COLOR]

[B]OOC: I'm somewhat dissapointed at the people who have not posted...I apologize for the pause to all those who did post, thank for for staying true to the RPG. Those who have not posted...if you don't post by the end of the day I will be killing off every single one of you, and use those characters who have posted. Again, I apologize for the wait everyone...I was trying to give ample time to those who haven't posted...however I cannot wait any longer. [/B][/SIZE]

[Neko]

---I found the lack of new posts kinda disturbing as well. I was gonna wait for one more post before posting my new one, but it never came...Ah, well at least that problem's been solved.

Oh, and I feel really sorry for anyone that may have just incurred the Master's wrath...including myself, if applicable. X.X

[COLOR=DarkRed][I]the Grand Dining Hall, 6:57 PM[/I][/COLOR]

Mariko had long since wiped away her tears, scolding herself harshly for making such a fool out of herself in front of these people. Indeed, within a few minutes, there was so much crying going on that it was beginning to grate on her mind like a chainsaw. That...damn...noise...wouldn?t...[I]stop[/I]! She looked down and realized that her hands were shaking, her left eye was twitching. She could almost feel Wendy sliding away from her, even if only a few inches. No, she had to stop. She put her hands under the table and grabbed at the hem of her dress tightly, so tightly that she couldn?t even feel her hands anymore. That would stop the shaking.

What was [I]wrong[/I] with her?

It was Sena, she knew. She could almost cope with the fact that Wendy thought of herself as a witch, could deal with that Jennie woman, and how she thought she was so unlucky, even though she had never been through any of what Mariko had gone through. She could handle Allen?s homosexuality, she hadn?t lived long enough to be exposed to the world?s prejudices much, anyways. She could even almost deal with Ben and his...impressive womanizing streak, for lack of a better term. But Sena...

Sena was, or at least had been, a godforsaken [I]rapist[/I]. Just like her [I]father[/I]. It didn?t matter if he ?hadn?t known what he was doing was wrong?. Of [I]course[/I] it was wrong, how could anyone [I]not[/I] see a problem with what he had done?! It infuriated her, but more than that, it [I]embarrassed[/I] her, because the video that had played had almost morbidly attracted her, in the sense that she could look at it without so much as even flinching. And it was alright that there was no sound, because she had already heard what a girl being taken against her will sounded like. Oh yes, she knew that sound [I]intimately[/I] well. And it sickened her. It sickened her so much that she could almost laugh about it. But instead she had just sat there, silently weeping, as everyone introduced themselves.

[I]You?re ashamed of yourself,[/I] a voice in her head taunted. [I]You?re pathetic, breaking down like that in front of your enemies[/I]. Enemies...? Yes, yes, enemies. That?s right, she was in a competition here. And she was showing weakness in front of people who would probably just as soon send her back off to her cursed home with her family, just one person less to deal with in the end. No, she?d have to stop that now. She clenched her fists until her knuckles were ghost-white.

The Master of Games clapped his hands together once to get everyone?s attention. [B]?Excuse me, everyone, I need to say something,?[/B] he stated politely, but firmly. [B]?I believe that shall be all for the evening,?[/B] he announced. By now, Mariko had regained enough of her sanity to be able to look up from her plate without bursting out into hysterics, and she stared at Dante, who sat barely feet away from her. He seemed...[I]irritated[/I], almost. As if he was utterly unsatisfied with how this first meeting had proceeded. Was he...[I]angry[/I], even? So hard to tell, with that casual, never-changing face of his.

[B]?For now, let us retire to our rooms and get ready for bed. Your new cards will be delivered to you before you go to sleep.?[/B] And with that, the Master of Games stood up stiffly and proceeded out of the dining hall. No mistaking it, [I]something[/I] had irritated Mr. Lui?ci, and something about the...the air he spoke with told Mariko that whomever he was upset with was probably in some serious trouble. She could only hope that she was not one of those who had offended him.

The moment Mr. Lui?ci had left the room, Mariko stood up with such force that she knocked the chair over backwards as she rose. The noise this produced caused several of the other guests to look her way. Her eye twitched once, and her gaze darted from the table, to the overturned chair, and back and forth about five times in the space of about a second. She reached down, set the chair back into its usual spot, and stormed out of the dining hall.

[I]What in the world is wrong with me?![/I] she asked herself as she walked angrily down the hallway, her hands still clenched into tiny balls, shaking from nervous tension. There was something wrong about all of this. Was that everyone?s card? Was the entire point of this first meal to reveal everyone?s secrets to each-other, so that they might turn on each-other? Just what kind of game was being played out here? Whatever kind of twisted mind-game Mr. Lui?ci was trying to play at, she wouldn?t let it get to her, oh no. If she was to portray herself as any kind of contender in this game, she would have to be tough. She knew that every single one of the other guests had much more life experience, and were probably a lot smarter than her, and a lot stronger. She would have to stretch out and use every last ounce of her strength and cunning just to stay [I]in [/I] this game. No matter who she had to put down in the process.

[I]Wait. Did I really just think that?[/I]

Mariko stopped dead in her tracks. She looked down at her hands, unclenched and opened her fists, staring down at her palms. Watched in morbid fascination as the color slowly flushed back into her skin. What was happening to her? All she had ever wanted was someone to love her, and now look at her: she was turning into one of those whiney brats with no morals, no concept of the consequences they had on other people. The kind of brat that nobody could ever love. Was that the game the Master was playing at? And Mariko had almost lost it right there, and it was only the first day.

[I]Deep breaths, Mariko,[/I] she commanded herself, resuming a slower, calmer walk down the hall. [I]Deep breaths. You?re here because you want to have a reason to live. Just remember that.[/I]

By the time she had reached her room, all of the anger that had welled up inside her so suddenly at the dining hall had burnt itself out. She felt relieved. But more than that, she felt...exhausted. She could barely stand up, and she was having trouble seeing straight. But her mind was crystal clear now. She would play the game out, and she wouldn?t think of anyone as an enemy or anything like that. Everyone was here for a reason, and she respected that.

Opening the door to her room, she opened her eyes, and was finally completely back to normal. She was ready to take the new day on with a clear mind and a smile - or at least the facade of one. She walked silently over to the corner of the room and stared across the room blankly.

After a while, the door creaked open again, and Wendy stepped through the door. Mariko?s crimson eyes gleamed at her from her little corner of the room. Wendy sat quietly down on her bed, and the two stared at each-other for a very long moment.

[B]?So,?[/B] Mariko decided to start. [B]?You?re a...a ?[I]witch[/I]?...?[/B]

[B]?Y-yes...I suppose I am...?[/B] Wendy replied cautiously. [B]?A witch, that is...?[/B]

[B]?Interesting...?[/B] Mariko mumbled. Some part of her still had trouble coping with the idea of sharing a room with someone who claimed to be a witch. She subconsciously threw back up that mental wall, refusing to let any emotion in or out. She shut herself off from the world.

A long pause.

[B]?...And you...y-you were...?[/B] Wendy seemed to be extremely apprehensive to talk about Mariko?s position. [I]Stupid people,[/I] Mariko thought to herself. [I]If you?re going to say it, then say it![/I]

[B]?The term you are looking for is Pedophilic Rape,?[/B] Mariko finished the sentence for her sardonically. [B]?I looked it up on the internet once. What it [I]means[/I],? [/B] she continued, unaware of how cold her voice was growing, [B]?...is that the only thing my Father ever cared about me was that I was [I]soft[/I], [I]warm[/I], and felt really [I]good[/I] to get inside.?[/B] She finished her retort with a piercing stare straight into Wendy?s eyes. Wendy seemed almost aghast, and turned her head away. Mariko suddenly welled up with guilt, realizing how cruel she was being.

[B]?I?m...I?m sorry,?[/B] she apologized, staring at the ground, burning with shame for herself. [B]?I-I just...it?s been so-?[/B]

[B]?No, it?s okay,?[/B] Wendy said gently. [B]?I...I understand what it must?ve been like for you. I?m really sorry that I brought it up...and I?m really sorry about what has happened to you...?[/B] It was the worst thing she could have [I]possibly[/I] said. Mariko would have almost preferred it if the woman had stabbed back at her, made a retort, or [I]something[/I]. The fact that Wendy could remain so gentle and kind even in the face of such a cold, detached girl burned Mariko with shame. But...but it felt good, in a way.

Finally, there was someone in the world that cared about her feelings, cared about [I]her[/I]. And that alone, at the very least, was good enough for Mariko to overlook the witchcraft.

[B]?Th-thank you...?[/B] Mariko mumbled almost silently. [B]?That was...the nicest thing anyone?s ever said to me.?[/B] She looked up and gave a genuine smile. Then she turned and wiped the single tear from her face. Maybe...just [I]maybe[/I], it was possible to be both strong and kind in this game. [B]?I...I think I?m going to go to sleep now. Please don?t mind me...?[/B]

Mariko picked up the silky bedtime clothes that had been laid out for her at the foot of the bed that could easily fit seven Marikos in it. She walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and changed into her night clothes. Before slipping into her night gown, she stared at the mirror in front of her. For a moment, that same naked girl with the hopeless eyes stared back at her, just like it always had since before she could remember. But then her eyes brightened, and she smiled at herself, knowing that if she could find one person that could understand her, then she could find others as well. She pulled the light, silky gown over her, gently folded her black dress, and came out of the bathroom with a more genuine smile than ever.

She bowed respectfully to Wendy as she gently placed her dress next to her wardrobe before literally collapsing onto the soft, warm bed, the first bed that she could call hers since her early childhood. She crawled drowsily under the covers, yawned once, and silently fell into an immediate sleep.

---Oh, and Kairi, I didn't miss the 'you'll get your new cards before bed tonight' bit, I just figured that Mariko would be a bit tired after the evening's proceedings. I have every intention of retrieving my card before the night is out, though, so don't worry.

[color=red]EDIT: (New character notes) Ah, yes, and you may have noticed that I've tweaked Mariko's personality a tiny bit. While she's generally drawn back and reserved, you'll find that once in a while she can get a bit...unstable...[/color]