Paia Koazluria bri Ruq was sold on the show as soon as she found out that they had a cloakroom. The moment she saw that a smiling attendant would be happy, no, really, charmed to take her heavy fur stole, she knew that the night could not go far wrong.

"Oh, how cha~arming!" She could barely control herself as she flitted around the different props and displays, unable to resist the urge to reach and touch them.

"This is fantastic. Oh, my goodness, this is truly fantastic. Wait, what's that! Infinitely falling snow? What a trick!" She then launched herself towards the children's snow pit to frolic with the 6-year-olds, overjoyed beyond belief. Only somebody offering her a glass of eggnog pried her out. As soon as her husband walked in, though, she returned to her ordinary gravitas.

"If this is just the introduction, I can't wait to see the show."

Elessaria entered the theater with a nod of thanks to the gentleman who held the door open for her. The carefully crafted illumination and decor for the peformance immediately captivated the diminutive elf. She threaded her way amongst the ever growing crowd of attendees to admire each tableau, her eyes sparkling with the same enthusiasm as a child's on festival day. After taking one of the proferred drinks, she stood somewhat patiently along the sidelines and searched the gathering for any familiar faces. The empath smiled as the increasing excitement of the guests and performers thrummed gently against her shields and she enjoyed the change in mood while she sipped, absently fidgeting with the plum silk of her gown.


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her gown:http://www.rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=94638#94638

Eva just knew that she was going to be the only person not going to the opening night of The Nutcracker. She sighed as she climbed the back stairs to the inn. Why was it that she always seemed to want what she couldn't have?

Maybe she could have afforded to buy herself a ticket. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the dress. How could she justify buying herself a new evening dress when she couldn't yet afford to buy herself a hat, scarf and gloves for winter. It was snowing already, for chrissakes!

Before the fire that destroyed her apartment, Eva had a perfectly acceptable evening dress, even if it had been a year old. Now she didn't have much of anything. She had to buy everything new, and it was amazing how quickly toothpaste and underwear could add up. Even with the salary advance Rhys had given her, she'd run through it pretty quick buying just the essentials.

When Mason had asked her the night before, in that joking way of his, if she was a fan of the arts, a part of her wanted to shout 'yes!' She didn't know exactly why, but she just felt that music, dance, and art made the world a little bit more beautiful. And though she didn't understand it, she knew how it made her feel. Like the world wasn't quite so dark.

At the top of the stairs Eva stopped short. A poster announcing the opening night had been tacked to the door leading to the inn's rooms. She sighed. There wasn't going to be a ballet for her. She would just have to sit and wait for everyone to get back to hear how they liked it. Damned fire.

*Look at how tall the tree is, mom!* Avery craned his neck and pointed to the tree outside of the theatre. To keep warm from the light snow, he had his brown cloak that was just a shy from touching the ground to cover his nice sweater and breeches.

"It is very tall." Storm smiled down at Avery before glancing up as well, "How do you think they get the decorations up to the very top?"

He seemed to greatly think the matter over, before giving her a hopeful look, *Did you come and fly them up there?*

Laughing lightly, she gently pulled on the hand that remained in hers, "No little one, I did not. Though I am sure they could have used something to the same effect." It warmed Storm's heart to see her son bright-eyed and excited for their "special" outing. With Kellan under the watchful eye of the caretaker, Storm had promised Avery and evening with just the two of them. And while there was a small ache for the absence of her husband, she put her energy into making sure Avery could enjoy an evening away from the house.

Once making it to the lobby after trying to play with actors dressed up as dolls and toys, Avery immediately beelined for the falling snow. *How is it snowing inside?* However he didn't wait for an answer and instead went to stand inside of it along with other children.

Watching him play, Storm pulled back her cloak to reveal a simple floor length maroon dress. She recognized a few patrons from her previous experience at the theatre, and more of her friends coming to watch. She exchanged polite and warm greetings with them, before catching Avery's eyes and absently holding out her hand, "Let us go find our seats, shall we?"

Ushers finally encouraged everyone to find their seats, handing out programs that listed every member of the troupe, musician, and High Spires House child. Each program held a brief synopsis of the wordless acts.


Act I

The work opens with a brief "Miniature Overture", which also opens the Suite. The music sets the fairy mood by using upper registers of the orchestra exclusively. The curtain opens to reveal the Stahlbaums' house, where a Christmas Eve party is under way. Clara, her little brother Fritz, and their mother and father are celebrating with friends and family, when the mysterious godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, enters. He quickly produces a large bag of gifts for all the children. All are very happy, except for Clara, who has yet to be presented a gift. Herr Drosselmeyer then produces three life-size dolls, which each take a turn to dance. When the dances are done, Clara approaches Herr Drosselmeyer asking for her gift. It would seem that he is out of presents, and Clara runs to her mother in a fit of tears and disappointment.

Drosselmeyer then produces a toy Nutcracker, in the traditional shape of a soldier in full parade uniform. Clara is overjoyed, but her brother Fritz is jealous, and breaks the Nutcracker.

The party ends and the Stahlbaum family go to bed. While everybody is sleeping, Herr Drosselmeyer repairs the Nutcracker. Then Clara wakes up and sees her window open. When the clock strikes midnight, Clara hears the sound of mice. She wakes up and tries to run away, but the mice stop her. The Nutcracker comes to life, he and his band of soldiers rise to defend Clara, and the Mouse King leads his mice into battle.

A conflict ensues, and when Clara helps the Nutcracker by holding the Mouse King by the tail or throwing her shoe at the Mouse King, the Nutcracker seizes his opportunity and stabs him. The mouse dies. The mice retreat, taking their dead leader with them. The Nutcracker is then transformed into a prince.

Clara and the Prince travel to a world where dancing Snowflakes greet them and fairies and queens dance, welcoming Clara and the Prince into their world. The score conveys the wondrous images by introducing a wordless children's chorus

Katarina enjoyed the first act from her chair carefully hidden backstage. Nearly complete in her costume, it was a rare treat to be able to sit and enjoy such a large portion of the ballet. The opening scene was one of her favorites, the warm setting of friends and family reminding her of holidays on Hope.

When the end of Act I finished, the curtains came down and the candles were brought back to life. A small intermission would give the viewers a few minutes to stretch their legs and grab a snack before continuing the Nutcracker story.

Bryce fidgeted in his seat in the box overlooking the stage. He was pretty sure that inviting the mysterious backers to the ballet had been a less than brilliant move on his part. That opinion was confirmed when Travanix and his entourage joined him in the box just before the curtain went up.

Ceila the receptionist reached over and patted his hand comfortingly during the opening, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Relax boss. Just watch the show and leave business for another night."

Surprisingly enough he found himself relaxing as the performance went on, only giving occasional glances at the trio across from them.

Viewers were ushered back into their seats in order to begin the second act of the ballet.


Act II

Clara and the Prince arrive at the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Sugar Plum Fairy and the people of the Land of Sweets dance for Clara and the Prince in the dances of Dew Drop Fairy, the Spanish dancers, the Chinese dancers, the Arabian dancers, the Russian dancers, Mother Ginger and her Polichinelles,, the Reed Flutes, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Waltz of the Flowers.

After the festivities, Clara wakes up under the Christmas tree with the Nutcracker toy in her arms and the curtain closes.


While the playbills said little about the final act, the dancers needed no words to express the cheerful scene. Each new group of dancers brought a different style of dance, theme, and music. Katarina and Andy were the last dancers of the dream to perform, they moved like one had did a series of impressing lifts and spins. Still in they end, they graciously applauded Maya and Bryan, who deserved the ending bow.

All the candles were brought back to life, and guests were offered to participate in the Winter Wonderland instead of the usual after party.