thecapitol | The Crowning of Mindy McReady

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The Crowning of Mindy McReady

Who| Everyone ~~who's anyone.~~
What| The Crowning.
Where| A warehouse on the edge of town.
When| Starting from early evening till late into the night.
Warnings/Notes| Be sure to check the linked thread for plot purposes, even if you don't tag into it.

The party is brightly colored.

The theme, subtly, is super heroes. Boldly paints city scapes are splattered across the walls, and hallways are made to look like dingy, potentially crime ridden alleys. From the upper walkways of the warehouse, party goers can get hooked into harnesses and swing out over the dance floor. Above them, tributes and VIPS can find themselves on a clear plastic dance floor levitated above everything, looking like they're hanging in air.

Masks are passed out in plenty, and capes are easy to find, while brightly colored drinks themed around super powers are plentiful. None of them actually work, but many of the Capitol people are happy to pretend, mocking super strength or invisibility with each new beverage.

Under the dance floor a catacomb of tunnels and rooms full of obstacles is splashed with black light receptive colors. Party goers are given vests and laser guns, marked green for villains and red for heros, and set loose to hunt each other in the laser tags playground. The screens in the dance floor keep a running tally of which side is winning, displaying the players on the screens around the room, along with clips from the arenas.

About half way through the night, everyone is gathered to the main stage for a special announcement.

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Eponine shrugged and laughed. "I do not care. If they give me clothes that are so short they are indecent, I shan 't wear them without a fight. All I want is a gown with the big sleeves and a waist that goes in, and a full skirt to the ground. And a bonnet. Always I ask, but... No."

She grinned at Elsa. "So, you are new, yes? Will you tell me your name?"

"That sounds like a lovely outfit," she said with a nod, giving a small sigh of exasperation at both of their stylists. "They can be very stubborn when it comes to outfits- I tried to get something a little less... revealing. But they wouldn't have it."

At the question, she stood a little straighter, remembering as she spoke that she should be a little more regal. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle," she said, always a force of habit to use the title that was no longer relevant here. "May I ask you the same?"

"Queen?" Eponine stepped back half a pace from Elsa, and bent her knees in a clumsy curtsey. Suddenly, the Capitol seemed to be over run with royalty and Eponine was definitely feeling uncomfortable about it. But she tried to laugh it off.

"Then you must excuse me, Mademoiselle - Queen - for my bad manners. I'm just 'Ponine. Eponine, Madame."

Elsa wasn't prepared for the reaction her title would have on Eponine. She hadn't meant to make the other woman uncomfortable, or feel like she suddenly had to show respect like that.

"Oh, it's okay!" she said quickly, holding up her hands a little and shaking her head. "It's... more of a force of habit," she continued, "introducing myself as queen. Several people have pointed out that my royalty means nothing here, and... Well, they are right. I'm hardly a queen here."

She gave Eponine a reassuring smile. "Anyway, even if it did mean something, I wouldn't consider your manners bad, so I would have nothing to excuse. That aside, it's nice to meet you, Eponine. That's a lovely name."

"You still are a queen, though." Eponine bit her lip. "You ought not to hide it. It is a nice thing to be, I think, not something to be ashamed of."

But how other people's titles made her feel insecure. It really hammered home how different she was, how much of an outsider she was to this world seemingly filled with lords and ladies and the well to do. Still, Eponine grinned. She could pretend to be a lady too, now that she had fake teeth and a wig to hide her shaved head. Couldn't she?

"It is French, Madame. My Mama said it were from a romance story she read when I was not born."

Elsa gave a small, if hesitant, nod. "I know I am," she said. "But I don't want to make anyone feel inferior, either." And she could tell that it did make some people feel that way. "I don't consider myself better than anyone just because I happen to be royalty where I come from."

Her smile only grew at the mention of Eponine's mother, though it had a sadness to it. "Your mother sounds nice," she said quietly. "She might have gotten along with my own mother."

"It don't matter, Madame. Honest. You know, where I am from, we fight to cut off the king's head. The queen went like that as well, my Pa says, but it were before my time. I think it's because they are not as you - they like to make sure we know they are above us by keeping us starving. It is the way of kings and queens - at least I thought so before I have met Monsieur Hans - and now you, Madame."

She shrugged, though she burst out laughing at Elsa's opinions of Eponine's mother. "Nice? Madame, I think you are the first to describe her so. Even my Pa - no, they do not love each other much, I do not think. I do not know... my Mama is a rough lot. Like all of us. We ain't fit for royalty, Madame."

As she listened to Eponine, she thought where Eponine came sounded... awful, to say the least. But she wasn't surprised to find that the other woman had met Hans. That man seemed to get around quite a bit, and she was relieved to find that he had given Eponine a good impression of royalty.

It was startling to be laughed at, and Elsa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before an explanation was given. "Oh..." she said, a little saddened to hear that she had to deal with that, on top of such a horrible environment. At the last comment, Elsa shook her head. "Maybe not, but... You are fit for a better place to live," she said. "If only I could bring you back to Arendelle. I think you would like it there. It's a lovely place and you would be happy."

"Is that where you are from? Arendelle? I've never heard of such a place, Madame." Eponine laughed again, this time to cover up her embarrassment about her lack of geographical knowledge. "What is it like? Will you tell me? Come - we will find a quiet place and you must tell me all of your stories - will you?"

"Not many people here have," she said in a comforting tone. She was beginning to get used to people not knowing about it. It didn't bother her so much. "And... of course. I can do that." She gave Eponine a smile. "Though, I didn't get out much. A lot of my stories would be from my childhood, before- well... Before it became best that I stayed inside."

"Why were you not to go out, Madame?" Eponine laughed, and went to take Elsa's hand, to lead her to a quiet seat away from the throngs of people where they could sit quietly.
"I wish I hadn't been able to go out." Eponine laughed. "I wish that I had had a place inside, in fact. Most often I slept out, under a bush, or, when we had nowhere at all, under a bridge, Madame. It might have been more warm inside. Don't matter, though..." She paused awkwardly, and rubbed her nose.

"Madame, will you tell me?"

Elsa, still unused to physical affection but slowly getting there, grasped Eponine's hand after only a second or two of hesitation. She allowed Eponine to lead her to a quiet place, glad to be out of the thick of the party. Parties were nice, but only in moderation and the Capitol seemed to really enjoy their parties, so moderation wasn't really a thing they believed in.

With Eponine pressing for answers, she really didn't know what to say. It seemed... tactless, to talk about her time in the castle, when Eponine never had anywhere to stay. But Eponine wanted to be told, so she supposed it wouldn't be too bad a thing.

"Well..." she began, clearing her throat lightly. "The reason I was always in my room was because it was safer for everyone else. My powers were too dangerous, and my parents didn't want me to hurt my sister," she said. "And... obviously I didn't, either."

Eponine definitely wanted to be told. She might have had nothing, but she did have a good imagination, and to her, Elsa was almost like a fairytale come to life - even if she was dressed in the horrifying outfits of the Capitol.

She sat down, patting the seat next to her for Elsa. Her eyes were wide with wonder and surprise as Elsa began her story.

"You have a power? Like... oh, who has powers here? Monsieur Orc, but he says God has cursed him. Or Madame Homura? What's yours? Is it like magic? I wish I had magic. But it was dangerous? Why?"

Eponine shook her head. "I don't think you ought to have been locked up, you know? That's what they did to people like me in France - and it don't do nothing. A prison - it is good for nothing except sleepless nights and perhaps dying."

Elsa had to think for a moment. She hadn't ever met Orc, so she couldn't really tell if it was an accurate comparison or not. "It's possible that it's like him," she said, resisting the urge to comment about it being a curse. It wasn't the time for self depreciation, she thought. She didn't know Homura either, so she decided to just move on and answer the next question.

"I think it might be magic," she said, "We're not really sure where they came from, but I was born with them. But anyway, I... can create ice, and snow." It sounded so unimpressive when she said that, she wished she could convey how fun it had been as a child. Or maybe it was for the best that she didn't, so that Eponine could understand why it was necessary to keep her locked up.

She smiled sadly. "Well you see, I had issues controlling them. And when I was little, I accidentally hurt my sister with them. So it was necessary, to avoid doing that. It helped, even if it meant living in isolation. Because isn't it better to keep people safe, than it is to be free?"

"Magic." Eponine echoed Elsa. She leaned in towards Elsa just a little bit, eager to hear more about such fairy-taleish happenings. She whispered, almost to herself, "Snow and ice, just fancy." She wrinkled her nose though. Eponine loathed the cold.

Eponine frowned as Elsa's story evolved and concluded. "I do not know. Madame, you must excuse me, but I think no. Me, I have been in prison, and I do not like it. Much rather would I be free than keep people safe. I do not think you should have been locked up for an accident, Madame. You should learn to control it, no? Or practise without your sister? I should have sent my sister away if I were you."

After getting a sense of Eponine's life, Elsa couldn't blame her for her feelings towards the cold, which is why her feelings weren't hurt when she whispered that. It had harmed too many people in her life for her to really blame anyone for disliking the cold.

She couldn't help but look a little conflicted as Eponine spoke. On one hand, she agreed with her. Obviously being free was more enjoyable than being locked up. But sending Anna away wasn't something she could have done, though she could see the logic in it. "I think we might have to agree to disagree," Elsa said carefully. "Anna had nowhere to go, so sending her away wasn't an option. Though... maybe you have the right idea, except it should have been me. Maybe if they had sent me away somewhere, I could have done things differently... I could have learned to control it. I don't know."

"It's done now though." Eponine shrugged. "Madame, you shall drive yourself as mad as I am if you keep thinking on how it might be changed. It is done, over, and you must think on what you are to do next." Although meant in earnest, Eponine's statement was very hypocritical. She nearly always focused on her past, and let it influence her life here.

"Come, you have not lived here so long, have you? I promise it can be better than this - they give you clothes to make you decent usually, Madame. And food - such food! Well, you are a queen so you must eat so well always. But to me, when they bring me back, I am near dead with hunger and the food never ceases to be glorious! Have you ever tasted such things? I will eat anything, truly, but oh! Have you had chocolate? They have such chocolate here - and a man, he gave me chocolate in a drink, with cream and chocolates and milk. Oh, it was like heaven. You like chocolate, no? You must try it."

Eponine chattered without pause, almost afraid of awkward moments of silence, or of being sent away. Elsa was reserved, but Eponine had already decided that she quite liked this woman, and she was quite determined to keep Elsa's interest.

Dwelling on the past was Elsa's biggest problem. It was almost impossible for her to not look back and think on how things could have been different. Hindsight was always 20/20 and usually painfully so. But still, having it pointed out to her like that? It was enough to make her realize it was a problem. No one had ever really done that before. "I... you're right. I only hope I can stop, one day."

Elsa found she didn't mind the chatter so much. Sometimes, it felt exhausting to listen to someone talk a lot. But Eponine had interesting views, and she couldn't help feeling sympathy for the life she lead before coming to the Capitol. By the time Eponine was finished with her rambling, Elsa was giggling quietly.

"I do like chocolate," she said with a nod. "Much more than I should, probably... Ah, but you know what? You might be surprised to find that even as a Queen, I'm not so used to such large banquet and delicious foods. I... actually preferred smaller meals, back home. We kept the staff small, you see. To avoid hurting anyone. Supper was always quiet for me."

"Yeah? What did you eat? I bet you ate lovely foods though." Eponine loved to hear about food. Eat food, talk food, smell food, even cook food. She loved food.

"When we had supper, we'd all cram in. Nobody missed it when there were a bit to go round, Madame, so it weren't quiet. We'd have my Dad's gang more often than not as well, all crammed in, and sat on the bed so me and 'Zelma'd have to sit under the window where it were cold. But it was worth it to get a bit of whatever were going - bread I like, when it's tough enough to get your teeth stuck because it takes ages and ages to eat. Fills you up longer, you know? And sausages! I would go mad for sausages. We shared one, me and Azelma, before we lost the room. That were ages ago but I still remember because it were the best tasting sausage I have ever eaten, I was so hungry. But you know from the arena how that can be, no? That is the best thing for here, I think, all of the food. Though they say, 'Don't eat so much Eponine. The people like you skinny best.'"

Not that it stopped Eponine eating. She just didn't listen and was steadily putting on weight so she at least didn't look like a skeleton any more.

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The Crowning of Mindy McReady

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