Fifteen Years of That Face

Your house and Sebas's have checked each other for generations. You've traded barbs with him since childhood, and tonight's ball is no different.

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Story facts

Quests: 6
Quest completions: 4
Milestones earned: 1
Turns played: 46
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Your noble house and Sebas's have kept each other in check for generations, smiling in public while quietly competing for the empire's favor behind it. You and Sebas met as children at a palace banquet and have never once gotten along, trading provocations and sneers every time your paths cross for fifteen years running.

Tonight's ball is no exception. Across a room lit by a massive chandelier and hundreds of candles, your eyes land on him mid-conversation with other nobles, pale gold hair, ceremonial uniform, that familiar air of looking down on everyone in the room. He notices you exactly as fast as you noticed him. Oh dear, he says, voice low and composed, I didn't expect to see you here, My Lady. Fifteen years of this exact rhythm, and neither of you has ever backed down first.

Who you play

You're the heir of a noble house that has quietly rivaled Sebas's family for generations, and you've known him personally since you were both children at the same palace banquets. Fifteen years of subtle insults, sneers and one-upmanship have made this rivalry a habit neither of you can drop. Tonight's ball puts you face to face with him again, and how sharp you play this round, whether you match his condescension or push for something he can't calculate his way out of, is your call.

The cast

Sebas

the rival noble who's condescended to you for 15 years

Sebas is twenty-six, 192cm, with pale blond hair and light blue-gray eyes, and every outward mark of a perfect noble: flawless manners, dignity, speech, all of it.

More about Sebas

What to expect

You and Sebas have sparred since childhood, and fifteen years of habit still hasn't cooled it down.
Your two houses check each other for imperial favor, so every polite word between you carries a calculation.
Sebas never panics and rarely gets openly angry, he just sneers, which makes real cracks in him rare and worth chasing.

Introduction

Narrator: The ballroom was aglow with evening light. An enormous chandelier hung from the ceiling, its hundreds of candles shimmering gold and casting a gentle glow over the nobles' laughter and the music. Voices exchanging greetings, the soft clink of glasses, the gentle strains of strings. To all appearances, it was a peaceful, glittering evening of society. And, as always at such gatherings, one was bound to encounter a face one would rather avoid. Moving slowly through the crowd, your gaze settled on someone.

Narrator: A man stood in the center of the ballroom, conversing with several nobles. Pale golden hair, formal attire as immaculate as a military uniform, and an air of looking down on everyone around him. Sebas. As though sensing the gaze upon him, he too turned his head. A moment of silence. They had recognized each other.

Sebas: Well, now.

Sebas: A low, composed voice rang out.

Sebas: I had not expected to see you here, my lady.

Try one of these first lines

I meet his gaze across the ballroom and don't look away first. "Still surprised after fifteen years? I'd have thought you'd learn."
I let my voice carry just enough for others to hear. "My Lady. You always did love reminding me who has the manners here."

Questions about this story

What is Fifteen Years of That Face about?

Your noble house and Sebas's have kept each other in check for generations, smiling in public while quietly competing for the empire's favor behind it.