An Unconventional Opening (Lisabeth & Josh)

Guest

As the news had travelled far enough now of his father's death, Josh had put in to motion a Ball. Not because he liked them, but it was customary when new heads of households came in to play. It was, some might say, much too early for him to do this, but Josh didn't care. He was not a man of feelings, and thus he didn't believe in the grieving period.

After being helped in to his suit, Josh had waved his help away, checking his appearance once more in the mirror. He disliked bowties, but he wore one anyway for the event, and his hair was styled just so. His mother had refused to attend because it was improper, but she had been escorted anyway, because Josh wouldn't allow her to besmirch their name.

The hall was already buzzing when Josh entered, and he took his time to greet those who came to meet him with a smile that was forced in to position and never met his eyes. Games like this Josh could play in his sleep, and the talk of business was easy to talk through. Most people he could con out of something or other.

Of the guests there was little and less to like, there were, of course, many young women hoping to impress him, but they knew little of what Josh wanted. For each that tried to catch his eye, Josh looked away, hiding his amusement at the way they deflated when he did so. The guest list was filled with names of power, but only a handful were of importance, and fewer still that were of personal importance.

But until he noted such people, Josh would indulge others in mindless chatter.

Guest

The mail came as it always did, by private owl, and at once she knew something was up. Her parents only ever wrote to her when she was needed for some formal Pureblood event, and she wasn't one to complain. It was always a good excuse to dress up and look pretty. The news of a ball perked her up even more, because she could take it to the next level and do her hair, and make-up, and wear even more formal dresses.

Going through her wardrobe showed her there was nothing of interest she wanted to put on again, and so, heading out with a chaperone (since she couldn't yet do magic outside of Hogwarts, a shame, really), Lisa went shopping. It took her three hours and ten stores, but she found the perfect dress - and a couple more, 'just in case'.

The day of the ball came and she spent the afternoon getting ready, admiring herself in the mirror one last time before she allowed her maid to apparate her to the location - where, she wasn't sure. Her hair was curled just a little more to give it a soft look, and she had tied the top layer up, creating a beautiful layer effect. Her dress was perfect, and her shoes were also matching.

Nodding her approval, she left, meeting up with her parents at their place before apparating over to the venue. Ever-so-slightly, her eyes widened as she realised where she was - the Murray estate. She had not expected this, simply because of the close proximity to the death of his father. Normally it was held after the 'proper' grieving time, but in this case... Well, Josh was full of surprises, that much she already knew.

Stepping into the place, she glanced around, slowly, smiling at the grandeur of it all. Lisabeth absolutely loved it. Keeping by her parents side for now, they entered, greeting those they knew with the same old greetings and the same old polite smiles. All the while, though, Lisa kept an eye out for the Murray head; she wanted to avoid him at all costs, for if he so much as insinuated that she had been rude, it would be the end of her family as she knew it.

But Lisa, as always, did not regret her actions or her words. She had meant what she said, and that, quite simply, was that.

Guest

It hadn't taken long for Josh to fall in to something of a serious proposition of business - well, all proposition were serious to the proposer, but to Josh it would need more than a small profit for him to be sold with an idea. After the initial plan had been detailed by the man before him, Josh had considered for a moment, before agreeing to going through more paperwork in due course. After all, a Ball was not the place for complete agreements, he would need time, paperwork and projections to be ready.

Shaking the man's hand, Josh kindly excused himself from the small business talk before moving on to the next group. A family of moderate power, but not interesting to say the least. After a short conversation, Josh had, once again, excused himself to continue his rounds.

But as he moved from his place, he noted a familiar face before him. Decked out in blue, Josh couldn't deny that Lisabeth Windsor was pretty, but not in the way most people who adhere to such thoughts. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, oh no, but she was pretty to look at. A woman waiting to be a wife, but Josh was certain she could be more than that too.

Moving towards the witch in question, Josh acknowledged a couple of people on his way, before coming to the side of Lisabeth's father. "Mr Windsor, very nice to have you here." Josh greeted the man, though he didn't mean the pleasantries for a moment he used them anyway as a front to the people before him. "Mrs Windsor. Lisabeth." Josh greeted the ladies, an almost smile on his lips as he looked towards the youngest Windsor.

"Thank you for coming this evening. I do hope our families can find a way to work together in the future. My father was a little lax, but I'm sure with time we can get things back on the right path. Remind me, what is it that you deal in again?" Josh asked the man, almost as if he was of a similar age rather than a man of only nineteen.

Once he'd received his answer, and carefully tucked it away for later use, Josh paused for a moment. "Wonderful!" He complimented without really considering it properly. "Would you mind if I dance with your daughter, Mr Windsor? I believe the band is about to strike up." Josh asked, and almost on cue, the band started playing. Keeping the smirk off of his lips, Josh waited.

Guest

There were only a few females around her age there, but she did not make her way towards them just yet, having the job of following her parents around for social greetings first. It was the only part she didn't like, because she was a 'mere child' and therefore could not partake in any of the conversation, except when directly addressed. Even then it was simple 'how are yous' and 'how is school', and she was never allowed to talk about other things.

With the other females, of course, it was different, and she enjoyed that part very much.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa caught sight of someone nearing them, and turned a bit more, as casually as she could, to avoid him seeing her. But, it was to no effect, and soon enough, Josh was greeting her father.

Internally, she started swearing, sending as many cuss words as she could think of towards the Murray head in that moment, but never losing her polite smile or dignified posture. Nobody knew how many swear words she knew - let alone used - except herself, and it was meant to be that way. It wasn't, apparently, 'proper' for a lady to curse, another slight thing she never understood.

If she wanted to express herself, why couldn't she use so-called foul words? It never made sense, but she followed anyway. All she could hear was her mind cussing, even as her father's reply rang in the distance, no doubt answering Josh's question.

Doing business was his thing, and he very easily made deals and the like, so she wasn't overly concerned with that. It was Josh's next words, however, she felt her blood run cold, and all she wanted to do was hex him and leave.

Of course, she didn't, instead turning to her father. He had a look of surprise that fluttered across his face, lasting only a mere moment, but she caught it. It was understandable, of course. The new head of the Murray family was looking to dance with his daughter, someone of lesser power. She had her suspicions why - their encounter had been far too brief, and she had been preparing herself for battle since she left him standing there with the sweets.

Roughly three seconds later, her father recovered, answering with a short, "Yes, of course," and she held in a sigh. Here we go, she thought, switching her mind from parties and dresses and fun to a fight. Not physical - Merlin no; those were far too messy for someone like her to get into. Why, she might mess up her looks! - but rather, of wills and of wit.

Turning to smile at Josh she said, as politely as she could possibly manage, "It would be a pleasure," She was sure they both knew she didn't mean those words as she looked towards him, waiting for him to initiate, as was only proper.

Guest

Listening to Lisabeth's father's answer, Josh nodded along in understanding. Genuine understanding. Whilst Josh's talent would lie in Potioneering for the most part, he also had a wide enough knowledge of other subjects to be well informed. With a small conversation on the business, Josh assured her father that he would be in touch in time to discuss whether they could benefit from making business together.

Josh passed an apology to Mrs Windsor for talking business in front of her, for it wasn't exactly proper - but he would do what he liked, nobody could stop him now - before the question of a dance came up.

Watching the shock on the man's face was so very worth it in that moment. Keeping his features neutral, Josh waited patiently for the man to regain himself before allowing a small, tight smile when he finally agreed. Playing at formalities was tiring when you already knew the answer was going to be yes, but Josh did it anyway, because even his kind needed to be played with as if they were stupid at times.

But with the agreement, Josh thanked the man, and held his hand out towards Lisabeth, giving her something of a smirk as she told him it would be a pleasure. He was sure that she hadn't meant it, but he didn't care. The dance was not for either of the pleasure, purely business.

Leading her to the floor, Josh turned to Lisabeth, taking up the necessary hold for the dance. With his right hand gently on her waist, barely noticeable with the softness of his touch, and his left holding her right, Josh led with ease. "That was a bold move you played." Josh told the witch now that they were alone. His voice was only loud enough for the two of them to hear, and his eyes were not on the witch before him, but scanning the room instead. Multi-tasking as always.

"It was almost admirable." Josh added, though he still wasn't looking at her. "Or, perhaps stupid, depending on which party you're asking." He finished, looking down at the witch before him, the smirk still there. "Wouldn't you say?"

Guest

Following Josh to the dance floor, Lisa kept an appropriate smile on her face the entire time. She could already guess that some of the other females were looking her way, but did not bother to turn and look. Josh Murray was sought after by many for what some considered good looks and others considered a good position. This was all said in the privacy of 'girl nights' and sleepovers and get togethers, which meant that Lisa would outright deny ever hearing any of these being said, let alone partaking in such 'awful talk'.

But, while some might see him asking her to dance as something to be admired, or a really good thing, Lisabeth knew it wasn't. Not necessarily, at least. Dancing was something that came naturally to her. She didn't need to think twice as she followed his lead, stepping and swaying and moving with all the grace a proper Pureblood should. Normally, she enjoyed this part - except for that one instance with some jackass male who stepped on her foot - but today, she was more curious than anything.

She was sure that Josh had an ulterior motive for this, and a few moments after they started dancing, he spoke, and it made her smile just a little. It always felt good to be right.

While he had stopped momentarily, she figured he wasn't done, and kept silent. Besides, she needed a few seconds to think things through. For starters, she could always play it dumb and just apologise, saying she didn't know what came over her and she was ashamed of her actions. But she wasn't, and Lisa was quite certain that Josh knew that. There was no fun, anyway, in giving up so easily. If she were to go down (and with Josh being of higher status, this was very much the likely outcome) she would go down fighting.

Secondly, she had to figure out - and quickly - if he was amused with this or if he was simply angry. His second statement didn't really answer much. Almost, she thought, repeating his word choice in her mind, focusing so much on what it meant that she very nearly missed his second part. He definitely wasn't making this easy for her.

Meeting his eyes with her own, not once dropping her smile, Lisa tilted her head very slightly to the right, indicating a, 'You could say that' movement without doing the whole action. It wasn't polite, of course, but she hoped he would be sharp enough to pick up on both her cue and her intent. Softly, she said, "I say I did what I had to." Smiling wider a little more, to give others the impression that they were merely having decent, polite conversation, she continued, "And, if you're wondering, I'm asking you."

Guest

The small movement of the witch's head was one that brought together that this witch knew exactly what she was doing, at all times. It was, undeniably, something that Josh admired in other people, though of course he would never say as much. The Murray head gave no indication of seeing the movement, truth be told, but he had, and he was processing.

The comment on having to play the way she had was not something Josh deemed true, but he could see why she would have said that. Dignity, perhaps, an ego. Josh couldn't say exactly, but he knew that whatever the reason she'd done what she had, it was nothing to do with a need, it was a want.

But the question - even if not directly a question - was one that Josh had been waiting for. "I think you were a fool." Josh told the witch, allowing a small pause. "But only because you thought you had one in the moment you turned away from me." He continued, hoping she would pick up that he thought what she had done was good, until she'd walked away.

"You know, some people never give up." Josh continued, his eyes on her completely now. The cool blue of his eyes watching her for reactions that were sure to come. "And I think you're a fool to think I will be one that does." He summarised as the song finished, taking a step back to bow to her. One hand subtly went to his pocket, coming out as a fist as he took both of Lisabeth's once more, transferring the concealed sweet back in to her grasp.

"I have two more." Josh reminded her as he let go, disappearing in to the crowd once more to speak with other guests.

Guest

When he neither commented on her movement or gave any sort of sign that he had seen it, she was momentarily disappointed. Had she not done it enough? It was something she did once in a while, and her friends had no problem picking up on it, so why shouldn't someone whom she had thought was very observant? For a moment, she wondered if she should do it again, moving it slightly more than before, but eventually decided against it.

If he didn't catch it once, he wouldn't catch it a second time, and even if he did, it wouldn't make sense any more. Unfortunately for her, it seemed she had thought a bit too highly of the Murray head. But all that disappeared a moment later, when he called her a fool.

She didn't give any indication of the disappointment she felt at the statement. Even at the continuation, Lisa didn't flinch or so much as bat an eyelid, keeping her posture the same as always. It was only a few moments after he finished that she realised something - he had used the words 'but only', which meant that if not for her turning away from him, he would not have thought she was a fool. Or, at least, this was how she interpreted it in the time being.

When she got home, and she was alone, she would have more time to sort through all these things and analyse it all. For now, she only had intuition and split second judgements from experience to guide her, not that she had much experience being in this position. She was use to being the smartest person in the room, or at least, in the group she was with.

She nodded a little, automatically, at his statement, forgetting her determination for a brief moment of not giving him any bodily cues, and she cussed mentally at herself. If she had not been thinking so much and focused on what was at hand, she would have caught herself before she had done that.

It was too late, and instead Lisa had a quick debate internally on if she should reply. Deciding she might as well - not wanting him to have the last word - she calmly said, "You mistake my position, Mister Murray. Only losers give up. I highly doubt I'm looking at one." It was a polite voice that she used, and she placed a slight addition of a respectful tone, as proper when addressing those above you in power.

She curtsied in reply to his bow, adding another layer to her pretence politeness. As he took her hands one last time, a surprise look couldn't help but flutter across her face, concealed a split second after it appeared, and she could only hope that, just like her tilt of head, he didn't see it. His statement made her lips twitch, threatening to break into a laughing smile, not at him, but at what was going on. It was enjoyable, playing a game without anyone else knowing, and with someone of such high authority.

"Mister Murray, I have an entire box," she murmured to herself, barely loud enough for him to hear. She hoped he was sharp enough to, but he was moving away and she wasn't sure. In any case, she watched his figure disappear, and then turned, moving back to where her parents were, already beginning to prepare answers to the questions they would no doubt ask.

» Winter Valentine: Opening Ceremony
» Lisabeth Windsor
» Useful Prospects (Lisabeth & Joshua)
» Just Desserts Of Sorts (Josh)
» We meet again (Josh)