Relaxed RP: Small Lady’s Tea Party
Name of the Storyline: Small Lady’s Tea Party
Name of the Creator: RP Admin Team
Forum: Crystal Tokyo
Plot Summary:  Small Lady is turning six and wants to have a sophisticated Tea Party on her birthday! She wants each of her aunts to help her with her party, but she wants to help them help! She wants to help Jupiter make the tea and little cakes and sandwiches, wants Mercury to help her plan out where everyone is going to sit and where they’re going to have it, wants Venus to help her come up with games they can play at a tea party, and wants Mars to help her hand out the invitations! (Of course, the ‘off-duty’ senshi are happy to oblige and love shadowing her to see what happens when the little Princess is put in charge!).   When everything is ready, Small Lady wants to make a big entrance and have a proper tea party filled with sophisticated conversation and pinky-finger-out tea sipping!

Details on any necessary information:  This should be fun!
Restrictions:
---Canon: Senshi: Future!Senshi Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Small Lady, Neo Queen Serenity, King Endymion ((Sorry, no Pluto! She’s guarding the gates of time!) // Villains: None!
---Otaku: Otaku Characters: Palace staff are welcome!

To Join:

1. Make a Relaxed Character Profile (Or use any profile you already have approved!)
   
2. Make a claim in OOC brackets in THIS board!
   
3. Go! :DI'll update a running character claim list here.
   

Remember! No word count necessary!


Character Claims:
Small Lady - Aurae
Sailor Jupiter -  HikariDiamond
Sailor Venus - 
Sailor Mars -  Sailor Saturn
Sailor Mercury - 
Neo Queen Serenity -  Mama Chaos
King Endymion - 

Neo Queen Serenity walked through the gardens where the party would be held. Oh her little Lady certainly knew what she wanted. Smiling she watched as Small Lady helped Ami with the seating arraignments. How time had flown. It seemed to the royal blond that just a few months ago the pink haired hyper princess was born, and now here she was turning 6. Smiling the queen walked over to her daughter. "Hello there Lady." She smiled at the child. "What are you helping with today?" she asked.

OOC:

Small Lady spun around at the sound of her mother's voice, beaming with smiles; her fluffy pigtails bounced with the motion. That was always her reaction when her beloved Mama was around. Then she blinked twice, remembering what Luna had taught her last week, and curtseyed deeply to the regal queen, holding the edges of her pink dress's skirts out to the sides and bowing her head.

"Good morning, Ma--good morning, your majesty," she corrected herself, doing her best to rise gracefully from the curtsey.

Ruby eyes stared up at the taller woman, sparkling with admiration and excitement. Small Lady was doing her best not to fidget, as Luna had told her that ladies are graceful because they are in control of their emotions and motions. It was very difficult!

At her mother's question, she gestured towards the white-painted wrought iron tables and chairs that would be set up for the tea party. They were too heavy for Small Lady to lift, but she had been resolutely doing her part by dragging the furniture a few inches at a time. Now everything was settled, but the seat assignments had to be decided.

The guest list was obvious:
Mama
Papa
Small Lady (Yay, that's me!)
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Luna
Artemis

She had really wanted Plu to come, but the woman had gently explained that she could not leave the Time-Space Door. It made Small Lady very sad to be missing her dearest friend, but Plu wasn't avoiding her or refusing out of meanness. Small Lady was learning, little by little, that sometimes people can't always do the things that they want to do because it interferes with the things they must do.

There were three small tables set up in a triangular formation the beautiful walled garden, near a small fountain that pleasantly bubbled and splashed in the sunlight. The table closest to the fountain had three chairs--one for the birthday girl, one for Mama, and one for Papa. That arrangement was obvious. The other two tables had two chairs and one tall stool each--to seat two of the Guardian soldiers and one cat.

"We're planning who will sit at which table," she explained to her mother, speaking so rapidly in her excited state that she tripped over some of the words.

The Queen smiled and returned her daughter's curtsey, while doing her best to hide her giggles. She beamed a smile at the child and listened as she rapidly told her of the plans for the party. The Queen giggled a little and took a seat. The sun was warm and she couldn't help but feel joy and happiness. "So it seems you've got this under control." She said looking at the Princess. She wanted more than anything to help out but as a mother she knew that her child was just like her in many ways and would have to do things on her own. "So, can I help you decide the seating?" She said with a smile.

Small Lady glanced over to where Mercury had been standing, but the blue-haired woman was deep in conversation with one of the castle staff members. "A princess does not interrupt," Luna's voice echoed in her mind. Instead, the little girl turned back towards her mother.

"Well, we haven't decided exactly for sure," she replied, twirling the end of one bouyant pigtail around a tiny finger.

"Oh! Except for our table!" Small Lady quickly continued, hurrying over towards the table nearest the fountain and gesturing towards it. "You, and me, and Papa--we're going to sit here. Because the fountain is pretty!"

Indeed, the fountain was pretty. The weather was gorgeous--a gentle breeze, warm sunlight, and clear skies. The pearl-gray marble fountain glistened slightly in the rays of the sun, and the water that splashed and bubbled forth glittered brightly. The sound of the water was gentle and calming, and birdsong and rustling leaves accompanied it. All around the garden flowers were in bloom--everything from roses (all shades, not just the deep red that Papa preferred best) to violets to lilies and everything in-between. Crystal Tokyo was truly a lovely and idyllic place.

Small Lady flitted around the tables, continuing her explanation.

"It's these two tables I'm not sure about," she added, tucking a small fist under her chin, deep in thought. "I don't want anyone to be sad that they don't get to sit next to someone they really wanted to sit next to."

OOC:

The Queen smiled and moved towards the table the princess had indicated was the one the royal family would sit at. The child was right the fountain was beautiful and the roses filled the air with a soft sent. "You are right about the fountain." The queen agreed with her daughter. She turned to look at the other table and also put her hand to her chin thinking. "Well what if Ami and Makoto sit together with Luna and Minako and Rei sit together with Artemis?' The queen suggested. The older blonde looked down at the princess and waited for her reply.

I am very new to RP but can i claim Jupiter.

Small Lady pondered her mother's suggestion, serious and still.

"Well, it's just hard to tell if Jupiter will wish she was sitting next to Venus or Mars wanted to sit near Mercury instead," she eventually replied, fidgeting slightly.

If she couldn't be with Mama and Papa, or Plu, Small Lady could never decide who she wanted to spend time with. She knew that when she baked with Jupiter, she was missing out on the opportunity to sing karaoke with Venus. When she was getting her nails painted by Venus, maybe Mars and Mercury were playing a game that she could have joined if only she was there. In the way of most children, the unlimited opportunities and making choices between those things seemed so overwhelming! Also, the princess didn't know if Mercury considered Jupiter her best friend, or Venus her best friend, or maybe her best friend was Mama. But Small Lady really wanted to sit next to Mama for this party. And Papa, too.

Then again, Mama knew all of her friends very, very well. Small Lady could tell just how much the sailor soldiers loved their queen and their queen loved them back. Sometimes she heard them talking and laughing, although they always changed the way they were talking as soon as they realized she was around, and they always sounded so happy. So if Mama thought that Jupiter and Mercury should sit together and Venus and Mars should sit together, that was probably right, wasn't it? Because Mama would know. But this birthday party was important! Small Lady didn't want to make any bad choices.

"Do you think they would be mad if they weren't sitting where they wanted to sit?" she asked her mother, eyes plaintive and concerned.

Mars:

Mars walked down the long corridor through the castle looking for the little queen. She arrived late due to issues at home, but was ready to help the pink haired bundle with what she could. As she walked into the room where her little niece was, she over heard her talking about seating arrangements. 

"It is your party love, I am sure people would be happy sitting by wherever you placed us." Mars said as she winked to NQS and the other palace staff standing around the room. 

Mars then pulled out little bundles of paper covered in flower patterns of all different color from her hobo bag. "What should we write on these invitations?"

Small Lady clapped her hands with excitement, dazzled by the beautiful paper of the invitations. She was very glad that Mars had arrived. (Mercury seemed to have gotten caught up in whatever she needed to do.)

Pondering the invitations, the little princess was very serious.

"It should sound..." She paused, still thinking. "Elegant!"

Small Lady stood up as straight as possible, her pink hair bouncing. She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, trying to emulate the way that her mother looked giving royal proclamations. The little girl gestured grandly with her hands and tried to speak with what she thought of as an "adult" and "lady" voice. Of course, the effect wasn't totally achieved.

"You are cardinally invited to spend a magnanimous afternoon enjoying tea and cake in the royal garden in matrimony of the birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity," she announced, stumbling over the big words, unaware of her blunders in their usage.

Jupiter had just finished baking some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and set them out to cool. When she finished cleaning she went to the window to see what the weather looked like. She saw Mars, Neo Queen Serenity, and Small Lady outside talking. Because Small Lady's birthday was coming up, Makoto decided to take a stroll outside and ask Small Lady what she would like to bake for her party.

As she walked outside she saw Mercury talking to a palace guard, and she was rather caught up in the conversation. Makoto decided she would talk to her friend later. When she got to where the others were she greeted them all and commented on how nicely the set up was coming. She bent down to talk to Small Lady- " so a little bird told me you have a birthday coming up, and I was wondering what you would like to have for your birthday, you can help me bake the treats for the party guests."

She waited patiently while Small Lady pondered at all the possibilities that she could bake with Makoto.

Small Lady stopped her recitations when Jupiter appeared. Jupiter was one of her favourites because she was always baking tasty and wonderful things in the palace kitchens. (Of course, "her favourites" included everyone. The little princess loved every one of the sailor soldiers. They were all important parts of her family.) She was very happy that Jupiter would be helping her with the menu for the day. It would be too hard for her to do on her own.

"Jupiter!" she exclaimed cheerfully, distracted from the invitations and hoping that Mars had gotten that all down. "It's going to be a tea party, so it should have tea party food, right? Those tiny little sandwiches with the crust cut off and those pretty sugar cubes that are so small and those... what are they called? The square cakes with frosting and they fit in your hand and have little roses on top?"

Small Lady spoke quickly, continually emphasizing with her hand motions the "smallness" of the menu. Tea parties, to the princess, meant dainty food that was easy to eat in a few bites--even for the mouth of a princess who was just going to be six this very year and was trying very hard to use her proper table manners. It also meant no carrots. She hoped that wasn't something she needed to say. It wasn't exactly a secret that the queen and the princess, despite their "bunny" names, had no love of carrots.

As for the tiny cakes, Small Lady was thinking of glacé petit fours. She had never actually eaten them, but she had seen them in an advertisement only a few weeks ago. They were so tiny and perfect-looking that she initially thought they were toys or decorations. Each one was a perfect square and coated with an even layer of pastel icing, topped with a lovely rosette of frosting. They had been pictured on a tea-table set with pretty china and cups of tea, so obviously they were tea party appropriate.

This was so exciting! She was so happy that everyone was helping; this tea party was going to be the fanciest and loveliest party ever!

Mars grinned at the big words the little lady used for her invitation. Because Mars always had to remember prayers and spells due to her past work, remembering the short sentence the little lady said was no problem at all.

"How about you go bake some treats with Jupiter while I go type out your words on this stationary." Mars said as she placed the paper back in her bag. She patted the little lady on her head, careful not to mess up her pigtails. Mars smiled as she remembered how it felt to be a little kid again. No worries, no fears, and she missed knowing her worst enemy was veggies. "To be little again." Mars said as she bent down to be at Small Lady's height. "Once I finish typing these up, I will come find you so you can help me deliver them."

Mars got up to walk away, when she almost forgot the most important seal of approval she needed from the little lady. She turned and bent down again to the child as she pulled out several bottles of perfume from her bag and placed them on the ground along with the pretty paper.

"When I was little, I used to spray my letters with perfume. I always felt like this little touch of scent made the letter truly mine and unique. Are you interested in picking out a scent to spray on these lovely pieces of paper?"

Small Lady was glad that Mars was going to type out the invitations. It might have been difficult if she did it herself, and she wasn't really sure that what she had said was exactly what she wanted to say.

When Mars set down the perfume bottles, Small Lady was dazzled. They were so pretty! Beautiful little crystal vials containing coloured liquids, all with pretty finials and shapes. Some even had the bulbs and tassels of atomizers. Small Lady loved "grown up lady" items like perfume; she couldn't wait until the day when she could have her own little collection of sparkling bottles arranged on a vanity. It was best that she didn't have access to any at the moment, however. The five-year-old princess was likely to douse herself in all of the scents at once, hoping for instant sophistication.

The little girl carefully cradled each bottle in her small hands, sniffing daintily at the nozzle. Some were floral, some were spicy, and some were earthy. There was a little bit of everything. Once or twice she accidentally sprayed herself in the face, coughing and waving her hands frantically to clear the unintentionally overwhelming scent. As she narrowed down the selection, she sprayed a few of them into the air--careful not to waste the perfume by spraying too much--and tried to concentrate as the scent wafted back towards her.

"I think... I think this one is nice," she decided, singling out a rose-shaped bottle with a gold cap. Inside, a pale blue liquid glittered and shimmered. It was a clear rose scent with notes of amber and vanilla, along with a few herbs and citrus to balance it out. Although it might not have been an exact fragrance she preferred, it was definitely the sort of thing the queen herself might have worn.

OOC:

The queen stood back and waited as the senshi talked with the little princess, seating for the moment forgotten. More than once over the course of the conversations did the Queen stifle a giggle. If her daughter wasn't the cutest thing trying to be grown up so fast, but really, the Queen wanted nothing more than for Small Lady to enjoy her childhood while she could, for the real pressures of being an adult would happen faster than she could have imagined.

NQS smiled at her friends as they helped in their way. "I just love the paper for the innovations, Mars." She commented when she saw the squares of floral print paper. She knew Mars always had an eye for that sort of thing. She smiled warmly when Jupiter walked up. Then it dawned on her. Leaning down to Small Lady's level, she whispered. "Now would be a good time to ask them where they would like to sit." The Queen suggested to the Princess.

OOC: I will read these tonight after school and studying....sorry I dont know how to do the little txt boxes that hides this text either.

Mars carefully repacked her perfume bottles into her bag. She was crouched on her feet with her knees bent, and didn't realize that this position put her foot to sleep. When she began to stand, she wobbled and fell sideways on her hip. 

"Ouch" she exclaimed before shaking out her foot. "I'll be feeling that one in the morning." She grinned at the Little Lady trying to make her smile. She reached out her hands asking for the little girl to help her stand up. In reality she didn't need help to stand up, but she knew it would make the little girl feel strong and helpful if she thought she helped someone.

"I'll come find you later once I finish these invitations." Mars said as she waited for the little girl to take her hands.

Spoiler:

Jupiter smiled at small lady as she described all the items she wanted for her tea party. Jupiter told Small Lady she could come back to the kitchen to help her bake the cakes, but then bent down to her level and asked, how should we keep your mother from stealing or tasting the cakes before they are ready, because everyone knows the Queen has a sweet tooth.

Small Lady thought about how to keep mama away while baking on the way up to the kitchen. Jupiter set to finding the recipe book that had Petits Fours Icing. She pulled out a light green book with tattered pages and opened it up to the recipe. This was a recipe she would make with her mom when she was a child. She smiled at remembering the tea parties she had with her mom and knew Small Lady had made the perfect choice in tea party treats.

Jupiter got the supplies for the cakes and some mixing bowls. There were ingredients specific to the cakes and separate ingredients for the frosting. Jupiter asked Small Lady which she wanted to help make first.

Jupiter got set to measuring the ingredients and asked Small Lady if she had any preference for the sandwiches she wanted to serve. " Would you like to make PB&J, Turkey or something else?"

Jupiter also was asking Small Lady if she had gotten the seating arrangements figured out as she had seen Small Lady pondering it when Jupiter came up in the garden.

Small Lady loved being surrounded by her family. It was so much fun to have everyone helping with her party!

When Mars tripped, the pink-haired princess rushed forward and was ready immediately. She grasped the offered hands and did her best to help the dark-haired woman to her feet. Mars was not actually in need of much assistance, so it wasn't too difficult for the little girl to provide just enough support to get her back on her feet.

"Are you okay, Mars?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

Her mother's quiet comment reached her ears at just the right moment.

"Oh! So for the party if there were tables and each table had two people and you were sitting with Venus, would that be okay? Or would you be sad that you weren't sitting with Mercury or Jupiter?" The question came out in a jumbled rush, but was still understandable enough.

She waited just a moment for a response before hurrying off to follow Jupiter, who was now in the kitchen beginning the preparations. Jupiter's comment had her musing, as well. Mama was very sneaky and Mama really liked sweets--because in that way Mama was a lot like Small Lady--but she didn't want Mama to eat the cakes before the party. (Or Papa! Sometimes he was sneaky, too, but no one suspected him 'cause he was the king and always acted all serious like he would never be the kind of person to eat sweets in secret. Even though he was.) Hmm...

She was still pondering this question when Jupiter asked if they'd make the cake or the frosting first.

"Let's start with the cake!" Small Lady decided. They could make the frosting while the cake was baking and cooling, right?

When Jupiter mentioned the sandwiches it was another decision to consider. "Peanut butter and jelly, definitely. And maybe cucumber? Cucumber sounds like a very tea party sandwich."

Jupiter got out all of the ingredients to make the cake. She pulled out her measuring cups and spoons.
Jupiter was surprised the King would sneak some sweets in and thought it made sense why only one or two tasty treats disappeared. Jupiter would have to talk to the king about that, but at another time.

Jupiter set Small Lady to work stirring the ingredients for the cake. While the cake was baking Small Lady and Jupiter set to work in making the frosting. When the frosting was finished, Jupiter noticed there was a little extra ( just enough to put on the stirring spoon) "Small Lady would you like the last of the icing", Jupiter asked.

When the cakes were done, Jupiter pulled them out and let them cool before frosting. Once the cakes were cooled, Jupiter and small Lady carefully trimmed them to prepare for the frosting. While they were frosting, the king walked in and Jupiter gave him a look and said " don't even think about it, you will have to wait til the party." The King smiled at her and his smile said I am not going to do anything.

Once the cakes were frosted Jupiter set them aside and got started on the sandwiches. After the sandwiches were finished and placed in a safe place Jupiter asked small lady if she would like to take a walk in the garden, because Jupiter knew Small Lady wanted to talk to her about something from when she was with Mars and the Queen.

Small Lady gratefully took the remnants of frosting that Jupiter offered, happily nibbling it slowly from the wooden spoon. It was sooooooo tasty! Jupiter was really the best baker ever!

When the treats were prepared, Small Lady followed Jupiter back out to the gardens. She wondered what everyone else had been up to while they were gone...