At your service

The Bullfighter nodded and removed his hand from the man’s shoulder. He smirked in response. “If you knew who I am, I think you’d reconsider that,” he jested. People did not usually try to lay a hand on him; he didn’t really like the way muggles fought anyway. He took another sip of his drink as Prince Charming spoke and he inclined his head. “I suppose I did in the way I know most animals are colorblind,” he stated. “But I hadn’t thought of it in relation to bulls.” When would he need to? “Dangerous, too,” he quipped. He looked at the man again.

“Which fairytale prince are you?” he asked, curious. He was not extremely well-versed in muggle literature, but he knew enough to get by.

“Very dangerous, I’d imagine” Charming agreed, “Not my first choice of profession though-” he was cut off as the spell took over not allowing him to continue with his personal anecdote. “A very dangerous career. The pay is lucrative, I hear. Well, at least I’d hope so considering every time you step into the ring there’s a high chance of death” unless of course you were a wizard, Charming felt that as a wizard the chances of dying would be less than those of a muggle. Sometimes wizards got all the luck.

“I’m Prince Charming” Charming chuckled through a sip of his drink, “It’s a silly muggle fairytale but I needed a costume last minute and I had a suit and a crown in my closet so I figured it would be good enough for the event”

While Cleopatra enjoyed mingling, she often found it tiresome when it was done socially. She much preferred smaller events than this, but at least the food tables were full if interesting things. She took one more sip of her sparkling cider before exchanging it for a glass of champagne on a passing waiter’s tray. When she heard a voice, her head turned and she looked at - a Prince, maybe? - she thought.

A smile grew on her face as he offered her a bite from his plate. “Thank you. And have you tried the beef Wellington? Have one.” She held her own plate out before grabbing the mini quiche from his own and popping it into her mouth. After a moment, she spoke again. “This is really good. Not as good as…” her voice cut off as the spell took effect and Cleopatra took a moment to consider words the spell would let her say. “Not as good as my friend’s quiche, but it’s a very, very close second.”

“I’ve yet to try the wellington” the Prince informed Cleopatra as he took one off her plate, trying it before nodding. “They must have used a phyllo pastry instead of the traditional puff, that’s why it has that crunch to it” he found it interesting how different chefs used things as minimal as a pastry change to put a huge spin on certain classic recipes. “I must try that next time I cook that” he made a mental note hoping that his memory of this would not be erased at midnight. 

“The food might be better than the alcohol. The ministry certainly outdid itself” Charming smiled nodding approvingly to the array of snacks and appetizers. “It’s about time. Normally I feel they only have desserts and alcohol and while those are great and all, it’s good to see actual substantial food. It might keep people from getting too drunk this evening” 

“M’supposed to be a drunken soldier.” The man pointed at the uniform, grinning as he raised  glass at the other person. “Gimme another glass or ten, and I’ll be proper drunken. Promise yer that much.” He down his drink, then. “And then another ten, and I’ll strip the uniform down.”

Prince Charming was already on drink two but this man seemed to be on drink four or five, or maybe that was just his personality. “Oh a drunken soldier, clever” Charming told the man politely, “I think most would appreciate it if you kept the uniform on, so maybe stick to one more drink and call it a night”

Cleopatra enjoyed the concept of the event, the anonymity. She saw it as a challenge, really, to see if she could determine which of the guests were those she cared for, were her friends. And Cleopatra was not one to back down from a challenge. But currently, she was hungry, which was a bit strange as she remembered eating a very large lunch earlier in the day. It didn’t matter now, though, and she moved toward the refreshments area, picking up a few canapés and adding them to her plate. 

After popping a canapé into her mouth, Cleopatra took a sip of her drink - bloody hell, she’d grabbed sparkling apple juice instead of champagne - and though her nose wrinkled, she took another sip before finishing her second canapé. “This is fantastic,” she said to no one in particular. 

Once the excitement of not knowing anyone in the room had worn off Prince Charming had retired to a spot between the bar and the tables of food. It wasn’t that Charming felt the need to be antisocial, it was just that from years of experience at parties he knew the best people to be found were normally in the refreshment area. After sampling a piece from almost every appetizer on the table Prince Charming was very happy leaning against a wall sipping a glass of punch. 

A tall blonde was standing not too far from him eating a canape when she commented on the appetizer. Charming wasn’t exactly sure if she was speaking to him, but nevertheless it would be rude to ignore her if she was. “They are fantastic, but have you tried the mini quiche?” he asked holding out his plate for her to take one, “I don’t know what’s in them. Egg, maybe a little spinach, bacon. They’re fantastic”

The Bullfighter did not like the feeling of being without his mental faculties, of having forgotten who he’d come with. The thought itself was frightening to some degree - he idly wondered if those married couples who had come together had forgotten the other for the evening or if they’d simply thought the other had come at a different time. But this event was supposed to be fun, a time for merriment, and so the Bullfighter kept a smile on his face as he mingled throughout the event. 

He did not do well in social situations where he knew no one. Except that wasn’t quite true, was it? He knew a lot of people here - he just didn’t know who they were. Even so, the thought was maddening and he sipped at his drink as he surveyed the room. He had just turned to the other side when he bumped into someone. “I apologize,” he said with a smile on his face as his free arm went out to steady the other individual. “I am clearly more careless when I don’t know a soul.” A quip that would have been much more appreciated had the other individual known who he was. 

Prince Charming had made it to the event a little bit late. He had previously been at a-well the reason for him being late seemed to have slipped his mind, or was he late at all? Prince Charming was not sure but the moment he stepped into the room he realized that there was no one he recognized. Where were his friends? Did he even have friends? That was the question of the evening. It was a little unsettling to see a sea of anonymous faces, however Prince Charming was not the type to easily back down. This could be fun, he whole not knowing who you were thing. 

As someone bumped into him Prince Charming was knocked from his own thoughts. “It’s no problem, mate” he told the man clasping his shoulder politely. “Now if I knew who you really were I might have to punch you” Prince Charming was only kidding, of course, and let his companion know with a dazzling smile. “A bullfighter, very nice” he complimented the man, “Did you know the bulls are colourblind?” he asked, “It’s the fabric that upsets them. Not the colour. Red is more of a traditional thing. A very interesting profession I feel”.