#maddness

"You wore the red one?"

The Stafford Observatory's annual gala had grown significantly in the past decade. Once it had been a potluck party where patrons brought homemade food that sat out on long folding tables on the lawn, cooled by the shade of the building. It had evolved significantly since then, now a black tie event that had become a desirable ticket for anyone who was anyone around town— and, often, out of town as well. Aria Stafford had only just arrived at the event, still getting her bearings on the room which was filled with dim, ambient light rather than the normal warm grow from the overhead fixtures when she heard her sister's voice behind her. She turned to find her elder sister, Eilionora, offering her a small smile while wearing the signature color of the Stafford family: a deep, dark sapphire blue.

"I look ridiculous, don't I?" Aria asked, smoothing the skirt of the deep scarlet colored dress she was wearing, suddenly feeling wildly subconscious and thinking of the dark blue dress hanging in her closet back home. Perhaps she'd be able to sneak out and change before their father noticed…

"No! No, its lovely! Just… surprising. Not what you'd normally chose. But not bad, not at all," Eilia assured her younger sister quickly. Aria looked down at her outfit, knowing her sister would never tell her even if Eilia did think her choice of dress looked ridiculous. Still, she smiled as she looked back up to meet her sister's eye.

"I thought it might be on theme… isn't the cocktail that party planner they've hired thought up some Mars themed drink?" Aria gestured towards her dress once again. She really hadn't been trying to theme her outfit to the drink of the evening, but it seemed like a good enough excuse and a much better than telling her sister that she'd listened to a little voice in the back of her mind was telling her red would be a better color to wear that night. "You know… Mars… the red planet?"

"Or the bringer of war…" Eilia muttered, her eyes trailing across the room to where their father and uncle stood, greeting guests side by side. Aria wondered if it was because it was her family that she could notice the tension between the pair even as they just stood next to one another.

"Why is he back here? Why now?" Aria asked, though she didn't really expect her sister to have the answer. The sisters didn't truly know what had caused the rift between their father and uncle all those years ago. All they knew that their mother, after learning their uncle had returned to town, immediately made plans to go stay with her cousins in France, taking their youngest sister with her after Aria, herself, had refused her to travel with their mother.

"I've asked Father… he has no notion of why Uncle Riacan is back, though he thinks it has something to do with the observatory's board President announcing he's going to step down," Eilia said with a sigh. Aria frowned at the thought. Their father had devoted his life's work to reinvigorating the observatory their family had built on this spot nearly a century earlier. Aria could only imagine her uncle, who'd had no interest in this place until now, trying to suddenly take control of it would not bode well for her father's plans. "Aria…," Eilia said suddenly, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder and gently turning her away from their father and uncle "…you know, you could still go stay with Shiv and Maman. I'm sure they'd be able to find someone to cover you at the—"

"I don't want to go to France," Aria cut off her sister quickly.

"But if you change your mind, it isn't as if she's going to be there forever, only until our Uncle leaves again," Eilia gently reminded her. Aria was silent for a few moments.

"If this is because of what Father said, you don't have to worry. Its nothing I hadn't already assumed he thought all these years."

"Aria…" Eilia sighed. "What he said— he didn't mean it as a negative. He just—"

"You think our father is proud of his daughter who has 'a myriad of hobbies' compared to how successful you and Shiv are?" Aria asked, a bit too much bite in her words than she meant. She winced slightly.

"Sorry."

"I think if you just talk to him, it would help," Eilia said gently. Aria stared at her elder sister for a moment before speaking.

"This isn't the right moment for this conversation."

If Eilia had any more to say, she fell silent at that phrase. It had long been one used within the Stafford family to indicate they needed to resume the conversation at another time— in a private setting. Public displays of any sort were not tolerated in the Stafford family.

"You should go mingle," Aria nudged her sister's shoulder with her own. "… its never too early to start campaigning again."

"I just won the election six months ago," Eilia smiled. Any tension between the pair was gone now. "… but you're not wrong."

"I'm going to find a drink to match my dress… and then keep a count of how many space themed songs Aoife has managed to learn," Aria grinned, her eyes darting across the room to where best friend was currently playing a very melodic version of Rocketman on her harp.

"If she takes requests, put in The Final Countdown for me," Eilia said with a smile before making her way into the crowd of guests. Aria made to do the same, though not being a public figure like her sister, people took little notice of her— which was how Aria preferred it. She'd rather not be noticed, especially at an event held in a building with her own family's name plastered across the front entrance.

"Give me a moment— need to grab a few refills," the bartender said as Aria approached the bar counter, which she responded to with a small nod. The sounds from Aoife's harp plucking out the notes to Fly Me to the Moon drifted above the murmurings of the guests and Aria let out a small chuckle, leaning against the counter as she waited for the bartender's return.

"Can I get you a drink?"

Aria looked over her shoulder to see an unfamiliar blond man in a well tailored suit standing a few feet behind her.

"From the… open bar?" Aria asked flatly, raising her eyebrows as she spoke. It did not seem as if this was the response he had anticipated.

"… I guess that line doesn't work very well in this circumstance."

"No, it doesn't."

"It seemed like a better opener than saying I noticed you when you came in," the man continued, not seeming to be deterred by Aria's curt responses. "Your dress… its my favorite color."

Aria barked out a laugh before she could stop herself and the man looked shocked momentarily by her response.

"So that's your go-to line, isn't it? Tell me, how many favorite colors have you had this evening?" Aria was still laughing as the bartender returned to his post and she turned away from the blond stranger to order a drink.

"Its not a line," he insisted, stepping up to stand next to her at the counter. "I'm completely serious. It is my favorite color."

"Prove it," Aria retorted, turning to face the irritating fellow.

"Prove what?"

"Prove that the color of my dress is your favorite color," Aria replied, holding his gaze as she spoke. The blonde fellow scoffed.

"That's a ridiculous request. How am I supposed to prove my favorite color? You just… have a favorite color! There isn't a way to prove that."

"Well, then, I'll just have to assume it was some ridiculous pick up line," Aria said with a shrug, turning back towards the bartender who looked thoroughly confused by the interaction he'd just been forced to witness.

"You're a rather odd woman," the blonde man commented after Aria had ordered herself a Mars themed drink. Aria wasn't sure if she was going to ask him if he meant that as a compliment, chastise him for insulting her at her own family's party, or simply walk away when a familiar voice cut through the noise of the room.

"Look what the cat dragged in!"

The blond man at her right turned away from her, letting out a laugh as he pushed off from the bar and embraced another man— this one Aria recognized. Had the reunion not been blocking her exit, Aria would have disappeared before her cousin would notice her. Instead, she took a large drink of her very red cocktail that tasted strongly of cinnamon schnapps.

"Why, little cousin!" Garbhan Stafford exclaimed, catching sight of her over the blonde stranger's shoulder.

"Cousin Garbage," Aria responded dully. The corners of the blond fellow's mouth twitched upward for a moment before Aria's cousin turned back to the man he seemed to be quite friendly with.

"My dear little cousin here couldn't pronounce Garbhan very well as a youngster and it often sounded like 'Garbage' when she would say my name… and unfortunately, it seems, the name has stuck."

"Well if the shoe fits," Aria shot back quickly.

"So this is your cousin…" the blonde man turned to face her. "Its… Eiliono—"

"I'm not Eilionora," Aria interrupted him quickly. She didn't want anyone to think she was her sister, even the blonde stranger with terrible pick up lines. Eilia was poised and put together while Aria was trying not to cough as she took another drink of her bright red cocktail.

"This… charming lady is my little cousin, Aria Stafford," Garbhan informed the blond man. "She's Eilionora's younger sister. Aria," Garbhan paused, waiting to see if Aria had anything else to add. She remained silent.