12/31 - Morning - Preparation Woes

[Hino Rei]

The day of the New Years Ball dawned bright an early as ever. Though still utterly pissed by events from the week before, Rei tried to forget that as she sat in her kitchen and drank her morning tea, staring at the dress they'd delivered late that night. The seamstress had outdone herself this time--it hadn't even needed any alterations. Then again, Rei did buy most of her clothes from the women, or had her alter them, so it made sense that the woman would know her body well enough.

The gown was now hanging in front of the pantry door, still encased in a clear plastic bag to keep it from getting soiled. The seamstress had tried to talk her into white, but Rei had insisted upon black--it fit her mood. All in all, Rei thought she'd made the right decision.

Tea finished, Rei left the dress hanging where it was and began to get the shrine ready for that day's work. She had two meetings for the morning, both with priests of different sects who wanted to bitch at one another about petty little differences. There were days when Rei wished the entire world would just become atheists so that she wouldn't have to hear about it anymore. Following said thoughts, she'd go apologize to the spirits and spend the day feeling guilty because if anyone should know that there was such a thing as the spiritual world, it was her.

To be bluntly honest, she just wasn't in the mood to hear about whatever minor infractions these two "gentlemen" were blowing up over.

Two hours later, throat feeling sore from screaming, Rei walked out of her shrine and went to find something else to do. Regardless of whatever was going to be said about her behind her back, letting loose on those puffed up airheads had done her some good. She had a smile on her face and a bounce in her step as she approached the Queen's quarters. Rei liked to think that this change in her attitude scared the two guards on duty, at least a little, and they stiffened slightly she brushed by them and into the chambers beyond.

She paused at a table set into the hallway, casting a glance into the mirror there. Though she'd tried not to be a vain girl, Rei had to admit that she did usually care about how she looked, and suddenly the idea that maybe they were paying attention to her for other reasons was appealing. Since there didn't seem to be anyone else around, Rei took a moment to stare into the mirror and double check that the light layer of lipgloss she'd applied was straight and her hair was neat.

It was, and she took a moment to straighten the sweater she'd tossed over a tank top and pair of semi-ratty jeans before she'd left the shrine. The sweater was over large and it tended to run off of one of her shoulders, but that was fine. Confident that she looked at least stylishly messy, Rei turned from the mirror to be confronted with Usagi's main secretary.

The mousy woman blushed as the Senshi of Fire startled at the sight of her and shifted her feet uncertainly. "Ah, the Queen isn't in at the moment, ma'am..."

"I didn't expect that she was," Rei shrugged. She moved past the woman and heard, rather than saw, the secretary turn and follow her in kind. "She's in a meeting?"

"Ah, yes ma'am. With the treasury department, I belive. And she's due for a lunch with--"

"That's okay, I can read her itinerary. I just need to check something in her office." Without waiting for permission--because Rei saw no reason that she would need to gain such permissions from a secretary--she let herself into Usagi's office and left the door open behind her. The secretary stopped at the doorway, loitering there as if she was afraid to burst into flame should she step over the mantle.

Uncaring for the fact that she was causing obvious distress to the rather nerve-shot young woman, Rei began to hum as she flipped through the papers on Usagi's desk. Most of it wasn't anything she needed to concern herself with, and she kept her eyes dutifully away from those papers which looked to be very much not her business. Eventually she found the itinerary she had been looking for, as well as a list of items which supposedly required the Queen's "immediate attention."

Rei shook her head as she cross referenced the two--there were far more things on the later than the former could take care of in a week. A few of the items upon the list of noteworthy problems had been crossed through, with some of the senshi's names written upon them. Rei nodded at that, smiling to herself. At least Usagi was taking her up on that.

Turning the page, Rei quickly skimmed through for articles with her name beside them and committed them to memory. Most of them she'd already had come across her desk, but the others wouldn't take any time at all. As she flipped back to the first page for a second read-through, to make certain she hadn't missed anything, her eyes fell across a rather large duty which was completely superfluous. Sadly, she also recognized the names of the two "nobles" who had requested that Usagi see to this. Those snotty, goddamn celebrity chasers...

With a contemptuous snort, Rei found a pen and drew a dark black line next to the item, then jotted down a quick note. "Usagi, I'm taking this--all your notes are with the designers anyway. I'll see you at the ball. Rei."

Quickly the woman put everything back the way she'd found it and returned to the doorway where the secretary was still mulling over whether or not Rei had the right to be there. Rei didn't stop to give the woman any more time to object, instead pulling the door closed behind her and walking back down the hall towards the exit.

There was no reason, by Rei's way of thinking, that the Queen should be asked to oversee the decorating of the ballroom. Usagi had picked out the colour scheme and double checked over all of the preparations, but she was far too busy with other things to be spending the entire day watching other people put up tables and hang streamers! Rei briefly considered chewing the two fan-girl nobles out for having lobbied their wishes through to the Queen's itinerary, but ultimately decided against it. Politics, she reminded herself, think Politics.

When she entered the Ballroom it was already in a state of chaos despite the early hour. It was only nine-thirty in the morning but it was apparent that most of the palace workers here had been up for several hours already, polishing the floor of the vast room, washing the walls, and dusting the rafters. As she watched, there was one man going around buffing the floor as others climbed upon ladders and make-shift scaffolding to hang decorations from the ceiling. All in all it looked like a very "Bunny" affair.

She smiled to herself and picked her way through to the dias where the party coordinator had set up his tables. The two nobles were no where in Rei's sight.

"Lady Rei! How nice to see you!" The coordinator drawled as she mounted the dias steps. His eyes said something else entirely and the smile she gave him was icy.

"You as well. Where are Lady Marini and Lady Jun?"

"I'm afraid the esteemed daughters of General Matsuki are still at breakfast... as they have been for two hours." The man glanced at his watch, the reason for his sour attitude immediately apparent.

"I see," Rei tried to pretend she wasn't happy to hear that a knew that she failed miserably, "I'm afraid the Queen won't be here to help you coordinate the workers on this, but as I had some free time today I volunteered to step in, should you still need it...?"

"That would be much appreciated, yes, M'lady. I'm certain the queen has far more important things to attend to." The man sounded so sincere in that, that Rei's apprehension towards the man dropped immediately. Instead she bent over the books with him and began to help him double check the work that was going on all around them.

[Kino Makoto]

Makoto had been up since 5 AM checking inventory and directing the other chefs in the kitchens as they prepared for the evening’s festivities. Things seemed to be going rather smoothly for a change. Makoto smiled to herself. She was quite proud of her team and the great effort they’d shown so far this morning. She could only hope that the teamwork would continue and not melt into a disastrous puddle of….whatever.

As mid-morning approached, Makoto sat in her office ticking items off her checklist. Looking it over again, she was pleased to see that she was well ahead of schedule. Hopefully this would mean that she would have a bit of time to herself later on so that she wouldn’t be so rushed to get cleaned and dressed.

Glancing down she grinned upon reading the next item on her to-do list. She needed to head to the ballroom to see that the buffet table was being set to specifications and to label where each item was to be placed. Should be easy enough. She left her office and the kitchens and headed for the ballroom, smiling and laughing to herself at all the hustle and bustle of activity.

It didn’t take long for Makoto to reach the ballroom. She saw one of her assistants over by the buffet table with a notebook in hand. The girl appeared to have things under control, so Makoto took a moment to scan the room. As she took in the changes the room was currently undergoing, she happened to notice a familiar head of raven-colored hair.

She gave her sister a light tap on the shoulder. “What a pleasant surprise to see you here this morning!”

[Mizuno Ami]

Ami had actually gotten to sleep in a bit that morning. There was still more work to be done in the hospital wing, but the large emergency room was ready, so if there were any emergencies at the ball, the hospital was equipped and ready to deal with them. However, there would be no renovations to be done on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day itself.

What she had needed to do that morning was to double check the staffing for the evening, making sure that those who were working that night would get some form of extra compensation for doing so. Since the evening would probably not allow her much time to be with her sisters, she would rather be working herself, but it had been made abundantly clear to her that that was simply not an option. She chuckled as she put aside the double checked list, "Well, I did promise Usagi I'd help her however she needs..."

She glanced at the dress that was hanging on a hook in her room with a sigh. It did look good on her, but she wondered if she would be comfortable in it or in the high heeled silver shoes that she'd gotten for it. "I'll worry about that later."

The other task she'd set for herself was to discreetly but discernibly, if one looked for them, set some additional first aid kits in the ball rooms. While she hoped that they would not be needed, with as many guests as were coming, the doctor felt that it was much better to be safe than sorry. She had already assembled the kits, making sure to have plenty of epinephrine pens in case someone misread a warning or mistakenly ate something to which they were allergic. The kits may not be attractive, but Ami knew she'd feel much more comfortable knowing that they were there.

Gathering the extra kits, she headed down to the ball room, dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a light blue t-shirt, ignoring the few glances that people shot her way at her wearing a t-shirt in winter.

When she reached the ball room, she started tucking the the extra kits away, not concerned about the fact that they were not perfectly blending into the decorations. Having placed the last one, she looked around and nodded, satisfied, only then realizing that two of her sisters were there as well.

"Rei-chan, Mako-chan." She smiled and moved over to them. "Good morning."

[Hino Rei]

The party coordinator (Gustaph, Rei reminded herself yet again) had just gone off to yell at someone who was doing something completely unorthodox involving wall hangings, duct tape and shampoo when a finger tapped upon her shoulder and a familiar voice greeted her. Rei turned to smile at Makoto, who was joined by Ami before she could even get a word out. "Goodmorning, you two.

"I didn't expect-- TO THE RIGHT, MORON, the RIGHT! DID YOU SKIP KINDERGARTEN?" Rei glared across the room at one of the more uncoordinated servants who was struggling to hang a simply drapery across the floor length windows that lead to the balcony outside. It really was NOT that difficult and she lifted one hand to rub at its corresponding temple. "We really have to reevaluate the staff hiring procedures..."

Just about to apologize, the same poor soul caught her eye again and Rei rolled her eyes. She leaned over the table to better shout at him, "NOT THE DOOR'S RIGHT, TO YOUR RIGHT. PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO USE THOSE DOORS!"

"My god, I feel like I've had a whole litter of unwanted children," the woman muttered. "I swear..."

[Kino Makoto]

Makoto had barely brought her hand back down to her side when Ami approached. She smiled and nodded at Ami’s greeting, and was about to return it when Rei spoke...and then screeched at a poor soul hanging a drapery across the room. Mako cringed at the high tone, and then attempted a smile at the remark about hiring procedures. Before she could agree, Rei began shouting again.

Makoto cringed again as she brought a hand to cover the ear that was closest to Rei. That girl certainly had a set of pipes on her…

“Thanks Rei… I didn’t need the use of that ear anyways.”

[Mizuno Ami]

Ami chuckled a bit, both at Rei's shouting and at Makoto's quip. "You know, it's nice that some things never change." She smiled to her sisters.

"So, since you seem to be in charge here, Rei-chan, I'm done with what I needed to do today." She did not know whether Makoto was or not, but there simply wasn't as much for her to do for a ball, "So, how can I help you? Or you, Mako-chan, if you need help in the kitchen, though I'm a lot less likely to screw up helping decorate."

[Hino Rei]

Rei wilted a little against the table and shook her head. Bracing her hands against the surface to support herself she favoured Makoto with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but when the same person makes the same mistakes constantly..." the woman shrugged her shoulders in a helpless gesture. There was no fixing it, in most cases, and she nodded to Ami, "I think we probably could use some help. If I'm not careful I might just make someone cry and that will only slow things down..."

At least Rei knew herself well enough. She cast an eye around the room, double checking the preparations with the multitude of books and mockups that littered the table. "We've already had someone set one of the tablecoths on fire and had to send an expedition to find out where the steward placed the extras. But if the books are right, then they only bothered to buy one replacement cloth--so if there are any other incidents we're going to have to get creative at covering up stains, or else trade the table cloths out for something else entirely. I had Gustaph send one of his buyers out into the town to find something, just in case. If nothing else, we'll at least have them on hand if we should ever need them..."

Expect nothing, Rei told herself, repeating a line from a book she'd once read. It fit much better than the motto "Prepare for anything," so far as she was concerned. "Ami, were those first aid kits you were placing around the room?" At least, she thought that was her friend--there weren't too many blue headed women running about.

[Kino Makoto]

Makoto laughed a bit at Rei’s apology. “It’s fine. I’m just giving you a hard time.” She gave Rei a wink before turning to Ami.

“Actually, the kitchens are fine at the moment. I’m just here to get the buffet set up. A lot of the food will be passed hors d’oeuvres and such, but I still need to make sure everything is labeled appropriately. Sheila, one of my assistants, is already working on it.”

Makoto glanced over to Sheila and noticed that the girl seemed to be having an issue with something or other. “Speaking of which, I think I should go check on her. If you’ll please excuse me…” She gave her sisters a smile before heading over to the buffet table.

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Batman and Superman. Chocolate and vanilla. Dogs and cats. None of these historical, epic rivalries had anything on the intense, perpetual, and fierce competition between... Keynesians and Monetarists.

Usagi just continued walking, quiet as the two economists from the treasury department of the Ministry of Finance bickered incessantly about the current state of securities. Particularly the rivalry between a French Keynesian and an American Monetarists. Even her Secret Service detail was sensing the increasing tension. Agent Phillips winked at her as he began to expand the formation around her, forcing the two men to argue at greater distances as they made their way into the ballroom. Usagi knew she had to speak up before they started calling each other communists and anarchists again.

"Gentlemen, please. It's a holiday, the exchanges will close early today, and we can evaluate our options then. But right now I'm leaning towards letting things remain the same. Inflation is still too high for my tastes," she made a decision, noticing the triumphant smile that Daryl Corpus flashed his rival. "We're only a year and a few weeks into a new global currency, these things will happen. With the surplus right now, I'm not too concerned at the moment. But have a proposal for more bonds drawn up and ready to submit to committee." The meeting was clearly over. They broke off, heading back to rehash the argument, no doubt, while Hikari was reviewing the next agenda item on the agenda on her blackberry. Usagi hadn't been surprised that this issue had come up; much of her time in the few months before the coronation had been sucked up by the monumental task of creating a global currency. She had barely slept those nights; frightened by the massive deficit that the new government was wracking up, most of it going towards the hurried construction of the palace. Those were the days when her staff was small; many of them so dedicated that they went without pay for several weeks while she was struggling to resurrect the remains of the International Monetary Fund and turn it into a central bank. She was on the cusp of becoming queen of the world, and was entirely broke... The entire beginnings of the government was living on a shoe-string budget; those were the days when Lucan was bolting old phone books into her car instead of using the far more expensive steel plating; at least, the car she had for a few months after her first one was blown to pieces... Looking around the massive ballroom, and the intricate decorations, it was hard not to feel proud of how far they had come. And in little more than a year...

Usagi sighed. She hadn't been back to her desk and had not yet seen Rei's changes to her itinerary. "I know Lady Marini and Lady Jun are just trying to do good, bless their hearts," she remarked, always seeing the best in people, "but I swear to God, this had better be the Decorating Apocalypse or something, because I can't imagine anything else being more important than the primary securities market or maritime security... Which reminds me, Admiral Dreyer, you were saying?" She glanced at the officer next to her, who was muttering under his breath about General Matsumi and his infernal daughters.

"Really, your Majesty, this is getting to be absurd... Trying to do good, honestly. They are busybodies, if I catch them near my shipyard again I'll keelhaul 'em..."

Usagi tried not to giggle, imagining the sight. It was funny, the American, British, Australian and Lithuanian officers hated General Matsumi and the way he had wrangled his way into the service, the Germans and Norwegians seemed to understand. She didn't think a two-star would be so controversial... But, it was the necessary. She found the quickest way to ensure loyalty to her new government had been to make people a part of it-- she had needed the gravitas that Matsumi had brought, at least with the former Japanese defense forces; and if that meant making his daughters nobility so be it. Unfortunately it created a class that seemed devoted to trying to monopolize her attention...

"General Matsumi is a good officer was was critical to her Majesty's..." Utsumi Eigo, her chief political advisor replied stiffly.

"A good officer serves the Queen and his government out of duty and honor, not because his two spoiled brats got titles," Admiral Dreyer said curtly. Usagi shook her head for a moment, always a little shocked at how forward Americans could be.

"I'll put you on his promotional board," she marked, closing that topic as well. "You're right, it should be a meritocracy." She listened to his closing remarks about Coast Guard security in the bay during the festivities, please that at least on his end things were ahead of schedule. Usagi's head snapped up as she heard Rei's shrill voice echoing throughout the ballroom. From the sound of it, things were not on schedule here...

She thanked Admiral Dreyer, who snapped to attention with an audible click of his heels and saluted her smartly before leaving. She returned the salute, a little more focused on the senshi.

"Ami-chan, Rei-chan..." Usagi grinned, making her way over to them. Makoto seemed to be busy at the moment, but glancing at the three of them, she suddenly felt overdressed in her Christian Louboutin heels and suit; even though most of her outfits were planned by committee, and weeks in advance at that.

Hikari's blackberry began beeping, and she watched her staff crowd around the small screen. "Another proposal!" Hikari said in awe, waving the device around.

Eigo-san peered at it, his eyes widening. "Oh, he's important, very important... You should at least pretend to consider this one..."

Usagi groaned, turning away from the scene. She had never imagined after cutting off the engagement that there would be such an influx of suitors. Ignoring the problem, she turned back to the senshi, determined to not pay anymore attention to the unwanted advances that seemed to be flowing in.

"Is everything going alright? Gustaph looks a little stressed..." She glanced at the two senshi curiously. "I don't see Lady Jun or Marini anywhere..." She wouldn't put it past Rei to have done something with them; not that Usagi would have complained.

[Mizuno Ami]

Ami nodded, "They were. I doubt they'll be needed, and I know there are already a couple placed in here. But..." She shrugged ever so slightly, "I'd feel more comfortable making sure that we're well equipped. With as many people as will be here tonight..." She shrugged, "I don't think I'll have to do triage or anything, but I just want to be prepared."

She smiled at Makoto as she moved over to one of her assistants and then glanced back to Rei, "I think I envy her the option to hide tonight." Though she knew that Makoto would not really be allowed to do so.

"I think if table cloths are the worst of our worries, we can find something to work."

"Morning, Usa-chan. How are you doing this morning?" She glanced over to her entourage, "Do I need to issue doctor's orders for you to relax some? You can't be working every minute of every day, Usagi."

[Hino Rei]

Rei nodded emphatically to the fact that Makoto was the only one of them liable to worm her way out of the event tonight at any decent hour--baring a major medical emergency the kind of which Rei wasn't cruel enough to wish upon anyone--and for a moment envied the baker. She brushed that little green monster aside and looked up just as Usagi and her entorage entered the room.

Rei frowned at seeing her, if only for the note she'd left, but at Usagi's question she couldn't help but give the woman her most feral smile. "Oh the little dears decided that they needed to take a long breakfast. They've yet to return, so I'm just working up a small little list of chores I think would appropriately suit their rank when they do." And she had been doing just that, along with poor Gustaph--she was pleased to note that the details they'd listed were amongst the most boring and most disgusting chores that either of their minds could come up with. It was strange to suddenly like the system of hard-set rank, but Rei found that in this instance she liked having the power to order the two little dimwits about.

Her smile faltered at Hikari's exclamation and she frowned in the general direction of the device. Rather than acknowledge it, at first anyway, she drug her eyes away to raise a brow at her friend and Queen, "Usagi, I left you a note on your desk to say that I'd come and take this over for you..." her mind supplied her with a reason, then and she shook her head with a faint laugh, "You didn't even go back to your desk did you? I should have sent a message."

Rei waved her hand and gestured to the blackberry, "What is that about?"

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi's eyes danced with amusement at Ami's remark. It was endearing. "Ami-chan, I'm fine, I promise." She had a full eight hours of sleep, and at the moment found herself glad to have work-- it was a retreat from thinking about Mamoru.

Her smile grew even more as Rei remarked about her nefarious plans for Lady Marini and Jun. Usagi's smile was matched by her staff, who suddenly seemed quite gleeful at the idea of chores for the two taxing nobles. Usagi was fairly sure that Rei had just become a favorite of Hikari and her senior aides. They looked so happy that Usagi wouldn't have been surprised if they had knelt at Rei's feet.

"A long breakfast, hmm? I suppose that's smart on their part... Between you and Admiral Dreyer, I wouldn't have wanted to be them..." She wouldn't have wanted to be the staff that Rei had been chewing out, either-- she supposed that this was not the best time to mention the recieving line...

Usagi raised an eyebrow at the mention of a note on her desk. "Well, I had no reason, at least at the time, to return to the office, and it's much quicker to go directly here, anyway... Besides, I was curious to see how it was coming along." The enormity of the Palace could not be underestimated, especially when she was wearing heels. "I'll get you set up with intranet access to my account peripherals, like the agenda-- you too, Ami-chan," she nodded. Her aides were already tapping away on their devices, taking care of it. "The hard copy is just for backup. I'm sure you put my secretaries in a tizzy, though," she needled Rei gently, with a smile. "Especially with Eyes Only briefs on my desk."

She groaned as Rei asked what that was about. "You don't want to know... But I suppose by tonight you will know... CNN is making the rounds now..." Usagi knew she was babbling, but it was hard to put things into words. "Well. Since the news broke about the engagement... Apparently..." Apparently, she had opened Pandora's box. She had understood that morning why Hikari had been bothering her about the sudden clogging of the airports. They had all chosen yesterday to fly in... "I awoke to a mass of 'suitors' on our proverbial front lawn-- and the media with them, naturally. And our phones have been ringing off the hook with... proposals." She had woken up, put on her dressing gown and stepped out on the balcony only to come across the crowd that had set up shop in the public gardens surrounding the palace. They were too far away to see her, but the large vans with the satellite dish poles up in the air, and the erected signs were unmistakable.

[Mizuno Ami]

Ami nodded, "All right, Usagi." She was not going to press her on the matter, at least not right now. If anyone understood throwing herself into her work as a refuge, it was Ami.

She blinked slightly at the idea of "eyes only" matters for Usagi. It was not a matter of not thinking that the Queen could deal with it, just that there were such weighty matters that Usagi could not share with the rest of them was still something that Ami was having to adjust to, though she did not have any problem with not having to deal with such important matters of state. "Thank you, Usagi."

"But... it's only been a couple of days... they can't seriously expect you to recover that quickly... much less enough to enter another relationship so soon." She frowned, "I mean, I suppose I'm not that surprised that people would want to take advantage of the situation, but..." She shook her head, "This is horribly inconsiderate."

[Hino Rei]

"eyes only" her ass. If Usagi had anything to hide from the Senshi... well, Rei didn't think there was anything at all to hide from the Senshi. Usagi would have warned her off, had there been. She smiled instead, but as soon as the blonde mentioned the reporters all thoughts of happiness slipped away.

Suddenly Rei was very, very glad that her quarters were near the middle of the palace grounds.

"Inconsiderate? Try indecent." Rei spat. Of them all she should have expected this--she came from aristocracy, after all. Shaking her head, Rei cast another look about the room to make sure that the idiot with the drapes had finally sorted out his sense of direction. He had and she relaxed a little. If all went well they wouldn't have any more problems today--but she didn't count on it.

"I hope you're tossing out every proposal they make on sheer principle, Usagi-chan."

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi relaxed a little, glad to have her feelings validated by her friends. The way that Eigo-san had been talking, she should have felt flattered that so many suitors were coming to ask for her hand in marriage. Instead, she had just felt like a commodity.

"I was shocked! I suppose I shouldn't be, but I was... I think I literally screamed when I saw it. I hope they've finished installing the new door," she remarked, though the door bit was more to herself than the other senshi. Lucan had left her door in splinters after bursting in, morning brief in hand, after her cry of surprise. Usagi felt guilty for the extra work it was creating for everyone, all of these suitors. "You don't understand, Ami-chan, marriage to these people isn't about love or relationships, it's a political alliance..." she shuddered. "Though I'm sure some of the more well-meaning ones have the intention of trying to help me by distracting me..." At least, some of them had to have good intentions than just becoming the next Consort, Usagi thought, ever the optimist when it came to human intentions.

Rei's reaction was far more vehement. "I broke the engagement because I couldn't trust a man that I'd been in a relationship with for a decade, I certainly won't accept anyone I've never met!" Usagi exclaimed, a little surprised that Rei would have any doubt about that. "I should warn you guys, too-- I think they'll find the senshi as attractive prospects as well..." She cringed at the thought. "I'm sorry, guys... I really had no idea."