Lightstar Family/Adaria/Tourney Host 01/VIPSCDT
(Canceled) Very Irritating Person's Stale Cookie Discus Throw, or Caim's Neglected Welcome
"Psst, Miss Arya! Did you hear about who just showed up?" Adaria opened a note for her friend to see. "Should we initiate project V.I.P.S.C.D.T. or just forget about it?"
The duchess had planned quite a few strange and hopefully interesting events in which everyone could take part and have fun, but it seemed as if the ideas were a bit too unusual and uncommon; hardly any of the visitors showed an interest in them. The girl comforted herself with the thought that at least she tried to be an enthusiastic hostess.
These last few days had been rather draining on Adaria, but no matter how tired she felt, worries about not having done enough to entertain the guests continued to cloud her mind. Upon reflection, perhaps the Pillow Fight Extravaganza was too immature for the older people, yet the children seemed to enjoy it very much. The Creative Cooking Challenge could have held more promise, if more ladies interested in cooking and baking had shown up. The Glorious Open Stag Hunt certainly met with more approval, though perhaps it had been scheduled too late in the week to spark much interest.
Adaria was starting to realize why other tournament hosts did not bother to plan a busy and eventful schedule. There was simply too much room for error and apathy, so presenting the usual festivities, training grounds, and taverns seemed safest, and of course it was easiest too with minimal work required. Though she tried to ignore the gossip that had been spreading behind her back, the girl knew that quite a few people thought she was a stupid fool for encouraging people to join her events, which they considered highly unnecessary and embarrassing.
Apparently one girl's sunflower was another girl's poison ivy, for Adaria had thoroughly enjoyed the events herself. However, even Arya had chosen not to participate in most of them, which probably should have tipped her off in the first place. Adaria figured her best friend had only put up with her quirky antics to avoid making her sad. And so, she answered her own question before Arya had a chance to respond.
"Nevermind, let's just forget about the silly idea. He probably wouldn't have participated anyway, and we can feed all the stale cookies to the hungry pets instead of throwing them like discuses."
Adaria gave a strained smile to Arya as she put the note away, as if trying to maintain a facade of cheerfulness. She suddenly hugged her friend, hoping that Arya had not noticed the momentary and uncharacteristically forlorn look in her eye, and whispered, "Good luck in the tourney tomorrow, my dear."
Arya blinked. "Adaria... Love... You're in the way," she said as she pointed to a stag being dragged in on a cart. She smiled. "Do you honestly think I'm going to make a scene in the forest? Little fox, you have to remember I'm a thief, and the woods are my home."
She grinned now. "I'm used to hunting. Wilderness survival is my specialty. It didn't stand a chance." She pulled Adaria aside a bit and looked at the cart. "Bring it to the cooks for the post-tournament feast!"
She giggled. "And did you honestly think I would dare try to cook? I almost burned down the kitchen once. I did go to cheer you on though." She shook her head. "What's the matter? Wolf got your tongue?"
Adaria chuckled softly and glanced at the stag that Arya had taken down. "Nope, wolf's got my heart... unless she wants my tongue too?" She winked with a slight blush and smiled, feeling better. "Time to head home now?"
