Flickering candlelight, the clink of gleaming silverware on china plates, the low hum of contented conversation; after a week of fall festivities, there is a sense of satisfaction in the air. Families chat, friends catch up, and introductions and business deals are made. For once, the drama that seems to seep in to each society gathering has kept its distance, and everyone is simply celebrating being together. For a moment there is peace.
And then....all hell breaks loose.
Dinner is thrown into chaos as security teams grab their charges and hurry them to safety. World Leaders are rushed into private planes and emergency plans are executed. Everyone else is sequestered in one of seven holding rooms in small groups, and though no one knows exactly what’s going on, it doesn’t take long for rumors to begin. Someone has collapsed, whispers inform. Someone has died. Reports on who are conflicting - the Crown Prince of Spain, The Princess of Wales, someone at the head table, the Grand Archon himself. All that anyone knows for sure is that someone important has died, and that they are quarantined in rooms without any contact with anyone outside until further notice.