Marcus manned the entrance to the grand hall, awaiting the arrival of the guests, but before that, the arrival of his Swords. He made last minute preparations to ensure that the ball would be up to the highest possible levels of security, but also that it guaranteed an environment of entertainment and enjoyment, which stemmed from the main fact that it would be safe. These proceedings here in the ball were a reflection of the same standard Marcus held to the rest of his job on Regalo. Everything had to go according to plan. No loose ends. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The other members of Swords eventually made their appearance before him, although one was missing. Marcus checked his pocketwatch, seeing that they didn't have the time to wait for her, so he proceeded to address the others without waiting. It was a shame though, as Marcus had intended for the other Swords to have arrived early so he could have spoken to them more individually about their recent assignment with the thieves. He would have to settle for it at sometime later during the ball, if he got the chance.
"I've read the report on the thief objective." He stated to them, moving his eyes from one to another. This statement of fact was typical of Marcus, as he never liked to give compliments for jobs well done. He felt it was an unnecessary gesture, as one should not be complimented on doing what they were obligated to do. To him, it was like complimenting someone who had successfully used the bathroom. "We'll discuss the details more in full. For now, the ball will be commencing soon. We'll be in charge of security here, though there will be other Famiglia guards around as well. Our objective is to ensure that all goes well in the ball. No nonsense, no complications. Our primary objective is the safety and security of the attendees. Everything else is secondary. I understand Aerous, that you requested to be Nova's bodyguard, so make your way over to the bottom of the staircase and await his arrival. The rest of you, spread out and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Oda will be second in command of security here. If you catch wind of anything strange or suspicious, alert myself or her. Socialization during the ball is acceptable, but make sure to maintain focus on our duties as well." Marcus turned his head to the sound of chatter on approach. "Guests will be arriving shortly. Nova and Felicita should arrive later. Dismissed."
The party began to commence, and it was an inevitable eventuality that the following event occurred, as a guard led Annabelle Belizaire to him. Marcus wanted to facepalm, but resisted as to maintain his appearance of authority and respect.
"Ah...miss Belizaire." Marcus enunciated politely. His eyes darted between the young woman and the apparently young guard, who should have known better than to send minor squabbles to him. He was in charge of the entire defense of Regalo, the collective security, representing the entire government of La Famiglia. Minor offenses should be taken to the Head of Coin, to which Annabelle was apart of, and if some criminal offense really did occur, it could have easily been handled by a lesser member of Swords, not by the leader. Marcus instead stayed silent, standing straight as an arrow with his arms folded behind his back, both listening to her, and looking around to ensure nobody was catching anything of what she was saying, as Marcus didn't want to alert the guests of possible criminal or delinquent behavior present.
"Hey uh Marcus, I know I'm probably going to get in trouble or something, but I have a question. Can I talk to you privately for a sec?" Marcus looked around the slowly filling room and sighed, not really wishing to entertain her request, as he had more important matters of security to attend to, but also not wishing to appear rude in front of others, as to maintain his stature in the community as a representative of the Telarius family. The other guard left, leaving Marcus standing along with her. "I want to dance with a boy here, but you see I have no idea how, could you, uh probably show me?"
Marcus eyed her, in a somewhat disbelieving manner to her rather unusual request. "You mean to tell me that you were aware of this ball for a while now, knew there would be the possibility of dancing, and waiting until the actual party to request lessons?" He asked her, a hint of irritability in his voice, though he did his best to shield it and maintain his steady demeanor. Marcus sighed. "The trick is to let your partner lead in the dance. He will guide you, and you must do your best to follow his lead. If I may..." Marcus said, grabbing hold of her hand and waist in a traditional waltz stance, though not actually dancing, but rather showing her how in place. "...now, when one usually dances, eyes should be either in contact with the partner, or at some other object on the same level of eyesight, never below the neck of the partner. However, since you lack the ability to maintain the proper footwork, your eyes must be focused on your partners feet. Try to copy the steps he does, a simple 1-2-3 step process usually, before you get the hand of it and your feet are moving together in unison." As he explained to her, Marcus caught sight of his brother Flint, who surprised him by arriving early to the ball, making his way over to the food and drink section. "There is obviously not the full extent of how to dance, but I believe it helped. Now if you excuse me," He said with a slight bow of the head. "I must be going. Good luck in your dance." He began departing, before remembering the other part of his conversation with her, and stopped. "Oh, and for future purposes, if you truly wish to continue acting in delinquency and foolishness, please understand that I am the Head of Sword, not your personal probation officer, and I am quite a busy man. Enjoy the party."
Marcus walked away from Annabelle towards his brother Flint, whom he had expected to have either arrived very late, in some sort of despicable manner, or in clothes befitting that of a homeless man. Needless to say, he was surprised to see him groomed and reasonably dressed, though not in any outfit he recognized. Marcus didn't understand it. He bought him clothing of the finest quality and price, yet still Flint refuses to wear it. He approached his younger brother, scanning around the room as he went, making sure all security measures were in order.
"Flint." Marcus said, acknowledging his brother with a nod of the head, which in Marcus's terms, was probably the equivalent of smile, or any other slight show of emotion. "I'm surprised to see you here early. Well, early for you. I would have rather seen you here a bit before the proceedings began."
"To be completely honest, I am surprised you even wanted to see me here. The guards at the door really made me feel welcome. Anyway, what do you want? Come to scold me a bit before you go off and be the prodigal son of our family?" Flint said before shrugging his shoulders and continuing to binge drink on whatever strange mix he found himself gorging himself on.
Marcus glared at Flint, though in honesty, that was exactly what he intended to do, though perhaps not how he would put it. "I'm not here to scold you, Flint. I'm here to educate you. As a member of the de Telarius family, you have certain expectations thrust upon your shoulders, the likes of which make your every action scrutinized by others. This is why your actions back on the ship were unacceptable. Because of the way you engaged the criminal, it resulted in difficulty apprehending the suspects overall. Not to mention the manner by which you disposed of him. Think of how it would have looked if the man was killed, or if he would have died there in the ocean. We have protocol for a reason, and be you in Swords or Coin or any other part of La Famiglia, it is expected that you follow it." Marcus stared intensely at Flint, while also making periodic looks around, half for security reasons and half to make sure nobody was listening to the 'discussion'. He kept himself at a reasonably low tone, so that those far enough would believe he is merely conversing with his brother.
"Yeah...I know. But to be fair, I kinda knew in the back of my mind that you had the situation covered. You always do. After all, you are in all ways perfect, aren't you?" Flint's speech was becoming more irritable than normal. Probably something in the drink. "I'll keep in mind, alright? That is all you are getting out of me today. No promises."
It wasn't the ideal answer, but from Flint, it was good enough for Marcus. He nodded to Flint once more. "Very well. Just remember: I might not always be around to watch you. You have to be ready in case that situation every arises, and do what is expected of you." He looked around again, making sure all security was in order, before patting Flint on the back. "Now go socialize with the others, will you? You represent this family just like the others." Marcus took another few looks around the grand hall, looking for his other siblings in particular. "Speaking of which, let me know if you see Beck around. If that boy is late again..."
"Ha! Socialize. Like that is going to happen. Let's face facts here, Marcus, I am not exactly popular around here. As for Beck, he wasn't in our room or anything. Maybe he's busy with some work," Flint said with another shrug before drinking more. He'd love to socialize, but with Marcus being all fancy and all the other boys taking up the girls, he wasn't really in the mood at the moment. But that is what food and drink for: filling the void.
Marcus walked away from Flint shaking his head. He never understood how he ended up the way he did. Sure, each of the Telarius siblings sported distinct personalities, but at least the others were easier to control. Flint was certainly special, and not exactly the good kind.
Marcus wandered around the room full of guess almost with the appearance of no purpose, but instead he was observing around, making sure it was secure and safe for everyone inside. Despite a good deal of the guests having the personal ability to defend themselves, Marcus's duty was to ensure that they wouldn't have to, either way. Among the crowd of people he spotted Camellia, who he also intended to have a conversation with, part of which was to address her actions on the ship, and the other part to remind her of her obligations while at this party. As he approached Camellia, he analyzed her choice of wardrobe. As per usual, Marcus had few if any complaints about her choice in what she wore, including tonight. He was also slightly content to see her wearing a pendant he had bought for her as a celebration of her initiation into La Famiglia. Fully intent to chastise Camellia, he found himself unable to when he noticed the presence of the Head of Intelligence, Ari Terranci. Marcus, for the sake of keeping apart his public and private affairs, elected not to bring up the topics to Camellia, instead choosing to politely greet the two of them.
"Camellia. Miss Terranci." He said to them with a slight bow of his head, in both respect of the leadership of another branch of La Famiglia and one entitled to his sister from the de Telarius family. "You two look very beautiful tonight." He said, mostly in passing conversation and then proceeded on checking his surroundings once more, ever vigilant in his duties towards the family.