Adventures in Masktown (A Masked Singer AU)

Supernatural (WizardxQueen)

Summary: Queen finds herself fascinated with a rather magical newcomer.

(In this AU, Queen and later Wizard were Day Angel's closest friends before she moved away.)

Queen was almost literally untouchable.

While Springston Creek as a whole was a pretty uptown area filled with well to do masks, Queen's home more than stood out. Unlike the usual houses in the suburbs, Queen lived in a large estate, surrounded by a beautiful garden and closed off by an iron gate. The home stood well away down a path with flowery hedges, both majestic and almost intimidating.

The only reason Queen kept the house was because it was her family home, left behind to her by her parents-along with a hefty fortune. She wasn't a lavish spender, so hopefully that fortune would be intact for a long time.

Queen was no stranger to envious stares or fearful whispers-that was how her town had always seen her. While it meant that no one would dare to harass or insult her to her face, it also meant that no one was very much at ease with her presence. She avoided those whose statuses were 'similar' to hers due to their lack of sincerity and constant flattering. This led to a rather dignified-but also rather lonely Queen.

Queen felt fortunate to have at least one friend; Angel. Their parents had been close associates, so Angel had known Queen since they were children, and was not intimated by her status in the least.

Through her friendship with Angel, she ended becoming acquainted with Griffin, who started dating Angel a few months ago. While the pair seemed a happy couple, and Angel was quite smitten with him, something about the mask was off-putting to Queen. With a lack of evidence however, Queen refrained to addressing the issue to her friend.

......

"You know that abandoned hut in the forest?" Griffin mentioned. He and Angel were seated on a couch in Queen's home, as he slung one arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. "Someone just bought it."

The hut had taken on a bit of an urban myth amongst the inhabitants of Springston Creek. Its last owner had vacated the area long ago, and since then the house had fallen apart. Ever since, masks seemed to speculate many things, but mostly that the house could be haunted, which was enough to discourage the masses from frequenting there. The hut was also down a muddy, lampless route through the pine forest that surrounded one side of the town, which only served to deter people more. The only occasional visitors the place got were small groups of youngsters who were either dared to go by each other or venturing there on a whim.

"Who bought it?" Angel asked, curious. She hadn't visited the place herself often, but she wasn't one to believe in the rumours.

Griffin shrugged. "Robot saw him the other day. Just some guy in robes."

Queen had never been particularly interested in the subject, and so responded to this by nodding absently and sipping her tea.

She had always found strolls in the forest to be peaceful and pleasant, and the appearance of a rundown wooden hut hadn't hampered that. She did figure, however, that a newcomer, in fact the first one in years, required a small welcome. Given the impression many others had of her after meeting or even seeing her for the first time, she figured just a quick greeting and a standard 'If you need any help, just ask' speech would suffice.

A few days later, Queen attempted to dress as inconspicuously as possible, before leaving the mansion and taking the shortest route to the forest. The moment she was surrounded by the trees, she took a minute to deeply inhale the scent of fresh grass and pine before walking on. She took her time, glancing at the scenery around her and observing the occasional small animal that passed by.