Soul Behind The Mask

1. Masquerade

...

Téir abhaile riú Mhearai
Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile
Mar tá do mhargadh déanta
Do Mhargadh de - do mhargadh déanta

Ashlyn bowed to the public as she finished the last couple of lines, ending the song. It was one of those days where she successfully managed to arrive to the city for her usual walks and conversations with her metropolis best friend Stefan to get to know any interesting updates. She watched a people were throwing roses to her, even received some cash as gratitude for today's performance. This happened without her obvious parents' knowledge of this (for them, a lady of her age, especially a married one, main goal and priority was doing house chores and keep her husband content as long as possible). Nevertheless, people loved her spontaneous song choices and dances, and she was more than happy to bring them more joy after most people's daily struggles.

She walked down the stairs from the stage, not noticing a hooded man standing up from the table he used to admire her songs from. Ashlyn smiled as Ian walked towards her to hug her tightly.

"Heyyy bestie! That was AWESOME!"

"Hellooo hahah thank you! Seems they really loved today's song."

"You're the best, you know that?"

"Aww, you too ehhh" They giggled. It was nice to see each other again. They quickly shared the news before Ash decided it was enough for today. Her parents would be missing her by now, demanding her to come back. Besides, she had to prepare for the masquerade ball she was attending with her family the evening after. She put her cape and hood on as they said their goodbyes and left to take a carriage back to the the countryside cottage she was living in.

Stefan noticed his old friend Lewis emerging from the shadows approaching him. Before he could greet him, he was interrupted.

"Where is she?"

"Oh, too late now mate, she's probably on her way home".

The young man growled and walked away. Stefan smirked, watching him leave the inn. Ever since his sister's unfortunate passing, seven months ago, the Prince's whole world turned upside down. The duke, the actual person guilty of this, was already set in jail for life. Yet, upset with the situation and misled by the same Tirich thinking his son was the one guilty of this, King Leonard of the Royal Sacred Feline Empire ended up prohibiting him from stepping his feet the family's main castle ever again. His sister was everything to him, and yet, he failed at the only task he promised himself he would achieve: protect her against any harm. Lewis was left with a castle in the north, with Stefan and a few servants being still loyal to him. The rest of the people in the empire well, despised his face. Although there were rumous of him being a cold, distant person, he was thankful for those that did not leave him, and made sure they were living good lifes while helping him to cope.

The young man still felt lonely despite having the servants' company at the castle. Depression was now something common for him. The past kept on haunting him every single day. To fight it, he set his mind to visit the city to entertain his mind at least, beings inns and pubs of course, one of his main visits.

And that was where he first saw her. Singing, dancing, so carefree. Her long blonde curls following her as she danced, sometimes even barefoot, as if levitating above the wooden floor. Light. A spark of hope. The long awaited happiness he was seeking everywhere. Days passed as he went ignoring his own feelings at first, but he soon realised he had to take the opportunity before it was too late. He HAD to meet her.