Soul Behind The Mask

6. Second Ball

Lewis stared at himself in the mirror. He fixed his black vest and put on his golden ornaments jacket. Everything was perfect. Combing his dark blonde hair, he smiled, satisfied with his look, and grabbed his feline-cat mask, walking outside the pub. He waved hello to the inskeeper and walked towards his Norman Cob.

"Hello bud! I hope you're well eaten my friend, because we have to go somewhere special."

The horse snorted. The banished prince got on the stallion and galloped towards the ball.

*******

She entered the carriage and sat down. She turned her head to look at the window. The sun was setting and it was shining bright on the grass

"Some friends told me they are coming today. We can meet each other" Her mother opened the conversation.

"Great idea. Ashlyn can meet new suitors." Her father agreed. "Who knows, maybe someone will be of her liking".

The girl looked at him, trying hard to hide her slightly annoyed face.

"Oh yes! One of my dear friends from university, Svetlana, has a young son, few years older than our daughter. Oh, good old times..!" She took a photo from her dress pocket, showing a dark haired young man. "Look at him, so handsome!"

Ashlyn's father smiled. "Perfect for her".

The young girl was feeling more and more irritated. One of the main things she hated in her life, was people chaining her to invisible social structures and rules, choosing everything for her without letting her decide, or even say anything about it. Even if she wanted to complain about it she chose to remain silent. A little bit of patience and she would be able to find temporary peace and freedom.

In fourty minutes the carriage was already in front of the old mayor's building, the place the ball was being held that night.

Ashlyn waited till her parents and brother left the carriage so she could follow them from behind while adjusting her mask. "Well, here goes nothing!"

As the family entered the main gates, people were greeting them. The girl waved at them a short "see you later" and quickly disappeared into the crowd. She found a quiet corner and looked at the large room. The main dance seemed to not have started yet, and people were filling every space possible. Full of people, yet she felt lonely. Her best friend Ian had some family business meeting to attend, so sadly he told her he couldn't show in time. She wondered how he was doing. Was he dating that girl he met at the other masquerade ball? She sighed. At least there was a possibility Armand would show up, right?

One last sight at the couples, families and new friends meeting, and she walked through the hall for a drink. Back to her quiet place, she kept on looking at the people, imagining the infinite amount of scenarios happening.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it?"

Ashlyn almost spilled the orange juice she was going to drink on her dress. She turned her head to the origin off the voice. Even though a part of her was expecting to see Armand in his feline-like inspired black suit with gold ornaments, the girl saw a black haired man standing next to her, calmly drinking a glass of wine. She frowned and quickly turned her face back to the people, now starting to dance.

She took another sip to clear her thoughts. "I suppose".

Although she was usually up to a new conversation and generally curious to meet new people, she didn't have the desire to do so at the moment. The two stared at the ballroom for some minutes in silence. Still, the young man wasn't planning to give up. He put his empty glass on a near table and offered her a hand.

"Shall we go for a dance.. miss Volkova?"

Now Ashlyn couldn't hide her surprise and confusion as she arched her eyebrow. "H-how do you..?"

He pointed at her family and his own parents talking. They saw them and waved happily. Ashlyn forced a smile and turned back to him, still with his hand reaching her.

"Alright. Let's dance" she said, taking his hand as he accompanied the girl to the ballroom.

"Let's see what does he want from me"

"So you're...?"

"What a curious girl you are, Ashlyn." He smirked. "My name's James. James Lung."

"Right. James."

A brief moment of silence.

"I must say, if you allow me miss, you're looking stunning tonight"

"Oh, thank you!" Ashlyn chuckled, smiling a bit before turning back to her thoughts. Where was Armand?

"Your dancing is marvelous as well"

She looked back at him. "I'm doing my best".

As time passed, Ashlyn's hopes were growing smaller and smaller. And she hated it. The girl tried to keep a smile (or at least a normal face expression for society's standards) so she wouldn't offend her dance partner. At last, the waltz ended, and they both bowed to each other.

"Pleasure dancing with you, monsieur Lung. I must go now."

"Likewise. And please, call me James."

Finally she could escape. She nodded and walked away fast, straight up to the crowd.

*******

Lewis had no problems getting in the building. The main theme was to be masked, so literally anyone could enter.

He walked through the halls searching for the girl that captivated his heart.

And finally the prince saw her. Just when he thought of walking as fast as he could towards her, he spotted another man with her. A man who was not him, of course.

His first reaction to be honest, was genuine surprise. He walked slowly towards them, while blending in the crowd to not be noticed. He grabbed a glass of red wine from a waiter and kept on staring at them from time to time, analysing the situation.

Gradually his initial surprise was turning to growing jealousy. Who the hell was that man? He clenched his fist as he saw them start to dance along the waltz music. "And why the fuck is he holding MY girl??" He stopped his thoughts. Was she really his after all? He didn't even show her his real self. Would she accept him? The broken, lost and banished prince? The criminal. The murderer. She wouldn't. And he was a coward. A pathetic coward.

He didn't want to keep looking at them. His past came haunting him again. Reminding him of how a of a failure he was. He gulped down his drink and walked away from the ballroom. It was over. Enough.

"Hey! Got tired of the party?"

He turned his head to the guard that spoke to him on the way out, carefully choosing his words in order to not cause a scene. The prince saw his flushed cheeks from the alcohol. Then he noticed the broken bottle of wine on the ground and the Prince's eyes went back to the man's.

"Yes. It gets tiring eventually." He immediately turned around and kept walking to his horse.

"Come on buddy. Things didn't go as planned. Let's go."

As he got away from the ongoing masquerade, he didn't know Ashlyn's desperation was growing as well, and so the resentment and anger towards her hopeless expectations.