Guns and Gold [One shot]

"Two-billion won." Her voice is crisp, easy to recognize despite the mask. I turn to the back of the room, where her paddle is still raised. She's wearing a black lace mask, the kind that fades to butterfly wings at the edges. It matches the off shoulder black dress she's wearing, a dress that fits in at this formal Halloween ball but something she never would have worn in the past.

"Two-billion by Ms. 24. Anyone willing to top that for this one-of-a-kind gold necklace? It is rumored to be a belonging of the last Korean queen of the Joseon era." The auctioneer says to the room. He is in a black suit, also wearing a mask. His is a simple one, a white featureless mask that sits on the upper half of his face. All the employees of the house are wearing one, a waiter comes by in a similar mask to hand me my whisky neat in a heavy crystal glass.

I tip him, nodding at him underneath my white and purple venetian mask. The waiter nods a silent thanks and leaves me to pay attention to the main event of the night.

"Ladies and gentleman, let me remind you, this necklace is supposedly the necklace Queen Joo-Mi was murdered for on this very estate." Of course the auctioneer brought this up, if only to create more buzz for the item. Another paddle goes up.

"Three billion won."

"Three billion won from Mr. 53. Is there a four?" The back's paddle goes back up.

"Five billion won." Her voice, sharp enough to slit one's throat, cuts through the buzz that has built up around the ballroom.

"Five billion won from Ms. 24. Is there a six out there?" The auctioneer is still shouting but he no longer needs to, all side chatter has stopped. I take a sip of my drink, thankful my attendant thought beforehand to cut off the bottom half so I could drink as I desired.

My attendant, Joo-won, knows me better than any other. He has raised me better than he raised his own children, including the one sitting at the back of today's mansion.

"Going once. Going twice- sold to Ms. 24." A smattering of applause goes up around us as Seoul's elite congratulate the startlingly young owner on her latest black market antique. I find her later, starting my second drink and what I suspect to be her first.

"Nana, you seem well." Her head whips around from the floor-to-ceiling window, she'd been looking up at the full moon.

"Who- Prince Lee?" Her eyes widen under her lace mask. The delicate black threads compliment her eyes, bringing out the intensity that I've always known to be there. The intensity that she couldn't hide as a precocious child living in the palace of her father's employer.

"Ah ah ah- this is supposed to be an anonymous function." I hold up the auction paddle that I did not use during the earlier main event. "You may call refer to me as Mr. 1." She arches an eyebrow.

"You're the one who started it," She looks around then lowers her voice, "Why are you here, Mr. 1?" This is a valid question, it's not every day that the prince of the Kingdom of New Korea attends a black market auction moonlighting as a Halloween Party. He checks the clock, there's only a handful of minutes till midnight.

"Is it not for the same reason as you?" I look down at her paddle, "Ms. 24?" I say with the same mocking tone she'd used on me. "Then again, I am not the owner of the cursed necklace." Her eyes widen.

"You know about the curse too?"

"Why would I not? I am one of her descendants." The necklace, the very thing my ancestor died for, is cursed.

And the curse comes alive every Halloween at midnight on the anniversary of her death.

"Why would you buy such a thing? Before midnight on Halloween of all days." I lean in, we're both whispering but I want her to feel my fury, "Why are you willing to play with Death?"