Gomez buttoned the jacket of his three piece suit. He straightened up and fixed the half mask to his face. The Halloween masquerade ball should elicit great joy from him. It was one of his favorite events of the year. But his future looked bleak and not in a fun, death kind of way.
An arranged marriage.
He tried to picture this Ophelia, standing next to him, married to him. His Castillian blood hated it. He wanted a woman that would ignite his passion, make his blood boil and set his heart aflame.
Yes, he had met several over the years but none that could keep the passion alive. But would he recognize her? The woman that is supposed to be his future. The more important question, was she the one that could both calm and inspire him.
…unlikely.
The party was in full swing. Anonymity was the key, the magic of the night. A sea of masks spread before him as he descended the grand staircase. The rules of the party were simple, only in private and if all consented were the masks allowed to be removed. The masks were breathtaking. Some gorgeous, some ghastly, some both.
Gomez adjusted his wolf mask, he noticed a swan mask covered in flowers, bright flowers. The swan wore a white cocktail dress to her knees with white, opened toed stilettos.
He frowned, "I hope that's not her."
The white swan moved from the punch bowl and disappeared in the crowd. He reached the bar and ordered a whiskey on the rocks . He sipped it and scanned the dance floor. Cousin Itt was on the floor in a majestic lion mask. Itt has always been a ladies man and he was busy entertaining several ladies with his moves. Gomez chuckled to himself. Itt was loved by the ladies even more than Gomez himself.
Gomez sipped again as he continued to survey the dance floor. He paused. There, across the room. A dark goddess. An ebony raven mask adorned her face. Her hair was pinned to to the side in an elegant bun with loose locks caressing her cheeks. Her dress, black and long, reached the floor and rested at her feet. The white swan from before gave the raven a glass and vanished again. Gomez couldn't take his eyes off her. Her lips were ruby, her eyes were filled with a dangerous glow. Gomez downed his drink and crossed the room to meet this goddess. Good thing the whisky was Jack Daniels and not his regular Macallan. Downing that would've been sacrilege. But for her, he looked at the Raven.
"Worth it."