I lean over the balcony, face to face with the town of Deva at night. It's almost perfect; the round moon slightly illuminated the buildings, giving it a mysterious yet peaceful atmosphere. I open up my palm to examine a stray piece of paper that found its way into my hand near the end of the meeting this morning. "Meet me on the balcony after the sun sets. Bring salt." The message, though printed in neat black strokes, was one I found hard to decipher, but so was the fact that people thought that it was a good idea to make me engaged to Elisa. I suppose I do enjoy her presence, but not like that. We're just friends, really.

A few minutes have elapsed ever since the sun set, and even though I didn't see who delivered the note, I'm quite sure I know who wrote it, and that he is never late – actually, he was not late to the meeting—

I glance behind, onto the roof, and there he was. He returns the look, and promptly leaps off the roof, right next to me with a soft thud. The cloak that he wore to the meeting now fluttered behind him, dancing in the night breeze, though the mysterious aura he usually cloaks himself in has seemingly vanished.

"Got the salt?" I hand over a small wooden box containing the miniscule crystalline grains. "Follow me," he softly says, preparing to jump off the balcony to the street below. I follow his lead and find myself making contact with the floor with 2 feet, and then with the rest of my body.

After getting myself off the ground, with some help from the cloaked man, I follow him as he walks right outside the perimeter of the town, leaving a solid salt trail behind us. When the box was empty and we were where we started, there was a salt circle surrounding the entire town.

"What's the salt circle for?" I enquire.

"It's supposed to keep out demons, and by extension, monsters. We need to buy as much time as we can get to gather the heroes needed."

I count off the heroes that I haven't seen die with my own eyes, and I manage to only use one hand and still have a finger left over. I let out a sign, and hope that my companion knows what he's doing. I re-enter the castle that once gave me refuge, though now it just magnified my fear. I walk down the hall and into one of the pristine rooms reserved for participants of another ceremony designed to determine the mate of a fellow member of royalty, knowing that no one will want to come in yet, not even the participants, who will be too busy enjoying the presence of royalty.

~ Narrator Change~

I'm handed a mask.

It is a navy mask with a shiny golden trim, and resembles 2 bird wings merged together at the base. Servants fasten it to my face by means of a ribbon, and then dress me in a sky blue dress, the kind that I would have always wanted to wear as a kid, the kind with the poufy skirt that princesses wear. Like I was a princess instead of a peasant, like they were going to adopt me rather than kill me.

The servants lead me by the hand to a gigantic room that even had one of those stereotypical fancy crystal chandeliers. I am greeted by many servants, and even by some other girls wearing fancy dresses and matching masks. Right under the chandelier, in the dead center of the room, is a long haired man, arms crossed with a scowl present on his face, despite the silver crown on his head marking him as a prince. He stares right at me and promptly clears his throat while giving off a calm façade, reflected off his white-ish sky blue lavender hair.

"Welcome," he says, addressing the entire room, "You are here today because you were chosen to be a participant in the Parade of Masks. You are going to be around the royalty for one month, and at the end of the month, the prince of Deva will choose one of you to be his wife. You are required to wear your mask when you are in the presence of royalty, and you will meet here at the end of the day. Food, rooms, and clothes will be provided, and many other things may be requested. The rooms are located right across the hall. Good luck to all." The prince paces towards the door, not looking back, when the realization hits me.

I'm not going to be executed anytime soon. Instead, I'm required to wear a stupid mask when the annoying royalty appear, and they will appear very, very often. I might end up married to a person I barely know, and I'm only 15, and they killed my father, and they are the most annoying—

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and turn around to meet a white dress. Well, a tall platinum blonde wearing a long, elegant white dress with a white hood that had an angelic wing where each of her ears would be. Her face was obscured with a simple yet elegant white mask with a golden trim.

"Are you okay?" she asks quietly. I nod, and realize that I have been (clenching) my fists. I open them to discover 4 small blood red crescents in the palm of my hand. I wince, while the woman in white carefully cups her hands around mines and leads me down the hall into a rather large bedroom with a window and 2 beds. She gestures for me to sit down, and then puts herself next to me. She put her hands above mines, lips moving rapidly yet not making any audible sound. Suddenly, a white glow surrounds our hands and I feel my wounds healing; the result of healing magic. Not just regular healing magic, but advanced magic. I stare at the woman as she looked down shyly.

"Who- who are you?" The words tumble out of my mouth before I realize it.

"Frey," being the sole word that she mutters; just then, there was a thud, and there was a blond prince on the floor staring at her with a gaping mouth.

"Kai—Chael? Is it really you?"