Within the castle walls, a masquerade ball was at full speed. Hundreds of guests and representatives from both Avalon and Citnalta attended the party. The general dress code was pretty simple, of course, only for the wealthy. Each of them was expected to bring the most extravagant clothes, covering themselves with all the rings and jewelry they could carry on them and, of course, a mask to hide their face. However, the masks varied. For the female human, many chose to wear small and feathered masks that only barely covered the surrounding of their eyes, leaving the rest on full display. For the male humans, some chose the same type as the female, some chose masks that covered only half of their face, and the rest chose masks that hid their faces entirely. It was not surprising which type of mask Azar doon. But unlike most, Azar’s mask was not meant to attract any attention; it was just a plain black and white mask depicting a sad human face.

Although the ball was meant to show the unity between Avalon and Citnalta, the separation between the two parties was clear as day. The people from Avalon and Citnalta were, for the most part, standing on different sides of the floor. And for those who crossed over, there wasn’t much friendly socializing, to say the least. As Azar stood quietly on one side, voices and whispers came ringing to his ears.

*****************************

“Damn, they weren’t wrong when saying the women in Avalon do look ravishing !”. A group of male humans among the Citnalta side spoke with a disturbing tone. From what the humans were showing on the outside, Azar could tell that they were wealthy and obviously knew each other beforehand, but most importantly, there was one among them that the others considered to be their “leader.”

“They sure look tasty … But remember what I said.” a particular human spoke up. Short, overweight, short brown hair, covered his face with a gold-plated wolf mask and wearing a rather expensive-looking crimson red tunic, he spoke out with a voice full of arrogance and a disturbing grin.

“Those who have masks on, they’re important. They have status and power, not someone we want to mess with ….”

“But those without masks … they are not. They are slaves, guards, … they are nothing …”.

Step by step, they left their side and crowded within the Avalon’s. Their eyes shifted left and right, searching for a target.

“That one look like a nice piece …”. One of them turned the others' attention to a maid. But the leader quickly replied

“No need to rush … we have time … and I don’t like her hands; they look rough.”

They left the maid alone and continued the search. And if their mission was to find a beauty, they made the right call. Just a few seconds later, the four found themself gasping for a second, not believing who they saw.

“Wow…” those were the first words they managed to speak. Smooth white skin on her kind and angelic face, with long honey blonde hair as though it had absorbed all the light from the sun, mesmerizing piercing blue eyes like the surface of a calm lake, and most important to them, she was wearing a soldier uniform, which meant.

“We got her boys !!!”. They could not believe their luck. Even though soldiers could be much more physically threatening than maids or slaves, they were still their preferred prey. Like others, most soldiers were poor, without anyone in power to back them.

Almost immediately after they returned to their senses, the four humans stepped toward the female soldier. Closing down on her, they quickly surrounded the female soldier, and she wasn’t going to keep quiet about it.

“Move along, or you’ll regret it !”. Her voice was ice cold, and if a gaze could kill, then the female human had killed those four twice over. But her response did not stop them at all. The leader among the four licked his lips before speaking up.

“Ohhh, we got a fiery one. I like it …”, His eyes drooled over her figure, imagining ungodly things he wished to do with her.

“Come on, honey, I can make it worth your time …”. He showed her a heavy bag of silver strapped around his waist.

“How much does a soldier like you make ? A night with me can earn you what you make your whole life !”.

Staring back at the men with her dagger eyes, the female soldier firmly said, “Fuck off, pigs !”. And with that, the smirk and easy-going attitude were wiped off his face. He grabbed her by the arm and spat out a threat.

“Big mouth! I'd like to see that in use tonight when you’re on your knees _” then, before he could finish, the short fat human screamed out in a relatively high pitch and embarrassing manner.

“AAAAA !!!! MY HAND !!!!!”

Down on his knees, with his right hand twisted in a highly uncomfortable way, screeching a cry for help, the sense quickly grabbed everyone's attention.

“You fool! Do you know who he _” The three others shouted as they stepped closer to her.

“AAAAA !!!!” Their leader cried louder as the female soldiers twisted his hand even harder, stopping the others right where they stood.

“One more step, and I’ll break this pig’s wrist !”.

“You idiot whore! I’m Igor Lemar, baron of Citnalta ! Take your _” Once again, he was interrupted by a sharp pain on his wrist.

“Just another pig, nothing more, nothing less !”. Finally, she let go of the hand and pushed the man tumbling to the ground like a useless drunk. Immediately, this sparked tension between the two parties; in the end, the man was a baron in Cinalta, and being embarrassed like that certainly did not go well with the others. As for Avalon, there was no doubt who they were going to side with; the woman was the hero of Avalon, commander Sasha Olivera.

The three men came to Igor's aid right after, and after realizing there was no long-lasting harm, Igor and his crew stood up and shouted back at Sasha.

“You fucking Avalon’s whore !”

The people rallied behind the two of them, and words were exchanged. It seemed like the ball would turn into a brawl in a few more seconds.

“SILENCE !”. A voice cut through the whole floor, and everyone in Avalon quickly bowed their heads toward the voice. The king, queen, and princess of Avalon had arrived.

With all their glory, the royal family made their presence noticed, and no one did a better job than Elizabeth. Like a fairy tale princess walking out of a storybook, Elizabeth was mesmerizing. A long elegant blue dress, extravagant white gold, and crimson red jewels tailored to make her striking emerald eyes even more breathtaking, perfectly healthy white skin elevated by her long, silky, midnight black hair. Her presence screamed grace and beauty; there was no doubt she had taken many hearts just by walking past them.

“One more word and I will take your head as punishment !” Henry did not hesitate and spoke aloud.

The Cinalta people also quickly showed their respect to the royal family. But soon, they showed their fangs once again.

“Honorable king, though I understand why you are defending your people. I ask you: how could you turn a blind eye to such an outrageous act of pure nonsense violence from one of your soldiers!”

“You filthy _.”

“All I did was ask a woman to spend a night with me, nothing more. Never once did I do anything inappropriate to her. But yet she tried to break my wrist and pushed me to the ground. I demand an apology !?”.

“An apology ?” The king grunted.

“Yes, an apology. In Citnalta, when one makes such actions, a formal apology is in order. She must kneel down and ask for my forgiveness.” Igor said with a grin. “So what say you, dear honorable king of Avalon ? Wouldn’t a simple, formal apology be an adequate and peaceful way to handle such a delicate situation ?!”.

None of them saw what happened from start to finish; it was another case of he said-she said. And even though many did suspect Igor and his crew were in the wrong, there wasn’t going to be an easy solution.

“So what is it going to be !?”. Igor raised his voice slightly with a taunting grin, looking directly toward Sasha.

In response, Sasha stared straight back at him with a burning desire to draw her blade and cut all of them down on the spot.

“Girls like you should learn some manners! To lose your composure after a couple of verbal exchanges ….”

SCHWING!

Igor and his crew immediately stumble back after hearing the sound of a sword being drawn,

“What’s wrong ? A baron of Citnalta crumbles in fear at the sound of a sword. It Seems like someone needs to learn about courage !”. Sasha didn’t even draw her blade; rather, she used her thumb to raise it a little bit.

Again being humiliated publicly by the same woman who, in Igor's mind, was clearly beneath him, his blood boiled. It had reached far beyond the point of peaceful option. Everyone was just waiting for a spark, a reason to start the fire.

CLAP ! CLAP ! CLAP ! …

Loud and slow claps echoed through the floor, coming from the farthest side.

“You guys really know how to kill a party …”. The man’s tone was casual, but everyone could tell from his husky voice that it carried a bitter cold with a hint of tension.

Even though many did not know who he was, his true identity was hidden behind that strange and creepy mask of a sad human face; they remained silent as they watched him walk toward the center of attention. And for those who recognized his signature voice and presence. They either saw him as a hero or a reincarnation of chaos.

Standing tall, with his broad and muscular chest clearly shown through on his relatively thin blue silk tunic, Azar looked down at Igor. Then all of a sudden, Azar lifted Igor’s mask right off, revealing his face to everyone.

“Aw, … ugly both inside and out, how unfortunate !”. Azar’s voice carried a clear, taunting demeanor toward the human.

As an instant response, the short, fat human snapped and ripped Azar’s mask off. With a rather nonchalant way he presented himself, and how he spoke, most people would imagine a vivid but rather typical face behind that mask. He should be somewhat good-looking and based on his manner, his face should carry out something like a taunting smile that everyone wished they could punch the smirk off his face. But what they saw behind the mask was only half right. Azar’s human form was quite a charmer, but the look on his face was far from someone who was taunting; it was a warning. His amber eyes sent them such a chilling sensation that everyone who looked at him in the eyes would immediately feel an overwhelming desire to turn their tails and run.

“EHEM !!!!”Azar felt his arm pulled after hearing the most obvious fake-coughing he had ever heard.

“ DELICATE !!!!” Sasha quietly but firmly reminded Azar. In return, Azar looked at her sword and smirked.

“Oh, you’re the one to talk …”.

“I can handle this myself !”

“Delicately ?!”

“Didn’t ask for your help !”

“Not offering! I’m doing this for my own pleasure !”

Although they spoke quietly, as the floor was dead silent, everyone could hear their bickering.

“Who the fuck _” Igor irritatingly called out to Azar.

“LANGUAGE !” Sasha cut him off before Azar was quick to join in.

“Have no one taught you that interrupting someone else’s conversation is extremely rude !”

“Ha ! How can a pig possibly understand human behavior ? You’re setting the bar too high for this disgusting animal !”.

Once again, Azar looked back at Saha with an evident, amused smirk on his lips. And although she responded with a rather harsh and cold look from her eyes and posture, it was fairly apparent that the way these two reacted to each other was completely different and friendly compared to how they interacted with others.

“You again, why am I even surprised at this point !?” An unwelcome voice spoke up.

“I’m only here for the free wine and food, nothing more …” Azar calmly said and gestured to the human king.

“I could barely handle you sober. I can’t imagine a drunk you !”

“Ohhhh ! Not even threatening to call the guards and kick me out. How time has changed ?”.

“Somehow, I don’t imagine that will end very well.”

Suddenly, they could hear some noise coming from behind the Citnalta’s crowd, and soon, an open path was made.

“Finally …!” Azar sighed. He had waited for quite some time to see the king and prince of Citnalta, and his face showed that hint of enthusiasm.

Emerging from that crowd,

“Who dares insult a representative from _” the king of Citnalta shouted aloud as he walked toward the front until he saw Azar.

Azar, along with the King and Prince of Citnalta, were all frozen for a second, instantly recognizing each other. Eyes were as blue as the ocean and short curly hair as brown as chestnut, and those distinctive scars on the human king’s right hands, they were definitely Vladimir and Vasili, the two humans Azar saved a few days ago.

“What the _” Azar raised his hand, pointing his finger toward Vladimir. And immediately, he was stopped by Sasha. With both hands, she pulled Azar’s arm back down.

“DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT !” Sasha said.

The three continued to share a confused and awkward stare, not saying a word, until prince Vasili broke the silence. Gracefully bowing slightly toward Avalon’s royal family,

“Uhmmm … what’s going on here !”

“Your baron over there was caught doing indecent action toward our Commander.” The princess replied.

Once again, Azar tried to raise his hand, wanting to say something, but Sasha held him back. Vladimir took one look at how Azar and Sasha were interacting with each other and glared at the short fat baron. After less than three seconds, Vladimir spoke out.

“What baron ?” Vladimir put on an innocent face and then turned to Igor with cold and emotionless eyes. “I’ve never seen this … THING, in my life !”.

Vladimir’s words startled everyone, even his own son. Vasili’s mouth was visibly gasping; he could not put himself to understand what his father was saying.

“Father, he is _.”

“A total stranger !” Vladimir gave his son a firm glare while trying to redirect his attention to the way Sasha was holding Azar’s arm with both hands. And it did not take long for Vasili to understand what was going on.

“Exactly what I was about to say ! He is definitely NOT one of us ! I have no idea how he got inside !”. With a stone-cold face, Vasili shrugged and shook his head.

While everyone from Avalon was clearly confused, those from Citnalta were scared. They knew Igor, and they knew the king was lying.

Igor and his crew quickly ran in front of Vladimir and pleaded.

“Your majesty, It’s me, your humble servant, the baron of Corela, Igor _.”

“Guards !!!! What are you doing letting these insects get so close to my son and me!” Vladimir shouted with eyes filled with rage. “How dare you impersonate a baron ! I’ll have your head for this crime !”.

Though still not comprehending what was happening, the guards followed the king’s order and arrested the baron and his crew.

“No honorable people of Citnalta would do such a thing to embarrass his nation and harass a woman !” Vladimir spoke loudly, making sure that his people heard it. Vladimir turned to his people and gave them all a firm gaze, sending them a clear message of “just go with it !”.

“Besides, everyone knows that I have granted the baron of Corela a one-of-a-kind gift …” Vladimir said as he calmly walked toward one of his random subordinates and secretly handed him a ruby ring.

“Isn’t that right, Pulisic ?!” Vladimir tapped him on the shoulder.

At first, the man was slightly confused and out of breath, but then, after seeing his king giving him more and more clear eye signals.

“That … That’s right !” Pulisic raised the ruby ring up high and confidently said, “This is the proof that I am the true baron of Corela, not this imposter !”.

After this, everyone started lying through their teeth, following the king’s unspoken commands.

“Of course, everyone knows that !”

“Didn’t I just tell you that was not a baron !”

“How did this idiot even think that he was going get away with such an obvious lie !?”.

“This is a scheme to ruin Citnalta’s reputation !”

….

Lies came flying left and right as everyone started accusing Igor and his crew of anything that they could come up with.

“I mean, just look at his cheap clothes and fake jewelry !” Vasili added, “How could anyone even think that these … THINGS are even wealthy, not to mention a baron of Citnalta !”

“I think the slaves use the material for cloth !”

“That has to be the cheapest piece of jewelry I have ever seen !”

“Dear God, how can someone even wear that? Doesn’t this cheap material give you rashes or something ?!”

….

Then from out of nowhere, Citnalta pointed their fingers and blamed Avalon for what happened.

“Avalon’s security should have done a much better job, letting insects like this into a place of royalty ?!” Vasili confidently spoke.

“I am in charge of security for this event !” Sasha narrowed her eyes and leered at the skinny young human.

And immediately came to his son's aid,

“Those are definitely spies! That’s how they could get inside !” The King accused the defenseless humans while all they could do was beg and explain the truth. But those pleas were faded away by the constant:

“It’s so painfully obvious !”

“Probably others are trying to sabotage our great bond !”

“I was the first person who said they were spies !!!”

The Cinaltain did not hesitate to push them under the carriage.

But apart from all this confusion and misdirection, there was one thing that remained quite certain: That suspicious look shared between Azar and the king of Citnalta. If there was one look that the human had rarely seen Azar express, it would be fear or confusion. And at the time, Azar looked strangely confused. Not just because of what was happening, but rather the person standing before him. Azar did not do a good job hiding his emotion with the tilted head and focused narrowed eyes. As for Vladimir, he was constantly looking at Azar with eyes carrying a certain level of awe and surprise.

“I apologize for this incident, even though these things were not from Citnalta. We truly value the future between our two kingdoms.” Vladimir gracefully spoke.

“Yeah ,,, the King is over there …” Azar pointed toward Henry, and the two slowly and awkwardly turned their attention toward Avalon's royal family.

“Whoops …” They both whispered.

“You two know each other !?” Sasha cut the odd tension like a hot knife through butter. Azar and Vladimir shared one more glare then quickly announced.

“I’ve never seen him in my life,” Azar shrugged.

“I’ve never stepped foot in Avalon before two days ago !” Vladimir shook his head. “And if you please excuse me for a moment.”. He stepped away and headed to the King of Avalon to repeat the exact words.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you ?” Sasha asked.

“Why do people always have so much doubt about me ….”

“Well, not because weird things always happen when you’re around, that’s for sure !”

Their attention was quickly drawn toward the kings. Their exchanges were relatively calm, considering the situation. However, it was apparent that Henry wanted to get to the bottom of it, and Azar was not going to have any of that.

“Come on now !” Azar gestured to the human kings “These creatures are not from Citnalta, so what are we even arguing about ? Just send them out and restart the party !”

“He is right. We shouldn’t let these insects interrupt such an important night for both nations.” Vladimir responded. “Let’s send them to the dungeon and continue with the party.”

However, Azar did not favor that decision. Maybe it was still a mystery to the rest, but Azar understood that those four were from Cinalta and therefore, they would become potential loose ends, threatening his cover. Azar looked at Vladimir and slightly shook his head, hoping the others would not see it.

“I mean EXECUTION! Of course, the punishment for the crime is immediate execution !” Vladimir changed his words right after he caught the hint.

“Wait, something is definitely wrong here …” Sasha looked at the two suspicious men. However, Vasili and his father nodded and turned the tale again.

“That’s right, father, the punishment still does not fit the crime !” Vasili bowed slightly and suggested, “She was the one who they threatened and lied to, so I think it is only reasonable that she will be the one who executed them.”

“That’s a fine idea, Commander Sasha. You could have just said so earlier ! Of course, you should be the one who executes them !” Vladimir added. “You know what, to show our hospitality, why not just do it right now !?”.

“That's right, Miss. Don’t even worry about the mess; our people will clean it up right after.” Vasili smiled and gestured toward the four humans as if they were sacrifices for the Gods.

“Yeah, that’s a bit much …” Azar noticed that uncomfortable look on Sasha’s face. “Let’s decide who got to kill them later _”. Again, Azar sent eye signals to Vladimir. And quickly, Citnalta’s guards took the four away.

“Is this a party or a funeral !?! Where is the music? Where are the dancers !?! Come on now people !!!” Azar rallied up the crowd and ordered the musicians to start playing again. Soon, the music lit up the floor, and dancers restarted their performances. And if there was one positive thing the incident brought to the party, it would be that all the creeps who wandered within the castle wall immediately withheld their actions, at least for the night.

Leaning closer to her husband, the Queen of Avalon, Amanda Leon whispered

“Are we really going to act as if there isn’t anything fishy between these two !?!”. She looked toward Azar and Vladimir.

“Even if so, our hands are tied. Unless we want to erupt chaos within our walls.” Henry stared at Azar. “We have to let this one go… for now.”.

When the crowd finally started chatting, and the party mood was relatively brought back up, Azar tilted his head and signaled the father and son to follow his lead.

“Well, I’d better get going.” Azar smiled innocently as he walked away.

“The party has barely started. Where are you going after trying so hard to get inside ?” giving Azar the ice-cold glare; no one would have known those eyes were red with tears not so long ago.

“Princess,” Azar smiled and returned her gaze with his playful eyes, “You know, food to eat, people to meet _.”

“Woman to be swept off their feet ?”

“Yeah, you get i_” Azar half-heartedly faked a smile, then turned to where the voice came from … and instantly regretted it.

“I get what !?!?” Sasha grunted, both hands postured on her hips like a scorned lover moment before killing her unfaithful partner,

“Uhmm ….” With both sides putting pressure on him, Azar did what he did best, lie … by telling the truth. Azar leaned closer to Sasha and whispered to her, “You know that’s just an excuse, right ? I need to get out right now to continue the plan …”.

“You already have a plan ?!”

“Of course,” That cheeky smile, the husky voice, and gentle gesture could have swayed any maiden… too bad it was Sasha.

With a piercing voice, “Not buying it …” Sasha whispered softly.

“I swear I have one …” Azar continued.

“I thought I told you to not act on impulse !”.

“I didn’t … I’ve been hatching this for nearly 3 days now _.”

“You just knew about this 2 days ago !”

“That shows how thorough my plan is ….”

After two seconds, Sasha shook her head slightly and replied, “What !?!”, it did not make any sense.

“Anything you wanted to share ?” Elizabeth cut in. What a familiar sight. Azar and Sasha unintentionally got too comfortable with each other in public, and who else but the princess to intervene.

Slowly turning their attention to the princess, with awkward smiles on their lips.

“Well, you see_” Sasha was honestly going to tell the truth until …

“You said you won’t stop me … Can I trust your words …”, Azar whispered softly to her one more time.

With bitterness in her eyes, Sasha took a deep breath and sighed longly

“Nope ! Nothing here” Sasha faked a happy face “Just man doing man’s thing, shocking, am I right ?”.

“And you’re ok with that ?!”

“For now,” Sasha said in a rather forceful manner; clearly, it was not meant for Elly. Azar took the chance and sneakily stepped further away from them, but Sasha still managed to reach out to him and say one final word.

“You’d better not make me regret it !”

“Have I ever?” Azar smiled charmingly and got out by the west exit. Vladimir and Vasil both saw that, and a moment later, they excused themself from Avalon’s royal family and got out by the west exit. But the moment they got there, someone standing from within the shadow greeted them.

“You never told me you were king …”.

“You never asked.” Vladimir smirked. “You sound like you have something else to discuss.”

“Not … here …”, Azar sounded like a spirit whispering.

“Follow me then, we will give you all the answers.” Vladimir and Vasili led Azar to their chamber.