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Ah, such a beautiful melody, Nicholas thought through his half-concious state. Did I fall asleep somehow? He thought. Is the singing a dream too?

He sat up and blinked. Strange, my head feels lighter, he thought. He dismissed the thought and got up from his resting spot. He felt at ease now. He walked. He could feel the breeze playing with his locks. It was cold yet soothing on his skin. The wind caresses his cheeks like a mother's touch. He stood rooted to the spot, letting the wind pamper him and the lovely song calm him.

The melody is sweet to my ears, he thought. And the wind against my face makes it better.

He walked on towards a pond he saw without even once realizing that his mask had been left behind.

"Princess Scarlet?" he called the moment he saw her. To his surprise, she seemed confused and she asked of his identity.

"Your Highness, it is I, Duke Nicholas. Do you not recognize my mask? I believe that I am the only one who wore one," he chuckled. His smile not reaching the eyes that Princess Scarlet can now see.

"W-what?!" he exclaimed. He touched his face. Oh no, he panicked.

"Don't look at me," he said as he ran into the shadows to search for his mask. After all this time, someone had seen my face! He thought angrily.

((lol...I wanted you to make up his face ^^))

((Yay for handsome guys! X3))

"My mask, where is it?" Nicholas was indeed panicked. He must find his mask soon. He must not be seen. Then he heard the rustle of leaves and the voice of the princess. She was close by and if she went further she would see him.

"She must not see me again," he muttered. Little did he know that Scarlet was determined to corner him.

((I feel like I'm writing a book with you..lolz))

"Princess, there is nothing to see from my face. Please return my mask to me. I must wear it," he pleaded. He sighed. Scarlet was determined not to give in.

"Your Highness, you do know me so please refrain from testing my patience," he said softly. "You are too beautiful to see a person as ugly as I. So please, return my mask," he pleaded again. Scarlet remained defiant and quiet.

"Princess, what is it that I could do so that you would return my mask?" He sighed at last.

"I-I," he faltered. He drew another breath. "I w-was, i-its,you," he sighed.

"If you must know," Nicholas gave in.

"Everyone in my area knew that my family had suddenly vanished from sight. 15 years later I returned but everything was gone," he stopped. "The reason I returned was because my family is no more and," he hesitated, "and."

He stopped. He couldn't go on. Pain was numbing him as the memory came back in a flash. He leaned against the wall that Scarlet had pinned him at and slid down, covering his face.

"No, no. That is not it," Nicholas said. "Please sit beside me, I would feel better if you would join me on the soil rather than we stand," he moved a little to his side. "If that would displease you than I will just tell," he hesitated.

Nicholas sighed far to much within a short period of time.

"Well, I told you where I was at before here did I not?" He asked. Scarlet nodded.

"I was abroad. My parents had always been worried of my poor health and decided to take me to someplace where the air is clean and the condition is perfect for recuperation. We would have gone there officially if my uncle had not made an alliance with the underworld. He threatened my father that he will kill me if the tittle 'Duke' was not passed to him. My father sensed that his brother was serious thus we left in the middle of the night with only our house keeper knowing of our whereabouts," he recalled the face of the wizened man who used to play with him as a child.

"Our house keeper went into hiding but within three years he was found dead on his bed with," he searched for a different way to explain it, "with a serious injury oh his neck," Scarlet gasped.

"Forgive me but I will try being less blunt than possible," he apologized. "So we went into hiding, deeper and deeper into the world until we were completely cut off from the real world." Nicholas stopped and he gazed to the stars. His expression serene. "That was when my life was the most happiest,"