2 Prologue: Justice in Her Hands

No one noticed the girl walking among the shadows of the street.

The angel that had momentarily been revealed in the moonlight just outside the palace wall had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, the only remnant being the slight figure of the little girl. No longer emanating the aura of an otherworldly being, the child began casually walking down the shadowy side road toward the more crowded, main streets.

Nearing the crowd, the girl's hands nimbly grasped the hood to her cloak and adjusted it so it covered her head and modestly hid her face. Her delicate features were very common in the palace, but they would draw unwanted attention to herself during the festival. All she wanted to do was enjoy herself tonight without worry, and she had already experienced what kind trouble her dainty visage could draw when among the common folk.

Checking her clothing quickly, the girl adjusted her dress to hide her recent exercise and dusted off several oddly placed dust marks. Once she was sure that no one would be interested in examining her appearance, she entered the main streets of the capital city confidently.

The sounds of vendors calling out to those passing by about their wares of masks, food, and trinkets bombarded her ears, joined by the casual conversations of friends and families around her. Lanterns hung above the little girl's head, casting a dim glow over the crowds gathered in the street. All around her the street had been magically transformed into a completely new world filled with amazing sights and sounds ready for her to explore. Smells from freshly made food filled the air around her, and the little girl's stomach clenched with its wish for the delicious treats.

Pushing her hunger to the bottom of her list of priorities, the girl began moving along with the crowd's general flow, allowing her eyes to wander curiously to the people walking around her.

She had never seen so many people crowding the streets around her, and her eyes widened in an attempt to take in everything that was happening.

Just in front of her were a group of men loudly talking about which stalls boasted the best food and drink, while she knew that they were just considering the women that attended such stalls. The little girl's eyes twinkled in amusement when the youngest man present argued genuinely about how the taste of the delicacies at one stall was better than another. Even she, in her much inferior age, wasn't as naïve as the pure, scholarly young man.

The slight smile that graced the little girl's face was hidden by the hood over her head, and soon her attention was drawn away from the one-sided argument before her to several groups of people wearing masks.

Such people roamed the wide streets freely, more numerous than those without a mask. All around her were beautifully decorated full face masks, masks that only covered the eyes, and masks that partially covered the face in weird slanted design. Each one was unique in color and shape, with intricate art drawn to bring a magical visage to any face. Soon the little girl began to stare longingly at the stalls she passed that were covered in similar masks.

Suddenly from behind her came a loud group of children her age, running past her with animal masks on their faces. They looked like the monsters that she heard of in the tales that her friends liked to share with her, and her eyes couldn't help but follow them as they wound through the crowd. Soon they disappeared among the busy street, their happy conversation traveling farther away from the girl's position.

As she began looking around again, her eyes wandered to a small family wearing fine clothing and more intricately detailed masks than what other people she had seen wearing. The little boy, who looked like the young master of the family, had a full face mask of a tiger. Holding him was a woman with a mask of silver and white covering the upper half of her face that matched alluringly with her light blue dress. The man that walked beside them wore darker blue robes and the half mask on his face had the black and green design of a dragon, making his handsome features look threatening in the light cast by the lanterns.

Subconsciously following where the small family was headed, the little girl was drawn to the loving atmosphere between the man and woman as they talked with the boy in the woman's arms. Their natural laughter as they walked among the crowd caused an unknown yearning within the little girl's heart, making her unable to stop following the family as they walked along the street.

Once she saw how they were obviously avoiding the touch of anyone wearing clothing that wasn't of the same value of their own and were even glancing with unveiled disdain at a group of rowdy peasants around a nearby stall, the little girl felt spite grow within her heart.

Deciding to clean her eyes of the sight of the pompous upper-class family, the girl passed them as they stopped to look at a stall that was selling fine jewelry. Continuing down the street, the little girl walked to the most crowded place of the festival: the center square.

The huge space typically reserved for the market was covered with cleverly placed lanterns and decorations covered all the buildings that encompassed the crowded square. This place was by far the brightest area within the entire festival, and here was where larger places had been set aside for all the entertainment troupes to battle for the best and biggest audiences. All over the place were people standing around to watch as illusionists shared magic with crowds of children and adults, dancers dressed in full costume moved along with the melody musicians supplied, painters boastfully shared their skills live, contortionists bent their bodies in unimaginable ways, and even a small acting troupe was showing a popular play.

This area was by far the most populated by both people of high status and people of low status. Of course, this massive population provided plenty of cover for thieves and pickpockets to begin to feed the evil in their hearts, targeting all of the people who attended the festival. Even the presence of the guards among the crowd couldn't change the tendencies of those with such malicious intent.

The girl held little care for such matters, glancing around with reinvigorated curiosity. Lured in by a large crowd around an illusionist who held a mastery over fire, she quickly began walking toward where the man was showcasing his magic.

As the girl neared the area where the man was working with his flames, the crowd around the him began clapping for his latest trick.

Suddenly jostled by people who were walking next to the little girl, her hood fell from where it covered her face and fully revealed the delicate white skin and immature features that she had been hiding from those around her. Being surprised by the event, the girl's innocence was revealed through her cute, wide-eyed expression and hurried movement to cover her face back up.

Although an unfortunate accident, it didn't change the fact that those close and lucky enough to see the falling of her hood were blessed with the sight of a pure and yet to blossom visage; many enchanted by how beautiful the small child was already.

Loud noises of appreciation from the crowd surrounding the illusionist recaptured the girl's attention. Squeezing to an area where her slight frame could watch the show, the little girl impatiently waited to see what would happen next as a man with evil intentions in his heart began to follow the young girl in the crowd.

In the light provided by the lanterns, the illusionist appeared mysterious in her young eyes, his outfit of all black creating air of secrecy to around his being. Covering the upper half of his face was a golden mask that mystified anyone who laid eyes upon him, bringing out his finely chiseled features handsomely.

Suddenly crouching down, the man in the mask looked like he was seriously focusing all of his power into his next trick, capturing the attention of everyone in the crowd. Looking on with wide eyes, the little girl couldn't help but be enlivened by the atmosphere of excitement surrounding her.

Once the crowd was nearly bursting to the brim with eagerness, the illusionist suddenly threw his hands above his head, his movement as flashy as the fire that burst from his opened palms.

The mass of fire that arose above his hands quickly morphed into a huge dragon that began to dance above the crowd's heads. Cheers and shouts arose from the people around the little girl, and she watched with wide eyes as the dragon spun around with a grace she had never before witnessed.

Clapping with delight as the flames neared her position and warmed skin, the girl's eyes shone with a happiness that rarely appeared on her face. She stayed and watched the masked man's impeccable control over his magic before being drawn by the sound of music and shouts coming from another area in the square.

Deciding to leave the crowd surrounding the illusionist, the child began walking toward a stage that had been erected for a group of dancers to display their elegant movements to the square. As she watched the dancers sway in their costumes that seemed to shimmer from afar, the little girl's excitement about their performance grew as she sped up in their direction.

The man who had seen her face previously slipped through the crowds after her, his eyes trained onto her slight figure and worn cloak as he thought of what he might do to her if he was given the chance to catch her.

The dancing women's twirling and footwork drew the young girl's attention, and their perfectly in time rhythm worked hypnotically with the music they were dancing to. Such a combination being paired with the red cloth and jingling jewelry on their bodies drew all eyes to their beautiful figures.

Entranced by the dancing women's appearance in the low lighting provided by the lanterns, the little girl was shocked when a loud voice distracted her from her next source of entertainment.

The shouting was coming from the man in the dragon mask she had seen on the streets earlier. At some point the small family had appeared in the city square near where the little girl was walking.

"What shamelessness! Your master will be severely displeased by your disrespect of my family!"

This was spoken by the man in the dark blue robes with the black and green dragon mask. Before him was a woman kneeling in her grey servants robes.

"Yes sir, yes sir! I apologize for my carelessness!" the woman cried from where she was kneeling on the dirty cobblestones, her head bowed before the person before her. "I did not pay attention to where I was walking! Forgive me, please sir!"

"Call your master here, I will tell him of your actions against my family! They will surely handle your punishment swiftly," the man continued, not caring for the tears of fear that rolled down the face of the kneeling woman.

The little girl witnessing the scene felt her heart grow cold toward the man as the commotion he caused in the midst of the festival drew the attention of people around him. Surely the servant had only bumped into either himself or the lady with him, a common happening within the busy crowds.

Moving toward where the man was yelling, the little girl noticed that several people had begun to pay attention to the arrogant man and the servant woman, and so the girl stood among them to watch as the drama unfolded.

An older woman emerged from the crowd with an uncanny air of dignity around her, her wrinkled face serious as it appraised the situation before her.

"What has my servant done to you, sir?" she asked, a natural authority in her voice.

"This woman carelessly pushed my wife and caused her to stumble, dropping our son in the process. If I had not been there to catch him before he fell to the ground, our child would have been injured," the man answered self assuredly.

Those who had gathered to watch the argument could see a woman behind the man, the delicate appearance of a white and silver mask combined with her beautiful dress radiating a sense of demure righteousness. The little boy that she was comforting in her arms was in tears and sobbing into her neck, his small hand tightly clutching his tiger mask that he had been wearing previously.

The elderly woman glanced at the man standing protectively before his wife before looking at the scene of the wife comforting her son. Her next words seemed to confuse the man before her.

"I understand that your wife and child are in perfect health?"

"Yes, they came out of the ordeal unscathed," the father answered.

"And you have already scolded my servant for the wrongs she has committed?"

"I have," the man said, nodding, "however, I advise you to further punish this servant. Her conduct in public must be more careful, so as to not cause such problems again."

"Yet I see no need for further punishment," the older woman said lightly, a polite smile gracing her grandmotherly features.

"You must consider her actions again," the man wearing the dragon mask said, the volume of his voice raising a level, "she could have severely hurt my fami--"

"I have said that no more punishment is required," the woman interrupted firmly, "Your son and wife are unhurt, and her apology is sincere--"

"Do not let her off so lightly!" the man nearly yelled, "How can you be sure of the sincerity of this woman's apology? She has not shown her sincerity fully to my wife and son!"

"Are her tears not enough for you or your family?" the elderly lady asked, her eyes flashing dangerously as her tongue lashed out against the man, "she is my servant and the treatment of my staff is my priority. I see no reason to take heed of any advice given to me by a younger man unrelated to myself. Do not cross me again, boy."

The elderly lady left no space for reply as her domineering appearance stopped the man in the blue robes from continuing the argument. Turning to her servant, the old woman ordered her to stand before fixing a final, icy glare upon the man that had dared argue with her in the middle of the square.

Not even bothering to say anything more, the elderly lady's skirts swished as she turned away from the scene and left. Immediately following, the servant stood from the ground and rushed after her mistress, wiping her tears from her cheeks along the way.

Everyone in the crowd could see that the man was left trembling in rage, his anger only being suppressed by his sense of how publicly he had argued. Resentment grew in his heart, but with no outlet he was left turning back to his family and attempting to swallow his pride.

Watching as the crowd around her began to naturally disperse, the girl considered the drama that had happened before her eyes. Such blatant disrespect of an elder gave the little girl no hesitation in her heart as to what should be done for such a man.

Quickly redirecting her course so she continued to follow the angered man and his family as they headed back to their perusal of the city's square, the little girl began stepping in the fashion that her master had taught her. Her sharp eyes observed the man as he spoke to his wife who was holding their now calmed son. They seemed to be talking about what attractions they would be visiting next, while the small boy whined about how his mask had come off.

Before their short conversation progressed much further, the little girl was suddenly within an arm's reach of the family. As the man moved to help his wife fix the tiger mask back onto his son's face, the girl took ahold of a split second opportunity.

The movement of the father to help the son had revealed the small coin purse that was tied along the man's waist. As the cloth of his outer robe gently lifted from the purse, the small girl placed her body the perfect distance from the man so that her slight frame was out of sight from those around her, especially the man, woman, and child within the small family. Even the man who had been following the little girl couldn't clearly see what happened in the next moment.

Nimbly moving her hands, the girl skillfully undid the small tie that kept the purse secured to the man's belt. Not waiting for the man she just stole from to notice the missing weight of the purse, the little girl immediately disappeared into the crowd around her while hiding the small purse in her sleeve.

Feeling that the servant had been further justified by the small act of subterfuge, the little girl walked purposefully through the square once more.

Although she had been having fun, the little girl panicked slightly as her eyes suddenly lifted to consider the positioning of the stars in the sky. There wasn't anymore time left for her to continue exploring the attractions in the square, since she had promised to arrive at the meeting place soon after true night had begun.

A little saddened she had to leave the festival so soon, the little girl began walking surefootedly down one of the main streets that branched off of the city square.

At a distance followed the man with evil intentions in his heart.