The Masked Singer of the Red Death

Chapter Two - Secrets and Songs

~~Count Nicolae Kane~~

With a classy turban wrapped over the top of his head, Count Nicolae Kane stood on a stage newly built by his servants. Though wooden, the stage was painted green to match the rest of the chamber. Where he stood at the stage's edge was perfect for amplifying his voice through the entire party so all the masked guests could hear him.

He took a small, black mask from his own face and announced, "Welcome all, ladies and gentlemen, counts and countesses, dukes and duchesses, all who can hear—welcome to the Masquerade of Singers!

"We have twenty of your peers masked, their identities hidden, and all of them harbor dreams to thrill the world with their songs. At the end of the competition, one will be crowned the winner, but to get there, our esteemed nobles will have to prove they can sing. The weakest performers at each level of the competition will be eliminated and unmasked. Along the way, the singers will give us clues to their identity, and before each unmasking we will guess who we think hides beneath.

"I proclaim there will be no better way to celebrate our fellowship and safety, at rest nestled away from the world beyond. Now, let me introduce to you our panelists who will both judge the singing and help us guess our singers' mysterious identities. We have the esteemed Minstrel Robert Thissler, the popular Duchess Jemma Walters, the funny physician and former court jester Doctor Kenneth Johns, and the lovely and scholarly Sage Nikita Shellanze."

The crowd applauded and all the judges looked pleased except for the doctor, who likely didn't appreciate being labeled as former jester even though it was true. He'll get over it, Nicolae thought. Jesters are more entertaining than doctors, and keeping the crowd entertained was the count's top priority next to finding the intruder.

As the clapping died down, Nicolae shouted, "Next, we will hear from all twenty of our competitors. They have been split into four groups of five, and one person from each group will be eliminated tonight! For the first group, we have Dragon, Cricket, Lion, Tiger, and Bear."

Someone from the crowd yelled, "Oh my!"

"For the second group, we have Goose, Condor, Sheep, Rooster, and Pheasant. Third group is Bull, Antelope, Unicorn, Minotaur, and Albatross. The final group is Leviathan, Squid, Snake, Wolf, and Bat."

All twenty masked singers crowded the stage behind Nicolae, and the partiers cheered even louder. Count Nicolae was impressed as well. All the costumes were lavish, shiny, and left no skin uncovered, almost as if they knew about the competition before Nicolae did.

"Now, we will begin with our first performer in our first group. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the dragon!"

On cue, the other nineteen left the stage, and Dragon stepped forward, accidentally hitting Nicolae with her scaly fake wings.

Count Nicolae said, "Please, Dragon, disguise your voice and introduce yourself to the judges and give us our first set of clues."

Behind the mask, a high squeaky voice said, "Hello all! I'm Dragon, and I've always been the fiercest of the fierce. Hear my roar! Born in a valley of six hills, my mother always knew I'd be a singer. I never left our minstrels alone. Of course, Daddy didn't like the attention I gave those singers and he had them beheaded, but my dream never died. I told my daddy that one day, this dragon will fly, and I would spray the countryside with my songs of fire, all from the depths of my desire. I'm not married, but my former husband is speechless. He—"

Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg! Dooonnngg!

Everything stopped at the clock's ringing, and Nicolae looked over his guests. Frightened and confused, somehow he thought he saw someone sick. As the last chime of the seven o'clock bell echoed to oblivion, Dragon started to giggle, and the rest of the room, Nicolae included, started laughing.