A throng of partygoers swept Reine up as she exited the hotel. Because they were heading in the direction of St. Mark's Square, she let the mass of people lead her all the way to her destination. 

Although she was worried about getting in without a ticket, the doorman granted her admission. Alberti must have had the foresight to add her name to the guest list.

The ball took place in the palace's Grand Council chamber. It was a monumental space where up to two thousand members of the Venetian aristocracy once used to meet to discuss the political doings of the Republic. Intricate murals of Venice's history, as well as mythical scenes covered the ceiling and two whole walls. Another wall was dedicated solely to displaying the seventy-six portraits of previous chief magistrates. The gilded frames reflected the light of the electronic candelabras in every direction, throwing supernatural shadows over the guests who filled the space to maximum capacity. 

A long table – holding all sorts of delicate hors d'oeuvres, pastries, and fruits – lined the wall closest to the entrance. Reine hadn't eaten anything since dinner on the plane the night before, and she could no longer ignore the grumble in her stomach.

Venetian cuisine was as unique and just as rare as the city itself, so she loaded a small plate with a variety of sandwiches and sweets. Squeezing her way through the crowd, she found a free spot next to one of the open doors leading to the balcony.

From this vantage point, she had a perfect view of the platform where a small classical orchestra was sitting. A dance floor took up the rest of the room where couples dressed in Baroque clothing similar to hers were twirling. As she ate, she watched them move in synchronized unison to the rhythm of the lute and the accompanying tambourine.

The familiar notes – just like the portrait or her period costume – stirred something inside the young woman. Snippets of a long forgotten past – whether real or contrived – overtook her thoughts. Suddenly, Reine saw herself gliding to the music in the secure embrace of a man with wavy, dark brown hair reaching almost to his shoulders. He moved with both grace and purpose, but most importantly, he only had eyes for her. When he smiled, she knew his was the image in her locket. He was the man from the church; he was her former beloved.

Lost in the moment, Reine continued to recall the scene as though she was watching a movie. The pair moved off the dance floor toward a small group of people engrossed in a heated conversation and stopped at the edge of the semicircle of couples. The man put one hand around her waist, drawing her close to his side. With his other hand, he swept a stray lock of hair away from her eyes. Reine could still feel the electrifying touch of his fingertips lightly caressing her cheek. She now instinctively drew her hand up to that same place.

The fantasy was so vivid that it was tempting to think it was more than just her imagination, but a gentle tap on her shoulder abruptly brought her back to reality. She turned just as the orchestra completed playing a quaint pastoral. The violins and harpsichord also joined in to commence Pachelbel's unmistakable Canon in D.

"A dance, Signorina?" The man extended his hand in a deep bow so that only the top of his hat was visible.

Reine's lips were already forming the words to politely refuse when the stranger lifted his masked gaze to meet her eyes. She stared back at him, forgetting what she had wanted to say. She even forgot there was a question at all, lost in the deep blue eyes as they explored her face.

It took her a few seconds to make sure she wasn't still imagining things. "Gabe?" she asked as her voice cracked with realization.

He nodded while continuing to offer his hand as an invitation to dance. She placed her empty plate on a nearby table before accepting. Walking to the center of the room, they joined the other merrily dancing couples.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as soon as she could coherently form words again. It was just too odd for them to run into each other halfway around the world when he hadn't even known about her destination. All she had told him was that she needed to help out the professor.

"The paper sent me." His focus was less on the answer and more on the steps of the lively gigue.

"You're lying," she snapped and the words sounded ruder out loud than they had in her head.

"Why would I do that?" he asked breathlessly in between jumps.

Because she was familiar with the complex footwork giving him a hard time, Reine didn't need to pause for her reply. "I don't know. You tell me. It's not like my life has been turned upside down lately." 

"So you think there's some sort of grand scheme going on around you?"

"Well, it's no less absurd than believing all of this is just coincidence," she said.

"No, you're right. It's no coincidence. But what's if it's fate?"

"Fate? Right."

He abruptly stopped in mid-turn to face her. "Let me tell you one thing. I would never do anything to harm you. Does that satisfy your worries?" he asked.

Looking into his eyes, she wanted to believe that he was telling the truth. "Yes, for now. But I'm not done with you yet."

"Oh, I would hope not!" He chuckled and began dancing again.

Reine rolled her eyes at the comment, but Gabe was too busy watching his own feet to notice. To clearly convey her annoyance at his cockiness, she intentionally sped up the already difficult steps of the dance.

"Okay. So coincidentally you're also in Venice. But what are you doing at the same masquerade I happened to be at?" She giggled at his increasing frustration to keep up.

Accepting defeat after he mistakenly turned left instead of right, Gabe gently grabbed her hand and motioned with his head toward the open doors of the balcony. Hoping to continue their conversation in a more relaxed setting, she went along.

The cool night air hit her flushed face as they stepped out to the wide, arcaded space overlooking the Piazza. It was an incredibly clear night with hundreds of stars twinkling in the indigo sky above. There were much fewer guests on the terrace, and the music coming from the ballroom was also quieter. Although here it was mixed with the sounds of the thousands of people partying in the square below, Reine still felt like she and Gabe were the only two people around for miles.

He removed his mask mid-stride and stopped next to the ledge. "You look amazing," he whispered.

"Thanks. Wait!" She shook her head in protest. "Don't change the subject. How did you end up here?"

He flashed a huge smile. "I followed you."

"Enough with the one-liners. Explain yourself properly," she demanded, smacking smacked her hands against her billowing skirt.

"Okay, but don't get upset," he said with a frown. "I told you I had a last minute assignment, right? Well, I was sent here to write a piece on the carnival after the guy who was originally going to do it came down with the flu. I was just wandering around earlier today when I saw you walking in the street. You went into a costume shop, and after you came out, I went in to see if I could find out what your plans were for tonight and try to catch up with you."

"Don't you find it odd though that we keep running into each other like this?" Suspicion was once again nagging at her insides.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last two times you specifically invited me." He stressed the last word. "And you didn't even tell me you were coming here, correct?"

Reine nodded in agreement, understanding his reasoning.

"So if anyone could be accused of stalker-like behavior, it would be you." He winked.

"Touché!" She laughed, admitting her accusations now sounded ridiculous. Settling at ease, she properly looked him over. It was only then she finally noticed that his costume was the matching pair to hers. "Did Lady Louise give you that outfit?"

He stepped forward and dramatically turned around to give her a full look. "You like it? She charged me an arm and a leg for it, too." 

The sound of his laugh momentarily replaced everything else, and she joined in. She got goose bumps, however, as his smile suddenly disappeared behind a more serious expression.

He watched her intently, waiting for Reine to make the next move. The seconds seemed like hours as they continued to stand in silence. He took two, smalls step forward, inching closer to where Reine stood and pinned her back to the ledge.

Her heart raced in anticipation, as he reached up toward her face. Slipping his hands toward the back of her head, he slowly undid the ribbon holding her mask in place. Momentarily, their faces were just inches away.

Stepping back, he handed the mask to her. "I'd say it was worth every penny because this is turning into a pretty good birthday."

Reine's eyes widened at his revelation. "You're kidding! Is today really your birthday?"

"Yup. Although I'm starting to be less inclined to celebrate the passing of another year now that I'm closer to thirty than to twenty."

"Please," she said as she playfully swatted his shoulder. "You know thirty is the new twenty, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Says the girl who's, what, twenty-two?"

"You're not very good at math, are you? How many twenty-two year olds are about to defend their PhDs?" She made sure not to mention she was playing twenty-seven; however, she had to give him credit for being only a year off from guessing the age she was frozen in was when she had first died. "Anyway, you don't ask a lady about how old she is. However, I will tell you I'm very mature for my age."

He grinned. "Well, I'm not going to argue with that."

"If I had known it was your birthday and that you'd be here, I could have gotten you a present." She teased.

He laughed in return. "Oh man, now I'm wondering what that would have been. I promise to give you a heads up next time. Although if there's something you can think of giving me right now, I won't object."

He took a small step to close the gap between them again, but this time, he also lightly placed his hands on her waist. He was probably aiming for a birthday kiss, and she suddenly wanted the same thing.

Kiss me, kiss me, KISS ME! she mentally urged.

It almost seemed like he was going to do it, but – as if snapping out of the moment – he looked around and began to backtrack both literally and figuratively.

"Sorry, that was totally out of line, even for me," he said before stepping away. "Forget I ever said it."

She was disappointed at Gabe's sudden change of heart. He was obviously going through some sort of internal struggle, not being able to decide whether to pursue her or not. But why? What had made him change his mind? Did her constant hesitation make her seem like such a prude that he had given up? Or was there no pursuit at all and she was just reading too much into their relationship?

Reine didn't want him to see how she really felt. She cleared her throat and forced a smile. "No worries. Happy birthday, anyway. This is definitely a great place to celebrate it."

"Yeah, it is." He sighed before looking away. Attempting to keep the conversation moving, he continued. "What is it with women and age, anyway?"

"It's easy for you to say." Reine smirked. "Young men are called fearless and virile. Even when they get older, they become distinguished. But for us women, we go from simply inexperienced to just plain old."

Gabe scoffed. "That's not true."

"Don't lie." She shook her head. "But it's fine. I've learned to live with it. I actually don't have anything against my age. It's the act of celebrating my birthday I'm really not into."

This piqued his interest. "Now, that's a new one," he said as he raised an eyebrow. "Who doesn't like parties and presents?"

"I just don't see the point of commemorating the passing of another year on the anniversary of my birth. To me, those are just like any other days." She looked out over the piazza. "Maybe it would be different if I wasn't alone, but birthdays for me are like Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're to spend with your family – your loved ones – and because my family is gone, I don't celebrate. But don't worry; I make up for them with the Fourth of July and Halloween."

A high-pitched whizzing sound erupted into a loud, yet colorful bang in the sky above. Carnevale suddenly made itself known and interrupted the sensitive subject.

The fireworks show had begun.