Aquaria: A City of Masks and Wraiths

Twelve

The carriage ride to the mushroom woods was just under half an hour. Yet when they disembarked from the carriages the hustle of Aquaria was replaced by a tranquil wood, that surely should have been some faraway corner of the world.

The carriage path disappeared into a gathering of oak trees up ahead. It was under these trees -at their roots- that the fungus they were after was to be found.

The party walked into the oak forest, led by the mushroom farmer -who worked on Ignatus's land in these woods- and his assistant. Lord Ignatus and Lord Flavius followed behind, bringing in the party.

For today's occasion the Aquarian ladies wore subdued clothing just like the attire Livia and her mother usually wore. In fact, everyone was told to leave their finer clothes behind; they were going to get down on the ground today, get their hands dirty.

The farmer held a specially trained dog on a leash. Its job was to sniff out the truffles under the earth. The dog's leash was taught as the animal pulled the farmer to an oak's roots and started digging. After the first layer of dirt was dug up the farmer held the dog back.

Lady Flavius was given the honour of digging up their first find.

Everyone crowded around her as she gently knelt on the ground where the dog started clearing the top layer of soil. She started digging into the earth with a scooper and after a moment a distinct mound could be seen in the dirt. In her gloved hand she pulled out the little mound -the prized fungus- which looked every bit like a lump of the earth that surrounded it.

As the truffle hunting continued they each got a turn at collecting the mushroom from the earth. Darius noted that Cassia's participation was interspersed with comments like 'Oh dear' while she tried not to get her gloved hands or dress dirty. She wrinkled her nose at the truffles and walked extremely carefully to avoid tripping over the tree roots, delicately holding her skirt up from the ground.

Livia, on the other hand, seemed to think nothing of the dirt, moved with grace but not in a dainty way. He watched her as she cleaned a piece of truffle she held with a small brush, not hesitating to grab the grubby fungus. She wasn't merely participating in an upper-class activity, a novelty for the rich folk; she was truly experiencing it.

'Darius,' called Cassia from below. He bent down to her and held out one of the baskets for her to deposit mushrooms. She placed some cup mushrooms in the basket, which they were also collecting, touching them with as little contact as possible.

His eyes were, however, on Livia. He had made up his mind about which lady he was going to dedicate himself to for the tournament.

'That is our camping cottage,' said Darius, pointing at a small wooden house in the distance.

'It looks lovely,' said Livia. 'Though, doesn't camping imply you are to spend the night in a more makeshift home?' She smiled. 'Like...a tent?'

He opened his mouth and grinned. 'Well, certain people like to pretend they're camping, spending a night in a more humble state. Except it's their version of it,' he gestured at the well-kept cottage, 'obviously.'

She smiled, entertained at him mocking his own social circle.

The cottage was a short walk down a slope. From their higher ground Livia took in the view of the woods -the deep green of the scattered forest areas and the golds and lighter green of the flatter farming plots. The others were some steps behind them, catching up lazily.

'I guess we can be a lot of pretenders sometimes,' Darius said, looking out across the vista.

It sounded unexpectedly sombre. She turned to face him and puzzled over the shadowy expression that came over him.

When he turned to her, he instantly switched to his cheerful tone. 'I wanted to officially ask you.'

'Ask me what?'

'Would you do me the honour of being my lady for the tournament?'

Livia simply stared. She understood the general idea: some young man participates in a sporting competition, makes some cringe-inducing compliments to you if he wins -such as the notion that you were his inspiration for driving to victory- and you give him a token of your affection. A piece of cloth or pendant, a kiss on the cheek -basically express he is in your favour. It was all about romance and honour.

She wished she didn't understand what it was really about, the social politics of it all. Women wanted to be the Lady of powerful men in society and the men used it to show they were chivalrous. It also allowed them to legally flirt with another man's wife. Why, a married woman was considered an even better inspiration for a young man as it meant there would always be an honourable barrier between him and his lady. At least that was how it was supposed to be.

She wanted nothing to do with these underhanded notions dressed up as something noble.

'And what exactly do I have to do as your lady? I know it is tradition for the lady to give her champion a token to wish him luck. But there is a sense attached to it that -well- that she entertains affections for him.' She looked apologetic, 'And...I don't.'

Darius grinned.

'I mean,' she quickly added, 'I appreciate your friendship and I'm honoured that you've asked, but I'm afraid I don't yet have the sort of feelings such a lady is expected to have for her champion.'

'I understand.' He added mysteriously, 'I'm glad you don't have such feelings.'

Livia didn't understand. Then she asked with a shade of resentment. 'I see. Perhaps you are hoping this is one of those cases where the lady is hard to win over, making the knight's chase more challenging?' She wasn't interested in playing that role either.

'No, nothing of that sort.' What he said next, he said more thoughtfully. 'I want you to stay exactly as you are, as honest as you are now.'

'Well, I can do that.' She was quite confused.

'As I was saying earlier, we are good at pretending. Which makes sense, doesn't it? Aquaria is famous for the Mask Festival. So yes, some of us wear figurative masks too.' He paused so that she comprehended. 'I would rather pretend to dedicate myself to a woman who would react with honesty than to someone who would pretend back.'

Livia noted he sounded a little sad. She softened her tone and asked, 'And being true to yourself isn't an option?'

He remained silent at first, as if considering how much to give away. 'You see, sometimes a mask can be a shield.'

Livia narrowed her eyes, trying to see where he was going with this.

'Will you please help me? As I said, I expect nothing different from you at the tournament or any other occasion. I just need... Things would be easier if people saw me devote myself to you.' He wished he didn't have to talk in riddles.

In that moment Livia saw something in Darius's eyes that she never saw before: he wanted her protection, not her heart. Perhaps his heart already belonged to someone else. And he needed everyone else to believe it belonged to her. She made up her mind. 'I'll help you, Darius.'

'Thank you.' He smiled, relieved.

'I wish you could tell me the truth.'

Darius was taken aback. He turned to see the others nearby. When he looked back at her, he spoke calmly, no longer trying to escape. 'Perhaps someday.'