Aquaria: A City of Masks and Wraiths

Twenty One

'Um, another one.' Aaron entered Darius's chamber, holding up an envelope.

Darius took the envelope from him and opened it. It contained a small note and a strip of a silver, silky fabric, neatly sewn around the edges. He read the note that accompanied the cloth token:

My piece of good wishes to you, wherever your heart may lie.

~Cassia.

'Mayor Morelli's niece,' he declared, taking the slippery fabric between his index and middle fingers and clamping it under an inkpot on his table where three other cloth strips lay pinned: a crimson, soft pink and midnight blue one. 'I suppose I can collect them together and tie them into a rope, can't I? Should I have the need to escape.'

Aaron's lips turned at the corners. Though a part of him was concerned that there was no humour on Darius's face. 'I daresay,' he said, 'receiving the message from Cassia was more pleasant than the one before it?'

'The token from Lady Tiberius?'

'Er, yes. Doesn't she have a son your age?'

'Then let's hope it was maternal affections she was sending.' Darius raised his eyebrows briefly, giving into some levity.

The Festival of Cleon started off with the parade on the waters.

Darius walked down to the town centre with Aaron and his brother to watch the parade while his parents took off on a carriage. They reunited on the main bridge that overlooked the central waterway. The bridge was reserved for the upper class to enjoy the parade from above the harbour. On the banks of the water below the ordinary folk gathered to watch the boat parade.

It wasn't long before they heard Mayor Morelli's jolly voice, followed by the appearance of his and Lord Flavius's families.

'I have no token to give you, as I've discussed earlier,' Livia said when she found Darius.

'I understand.' He gave a nod.

'But I do have my best wishes for you at the tournament -as a friend.'

'That is all I require.'

The first boat was entering from a port on the farthest point from the town centre. The line of boats would sail to the other end of the harbour.

'The parade is starting,' Darius informed Livia who stood next to him at the railing. Music from below reached their ears: drum beats mimicking a military style, accompanied by merry flutes. The band moved along at a leisurely pace on land parallel to the boats.

Livia spied the first 'float': a large painting, held up like a sail across the width of the boat. Two oarsmen stood at either end of the long vessel.

The large painting presented a glorious underwater scene. Jewel-bright colours of coral and fish broke up the blues of the painting with two large seahorses dropping onto the scene from the top of the painting, secured to the rigging. The seahorses in glassy pale blue shades faced each other, forming an almost heart shape between them. Glass pieces decorated the ridges along their heads, glinting in the broad sunshine.

When Livia wondered what the creatures were made from, Aaron informed that the craftsmen would build a skeleton of the animal they wanted using wood strips. Then the outer layer would be glued in parts made of papier mache, softer paper or even cloth depending on what worked best.

The music continued and more of the long boats entered the water, carrying brilliant paintings. Most had crafted objects like the seahorses complementing the theme of the painting. Some boats contained costumed entertainers, like a trio of jesters on one boat.

'Oh, it's a castle,' Livia remarked as a boat entered without any painting. Instead it displayed a float of a castle. It was painted expertly so that it looked like it was made of actual sturdy blocks of stone. The architecture of the castle was detailed, with several crenellated towers, turrets and tall windows with pointed arches.

'There's our float,' Aaron said as a new boat entered the parade. It held up a scene of a maiden in a forest who has come face to face with a unicorn. Except the unicorn was a three-dimensional creature. The unicorn wasn't life-sized but in the right proportion compared to the young woman in the painting as she looked at the creature in wonder. The painting represented the old belief that the elusive unicorn will only appear for a youth who was pure of heart. At the bottom corner the seal of the Ignatus House was painted, large enough for spectators to see: a scarlet phoenix outstretched on a golden shield.

'I painted the maiden,' said Aaron.

'It's beautiful,' said Livia in awe. 'The forest looks so real.'

'Yes. That's Coronius's work. He is very talented with landscapes.'

'And the maiden is so beautiful. There's a lot of detail; I can even see the ornaments in her hair!'

Aaron smiled, happy to have his work appreciated by her. While she took notice of the jewels in the maiden's golden braid, his eyes were arrested on Livia's own hair. Today she wore the peacock green and cream coloured silk dress, her locks fastened with a comb of gold leaves and pearls.

After a moment Livia turned to Aaron. 'Perhaps I am missing out on something.'

'Hmm?'

'By not being in one of your paintings.'

Aaron's eyes widened as Livia turnedback to the water. He looked over her head at Darius for confirmation that heheard right and found Darius grinning at him.