Chapter 179: Preparing for the Masquerade
The weapons that Artificer Erkembalt promised to craft for Ollie and Heila would take at least several weeks to complete. For Nyrielle, however, he promised to do his best work and to personally deliver them to the Vale of Mists if they weren’t complete by the time Ashlynn returned to the High Fen on her way back home.
After returning to High Lady Erna’s palace, Ashlynn and Nyrielle parted reluctantly with a chaste, bloodless kiss. The evening, practical as it had become by the end, might not have been as romantic as Nyrielle had desired, but it did a great deal to restore the balance and closeness between them after coming so close to a dangerous point.
The following day, Ashlynn and Heila slept late before preparing for the Masquerade Ball arranged by High Lady Erna. According to Heila, the first part of the evening would be spent in masks and it was expected that even if attendees knew who the person behind the mask was, they would pretend that they didn’t until the ’unmasking’ halfway through the event.
"Why do it that way?" Ashlynn asked while attendants massaged sweet-scented oils into her body, releasing the tension from her flesh in preparation for a night of dancing and small gatherings with few opportunities to sit. "Why wear masks at all if you can tell who the person behind the mask is? And what’s the point when everyone is going to remove their masks halfway through anyway?"
"Everything is relaxed while wearing masks," Heila said, enjoying the opportunity to receive the same lavish treatment as Ashlynn as a servant worked away on her body. Not long ago, she might have contested with the staff at High Lady Erna’s palace for the right to attend to Ashlynn’s needs personally.,
Now, as the attendant’s strong hands pressed along her hips, Heila felt her resistance to enjoying her new station melting along with the aches from her body. She still had much to learn from Zedya about how to balance her greater responsibilities, but just being able to attend the masquerade as a participant was a privilege she hadn’t dreamed she’d be bestowed with on this trip. The pampering that preceded was exactly what she needed to relax rather than being consumed with anxiety before the grand event.
"Rules of etiquette are relaxed while wearing masks," Heila continued. "So are expectations about keeping to your own station. There will be gladiators from the arena attending, wealthy merchants, skilled artisans, and more. No one who attends an event like this is unimportant but not everyone attending is the same sort of important."
"So, if a gladiator encountered someone like High Lady Erna during the masked portion of the dance?" Ashlynn asked. "They could meet as equals?"
"Ahhhh," Heila moaned as a particularly stubborn knot in her lower back finally released, bringing relief from a pain she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying after several days in a carriage. "Yes, that’s it exactly. It’s a time to relax. Relationships that form during a masquerade can cross the invisible lines that keep people apart in daily life."