Work has just felt like it has flown by now for me after being given permission to go to the festivities with Celeste.  The traitorous march of time felt like it was acting accordingly to its own whims when I wanted time to stand still and now I have no more time to stall with as Celeste has taken me back upstairs now to the storage part of the attic where we stay at night.

Celeste was telling me as we had climbed up the stairs, that there was something she wanted to show me. She had with some hope in mind of convincing me, already taken out two dresses from a storage trunk yesterday to air out overnight for us to wear when we went to the festival. She really did have high hopes that I was going to say yes and come out with her I guess.

We entered the storage attic through a door left wide open and I can see the hung dresses straight away.  Items were left behind all the time at our Inn and we couldn't always find the patrons in time to return the items back to them by the time we realise that there's something to be found and so we hold onto them in hope of them visiting again and we can give them back.

The dresses are white and have two simple, loose panels back and front with metal clasps on each of the shoulders to hold the top of the panels of fabric together. Then stitched in from the beginning of a person's waist, white satiny ribbons of fabric cascade from the hip to hemline below, to just simply flutter about a person's legs. I know Celeste has really hoped I would go out with her this year but my unease over it all ratchets up a few more notches from looking at these dresses left behind from past patrons who bought them to just go to the festival years ago.

'These are the typical dresses that get made for the festival each year,' Celeste tells me and with her hand to demonstrate, she picks up some of the ribbons and lets them flutter free. 'I know because I have a friend at the market who sells cloth there and a selection of ready made clothes that only need slight adjustments to be sold straight away. She's told me when the festival is here, she makes a decent profit just over these style of dresses,' Celeste informs me and then turns to look at me an a dreamy expression crosses her features for a second.

'When you dance in them I've been told it looks like you're floating in the air for a second as you're twirl,' she tells me, excitement lacing through her voice and her eyes were shining too. To further demonstrate this, she lifts a dress from where she has hung it up and drapes it against herself and twirls around the space a little to show off the effect and hums to herself softly as she dances yet another step to the side and then another twirl again before she comes to a final halt.

The ribbons sway gently and settle back down again after a moment but a slightest breeze looks like it would set it off in motion again. I bite my lip in consternation and hope it can only go unnoticed, I seriously don't want to wear such a thing. It looks practically indecent!

I smooth my much more appropriate and staid homespun wool dress down and clasp my knees from where I perch on another storage trunk in the attic space and try to hide my discomfort. 'Will there be many people dressed like in our normal everyday kind of clothes...?' I timidly ask and point to our current worn attire and Celeste glances back up at me from watching the ribbons and she furrows her brow at the thought.

'Hmm, not that many will be dressed as they normally would do for going about their everyday lives. Everyone wants to be as mysterious as they can be for the evening events if they are going to the revels especially. Wearing familiar clothes would ruin the illusion of mystery at this event,' explains Celeste, 'they wear a costume of some kind, elaborate or simple like these clothes and a mask of some type to perpetuate the illusion. If anyone did go out like how we are dressed right now to the festival tonight, they would stick out like horse dung traipsed onto the carpet,' she explains to me, tapping her finger against her cheek in thought, 'It would be a total disaster for the way your night went.'

I internally groan and mentally prepare myself to wear something that resembles fancy sleepwear to me even if it means I stick out less then.  Sticking out and being noticed is something I want to avoid, but I, myself, will still feel conspicuous enough to feel embarrassed though at being caught wearing such a garment. Between the two of us, Celeste has always been the more daring and adventurous one of us both.  She has absolutely no problem with wearing a garment like this.

'So what do we do for the masks then?  Do we go out now to one of the stalls set up outside to look for one?'  I ask Celeste and she hangs the dress back up and looks to the trunk I'm sitting upon. 

'I think we'll be able to manage to make something up from all those kept in that trunk if there isn't already one there to your liking,' Celeste explains walking over to join me and I jump off the old dark wood trunk and heave the lid open together with Celeste. A smell of old dust and unaired fabric hits our noses upon opening it and we wrinkle them slightly at the odour. Celeste may have taken her frugalness a tad too far this time I think.

'Well I thought we could use these and then we be more incognito for the festival if no one had seen us purchase any masks...' Celeste hangs off from saying the rest of her words in dismay as she looks at the contents of the trunk. Celeste I know has many admirers and I am certainly not jealous of this fact but I know she wouldn't escape notice from the crowd if she went to purchase a mask she liked out in the open, you wouldn't know who may be watching, as the saying goes 'many eyes equals many spies.'

Poor Celeste would probably end up being pursued by admirers all evening long and I would probably have to fend most of them off if they became too pushy. This would totally cancel out the fun and the whole allure of being a free, anonymous and mysterious presence for the one night that Celeste craves to be. I want to help Celeste have this good memory before life marches on and separates us afterwards. 'Leave it to me,' I say surprising both myself and Celeste, Celeste stares at me with a little bit of shock and wonder.  I don't know what I can do til I give it a go, I think to myself.

'We still have time before we leave for the evening tonight,' I reason and continue to say, 'and you can take your bath first and I can take one later when we get back,' I plan for us, 'and whilst you finish your work and do that, I think I can make us two simple masks in that time,' I say to reassure her, 'it's worth a try now isn't it,' I say with a smile and a raised eyebrow at Celeste.

She shifts on her feet and looks at what could be an unsalvageable mess in this trunk. She bites her lip and is about to say no, I can feel it and so I push my idea, so I nudge her playfully and I say, 'Maybe we could have the most original masks of the night? Who knows, this could be part of the fun,' I smile at her and Celeste scoffs a little, her mood lifting and she smiles for me.

'You seem to be getting into the spirit of things Laurel, so I don't see why not,' Celeste teases and nudges me back, 'let the contest begin and I will judge your artistic endeavours in about two hours time,' she informs and winks at me. 'I'm needed in the kitchen for a bit longer still before I can be spared and go and take my bath,' Celeste tells to me, I nod to her. She already knows Master Giles gave me the afternoon off earlier today after our midday meal, to get myself ready for tonight's festival in case I need to shop for things. Master Giles is aware I only have the necessary stuff for day to day living, I don't normally get stuff that is frivolous and fun that most girls typically like which is needed for the night out for the capital's celebration. 'So,' Celeste continues, 'good luck then Laurel,' she says and gives me a quick side hug and leaves for the exit of the storage attic with a backward wave of her hand to say bye for now to me.

As Celeste's footsteps fade away, I kneel back down onto the floorboards and begin looking through the contents of the chest with a critical eye and sort it out. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

First I sort through the different kind of shaped masks in there, some are avian shaped with hook nosed beaks and some are canine with protruding snouts, some were feline with pointed ears and delicate whiskered noses. The others are normal human versions pulled into simple or grotesque expressions. I settle on two plain half masks that will leave the lower half of our faces free to talk, drink and eat freely without having to constantly lift the mask away from our faces to do so.

I strip the old fabric off the masks, it came away too easily due to the sorry state it was in. What was revealed underneath the rotten fabric was a thin baked ceramic. It was shaped and moulded to fit the eyes and bridge of the nose of the wearer. Next I fetched a bowl of water and a cake of soap to clean the masks gently from the old glue and threads clinging to them and I leave them to dry in a warm patch of sunlight beaming from the attic window onto the wooden floor. That now done, I scan for useful materials like beads, feathers, furs, scraps of fabric- anything that can be salvaged from the trunk as well and somehow spark an idea.

I dig through the trunk and my hand brushes up against something that feels cool to the touch and it tinkles and rattles. My hand clasps around the object and I pull out a small box holding glass bottles of cosmetic powders that someone must have left behind long ago. The bright powders give me an idea and I search out for other useful but forgotten items in the lost and found boxes in the attic and leftover items from the Inn itself. I find old brushes, fine and large and a tin of old white paint as well then.

I go back to my room after finding Celeste for the key and fetch my sewing kit as well. I need to borrow a plate from the kitchen to mix the colours but I have found everything I need to have a go at painting the masks.