Picking a Mask

Freyr leaned against Macha's wooden desk. He looked at the various knick-knacks that decorated the surface and reflected on how strongly he was attracted to her. Freyr's heart yearned for Macha to return his feelings. His unrequited love filled him with melancholy and emptiness. Freyr wished he did not fall in love with a woman who did not love him back.

Tyr strolled down the hall towards his office. He opened the door and saw his cousin staring at Macha's desk with intense longing. A tinge of pity crossed his mind for Freyr. Tyr understood that his cousin truly liked Macha, but Tyr refused to let her go. Clearing his throat Tyr stated, "I was just having dinner. What brings you here so late?"

Freyr looked up. Tyr's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He squeezed the edge of the desk before pushing away from it. Freyr noticed that Tyr was in casual clothes and seemed relaxed. He thought about how his cousin's face looked softer than it used to. "I received an update on Aalto. Remember how I told you he fled after Macha killed Skadi?"

Tyr nodded his head. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one side. "Yeah, go on." Tyr did not like the direction this conversation was going. Aalto was his brother-in-law, but there was no love between them. Tyr hardly met the man because they belonged to different social circles.

Freyr paced the room, "Apparently Taylen met up with Aalto and Ludwig. They seem to be getting closer and have settled down in Phocée. My informants reported that the two are not in a romantic relationship."

This news caused Tyr to become uneasy. Taylen left on bad terms and was now partnered with his corrupt brother-in-law. Tyr rubbed his lips with his index finger and thought. His clear green eyes looked over to Freyr, "Do you know what they're talking about or planning? They never spoke before and I doubt it's about how much they love us."

Freyr shook his head. "No word yet as to their plans. I thought you should know." After a pause, he added, "I would like you to come back with me to the palace tonight. I wanted to go over the details of the masquerade festival." Freyr stretched his back. He had a long day filled with meetings and wanted to go home. He hated to bother Tyr, but this was the only time to talk about the security for the festival.

Tyr read the clock. He and Freyr talked for ten minutes and Tyr wanted to get back to Macha. "Can it wait till tomorrow? It's getting late." Tyr did not want to mention Macha to Freyr so he complained about the hour.

Freyr made his way to the door. "I am leaving for Dijon tomorrow. Their queen is having her thousandth birthday celebration." Freyr had been busy lately, and the work tired him out. He wished he could just walk away from it all and live a simpler life.

"Understood. Let's go." Tyr needed to go with Freyr but lamented over missing the surprise cake Macha made him before he left.

****

The masquerade was a month away and Luna was bursting with excitement. She invited Macha to come over to her apartment to look at a book of mask designs. Macha sat on Luna's bed looking at the book that contained the illustrations of the different masks. Luna wanted to go as a drakaina. She already ordered her dress and wanted to get Macha's opinion on which mask would be better.

Macha looked at the masks and pointed to one that was a pink color. She always liked how Luna looked in reds and pinks. "I think this one would look nice on you." Macha especially liked that it was a half mask that would show Luna's full lips. She could tell that her friend was quite pretty and hoped Luna would find love someday.

Luna liked the mask Macha picked. "Looks good to me. I'll get that one." She turned to Macha and asked, "What are you going as? Are you and Tyr doing a couple's costume? We need to get your costume ready soon." Luna knew couple's costumes were popular. Sometimes friends would match their costumes, but usually, it was something done between lovers.

Macha looked at the different masks in the book. She liked the swan mask and remembered the story of the Ugly Duckling. "I would like to be a swan if we can get the mask made in time. Back home we had a story of a swan who hatched in a duck's nest. All the ducklings teased the swan because he looked different and ugly compared to them. In the end, the swan grew up and realized he was not a duck but a beautiful swan."

"Of course we can get the mask made in time! What will be tricky is getting a dress made. It will probably be all right if we pay for a rush fee. You're small, so they won't have to sew as much fabric. No offense of course." Luna liked Macha's idea. She already had a vision of how Macha's outfit should look.

"No offense taken. Luna, what time do you get off that day? Maybe we can have some fun." Macha knew Tyr and Luna worked that day, so she had to go to the festival alone. Tyr would have some time late at night, but she still thought it would be nice to go to the festival with a friend.

"Hopefully, I will get off a little early. Krystof and I wanted to do a little dancing at the festival. The band Freyr hirers is fantastic." Luna loved going to the masquerade with Krystof. He made the festival so much more fun and they had similar interests.

Macha wanted to tell Luna about her relationship worries. Her relationship with Tyr did not seem to progress, but Macha had reservations about voicing her concerns to Luna. It annoyed Macha that her best friend was Tyr's sister.

Luna could tell something bothered her friend, so she bunched up a few scarves which lay on her nightstand and threw them at Macha's head. "What are you thinking about? You can join us at the festival if you want."

Macha hugged the colorful fabrics as they fell into her lap. "It isn't that. Luna, has Tyr ever had a lover who was not his girlfriend before?"

Luna leaned back against her headboard. "I don't think so, but that isn't really something he would talk about with me. Don't worry. I don't think he would get one while with you." She thought it was funny that Macha worried about Tyr getting a lover so early in their relationship. Luna was certain that Tyr and Macha were a couple now because Macha wore the ear-cuffs every day. Luna also walked into Tyr's office once and saw him holding Macha's hand.

Macha felt it was sweet of Luna to say that, but she did not want to know if Tyr would get one while with her. Macha gave a deep sigh. She tried rephrasing her question. "That isn't what I meant. In this world, do you have people who are not friends and not lovers? Someone you buy expensive things for, but you don't have sex with?" Macha wished she knew more words for the situation she was in. This was an area where she lacked the vocabulary to express herself.

Luna looked a little puzzled. "I don't quite understand. We have mistresses, people you have sex with and don't love. You would give them gifts. We have wives, people you have sex with and love. They get gifts as well. We have friends, but in general, we don't usually buy something expensive for them." Luna paused. "I'm sorry, I don't feel like I'm answering your question." Luna believed Macha had asked a question related to Tyr but did not understand why Macha would ask such a strange question.

Macha did not know how to explain her situation better without saying the specifics. She thought she probably was being over critical of their whole relationship. She would never have expected to be with Tyr anyway, so she should just enjoy the time they spent together. If she was his girlfriend, maybe he was just taking it extremely slow.

Luna always answered Macha's questions about her brother, but hardly ever heard about Macha's past. She was curious if Macha ever had a boyfriend or lover before. Luna understood that Macha had an exotic look in their world, but Luna wondered how Macha fared in hers. "Macha, did you ever take on a lover before? You never talk about your past."

Macha twirled a green scarf around her hand. "I had a few." She did not enjoy talking about her past relationships. Macha tried not like to dwell on the past, so she rarely spent time reflecting on them.

Luna did not expect Macha to say she had a few. Luna did not kiss a man until she was in her forties, because her mother forbid it. "A few? Tell me more. Where did you meet your first boyfriend?" Luna stared hungrily at Macha. She wanted to hear about Macha's past.

Macha remembered her first boyfriend. She had been young and her hormones dominated her thoughts back then. "He was a classmate. We used to sit next to each other in a few classes. He asked me to a dance and confessed his feelings the night of the dance. In the end, we broke up because he wanted to date other people."

Luna found this interesting. She just learned that Macha had attended classes in her youth and that they had dances in her world. "What was he like?" Luna wanted to know if Tyr was similar to Macha's first boyfriend.

Macha grew a little uncomfortable talking about the life she left behind. "Outgoing and friendly. We broke up on good terms, so we remained friends." Macha held no anger towards her first love. They had not been compatible and there was nothing to be done about it.

Luna thought Macha's ex-boyfriend sounded a lot more like Freyr's personality. It relieved Luna that Tyr made his move before her cousin. Macha might have fallen for Freyr if Tyr had been slower. Checking the time, Luna noticed that lunchtime quickly approached. "Macha, Krystof and I are going down to the pier for lunch, did you want to come?"

Macha did not want to be a third wheel. Even though Luna and Krystof were just friends, it would feel like she was imposing on them. "Don't worry about me. I have to do some cleaning today. Thanks for the offer though."