Chapter Ten: The Night of Masks
Chorus:
Every city wears a mask—some to hide, some to reveal, some just for the fun of it. Tonight, Thebes dons them all. Laughter and secrets swirl through the streets, and nothing is quite as it seems. When the music starts and the masks go on, even the truth wants to dance.
Thebes, sunset. Lanterns bloom along every street, painting the city in gold and crimson. The air is thick with anticipation and the scent of roasting chestnuts. Banners flutter, musicians tune their lyres, and the city's finest tailors have worked overtime to ensure every mask is more outrageous than the last.
Echo and Antheia arrive in the square, both wearing masks that are equal parts artistry and absurdity. Echo's is shaped like a grinning fox, Antheia's like a moon with a single, raised eyebrow. Agent Gray is disguised as a very serious owl, complete with spectacles perched on his beak. Jocasta, ever the queen of subtlety, wears a mask so simple and elegant that it stands out more than any other.
Echo (grinning):
If anyone asks, I'm a fox.
If they ask why, I'll say it's classified.
Antheia:
I'm the moon.
Tonight, I'm waxing sarcastic.
Gray (deadpan):
I'm an owl.
I'm here to observe and possibly judge.
Jocasta:
I'm myself.
That's already mysterious enough.
Scene One: The Dance Begins
A trumpet blares. The crowd erupts in cheers as dancers flood the square, spinning, leaping, and occasionally colliding in a flurry of feathers, sequins, and questionable choreography. The city's bakers have even made bread shaped like masks—some of which look suspiciously like goats.
A masked jester leaps onto a barrel.
Jester:
Tonight, we are all strangers!
So let's be kind, or at least entertaining!
A group of children, faces painted as lions and lizards, chase after a merchant dressed as a giant olive. The merchant trips, scattering olives everywhere, and is immediately declared the winner of "Most Unexpected Snack."
Scene Two: Mistaken Identities
With faces hidden, secrets slip more easily. A merchant confides in a "stranger" (actually his own wife), a council member tries to bribe a "mysterious traveler" (actually Agent Gray), and the city's goat, Persephone, manages to sneak into the feast disguised as a sheep.
Echo, drifting through the crowd, overhears whispers of a plot—a plan to disrupt the night's peace. She tries to follow the voices, but everyone looks suspicious when wearing a mask shaped like a turnip.
Echo (to herself):
Next year, I'm coming as a turnip.
No one suspects the vegetables.
Antheia, meanwhile, is cornered by a group of poets who insist on reciting verses about the moon. She listens, bemused, and awards the best poem a loaf of moon-shaped bread.
Scene Three: The Plot Unmasked
As midnight approaches, Echo finally corners the would-be plotters behind a stall selling "mystery pastries." It turns out to be a group of bored teenagers planning to replace the council's official decree with a recipe for spiced fig pudding.
Echo (relieved and amused):
You know, in some cities, this would be treason.
Here, it's just dessert.
Agent Gray, having overheard, confiscates the recipe "for evidence"—and later admits it's delicious.
Jocasta, learning of the "plot," declares the recipe will be read aloud at the next council meeting.
Scene Four: The Chorus Performs
The Chorus takes the stage, their masks a riot of color and confusion. Their song is a whirlwind of mistaken identities, secret crushes, and the hazards of eating bread while wearing a mask.
Chorus (singing):
Who are you, behind that grin?
A friend, a foe, a goat within?
Tonight we dance, tonight we hide,
But laughter finds us, side by side!
The crowd joins in, laughter echoing through the night.
Scene Five: The Unmasking
At the festival's end, everyone gathers in the square. One by one, masks are removed. Laughter and gasps ripple through the crowd as secrets are revealed, and a few new friendships are forged.
Persephone the goat, finally discovered, is given a medal for "Best Disguise." The council member who tried to bribe Agent Gray is made to read the fig pudding recipe aloud—to thunderous applause.
Echo and Antheia stand together, masks in hand.
Echo:
I think I like us better unmasked.
Antheia:
Speak for yourself.
I might keep the eyebrow.
Scene Six: Reflections
As dawn approaches, the city quiets. The lanterns flicker out, the last crumbs of mask-shaped bread are eaten, and the streets are littered with feathers and laughter.
Jocasta (content):
A city that can laugh at itself is a city that will endure.
Gray (noting in his journal):
Next year: bring more owl masks. And maybe a goat disguise.
Chorus (closing):
Thebes unmasks its fears,
Reveals its hopes,
And finds that behind every mask
Is a story worth telling.
End of Episode 10.