Chapter 114: The Mask
LEO
The choir performance was awesome. And Janice was awesome.
But that solo she sang—it made me sad. Or maybe ’sad’ wasn’t the right word because it made me think of good things. I thought of home, family, friends—the hills of Erdville, the river, the giant fish, the steel pots. All the things I loved—
And was away from.
But Dad told me something on my last day in Erdville. He said, "Don’t feel sad when you miss home. I’d be sad if you didn’t miss home."
So I was doing alright according to Dad, I supposed.
After the entire performance was over and the Second Lady and her group were leaving the hall, I was determined to catch up with Mario this time, if only to just say hello and set up something for us to do later. So when they were leaving, I quickly ran up from behind and tugged on Mario’s sleeve, barely managing to catch him.
He turned around, looking startled, then smiled for a second—it was very brief, but I was certain that he did!—then looked serious again.
"Skylark, not now. I must escort Her Imperial Highness."
"Aye, I’m sorry, Mario. But—"
Then the student council president turned to give Mario what, to me, seemed to be an evil eye, which made me let go of him.
"Later, Skylark," Mario said and hastened his steps.
I wasn’t entirely happy, but at least I knew where they’d be heading, and that was exactly where I wanted to go next anyway—the drama club’s performance with Beatrice and Isabelle!
When I arrived at the theater, Mario and the Second Lady predictably took the front-row seats again, but I saw Blanche wave to me not too far off from the stage. She was sitting together with Liesel. I was happy to see them, waved back, and went up to them.
"Take a seat here, Cheese Boy," Blanche said, patting the empty seat next to her.
"Where’s Fabian?" I asked.
"He’s at the exhibition hall. Someone’s gotta stay, eh?" Blanche said.
I felt bad that I hadn’t done anything for the art club today since the Second Lady’s visit in the morning.
"I’m sorry," I said.
"It’s okay. This is your first festival, Leo. You should make the most of it," Liesel said kindly.
Not long after we were seated, the play began.
The curtains opened to reveal a forest. I immediately grabbed Liesel’s arm.
"That’s our forest!"
"I know!" she whispered excitedly.
We had spent almost two days painting that backdrop. Liesel did most of the difficult parts, like the trees and shadows, while I painted flowers, mushrooms, and a squirrel that wasn’t actually supposed to be there.
The squirrel was still there.
I was very proud.
"You two did well," Blanche said quietly. "Looks better from here than it did on the floor."
Coming from Blanche, that was probably a huge compliment.
The story began with Beatrice walking onto the stage dressed as a young noblewoman in an old-fashioned travelling dress.
I almost didn’t recognize her.
Not because of the costume, but because of the way she moved.
Beatrice was normally composed even when there was no reason to be. She sat properly, walked properly, talked properly, and probably slept properly too.
The Beatrice on stage stomped through the forest, kicked a fake rock, and shouted,
"Stupid father! Stupid prince! Stupid marriage!"
I burst out laughing.
So did most of the audience.
She kicked the rock again.
Unfortunately, the rock was one of our props.
It rolled much farther than it was supposed to and nearly fell off the stage.
Liesel covered her mouth.
"She wasn’t supposed to kick it that hard."
"I think Beatrice is having fun," I whispered.
Blanche smirked.
The play was apparently based on an old folk story called The Princess and the Beggar’s Mask. A princess was ordered by her father to marry a prince she had never met, so she ran away into an enchanted forest, where she encountered an old woman who offered her a magical mask.
And the old woman was Isabelle.
She shuffled onto the stage wearing a crooked nose, a gray wig, and about three layers of robes.
"Pretty girl!" she croaked.
I stared.
That was Isabelle?
"Pretty, pretty, pretty girl!"
Beatrice recoiled dramatically.
"Are you talking to me?"
"No, the tree behind you. Of course I’m talking to you!"
The audience laughed.
Isabelle’s entire body seemed different. Her back was bent, her hands shook, and even the way she looked at Beatrice made her seem decades older.
The old woman offered the princess a wooden mask that would make anyone wearing it appear ugly.
Another prop we made!
I nudged Liesel.
She nudged me back.
The princess happily put it on, believing that if she became ugly, nobody would recognize her and no prince would want to marry her.
There was only one problem.
Everybody seemed to see her differently, although it was the same Beatrice with the same wooden mask every time. Some saw her as an arrogant noble lady, some saw her as a greedy woman, some saw her as an obnoxious brat, and some still thought she was pretty and endearing.
It was confusing at first. At least for me. But then, at the end of the story, tired of being treated weirdly by everyone, the princess returned to the old woman and demanded that she remove the curse.
"What curse?" Isabelle asked.
"The mask! It’s as if I appear to be a different person to everyone!"
The old woman laughed.
"My dear, the mask never had any magic."
Beatrice stared at her.
"But everyone saw different things!"
"People have been doing that since long before witches learned magic."
The princess looked down at the wooden mask.
"Then what was the point of giving me this?"
Isabelle smiled.
"To give you something to blame."
The princess eventually returned home, but instead of obediently marrying the prince, she met him first.
The prince turned out to be perfectly nice.
Unfortunately, neither of them liked each other.
So they became friends and convinced their fathers that marrying two people who didn’t want to marry each other was a stupid idea.
That part received particularly loud applause.
The final scene showed the princess travelling again, carrying the wooden mask on her bag.
The curtains closed.
I immediately jumped to my feet.
"WOOOO!"
"Sit down, Cheese Boy," Blanche said, although she was clapping herself. Reluctantly.
The Second Lady seemed to have enjoyed it too. She was smiling as she applauded.
Liesel looked almost as happy as I felt.
"Our forest looked amazing."
"And the mask!"
"And the cottage!"
"The squirrel too!"
"The squirrel wasn’t supposed to be there."
"It improved the forest."
Blanche looked at both of us.
"You know what? You two are irritating, but you did good work."
Liesel gasped.
"Blanche praised us!"
"I take it back," Blanche said, earning an embrace from Liesel that she had to squirm out of again.
Then I noticed people moving near the front of the theater.
The Second Lady was leaving.
Which meant—
Mario!
I quickly said goodbye to everyone and hurried toward him before another president, Dean, imperial attendant, or any natural disaster could stop me.
"Mario!"
He turned.
"Skylark."
"You’re always busy!"
"I am aware."
"I’ve been trying to talk to you all day."
His expression changed slightly, and after a little pause, he said,
"So have I."
"Oh."
For some reason, that made me very happy.
Mario glanced toward the Second Consort’s group, who were slowly heading toward the exit.
"I still have duties until this evening, but they should conclude before the fireworks."
"Then let’s watch them together!"
I said it before he could say anything else.
Mario blinked.
"Together?"
"Aye. You and me."
He hesitated for just long enough to make me nervous.
Then he nodded.
"Very well."
"Really?"
"Yes, Skylark."
"Where?"
Mario thought for a moment.
"The Clock Tower. There is an open space beneath it, and it should be easy to find each other there despite the crowds."
"What time?"
"Ten minutes before the fireworks begin."
I grinned.
"Deal."
Mario smiled too.
A small one.
But this time, he didn’t hide it quickly enough.
"Don’t be late, Skylark."
"I won’t!"
He started walking away, then turned back.
"And Skylark?"
"Aye?"
"I liked the forest."
I stared at him.
Then I laughed.
"Did you see the squirrel?"
Mario looked confused.
"What squirrel?"
"You’ll have to look harder next time!"
He was still looking confused when I ran back toward my friends.
For the rest of the afternoon, there were still performances to see, food to eat, people to meet, and probably a lot of things I hadn’t even discovered yet.
But now there was one part of the festival I was looking forward to more than everything else.
Ten minutes before the fireworks.
Below the Clock Tower.