The Mask Maker

by Spencer Rook

  "I had to. I had to make some sort of money to keep going. Plus, it helps that I like what I do. It's peaceful to create something."

  "And you're really good at it." I moved my arm and felt my cloak rustle on it, reminding me of my duties for the day. Groaning, I said, "I've got to go. We're supposed to have practice for the festival."

  "Well, that'll be fun. I mean, you're getting to practice magic," he said.

  "It's not as fun as you might think. There are rules for everything," I said, standing up. "Plus, some of the people I train with are just awful."

  "The donkey?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, I hope you have fun, at least. I'll be here, working." He seemed a little down.

  I paused, unsure if I should suggest what I was thinking. "Maybe I could stop by afterwards? If you'd be alright with that."

  "I would love it if you stopped by."

  Walking out of the shop, I noted that I had never seen him that happy.

  The same could not be said for me as I made it to the field. I was running late and everyone was already assembled on the finished stage. It was a massive wooden structure with red curtains adorning the sides. I made my way to the stairs, slipping my cloak on, and taking my place with the other guys. Fortunately, Perry was not there yet.

  "Look who decided to show up." It was Pat. Again. He was never quiet.

  "Where have you been?" A smaller boy named Nip asked.

  I shook my head. "Don't worry about it."

  "Oh, we shouldn't worry about it? That's funny, because I heard that you went back to the freak's shop this morning. Actually, I might have seen that with my own eyes. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you two were in love," Pat said, a twisted smile on his face.

  "Why don't you shut up, Pat?" I was starting to get angry. So what if I had been talking with Alexander? I liked him.

  "So it's true then. Luk and the freak."

  Had Pat said anything else, I feared I might not have been able to control myself, but then I heard Perry lumbering up the steps and I calmed down.

  "Morning, boys. Alright, let's get this practice over with so we can all go home and get out of this heat," he said, pulling his robes around in a fanning motion and pacing in front of us.

  "Can we have dueling practice?" I asked, my eyes locked on Pat.

  There were strict rules about how magic could be used. One such rule stated that no one was allowed to use it to inflict harm upon another individual. Duels, though, were not prohibited as long as two or more people agreed to it and no one died. Of course, if someone died, they can't be held accountable and hardly anyone ever died anyway.

  "Erm, are you sure about that, Luk? We haven't had those in a long while." Perry fidgeted as he spoke. "Besides, I don't feel like it's something that would come up on your graduation exam, if you know what I mean."

  "I'm absolutely positive. I'd like to challenge Pat," I said and watched the color drain from Pat's face. "Unless, of course, he's too scared to go up against me."

  Nip spoke up. "He's not scared. Pat can take on anyone, especially a freak lover."

  Perry grumbled. "Alright, how about it then, Pat? But you two know the risks associated. I'm not going to be held responsible because of this."

  "I'm willing," Pat said, though he didn't sound at all confident.

  "Boys, step back. Have to give them some room. Don't want to get hit by a runaway spell."

  The group dissolved, leaving only Pat and myself facing each other. We each took several steps backward, leaving a good deal of space between us. My mind briefly trickled over any sort of dueling magic that I could remember. Perry was a good teacher, but he hadn't been keen on teaching us how to duel. I was going to need some luck to win.

  "Everyone knows the rules, I'm sure. You will wait until my signal. When the signal is given, you can hit each other with as many jinxes, hexes, and curses as you can possibly think of until one person admits defeat. And remember, if anyone should hit the other after surrender, that person will be immediately declared the loser." Perry said the last part directly to Pat. "Do you all understand?"

  Pat and I nodded.

  "Right, then. I think that about does it when it comes to rules. Magic at the ready. One. Two. Three!" Perry's yell was almost lost amongst the cheers and jeers of the other boys.

  Pat immediately moved his hands upwards in a circular motion until a ball of fire in the shape of a dragon's head appeared. Rather than giving the dragon legs, Pat kept the creature in the shape of a massive snake. He was never good at finishing shapes. As the thing slithered towards me, I countered with a sudden gust of wind that hurled his fireball back towards him. Extinguishing the flame, his hands went up again and I watched as shards of ice began forming where the dragon had been.

  The ice had jagged edges and shone brightly in the sun. He grinned and I returned the smile as my hands shot up. I drew an invisible box in front of myself to form a stone wall in front of me. I made it grow upward and outward and heard the ice shatter against it.

  "Coward!" He yelled at me and I made the wall disappear in a puff of smoke.

  Again, his hands moved to cast another spell and I began to feel strange. It was as if my body was slowly losing all of its weight and I was free like a feather in a rising breeze. I was beginning to rise up, away from the stage. Levitation spells were one of my least favorite in duels because they were a pain to counter. I'd have to try and break Pat's concentration.

  My mind raced as I tried to think of something, anything, that might make him lose focus. My body continued to float upward, now several feet off of the ground and my hands trembled as I frantically tried to cast a spell. Pat's spell work was slow, but if he kept going he'd have me in a spot where I couldn't counter. That and I hated heights.

  My mind kept drifting off to Alexander and how I wanted to win this duel for him. People like Pat were the reason that he always stayed locked away, and I wanted to make Pat pay for it.

  Then I thought of something. If he was going to keep me from touching the ground, then I was going to drag him down into it. What came from the ground that could help me? I thought of a massive slug and it oozing all over Pat, dragging him down until he could no longer spread his hatefulness. Nothing happened. I thought harder, this time about something simpler—an army of slugs that would attack him and pull him under. That was more fitting.

  He was laughing below, showing off for everyone. I thought harder about those plump slugs, their slime propelling them along from underground. I focused on nothing more than just these slugs trying to make it to the stage and to Pat. As I floated at least twenty feet above the ground, they obliged.

  There was a low rumble and then I could hear the stage cracking as a hole began forming underneath Pat. He let out a low scream as a massive amount of slugs began pouring out onto the floor and crawling up his legs. I watched as he would rip a couple off, only to find ten more had taken their place. His concentration lost, I began to slowly lower to the ground, my body feeling as though it was returning to normal.

  When my feet touched the ground, the slugs were already up to his chest and climbing higher. He yelled something that sounded like surrender and, with a burst of light, everything was back to normal. All of the slugs had disappeared and the stage had been repaired. Pat stood in front of me, rubbing his arms. The slime that had covered him was gone, but he was still trying to swat at invisible slugs on his legs.

  "Are you two happy now?" Perry asked. He seemed agitated.

  "Yes, sir," I said and smiled at Pat.

  "He's just angry because he's in love with the freak," Pat whispered and walked back to join the others.

  "If I were you, Pat, I'd watch what I say. Next time I might not be so nice," I said.

  He looked down at the ground and muttered, "Whatever."

  Perry ran his hands through his hair. "Luk, why don't you get out of here for the day? You don't need to practice for this. Judging by today's little display, you're going to have no problem pass
ing."

  "But … sir." I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to be mad at me.

  "Just go, okay?" He turned so that his back was to the rest of the group. "I've wanted to do something like that to him for years. Just go enjoy yourself. I've never seen Alexander this happy."

  I nodded and walked off the stage, immensely pleased with myself.

  *~*~*

  "You did what?" Alexander asked as he poured me a glass of something red. I had already told him twice that night, but he still seemed astounded by the duel. Not that I minded. I enjoyed his company, and his shop was ideal for a humid summer evening.

  "I told you," I paused to take a sip of the sweet drink. "He just made me so mad. So I challenged him and of course, he wasn't going to back down. I'm pretty sure anything green is going to freak him out for a long time now. Maybe I'll give him some green flowers for graduation. That'd be a nice present, right?"

  "You've never gotten me green flowers. You've never gotten me any flowers." He stuck his tongue out at me. I was pretty sure there was something in the drinks he had been making.

  "I've known you for two days."

  He clinked his glass against mine. "And here is to a long life of knowing each other."

  "My thoughts exactly." I clinked mine back.

  Downing his drink in one gulp, he looked me in the eyes. "What time do you think it is, you cute man, you?" He had been slowly paying me compliments throughout the night.

  I looked out to the small window that was placed on the far wall of his shop. It was pitch black. "Looks to be around midnight to me."

  "Follow me!" He shouted, running to his door and heading outside before I realized what he was doing.

  Following him out, I noted that the evening had cooled off considerably, to the point of almost being cold. My eyes adjusted to the light outside and I could see Alexander skipping in the road ahead of me. In the moonlight, he looked just like the little kid I had met so long ago.

  "Slow down. Where are you going?"

  He turned to look at me and then pointed down the road before laughing and running in the opposite direction. I ran behind him as fast as I could manage. Alexander was quick for someone who spent so much time behind a desk.

  "Would you slow down?"

  Whether he heard me or not, I wasn't certain. Instead of slowing down, he seemed to run faster. I ran with him, the shops whizzing by us until they disappeared entirely and we came to a heavily forested area. The moon was having a hard time piercing through the trees above us and several times I lost sight of Alexander entirely. Finally, I came to a small clearing where I found him standing in front of a large fountain.

  It hadn't been used in quite some time. That much was obvious. Why it had been put there in the first place was another question. In some ways it still was a beautiful lady in a stone robe, but the green flecks that grew around most of her hid a lot of her features. She held a basin in front of her that had a bit of water. There was a bench in front of it where Alexander sat, looking up at me.

  "What do you think?" He asked.

  "I had no idea this was here." The forest had never been a place that I ventured into much.

  "No one really does. I've never heard anyone talk about it. I asked Lady Chuff since she's been here forever. She suggested maybe it had something to do with the village that was here before ours." He waved for me to come and sit with him. I gladly did so.

  "How did you find it?"

  "I like to wander around late at night. You know, it keeps up the creep image. Just so we're clear, though, I've never eaten a stray cat. I adopt them first." We both laughed. One of his arms found its way around my shoulder and I wrapped one of mine around his waist, pulling him to me.

  "It's so peaceful out here," I whispered, looking up at the stars that dotted the night.

  "That's why I like it so much. Kind of the perfect spot."

  "Perfect spot for what?"

  He turned his head to face mine and kissed me. It was my first kiss. The statue seemed to smile down upon us in the moonlight.

  *~*~*

  The next morning, I awoke in his shop, my head spinning with the thoughts of the night before. Alexander was pressed up against me, tossing lightly in his sleep. I leaned down and gently kissed his cheek.

  "Is it morning so soon?" He asked, not opening his eyes.

  "Only if you want it to be."

  "As long as you're still here, it can be morning."

  "Aren't you sweet?" Opening his eyes, he stuck his tongue out at me. "Always with the tongue." Not that it was a bad thing.

  "Bad habit. I'm glad you stayed last night."

  "Me too. Just not looking forward to tomorrow."

  "What's tomorrow?" He paused. "Oh, right. I need to finish your mask." He sat up in his small bed, stretching out.

  "Do you have a lot more work to do?"

  I followed him downstairs to his work area, still wrestling with sleepiness. "Not at all. I've just got to get your approval." He walked over to his desk and picked up the mask, showing it to me.

  "It's a lion," I said, taking it in my hands.

  "It seemed fitting to me. Majestic, fierce, protective, adorable. All good traits of a lion."

  "I love it. I really do." The mask was a work of art, each hair carefully detailed on the mane; the nose shaped perfectly; the blending of the fur making it look as if it could start roaring at any moment.

  "That's good to hear. You'll be great tomorrow."

  "I can't wait for you to see me tomorrow," I said, cradling the mask in my hand.

  Alexander began to wipe scraps off of his table. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, you are coming tomorrow, aren't you? To see me? And the rest of the festival, of course. There'll be unicorn races over at Newmar's Farm after the graduation. Not as exciting as the griffin races used to be, but safer and still entertaining."

  "What happened with the griffins?"

  "Too many injuries after last year. Apparently six is the magic number after they got loose from their pens. The operators this year figured unicorns would be nice to look at and keep people from being mauled."

  "Unicorns? Did you say unicorns?" He began rearranging masks behind me.

  "Yeah. You know, for the annual races? What's wrong?"

  "It's unicorns! I'm afraid of unicorns. Yes, I know that it's embarrassing, but that's me." His hands trembled as he continued to pick up around his area. "Oh, I don't know. It's that horn that they have. It's frightening, is it not? I mean, the things just look like they could impale you and then run off to some glade without so much as a second thought. I'd be a lot more frightened of being near a unicorn than I would be of riding a griffin."

  "Alexander, it's no big deal, alright? They're harmless, I promise."

  "Says you," he grunted.

  "Says everyone. I promise that I'll be right by your side for it. And we don't even have to go to the races, alright? We'll skip them. They're not that fun anyway. We can go do something else. Maybe you can come back to my place?"

  He sat down at his work chair. "No, Luk. I'm sorry. It was nice of you to think of me … to want me to be out there with you … to want to do things, but I don't think this will work out. It's best if I just stay here with the shop for right now."

  It felt as if my heart was sinking in my chest, dragging the rest of me closer to the ground. "This isn't about the unicorns, is it? You're scared of leaving here."

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "You just don't want people to see you outside of here."

  "Luk, when you've been stuck in here for as long as I have, you run out of good reasons to leave. Things are different in the daylight."

  "I thought that I was a good enough reason to leave." It hurt me to say it, but it hurt more to realize it.

  "That's not what I meant."

  "Maybe you'll have a while to think about what you meant."

  Leaving the shop was what hurt the most.

  *~*~* />
  Preparing for graduation, I was struck by what had happened during the past few days. Meeting Alexander was something I would not change for anything. The fact that he wouldn't come to something that was important to me was something I couldn't handle. It was hard for him, and I understood that, but what about me? I felt bad for what I had said and I wanted to go back to his shop and give him a hug and tell him that it was okay, but I had been hurtful myself and I didn't think that he would want to talk to me.

  I slipped my student cloak back on one last time. After the graduation, I would no longer have to wear it. Of all the things that came with practicing magic, I think what I was most excited for was to no longer be color coded, especially since that meant I had no more reason to associate with people like Pat. I kissed my mother on the cheek as I headed out the front door.

  "I'll be heading down soon," she said.

  "Thanks, mom."

  "I just want you to know that I am truly proud of you." She hugged me tightly and quickly let go, wiping her eyes as she did so. "Good luck," she managed to squeeze out.

  As I walked back to the field, I looked up at the mask shop. It was as dark as ever, with no signs of movement inside. It was as if I had never entered there. Briefly, I thought about going inside, but I moved past and on down the road.

  By the time I made it to the field, there was already a large group of people assembled, taking their seats on the grass in front of the stage. Numerous people had spread out blankets and some had even thought to bring picnics with them. The sun was already high in the sky, though clouds were starting to roll in. As I began to sweat, I hoped that one would find its way in front of the sun.

  "You ready for this?" Perry asked, striding up beside me.

  "More ready than I'm ever going to be."

  "Good. We should be starting soon."

  "Great," I muttered.

  "Luk, don't be down about Alexander. He wouldn't tell me everything that happened, but I know that it wasn't the best situation. He'll come around, alright? He may take a little time, but he will come around." Perry patted my back and thrust the lion mask into my hand. "It's about time to put it on. Just between you and me, yours is the best looking one."