Chapter Six

Ethan woke up the next morning, hearing rain against the window. But no thunder or lightning. The storm had calmed down a bit. He would have preferred a little sunlight, but he was okay with just the rain. At least it wasn't pitch dark outside.

He sat up in bed, noticing a box on the table by the door. He rolled out of bed and padded over to it, picking up the note that was there. It read,

Had the personal tailor make you some clothes. Don't ask how he knew your size. He just knows. ~Benjamin

And at the bottom of the note: P.S. feel free to join the Master for breakfast.

Ethan put the note down then looked inside the box. He was used to wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but everything in the box were dress pants and button-up shirts. The fabric felt comfortable though. And when he got dressed, he didn't feel dressed up. He could curl up in bed in these clothes and not feel weird about it, they were so comfortable.

He put on his shoes then stepped out of the room. Someone must have been looking out for him because a maid walked up to escort him downstairs to the dining room.

The table was set for two, though at least a dozen people could sit at it. The Master was sitting at the head of the table, already eating. Ethan sat down without a word. Benjamin came out of nowhere, setting a plate of breakfast down. Ethan thanked him then he and the Master were alone.

Ethan looked at his plate. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, toast... He wasn't sure he would be able to eat it all, but once he started eating, he realized he was practically starving. When was the last time he had eaten? He couldn't remember. After his brush with the creature outside, he had slept most of yesterday.

"Ever been to the theater?"

Ethan looked up from his plate when the Master spoke up. "Like a play?" he asked. He shrugged. "Once or twice. I don't get out much. And when I do get out I'm either working or looking for work."

"Well, I have something to show you once you're finished eating."

Ethan followed the Master to a room. A home theater. There was a screen, but also a stage. The stage was decorated with props. Benjamin showed Ethan to his seat while the Master went onstage. Benjamin handed Ethan a booklet then walked away.

Ethan looked down at the booklet and that was how he learned the Master's name: Mark Fischbach. But there was no picture. Only a list of movies and plays he had starred in, giving a brief summary of each. And other than his name, nothing about Mark's life was mentioned.

There was a pattern to his acting. Mark played the same kind of role in all his movies: arrogant and rich. Because he had been the same way in his real life? It was a typecast. No wonder he had faded away so easily. People usually got tired of the same thing over and over again.

Ethan looked up from the booklet as the lights dimmed. A spotlight shone on the stage. And for the next couple of hours, Ethan watched Mark act out one of his more famous plays.

Servants played the roles of the other characters, but none of them were actors. Mark stole the show with ease.

The name of the play was 'Billionaire.' And as the title suggested, it was about the life of a billionaire. He built up a company and his life was perfect and that was how it stayed. There was no conflict, nothing that went wrong to humble the billionaire. And it just ended like that. It wasn't that great of a play, but Mark's performance was still top notch.

Mark hadn't performed for anyone in years, but he was still the best actor Ethan had ever seen. It was obvious that this was something Mark loved doing.

Ethan walked up to the stage after the play was over. "That was great," he said. The look Mark gave him said he didn't believe him. "The story needs a little work, but you did great."

"Thanks," Mark said. "But it's hard to give my best in that role when..." he trailed off, gesturing to his face.

"Looks don't make the best actor," Ethan said. "You just need the right role. It's obvious you've grown out of the roles you used to play."

"And all it took was one bad day." Mark was bitter when it came to his looks. A new role might help.

"If I wrote you a script, would you play the role?" Ethan asked.

Mark looked a little doubtful. Because he didn't think Ethan could write something worthy of his time? Or was he worried that Ethan wouldn't stick with the kind of roles Mark was used to playing? Ethan remained silent, not wanting to say anything that might make things worse.

"All right," Mark said, breaking the silence. "But on one condition," He lifted one finger. "You have to act in it, too."

"But I'm not an actor."

"You might end up being one the longer you stay here."

"Is that supposed to scare me away?"

Mark smirked, providing no answer to that. "You have until tomorrow," he said. "Amaze me."

That wasn't a lot of time to write anything too long, but it was enough time to come up with something. Especially since there really wasn't anything else to do around the manor.

"Tomorrow," Ethan nodded. "Take it easy today 'cause you're gonna be WOW'd tomorrow!" He turned and ran out of the room, ideas already rolling around in his mind.

Mark walked up to the mirror the Enchantress had given him to view whatever he desired. He had never needed to use it because there wasn't anyone or anything here or in the outside world that he had cared about. But he used it now to view Ethan upstairs in his room.

"Normal people might find that a bit creepy," Benjamin said, walking up to stand beside Mark. "But at least you're putting the mirror to good use."

"He didn't like my play," Mark said, keeping his eyes on the image of Ethan in the mirror. "He wanted to write a script for me."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't even like that play," Benjamin said. "Why did you choose that one to show him?"

"Because that was my life before..." Mark trailed off, looking down at his hands. They were covered in scars, deformed like the rest of his body, but if he didn't pamper his nails daily, they grew into claws.

It wasn't always that bad. His appearance grew worse with every petal that fell. Once his time was up, a literal beast he would become.

"Maybe he's the one to break the spell," Benjamin said quietly.

Mark looked back at the mirror. Ethan was working diligently at the script. The image faded away, replaced by Mark's own reflection. He turned away in disgust.

"I can't expect anyone to love what I am," Mark said then walked away.

Ethan had been working on the script for the last few hours. Despite his assurances to Mark, he didn't think he would be anywhere close to done by tomorrow. He barely had anything done in the few hours he had been writing. His hand was cramping and he was about to give up completely.

A knock came at his door and Benjamin walked in, pulling a cart. At first Ethan thought it was already time for dinner then he noticed the projector. An old way to watch movies. Ethan put his pen down and stood up.

"What's this?" Ethan asked as Benjamin set it up in one corner. The projector faced an empty wall.

"Just in case you were having trouble with the script," Benjamin said. Ethan didn't ask how he knew about the script. "I've brought along a few of the Master's favorite movies, along with a few of his better ones."

Ethan sat down on the edge of the bed. "How is this going to help with the script?" he asked.

"You need to know him," Benjamin said as he closed the curtains to make it darker in the room.

Ethan hadn't noticed before, but there was no electric lights. There were only oil lamps and candles. Natural light from outside provided the most like to see by. No electricity certainly made the lighting in the theater more impressive.

Benjamin started the projector and a movie started playing. Love Isn't Fair, starring Mark Fischbach. "And if that doesn't work, the Master will be in the den until midnight," he said. He gave a nod of his head then left the room, closing the door.

Ethan looked at the "screen" as the movie played. He guessed that it was one of Mark's first movies because he looked younger than he did now. Of course, the curse might have aged him, but this movie was a lot different than the play and the movies that had been mentioned in that booklet Ethan had been given.

This movie didn't portray Mark as the arrogant rick boy like all of his other movies. He was more down to earth in this one. It was the cliche boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, each suffer heartache, then find love again and live happily ever after. By the end of the movie, despite Mark's skills at acting, it was obvious that he was no longer enjoying the film.

What had happened?

Ethan started the next movie. Mark looked a little bit older and a lot more confident and comfortable. Something Ethan noticed right away: gone was the cliche love story. And thinking back to the booklet, none of Mark's other movies had a love interest.

Plenty of good movies didn't have romance, but it would explain why no one had liked working with Mark. He had evidently refused being in any movie with a love interest. Something had happened during that first movie.

Ethan played the first movie again, watching more closely this time. It was during the last love scene that Ethan picked up on Mark's issue with the movie. It had something to do with the actress playing his love interest. It wouldn't be noticeable to most people watching. Ethan had watched the movie again and again so many times, seeing something new each time. He still didn't know the whole story, but it was clear that the lead actor hated the lead actress. But the lead actress seemed to REALLY like the lead actor.

Ethan shut off the projector then left his room, heading downstairs. He didn't know what time it was, only that it was now late at night. Ethan had spent all day watching that movie. But even though it was late, Ethan found Mark in the den, as Benjamin had said he would.

"What happened on the set of Love Isn't Fair?" Ethan asked, getting right to the point. He wasn't sure how Mark would feel talking about the movie, but Ethan needed to know.

Need or just want? Ethan was slowly becoming obsessed with a certain actor...

Obsessions can be unhealthy, he told himself.

"I knew it was bad luck to keep those movies around," Mark said.

"Benjamin thought it'd help with the script," Ethan said, pausing for a moment. "I won't have that done by tomorrow."

Mark gestured to the sofa by his chair. "You want to know about Love Isn't Fair," he said. Ethan walked over and sat down, his eyes on Mark. "What happened on set was exactly what the title suggests." He didn't seem bothered with talking about it. Had he known what Benjamin had done, or had he put Benjamin up to it just so this talk could happen?

Ethan would save his questions for later.

"It was my first movie, my first experience in the 'big leagues,' " Mark went on. "Her name was Celine. And I thought she was the love of my life. You saw what happened in the movie. It felt real to me. She made me believe it was real. Little did I know that it really was just an act.

"Once she had me good and hooked, she reeled me in for her fun," Mark continued, anger creeping into his voice. "She was friends with some of the crew on set. She thought it would be fun to watch them have sex with me. I resisted and tried to leave, but it happened anyway. Afterward, she told me that if I said anything to anyone, she would make sure I'd never get another job in Hollywood. I could do nothing but finish the movie."

Ethan didn't know what to say. All of his questions seemed irrelevant now.

"The second you let someone get close to you intimately, the second they actually fuck you over. So I never had another love interest. In movies or in real life," Mark said. He let the silence linger a bit this time. "Was that what you wanted to know? Good luck with that helping the script. Take as much time as you need." He stood up and walked out.

Ethan knew that Mark wasn't mad at him. The story had just made old feelings resurface. Mark could have opted out of telling Ethan anything. He had that right, but he had chosen to say something. Because Ethan had asked? It had confirmed that Mark had known about Benjamin showing Ethan those movies.

Because of what Benjamin had said: You need to know him.

Ethan wanted to know more.