Chapter Seven

Ethan stayed up most of the night watching Love Isn't Fair. The later it got, the more it felt like something was nagging at him. Something that Mark had said? He couldn't put his finger on it. But then he forgot all about it as his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

He woke with a start some hours later, thunder rumbling. Ethan walked over to the window and looked out. He couldn't tell if it was morning or still night. It was dark and stormy again. He backed away from the window when he thought he saw something lurking around the grounds, images of that creature's claws flashing in his mind's eye.

The door to the bedroom opened, so it wasn't in the middle of the night. "Breakfast is being served in the theater this morning," Benjamin announced. "The Master has an announcement for this evening's activities."

"Will everyone be there?" Ethan asked. It wasn't usual for the rich to dine with the servants, but then again, nothing about this place was usual.

"It will be a full house," Benjamin said. "Better hurry and get ready." He turned and left, the door closing behind him.

Once dressed, Ethan headed downstairs to the theater. He walked in to see most of the seats taken. He had half expected to see more people here. There wasn't as many servants as Ethan had at first thought. He walked further in, seeing a spot saved for him on the front row. He sat down and a table of breakfast was rolled up to him.

On the tray by the food was a note. All it said was: Be ready for tonight. Mark had signed it. Ethan wasn't sure what that was about, but figured Mark would explain during his announcement. So Ethan sat quietly and enjoyed his breakfast for now.

A few minutes later, Benjamin stood on stage, asking for everyone's attention. When everyone had quieted down, Benjamin stepped down, Mark taking his place. Ethan, who had gotten used to Mark's appearance in Love Isn't Fair, was painfully reminded of Mark's current predicament. He felt bad for feeling that way. Did he really care that much about the way Mark looked?

"Thank you all for taking the time to come and listen," Mark began. "I know you're all thinking you have better things to do right now than listen to me. You've probably had enough of me all these years." There was a brief awkward silence, but Mark didn't let it go on. "I won't take up much of your time. I just wanted to announce the show I'm putting on tonight." He looked at Ethan on the front row. "You've done a bit of acting, haven't you?"

Ethan didn't really like being put on the spot. "Uh...I've taken a few improv classes," he said. "But -"

"Great," Mark cut him off, looking back to the rest of his audience. "Tonight Ethan and I will be putting on a show for all of you, so be back here for some fun entertainment." He stepped off the stage and headed out of the room.

Ethan got up from his seat and hurried after Mark, catching up to him out in the hall. "When did I give you the impression that I have the talent you think I have?"

Mark stopped and turned to him. "Since you agreed to be part of the play you were supposed to be writing for me," he said. "I'm making a compromise. You be in this play and you won't have to write that one."

All the time he should have been working on that play, Ethan had been re-watching Love Isn't Fair anyway. "So in other words, you're punishing me for not getting the play done in the time you gave me," Ethan said.

"Show business isn't easy."

"I can't even back down because you've already told everyone!"

"I warned you beforehand."

"Be ready for tonight?!" Ethan quoted the note. "That's some warning!"

Was it just the scars, or was Mark amused by Ethan's frustration? "You have the right to back out if you don't want to do it," Mark said.

"I'm not a fucking coward."

"Then be ready for tonight," Mark said then turned and continued walking down the hall.

"Oh, I will!" Ethan called after him, the desire to prove himself overcame everything else. "And it'll be the best damn show they've ever seen!"

Ethan turned to go back to his breakfast, nervous as hell.

Ethan stood in his room later that day in front of the mirror. Practicing? He didn't know what he was practicing for. Mark had just told him to be ready. Was it going to be a play similar to Billionaire? Were they just going to go on stage and wing it? Was this going to be an improv show?

Mark was an actor. A professional. He would surely outshine anything Ethan did. But if something embarrassing happened, that would be what would be talked about the most. And Ethan KNEW he would be the one embarrassed.

"You do this, you don't have to write the play," Ethan said to himself. "That's a load off, right? Yeah..." He turned and walked away from the mirror and began pacing back and forth.

Was he really nervous about getting up in front of maybe thirty people? He had been ridiculed in front of more people when he had worked as a waiter. Stage fright wasn't the issue here. He was nervous because he didn't know if he was funny enough to do an improv show.

If this WAS an improv show...

Ethan continued pacing, muttering to himself. It took him a few minutes to realize he had started quoting Love Isn't Fair. He hadn't realized he had memorized the movie so well. Would he start throwing out lines from the movie while he was on stage with Mark? He didn't want to accidentally conjure up bad memories for Mark in front of everyone.

He headed downstairs to the theater. Nobody was there yet, but the stage had been supplied with props. He walked up on stage and over to a box of props. He pulled out a wooden sword and waved it around, pretending to be a knight.

In his head, he imagined a scene, where he was a knight in shining armor, off to rescue the princess. Complete with dragon slaying.

He didn't notice that Mark was sitting in the back, watching him.

Ethan played around with a few more props, familiarizing himself with everything. Giving himself time to grow comfortable with being on stage. He even imagined a full house, every seat filled. Every pair of eyes looking his way. He expected stage fright to hit him right then, but he actually felt excited. The thought of making so many people happy appealed to him.

"You need to work on your wardrobe."

The sound of Mark's voice stopped Ethan cold. Ethan turned as Mark came walking up to the stage. Ethan took the time to look down at himself where he had just thrown on an assortment of clothing he had gotten from the boxes.

"How...how long were you watching?" Ethan asked. Now he was back to being nervous. The embarrassing thing that he had been afraid of happening had just happened. And as he had expected, he had been the cause of said embarrassing moment.

"I was here before you," Mark said. "You looked like you were having fun. I felt left out."

Ethan pulled a scarf off himself then stepped up to Mark, reaching up and wrapping the scarf loosely around his neck. "There," Ethan said. "Now you're not left out."

This was the closest Ethan had stood to Mark. The scars on his face and neck were more pronounced up close. By instinct and not really thinking about it, Ethan touched Mark's face, his fingers lightly tracing the lines and scars. His skin was hard and dry, like a lizard. Ethan suddenly realized what he was doing when his eyes met Mark's. He quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back. The fact that Mark hadn't tried to stop him didn't even occur to him at first.

"You get used to it after a while," Mark said, talking about his skin. "It's different every year."

Ethan understood what was implied. "It gets progressively worse," he said. "Would you end up like...?"

"Dark?" Mark guessed, finishing Ethan's question. He shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't be surprised. It'd be a fitting end."

"I don't agree with that."

"It doesn't matter whether you do or not," Mark said, pulling the scarf off and dropping it into a box. "It can't be stopped."

"Benjamin believes it can."

Mark didn't say anything for a moment. "Everyone will be arriving soon," he said, ending the discussion. "I have to get ready." And then he left.

Mark dropped down onto a chair, the enchanted rose in front of him. And as he watched, slowly another petal fell, leaving only a few left. The time left ran out faster with every petal. What he had thought was a few months was probably just a few weeks now, if he was lucky. It might even be days. He didn't know for sure.

He looked down at his hands, which looked more haggard than they did a few minutes ago. What if the claws came back and he could do nothing to stop it?

Mark looked toward the window, hearing the growl of the creature, which could have been mistaken as thunder. Dark was the only one who knew Mark's fate. Because Dark had been created to show Mark what his future would be.

It was intended to scare him so he would learn his lesson. But he had meant what he had said to Ethan: it would be a fitting end.

He had lost all hope, there was no hiding that. Once the last petal fell, he would be doomed to live as a monster for eternity. And everyone else in the manor would never have normal lives. Immortality wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Would Ethan share that fate if he stayed? The manor was a magical place, Mark could feel it. If Ethan was still here when the last petal fell, what would stop the manor from sealing up where it would be true that no one could leave?

Ethan didn't deserve this fate.

Mark stood and headed back downstairs. He had a show to perform. But after, he would make sure Ethan got out.

It was starting. Mark had come back and had already outshone Ethan just by the clothes he was wearing. Mark was wearing a navy blue suit, which looked ten times more comfortable than the black slacks and white button-up that Ethan was wearing. But Ethan didn't really mind. Mark was the star of the show and would remain so. Ethan was basically a stranger to this audience. He had only been here a few days.

A few days that had already felt like a lifetime.

Mark took off his suit jacket to address the crowd. He still looked good, but he was now a bit more informal. Ethan no longer felt as under dressed as he had before. Which was probably why Mark had removed the jacket. Mark certainly knew how to read his audience, even though Ethan was technically his costar.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the re-enactment of my first performance on the silver screen, Love Isn't Fair," Mark announced, taking Ethan by surprise. With that said, the lights went out for the scene to be set.

Ethan kept his voice low, barely above a whisper. "Did I hear you right?" he asked. "I thought -"

"Despite what happened, it was still my favorite performance," Mark whispered. Before anything else could be said, the lights came back on, signalling the start.

Ethan knew the movie by heart, not bothered by the fact that he was playing the female lead's part. If anything, he thought it would bother Mark, but maybe the fact that it was Ethan playing the part instead made it easier for Mark. Halfway through the performance, it was obvious how much Mark was enjoying himself, though at times it felt like he was holding back.

Then it was time for the big love scene. Up until this point, it had been easy to avoid the show of affection. It hadn't really been needed. All of the kisses that had been in the movie had just been for the viewers' benefit. People liked seeing that whether the plot needed it or not. Ethan wasn't sure how this scene could be avoided, but he would follow Mark's lead.

The scene was the two lead characters who had run away secretly after their parents openly stated that they were against the two being together. They had run away to be alone for what they thought was the last time.

In character, Mark turned to Ethan. " 'We can have what we always wanted, you and me,' " he said.

" 'A white picket fence? Seven kids?' " Ethan quoted from memory. Mark gave a wince. The wince Ethan had seen so many times in the movie. " 'Or maybe just a dog?' "

" 'Whatever gets us outta this godforsaken town,' " Mark said and then leaned in close. Just like in the movie.

In the movie, the scene faded to black, letting the viewers figure out with their imaginations what the two young lovers were doing in the dark. And now, on stage, the lights faded to darkness, hiding them from the viewers. Ethan wasn't sure who had moved first, but suddenly found himself locked in Mark's embrace, lips pressed together. Mark's skin might be rough, but his lips were soft. Ethan lost himself in the kiss.

He would have been lying to himself if he thought he had never imagined himself kissing Mark. The more Ethan learned about Mark, the more drawn to him he became. Was it just because of his obsession with Mark, or was it something more?

But then the moment was over. Mark pulled away right before the lights came back on. The performance continued right on schedule as if the kiss had never happened.

But Ethan would never forget it.

"Why did I kiss him?"

It was a few hours after the show. Mark was upstairs pacing back and forth in front of the table where the rose was displayed under its glass case. He did sometimes speak out loud to the rose as if it could respond, but this time Benjamin was in the room with him. He had asked to speak privately with the butler and then had confessed everything.

"I fail to see the issue here," Benjamin said. "I was under the impression that you wanted -"

"What I want isn't important!" Mark snapped. He stopped and turned to Benjamin. "I don't deserve to have what I want!"

"Don't beat yourself up over -"

"I was an asshole!" Mark said. "I deserve the fate that was handed to me."

"You admitting that is a step in the right direction," Benjamin said. "After all these years, aren't you tired of living this way? Ethan's your way out."

"I'm practically using him, it doesn't feel right," Mark said. "Which is why I'm letting him go." Part of his confession had been telling Benjamin that anyone could leave if they wanted to. Benjamin hadn't been upset that he had been lied to. Maybe, deep down, he had known the truth this whole time. He had forgiven Mark immediately, knowing the others would do the same.

Mark was loved by the people who worked for him and he hadn't even known it. But their love wasn't the love that mattered.

"You can't let him go," Benjamin said. He glanced past Mark at the rose. "Not when it's this close..."

Mark knew the risks. Ethan had even brought it to his attention. That it wasn't just Mark under the curse. Everyone in the manor was under the spell. Ethan would be too, if he was still here when the last petal fell.

"How I feel isn't enough," Mark said. "If he doesn't feel the same...he has to get out before it's too late."

Benjamin stayed silent for a moment. "I'll follow whatever you decide to do," he said. "But give it a few more days. Be with him. If nothing comes from it, then let him go."

"Again, using him -"

"What happened when you kissed him?"

Mark's thoughts went back to that moment on stage. The theater had been dark, no one had been able to see a thing. Ethan hadn't pulled away.

"He's obsessed with the way I was in Love Isn't Fair," Mark said. "It was dark. He imagined what I looked like back then." He gestured to himself. "He could never look at this face and feel desire."

"He might surprise you," Benjamin said then turned and left.

Mark remained standing there for a long time. The only noise, the rain spattering against the window. His thoughts were all a jumble. He turned and walked out of the room. The halls were empty and dark. Everyone had turned in for the night. He made his way through the empty halls and stopped at a door then knocked.

Ethan's voice came from inside: "Come in."