Mask of A Legend (28 page)

T
he next day, Legend and Stephen spent a lot of time together, as they normally did. But this period they spent with their guards down, and their real feelings being shown. By that, Legend showed warmth, her love for Stephen. She knew, or else thought, that he loved her for her inner as well as outer beauty. You can say she craved so deeply to believe that he fancied her for her inner self only, that it caused him to make her mind believe that he did. Once again, she forgot about her wish, she forgot that she was wearing a mask of beauty, since her love for Stephen allowed her to forget, the love simply blinding her to her past truth. Legend didn’t have a care in the world, she only cared for him. She found her fate and held that blessing in her thoughts as they both walked together, while holding hands in parks, down sidewalks, and even alone in her bedroom. They would only show their love by touching lips; Stephen’s love for her was so tremendously strong that he was willing to wait for the ever-lusting physical love with her, and show his love in another way.

Stephen didn’t know about her mask of beauty, he thought it was real. For that, he loved her for her beauty more than her inner self. But Legend didn’t know that because she forgot about her mask of beauty, and felt that their love was real in a sense of a heavenly bond, where love is made, created, and never destroyed. They both were prosperous, especially Stephen when he looked into her eyes, and she looked at his. Stephen finally knew the meaning of Legend’s stares more as she looked at him and that allowed his love for her to grow stronger, to grow to an infinite state of happiness.

Through it all, Legend and Stephen were finally together, a couple with true feelings for each other. Legend finally had it all: fame, fortune, and a love that was real, and not phony. But that all altered when she walked behind the stage of the ‘Styling Awards’ ceremony, and got ready in her dressing room.

The awards had already begun, and Legend just came off after handing out the ‘Best Designer of the Year Award’. “Stephen, how did I do?” Legend asked. Stephen walked into her dressing room and gave her a tight kiss. Legend looked at the mirror in the room, saw her ugliness, so she stayed away from it, and pulled Stephen away from the mirror. “So, um, how did I do?” She pulled Stephen out of the dressing room and into the main hallway at the back of the stage.

“You did great, honey. You weren’t nervous when you announced the name of the winner, and you smiled the whole time,” he replied, kissing her again, this time with an even stronger clench in his lips. “But now, you have to get your butt out there again, because your category is coming up in ten minutes.”

Legend pulled away from him and went back to her dressing room door. “I know, I’m nervous,” she said, entering her dressing room again.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, you’re a goddess to everyone. . . . But I’ve got to go back out in the audience now, we’re sitting in the first row, just in case you forgot.”

She walked up to him again and kissed him. “Stephen, I know that, I was just sitting there for an hour now. I’ll be out there in five minutes.” She kissed him once more and then shut her dressing room door. She sat down in her chair, and stared heavily at her reflection. “Well, Legend, you got this far, let’s do this.” A knock came at her door. “Stephen, I said I’ll be right there.” Another knock came at the door, and Legend was forced to go see what it was. She got up from her chair, left her reflection behind, and opened it, only to reveal her worst enemy. “Dina, what do you want?” Legend asked.

Dina forced her way into the dressing room and shut the door. She had a crazy look on her face, like she was going to kill Legend. Damp eyes, red skin, sweaty hair and she held a bottle of champagne that was just opened, staring at Legend with a pathetic look. She sat down in Legend’s chair and laughed, “Well, I guess you have it all now. You have the man whom I’ve loved ever since I was fourteen, and now you have his love. . . . Everything that I wanted, you have.”

“Dina, you’re drunk. I don’t think this is the time or the place to have that sort of talk.”

Dina jumped up from her chair and ran up to her. “Well, I think it is!” She grabbed Legend by the hair and guided her toward the chair, which she was sitting in before. She pushed Legend into the chair. “You know, Legend, I have been trying to put this puzzle together, on how you were able to have this beauty overnight. I mean, the whole world loves you, but only because of this!” She pointed at Legend’s face, her index finger shaking with nerves and pressure.

“No, they love me because of me,” Legend said.

Dina slapped her across the face. Her slap forced Legend to turn her head toward the mirror, and caused Dina to see her real image. Legend looked up, and saw Dina through the reflection of the mirror, and saw Dina’s shocked eyes staring at hers. “My God, what are you?” Dina then slowly backed away from Legend’s reflection. “You are still ugly.”

Legend got up from the chair and faced Dina. “Listen to me–”

“You’re a witch or something. This whole time, you have been lying to everyone!”

Legend ran up to her, and this time slapped her across the face. “No, I haven’t. They love me because of me, not this,” Legend shouted. Dina pushed her back in the chair.

Dina slowly walked up to her, and Legend’s worst nightmare ultimately showed itself. “Everyone loves you because of this fake image you possess. You’re an ugly, lying, cheating, acne face,” Dina shouted, Legend’s tears beginning to shield her blue eyes. “Appalling looking, hideous, slut, tramp, beyond ugly–” Legend’s fears were showing as her shield broke and her tears of fear came flowing out. “Repulsive, grotesque, little bitch, that’s what you are, and I’m going to tell everyone about this little witch act that you pulled on them. And I’m going to tell Stephen! Stephen only cares for you because of this witch mask you wear.”

Legend got up for her chair. “No, he loves me for me!”

“No he doesn’t, and I’m going tell him about the real Legend!”

Legend’s mask finally revealed itself to someone else, her physical mask. Dina’s mental mask broke away, and Mark’s did the same. But now Legend’s mask was revealed to Dina, and with it came sadness and fear. Legend’s secret was discovered, and her mask couldn’t be kept a secret any longer. She stared at Dina, and all she could do was cry more.

“No, please, Dina, don’t tell him. Listen, I don’t care if you tell everyone else, but let me tell him on my own. Please, give me that much!”

Legend’s wish was over, at least her secret about the wish she made.

“This whole time, you were ugly, and I had to pretend to be your friend, because I thought you were beautiful. All those compliments I gave you were all forced from my mind, because I knew, or else I thought, you were prettier than me,” Dina shouted, but smiled.

“Listen, please, let me tell Stephen on my own!”

“Alright, Legend, but you have to break it to everyone tonight. I don’t care how you do it, but you have to tell everyone tonight, or else I will.” Dina was drunk a bit, but still held a firm grip on Legend’s fright. “Your ugly ass has to tell everyone within twenty-four hours, or, as God’s my witness, I will make sure to tell Stephen, as well as the world, that Legend Conaway is nothing but a fake. You’re a bitch, and you deserve to have nothing but heartbreak after you admit the truth about this, this, this mask you’re wearing!” A knock came at the door. Dina opened it and said, “Why hello, Stephen.”

“What are you doing back here, Dina?” asked Stephen. He walked up to Legend and gave her a kiss.

“Oh, me and Legend were just talking about a little secret that–”

“A little secret that I will tell you personally,” Legend said.

“Well, you can tell me later, because your category is up in five minutes,” Stephen said, guiding Legend out of the dressing room. “Also, for you, Dina, why don’t you sober up and get out there in the audience where you belong?”

Dina’s pathetic face gave out a smile to him, and in her grasp was a champagne bottle that she was wishing was smashed against Legend’s head. Legend and Stephen proceed to walk down the hallway and she stopped in the middle of it, and turned to Stephen. “Listen, I have to talk to you now,” she said. Dina crept up to them and smirked to Legend.

“Well, I’ll see you two in the audience,” Dina said. “Maybe.” She continued to walk down the hallway.

Legend looked up at Stephen, and formed more tears in her eyes. “Listen, Stephen, I have to tell you something now.”

Stephen began to fidget.

“Legend, it can wait. There are people waiting out there for this category. People are waiting by their television sets for this category. Now, it wouldn’t look right if they called your name as the winner, and you’re not there yet.” Stephen then gently pulled Legend down the hallway.

“Stephen, how do you know I’m going to win first off?” Legend attempted to stand still, while Stephen was still gently pulling her.

“Legend, what do you mean?”

She realized that this was the last moment that she and Stephen would be together, with the same feeling for each other, love for love, trust for trust. Once she tells him about her mask, either he would deny his feelings for her, and run away from her ugliness, or accept her, and realize he still loves her. “Alright, I’m going to ask you something, and you have to be truthful. Then I’ll go with you in the audience,” said Legend. Stephen stopped pulling her and stared at her long, red gown and her beautiful face.

“Alright, shoot.” He then glanced at his watch, and saw it read 9:28 p.m.

In his eyes, she asked, “Name three things that you most like about me?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Name three things you most like about me?”

They continued to walk down the hallway and, as they walked, Stephen thought about it. “Alright,” he said. They appeared at the curtain, which led to a stairwell that headed down to the audience’s seats. They walked down the stairs, and he turned to her in a vivid motion. He looked her in the eye. “Legend, I like your lips, and the way they make me feel when I touch them. . . . I like your face, and the way your beauty makes me feel.” He then paused, tears shielding Legend’s eyes more. The pain of knowing he only cares for her outer beauty allowed her tears of sadness to form, and her worst nightmare to continue. She watched his lips before she closed her eyes and hoped that his last answer would be something that related to her character, and not her physical appearance. “But most of all, I like your eyes, and the way they make me quiver when I stare at them.”

Legend’s shield broke and her tears, which Stephen didn’t know the definition of, fell and showed themselves. They ran down her face, and Stephen caught them. He said, “I know those are tears of happiness, and you’re going to cry more when you win this award.”

Damn.

Legend turned away from him.

They both walked to their seats, and Legend felt shallow, saddened and depressed that her face was fake to everyone. The M.C. walked up to the stage, announce the nominees, but Legend still stared at Stephen’s face as they both sat in the front row. “And the last nominee is Legend Conaway,” the M.C. announced.

Legend still stared at Stephen, and then he stared at her.

“Stephen, I just want you to know, before he says the winner, that I love you.”

Stephen kissed her gently on the lips. “Legend, I love you, too. Man, you said it as if you were saying ‘goodbye’ or something,” Stephen said.

Legend still stared at him. She knew this was the end of the line, her wish was discovered by Dina, and her true love made her realize that he only loved her outer beauty. In actuality, she was saying goodbye, goodbye to her love, Stephen, and goodbye to this lifestyle, which only accepted her for her mask. Bittersweet or sweetly bitter?

“And the winner for the Best Model of the Year is…” the M.C. announced. He opened the silver envelope and pulled out a card. “Legend Conaway!” The audience began clapping hard, and Legend closed her eyes and got up from her seat. She lingered herself up to the stage, and realized that this was it, even more. Her whole career was about to end once she gave her last speech, as soon as she grabbed the trophy. She walked up on the stage, and passed a huge mirror that stood in the back of the podium: it reflected the whole stage and allowed it to seem larger.

She grabbed the trophy, kissed the M.C. on his cheek, and looked out at the audience, while the mirror reflected her back. This was supposed to be a happy moment for her, but her happiness was shattered as she stared at Stephen in the audience and saw his happy face. She then stared at Dina, too, and saw her evil grin. She saw Mr. Drakson, his proud smile. She stared at the audience, their happy faces as they stared at an angel’s image that was only mask. She began to hear echoes of the audience’s claps, echoes that sounded like a dream. “Um, thank you so much for this award,” she announced. She saw her own mother standing in the back of the auditorium, directly by the door. Her mother walked into the room and sat down in a seat. That’s when Legend broke from her mask, and finally allowed her true self to be shown. “Um, I can’t do this anymore,” she added in tiredness, it was like she was tired of living a lie, and having the burden of always covering up her true face. “I just can’t.” Tears began to fall from her blue eyes. “In the beginning of my career . . . I wanted to be accepted so badly, and I did, I was. . . . In the beginning . . . I wanted the whole world to see my . . . beauty, and to also see my inner beauty. I wanted to help people with it, or with them. But now . . . um, I realize, that everyone loves me more for my outer beauty.”