Chương 84: Beauty Is Fragile

Ethan was sleeping on the grass, wrapped in a blanket, when the sound of sobbing tore him from his sleep. He opened his eyes with an irritated sigh, got to his feet, and walked toward the nearby tent the crying was coming from. Agnes was quietly sobbing in the darkness.

"Mom…Dad…I miss you so much…" Ethan stood motionless for a few moments, his gaze lowered. Then, without saying a word, he turned around, lay back down on the grass and pulled the blanket up to his neck, as if the fabric could shut the rest of the world out. At dawn, a sharp kick to his side made him jolt awake. He sat up abruptly and found Agnes standing over him with her arms crossed.

"I'm hungry. Are you going to get up? Go fishing or hunt something". Ethan let out a weary sigh, rubbed a hand across his tired face, and climbed to his feet.

"Take down the tent". Agnes stared at him.

"You think I can do that?" Ethan sighed again, clearly exhausted.

"I'll show you once. Starting tomorrow, you'll do it yourself every morning".

"Why me?"

"Because I've already let you sleep in my tent while I sleep outside. The least you can do is pack it up". Agnes pulled a face.

"Fine then, genius…show me how". In a crowded town square, Xarath and several goblins were watching a theatrical performance. On stage, an actor playing Oscar approached an actress portraying Teresa. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Mother, I've decided who I'm going to marry".

"Oh, really, my dear? Which one of the many noble ladies who have arrived at the palace?"

"Your sister, Mother".

"What?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Why should I marry younger, healthier women when I can marry my aunt instead?" The audience burst into roaring laughter. Even the goblins slapped their tables, thoroughly entertained. Not far away, Xarath watched the performance, leaning against a column, completely expressionless. An actress with long black hair and blue eyes approached him.

"You don't like the play?"

"Aren't you afraid of being beheaded for performing satire like this?" She smiled.

"Do you really think the King will ever hear about this pitiful little play in this pitiful little village?"

"Probably not". She studied him with curiosity.

"You know, out of everyone here, you're the only one who isn't looking at me with desire. Why is that? Are you a eunuch…or do you simply have different tastes?" Xarath met her gaze.

"You enjoy being looked at that way. It makes you feel powerful, doesn't it?"

"Of course. Beauty is power. Without it, I wouldn't be an actress. I never would have found the meaning of my life".

"And if you were ugly?" She laughed.

"If I were ugly, I would've killed myself already".

"So it's a pitiful layer of skin that's keeping you alive".

"If you want to put it that way…yes".

"I don't want to put it any way. That's simply how it is". He stared at her intently.

"If someone threw acid on your face…if your beauty were destroyed…you would kill yourself".

"You're a really strange man", she said, trying to walk away. Xarath grabbed her by the arm. With a slow movement of his right hand, he silently cast a spell. Before the eyes of the crowd, the woman's face twisted and deformed. Her ears vanished, her nose detached from her face, and her skin melted like wax, leaving behind a hideous mask resembling that of a survivor of a terrible fire.

"What did you do to me?!" she screamed, staring at her reflection in a mirror in horror.

"What did you do to me, you monster?!" For a single moment, silence fell over the square. The men who, only seconds earlier, had looked at her with desire, the women who had admired or envied her beauty, now stared at her with disgust. Some turned their eyes away. Others instinctively stepped back, as though the sight of her was unbearable. It had taken only a single instant. Beauty, so powerful that it inspired desire, admiration and envy, had revealed itself to be astonishingly fragile.

The moment it disappeared, those very same gazes turned into revulsion. Xarath watched the scene with complete indifference. Then he left her there, surrounded by screams and tears, and walked away without looking back.