Suddenly, there’s a bellow. A floating bull with no legs is drifting nearby. Quick as a flash, Gabe scoops me up in his arms and I give a squeal of surprise. I hold him tightly, laughing nervously as he rushes away from the hoverbull. My face and my mask are close to his cute, freckled face, our noses almost touching. I gaze into his blue eyes, feeling nervous and exhilarated. My heart is thumping in my chest and I find myself really wanting to take the mask off so I can kiss him with my real lips…

We leave the hoverbull behind and soon are back with Urorin and Emenar. They’re laying out a mat for the picnic. The hoverbull ruined the moment, but I’m determined to press Gabe to see if he would be my boyfriend. I’m going to have to be open and honest about myself first. I sit on the mat and take a deep breath. I gaze into his limpid blue eyes. “Hey… there’s something I need to confess to you. It happened right here in this field…” I pause. “I lost my virginity here to a pair of lunishi travellers. It was a wild experience, but also kind of liberating.”

“Are we supposed to be green with envy?” says Emenar.

I faintly titter at his joke, but I don’t break eye contact with Gabe. “There’s no need to be envious. It was just a one-time thing with those travellers. We’re open about our experiences here in Starfields. I don’t want to hide anything about myself.”

“Except your face,” says Emenar. “It’s always hidden.”

I sigh. “Yeah, this mask. A witch put it on me and I can’t get it off. It’s stuck on my face.” I touch my green cheek gently.

“You are well named Masked Maiden,” says Urorin.

“It was very smart of you to give me that title,” I reply. I think I’m blushing underneath my mask as I look into Gabe’s eyes, his shimmering azure eyes. “Now you know my two secrets, Gabe,” I say.

“You are a very open as well as a very sweet maiden,” says Gabe. “My little sister is right about you. I can trust her judgement.”

Phew! I’m so relieved that he won’t judge me that I think I must be all sweaty. I touch his arm as I gaze up at him. “So I was wondering… Do you have a sweetheart back in your home city? You know, someone special that you’re seeing or dating?”

Gabe scratches his freckled nose and looks pensive. “I have had a lot of marriage proposals, some from rich ladies. One is a friend of my mother.”

My eyes widen. “Wow, that’s a lot of marriage proposals.”

“Obviously the ladies are all crazy about him,” says Emenar. “What chance do guys with even skin tone stand?”

“Of course I know that Gabe is quite the catch,” I say, glancing at Emenar and then fixing my eyes on Gabe again. “Proposals from rich ladies? Impressive.” I pause for a moment. “Wait, one is a friend of your mother? That’s an interesting connection.”

“It is,” says Gabe. “She is a rich widow.”

I raise my false eyebrow (I’ve attached fake eyebrows to my mask today). “A rich widow, huh? Sounds like she’s quite a catch herself. And if she’s a friend of your mother, I’m guessing they’re close?” I grin mischievously. “You sure you don’t want to marry her for her money and status?”

Gabe runs his fingers through his wavy brown hair looking puzzled. “I’m sure. Why do you ask?”

“It’s incredible that you don’t go for the richest lady,” says Emenar.

I ignore Emenar and shrug, feigning nonchalance. “Oh, just curious. You have all these marriage proposals from rich ladies and you don’t take them. I was wondering if there’s a specific reason why.” I gaze at him. “Unless… you’re waiting for someone else?”

He shrugs. “I do hold out hope that I will find the girl who is a true match for me. Money and status matter little by comparison.”

My heart skips a beat. “I see. So you’re waiting for the right girl, huh?” I smile with the lips of my mask. “Well I hope you find her soon. Who knows, maybe she’s closer than you think.”

I gaze at him. He’s so incredibly handsome, with his freckled nose and cheeks, bright blue eyes, wavy brown hair and his strong jawline with designer stubble. We gaze into each other’s eyes.

“You’re staring,” says Emenar. “Does the mask obstruct your vision in any way?”

Am I staring so obviously that Emenar notices? ““Huh? I can see just fine. It’s just my face that’s covered. The green layer is like a mask, but it doesn’t affect my vision at all.”

“You can see Gabe alright? It is not necessary to lean closer?”

I grin and lean my face closer to Gabe’s. “Let me appreciate your cuteness up close. I can see every freckle, including which ones are new.”

His freckled nose and cheeks flush slightly pink. “Does the colour green have any significance to you, masked one?”

I ponder the question. “Hmm, significance? I guess not really. The green colour is just part of this mask. It’s not like it has any special meaning or anything. Why do you ask? Do you have something against the colour green?”

“I was just curious. Is there anything else you can tell me about the mask?”

I consider this question, stroking the mask gently. “It feels kind of smooth and cool to the touch. It doesn’t bother me except for not being able to take it off.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“But did the witch say anything in particular when she put the mask on you?”

I ponder for a moment. “She said something about how I needed this mask for a reason. And she also mentioned something about how it would help me find true love.” I give a bitter laugh. “So far, all it’s done is make me look like a freak with a green face.”

Gabe’s flawless freckled face shows concern. “You look sweet with a green face.”

I feel a flutter in my chest and my face moves underneath the mask as I grin. “Haha, thanks for saying so. But seriously, I can’t believe it’s stuck on my face. I want to take it off now.”

“Then we will find this witch and confront her!” says Gabe.

“I second that!” says Urorin.

“And if we fail, no disaster. You can look like a pretty frog maiden,” says Emenar.

I feel a warm sense of happiness spreading through me as all three Coltbridge guys express their solidarity with me. I hug Gabe tightly, feeling a rush of emotions as I hold onto his firm, athletic body. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” I bury my face in his chest, taking comfort in his embrace and drinking in his scent. I have to admit, the smell of his sweat drives me wild.

The picnic is super fun, as Gabe feeds me pieces of cake with his fingers as I lie back on the mat propped up on cushions, and Urorin massages my feet.

“Do your part, Emenar. Attend to her,” says Gabe. Emenar shrugs his shoulders and wipes my mask with a hankie. I can’t feel it through the mask, but there are crumbs around my mouth.

I like the attention. “I could get used to being pampered. Hey, don’t go making me all messy!” Gabe has dipped his finger in cream and smeared some on my nose. I playfully wrestle him onto the mat and he lets me get on top of him. Obviously I couldn’t force him down if he didn’t let me, I’m small and thin. I rub my green nose against his freckled one, so there’s cream on both our faces.

I gaze into his azure blue eyes. “There’s cream on both our faces. Don’t we look like a pair?”

I’m relishing the warmth of his body and the comforting feeling of closeness. He wraps his arms around me and it feels so good to be held like this, how safe and cared for I feel in his arms.

“Isn’t it time to find that witch?” says Emenar. “We will barely make it there by sunset.”

Gabe sits up with his arms wrapped around me. “Quite right.”

Gabe’s POV

On the way back, Carly keeps stealing glances at me. There’s an intensity of expression in her deep brown eyes. I wonder why? I suppose the sweet girl is stressed because of the spell she’s under. I should have realised at once that the mask was magic. Well now we know the address of that witch, we can confront her in her lair. The boys and I fear nothing.

We leave the car in the long term car park and set out through the derelict part of Starfields towards this alley the Masked Maiden described. But suddenly there’s a rumbling and the ground shakes. Bystanders yell and Urorin and Emenar are shouting as two unkempt burly men grab them and pull them to different sides of the road. Now I see a terrible sight – bearing down on me, it’s a huge vehicle with gigantic rollers… It’s a steam roller and Melvin the Miff is at the wheel.

“Time to die, champion,” he says with a sneer.

The steam roller bears down on me and for the moment I freeze. As if from a distance I hear Carly cry: “Starlord, no!”

And then I feel her shove me. Small though she is, her push sends me out of the path of the steam roller. There is a green flash and a crushing sound and Melvin the Miff wails. The steam roller is out of control and it’s crashing into a derelict building. He’s hurled out of the driver seat and crashes into the stone wall! The onlookers are clamouring, but I can barely hear them. Green faced Carly, the brave Masked Maiden is lying flattened on the road. Literally flattened, she’s paper thin and her green face is frozen in a scream. I feel as though my heart is standing still and there’s a whine of panic in my mind. The men assailing Urorin and Emenar release my friends and run away.

“That lunatic in the steam roller is dead!” says one of the bystanders.

“So too is the Masked Maiden,” says Emenar sombrely.

“No…” I won’t believe it. “If she were dead … there would be…”

“There would be blood and viscera,” said Urorin, completing the sentence for me. “But this is not natural. There is magic involved here. She’s changed form to be like a paper doll.”

“Then she may still be alive,” I say. “She’s been touched by magic. The witch! The witch will know how to put her right.”

I pull Carly up from the road. She is half an inch thick and has the texture of rubber. She isn’t moving or breathing at all. But there’s no blood… This is definitely magic and the witch can put her right! I’m filled with a new sense of determination.

“I am certain you may not remove a dead body from the scene of a crime,” says Emenar.

“Be silent and follow,” I say curtly. “We will save our friend.”

Urorin nods and follows. Emenar does so reluctantly. We soon come to the alley Carly described with the seedy looking shop with leering moon faces looking down at us. We enter a dark, sickly scented room…

“What brings you here, pretty boy?”

I give a start and see a masked woman standing beside me. Her gaze is intense through the eyeholes in her mask. “I am Madame Ulnula,” she says.

“Can you save Carly, witch?” I demand. “I know you fitted a magic mask to her face.”

The witch nods and motions for me to lay Carly down on the marble slab in the other room. “Very well. I can help her. The spell of the mask will keep her alive if you assist. The magic is as much a part of her as the mask is. It will manifest itself when she wants to protect the ones she loved. I think you have already witnessed this.”

I nod. There was a green flash when she saved me from Melvin the Miff.

The witch produces an old pair of bellows and instructs me to place them near Carly’s body. “When I start working my magic, use these bellows to inflate her lungs so that she can breathe again.”

Emenar scoffs at this suggestion, but the witch glares at him.

“Hush!” she puts a finger to the lips of her own mask. “This will work if done properly!”

The witch starts chanting some sort of spell as Emenar grumbles quietly.

We have nothing to lose. I put the bellows to Carly’s lips and begin to pump them. The witch continues her chanting as I use the bellows to inflate Carly’s limp form. She’s regaining shape. Now her eyelids flutter and she starts stirring and groaning softly.

“It seems to be working,” says the witch. “Now when she regains consciousness, ask her to marry you. It will improve her morale and aid in her recovery.”

Emenar looks sceptical, but remains silent.

“Remove the bellows now,” says the witch.

Carly writhes and groans as I remove the bellows and take her hand in mine. I feel so relieved the masked girl is alive and has regained her form that I feel really giddy. Urorin and Emenar are grinning too.

Carly slowly opens her eyes and sees me holding her hand. She blinks a few times and then glances around. “What… what happened? Where am I?”

“You’re in the witch’s house, where we brought you after Melvin the Miff flattened you with a steam roller. Carly, I have an important question. Will you marry me?”

Carly’s brown eyes widen in surprise. She stares at me, as though stunned. “M-marry you? Are you serious?”

Urorin, Emenar and the witch are all looking on with anticipation.

I smile nervously. “Yes, Carly. Marry me.”

Carly’s eyes widen and I can feel her tremble with emotion as I hold her hand. “Oh Gabe… yes, yes, I want to marry you.”

The witch gives a nod.

“You will come with us then, Masked Maiden, when we go back to Coltbridge,” says Urorin.

Carly puts her arms around me and I hold her close. “Yes… I’ll come with you.” She presses her masked face against my chest.

The witch nods. “Good. Now go in peace. And take care of each other.”