Amos Daragon_ The Mask Wearer - Bryan Perro [38]
When they reached the castle, the guard took him to a vast room where a throne stood. Amos remained there alone for a while, then, suddenly, the large doors of the room opened. A middle-aged man ran toward him and lifted him from the ground.
“Amos! My friend! You’re back! How are you?” the man cried out. “I’ve been waiting for you a long time! This is a great day! It’s such a pleasure to see you again!”
Finally the man put him down. Amos could not believe it. It was Junos who stood in front of him! He was a good ten years younger than when he had last seen him, and he beamed with pleasure as he looked at his friend again.
“Excuse me, Junos,” Amos said. “But could you explain what’s going on? Yesterday you got your childhood back and now you’re older again. Did you see your parents? Did you find your dog? What is happening? You were a storyteller and now you’re a king? I don’t understand.”
Junos smiled. “Sit down on my throne and I’ll explain.”
Amos did as he was told. “But if you’re a king now, Junos,” he said, “it’s either because you can do nothing or you got used to doing any old thing!”
Junos’s laughter filled the large room. “My story! You remember it? It has been years since I told it. I’m not sure that I could even tell it anymore!”
“First, explain to me what’s going on, Junos, then I’ll refresh your memory. I heard your tale from your own mouth two days ago, and you looked like an old man then. Now you’re a man in the prime of your life.”
Junos caught his breath and began:
“I’ll do as I did in former times when I told stories to survive. I was older and uglier than I am today, but … Let me get started. Once upon a time, there was a young boy who ventured into the woods of Tarkasis to retrieve his dog. He danced with the fairies that lived there and he suddenly grew old. He spent twelve years telling stories to make enough money to eat; he met Amos Daragon, who became his friend, and thanks to him, he got his youth back. So far it’s a familiar story. You know the beginning but not the end.” He looked at Amos, who nodded. “What follows is better.
“So the boy, who had fifty years of life stolen from him, was young once more. He took a five-decade leap back! He found himself in the same forest, exactly one hour after his first encounter with the fairies. He found his dog and his parents. No one ever knew that he had lived so many years as a miserable old man. But while the young boy got his young body back, he kept his adult memory. Since Junos had a debt to repay his best friend, who in fact was not even born yet, he chose to become a knight and went to a nearby kingdom to learn the art of warfare. After many years of faithful service, the king asked Junos—now his best knight—what it was he wanted more than anything else. Junos requested and was granted the land of Berrion. He had a large city built there. He formed an army, created the order of the Knights of Equilibrium, and waited for the day he would greet his good friend Amos Daragon when he stepped out of the forest. He also had signs put up near the woods of Tarkasis so that anyone who ventured there would steer clear of the forest and let the fairies live in peace.”
“Amazing!” Amos exclaimed. “So you’ve been waiting fifty years for me to come out of the forest?”
“Yes, Amos. I’ve been waiting fifty years for you,” Junos, lord and master of Berrion, said. “You gave me back my youth. Thanks to you, I had a happy childhood and my parents died in my arms, proud of what I had become. Thanks to you, I found my beloved dog and spoiled it its whole life long. Thanks to you, I even had time to learn how to cook! With my mother’s recipe, I’m the best pancake maker in the realm. I still remember the council of the great fairies that I attended. I know about your mission