First Kiss

by Tara Brown

  My sister’s magic lifts from the floor like a thousand tiny lights. It floats towards me, hovering for a moment before morphing into one ball of light, like the star. It shoots forward until it is so bright, I can see it with my eyes closed. Her memories and mine are the same, and yet, different. I no longer see myself as the sad girl in Lakeland. It was Baylor.

  Everything is reversed, as the stories separate, and I realize I lived a decade inside of her. She met Sam. She loved him and his smile. She was friends with Lune and suffered with the Lake curse. She took every lash from Mary. All along I have thought it was me, but it was a dream I walked inside of. I held her hand as she sat in the window, crying for the loss of her family.

  I was the wind—the cold wind that she cried to each night.

  I had twisted it all up and confused it with the life that was being lived here by my other sister. That was why Bash never aged and the world here never moved on. I was only seeing Rosie’s life for the last year. I was linked to both my sisters when they were born, but Rosie had to turn ten for me to see through her eyes. We get the start of our magic when we are ten and starting puberty. The rest of the magic came as we finished puberty. I had not traveled between the worlds; I had been in both at once, and yet, I have still been in a deep sleep.

  I look at Bash, “You were in a decrepit old mansion, hiding your scars from the world?”

  He nods slowly.

  “Your family left you there with a few servants to live out your life because of the scars? You have searched high and low for me, but stayed hidden from the world to hide your scars.”

  He nods again, “How are you doing this?”

  “My mother and my aunt discovered Baylor wasn’t the witch they were waiting for, so they put her somewhere she couldn’t ever help me. They left her there after taking her magic. She was helpless against Mary. They knew I was the daughter of the black blood so they put me in the tower, preserving me there. It’s why I never got any straight answers from you or anyone else. I was in a dream state. It wasn’t real, and yet, it was. I never knew what I was. I was a ghost, floating about. I was neither here nor there. Baylor was suffering and Rosie was ignored, and I saw it both ways, combined with the life my mother stole from Baylor and your life. I have watched us all and even made up some parts of it. Some of it was made of dreams.”

  “As hard as this is to consider, I do believe you.” He takes my hand in his, “I am sorry this has happened to you.”

  I shake my head, “I am not.” I look up into his gray eyes, and I feel like I am going home. I smile, “I am ready. My sister has died, and my other sister has been orphaned. My mother and aunt have ruined my life. I want my vengeance. I want their blood to run down my fingers as I rip their hearts from their chests.” I look down at my hands, “I know how to do it too.”

  He nods, “Your sister, Baylor, rules our land. She has my brother and parents under her spell. She has amassed an army of dark creatures from a nightmare. They have let the kingdom go to ruin.”

  I almost expected that answer. “It is my mother disguised as my sister. The four of us are all identical. My mother, my aunt, Baylor, and me. All of us look the same with only subtle differences that are hardly noticeable. Where is the lady who told you where to find me?”

  He looks nervous, “She is a lady of the Loch. She is not to be found by us—she must find you. You know the old rhyme. They are not good. They are witches. She will come for us when she is ready to give us answers. If we seek her out, we will owe a payment to the dead.”

  The rhyme floats through my mind, “There is a house at the end of an empty road, where many a man have lost their soul. Sweetest love's first kiss is enough to guarantee the payment to the dead. It was there in the mist and the warmth of her embrace, I met my end. I shall never rest again. Nor shall any man who gives his heart to a lady of the Loch.”

  He nods, “That’s the one. Loch witches must find you, otherwise you owe them.”

  “How will I learn about my black blood?”

  His eyes darken, “You don’t even know if you are the cursed witch they speak of.”

  I nod, “I know I am a daughter of the black blood, and I know you have black blood too.”

  His face is stoic. “How could you know that?”

  I take a step towards him, “I told you. I have seen many things in my dreams.”

  His gray eyes burn down on me, “You saw my blood?”

  “Yes.”

  He lowers his face close to mine, “Then you know why we can never be married. Two cursed things such as us would make a monster.”

  I shake my head, “I love you. I know I do. We are written in the stars.”

  The words I speak cause him a great amount of pain. He shakes his head, “We must choose our people before ourselves.” He runs a hand down my cheek. I can feel it trembling as he lets it linger before removing it. This version of him is a perfect gentleman. It makes me smile though my heart is breaking. “I like the version of you I have in my dreams.”

  He nods and whispers, “I do too.”

  A single tears drips from my eye. “Where will go now?”

  “Norland. My cousin Erik is expecting us. I had been staying on an abandoned estate in his land while my family sought a cure for my affliction. Once your sister got her hands on my brother, their efforts ceased, and I have spent the time searching for you and not the cure.” I can feel his words on my mouth, our faces are so close. He smiles, “And yet, all along you were the cure.”

  I shake my head, “Your scars will return when you change, but I can always kiss them away.”

  He laughs, “You are a lady of the Loch, and yet, your kiss doesn’t kill me. When I found you in the tower, I was terrified I would die when I kissed you. I did it, knowing I had drawn my last breath and kissed my last set of lips. But I am alive and healed. I don’t know how that is possible.”

  I smile wide, “You kissed me, even though you believed you would die. Why?”

  His answer is the warmth of his lips against mine. I close my eyes and breathe him in. He grips my hair, holding me to his face. The kiss is desperate, like we both know there can be no relationship. But I don’t know that. I believe we are written in the stars and we are meant to be.

  He pulls back, releasing me. His eyes water but he doesn’t cry. I cannot say the same for myself. My lip trembles, “It was exactly the same as it was in my dream.”

  He laughs and I can hear the bitterness in it. “For me as well.” He takes my hand in his and pulls me to the door. My legs are still weak but they are mending fast. I can feel the magic starting to surge within me. I touch a candle next to me on the mantel, instantly lighting the flame on the wick. A smile crosses my lips.

  “Looks like you know your magic.” He pulls me into the main room and smiles at Heidi. “We are going to Norland. Will you come?”

  She shakes her head. “I am going home. Tim is expecting me.”

  I smile, “Give him my love.”

  She gives me an odd look but curtseys. She doesn’t know me anymore or at all.

  Bash walks to the front door and when he opens it, I see something I cannot comprehend. The forests are black and the snow on the ground is frozen. The world looks dark, like its heart is burned.

  “What happened here?”

  He gives me a look, “Your sister.”

  I meet his gaze, “Mother.”

  “Whichever—the dark magic they use has stained the land.”

  I look and see a horse I recognize instantly. I smile as he trots to me. He stops and lowers his face to mine. I rub my hands and face along his. “I missed you.”

  Bash scowls, “How do you know my horse?”

  I laugh, “Don’t ask.”

  Epilogue

  The man crossing the great hall towards me has a sly look on his face and the moment he smiles, I can see the devil in it. He bows slightly, “Milady.” His eyes freeze when he realizes who is with me. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
/>
  Bash nods, “Yes, but we both know I am not Braden.”

  Erik gets excited, hugging Bash hard, “By the Gods, you are healed. After so long, you are finally healed. I was terrified I was under attack there for a moment.”

  Bash glances at me, “I am healed, thanks to her.” Erik scoops me up and spins me. “You saved him.” He puts me down next to Bash. I feel the heat in his stare and step towards Bash. “That is some woman you have found.”

  I fight my narrowing gaze, “Don’t you even think it.”

  He laughs, “She is crawling around in my brain, Cousin. Are you certain you want this one as your bride? I think she might be more than you can handle. Perhaps you should leave her here with me, for safe keeping.”

  Bash steps in front of me, “Erik, I would give you anything you asked of me, but not this.”

  Erik’s booming laugh, and the words spoken are so similar, I shiver from them. Erik nods, “Understandably. I believe there is such a thing as a woman worth dying for.” His eyes are haunted, and I know it is the loss of his own queen.

  He offers me his arm. I step past Bash and take it. “You and I both know your heart is not for the taking.”

  He looks down on me, “Little witch, you stay out of my head. I know what girls like you can do to a man.” He looks back at Bash, and I realize he believes it was me that cursed him. But I remember it well. I had no hand in it. I believe my mother cursed him. It must have been like the dream, Baylor painted him to save him, preserve his humanity.

  I look up into Erik’s bright eyes, “Scared of a little girl?”

  He nods, “Terrified.”

  I laugh, “You shouldn’t be. My heart is also not available for the taking. It belongs to someone else.” I glance back at Bash. His eyes burn and I love him more for it.

  Erik sighs, “Go easy on him.”

  I laugh harder, “Not a chance.”

  The night is a feast and celebration. We eat and drink and dance. I get caught up when I am in Bash’s arms, “I love you.”

  He doesn’t smile or laugh. He gives me the most pained look, “I will love you for the rest of my life.”

  It is more of a farewell than a sentiment. It burns like acid but I smile, “I will love you far longer than that.” I push myself from his arms and leave the hall, fighting my tears. I don’t run up the stairs; I run for the stables out the side door. His horse is waiting for me in the yard before I even get there. I jump onto him and let him run as hard as he can across the field.

  When he gets to the dark woods, I hop down. I don’t need Bash this time. I know where I am going and I know I am safe.

  I walk down the path to the cluster of houses in the woods and smile when Elise finds me. She hugs me and asks me who I am, just like she did in the dream. She looks scared when she hears who I am, but again, the dark-haired lady is there. She smiles and takes my hand. Instead of kissing me, like she did in my dream, she pulls me to one of the cottages. “I have been expecting you.”

  I nod, “I know.”

  She gives me a sly look, “Do you?”

  “Yes, I dreamt of you once. Of this very moment.”

  She sits in a large chair and offers the other one. We sit by the fire and she smiles. “I want your version of your memories before I tell you what we have seen.”

  "For me the story is just pieced together with the confused memories I have. It is a mess, I fear.”

  “You recall nothing that makes sense then?”

  I nod, “I do—all but one part—Bastion.”

  She gives me a look, “Tell me what you think has filled the ten years that you have been gone, and I will tell you where you are wrong.”

  I shrug, “Okay. I think it all started when my sister suspected my mother’s ulterior motives for us both. Baylor somehow figured out that our mother wanted our magic, but mine hadn’t come in. Something caused the friction between Mother and Baylor, and Mother put me to sleep so I would be somewhere safe for her to come and harvest my magic like she did to Bay. She stole Baylor’s magic, most of it, and took her to Lakeland. She made it seem as though she was staying there with Baylor and would be bringing me as well. But she didn’t. She pretended to kill herself and put a spell on Baylor so she was a small child, left in the care of Mary. Mary was part of a family with a strange curse on them. I don’t know if Mother made the curse, or if she just found a family for Baylor to live with because they were cursed. Baylor lived the life I saw in Lakeland, minus Bastion’s arrival. That was part dream and part memory and part my mother’s life here in our land, maybe. My memories of Rosie must have been from my mother and Rosie. They’re harder to grasp because Rosie was so young. Her magic was barely there. Anyway, Mother stole Bay’s life. It was easy for her. The women in my family all look so similar; my mother made herself younger with Baylor’s magic and stepped into her life, destined to be the queen. It seems as though she had planned it all so perfectly.”

  The lady smiled, “You have been able to separate dream from reality?”

  I shake my head, “Not all of it. Some things feel so real, I swear I lived them. I also don’t understand why my mother cursed Bash. Why didn’t she just take him as her husband?”

  She nods, “Bastion was your mother’s first target, but a heart filled with true love cannot be claimed by magic. When magical people fall in love, their hearts are bound and their fates are tied. You cannot kill one without the other. She couldn’t kill him properly without killing you, and she needed your magic when you would finally be a full witch. She also couldn’t step into your life without waiting—you were ten years old. With magic, age can go backward but not forward.”

  “But she cursed Bash?”

  “She discovered his love for you while trying to seduce him with hopes of murdering him and being the sole ruler.” She nods, “Baylor discovered her attempting to seduce Prince Bastion. She knew Baylor had been seen having a fit about not being queen. So your mother used glamour, a short-term spell, and pretended to be Baylor, attempting to seduce him, knowing he would be king. She quickly realized he was already in love with you. You were but ten years old so it didn’t make sense. He didn’t know he loved you; you were a child, but your mother could see his heart was not this own. When Baylor confronted her, your mother told Baylor it was all being done to get her the throne as she had always wanted. Baylor panicked and called upon Bastion’s family’s ancient bloodlines. She used her white magic to do it and saved him but cursed him at the same time. She didn’t know the scars would stay forever. She just wanted to make him immortal so your mother couldn’t harm him. Your mother was furious. If the royals discovered it was Baylor who cast the spell, she wouldn’t be able to step into her life without being burned as a witch. So your mother took Baylor’s magic and sent her away. Then made herself young and said she was Baylor. She convinced the royal family it had been your mother who had done the awful deeds.”

  I shake my head, “Why didn’t she just kill Bay? Why make her suffer somewhere so awful?”

  A wicked smile crept across her face, “Your mother assumed that Braden’s heart was tied to Baylor’s.”

  “It’s not, she loves Sam. My sister’s heart is tied to Sam’s.”

  “Yes. She cannot die without killing Sam at the same moment.”

  “Then she is alive?” I am so confused but desperate for it to be true.

  She nods, “She cannot be killed without Sam.”

  “How did our mother choose Lakeland as a place for Bay?”

  She laughs, “To trap someone in a curse, it must be linked to the person somehow. Like Bash. He could not be made a wolf, if he didn’t have the ancient bloodlines. Baylor couldn’t be cursed unless the curse was similar to something she already had. Our magical blood has a curse on it. Our kiss kills and to love a woman such as us, means death. Only a person who is tied to us can survive the love of a lady of the Loch. The curse in Lakeland, put upon the Lachlan family, was the same. Your mother searched space and time for it;
she opened the portal there for that very reason.

  I look behind her on the wall and see the painting of Bash. “You have it?”

  She nods, “It must be kept safe. His humanity is tied to it. He could lose himself to the wolf if it were ever destroyed.”

  I stare at it, lost in him. “He is so handsome, is he not?”

  She laughs, “He is.”

  I look at her again, “What does it mean we are written in the stars?”

  Her eyes sparkle and she looks like she is about to tell me a great secret but she doesn’t. She shakes her head, “You have so many questions, child. If I tell you about your destiny, it could end it. Just trust me, this fate of yours is going to be greater than any one person could imagine. Now you must go back to him and stay with him. The magic is yours, it is inside of you.”

  I scowl, “That is it? I came all this way, for that?”

  She laughs, “You have met me, so now we may see each other often. I am a lady of the Loch, I cannot leave here to help you. But none may enter here without an invitation.”

  “If I am a lady of the Loch, why can I leave?”

  Her eyes dazzle me still. I think she is laughing at me, “You are not full blood. It is why you may come and go from the Loch.”

  I laugh, “There isn’t even any lake here.”

  Her eyes dazzle me again, “There is a secret path to the water. It’s not important. Your destiny has two key things in it. One, you must stop them. The dark ones. I can tell you that much. Secondly, you must keep him safe. He is the one who must be kept safe. Trust your instincts and the magic will be there. Go back to Norland and practice your magic and keep him safe. The next move in the game is not yours.”

  “How do I find my sister?”

  “She will find you.” She grabs my face like in the dream and plants a kiss on my lips. I sit up fast, gasping for air. I can smell barn. I still have so many questions; I’m not ready to leave.

  I look to the side and see the horse next to me. He is sleeping on the ground. I look up into the night sky, and through the branches of the pale tree, I can see millions of stars.