I sucked in my breath. Shit! Why didn’t I realize it earlier? I put my hands to my mouth, which drew everyone’s attention.
“Will you tell me what’s going on?” Steve asked one more time.
I looked at him, horrified, and went pale. “He’s the same man I saw inside the mirror.”
“What?” Tyler yelled in horror.
I looked at Tyler and then to Julia. “Yes. He’s the same man I saw in the chapel mirror, who was looking at myself in the gown.” Something inside me clicked and my body started to shiver.
I lost my balance in fear, but Tyler grabbed me by the shoulders in time. “Oh God! Why do I feel this is more than just a fucking game?” He looked at Steve with anger. “Steve, let’s just get the hell out of here now, before it’s too late. Forget about the game.”
Julia opened her bag and took out a water bottle. She opened the cap and held it out to me. “Here, dear. Drink this. I think you’re worn out.” She looked at Steve. “Maybe we should come back tomorrow for a fresh start. The more we dig, the deeper it is getting.”
Steve didn’t say anything. Instead, he just stared at David’s picture. I didn’t like the way he was giving me the cold shoulder. He had showed concern earlier in the chapel, and now he was just staring at the castle’s owner.
“Are you just going to keep staring at the painting, or are you going to decide what you want from us?” Tyler kept bugging Steve, but it seemed like he wasn’t listening. “Why do I have a feeling that she has encountered their ghosts inside the mirror?”
After a couple of minutes, Steve turned around and looked me in the eye. “Did you notice he looks exactly like the boy who had the same eyes as yours?” He snapped his fingers and continued. “What was his name?”
“Edward,” I replied.
“Yes, Edward. This man is an adult version of Edward.” He looked back and forth from the painting to me.
I nodded silently. Tyler sighed, looked at the portrait, and thought about what we were saying.
“You’ve made a very sharp observation, Mr. Bernard,” Julia commented. She looked at me and then continued, “I’m not going to ask you if you’re sure or not about this man in the mirror, but I would like to ask you to give it one more try.” I looked at her quizzically. Tyler and Steve were also waiting for what she was about to say. “I think you should go back to the chapel and look through the mirror again to confirm if he is the same man, and if it was actually you smiling back in the white gown.”
“It was me,” I said with a snort. “Why do you think I wouldn’t be sure of my own image? I saw the woman twice.”
Julia stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about something. She walked close to the painting and looked up at it.
“If he is the same man you saw in the mirror, then it’s not you inside the mirror.” Her gaze was locked on the man standing proudly.
We all waited for her to continue.
She turned around to look at me and said, “If this is the man you saw, then it’s his beloved Jasmine in the mirror.”
“Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul,
that you never knew was missing.”
Torquato Tasso
CHAPTER 6
EDWARD
APRIL 1415
I came back to the castle after spending my entire morning at the lake, talking to the one I had been dreaming about for years. I longed to hold her, touch her, and feel the warmth of her skin, despite her almost killing me in my dreams. She had looked at me with repugnance, but I was so consumed by lust that I’d even agree to be slaughtered at her hands if that came with her touching me. I’d give her my life if she’d just agree to hold my hand, rake her warm fingers through my hair, and kiss my lips so I could drown in her pleasure forever.
I had seen my father turning into a monster for the women he’d keep for his appetites, and the more torture he performed, the more his body craved to consume them. It had never appealed me, but the woman in my dreams set my body on fire every time I thought of her. She’d always find a smooth way to enter my mind and secretly invade my heart. I knew if I saw her in real life, my heart would split open—nothing to hide, nothing to lose. It would be an open wound that she could heal in whatever way it pleased her.
I reached the table, where a lavish lunch was set for King Stefan and his special knights. Everyone was there except my sister. Stefan would allow other men and their wives to dine with him, but not his own daughter. If Emma hadn’t been in her life, she would have died long ago, and if she had died long ago then I wouldn’t have survived either. Veronica and Emma were the reason my heart was beating. I had nothing else to look forward to, other than giving Emma the life that she deserved—free of this dictatorship.
I joined the table, which was decorated with all kinds of delectable food and fruits from other countries. Stefan watched me as I sat opposite him. The servants came and filled everyone’s goblet with red wine.
“Today,” Steven announced, raising his goblet, “My son made me proud by continuing our family’s legacy.” His eyes were glued on me. The knights, lords and their wives watched him. It was the first time he had called me his son, only because according to his assumptions, I had tortured a woman today.
I raised my goblet for a toast and gulped the wine in one go. The liquid travelled down my throat, burning by skin and healing my mind simultaneously. I needed something to settle the fire burning in me because I was still uncomfortable around Concord. My teacher, Sir Phillip Concord, who taught me self-loathing in my adolescence, was sitting adjacent to me. He still watched me with lust, and even after my being his slave for six years…he was not done molesting me. Six years didn’t sate the appetite of this beast.
“Toast to Edward Hue,” said Concord, raising the glass. Everyone joined him.
“Where is the woman now?” Stefan asked unexpectedly. I never thought he’d ask me about her. Guess he was thinking of having a bite of his own.
“I disposed of her.” I cast a look around the table. They were in shock. “She stabbed herself after I was done with her.” I looked back to Stefan. He was reading my mind, body and soul. I knew by the way he was watching me. He had done it many times and caught me lying to him, but I sat there calm and composed and stared back at him with equal revulsion. He hated me for not hurting a woman, and I hated him for being a monster. We were polar opposites; we never agreed on anything. “She didn’t give me a chance to do anything else besides use her.” I lied to everyone. I didn’t even touch her except for dragging her into the tower. I hoped she’d make it back to her family. I trusted Ulysses he’d take her safely.
“Okay.” Stefan watched me over the rim of his cup. “There will be other times.” He took a sip. “At least you took the initiative.” His gaze was still glued on me…probably wondering what I did to that innocent woman. I knew what a sick bastard he was, and the more I thought about his approach to kingship and how he wanted me to be, the more abhorrent it was getting.
“What about the birthday plan, King Stefan?” Sir Phillip asked, which made Stefan look at him. “And any special woman you’re choosing to be Edward’s bride on his birthday?”
“Edward’s birthday is two months away,” Stefan announced. “But he needs more training in order to become a powerful king, as all Hue men have been.” Which meant I had to torture yet more people, and unless my mind became susceptible to the idea that this was how you pleasure yourself, he would not agree that I deserved the throne. He wanted me to torture a woman in front of him. “And as for Edward’s wife…”
“I’m mature enough to make my own decisions and chose my life partner,” I announced, looking straight into Stefan’s eyes. I pushed the chair back and got up. I had already lost my appetite when I saw my molester at the table. “Please excuse me,” I announced. “I hope you enjoy the lunch.”
That was it! Day by day, Stefan was making it impossible for me to tolerate him. I knew he had plans to break me one day, so I could do something
so vicious that it would bring a complete change in my life.
I took the stairs and headed to Veronica’s room. I wanted to let my sister know that I was going out for a ride and would come back late. I knocked at her door. No one answered. She never went out of the castle and I knew she was not making candles at this hour, so I didn’t understand why she wasn’t responding. I pushed the door open a bit to see if she was in the room. She was sitting by the window, looking outside…lost in her own world.
I walked toward her but she didn’t even move. She was too engrossed in her thoughts. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she jerked suddenly when she registered my presence.
“Sorry if I scared you,” I said with compassion.
“No…I wasn’t doing anything.” She forced a smile.
“You were…” I looked at her. “Being lost in your own world is a task.” I smiled back.
“What’s the point?” She turned away from the window. “I was wondering what will happen when Emma grows up.” She held my hand. “Will you take care of her when I’m gone?”
I gathered my eyebrows. “Don’t ever say that again.” I placed my hand on her cheek. “You know how important you are to me.”
Her eyes welled up with tears, but she did her best to hold them back. “But one day I have to die.”
“Everyone has to die.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not going to live forever either.”
She touched the side of my arm and I hissed in pain. “Oh sorry…does that still hurt?” She moved her hand instantly away from my arm. “Why do you do that to yourself?”
I stayed silent and looked up at the ceiling.
“It’s not going to give you anything besides pain,” she continued. “It is not going to change anything, Ed. Stop hurting yourself.”
I still didn’t react.
“Let me see your wound now.” She held my arm and dragged me to her bed. I removed my shirt and she looked at me in horror.
“Edward…” She put her hands over her mouth. “It’s worse than the previous one. Why did you do that?” she shouted in frustration.
I looked at her for a while. She had every right to ask me. “Pain is pain, V. Either mine or my victim’s.” I chuckled. “I had to endure equal pain so I could live.”
“You do this all the time. You need time to heal.” She sank onto her bed.
Two days ago, Hampton had brought a man in front of Stefan who was caught stealing a sack of barley from our food storage house. I knew the man was very poor and he had no choice but to steal the food in order to live. I was there at the lunch table when the man was brought into the hall.
He was then taken to the tower and I was ordered to punish him in front of Stefan. He had made sure he stood by my side to watch the misery of the starving man. He had always done that to make sure I didn’t spare anyone. I had to show my monstrous side to him so he could believe that I was as cruel as him. I had to flog the poor man and when his wounds were open and pouring blood, I’d flay him. He couldn’t bear the pain. Later that night, I went to the tower to check on him but he had died from pain and blood loss. I was responsible for his death. I killed a starving man just for a sack of barley.
After that, I headed straight to the chapel. This was my ritual every time I’d hurt anyone. I’d go to the chapel and confront God when no one was around—very late at night when the entire kingdom was sleeping. It gave me strength to confront Him and courage to pay penance for my sin.
I would strip in front of Satan’s mirror and see my soul. Yes, it was my inner soul that was black and monstrous, and that the mirror was capable of showing. We were all Satan in disguise here, and the mirror showed the truth. After every torture done by me in the tower, I would confront the mirror and flog myself.
Blow by blow, the welts from each wound gave me equal pain and gratification. The pain gave me peace—it was atonement for my soul that I paid Him what was deserved. But the monster in the mirror never bled like my body did. It was always a black hideous beast.
I looked at my sister, who was watching me with warmth. “He died because of me, V.” I shook my head in disgust. “A life for a sack of barley?”
I lay down on her bed and she brought dressing and medicine to apply to the wounds. The small ones were almost healed, but the deep cuts were still raw. It didn’t hurt me anymore because I was used to this pain now. A tear dropped from her eye. She had always felt my pain.
“Did you remember that our birthday is coming up?” I changed the subject. She didn’t respond. “Anything you want on your special day?”
Her gaze met mine. She didn’t speak for a moment, and then blinked twice. “I need a promise.”
“A promise?” I repeated.
She nodded while still applying herbal medicine to my wounds. “You’ll keep Emma safe and love her like a father.”
“You know I love her.” I furrowed my brow. She should not even say that. “Do you have any doubt?”
“After you become a king…promise you’ll not abandon her?” She watched me with hope.
“You don’t need to tie me with a promise, V. She is my child too. Why would I abandon her?”
She didn’t say anything. Her gaze was locked on my wounds.
“Tell me your secret wish.” I changed the subject again. “Anything you want to experience in your life?” I knew she heard me.
She thought for a moment. “I would like to feel nature.” She looked up at me. “I wish to wake up by sunlight hitting my eyes.” She took a deep breath. “I wish I could drench myself in rain and feel every drop of it on my body.” I looked at her. “I wish to hold and smell the flowers before they die in my hands.” She paused and asked me. “What do you wish for?”
I looked at the ceiling and told her my greatest wish. “I wish to see myself.”
The spell the Hue family was under made us cursed to never feel the sun on us, because there was a constant dark cloud over all the family members, inside or outside the castle boundary. And that cloud never rained, either. Our touch was a curse to nature. We couldn’t gather the flowers in the fields because they’d wither and die as soon as we’d touch them. We couldn’t see ourselves in any mirror, because our inner beast was too powerful to show our outer appearance.
“I wish that too.” She smiled at me. “You know, John once told me how I look.” There was a painful memory dancing in her eyes. “He told me how beautiful I am.” She shook her head. “I saw myself in his eyes.”
“You’re beautiful,” I assured her.
She forced a smile again. “I know you wish to see yourself.” She looked at my wounds and ignored my compliment. “That’s why you go to that mirror to hurt yourself in front of God, and find a way to end the curse.”
“Do you think breaking the curse will end this? Look at our father.”
“But that is also a curse, isn’t it? Him leading a sinful life of brutality? And besides, it has been like this for seven generations.” She was still dressing my wounds. “Maybe one day you’ll also find someone who could show you how you really are.” Our eyes met. She was giving me hope—hope that had died in her. “Maybe she would become your mirror, where you could see your reflection. Just don’t ever let her go when you find her.”
I looked up the ceiling again. I didn’t know if I’d ever find a woman who could show me who I am.
“Are you going to be like King Stefan?”
Her sudden question surprised me. I’d never thought about it. “Stefan says there are some family secrets that he will tell me once he’s made sure I’m ready to be a king.”
“You mean, just like him?”
I nodded. She knew it meant more killing of men and torturing women.
“I know you took a woman to the tower this morning.” She was looking down on my wounds. Her eyes didn’t meet mine, but they were curious too.
“I peeled her out of Stefan’s grip.” She looked up at me when I spoke. “To set her free.”
“Where did she go
?”
“I asked Ulysses to take her back to the village and asked her to leave there tonight.” I looked at my sister. “She doesn’t need to live under this dictatorship.”
“Oh, Ed. I’m so proud of you.” She was done dressing my wound. “I heard the rumors.” She had something on her mind now.
“What rumors?”
“About your marriage.” She smiled at me. “King Stefan is thinking of—”
“I told him it’s my life. I’d make my own decision.” I saw my sister was shocked. “Besides, I don’t think I can love any woman, V.” I shook my head. “I need to see the woman from my dream, meet her first. I want to know if she actually wants to kill me, or would love me as much as I’m willing to give her myself.”
“What if she comes out of your dream?”
“I will make sure that she stays with me forever,” I assured her.
“And what if she doesn’t love you back the same way?”
“I won’t let that happen. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in misery like you are.” A tear trickled from her eye. I had reminded her of her painful past. “I want to live. I want to feel love and explore everything that contains love.” I caressed her head softly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything for you, but I promise Emma won’t suffer if I ever become king.” That was a solemn promise. I would never let Emma suffer like her mother. I gave V a reason to smile. I knew Emma was the only reason she was living in this castle and complying with all of Stefan’s unjust rules.
I sat up and put on my shirt again.
There was a knock at the door.
“Yes?”
A woman opened the door. “Your daughter…” She was panicking.
We both got off the bed instantly. “What happened to Emma?” Veronica asked.
Once Upon A [Stolen] Time (Stolen Series Book 1) Page 10
