Once Upon A [Stolen] Time (Stolen Series Book 1)

by Ahsan, Samreen

  “Never fall for a woman…” His voice echoed about the room. “This is advice from father to son. It hurts when you see your loved one leaving this world.” He wasn’t looking at me, but I felt humanity in his voice. There was still a man with a beating heart in him. He ached for his wife, but he never cried for his daughter? No matter how cursed Veronica was, she was still his blood. How could he cast her away from his life?

  “The reason I’m telling you all this today is because I know the zephyr of love is not going to mellow your heart anymore.” He turned and looked at me with pride. “I have seen you turning from a lost lover to an armored man.” He smiled. “If I had told you Jasmine’s story earlier—you’d have felt sorry for her.” He took a sip from his goblet. The drink was now running in his blood. He had never talked to me like this.

  But he was mistaken. I still felt sorry for her.

  “Your birthday is coming soon, where I will procure a wife for you and announce your engagement.” He watched me as he spoke. “My life as a king is nearing its end now.” There was pain in his eyes. He looked tired. “It was time to reveal the truth.”

  “What do you mean?” It wasn’t that I would feel sorry for his death, but I wanted to know what made him think that he’d depart from this world soon.

  He took a deep breath and another sip of his drink, and walked to his chair to sit across from me. He closed his eyes for a moment. I believed he was thinking of saying something more.

  “The Hues have a lifeline of age sixty.” He opened his eyes and dabbed his cigar again. “I’m already fifty-nine.” His tone was subtle, as if he was already prepared to welcome death. “This is also a curse to Hue men—not living beyond sixty.” He shook his head and chuckled. “And the truth is—you stop living the moment you know when you’re going to die.” He took a deep puff from his cigar, as if not willing to let it go.

  I was speechless.

  “Before you take the throne, I will go to the neighboring countries to pay my farewell as a king, and I will move out of this room so you can take over the royal wing.” I averted my eyes from his scrutiny and looked around the room. It was screaming with horror. I couldn’t imagine making love with anyone on this bed, when I knew so many had already died here.

  Oh, wait! We were not supposed to fall in love. It would only bring death.

  “Wouldn’t leaving this castle be risking your life?” I shouldn’t be concerned about his well-being, but no matter how much I denied it, he was still my father.

  He gave me a smile. “My time is over, son. It’s your time to run the kingdom.” He rubbed his beard. “Plus, I don’t desire to fall in love. I have led my life.”

  The idea of getting the Hues’ throne didn’t thrill me now. It was a stolen legacy from a woman who was ruined by falling in love. If she had not trusted the treacherous brothers, this would not have happened. I didn’t know about David. Father said he was truly in love—maybe they were both in love. Maybe Jasmine didn’t kill her husband. Maybe Andrew was the culprit in David’s demise. How would I ever find out the truth about Jasmine? Should I go back to Satan’s mirror to talk to her? Ask her if she killed her own husband, who loved her dearly, or if it was Andrew who did it, out of vengeance.

  It felt good that Stefan had lost his ability to sneak inside me. He thought Jasmine’s story didn’t affect me. But the truth was—I wanted to know the truth. Stefan told me what he had been told by his father. The tale had been passed along from generation to generation. Was it actually the truth?

  My gaze got stuck on a large mirror hanging opposite the four-poster bed. The mirror was framed in ebony, and showed everything in its reflection. How strange it was—the objects in the room were not cursed and could be seen in the mirror, but the people with beating hearts and blood running through them could not see themselves.

  “Did you ever desire to see yourself?” My question caught his attention, distracting him from the discussion of my engagement. He was rubbing his temple. “I mean, did you ever wonder what you look like?”

  “Does it matter?” he asked blankly. There was no emotion in his face—just dark brown eyes staring at me. "Besides...you only desire to see yourself when others see you with love." His words were thought-provoking.

  A moment of silence passed between us.

  “From next week onwards, a family with an eligible daughter will be invited for dinner every Sunday till your birthday. I sent out the invitations months ago. You will have the opportunity to meet and talk to every girl, and then on your day you will decide which one to choose.” He was bringing me back to the same old topic.

  “What if I don’t like anyone?” I asked.

  “Then I will choose on your behalf.” He threw me his wicked smile.

  “Then why bother having dinner with them? Pick any of them,” I replied. “If I’m not supposed to fall for anyone, then what’s the point of having dinners every week? Invite all of them on the same day and pick one you think is suitable,” I suggested.

  He stayed quiet—probably thinking over what I’d just said. “As you wish.” He shrugged. “It is my advice to never let any woman affect you.”

  “Why?”

  “They turn you meek.” He passed his fingers through his white hair. Shadows of the past were dancing in his eyes.

  He didn’t have to tell me not to let myself get affected. The only woman who ever affected me was already after someone else. He was right, though. She did paralyze my mind with her incredible beauty. I didn’t know if the woman I saw in the mirror was trapped in it, or if it was just her ghost lurking there, but if she was Jasmine, she was either deceased or not meant for me. The temptation to share this incident with my father, as he’d shared so much with me today, was too much.

  “I saw her.” I spoke softly, but still caught his attention.

  “Who?” he inquired.

  I couldn’t meet his eyes. He was trying to read me again. “The witch you talked about…I think I saw her.”

  “How do you know it was her?”

  “She is inside Satan’s mirror in the chapel.”

  Stefan jerked back and leaned against the back of his armchair. He was still watching me. “You never go to the chapel,” he commented.

  I had no answer for him. “I went there to look at myself, but I saw a woman trapped in that mirror.”

  He knitted his eyebrows. “You mean you didn’t see yourself as a beast?”

  “I did…” God…it was hard to explain to him. “I saw the beast, but when I moved closer to the mirror, she was inside it.” I looked toward the ceiling, recalling my first encounter. “She called me David.” I looked back at him. He was utterly shocked and speechless. There was nothing he could say. “So that’s how I knew she was someone looking for David, and if David didn’t love any other woman besides Jasmine, then I’m sure it was her.”

  “Did she ask you to help her come out?” His question silenced me. It was I who’d asked her to come out, but I didn’t have the balls to say that to him. He could never know how desperate I was to feel her.

  “No,” I answered. “She didn’t say anything other than David’s name. She thought I was David.” I averted my eyes and looked at the mirror on the wall again. I wondered what power this mirror had. I’d never known there was a mirror in this castle besides the one in the chapel. I’d always heard all the mirrors were taken down after that witch hexed the Hue family.

  “Indeed, you look like him. I don’t know why you got his looks.” He rested his head against the back of his chair. He looked tired, and apparently drunk.

  “I think I should leave now. You should sleep.” I got up from my seat.

  “Was she beautiful?” he asked me in his drunken voice.

  I chuckled. “Does it matter?” I shook my head. “Good night, King Stefan.” I walked out of his room.

  This was the longest private conversation we’d ever had. I didn’t want him to probe further about my experience. I desperately wanted to kick her ou
t of my mind, but her beautiful flawless face kept flashing back. She had stopped coming into my dreams, but she had not stopped haunting me in every breath. I see her everywhere—her eyes chase my thoughts—her fragrance encapsulates my mind—her voice surrounds my entire world and shakes my stone-clad existence.

  I wanted to forget her. I wished to never see her again, but she had the ultimate power over my heart, body and soul.

  “I have found the paradox,

  that if you love until it hurts,

  there can be no more hurt,

  only more love.”

  Mother Teresa

  CHAPTER 11

  MYRA

  MAY 2015

  Time had split me into two.

  I didn’t know which world I belonged to.

  It had been a month since I returned from Morocco, but I had left my heart there. I didn’t know what was waiting for me in that book until I discovered that I was the only one in this entire world who had the power to decode it. My touch worked like a password on those blank papyrus pages. My world had been turned upside down after sneaking into someone else’s life. I came to know things about my existence that were previously unknown to me, and everyone around me.

  Although I was Myra Farrow, my knowledge of my origins had been shaken since I opened the book. I was told that the one who was able to see the book would also belong to the cult of magicians who were capable of capturing time. Was I one of them? Could I capture time, or did I only have the power to see into other times?

  Thousands of questions had been storming through my brain.

  Who am I?

  What is my connection to Hue Castle?

  Am I part of the Hue dynasty?

  Who is Edward to me?

  Why do I feel so much passion for Edward?

  How was I able to touch him through the magical mirror?

  What else is the mirror capable of?

  Who is Jasmine to me?

  Why did she kill David, if she loved him?

  Where did Edward go?

  Why didn’t he become king?

  There were a million questions sprouting in my head every day, and I had no clue where to dig for their answers.

  I saw things beyond the abilities of the human brain. How do you feel when you see each and every emotion of another person, without any barrier? You feel their every touch, their every tear touches your heart, and their every pain touches your body.

  The book gave me a new reason to breathe. I read everything about Edward—from his birth to his disappearance. He was gone long ago, but he had changed my life forever. I would never be able to fall in love with any other man, because the only man I craved existed six hundred years ago. His every expression, every emotion, every breath had settled in my soul. I had no escape from it. No matter how hard I tried to forget him—I could not get him out of my mind.

  Every time I opened the book and touched it, the words glowed and started making a whirlwind around me. The whirlwind then morphed into a window frame—the same as the chapel’s mirror—and page after page, I read about Edward’s life. Nowhere in the histories or legends was it mentioned that he had a twin sister named Veronica. Ed and V grew up together and were closely bonded—they played and fought together, staying together through thick and thin. They were united in any battle they waged. I never had a sibling, but I could still feel what it would be like to have such a close bond with your sister. Veronica was Edward’s other half—one soul split into two bodies.

  Every emotion felt by Edward and Veronica was captured in the book as if there was a hidden camera focused on them, secretly making a video. Edward was twelve when his training to become a king started. Archery, swordsmanship, horseback riding—he was trained to compete in all of them. There was no room for tears or pain. All he could do was sit with his twin sister and endure his anger. His teacher molested him for five years—resulting in Edward despising his own body. He tempted and seduced Edward into revealing his family’s secrets and promised he would be able to see himself in the mirror if he pleased his teacher.

  After five years of this torture, he allowed no one in the world to touch him except for Veronica. Where all the other kids spent their childhood running and playing under sun and rain, Edward and Veronica spent their childhood in darkness. They were cursed to never be able to enjoy nature. Veronica longed all her life to hold and touch the flowers, whereas Edward longed to see himself in the mirror. They looked at themselves through each other’s eyes.

  When they reached adulthood, Veronica fell in love with a baker, who showed her a whole new world. He was poor, but his love for Veronica shone in his eyes. She could see how beautiful she was through his loving gaze. He showed her sunshine and rainbows and made her believe that fairy tales were real. He made her believe that she could lead a life full of colors, despite being cursed.

  John’s love for Veronica was above and beyond any curse, but she did not know that her cruel father would never allow her to see any light. Just as he himself was doomed to lurk in darkness forever—King Stefan made sure his children would not see any light either.

  Edward supported Veronica in every step she took. She secretly married John in a nearby church and after a few months—when King Stefan learned that his daughter was carrying the child of a poor baker—he abandoned his daughter and slaughtered the baker. I saw his head being separated from his body. It pained me to watch everything happen in front of my eyes, as much as it had pained Veronica.

  A few months after the death of the baker, a beautiful baby girl was born, who brought happiness into Edward and Veronica’s world. Edward loved his niece like he’d have loved his own daughter. She was the light in his darkened life. As I turned the pages, Edward’s secret desires grew silently in him. Since his childhood, he had been seeing a woman in his dreams who had grey eyes that both haunted and enticed him.

  Sometimes when he’d tell his sister about his dreams, I felt like he was talking about me. I was tempted to call out to Edward and attempt to talk to him, but Bakr, the old man in the bookstore, had warned me not to talk to them. He told me if they knew I was reading their lives, there was no turning back for me.

  All his life, Edward longed for his dream woman, but the moment he talked to someone in the mirror when Veronica died, I knew he was talking to me. I experienced his present in the past but in my present, which was tied to our unknown future together. I didn’t know how it was possible—who was recording or storing everything in that wordless book—but whoever did it knew I’d come from somewhere and read it.

  It was I Edward longed for.

  Every day he’d run to the lake and talk to me. There were moments when he actually looked up at me. I couldn’t explain it to my friends, what deep and tumultuous exchanges we had. Unspoken words travelled from past to present and present to past without the barrier of centuries. The entire time I was locked in Edward’s world—what he dreamed, what he desired, how he talked, how he felt, how he longed for me. It was I he dreamed and breathed. How could I ever forget the man who, despite of forging himself into a stone, still had the heart of a passionate lover? Without touching me, he had seeped through every nerve fiber in me. He wouldn’t know if I ever existed, but still I was a major part of his life. He hoped to see me, touch me, feel me, but suddenly he lost himself in darkness.

  Veronica and Edward had led a happy life together as siblings despite being trapped in the cursed castle. They built their own cocoon filled with love for Emma. Dark clouds still hovered over their lives for so many years, and one day those clouds flooded their lives. Since the time Emma was born, Edward hid from his father the fact that he took the child to meet her aunt every day so she’d never feel abandoned. But when King Stefan found out about the lie, he punished Edward in a way no father should be able to imagine.

  He made Edward kill Veronica.

  Her death turned all the pages in Edward’s life. He no longer smiled, no longer breathed and no longer lived. I wanted to stop him fr
om disappearing into darkness. I would scream and cry his name, but then Steve reminded me I was living in the past. I cried for a man who had died long ago and was now history. I’d beg Steve to take me back to Hue castle and let me talk to Edward, to stop him from choosing darkness over light. Why didn’t he wait for me? I’d have come back for him in the mirror. I’d have touched him again and told him how much I craved touching him.

  I watched how he led a life different from his father’s. His father enjoyed extracting pain from others, and especially sexual pain from innocent women. He was apparently a sadist and wanted his son to take the lead. I saw how Edward secretly released all the female prisoners from the tower without harming them. No one else knew what he did, but what he didn’t know was that I was always there. I had always been there. It was as if God assigned me to him and made him for me. But if Edward was destined to be mine, then why did God let me be born in the twenty-first century? I’d leave my entire world for Edward if he’d just give me his hand to hold.

  There were things I came to know that were never recorded in the history books. I saw and listened to what Edward and King Stefan discussed in his chamber one night. He called his son to him and revealed the secrets of his family that were unknown to all the historians. History never mentioned that the kings had a fixed lifespan due to the curse.

  According to King Stefan, David truly loved Jasmine and Andrew couldn’t fathom the fact that she chose David over him. Out of vengeance, he took everything from Jasmine that she had. What history said was—Andrew took back what he thought was his, since he was the cousin of King Audrey whom Jasmine healed with magical water. No one knew that he never belonged to the royal bloodline. It was a lie in order to gain the throne and Jasmine’s heart.

  I had the same doubts as Edward. Did Jasmine actually kill her husband, if she loved him so much? It didn’t make any sense. She was a kind-hearted woman who healed people.

  Like Edward, I also felt sorry for her. Despite being a witch, she still had feelings for David. She should not have been thrown out of her own home like that. That was an utter betrayal that the Hue family perpetrated against her.