“It is not a superstition. My daughter is not going back there,” my mother insisted. I was not expecting her to go into a rage in front of Steve’s family.
“Mrs. Farrow, Myra is going to be my wife soon, and it is my responsibility to look after her wellbeing. If I took her to—”
“This is not debatable, son,” my father interrupted. He looked at Mr. Bernard. “Do you know what your son is up to?”
Steve’s father’s look said he had no idea what had happened previously. He looked blankly at my father. “Your son secretly took my daughter to Hue Castle. We all know it’s haunted, and moreover they took risks they shouldn’t have.”
“What risks are you talking about, Mr. Farrow?” Steve asked confidently. It seemed like he was in the mood for an argument.
“Steve, I—”
“Myra, you’re not involved in this argument. I want to know what concerns your parents have regarding Hue Castle. I am going to marry you soon, we are getting officially engaged in a month and your parents are still skeptical about me.” His tone was not polite at all. “That is not the way you treat your son-in-law.” He gazed at my mother’s horrified face.
“What is going on here?” Mrs. Bernard interjected.
“If I had married your daughter and then taken her to Hue Castle, would you still have been concerned?” He was looking daggers at my mother. This was not good. They were on the verge of breaking into a fight.
“She would still be our daughter, and her wellbeing would still be our concern. Giving her hand to you doesn’t take away our responsibility as her parents,” my father interrupted, annoyed.
“Okay…hang on.” Mr. Bernard shushed everyone by raising his palm. “I want to know what is going on. You guys had an argument or something that we don’t know about?”
“Dad, I told you I was filming Hue Castle for my game, right?” Steve spoke first. Mr. Bernard nodded.
“I admit I never told anyone I was taking Myra there, because I had signed an NDA with the castle’s archeological department. Myra has also signed an NDA.” My mother was still watching me in anger. “I also admit that we saw things that were not recorded in the castle’s documented history, but due to the NDAs, nothing is going to be disclosed.” He glanced at my mother. “Holding on to doubts and superstitions is useless. There are no ghosts there.” His assertive tone made my mother shift in her seat. “Please keep in mind that this game had been my dream for many years. I worked hard on it. Being with Myra has made things possible for me—things that were previously impossible. I need her in my gaming adventure because without her, I won’t be able to create it. She’s the only one that can make it possible.” I was totally awed by this truth. When he said he was mesmerized by my powers, he wasn’t lying. His tone suddenly changed into a request when he looked at my father. “You’ve got to trust me when I say I will take care of her. She is important to me because without her—there is no game.” He was not willing to disclose my powers to his parents right now. My parents already knew, but he didn’t say anything further.
My parents also remained quiet—trying to hold back the truth. The room flooded with heavy silence. I wasn’t sure how my parents would react.
“How many days do you need to film your game?” my father asked Steve.
Steve straightened up. “Not sure, Mr. Farrow. But I think we would need a month. The castle is huge. It’s a mystery game that reveals secrets room by room,” he said proudly.
“Your engagement party is in a month,” Mrs. Bernard interrupted. “You have interviews lined up and some galas to attend as a couple.”
“Mom, please. You know how much I’ve always hated these social events. Please keep both of us out of the limelight. No one should know that we are exploring Hue Castle. Just let the media know that we both are out of town, so these vultures stop chasing us for our pictures.”
“How can you hide from them?” my mother asked.
“We are thinking of staying in Hue Castle until the filming is done,” he said confidently, as if nothing could change his mind. I looked at him in complete shock. Stay inside Hue Castle for a month—or at least, until he was done filming it?
My heart started racing like Ulysses. Edward’s horse was one of a kind. He galloped with grace. I’d always wanted to ride that horse.
“Are you crazy?” My mother’s shock was justified. “Day and night in that haunted castle?”
“Mrs. Farrow, please, it is not haunted,” Steve argued. He was getting annoyed now.
“But you haven’t been there at night,” my father interjected.
Steve leaned back on the couch. “As a matter of fact, I have…one night.” He looked at me. “We had some problems with lighting, but it felt like living in medieval times.”
“Who else was with you?” I asked.
“Tyler and Watson—we wanted to test the conditions. Honestly, there’s nothing to worry about.” He shrugged one shoulder. “And their toilets are also in good condition.” He smiled mischievously. He was not worried about whether my parents were watching me. He was too engrossed in talking to me. Julia told us once that the castle was upgraded with flush lavatories during its restoration. “I was trying to make a solid foundation before pulling you into this. It was more like camping.”
“So you guarantee my daughter will be safe?” my father disrupted our conversation.
Steve looked back at my father. “Yes, Mr. Farrow. Your daughter is in good hands. You need to trust us.” His eyes beamed with confidence.
His attention came back to me. “So I will pick you up tomorrow at eight. I already told you what to bring.” He seemed pretty serious about this assignment. It was a very important project to him.
The discussion ended on another round of dessert and coffee.
“Love knows not distance;
it hath no continent;
its eyes are for the stars.”
Gilbert Parker
CHAPTER 12
EDWARD
MAY 1415
Since the day I had chained my heart and built a tomb around myself, Jasmine had stopped haunting my dreams. After a couple of nights, I took the risk of going to the chapel to find out if she was still there.
All I could see was the black hideous beast staring back at me.
I wondered where she went. Was there another world behind that mirror, or was it showing something from the past? It was the same chapel, but the pews were missing. The walls looked colorless.
Was it so barren in earlier times? Jasmine lived in this castle eight generations ago. That was more than two hundred years.
Was it her ghost, or was she was truly immortal, since she lived under Satan’s reign?
Was she enjoying watching all of us living in darkness and misery?
Did the mirror act like a window for her?
Was she still watching me?
I never had the courage to ask King Stefan if he ever felt the same. If he ever thought she was watching him, her gaze following him everywhere. I had seen him stone-clad since my childhood. Nothing seeped through his tomb. He had been a stone like this for years. Nothing affected him; nothing was powerful enough to make him laugh, or at least bring a smile to his face. A natural smile—not the smile he displayed when something satanic came into his mind. I had never seen him happy or contented. He was proud that I seemed to be turning out exactly like him.
After our meeting last week in his room and the secrets he revealed to me, I had started visiting the chapel every day. I attended morning mass and noticed how people despised the Hue family. I was sure they would celebrate forever if our reign ended. They had hoped I would change things, but that hope burned down and was buried with Veronica’s departure.
The priest continued his services every morning—reminding everyone of his or her sins. He would tell us every day how to please the Lord and if we committed a sin, how happy and proud Satan would be. I guessed the Hue family was more committed to making Satan proud.
; People attended mass every day in order to keep King Stefan happy. They would only see black hideous beasts in the mirror. This was a reminder to the entire village that no matter how good they were—they were still Satan in disguise. King Stefan made them feel guilty each morning.
After mass, I walked out of the chapel and headed toward the dining room for breakfast. It had been a while since I had seen Haakon—not since Veronica’s death. I wondered what he was up to.
On my way to the dining room, I met him in the corridor. His eyes showed surprise, and I felt he had been avoiding me.
“Haakon,” I greeted him. “Where have you been?”
“Just busy doing chores, Your Highness.” Your Highness? He had never called me that. I was always Edward to him.
I ignored his salutations. “Are you doing well?”
He nodded but still avoided my gaze.
“We have not spoken in a long time…let’s go for a walk,” I ordered. He looked around the corridor to see if anyone was watching us. If they were, he was just making us look more suspicious. “What are you looking for?” I asked him, out of curiosity.
“Nothing, Your Highness. Let’s go.” He walked to a door leading out to the barren courtyard.
He started the conversation. “How have you been doing, Your Highness?” I halted and looked at him.
“Why are you talking to me like that?” I asked.
He smiled and looked down. “You’ve always been our future king.”
I shook my head. “Let’s walk.” I gestured him forward.
After a couple of minutes of silence, he finally asked me the question I had been avoiding for so long.
“How have you been coping without your sister?” I never thought he’d dare to ask me that.
I didn’t look at him. I just stared at the barren land in front of me. I didn’t want to answer his question, but then I thought, why not? No one had dared to ask me about my pain, but someday I had to face it.
“I’ve stopped living in pain.” I looked at him. He was watching me, trying to read my soul. I knew he would never reach it. My eyes gave him nothing to read—no window to my soul. There was a heavily fortified tomb around it. No one, including me, could approach. His question didn’t even penetrate the indomitable stone walls I had built after her death.
“You’ve become stronger.” He paused, probably waiting for my reaction. “Just like King Stefan wanted.”
I didn’t react to his comment—though it was true. We just kept walking.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “Do you know anything about the chapel’s mirror?” I asked him.
He didn’t look at me. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he was walking slowly due to his advanced age. His face said he had something going on in his mind.
“Did you see anything besides the beast?” he asked me.
I didn’t want to lie. I was still curious if he knew about Jasmine.
“I saw Jasmine inside the mirror.” I almost whispered, but it was audible enough for him to hear. He stopped walking and looked me in the eye.
“That’s not possible,” he gasped. “How do you know it was her? No one has ever seen her.”
“She called me David. I look like King David, don’t I?”
“Yes, but she cannot be Jasmine. That’s not possible.” He shook his head.
“Why not?”
“Because she’s dead. How could you see her?”
“It could be her ghost,” I reasoned.
He snickered and shook his head again. “No, that is not even possible.” He asked, “Did she talk to you?”
“I was able to touch her also,” I said quietly.
“Have you told this to anybody?” he asked again.
“Yes, King Stefan.” He gave me a worried look. He didn’t like it that I’d shared my experience with my father. “When he told me about Jasmine and how she took the colors from this castle, I told him I guess I saw that witch.”
I realized I had shared too much information with him. He was not family, and this was a family secret. But his expression said he already knew.
We resumed our walk.
“What do you know about Jasmine?” I asked Haakon again.
He avoided looking at me. “That she was the owner of this castle.” He was lost in his trail of thoughts. “That’s all I know.” I didn’t believe him. I had an idea that he knew more secrets than anyone in this castle. He had been with the Hue family for a very long time, and his lips had always been sealed.
“There is something else I want you to know, Your Highness,” he said, after a few minutes of silence. He had my full attention. “Every person in this world has a book of life. Your fate and destiny was written there before you were born.” I kept listening. “In your case, someone has torn your pages and changed your destiny.”
I stopped walking and looked at him in shock.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“You and I don’t know if she was Jasmine or her ghost or some other witch—but your future says a woman will come into your life to raze everything around you and turn your life upside down.” He continued, “You’ll treat her as your enemy, because she’ll have the power to batter everything, tearing down your defenses.” For a moment, I thought he was reading my mind.
“How do you know?”
“You know I can predict the future.” He smiled.
“How accurately?”
“As accurately as the darkness here.” He turned and looked around the castle.
“Will she be my enemy?” I was curious.
“That you have to decide on your own,” he answered solemnly. “You may love her, or you may hate her and live in complete darkness—either way, she will enter your life and turn things upside down in a way you never imagined. She will know everything about you—you won’t find any way to hide the truth from her, because she’ll already know. She has already read your pages.” He was looking at the castle, but I was staring at him in astonishment.
“Will she end the curse?”
He smiled sadly. “It depends…”
“Depends on what?” I asked.
“Depends on how she’s treated.” His words didn’t make sense.
“Will she have the power to end the curse?” I asked again, changing my words a bit. I was curious to know if it was possible to end the curse.
He was still staring at the castle, thinking about my questions.
“No one accepts change easily, Your Highness. You won’t either.” He looked down. “Now excuse me, Your Highness, I have to finish some important chores.” He didn’t meet my gaze.
He fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and walked back to the castle. I kept watching him, contemplating his predictions. They had always been true before. He told me once that Veronica would have a shorter life than I. How short, I never realized until now. I turned around and looked at the desolate grounds in front of me. What did Jasmine do to the land? Was it ever filled with colors? How was she able to destroy everything?
And if Haakon’s predictions were true…what if the woman in the mirror wasn’t Jasmine? Who was she then? Would she truly know everything about my past? Would she come and change my future?
My thoughts were still in another world when I heard King Stefan behind me.
“Edward,” he called out loudly. I turned around and watched him walk toward me. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Anything important?” I asked.
“Yes.” He waved his hand. “Follow me.” He walked back to the castle.
We strolled together until we reached his room. If he was bringing me to his room again, there must be something else he wanted to share. He opened the door and we entered his grand chamber.
“The night you came in, I kept thinking about it.” He walked toward his four-poster bed. “I was thinking maybe you have more powers than the rest of us.” He looked at me with interest. “There’s a lot to reveal—but first, I wa
nt to test something.” I straightened myself at his words. “Come here.” He beckoned, and I walked toward him. “Look yourself in this mirror.” I turned around and faced the mirror that I’d seen the other night. “What do you see?”
“It’s a beast. What were you expecting?” I was annoyed. What was he trying to prove here?
“Walk closer to it. See if you see anything else. Like you did in the chapel mirror.” He studied me closely.
Without any further argument, I walked close to the mirror and placed my forehead on it. There was nothing. The black beast was looking back at me. I shook my head and pulled myself away from the horrific sight.
“Nothing.” I stared at the mirror. “There is nothing here.”
He came closer and slid the mirror to the left. I hadn’t known there was a passage behind it. He entered the damp spiral structure.
“Follow me.” It was going to be a shocking and enlightening day for me. First Haakon’s predictions, and now, my father showing me secret passages.
I was quite surprised, and wondered why I never knew about this place. Probably because I never dared to enter his chamber. In the near future, this might be my room.
I walked behind him, watching my step, trying to take in the surroundings. It was a closed, dark, claustrophobic passage. King Stefan had taken a lantern from the wall of his room to light our way. The stairs and walls were made of solid stone. The spiral stairs ended on the ground level, in a room without any light.
As soon as the light of the lantern reached the room, the world around me started to spin. I had never seen anything like this. It was the largest library one could possibly see in his life. Thousands and thousands of books were hidden neatly in this dungeon. Where half of our kingdom was illiterate, or couldn’t afford to buy books—this castle housed enough books to educate all of England.
Once Upon A [Stolen] Time (Stolen Series Book 1) Page 19
