by Cara Wylde
“This… this was a mistake,” she said. She pulled her hands free and took a couple of steps back.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve tried to ignore these feelings, but I love you more every day.”
Rose shook her head. There was nothing she wanted more than to tell him she felt the same, but she knew that if she did, there was no turning back.
“I understand if you don’t want to see me again…”
“That’s not it,” she said quickly. She couldn’t imagine her life without Tavian at the court. Even if they didn’t speak to each other, it was comforting to see him around the palace every once in a while.
“I don’t care what happens to us,” he continued. “I just want you to be safe and happy. Please don’t play with the curse. Even if you don’t believe in it, believe in your royal parents and their judgement.”
Rose thought about it for a second. How easy it would be to wake up the next morning and wait in bed until the servants came to help her prepare for her birthday party. Unfortunately, she had promised something to her friends and she couldn’t break that promise.
“I’m tired of living my life in fear, Tavian. The curse doesn’t exist, and I’m going to prove it tomorrow.”
He wanted to beg her again, but she simply turned around and started walking towards her room.
“Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine.”
He realized then that there was nothing he could do to stop her or make her change her mind. It hurt that she had turned around so easily and left him there, standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall. It hurt even more that she had never told him she loved him too. Maybe she didn’t. Tavian allowed himself to be overwhelmed by pain for a minute longer, then he straightened his back and made his own decision. What Rose was about to do was dangerous. Personally, he believed in the curse. It was easy for him, given that he saw how Rose possessed all the wonderful gifts the seven fairies had gifted her with. If only she could see in the mirror what he saw when he looked at her, then she’d know too, and she wouldn’t play with fire. Not for the three evil witches who called themselves her friends. Unfortunately, Rose couldn’t see these things. Not yet.
Tavian knew what he had to do. If Rose activated the curse the next day, then she would fall in a deep sleep, and the kingdom would fall asleep with her. He couldn’t he there when that happened. She would sleep for 100 years, until a true love’s kiss would wake her up. All he had to do was to put as much distance as possible between himself and the kingdom, then find a way to prolong his life so he would be there to wake Rose when the time came.
“Easier said than done,” he whispered to himself while getting on a carriage which would take him home, where he would start packing. “There’s still magic in the world… All I have to do is find the witches or fairies who know how to do it.”
***
Rose woke up right before dawn, got dressed quickly, and sneaked out of the palace. Angel, Juliet, and Talia were waiting for her at their secret spot in the gardens. From there, they walked to the village nearby, barely exchanging a couple of words. None of them was used to walking such a long distance, but the effort helped them warm up. It was uncomfortably chilly, and their long, expensive scarves didn’t do much to protect their sensitive skin.
When they entered the village, the four young women did their best to cover their faces. The palace might have been asleep, but the village was brimming with life.
“How much father?” asked Rose impatiently. This whole business felt incredibly wrong, and she couldn’t stand the tension anymore. There was no way she could back down now, although she really wanted to turn around and head back to the palace before it was too late. That wasn’t an option, unfortunately, which meant the only option was to go through with it as fast as possible so she could hide in a corner after that and work on forgetting it ever happened.
“It’s right around the corner,” said Angel. She took Rose’s hand and pulled her towards an old cottage.
Angel’s servant was waiting for them on the doorstep. She bowed respectfully, then motioned for them to enter her humble home.
“My grandmother is asleep. What you’re looking for is in the attic. Right this way. We must be careful not to wake her up, because she’s one of the people who believe in the curse.”
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise.
“If she believes in it, then why has she kept a spinning wheel when my father, the King, ordered everyone to destroy them?”
The servant kept her head low as she spoke.
“Family heirloom… she couldn’t part with it.”
They all climbed up in the attic, except for the young servant. Even though she didn’t believe in the curse, she didn’t want to be there. She had no idea why, but she didn’t feel comfortable around the Princess.
The four friends stopped in the middle of the cramped room, holding the skirts of their dresses above their ankles so they wouldn’t sweep the thick dust off the floor. Everything was old and dusty there, and Angel, Juliet, and Talia couldn’t wait to get back down. Rose, however, was too absorbed by the spinning wheel resting against the back wall to care. She let go of her skirt, and the soft material fell to the floor, raising a cloud of dust. She took a couple of steps towards the strange object, then stopped again to study it carefully.
“It’s the first time I see a spinning wheel.”
Angel chuckled. “It’s my second time. I’ve been here before, just to make sure the servant girl wasn’t lying to me.”
It was Juliet’s and Talia’s first time, too, and they were just as entranced as Rose was.
“I wonder how it works,” said Talia.
Rose stepped closer and ran her hand over the old wood of the spinning wheel. It felt so smooth and real under her fingertips that a shudder ran through her body. The spindle was waiting upright at the other end of the antique device. Rose didn’t want to reach for it just yet. She gave the wheel a tentative push, and the wood creaked when the wheel moved. It was a creepy, sinister sound. Rose didn’t like it one bit.
“Come on! Let’s prove the curse is just a sad, uninspired joke once and for all,” said Angel. “We’re your witnesses.”
Rose bit down hard on her lower lip. The slight pain helped clear her head. This was such a bad idea. She couldn’t believe she had let herself dragged into this. Tavian was right. These three girls weren’t her friends. All they had ever done was to torture her, make her feel insecure and inadequate.
“Come on!” Juliet whispered.
Rose promised herself this was the last time she was humoring them. She would touch the spindle, press her finger against the sharp tip, then get out of there and never look back. She would prove to them that she wasn’t scared, that she didn’t believe in magic and curses, and right when they would finally start to respect her, she would turn her back to them. Yes, that was the plan. She felt better thinking about it.
“What if the curse is real?” asked Talia, reluctantly. She had been brave and daring until then, but the sight of the sharp spindle had sent an unpleasant chill up her spine.
“Shut up!” said Angel. “That’s stupid, and you know it.”
“Really, Talia?” said Juliet. “I didn’t know you were such a coward.”
“I’m not…”
Rose hated the way Angel and Juliet talked to Talia, but didn’t say anything. She decided to get it over with, so she reached out and touched the spindle. The wood was just as smooth and cold as the rest of the spinning wheel. She ran her hand up to the tip and pressed her finger down on it. A trickle of blood immediately made its way down the spindle. Rose grunted at the pain and stuck her bleeding finger into her mouth.
“Hurts,” she murmured.
Angel let go of her skirt and clapped her hands.
“See? I told you the curse wasn’t real! Aren’t you glad we finally cleared the mystery?”
Rose smiled. Her muscles relaxed, and her heartbeat went back to no
rmal. She could breathe again. She opened her mouth to agree with Angel, but her vision went blurry and the attic started spinning. She tried to say something again, but her tongue wouldn’t move. She wanted to tell her friends she wasn’t feeling well, let them know something bad was about to happen, but she never got the chance. Next thing she knew, she was lying on the dusty floor, her mind trapped in her own body. She could hear her friends screaming, calling for help, begging her to wake up, but she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t let them know she was still there, behind the glassy eyes.
Then, Talia fell down, and Angel and Juliet ran down the stairs. The curse was real. They would all fall asleep, some faster than others. The two girls knew that if they moved quickly, they could let the villagers know so someone would take Rose back to the palace. It wasn’t fit for a Princess to spend the next 100 years in an old, filthy attic.
CHAPTER TWO
100 YEARS LATER
He was getting close, yet he was still lost. Time was running out, and if he wasn’t in the right place, at the right moment, he might lose his chance, he might fail. He couldn’t fail. All those years he had struggled with his gift, all the wealth he had accumulated, all those dreadful nights when he couldn’t sleep because the fear of losing her forever paralyzed him… They couldn’t be in vain. They couldn’t be for nothing. Tavian couldn’t afford to fail. Not now, not ever.
The inn was at the edge of the forest, and it was the best in these parts. Tavian strolled in with confidence in his step. His broad shoulders, square jaw, and intense green eyes got everyone’s attention whenever he made his appearance in a place where he hadn’t been before. People stared at him, but averted their gaze and made way when he looked in their general direction. There was something about him that made them fear and respect him at the same time. Tavian knew what it was, but he never confided in anyone. The beast he was carrying underneath his skin had changed him. He wasn’t the noble gentleman he had used to be one hundred years ago. Not anymore. He had left that life behind, gave up his family’s name and fortune, and built a whole different world for himself. And for her. It was all for her.
Tavian asked the innkeeper for a room and paid with gold coins, which threw the poor man off guard. Instantly, he knew that the young stranger before him could buy his whole inn in the blink of an eye, and that told him one thing: he had to offer him the best food and the best beer he had. But Tavian didn’t want food and beer. He wanted answers. Directions. He wanted to understand what he was doing wrong, why he couldn’t find his way back to her. Rose.
“What brings you to these parts of the land?”
It was good that the innkeeper had asked, but even if he hadn’t, Tavian would have still told him his story. Or part of it. The one that mattered and didn’t raise questions.
“I’m looking for a place. Home, actually. For some reason, I can’t seem to find it.”
The innkeeper raised an eyebrow.
“If you tell me the name of your village… or town, maybe I can help. Lots of travelers stop here on their journeys and tell their stories before going back on the road.”
Tavian smiled. “People call it The Lost Kingdom.”
“Oh. Oh.”
For a moment, it seemed like the innkeeper had lost his voice.
“Have you heard of it?” Tavian insisted.
The man averted his gaze and started wiping the table with a dirty cloth.
“The Lost Kingdom is a myth,” he said. “Why would you make such a joke when I only offered to help you find your way home?”
Tavian felt guilty for a second, then he realized he had nothing to feel guilty about. He had been perfectly honest. He was looking for The Lost Kingdom. Maybe he should have phrased it differently.
“It’s not a joke, good man,” he said. “I know everyone believes it’s a myth, but it’s not. Trust me. I know where it is… where it’s supposed to be…” It was hard to explain. “Or, I thought I did. Now, more than ever, I feel like I’m close, but it’s just out of reach.”
The innkeeper stopped wiping the table and stared at his guest for a long minute before he sighed and decided to sit down.
“Just for the record, I think you’re mad,” he said. Maybe he shouldn’t have insulted his guest, but the innkeeper was a good, honest man who always spoke his mind. When Tavian smiled and nodded for him to continue, he relaxed. “I’ll tell you what I know about The Lost Kingdom. About the myth, that is… People say it’s been under a terrible curse for almost one hundred years.”
“Yes… The curse that put everyone to sleep.”
“It did more than that. It put everyone to sleep, but it also made the whole kingdom disappear. Actually, not disappear, but move around. From one place to another, so no one would find it before the time comes. If you’re looking for it, that might be the reason why you’re not successful.”
Tavian jumped to his feet. He squeezed his fists at his sides, struggling to keep his beast in check.
“They never told me this,” he whispered more to himself.
“They? Who’s they?”
“The fairies… The good ones and the evil ones. They’re all the same. They never told me The Lost Kingdom was moving around. How am I supposed to find it, to find her, if I don’t know where to look?”
The innkeeper stood up, preparing to go back to his duties. The man was obviously insane, so he figured it was better to stay away from him until he left.
“I’m sorry,” said Tavian. “I’m sorry…”
“Oh, not at all,” the innkeeper laughed nervously. “That’s all I know about the myth. Now, I have to go back to work.”
Tavian reached for his sack of gold and pulled another coin out.
“Here. For your trouble. And for your help.”
The innkeeper took the coin with a smile and a respectful bow.
***
It was a little past midnight. Tavian left his things at the inn, in the room he had rented, and went out to explore the woods. He made sure no one saw him leave, especially not the innkeeper. The man would have certainly insisted it wasn’t safe to explore the woods at night, and Tavian couldn’t have told him he probably was the most dangerous creature out there.
At the edge of the forest, he took his clothes off and tucked them in the hollow of a tree. He relaxed his muscles and focused on his body, on the beast that wanted to take control. He shifted in a matter of seconds, and where a naked man had stood, now there was a huge, brown bear with big, strong paws, sharp claws, and a massive head ending with a long, elegant snout.
Yes, that was what Tavian had done for Rose. After he had left the palace and the kingdom one hundred years ago, he had gone to the good fairies first, and then to the evil fairy who had cursed the Princess at her birth. The good fairies had told him it was wrong to play with the natural order of things and make a man immortal. They couldn’t help him, or they didn’t want to. So, Tavian had stepped on his pride and gone to the only creature he knew who didn’t have any qualms about using her powers any way she wanted. The evil fairy had listened to him carefully. Even now, Tavian didn’t know exactly why she had agreed to help him. It might have been his true love for Rose, his determination to sacrifice anything to be there for her when the time came and she would wake up. And to be there for her, he needed to be immortal. The evil fairy had limited powers, however. Immortality was not hers to give. But she could turn him into a shape-shifter and grant him extraordinary gifts, among which was a very long lifespan.
The brown bear started running, avoiding the trees at the last moment. The ground shook under his heavy body, and all the birds and animals hurried to hide and stay silent until he passed. They knew better than to stand in his way. Their unique instinct told them this wasn’t just a bear. The bears themselves steered clear of the beast when they caught his scent. Tavian let out a loud roar as if to celebrate his power. In reality, he wasn’t celebrating anything. He was letting off some steam.
“Why didn’t she tell
me?” he asked himself. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me…”
He couldn’t understand why the evil fairy had failed to mention that important aspect about The Lost Kingdom after she had offered to help. At first, when she had told him about the possibility of turning him into a bear-shifter, Tavian had thought it would be a curse. He would have to learn how to control the beast, how to shift at will without experiencing pain, and how to shift back into his human form before the bear took complete possession of his body and mind. However, when the fairy did her magic and turned him, Tavian had realized he had never felt so alive. The bear completed him.
Keen senses so he could find Rose, incredible physical strength so he could eliminate all obstacles… He had made the perfect decision. And, the most important gift of all: time to build a new life, become rich and influential. He had had one hundred years to become wealthy enough to ask for Rose’s hand in marriage. Right now, Tavian was richer than her father. He could buy The Lost Kingdom without suffering any kind of loss.
“I’ll have to find it first…”
He ran through the woods, growled and roared until he felt better. When he returned to the inn, he was pleasantly tired and ready to fall in a deep, invigorating sleep.
***
He always dreamed about her. Rose…
That long, blonde hair spread over her shoulders, that cute smile, those sky blue eyes he could drown in… And, oh, those luscious curves that drew him insane! She was perfect. His heart ached, and his whole body was on fire every time her image invaded his thoughts. He would wake up drenched in sweat, with a painful erection he had to take care of. Even after one hundred years, she could still do that to him.
