Once Upon A [Fallen] Time

by Samreen Ahsan

  “Please untie me; I want to touch you.” Would someone stop her? If she kept on invading my world, she would be doomed. My world was too dark for her. She didn’t know the ugly side of me that no one had encountered. She didn’t know I came with the black ugly beast that was capable of killing and enjoying the blood on his hands and mouth.

  King Stefan had never bothered to chain his beast—he had destroyed every woman that had come into his life. I didn’t want to be like him, but Christ, this woman was bringing out the animal in me.

  “Please look at me, Edward. Why are you torturing me?” she pleaded. She thought I was torturing her? I was trying to save her from my deadly beast.

  “Will you give me to your father?” Her question shifted everything inside me, bringing an earthquake. I’d die protecting her, but I’d never give her to my father. She was my prisoner, my captive. I would never share her with anyone.

  She was mine and solely mine to

  hold,

  touch,

  kiss,

  love,

  hate,

  punish,

  torment,

  torture,

  and consume.

  “You know how he is…you wouldn’t do that to me, right?” I was trying to ignore her questions but shit, she was forcing me to punish her right now. I looked out of the window, avoiding her quizzical gaze at me.

  “I know everything about you. I was the one you spoke with the night Veronica died.” So this was her way of cursing me, by freezing my blood with Veronica’s name. No one had ever dared to mention her name in front of me, and she had the damn audacity to talk to me like that.

  “You wanted to talk that night. Please untie me and talk to me.” Her words were choking me, and I held her waist tightly, trying to tell her through my brutal grip that she should shut up.

  “Don’t fight it, Edward. You and I both know what we have between us. There is no war going on here.” She was pushing me to an extreme, driving her fate to hell. My heart was no longer in my chest; it had travelled to my throat to strangle me.

  “I know what you’ve been through. No matter how hard you try to stop your emotions, I know you desire me.” Her laugh sounded like she made fun of my weakness for her.

  “Your body…” She paused for a moment. I looked up at her, waiting for her to say more. “Your body speaks the truth.”

  Damn it!

  That was it. I couldn’t take in any more of her words. I grabbed her throat and tightened my grip. She had to learn to shut her mouth. I knew I was capable of killing her right now by breaking her neck, but instead, I loosened my grip as I noticed her skin marking with my touch. This was not the time to lose my sanity.

  She was a wax doll. If I held her too tightly, I would leave my marks everywhere on her. I couldn’t be violent on her. Her marks would tell the whole story.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” she asked, coughing. I pulled my hand away from her neck. “Talk to me, damn it!” She yelled at me. It seemed like she gained her strength back with the air coming back to her lungs.

  “Edward…you need to come out of your tomb.” There was no place for me to hide in this world. She had the power to read me like an open book. I ignored her words and looked out of the window, making sure my tomb was intact.

  “I know Veronica’s death has changed you, but you don’t need to be a stone. You can’t turn your face away from her grave. You need to cry, Edward. You need to bring Emma back. You need to fulfil your promise…” That was it. She had pushed me to edge. I grabbed her throat again, stopping her from saying anything further.

  “Just shut up or I will cut your throat.” I couldn’t hold on to stay silent. She was trying to breathe again. I left more marks on her skin this time. If she didn’t learn to stay quiet then I might break her neck tonight. No woman had ever spoken to me like that.

  I had warned her silently, brutally, but she hadn’t learned at all. Tonight, if she didn’t learn, she’d stay in this tower because her greedy mouth kept asking me questions I wasn’t prepared for. She was my captive—it wasn’t the other way around; she had no right to question me.

  I pulled away from her and turned to leave.

  “Edward,” she called me again. It seemed like she still hadn’t learned her lesson. Her voice was already a lethal weapon she carried, which could shatter everything around me. I was already falling into pieces. She had no bloody right to damage me more.

  “Where are you going?” she called out again. When would she finally stop with those questions? I didn’t look back at her. Tonight was the night for her to learn that she wasn’t supposed to nail me like this with her ludicrous questions. I was the one in charge. “Edward…” she screamed through her lungs. Did she honestly think I’d hear her preposterous plea?

  “Don’t you dare leave me here…” She was a wild lioness tonight. If I catered her request, I’d be nothing but her prey. Tonight, she had to learn who was in control and who would be in control in the future. She thought she’d tame me however she wanted with her bewitching charms?

  No! I wouldn’t let her undermine me this time.

  “Come back, you bastard! You just can’t leave me here all night.” I opened the door when I heard her screams. She wasn’t begging now. She was howling like a bloody beast. I wasn’t stupid to bridle her. She could have destroyed both of us. I opened the door when she called my name again. “Edward…”

  I gave her many chances tonight. I tried to save her from my famished beast and I was still trying to save her but she wasn’t a good learner. She kept questioning me, peeling every layer from my hidden soul, opening all my infested wounds, and making me completely helpless. I wouldn’t let her do this to me. Did she honestly think she’d break me like this?

  No!

  I was Edward Hue—the eighth in the royal bloodline of Hue dynasty. We were born to hunt, kill, slaughter, and enjoy the pain—not to surrender—especially to a woman.

  I closed the door behind me, still ignoring her screams.

  She stopped screaming. Probably this time she learned that it was pointless to beg me.

  I took a deep breath and tried to get my bearings to focus on other impending chores I had tonight.

  The dinner!

  Shit!

  I had completely forgotten about the dinner in honour of the lady tonight. If I didn’t turn up soon, King Stefan would come searching for me—and I couldn’t afford him to know that I had a woman, my very own prisoner.

  I descended the stairs to the ground floor and hurried down the long passage from the tower entrance to the Great Hall, where a large table was set for those dinner guests that weren’t important enough to sit with us in the private dining hall. When I approached our table, everyone except for King Stefan looked up at me and stood in respect. My breath was shallow. I could hardly feel my heart right now. Did she secretly take it out in the tower?

  I shook my head, gestured the patrons to sit, and moved forward.

  “Where have you been?” King Stefan questioned me.

  “Something important came up that needed my immediate attention,” I said smoothly—not willing to share anything further.

  “Meet Lord Lawrence McQueen from Nottingham, his wife Lady Margaret, and their lovely daughter Lady Elizabeth McQueen.” King Stefan gestured towards the three people sitting on his left side. They stood up from their seats again and bowed ever so slightly. “Pleased to meet you, Your Grace,” Lord McQueen said.

  I nodded with a smile.

  “I apologize for the delay. Please continue with the dinner.” I took my seat. Elizabeth was sitting on my right-hand side, stealing glances at me.

  A lady’s reputation was everything. Someone like Elizabeth would keep her gaze down, hands clasped together on her lap, and eat almost nothing in front of other people.

  That crazy witch I just locked up in the tower was the complete opposite of the lady next to me. That woman was impudent enough to look me in the eye without blinking, br
azen enough to affect me, shameless enough to ask me questions that crossed all limits, and powerful enough to strip me bare without touching me.

  She was capable of manipulating my heart to beat harder, swaying me with her whims, and crumbling me into immeasurable pieces of desire. But despite her audacious behaviour, she was the only woman who had ever intrigued me this way.

  I ignored Elizabeth’s secret glances and focused on the drink in my wine goblet instead.

  “Edward,” my father said. I looked at him. “You’re not eating.” He gestured towards the food placed on the table, watching me with concern. I broke his penetrating gaze and looked at the roasted beef and bread in front of me. The food made me sick.

  You have kept her starving tonight and you think you’ll enjoy this feast?

  This thought had never occurred to me when I imprisoned other women in the past. I had punished endless women by starving them, but it had never affected my appetite. I gulped my wine in one go, ignoring my unsettled stomach. It hit my throat and felt scratchy—or maybe it was my conscience, scratching back to the surface from the tower where I had locked her away. How could I possibly eat, knowing she hadn’t eaten, and would not eat at all tonight?

  I didn’t want to create a scene so I cut a small piece of bread and popped into my mouth where it made a lump I struggled to swallow. I coughed and almost choked on the bloody piece of bread. I felt everyone’s probing eyes on me.

  “Are you alright, Edward?” King Stefan inquired again.

  I cleared my throat and gulped the bread down.

  “I don’t think so. I have been feeling sick for a couple of days,” I lied, cloaking my weakness over her power. “Perhaps a stomach bug?”

  “You need to rest then,” Lord McQueen commented.

  “I am extremely sorry for not continuing the dinner tonight,” I replied, gracing him with a genuine smile. My guests didn’t deserve to be neglected.

  “We shall have other dinners in the future.” I could hear the hope in his words.

  “Indeed.” I looked at my father, hoping he’d let me go.

  “Do you want me to send Gillian into your chamber?” King Stefan asked. He looked concerned, like a father was supposed to, but I wasn’t used to this fatherly attitude towards me.

  I cleared my throat and forced a smile. “No, thank you. I think all I need is some rest. I will be fine by morning.” And have to deal with new things in life tomorrow.

  From the way King Stefan was watching me, I knew that he suspected something, but thanks to our guests, he refrained himself from asking further questions. I had no doubt that he’d deal with me tomorrow at breakfast.

  I excused myself from the dinner and avoided everyone looking at me.

  When I entered my chamber, my gaze fell on the bed. It had been a long time since Veronica’s departure, that I had used this bed. The memory had haunted me, reminding me of the child’s laughter that used to fill this chamber. But I no longer cared. Nothing mattered anymore. I was done with this life. The moment I hit my bed, I didn’t remember what happened next. Everything was hazy as I fell into a deep slumber.

  “Fate is like a strange,

  unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters

  who bring you things you never asked for

  and don’t always like.”

  ― Lemony Snicket

  CHAPTER 2

  STEVE

  JUNE 11th 2015

  “What the hell did you do to her?” Tyler barked at me.

  “I called you to help me out… not adding more shit to this situation,” I replied, feeling deflated.

  The moment Myra disappeared, I had called my best friend. He had been with me through every high and every low. No matter how much the entire world misunderstood me, I knew my best friend would never abandon me, but him shouting at me wasn’t helping right now.

  I sat on the altar, my feet on the ground, head propped between my knees—tired of running my mind everywhere. Tyler was playing the same video again and again, as if that was going to change anything.

  “We cannot even file a complaint,” he said quietly. “Keep this video safe, Steve.” I looked at him. “I mean…who knows how her parents will react. If you tell them she disappeared into the mirror, this video can at least prove that you’re telling the truth.” Tyler looked lost. “What do you think it is? Spell? Witchcraft?”

  I shook my head in frustration. I felt like pulling my hair. This girl had put me in a bad situation. I had no idea how to deal with this. It had been more than two hours since Myra had vanished, and I had not moved from the altar. I had been sitting there, feeling numb and unable to move. I couldn’t even control my knees enough to let me stand on my own two feet. I didn’t care if it was fucking witchcraft. All I knew was that the dead bastard had her now.

  “Oh man! I remember how her mother freaked out when you brought her here for the first time… that conversation in their kitchen. Remember?” Tyler was not really helping.

  “What difference is it going to make? They will put me behind bars.” I kicked my foot to the ground. “Fuck it! She’s ruined everything—the game, the movie.”

  “You’re still thinking about the damn game?” Tyler asked, his face crestfallen. “You better worry about saving your ass, Steve. Her dad will slaughter you. Forget it. Think about what your parents will do to you.”

  “You aren’t making it any easier here. If you can’t help me, then shut up,” I shot back.

  It was ten at night. Her parents had already called a couple of times, and my parents had called me almost twenty times. I had ten text messages and twenty missed calls on my phone with multiple voicemails—my mother asking me where the hell I was. We had been gone from the party since four in the afternoon. We should have returned by dinner, which we had already missed, too. I wondered what they had told the guests. I was sure her parents were worried. What the hell would I tell them?

  My phone rang once more in Tyler’s hand.

  “You mom is calling. Again,” Tyler announced.

  “Tell them I died,” I said without a hint of emotion in my voice. “Or that I had an accident.” My life was pretty much over anyway. The production house had signed a contract with my company. I had given my word to sell my unique story and...

  She just disappeared.

  The phone kept ringing—breaking my nerves.

  “You can’t run away, Steve. You have to face them,” Tyler said.

  “Just turn off the damn phone,” I yelled. “I can’t think straight.”

  Thankfully, he did what I asked him. Minutes passed without either of us saying a single word. The lantern, our only light source in this chapel, was dimming now; we were running out of oil. I stared at the dying lantern, wondering when it had been lit for the last time before our visit—perhaps when the restoration department had visited twenty-two years ago. We had a chance to film inside the chapel only once and that was in the daylight.

  “They are worried,” Tyler broke the silence as he sat next to me. “You better contact them before they report you missing—or even worse, before the media dig out that the Bernards are worried about their only son.” He paused for a moment. “People will gossip about you guys missing your engagement dinner. Everyone knows you both left the party in the middle.”

  I didn’t respond. I was just staring at the dying lantern.

  “I have no idea what’s going on here.” I looked around the chapel. “Was she destined to come here and disappear?”

  “Do you believe in destiny?” Tyler asked—his gaze now fixed on the dying lantern.

  “I don’t know.” I pulled my hair. “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have brought her here.”

  Tyler nodded.

  “This relationship of yours was based on a lie.” I looked at what he was saying. “If only you hadn’t lied to her about being gay and shared your true feelings with her before this Edward came between you—”

  “How can you say this, Tyler?” I stoo
d up in rage. “You know why I did it!” I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Stacey, Heidi, Kate, Mel, you know they all were after my money. How could I trust a random girl just because my parents thought she was right for me?”

  Tyler didn’t say anything. He just stared at me in a way that told me that he blamed me for everything that had happened.

  “I was sure her parents were gold diggers and that they were pushing their daughter towards marriage for the wealth.” I bit my lip. “Had I known that I’d fall in love with her…”

  “This won’t change the present, Steve,” Tyler interjected.

  “Thank you for being ever so helpful.” I replied.

  “You have to embrace the truth eventually,” he said.

  “What truth? That she was never in love with me?” Tyler avoided my gaze. “You think I didn’t know?” I sat back on the altar. “From our first meeting, I figured out how true she was. I know my mistake. I dragged my feelings for her for too long. I should have told her the truth the day we visited this castle for the first time. I should have shut my mouth and never said anything about being gay. I didn’t know that in order to keep her happy, I was pushing her away from me and closer to that bastard.” I looked at my engagement ring. “I should never have brought her here.” I looked up and gazed at the dying lantern. No one knew how much I regretted it.

  We stayed in utter silence for a few minutes.

  “It is going to get dark soon,” Tyler said in a low tone, changing the subject. It was painfully quiet inside the chapel; how the absence of one person could make such a huge difference. “We should leave before we run out of fuel and our phone batteries.”

  I raked my fingers through my hair. “I won’t be able to drive.” I gulped. “I need a drink.”

  Tyler stood up. “No, you don’t. You’ll go back to your house and talk to your parents and her parents. You have to face them eventually, Steve,” he said. “Now get up. We’ll leave your car here and pick it up tomorrow. No one is going to steal it anyway.” He was right. The car was inside the boundary of the castle and I had the remote for the motorized gate.