Once Upon A [Fallen] Time

by Samreen Ahsan

  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was too perfect. Didn’t she know that? What did she need fixing for? Everything was perfect on her. The lilacs were still intact in her hair, she had blushed pink cheeks, and her lips—I was desperate to feel those lips on my skin. My gaze landed on her lips when she realized what I was thinking. She read my evil mind and looked away.

  “Never mind, let’s go.” She walked past me, heading towards the door. She didn’t demand to look at her face in the mirror. She knew how elegant and beautiful she looked through my eyes. She had read it all. She didn’t have to ask for the mirror again. It was so simple now. Anything my mouth was incapable of saying—my eyes could speak on its behalf, and she’d just read it without any hindrance. She had read the need and greed in my eyes. She had read how I saw her, how immaculate she was.

  I stopped her before she reached the door. “Wait!” I went into the dressing chamber and fetched Veronica’s black cloak, which she had worn whenever she had gone into our barren grounds. After her husband’s death, she never visited the village.

  “Please…cover yourself.” I gestured at her bare arms. I didn’t want King Stefan to notice her pale skin and fantasize about touching her. She took it without any argument and headed for the door. She was a woman of fair colour, who had never worked in the sunlight. Her attire, her poise, her attitude said she was truly the nobility.

  I followed her silently, my heart beating erratically. How would King Stefan react when he saw her? The corridor was eerily quiet. Her gaze travelled everywhere—sinking in her surroundings. Obviously, everything was new to her. If she said she had lived here, it might be some other time. Because where she came from, the chapel was barren.

  I was certain the castle would look different to her too but she still knew the way to the dining hall. Her silk dress was dragging over the lush carpet of the corridor. I hadn’t realized earlier, that she hadn’t asked for anything for her feet. Did they not wear any shoes in her village?

  As we approached the table, King Stefan entered the dining hall from the other door. He halted in his tracks, an element of surprise on his face, his gaze roaming over my captive from head to toe. I didn’t like the way he looked at her. If I said I was jealous, it was an understatement. It was the same look I’d had when I had first seen her—someone coming out of my dreams.

  No! She couldn’t be his fantasy.

  Before I could instruct her as to what to answer when King Stefan asked her, she left my side and walked closer to the danger. King Stefan didn’t even blink. For a moment, he looked spellbound by her presence.

  “Your Majesty.” She bowed slightly, and King Stefan offered his hand for the obligatory kiss.

  She hesitated for just a moment before she held his hand and kissed his knuckles with a seductive smile. How did she have the courage to enter the beast’s cage without any fear showing on her face?

  “It is such an honour to finally meet you, Your Majesty,” she said in the most well-mannered tone I’d heard from her so far.

  Such a wicked liar! I knew how much she despised King Stefan.

  And why was she so rude to me then?

  King Stefan was still speechless and apparently smitten. His gaze unlocked from hers and dropped to her beautiful hand. He lifted her delicate hand and kissed her knuckles—returning the same gesture as if she was a queen of some other kingdom.

  Shit! What was that for?

  “The pleasure is all mine.” He kissed her hand again. Jealousy seeped through my blood. I had been going crazy about their meeting, and the damn woman was seducing my lecherous father. She was brazen and shameless. There wasn’t even a hint of coyness in her. If she didn’t fear King Stefan, nothing could frighten her.

  She’s taking revenge, Edward. Don’t forget, you also got betrothed last night. I ignored my heart talking nonsense and noticed there was no one else at the table.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around.

  “Someone attacked the McQueens’ son last night. They had to leave after the dinner to see him,” King Stefan replied but his gaze never left her face. He was staring at the lilacs in her hair—probably wondering how they were still fresh. I wondered that too.

  “So,” he sat down and continued. “How did you end up here?”

  “She was outside—” I tried to explain, but he held up his palm to shut me up.

  “I want to ask the lady. Let’s see what she has to say. Sit down and tell me.” King Stefan gestured towards the first seat on his right. She did what she was asked. I hoped she wouldn’t tell him the truth. We had never actually discussed what to tell King Stefan. I took the seat opposite my father.

  “I’m from Walsingham.” She fixed her cloak when it fell off from her shoulders. I thought she clipped it already. King Stefan shifted as he looked at her bare arms, but he didn’t say anything. Perhaps he was genuinely interested in listening to her. “I came with my servants on a coach last evening to attend my friend’s wedding in the nearby village.” She met King Stefan’s eyes with utter confidence. He searched her face for a moment, trying to read her mind as he always did with me, but there was hesitation on her face.

  “Then?”

  “Some people robbed us on our way. They killed my coachman and servants, and took away my carriage. It was filled with presents and my personal belongings.”

  Hah! Did she really think he’d believe this fatuous story?

  “Did they try to harm you?” King Stefan asked, his voice laced with concern.

  I straightened my back. Where was this going? Lie after lie. What was she trying to do? And how was he kind towards her?

  She took a deep breath. “Yes. There were five and they tried to—” she paused and clutched her cloak, trying to prove her misery—her expression wrought with grief and pain.

  What a performance! I felt like giving her a standing ovation on her lies.

  King Stefan placed his hand on hers. “I’m happy you’re safe.”

  What?

  “Thank you.” She smiled and placed her other hand over his. “I escaped from them and ended up outside the boundary of your castle to seek help when His Grace,” she looked at me with a piercing gaze, “misunderstood me and locked me up in the tower.”

  Oh, Lord! Now she is making me a villain in this story.

  “I tried to explain that I’m not a thief.” She looked back at King Stefan. “Do I look like a thief to you, Your Majesty?”

  He absorbed her dress, her beauty. I watched the illumination of darkness dancing through his eyes. He still looked awed and struck by her touch. What the hell was she doing? Touching and provoking King Stefan without the fear of consequences? Had she already planned to die at his merciless hands? He looked at my captive for a while and gripped her hand. I shifted in my chair. This was not going in a good direction. She had no idea what damnation she was bringing to herself.

  “Certainly not,” he replied.

  “I belong to a very noble family and I was treated like a prisoner.”

  You’re still my prisoner, damn it!

  King Stefan looked at me as if I’d made a terrible mistake.

  “I tried to—”

  “Your name?” King Stefan interrupted me before I could explain myself.

  Her eyes met mine. I shook my head and chuckled. That I’m going to enjoy. I sat back and took a sip of tea. Would she respond in the same shameless not-willing-to-tell-my-name attitude, or would she actually share her name in front of King Stefan, or would she spin another brainless story?

  “That’s what I was trying to tell Prince Edward. He never believed me.” She placed her hand on King Stefan’s hand again. “But I hope you understand and respect my reservations.” He regarded her with a lustful gaze so she continued. “In our family, the maidens are not allowed to disclose their names unless they’re married and they would only tell their names to the one they are betrothed.”

  I coughed as the warm liquid stuck in my throat. Did she honestly
think King Stefan would buy this shit? Didn’t she know my father?

  Her hand was still on his. “And what happens if they disclose their names?” he asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

  “They get jinxed… they never get married,” she replied. What kind of curse was it? “I don’t know, Your Majesty, if you believe in curses but…”

  He placed his other hand over hers with assurance. “I believe you.”

  Oh Jesus! She had hit him in the right spot. Talk about curses… we were all doomed forever and she bloody knew it.

  “So, what shall we call you then?” I hated him for showing so much interest in her.

  “My family name is Farrow. You can call me Lady Farrow.” Her mouth turned up in a soft smile. I knew how much she loathed him though.

  He picked up his teacup. “Lady Farrow, welcome to the Hue Castle.” His other hand was still on her.

  She picked her own teacup and smiled at him “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  “Please make yourself comfortable. You’re our guest.” I saw a genuine smile on his face… probably for the first time ever. But I didn’t like the lust in his eyes. She had no idea what she was doing by placing a hand in a beast’s cage. I couldn’t look at both of them getting so friendly together.

  “Please, help yourself.” His grip on her hand tightened. I noticed her gulping the tea. She had been the one provoking him, why was she uncomfortable now? If she couldn’t stand his touch, why had she touched him first?

  He took a piece of cheese in his mouth and kept looking at the flowers in her hair. Her gaze was cast down, looking at the breakfast, perhaps deciding where to start or how to get out of this situation. Finally, she picked up a piece of bread.

  That was it?

  The table was loaded with all kinds of delicacies and she opted for a dry piece of bread? Or was it King Stefan’s lecherous gaze and vigour grip on her hand that stole her appetite?

  “You’re not taking anything else, my dear?” King Stefan asked her—his gaze never leaving her face. I wondered what he was thinking. Did he feel the same way I had when I had looked at her for the first time?

  Hell, no!

  I would kill him if he thought the same of her as I did. She was my captive. I’d love her or I’d destroy her; it was up to me to decide. I wouldn’t let my father rule and ruin her. She was only mine to keep, love, hate, and destroy.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” she replied without raising her eyes. They were still glued to her bread. What was going on in her mind? I wished I could read her the way she had read me. “But I’m good. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  Displaying impressive alacrity to be the perfect host, he asked again; “Anything you want to have that is not here?”

  What? What the hell is this? Why and how is he kind to a prisoner?

  I looked at both of them with shock. My appetite was already lost, although I hadn’t even eaten anything last night.

  She looked up, but not at him. She tilted her neck and her beautiful grey eyes met mine.

  Anything you want to have that is not here? King Stefan’s question pounded in my head.

  The way she looked at me, I’d give up my entire kingdom to hold on to this look. It was filled with desire and a silent plea to take her out of King Stefan’s lecherous gaze and impervious grip.

  Anything you want to have that is not here?

  My heart stopped beating for a moment. She had bound me with an invisible chord, slowly pulling and stealing my heart from my chest.

  Anything you want to have that is not here?

  I was doing nothing, allowing her to rob my heart and keep it with her forever.

  Anything you want to have that is not here?

  I traded my entire existence with her desire. I didn’t know I could be sold so easily with a priceless look in her eyes.

  Anything you want to have that is not here?

  I ignored the entire world around me, the breakfast, King Stefan’s eyes on her, his touch on her skin—the entire world seemed meaningless as she looked into my soul, slowly taking me out of the dark pit I had been living in.

  Anything you want to have that is not here?

  I could read it in her eyes, that she wanted nothing else but me this moment. The desire of touching her was not one-sided, she longed for me too.

  She had entrapped us in a magical world that no one else could see beside me. But here, my father had always been there to shatter my world. He cleared his throat to grab our attention. And then I saw it: how the way he looked at her had transformed. How his gaze not only had lust in it but also jealousy, the same feeling I had encountered a few moments ago when she had placed her hand in Stefan’s hand. When I realized she had the same effect on him, the fear almost stole the breath out of me.

  She looked at King Stefan and smiled gently. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will let you know if I desire anything.”

  “Did someone show you your chamber?” he asked.

  “She is still my prisoner, King Stefan,” I interjected. I thought she’d say something against me, to stay in another chamber with privacy, but to my surprise, she didn’t argue. “Whatever she wants, I will arrange. But she’s not leaving my chamber unless I command her.”

  She took a deep breath and held her gaze down.

  “Do you have anything to say, Lady Farrow?” he asked, looking at her.

  Shit! He was giving her all the escapes from me, but I swore not to let her go. No matter how treacherous my father was—one thing he had in him was cruel honesty. If I had taken a prisoner, he would never intrude or take her away from me for his pleasure, unless I allowed him. This trait in him did curb my temper. But I still wouldn’t leave her alone in this castle.

  “I’d need some clothes, Your Majesty.” She smiled sadly. “Since my belongings—”

  “That will be arranged in a while,” I cut in.

  “I’d also need a mirror.”

  “A mirror?” King Stefan and I repeated the cursed name together. Didn’t she know the castle had no mirrors except the one in the king’s chamber and the one in the chapel? Or was she just asking to show King Stefan how oblivious of the curse she was? I believed I was the only one in the entire kingdom who knew how wicked she was.

  “A lady has to see herself in the looking glass,” she explained.

  “Certainly,” he smiled. “We never thought so… since there has never been a lady in this castle.”

  What a stone-hearted bastard! He’d forgotten his own daughter.

  Finally, he removed his hand off her. “Have a good breakfast. I apologize that you were kept in the tower without any meal last night.” He shot me a glance.

  All right! I know I kept her hungry, but I learned it from you, you monster.

  By the look of her pale face, it was obvious she had lost her appetite. I had to pull her out of Stefan’s control. He could destroy me, but I wouldn’t let him destroy her.

  Nothing had happened the way I had planned last night. I had been supposed to leave this cursed castle, out of this misery, far away, where no one could ever find or recognize me. I had been ready to leave my future throne because I’d have nothing to look forward to in my life. I had lost all hopes to live and breathe. But this woman… she had given me hope… hope for atonement and redemption… hope to fill my life with colours… hope to breathe life into me… hope to find love… someday.

  I pushed the wooden chair with the back of my knees. The chair creaked, creating the hollow sound in the entire dining hall and grabbing King Stefan’s attention.

  I drew a seething inhalation, preparing myself to launch into reprimand.

  “I guess we are done with the breakfast.” I looked at his hand on her with greater animosity. It was even bitter than his disgusting words that had always cut me deep. His attention towards my captive had sliced me apart.

  It rarely happened that I stood from the table before King Stefan. He usually took the lead, although, I didn’t want to give him the feel
ing that I was being an overprotective arse for this woman—but I didn’t know any other way to show him my feelings. He would have to learn that I was trying to create a boundary for him—to take her out of his lecherous reach. He would have to teach himself that she was my woman and no one else in this world had a right upon her.

  She stood up and bowed gently, facing King Stefan. “May I have the permission to rest for a while, Your Majesty, since the night was hard on me?”

  He stood for her, which was unbelievable. I had never seen King Stefan pay respect to a woman before in my entire life. I had to find out the truth behind his manners. He had always treated prisoners with hatred, but the way he looked at her—I was certain he was awed. Either he truly believed she was a princess or from a noble family, or this woman was a witch who had cursed my father. I couldn’t think of any other explanation for his kindness.

  “Certainly, Lady Farrow.” He glanced at me. “Anything your heart desires, let me know.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles again. “I will personally look after your needs.”

  Shit! Every time he touched her, the mountains inside me moved. The dream hit my mind again. It felt so real—how his hand ran over her body in the tower, and how she shouted at me.

  She pulled her hand out of his grip and looked at me for rescue.

  “I shall leave now.” She put a faux smile on her face and walked past me. I expected her to show me some manners or at least give me the same smile she gave to my father, but no, she had been difficult with me the moment she had stepped into my world. She didn’t even notice my presence, without even asking me to join her. I rolled my eyes, balled my fists to control my anger, and walked behind her. I knew King Stefan was watching us. We left him alone at breakfast. It was the first time, someone had left the table before the king— and instead of getting enraged, the king was smitten.