by Ruby Madden
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.
This time, however, the dream felt more real than ever. Tavian moaned in his sleep while his eyes moved wildly underneath his closed lids, chasing Rose down the halls of the royal palace.
“Catch me!”
She giggled and ran faster, and no matter how hard he pushed himself, how fast he kicked his legs one in front of the other, she remained out of reach. It was weird too, given that in his
dream he was a shifter. Even in his human form, he was still faster than anyone.
“Come on! You have to catch me if you want that kiss.”
She laughed wholeheartedly, and he laughed with her. He couldn’t help it. Her happiness was contagious.
Then, just like that, Rose stopped. She turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes. When he was two steps away from her, he stopped as well and simply stood there, although all he wanted to do was to draw her into his arms and press her soft body against his chest.
“This is weird,” she said.
“What is?”
“It feels so real…”
He couldn’t believe the Rose in his dreams, the Rose his mind had created to alleviate his longing, was telling him things felt too real. How would she know what reality was?
She reached out a hand and rested it on his chest. Tavian sighed and closed his eyes for a second, allowing himself to fully enjoy the moment. Yes, it did feel very real, but he didn’t mind. He snapped his eyes open when she stepped closer to him and breathed against his lips:
“You’re finally here.”
“I… I’m not,” he said. “I can’t find you.”
“You’re here, I can tell. All these years, I’ve dreamed about you. I was afraid you had abandoned me. I was afraid you had saved yourself and would never come back. I’m so glad I was wrong.”
“What are you talking about?”
He was losing it. The dream made no sense. This wasn’t the Rose his mind had created. Dream Rose would never talk like that, would never say those things. Why? Because he didn’t know them himself.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Wrong question.”
“Where are you?”
“Close, so close. Don’t give up. Promise me you won’t give up.”
She leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss.
“I will never give up, I promise you. I will find you, my Princess, and I’ll make you mine.”
She smiled and let her head fall on his chest. Tavian held her, when his body screamed to claim her right there and then. But it was just a dream and there was no time. He held on to her and breathed in the flowery scent of her skin until the dream faded and he found himself in his bed, at the inn.
CHAPTER THREE
It’s only natural to get bored when you’ve been asleep for one hundred years. But Rose was in a different kind of sleep. A magical one, a slumber in which dreams had become her reality. Maybe they weren’t even dreams. Maybe the word wasn’t the appropriate one to describe the odd level of existence on which The Lost Kingdom had moved when the curse had been activated. In her “dreams”, Rose was living at the palace, with her parents and all the courtiers and servants. Nothing was changed. She didn’t age, and the people around her didn’t age either. It was as if they were trapped in a bubble, and doomed to carry out their daily routines ad nauseam. They had all grown tired of it quickly, and now they usually tried to avoid each other.
Rose had been looking for her only real friend, Tavian, since the day she had fallen unconscious. She had been immediately disappointed when she had realized he wasn’t there, among the others, which meant he had left the kingdom. She had scolded herself for not listening to him, for not trusting his judgement. The fact that he had left told her Tavian had always believed in the existence of the curse and had always known how to save himself from it. She had hated him for a while, then she had gotten used to the idea and even found the power to be happy for him. He was free to live his life, and that was all that mattered. He had tried to stop her, had tried to convince her that Angel, Juliet, and Talia didn’t care about her, but she had dismissed his advice. If there was someone who deserved to suffer for it, it was her. Her and her supposed friends.
For one hundred years, Rose had lived (or slept, to be more exact) with the guilt of having dragged everyone around her to their doom. It hurt even more when the King and Queen were being supportive and insisted they spent time together in their shared “dream”. She had expected them to scold her, even punish her, show her how disappointed they were that she had betrayed them but, instead, they always reminded her that mere humans could never fight magic. When they had banned all spinning throughout the kingdom, they had known it wouldn’t help. However, they had to at least try and do their best to protect their daughter. Their attitude made Rose feel even guiltier.
Then, the Princess had discovered that she could summon something similar to normal dreams if she tried hard enough. Tavian wasn’t there, asleep in The Lost Kingdom, but she could recreate his face in her mind if she focused, and she could even make him talk to her, tell her sweet nothings that helped pass the time and make her feel a bit better about herself. She could tell him anything. He wasn’t real, of course, but she talked to him as if he were. They played games, and she would tease him by making him chase her down the halls. She built her dreams in such a way that he was never able to catch her. Why? Because she was afraid of what might happen between them if he did. The Tavian in her imagination did manage to steal a kiss from time to time, but nothing more. When that happened, Rose snapped out of her trance and touched her lips, sad that nothing was real. Their kisses didn’t feel real, his touches were empty. Her imagination wasn’t enough to fill the void in her soul. It failed her each and every time. In her cursed sleep, Rose would whisper: “Oh, Tavian, where are you? I miss you so much…”
Then, it happened. The dream that wasn’t a dream. It started with a playful chase through the palace, Rose’s favorite game. She kept him at a fair distance behind her, as to not feel disappointed in case he came close enough to touch her and remind her how it was all fake. It did feel different, however. It felt like his presence was palpable, like his laughter was genuine. He sounded like himself, not like her when she tried to imagine him laughing or speaking. She could even smell his manly, musky scent, and it reminded her of that day when he had tried to stop her from doing something stupid. And that was when she stopped and turned around, let him approach her so she could look deep into his eyes.
He was real. He was there.
At first, she wanted to ask him where he had been all those years. Had he been asleep, just like everyone else, but had chosen to hide from her? Did he hate her that much? Then, she saw something in his eyes, something that told her he was just as confused as she was. No, he hadn’t been in The Lost Kingdom all along. He had, indeed, escaped the curse, but he had been looking for her. He was asleep, dreaming, somewhere close. Not in the palace, not in the kingdom, but close. All she had to do was let him know, give him a clue, beg him not to give up.
She touched his chest, and the muscles felt hard and real under her fingertips. She kissed his lips, and his breath was hot on her face. Hot and delicious. She pressed her head close to his heart to listen to his heartbeat, and she knew he was there for her. She knew he had left before the curse was activated so he could find her later and bring her back to life. But how? How was he just as young as he had been when she had last seen him? A deep growl came from inside his chest, and she knew. He had a beast inside him, a beast that made him strong, fearless, and almost immortal. She couldn’t tell what kind of beast it was, but she was sure he had gone through a lot to find and adapt to the only solution that could bring them back together.
“I will never give up, I promise you. I will find you, my Princess, and I’ll make you mine.”
His words stirred something inside her. They warmed her heart and turned her knees to jelly. Oh, she couldn’t wait to become his! She had imagined how it would be for too long. Her whole body ached for him. She would have given herself to him right on the spot, but it was all still a dream, no matter how real it felt. His dream, her dream… she couldn’t tell. She just wanted to go back to the real world, where things were always as clear as day. She wanted to be able to make the difference between dream and reality again. That was why Tavian had to keep looking for The Lost Kingdom. Havin
g no idea where he was, or where she was, she couldn’t give him any clues, but there was one thing she could do: reassure him that she was waiting for him, that he was close, and all he had to do was try again.
Rose allowed her body to melt in his strong arms for a while, then lifted her head to look into his green eyes and tell him what she had been meaning to tell him for one hundred years. But Tavian was gone. The dream had dissipated.
***
Tavian was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, his head resting in his hands. He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The wooden floor was cold under his bare feet, but he didn’t care. He was completely naked in the chilly morning air. As a bear-shifter, there were few things which could actually bother him or make him feel uncomfortable.
“It was real,” he whispered to himself. “This time, it was real.”
He was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t going insane, that what he felt wasn’t just false hope. It had been her in his dream. Rose, with her cheerful laughter and crystalline voice. She had kissed him, and he had felt her fruity breath on his lips. He knew her unique scent, and he could recognize it even after a century.
“Why didn’t she tell me where she is?”
Then it dawned on him: maybe she didn’t know herself. If The Lost Kingdom was moving regularly and she was trapped inside it, then there was no way she could have known where she was at any given moment in time. But she was close. So close that they had actually shared a dream. His dream. Or hers? It didn’t matter.
Tavian jumped to his feet and started looking for his clothes. He would leave his things at the inn, but he needed at least a shirt and some trousers to cover himself until he reached the forest. He would hide them in the same tree hollow, then search the woods and the entire land inch by inch. Yes, there was a fair chance that The Lost Kingdom might move again before he found it, but he couldn’t let that fear paralyze him. After all, the curse was supposed to last for one century. It was time for someone to find it, for a hero to march through the gates of the palace, scoop Rose into his arms, and kiss her awake. He had to be that hero.
