Once Upon A [Stolen] Time - [Stolen] Series I

CHAPTER 3

"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death."
Robert Fulghum

EDWARD
APRIL 1415

"Edward...?" I heard my sister's voice. "Edward? Wake up!"

I opened my eyes, staring at my sister Veronica as if she were a ghost.

"What troubles you?" She asked with concern. "Nightmare again?"

I nodded.

"Same as usual?"

I sighed. I have had the same dream since childhood, and our memories begin to build at age seven.

My twin sister Veronica was my other half. She knew me more than me. She was more aware of my emotions and the whirlpool I was drowning in. With her by my side, I felt peace and solace, which was scarce in our kingdom.

"Your training is going to start in an hour." She raked her fingers through my hair, as my mother would have. I had never known our mother, but Veronica, despite being my twin, treated me like her son—always giving me the motherly warmth I craved. "You know how King Stefan hates it when you are late."

Stefan Hue, the seventh monarch of the Hue royal bloodline, was my father and the current king of England. I always found it amusing and strange that Hue was our family name, yet the only thing we lacked in our castle was colours. Everything around us was gloomy and grey. The castle grounds encompassed hundreds of acres of land, but no flower or natural form of life dared to exist. Outside those boundaries, everything was lush green—a vast field of daffodils, lavender, and lilies, with natural springs and wild forests. Our castle was the only place painted and doomed in caliginosity.

Though we had men living inside the castle—the council members, the servants, the guards—there was this darkness and desolation as if the castle was a barren woman who could never create a life. Birds never chirped on our windowsills. Rats never sneaked into our hallways. Spiders never made their homes in the corners.

Our royal advisor Haakon had tried his best to create a potent spell that could bring life to our land, making it as green as the world outside. I had always wondered if he was a magician or a wizard, but his wisdom had always been helpful. For more than two hundred years, this castle had been veiled in darkness. The sun had forgotten to shine on us. It had failed to shed its warmth into our lives. The clouds had turned away their faces. They stayed, but they never poured.

We had lived in a curse for many centuries, but we were clueless about how it happened.

For two hundred years, our family had tried to bring every possible flower seed to grow within our castle boundary, but the land refused to give back. The flowers died as soon as they were buried in our soil. Perhaps something was hidden in our land—a demon with a never-ending appetite for anything natural.

Pushing myself off the bed, I placed my feet on the ground. Veronica knew how terrible I felt each morning. Sleep had become my greatest enemy. The woman in my dreams never ceased to haunt me. Same glowing face, eyes as grey and hard as steel, and skin as smooth as marble. I had been introduced to many women from other noble families across England, but none had matched her beauty.

No one in our entire kingdom could interpret my dream. Even Haakon had no remedy for it. Those intelligent grey eyes, hair as brown as sandalwood with curls that could bind you, and her fragrance...yes, though it was strange to say, I could sense her, feel her, and smell her in my dreams. Since the age of seven, I had not dreamed of anything besides her. If she ever came to me outside my dream, I would recognise her with my eyes closed.