Once Upon A [Hidden] Time - [Stolen] Series IV

CHAPTER 1

JASMINE
1198

What do you do when you have enough power to conquer the world?

What do you do when you are able to heal people?

What do you do when you are able to separate good from evil?

What do you do when you can read minds?

Sometimes the power that is considered a blessing becomes your curse.

Riding through the forest, under a vast sky wiped clean of clouds, was the ultimate pleasure for me-its blue so vivid that it was like the hem of the Virgin's mantle. Slicing the wind apart, I left the trees behind me as Maximus, my stallion, took me deeper into the bowels of nature, where only flowers grow, the sun shines, the rain falls...and where love prevails.

It has been a few years since I acquired the crown by winning King Audrey's trust-his last wish was to place the reins of England in my hand. I was no royalty-just an ordinary girl, with the power to heal. The King had been abandoned by his own Queen and his entire family because they thought a leper would also bring them death. They thought he was incurable. If they had lived ahead of time-like me-they would have known what power the future brings when you hold the future in your hands.

I was a time traveller who could bring knowledge from a thousand years ahead of time. In a thousand years, a man has achieved a lot, has opened many doors, untied many complexities, but the only thing he still fails to do is see death coming, like a silent storm heralding towards him. He knows it is bound to happen, but he fails to acknowledge it. No matter how aware he is of his future, he fails to control his death.

Spending time in the utter silence of nature was my favourite activity in the world. It was a beautiful day-the sky was an ocean blue, and a crystal breeze carried the scent of the river and the cool autumn air.

Stealing precious moments from my routine, I would visit my paradise when I did not have to hold court or look after my people as Queen. Each day at court, I had suitors visiting, laying their hearts at my feet. Same old ways of courting a lady, same old rituals of trying to win a heart. Little did they know I was not looking for another crown or more treasure. I was not looking for someone to take on my responsibilities. I was capable of looking after my own kingdom. Besides, my brother had always been there to guide me.

All I wanted was to fall in love-like an ordinary girl. I wanted someone to touch my heart and kindle my soul. I wanted someone who could look at me in a way that showed nothing else mattered to him more in this world besides me. I was called by many names-queen, witch, healer, mage, occultist, opportunist-but I wanted someone to accept me with all my traits. I wanted someone who was willing to trade his soul for mine. I wanted someone who was willing to accept me with my curse-as a mind reader.

This curse had caused me loneliness all my life. Besides my brother, there was no one in this world I could trust. Every day, a new prince, a new lord, a new knight had come to my court to charm me, but in all those rendezvous, I had read their minds. They were looking for power, more wealth, or perhaps my physical beauty-to own me. No one wanted to dive into my soul and learn about me-not as the Queen of England, but as a girl named Jasmine.

"One cannot love with the eyes alone." I heard a man speaking in French, his voice echoing in my paradise. "What crime, then, have my eyes committed, if their glance but follows my desire?" I whipped my head around, finding a man standing a few paces away, flashing me a mysterious smile that he may have borrowed from the pages of one of the poems he just quoted. He looked fit, his black hose and doublet adhering to his physique like a silk pelt. A silver chain embedded with garnets was draped across his chest. I realised he was quoting Chrétien de Troyes' words, a French poet who had died a few years ago. From his accent, I was unable to figure out if he was an Englishman or a Frenchman, but his French was very fluent.