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

CHAPTER 13

EDWARD
18 JUNE 1415

"Try what?" I asked.

"See if I can pass through the mirror!"

"God's teeth!" I whined. "I do not want to take chances."

"I might not go anywhere, Edward," she argued.

"Or you might!" I snapped. "We are not discussing this matter further. Is that clear?"

Raising her chin high, she answered, "Yes, Your Highness."

I sighed at her taunt. She only addressed me with my title when she was angry.

"Listen." I held her hands. "I cannot afford to lose you." I kissed her knuckles. "I cannot live without you."

She gave a soft chuckle at my words. "Oh, Edward!" Embracing me again, she said, "I love you so much." I wish it were this easy for me to confess, but she did not wait for my answer. "It's been a while. I have to go back to check on Emma."

We left the book on the floor and headed to the chamber.

When I noticed that she was busy tending to Emma, I snuck out of the chamber with my journal, wondering if her betrothed had left any messages for me.

I took refuge in the solarium and started rummaging through the sketches. I picked up the one I had drawn of the King giving Myra the gift of a book. I flipped the sketch over to find out that he had indeed left a message.

WILL YOU PROTECT HER FROM THE KING?

I sucked in a breath at his question. Did he sense the danger around us, even from the sketch?

As soon as I picked up a graphite stick to send a response, I heard a voice. "Your Highness?"

I looked up to find Haakon standing there. Where had he been all this time? After the incident of him disappearing through the tree, he had not shown his face at court.

I gave him a disapproving look and motioned him to sit across from my chair.

"Loyalty does not suit you, Haakon," I grumbled. He did not move. His expression remained calm. "I could have you hanged for treason."

"And what treason would that be, Your Highness?"

"Your witchcraft!" I answered. "How the hell did you manage to—"

"There are things," he interrupted me, "that you and your lady will find out when the time comes."

"And when would that time be?"

"Patience, Your Highness," he said quietly, disciplining me like a child. "What you call witchcraft is the source of you and your lady's betrothed exchanging messages on a mere sheet of paper." He nodded at my journal.

I stared at him, baffled. How did he know that Steve and I exchanged messages? I had not shared my journal with anyone. If I took it out of my bedchamber, it was always by my side. I had never let it out of my sight, and I had not seen him enter my room to sneak into my private belongings. Even Myra knew not about this.

"Do not ask me, Your Highness, as to how I know this," he added. "You will know everything when the time comes." Glancing at my sheets again, he continued, "But what you are doing shall remain a secret."

"What am I doing?" I asked, still transfixed.

"This exchanging of messages through time," he gestured towards my sketches. "You are defying time and centuries." He gave a small smile. "You are also conducting witchcraft, Your Highness."

Shutting my journal, I barked, "How dare you?"

"Apologies, Your Highness." He looked down. "I do not blame you for doing it, but all I request is that you keep it private from your lady."

He had my undivided attention as soon as he mentioned Myra.

"If you tell Her Grace about this..." He glanced at the closed journal. "You shall lose this power."

"Why?"

"This is solely meant for the two men who are most sincere to Her Grace," he answered. Before I could say anything, he continued, "Her betrothed is concerned about her safety, as much as you are."

Biting my cheek on the inside, I asked, "Does he love her?"

"He does," he answered, stabbing me in the heart. "But not the way you do."

"What do you mean?" Was his love stronger than mine?

"He cares, Your Highness," he answered. "Truly cares!"

I inhaled sharply at Haakon's words. I had noticed how concerned Steve was. No wonder she had missed him. She was missing a man who deeply cared for her well-being.

"He knows about your love, Your Highness, and he is not here to compete," Haakon added. "But whatever you two are doing, it must remain private if you want to maintain this power." In other words, he was warning me not to disclose this to Myra. But was it not her right to know that I had been communicating with Steve?

"What is her relationship to the castle?" I asked again.

He stood up and bowed. "Patience, Your Highness."

I watched him for numerous beats. From my expression, he knew I had more to say, so he did not leave.

"So in our story, there is no villain. Do you wager on that?"

He looked at me the way one looks at an unknown object, trying to find the purpose of it.

"Remember that you are both meant for each other." My heart stopped beating for a moment. "No rumour, no enemy, no betrothed, and no king can destroy what you two have, unless you two let it," he warned. "Only you two are your own enemies."

He bowed again and left the room without my permission, leaving me tangled in the web of my thoughts.