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

CHAPTER 18

MYRA

11 JUNE 2015

Life plays practical jokes sometimes. I didn't know if I should blame fate, my life, my unknown powers—but something had once again pulled me into Edward's life.

Today was my engagement party and the official announcement that I would be Steve's future bride. It was also the same day Edward disappeared forever and the same day he and I were born.

Sitting in front of the grand vintage dresser in the Bernards' manor, nothing thrilled me. The ladies were preparing me for the party: makeup, hair, beautiful jewellery, a designer dress—a complete makeover from an ordinary girl to a princess. Still, my heart was sinking with the thought of Edward's departure. Every second was a ticking time bomb. It could explode at any moment.

Six hundred years ago, Edward disappeared into the darkness as the sun set behind Hue Castle. Although the sun's rays never reached the castle and they lived in the darkness, they still observed day and night.

I checked the time. It was two in the afternoon. Still six more hours before he disappeared. What was I thinking? Could I stop him from running away? Could I change Edward's future by chasing him into the past?

A month ago, we'd started filming in Hue Castle. Steve was a man of his word, and he'd brought me to Hue Castle the morning after our dinner with our parents. He'd arranged beautiful medieval-style gowns for me so I could look exactly like I came from the time when the castle was built. Steve and Tyler chased me everywhere I went. A camera was constantly on me, capturing my every move for the animation.

I went to the chapel several times but couldn't see anything past the mirror except for Edward attending morning mass. According to Edward's book, there was a secret passage in the king's chamber leading down to the library and the spring.

For a week, we tried every possible way to reach King Stefan's bedroom. We tried all the doors and searched through the passages but couldn't find the chamber. The route was not shown in the book. I just saw Edward knocking at the door and entering the room. I didn't even know which side of the castle it was on. We explored everywhere, but we couldn't find it.

Julia was no longer interested in our castle hunt because she'd never believed my story. She said she had a map of the castle layout, and King Stefan's room was on it, but no special library was underneath the castle. But the room she showed us, which was supposed to be the king's chamber, was not what I had seen in Edward's book. It looked like the Hue family had manipulated history.

At one point, even Steve failed to believe me. He asked me if there was a library underneath the castle and a healing spring, why was it not on the map given to us by the British government? I didn't have an answer for them and couldn't make them believe me.

We also took the risk of removing the black screen from the mirror. Steve and Tyler couldn't handle the truth. They were genuinely horrified by looking into the mirror, but surprisingly, the mirror showed my reflection as it really was. It didn't turn me into a beast.

Steve took advantage of my powers over the mirror. He took more photos and videos of me with it.

After the true nature of the spring was revealed to Edward, King Stefan never summoned him to share any more secrets. It seemed like he'd said enough. Edward spent his days and nights walking around the castle, going to the chapel on multiple occasions to talk to Jasmine—if he only knew that it was I he spoke to. There was no presence of Jasmine in this castle. She had been dead for over eight centuries now.

My engagement party was held in the Bernards' beautiful garden. It was decorated with thousands of lilacs that matched my dress. There were also lilacs in my hair, neatly pinned up on the sides, while the rest of my hair flowed freely over my shoulders in my natural dark brown curls.