Once Upon A Kiss: Seventeen Romantic Faerie Tales

by Alethea Kontis

  "Prince Richard," my mother bowed while on her knees. "Are you all right?"

  "I—I need Stolgard. Where is Stolgard?"

  Stolgard? Richard had never called for Stolgard before. "Richard?" She reached out for him.

  He stared at her outstretched fingers and then pulled back, to Rose's mother. Even she looked shocked and put her hand on Richard's head.

  Stolgard appeared then, with the king and queen behind him. Richard immediately stood and went to him, then to his parents.

  "Everything is well, son," the king said and then looked at Rose and her mother. "Thank you. Both of you."

  Rose stood, and then helped her mother up. They both curtsied before the nobles, who left the room. Richard did not even send her a backward glance.

  The festivities were over, and Rose went back to her rooms. She couldn't wrap her head around Richard's reaction to her. And who was that guy in the robe and hood? Why had he interrupted the celebration?

  It was past midnight before her father came in. They met him at the door with food taken from the feast. He'd been in council with the king, his knights and advisors, Richard and Stolgard.

  "Stolgard was there?" her mother said. "The king's never brought a magician into the council before."

  "No. He hasn't. But this time he did, so the old man could report on the attacker. Apparently he'd heard several rumors about a dark magician, one who uses Goddess magic."

  Rose put her fingers to her lips. "But isn't that forbidden?"

  "It is. This dark magician is known in the land as Fenrir. He'd come to kidnap the prince and ransom him, but it was Stolgard's magic that prevented it."

  "Stolgard?" Rose thought back over the events. She couldn't remember even seeing the old magician when ruckus started. To her, it looked like this dark magician had lost control of his magic and hit that wall. Either way, it was clear to her that Stolgard was going to take credit for saving Richard.

  * * *

  Things changed after that day.

  Most notably, Richard.

  He stopped coming to her rooms to visit. He never walked her back from the Guild's class rooms anymore. In fact, several of the kitchen staff, Declan included, whispered in the storage rooms when they didn't know Rose was there.

  "…he's withdrawn they say. Mayhap that Fenrir took his soul?"

  "You're daft if you believe that rubbish. I'd say the whole thing frightened him, and he'll be right as rain before you know it."

  But he wasn't. At least not to Rose. He barely looked at her when they passed in the halls, and less than a year after that day, he requested Rose no longer be his Magician at Arms. He wanted Stolgard to protect him.

  The news burned a hole in her heart. It felt as if something were missing inside, taken from her. A piece of her had turned its back on her and she began failing her studies. Stolgard noticed and suggested she might do better if she took up sword fighting. Or found other work in the castle.

  Rose took to hiding in the room above the window. At first she hoped Richard would come to her there. Night after night she waited. And on the anniversary of the attack, the day she turned eighteen and Richard turned sixteen, Rose boarded up the room and never went back, leaving behind a group of half burned candles and the memory of a young man's proposal of marriage.

  One morning, Rose offered to go with Declan into the market at the castle wall's far gate. She'd never really been there, since her time had always been spent with Richard. Now there seemed so much of it, and without magic training she felt her mind stagnating.

  The stalls were decorated in bright colors and she found herself smiling at the gathering of fruits, vegetables, livestock and materials. Declan was very thorough in her choice of what went into the pot for the king and queen, not leaving the job to anyone else. So while she haggled and pointed, Rose wandered to the next stall. Glass baubles caught her eye as they glinted in the morning sun. She hesitantly reached out to touch one cut in the shape of a heart.

  "It's good to see you smile."

  The voice startled her. She looked past the hanging treasures to a young man standing on the other side. He was taller than her, with hair the color of wheat. It was long and pulled back from his shoulders by a leather strap. The edges of his jaw and his chin were ringed in the same color fuzz and his eyes, a bright, bright green, smiled at her.

  "Why?" she heard herself ask.

  "I've watched you since you came into the market." He had a half eaten apple in one hand and gestured with it. "You came close to smiling a few times while Declan started her bargain talk."

  "You," she glanced back at the House Cook, still talking. "You know Declan?"

  "Everyone knows Mama Declan," he started to offer her the apple, then winced and offered her his free hand. "I'm Thomas."

  She took the hand and shook it. "Rose."

  "You should have been called Red. I don't think I've seen hair that color. It's beautiful."

  Rose felt her cheeks grow warm. "So…do you make these hanging jewels?"

  "Yes. My…uncle is a glass blower. I've been apprenticing with him." He put the apple down, then took the glass heart and offered it to her.

  "Oh, no. I can't. I don't have the silver for it."

  "No need. Your smile was enough, Rose." And he then he said, "I've missed it so very much."

  Missed it? She frowned at him and then at the glass heart. "I…do we know each other?"

  "No." He shook his head. "But as I said, I've been coming here for nearly a year to sell my uncle's things. I've seen you." He held the heart out again. "Please." He looked both ways before he said in a whisper. "It's spelled."

  "Spelled?" She took it and felt a slight tingle on her finger tips. "I used to learn magic."

  "You stopped?" He looked surprised.

  "I could never even light a candle."

  Thomas touched the glass heart. "Jun'el," he said softly, and the heart light from inside. It was hard to see in the morning sun, but Rose could make out the glow. "Jun'el is Fatan for Light of Protection."

  Her eyes widened. "You know the Fatan language?"

  "Of course. If we're to only do magic in Fatan, shouldn't we know what we say?"

  "But…Stolgard has forbidden anyone knowing the language."

  Thomas gave her a withering look. "And that makes sense how?" He waved at the heart and the light went out. "Keep that with you, Rose. It will light up when there is danger around."

  After that morning, Rose came to the market every opportunity she could to see Thomas. While Declan shopped, she often went to his booth to talk, and eventually he began teaching her Fatan. Simple words at first, and then phrases. And what she discovered when she turned in for the night and reviewed her lessons from Stolgard by the light of a candle, that the spells he'd given her actually made no sense. Three in particular. So she used what she learned from Thomas and rearranged the spells and managed to make them all work, especially the one to light a candle.

  And as her nineteenth birthday approached, she reapplied for the Magician's Guild and Stolgard begrudgingly allowed her entrance, on the king and queen's request. They still adored Rose and her parents, even if their son had become a rather moody young man whose only appearances were to eat supper and attend meetings. When he wasn't there, he was in Stolgard's rooms or the college, hidden in back rooms.

  One night, after studying late, Rose had seen Richard walking down the corridor, dressed all in black, looking more like a wraith these days than a prince. She ran up to speak to him but he scowled at her and kept going.

  His reaction stung and she cried herself to sleep that night in the privacy of her rooms. She wanted to talk to Thomas, to tell him what Richard had done. But she had no idea where Thomas was, or where he lived. He existed in the market and nowhere else to her. And yet, when she was with him, she felt safe and alive and…liked.

  Soon it was the day before the prince's sixteenth birthday and another rumor surfaced, that the king was going to make an announcement
at his son's birthday celebration. The only time the king ever made promises like that was when something very important was going to happen. Rose dared to hope that maybe…maybe…they were going to announce a wedding? She entertained thoughts of Richard offering her his hand, of apologizing to her for being so cruel and distant, but that he had done it to protect her while the Dark Magician Fenrir roamed the land.

  And indeed, Rose had heard stories from Stolgard of the Dark Magician's treachery after escaping the dungeons of the castle. Rose had been surprised, since she hadn't known the intruder had escaped. Did the king know? And what came as another surprise was that no one in the market even knew who the Dark Magician Fenrir was. When she asked them, not a one knew of any of the injustices this hooded man had committed.

  So when she asked Thomas in the market place that morning, she was surprised when he laughed and said, "Oh yes. The Magician's nemesis."

  "The Magician's?"

  "Stolgard. He's been making up stories about this dark magician for as long as anyone can remember. It's just that no one here cares." He knelt behind his stall and then stood. "We've heard it all before." And then he handed her a small box. "Happy birthday."

  She blinked at him. "But, it's not my birthday."

  "Tomorrow is. I'm pretty sure you and I won't see each other here tomorrow, so I thought I'd give it to you early. Open it."

  Rose couldn't hide her smile as she lifted the box's lid and saw a beautiful silver chain. "Oh Thomas…"

  "Took me a few days to get the edges right," he said as he took it from her. She removed the leather thong that held the heart in place, swapped it out for the silver, and then replaced it around her neck. And to her surprise, he kissed her on the cheek. "If you need me, the jewel will bring you to me."

  "More magic?" She smiled at him and then felt guilt weigh on her shoulders. "Thomas…you know I love Richard, don't you?"

  "I think you believe you do. I don't know why you do. He hasn't been there for you since he was attacked."

  "I know. And I can't help feeling he's doing it to maybe protect me."

  Thomas made a rude noise. "That self centered brat?"

  His words had a ring of truth to them, but that made their sting all the more painful. "You don't know anything about him," she hissed.

  And Thomas crossed his arms over his chest. "Neither do you, Rose."

  She wanted to strike him. Make that smug look in his face go away, but not here. Not in the market. He had no idea what she and Richard once had. No one did. What Richard went through that day and how it must have frightened him.

  Rose turned and stomped off, leaving Declan and Thomas behind.

  * * *

  Her parents gave her a new gown the next morning. It was the first one she'd ever owned. It was green, to show off her hair, and flowed behind her in a diaphanous cloud. Her mother said the queen suggested Rose wear something nice to the celebration and gave them the dress. With that grain of hope, Rose believed that Richard was going to ask her to marry him. He was seventeen today. He could marry her. And with the queen's blessing in the form of a gown, what else could it be? She wanted Rose to look the part of a princess.

  She turned many heads in the Main Hall. The decorations were spectacular, black and gold, Richard's new favorite color combination. Richard looked handsome in his new golden finery and to her surprise, came toward her as she entered the Hall and offered her his hand. "Will you dance with me, Rose?"

  The two of them had taken lessons together, so their moves on the floor were perfection. The crowd clapped and cheered and when the dance was over, he bowed to her and offered her his arm as they moved to the refreshment table. He offered her a glass of something amber colored. It smelled sweet and Rose felt a bit queasy at the scent, so she didn't drink it right away.

  "The jewel on your chest," Richard said as he looked down at it. He'd grown a lot in the past two years. "The setting is exquisite. And the length perfect as it sits above your breasts."

  Rose put her hand to the heart and it felt warm against her skin. "It was a gift."

  "From whom? Not competition I hope?" And he smiled at her.

  She was in heaven. Here was Richard again, at her side as he'd always been. They'd danced. They'd laughed. And now he was smiling. "No. Not competition. An admirer I think."

  "Then give me his name and I will have him removed."

  She blinked. "What?"

  He didn't smile at first, and then slowly the corners of his mouth lifted. "Do excuse me, Rose. But as of late, I've come to regret the way I've treated you. You see…I have an announcement to make, and I want you by my side. Supporting me."

  There it was! He did still care for her and she curtsied in front of him. "I would be honored, Richard."

  "Good."

  But when the time came for the announcement and Rose readied herself to join her prince on the dais of the Main Hall, the floor vibrated under her feet. She stood in the center of the main room as guests scattered to the sides. People screamed when the glass shattered from the great windows overhead and the glass of amber liquid in Rose's hand exploded as well. She yelled and drew from her magic to create a barrier between the guests and the falling shards. "Den 'el Natha Reen!" It was Fatan for protect them from harm.

  Something moved to her right—the ghost of a shadow. It was quick. Then it moved behind her—a brush of air against her cheek. She ducked low and rolled to her left just as something heavy and metallic plunged into the wood where she'd been standing. Rose remained in a crouched position, her dress pulled up to her thighs as she looked to see a man dressed all in black pull a mace free from the wood in the floor.

  "Richard!" the queen screamed.

  Just past the stranger, Rose could see an all too familiar figure on the floor. It was Richard, crumpled in a heap on the dais.

  He wasn't moving.

  "What did you do?!" Rose shouted out and launched herself up as she took off running toward her prince.

  The attacker swung at her as she tried to run by. Rose saw the movement from the corner of her eye and evaded, her old sword training kicking in. Or what she had of it, that is. The mace the stranger was wielding flew past her and struck the far wall. Rose made a strangled noise as she saw the man coming at her. She glanced at Richard again before she held up her right hand and spoke in a low voice, "baleth 'el 'en val de-fur!"

  Too late she realized she'd used the old spell, one she hadn't corrected. Lightening shot from her hand once again and again glanced off the attacker. This time it shot up and hit the chandelier of candles above them. Sparks flew as the chain suspending the fixture was severed and the entire thing came crashing down around them.

  Rose was already up and moving as fast as she could toward Richard. His eyes were closed and he looked pale—like moonlight. She turned to see the wreckage of the chandelier move as the attacker tried to pull himself from it.

  "Get him!" the king ordered, though his guards were already bolting to the black-clad man.

  Rose pulled Richard close to her to protect her prince as the attacker jumped over the two guards and half landed, half fell behind them. It looked to her as if he was hurt and couldn't walk as easily as he had before. She was drawn to him—watched him—his entire body covered in black from head to foot. She couldn't even see his eyes and wondered if this wasn't clothing but his skin?

  Was he a demon? A thief? He had apparently intended on kidnapping the prince once again!

  The guards recovered quickly as two more came through the Main Hall door and the four surrounded the injured intruder, their swords drawn. There was no way this man could escape.

  "I call upon the Goddess Belial to bring forth the fire of consumption!" the man bellowed.

  Instantly blue fire consumed his body. He bent backwards, screamed, and vanished. The smell of the Goddess fire was bitter in Rose's nose and she put her left forearm over her face to mask it.

  But what startled her more than the intruder using the Goddess fire�
��which was a forbidden spell—was that he'd spoken the spell in the common tongue. The only other person she'd known who used the common tongue for spells was Richard. But he lay in her arms.

  They were surrounding her then—the king and his guards—two ladies in waiting pulled her from Richard's still body and soothed her worries.

  "He'll be all right, little one," the queen said as she came near and ordered Rose and her mother be brought to the private quarters immediately.

  Rose watched them take Richard and hurried after them. Yet she continued to glance back at the downed chandelier, afraid the dark man would return.

  * * *

  "If Rose had not had my training," Stolgard, the king's magician, said. "It might have been worse."

  "I'm well aware of the girl's heroism," the king snapped. "But it didn't stop this bastard's magic. Nothing wakes my son."

  Rose chewed on her lower lip but remained in the corner of the room. It was said the intruder struck Richard with the sharp end of a spindle. The very one belonging to the spinning wheel within the queen's private rooms.

  "Sire," Stolgard spoke again. "Whatever spell was cast can be broken. No spell is irreversible, but—"

  "Then reverse it!" the king roared. "Wake my son!"

  "You know the rules of magic," Stolgard said. "I cannot undo another's spell. It must be unraveled by the spellmaker."

  "How did that one man get into this castle?" the king said quietly. "Are there no guards on the doors?"

  "I'm willing to guess," Stolgard replied. "He used magic to get in the same way he got out."

  "Got out?" the king said. "The fool burned himself to death."

  "No," Stolgard said. "He used Goddess Fire. And though painful, it doesn't kill. It moves the body from place to place. He'll be weak for a few days, and need to rest to recover. And, he'll be close. The distance traveled has been measured at no more than a few miles. He'll have moved himself back to where he entered."