The Twice Cursed

Chapter Two

Aidan stood at the edge of death.

Tall, black standing stones surrounded the sacred area, blending into the night. Darkness pressed from all sides, almost suffocating him. His knees wobbled as he approached the sealing stone, but nothing appeared wrong. The runes still glowed, an ethereal rainbow merged with the midnight earth.

"No Curse Creatures have come calling, eh?"

Aidan jumped. A faint glow surrounded him, with another shadow resting beside his own. His skin prickled. He should have noticed the additional light. "By the Old Dragon! Did you follow me here, Niall?"

"I thought I might find you jilting the princess," Niall said. "I am your liegeman. If you're to jilt your intended, I will be by your side."

Aidan turned to gauge his expression, but the swinging lantern brought little illumination to his friend's face.

Niall's stone features seldom revealed his thoughts.

When they were children, Aidan tried to trick people into thinking they were brothers.

Now that he was older, he could laugh at the childish notion.

They couldn't have looked more different.

Aidan had vibrant red hair, green eyes, pale skin prone to burning, and until recently scant facial hair.

Niall had dark curls, brown eyes that almost seemed black, a somewhat darker complexion, a small and scruffy beard, and since childhood, always remained at least three inches taller than Aidan.

An often dour countenance with a jagged scar under his left cheek made their friends jest Niall could scare away a Curse Mage with a frown.

But Niall's rare smile shattered any illusion of menace.

"Jilt Princess Bella?" Aidan laughed, and it sounded too hollow within the standing stones. "Niall the Honorable would accompany someone jilting their intended?"

"Not someone. You." Niall shook his head. "I'd be disappointed and lose some respect for you. A lot of respect. Most respect. I wouldn't be able to look you in the eyes again, and surely wouldn't trust you to have my back in battle. But I wouldn't abandon my lord."

"Just judge me for an eon?"

"Indeed." Niall's face lit up with a smile brighter than any of the runes. "So I am glad that you aren't jilting her. But what in the true name of the Old Dragon are you doing here?"

Aidan swallowed. Niall was his best friend, but he didn't want to reveal that he had brought Bella to the forbidden sealing stone. "I was wandering around here earlier, and I... I lost something."

"And you thought the wisest course was to search for it in the dark?"

"It seems you've discovered the truth." Aidan raised his hands. "I am jilting the princess and running away to the Curselands. Are you still keen on accompanying me?"

"I'd gladly accompany you to hell. Although a few days in hell might make me bad company," Niall said in a flat tone.

Aidan chuckled. "Alas, I wouldn't do that to you. So much for my plan. Let's go back to the tavern."

He began walking away, only for Niall to step in front of him. "Did you come here because you feared something was wrong with the sealing stone?" Niall asked.

Aidan let out an awkward laugh. "Why would you ask such a question?"

Niall held his lantern out, craning his head in the stone's direction. "Well, at the tavern, you kept questioning Kane about it, even wondering if a rune could snuff out."

"Kane studies magic." Aidan tilted his head away, not wanting Niall to spot the lies in his eyes. "I was just curious."

Niall snorted. "He didn't satisfy your curiosity if you had to sneak here while I was in the privy."

Aidan shrugged. "I didn't think it would be harmful to look."

"I hate being a killjoy, but there's a reason this place is forbidden. The dark energy of the Curselands spills through the area." Niall shuddered. "I don't have to be a mage to feel it."

Aidan turned back. "I am no coward."

"Asking a friend to accompany you isn't cowardly," Niall said. "You know I would follow you to hell. All you have to do is ask."

"I don't want you to accompany me to hell." Aidan ran his hand against the rough edges of a standing stone. "If I make a foolish decision, you shouldn't suffer for it."

Niall rubbed his head, almost touching the scar. "It's always my choice. So if you deprive me of my choice, you've no respect for me."

Aidan's guilt weighed more than any standing stone. "I didn't mean it that way."

"I know you only mean well." Niall smiled. "Just remember for the next time."

Aidan glanced back at the glinting runes. "Why don't we get out of here? The drinks are probably still flowing."

"Perfect. I can watch the lot of you degenerate into drunken fools," said the perpetually sober Niall. "Hell might be preferable."

"Come on," Aidan said with a laugh. "I spotted that Valoa scribe giving you the eye."

Niall rolled his eyes. "Ellar was having her against the wall in the ally when I left."

Aidan whistled as they began heading back. "Ellar wastes no time. You must move faster if you're to win the maiden."

"Aye, my dream maiden would be someone willing to hike her skirts for Ellar," Niall said in a barbed tone.

Aidan chortled. "That would be most maidens in Dalon. I think even Bella liked his smile..."

He trailed off as a shadowy shape shifted around one of the standing stones, almost beckoning to him. His skin crawled at the gesture, and he fought an urge to inch toward it. The shadow tilted its head before vanishing behind the standing stone.

Aidan cleared his throat. "Did you see...?"

"Yes."

A surge of envy rose in him at Niall's calmness. "Just the magic of the place?"

"Perhaps?"

Fear froze Aidan. Part of him wanted to run, but a true knight never ran. Another part desired to follow, but a pure knight resisted the lure of the dark.

"Prince Aidan?"

Once more, everything had grown brighter without Aidan noticing, and only his knightly training stifled a yelp. Niall stayed silent, but the wild sway of the lantern belied his stoic expression.

Only several feet away stood a figure holding another light. The blazing glow should have been visible from a much farther distance. Aidan shivered, unsure if the stones' magic distorted time or had him in a trance. He held up his hand to block the lantern's glare, and his heart dropped.

Princess Bella. The lantern illuminated her loveliness, leaving him almost breathless. Long raven locks, smooth dark skin, and midnight eyes. She stood tall, confidence engendered by being the sole heir of the Valoa kingdom. Aidan, a second son, remained the shadow of his kingly brother's sun.

Dryness kept Aidan's mouth shut. His face burned at the memory of kissing her earlier. A bold move, almost as bold as taking her to the sealing stone.

Niall recovered himself first. "Your Highness." He lowered his head. "I beg your pardon. I didn't see your approach."

Bella frowned. "I called out a greeting when I saw the prince."

"Forgive us, Your Highness," he said. "We were at the tavern and are a bit drunk."

Aidan didn't know if he was more shocked by Niall lying or the lie itself. No one else would have bought it. But she didn't know his friend well enough to realize it was more likely for the sky to burst into flames than for Niall to be drunk.

"I see," she said, her tone giving no indication if she believed the tale. "What are you two doing here?"

This time, Aidan was ready to sell his earlier story. "I thought I lost something when we were here earlier. No... I mean when I was here earlier. Not you. Or Niall. I..."

His babbling ceased as a smile shined on Bella's face. "Peace, Aidan. I think your loyal friend knows where we were earlier. I caught him giving me a curious look at dinner."

Niall shrugged. "Indeed. I cannot tell a lie," he said, disregarding the lie that he told a moment earlier.

Aidan's cheeks seared, but Bella seemed unbothered. She moved closer with a smile brighter than the lantern light. "It's rather cold out here. Would you escort me back?"

He gave a nod that was a shade too enthusiastic. "Of course."

Niall nodded. "I'll take my leave. I should make sure Fiona gets back to the barracks."

Aidan stifled a chortle. Niall had no sympathy for Fiona's drinking and often left her to sleep it off. A flimsy excuse to give Aidan and Bella some privacy.

As Niall and his lantern disappeared into the dark, Bella turned to Aidan. "Why were you at a tavern, my prince? Sowing some wild oats?"

Aidan shook his head. "No! I would never..."

She put her finger on his lips. "I know. It was but a jest, my prince."

He fought the urge to kiss her finger as she slowly removed it. "I was seeing some friends."

She cocked her head. "At a tavern?"

"I don't often frequent taverns." He fidgeted. "But it's a good place to see my friends at a late hour. We're all so busy during the day with knightly responsibilities, and Kane is busy with his magical studies."

"It doesn't matter to me." She giggled. "Perhaps I could join you one night, if I can slip away from my attendants. I'd like to become acquainted with your friends."

"That would be nice." His bubble of joy popped as the peculiarity of everything struck him. "You seem adept at slipping away. May I ask what you are doing here? I don't mean to be rude, but..."

The lantern swung, veiling Bella's face in shadows. "I couldn't sleep. Ever since we visited the sealing stone, I keep thinking about it. I don't know what that means. I hoped if I saw it, I'd understand why it haunts me."

They walked around a standing stone as Aidan pondered her words. "It might be on account of your Star Magic."

She closed her hand and opened it to reveal a mass of sparkling amber magic. "How so?"

Aidan inhaled, her mystical energy leaving him warm and woozy, like gulping potent wine on a sunny day. "You've the same magic as your grandmother. If there were any strange effects, it was from your power coming into contact with her rune."

Bella smiled as he leaned toward her conjured illumination. "It seems you've quite the knowledge of magic, my prince."

He stepped back, embarrassment breaking through the mystical haze. "No. That's my friend Kane's knowledge. He is from Valoa, but came to Dalon to study magic."

"Valoa? I like him already," she said with a bounce in her step.

As she walked, little sparkles trailed from her magic, dissolving into the night.

"I hope you like him. He'll be accompanying me to Valoa." Uneasiness churned inside him at the similarity between her magic and the amber rune. "He says nothing is amiss with the stone. If something went wrong, the Star Mages would receive a magical alert."

Bella halted in front of a statue, one of the few manmade monuments within the standing stones. Her smile vanished as he backed up from her magic, and the mystical sparkles dissolved. "But you still came here?"

He nodded. "So did you."

She set the lantern on the ground and ran her hand through her loose curls. "I just kept fearing my foolish desire to see the sealing stone somehow made something go wrong. I don't understand it. All my life, I've followed the rules, doing nothing wrong, and the one time that I..."

Her words faded as he took her hands. "There is no need to worry."

A nervous laugh escaped her. "Dalon has me all flustered. I could never run off by myself in Valoa. You have such freedom in this land. My kingdom still suffers from the effects of the Curse Wars."

"Dalon has suffered too." He shrugged. "We're just smaller than Valoa. But there's no escaping the loss."

"Is that your father?" She turned to the statue. "I didn't take a proper look earlier. So much was lost in the Curse Wars."

Similar statues graced other areas of Dalon, so Aidan didn't look. He knew his father's memorial well: an impossibly muscular body, eerie empty eyes, and the names of all the dead carved at its feet.

He found more of his father in the emerald rune.

"Much was lost in the Curse Wars," he mumbled. "But no one ever thinks of the good that came out of it."

She spun back. "I beg your pardon?"

His heart dropped. Fifteen years since the Curse Wars, unnatural beasts still plagued the Starlands, old curses brought suffering and death, and mass graves stood as a reminder of the countless lives lost.

"I don't always have the best way with words.

I know how much evil happened because of the wars.

" He took a deep breath. "But once women were banned from knighthood, now worthy warriors such as my friend Fiona can serve.

The thirteen kingdoms are no longer fighting petty battles since the conflict brought us together.

And there have been great progressions in magic and alchemy to heal the realm. "

Dread twisted his insides as the last word left his mouth. Everyone warned him not to express his radical beliefs to Bella.

But she only nodded. "That's a nice way of looking at it. Good coming out of bad."

Relief rushed through him. "I shouldn't say such things." A nervous laugh escaped him. "So much misery still lingers from the Curse Wars."

"There is honor in truth." She smiled, softly stroking his hands. "Will you tell me the truth? Why do you seem so troubled when you see my magic? You aren't one who blames magic for the wars, are you?"

"No," he said. "I know there's a difference between Star Magic and Curse Magic. But it can ofttimes keep things unbalanced. Smart, skilled people can't advance if those with Star Magic are more powerful."

"We can't change how the world works." She rubbed his hand and little sparks of amber danced around his skin. "Ancient families will always have greater amounts of Star Magic. It is natural for us."

"I don't use magic."

She blinked. "But don't you have magic?"

"I do," Aidan whispered.

"Then why... goodness, what's that?"

Darkness spread over patches of land illuminated by the lantern.

It took Aidan a few seconds to realize the dark blotches were spiders.

He jolted at the inexplicable mass coming from every direction.

Bella stepped back, releasing his hand as they sped toward her.

As he crushed spiders with his boots, she climbed on the base of the statue.

But even as he killed a few, others swarmed in their place. "Should we run for it?" he asked.

Bella extended her hand, her amber magic illuminating more all over the standing stones and coating the ground.

"They are everywhere," she said, her voice wavering. "I need to clear a path."

The sparks of her magic struck the spiders, blowing them away. But like when he crushed them, more rushed to take their place.

"Aidan, if you please, use your magic to help!" Bella said with an edge to her voice.

"I told you, I don't use it," he said in a faint voice while his attention remained on the aggressive arachnids.

"You can't make an exception this time?" she pleaded as her magic flung spiders away.

The sparks of magic illuminated the answer for him. His boots squashed spiders as he ran up to the statue. "Princess Bella, you must stop using magic."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He grabbed her summoning hand, and the amber power almost knocked him into the spiders. This was magic meant to repel, and it overwhelmed him with the urge to run from Bella. But he didn't let go.

"Banish the magic." He gritted his teeth. "It's attracting them."

Her brow creased. "What?"

His hand shook as he struggled to keep hold of her. "Trust me!"

Her gaze flickered from the amber energy to the spiders. Then she met his eyes, and shadows veiled her face as her magic vanished.

Nothing changed. Spiders skittered in the grass, patches of dark in the lantern's light. Then, like a receding wave, they retreated back into the ocean of darkness. Silence rushed back, more intense after its absence.

"What was that?" Bella whispered.

They were so close that the pounding of her heart filled his ears, and her shaky breaths brushed his skin.

"Pure Star Magic ofttimes attracts creatures of all kinds." He leaped off the statue. "They were coming for your magic."

"Isn't that just Curse Creatures?" she asked, taking his hand and accepting his help down.

"Not always. Not when you are in an enchanted area that heightens your power." He bit his lip. "I once learned this lesson, and it harmed someone close to me, scarring them forever."

"Sir Niall?"

Aidan sighed. "When I was eleven, I heard rumors that a Curse Creature was loose in the woods. I hoped to be a little more impressive by defeating it. Foolish, I know."

She squeezed his hand, glancing back at the statue. "Aye. And I'd have done the same at that age. My grandmother died to trap the evil mages in the Curselands. We both have the blood of heroes. But it's so hard... having this legacy and not being able to prove yourself worthy."

"You do understand." Aidan looked down. "But I wish I hadn't, I truly wish I hadn't. Niall worked in the stables and followed me. We were barely friends, and he only came because he bet me a starcoin that there was no Curse Creature out there. I tried using some magic to track the beast..."

The night flowed back in fragments. Murky trees, low growling, a dark shape looming behind the trunks, something rushing at him, and his breath knocking out as Niall shoved him out of the way.

A scream as the beast ripped its claws into Niall's face.

The memories had grown hazy and distorted with time, but shame and pain still stung him.

Aidan cleared his throat. "Magic can lure cursed beasts, but I've been told wild, unfocused magic used on enchanted grounds drives natural creatures wild.

If it was one of those unearthly beasts, I brought it upon us.

I sent a blast of power at the creature, and it bolted.

We never found out if it was a Curse Creature.

There was no dark magic in Niall's wound, no matter what people believe. "

Bella winced, but sympathy remained on her face. "Some think Curse Creatures only appear when summoned. I imagine they believed Sir Niall summoned it. Many consider such wounds as fitting consequences for dabbling with Curse Magic."

"I shouldn't have been out there." Guilt stabbed Aidan's stomach. "I was confident in my Star Magic, and I only just barely drove off the beast. If I had waited a second, Niall would have been dead."

"But your magic still does wondrous things." With a gentle touch, Bella lifted his face. "You are the reason your friend lives."

"Niall thinks I should embrace my power." He laughed. "But he fought off the beast that night without magic. If not for him, it would've ripped me apart. People can call me foolish, but I want to be like him."

Everyone thought Aidan was foolish. Even Niall.

"No. I admire your conviction. Oh, it's so cold!

" She shivered, and he placed his arm around her.

"We need a better world than the powerful taking advantage of their power.

That's how the Curse Wars started. People still desire power, even knowing it will send them to the Curselands.

We can't ever go back to those dark times. "

He clutched her tighter. "That's why the ban on alchemy should be lifted. More would have access to magic and wouldn't need Curse Magic."

Instant regret filled him as soon as the words left his mouth. A radical proposal. Conan wouldn't hear of it. But Aidan could never hide his convictions, even if some would never understand.

But it hurt to think Bella might ridicule his ideas.

The silence chilled him more than the cold night. Then Bella nodded. "Alchemy isn't a path to Curse Magic, it's a way of understanding the world and giving power to those wise enough to wield it."

"You'll make a great queen," Aidan said. "You'll do so much for Valoa, perhaps the entire Starlands."

"We will," she said, shyness creeping into her tone. "I don't just want a royal alliance. My parents are partners. That's what I want. I'll always be the true queen, but I'd like us to work together."

He caught his breath. At most, he expected to serve her with his knightly skills and diplomacy. He never thought she would want his help in shaping the future of her kingdom. Her faith in him was overwhelming.

"I'd like to hear your plans," he said.

"I'd like to tell you! Only... we shan't have the opportunity if we return to the palace.

It wouldn't be proper for us to spend much time together before the betrothal ceremony.

" Her bright face crumpled, and his heart sank.

"Although my ladies are covering for me tonight.

Do you know... I've never stayed out all night. Have you, my prince?"

"Yes, I couldn't even count the number of times we were out until dawn for knight training. And sometimes during festivals, just for fun. Once we... oh!" He gulped as realization struck him. "Do you want to stay out tonight?"

"I do."

"I'd have to stay with you," he teased. "A true knight never leaves a lady unattended."

"Are you sure you don't just want to spend the night with a princess?" she riposted.

He was thankful for the darkness as his cheeks scorched. Flirting and courtly love were second nature to his friends and brother, but this was a new world to him.

"I meant in the most honorable way," he said, the words coming out in a rush.

Her grip tightened on his hand. "You needn't fear being merry with me, my prince. Humor is part of life. We need to share our true selves with each other."

"Then, in the spirit of honesty, I'll say that I don't want to spend the night in this place." He glanced around with a shudder. "I've had enough of enchanted stones for a lifetime."

She laughed. "They ought to post a warning that magic here leads to spider infestations."

Aidan scooped up the lantern and, as they left, he decided to have the stones investigated by experts. Then he would extinguish his fears.

He wanted to hear Bella's plans for the kingdom and her future, and to share his ideas.

He never wanted to return to the standing stones. The magic was too strong and troubling. He ignored the flicker of doubt as the lantern flickered.

He didn't want to think of the hell beneath his feet.