CHAPTER XI
"Moonlight Whispers and a Memory Written in Wings"
The moon was full — so full it seemed to have swallowed the sea and draped its silver veil over the entire world. Its reflection shimmered across the waters like a song, and I found myself perched atop the tallest tree in Crimson Cove, its branches wide and ancient like the arms of a guardian.
There, beneath the soft hush of night, I sat with only a delicate white cloth wrapped around me — light as breath, enough to shield my body, yet free enough to let the breeze dance across my skin. A soft wind played with my hair as I held a shimmering feather — bright as dawn, light as a morning wish — and pressed it to a leaf, writing something I didn't even fully understand yet.
A thought.
A feeling.
A memory I hadn't lived… but somehow remembered.
Then, as if summoned by the silence in my heart, she appeared.
A fairy — graceful and radiant — stepped out of the moonlight. Her dress was woven from shadows and stars, black as midnight but gleaming with a quiet fire. And when she smiled… the world around me faded. Her smile met mine like the sun greeting its reflection on still water — warm, familiar, and full of unspoken understanding.
We didn't need words.
She walked slowly toward me, her presence gentle, her footsteps lighter than starlight. With a soft touch, she lifted the feather and leaf from my hands and placed them to the side, like one would set aside a story to read the person who wrote it.
Then, without saying anything, she guided me to lie down — not forcefully, but with the grace of someone who knew exactly what you needed before you even asked.
She held my hands in hers.
And in the quiet between us, she brought them to her lips and kissed them — not with passion, but with reverence. Like I was a poem she'd waited her whole life to read. Her eyes — wide, deep, and impossibly beautiful — looked into mine, and I felt as though I'd stepped into another realm… one made entirely of her gaze.
Then, softly, her lips met mine.
Not in haste.
Not in hunger.
But in the kind of kiss that speaks before it touches — one that says I see you… I know you… You are safe here.
Her breath was sweet, her scent like twilight and lilacs. And when she began to pull away, something inside me panicked — not out of fear, but of loss.
So I reached for her.
And I kissed her back.
Slowly.
Like I was writing my name into her soul.
I didn't want to remember this moment.
I wanted to live in it.
Forever.
The moon above us watched, silent and silver, as if protecting a sacred secret. The night wrapped around us like a lullaby, and her touch stayed on my skin even after it left — a warmth that didn't burn, only glowed.
This wasn't just a dream.
It was a memory waiting to be born.
A chapter of my soul that had waited lifetimes for the ink.
And in her presence, under that vast moon and the song of the sea, I felt something I hadn't in a very long time.
Home.
Her lips had been so soft in that dream.
As they touched mine — featherlight, tender, unhurried — a wave of joy had washed over me. It was as though every breath I took was filled with her presence. A quiet euphoria, warm and shimmering, bloomed within me. My heart beat slower, but fuller, as if time had decided to pause just so I could live in that kiss a little longer.
She had held my hand, gently, as if she never wanted to let go.
And slowly, very slowly… I began to open my eyes.
Only—
She was gone.
The tree, the moonlight, the kiss… it had all vanished like mist under morning light.
My dream slipped away, and I awoke to the reality around me.
But I wasn't alone.
My eyes focused, adjusting to the soft blue hue of dawn. Caelum was crouched beside me, his hand holding mine — firm, focused, and very real. He looked strangely serious, almost worried, as though he were trying to concentrate on something important.
"What… what are you doing?" I asked, my voice still heavy with sleep and confusion.
He looked up, caught in the act, but didn't flinch. "You were bitten," he said calmly. "By a venomous insect. I was just applying a remedy."
I blinked and looked down at my hand. Sure enough — a small, reddened mark on my wrist was already beginning to swell slightly. I hadn't even felt it in the dream.
"Is it bad?" I asked, alarm rising in my voice. "Will it… ruin my beauty?"
Caelum tilted his head, puzzled. "Ruin your what?"
"My beauty!" I said, more firmly this time. "What if the bite leaves a mark?"
He smirked — just a little — and shook his head. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I've already treated it. The swelling will go down by morning."
I sighed in relief and leaned back, still a little dazed from waking up too suddenly. But then I noticed something odd. Caelum was frowning slightly, as if something was bothering him.
He murmured, almost to himself, "Strange… my magic didn't seem to work."
I sat up. "Magic? What kind of magic?"
He looked at me, his eyes suddenly mischievous. "I was hoping it'd make you fall madly in love with me."
My breath caught.
For a second, I could only stare at him — completely caught off guard, unable to tell if he was being serious.
But then his smirk grew wider. "I'm joking," he said with a dramatic sigh. "Don't you ever read fantasy stories? That's where all the best poison cures come with a side effect of falling in love."
I stared at him for another heartbeat… then let out a quiet laugh and shook my head.
He was impossible.
And yet… I felt strangely warm inside.
Relieved.
Embarrassed.
Maybe even a little amused.
So it was just a joke.
Right?
"Good," I said under my breath, more to myself than to him. "A joke."
But even as I lay back down again, I couldn't quite forget the way he'd held my hand — so careful, so cautious — or the flicker in his eyes before he said it was all pretend.
And somewhere inside me…
I wondered what would've happened…
if it hadn't been a joke.
To be continued...