Chapter Text
It had been three days since Pomni arrived at the castle.
Life in the North Kingdom was everything she thought she wanted - warm meals, a soft bed, safety.
There were no howls of the night, no whispering winds, no eyes watching from the shadows of trees.
Just people, walls, and silence.
Actually, there was too much silence.
Pomni sat by the window, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the courtyard below. Servants crossed in neat lines. Guards patrolled in rhythm. Even the fountain splashed politely, as if afraid to disturb the order.
Everything here moved like clockwork; precise, perfect, lifeless.
She glanced at her jester hat, resting on the table nearby. The brown patches caught the morning light, looking almost golden now.
She smiled faintly.
Then the smile faded.
The quiet pressed harder on her chest.
She tried to ignore it, that faint ache beneath her ribs; the one that felt like something, or someone, was missing.
She caught herself listening for him sometimes.
The scrape of claws on stone.
A low, lazy chuckle.
The sound of someone teasing her about being too serious.
But the room was silent. It always was.
"Stop it," she muttered, shaking her head. "You're fine here. You're safe. That's what matters."
Still, when she closed her eyes, she saw flashes - moonlight through trees, fur, sharp eyes that weren't hers. She pushed the memory down hard.
She wasn't a Moon-Child.
Not really.
She was just Pomni: a lost girl who got lucky and survived.
That's all.
Prophecies were for stories, not for people like her.
A knock at the door startled her. Ragatha's cheerful voice followed.
"Pomni? Breakfast! Caine wants to see you afterward."
Pomni blinked, shaking the thoughts from her head. "Coming!" she called, forcing a smile.
As she reached for her hat, her hand hesitated. The patched fabric was warm from the sunlight.
Something in her chest twisted.
"Don't start," she whispered to herself. "He's probably fine. He's... better off there."
But even as she said it, she couldn't help glancing out the window - past the walls, past the courtyards - to where the dark line of the forest waited beyond the horizon.
For a moment, she thought she saw silver light flicker through the trees.
And she wondered if the moon was still watching out for her.
The throne room was bright with morning light, but it felt strangely distant; sunlight softened by stained glass, diffused into pale blues and golds that never quite reached the corners of the room.
Pomni stood near the steps of the dais, waiting as Caine finished looking over a few papers. The sound of quills and footsteps echoed faintly through the hall.
At last, Caine set the parchment aside and looked up at her, smiling in that peculiar way of his - all teeth gleaming, especially his one gold tooth.
“Ah, Pomni,” he greeted lightly, almost casually. “You’re up early. I was told you’ve settled in rather well. How are you finding the castle?”
“It’s… nice,” she said honestly, though her tone was careful. “Quiet. The people are kind. And Ragatha’s been helping me find my way around.”
“Good,” Caine said with a nod. “She has a gift for that; helping others find their way.” His eyes - or rather, the floating pair that orbited him lazily, regarded her with quiet amusement. “And you? Have you found yours yet?”
Pomni hesitated, unsure how to respond. “I think so. I mean, I’m just… trying to adjust. It’s a big change.”
“Mm.” Caine’s grin softened, becoming almost wistful. “Change can be merciful or cruel, depending on how tightly one holds on to what came before.”
He walked past her, hands clasped behind his back, his voice echoing softly in the vaulted chamber. “You’ve seen much for someone so young. The forest leaves its mark, even on those who don’t stay.”
Pomni turned her gaze toward the tall window beside the throne. Beyond it, she could just make out the faint, distant outline of the forest; dark and rippling against the horizon.
It looked small from here, almost harmless.
But her chest ached when she saw it.
“You miss it,” Caine said quietly, staring deep into her eyes.
Pomni blinked and looked up sharply. “What?”
“The forest,” he continued gently. “Your eyes always wander to the horizon when it’s mentioned. That kind of yearning doesn’t come from curiosity, Pomni. It comes from connection.”
She looked down, embarrassed. “It’s not that. I just… got used to it, I guess. It’s different here. The air, the quiet… everything feels still.”
Caine chuckled softly. “Stillness can be deceptive. It’s easy to mistake it for peace, until you realize what it’s hiding.”
He stepped closer, resting a hand on the stone window frame. “Do you know what I miss, Pomni?”
She shook her head.
“The sound of the forest at night,” he said softly. “Not the danger of it, the life. The wind through the trees, the crickets, the way the moonlight breathes. There’s honesty in that kind of wildness. The city tries to silence it.”
Pomni watched him for a moment, uncertain what to say. “You’ve been there before?”
His grin returned, smaller now; not his usual show of teeth, but something thoughtful. “A few times. A very long time ago. I learned many things there… and lost more than I care to remember.”
He turned back to her, his voice light again. “But enough of my brooding. Tell me - do you plan to stay in the North Kingdom for long?”
Pomni hesitated. “I… think so. It’s safe here.”
“Safe,” Caine repeated, rolling the word on his tongue. “Yes. Safety is a noble pursuit.” He smiled faintly, though his eyes said something else. “Just be certain it’s not a cage dressed in gold.”
Pomni frowned. “What do you mean?”
Caine didn’t answer right away. He simply looked out the window again, the faintest glint of his golden tooth catching the light.
Then he said quietly, “Some hearts were never meant to live behind walls.”
Pomni followed his gaze, her stomach tightening as her eyes drifted back to the distant forest; the trees swaying faintly under the midday light, silver in places where the sun met dew.
For a heartbeat, she could almost imagine a pair of sharp yellow eyes watching from between the trees.
She blinked - and they were gone.
She gave Caine a small, courteous bow before exiting the Great Hall. She walked towards the city.
The city was alive with colour. Merchants shouted from their stalls, the scent of baked bread and flowers hung in the air, and laughter from the streets spilled in through the open gates.
Pomni walked among the bustle, her patched jester hat tucked neatly beneath her arm. The warmth of sunlight and the hum of voices pressed around her; comforting, familiar, safe.
She told herself that’s all she wanted now.
Safety.
A quiet life far from prophecies, powers, and ancestors that whispered her name in dreams.
“Miss! Miss!”
The voice broke her thoughts. Pomni turned to see three children bounding toward her - two boys and a girl, faces flushed with excitement.
“You came from the forest, right?” the smallest boy asked eagerly.
Pomni blinked, startled. “I… yes. I did.”
The little girl clasped her hands. “Did you see a dragon?”
Pomni laughed softly. “No dragons. At least, not where I was.”
“What about pixies?” the older boy piped up. “My mum says they hide in flowers and steal shiny things.”
“Only from messy rooms,” Pomni said, smiling. The children burst into giggles.
“What about monsters?” the girl whispered. “The ones that howl at night?”
Pomni crouched down so she could meet their eyes. “There are creatures, yes. Some are wild. Some are kind. Most just want to be left alone; same as us.”
The smallest boy frowned thoughtfully. “So they’re not bad?”
“Not all of them,” Pomni said quietly. “Some just… look different.”
For a moment, her chest tightened. She could almost see Jax’s grin in her mind; that cocky, toothy smile and the flick of his long ears.
The ache in her throat surprised her.
“Did you make any friends there?” the boy asked again, tilting his head.
Pomni smiled faintly. “I did. One, to be exact.”
“What were they like?”
Her gaze drifted to the fountain beside them, where sunlight shimmered across the water’s surface. “Brave,” she said after a moment. “And stubborn. But they looked out for me when I needed it.”
The little girl grinned. “Then maybe the forest isn’t scary at all.”
Pomni laughed gently. “Maybe not. But it’s still dangerous, so don’t go running off into it, alright?”
The children nodded solemnly, then immediately broke into laughter again as they ran off, darting through the crowd.
Pomni stayed by the fountain a while longer, watching her reflection ripple on the water. The brown patches on her hat looked rough against the red and blue fabric, like scars.
She brushed a thumb over them. “It’s safer here,” she murmured to herself. “This is where I belong. No prophecies. No strange dreams. No more running.”
The wind stirred her hair, cool and soft, carrying with it the faint scent of pine.
For just a heartbeat, it smelled like the forest.
Pomni looked up toward the distant mountains; the dark line of trees far beyond the city walls, then shook her head and turned away.
“I’m done with that,” she whispered. “I have to be.”
But even as she walked along the street and glanced around at the shops, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something - or someone, was still waiting out there, beneath the moonlight.
Night quickly arrived by the time Pomni was done walking. She returned to her room and got ready to rest.
Sleep took Pomni quickly as soon as she placed her head down onto her pillow - too quickly.
The moment her eyes closed, the world fell away.
She was standing in the forest again. Moonlight poured down through the branches in fractured beams, soft and pale. The air smelled of rain and moss, damp and real.
For a brief second, she thought it was peaceful - safe.
Then the light dimmed.
The moon above her pulsed once, and the ground beneath her feet began to ripple like disturbed water. The trees flickered, their shapes warping, their colors draining away until only black outlines remained.
“...What?” Pomni whispered.
The silence was wrong.
No wind.
No birds.
Just the slow, steady hum of something alive - something watching.
And then it came.
From the cracks in the ground, a thick black substance began to seep upward, slow at first, then faster, crawling across the earth like living ink. It moved with purpose, swirling around her ankles.
Pomni stumbled back, but it followed, climbing higher. Within the dark mass, countless neon eyes blinked open - blue, green, red, pink - hundreds of them, staring at her all at once.
Her breath hitched. “No- no, stay away!”
The eyes blinked in perfect rhythm, and the voice came; not from one direction, but from everywhere.
“Do you see what denial brings, child of the moon?” The voice boomed. “The forest needs you, but you’re not there.”
The blackness pulsed, its surface shifting and bubbling. The eyes darted, focusing on her face, her hands, the pulsing pain striking her heart.
Pomni tried to run, but her legs refused to move. The darkness climbed higher; to her knees, her waist, its touch cold and electric.
“You cannot hide from what you are,” the voice murmured. “Each breath you take in defiance feeds the shadow that hunts you.”
Pomni shook her head, trembling. “I’m not- I didn’t ask for any of this! I just want to be safe!”
The eyes flashed bright neon for a split second, and then dulled to a lifeless grey. The forest around her began to dissolve, melting into black and white fragments like paper burning from the edges inward.
“Safety is an illusion,” the voice whispered, echoing like wind through hollow trees. “If you deny the light, the darkness will claim what’s left.”
The black mass surged suddenly, engulfing her chest, her shoulders-
Pomni screeched-
-then gasped awake.
The ceiling of her room loomed above her, moonlight spilling across her sheets. Her breath came in short, panicked bursts. Her skin was cold.
She sat up, trembling. For a moment, she thought she saw something moving across the floor; a faint, oily shimmer in the moonlight, before it faded away.
Pomni pressed a hand to her heart. It was still racing.
“It was just a dream,” she whispered. “Just a dream…”
But when she looked down at her hands, faint traces of black dust clung to her fingertips - vanishing the moment she blinked.
She couldn't deny it any longer.
She needed to return to the forest.