Prologue
It was still during ancient times when the light of the sun was said to keep the monsters in check, under the belief that darkness was their home.
A widely known myth spread across the kingdoms, declaring anightmare bringermade of darkness and evil, disguised as lightness itself, aiming to trick people and lure them to their death. The fear of it lingered like a mist in the clouds, poisonous enough to intoxicate people’s souls, making them weak and naïve for every bit of help or ray of sunlight the ancient gods granted them.
If they couldn’t trust the night, how would they be able to survive the day?
Then, a revelation from a haunting fairy was pronounced. It was said to be an omen brought by the gods and goddesses themselves to initiate a new period of reign.
The dread of the people intensified when the Elven King and his wife were blessed with a child said to be more powerful than any being should ever be; born with a divine scar on its face, interpreted as a mark of evil.
For protection, the people relied on moon spells done by witches and demons of the night.
What was originally an anticipated birth turned out to be the worst nightmare for a little boy whose hair shined like moonlight—light itself becoming flesh. The myth of thenightmare bringerwas projected onto him, resulting in entire kingdoms filled with the most powerful people fearing a child they thought to be the omen of death, the person who was believed to end the world.
However, not all believed the myth, dismissing it as a dark fairytale born of shadowed minds and ancient storytellers,meant only to spread darkness and fear.
And naïve peoplealwaysfeared the darkness.
TheWitchmaker, who was reputed to be a descendant of the powerful sorcerer Merlin, wrote once thatlearning was solely for sage individuals who never regret their dreams and wishes.This ancient tale about the connection between knowledge and power worked against the myth of thenightmare bringer, as only naïve individuals succumbed to trepidation rather than optimism. Nevertheless, the kingdomsneverstrived for knowledge, only for power, lost in wrath and gluttony.
The gods and goddesses decided it was time for someone worthy enough to bring the message of theWitchmakerback to life.
Arisen in ashes, made of fire and flames, a new power had spoken, and it wasnotonly a little boy whose magic was about to change the world, but also adreamerfar away from their world.
Chapter 1
It can take up a lot of time to prepare yourself for a life you’re forced into, but I,Gwendolyn Dawn Revelir, did not have that time. Today marked the celebration of my engagement to Alexander Wright, heir to the largest oil fortune in England and one of the most sought-after gentlemen in our society. My friends called me lucky, as he could provide for a life full of luxury and prosperity. Other families envied me because they wanted their own daughters to marry a Wright son. But no one seemed to ever ask me what I desired.
Not that women’s feelings, opinions or wishes were ever considered desirable in our society.
And sometimes, only sometimes, I’ve got this feeling of someone else watching over me.
A man, a guardian of moonlight and solace.
In my fantasies, it was an angel. He never spoke directly to me, but I could sense him deeply, as if he knew every fracture in my heart with the aim of cradling away my fears by replacing them with peace and comfort. The scent of sage, moonflower, and musk invaded my nose whenever I acknowledged his presence surrounding me. It was almost like the entire air shifted when hewas near. There had been nights I even swore I felt his fingers brushing over my hair as he whispered words of praise in my ear, lulling me to sleep as if I were something sacred, something worth taking care of.
Now, sitting here in the carriage beside my mother, heading toward the future that had been carefully planned out for me since I was a little girl, the solace and warmth I found in him were gone. It felt like I’d woken up from a beautiful dream, only to realize it was never real to begin with.These images, once vivid, had faded into nothing more than memories,echoes of my past.
And yet, I couldnotforget him.
This morning, I was handed a white corset dress–a symbol as clear as it was cruel. It clung to my body like a promise I never intended to make, whispering of youth, of purity, of a role I was expected to accommodate. The puffed shoulders were crafted from a delicate, shimmering organza. I knew just by the feel of it against my skin that it cost more than any dress I had ever worn, perhaps more than any dress ever should.
My mother never once met my eyes, her gaze anchored to the window as if she didn’t want to see the hurt and betrayal her daughter felt about being married to a man she didn’t love.
The only comfort I carried with me was the book from my childhood, “The Last Tale of the Spring Lands.” The story told of a forbidden relationship between a Faerie Queen and a mysterious wizard with immense power. The gods and goddesses cursed their world with a never-ending, all-consuming darkness. The banishing of the sun meant no dawn, no spring, no flowers. The kingdom of the Spring Lands was about to decay, forcing the Queen of the Faeries to meet the wizard and ask him for a trade in order to protect her land. Therefore, she traveled to the Unseelie Court, and as soon as they met each other, they felt an absolute deep connectionof understanding, like their souls weren’t strangers at all. But the laws of their kingdoms prohibited relationships between wizards and faeries. The Queen had to decide whether to use him and his powers to save her own people, which would ignite a war between both of their lands, or accept the end of her kingdom forlove.
“Stop reading this nonsense, Gwendolyn. In a few minutes, we will arrive. Let me adjust your hair very quickly.” My mother interrupted my reading, grabbed a hair pin and put one of my long ginger curls on the side. With another flower-pin she attached another strand of my hair.
“Grandma gave me this book before she passed away, and I can remember her saying that you loved it as well,” I protested. I did not understand why my mother always forgot that she had once been a child too.
“Yes, but people grow up and then they quit spending time in fantasy worlds because the real world does not look like it at all. You will see. I don’t want you to wait for a little white rabbit to lead you into some sort of weird Wonderland.”
I hummed at her response, a little too wistful, because I could only pray for awhite little rabbitto take me far away from here. I was not as lucky as Alice in her tale. Magical animals unfortunately did not exist, or so I believed, though I had never quite stopped hoping.
“I doubt they’ll notice at all if we ever arrive. I could just slip into the garden, and he could find another woman to marry. Like Tam Lin beneath the Faerie Queen’s spell, perhaps Alexander, too, would forget me,” I said, forcing a smile.
Within seconds, my mother’s face became serious. She did not recognize it as a joke at all and replied, “They will notice, Gwendolyn. You treat the matter far too lightly.”
