Chapter 1: The Garden Where Time Sleeps
The moon was full that night, a silver coin suspended in a velvet sky, casting its soft glow over a secret garden hidden beyond time. Cherry blossoms shimmered like pale fire, petals drifting on a breeze that whispered secrets only the stars remembered. Lanterns swayed between ancient branches, lighting a path of dreams beneath a sky painted in stardust.
In the heart of that garden, a girl stood barefoot in the blossoms—Bella. Her gown shimmered like dew on moonlit silk, embroidered with tiny flowers that glowed faintly, as if stitched with stardust itself. Her long hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of night, the ends catching light with every breath of wind.
Bella didn't know why the moon had summoned her here. Only that when she opened her eyes tonight, her heart led her feet to this place.
The wind brushed her cheek as if in greeting.
She knelt beside a pool that reflected the sky so perfectly it looked like she might fall into the heavens themselves. Her fingers touched the surface gently, sending ripples across the stars.
"Why do I feel like I've been here before?" she whispered, her voice barely louder than the breeze.
As if in response, a melody drifted through the trees—soft, ancient, and mournful. Bella turned slowly, heart pounding.
Through the blossom haze, a figure emerged.
A man.
Tall, wrapped in a dark cloak embroidered with moon symbols, his face partly hidden beneath silver-touched strands of hair. He moved like mist, silent and graceful, as if walking between two worlds.
Bella's breath caught in her throat. She didn't know him. And yet…She did.
His name surfaced in her heart like it had always lived there.
Kael.
He stopped a few feet from her, eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight—stormy gray with flecks of silver. Eyes full of sadness, full of memories not yet spoken.
"You came," he said softly.
His voice echoed inside her bones.
"I... I don't know why," Bella replied. "I just felt… drawn."
Kael took one step closer. The blossoms stirred around his boots. "Because you belong here, Bella."
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
Kael smiled, but it was the kind of smile that hurt. "Because I've been waiting for you for a hundred years."
Her breath caught.
"A hundred years?"
He nodded. "Every century, the Moon calls us back here—so we can find each other again. But you never remember. I always do."
Bella shook her head slowly, stepping back. "I don't understand. I've never met you before."
"You have," he whispered. "In another life. You wore the same blossoms in your hair. You told me you'd love me even if the stars forgot us."
Bella stared at him, trembling. The words sounded like a story from a dream. And yet... a tear slid down her cheek before she could stop it.
A memory she didn't know she had flickered through her heart: her hand in his, moonlight on his face, her voice promising, "I'll find you, even if it takes eternity."
The moment vanished like smoke.
"What is this place?" she asked, voice quivering.
"A sanctuary between lifetimes," Kael said. "Time doesn't pass here. It waits—for us."
He walked past her then, toward the old tree in the center of the garden. Its blossoms glowed faintly blue, its roots curling like veins through the earth.
Kael placed his hand on the trunk. "This tree remembers us, even when you can't."
Bella followed him slowly, uncertain but unable to stay away. Her fingers brushed the bark. A strange warmth pulsed through her.
Visions sparked in her mind.
—Dancing under this tree in another dress, another name.—Kael placing a crown of blossoms on her head.—A kiss as the petals rained like stars.—A war.—Flames.—Her falling.—His scream.
Bella stumbled back, hand clutching her chest.
"What was that?" she gasped.
"Your memory," Kael said, not moving. "Just a sliver of it."
Bella looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Who am I?"
"You're the Moon's Bride," Kael said quietly. "Chosen to walk the edge of dreams and reality. You gave up your immortality once, to love me. And every lifetime since, the Moon tries to bring us back together."
"Why don't I remember?"
"Because remembering would break you," he said, voice heavy. "You've died for me before. The Moon wants to protect you."
Bella's hands trembled. "I don't know if I can believe this…"
Kael's eyes held centuries of sorrow. "You don't have to believe me. Just stay."
The silence stretched between them. Then—
A crash echoed through the garden.
Bella spun, startled.
The blossoms trembled. The moonlight dimmed.
Kael turned sharply. "They've found us."
"Who?"
But Kael didn't answer. He stepped in front of her, cloak flaring like shadow. "Run."
Bella didn't move. "I don't understand—what's happening?"
"Those who serve the Night Court," he said through clenched teeth. "They don't want us to break the curse. They fear what we are together."
And then they came.
Shadows with no faces, moving like ink through the trees. Their presence chilled the air. Blossoms wilted in their wake.
Kael raised his hand, and a burst of silver light erupted from his palm, slicing through the dark.
Bella screamed.
He turned to her, urgent. "Find the lantern with the crescent moon carving—run toward it. It will lead you to safety. I'll hold them off."
"No!" she cried. "I won't leave you!"
His eyes softened. "You always say that."
"Because I mean it."
Kael touched her cheek briefly, tenderly. "Then trust me—just this once."
Reluctantly, Bella turned and ran, heart pounding, tears streaking down her face as shadow and light clashed behind her. Petals flew like a storm. The garden howled with magic.
She found the lantern—small, golden, marked with a crescent.
As she touched it, a doorway bloomed open in the air, glowing with soft white light.
She looked back once.
Kael stood surrounded, silver blazing in his hands, his cloak torn, his body flickering like a candle against a storm.
"I'll come back for you," she whispered.
Then she stepped through the light.
To be continued…