Chapter Text
“Hm… Thena?”
The silver-haired child mumbled softly as a medium-sized owl landed on top of her head, stirring her from sleep.
“Did you bring any news from the castle?”
She rubbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her hand, already excited at the possibility of hearing something about her father, whom she had not seen in days.
Thena merely hooted in response, causing the younger girl to giggle.
“Yes, that does sound like father.”
Silver glanced down at the basket beside her, filled with fruits she had gathered earlier, along with several edible gifts the forest animals must have left while she slept.
Laughing quietly to herself, the child rose to her feet and picked up the basket before starting back toward the small cottage she shared with her father, wondering what she should prepare for dinner.
Father never allowed her to cook without supervision, though Silver did not have the heart to tell him that his cooking was…
Well.
Even starving boars refused to touch it.
And that spoke for itself.
Her father was wonderful. The smartest person Silver knew.
But he was not a gifted cook.
By the time she reached the cottage, Silver waved goodbye to her beloved friend. Father disliked it when her animal companions entered the house.
Stopping in front of the door, she paused for a moment, listening to the nearly inaudible footsteps approaching from inside.
Smiling faintly, Silver opened the door just as the fae reached for the handle, startling him.
“Good evening, big brother.”
The older boy stared down at her in visible surprise, his hand still suspended in the air.
“Oh. Child of Man. I did not expect to find you here.”
His expression quickly settled into the same neutral look he always wore.
Silver offered him a small smile.
“I was in the forest gathering fruit.”
She lifted the basket slightly, showing him the cherries and raspberries inside.
“Ah. Of course.”
Malleus’ gaze drifted toward the overflowing basket.
“Is father with you?”
Silver leaned slightly to the side, trying to peer deeper into the cottage.
“No. Grandmother summoned him to the throne room. It seems she has another task for him.”
The older fae answered calmly, and Silver nodded.
It was nothing unusual.
The Queen often sent Father away on missions that lasted anywhere from several days to several weeks.
“Do you know when he’ll return?”
There was a small spark of hope in her aurora-colored eyes.
“He should return within three weeks.”
And then Malleus disappeared without another word.
Silver merely sighed before stepping into the cottage and shutting the door behind her, allowing the darkness to wrap around her.
Contrary to what Father believed, Silver liked the dark.
Of course, when she had been younger, she was terrified of the shadows that seemed to take physical form, wandering around her the same way wolves stalked prey through the woods.
But she was older now.
The shadows could not hurt her.
At six years old, Silver had learned that as long as she pretended not to see them, the Shadows would leave her alone.
After all, Father and big brother pretended the Shadows did not exist too. They always insisted that they were merely tricks of her imagination.
And if Father and big brother were not afraid of them, then Silver had no reason to be afraid either.
So, ignoring the Shadows that had definitely not begun following her around the house while whispering in a language she could not understand, Silver headed toward the kitchen.
Father forbade her from using the kitchen while unsupervised, but as Fili once pointed out, just because she was too young to hunt boars or deer did not mean she could not hunt rabbits or mice.
Really, for such a young wolf, Fili was incredibly smart.
Silver giggled softly at the thought of her energetic friend as she gathered several pots before carrying them outside.
She may not have been allowed to use the kitchen, but Father had never forbidden her from cooking over a campfire, and making a simple meal from what she had gathered would not be difficult.
The moment she stepped outside, Silver smiled brightly at the sight of Bruno, Ellie, and their pups—Buna, Aroro, and Fili.
“Fili!”
The wolves lounging near the cottage immediately perked up at her voice.
The youngest of the pack let out an excited howl before running toward her, eagerly inviting her to play.
Hm…
Perhaps cooking could wait a little longer.
With an irritated scoff, Malleus used his magic to return to his chambers.
Truly, only a few seconds in the presence of that child was enough to make his blood boil.
How could Lilia spend most of his days with that human and not feel disgust toward the offspring of the man who had stolen Malleus’ parents from him?
“It is only a child! They bear no responsibility for the sins of their parents!”
Lilia’s furious shout, spoken years ago while defending the infant before the Queen of Thorn Valley herself, was something Malleus doubted he would ever forget.
The fire in Lilia’s eyes that day was unlike anything Malleus had seen in years.
“Innocent child…?”
Malleus scoffed quietly as he seated himself at his desk.
If the child were truly innocent, Lilia would not keep them hidden so close to him.
He would not have abandoned the castle to bury himself deep within the forest.
He would not have abandoned him.
I curse you
With a quiet sigh, Malleus lifted his gaze toward the dark night sky outside his window.
When had it become so late?
Tonight was a new moon.
The moon no longer illuminated the mortal world as it always had.
Glancing toward the clock, Malleus rose from his chair and began organizing the scattered papers across his desk.
May the sins and blood of your ancestors forever stain your soul
He could simply use magic.
Still, there was time before three in the morning.
May your eyes never remain blind to the suffering your existence brings upon others
Perhaps he should hurry after all.
No.
At six years old, Silver should be capable of caring for herself.
May—
Appearing inside the human child’s bedroom, Malleus froze.
The room was in complete disarray.
And Silver was nowhere to be seen.
“Silver?”
Unease curled within him.
Then panic struck the moment the scent of fresh blood reached his senses.
“Silver!”
May all the suffering your bloodline brought upon this world torment your soul within the darkest corners of existence.
Malleus rushed toward the kitchen where the scent was strongest, frantically searching for silver hair and aurora-colored eyes.
“Silver! Are you here?!”
May you suffer as my family suffered because of yours.
It did not take long to find her.
The young girl had hidden herself inside the empty cabinet beneath the sink.
Curled tightly into herself, Silver pressed both hands against her ears while muffling broken sobs against her knees.
“Silver…”
Malleus reached toward her carefully, but the child flinched violently at his touch, scrambling farther into the corner while staring at him in terror.
Or rather—
At the thing that had followed her out of the nightmare.
Exhaling slowly, Malleus lowered himself in front of the cabinet so his body blocked her view of the kitchen before searching for the source of the blood.
He found it quickly.
A thin line of crimson stretched along Silver’s jaw and neck from her ears.
If someone were to ask Silver what she loved most in the world, she would answer with only two things.
The moon.
And her animal friends.
And if they asked her why, she would say--
“Because when they’re near me, the Shadows stay away…”