Dream of the night wind

The Forests of Nav *** "Tonight I will bring her home. The Night of Samhain is my only chance to do so," said the tall, striking brunette firmly — dressed head to toe in black and wrapped in an equally black velvet cloak draped across his broad shoulders. The silver brooch shaped like a crescent moon with a large sapphire at its center, which fastened the folds of the cloak, flashed as it caught the starlight when he crossed his arms over his wide chest and stubbornly raised his chin, meeting the gaze of the diminutive and breathtakingly beautiful woman standing opposite him. She had long, blue-black hair that fell in heavy waves all the way to the ground, wore dark clothing like his own, and was frowning, nervously biting her lips. It was no news to Hecate, goddess of the night, that her only son was impossibly stubborn — yet she had not given up hope of talking him out of the reckless step he had nearly made up his mind to take. "My son…" she began gently, stepping toward the young man and clasping his hands in her delicate palms. "I beg you, don't do something foolish. You know as well as I do how dangerous what you are planning truly is." The brunette turned an unreadable, dark gaze on his mother and frowned even deeper. Her words had not pleased him in the slightest. "She is suffering there, Mother. I can no longer stand to watch it." "But, Taehyung…" "Enough. I don't wish to hear another word," he cut her off sharply, pulling his hands free from her gentle grip, his deep navy eyes flashing — bottomless as deep space, which stretched above them like a dark velvet dome scattered with silver constellations. Somewhere high above, the night wind stirred quietly through the crowns of ancient trees. Starlight, wind, and silence… The world of dreams. His Silver Millennium — the enchanted, eternally sleeping halls of which he was the keeper. And he cursed it every single day, for he could not follow her — the girl who had captured his heart from the very first moment she appeared in his eternal life, replacing an entire world. Taehyung had always known she had been destined for him alone since the birth of the Universe, and he had loved her even before the beginning of this endless eternity. The longing for his beloved was driving him out of his mind, growing more unbearable with every passing day — scraping painfully at his heart, making it impossible to breathe. He could no longer remain here. Could not exist apart from her. "Taehyung, listen to me…" Hecate began, but yet another attempt to bring her son to reason ended in failure once again. "No, Mother — you listen to me. And listen very carefully. I will not allow you to manipulate me any longer. You already took her from me once, hiding behind the greater good and the salvation of worlds. But I will not permit it again. Rosé should never have been born into that cursed world. Her place is here, at my side, and you know that perfectly well." Hecate smiled sadly. "Of course I know, my dear. But her curse… it still sleeps within her blood, patiently waiting for the moment to… destroy us all." "That no longer concerns me. I will find a way to break it — as well as her bond with Chronos. I am certain that my love will prove stronger than the call of her father's ancient blood. In the past you already separated us, took her from me under the guise of good intentions… But you know full well where the road paved with those leads." Taehyung drew a deep breath, attempting to calm himself, and lowered his head, allowing his dark fringe to fall in a soft wave over his eyes — concealing their ancient, bewitching light from his grieving mother, for even she could barely endure the memory of what she and her sister had been forced to do in order to save Rosé. "My darling, I am so sorry…" she whispered, gently brushing the dark, unruly strands from his face. Taehyung lifted his head and pressed his lips into a thin line, pulling away from her. His gaze clouded over with a misty haze, instantly making him distant and unreachable — transforming him from her tender little boy into a powerful and impossibly dangerous ancient god, keeper of these enchanted forests. "I know, Mother. You and Selene believed you were saving her by hiding her in the mortal world — shielding her from her father's designs on the golden light kept within her soul. But as you can see, it didn't work. He found her there too. And with every passing day he draws closer to her, while I… I simply cannot bear to hear her screaming in the night any longer. Had I not intervened, she would have lost her mind to those nightmares ten years ago." Hecate exhaled heavily. "She screamed here too, do you remember?" Taehyung clenched his fists in powerless fury, feeling darkness cloud his vision from the force of his hatred. His beloved was suffering, and there was nothing he could do to save her. Then, he had been powerless. But that was in the past. "I will never be able to forget it," he said, his voice hollow, and turned a dark gaze on his mother — one in which a firm and unwavering resolve now burned. A resolve to change everything. "I was powerless before Chronos before, but things have changed," he said quietly, yet firmly. "I now know how to lift the curse from my girl. But while she is over there, there is nothing I can do, and all that remains to me is to guard her dreams. Yet the boundary between our worlds is fading rapidly, Mother. If nothing is done, her father will reach her soon. I must stop this. I must save her." Hecate's expression became blank and unreadable, yet she said nothing — for she knew she did not have the strength to break his heart a second time with the cruel truth that had been revealed to her in her visions. And so all she could do was watch in silence as he walked away, to reclaim the one for whose sake the very order of existence might soon be shattered. "I understand, my son. Believe me, I know how deeply you love her, but… Please be careful." That was all the goddess of the Night allowed to fall from her lips. "As always." Taehyung smiled almost imperceptibly and squeezed her slender hands. "It is time, Mother. The moment has come to put an end to our separation. I will return with Rosé… or I will not return at all." With those words he turned and strode resolutely toward the exit of the ancient throne room — a room whose walls were nothing more than a marble arch of twelve columns, and whose ceiling was the deep navy velvet sky, strewn with myriads of stars blazing like diamonds. His black cloak swept behind him like the great and mighty wings of a bird of the night, and then he was gone, dissolving into the starlight. "I hope you know what you are doing, my dear…" the goddess breathed in a quiet whisper. "Otherwise… this love will be the ruin of us all."