A Dark Fairy Tale Novella
Chapter One: The Last Rose in Twilight
The Kingdom of Vaelis had not seen the sun in three hundred years.
Dusk clung to the land like a burial shroud, painting the world in hues of violet and silver. The people whispered that the eternal twilight was punishmentโbut the truth was far worse.
Deep within the royal gardens, hidden behind walls of silver ivy, grew a single crimson rose. Its petals pulsed like a living heart, its thorns sharp as betrayal.
Liora, the Kindhearted, had been trapped inside for centuries.
Cursed by the sorceress Morgaitha, who had once been her closest friend.
“Only when someone loves you for what you truly are shall you be free,” Morgaitha had hissed, her voice thick with venom. “But who could love a creature who forces them to face their own darkness?”
Many had tried. All had failed.
Until the thief arrived.
Chapter Two: Kael the Unseen
Kael had spent his life runningโfrom the law, from his past, from the ghosts that whispered in his dreams.
He was the best thief in Vaelis, a man who slipped through shadows like smoke. But no amount of stolen gold could fill the hollow space inside him.
When he heard rumors of the enchanted roseโa flower that could reveal any truthโhe saw his chance.
“Find the rose, and youโll never want for anything again,” his rival, Dain the Vulture, sneered in the dim light of the Black Hart Tavern. “But they say its thorns show you your worst sins. I doubt even you could stomach that.”
Kael smirked, swirling his ale. “Iโve seen worse.”
That night, he scaled the garden walls, his dagger strapped to his thigh, his heart a drum of anticipation.
The rose was more beautiful than heโd imaginedโits petals like spilled wine, its scent intoxicating.
He reached for it.
The thorns bit deep.
Chapter Three: The Truth in Thorns
Kael expected pain.
Instead, he remembered.
Not just his own sinsโbut hers.
Lioraโs memories flooded his mind:
- Her laughter as she and Morgaitha gathered herbs under a sunlit sky (how long since Vaelis had seen the sun?).
- The way Morgaithaโs eyes darkened when the villagers praised Lioraโs healing magic.
- The night Morgaitha slit a fawnโs throat and painted the roseโs roots with its blood, binding Lioraโs soul to it.
And thenโhe saw himself through Lioraโs eyes.
Not just the thief, the liar, the man who had burned down an orphanage to escape the guards (heโd told himself the children werenโt inside).
She saw the boy heโd been beforeโthe one who stole bread to feed his sister, the one who wept when she died in his arms.
She saw everything.
And she did not look away.
Kael gasped, staggering back. The rose trembled in his grip, its glow intensifying.
A voice, soft as a sigh, whispered in his mind:
“You see me. At last, someone sees me.”
Chapter Four: The Sorceressโs Shadow
The rose shattered.
Petals spiraled like drops of blood, and where it had been stood Liora, her wings shimmering with fractured light.
Kaelโs breath caught. She was beautifulโbut not in the way heโd expected. There was something haunted in her golden eyes, something that mirrored his own brokenness.
“Youโre free,” he rasped.
Liora touched her own face as if sheโd forgotten what it felt like to have hands. “Yes. But not for long.”
A cold wind sliced through the garden.
Somewhere in the darkness, something laughed.
Morgaitha had felt the curse break.
And she was coming.
Chapter Five: The Vultureโs Game
Dain the Vulture had followed Kael.
Of course he had.
He stepped from the shadows now, his grin sharp as a blade. “Touching. But did you really think Iโd let you keep the roseโs power for yourself?”
Kael moved in front of Liora on instinct. “You donโt understand whatโs happening.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.” Dainโs gaze flicked to Liora. “The fairyโs free. Which means the curse is broken. Which means I can take her magic instead.”
Lioraโs wings flickered. “You donโt want my magic. Itโs not what you thinkโ”
Dain lunged.
Kaelโs dagger met his throat.
For a heartbeat, the two thieves stood frozen, breathing hard.
Then Dain smirked. “You always were sentimental.”
He twisted, slamming his elbow into Kaelโs ribs.
The fight was brutal, swiftโbut Kael had always been better when he had something to lose.
When Dain lay unconscious at his feet, Kael turned back to Lioraโ
Only to find her gone.
Chapter Six: The Past Awakens
Liora hadnโt run.
Sheโd been taken.
Morgaithaโs voice slithered through the garden, thick with triumph. “Did you think it would be that easy, little thief? She was never yours to save.”
Kaelโs hands shook. He hadnโt realized until this moment how much heโd wanted to.
How much he needed to.
Because Liora had seen the worst of himโand sheโd stayed.
Now, she was in the hands of the woman who had cursed her.
And Kael would burn the world to get her back.
Chapter Seven: The Slow Burn
Tracking Morgaitha led Kael to the ruins of the Sun Palace, where Liora and the sorceress had once been friends.
Liora was chained to the remnants of a throne, her wings bound in enchanted silver.
Morgaitha stood over her, a knife glinting in her hand. “You always did attract strays,” she purred. “But this one is particularly pathetic.”
Kael stepped from the shadows. “Let her go.”
Lioraโs eyes widened. “Kael, runโ”
Morgaitha laughed. “Oh, heโs not here for you, darling. Heโs here for this.” She pressed the knife to Lioraโs throat. “The last drop of your magic. The only thing that can break the eternal twilight.”
Kaelโs pulse roared. “What do you want?”
“Your memories,” Morgaitha whispered. “All the pain youโve ever caused. All the guilt you carry. That is the price for her life.”
Kael didnโt hesitate. “Take them.”
Liora screamed.
Chapter Eight: The Choice
Morgaithaโs magic was a living thing, carving into Kaelโs mind like a scalpel.
He saw it all again:
- The orphanage burning.
- His sisterโs lifeless body.
- Every theft, every betrayal, every time heโd chosen survival over kindness.
It should have destroyed him.
But thenโhe saw Liora.
Her hand reaching for his in the darkness.
Her voice, soft but unwavering: “You are not your past.”
Kael gasped back to the present, his knees hitting the stone floor.
Morgaithaโs smile faltered. “Impossible. No one withstands that.”
Lioraโs chains shattered.
Her wings flared, radiant as dawn. “Youโre right,” she said. “No one does it alone.”
Chapter Nine: A New Dawn
The battle was short.
Morgaitha had not accounted for two broken things fitting together to make something whole.
When the sorceress lay defeated, the first rays of sunlight in three hundred years broke over Vaelis.
Kael slumped against the ruins, his body trembling.
Liora knelt beside him. “You shouldnโt have come for me.”
He laughed weakly. “Yeah, well. Iโve never been smart.”
She cupped his face, her thumb brushing his cheekbone. “Thatโs not true. Youโre the smartest person I know.”
Kaelโs breath caught. “Lioraโ”
She kissed him.
And for the first time in his life, Kael felt something heโd thought long dead:
Hope.
Epilogue: The Thief and the Fairy
The Kingdom of Vaelis bloomed under the newborn sun.
Dain the Vulture vanished into the shadows, though Kael knew heโd see him again.
Morgaithaโs curse was broken, but her magic lingered in whispersโwaiting for the next wounded soul to twist.
And in the gardens where a single rose had once grown, a thief and a fairy walked hand in hand.
Liora squeezed Kaelโs fingers. “What will you do now?”
He looked at herโreally lookedโand saw his future in her eyes.
“Steal something better than treasure, I suppose.”
She laughed, and the sound was brighter than the sun.
