Long before kingdoms rose from dust and war, before the stars were given names by mortals, there existed only the Cosmic Veil an endless force believed to weave together fate, magic, and life itself.

From that force, the kingdom of Vaelindra was born. Vaelindra was unlike any other realm in existence.

For centuries, the kingdom of Vaelindra stood beneath the protection of the stars.

It was a land of silver rivers, towering white palaces, and skies that seemed brighter than anywhere else in the world. But what truly made Vaelindra different was its throne.

It was a kingdom ruled not by kings, but by queens. For centuries, the throne had passed from mother to daughter, generation after generation, as though the cosmos itself had chosen the bloodline.

And with every generation, only one girl child was ever born into the royal family.

Never twins. Never sisters. Only one heir.

And strangely, the tradition never failed.

No matter the seasons, or years that passed, every queen gave birth to only one girl child. The people of Vaelindra believed it was the blessing of the cosmos, a sign that the royal family remained favored by the ancient celestial powers watching over the kingdom.

So when Queen Seraphine went into labor during the first snowfall of winter, the entire kingdom celebrated.

The palace halls were filled with anticipation as nobles, servants, and royal guards waited through the long night for the birth of the next heir to Vaelindra.

Just before dawn, the cries of a newborn echoed through the royal chambers.

"A daughter," the royal healer announced with relief.

The kingdom rejoiced immediately. There were celebrations in palace the atmosphere was filled with colours , a joy of heir...feast and gifts of luxuries poured in the palace the nobles across the land came to wish her Majesty well....

But the joy inside the royal chambers faded into uneasy silence the moment the newborn opened her eyes.

Icy blue.

Not pale. Not soft.

Glacial.

Eyes that looked almost silver beneath the shadows...A color no one in the royal family had ever possessed before.

Her father looked shocked the daughter was almost different but his concern was on his wife who with great exertion and pain gave birth...he holds her hand prioritizing her well being and condition more than the child or it's eyes

The queen simply accepted it without question, though whispers quietly spread among servants for weeks afterward.

That same night, palace guards discovered a newborn panther cub near the forest surrounding the royal grounds. Its mother had died protecting it from hunters, leaving the tiny creature alone in the snow.

The cub was brought into the palace out of pity.

And strangely, when it was placed near the newborn princess, the animal immediately calmed.

Its eyes were the same shade of icy blue as Dahlia's.

From that day onward, the panther never left her side.

The maids often joked that the two had been born for each other.

As the years passed, Dahlia grew into a "difficult" child.

The palace was grand, but never warm. Her mother was busy ruling an entire kingdom, while nobles and advisors cared more about her title than her presence. Dahlia spent most of her childhood wandering silent halls alone with the panther beside her.

She preferred it that way.

The panther, whom she later named Nyx, became her closest companion. He followed her through the palace gardens, slept with her in the room every night, and growled at anyone who tried forcing conversation upon her.

She spent almost all of her childhood wandering in the forest and grew up with other wild beasts whom she saw as her family more than her real one...

When she fell asleep in the moonlight the tree branches acted as a gentle nest craddling her the wind blowed gentle breeze on her...with Nyx snuggling against her...

She rode dragons played with other cubs...yet it never lasts..

The knights especially the older one walked in with an exasperated sigh "Princess Dahlia

Her majesty asked for u..please come with us without throwing tantrums as usual we have work to do"

Dahlia's face drops to a pout "What does mother want now?? You never let me have fun! She always calls me right when I'm playing.." Nyx growls beside her " Dahlia let's go we can come again".....Dahlia concedes reluctantly "fine..."

Dahlia could always understand wild beasts perhaps fostered from her connection with Nyx but noone else knows what they are conversing about...most saw it as weird that the princess is speaking with an beast.

As they reach the palace the Empress sat there looking unimpressed with her daughter

Why do u have to roll among pigs in the mud. You will never listen...go ahead your tutor is waiting for u and Change. Before u go.

Dahlia changed reluctantly, though "changed" mostly meant the servants managed to wipe the mud from her cheeks and brush the leaves from her tangled silver-black hair before she escaped again.

Nyx waited outside the study doors, icy eyes narrowed at every passing servant.

Inside, the tutoring chamber was suffocatingly neat.

Towering shelves stretched to the ceiling, filled with ancient celestial texts and maps. Candles floated lazily in the air, their flames glowing pale blue. At the center sat an older man in dark robes embroidered with faint silver constellations.

Her tutor.

Master Caelus.

He looked up from his book as the doors opened.

"And where," he asked calmly, "has Her Highness disappeared to this time?"

Dahlia climbed onto the chair backwards, arms folded over the top dramatically.

"The forest."

"I assumed as much."

"There was a baby wyvern stuck in a river."

Cael blinked once.

"...A baby wyvern."

"Mhm."

"And naturally you attempted to help it."

"It bit me first."

"You are speaking about this very casually."

"It was small."

Cael pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly while Dahlia swung her legs beneath the chair.

"You cannot continue vanishing into the woods whenever you please, Princess."

"But the woods are nicer."

"That is not the point."

"The trees don't yell at me."

Cael paused.

Children often said careless things without understanding their weight.

But Dahlia never spoke dramatically. Only plainly.

"What happened this morning with Her Majesty?" he asked carefully.

Dahlia shrugged.

"She said I looked improper."

"You were covered in mud."

"The boars were covered in mud too."

"...You compared yourself to palace boars?"

"They were nice to me."

Cael stared at her for several long seconds before sighing deeply into his tea.

"Open your astronomy text."

"No."

"Princess."

"It's boring."

"It is important."

"Why?"

"Because one day you will inherit knowledge tied to your bloodline."

Dahlia's expression scrunched immediately.

"I don't want it."

"That is unfortunately irrelevant."

She groaned loudly and slumped over the desk while Cael slid the massive celestial book toward her.

The pages shimmered faintly with moving constellations.

"Now," he began patiently, "tell me the Four Celestial Houses."

Dahlia answered immediately without looking up.

"Noctara. Solvaine. Lundreth. Asteryn."

"And what governs Noctara?"

"Silence. Shadows. Absence."

"Good."

"And Solvaine?"

"Stars exploding."

"Dying stars," Cael corrected.

"Same thing."

A faint smile almost appeared on his face.

"Lundreth?"

"Reflection magic."

"Asteryn?"

"Past and future glimpses."

"Excellent."

He closed the book softly.

"You learn quickly when you choose to."

"That's because I don't like repeating things."

"An unfortunate trait for a student."

Dahlia rested her cheek against her arm, staring toward the massive window beside them.

Outside, dusk slowly painted the kingdom gold.

Birds circled the distant forest.

Her forest.

"Master Cael," she asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Why do stars stay where they are?"

He looked mildly surprised by the question.

"Because celestial bodies follow ordained paths."

"But what if one didn't want to?"

"...Stars do not possess wants, Dahlia."

"What if they did?"

Cael humored her.

"Then disorder would follow. The balance of the heavens depends on every star remaining within its orbit."

Dahlia fell quiet after that.

Too quiet.

The floating candle flames flickered strangely.

For a brief second- the shadows in the room bent unnaturally toward her chair.

Not darkness.

Something else.

Something that felt like space itself folding wrong.

Cael frowned faintly.

Then it vanished.

Dahlia was still staring out the window.

"Master Cael?"

"Yes?"

"If a star leaves its place..."

Her blue eyes reflected the evening sky.

"...does it become free?"

Cael looked at the child before him, suddenly unable to explain why an odd chill crawled down his spine.

"...Or lost?" he answered quietly.

The years passed...seasons change...Nyx grew up

Dahlia grew up into a fine young lady...She is now 15 years old.

She was distant from people

Cold. Blunt. Difficult to approach.

She was no longer the muddy child wandering barefoot through palace gardens.

Now she moved like shadowed moonlight through the halls - quiet, unreadable, cold-eyed.

Servants lowered their gazes when she passed. Young knights stumbled over their words around her. Nobles whispered that the princess had inherited Noctara's silence too deeply.

Dahlia couldn't care less.

The palace still felt too large. Too polished. Too empty.

So she spent most of her time beyond its walls.

In the forests. On cliff edges. Among creatures that asked nothing from her except honesty.

Nyx, now fully grown, walked beside her like a living nightmare carved from darkness itself. His massive black form prowled silently through the throne chamber doors as Dahlia entered without permission.

The council meeting halted immediately.

Her mother looked seconds away from losing patience already.

"Dahlia," the Empress said sharply, "must that beast enter every room with you?"

Nyx growled low.

"He hates your advisors," Dahlia answered flatly.

Several advisors visibly stiffened.

"Charming," her mother muttered.

Her father, seated beside the Empress, sighed softly into his tea.

Unlike the Empress's razor-sharp authority, the Emperor carried calmness like a shield. Warm where she was severe.

"Sit down, Dahlia," he said gently.

"I'd rather stand."

"I didn't give you a choice"

After a long stare, she finally dropped into the chair carelessly, one leg thrown over the armrest with deliberate disrespect.

The Empress inhaled slowly.

"Do not start."

"You summoned me."

"We summoned you," her father corrected carefully, "because your academy departure is in three days."

Silence.

Then......

"No."

The room froze.

The Empress blinked once in disbelief.

"...Excuse me?"

"I'm not going."

"You do realize students across entire kingdoms beg for acceptance into the Astravelle

Academy?"

Dahlia shrugged.

"They can have my place then."

The Empress's expression darkened immediately.

"Dahlia."

"I already learned everything here."

"That is objectively false."

"I have Master Cael."

"For private tutoring."

"And the forest."

"The forest," her mother repeated dangerously.

"Yes."

Her father intervened before the Empress exploded.

"Dahlia," he said patiently, "the academy is not only about education. It is where you refine your abilities. Where you meet others of the Houses. Where future alliances are built."

"I don't care about alliances."

"You should."

"I don't."

The Empress finally slammed a hand against the throne armrest.

"For once in your life stop behaving like the world bends around your moods!"

Nyx immediately rose with a low snarl.

Every guard tensed.

Dahlia's silver eyes sharpened instantly.

"Don't yell at him," she said coldly.

"I was yelling at you!!"

"Same difference."

"Dahlia!" her father warned.

She stood abruptly, frustration finally cracking through her usual detached calm.

"Why should I go to some stupid academy?" she snapped. "Everything I care about is here."

"Name one thing," the Empress challenged immediately.

Dahlia glared at her.

"...Nyx."

The panther's tail flicked.

"And Tiara," she continued more quietly.

At the mention of the dragon's name, several advisors exchanged alarmed looks.

"Absolutely not," the Empress said immediately.

"She's barely fully grown."

"She is a wild drake, Dahlia, not a pet."

"She's smarter than half your council."

One advisor coughed violently.

Her father hid a smile behind his hand.

The Empress looked moments away from committing treason against her own bloodline.

"And the wolves," Dahlia continued stubbornly. "And the wyverns near the northern cliffs and..."

"This," the Empress interrupted furiously, "is exactly why we are sending you to the academy."

Dahlia went still.

"You are fifteen years old," her mother continued sharply. "You disappear into forests for days. You speak to beasts more than people. You ignore diplomacy, tradition, court responsibilities-"

"Because people are exhausting."

"No!! You are exhausting and you refuse to behave like an princess and you insukt everyone around you treat others like they are beneath you like they are worthless of your time

I feel fking embarrassed to call you my child!!"

The room fell silent.

Even Nyx stopped growling.

For a moment something flickered across the Empress's face beneath the anger.

Not hatred.

Fear.

"You cannot live separated from the world forever," she said quietly.

Dahlia looked away first.

The Emperor spoke carefully.

"The academy may not be what you expect."

"I know exactly what it is."

"Do you?"

"A cage."

Silence.

Then the Empress stood.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.

"You are going."

Dahlia crossed her arms.

"No."

"You are the heir to this empire."

"I never asked to be."

"You do not get to choose that."

"And you don't get to choose what I want."

The Empress stepped down from the throne slowly.

"You mistake stubbornness for independence."

"And you mistake control for love."

The words hit the room like shattered glass.

Her father closed his eyes briefly.

The Empress stared at Dahlia in stunned silence.

Then anger returned colder than before.

"You leave in three days," she said icily. "No further arguments."

"I'm not going."

"You will"

" Then I want Nyx with me"

"Are you out of your mind?" the Empress snapped. "Absolutely not."

"Then I'm not going."

"You are not bringing a shadow panther into the most prestigious academy in the continent."

Nyx, seated beside Dahlia like a dark statue, let out a low offended growl.

Dahlia scratched behind his ear absentmindedly.

"They won't accept a beast inside a school," the Empress continued.

"It's your school."

“Our academy,” her mother corrected sharply.

“Same thing.”

“People will run away seeing that creature. Are you planning to parade him into classes like a common house cat?”

“He technically is.”

A strangled laugh escaped the Emperor before he could stop it.

The Empress slowly turned toward her husband with a look of absolute betrayal.

He cleared his throat, trying and failing to appear serious.

“Well… she is not entirely wrong.”

Nyx looked quite smug.

The Empress looked one inconvenience away from assassination.

Dahlia took advantage immediately.

“Separate room for me,” she said calmly, already negotiating. “Nyx stays there only.”

“No.”

“I won’t bring him to classes.”

“No.”

“He’ll shift before people see him.”

Silence.

The Empress narrowed her eyes.

“…Shift?”

Nyx stretched lazily before, in one fluid ripple of shadow, his massive form collapsed inward.

Dark mist curled across the floor.

A second later, an ordinary black cat sat where the monstrous panther had been.

The council erupted instantly.

“What”

“Since when could it do that?!”

“That is highly illegal”

The tiny black cat yawned.

Dahlia looked bored.

“He does it when he wants attention.”

The Emperor stared in fascination.

“Well.”

The Empress looked horrified.

“That does not make this situation better.”