When The Crimson Moon Rises

One

ARDEN

They say the first line of a book should catch you, hold you and maybe even haunt you. Mama always said stories worked the same way. “If a story doesn’t grab you by the throat from the start,” she’d whisper as she tucked me in, “then it isn’t worth telling.”

If that’s true, then mine should start with tears.

Because that was the first thing anyone would have noticed if they’d walked into my room that night: me, eight years old, curled into the corner of my bed, with my cheeks wet and my pillowcase soaked. Trying to cry quietly so Mama wouldn’t hear.

Of course, she always did.

The door creaked open. I could see Mama standing at the doorway. She didn’t say anything at first, She just listened. I’d always been terrible at hiding my sobs, no matter how tightly I pressed the blankets to my face.

“Arden?” Her voice was soft but I could hear the worry behind it

I wiped my nose on the back of my sleeve, and sat up , pretending I hadn’t been crying. But my face gave me away.

She pushed the door open wider and came in. Her nightgown brushed the floor as she walked, and her curls bounced around her face. She knelt by my bed and rested a hand against my cheek.

“What’s all this?” she asked gently. “Who broke my baby’s heart?”

“No one.” My voice cracked which made it sound like a lie.

Her thumb brushed away tears under my eyes. “You can’t fool me. Not with those rivers on your face.”

I bit my lip, trying to hold back the words building in my chest. School had been hard again today. The kids always found something to tease me about—my clothes, the way I talked, even the way I carried my books. It was like no matter what I did, I stood out, and not in a good way.

I wanted to tell Mama everything, but the words felt stuck in my throat. So instead, I just sat there, staring at my hands and wishing the ache in my chest would go away.

Finally, I whispered the one thing I always said when the world felt too heavy: “Tell me a story.”

Mama’s hands paused in her lap. For a second, her eyes looked far away, like I’d asked her for something she wasn’t sure she could give. Then she shook her head.

“Not tonight, Arden,” she said gently. “You need to rest. Tomorrow will be better.”

But I wasn’t so sure tomorrow would be any different at all.

“Please,” I begged, tugging at her sleeve. “Just one.”

She sighed, the kind of sigh grown-ups give when they want to say no but can’t stand the look on your face. She stood for a moment, then came back to sit at the edge of my mattress.

“One story,” she relented. “Then bed.”

A smile came through my tears. I snuggled deeper under the blanket.

Her lips parted, but before she could begin, I blurted out, “Tell the one about the Sky-Beasts.”

Mama raised her eyebrow. “Again?”

I nodded eagerly.

She leaned back a little and folding her arms. “ Miss Arden Vale, I’ve told you that story so many times, I could whisper it backward in my sleep. Why do you always ask for that one?”

I looked down at my hands, twisting my blanket between my fingers. Finally, I mumbled, “Because I want to be one.”

Her expression softened. “A Sky-Beast?”

I nodded again,“They’re brave. They fight the monsters in the dark. They don’t get scared like I do.” My voice wavered. “If I was one, maybe the kids at school would like me ”

Mama’s face went still. For a moment,she just stared at me. Then, with a little shake of her head, she reached out and tucked a stray curl behind my ear.

“You don’t need wings to be brave, You're already perfect” she whispered.

But still, she began the story.

“A long time ago, before Stormpoint had cliffs or harbors, when the seas were deeper and the skies more restless, there was a war between immortal guardians.

“The Sea-Guardians ruled the waters. With their coral crowns and voices like tidal waves, they could command storms and drown entire villages when angered. They believed the ocean belonged only to them, and that humans were trespassers on its shores.

“But above them, circling the heavens, lived the Sky-Beasts. With wings darker than shadow and eyes like gold, they swore to protect humankind. They could scatter clouds with their cries and split storms with the sweep of their feathers. The Sky-Beasts believed the sea should be shared—that humans were worth guarding and even loving.”

She slowed down and I curled tighter beneath the blanket, listening to her.

“For centuries, the Sea-Guardians and the Sky-Beasts fought. Waves crashed against storms, lightning tangled with whirlpools, and the earth itself was almost ruined at their fury. Humans whispered prayers to both, but mostly they were cowards, who were afraid of what side would win.”

Mama leaned closer, “And then something happened that neither side expected. A Sky-Beast, fierce and proud, fell in love with a Sea-Guardian, beautiful and merciless. The moment their eyes met—on a night when the moon turned crimson—they swore themselves to each other,As Fated Mates. Some say fate bound them and others say it was foolishness, but either way, their love was forbidden.”

“Why forbidden?” I asked

“Because the sky and sea weren’t meant to join. Their union broke every law of both clans. Still, desperate to be together, the lovers pleaded with their rulers. They begged for peace, promised that if sky and sea united, no darkness could ever rise against them again.”

She drew back a little “For a time, it worked. The Sky-Beasts and the Sea-Guardians formed a pact. They watched the tides together and defended the shores together. And for a while, it seemed the world would finally know peace.”

My tears had dried. I was holding on to every word now. “So they lived happily ever after?”

Mama’s lips twisted into a sad smile. She shook her head. “Not quite.”

I sat up “But why not? You said—”

Her hand pressed gently to my shoulder, easing me back down. “Sometimes love changes everything, Arden. And sometimes, it changes too much.”

I frowned, feeling confused. “I don’t get it.”

“You will, one day,” she whispered “The rest of the story… it gets complicated. And a little frightening. Better to wait until you’re older.”

“But—”

"Goodnight,my brave one"

She blew out the candle before I could argue. The room fell into darkness The door creaked as she slipped out, leaving it open just a bit .

I pulled the blanket over my head, my heart was pounding loudly. Mama’s words echoed in my mind: Sometimes love changes everything.

Outside, through the slit in the blinds, I thought I saw something—a flicker of wings against the moonlight.

I shut my eyes tight, but sleep didn’t come easily. Instead, I lay awake wondering: what could be so dangerous about love that it wasn’t safe to tell me the rest?

That was the last time I saw my mother.