MOONLIGHT IN HIS EYES

Under the silver breath of the full moon, the forest twisted into impossible shapes. Trees leaned as if listening. Vines hung like mooses, ready to tighten. The wind whispered names it had no right to know.

Few entered the forest.

Fewer returned whole.

None ever returned the same.

But Isla wasn’t afraid.

She had nothing left to fear.

Not after what she’d done.

She stepped barefoot on the mossy ground, the red cloak around her shoulders clinging like old blood. Her eyes glowed faintly gold under moonlight—unnatural, unholy. The silver chain around her wrist tightened and burned as she crossed into cursed land.

She came for the creature that haunted her dreams.

The prince who once had moonlight in his eyes.

She came for Labubu.

The castle rose from the ground like a wound that wouldn’t heal. Ivy choked its bones, towers bent like broken limbs, and time held its breath inside.

At its heart sat something monstrous on a jagged throne.

A smile split his face, wide and knowing. Fur matted with old blood, claws black as sin, and eyes that burned like golden fire.

"You smell like regret," he rasped.

"You smell like rot," she answered.

Labubu chuckled. It sounded like bones cracking. "You came here for answers?"

"No. I came for you."

Labubu was in awe , why would such a skinny looking girl risk her life to come into this forbidden forest , looking for him.

He was both intrigued and curious at what her purpose was.

Days blurred into one another.

Labubu never slept. He watched her as she explored rooms that bled memories—ballrooms filled with ash and memories covered in dust , libraries that whispered forgotten names. She found a music box that played a lullaby which made her cry without knowing why.

At night, he would join her in the shadows. Sometimes speaking in riddles, other times falling silent, staring at her as if remembering someone he loved and lost.

One night, he brushed her hair from her face with a clawed finger.

“You dream like her,” he said.

“The goddess?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he asked, “Why haven’t you run yet?”

“Because monsters don’t scare me.”

“What does?”

She looked away. “Myself.”

For a while it felt like time stopped , there was an itch in his chest . " Whats this sudden rush of warmth in my chest , impossible are these emotions ."

He looked deep into her golden shimmering eyes trying to understand why this human girl struck a code in him , he felt relief and fear .

He so badly wanted to comfort her , ask why she would say she is afraid of herself . Labubu suddenly left like he could trust her , it might have been because she makes him feel like he isnt alone in this self hate , she was a breath of fresh air to Labubu’s dark world.

She found the garden on the seventh night.

Dead trees, silver thorns, and in the center—a heart-shaped crystal pulsing with light.

His heart.

When she touched it, the truth swallowed her.

Labubu had once ruled a kingdom of silver rivers and starlight. He had loved a goddess. She gave him her heart—literally—to save his people. But Labubu used that power for war, not peace.

She cursed him. Turned his people into stone. Turned his soul into fur and fangs and endless regret.

She left him with immortality and a memory that never faded.

Isla feel to the ground panting , she closed her eyes trying to come herself down , what had she seen . " Was it his past . " she trembled at the thought

How could he be so heartless , he really is a monster.

When Isla confronted him, her voice shook.

“You used her.”

“I loved her,” he snapped.

“Then why destroy her gift?”

“I didn’t think it would cost me everything.”

His voice broke.

Isla had seen monsters before. But never one that wept. Her heartbroke " What was this feeling ? "

“I’m not her,” she whispered.

“I know,” he said, stepping closer. “But I see her in you… in your fire… in your pain.”

He took her face in his claws. "And I hate it. And I want it. And I don’t deserve you either ."

" What makes you say that?"

" Your freaking perfect okay , from the moment l set my eyes on you , l instantly feel in love , l hate it , l have tried to forget it , l saw badly just wanted to scare you or hurt you so you could run from here but l couldn't bring my self to do it. " He stopped trying to catch his breath.

" lsla , l .... l love you , l know am not perfect , l cant give the world to you but l will give you all l am."

" Before l met you , l was lonely l hated my world until you showed up all brave catching me off guard and captured my tiny heart ."

He moved closer to her holding her hands with his clawed hands, looking straight into her eyes .

That night, they kissed beneath the full moon.

It was desperate.

Wrong.

Right.

He tasted like ruin. She tasted like mercy.

And for a moment, Labubu’s claws shrank. His fur faded. His voice became human.

Then the curse howled, and the castle cracked.

“It’s beginning,” he gasped. “The bond—it’s real. You’re waking it up.”

“What bond?”

“Love,” he said bitterly. “The one thing that can break the curse… and destroy you.”

The forest tried to consume her.

Thorns tore at her cloak, shadows screamed her name. But she stayed. She fought the memories clawing through her mind—of her mother’s death, of the fire she summoned in revenge, of the monster she had become.

She loved Labubu because he was broken.

Because she was too.

And in the garden, under the heart-shaped crystal, she made her choice.

She pressed her lips to the crystal and whispered, “I forgive you.”

It shattered.

And the castle screamed.

He collapsed.

Limbs twisting. Bones cracking. The beast howled, and Isla held him as he shook—his fur fell away, claws turned to fingers, fangs to teeth.

He became a prince again.

His eyes—no longer gold, but silver like moonlight—met hers.

He wept in her arms , it was strange , it felt like she was going to leave him .

And outside, the stone kingdom began to breathe again.

Rivers flowed. Statues cracked open and sang. The moon wept light across the forest as if welcoming home what was once lost.

But magic always demands balance.

Isla coughed blood into her hand. Then fell straight on the ground her once calm eyes glistened with fear .

“You’re still cursed,” Labubu said, holding her desperately.

“No,” she smiled weakly. “I was the curse. But I loved you enough to undo it.”

“Don’t leave me.”

....

“Then don’t forget me , atleast l got to see your human face , your handsome "

" But l cant live without you , lsla please "

" There is nothing we can do , accept it please ."

The wolf howled , birds.. no ravens started flying in the sky and the wind blowed in full anger as if aware of the situation. His hands trembled as he removed a strand of lsla's hair behind her ears.

He called out , but only silence replied.

She died in his arms.

And at that moment the clouds cried together with labubu.

lsla pov

I layed there in his arms , questioning my own fate , why couldn't l be happy , l was the only family l knew after my mother's death . Labubu is ... was my light in my dark , broken world.

I loved a monster and in the end , it was that love that devoured me. I want to hate him so bad , curse my fate , but all that my heart screamed was my undying love for him .

As my eyes drifted away and my soul gave up on my now cold body . I whispered a silent prayer.

" if there was a next life , l would want to meet Labubu and tell him how much l love him "

" l .... love you labu..bu , leave a happy life , okay " l managed to whisper in a very low tone that l guess he didn't hear .

Then it was dark . I was gone.

A year passed.

The kingdom flourished, blooming again in moonlight and wonder. Labubu ruled with a quiet heart, never smiling too wide. The people whispered about the girl in red , a girl that stole Labubu’s heart . Her portrait hung in the new castle’s great hall, her eyes always glowing faintly gold.

Some say, on nights when the moon is full and sorrow heavy in the air, you can see the King walking alone beneath the distant stars.

Searching.

Waiting.

Loving.

Forever.

But somewhere deep down in Labubu’s heart , he knew .. no he felt that one day lsla will come back to him and he would give her all his love .

Now he sat alone beneath the moonlight , justing wating for lsla to return back to him

" l would do anything to get her back , this is my promise to you lsla . I will sacrifice my life to get you back in my arms again."

END!!!