In the tranquil night, the occasional soft chirping of unknown birds pierced the nocturnal peace, echoing through the silent valley with an especially ethereal quality.
The moonlight was as clear as water, casting the shadowy silhouettes of trees onto the forest floor, which looked like a pool covered in floating pondweed.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light cut through the gloom, looking remarkably striking in the dusky woods...
A platinum-and-gold bird landed on the windowsill of the cabin at the edge of the forest, tilting its head to peer inside. The house was pitch black and dead silent. The little bird smoothed down its fluffy feathers, gently nudged the window from the outside, and the window creaked softly as it opened a crack.
"Honestly, same as always, leaving the window open when sleeping. What would happen if you catch a cold?" The bird's face formed a distinctly human frown, and it actually spoke in a human voice, sounding partly reproachful and partly like it was talking to itself.
She squeezed through the gap bit by bit, but her chubby bottom got stuck in the opening no matter how hard she pulled. "My strength in this form is really pitiful." Exerting herself once more, she desperately pulled in her body and lunged forward with a sudden burst. Her backside popped out of the window crack, but she lost her balance and took a header straight onto the floor, making a soft "thud." Her tiny head swelled slightly, as if she had bumped a small lump.
"Ow..." The bird covered the bumped spot on top of her head with a wing, simply lying flat on the floor and rolling back and forth as if venting her grievance and dissatisfaction. Seemingly still unsatisfied, she fluttered her wings up to the balcony, gave the window a feignedly fierce little kick, and only then felt satisfied and smug. Puffing out her chest like a victorious general, she scampered off with brisk, light steps, entirely familiar with the way to the bedroom.
The bird gazed quietly at the face she knew better than anyone else. Though the face could not be called flawless, its well-proportioned features gave it a natural, unpretentious handsomeness. There were straight, strong brows, bright eyes devoid of any seductive coyness, a high and towering bridge of a nose, and full lips of even thickness. The more the bird looked, the more she loved him, and the sweeter she felt inside. The only pity was that the man in deep sleep had a thick layer of stubble on his face, and the beard looked as though it hadn't been trimmed in ages, nearly tangling into a black ball of yarn. The bird poked out her head and gently parted the tangled beard with her beak, muttering softly, "So sloppy... Can't even bother to trim your beard, making me worry. You really are exasperating." Though she said this, her tender gaze betrayed her true feelings.
"I'm home... my love."
The bird's feathers burst with a soft golden glow, her body gradually expanding to reveal a human form. When the golden radiance faded, an elegant and breathtaking woman stood beside the man's bed.
"I'm sorry for making you bear so much hardship all alone..." The woman's fingers twitched, a surge of majestic magic power flowing from her fingertips like a galaxy held in her hand, emitting a pale purple halo. She gently tapped the man's forehead, and Arthur's previously twitching eyelids gradually calmed, his breathing steadying as well.
"Sleep with sweet dreams, Arthur. When you finally wake from this great dream, perhaps the world will have become the way you imagined it~" The woman whispered gently, coaxing the man in her arms to sleep like a loving mother soothing a child.
The woman's eyes suddenly paused, then broke into a smile as she spoke to the empty air: "Why did you sleep for so long?" The woman's gaze abruptly shifted from dark gold to crimson, her tone and voice entirely different from before: "I merely consumed a bit too much energy." Then she lowered her head again, staring at the man in her arms, and asked, "Is this the human who captured your heart?"
"Yes, indeed! How is he? Isn't my husband super handsome? Do you feel your heart fluttering? Do you want me to introduce you to a couple? Though, as for my husband, you can forget about it—I won't share him with you. He's mine, so I advise you to give up on that idea." The woman's gaze reverted to dark gold, though it instantly flickered back to red.
"Not interested. Your partner is your own affair; what does it have to do with me?"
"Hehehe, you'd better not have any bad intentions. Otherwise, even if my opponent is you, I won't back down."
"Stop the banter. Remember, we only have ten minutes. Hurry up and deal with family matters; I have important business to attend to." The red pupils vanished, and the woman pouted and murmured, "Clearly you've slept the whole day, yet now you're putting on airs..."
"Well, it is time to get down to business, though." The woman lightly touched Arthur's glabella once more, extracting a glowing golden sphere of energy. Looking closely, swirling lights seemed to shift within the sphere, where scenes of an older man and a young girl playing together flickered vaguely.
"Alice should be growing up, too..." Suddenly, a sleeping infant appeared in the woman's arms. The baby's eyes were tightly closed, and her features were exceptionally pretty—clearly a natural beauty in the making, except that the infant's hair was as white as snow.
"Alice, Daddy really prepared a wonderful childhood for you," the woman murmured to the baby in her arms, and then slowly pressed the small golden orb into the infant's glabella. Instantly, the baby's limbs began to grow rapidly. In no time, her delicate face shed most of its childishness, replaced instead by a dash of youthful vitality and breathtaking beauty. "In the blink of an eye, twelve years have passed; Alice is growing into a fine young woman now." Alice's hair in her arms gradually lengthened and coiled, transforming into a golden hue like blooming daisies.
"Mhm... This part is done, but what kind of sweet dream should I weave for them? I know! This is it." The sacred radiance in the woman's palm flickered once more, quickly weaving two energy spheres which she pressed into the glabella of the two sleeping individuals respectively.
"Done! Next up... I'll have to trouble you all." The woman waved toward the window, and the previously silent forest instantly erupted into a commotion. Countless birds of various colors and sizes descended upon the windowsill, lowering their heads quietly as if paying respectful homage to the woman.
"I leave it to you. Let everyone in the kingdom enjoy this sweet dream." With a flick of her finger, each little bird caught a golden energy sphere in its beak. They nodded to the woman and fluttered their wings in unison, flying off toward the distant kingdom...
"Looks like there's going to be a golden rain tonight~" the woman murmured, watching the receding flock of birds.
"Time's up, Owl." A voice completely different from the woman's just now rang out.
"Alright, alright~ I know, my Lady Hera. And stop calling me Owl from now on; I haven't used that name in ages," the woman said, looking back at the sleeping face of the man on the bed with a smile on her lips, before speaking again, "My name—is Clara." With that, she transformed back into a tiny golden bird, squeezed through the window crack once more, and flew up into the sky. Only her melodious and enchanting voice remained in the silent night sky.
"We will surely meet again, my love, my child. I believe that day will come soon, very soon... in the not-too-distant future."