the kingdom of moss and pine

Before the Kingdom, there was only the house.
And the house was never quiet.
It groaned at night, not from age, but from the things it held inside-sharp voices, breaking glass, the heavy silence that followed. Jane learned early how to listen, how to measure danger in footsteps and the turn of a doorknob. At fourteen, she knew the difference between a good night and a bad one before the front door even opened.

Rose didn't know as much-but she knew enough.
She knew that when Jane's voice dropped low and steady, it meant go.
She knew that Barnaby had to be packed first.
And she knew that the woods were better than the house.
Because out there, past the rusted machines and the dying grass, there was a place where the rules changed.
A place where voices didn't follow.
Where fear couldn't reach them.
Where Jane wasn't just a sister-she was a guardian.
They called it the Kingdom.
But even kingdoms can fall.
And some nights, the darkness doesn't stay behind.