✧ . ˚ 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔱 𝔞𝔲𝔯𝔬𝔯𝔞

🗡️ ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────   the   giggle   that   escape   aurora   caused   a   look   of   pure   fondness   to   fall   onto   the   princes’   features.   it   was   the   little   things.   like   a   laugh,   or   the   way   his   wife   tucked   her   hair   behind   her   eyes   or   the   way   those   violet   hues   shimmered   when   looking   at   him   did   philip   remember   how   grateful   he   was   to   be   alive.   not   only   that   but   to   be   alive   with   aurora.   those   small   things   were   taken   for   granted   before   but   now   were   cherished.      “   your   secret   is   safe   with   me.   i   wouldn’t   dare   tell   a   soul   how   horrid   heels   are   to   wear.   would   you   like   me   to   hold   them   for   you   ?   ”      he   asked   and   happily   followed.      “   i   would   never   come   for   your   brand,   my   love.   no   one   will   ever   love   the   flowers   as   much   as   you   do.   hence   why   i   brought   you   out   here.   i   know   you’d   find   comfort   among   them   given   you’re   a   flower   yourself.   ”      the   prince   stilled   and   pulled   his   wife   to   him   to   place   a   quick   kiss   to   her   lips.      “   you   bring   much   to   the   table,   aurora.   your   special   interest   in   flowers   is   not   the   only   thing,   you   know   that   right   ?   ”

      ❛ OH NO NO ,  THAT'S NOT NECESSARY !  they're  not  heavy ,  i'll  be  just  fine .  thank  you  dear . ❜  aurora  pressed  a  quick  kiss  to  his  cheek ,  then  promptly  used  her  thumb  to  rub  away  the  tiny  bit  of  lipstick  that  transferred .  while  she  didn't  care  much  for  shoes ,  there  was  no  reason  to  bother  philip  with  her  silly  case . once  they  had  reached  the  garden ,  aurora  slipped  off  her  heels  and  grabbed  them  by  the  collar .  she  only  hoped  the  hem  of  her  dress  wouldn't  get  dirty ,  but  that  was  a  problem  for  later .  ❛ oh ?  it's  been  a  while  since  i've  been  compared  to  a  flower ,  you're  making  me  feel  nostalgic , ❜  she  giggled .  nodding  her  head  when  philip  reassured  her ,  aurora  let  out  a  deep  breath .  ❛ i  know ,  of  course  i  do .  you  don't  have  to  worry  about  that . ❜  with  a  tiny  smile ,  she  reached  out  to  gently  fix  a  lock  of  his  hair .  ❛ how  are  you  feeling ?  it's  a  big  night  for  you ... ❜

𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖙 - 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙 : ch. study

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

belle looked up from the poetry book she was annotating, one she’d already pored through a dozen times, but this time she wanted to decorate her battered copy. in the middle of drawing a sunrise on the page of ‘the sun rising’ by john donne, she looked up at aurora with a curious expression. “ the orchid … how did they choose this year to be the orchid’s year ? ” the mention of children stopped belle in her tracks, mid-scribble. “ um … that sounds vaguely concerning, but yes. now i must know how you’re going to word that message, ” belle teased. “ dear friends … i must warn you about … children. ”

             ❛ THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION ,  actually ...  i'm  not  sure  how  they  do  it ,  but  it's  still  nice .  it  might  help  people  choose  what  flower  to  decorate  their  home  with ! ❜  and  aurora  was  a  firm  believer  that  one  could  never  have  too  many  flowers  around  them ;  after  all ,  who  would  want  to  be  surrounded  by  so  much  beauty  and  life ?  she  found  them  to  be  necessary ,  especially  now  that  part  of  her  light  was  gone .  ❛ as  hilarious  as  that  would  be ,  i  don't  want  to  give  people  the  idea  that  children  are  dangerous ,  especially  with  so  many  little  ones  around . ❜  a  tiny  smile  graces  her  lips ,  ❛ what  were  you  like  as  a  kid ,  belle ?  i  bet  you  were  always  reading  big ,  heavy  books  and  asking  all  these  questions  that  nobody  had  the  answers  to ! ❜

adam had made it a habit to wander out of the dark walls of the castle. small  initiations to get out of the shell that he had constructed. at least that was the sole purpose. to feel closer to the mortal side; to nourish the human and further himself away from the beast within.

yeah right.

belle would be proud of the little efforts. he had found comfort in the gardens, they were quite, leaving him to his thoughts and ideas. he was strolling through rolls of rose, when he turned in the direction of a question 

“does it no depend on the color of the orchid?” 

as he spoke, adam ran his fingertips over the petals of an orange orchid. “i certainly hope that your peers are capable of making their own decisions; you don’t need to monitor them.” 

         ❛ NOT NECESSARILY ,  though  i  suppose  there's  no  real  issue  in  going  with  the  color  of  the  year  for  good  measure .  which ,  i  might  as  well  tell  you ,  is  magenta . ❜  the  very  kind  of  magenta  she  supposed  flora  would  liked .  aurora  could  only  hope  the  fairy  would've  been  made  aware  of  such  news  by  now ,  much  to  dear  merryweather's  displeasure .  

         a  tiny  chuckle  followed  as  she  heard  the  man's  words ,  which  she  took  as  well  wishes .  ❛ thank  you ,  but  i  don't  see  it  as  monitoring  them .  i'm  more  than  happy  to  look  out  for  those  i  care  about , ❜  and  aurora  figured  most  people  could  share  the  sentiment .  ❛ surely  you  would  do  the  same  for  your  loved  ones ,  no ? ❜

☀️ ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────      “   i   didn’t   !   ”      reagan   told   her   friend   as   she   gazed   upon   the   flowers.   if   there   was   on   place   the   princess   loved   in   elias   it   was   the   botanical   gardens.   reagan   felt   a   special   connections   to   flowers   mostly   due   to   the   fact   the   sundrop   had   saved   her   mother   and   her   -   essentially   giving   reagan   her   powers.   she   nodded   along   as   aurora   spoke   of   the   properties   of   the   flower.   at   the   mention   of   many,   many   children   reagan   did   step   away   a   bit   from   the   flower.      “   i   feel   a   warning   is   needed.   juuuuust   in   case.   ”

         ❛ DO YOU THINK  it'a  a  good  enough  reason  to  bring  everyone  together  for  tea  and  snacks ?  as  if  we  even  need  a  reason  for  that  sort  of  thing , ❜  aurora  rolled  her  eyes  at  herself ,  although  truthfully  she  couldn't  help  but  look  for  any  reason  for  a  distraction  these  days .  it  was  as  though  she  was  waiting  for  something  dreadful ,  yet  unavoidable .  she  knew  she  was .  seeing  reagan  step  away  from  the  orchid  made  aurora  break  into  laughter ,  the  sort  that  made  her  cheeks  hurt .  ❛ you  can  still  stand  close  to  it ,  reagan !  it's  not  going  to  magically  give  dear  ben  a  sibling ,  i  promise .  speaking  of  which ,  how  is  he  doing ? ❜  lips  curl  into  a  tired  yet  excited  smile , ❛ i  feel  i've  missed  so  much ,  you  have  to  bring  him  to  our  next  tea  party !  or  just  bring  him  over  any  time  you  want .  you  can  bring  flynn  too ,  if  you'd  like , ❜  winking  at  the  other  girl ,  aurora  started  to  walk  towards  the  next  couple  of  flowers .  ❛ he  came  over  to  visit  a  while  back ,  it  was  very  sweet !  brought  some  flowers  too ,  which  i'm  sure  a  certain  someone  helped  him  pick . ❜  because  while  aurora  knew  flynn  was  a  great  guy ,  he  definitely  didn't  look  the  type  who  understood  the  language  of  flowers .

♛･*˚

“ i think he’d like the idea, ” kit encouraged. “ the more the merrier. and … and perhaps a change of scenery too. if you and philip wanted to … to get away for a while, or stay someplace else other than your home now, i would support you. i’d send you off if i could, ” he joked. but he knew if aurora and philip let him, he would do it in a heartbeat. get them far away from this place, as far as possible. though she was the ‘newest’ charmont, kit felt just as protective over aurora as he did his brothers. “ … ah, well, it’s a humble little full name : christopher reginald lancelot charmont, ” he chuckled, shaking his head at it. 

“ and i will keep you to your word, i’m sure aunt flora and i will have a lot of things in common. ” kit opened his mouth as if to say more, to keep the light conversation going, but now that the topic had been opened, he couldn’t stray from it. he set the jug of lemonade down and sat on the couch next to aurora, looking quite serious now. his expression only cracked when antoinette meowed at him from aurora’s lap; kit couldn’t help but smile. 

“ as someone who values looking to the future, aurora, i would usually be inclined to agree. but knowing the person you had made this exchange with, it seems unwise to assume that what maleficent could have asked for is something immaterial or insignificant … no matter how willing you were to part with it. forgive me, ” he added in a quiet voice, bowing his head a little out of instinct. “ so i cannot treat this as small change. you matter too much, ” he said more firmly. “ i want nothing more than for you and philip to live peacefully, but … will maleficent’s request put that peace in jeopardy ? ” the prince furrowed his eyebrows, looking straight into aurora’s eyes. “ what did she ask of you ? ”

               DESPITE KNOWING KIT WAS ONLY  trying  to  humor  her ,  aurora  was  well  aware  that  a  part  of  him  still  meant  what  he  said .  that  he  would  willingly  help  her  and  philip  find  a  little  place  of  their  own  away  from  this  town ,  and  a  way  to  keep  them  safe .  it  wasn't  necessary ,  not  after  her  deal  with  maleficent ,  but  it  was  deeply  appreciated .  ❛  you're  the  best  of  us ,  kit .  i  mean  it .  but  he  and  i  will  be  okay ,  he  just  needs  time ...  oh  wow ,  that  is  quite  a  mouthful ! ❜  aurora  giggled ,  not  having  meant  to  come  across  as  rude  but ,  it  was  true .  ❛ i  see  my  dear  in  laws  had  a  lot  of  fun  naming  all  three  of  you !  it's  sweet . ❜ 

             the  sound  of  the  kitten's  gentle  meow  brought  a  feeling  of  reassurance  to  aurora ,  as  if  telling  her  that  everything  would  be  okay .  maybe  kit  would  be  disappointed  at  first ,  perhaps  even  angry ,  but  things  would  eventually  sort  themselves  out .  they  always  did .  it  wasn't  until  his  last  couple  of  words  that  the  princess  froze  in  place ,  save  for  antoinette  who  still  rested  comfortably  on  aurora's  lap .  would  maleficent's  request  put  that  peace  in  jeopardy ?  no ,  it  couldn't .  it  simply  couldn't .

             after  a  seemingly  endless  moment  of  silent ,  she  spoke  again .  ❛ she  wanted  my  light , ❜  aurora  confessed ,  her  voice  smaller  than  before .  ❛ not  all  of ,  just  a  little .  i'm  not  sure  what  it  means  but  it  seemed  like  a  fair  trade .  some  few  years  of  my  life  in  exchange  for  him . ❜  whatever  confidence  she  held  in  her  eyes  faltered  the  more  she  kept  her  focus  on  kit ,  ❛ please  don't  tell  him ,  i- ...  i  had  no  choice !  but  i'm  fine ,  it's  not  half  as  bad  as  it  might  sound , ❜  yet  anyone  who  took  a  good  look  at  aurora  would  be  able  to  tell  that  something  wasn't  right .  ❛ you  can't  tell  him  what  i  did ,  you  can't  tell  anyone  but  especially  philip .  at  least  not  yet ! ❜