kitt

⠀ ⠀⠀ in the following couple of weeks, aurora took her time settling into what was her new life. wingless, healing, living in a castle. it was a.. quiet life to say the least. she knew more would come once she was fully healed, both physically and mentally, so she tried to enjoy the quiet days. the healers continued to check on her, and she continued to explore the castle when she was feeling up to it. as the days went on, her healing progressed, and she was able to spend more time outside of her chambers. although her new chambers were lovely, unlike anything she had ever had to herself before, she still enjoyed getting moments away. staying locked up made her feel like a prisoner, so she tried to visit the gardens at least once a day, if only to remind herself that she was in control of her life.

⠀ ⠀⠀ while she made the occasional explorations of the castle, she found herself bumping into the king on a handful of occasions. again in the gardens while the guards trained, crossing paths in the hallway with a polite smile in greeting when she saw him with his advisor, once when rufus had found his way into her chambers. she still was not sure how he had done it, but she could not find it within herself to complain. he was still her favorite part of the underworld, and she enjoyed the days more when rufus found her. and maybe when she saw the king as well.

⠀ ⠀⠀ the king – hugo, as august referred to him in private, as if they were best friends – occupied her mind more than she would care to admit. he just felt like such a mystery to her. she still struggled to understand that this was the man she was taught to fear, ruling over a kingdom that was supposed to be the source of her nightmares. it was nothing like that. he was nothing like that. he had given her a room, a home, when she thought that she had nothing left. how could she ever fear someone like that? and yet, she still struggled to give him her full trust.

⠀ ⠀⠀ while her encounters with the king were minimal, aurora was slowly befriending others in the castle. august, of course, as well as her regular healers and those she frequently crossed paths with. everybody she met was welcoming, understanding. everybody except caleb, who she had yet to have a proper conversation with, but he seemed to always be giving her a disapproving look. august was quick to reassure her that he was just a grumpy old man who was either in love with hugo, or wanted his crown. apparently august couldn’t tell the difference, which had her laughing on one of their many walks. laughing. she couldn’t believe she was laughing again, but after a particularly rough night, she wasn’t sure if she would do it again.

⠀ ⠀⠀ it was the first night aurora had dreamt of her fall. her dream – nightmare, rather – was full of glimpses of that night. she was in a room she did not know, her father was yelling, and then all she knew was pain, pain, pain. the details of that night remained fuzzy, but the pain that tore through her felt nearly identical to how it had that night. she woke up in a cold sweat, gasping, and unsure of where she was at first. it took her several moments to separate her dream from her reality, to remember where she was and that her dream had been real. perhaps it wasn’t even truly a dream at all, just memories beginning to piece themselves back together.

⠀ ⠀⠀ she sat in the dark for a long time, waiting for the phantom pain in her back to subside to a bearable level. she drank cold water and even tried to fall back asleep, but after an hour of tossing and turning, she slipped out of bed. a walk would hopefully ease her sudden anxiety, she told herself as she slipped on her robe and a pair of plush slippers. aurora wore a simple nightgown to bed, the silky fabric comfortable against her healing wounds. she stepped out into the hallway with her robe tied around her waist, hair twirled into a knot at the back of her head, one arm wrapped around herself while the opposite was outstretched with a little bubble of light in her palm.

⠀ ⠀⠀ lord rivington stood in the witch’s cottage, his tailored clothing a stark contrast to the dishevelment of the witch’s belongings. dried herbs hung by the windows, spell books open, forgotten languages scribbled across the pages.

⠀ ⠀⠀ the lord had never known hardship. had never voluntarily visited a place so deep in the woods without his family’s knights to accompany him. but he was a desperate man – a desperate father, his gaze straying to the little girl with his eyes as he considered the witch’s offer.

⠀ ⠀⠀ odette rivington had been sick since the day she was born. born nearly two months early, the doctors did not expect her to live through the night, but she was a fighter. until her father decided he could not watch her fight anymore – not a day went by where she could just be a normal girl. that night had been the worst of them all.

⠀ ⠀⠀ the lord’s jaw clenched as he debated over what to do. odette sat only feet from him, watching the dancing blue flames in the witch’s fireplace. her cheeks were pale, her eyes tired, a blanket draped over her shoulders. she was barely four summers old, had seen every doctor in the kingdom, and it seemed the lord was the only one who still had hope that she could live a long, happy life. him, and the witch.

⠀ ⠀⠀ odette sniffled, making the lord pause, watching as she swiped at her nose with the long sleeve of her nightgown. blood lingered, and for a moment she was still, before looking up at her father and offering him a faint smile. a smile – as if he was the one who needed encouragement. he released a breath at the sight and turned his attention to the witch, offering a small nod of agreement to her terms.

⠀ ⠀⠀ “very good, my lord,” the witch smiled, the look nearly eerie. “i shall heal your daughter, but in doing so she will absorb a portion of my healing magic, and as i am sure you know, she cannot take something from me without a price. in exchange for my magic, i want her beauty. the color of her hair, the freckles on her cheeks, shall be mine.”

⠀ ⠀⠀ the lord hesitated then, gaze straying to his daughter, all curly dark hair and freckled cheeks. the details that he loved would be gone, but she would at least be healthy. she would be alive. he swallowed again, and nodded. he would sacrifice anything for her.

⠀ ⠀⠀ ༄

⠀ ⠀⠀ after her trip to the witch’s cottage, odette rivington lived the average life of a lord’s daughter. she learned from the best tutors her father could afford, learning etiquette and manners and the history of arakovic, all with her illnesses suddenly gone.

⠀ ⠀⠀ at the age of six, she noticed the healing abilities that she had obtained through the witch’s cure. her bruises and scrapes healed faster than the other kids, but even her father did not know the extent of her abilities until she came running in one evening from the gardens, an injured bird between her hands. in her panic, in her overwhelming emotions, her touch healed the creature. from then, her father helped her learn her abilities, he found mages throughout the kingdom to help his human daughter learn how to heal.

⠀ ⠀⠀ at the age of twelve, her beauty began to go. lord rivington had been dreading the day when his daughter’s features would change, but it was subtle at first. her freckles disappeared, the blue of her eyes turned gray, and then her hair. as if the color had been washed away, her once dark hair turned white.

⠀ ⠀⠀ odette had always been.. different. a human girl with magic and a father who coddled her while the other kids her age were raised by nannies. having spent the first few years of her life sick, she was comfortable being alone. she enjoyed spending time by herself compared to playing with the other children, especially as her features started to change and she was teased relentlessly for it.

⠀ ⠀⠀ cursed, they called her. the rumors lingered into her adulthood. nobody wanted to dance with her at balls, including murphy welling, the duke that had accepted her father’s marriage proposal to wed her. he looked at her as if she would turn his hair white as well, avoided her besides the mandatory meetings their families held to discuss wedding plans. to her luck, however, the war against versivia put their wedding on hold.

⠀ ⠀⠀ odette found herself leaving for the war after only a few months, her healing magic a gift that she wished to share. murphy busied himself with his duties in the castle, caring very little for her whereabouts when she announced to her father that she would be leaving to aid the injured.