#thcrnedthrones

dancing, it had always been her favorite thing. dancing at balls, alone in versailles in a moonbeam lit but empty ballroom — or in the streets of paris, in memories that seemed a lifetime ago. she was a natural at it, a graceful beauty who seemed to glide on air as she followed her partner's lead.

but that was not what the princess did now. at this concert, where singing and dancing and merriment were abundant. she watched, quietly on the outskirts of the dancing. watching how they turned and twisted to the music, how some danced individually and others danced with a partner. some appeared to be uncomfortable with their partner, and some appeared to be in love. or were falling in love. aurora knew, all to well, the perils of falling in love in the arms of a dance partner.

the crown princess often found herself living in a fantasy world — living in memories that seemed now more like a dream then events that actually happened. and yet, they were as clear as day in her mind. the beauty shook her head, as if to shake away those memories away. she should be happy, she should be enjoying this time like everyone else was. aurora reached up to brush a strawberry blonde lock from her face as she turned away from the dance floor, only — to walk right into someone, knocking herself completely off balance.

in  spite  of  relaxed  stance  ,  he  observes  the  dancers  with  divided  attention  .  "  we  have  a  similar  dance  at  court  .  "  head  tilted  to  the  side  ,  sylvain  leans  just  a  bit  closer  to  @monarhrh  @succiducus  @thenxghtwemxt  @thcrnedthrones  @whispcrings  next  to  him  ,  so  as  to  be  heard  over  lively  crowd  ,  music  ,  and  cheers  .  "  i  would  join  in  ,  but  i  fear  i  would  confuse  one  for  the  other  and  embarrass  myself  entirely  .  "  a  partial  truth  ,  as  court  dances  are  his  least  favorite  aspect  of  nobility  .  in  truth  ,  though  ,  the  names  tied  to  french  nobility  among  the  accused  are  at  the  forefront  of  his  mind  ;  what  that  might  mean  for  him  as  their  peer  .

° • — the outdoor water springs. the night after their arrival in brazil.

the smell of the orchid was strong in the air, and it brought aurora a faint sense of comfort — a fleeting moment of softness in an otherwise tumultuous mind. the last twenty-four hours were foggy, so much had happened and with the death of her cousin; she had little energy left to make sense of the world. aurora had been with her cousins on the boat when the dead queen was discovered — and maceon seldom let aurora out of his sight after that. she was left at unease, feeling terrified and unable to run to the one person who would quell her trembling body; gods, the marriage being a secret had proven to be a weightier one then she had anticipated — or perhaps her bond with the high king of scotland had truly proven it had survived the test of time and now, her heart could hardly stand the thought of that chasm being reopened or anything like it. being separated from him felt too permanent. felt too familiar.

the princess’s eyes were puffy, and tears stained her cheeks as she sat on the edge of the hot spring — her skirts bunched up into her lap as her feet slowly moved in the clear waters. she had cried for her cousin, though they had not been close. she cried under the fear of what was to come, who else was in danger? she could not lose maceon or elliott. she cried, if only because her heart felt heavy.

aurora had cried plenty in front of maceon, in front of eliott and in front of the rest of her family — but she was tired and needed to find her peace; which was not in spain nor france. she was not yet versed in the palace, nor was she certain on how to approach the scottish chambers without causing alarm — so the princess hoped, that her love would find her among the flowers and her worrisome mind could finally find some quiet.

the princess was not in the mood, for any sort of conversation in the moment. she was not fond of sailing, she was not fond of confined quarters and right now — she was not fond of her cousin. aurora always knew there would be repercussions if any of them were to find out she had helped maceon hide, helped him stay alive; but she hadn't expected there to be so much anger in the knowledge. not these days. maceon was back, in the spotlight, as though nothing had ever even happened. what importance now was it, the role she played in that?

elliott, clearly, seemed to think otherwise. sick of dealing with her infuriating cousin and not wanting to deal with maceon's questioning and coddling on top of still feeling seasick, aurora forgo'd the bonaparte quarters all together — which was a sitting room with adjacent bedrooms they all inhabited — and as she hid under a plain cotton cloak, she let herself into alexander's quarters; a king such as him got a more private set of rooms, which was exactly what aurora wanted. some privacy.

the princess threw the cloak onto the chaise, standing at the bar next to it — she poured herself a decent helping of scottish whiskey, making a sour face as it went down. that was not her drink of choice, but it was a drink and aurora figured she if was going to be sick anyway — she might as well be too inebriated to care.

as she placed the glass down, she took a moment. a few deep breaths later and now she started to feel dizzy. of course, the beauty could hardly tell if that was from the whiskey or from the seasickness. she let herself collapse on the same chaise she had thrown the cloak onto, and begun to take off articles of clothing that felt restricting. it was like breathing was much harder all the sudden. her gloves, her shoes, the diamond necklace around her neck — all thrown onto the floor before her.

aurora thought for certain she would feel more — apprehensive? afraid? yet, she did not. three days had hardly been enough time to plan their incredibility private wedding and yet, it had also felt like eternity of waiting. it was now sunset, and aurora had skipped the dinner banquet in the main hall in favor of getting ready in her room — under the guise of feeling ill, of course.

three days had hardly been enough time to procure a dress fit for a royal marriage, white with all the trimmings — but aurora had a less grandiose one brought with her from france. it's skirts were plain, but the bodice shone with the diamonds sewn into it. she had dressed herself it in and instead of adorning her hair with the most lavish tiara and her neck with sparkling gems to match — she chose to braid white rose buds into her strawberry blonde locks and tying a modest white ribbon choker with a golden rose charm upon her neck. in the moment, the beauty didn't want to consider herself royalty marrying royalty, because this was so much more then that. this was her getting to marry someone she loved — which was a far greater privilege then being royal had ever given her. she was a girl, in love with a boy, and that was all that mattered.

dusk had arrived by the time she finished getting ready, and everyone had either retired to their rooms or were too preoccupied indoors to be at the churches. perhaps aurora was terribly early, but if anyone did find her, she could always claim she was once again looking at the art that adorned the walls of the church. that wasn't unlike her. the princess stood at the doors of the church, nervously fiddling with her white silk gloves as she waited on alexander. worry did start to set in, that she had been too bold and brash to suggest they marry so soon — but she was ready, she had been ready; and she hoped that was truly the case for him too.

aurora had begun to feel guilty she hadn't seen much of her sister the past couple days, aside from passing each other in the rooms and during meals. she was very close to her younger siblings and very protective of them. though genevieve was closer to her own age then their youngest two sisters, aurora felt a sense of responsibility for her just the same.

" tell me, ma soeur petite, have you been up to anything wondrous while we've been here? " she asked with a smile, walking arm in arm with her younger sister. the crown princess knew what she had been up to and how magical her time in this country had been, but she seldom shared such thoughts. " the butterfly migration was beautiful, and i swear the colors here seem more vibrant every day. " perhaps that was due to the lack of color the french used in their buildings, or perhaps it was simply because aurora was easily amazed by things outside of her home.

the walk back to their chambers was quiet, with aurora holding onto her sister’s hand the entire time. of course, the questioning of the sisters had been gentle and far kinder then the staff of france were — but that didn’t make it any less nerve if anything, it made aurora more nervous that they had received such obvious special treatment. she waited until they were in their chambers, door closed and footsteps receding before she turned to genevieve.

“ are you alright, gennie? “ aurora asked her sister. she knew physically they were both okay — but she also knew a certain french guard her sister had eyes for was down in the cells; and she could only imagine how genevieve was feeling. not to mention aurora’s own thoughts, about france’s future and what it meant for them. they began plaguing her the second they were treated differently then the rest of their country — something the constitutional monarchy was supposed to prevent.

she knew sleep would not befall her, not anytime soon. the princess sat in the window seat, facing looking out with her legs criss-crossed. she had chosen to wear her love's shirt, loose and baggy on her body instead of a tight dressing gown. the shirt felt comfortable, both in the sense of his scent around her and the freedom it gave her to move in.

illuminated by the moonlight, her gaze watched as raindrops ran down the glass windowpanes — the thunderstorm outside raging on. the events of the past day had caused aurora to think, a lot, about everything. everything she didn't know or understand. she had made the decision all those years ago to stop taking an interest in the monarchy, in her own crown — but aurora had never known it would have consequences such as this. she never would have guessed it. consequences that left her utterly clueless in the wake of such chaos. she did not know what her parents or what the politicians that so prided themselves on taking power for themselves had planned but she was certain that her opinion had not changed; she wanted nothing to do with it. she didn't want her crown. she didn't want her throne.

aurora heard her husband stir in the bed across the room, and knew he would be noticing her absence. " alexander, " the strawberry blonde said his name softly, as to not startle him but to let him know she was still there. she didn't need to tell him she couldn't sleep, or that worries plagued her — she knew he could tell. the princess was quiet for a moment longer, a hand coming up to trace the raindrops that fell. " i do not think i am safe in france anymore. " the beauty finally spoke again. had she ever been, really? " i am tired of being accused and questioned; when i have not stepped a foot in a political meeting in years. "

a heavy sigh came from her. " i know we wanted to keep this secret as long as we could, but my love, perhaps it is not possible anymore. " aurora turned her body to sit sideways in the window seat, stretching her legs before curling them up to her chest and holding her knees close. her eyes welled up with tears. " i fear i need your open protection more then we need secrecy. i need someone on my side, because france is not. " if the politicians did not secretly hate her before, surely they did now. it was not her choice to avoid the dark cells and the torture they all experienced, but she did not believe they would hear that.