Princess Aurora

“Not at all.” Pulling her legs into his lap he began gently massaging her feet even as his brow furrowed at the mention of their daughter. His mind was still unable to fully wrap around what had happened. How they’d missed the signs and even more importantly how they’d failed their daughter. “The best that we can do for Audrey is make sure that she knows we are here for her. Remember how long it took you to be able to fall asleep without fear again?” Moving to her other foot he then added. “I’ve prepared for that actually….by talking with Mal. She is our future Queen and so I’ve already brought the matter up in the Kings Council meetings.”

It was true. After being woken from the curse, it had taken Aurora weeks, even months to start sleeping naturally again. To trust that when she slept, she would also wake up. So while it hurt her to see her daughter suffering so, she also understood it.

She just wished they had seen how she was suffering before that; the pressure her mother had been putting upon her.

Though at the end of Philip’s comments, Aurora found herself pulling her legs from his grasp. “You talked to Mal? Without telling me?” The hurt was clear on her face. True...Mal wasn’t Aurora’s favorite person, mostly due to the pain her spell...and the subsequent breakup had caused Audrey. But for Philip to go behind her back like that....

“You don’t have to do that” Jane instantly denied as she heard about Christmas and birthdays that they wanted to make up for, she wasn’t a materialistic person and neither was she one that enjoyed having gifts showered upon them because she wasn’t used to any of it.

Would she stay? Jane hesitated at the question and pulled away from the woman as she watched her closely. The only person that she had stayed with after the reveal was Poppy because she had run off and even thought about running to the Isle.

“Okay?”

When Jane pulled away, the queen held her breath -- so afraid that she would say no or disappear. That they would lose even more time with her. So when the girl uttered an unsure ‘okay’, Aurora let out her breath. Good. Good.

Pulling her into another hug, she directed her towards the stairs. “There’s no shortage of rooms; you can literally have your pick. If you want to face the garden or the lake. If you want to be near the library or the kitchens. Whatever you want. And once you choose one and get settled in, we can start talking redecoration.” She wanted Jane to have a room there. A room that she felt was hers. That she would be comfortable staying in whenever she visited. 

And she did hope she would visit often. “I’m sure your aunts would love to help.” All of them. And it might give her and Audrey a way to connect. Outside of their usual school things. Those were fine and all...but also so set in the old ways. Before they learned the truth. What they needed now were ways to move forward. As a family. 

❝---I don't need a prince to sweep me off of my feet, mom. It's like at the bottom of my list of important things.❞

“Hey Mom….” The words where said weakly as she licked her lips. The whole moving out thing had been an idea for a few months now since waking up from the enchanted sleep…only she hadn’t told anyone and did it in a day so that no one could stop her, mainly her grandmother. She still loved Granny to bits but needed space from, well from everyone to think things through and figure out who she was. “Do you….want to come in?”

It had been hard, letting her daughter go. But Philip had convinced her that this was what was best. That Audrey needed time to heal. Time to discover who she was outside of their daughter and Leah’s granddaughter. Especially the latter. 

So, despite how much she had wanted to go after her, she hadn’t. Not until Audrey had called and told her she was ready for visitors. Then Aurora had sped over -- flowers and pastries in hand.

“Love what is it?” He asked softly, moving to sit next to her while handing her a cup of wine. It had taken him all of three seconds upon walking into their bedroom after a long day of meetings to know that she’d need it. Reaching up and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, brow furrowed slightly in worry he added. “I get worried when you have that look.”

It had been only a little bit of time since Jane had come to terms with the fact that her family were different to what she always thought it to be, and she had been coerced into meeting with the other side of her family after her mother had agreed that they wouldn’t be able to take her away from her.

Other than her mother and aunt, Jane hadn’t really had any physical affection from any of her new family, nor her old family, so she was unused to the idea of it.

Yet, after a few seconds, Jane relaxed into the hug and wrapped her arms around the woman hesitantly.

She had a granddaughter -- a bright, beautiful granddaughter that had been right under their noses this entire time. While she wanted to blame Fay, she had a feeling the girl spent more than enough time blaming herself. The real blame her lay with their family and with Fairy Godmother. After all, it had been the fear of their family’s reaction...specifically of Leah’s that had caused Fay to run. To feel like she was sparing Preston a lifetime of shame by giving Jane up. And FGM...she should have told them (her and Philip, if no one else). Allowed them to be...close family friends, if not grandparents.

Now they had gone and missed sixteen years of Jane’s life. Just as her mother once missed sixteen years of her own. Funny how things like that seemed to repeat in their families. Stories fated to forever repeat.

He could practically see the stress wheels turning in his mother’s mind. His mother always had a tendency to fret over the need to fix absolutely everything instead of enjoying things as they came. It was something Preston used to do a lot before he meet Fay, but the faery had helped him see the little things in life and as much as he was heartbroken still, her teachings still had a lasting effect on him and his outlook on life. Plus Reed had some with him and his pseudo-cousin had the same snarky get over it that Storm held. It was funny with the faery cousins. Reed and Storm were similar, but Reed was more realistic, where as Storm was just all around sass.

“I would worry if he was retiring mom, he’s only in his forties.” the prince laughed lightly shaking his head. “Reed and I were discussing it. We were passing through Camelot Height.” funnily Reed choice of stop (secretly as his mother behest). “Arthur mentioned how they would be winning the Tourney season now that Coach Jenkins will be leading them.” of course that had led to a lengthy debate on how Tourney and ROAR were Auradon Prep dominated sports. Archery was held by Sherwood and fencing was held by Camelot.

Of everything, Aurora had been glad that Reed had gone with him -- that he would have someone familiar watching over him so far from home. Someone with magic who could have alerted them had something gone wrong. Thankfully, that had never been the case...another thing the Queen was grateful for.

See. Meddling faeries. Flora wanted Reed to stop in Camelot. In Camelot they learned the coach was leaving. And now Preston had a job across the quad from him ex. How convenient.

The fairies told different stories of the Enchantress. Of an old lady locked in the snow and the curse that was placed on Adam was a manifestation of his own temper and inner beauty. That the curse was purposely designed to be broken by love, because that’s when it would show he had changed for the better. “How do we knew that magic was dark? Because he told us so? It was designed to be broken by true love - specified in the curse.”

“If you continue on this path mother, I will be forced too. It will be my choice.”

“I’m not. Not that way. Anyone who would do to your sister what Ben did does not deserve her. Just as any girl would do to you what Fay did does not deserve you. My hang up is that no one else seems concerned by the fact that Ben has been bespelled not once, but twice. That he is marrying a girl who, at least once, put him under a love spell. That while under said love spell he completely humiliated your sister. Mal used deceit and trickery to get where she is. She set out to control Ben and she did. She hurt your sister as her mother seeks to hurt this family and everyone is just...okay with that? Wake up, Preston. Nothing about that situation is okay and Ben marrying that girl will be the ruin of Auradon. You’ll see.”

She couldn’t comment on the magic that once turned Adam into the Beast. She didn’t know enough about the circumstances behind it. But she figured had it been light magic, that the faeries would have spoken up. Would have petitioned for the Enchantress to have another shot. But as they didn’t....clearly it was black magic.

“They swore, they swore to you?” Maleficent couldn’t help but cackle, amused at how the young so quickly changed. She threw this at her as if it meant anything, as if what she was saying was some magic spell which would whisk her away and back to the Isle of the Lost. How foolish was she? How ignorant? Had she not learnt from the past, had she not learn from the actions of her parents.

Maleficent moved closer, her head tilted as her eyes narrowed. “How naive of Aurora, to believe something promised to you by someone who doesn’t care; he doesn’t care about you, your family, your people. Do you really think King Beast can really contain us upon that Isle?” She scoffed at the idea. Yes, for the longest time he had, but now was different. First, she had been able to leave the Isle when that pesky girl grabbed the wand. Second, she was much more focused than she had been back then.

“No, promises were definitely not kept now were they Aurora…”

Of course they had; the last anyone had ever seen of Maleficent she...she had been a lizard -- shrunk to the size of the love in her heart. Or so Fairy Godmother had said. It was a spell they thought could never be reversed (for what love did the evil fairy have...none for her daughter, that was clear...and definitely none for Aurora and her family). And yet...

“H-how? How is this even possible? I...we all saw you. Fairy Godmother...she...she said...” They were fools to trust in Adam. In his son. Hadn’t Philip’s father said as much? Hubert had never been keen on the idea of allowing Auroria to be absorbed by Auradon, but in the end he had conceded to Aurora and Philip’s wishes to keep the peace. Something done to preserve the alliances of the great families. The ones whose stories would be told throughout the ages.

Clearly, they should have listened to him.

Phillip merely shrugged at Aurora’s scolding; they both knew there was something off about Leah now even if they couldn’t put a finger on what exactly it was. Where her high expectations for their children and marriage had come from didn’t seem to match the woman he had known.

Though it did slightly remind him of his father before the discovery that the beautiful woman he had met in the forest was his betrothed.

“We know that but I’m not sure your mother knows that or wishes to remember.” They had conceded with Briar and perhaps that hadn’t helped the grandmother’s expectations for the other children but betrothal was never meant to be a part of their lives. He and Aurora had married for love; he believed his children should have the same opportunity and perhaps Briar would still as well. “Maybe we should go just in case…“

Looking back on it all, she agreed. What had they been thinking? Neither of them would have been content to marry someone they were told to (had the person they were told to marry turned out to be anyone but each other) and yet they had let her mother convince them it was best for Briar. That the alliance that would come from it would be good for the entire family...

Were they not so far into things, Aurora might have tried to cancel it all. To release Briar from her obligation. But that wasn’t a choice they had now. Or was it? Could it all be undone? Should they talk to Briar?

It was something they would perhaps have to discuss later. Once Audrey had been taken care of.

❝—haven’t had a chance to talk to her, when I tried she just closed her door in my face because she thought Ben sent me.❞ he shrugs.

Nala didn’t exactly blame the kids from the isle for the barrier being taken down. No, she was fine with the children coming to Auradon once they were screened to make sure they weren’t as villainous as their parents. Screened by anyone who wasn’t Fairy Godmother. Maybe those three fairies that protected Aurora? It seemed like they had a child’s best interest at heart.

Still, she was nodding at the other Queen’s statement. “I do not believe it should be Adam that retakes the throne. When the treaties were first written, this was supposed to be an elected position, where every kingdom that signed the treaty had a voice. How many of us had a voice these last twenty years? Certainly not the Pridelands. We did not get a vote when Adam and Fairy Godmother came into our lands to resurrect the ones who nearly killed my husband and…” Her voice trailed off as the ever present wound of Kopa’s death ached.

Nala cleared her throat after a moment, and looked back up at the council. “King Adam has shown poor judgement from the start and putting a child on the throne is only his latest transgression.”

Aurora had often thought of asking Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather what they thought of Fairy Godmother. She knew there was at least some camaraderie there as they all seemed to be plotting to re-align her son with FGM’s daughter. But how deep that camaraderie went she didn’t know. She couldn’t imagine they agreed with this. How could they? They better than anyone knew the dangers someone like Maleficent brought with them; after all, they had been the ones to hide her away in the hopes of preventing the curse from coming to fruition. To change their final gift in order to prevent her death.

They might be quite useful to the screening process.

Moving closer to the other Queen, Aurora laid a gentle hand on Nala’s arm. They had all heard the story. She and Simba...they had lost so much. Had suffered greatly at the hands of those Ben and Mal now saw fit to give free run of Auradon. It was utter madness.

Audrey shrugged. “I think Grandma wants to marry me off earlier than I’m ready.” She was against Chad because well, he wasn’t Ben but Audrey had learned that maybe that was a good thing, still, her grandmother didn’t see it that way. “I don’t know why she’s so tough on me.”

“Your grandmother can want whatever she likes, that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. You’re our daughter, not hers. And if you’re not ready to get married than that’s all there is to it.” While Aurora wanted her daughter to eventually settle down and get married -- find happiness in the way she and Philip did -- she wanted her to do it in her own time. On her terms.

❝—you seem to forget, Aurora, that before Ben I was the one meant to be King. I’ve been very much present in Ben’s decisions after he was crowned king and I do support his plan to take down the barrier. I would’ve done the same had I been in his position.❞ he was going to defend his brother at all costs, despite the ever present bitterness he felt at being robbed of the title ofKing. ❝—if you do not support it, Auroria is welcome to leave and become independent. my father made a mistake in ever creating the isle, and Ben is trying to correct it. In my personal opinion, an adult on the throne would make no difference because an adult made the mistake to begin with.❞