AURORA WOKE TO THE SMELL OF FLOWERS. She frowned, groaning as she sat up in her bed, wincing as the sun shined into her room through her window where the curtains had been pulled back. She must have slept in. She was about to start panicking, only to remember that it was Sunday; it was hard to remember the days when she often slept right through them.
She looked around her bed, gasping when she saw the twisting vines and flowers that covered the top of her canopy bed, bright reds, blues, and purples filling her vision as they danced around her. She squealed, standing on her sheets and reaching out to touch one, gasping when it moved to meet her halfway.
"Happy almost birthday, Rory."
She looked towards her door where Rosalee was standing, smiling at her with a red bag in her hands. Aurora squealed, laughing and jumping off her bed, rushing to hug her.
"Thank you, Aunt Rosee!" she laughed, squeezing her tightly. When she was younger, she had been told that the women were her aunts, learning later on that the title wasn't completely accurate, but the name too familiar to change.
"Of course, sweetheart," Rosalee whispered, running a hand through her hair, "Now, come on. We have breakfast. Oh, wait," she stopped the girl before she took off down the stairs, tugging her back into her room.
Aurora watched with wide, twinkling eyes as her godmother reached out with her left hand, touching one of the flowers with a delicate brush of her finger, the vines moving into her hand, hardening into a stiff circle while flowers blossomed one by one in bright, vibrant reds. As she tugged it away, Aurora saw that the colors shifted in the light, turning from red to blue to purple to orange, all depending on how it moved.
"A crown for my princess," Rosalee sang, placing the flower crown carefully on the girl's head, tilting it slightly, "Perfect."
"Thank you," Aurora squealed, hugging her again, catching sight of her reflection in her mirror, "It's so pretty!"
"Come on," Rosalee urged, pulling away to lightly push her out of the room, "Breakfast! Zelle made your favorite."
"Blueberry pancakes?" Aurora gasped, twirling around to look at her godmother, stopping in her tracks, "With strawberry sauce?"
"Not if you don't get going, hurry up!" the woman laughed, ushering the teenager down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Aurora shrieked with laughter as Gazelle chased her down the stairs, running into the kitchen to find her other two godmothers with party hats on their heads, cheering and shouting their greetings to her, rushing over to hug her, dressed in the signature colors of their youth.
"Thank you!" she cried, grinning as she spun around, giving each woman their own individual hug. "Pancakes!"
The three women just laughed as the girl rushed to sit on the kitchen island, jumping onto the barstool and reaching out eagerly for the plate of pancakes and the jar of strawberry sauce. With powers like theirs, her godmothers could make the food appear practically out of thin air, though they did prefer the more mundane touch; of course, with some of their powers sprinkled in.
"What's the plan today?" she asked after swallowing, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.
"Well..." Gazelle began, "We thought you might like to go watch a matinee showing of that musical you can't stop singing to. The one about the girl who escapes from her home for one night and falls in love with the city and the boy that takes her around?"
Aurora gasped, hands coming up to her mouth. "Really? Seriously?" At the nod of her godmothers' heads she began to squeal, bouncing her seat and clapping her hands. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Oh, calm down, that's not even the best part," Marisol huffed, swatting at her playfully, "That was just Rosalee's idea, it's not that special." The taller woman stuck her tongue out behind her back, causing Aurora to giggle, Marisol whirling around immediately to try and catch the woman in the act.
"Moving on," Gazelle quickly called out, trying to keep the peace while Aurora ate her pancakes, happily ready to watch a fight, "The rest of the day is free for you to do what you want. We can do quite a lot, Rory, and, because it's your birthday..." she glanced over towards Rosalee who smiled and winked conspiratorially.
"It's a secret, but I think you'll like it," she said, a ghost of a sad smile behind her otherwise happy exterior, "You haven't been there since you were a baby, but...you'll like it."
Aurora had to wonder what she meant, as her time as a baby was spent with her parents, them having died when she was six. Cursed as an infant, it was a shock they were allowed to live as long as they did, Maleficent always was more powerful than they were. Perhaps that was why they had to do what they did.
"Can I see some pictures of you when you were still X-Men?" she asked, raising her head from her food, catching sight of the three women sharing a look, a staple of theirs as Aurora was now familiar.
Finally, Marisol sighed, throwing up her arms. "Oh, why not? It's not as if she's going to become one any time soon. She doesn't even have any abilities to speak of."
Aurora stuffed her mouth with a large bite of her pancake to keep from giving herself away. Because that was where her godmother was wrong. She did, in fact, have a mutation of her own, not that she nor the Professor were all that inclined to tell anyone; the less people knew, the better.
"So, what do we do first before we go to the show?" she asked, finally swallowing and grinning brightly, her excitement quenching the fear of what was to come just a few hours later.
The women all glanced at each other, then to the clock. Marisol hummed for a moment, closing her eyes, before opening them again, fearful and now antsy, her hand drumming against her leg.
"I think we should take her there first," she said, already bracing herself for their resistance, "We need to make sure she actually gets to see it. We-we don't have much time."
Aurora tilted her head. "Where are we going?"
º º º
"Your mother and father made this for you as a safe haven. We can't stay long, as we aren't protected here, but we wanted you to see it at least once."
Aurora gripped Gazelle's hand tighter as she stared at the swirling portal in front of her. From what she could see, it was as if she was walking into a forest, everything so colorful and bright, though it seemed so dark in there as well. At the mention of her parents, her heart ached and she was afraid to walk through.
"Where is it?" she asked, wanting to stall for as long as possible, though she wasn't sure why.
Gazelle smiled. "I like to think of it as home. Whatever that is to you, at least. Your parents wanted you to feel safe whenever you were there. Where 'there' is, however, no one knows."
Aurora nodded and, taking a deep breath, stepped through the portal, opening her eyes when she felt dirt underneath her bare feet. Looking around, she found herself in a forest, some of the trees colored purple and flowers growing everywhere, birds chirping in the distance, and the sound of what she thought was a stream.
"How long can I stay here?" she breathed, awestruck by everything around her, looking down to find grass and glowing mushrooms.
"You have half an hour," Marisol said, and while she sounded apologetic, Aurora didn't really mind; she'd rather have this for half an hour than never have it at all.
Time passed in a blur of flowers and trees, Aurora's laughter filling the endless space as her bare feet ran across the grass, alongside the rivers and down across paths. Everything about the place was surreal and magical, and she wished she could stay forever. It certainly felt like she could, no matter where she went, she found something new and exciting.
"Hello," she chirped, looking up towards a gathering of floating lights that seemed to have minds of their own, "Did you know my parents?"
The lights glow changed slightly, as if to say, 'yes, we did,' and she smiled, tilting her head and she looked at them, her sleep clothes swishing around ever so slightly.
"Do you know what they looked like?" she asked, now more careful, as if asking too much would take away everything, "I don't have any pictures of them."
There was a faint hum from the lights, as if they couldn't believe what she was saying, their mass slowly floating away and towards the area that Aurora had yet to explore. Curious by just the lights alone, she followed them up the path, finding herself reconnecting with the river that never sounded as loud as it probably should.
She grinned as the lights moved faster, causing her to chase after them, her clothes billowing as the breeze pushed past her, her hair thrown back and a wide smile etched onto her features, bordering on a laugh.
She came to a stop when she caught them hovering over a large pond—a lake, more like—with a waterfall right by it. She gasped, staring at the blue crystal waters that reflected the lights which hovered in the middle.
They flickered slightly, as if to call her towards the edge, and she made her way over, careful not to fall in. Though, if she did, she wouldn't be all too upset. Tilting her head, she looked over at the lights, one of which floated down towards her feet, forcing her to look at her reflection.
She gasped at what she saw.
Instead of her patterned pajamas, she was wearing a dress. It was brown that she figured went to her ankles, long sleeves covering her arms. There was a pressed white collar, similar to a button up, and a black corset on the outside, her hair flowing down with a blonde-yellow headband in place of her flower crown, more for style than function, as her bangs still fell freely. She was smiling, though she couldn't feel her own self smiling.
She began to walk, watching as her reflection walked with her, though not mirroring her expression nor, at times, her movements. She watched as her reflection glanced back behind her, and, before she herself could look back, the people in the water came into view.
Her breath caught as she watched a man and a woman approach her reflection, coming to walk beside her. Aurora stopped immediately, whirling around to face her reflection dead on. She watched with wide eyes as her reflection smiled at her, flanked by a man and woman who looked so familiar to her.
Somehow, she found it in herself to speak. "Mom? Dad?"
She looked just like her mother. The same small nose and big smile, her dark eyes wrinkled when she smiled and her nose scrunched. She was wearing a dress as well, much more formal than Aurora's own—or her reflection's, rather. Her father was dressed in a suit and, despite herself, she couldn't quite see him clearly, his features shifting as she tried to place something solid on him. But it was no use; she couldn't remember them.
There was a faint humming that grabbed her attention. The lights seemed to look at her sadly, and she couldn't help but look away, glancing back at her reflection to see her parents still there. But they weren't for long. Once she looked back at them, they gave her matching sad smiles, waving before they walked off.
But before they did, they both reached out to touch Aurora's reflection, squeezing her shoulder and giving her a hug, running a hand through her hair and giving her a kiss on the forehead.
Aurora could feel them on herself just before they faded out of view.
Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, she looked up towards the lights who were now by the waterfall. She walked over, surprised to see large rocks making a walkway of sorts across the lake, passing right by the waterfall.
She wondered if they were there before.
Frowning in concentration, she started to cross them, keeping her eyes on her feet at all times. But a humming made her stop. Coming to rest on a rock, she turned to look towards the waterfall, nearly jumping back in shock.
Phillip was standing on the other side of the water.
She stared, in shock, as he smiled at her, tilting his head in a way that almost seemed teasing, if not for his friendly smile. His hair was shorter now, not long like it had been at school, though she only knew that because she couldn't see any hair save for the front parts underneath the red hat he was wearing.
He was wearing a red hat and cape, which was thrown over a brown tunic like shirt with a belt around it, coupled with darker brown pants. It seemed so odd on him, yet it wasn't any odder than the dress she saw her reflection wearing.
He pointed towards his right, walking away, and she followed quickly, not bothering to look at her feet as she passed, nearly tripping when she saw him standing next to Peter, slinging an arm over his shoulder, the two grinning at her, Peter waving ever so slightly.
She raised her hand in greeting, trying to understand why they were here. Or, rather, why she could see them.
Before she could try to understand, the two seemed to hear something from a distance, nodding to her once more before rushing off, Phillip starting only for Peter to jump forward, tugging him along, but not before the taller boy cast one more look towards Aurora. It took her a moment to place the look.
Reassurance.
It was such a comforting gesture that she didn't realize that the lights had come to surround her, enveloping her in a warm feeling. She smiled at them, reaching out to touch one, only for it to draw back.
"Sorry," she said, starting to pull her hand away, but the light followed her back, bumping her finger tips ever so slightly. She giggled and stroked it lightly, glancing over to where the other lights were drawing closer, almost hugging her.
"Aurora!"
She startled, nearly slipping off the rocks, but the lights caught her, just for a moment, before darting away, moving faster than she had ever seen them. Turning, she found her godmothers appearing by the riverside, all surprised to see her there.
Marisol sighed, stepping forward. "It's time to go, honey. I'm sorry."
Aurora looked back down towards the water where her reflection looked back, giving her a comforting smile. A reassuring smile, just like the one Phillip gave her. Just like the ones her parents gave her.
She looked back up and nodded, swallowing thickly. "Time to go."
º º º
Aurora was shaking by the time she got out of the theater.
"That was a nice show," Gazelle commented, adjusting her green dress, sighing with relief at the sight of the sun, which still in a safe position in the sky, "The lead actress seemed like she was having just so much fun."
"And she could sing incredibly well," Rosalee added, "I can see why you liked this show so much, Rory."
"And that lead actor sure was something," Marisol added, nudging Rory and waggling her eyebrows, the teenager laughing loudly, coming to stand with the others at the stage door, her playbill in hand.
Though she was rather shy, Aurora had always been drawn towards the stage, auditioning for all the school shows, whether they be plays or musicals. A science-tech school, the arts were barely funded, less than usual, but they made it work and, surprisingly, they did get a fairly large turn out, though they never did gain her many friends. It wasn't that she disliked any of the regulars in the cast, but at the end of the day, they had their friends and she had hers, however little in number they may be.
"How are you?" she asked, heart nearly beating out of her chest as the pretty blonde lead actress came over, a Sharpie in hand.
"I'm doing wonderful, how are you?" the twenty-something asked, her grin bright and almost surprised, but her voice a whisper, as she had to save it for the night show, "Did you like the show?"
The three women smiled as they watched their goddaughter chatting with the actors of the show, Rosalee raising her camera and taking a picture of Aurora with the actors, laughing as the teenager constantly fanned her face whenever she was done speaking with one.
"Thank you," Aurora said as they walked away from the stage door once everything was finished, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Rosalee smiled and tugged her goddaughter close, the other women on her other side. "You've been talking about this show for so long, we figured it'd be good for you to finally see it. Did you have fun?"
Aurora nodded eagerly. "Yeah! What are we gonna do now?"
The women shared a look over her head, turning to look towards the sun that was slowly inching its way towards the horizon. Forcing to keep smiling, they looked down at Aurora, then at each other.
Looks like they'll have to be multitasking.
º º º
The sun was going down.
Cheating, Gazelle had transported them all home with a flick of her wrist, tiring herself out, but giving them a little more time. Before Aurora could demand to know why she would use up all her energy, Rosalee and Marisol were rushing around their home, gathering everything together, often casting glances out the window.
That was how Aurora found herself eating all her favorite foods while playing board games with her godmothers in the floor of their living room, her birthday presents already opened and the high of the rush now calmed down, the tension high and the spirits subdued.
"So I'll never have to buy new dance shoes again?" Aurora asked, picking up the pink ballet flats that, when she focused hard enough, transformed into jazz shoes, then back into ballet flats.
"No," Rosalee said, slightly distracted by their game of Jenga, "I think it would be a good investment, given that your director is always forcing you kids to buy all these dance shoes. This isn't Broadway."
Aurora laughed at that, nodding in agreement, looking over at the other presents she had gotten, from a microscope to new clothes to a backpack enchanted to be able to hold everything—courtesy of a mutant her godmothers were still in contact with—that would never get too heavy.
"Why did we have to rush?" she asked, glancing over at the clock, "It's barely even six."
Her godmothers all sighed, and shared a resigned look. After a moment, Rosalee spoke, "It ends at sunset."
"Or starts, depending on how you look at it," Gazelle added, though her optimism fell flat, as the women didn't know anything about what Aurora was planning.
Just like they had expected, she began to panic, staring at the clock and jumping to her feet, rushing to the window to see the sun slowly creeping towards the horizon, her heart nearly beating out of her chest.
"Just calm down," Rosalee said, rising to her feet and moving her back onto the floor, "Let's just do something fun, okay? Something you always wanted to do or wanted to learn, but it has to be in the house, unfortunately."
She took a steadying breath, pressing her palms against her eyes. Everything was happening all at once, and there she was, sitting complacent playing Jenga when she could have been doing so many other things, but she couldn't even come up with anything she wanted to do.
This was a nightmare.
"What did my mom like to do?" she asked, because all she could think about was that, in three days, there was a chance she'd see her parents again.
There was a sad sigh, then Marisol's voice, "She loved to sew, but she'd weave in these strands laced with her energy. So she could make a sweater always warm, socks that always stuck in pairs, things like that."
"Can I try doing that?" she asked, her words slurred as she started to panic, raising her head up to look at them, "Please?"
They nodded, all three of them motioning towards the Jenga set, transforming it into a small spinning wheel next to a bag of something that was glowing purple. Even the women were shocked by what they saw, though none of them made any move to touch it.
"When your parents died, everything of theirs continued to stay where they were, no one could ever move them," Marisol explained, "But this was always able to move, because your mother's energy was a part of it, but no one wanted to."
"How could she put her energy into this?" Aurora asked, motioning towards the bag, which she was too afraid to touch, "Why didn't Maleficent destroy it to make sure none of my mother was left?"
The three women shrugged, speaking in unison, "We don't know."
"Perhaps we never will," Gazelle said, "Don't think about her right now, Aurora. Just focus on happy thoughts. You know, your mother made your first clothes entirely out of her energy, to make sure you knew how much she and her father loved you."
Aurora began to tear up, wiping at her eyes, her vision blurred by the telltale sign of sunset peering through from the window. She forced herself to take deep breaths, resigning herself to her fate.
She didn't want to die, and she wasn't planning on giving up any time soon.
"Go on and touch it," Marisol urged, "Your father built that spinning wheel. If anything, this is the last connection you have to them." Rosalee smacked her lightly, for being so blunt, but there wasn't enough bite behind it to matter.
Wiping her eyes, Aurora reached out towards the bag, surprised to find that the energy was both tangible and not, as if she were holding a cloud. Not water, like what people told her, but a real cloud. Reaching out to touch the spinning wheel, she could feel it thrum beneath her fingers, and she forced herself not to cry.
"I miss my parents," she whispered, glancing over towards the setting sun, feeling her quickening heart rate begin to slow down.
She felt her thumb pulsing, as if needing to touch something in particular, and she let it travel, one hand still holding her mother's energy while the other traveled up the spinning wheel, touching the intricate designs until she reached the part closest to her, running her fingers over the metal.
She reached up to test the dullness of one of the points, only to feel a sharp pain shoot through her arm, though she could barely feel it at all, her body shutting down.
She looked out the window at the setting sun, eyes struggling to move to look at her godmothers who were rushing towards her, mouths moving, but words unheard, the room spinning and growing fainter, her heart slowing down and her ears ringing, her fingers aching, and—
Black.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
( 02.25.18 )
This was a really long chapter and I'm not even proud of it, I'm so sorry, ya'll.
But here we go, the action begins! Aurora's got some tricks up her sleeve, but I wanted her to just have a good almost birthday with her godmothers. That forest scene was supposed to call to the forest scene from the movie, as well as the "I know you I danced with you once upon a dream" thing because the place was like a dream. I hope this chapter was alright, because I did really try.
Also, hmmm, I wonder what I was referencing when talking about that show Aurora had been dying to watch (cough cough)
Anyways! That's all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
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