I know it has been a long time, trying to get back into the groove of writing!

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Song: Gary Jules "Mad World" (lyrics in italics)

And I find it kinda funny

Mulan could see her princess tending to the garden, and swelled with excitement. This was the moment she didn't know she had been waiting for. Mulan was finally going to tell Aurora how she felt; confess that the warrior had fallen in love with the princess. Aurora looked up from her labors. When she saw Mulan, a smile stretched across her face that made the warrior's heart quicken. Aurora rushed to Mulan and took her hands. "Aurora, I…" Mulan began, but could focus on nothing but the dazzling smile coming from the princess. "Why are you smiling at me?"

"I can tell you are bursting with news, but so am I. We, Philip and I, are expecting a child!"

Mulan felt her heart wither and die within her chest. Aurora was happy without her. The warrior could not take that from her by expressing her feelings. "That's excellent news." Mulan choked out these words while trying to maintain a smile. As she was pulled into a hug by the woman she loved, Mulan couldn't help but think how she was too late.

I find it kinda sad

Aurora pulled away and asks Mulan what she wanted to say. Mulan blurted, "I'm joining Robin Hood's group."

Aurora didn't seem to understand why Mulan would leave. Mulan hugged Aurora this time. "Goodbye, princess." As Mulan turned her back on the other woman, she could have sworn she saw her own heartbreak mirrored in Aurora's eyes. "But that is all it is, a mirror." She thought to herself. Aurora grew smaller as distance was put between them. There were tears sliding down the princess' face, but Mulan wouldn't have known that. The warrior refused to look back for fear of her own tears being seen.

The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had

Weeks passed and Aurora woke with the now familiar numbness. She never thought she would see the day that she would take refuge in the room of fire. The prospect of her burning was welcomed compared to the other dream. When she slept, Aurora would rather see herself die than witness Mulan walking away from her. Over and over and over she would hear Mulan's whispered "goodbye". Then, she was standing in front of Mulan again, but Mulan did not see her. Instead, Aurora was forced to watch a lone tear slide down her fearless warrior's face. Her heart broke every time somehow knowing that she put that tear there. Aurora reached out to wipe Mulan's pain away. They never made contact. Mulan vanished before Aurora could reach her. The princess was always left standing alone in the courtyard. The scenery changed and Aurora found herself standing in the woods. This bit was always different and yet always the same. She looks around until she spotted what was always there: a corpse. The difference was in the appearance. Sometimes it was slashed open, other times an arrow protruded from the chest, once she even saw it hanging by a noose. But this body was always Mulan's, and Aurora always woke in agony.

Just thinking of this dream brought tears to Aurora's eyes. It destroyed Aurora knowing that it took Mulan leaving for Aurora to discover her own feelings for the warrior. The princess loved her warrior. She loved Mulan in a way that she could never love Philip. Mulan treated her as a competent human being. Philip, although meaning well, treated her like a fragile child. Aurora was thankful for all that Philip did for her and would have been happy to marry him, especially with the child on the way, if she had never met Mulan.

Philip rolled over and draped an arm over Aurora in an attempt at comfort. He was never as good at it as Mulan. Philip's attempts at comfort felt like he was going through the motion without his heart in it, but he tried. "Was it the dream again?" He whispered.

"Not tonight, I just miss her. I can't help but feel I drove her away." There was a suffocating silence in the room before Aurora spoke again. "I want to go look for her."

Philip promised they would.

I find it hard to tell you

Finally, after days of travel, Philip and Aurora made it to Robin Hood's camp. It was difficult to find. The group was always on the move and the royal couple had to find them using mostly rumors from remote villagers. They were welcomed and invited to stay as long as they wished. At first, Mulan was nowhere in sight. Aurora was worried that the warrior was avoiding them and the princess felt her heart drop at the notion.

She was sitting by the fire when she felt it. Suddenly, her heart began to race as she sensed a presence behind her. Aurora turned around to have her vision filled with Mulan. The warrior was standing a few feet behind her, and seemed unsure of what to do. Aurora gave her a reassuring smile and patted the ground next to her.

A sad smile pulled at the corner of Mulan's mouth as she complied with Aurora's silent request. Aurora simply stared, taking in Mulan's appearance while she tried desperately to tell the warrior what was on her mind. Just then, Philip came up behind the pair, "Mulan, it's great to see you again. You look well."

Mulan stood to greet the prince. "Thank you, it is good to see you too," she glanced down at Aurora as she added, "both of you."

Aurora felt butterflies in her stomach. As she bowed her head to hind the blush, dinner was brought out and all the men gathered around, effectively preventing Aurora from telling Mulan her feelings.

Two days passed and Aurora and Philip prepared to leave the Merry Men. Aurora still had not found the opportunity to talk to Mulan privately. Either Mulan had obligations to the group, or someone came looking for them right before Aurora could get her words out. The princess felt defeated. She began to wonder if all of her emotions were simply an illusion. Aurora quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, gripping tightly to the memory of how she felt when she was around Mulan. Her stomach twisted, her heart sped up, and sometimes she even felt like she was floating. There was no way that could be an illusion. Determination flooding through her, she left Philip to finish loading the horses so she could go speak to Mulan. The woman in question was in her tent tending to her sword.

Aurora stood in the entrance way for a moment before making her presence known. Mulan looked up from her work and smiled. She stood and brought Aurora into the small space. Aurora felt the lump in her throat. Swallowing, she spoke quietly, "Philip and I are leaving soon."

Mulan looked at Aurora with an expression Aurora could not read. "It was fantastic finally seeing you again." Mulan finally said.

Aurora nodded, "I've been meaning to tell you something. I just couldn't find the time." She paused and waited for Mulan to look at her before continuing, "Ever since you left, I realized I made a mistake. You fought to protect and save me. You brought my heart back. I've-"

Just then Philip poked his head in. "Aurora, everything is packed. Are you ready?"

Aurora didn't turn around. She closed her eyes for a moment before responding, "Yes, I was just speaking with Mulan."

Philip nodded, but instead of leaving the two women, he entered and wrapped his arms around Aurora. The princess stiffened. All of her courage she had built up disappeared. She couldn't do this to Philip. He had broken the curse, had tried to comforted her when Mulan left, gave her a safe place to live. He loved her. She was pulled out of her internal panic by Mulan's gaze. "I've… I've missed you. You were my first real friend. Thank you." Aurora hugged Mulan and left the tent.

I find it hard to take

Philip also said goodbye and that Mulan was always welcome at the castle, but she barely heard him. Mulan had been watching Aurora closely and was convinced that she was going to say something different before Philip came in. For a moment Mulan considered running after Aurora and telling her the truth: she loved Aurora.

Mulan continued standing in her tent long after Aurora and Philip left. She couldn't bring herself to move. It wouldn't be fair to tell Aurora. Mulan didn't want to come between Aurora and Philip. Finally, she sank to her knees and cried. She knew one thing for sure; she would never visit the castle. To see Aurora again would destroy her.

When people run in circles

On the road back to the castle, Philip watched Aurora's back as she road in front of him. Her shoulders were slumped in disappointment, but the soft sobbing he pretended he didn't hear had stopped.

Philip felt terrible. He didn't understand why everything going on had to happen. When Aurora and Mulan had brought him back to the world of the living, he had expected to be bursting with love for Aurora like he had before. Instead, he simply felt empty.

He also wasn't blind. Philip saw the way Mulan looked at Aurora, and the way Aurora squirmed whenever she was near the warrior. They loved each other, and he wasn't the only one who saw it. That man who called himself Neal saw it, and even Robin Hood made a comment on it. The only ones who seemed to be missing the love between the two women were Aurora and Mulan themselves.

Philip wanted desperately to get them together, but when he thought about saying anything to Aurora, he got an acute pain in his chest. Whenever he knew that they were alone together, some invisible force dragged Philip to interrupt their conversation. He saw the pain it was causing them and wished he could do something. Philip wanted to help, but couldn't.

It's a very, very mad world

Miles away, in a secluded cave, Cora was laughing. She had watched it all. Mulan returning Aurora's heart, Aurora telling Mulan about the pregnancy, Aurora telling Philip about her dreams, the two days at the camp, and most recently, the royal couple's ride home.

She continued chuckling as she replaced the heart she had been using back in the box marked 'Philip'. She had gained her revenge. Aurora and Mulan would never have their happy ending now. Cora glanced at the mirror she had used to watch them. They had defied her, helped Snow White and Emma return to the other land, and by doing so, they had prevented her from leaving. This was the consequence.

They would never be able to tell each other that they were in love, and she would use her princely puppet to do so, forever.

Mad world