This ship breaks my heart and I will never be done thinking about everything that should have happened between these two. I don't own any of the rights to Once Upon A Time. Enjoy :)
Philip had found her crying quietly to herself in the gardens. She told him what Mulan had said and she noticed that his eyes also seemed to fill with tears but he did not let them fall, at least not in front of her. She just couldn't believe how sudden it had all been. One minute they were a happy, if slightly odd, family and the next, she was gone forever. Her mind refused to process it. How could this have happened? How could she just leave them? Once Philip had calmed her down, she allowed him to escort her back to the castle. Slowly, she shuffled her way towards their bedroom. But for some reason, she stopped at Mulan's bedroom first. She wasn't really sure why; maybe she just wanted to feel close to her friend again. Her eyes scanned over the familiar room. The news of Mulan's return had reached them several days ago, so the servants had prepared the room for her stay. Aurora's fingertips brushed along the curtains and down the silk sheets, never to be touched by her friend again. She found herself sat on the soft mattress and gazing blankly towards the large oak wardrobe that stood by the door, her mind filled with an empty nothingness.
But then her eyes fell on a sudden flash of white at the top of the otherwise dark wardrobe. She focused on it more closely and curiosity overwhelmed her. So, Aurora quickly grabbed the stool at the foot of the bed and dragged it over to the wardrobe. She kicked off her shoes and pulled herself up. She clung to the wall for a moment to balance herself before slowly reaching over and snatching up what appeared to be a small slip of parchment sitting on the very top of the wardrobe. She carefully lowered herself to the ground again and sat back down on the bed. Only then did she notice that the parchment was folded like a letter and on the front, in beautiful cursive, was her name. Her forehead creased and her eyes narrowed as she stared at the letters of her name in what was most definitely Mulan's handwriting. She flipped the letter over a few times in her hands before gently opening it up.
My dearest Aurora,
I doubt this letter will ever make it to your eyes and if it does then I hope I made the correct choice. I hope you understand just how much you have always meant to me. Even if I do not show it too often, I do believe you already know how much I care for you. My hope is that one day, I will be able to express my feelings to you freely and without fear from you or your people. But until then, all I can do is care for you like I always have and pray that the day I long for comes soon. But in the meantime, I guess what I am trying to say is... I love you.
~ Mulan
Aurora stared at the letter, her heart racing. Her eyes scanned over the final line but, no matter how hard she focused on them, the words would not change. If this was how Mulan felt, then what happened? What changed? Why would she leave them like she did?
Then it all clicked together, and Aurora's heart broke. That's what she had been so desperate to tell her. She was going to reveal her feelings, right in that moment. But when Aurora informed her of the unborn child, her friend believed her chance was lost. So, Mulan did the last thing she had ever wanted to do to Aurora; she ran away from her. Aurora clutched the letter to her chest, tears silently pouring from her hurt filled eyes.
Nothing was ever the same again. The Princess slowly began shutting herself out from the world, even from Philip. Even when her beautiful baby was brought into the world, there was still a part of her that was numb. Everyone else simply believed it was the stress of the kingdom, the pain of childbirth, or the loss of her friend. But she knew the deep, dark truth that resided within her. She was missing something that could never be replaced; a chance she had missed that would never come again. A chance to tell the truth.
A chance to say 'I love you too'.