Disclaimer: I do not own OUaT. Wish I may, wish I might.

ON WITH THE STORY

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Dawn Breaking
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The day was warmer than she was used to this time of year. Usually the snow was just showing signs of melting in the fields back home.

Here, in this vast palace so far south there is no snow and Aurora takes advantage of it by wearing lighter summer dresses as often as she could. They made her feel freer than she ever remembers being, even when she had thought herself only a simple woodcutter in the cottage in the dell of her home country.

Today Aurora wore a simple gauzy affair of lavender that reminded her of that dell at dawn with the morning light streaming through the limbs and branches of the forest. She had learned some news today that would change her life once more and felt the need to harken back to a simpler time to allow her mind to absorb the news.

Absentmindedly Aurora went about her day - eating breakfast after seeing to the horses, working on her sword handling before lunch, and holding meetings with Philip and the dignitaries of their land to the north to decide the next course of action for their kingdom.

Sighing as she stood and stretched, Aurora let out a jaw-cracking yawn. Philip chuckled beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders rubbing gently into the tired muscles. "You were fierce today."

It was only an observation on Philip's part, Aurora knew but she still felt a sting of irritation that her refusal to storm Maleficent's castle for the supposed mountain of gold held within its walls kept being questioned. "I am unimpressed that our council is still questioning my final decision on their dream of a treasure hunt. I have said no and that will not change."

Breaking away from Philip's friendly touch Aurora began walking around the table toward the door. "We need to focus our energy on rebuilding," she continued, knowing Philip will follow.

"I agree," her companion said then offered a compromise. "But we could also use the money to fund our efforts to rebuild."

Throwing a look over her shoulder, not slowing down her stride, Aurora quipped a rebuttal. "We have enough funds to build two kingdoms between the two of us since we are the sole heirs and can pool our resources together." Facing forward once more, Aurora softened her tone so it sounded less like a reprimand and more like an observation. "Besides, our people are still here in their homes thanks to the sleeping curse. We can establish ourselves as the provider of goods and services to all the others who are without their kingdom."

Nodding, Philip agreed again and let the conversation drop. Silence accompanied them until Aurora reached her turnoff from the interior hallway they had traversed.

"I will see you later, Philip. There is some news I must share with you tonight."

"Supper or after?" Philip asked.

"Hm, after."

The king smiled and wished her a good afternoon until then. Before he could take his leave though, Aurora caught hold of his sleeve and asked quietly, "Have you seen Mulan lately? I wish to share this news with her, too."

"I haven't," Philip revealed. "But I heard she was assisting Robin Hood with a quest."

Both monarchs smiled broadly at that tidbit. Their friend had a strong desire to adventure and it greatly informed her personality. It did not surprise either to know Mulan was out helping the outlaw on his adventures.

"Thank you. Talk to you later." With that Aurora disappeared behind an archway heading to the one place in the palace she felt the most relaxed - the garden.

The soil was too sandy for most of the plants to properly grow in so Aurora had gathered old pots and bricks and created pockets of dirt in this open air area of the palace. Tucked away in the corner of the room is a small trowel and an old lamp that now served its purpose as a watering can. With a keen eye Aurora surveyed her domain. Some of the plants that were more often in direct sunlight looked a little wilted. Others closer to the shade were perkier. Everything was growing nicely but some more water for the wilting plants would be best.

Peering inside, the watering lamp still had plenty of water left over from yesterday when Aurora had filled it from the well outside so she did not need to trek all the way to the kitchen garden for more. Watering was meditative and Aurora quickly fell into a daydreaming daze thinking about some things while trying not to think about others. She did not succeed most of the time.

'What shall I do? I wonder what Philip will say. Where is Mulan? Is she okay? I really need to talk with her.' Aurora's thoughts went around in circles not stopping until an old skill, learned on an adventure that seemed ages ago, told her someone was watching her.

She froze, water still pouring out of the lamp spout to give the illusion that she hadn't noticed her visitor while she assessed her situation. The way to the door inside was clear so she had an escape. The visitor was lingering near the arch that opened into the fast grounds of the palace. They were not saying anything so Aurora adjusted her stance, pretending she was just shifting to reach another dry patch, to get a side glance view of the visitor.

A dull gleam of bronze metal winked at her and long black hair swayed in the listless breeze. The momentary glance sparked such a strong feeling of recognition that Aurora abandoned all pretense of not being aware she had company. Her head snapped up and around to finally face the one standing so still and silent by the archway. "Mulan?!"

The smile on Mulan's face did what it always had done and brought an answering grin from Aurora's lips and a flutter to her heart. Setting down the watering can, Aurora moved swiftly along the stone walkway asking the first question that jumped to her tongue. "How long have you been there?" The queen felt a flush creep up her cheeks when another question blurted itself out without her consent. "What are you doing over there?"

Mulan was striding toward her with her usual confident swagger but there was something uncharacteristically hesitant in her eyes and the set of her smile as she met Aurora halfway.

"Just…gathering my courage." Mulan's voice was softer than usual and it caused a shiver of panic to thread its way across Aurora's brow. She needed to touch Mulan to settle herself, so as soon as Aurora was close enough she grabbed on to the gloved hands held out.

Not thinking about her actions, Aurora stripped Mulan of the tough leather gloves, letting them fall to the stone floor while exclaiming, "I'm glad you're back!"

Mulan's hands were unusually cold in her grasp once they were palm to palm. Rubbing her thumbs over the deceptively delicate wrists exposed from the cuff of Mulan's undershirt, Aurora tried to impart some of her warmth and happiness. The two stood there staring at their hands, absorbed in the feeling of contentedness surrounding them. Mulan squeezed the lighter shaded fingers cupped in her hands, marveling over their length and softness, so different from her blunt, stubby digits.

Aurora interrupted the moment when Mulan's dark brown eyes rose to her own worried violet ones. "What's going on? Are you in trouble? Do you need me to…?"

A wide grin split across the warrior's face, and Aurora bit her lip to keep from rambling any more. Mulan had always been concise and sparse with her words which both frustrated and impressed Aurora as they got to know each other over the years.

"Calm, Aurora. Everything is fine," Mulan reassured the queen. But when the warrior's eyebrows pinched together and those beautiful brown eyes darted to stare over her shoulder at the palace, Aurora felt that twinge of unease again.

"Is Philip here?" Mulan blurted out suddenly.

The question was so unexpected that Aurora dropped one of her hands and half turned to look back over her shoulder, too, half expecting the king to be there. "No, no," Aurora stumbled over her response. "Shall I get him?"

She did not want Philip to be here. If he was, Mulan's eyes would then flit back and forth between the two of them instead of remaining steadily, solely on Aurora. But if her friend wants Philip to be around, who was Aurora to deny her.

"No," Mulan recaptured Aurora's free hand and pulled her half-turned body back around with a nervous smile. "That's unnecessary. It's…you I want to talk to, Aurora."

Aurora felt a flutter in her stomach as Mulan's hand tugged gently on hers and the words she spoke soothed the prickly itch in her spine. "Well, here I am!" Aurora felt heat rise to her cheeks at the goofy words she just said. But her friend smiled genuinely, for the first time since their initial hug, so the queen could not be too embarrassed.

"Yes. Here you are."

Aurora watched with a wide grin as her companion stopped there. However, she felt a little fidgety since she too had something to tell her friend. Still, patience always works best with the warrior woman so Aurora just let Mulan take a moment and 'gather her courage.'

"You see…I…I have something to tell you and…" Mulan trailed off much to Aurora's frustration then switched the conversation on her. "Why are you smiling so much at me?"

The opportunity was too perfect and Aurora let go of the words on her tongue. "I can tell that you are bursting with news," she said in a rush. "But so am I!"

Feeling strangely out of breath, Aurora paused and became very conscious of her heart pounding beneath her breast. Mulan was watching her with intense dark eyes as if she was peering right past her skin and into Aurora's heart. 'She held my heart, once upon a time,' Aurora mused, finding courage in this strangely comforting thought.

"You are?" Mulan prompted, giving herself more time to find her own words and curious as to what has Aurora so…glowing.

"I'm having a baby!"

There, it was finally out and Aurora felt such a great weight lifting from her shoulders that she knew telling her best friend was the right thing to do. Until she noticed wide eyes and an open mouth, then doubt started creeping back in to her heart.

"I-I know it seems…" she stammered unsure what exactly she was saying. Only that she had to explain.

The hands in hers squeezed and lifted until her fingers were brushed by a pair of lips. Mulan had an odd look on her face but it also held a smile. "That is…excellent news," she whispered and just like that the world was brighter and Aurora felt her heart settle.

Giving her head a shake, as if to knock her thoughts loose Aurora grabbed her friend into a hug. "I'm so glad I got to tell you first." She drew back from the embrace and earnestly focused her attention on Mulan who still had that oddly pained look on her face. "Now, please, tell me your news."

For a moment, Mulan just stared at her, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times. Aurora tried not to speak again because all that would come out would be nervous babble.

"I'm joining Robin Hood's band." Mulan finally intoned in a rushed voice.

"What?" Shock laced her voice as it trembled. This was not good news, not at all. "You're leaving us?" No! That's not what Aurora wanted.

But Mulan confirmed her decision with a steady voice. "Yes, afraid so."

The blond monarch swallowed hard, choking back tears, trying to be strong like her friend taught her to be. But that did not mean the queen was above begging. "Is there any way I can persuade you to stay, Mulan? I will miss you so."

When the soldier bit her lip and looked away, Aurora felt a spark of hope that there was something she could do to keep her friend near. Then with her lips in a firm line and eyes looking straight at her, Mulan said, "No, there isn't."

Aurora's heart sank to her knees, which threatened to give out as the world tilted around her. "Th-then?" Aurora could not finish her question, choking on the words.

Mulan pulled her in close and held her. The rough scent of leather and sharpness of metal wafted to Aurora's nose but it was the gentle mist of orchids that surrounded Mulan's hair and skin which made tears swim in her vision.

"Goodbye," Mulan whispered in her ear.

Then her arms were empty and Mulan turned away, striding to the stables for Khan, stopping only a moment to scoop her gloves up off the floor. Aurora tried to breathe, tried to call out, and tried to understand why watching the woman leave was heartbreaking.

"Goodbye…" she absently told the wind around her. Just like that she folded to the ground and cried.

Philip found her huddled among the flowers far in the corner of the garden away from the sun. She had cried herself to sleep and the tear tracks stained the pale skin of her face.

"Aurora…wake up." Philip called to her and shook her shoulder drawing a groan from the woman.

Puffy eyes squinted open and Philip saw shadowed violet eyes red from crying. From where he knelt beside her, Philip gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rested his chin on top of her strawberry blonde hair.

"I'm here, Aurora. It will be okay," he murmured. "What happened?"

Fresh tears filled her eyes as Aurora clutched at the arm around her waist. "Philip!" she cried. "Mulan's left. She's left and I couldn't stop her."

The king was taken aback. "I did not know she had returned. But she will be back again, Aurora. I'm sure of it. We are her friends, she won't stay away long." He tried to reassure the distraught woman in his embrace but Aurora just kept shaking her head.

"No, no. You did not see the look she gave me. She's not coming back and, and I don't know why!" By the end of the outburst Aurora was on her feet and pacing, grief giving way to anger. And Aurora was steaming mad. "How could she just walk off and say she's joining Robin Hood's band of brutes!? Doesn't she know she has us? Is adventuring all she wants? What about a family? We're her family!"

Aurora threw up her hands, continuing her tirade, unaware that Philip was still listening. "Argh! Why did she just leave? Is it because I told her about the baby? Does she think I wouldn't love her t-!"

Philip, having weathered Aurora's temper before had been letting her get it out of her system, happy that her ire was aimed at another for once. But when she said the word 'baby' he stood up and stopped the queen midsentence by gently grabbing her shoulders so she was facing him.

"What 'baby', Aurora?"

Taking in his wide eyes and feeling his hand tremble against her skin, the queen calmed down and let out a small, joyful smile. "I was going to tell you and Mulan after supper. Philip, I'm pregnant."

Later Aurora had to laugh about the whole ordeal because Philip fainted.

At the time though, she panicked. When Philip hit the ground after a second or two of stuttering Aurora gasped then whirled around looking for her watering lamp. Dashing to the still partially full lamp, she picked it up, returned to her friend lying prone on the ground, and proceeded to dump every last drop on his face.

Philip came to with a sputter, shocked blue eyes dancing around as he sat up with a lurch.

"Philip! Are you okay?!" Aurora knelt by the man and ran her hands over his head and down to his neck checking for injuries.

"Yes, I think so," he said dazedly while staring right at her.

She stared back with a little smile. "We, um, celebrated a little too much that night when we got you back from the wraith creature." A light flush graced her cheekbones, mirrored in Philip's stubble-lined jaw. "So that is the big news I wanted to tell you and Mulan," Aurora absently brushed excess water from Philip's cheek as she explained.

Catching her hand, Philip placed a kiss on her knuckles and smiled broadly. "Very big." And then he frowned, brow wrinkling in concern, watery blue eyes clouded as he looked over her shoulder into the distance. "And you told Mulan this already."

Aurora bit her lip and nodded even though it wasn't a question.

"Oh no," he whispered.

Now it was Aurora's turn to frown and be concerned. "What?"

Giving the woman a sad little smile, Philip squeezed the fingers still in his hand. "Silly girl. She is in love with you."

His words sucked out all the air in her lungs and Aurora felt them collapse painfully in her chest. Philip watched with a sympathetic expression as she seemed to deflate further into the ground, eyes wide with shock and mouth ajar. "Sh-she…what?"

Blond hair smacked Philip in the face as Aurora whirled around, face hardening as she stood and took off running towards the stables.

"FA MULAN! Get Back Here, Woman!"

Aurora was not able to catch up to Mulan that day, but not for lack of trying.

She got on her horse, out the palace gate, and about a league away before she realized she had no clue where the do-good bandit camp was located.

When Aurora let out a very loud scream of cursing frustration she accidentally spooked her stallion, Mason, who swiftly turned and bolted back to the palace with his queen along for the ride. Aurora was in no danger as Mason galloped pell-mell down the road because she had learned from Mulan how to stay on a horse no matter what.

The palomino eventually slowed and Aurora softly scratched his neck, apologizing for scaring him. "It's just, I learn this now!? Instead of a year ago? TWO years ago?! Arg! That woman is so frustrating. Stupid, tight-lipped, emotionally stunted woman!"

Mason danced a bit beneath her when her voice started to rise again, but he settled back down as soon as Aurora did. "And what a stupid woman I am." She sniffed back tears. "I could have told her my own feelings instead of just being content with the way things were."

Slumping over Mason's neck, Aurora felt hot tears slip down her cheeks and drip off her chin. "Damn," she whispered. It felt like she lost her chance and that was a very bitter medicine to swallow.

The palace gates engulfed her before she could finish crying, but once the warm arms of Philip brought her to him in a tight embrace, she felt the need to cry subside.

"We'll find her," Philip promised. "And then you can tell her you love her too."

Aurora sighed and nodded, her hair shining in the last of the sunlight, allowing his words to comfort her for now. Come tomorrow, though, she would find her wayward friend and explain the proper way to let someone know you care.

The End