Aurora and Prince Phillip may have been betrothed, but they were more in love than some that weren't. Their love was different, it was something that was envied by all who saw them, and was apparent even to strangers. They spent nearly every minute together, and missed each other horribly when they were apart. Aurora was excited to get married, but they would have to wait for at least a year to get everything ready and prepare for the event.
They had only known each other for 2 months when they made love for the first time. Both had originally wanted to wait for the wedding night, but the passion was so intense they couldn't resist. It wasn't dirty, it was beautiful. They lay in the moonlight out in the forest and simply felt happy. It was more peaceful than any moment they had ever experienced, and both felt like the luckiest person in the world.
Aurora was sick 7 weeks later. She was so nauseous she couldn't eat anything, and could barely drink water. Phillip had been away, but finally made it back to her. He walked into her room, sitting on the side of her bed. She turned to him, and whispered, "Phillip, we made a mistake." He looked confused, trying to figure out what she was talking about. "I'm pregnant." The words hit him like a truck. His finance was pregnant out of wedlock. He shook his head, "Are you absolutely positive?" Aurora nodded yes.
Over the next few weeks, the couple made plans to hide Aurora's pregnancy, and then say they adopted a child after the wedding. They couldn't stay in the castle, fearing that someone would notice Aurora's growing stomach. They decided on the cottage in the woods where she had grown up, hoping it would be a nice rural spot to hide out. They told the King and Queen they were going traveling before the wedding, and prepared to leave.
Aurora was 3 and ½ months pregnant when they were finally ready to go and all of Phillip's affairs were taken care of. Just beginning to show, Aurora was terrified of someone noticing the small bump under her dress. They loaded a carriage and prepared to go into the forest. Kissing her parents goodbye, Aurora felt terrible for lying to them, but knew the disgrace that would be brought upon their family if anyone knew.
Life was tough in the cottage, especially because Aurora couldn't do much of anything exerting. She cooked and cleaned around the house, and almost every day she would go out and gather herbs or pick berries. Months went by with little incident, and as time went by they grew more and more in love with every kick and movement as Aurora's belly expanded. Phillip was worried about the birth, because neither of them knew anything about how to deliver a baby. Fortunately, Aurora was picking berries one day when she accidentally ran into an old woman. Almost running away for fear of recognition, Aurora realized the woman was blind. The woman had been a midwife, and they agreed that she would deliver the baby. Aurora introduced herself as Rose, and Phillip as Phil, in case she accidently referred to him as Phillip in her presence. The old woman's name was Hazel, and she visited once a week to check Aurora and talk about a plan for the birth.
They lived at ease for another month, but as Aurora progressed past her 8th month everyone began to grow on edge, especially Phillip. Every time the baby kicked and it startled Aurora, he flew into a panic that she was going into labor. It was stressful for everyone, including Aurora. As hard as it was, they still had 4 weeks until she was full term, so they would all have to wait.
Aurora was sweeping the cottage out as she did every other day, just hitting the 37th week of her pregnancy. It was a much harder job with her massive belly making it hard to hold the broom. The dust was swirling in the air, because she hadn't felt up to cleaning for the past week. "Achoo!" She wiped her nose. She knew she shouldn't have- "Achoo!" waited so long in between- "Achoo!" cleanings. Phillip walked downstairs. "Where- Achoo! are you going Phillip? Ah- ah- Achoo!" He looked around at the dust swirling around her. "Um, out for firewood. You can probably do that later dear." Aurora looked at the mess all over the floor. "No, its alright- Achoo! i'll- Achoo! be fine." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, rolling his eyes. He grabbed his cape off the hook and gently closed the door behind him.
Aurora went back to her sweeping. "Achoo!" She had finally almost finished when she noticed she had missed the floor underneath the sofa. She bent slightly over, blindly brushing her broom under the couch. Dust flew from underneath, practically blinding her. "Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Ah- Ah- Achoo!" She dropped her broom, sneezing uncontrollably. "Achoo! Achoo- God!" She gasped as she felt a horrible pain in her stomach. She grabbed her swollen belly and collapsed to the couch. "Achoo! Oh god- Achoo! Phil- Achoo! Phillip!" He was too far away to hear her. "Achoo!" She could barely sit up straight as she tried to ride out the pain. It was terrifying. When it finally subsided, she got up with much difficulty and waddled to the other side of the room, closer to the stairs, to get away from the clouds of dust which were obviously too much for her or the baby. "Achoo!" It was strange, she was starting to feel some pressure in her pelvis, which she hadn't experienced her entire pregnancy.
"Agh!" Another wave of pain sent her to the bottom step, trying to lean into any position that was more comfortable. It lasted about 30 seconds, and when it finally subsided Aurora was almost out of breath. She pulled herself upright with the railing, trying to brush it off as nothing. Probably Braxton hicks, nothing to be worried about. I have too much to do to worry about this. She went to pick up her broom to return it to its closet along with the rest of her cleaning supplies. "Achoo! Achoo!" Her nose was running terribly. How unlady like. She tried to compose her self, smoothing her dress around her belly. "Achoo! Ah-oh!" She winced, feeling a slight increase of pressure on her pelvis. "Achoo!" She put the broom in the closet, along with some other rags and a bucket. She looked down and realized her dress was covered with the dust. "Achoo!" The pressure was strange, and she was slightly worried. "Achoo!" Well, if nothing else, I should change out of this dusty dress before I sneeze the baby out. She slowly climbed the stairs, stopping to catch her breath and trying to keep her balance. "Achoo!" She was sweating by the time she reached the top, at the entrance to the bedroom.
"Achoo!" Her cotton dress billowed with dust every time she sneezed. Walking over to the wardrobe, Aurora began sifting through the dresses to find another dress. "Achoo!" She picked a bright yellow one, and removed the one she was wearing. Her bare belly bulged out in front of her, and she noticed that the shape of the bump had changed, and seemed to be hanging lower. She finally pulled the yellow dress over her head. Way too tight. She simply couldn't stand for her stomach to constricted in any way at this point. She tried on 3 more before she finally pulled out a loose lavender dress she had sewn not too long ago, so it gave her enough room. She picked up the dresses she had thrown down and carefully hung them up. She picked up the brown one she had been wearing to bring down to the wash. "Achoo! Achoo! Ah!" She felt the baby moving downward with each sneeze, until finally- "Achoo!" She felt her sack give way, and fell on her knees clutching her stomach as her water broke and gushed beneath her. She could only watch with wide eyes as the floorboards were soaked beneath her. It wasn't Braxton hicks, or even indigestion. She was definitely in labor.
Aurora wasn't sure of what exactly she should do. She had never had a baby before, and so she had no idea how long this labor would last. Did she have time to go and get Phillip or the midwife? Would it be days? Would it be hours? Would it be minutes? Would she have to deliver on her own? Questions overwhelmed her mind for several minutes. She finally stood up, still feeling water leaking onto the floor. She sat on the edge of the bed for 15 minutes, with no contraction. She decided that she had enough time to go find Phillip, who was probably in his usual spot collecting firewood. He could go get Hazel while she headed back to cottage, and everyone could be there by the time she was even close to pushing.
Aurora slowly made her way downstairs, once again having to stop to catch her breath. She was so heavily pregnant most things were unusually difficult. She took her cape from its hook and wrapped it around her shoulders. The pressure was definitely still present in her pelvis, and she was completely waddling instead of waddling. She went out of the front door, stepping carefully to keep herself form falling.
She had been walking for nearly 15 minutes when she had her first real contraction. Aurora wasn't close enough to any trees to use for support, so she knelt down onto her knees, spreading her legs to try and lessen the pressure. She leaned over her belly so that her elbows were almost touching the ground. She closed her eyes and massaged circles around her tightened belly, trying to remain calm through the pain. It seemed to be the best position for her during the contractions, and she used it for the next few as she looked for Phillip.
The time between her contractions became less and less, with the last one only 18 minutes from the last one. She put herself in her position and tried to really concentrate on the baby and how it was positioned. She felt the head drop slightly, knowing that without the sack of water in place it was difficult to keep it in place. Aurora knew that she couldn't keep her legs open during the contractions, because they were her only hope of slowing her labor. The next few contractions were harder to get through, but seemed to be slowing quite a bit within little time at all, which put her mind more at ease.
She finally reached the area where Phillip gathered his firewood. He was turned around, picked up large limbs. "Phillip!" She cried out, trying to hurry towards him but in her state could barely get to him without falling over. He turned towards her just in time to catch her in his arms. "Aurora, what are you doing out here?" She leaned on his arms, trying to catch her breath.
"Agh!" She grabbed her belly and bent over, feeling another contraction. Phillip's face turned pale. "Aurora what's wrong? Are you going into labor?" She pulled herself upright again, still breathing through the pain. "I've been in labor, probably for a least 2 hours now. My water broke back at the cottage." He looked down, now noticing her wet dress. He put his hands on her stomach. "We're having a baby." She looked up and him and smiled for the first time, placing her hands on top of his own. "Yes we are."
Phillip helped Aurora back to the cottage, which took almost an hour because he was unable to carry her in a comfortable position, meaning she had to walk. They stopped 4 times for her to ride out contractions, while Phillip tried not to panic. He helped her slowly up the stairs to their bedroom, and she sat on the end of the mattress. "Go and get Hazel, Phillip. We need her here. I'll be fine." He looked at her for a minute, and with some hesitation, finally kissed her on her forehead and left to get Hazel. Aurora was alone.
"Oh God! Oh God!" She curled up on the end of the bed, writhing with pain. She pulled her knees up and clutched the underside of her tummy, trying to imagine herself out of reality. When the contraction ended, she pulled herself up and changed into her light pink nightgown, so she wouldn't have to labor any longer in her sopping wet dress. Aurora went to the foot of the bed the held onto the edge, swaying her hips from side to side with the contractions. She knew better than to kneel with her leg open, but the idea sounded so much better. No, the baby will descend even more quickly than it already is. She would have to wait for Hazel and Phillip to return.
It took 3 more hours for them to arrive. By the time she heard them entering downstairs, Aurora had given into her urge and was kneeling on the ground through her contractions, which were coming every 4 minutes. She could hear Phillip running up the stairs, with Hazel following calmly behind. "Well dear, it seems we're having a baby a little earlier than expected, eh? Oh, never mind, at 38 weeks you should be fine to deliver. Now, lets get you up on the bed and I'll check you, and then perhaps we can find an easier position for you to labor." Phillip helped her off the ground, with the pressure continuing to grow in her pelvis. She laid on the bed, and Hazel pronounced her to be around 8 centimeters dilated, so there wasn't much time before the baby would come. Phillip helped her get into a position where he held her up by her arms and she squatted, as if sitting in an invisible chair. She almost fell in surprise during the first contraction in this position due to how much the baby descended. It was good though, because the pain was definitely becoming difficult to bear and she was ready for the ordeal to be over with.
"Ah! God, Phillip! Make it stop! Agh!" Hazel was working her fingers into Aurora's swollen belly, moving the baby downwards and trying to offer some relief. It didn't seem to be doing much. She checked Aurora again. "10 centimeters! Excellent work, darling, it's time to get you up on the bed!" Phillip practically lifted her onto the bed, because at this point Aurora was so tired she could barely keep her head up. Hazel propped her up on some pillows, and she spread her legs with her dress pulled up over her belly. "Alright Rose, on the next contraction we're going to start pushing." The next few contractions were excruciating, with her knees up to her ears and beads of sweat slipping down her bare stomach, she thought it would never end. Finally, she felt relief, and the room was filled with crying. Hazel handed her the baby, a beautiful baby girl. Aurora and Phillip were overjoyed, and every hardship they had endured for the past nine months was without a doubt worth it.
Aurora and Phillip lived in the cottage for two more years, not wanting to have to return to royal life, but wanting to soak up their daughter. They named her Rose, and even at 2 she had beautiful blonde girls and big blue eyes. By the time they had finally decided to move back to the castle, Aurora realized she was pregnant again. Not wanting to deal with it anymore, they had a quick ceremony with a traveling minister in the forest. They returned to the castle briefly, announcing to their parents they would not be staying not returning, and wanted to live a normal life in their cottage. The two kings and queen were so upset about the pregnancy that they hardly even realized what was going on. With angered goodbyes, Aurora and Phillip took Rose and headed back out to their cottage, where they would live out the rest of their lives in absolute bliss. Aurora gave birth to a baby boy on the way home, whom they named Stephan Hubert, although he would never meet either king before they died.