The princess's eyes snapped open, pupils wide in fear of danger "What's happening? What's wrong?!" She pulled herself into a sitting position. "Are we under attack?"
Emma crawled from her tent groggily, and Snow trotted up, bow in hand with an arrow notched and ready. Scanning the horizon and surrounding woods for sign of danger.
"But…You…Your heart. It's not beating." Mulan stammered; eyes wide and trained on her princess. Her hair had fallen free from its ponytail, giving her a frazzled look.
"What? That's nonsense, of course it's beating." Aurora scoffed, her eyes darting about, trying to look anywhere but the warrior's face.
Mulan placed her gloved hand on Aurora's chest, just over where her heart would be. "No. I don't feel it…." She pulled her hand away.
Silence reigned. Mulan leaned close to her princess, lowering her face so that Aurora could look nowhere else. Her eyes dark and hard with concern and masked fear.
"Aurora…. Something happened to you. Tell us." Her tone was low, but forceful.
Aurora's eyes slowly rose, meeting the inquisitive and fretful gazes of Snow, and Emma.
Tears welled in her eyes. "I…I can't. She took it. She says I can't tell."
"She?" Snow asked, brows arching into a puzzled line. "You mean Cora?"
Aurora nodded "Yes. She said she'd know if I told. And she'd kill me."
The pit of Mulan's stomach dropped like a stone. Was Snow right? Was Aurora implying that the witch had ripped out her heart and sworn her to secrecy, placing her among the group like a spy? What would happen when Cora's machinations were finished, and Aurora became deemed disposable? The warrior thought she might be sick.
She clenched her fists, fighting against the desire to draw her sword and hack apart a nearby tree.
"But technically you haven't told us…" Emma murmured blearily, rubbing at a sleepy eye. "We've been guessing and figuring it out this whole time. Maybe that's how we can circumvent her threat." The savior suggested.
Aurora looked to Snow. "Do you think it would work?"
Snow tipped her head thoughtfully and after a moment said "I suppose… it's worth a shot…but let's keep our questions simple. Yes and No answers only, Aurora…we don't want to draw undue attention from Cora…incase she can hear what you say."
All nodded in mutual agreement.
After the better part of an hour, they had pieced together a majority of Aurora's missing hours and Cora's dark plans.
"So she's after the compass, and is using your heart as leverage to get you to steal it for her." Emma spoke, fingering the object weighing heavily in her pocket. "What happens if you just don't give it to her?"
Aurora's azure eyes widened, appraising Emma. She sat silently. Everyone knew the consequences of defying Cora when she had a heart in her fist. No one wanted to speak it aloud.
"That's not an option. A compass is not worth Aurora's life." Mulan growled with a sharp glare.
"Mulan, we can figure this out another way. Give us some time to think. Cora hasn't caught on that we know her plans. We have the advantage. Let's just get some sleep and we can figure this all out with fresh minds." Snow said, pinching the bridge of her nose and scrunching up her face to alleviate a building headache. "Things will look better in the morning."
Mulan nodded, compliant for the moment, but still managed to fasten Emma with a cold stare as the mother-daughter pair shuffled off to their tents. Mulan stayed by Aurora's side, her watch not yet finished.
Aurora's pale face was lit by the dwindling embers of the fire, and Mulan thought she'd never seen anything more achingly beautiful. She saw a fine tear perched on the princess's long lashes, glittering like a diamond in the waning light.
"It'll be ok, princess. I promise. I swore I would always protect you." Mulan spoke, keeping her voice low.
"Mulan…I can't feel anything anymore." Aurora's voice broke, and she gasped, shuddering as she touched the place above where her heart should have been. "It's just emptiness inside me… without my heart, what am I?" her eyes searched her warrior's face balefully, begging for an answer that Mulan could not give.
Mulan awkwardly patted her shoulder; trying to remember the words she'd once overheard Snow use to comfort Aurora's nightmares. "Shh… I won't let her hurt you…I won't leave you. I'll always be here to protect you. You are safe with me." The words felt oddly stilted and strange in her mouth, but her heart felt them sincerely.
Aurora leaned into Mulan's touch, wrapping her arms about the warrior's neck and laying her head against the leather breastplate of her armor with a heavy sigh. Mulan froze, momentarily unsure of what to do. Gently she patted Aurora on the back, rubbing in slow circles.
"Promise you won't leave me?" Whispered the princess, eyes slipping closed.
Mulan looked to the skies; the cold distant stars stared back like the eyes of her ancestors. Hot tears welled in her eyes as she gently pressed a kiss to Aurora's forehead. The light, warm, floral scent of the princess's hair mingled with the tang of pine and woodsmoke.
Fate, Mulan thought, Was savagely cruel.
The warrior squeezed her eyes shut to keep the rivulets of rage, pity, and sorrow from falling down her cheeks and into the princess's chestnut tresses. She could nearly feel her heart breaking.
"I promise." She whispered back, still gently stroking. "Everything will be alright. I promise."
Soon the princess had drifted back to sleep, and Mulan gently extracted herself from the girl's grasp. She tucked the young princess into bed, stood and looked down, taking in the sleeping form of her dearest friend. Her last remaining family. The last vestige of happiness she had on the face of the Earth. The one person that she truly cared about.
Suddenly she knew what she had to do.
She gathered up her father's sword, and turned to take a long last look at the broken beauty that slept by the dying embers of the campfire.
"I promise, Aurora. She won't hurt you again." She whispered, knowing that- though the princess could not hear them- these words may well be her last.
The warrior turned on her heel and strode into the darkness.