The Lovers
"Queen Aurora."
"Prince Phillip."
"So pleased you could join us on our venture."
"Of course. It is important we show a united front."
Someone coughs.
"Awkward."
There is the clang of metal striking metal and in his peripheral Phillip sees Percival shoot his soldiers a harsh glare.
His smile twitches into something real.
It is a long ride to Oriens.
~x~
"You seem tense, Percival. Anticipating trouble?"
"I always expect trouble, that way I'm never taken off-guard."
Phillip doesn't quite roll his eyes. His friend's paranoia has kept him safe all these years, even if it makes for poor company. Which is why he can't resist teasing.
"Come on, Perce. It's a diplomatic visit. The greatest threat is being talked to death."
"The last time I let you visit Oriens alone it was attacked by a dragon."
"That was Diaval and under extraneous circumstances, I might add. I was never in any danger."
"Hmmph. Where is the shifter anyway? I wouldn't object to a dragon in our arsenal."
"On a mission, last I heard."
Phillip might have suspected Aurora of keeping the raven from him, after the dissolution of their engagement, had Diaval not stopped by to explain he would be away for a time. That was two months ago.
He glances at the queen, riding a few paces behind. She is unnaturally quiet; her companions, Knotgrass and Thistlewit chattering away.
She does not look herself - sullen and waning. It reminds him of her disastrous stay in Ulstead, when he was trying to hold a kingdom together while his fiancée slowly wilted.
Despite the hurt, it saddens him to see her so and vows to speak with her as soon as they can steal a private moment.
~x~
The talks go well, their treaty with Oriens strengthened. Concern is expressed over Maleficent and the Dark Fae, but between Phillip's honeyed reason and Aurora's soothing demeanour, they easily charm the starry-eyed Council to their side.
This is what they could have been, Phillip muses, then reconsiders. No, this is what they are.
Not lovers, but friends, and a team.
"Phillip…" Aurora approaches, eyes bright with hesitation, reminiscent of another time.
"Tell me what's troubling you."
Some tension bleeds from her shoulders and she exhales. "Would you… would you accompany me… somewhere?"
He is quick to acquiesce, though he does raise a brow when she leads him to a crypt. Side-by-side they stand at the tomb of Queen Leila. They do not hold hands, but Phillip's arm presses into her own.
"My mother… my birth mother," Aurora explains, running a hand over the ornate tomb, the effigy of a woman etched in stone.
He feels out of place, like another should be here instead. But he is missing and Phillip finds he doesn't mind standing in if it comforts a friend.
"Do you have any memories of her at all?"
"Nn-o…"
Her voice cracks and he places a hand on her shoulder. "She must have been kind."
"She was Maleficent's soulmate."
His jaw drops. "Tr-truly?"
A sad smile pulls at her lips. "Yes, that's what my godmother said. Although, they never realised their bond."
He recalls the tale of Maleficent, the Cursed Princess, and the Mad King. It gives his own family drama a run for its money.
"They… they both loved you - love you. In that, at least… they are united. Through you their true love lives."
She turns to him with glittering eyes and quaking breath. "Thank you, Phillip. You really are a good man. You deserve a true love of your own."
His heart spasms, a healing hurt, and maybe it is the way she is looking at him, raw and trusting, maybe it's this place with its dead and the stone walls to keep their secrets, maybe it is the strains of the day having worn his defences, but suddenly the truth pours from his mouth.
"I- uh… I might be in- in love with… with Borra."
The crypt walls loom, his pulse batters his skin.
Aurora's lips part. Oh.
Then, as if in tentative truce, "I might be in love with Diaval."
She says, like it's a surprise, instead of the pieces clicking into place, and Phillip expels a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"
Aurora smiles, shy but hopeful. The first he has seen from her in a while.
"We have a long ride ahead."
They hug each other then and it is full of the things they do not say…
I've missed you… I love you… I'm sorry… I forgive you… thank you… farewell…
Together, they leave the crypt and the shadows of the past behind them and step into warm sunshine.
~x~
"Wait, you kissed Borra drunk?"
He groans. "Why am I telling you any of this?"
"No clue, but it's hilarious. Please continue."
~x~
"I meant it when I said I love you. I hope you don't think I was lying because of my feelings for Diaval."
He gifts her a soft look. "I understand, Aurora. I do."
"You're so important to me, Phillip. I sincerely hope you will be happy."
She is so earnest. Affection swells in his chest and Phillip forgives her.
"I hope you will be too."
~x~
"Wait, your soulmark is gold too?"
They are passing through the forest now, not far from where Aurora and Phillip first met. So much has changed since then. It is not a bad thing.
"Yes, but it always has been. I don't know why yours would suddenly turn."
He grimaces. "I hope my arm isn't going to fall off."
Aurora scrunches her nose, contemplative. "There are other fae with gold soulmarks… in fact, Thistlewit and Knotgrass may know…" she canters towards the fae. "Thistlewit! Knotgrass!"
The arrow zips through the air, piercing the soldier in the lead, causing him to topple from his horse. The animal rears up, disrupting the rest of the party.
Arrows rain from the trees as the soldiers struggle to regain control of their steeds, scrambling for shields and weapons.
"PROTECT THE PRINCE!"
Chaos breaks out as bandits charge from the forest. Phillip tries to reach Aurora in the fray but his men form a protective circle around him, blocking him from her.
Horses whiny and men shout. He hears Percival barking orders and sees the flash of magic as Thistlewit and Knotgrass fight off their attackers. He prays they keep Aurora safe and draws his weapon.
He has been training for battle since before he could lift a sword, but rarely has he been in a real fight where a wrong move is life or death.
Everything happens so fast, he relies on instinct, reacting to each attack as it comes. Men cry out and blood stains muddied ground. Phillip cannot tell if they are winning or losing. Then, he hears a scream.
Through the melee of bodies he spies Aurora's golden halo, thrashing as three bandits try to pull her from her horse.
There is a vicious squawk and then the first bandit is howling, face savaged by a frenzy of black feathers. His comrades soon suffer the same fate as the raven defends his queen.
"PRINCE!"
He whips round, his brain not processing fast enough the sight of his own guard, a crossbow aimed at him.
"For Ulstead!"
The world shrinks. The battle muffled as he hears the bolt fire.
He dodges as easily as stepping from one scene to the next.
"Rough day?" Borra pants.
Phillip groans and goes to throw an arm across his face but his body is lead. Motionless.
"You couldn't let me savour the afterglow?"
"Sorry." The fae doesn't sound sorry. "But as your personal stress-reliever I think it a fair ask."
You're more than that, Phillip doesn't say, his tongue curling too easily around three words, too heavy and too fragile.
Above him molten eyes gleam.
"Come on, Prince. Tell me about your day, I want to hear. Even if it is bad. Especially if it's bad."
"You make the bad days good," he says, as if the very air has been dragged from his lungs.
Borra brings their lips together.
The shot hits and all he sees is gold.
~x~
In his dreams he is not afraid.
"I love you. I love you. I love you."
~x~
On the long nights, when things were rough and Diaval questioned the whole point of his mission, he would think of Aurora, with her rosebud smile, and imagine how she would welcome his return to the Moors.
(All the nights are long and some of the days too and Aurora is in his heart, always.)
Yet, in his imaginings, he never pictured this…
"Where were you?"
Her voice is chill like it never is and her posture stiff, closed-off like Maleficent in the first decade or so of their acquaintanceship.
He blinks. He already reported his findings to Aurora, Maleficent, King John, Captain Percival, and a recovering Prince Phillip. He has uncovered a plot against Ulstead and the Moors; a scheme to assassinate Prince Phillip and kidnap Aurora to deter Maleficent from retaliation.
He has spent months in raven-form, spying on the conspirators, trying to discover the scale of the plot and all those involved. He only left his post because he learnt of the intended ambush and had flown as fast as he could, first to the Moors for reinforcements, then to the site of the attack, in-time to protect Aurora.
He has given all the information he has down to the last useless detail to the Captain and hopes it will be enough to prevent further violence.
His relief at seeing Aurora safe quickly melted to horror as Phillip was shot from his horse and all Diaval could think was he'd been too slow, he should have warned them, it was his fault they weren't better prepared.
Mercifully, the Prince is fine. His armour protected him and only the force of the blow at close range caused him to tumble, knocking himself unconscious for a brief spell. Missing out on Maleficent's furious entrance, sending their assailants fleeing - none made it far.
Phillip made light of the close call but they are shaken. Even if his friend won't, Diaval blames himself, and he wonders if Aurora does too.
"I told you, the plot- "
"No!" Her voice trembles. "That's not what I mean!"
He opens his mouth but fails to scrounge a response. To his alarm, red blotches bloom across her cheeks. Not in the way they did when he brought her the wrong berries once upon a time, but the harbinger of something just as frightening.
"You said you'd always be there for me, Diaval! So where were you? Why did you leave?"
"I… Aurora…"
"I'm sorry! That wasn't fair. You were on an important mission."
She throws her face into her hand, muffling her sobs, and Diaval's rib cage folds in.
"Rora…" his hand hovers between them. "What…"
She jerks her hand from her face, revealing tearshot eyes. "Did I do something wrong? Was that why you left? You went so abruptly and were gone so long. I missed you so much. I didn't understand. Was it me? Was it my fault?"
"Your… your fault…?"
"I keep messing up. I keep hurting people! First with Maleficent, then Phillip. Now you!"
Her shoulders shudder as the words tumble out of her and his hands dart forward, trying to steady her.
"No, no, Aurora, you didn't do anything wrong, you didn't! I was just being a bird-brain. Don't worry!"
She shakes her head. "I don't understand."
"It's alright, it's alright," he shushes, brushing his knuckles along her hair. "I'm here. I won't go again."
"Diaval…" she hiccups, her breathing fast but becoming more controlled.
"I just needed time away. You didn't do anything wrong, I promise."
She steps out of his grip, wiping her tears with an adorable sniffle.
"Ugh, I'm a mess."
"You're beautiful."
She gives him a look worthy of Maleficent's daughter. A look that says: you're ridiculous - but with more warmth than the faerie would bestow.
"Not very queenly."
Who gives a cluck?
"Aurora…" he hesitates. Two months and he still doesn't have the words…
"I'm sorry about… that." She makes a motion as if to brush it aside, like it doesn't matter, like she doesn't matter. "It's been… it's been a trying day."
He gets the sense of a wall building between them and it terrifies him because Aurora never had walls before.
He has been gone too long. He never should have left.
"I don't even know why I'm crying. Phillip is the one who was shot - not that Phillip getting shot isn't something to cry about!"
"Aurora- "
"I'm sorry," she flashes a wobbly smile. "I won't react like this everytime you leave."
"I'm not leaving! I'm here."
He tries to close the distance but she retreats further into herself.
"I don't want to cage you…"
"It's not a cage. You're my home."
She chokes out a whimper. "But- but- this is what I mean! You've been watching over me for twenty-two years now! You deserve a life for yourself."
"I want a life with you." He steps forward, catching her hands in his. "Aurora, don't mistake me. Maleficent doesn't keep me here. I stay because of you, I want to be with you. I only left for so long because you were in danger and I was… scared."
"Scared?" A delicate crease splits her brow.
"Yes…" he smiles, breath shuddering. "You terrify me, Aurora."
She looks at him with eyes like the open sky. "That… that doesn't make any sense…"
He shrugs, bowing his head against hers.
"I'm not… I'm not scary…" Aurora mutters and he nearly chuckles except her next words send shards of ice into his gut. "I'm not… I was useless in battle today. I can't fight, I don't have any magic… I'm not… I'm not strong like Maleficent, or… or clever like Phillip… or resourceful like you. I'm not… I'm not good at things… I can sing and dance but in the end, all I am is a pretty face… more a pawn than a queen…"
"How can you say that?" He recoils, outraged.
"It's true, isn't it?"
"Aurora…" he cups her cheek. "None of us would be here if not for you. Your beauty is more than just your looks, it's your whole heart. I have seen much ugliness in the world, I used to think all humans cruel, but you, Aurora… you are kind… even in the face of terrible things, your kindness shines through."
She sniffs, blue eyes rippling and he combs his fingers through cornfield curls.
"It is because of your kindness Maleficent is healed and even smiles from time-to-time. The Moors are thriving, and we have peace with Ulstead and the Dark Fae. You inspired all that, that is your strength and why you are our queen. Because you are strong, and clever, and resourceful, but most importantly, you are kind and good… and…"
He takes a breath and releases the secret he has nested inside him all these years.
"And that is why… that is why I love you."
Her eyes widen. "You… love me?"
He nods, breath caught in his throat.
"Oh, but I mean… of course… I knew that… we're friends… family, even…" She fiddles with the leather of his sleeve, eyes flickering to his and down again. "I… I love you too."
His chest stutters. He could accept this and nothing would change, he could remain at her side, if he just stays silent.
But he is a raven, not a chicken, and he has been flying away too long.
"Aurora… do you remember I told you... raven's mate for life…?"
A soft inhale and she nods. He runs his thumb across her throat and feels her pulse quiver.
"Do you realise what you mean to me…?...That you are it for me… more than a friend… more than family… you are my one, my other half, my mate… I love you, Aurora."
She gasps, breath fluttering across his face. "You… you… really want me?"
"Through every sunrise and every sunset and all the moments in-between."
Her arms are around him, their noses knocking together.
Her voice shakes with laughter and tears. "I love you too, Diaval. Oh, I love you too. My pretty, pretty bird! The sweetest, funniest, bravest man and raven to exist. I love you."
He can't stop from puffing out his chest and then her lips are upon his and he always thought the human habit of pressing their mouths together for non-feeding purposes was a bit gross but with Aurora it's nice, more than nice…
In fact, he wouldn't mind kissing her for the rest of his life.
~x~
Phillip groans, slumping in his chair, as another report drops in front of him.
"Does nearly dying not earn me a reprieve from all this?"
Percival, the stone-cold bastard, doesn't bat an eyelid. "All this is because you nearly died. This is everything we've learned from Diaval's investigation and our own interrogations."
"And we're confident Oriens wasn't involved?"
"Nothing to indicate they were. The traitors were from our own ranks."
"Wonderful." Phillip drags a hand through his hair.
It is no comfort to know men he trusted tried to kill him. He can only hope they have discovered the extent of the treason.
Percival is gawping.
He frowns. "Percival?"
"Your… your soulmark!"
Phillip glances at his arm - sleeve still untied after his visit to the doctor, soulmark exposed.
"What about it?"
"It's gold."
"Has been for over a month now."
Maybe he should have asked the doctor.
"Over a month! And you didn't tell me?"
"Well…" He winces. With their respective duties keeping them busy and Phillip occupied with Borra, it slipped his mind.
Percival huffs. "If being your best friend isn't enough, don't you think as head of security I'd want to know you found your soulmate!"
"Uhh…"
"I mean congratulations but this has major implications! Who even are they?"
"I… don't know?"
"You don't know?" Percival utters, incredulous. "But your soulmark! It's gold!" Receiving no response he falters. "You don't… you don't know?"
Phillip arches his eyebrows.
"Right… I guess… um… I… I didn't either until Shrike told me." He touches where Phillip knows his soulmark hides, face going soft. "If… if your soulmate loves you… your mark… it turns gold."
Phillip's thoughts illuminate like lightning, forking in all different directions. One strikes faster than the others.
"Shrike… Shrike is your soulmate."
Percival lights up at the name and Phillip wonders how he missed his friend falling in love. The other man seems to forget all else as he gushes praise for his soulmate; oblivious, as Phillip's thoughts turn to another fae…
He thinks of calloused hands and knotted hair, of feathers beneath his fingers and a laugh rumbled against his throat… of rough kisses, soft kisses, kisses that make his toes curls… and that first kiss, diluted in a haze of drink, so much it seems like a dream… and when he woke his soulmark shone gold...
He thinks of a ragged cloth and the secret it conceals...
Thunder rolls in his ears.
There is a commotion outside.
Percival draws his sword before realising, the same time Phillip does, who has crashed onto the palace balcony.
"What's he doing here?"
"I'll handle this."
"But- "
Phillip steps outside, shutting the door on his friend, hoping the Captain doesn't stay to observe.
"PRINCE!" Borra seizes his shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I flew as fast as I could! I knew something was wrong, I could feel it!"
Phillip flexes his hands. "Like I said, I'm fine."
Borra checks him over, near feral with panic.
"I thought… it felt like… like when Gr-" he cuts off, lifting his gaze to Phillip's. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Phillip's defences creak. "Yes… I… I have been cleared by the doctor. There was an attack, but I am fine."
"What! An attack? Tell me everything!"
He sighs. "We were ambushed on our return from Oriens. Just a small skirmish. We came out victorious. I was a bit bruised but have been checked already. No cause for further fuss."
"Show me."
Phillip chokes. "You- ! You just want me out of my clothes."
Some of the tension drains from Borra, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Always. Yes. But that's not why… I need to see… I need to be sure you're okay."
Phillip stokes his waning fury. "If we're removing clothes let's start with this."
He clasps Borra's right forearm, his wrapping coarse beneath his touch. The warrior stiffens, jerking his arm, but Phillip's grip is iron.
"Wh-what are you… what…"
"Tell me the truth, are we soulmates?"
Borra's eyes bulge, voice strained as if the air has been robbed from his lungs. "Phillip… what…?
"I know you've seen my mark, but if it helps, I can refresh your memory."
He releases the fae, hand trembling as he rolls his sleeve to reveal the golden mark.
"Look familiar? I notice your wrapping covers the same place. You never take it off."
Borra is pale, jaw locked.
"It's true, isn't it?" Phillip searches his face. "We're soulmates?"
"Prince…" he starts then swallows.
It is not a denial.
Phillip inhales, shoulders braced. "How long have you known?" He notes how Borra's expression flickers and huffs. "A long time then."
Borra offers nothing and Phillip glances to the side to compose himself before looking back.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
With each second of silence, Phillip wonders why he is bothering and considers returning inside.
Then, "When we met, you had your sword to my throat and your sleeve was torn. I saw your mark then and I knew."
Phillip absorbs this, implications rattling through his chest. All this time. Borra has known they were soulmates all this time. Since the massacre, when Phillip was just another untrustworthy human. Borra had watched his kin slaughtered, then discovered he was bound to their killer's son. He must have hated him.
Something unpleasant coils within his stomach and he clutches his arm to his chest. "I see."
He understands why Borra didn't say anything in the beginning but then… what about when they became friends… lovers…?
Clarity hits like a shot through the heart and this time there is no armour to protect him.
"Shit." He sways back a step.
"Phillip?" Borra looks at him with aching concern.
The blood trickles from Phillip's face. "You don't want this."
"Want what?"
"This!" He gestures between them. "Our bond! Me for a soulmate."
Borra's eyes flash. "Idiot! Haven't I made it clear how much I want you?"
"That's not… that's just sex. It's not… it's not… this!" He gestures to his soulmark. "It's not… true love."
He flushes as the words leave his mouth, feeling ridiculous.
"It's a joke."
Phillip recoils.
"No! Wait! I didn't mean- it's just…" Borra tears at his hair. "You're a prince, Phillip! A human prince! You're meant to rule one day and I'm a brute from the wastes with more issues than sense. Why would fate bind us if not as a joke?"
"You too, huh?" Phillip laughs, bitterly. "All anyone sees is the crown. Whether they want me or not, it's because of the crown."
"Phillip…"
He throws up his arms. "Aren't I more than that? Don't I get to be more than that!"
"You are more! So much more!" Borra rushes. "You're clever and witty. You're patient and kind. You- you care so much - about those different and less fortunate. You work yourself to exhaustion, giving up parts of yourself so others might have a better life."
He steps forward, eyes like candlelight, heat dancing across Phillip's skin.
"You're stupidly brave. You confronted an enemy fae in the midst of battle and offered peace! I thought humans a plague and peace impossible, yet here I am, in love with one, and all because of you and your courage and your good-heart! Phillip, you are worth a thousand crowns and you deserve far better than me."
He speaks with such conviction. Phillip considers him.
"To be clear… you do love me and don't object to us being soulmates…? It's just you don't think you're worthy of me or something stupid like that?"
Borra frowns. "I'm not worthy of you."
"Tough! I say you are and as the future king my word goes!"
"That's not- mmfff!"
He shuts him up with a kiss. Almost. The fae grumbles at first, but is soon persuaded by Phillip's silver-tongue.
"Spirits, you're going to be insufferable as king."
Phillip nips his lips. "And you'll still be the stubborn brute I love and adore."
Borra's hands tighten on his waist. "Do you…? Love me?"
Phillip brushes the wrap which started their fight. "See for yourself."
Borra hesitates, staring at him a beat longer, then he un-bandages his arm. Phillip's breath catches as he sees his soulmark mirrored on his lover's skin.
He trails his fingers over shimmering gold. "It matches your eyes."
Borra drags him into another kiss, long and deep - so it feels as if their bodies turn inside out and their souls become one.
For the first time, neither of them holds anything back.
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
~x~
Phillip has to tell his father after Borra's comings and goings are mistaken for another attempt on his life.
King John reacts with his usual zeal, hauling his son into a hug.
"You soulmate, the leader of the Dark Fae! This is wonderful, my lad! Absolutely wonderful!"
Phillip sighs, warmed by his father's easy - if over-enthusiastic - acceptance.
"You know, I love him too. It's not about politics."
"And I'm happy for you, son. Truly. But it certainly helps." He claps his hands, delighted. "Our son has found his soulmate, isn't this wonderful, dear?"
Ingrith bleats venomously, straining at her collar.
Phillip eyes the chain, warily. "Are we going to change her back?"
"I don't think that's necessary." The King pats his shoulder. "Now, when can Borra visit for dinner?"
~x~
Maleficent's reaction to Diaval and Aurora's union isn't nearly as energetic as Phillip's father, but she does handle the news better than anyone expected, only expelling a single heavy sigh.
"I knew this would happen sooner or later."
Aurora and Diaval glance at each other.
"You're… you're not…" - mad - "...surprised?"
"You were going to figure out you're soulmates eventually."
"Wait, we're soulmates?!"
Maleficent goes an odd shade of prune. "YES!"
~x~
Aurora lies with Diaval in the long dew grass, the stars glittering above them, and traces his soulmark, twin to her own - both resplendent in gold.
"I can't believe we never noticed we were soulmates…"
"Not sure about marks or destiny, but I've known I love you for a long time…" he drags his fingers down her spine coaxing a shiver. "...I knew there would never be anyone else."
"Why… why did you never say anything? Not even when Phillip…"
"I thought you wanted the Prince. You seemed happy, and I didn't think you'd ever look at me… your old raven pal… I can't offer you what he can…"
"Diaval… I am most myself when I am with you… you make me happier than anyone. I love you."
Her lips brush his and he gazes at her with eyes as infinite as the night sky. "Aurora…"
Their silhouettes meld together until they no longer appear separate beings but one soul, reunited.
~x~
Maleficent tilts her head up to the moonlight.
"And so, true love conquers all."
Warmth blossoms through her, like a hand pressed between her shoulder blades, and she smiles.
"May they live happily ever after."