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Chapter 2
Refuge

The trees in the Moors' forest shone with the sun rising over them. Birds were chirping, deer were trekking, and critters were frolicking in the trees. Flowers in the meadows bloomed as sunshine bathed them, and the trees blew peacefully by the calm breeze. A polar contrast to the wreckage of the city on the other side of the forest.

Aurora fluttered her eyes open from her slumber and then sat up on her bed. She glanced around to see where she currently was. The princess recognized the walls surrounding her, her vanity table which still had her old cosmetic knick-knacks, and her old bed. She spotted Phillip sleeping against the wall by the window only in his tunic; with his armor beside him, which was smeared with char and soot. She could see the dirt, scratches, and mild burns on his skin.

She remembered what had occurred in Garderienne that one night. The flames, the vines, the… creatures that surrounded them. Aurora remembered her glance at the gargantuan dragon that flew over the city, breathing black flames all over while she and her prince were escaping the castle. She couldn't imagine such chaos to occur in her kingdom, all the people and their homes incinerated into black. Such swift and violent destruction was unfathomable...

And she couldn't do anything about it.

Aurora lifted her right hand to wipe the little tears that were lingering in her eye-sockets. It unexpectedly hurt, like something hard and dull hit her face. She studied her hand only to see that not all of her fingers were moving at her will. Parts of her glove were grayer with barely visible cracks, it looked like it was on the brink of crumbling. The princess took off her glove, it flaked. What she saw made her shudder.

A portion of her hand had been turned to stone.

Both her ring and little finger were now stone. From the view of her palm, there was a line, from in between her ring and middle finger to the left side of her wrist, that separated what was now stone and what was still flesh.

"Your hand..." her prince exclaimed, stopping her observation.

Phillip was still in his sitting position by the window, looking at Aurora, his posture still tired. He had just woken up.

"Everything is gone, isn't it?" she asked, still contemplating her hand.

The knight just lowered his head, hesitant to answer, wary of his princess' emotions.

"Everything is gone! Isn't it?!" Aurora emphasized, as she turned her head to her prince. Her teeth slightly gritted.

"Yes, your highness. Everything, destroyed. Everyone, dead. That wasn't like anything I could imagine that witch could do. Garderienne is gone."

"And now only you and I are what's left. There I thought nothing could go wrong. We were living our happy lives, with friendly subjects, amazing food, and pretty dresses. I was surrounded by the people that I love, Mother, Father, and everyone else. I was ready to learn to rule this kingdom, to rule with a loving embrace. I was hoping to never see darkness like Maleficent's again," the princess expressed, trembling more and more with every word she spoke. "Now she returns and everything's gone!"

Aurora wept in her good hand after the outburst. The tragedy of her kingdom's fall had been overwhelming. Tears dampened her glove, soaking through to her skin.

Her life had been better within Garderienne's walls after Maleficent's curse on her was lifted. She had been lucky to be a child of monarchs who ruled with hearts of gold, unlike other rulers she had read about in historical texts. As she lived within the capital, she had learnt that it thrived in culture and progress. The people were happy, and they had accepted the newly found princess with open hearts. This kingdom had quickly become her second home, and it had been for the latter two years of her life. And Aurora was determined to rule the same way as to how her parents had. That determination had pushed her to learn how to be a ruling monarch, under the wings of her mother and father.

Those endeavors were all for naught… and she could not do anything about it.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the shifting of the bed, Phillip had sat on its edge, a look of sympathy drawn on his face. In swift motion, the princess hung her arm around the prince's shoulders. She continued to sob on his forearm.

It hurt Phillip seeing his beloved like this. He could only provide such little comfort for such tragedy. He hated the fact that he, too, was feeling this helpless. He, too, had lost friends and family in the attack. Garderienne was also his home.

Garderienne had been Phillip's new home since he was a young squire, at the age of eight. He grew up within its walls as the one promised to its princess. He hadn't expected to be welcomed by its residents. It was common knowledge that he was the prince promised to their princess, but he couldn't fathom the fact that they loved their ruling monarchs so much to trust and welcome the succeeding heir's betrothed. They didn't treat him like royalty, but he was respected as a fellow Garderian. As he had been growing up in Garderienne, he had made friends that were more like family to him than back in his old home. Friends from the elite, to the armed officers, to the simple shopkeep.

They were all gone now… and he couldn't do anything about it.

Aurora whimpered on the knight's chest. Tears gushed from her eyes in a constant flow. Phillip could only do nothing but hold her in his arms, and provide what little comfort he could.

Phillip and Aurora were in each other's arms for what it seemed like hours. They had lots of things to mourn for, years of good memories to reminisce. They couldn't go past the fact that everything they held dear was taken away overnight. The lovers sought what little consolation the other had to offer, for they only had each other at the moment. There was no need for exchanging words of comfort, only intimacy and silence. And time to close the fresh gaping wounds in their hearts.

The couple's bodies had gone numb after being on each other's arms for so long. The tears and snot that had soaked Phillip's tunic had already dried out. All tears had wrung out of Aurora's eyes.

"What are we going to do now?" the princess asked, breaking the intimate silence.

"I don't know what's going to happen. But right now, we will wait for your godmothers."

The princess pulled from her prince's arms at a sudden realization, now in a sitting position. "My godmothers…" Aurora had been so caught up with the chaos of the invasion that she forgot about them. If there was a silver lining from the recent tragedy of her kingdom's fall, it was that the people who were in most of her life, those who mattered to her the most were still safe and unscathed… At least she prayed that was the case. "Where are they?" she asked.

"They're not here, sadly," Phillip answered, now standing up, putting on his armor, preparing for a hunt: they needed to eat. "They weren't here when we arrived last night. But I am confident they will come soon," he added with a comforting smile on his face at the last sentence, wishing it would give her, at least, a little glint of hope from the recent tragedy.

The couple had to live like ordinary people outside the kingdom walls. But despite their status of royalty and nobility, they were not new to this lifestyle. They knew how to fend for themselves, they were not reliant on servants. They had respective responsibilities to survive this domestic refuge. Phillip hunted for food, and did the more laborious tasks. Whilst Aurora fended for the house, sometimes foraging within the vicinity of the cottage.

Aurora had lived most of her life like this. She was raised like a normal peasant girl by her godmothers, to conceal her identity. She was taught typical housework: cooking, cleaning, foraging, sewing. Though she was not excellent with cooking, it was at least good enough for the food she made to be edible. Cleaning, she found tedious. She might not like doing it, but it had to be done. She liked foraging because it was a chance to get out of the house for a long time. It was also the chore that made her (properly) meet her beloved. Sewing was her favorite activity, it was practically time spent bonding with her godmothers, which she treated like her actual mothers. This was when she would see the banters and antics of her godmothers. It was a simpler time.

Even though Phillip's early life wasn't as humble as his lover's, his experience prepared him for this situation. As a toddler, he had dreamt for an adventurous life, a life of a brave knight swinging swords to enemies, defending the kingdom. He had played swords with servants and servants' kids, much to his father's disapproval. When he was tasked to squire for the kingdom of his promised, he was excited to finally live a knight's life. Even though, he didn't like the fact it was only for the sake of his engagement. His squirehood was the most exhausting time of his life. Lots of training, exploring, studying, and more training. His superiors didn't care if he was royalty. The boy wanted to be a knight, so they trained him to be a proper knight. They taught him combat, survival, and hunting. He liked hunting. It was the closest thing to the action he wanted in knighthood. Whether it was chasing deer or fighting bears, it induced his adrenaline. It was also hunting that made him meet the woman he truly loved. Safe to say, he wouldn't exchange his life as an exhausted knight for a life as a pampered prince.

For each passing day, they had grown more and more habituated to the simpler living condition they were in, even if they were just seeking refuge. It brought them back to the simpler days before their royal lives took place. It was calming. They needed the calm after the pain Maleficent had caused.

Twelve days passed since Aurora and her prince took refuge in her godmother's cottage. Twelve days since Garderienne's fall. It was early afternoon of an otherwise mundane day. They had been done with the necessary tasks for the day, food had been gathered and prepared to last them the night. The princess had now been keeping busy with sewing, struggling given her damaged hand, while the prince watched. This was how they passed their time when they couldn't think of what to do.

Just outside, three glimmering little balls of light were quickly approaching; one red, one green, one blue. Once the lights reached the door, they morphed into elder women clad in robes of their respective colors. They were arguing on whose dress would be the most beautiful once they were all done. The fairies couldn't be bothered to open the door right in front of them. Their arguments were so heated and loud that it could be heard yards away… And inside the cottage.

Aurora punctured herself as she heard her godmother's voices. With the little surprise that she felt, it suddenly became overwhelmed by the uneasiness of telling them the grim news. Her hand trembled, dropped what she had been working on, then hasted to the living area. Phillip, hearing the same voices, followed suit.

The couple anticipated the opening of the door, trying to collect which words to say. With the squeak of the door hinges, their efforts had gone wasted. Aurora's body trembled further. The prince caught a glimpse of the princess' body language, beginning to be wary of her emotions again.

"And when we get back to sewing, I'll show you how it's do-!" a boastful declaration from Flora, the woman clad in red, cut short by the sight of her godchild.

"Aurora," the other godmothers uttered, surprised to see her. "What a pleasant surprise," added Merryweather, clad in blue.

"What brings you here, my child?" asked the red godmother.

Aurora, now overwhelmed with returning emotions from the invasion, ran towards Flora, and embraced her tightly. She bawled on her godmother's bosom.

The elderly fairies were now wearing worried faces. Flora faced Phillip who had been standing on the sideline with forbearance, she knew that was a facade. "What happened?"

"Maleficent has returned… Garderienne has fallen..." Phillip answered, with a subtle crack in his voice.

Horrified expressions now painted on the fairies' faces. It had already begun, and Garderienne was the first to fall...

Author's Notes:

I have added a bit to what was canon when it came to Aurora and Phillip's past to give them character. I just hope it did them service.

Feedback welcome.