"SURPRISE!"
The house was suddenly filled with light from various candles placed inside the house. Rose couldn't even register on how so many candles were lighted at the same time, she was much too caught up in the sight that greeted her eyes.
The whole cottage was decorated with streamers and balloons (where did her aunts get those?), candles illuminated the whole house, there was a huge cake on their dining table, but what really caught her eye was the blue ball gown that was floating next to the dining table.
Rose was speechless. Her mouth fell open as soon as the lights came out but it seemed as though her brain had forgotten on how to speak. She stayed completely still, taking everything in, for a few moments before remembering to close her mouth then she shook her head and blinked a couple of times checking if what she was seeing was real. When the dress and the décor were still there, she finally tried to talk.
"What-?" but that was the only thing she was able to say. Rose didn't even know what to ask.
"Surprised, dear?" Aunt Merriweather asked, amused at Rose's dumbfounded expression. Her three aunts came closer to her to give her a hug.
"What is going on?" Rose asked in a small voice, blinking several times still not grasping the sight in front of her.
"Don't you remember dear?" Aunt Fauna asked "It's your sixteenth birthday!"
"It is?" Rose asked, still dumbfounded. She looked at the calendar that was hung up on the wall and there it was, encircled in red, it was her birthday. Normally, she'd be excited for her birthday but spending time with Killian made her forget all about it. Had she really only met him two days ago?
"Of course it is, don't be silly child" Aunt Merriweather told her as she grabbed Rose's arm and sat her down at their dining table where the gigantic cake full of candles stood making Rose feel as though she were unnaturally small.
Rose remained flabbergasted; did she really not see this coming? She racked her brain for any signs that she may have seen leading up to this. Surely she saw the extra eggs or bags of flour in the kitchen? Or maybe the roll of blue cloth used to make the dress? The dress looked as though it was made of fine silk, she couldn't have possibly have missed that.
But after all of the questions that was running through her brain the most important one would be, When did her aunts learn how to cook?
"Now why don't we start by you blowing off your candles?" Aunt Fauna told the group, motioning to Aunt Flora to also join their group by the dining table.
Aunt Merriweather motioned for Rose to stand up "Now dear, don't forget to make a wish!" she giggled.
Rose doesn't particularly remember how she was able to blow out the candles on her cake but somehow she was able to do it for the next thing she knew was her aunts cheering and starting to pass around plates, knives and forks.
No, wait a minute; Rose noticed that something wasn't quite right. The plates and the cutlery weren't being passed around; they were floating into their place at the table. Rose stepped backward in her surprise, knocking her chair over in the process. Her three aunts turned to face her.
"Is anything wrong dear?" Aunt Fauna, her smile faltering once she's clearly seen the look on Rose's face.
"H-how are you doing that?" Rose asks as she gestures towards the plates and things.
Plates, knives and forks immediately fall in a haphazard fashion onto the table. Even the glorious blue dress lands in a pile of silk on the floor.
"Doing what dear?" Aunt Merriweather asks, her face nonchalant
"That-That thing with the plates and the knives. . ." Rose stammered, gesturing wildly. Her aunts exchanged a worried look.
"We're not doing anything dear." Aunt Flora said in a calming voice.
"B-b-but even the dress! I could've sworn that it was floating a moment ago!" Rose insisted.
"Now, now dear I'm sure that it's just your nerves getting to you after your surprise." Aunt Flora said while she and Aunt Fauna came toward Rose and sat her back down at the table. Her three aunts now carefully sorted out the cutlery, and Aunt Merriweather began to slice the cake.
Rose sat at her place, still disbelieving. There was no mistaking what she saw. She decided to try another line of questioning for her aunts.
"When did you learn how to bake?" Rose asked as Aunt Merriweather put a slice of cake on a plate and put it in front of her.
"Oh, you know, we found a recipe book" Aunt Fauna replied with a nervous laugh "it's really not that hard to be honest."
Rose didn't believe a single word that she said, there was something that her aunts weren't telling her and though she wanted to know what it was she decided to let it go for the moment. Her aunts were persistent in giving her a party for her sixteenth birthday.
After the initial surprise, Rose decided that it is still a wonderful surprise. Despite her confusion on how exactly her aunts were able to pull their surprise, Rose saw that they still put a lot of effort into giving her a wonderful birthday party and she thought that that was very sweet of them.
In their happiness, her aunts even let her drink some wine and allowed her to stay up later than usual which Rose accepted happily. With Killian's promise and her aunt's surprise, Rose really felt like celebrating.
Now, the four of them were just lounging around, laughing, sharing stories with each other and just plain old enjoying themselves.
"And the pie fell right on top of her head!" Aunt Merriweather chimed, finishing one of her silly tales. The group burst out into laughter with Rose letting out a few giggles, "oh I love that story." Fauna commented wiping tears out of her eyes.
"Are you tired Rose?" Aunt Flora asked her niece, turning to face her "you've been quiet for the whole evening. Where has your mind wandered off to?"
"It's nothing Aunt Flora, nothing to be worried about." Rose hesitated, her aunts may not have warned her against the opposite sex but she didn't think that telling them about Killian would be the best idea.
"Oh come of it now dear, tell us!" Aunt Merriweather cheered
"Now now, she doesn't have to tell us anything if she doesn't want to." Aunt Flora chastised her sister
Aunt Fauna reached over to Rose and held her hand "But you do remember that you can tell us anything, right dear?" she told Rose with a prodding look
Rose wasn't sure if it was because of the wine she's had (along with the fact that this is her first time to drink wine) or if it was the expressions on her aunts faces that were so obvious that they wanted her to tell them, but at that moment she decided that no harm could possibly come out of telling her aunts about Killian.
"Well . . ." She started, but then she realized that she didn't know how to begin after all it's not every day that you tell your aunts about a handsome man you meet in the forest. Rose cleared her throat, collecting her thoughts together and when she looked up she saw three eager faces staring back at her.
She sighed and began "Yesterday, I was in the forest gathering berries for us and. . ." she broke off, suddenly feeling shy.
"And what, dear?" Aunt Merriweather asked her, trying hard to suppress her frustration "was there a strange animal in the forest? Did it hurt you?"
"No, no not like that. Nothing like that at all." Rose replied to her aunt
"Well then what is it?" Her youngest aunt pressed
"I was in the forest and I met someone." There, Rose finally said it. She looked around the table at her aunts and tried to read their expressions but for the first time, she couldn't read any emotion on their faces.
"Who was it, dear?" Aunt Flora asked, her voice soft and cautious "Was it a hunter? Or a gypsy?"
"No, it wasn't" Rose began to explain "it was just a man and he was just taking a walk and he happened to pass by the clearing that I was in."
"What did he look like?" Aunt Fauna asked her gently
"Oh, well, he was tall, with dark brown hair and a light beard and moustache growing on his face" Rose's thoughts began to float back to Killian and her eyes began to have that dreamy look in them as she continued to describe him "He's not fat but not too built either, just right and his eyes are this complicated sometimes-grey-sometimes-green color, and when you hear him talk he has a deep voice with an accent that you surely won't tire listening to."
"Oh dear" Aunt Flora whispered as she looked towards her sisters and Rose grew silent, now lost in her thoughts "this doesn't sound too good."
"And what is he like?" Aunt Fauna prodded, even gentler than before
Rose snapped from her reverie and turned to face her aunt, "He's wonderful!" She exclaimed "He's a sailor and he's been to different places from all over and having the most amazing adventures. He's charming, brave and is very well-mannered I assure you."
"You knew all this about him in one afternoon?" Aunt Flora asked her niece with a note of skepticism in her voice.
"No, actually" Rose mumbled dropping her gaze to her hands on her lap "I saw him again today when you asked me to go out of the cottage."
Silence fell upon the four of them; Rose lifted her gaze towards her aunts and was surprised to find their shocked faces staring back at her. She didn't know what to say in the situation, and she desperately wished that her aunts would say something, anything at all other than this mounting silence.
Then after a few moments her aunts erupted with questions and statements all directed at her. All three of her aunts were talking loudly and gesturing wildly with her hands that Rose pushed her chair back a little. She was looking from one aunt to another not being able to make sense of what they were trying to tell her.
"All day?"
"With someone? A man?"
"You just met!"
"Sailor? What do you mean sailor?"
"Haven't we told you enough about strangers, Rose?"
"You just met him and you act like you're in love with him!"
A deafening silence fell upon all of them at that statement. In love with him? Rose thought to herself, her face putting on a puzzled expression I don't think I'm in love with him? I admit I don't know much about him, but his eyes though. And she was once again lost in her thoughts
Aunt Merriweather stood up from her seat and went over to Rose. She took her niece's hands into her own and asked "You're not in love with him, are you?"
All three of her aunts held their breaths for her reply.
"I . . ." Rose stammered nervously "I don't think so?"
Her aunts exhaled and Aunt Merriweather moved back towards her sisters. The three of them put their heads together and whispered wildly. Rose stood and slowly walked towards her aunts. "Is something wrong?" She nervously asked them.
Aunt Flora turned around to face her "Well, there's no simpler way to say this dear, but" Her aunt told her in a dictating, serious voice that she's never heard from her before "You can't ever see him again."
"What?" Rose exclaimed, stepping back from her aunts "why?"
"Because it's not safe, dear" Aunt Fauna told her as gently as she could, coming towards her niece and rubbing her hand on her back "You can't be sure he's not lying to you, and you don't know what dangers strange men bring to young women."
"But he's not strange!" Rose felt the need to defend Killian "And he can't be lying to me. . . I . . . I see it in his eyes."
"Be that as it may, child" Aunt Flora commanded, Rose hated it when her aunts called her "child" it made her feel stupid, "You can't see him again, it's too dangerous."
"And you're not telling me why?" Rose tried again
"Now, now, dear" This time it was Aunt Merriweather, we've already told you why "We're only doing this because we love you and you listen to us, we know what's best for you. Come with me now, dear, it's late we should all be getting to bed."
Rose looked at each of her aunts, her eyes pleading with them, but Aunt Fauna wasn't looking at her, Aunt Flora was looking at her with steely determination and Aunt Merriweather was pulling her along. At this, Rose knew that there was no more pleading with her aunts and that she was defeated on the matter.
As soon as she was in her room, Rose plopped herself down onto her bed and tears began to fall onto her face. She knew that there was still a big chance that her Aunts were outside so she hugged her pillow to silence her cries.
All three of her aunts were gathered just outside her door and even though she tried to block her tears with her pillow, they could still hear her crying.
"Oooohhh, I don't like this one bit." Aunt Fauna muttered, frustrated.
"But it's what's best for her; she doesn't need a strange man in her life now. After all, she's only sixteen!" Aunt Flora whispered back to her sister.
"I think she deserves to know why she can't see him again" Aunt Merriweather tried to reason out
"We've already told her why" was the reply given by Aunt Flora
"No, I mean the real reason" Aunt Merriweather whispered, exasperated at the whole situation "The reason for everything in her life."
"Yes, maybe we could tell her that" Aunt Fauna agreed with her younger sister "then maybe she'll come to a better understanding and won't be sad about it as much."
"No, she's not ready" was the reply of their eldest sister.
"But. . ." Merriweather tried once again to reason with her sister
"My answer is no" Flora insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. "And that is final. She's only sixteen and I think that we owe it to her to give her one more year of peace before she can think about worrisome things." And with that she began to walk to her own room.
Fauna and Merriweather looked at each other let out a defeated sigh. Not knowing what else they can do, they followed their sister and decided to go to sleep. Maybe things will be better in the morning.
Sunlight was passing through Rose's curtains and fell on her face, the sudden warmth jarred her awake. She blinked before realizing that she fell asleep. Rose stretched out and tried to get the knots out of her back, she discovered that she didn't change her position at all last night and her body was sore. She stood and walked over to her window, Rose realized that it was only dawn. She seemed to always wake up early.
Rose realized with a start that she was supposed to meet Killian and see his ship today. But her excitement soon died down when she remembered that her aunts have banned her from seeing him ever again.
But no matter, Rose had to see him, even if she wouldn't be able to go into the ship; she had to at least tell him goodbye and she needs to come up with a good reason lest he thinks that her aunts think that he's awful (which they probably do, but he can't know that). She can't just disappear, that would be rude.
Rose walked over to her bedroom door and turned the knob. To her surprise, she found that it was locked. They locked me in Rose thought Do they want me not to meet him so badly? She turned and looked around her room. I need to get out of here she thought to herself as she desperately tried to think of a plan.
A/N: Hey guys, so a lot of you may have already given up on this fic, and I have to be honest, for a while I thought that I was going to also. So many things happened since I last updated (for one I'm no longer in Russia, but back home) and at the time I couldn't really see where I wanted to take the story.
But don't worry (should you choose to come back and stick around) with the recent developments in the story of OUAT, and how the mid-season finale went down, I don't think that it would be right if I just abandoned this story. After all, it seems like we'll only have Hook and Aurora together in our fics and fanart. So with that said, I'm not abandoning this story, but please do bear with me as I'm not the fastest writer around (I'm currently also doubling as a college junior while being a member of a huge organization. Also as of the moment I do not have a beta so I check and recheck everything mysel.) So I hope that you stick around.
xx,
willbendforhonor