Author's Note: And, welcome back to the latest chapter of I Just Wonder! Thank you again for your patience. I started writing this chapter and then Hurricane Helene happened. I hope everyone stayed safe during the storm, I sure did. After it passed, I finished writing the rest of this new chapter.
Thank you to retro mania and Crimson Commander688 for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted solely belong to Disney. Some OCs belong to retro mania and some OCs belong to me.
Happy reading!
Chapter 19
The very next morning, Jack and Annie arrived at Circus, Circus. Jack had managed to get a decent night's sleep. After pondering over everything the fairies said to him, he made up in his mind to apologize to Aurora and her aunts and let them return to their home along with Aurora's prince. A deal is a deal, after all and they were willing to stay for one day yesterday.
The siblings entered the building and made their way to the lobby and the Carnival Midway. They found Aurora with Fauna, Merryweather, Oswald and the circus troupe. They're all singing "Happy Birthday" to Aurora. She's wearing an off-the-shoulder, pink floral dress and pink shoes. Her long, golden locks are styled into intricate curls. Aurora blows out the candles and everyone applauds.
"Good morning," Jack addressed the group.
"Good morning, Jack. Good morning, Annie." Oswald and the troupe respond.
"Good morning," Annie said. She goes over to Aurora and hugs her.
Jack approaches Aurora.
"Nice dress," He said.
"Thank you," Aurora replied. "Aunt Flora made it for me."
"Aurora, about last night, I…" Before Jack could finish his sentence, he's interrupted by the sound of Philip's voice.
"It is I, Prince Philip of Auradon, here to rescue my lovely bride; the fair Princess Aurora of Auradon!"
"See? We told you." Fauna said to Jack.
"Oh my, oh my. He's here!" Aurora gasped, wide eyed.
"Apparently," Jack said, a part of him dismayed. The fairies were right all along, Philip did come for Aurora after all.
"Oh my. Oh my goodness," Aurora said, feeling very nervous. "How do I look?" She asks Jack.
"Slightly stunned." Jack answered.
"No. I mean, how do I look?" Aurora insists.
"You look…beautiful." Jack said genuine, taking in Aurora's beauty and elegance.
Aurora smiles.
Philip, who is escorted by Flora sees Aurora and gasps, elated that he finally found his betrothed.
"Princess Aurora!" He shouts, joyful.
Aurora turns around and puts on a smile.
"Prince Philip!" The sixteen-year-old runs over to Philip, who picks her up and spins her around. Aurora laughs and whoops; squealing with delight. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather watch the reunion, smiling. Even Annie, Oswald and the performers look on; happy for Aurora.
Jack rolls his eyes, sighing inwardly. He goes over to the couple.
"Could you, I'm sorry…" Jack tries to get Philip's attention, but the prince is so engrossed in his joyous moment with Aurora, he doesn't notice Jack.
"But could you just be…could you, could you just be careful?" Jack speaks up a bit louder.
Philip puts Aurora down and he faces Jack.
"You!" Philip exclaimed angrily. He pulls out his sword.
"What?" Seeing the sword, Jack is startled.
"You're the one who's been holding my Aurora captive." Philip accuses the seventeen-year-old, recognizing him from the magic mirror last night.
"No!" Aurora exclaimed.
"Philip, please!" Flora protested.
"Just, just…let's stay calm." Jack stammered, scurrying to a corner.
"No!" Aurora tries to calm Philip.
"Have you any last words before I dispatch you?" Philip asked, pointing his sword at Jack.
"You have got to be kidding me." Jack said in disbelief, clearly thinking that Philip is a lunatic.
"Strange words," Philip remarks, frowning. He's about to finish off Jack until Aurora stops him.
"No!" Aurora shouts. She runs over to them, the fairies follow her.
"No!" The blonde managed to prevent Philip from hurting Jack, who's shielding himself.
"These are my friends," Aurora clarifies.
"Please, Philip. Do put away your sword," said Fauna.
"They've done nothing to us," Merryweather adds.
"Oh," Philip puts away his sword.
"This is Annie and Jack, Oswald, Holly, Jacinda, Tami, Seymour, Bruce, Peggy, JoJo, Jon, Drake and Puck." Aurora pulls a wide-eyed Annie over and Jack holds her close to him. The whole circus group who watched the whole scene transpire, were alarmed as well but calmed down.
"This is Philip,"
Philip launches into song mode.
"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream." He sings.
"He sings too," Jack said, with a slight hint of jealousy.
"Yes and please don't laugh." Flora said to Jack.
"I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam." Philip continues to sing, taking Aurora's hands, before spinning about.
"And I know it's true that
Visions are seldom all they see,"
Annie looks amused by Philip's antics.
"Aurora's quite a lucky girl. Not only Philip is a great singer, he's quite dreamy." Holly comments to Jacinda and Tami.
"I'll say," Jacinta agrees, while Tami nods. Oswald and the others look rather impressed and amused.
"But if I know you,
I know what you'll do…
You'll love me at once…
The way you did…" Philip's voice trails off, expecting Aurora to join him in song but Aurora doesn't say anything.
"The way you did…" Philip repeated.
Aurora just stood there, looking confused.
"Once upon a dream," Philip sings quietly, reminding Aurora.
"What's wrong?" Aurora asked, seeing the look on Philip's face.
"You're not singing," Philip pointed out, whispering.
"Oh, I'm not." Aurora said, as realization hit her.
The three fairies looked concerned for the young princess.
"Rose, what's the matter, dear?" Flora asked.
"Well, I'm sorry," Aurora apologized. "I was thinking,"
"Thinking?" Philip asked, puzzled. Thinking is not common in Auradon.
"Before we leave, there's one thing I would love to do." Aurora requested.
"Oh, name it my love and it is done," Philip replied, kneeling and taking Aurora's hands in his hands. He's open to whatever it is that Aurora wants.
"I want to go on a date," said Aurora.
"A date!" Philip exclaims happily. He then wears a look of confusion.
"What's a date?" The prince asks, confused.
Annie looked dumbfounded; while Holly, Jacinda, Tami and the clown performers giggle.
"Well…" Aurora looks at Jack, who nods his head at her. The fairies take notice of this.
"We go out to dinner and we talk about ourselves," Aurora explained, rephrasing what Jack told her yesterday. "Our likes and our dislikes, our interests. A date,"
"Uh, Rose. A word?" Flora suggests. "Excuse us, Philip."
The red fairy began to lead Aurora away to an area that's private. She beckons for Fauna and Merryweather to follow. As they walk towards Flora, Merryweather gives Jack a death glare and Jack silently gulps.
Once the quartet were in a secluded area, Flora addresses Aurora.
"Rose, what has gotten into you?" She asked. "We talked about this. You and Philip will have all the time to go on a date in Auradon."
"I understand. But I need to know if Philip is right for me or not." Aurora insists.
"Is that why you suggested a date?" Fauna inquired.
"Yes," Aurora answered.
"This is Jack's fault," Merryweather groaned. "We should have been in the room with Aurora when he opened his mouth and suggested that she'd stay. That way, we'd stop him."
"But we didn't expect for it to happen," Fauna points out.
"Please, Jack means well. Besides, we can show Philip all the sights, that could be a little outing." Aurora offered.
Fauna and Merryweather seem to consider the idea.
"What do you think, Flora?" The green fairy asks the leader.
Flora hesitates for a moment, before responding.
"All right, we'll do it."
A few moments later…
After Aurora announced to the group that she'll be leaving with her aunts and Philip, everyone went outside to see Aurora off.
Meanwhile, Philip stood off to the side. He unsheathed his sword and looked at his reflection, checking his teeth.
"And remember that you guys can come and visit Auradon, anytime." Aurora advised. "I'm sure my mother and father will be glad to have you all. I'm also positive they'll let me perform with you."
"Sure," Part of Jack doubted that Aurora's parents will let their own daughter perform with a circus troupe.
"And if you ever come to town, we should all get together for dinner." Jack offered, even glancing over at Philip in the process.
"That would be lovely," Aurora commented.
Jack pauses, before resuming.
"I'm sorry for the things I said last night about Philip not coming." He apologized. "You should be free to be with your parents and your true love."
"I forgive you Jack," said Aurora.
The seventeen-year-old turns to Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.
"Please forgive me for my behavior last night. That wasn't for me to dictate what Aurora should or should not do. You were willing to stay for one day only, and I thank you for it." He said.
"You're welcome, my boy." Flora said.
"And remember what we taught you." Merryweather added.
Aurora began to say her goodbyes to the troupe, starting with Oswald.
"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'm thankful you allowed me to stay for the night and gave me a second chance." She said to the ringmaster.
"You're welcome and best of luck to you, dear child." Oswald responds, smiling.
Aurora smiles back. Next, she turns to Holly.
"Thank you for being my friend and taking me under your wing, showing me how to do tightrope and trapeze. Even though tightrope wasn't easy, I had such an amazing time,"
"Oh, you're welcome." Holly said.
"I had fun being a clown," Aurora addressed Seymour, Bruce, Peggy and JoJo. "I hope I get to perform with you all and do say goodbye to Joanna for me."
"The pleasure is all ours and we will." Seymour answered. "Joanna's gonna miss you and so will we."
Aurora beams.
"I had a great time doing aerial hoops and stilt walking, I hope to do more," She said to Tami and Jacinda.
"Thank you, we hope so too." Jacinta said and Tami nods.
Lastly, Aurora turns to Puck, Jon and Drake.
"Thank you gentlemen, I hope to do more acts with you, someday." She said.
"Of course," said Jon, while Drake and Puck agree.
Aurora looks over at Jack.
"So, uh…" Jack looks at Philip who smiles and is waiting patiently for Aurora and the three fairies.
"Good luck on your date," He said.
"Oh, and, and you with Vanessa." Aurora replied, stammering a bit.
She turns to Annie (who's looking sad about Aurora leaving) and gets down to her level.
"And you, it was so nice spending time with you," Aurora hugs Annie goodbye and Annie returns the hug.
Jack, who is watching, looks away. He is holding back the tears and sadness, for he never thought it'd be hard to say goodbye to Aurora.
"I'll never forget you," said the princess. "You know that."
"You be good now," Fauna said to Annie.
"Enjoy reading fairy tales and being a kid," Merryweather adds.
Philip approaches Aurora and the fairy trio. He gently places his hand on Aurora's shoulder and Aurora stands up.
"Thank you for taking care of my bride and her guardians, peasants." Philip thanked the group.
He offers Aurora his arm and she takes it. The teen monarchs walk away and the fairies follow suit. They wave goodbye.
"I'm going to really miss her," Annie said on the verge of crying, the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Me too, Annie." Jack agreed, he hugs his sister closer. "Me too,"
"We all will," Holly adds.
"It was nice having her," Peggy comments.
They all watch Aurora, Philip, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather go. The quintet side step the deliveryman who's carrying a large water jug. Suddenly, Maleficent's face appears in the water. Seeing Aurora with Philip and the fairies, she seethes with anger.
Back at Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse, Maleficent uses her magic to turn Diaval back into his human form. He's disoriented for a moment, until he hears his mistress' voice. Going to the bar, Diaval looks down into a martini glass and sees Maleficent appear. She did not look happy.
"Explain this," Maleficent hissed showing her henchman the mirage of Philip with Aurora and the three fairies who are waving goodbye to Jack, Annie, and the circus troupe.
"I don't know how he found them, my mistress, I really don't." Diaval began to say.
"You idiot!" Maleficent snapped.
"But Maleficent," Diaval protests.
"I sent you to kill her, not save her. Can't you get that straight?" Maleficent demanded.
"I—I realize that you're upset, madam. But if you could find you a way to give me one more chance, I promise…" Diaval tried to reason.
"Another chance?" Maleficent retorted. "What, you think poisoned apples grow on trees? There's only one left! You are out of chances."
"But my lady, please…" Diaval begged.
"No, forget it!" Maleficent snaps, cutting off Diaval. "I'm coming there, and I will kill the little wretch MYSELF!" The dark fairy lets out a scream so loud, the liquor bottles (including the martini glass) shatter and glass pieces scatter everywhere. Diaval takes cover, shielding his eyes. He had failed Maleficent and now he had to pay the price.
A/N: And just like that, Diaval is done for.
I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. The shot of Philip checking his teeth in the reflection of his sword is a callback to Edward in Enchanted, which references Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. I came up with the idea of the fairies speaking with Aurora in private and Aurora saying goodbye to the circus troupe.
Anyways, up next, Jack experiences internal conflict regarding newfound feelings for Aurora and he sings "Evermore" from the 2017 live action Beauty and the Beast.
Until then, see you next time!