Aurelia Charming - daughter of Prince Charming and Cinderella - is head over heels for one of her father's knights, Rowan Winters, despite her father disapproving of the relationship. Despite it's impending doom, Rowan and Aurelia find troubles tear...
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𓋼𓍊 𓆏 𓍊𓋼𓍊 — Chapter 8 Rowan Winters
There was a reason Rowan had never told Aurelia about Atticus.
She would've gotten along with him far too well, just like she was now. She would fall in love with him and then they would abandon him. He knew just how dramatic the thought sounded but the thought of her leaving him terrified him even more.
"Okay," Aurelia came to sit by him in the greenhouse. He met her stunning blue eyes that lit up when she smiled, even as weakly as she did. "Got the salve all ready."
Rowan simply stared at her. It was his favorite activity.
They'd traveled all the way down to Shadowfell Vale in the last day, stopping in various sheltered parts of the woods and hiding from soldiers and Knights that began searching for the princess shortly after dawn. They'd even already made posters to hang everywhere, even in the forest where the trio had hidden beneath bushes and in small homes in the trunks of trees thanks to the animals roaming the place. Thanks to Aurelia who had the ability to talk to them. She had given them food as a thanks before the trio had continued on their way.
Now they had made it to Shadowfell Vale but were residing in a greenhouse near outskirts in order to stir up a potion so they could conceal their faces from the public once they made their way into the city's heart.
"We just need the juice Atticus is meant to be extracting. . ." Aurelia leaned back to try and peek out of the windows of the greenhouse. "Right now, actually."
At the mention of his name, Rowan's mood soured. Ever since he'd found them in the garden just two days prior, Rowan had the feeling Atticus was trying to madden him. It was as if his sole purpose in life was to get on the Winters boy's nerves.
"Are you okay?" Aurelia's gentle voice brought Rowan back to reality.
He gazed around the greenery of the greenhouse; the sunlight pouring into the place with a heaven-like sense; the rainbow colors of different plants with different abilities and gifts. Those same gifts were being used for their potion, one which Aurelia, of course, knew how to make. She'd been creating salves and potions for years. Rowan had been at her side throughout all of it, the very reason she'd started.
To heal the wounds he sported after training or missions.
"I'm okay," he assured her, unable to stop the grin that broke free from his lips. He studied her everything—her eyes to her toes. Her chest to her thighs. She was. . .breathtaking. The kind of breathtaking that made a man want to beg. And for her, he would.
"Are you sure?" she asked, concerned.
He nodded. "I'm sure."
"Okay, good," Aurelia chuckled lightly. "I was worried you hated me for a moment there."
He nearly fell off his seat. "Hated you?"
She blushed. "I'm sorry. I just. . .well, you looked so furious and I wasn't sure if I was the cause or not and—"
"No, never you," Rowan jumped off his chair and stood in front of her, gazing down into her ocean blue eyes. "Never. You."
Her lips curved up into an innocent smile. "Alright."
"I was merely. . ." Rowan thought for a moment, wanting to pick the right words. "I was worried about all of this. I was worried we wouldn't make it here and we'd be caught."
"But we weren't," She wrapped her arms around his neck as always. The action was simple but it was everything he needed in order to calm his nerves and unstiffen. "We'll be alright."
"And if we're not?"
Aurelia shrugged but he could see in her eyes that the thought clearly plagued her. "Then so be it. As long as we're together."
"You mean," Rowan sighed, "as long as Zhang is with us."
She chuckled again but her arms slipped from him as if the reminder had made her mentally recoil. "Speaking of which," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Why didn't you tell me about him? About a fourteen-year long friendship?"
Rowan stiffened all over again. "He told you."
She stared at him for a beat. "Yes, he told me."
"Crap, I. . .Aurelia. . ." But she wasn't angry. Or, if she was, she was incredibly good at hiding it. She just looked disappointed. "You could have told me, you know."
"I know," Rowan ran a hand through his hair. "I just. . ." Didn't want you to fall in love with him and leave me when you're mine, was what he wanted to say. Instead, he cleared his throat. "I know I could have, I just never thought it important to mention."
"That you had a friend you've known longer than you've known me?" Aurelia's eyes widened. "I think that would be rather nice to mention to someone you've known for longer than me."
Rowan cringed. "I only met him a few weeks before I met you."
"Still," she whispered, like she wanted to fight but was too weak to.
He heaved another sigh, taking her in. Her beauty was beyond comparison. He'd never get over the subtle freckles dotted across her soft cheeks, or the golden mane of her hair. The pink, tender lips she had or the endearing button nose she had.
"You can tell me anything," Aurelia looked down and kicked a small rock in defeat. "You know I would never judge you."
You would if you knew where I was from, he thought.
"I know," he lied. "I co—"
"Hey, found it!"
Again, the couple jumped at the sound of Atticus Zhang's voice and his big white-toothed grin. He stood at the entrance of the greenhouse, a vase full of turquoise water swirling in it.
