12. two halves of a whole

85 9 11
                                    

𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖆 • the grand palace━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖆 • the grand palace
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

For the next few hours, the Crown Princess didn't wake. She slept cosily in her sister's arms, tucked under the fluffy blankets they were sharing and surrounded by the faint warmth of the candles in the lantern that had been lit beside her bed.

By the time Aurora woke, the sky outside had become darkened and the day had slipped beneath her fingers, stolen by unconsciousness. It wasn't until she had distantly heard the faint knocks at the door-as though they were in another type of subconscious-and then felt herself being hugged tightly by Dawn did she fully wake up.

"Need to... breathe," she wheezed out as she hugged back.

"Right. Sorry," she murmured, moving back. Aurora sat up, and Dawn followed. "How do you feel? And where is that girl? My fists are ready."

"Dawn," she said, giving her a stern look. She only frowned in response. "I will explain that later. There is something I have to tell you."

"You mean how some girl hit you hard enough to give you a concussion? What, stitches weren't enough? And who-What starsforsaken person is stupid enough to hit the Crown Princess? Is that not an act of treason? Speaking of, I might have a lead on that jackass who attacked you. The first time, of course, because apparently people are out for my best friend."

"I told you not to go after whoever that was. And no. It is something significantly important, and it requires you to focus on what I am about to tell you and not what has happened. Can you do that for me?"

She huffed. "I can make great sacrifices for my sister of choice, yes."

Aurora smiled. "Thank you."

"What kind of news is this, then? The kind that will have me sick with concern or the kind that needs us to be curled up in these fluffy blankets with dessert?"

She pondered for a brief moment. What kind of news was it?

"Potentially both."

"Then give me a moment. I think I have Dusk scared enough that he'll obey my every word. Not that he doesn't already." She climbed out of bed, wincing at the sudden change in temperature. "I'll be quick."

"Dawn, don't scare your brother like that," Aurora said through an amused laugh. "Leave him be. I'll get-"

"No. And what makes you think he isn't standing outside like our personal guard right now? Everyone in our family heard what happened."

Her brows furrowed. "How?"

"Maybe because our families are practically joint at the hip," she quipped.

The term 'joint at the hip' would be an amazing, colossal understatement.

From what they had been told, the young adults weren't the only ones deeply involved in each other's lives-their parents had been the first in the family to become best friends.

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