Aurora

Prologue.

King Stefan sat with his queen, Leah, in their boisterous chamber, a dark cloud hanging over their heads. Usually, there would be guards and the Queen's ladies-in-waiting positioned in the room, waiting to be ordered. But today, silence echoed as both King and Queen pondered on the recent chain of events.

Stefan looked down at his burden, the crown in his hands then looked up at his Queen, his heart breaking at her expression. Her hair was fraught and undone from the many times she'd dragged her hands through and her face was clear of any makeup, the tear streaks washed away.

"What are we going to do, Stefan?" She asked, looking at him with tears looming again in her red-rimmed eyes.

Terror. Absolute terror was what the royals were going through. Their condition was one that had never once occured before and it frightened her beyond reason to think of what had been declared.

"Surely, there is a way to solve this. I mean, every problem has its solution. This cannot be the only way." He reassured, his words laced with more confidence than he felt.

"Should we tell the people? Or at least the coun..."

"No!" Stefan cut her off abruptly. "We can't have them knowing. No! Don't you realize the chaos it would result in?"

"They will be here in a few minutes. We have to make a decision what to do." She retorted but his words still stung. Didn't he understand that she was the one who was greatly affected by this whole tragic affair?

He looked up then and saw the hurt in her eyes and was immediately overcome with guilt. "Leah..." He begun but his words were interrupted by the sudden puff of blue, pink and green mists inside the chamber.

"Your Majesties." The three fairies greeted as they bowed.

"Fauna, Merryweather and Flora. You may rise," The king said impatiently and they all lifted their heads. The three fairies flew to the Queen's side and gave her a look of sympathy and understanding. "I assume you have heard of the prophecy."

"'Tis a most unfortunate situation, Your Majesty..." Merryweather began to say shaking her head slightly.

"We can't believe it..." Fauna interrupted.

"It's very unfair." Merryweather continued.

"Stop it, both of you," Flora chided, turning to face the King."Yes, Your Majesties, we have heard."

"Can you do something ... anything to stop it?" King Stefan asked calmly though the desperation he felt was evident in his tone.

"Can you save her? Can you change it?" Queen Leah pleaded, speaking for the first time since they'd appeared.

"We will try, Your Majesties but..."

"Prophecies must be fulfilled." Flora said sadly, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"They always are." Fauna added.

"Is there no other way?" Queen Leah begged, her hand unconciously enclosing over her stomach. The bump wasn't even visible yet but she had grown attached to the life growing inside her.

"We can always try, Flora." Fauna said, her kind heart breaking at the dejected look on Leah's face.

"We could ward it off with a spell." Merryweather, ever the optimist, said.

"A prophecy isn't like a curse," Flora said frustrated, dismissing Merryweather's suggestion. "Those involved must be the ones to choose to either live up to it or change it. We can't intervene. Fate will stand in their way and make sure it is executed." A heavy silence filled the room following her words.

"We can help her," Fauna spoke up suddenly. Flora opened her mouth to protest but she quickly added, "We can give her what she needs to defeat and change the prophecy. "

"But..." Merryweather stopped, letting Fauna's words dawn on her. "Can we?" She looked at Flora, who was still in thought.

"I don't know. Hitherto such a prophecy has never been made before, so I cannot be certain doing that would not have some repercussions."

"But you can try." Leah said, a hint of hope in her tone.

"We can only hope that by doing so, the princess can defeat the prophecy." Leah's face fell a little at those words but she was still hopeful.

Unknown to them, a black figure was hidden in the shadows of the room, listening to their exchange with but one thought in mind: the prophecy cannot be stopped.

××××××××××

I cannot begin to tell you how fun writing this is.

Thank you so much for giving this story a chance. I hope you like it and feel free to politely point out any flaws you come across. It would mean a lot to me.

Have a good day reader,
❤
Ayeesha.