Muffled voices. All Aurora could hear was muffled voices. People came and went frequently. She could hear little snippets of conversations, but it was mostly just noise. She wanted to be able to see her friends and family. They would be worried sick. Aurora could feel Dante's terror. She wanted to hug her brother and tell him everything would be alright. But no matter how hard she tried, Aurora could not move.
What felt like weeks later, Aurora was lying on her hospital bed, surrounded by darkness as usual. She could feel someone's presence next to her, and she was almost one hundred percent sure that same someone was holding her hand. It was warmer than the rest of her body.
Aurora thought about the events of that night. Ariadne, her little cousin, despite all her flaws, was not her mother. Yet she had cursed her and left her to die. But something wasn't right. When Aurora had looked into her eyes, it was as if everything that made her Ariadne had been sucked out of her, leaving an empty shell. Or perhaps Ariadne had been taken out and something- or someone- else had been stuffed in. Those cold, cruel eyes were not her cousin's. And neither were her actions. But those last words were. "I'm sorry." That was Ariadne trying to break out. Aurora was sure of it.
She suddenly became aware of movement by her side. The person in the chair next to her bed seemed to shuffle forwards slightly. Aurora could hear them crying softly. She wanted to squeeze their hand, to try and reassure them, but her body was frozen. She could not even move her fingers.
The person was saying something. They spoke through tears. Aurora strained to hear them, but she could only make out a few words.
The person was in obvious distress. Their soft cries were now sobs. Aurora needed this person to know she was okay. So, she concentrated hard on trying to squeeze their hand. Nothing happened, and the person continued to sob. She tried again, but to no avail. Her body would not move.
Suddenly, Aurora was able to hear again. It was like when your head breaks the surface of water, and everything goes from being muffled to clear again. The girl instantly knew who was by her bedside. Cedric. He was there, just like he said he would be.
"I'm so sorry Rora." he repeated over and over again. He sounded so broken and fragile. Aurora couldn't bear to hear him like that.
On impulse, she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, only realising what she had done after she had done it.
Cedric's crying ceased immediately. He even seemed to stop breathing. When he still didn't move, Aurora gave his hand a squeeze once more.
In a split second, he was perching on the edge of her hospital bed. The girl could practically see the hope on his face. Aurora willed herself to open her eyes so she could see him, and slowly, the blackness started to fade away.
At first, everything was blurry, but once she blinked a few times, everything became clear. Cedric watched her intently as her eyelids flickered open. He looked terrible. His usually neat hair was messy and uncombed, his uniform was creased and his tie wonky, he had big bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his pale face was streaked with tears.
"Hey Ced." Aurora's voice was hoarse and scratchy from lack of use, but to Cedric it sounded like angels singing. Merlin, he had missed that sweet Italian accent.
"Rora. You're awak." Aurora chuckled at his obvious statement. The poor boy seemed to be in a state of shock.
"You stayed." she whispered as she stared into his captivating blue eyes.
"I promised I would." Cedric and Aurora gazed at each other fondly. They both started subconsciously leaning in, until they were mere inches apart. Cedric's eyes flickered down to her lips momentarily.
The moment was interrupted by Aurora's pained cry. It caught her off guard as she had not experienced any physical pain since she had been put to sleep.
In a panic, Cedric grabbed hold of Aurora's shoulders and lowered her gently down onto the bed. He held her like she was a piece of delicate China. She liked it. A lot.
"Here, drink this." the boy handed Aurora a glass of water, which she drank in one gulp.
"I'll go tell Madame Pomfrey you're awake. She'll want to check on you." Aurora nodded and smiled at Cedric, and he returned the gesture. The girl watched him pull back the curtains and step out in search of Madame Pomfrey. She could not hear anything outside of her bed. It was completely silent. Aurora had had enough of silence.
Less than a minute later, Madame Pomfrey pushed through the curtains, followed closely by an anxious Cedric Diggory.
"Ah, Miss Black." the woman beamed. "Welcome back." Aurora tried to shoot her a smile but it came out as a grimace as her left side once again throbbed in pain.
Madame Pomfrey noticed her discomfort and quickly began her work. Aurora's bandages were taken off, revealing slightly scarred skin. The old woman assured her they would fade in time, but Aurora almost didn't want them to. She finally had a flaw in her otherwise flawless figure.
Madame Pomfrey checked over her healing wounds thoroughly. She was poked and prodded in places she didn't even know existed. Every time Aurora grimaced, Cedric would lace his hands with hers comfortingly.
"Very good, Miss Black. You shall be free to leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, your friends and family have been contacted and are permitted to visit during the day. Good day Miss Black, Mr Diggory." with one final nod, Madame Pomfrey pushed back the curtains and stepped out, leaving Aurora and Cedric alone.
"I'm sorry this happened to you Rora." the boy whispered. Guilt flooded his eyes.
"Ced, look at me." He did not look up, so Aurora reached over and tilted his chin up and fixed him with a stern stare.
"None of this is your fault. Nor is it Dante's. Heck, it's not even Ari's. I get that you're upset, but I'm here. See?" Aurora pressed a hand to Cedric's cheek. "I'm going to be fine. Please don't blame yourself for this, Ced. Please." The boy bit his lip and nodded before speaking.
"I know, Rora. I know it's not my fault. But while you were asleep all I could think about was how your last memory of us would be our fight." Cedric looked down and tried to steady his breathing.
"I thought- I thought I wasn't going to get the chance to apologise. I thought you were going to die thinking I meant all those awful things I said. I was so close to losing you. And it fucking scared me, Aurora." Cedric's eyes were filled with tears as he finished. Aurora instinctively pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't want him to cry at her expense. Cedric buried his face into the girl's hair. She always smelled of smoke from a warm log fire and roses and new parchment. It calmed him.
"It's okay, Ced. Everything is going to be okay." Aurora whispered soothingly. After a few minutes, Cedric pulled away and gazed into her eyes.
"You know Ced..." she began, looking him up and down and scrunching her nose up in distaste. "You really need to shower."
Cedric's face turned scarlet as he realised what a state he must look. He reached and frantically ran his hands through his hair, trying to get rid of the tangles. Aurora giggled at his red tinged cheeks. He was so cute.
Cedric eventually gave up trying to tame his unruly curls. He glared playfully at the girl, who was clutching her stomach as she snickered. He chuckled slightly and gave her a gentle shove.
"Shut up, Rora." the boy groaned.
"Imagine -- what all -- your fangirls would -- say!" she said through laughter. Aurora was gasping for breath at this point. Cedric couldn't help but smile. He loved her laugh.
"They would still follow me around. They don't call me Pretty Boy Diggory for nothing." the boy wiggled his eyebrows. Her laughter ceased immediately.
"Great. Just when I thought your ego couldn't get any bigger." Aurora rolled her eyes as Cedric gasped over-dramatically.
"You take that back, Aurora Sebastiana Black!"
"Never!"
"I'm warning you, Rora."
"Watcha gonna do, Diggory?"
Aurora raised her eyebrows at Cedric in a challenging manner. The boy simply looked at her with a devious grin. The smile dropped off her face.
"Cedric, what is this? Are you okay? You look like you've gone mad." she chuckled nervously.
Out of nowhere, Cedric lunged at her and began tickling her sides. Aurora was caught off guard and fell back against the bed.
"Ced!" she cried through pained laughter. "Cedric -- Amos Diggory! Get off -- get off me or -- or I swear to Merlin -- I will kill you!"
Cedric ignored her threats and continued to tickle her. He was lying on top of her on the hospital bed, holding back laughter as she squirmed underneath him. Aurora tried to push him away but he was too heavy.
As Cedric tickled her relentlessly, a throat cleared loudly behind them. The two sprung away from each other like they had been electrocuted. Standing by the foot of Aurora's hospital bed was Dante. He was watching them with an amused expression on his face.
"Well this is interesting." He mused. Cedric's cheeks turned red, but Aurora didn't seem to register the comment. She was too excited to see her brother.
"Dante!" she squealed before grabbing his wrist and pulling him into a tight hug. The older twin instinctively wrapped his arms around her frame and placed his chin on top of her head. The boy closed his eyes in content.
"Sono così felice che tu stia bene, Rora. Mi sei mancata così tanto". (I'm so glad you're okay, Rora. I missed you so much.) he whispered almost inaudibly.
"Mi sei mancato troppo, fratello maggiore". (I missed you too big brother.) she replied.
After a few moments, the siblings pulled away and smiled at each other. Aurora kissed his cheek softly before Dante turned turned to look at Cedric with a knowing smirk.
"So." he began. "What's going on between you two?" he asked his sister and his friend. Both their eyes widened in panic.
"Nothing." they answered in unison. Dante looked unconvinced as he continued to smirk at them.
"Anyway," Cedric hastily began to change the subject. "Have you seen Gabrielle Delacour? You should talk to her, Rora. She was a mess when she found out what happened."
Aurora's eyes widened even further. "Gabrielle?" she asked urgently. "Is she okay? Does she know I'm okay? What about the others? You have to tell them! Get them to visit! Gabi hasn't been too upset has she? I hate it when she cries, it makes me want to cry. What if--" Dante quickly cut off her rambling.
"Gabi's fine Rora. Everyone's fine. A little shaken up, but completely fine. Don't worry too much." he reassured her with a smile before turning back to Cedric.
"Don't think you're escaping Diggory. You can tell me if something's going on between you and my sister. I don't mind. In fact, I'd quite like to call you my brother in law!" Cedric spluttered in shock and Aurora let out a gasp.
"Dante Luca Black!" she exclaimed and hit him hard on the chest. He simply smirked down at his sister.
"Don't deny it Diggory. I see the way you look at her. You're in love amico mio ! But I'm warning you, if you break my baby sister's heart I will come after you!" he jokingly threatened.
"I won't -- I don't -- I'm not --" Cedric stuttered. His cheeks were now a brilliant shade of scarlet. Aurora groaned despairingly at her embarrassing brother.
She watched as Dante teased Cedric childishly. Her twin would normally punch any boy who came within three feet of her, but he seemed almost happy as he tried to make Cedric admit his undying love for her. Aurora did not realise it then, but Dante knew how they felt about each other. It was clear in Cedric's eyes. He would look at the girl as if the universe revolved around her and nobody else. His eyes would light up whenever she was around. Dante knew Aurora felt the same way. He could always read her better than anyone. It was so obvious to him.
He just wished they would realise how obvious it really was.
A/N
Hey everyone! I just want to say how much I LOVE Aurora and Dante's relationship! I wish I had a twin :(
I know this is a HUGE ask, but I always think that stories that have trailers and properly designed covers are really good, but I am crap at that kind of thing.
So...
I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to make a trailer for the book and come up with some cover designs?
It would really mean a lot to me. If anyone is interested, just message me or leave a comment and let me know!
Thanks for reading!
Rose x