Chasing Aurora

I could barely register what was going on around me. I just followed Robby as he ushered me into the hotel. He showed me into a room with two beds. He put our bags on the dresser and sat me down on one of the beds. “Piper, you’re going to take a shower and go to sleep. You need to spend time with Aurora tonight.”

“How am I supposed to tell her that I failed? That it’s hopeless? That she’s going to die because I fucked up?” I could feel my tears burning tracks down my face. Guilt, despair and heart ache were eating me up inside.

“Hey, hey, no one said anything about her dying. As long as we don’t give up, we can do anything.” Robby wrapped his arms around me, “You are going to take tonight to be with Aurora before we get started again.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“You will. You’re the smartest woman I know. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you.” He gave me a squeeze before he got up, “Now you’re going to shower and give me your phone. I’m going to call everyone to give them an update.”

“Thanks Robby. Tell my parents hi.” I got up off the bed and wiped the tears off my face. “God, I fucking hate crying.”

“I know you do.” He took my phone and went out to the small balcony without another word.

I grabbed a pair of pyjamas and my toiletries and went into the bathroom. I stripped down before hopping in the shower. I stood under the steaming hot water, feeling the tension wash away. I could already see bruises starting to form from the fight earlier. As I let the water rush down my face, I couldn’t help the tears that joined the cascade. My heart was broken and I didn’t see a way to fix it.

I eventually got out of the shower and curled up in bed. Robby placed my phone on charge beside me and knelt beside my bed. “Your parents said they love you and can’t wait to see you again. They said to make sure that you don’t beat yourself up too much. You’re up against a centuries-old fae, but if anyone can beat her it’s you.”

“Thanks Robby. You’re the best.”

“I’ve got you Pip.” He patted my hand as he stood up, “Now go to sleep. You need to spend some time with your girl.”

He went to the bathroom and left me alone with my thoughts. I found myself staring at the ceiling, unable to succumb to sleep’s grasp. I could feel the exhaustion in my body but a large part of me didn’t want to face Aurora. I had to stay strong for her and I wasn’t sure if I was able to. When Robby left the bathroom, I pretended to be asleep. I waited until the sound of Robby’s snores filled the room before I opened my eyes again. I continued staring at the ceiling until I couldn’t resist the cold grip of sleep and drifted off into the black.

-----

I awoke in the same meadow as normal. I pushed myself up so I was sitting and looked around. When I couldn’t immediately find her, I jumped to my feet. My eyes scanned the meadow for her. I could feel the anxiety building inside me before I noticed her laying not too far from me. I jogged over to her, kneeling down beside her.

She was so still. Her lips slightly parted, eyelashes resting on her cheeks. My hand trembled as I reached down, pushing the curls from her face. I ran my thumb across her cheek. She looked so lifeless. I couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Did we have to breathe here? I didn’t know. “Aurora baby, please, please wake up.” I could feel the tears in my eyes as I gently shook her. Please let her be okay. Please.

Her eyes fluttered open and I breathed a sigh of relief. Her lips turned up as her electric green eyes met mine. Her arms lifted as she stretched. “Mmm, sorry I must have dozed off.” She mumbled. She started to sit up but I couldn’t wait. I snatched her into my arms and pulled her onto my lap.

“Aurora I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” She mumbled still shaking off the dregs of sleep, “I was just tired and fell asleep.”

I paused for a moment pulling back from her, “You were tired?”

“Yeah, there isn’t much to do and it’s like I’m awake all the time. I’ve been taking naps when you aren’t here, but it seems to make me more tired.” I felt the guilt hit me like a punch to the stomach. She should be awake in the real world right now, but I failed. The tears that were once threatening to fall started to trickle out. “Piper, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“I-I failed. I couldn’t rescue you. These witches got your location but somehow Maleficent found out. She snuck you out before I could rescue you and now I don’t know what to do.” The tears started coming down in earnest as my body was overcome with sobs. Aurora moved off my lap and pulled me into her arms. I’ve always thought of myself as the strong one in my relationships. I’m the butch, the top, the big fucking spoon. I didn’t let myself break down in front of anybody but the second I was in Aurora’s arms I broke.

“I’ve known there was a chance that you wouldn’t find me.” She said as her fingers played with my hair. “We’re up against so much, but I have loved my life. Somethings are just out of our control. If you cannot save me, that’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. It’s not okay with me.” Hearing her say that it was okay didn’t make me feel that crushing despair I’d been trapped under. Instead, I was filled with rage. “Don’t you want to fight? Aren’t you mad? This isn’t fair! We did nothing to deserve this. We deserve to live our life without fucking Maleficent. We deserve so much more.”

“I agree. I also know how your brain works and I had to say something to break you out of this death spiral. When plan A fails, we figure out plan B and if that fails then we go to plan C. Until the sun sets on the night of the summer solstice, we have hope.” She cupped my face in her hands with a smile, “We have hope because we have you.”

“I love you so much Aurora.” I pulled her in for a kiss. I could feel the love flowing between us as our lips moved together. I loved how she understood me better than I knew myself. She knew how to ignite the fires of passion within me. She was my passion.

“I love you too.” She whispered before pulling away, “Now, it’s up to us to come up with a plan. We don’t have witches, so what do we have.”

“Well, there’s me, my friend Robby and your aunts.”

“Okay so I’ve been thinking, Maleficent and my aunts can’t be the only fae. There must be some fae out there that could help us. If you can get my aunts to contact them, we could get a lot more people looking out for Maleficent.”

“We probably should have done that from the beginning.” I sighed. I was so sure that the witch plan for work I wasn’t thinking of any backup plans. “Can you still do the thing where you’re half-awake? Maybe we can get some more clues as to where to search.”

“I can try. Can it wait until after you wake up? I want to spend as much time as I can with you.” The unsaid words hung in the air. We both knew it was possible that this time in our dreams would be the only time we would get together. I could already see her begin to tire. I hated to think that it might be because of the curse but I couldn’t deny it was a possibility.

“I think we’ve done enough planning. What do you say we lay down here and cuddle until I wake up?” I reached up to tuck a curl behind her ear. She gave me the sweetest, tired smile.

“That sounds perfect.” We laid down together on the soft grass and I pulled her in close. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. As we relaxed, I found myself trying to come up with more ideas. Just a few words from her and I was back. She lit a fire under my ass and for that, I am so thankful.