Rosalind clucked at the mere suggestion of her daughter traipsing off to Paris with god knows who to do god knows what. “Darling, you know your father would never allow such a voyage for you. At least not with out us present. It’s far too… well, far.” she said with a soft chuckle at the accidental joke. “And honestly, what’s so bad about everyone knowing your name?”
“ OH, MAMA, I know ... “ aurora said with a sigh, shrugging her shoulders as she played with the straw in her drink, stirring around the ice cubes. she already knew all too well that her parents would never let her go to paris, especially not on her own. “ -- it’s not that it’s bad ... it would just be nice to go to a place where ... well, where i’m a stranger! i mean, i can’t walk into a cafe without somebody knowing something about me, or us, and sometimes that’s exhausting!”
SHE EXUDED A LIGHT akin to sunlight, which was strange considering the family she came from. turning to face her, drink in his hand, he wondered what those eyes have seen and what those eyes haven’t seen. obviously, they haven’t seen anything at all— and it threw him off. with his brows furrowed, lips pulled into a straight line, he continued to stare at her, before breaking the contact to let out a little scoff. “and what makes you think people over there won’t know your name?” he wondered if she knew about the reality she lived in; he wondered if she even knew who he was. if she had, she wouldn’t be talking to him in the first place, he assumed.
at his question, aurora had to truly stop and think for a moment. what did make her think people in paris wouldn’t know her? well, surely her name wouldn’t have traveled that far! “ I MEAN -- why would they?” she questioned with a laugh. “ i surely don’t know the names of any of the rich families in paris, why would they know the names of the ones here in old champginé?” of course, aurora was only thinking about how her family was known of their socialite status and affairs.
“Next time I go you’ll just have to come with me,” the blonde insisted with a bright smile. She still couldn’t quite believe her best friend had never been and at the same time she could. Knowing who—or more so what her parents were like. “The possibilities in Paris are definitely endless,” she confirmed with a sharp nod. “Though something tells me it wouldn’t take too long for everyone in Paris to know your name too,” Giselle giggled.
“ OH, you know i’d love to! “ aurora squealed. it seemed like everyone she knew had been to paris at least once, though multiple times was more like it, and everyone had something new to tell her about the city. “you could show me all the best shops! and desert places!” two things were always on aurora’s mind -- shopping and sweets. the blonde raised an eyebrow at her best friend and laughed softly, “really? even in paris? i’d like to avoid that, i think .. “ not that it was the worst thing that everyone knew her name, but sometimes aurora wondered if it’d be a fresh breath of air to go somewhere she would be a stranger to all.
“I don’t know,” Philip paused, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he thought of how to best continue. How to say what he was thinking without being offensive. “That’s a little weird you’ve never been isn’t it? Your family has such an obscene amount of money, I mean they own the whole city, don’t they?” He chuckled, teasing her slightly. But he wasn’t exactly wrong.
Though being that it was where he’d been born and spent the first half of his life, Philip had plenty of opinions of their grand capital and he found himself missing his former home at times. But those moments were few and far in between as he enjoyed his new life. Philip laughed softly a thought popping into his head and he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. “The only thing you’re likely to catch in Paris in a venereal disease.”
she hadn’t really thought about it that way, but he was completely right. with the amount of money her family had, traveling to paris should have been like nothing -- and yet, she’d never even left champigné. “ I MEAN ... “ aurora trailed off, “ -- MY FATHER would never let me leave this town to go somewhere like paris, i’ve only been to the other side of town by myself once. ”
usually, if aurora went anywhere in champigné her father didn’t trust -- which was many places -- she’d have to be escorted by her bodyguard which made exploring new places and meeting new people difficult. she hated being watched constantly.
“ -- but it sounds like such a pretty place! all the gardens and the tower .. . “ she went on with a slight pout, now just making herself sad that she’d probably never see these things.
CHAPPED LIPS flick upward ever-so-slightly. If one was to look up ‘ polar opposites ‘ in the dictionary, Delilah was sure that a picture of her and Aurora would be present. The blonde had a starry-eyed idealism that Delilah had never known. Perhaps it was the reason why Delilah tolerated her company. She lifted her cigarette to her lips, inhaling for a long drag. “I’ve been a few times,” she admitted. The young woman had never been the type to stay in one place for long ( with the exception of Champigne ). “Personally, I think it’s all a bunch of commercialized bullshit to attract tourists and mushy romantics.” A pointed look is spared here at Aurora. It’s clear that Delilah has placed her companion in the latter group. “And then what? You meet your prince charming and live happily ever after?”
“ -- MUSHY romantics sound like my kind of people,” aurora laughed and she couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders and blush slightly, “ i don’t know, maybe ... is that so bad? “ she thought it might be nice, to fall in love with someone from outside of champigné. it seemed like everyone here knew her name, who she was and everything about her family -- which made things exhausting. “surely there was something about paris you liked?” she asked delilah, “just one thing, even if it was a dish or a flower!” aurora liked trying to find one thing she liked about everywhere she went, even if it was the silliest, most simple thing.
“ -- WELL NO, i’ve never been, but i’d love to go someday! “ aurora said with a laugh and a smile, “ you hear all these grand stories about PARIS, how it’s the city of love -- do you think that’s true? “ she asked with the slight tilt of her head, “ maybe that’s where i need to be. not here, where everyone knows my name. “
white roses, clear skies at night, amberwood rose candles, evening gowns dragging on the floor, soft love songs in the background, flower petals on the nightstand, peach tea, diamonds draped from her neck, a balcony overlooking the gardens, fairy lights around the bedpost, designer shoes still in boxes, a window seemingly always left open, daydreaming by the shore, lace curtains blowing in the breeze, red lipstick stains on wine glasses, crystal blue waters under the bright sunlight
aurora, rora,
twenty-five
she / her
picses
demisexual, hetroromatic
heiress to the delacroix fortune
warmhearted, kind, curious
stubborn, headstrong, dramatic
AURORA delacroix was born into one of the most prestigious families in champigne, into a wealthy, lavish lifestyle that was funded by blood stained money. her father, head of the BABINEAUX MAFIA, owned half of champigne and it’s underground activities – and held a vicious rivalry with the other syndicate in the city. however, aurora grew up blind and ignorant of her father’s evildoing and the things said about her name. after all, she had never left bois de rose manor. her father was paranoid that something terrible would happen to his only child, his prized daughter. with everything she could possibly need, and people to get these things for her, aurora was never left for wanting. except, that was exactly what she was left. wanting.
AT the age of fifteen, aurora knew she wanted more then to be stuck in bois de rose manor for the rest of her life. she knew champigne had to be beautiful, and she wanted to see it all for herself. she begged her parents to let her past the gates, and for one night on her sixteeth birthday – they did, and that night sealed her fate in her prison for good. she went out with a couple of her socialite friends, who she had only ever gotten to see when her parents threw their lavish events. they took her dancing and she was having a wonderful time. she felt free, like she could go anywhere and do anything. things soon spiraled out of control – a fight broke out in the club and aurora was caught in the middle of it. she was knocked into by someone and in the process, caught completely off guard, she hit her head and broke her arm. a member from her father’s mafia happened to be at the same club and he stepped in, picking the fallen princess off the ground and out of the club.
SHE couldn’t hide the awkward way she held her arm or the blood that had dried on the side of her face. her mother freaked. her father was furious. he kept repeating how he had known it was a bad idea to ever let her leave. aurora also couldn’t hide her disappointment. in herself or in the night? she wasn’t sure. but her heart broke as she knew it was the last time she would get to leave bois de rose manor.
UNTIL she reached the age of twenty-three. ever since she had turned twenty-one, her mother had been trying to convince aurora’s father that it was time for aurora to find a husband. aurora was already an heir to the delacroix fortune and all it entitled, but what they really needed that aurora could never be was an heir to their mafia. unable to argue with that, aurora’s father started allowing her out on a daily basis. with a bodyguard, of course. and naturally, aurora asked for the mafia member that had rescued her the night of her sixteenth birthday. he trusts her more then her parents do and sometimes gives her the real freedom she’s always wanted – leaving her to explore the city on her own. within reason, of course.
NOW, even with a strict curfew, aurora explores the city of champagne happily, still unaware of just the influence her father has on this city.
HEADCANONS
she has a black pomeranian named lavender -- lavy for short.
despite being sheltered all her life behind the gates of bois de rose, aurora is a social butterfly. she always made friends at social events and tried her hardest to get to see them, even under her father’s strict curfew.
she doesn’t know what brought upon her father’s decision to let her start to have some freedom in the city. aurora is unaware of the hunt for a spouse her mother has launched. she assumes it was because she was a woman now and couldn’t be kept behind lock and key forever.
her estate at bois de rose, crystal lake villa, has it’s own pool and garden -- which is filled with aurora’s favorite flowers. despite feeling trapped in the city, crystal lake is aurora’s saving grace. her safe haven. she feels a twinge of freedom there, even if it’s all pretend.
aurora wants to see the world. she wants to see paris, rome, new york city -- you name it, it’s probably on her list. she wants to leave champigne in the dust, though deep down she knows that will never be a reality.
