INTRODUCING HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCESS AURORA OF SONNE
ONLY BORN DAUGHTER OF KING STEFAN & QUEEN LEAH
you were born to a life of fantasy and pleasure, pink and blue satin dresses and rose petals scattered at your feet. you’ve always wanted a chance to see outside your confinement walls, to see what has been kept from your grasp. however, now that you’ve grown older, you’ve learned of your foreboding fate, the urgency to keep you hidden, and now suddenly you have begun to question everything around you — including yourself.
name: princess aurora dawn saint-laurent
age: twenty-five
height: 5′8
father: king stefan of sonne
mother: queen leah of sonne
sibings: n/a
favorite food: pomegranates & cherries
favorite drink: any sort of floral or fruity tea
color(s): pink, red, white, blue, purple
lives in: ethereal heights
the softest and sweetest in all the land. though she comes from a high place in life, the heir to her throne, she’s quite grounded. albeit, naïve. being trapped behind castle walls all her life has made her restless and longing for a sense of adventure she’s never been allowed to grasp. ahtohallan feels like that chance to her. she’s excited to explore the island, to learn and try new things she’s never been allowed to before and most importantly — she’s excited to no longer be under the watchful eyes of her parents.
however, the excitement and wonder of a new place has, at the same time, been overshadowed by the news of her own curse. her own doomed fate. aurora can’t help but feel like her parents hid so much about her life from her, that she barely has a sense of belonging anymore. she understands now, why she was trapped behind her marble walls for so long — but now she truly feels it left her unprepared for what lies ahead.
the curse is not silent in her head. the dark magic of the fae that cursed her courses through her veins and at times, she feels it. she swears she does. she hears a haunting voice, calling her, beckoning to her. often times, she ignores it — though it always leaves her unsteady and anxious. the worst part of the curse, besides living in fear it shall come to be, is the nightmares. the nightmares that for as long as she could remember, she thought were nonsense and folly. the nightmares that turned out to be her future. at least, that’s what aurora thinks now that she knows. visions of green fire, her home covered in briars, a dragon destroying her land.
the nightmares plague aurora, they make her unable to sleep at night, restless and anxious. what if what she sees in her terrors is what’s happening to her kingdom? right now? if she were home right now, and offered herself up to the fae in order to save her kingdom, would that work? aurora would let her curse come to be if it meant saving her family and those she loved. a deathlike sleep is painless, after all.
aurora is a soft spoken girl and overall, she has a heart of gold. she wants to make as many friends as she can on the island, since she spent many an hour in her castle wishing she had friends close by and not just from other kingdoms that she only got to see far and few between. she can be a little naïve from her lack of world experience, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting to learn about everything she possibly can.
she’s a bright, bubbly girl so on days when she’s really not herself, a day where the curse is plaguing her mind hard, you can tell. she becomes quiet, reclusive. truly not herself at all.
Elsa preferred the early light of morning to any other time of the day. While most everyone else had only just begun to rub the sleep from their eyes, Arendelle’s queen was already flitting around the village. She hoped to get done as much as she could before the streets filled up too much for her liking. Whether it be personally inquiring into any letters from her kingdom, welcoming new Arendellians to the island at the docks, or simply escaping her estate in Ethereal Heights for a solitary hour of strolling through the morning frost.
She was surprised to come across the princess of Sonne wandering around, but even more so that Aurora had seemingly not noticed Elsa approach her. As queen, she had grown accustomed to the idea that she could never go unnoticed in any room she walked into. If she’d known that the princess was completely oblivious to her surroundings, Elsa wouldn’t have gone out of her way to greet the other royal.
“I wished you a good morning, your highness,” She answered, her tone softening from formalities to faint concern upon seeing Aurora’s bleary eyes. It was a fatigued look Elsa had seen staring back at her in the mirror many mornings. “Are you faring well?”
she recognized who was speaking to her almost instantly, queen elsa of arendelle. the highest ranking monarch on the island, she wanted to pay proper respects and be aware of such details, lest her mother be furious with her for being improper around the wrong people. aurora was often careless like that back at home.
“oh, i’m terribly sorry, your majesty,” she said with a soft laugh and a short curtsy to the queen of arendelle, “i’ve been better, surely. it’s strange being in a new place,” aurora said with a slight smile. “i’ve never traveled outside of my castle, let alone kingdom, i think it’s quite a shock to my body.” she shrugged her shoulders. what ailed her was a shock to her body, indeed. “how about you? are you adjusting well to the island?”
as a prince, waking before sunrise was never a requirement, but as a stablehand — well, he had been up for hours and had already had a full day. dressed in a plain cotton shirt and pants, a smudge of dirt on his cheek, he stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the villagers meandering about ethereal heights. royals and noblemen alike turned up their noses as he passed by, something he was unaccustomed to but took in stride.
dark eyes scanned the square and a familiar head of golden blonde hair captured his attention. he had intended on keeping a watchful eye on aurora from a distance, then again he hadn’t expected to see her up and about at this hour. before he could convince himself to do otherwise, he approached her and bowed his head, bidding her a good morning. if it weren’t obvious that she was distracted from the far off look, it became more apparent when she asked him to repeat himself. he opened his mouth to do just that but the words died on his tongue when he took note of the dark circles under her eyes. “auro — your highness, are you well?”
that familiar voice was what pulled aurora out of her daze. she looked up at him, violet eyes wide and confused before lightly nodded her head. the last thing she needed was him worrying about her, there were other things far more pressing that mattered more then her. even though she was aware he was on the island because of her, that didn’t mean he needed to spend any energy worrying about her — after all, what was there to worry about? that was what she was going to believe. she was fine. everything was fine.
“oh, don’t worry about me, phil — your highness.” the beauty said with a soft smile, clutching her book a little tighter. “it’s just. adjusting to a new place is . . . difficult, i suppose. i’ve never had to before.” that wasn’t a lie, per say. at least, aurora told herself that to make herself feel better about it. “have you ever been so far from home?” she asked him, diverting the subject from herself.
from a place in the shadows, the thief surveyed the village. the beauty caught his eye instantaneously for her aimless wandering and bleary eyes. someone so distracted would make for an easy target. he approached her from behind, hoping to slip something from her without attracting her attention but she might not have been as faraway as he hoped she was. she turned toward him now and started to speak. her voice sounded small and weary, almost enough to make him feel bad for trying to take advantage of her. almost.
it would have been much more convenient for him if she really hadn’t realized he was there, but she was looking right him. probably long enough to describe any distinguishing features, beside him being devastatingly handsome. “i’m wounded, truly,” he replied, hand pressed to his chest, “but i’ll try not to take it personally. looks like you’ve got something serious on your mind.” if he’s as sly as he thinks he was, she could still be a mark, he just had to keep her talking. “would you like an escort? someone to point out important landmarks? keep you from walking into a tree?”
“i’m terribly sorry, i didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” she replied, thinking he was truly serious about that. aurora didn’t recognize this stranger, but he was quite charming and honestly, the idea of an escort might not have been a bad idea. “oh, well honestly, that sounds like a great idea!” the beauty replied with a smile, “have you been here long? long enough to point out landmarks, as you said.” she asked curiously. though she had been here for a month, aurora hadn’t really taken the time to explore much on her own. she was almost afraid too, though the idea did excite her.
Anna was absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent unashamed to say that the was not above the occasional act of bribery. And what better way was there to get a moment of time from her sister than a couple of triple chocolate scones first thing in the morning when she wasn’t awake enough to think straight? It was a fool proof plan, if she said so herself, a true master stroke.
Until it had been derailed the moment the bakery. Too be fair, it wasn’t totally Anna’s fault. She couldn’t just not say something to the other woman, even if she was a complete stranger. She’d been on the other end of that look often enough to know that walking around with your head that high in the clouds could get real painful real quick, “I was just saying you looked kinda out of it. Thought I’d walk next to you in case you went to bump into something…”
it took aurora a moment to snap from her daze, but when she did, she looked at the other with kind eyes. “that’s so thoughtful of you!” aurora exclaimed with a smile, “i appreciate that, it’s just been rough adjusting to a new place.” she excused her behavior with a soft laugh. she hadn’t had the hardest time adjusting at all, but her first night of no sleep had her frazzled, unsettled and quaint frankly, a little afraid. “thank you for doing that, i’m aurora.” the beauty introduced herself with a slight bow of her head,
she was in a good mood this morning, a pep to her step and a smile on her face. maybe this is why she had felt the need to speak to someone that she didn’t know, felt the need to talk about her day before and how good the shipment had gone, maybe that why she felt the swell to human companionship.
her chest fell as the woman’s words sunk in, amelia not letting them puncture the easily ruptured pouch of her social skills. “no matter — ” the captain said, absently “though, truly, if you’re going to zone out when i’m talking to you, could you tell me before i get half way through my story? i feel like i’ve wasted a immense amount of both of our times and feel quite foolish for doing so.”
“s-sorry,” the princess said, shaking her head lightly, “i didn’t realize i was. i don’t mean to waste your time.” she hadn’t intended to zone out and honestly hadn’t noticed for the longest time. “i guess i didn’t sleep well last night,” that was a lie. aurora knew she didn’t, she hadn’t slept at all. “new palace, it’s a hard adjustment.” that one wasn’t a lie, but it had already been a month, one would think she’d be able to at least get some sleep by now. at least, that was what the beauty had hoped.
and this is why lucky doesn’t talk to people. in the grand scheme of things it isn’t a big deal at all - in the small scheme of things it isn’t even approaching any level of importance. and yet it gets under his skin, tugging and pulling at the shreds of his mental health, and before he can think twice about it there is a scowl on his face that would scare away even some hardened souls. after a moment he forces himself to relax it - calm down, control your temper - but his new facial expression is miles away from an actual smile. this woman looks regal though, beautiful in the way that important people are beautiful, so a smile really is something that he should be working on. at least, it’s something that he should work on if he doesn’t want to alienate himself.
“sorry, it’s just that you dropped this,” he says again, holding out the item in question. “i didn’t know if it was important, but i figured that it couldn’t hurt to ask.” wrong. wrong, wrong, wrong. this conversation is already painful and it has only just begun.
dazed, her violet eyes looked confused as they glanced back and forth between him and the item — which, eventually, her brain processed as her book she had been carrying with her to the bakery. “oh, my goodness! thank you so much!” the beauty exclaimed, reaching out with hands gloved in a delicate pink to take the book. “i hadn’t even realized i dropped it, i would’ve been terribly sad to see it gone.” aurora said with a smile, looking more lively then she had only just moments ago.
“ — i’m dreadfully sorry, were you talking to me?” the beauty asked the other beside her, having completely zoned out. “ i didn’t even realize you were here.” last night, her first full sleepless night on the island, it was torture. she hadn’t slept for a couple hours, if at all, without the voices bothering her in her mind. aurora had spent most of the night pacing around her living quarters in ethereal heights, in a poor attempt to distract herself.
before she knew it, the sun had risen and she was sure the village was coming to life now. perhaps that was what she needed, a bit of fresh air and a warm snack. a pastry from the bakery sounded good, and that was how she found herself walking towards the bakery when someone approached her — though she had hardly realized they were even there.
you were born to a life of fantasy and pleasure, pink and blue satin dresses and rose petals scattered at your feet. you’ve always wanted a chance to see outside your confinement walls, to see what has been kept from your grasp. however, now that you’ve grown older, you’ve learned of your foreboding fate, the urgency to keep you hidden, and now suddenly you have begun to question everything around you — including yourself.
❧ PRINCESS AURORA SAINT-LAURENT
age & birthdate: 25
birthplace: KINGDOM OF SONNE
occupation: PRINCESS
time in ahtohallan: ONE MONTH
faceclaim: ANYA-TAYLOR JOY
❧ BEFORE AHTOHALLAN
To King Stefan and Queen Leah of Sonne, after trying for an heir for many years, the birth of the Princess Aurora was a miracle. A miracle worth celebrating. At three months of age, they held a christening for their beloved daughter. It was everything they could’ve hoped for, but one detail had gone awry — per the advice of the Three Good Faeries, they had neglected to invite the wicked faery, Maleficent, to the celebration. A wrongful decision, they soon learned this was for the wicked fairy had disrupted their celebration and cursed the Princess Aurora to an eternity of sleep when one day, she should prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel.
They decided right then and there that their beloved daughter would be kept as safe as they could keep her. All spindles were destroyed and Aurora — was never permitted to leave the castle grounds. As she grew, and her curiosity did so too, the fair princess grew to loth her confinement. No one had ever told her why she couldn’t leave. Why she wasn’t allowed to see other kingdoms, to visit them as they visited her home. Aurora swiftly hated how it felt like she played a part in a show, how her whole life was centered around being Sonne’s princess and it began to felt like she was never going to get to spread her wings. To grow into who she was.
Just as she was oblivious to the way the world worked outside her own kingdom and her very own curse, she was ignorant to the foreboding dangers that seemed to be sweeping the Thirteen Kingdoms. All except through her very own nightmares. Her nightmares were a product of the sleeping curse flowing in her veins, waiting for it’s time. Aurora never believed there to be any truth in her nightmares, though real as they did feel to her. She was both unaware of the cause of the nightmares, and the truth they held.
One evening, her parents sat her down and informed her she would be leaving at dawn, straight for the island Ahtohallan and it’s village of Avalon. Aurora didn’t bother to question them, to ask why the sudden change of heart. The princess was thrilled for the change, for the shift in her boring life. However, such a thrill came at a cost and the King and Queen told their daughter of the horrid truth behind her own confinement — she was cursed. Cursed to prick her finger, and spend forever in ageless repose. The news came as a shock to Aurora, but before she had any time at all to process this new truth about herself, she was whisked away to the island of Ahtohallan.
❧ AFTER ARRIVAL
Ahtohallan was everything Aurora could’ve dreamed up in her own wildest dreams. It was different, everything was so new and the best of all — she was free. Free to roam the village of Avalon and the island itself as much as she pleased. Although, Aurora couldn’t doubt that she could feel the curse in her veins — the dark magic that threatened to shut off her life a moment Aurora was certain she would never see coming.
❧ CONNECTIONS
PRINCE PHILLIP — betrothed
his father is your father’s lifelong friend, and your kingdoms have worked together for centuries and yet all you really know about him is that he’s been around your entire life and his presence is a comforting one that reminds you of home — even if he seems rough around the edges.
MALEFICENT— curse enactor
though you should be aware, you has no idea who this faerie is to you. your parents kept you so sheltered, they never dare so much as whispered the dark faery’s name near you.
PRINCESS RAPUNZEL — best friend
your closest friend, and quickest made friend. you confides in her a lot, about nearly everything. everything except the curse — that, is a secret you guards close to your heart.
