crescent [h.s]

46

song of the chapter: bigger than the whole sky by taylor swift

Harry Styles
tw. grief and slight mention of suicide (at the very end)

"Daddy, who is H-henry eight?"

My brows shoot up as I turn to see Dove standing next to me, watching as I slice up some breakfast for us– Aurora at the gym with Delilah this morning, "King Henry the eighth?"

She slumps her body and nods, "Hmm, with the crown?"

Where on earth did this question come from?

I inhale and try to think of a way to explain this to a 2 and a half year old, "Well he was the King of England, a long, long, long time ago."

"En-england?"

I hum and pass her a slice of apple as I reach for a banana to slice up, "Mhm, that's where me and mummy are from."

Her little brows crease, a line between them as she nibbles on the apple and looks at me, "Not me?"

I shake my head softly and kiss her cheek, putting the banana into our breakfast bowls, "Yes, but also no– I'll explain when you're a little older, okay?"

She hums and nods, but raises her eyes, still wanting her Henry the eighth explanation, "Well Henry had 6 wives, and not many people liked him– for a lot of reasons."

"He's a meanie?"

I nod and peel the orange in my hands, looking at her curious face as I explain the confusing English monarchy to my extremely inquisitive toddler, "Mhm, he was a meanie, yes." She questions me again, "Why six wives?"

"Well... you know how mummy is my wife?"

She nods and I carry on, "Well mummy is my only wife, forever and ever, because she's the love of my life." She continues nodding, showing me she understands, which doesn't surprise me– she's extremely smart for her age, "However Henry didn't marry the love of his life, nor his soulmate."

"S-soulmate? What's that?"

I finish our fruit bowls as I try to explain soulmates and that whole concept, "A soulmate is one person which makes you so, so happy and safe. They feel like home, and you can do or say everything with them. You don't feel judged or alone when you're with them, because they're all you need. You can love anyone, but loving a soulmate isn't really a choice, it just happens– and you know when it does, no doubt."

She finishes the slice of apple I handed her, her face set into deep thought as I pour some orange juice into her sippy cup, and into a glass for me. When I pass her the cup to carry along with her plastic bowl full of sliced up fruit, her curious and deep thinking facial expression hasn't dropped, even when we walk up the stairs back to my bed together, she's still wrapped in her own bubble.

I put my bowl and glass on the bedside table, lifting Dove up into our bed and getting her settled with her breakfast, settling into bed next to her, pressing resume on Tangled which we started early this morning.

After around 5 minutes, she turns to look at me again, "Are 'Punzel and Flynn soulmates?"

I nod, humming and swallowing my mouthful of strawberries, "Yeah they are, you know how at the end they save each other? And then Flynn helps her meet her mummy and daddy again?"

She nods and I carry on, "That's just one example of them being soulmates, they help each other the whole time– even when they didn't like each other, they still protected one another."

I don't clarify the fact they were both using each other for their own personal gain or benefit for the majority of the movie and how that then changes towards the end, because I think that's a little too much information for her right now.