The Dark Princess {OUAT AU}

Chapter 11

"Well, dearie, the sun is starting to make its descent. You might want to start making your way home." Rumplestiltskin says before disappearing. Valerie looks at the sun's position before running over to her horse and getting on before making her way home.

~~~

Once she hands her horse over to the stable boy Valerie makes her way inside and back up to her room discreetly, making sure that she is there when the maid comes to help her get ready. Only minutes after stashing her stuff under the bed the maid knocks on the bed and walks in, finding Valerie sitting on the bed, gently nudging the bag further under with her foot. 

"Hello, princess. I'm here to help you get ready for supper tonight." The maid says and Valerie nods, gesturing towards the washroom. The maid gets the bath ready and Valerie speeds up the process, wanting to get to her potion and spells quickly. The maid seems surprised by Valerie's behavior but ignores it and merely does as the princess wishes, speeding up her process. It's only an hour later when Valerie is completely ready, her long hair twisted into a tight, elegant up-do, make-up done, and laced into a royal blue dress, decorated with plenty of jewels. Valerie noticed how the maid did up her corset extra tight, making Valerie's breasts push out of the dress in a ridiculous way. 

"Why must my mother request this obscene way of dressing me when I am to be engaged tonight?" Valerie grumbles to herself, the action of bending down to grab her things slightly painful. She locks her door and then conjures herself some glass containers and a candle onto the table in her room, dumping the ingredients out for the sleeping curse. She follows the instructions for making it, shaving bits of plants, crushing things, dumping in a few crystals. She melts it all into a liquid, and then chants a small spell, making the liquid glow with magic. After corking it and storing it as a last resort, Valerie puts on her heels and starts making her way towards her parents' room, ready to get exactly what she wants.

~~~

"Valerie? What are you doing here?" Aaron asks when Valerie enters the room, the servant opening the door and then leaving them in peace. 

"I just wanted to talk to you and mother one last time before tonight." She says sweetly, giving them a smile. Her father, always oblivious unless told otherwise, smiles down at her. When she looks over at her mother she's staring at her with suspicion.

"What about darling?" Miranda asks, coming to stand beside her husband. 

"Well you see, I wanted to ask you to reconsider your decision." Valerie says, looking around the large room. Her mother eyes her warily, unsure why her daughter has an odd air of confidence about her. 

"Reconsider which decision exactly?" Aaron asks, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I want to marry Killian, not Robin. Robin is a true gentleman, and I care about him. But I love Killian." Valerie tells them, watching as her mother steps a little closer. But for once she is not afraid of her mother, a reminder of her magic sparking at her fingertips and she inconspicuously tucks her hand behind her back. 

"Oh Valerie, this again?" Miranda laughs, her tone cold. "We've gone over this so many times."

"We understand what you are saying, we do. But we can't think of you want. We must think of what our kingdom needs. We need a strong alliance and a good ruler. Robin is the best candidate." Aaron says, gesturing about with his hands. He always was an exaggerated talker. 

"I thought that you were probably going to say that." Valerie sighs, a fake pout on her face. Miranda's eyes fall into little slits and Aaron glances between the two women, confusion written all over his face.