The Tale of a Princess and Her Journey to Love

Chapter Thirteen

Aurora was now the proud owner of ten new couture dresses, an array of hats, gloves, parasols and a sparkling sapphire tiara to match her eyes. It was an enjoyable time for her, and took some of the stress of the situation away (even though she was pricked a couple of times as the dresses were fitted like a second skin to her body). But now it was over and she had an hour until the evening meal, and Aurora knew what she must do.

Feign ignorance, apologise to Rosilabeth and find out all that she knew about Korian.

Aurora was worried though. Could Rosilabeth have been involved in the plot too? Surely not, although she was fairy-headed she was not scheming or a thief. With a deep breath, Aurora trailed her way to her sister's chambers with humble yet veiled intentions. When she arrived, Aurora felt cold with worry. There were so many thoughts racing through her mind... What if Korian was in Rosilabeth's room? Would she be able to act indifferently around him? Moreover, what if Rosilabeth showed signs of deception? It would break Aurora and their family's hearts. Trying to be brave Aurora rapped on the door, knowing she was going to have to say exactly what Rosilabeth would want to hear in order for her to open up.

"Who is it?" Rosilabeth called out, her voice muffled by the door between them.

"It is Aurora, please open the door, we need to talk." Aurora asked as it went silent.

"Well that depends. Are you going to shout at me and trample all over my love again?" She called out sourly.

"No, I have come to apologise Rosilabeth. I... I was wrong." Aurora announced even though it left a sour taste in her mouth.

She sighed in relief as she heard Rosilabeth mutter something incoherent before the door was pulled open, revealing Rosilabeth who was standing there with her arms crossed like a disappointed mother.

"You better come in." She sighed.

Well at least she did not seem so mad anymore.

Aurora nodded before wandering inside with her head hung low, hoping to appear meek and regretful.

"I truly am sorry Rosilabeth. I really do not want to fall out with you. If you believe that Korian loves you... then I am sure he does. He obviously regrets asking me to court him." Aurora recited the little speech she had conjured in her head.

"Thank you Aurora. I appreciate your apology, and I am sure you just misunderstood what Korian was saying. He would not want to court you when he already has me! I know you did not mean anything spiteful and were just trying to look out for me, but you really should not worry. Korian and I will be married by the end of the year." She proclaimed excitedly, and Aurora nodded along but in reality would never let such a union occur.

"Ok... Well I am sorry to have hurt your feelings."

"Of course you are. I think I know the underlying cause of your little outburst though." Rosilabeth smiled pitifully at her sister. "Jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Aurora questioned with a frown.

"Yes, you are jealous of my relationship with Korian, and must think that just because I have a betrothed I will not be able to spend as much time with you. Well even though I shall be living in Aubriemia as Queen, I promise to always have time for you, my dear little sister." Rosilabeth smiled as she took Aurora's hands and squeezed them affectionately, her pale green eyes holding sincerity.

"Oh... yes of course. I would miss you if you moved away." Aurora murmured.

"Of course you would. The whole of Alluvia will miss me. However, you must not worry Aurora, for the first time I am happy - truly happy! And you shall be happy too one day Aurora, I have not given up on you and Prince Theodosius yet." She winked, and Aurora's heart broke for her.

She was blinded by Korian's good looks, title and power, and could not see the darkness within. If only she was not so entitled, inane and frivolous. She was soon going to be awoken from her daydream though, and Aurora was going to make sure she was there for her, as she was not a bad person. With this in mind, she stepped forward and pulled her sister into a hug. With their eyes shut they could be mistaken for identical twins from their height to sunshine-blonde hair.

"Thank you Rosilabeth. I did want to ask you something though... have you heard of any new guards being hired or changes in the ranks of the castle lately?" She asked.

"Well... do not tell father or the Captain about this, but I did hire some of Korian's guards as our own." Rosilabeth giggled whilst Aurora wondered how she could have been so foolish.

"What do you mean?" Aurora sighed, trying to keep the look of despair off her face.

"Well they were lonely and bored waiting on Korian's ship day after day, and I knew it would make Korian happy so I hired them and gave them clearance to the castle." She shrugged.

"And you did not ask anyone about doing this?" Aurora frowned, wondering Rosilabeth had not seen any red flags by going behind their father's back.

"No Aurora... I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I wanted to make my betrothed-."

"Future, possible betrothed." Aurora butted in.

"Yes fine he has not given me a ring yet, but we shall be married. I just wanted to make Korian happy Aurora. If you had someone to love you would understand." Rosilabeth insisted.

"Of course... Just please ask someone of proper authority before you do something like this again. That way if anything goes wrong it will not be your fault." Aurora tactfully suggested.

"Well as Korian said I am a Princess - I should be able to do things without having my actions questioned! When I am Queen I will have lots of power."

Aurora fought the urge to shake her head. Korian had craftily manipulated her sister like putty in his hands. She was so naïve and desperate for love she was doing everything on his agenda, and yet she did not realise! And did she not know anything about Aubriemia? It was well known across the world for being very male-dominating and leaving women with no power. If she was made Queen she would be no more then a pretty face and heir-provider. It was saddening to realise that Rosilabeth was most likely no more then a pawn to Korian, and he did not care for her at all.

"Of course you shall Rosilabeth. I hope you get everything you wish for." Aurora smiled grimly but her sister did not even notice.

"Oh I know, with Korian all my dreams are coming true!"

Aurora did not have the heart to tell Rosilabeth about his thieving ways - not that she would ever believe her anyway. That tragic battle would come back to haunt them another day. She really was blinded by her infatuation, and because of that the situation was worse then Aurora had thought. Who knew what else Rosilabeth had done to advance Korian's secret agenda without realising the consequences of her actions? Because of her frivolousness, she had allowed an enemy access to their treasury and home.

Aurora knew she had to tell someone what was going on. Whether Theo was able to come to Alluvia or not was the determining factor. She would either wait for him or go straight to her parents. Little did Aurora realise that at that moment it was actually worse then she could possibly imagine.

The next chapter will be in someone else's POV loves. Any guesses? xoxo

Edited