Chapter 34 Aurelia
Aurelia
For the first time in centuries, the Castle family held no power.
People weren't flocking to the palace in hopes of joining us, and even though Adrian had declared war on everyone, no one really seemed to take that threat seriously.
Or at least they were smart enough to know I wouldn't be seeing it through.
And that meant that, for the first time in a while, the palace was mostly empty.
Mostly being the keyword.
Because even though we were supposed to be in ruins, this place looked anything but.
“It's a miracle,” I said, looking at the garden. The fountain that had once been cracked was now completely redone and flowing with clear water. The weeds and vines that had been growing throughout had been replaced with beautiful flowers of varying colors.
“Just needed some love and care,” my mother replied, her head popping up from a giant bush of pink flowers. The hat she was wearing didn't suit a former queen, but she was more than happy to be rid of the title.
She had never smiled so brightly. Her face was smudged with dirt, but it only enhanced her beauty. Her face had gotten plump from finally getting the blood she needed.
“I guess that can be said for a lot of people,” I said as I inched closer to her, inhaling her scent.
Even after three months and counting, I couldn't get over the fact that she was here with me. I was afraid to leave her, and she knew it.
“Why are you still here, Aurelia?”
I gave her a mock gasp.
“Are you saying you don't enjoy my company?”
She gave me a look before she let out a chuckle.
“I'm saying that Hunter Girl and Troublemaker are getting antsy. You promised to show them the world, did you not? And here you are, fussing over me.”
My heart warmed at the nicknames she had for my lovers.
They had all grown close, something I never imagined possible even when I was a little girl. I never once considered I’d end up with my true loves, let alone that my mother would actually dote on them as much as she did on me.
“I…” I paused, my throat becoming thick with emotion. “I just want to be with you, is that such a crime?”
She gave me a sad smile and scooted closer. When she laid her head on my chest and sighed, I found the knot in my throat getting bigger.
“I love you, Aurelia.” She took her glove off and slipped her hand in mine. “I think it’s time I apologize to you.”
I looked at her in shock.
“Mother, you have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should be the one apologizing because I never knew you were down there.”
I looked at our intertwined hands. The guilt sometimes felt like it would eat me alive. She had been down there, suffering, while I was off doing whatever I wanted.
Well, not quite. But still, it paled in comparison to what she went through.
“I had a chance to run away with you,” she whispered. “When he was busy dealing with my handmaiden and her pregnancy, I had a chance. I should have taken it. At least then you wouldn’t have had to endure all this pain.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“But I did,” she said, finally looking at me. Bloodred tears gathered in her eyes. “I knew he was a monster; I just never thought that he would turn on me like he did. I shouldn’t have… I should never have told you to stay fierce. I should have told you to run.”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
“You and I both know nothing would have taken me away from this place.”
She hugged me back.
“Which is exactly why you need to go. You can’t keep staying here like a princess stuck in her tower waiting to be saved. You’ve been saved. You just refuse to walk through the door.”
Her words hit me right in the chest.
It was true. I didn’t want to leave. No, it was more accurate to say that I was scared to leave.
I didn't want to leave her in case she wouldn't be here when I got back.
It didn't matter that my lovers were waiting for me. They had been patient and said nothing as they allowed me to spend time with my mother. But this wasn't the life I imagined living once it was all over.
I couldn’t stay in the palace ruins for the rest of my life.
All I ever wanted was freedom, but I never really thought about what that freedom would look like. What did I want to do if I wasn’t tied down to a title or a palace?
More importantly, what did that make me?
If I wasn't the Castle princess, what was I?
“I don't know who I am without this place,” I admitted to her, scared to say it any louder than a whisper.
“You’re Aurelia. My daughter. Their lover. A headstrong, dependable, passionate woman fate tried to tear down. But you survived. And now you can turn your life into what it always should have been.”
I held on to her, clutching her as if it were the last time.
“I'm scared,” I whispered.
“I know,” she said, her voice quivering. “But you're not alone.”
Just as she said that, the sound of footsteps hit our ears. We both turned around to see Vesper and Cedar entering the garden. Vesper was holding a bowl of bright red, sparkling blood candies.
I smiled at them, and they smiled back.
Vesper always offered everything to my mother first, and the candies were no exception.
“You're spoiling me,” Mother said as she grabbed a few from the bowl, throwing one into her mouth automatically.
“I can think of no better way to spend my days,” Vesper answered as she watched me. “Spoiling my girls.”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew they could both feel the warmth through the bond. Cedar came closer, but instead of sitting at my side, she moved behind me, her hands running through my hair.
“Maybe we need a handmaiden,” she commented as she gently combed through my hair, breaking up the knots.
I let out a sigh as she began braiding my hair, taken back to another time and another place when she’d done exactly that.
“Hey, that's my job,” Vesper said with a fake pout.
Cedar let out a deep chuckle. “Too slow. Even though you did get better at it!”
“If I knew there was a chance vampires would trip over themselves to braid my hair, I would have never cut it,” Mother said, unaware of what the moment meant, and took off her hat. Her hair fell down around her face in small waves ending right at her chin.
“Short hair suits you.” Vesper gave her a smile and held out the bowl for my mother to grab two more candies.
Cedar finished my braid and gently placed it over my shoulder. I leaned back into her and looked up, meeting her slightly reddening gaze.
She sent me a smile of her own. Relief shot through me for the hundredth time since she woke up as a vampire. It hadn’t changed her. She was still the same cocky witch. Her freckles stayed, and when the redness was gone, her forest green eyes came back.
She kept telling me it was the gods. That they had favored her somehow.
Maybe it was true. Or maybe it was fate paying us back for all the shit it put us through.
“What do you say, Princess?” she asked, her tone gentle. “Are we ever going to leave this place?”
I swallowed the knot in my throat and looked over at Vesper and my mother, both waiting for my answer.
My lovers were trying to hold in their feelings so they wouldn’t make it to the bond, but I could feel them loud and clear.
“We will be with you the entire way,” Vesper said, reaching over to grab my hand.
“And don't worry, we’ll come back to visit. This isn’t goodbye.”
The thought of leaving still felt uncomfortable. Regardless of what happened, this was still my home. This was me.
Maybe it's time to create a new me. I already have a new home in them.
“Just for a few days,” I whispered, then my voice came out stronger. “There's a couple of people we should visit, and then we come back.”
“Promise me something, my love,” my mother said, reaching over to squeeze my thigh. “If there's ever a moment when you want to keep going, just do it, okay? Don't worry about me. I'll be here when you get back.”
“Won't you be lonely?”
She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by vampires coming around the corner, all of them holding big sacks of soil. A few were holding large planters filled with various different flowers.
“Your Majesty, the shipment just came in!”
I couldn't help but smile at them.
We had told the vampires they could leave, but many of them still stayed on the outskirts of our palace grounds. They showed up for my mother every single day, whether it was to help her with the garden or just to bring things to help redecorate.
“I don't think I can be lonely, even if I tried,” she told us with a smile. “Just in time! Place them over there!”
Fate was telling me to leave. Along with everyone else, apparently.
Looking at Vesper and Cedar, I stood up, brushing the dirt off my dress.
“Then it's settled. We'll be back in a few days.”
My mother pulled me into a tight hug that made my eyes water with blood, and I hugged her back as tightly as I thought she could handle.
“I love you.”
“And I love you, my perfect, sweet daughter.”
No one ever called me sweet or perfect before. The thought came unbidden.
As my mother turned away, Vesper lowered her voice so only we could hear.
“Yes, our perfect, sweet princess.”
“And our perfect, sweet brat.”