Chapter 14 A Decent Husband #2
Aurora couldn’t help the tears that fell down her cheeks, and she reached for her sister. “Thank you for saying that,” she said.
Elsie was crying, too, and she clutched Aurora with both hands. “I have always known that you are my guardian angel. Soon you will be that for all of Reverie, and we are so lucky to have you.”
Aurora laughed, wiping at her tears. “But you would abduct me if I asked, hm?”
“Without question,” Elsie said with fire in her eyes. “I would do absolutely anything for you.”
“I know.” Aurora went quiet, and an ache began in her chest, so severe it took her breath away.
Looking at Elsie, she realized this was the youngest she would ever see her sister.
Elsie was getting older every day, and even if her life was long, it would never be long enough, not when Aurora’s continued to stretch out before her.
It was then that she almost asked her sister to do it, to kidnap her so she wouldn’t have to live without her.
How could she possibly endure such a thing?
She covered her face and cried, and for a moment she worried she wouldn’t be able to stop.
Elsie rubbed Aurora’s head, gently pulled her hands from her eyes. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking that of all the hard things this life entails, outliving you will be the hardest by far.”
“Oh, sister,” Elsie said, pulling her close. “We will not have to say goodbye for a very long time.”
“However long we get, it won’t be long enough.”
“No,” Elsie said, dropping her head onto Aurora’s shoulder. “It won’t be.”
Just then, the gold handkerchief on Aurora’s side table drifted through the air toward her and Elsie, startling them both. It wiped Aurora’s cheeks first, then Elsie’s, before gliding back to the table.
Elsie laughed in disbelief. “So this is what it’s like to live on magical land.”
“The castle is the most magical place of all, and I doubt I will ever get used to it. In fact, I hope I don’t.”
There was a knock at the door, and Ina entered a moment later to find Elsie and Aurora wiping the remaining tears from their faces. “Are you all right?” she asked, looking at Aurora with concern.
“We’re okay. We have just missed one another.”
“Then what a joy it is that you have come to stay with us,” Ina said to Elsie. “You look very much like your sister.”
Aurora smiled. Ina had welcomed her from the moment she’d set foot in the castle, and she had been patient as Aurora had adjusted to her new life. Aurora was thankful for her, and one day, when she was more settled, she would tell her so.
“Except I don’t have strands of white in my hair,” Elsie said, running her fingers down Aurora’s braid. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m surprised by how fast it’s turning,” Aurora said.
“Same with this.” She pulled her sleeping gown off her shoulder and showed Elsie the Sun’s mark, lines of gold that were growing more pronounced with each day that passed.
“The Starmaker told me that one day, when I fully come into my magic, my hair will turn entirely pearlescent, and the mark will be complete.”
Elsie ran her fingers over the tattoo, breathing in. “It’s remarkable,” she said. “It shimmers like the light.”
“We’ll have to cover both for the wedding,” Ina said, “if you do not wish for the village to know that you are the Starmaker Rising.”
“I would appreciate that.”
“Then shall we begin our preparations?” Ina asked, and Aurora nodded.
“I suppose so. This is your event, so you just tell me what to do and when.”
Ina frowned. “Are you not even a little excited to marry?”
Aurora paused, trying to find the right words.
She knew that Ina loved the Starmaker like family, and she didn’t want to offend her.
“I am very eager to see my family, and I’m excited to see how you’ve transformed the village center.
” She said it as enthusiastically as she could, but she knew it wasn’t the answer Ina was looking for.
“I don’t want to overstep, but if love is what you desire, I do believe you’ll find it here.
” Ina offered her a gentle smile, and Aurora couldn’t help but smile back.
It was such a kind thing to say, but it felt so out of place, and Aurora wondered if they were thinking of the same person.
The Starmaker was guarded and distant, not even naming his animals for fear of getting too close.
Love was the last thing she would find in him, but she didn’t have the heart to argue.
Then Ina continued. “Maybe not in the traditional sense, but this castle was built on love, and it fills the walls to the brim. It is here, if you are willing to look.”
It was then that Aurora realized Ina had not been talking about the Starmaker at all, and she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Thank you, Ina,” she said, a little too quickly. “Now, what can I do?”
Ina was back in planning mode once again, and she ushered Aurora into the bathroom. “Take your bath, and I will be back in one hour with your stylists.”
“Stylists?” Aurora asked, looking from Ina to her sister. Elsie shrugged.
“Of course. You did not think you would ready yourself on your wedding day, did you?”
Aurora looked at Ina with an expression that said she had thought exactly that. “I am happy to do it myself.”
Ina took her by the shoulders and gently turned her so that she was facing the mirror.
“My dear, you are about to marry the Starmaker. You must shine.”