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Aurora made her way outside, as it was asked of her by her mother. The sky is the lovely blue it always is, no one clouds cover a single inch of it. The sun shined bright on everything in the garden, making the colours look so vibrant. An environment anyone could appreciate, and Aurora admired quite a lot since she could open her eyes. It was a beautiful day, but as Aurora approached the table that stood outside constantly, seeing Mother Nature at the end of it, it was clear that it wasn't going to be a pretty situation. She sat down on a chair that was near her mother, she pursed her lips, not eagerly anticipating the news she was about to her.
"Aurora." Anytime Nature shares anything with Aurora that they felt was important, they always started with her name. This made Aurora feel twisted in her stomach. "You've Always Been Told That I Was Your Mother, That's The Information You've Been Raised With." The more Nature began, Aurora felt tension rise between them. Aurora knew Nature was her mother, right...? Why would Nature lie to her about that, why would anyone lie about that? This isn't like the shows she watches on TV, this is the real life. "But..." Nature lets out a shaky sigh, it's clear Aurora isn't the only one nervous about this. "That's Not Entirely True, And I Feel You Should Know The Truth." When the words left Nature's lips, Aurora felt her world shatter, it felt like the world around her went quiet, it was like a ringing began to sound in her ears.
While Aurora wanted Nature to stop, but Nature continued, she wasn't done yet, and no one was stopping her. "I'm Actually Your Grandmother..." "Grandmother?" "I Understand If It's Confusing, But I Can Explain-" "It's Not Confusing. I Know What A Grandma Is." Aurora felt cold. "Oh... Well, That's Good..." Aurora knew she made Nature uncomfortable with her tone, she didn't mean to, she never wants to make Nature feel negative emotions in response to her actions or behaviour. This woman still raised her after all, even if she just revealed the news she never wanted to hear. "If You're My Grandmother..." She didn't want to ask the following question, but everyone knows how a family works, in order to be a grandparent, your child must have a child, one of Nature's children was her true parent. "...Who Am I The Child Of...?" Nature purses her lips. "...Well, It's... Complicated-" "That's Not What I Asked." Nature nods in response. "Right. I Know.... Well, To Start Off, Your Mother Is Lady Borealis." "... Lady Borealis? But-" "She's Not A Myth, Like Most Are Lead To Believe."
Aurora was stunned. Lady Borealis? That was her mother? It explained her last name, sure, but... nothing else. Nature continued to explain. "Like The 'Myth' Is Told, She Was The Original Representation Of The Northern Lights, And She Keeps Winterbolt In His Permanent Sleep." "So Winterbolt Is Real Too?!" "Yes, But I'm Not Done. When She Had You, She Grew Too Weak To Stay In Her Physical Form. It Was A Decision Between Staying With You Or Saving You, And She Chose To Save You." The way Nature puts it, She understood her mother's reasoning, but what about her father. "And What Did My Dad Do?" "Uh-" "What Did He DO?" Nature knew she was too deep into this conversation to back out now, so she had no choice but to answer. "Well, He Brought You To Me..."
Aurora felt herself begin to get angry, she didn't even know who her father was yet, but she knew she was angry at him. Before she could ask anymore, someone else finally decided to show up. "MUM, Stop What You're Doing!" North Wind lands on the soft grass, somehow making a loud thud with his landing. East Wind wasn't far behind him, she was clearly uneasy. She must have told him about Nature's plans. But it was too late, with North's urgency, Aurora knew the answer to her unasked question. She looked her father with a glare, baring her teeth. She rises out of the chair and storms her way inside, and crash following after she closed the door behind her. North Wind runs after her, but when he opened the door, she wasn't inside, nothing was broken either.
She teleported away from home to a place that she use to visit when she was younger. A cave, somewhere she would go to hang out with her cousins, or friends. She ran inside to where it was dark, and curls into a ball, before she began to cry. At home, North Wind was trying to not let himself get angry at Nature, he has other things to be worried about, his daughter. Although, he couldn't help but be frustrated at the situation his mother put them in. "East, Please Keep Our Mother Here. I'm Going To Go Looking For Aurora." East agrees and goes back outside to Nature, meanwhile, North Wind begins to fly around, in attempts to search for his child.
Aurora felt betrayed, not by her biological mother, or Nature, but by North. Thinking about it, it should have been obvious to her from the start. The fact that North Wind seemed to always be around, was quick to help her and seemed to have a different attachment to her compared to everyone else. His aura was different around her. The feeling of safety and comfort when he was around. Even when she was a baby, she recognized him first instead of Nature. But why didn't North say anything, why did Nature tell her this, and not him. Why didn't he say he was her father, why did he not want that title. Why did he pass her away to someone else? She had so many questions, some of them, she was afraid of the answer, most of them probably would never get an answer. She had so many emotions at the moment, she began to think of a different life, what if North kept her? What if Lady never grew weak? So many thoughts ran through her head, but someone stopped her racing mind when they spoke up.
"Well, I'm Glad That You Haven't Run Off Yet-" His words being followed with a nervous chuckle. Aurora looks over in the direction of his voice, and of course, sees North. His face seemed relief but worried. Aurora was momentarily pleased to see him, but remembering the circumstances, her happiness quickly turned into annoyance. "What Do YOU Want?" Her mood was clear in her tone. North Wind cautiously approaches. "Well, I Know I Owe An Explanation-" "You Owe Me More Than An Explanation, YOU OWE ME A WHOLE CHILDHOOD." North winces slightly, but she wasn't wrong, he knew that. He sits down on the ground near her, but stays out of her personal space. "Well... I Don't Have The Choice To Give You That Anymore..." Aurora swallows a lump in her throat, tears began to invade her eyes. She knew he wasn't wrong either. She turns away, in hopes North wouldn't catch her crying. "Well Then... Explain Yourself."
North Wind lets out a sigh before beginning. "Well, You Might Already Know That Your Mother Is Lady Boreal, And That She Was Unable To Continue Staying In Her Physical Form After You Were Born." "No Shit. Why Did You Abandon Me? What's Your Reason For That?" Aurora was exaggerating, but North couldn't blame her, her knowledge of her own family and life had been crushed within a few hours. He paused before answering. "... I Didn't Think I Was Good Enough." Aurora raises an eyebrow, confused on what he meant. "When Your Mother Found Out She Was Pregnant With You, I Felt Immense Guilt. I Thought I Had Doomed Her, Endangering Her Essentially." "And Did You Try To Save Her?" "Well I Wasn't Sure What To Do About It, During Her Pregnancy, I Was Constantly Offering To Take Her Place, So She Wouldn't Grow Weak And Lose Her Physically Form, But She Insisted That She Was Strong Enough To Continue." Aurora wipes the tears North hadn't seen yet and rolls her eyes, she was still annoyed. "I Knew Something Wasn't Right When I Couldn't Find Her A Month..." "And What Did You Do Then?" "I Told Everyone That Knew Of Her That I Couldn't Find Her, I Was Worried That Something Had Happened To Her Or-" "I GET IT, You Were Only Worried About Her! Now Get On With The Sob Story!" Aurora yells at the man that she still couldn't believe that was her father.
North Wind feels his eyes sting, he wanted to cry at his daughter's reactions, but he still didn't blame her. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve before he continues. "I Was Worried About You Too, You Were At Just As Much Risk As Your Mother. If She Lost Her Physical Form, I Could've Lost Both You." It felt like something pulled on Aurora's heart, guilt began to circle her. "When Your Mother Came To Me, She Was Clearly Tired And Weak. It Was A Short Interaction Before She Passed You Off To Me." "...What Did She Say...?" North does his best to not cry, thinking back on what Lady Boreal said to him. "Well... She Told Me That She Couldn't Last The Way She Was Anymore... But She Needed To Keep Winterbolt Asleep, Apparently Something Manage To Bring You To His Attention." He took a moment to pause before continuing. "She Had No Choice But To Lose Her Form In Order To Save You. She Said I'd Do The Right Thing, But I Knew I Wouldn't... I Had No Experience, No Guidance, No Help, No Support. I Didn't Want To Lose You, As You Meant A Lot To Me, But I Couldn't Raise You. I Handed You To Nature, Because At Least That Way, You'd Still Be In My Life, And I Could Still Be In Yours."
As North finished, Aurora had began to cry, and she couldn't stop herself. North noticed this, and his concern and own guilt grew. "Oh- Aurora!" He brings her into a hug, he was a little surprised that she quickly hugged back, but he focused on comforting his daughter. "I... Don't... Understand..." "I Know..." He gently brings his fingers through Aurora's hair, this was something he used to do when Aurora was younger, as it made her feel relaxed. "I Don't Even Remember What I Was Thinking When I Made That Decision, I Think Back On It Everyday And I Regret It." Aurora continued to cry into her father's shoulder. He gently pulls her head off and makes her look at him as he told her something. "I Don't Expect You To Forgive Me For My Decision, Nor Do I Want To Forget About It Either." Aurora looks at him, her tears slowly beginning to cease. "If I Could, I Would've Let You Stay In Blissful Ignorance To The Truth. I Wanted To Tell You Myself, But Of Course, My Mother Always Has To Beat Me To That." Aurora sniffles. "But Why Did You Tell Me?" He looks at Aurora, with a regretful. "Because It's Safer If You Know." She was confused, wondering what made her safer about knowing the knowledge, but as she looked outside, the sky had changed. It was no longer a calm blue, but instead a dark red. Looks like someone has already woken up.
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(1915 Words)