"Have you taken everything?"

She pushed the suitcase out the door and kicked it close with her booted foot. Aurora blew out the stray strand of hair that had escaped from her messy bun and was now dangling in front of her face.


Her father took one of the heavier bags from her hand and she rested the other smaller one on top of the suitcase before leaning against it,

"Yeah but I packed light, I didn't want to exceed the airport's luggage limit," She answered, pushing away from the suitcase and strolling after her father.

Harry scoffed but it was more of an amused one, "Is this you packing light?"


She threw him a look and chuckled as they meandered downstairs, there was a clanging noise coming from the kitchen area and she cocked a brown

"Rosa has been at it since early this morning, claims you need to have good food when you leave," Harry shrugged, "I told her not to bother, the airplane gives good service meals but she wouldn't have it."


Aurora laughed softly, nodding her head, "Tell her I'll take it."

"Are you going somewhere?" He cocked his head and she sighed, her eyes flickering in the direction of Miriam's room.

Aurora swallowed tightly, "I heard she came in last night, I thought she wanted to see me off."

"Oh, honey."

Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she tried not to whimper. She shook her head, giving him a smile from over her shoulder,

"I should give her this note anyway, I spent a lot of time writing it."

He gave her an encouraging nod and smiled warmly. Aurora returned the gesture before digging into the side of her large bag and retrieving the neatly folded paper. She strolled over to her mother's door and raised her fist to nod but paused,

"There's no use in knocking," She found herself muttering dejectedly and allowed. her hand to fall limply to the side.

Instead, she bent low and placed the letter at the foot of the door, arranging it so that it was properly aligned. When she straightened, she expelled a deep breath and whispered,

"Goodbye, mom," With one last dreary smile, Aurora walked away.

The drive to the airport was chaotic and it was for good reason. After they'd packed the three tier meal that Rosa had prepared, they had to get a lunch pack because there was no way to force the containers into her bag. Then as they were about entering the car, Natasha and Matt drove in with a cab saying that they wanted to see her off.

Her father had asked them why they didn't just go to the airport directly, Matt said something about alway needing an entorauge which wasn't far from the truth. Harry complained about the car being too small to contain the four of them despite it being a four seater, anyways after a lot of argument, he agreed I'm letting them tag along.

They'd gotten to the airport few minutes earlier so they had to resort to seating in the waiting area with a bunch of other people. Her stomach began to grumble so she took out the first tier pack and dove into it, Natasha claimed she was hungry too and the food smelled to delicious and joined her, moments later Mason dug in too and before she could blink the entire place was cleared off.

"Now that you're leaving, would your cook consider being employed elsewhere?" Mason has asked while wiping his mouth off and she simply ignored him.

Aurora's eyes kept flickering towards the entrance, eyes peeking whenever a tall male walked in. While Mason and Natasha had begun to discuss about the new fashion line, she couldn't keep her feet from staying still. Although, she tried very hard to listen and engage in the conversation, her mind was elsewhere.

When she couldn't take t anymore, she shot to her feet, excused herself and strolled over to where her father was standing.

"What's the matter, love?" He looked up from his phone when she leaned on the window sill beside him.

Aurora shook her head, gaze still trained in the entrance, "He told me that he'll meet me at the airport and now I have less than two minutes before the flight," Her anxious eyes darted to her father's identically colored gaze, "What if he doesn't show up?"

One thing was for sure, she'll never forgive him or maybe she would. But she sincerely wished he would come and at least say goodbye one last time.

Harry chuckled softly, throwing an arm over her shoulders, "I'm sure he has a reason for the delay and besides, didn't the two of you spend an awful amount of time together last night?" He cocked a brow, smiling mischievously, "Rosa told me you snuck in around one this morning."

Her cheeks heated up and she shrugged his arm away causing him to guffaw. Aurora rolled her eyes, looking towards the entrance again,

"Where are you, Ryan?"

The speakers suddenly came on, announcing that her flight was going to be ready in three minutes and advised all travellers to check in their luggages so that they could head to the terminal.

Her heart skipped and she frowned in disappointment. Was he really not going to come?

"Let's go, sweetheart," Her father cooed, steering her in the direction of the check in point.

Natasha and Mason were already on their feet, pulling her luggages with them. When they got to the check in point, they paused at the door because the security told them that only travellers were allowed inside.

"Alright, I guess this is where we say goodbye," Harry sighed softly, gathering her into his arms and patting her sick gently, "Be good, Rory and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call."

She nodded, sniffling as she pulled back. They shared an understanding smile and she wished she could hug him even longer, she couldn't remember ever leaving him to go someplace else.

Natasha and Mason bundled her into a group hug and they cried, laughed and threatened her to always call them. She wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded, they waved energetically and she reached for her luggage, heading towards the door.

For a spilt second, she paused and looked over shoulder. But nobody was coming, she blew out a breath and moved to walk in when she heard a loud voice call,

"Flower!"

She froze, whipping around at the name.

"Don't go in, flower!"

She peered into the distance but she wasn't able to make out anything, only dozens of people strolling around some heading towards the check-in point.

"FLOWER!"

Then she saw him, his tall figure bounding towards her with a hand in the air. She scoffed in disbelief, an excited smile rising on her lips.

Aurora dashed towards him and they met halfway, their arms wrapping around each other. She allowed herself to properly cry then, snuggling into his chest,

"Where the heck were you?" She sobbed, smacking his arm and pulling back to stare at him, "I thought you weren't going to come."

His eyes were smiling and his lips curled at the corners, "And miss the opportunity to see you off? Never?"

She chuckled, digging her hand into her shirt and pulling out the gem that was bind around her neck, "I wore it today."

"I can see that," He nodded, laughing softly.

Ryan leaned forward, cupping her cheeks, "I don't know how long you'll be gone for but what I know is that you're going to do extremely great," The way he said it made her believe him, "I trust you, Aurora."

She smiled and stretched on her tiptoes to press her mouth against his, "Thank you."

"Aurora! You have to leave now!" Her father yelled from behind them and they both chuckled.

"Goodbye, Ryan," It hurt her to say the words but there was also hope. This wasn't the last time they were going to see, she felt it deep in her bones.

Ryan smiled in a way that caused his eyes to crinkle softly and she wished she could paint that expression and keep it with her forever, or at least until she returned.

He leaned to press another numbing kiss on her lips, saying a thousand words with his mouth and she returned the gesture, clutching at him tightly. When they parted, their cheeks were both flushed and they were panting slightly,

"Till we meet again, Aurora."

With one last agreeing nod, Aurora walked away from his embrace and darted for the doors. She didn't look back, not when she grabbed her luggages and neither when the doors slowly closed behind her.

This was it, the end of her old life and the start of a new one. Not as the elite princess or a prima ballerina, not following the whims of her mother or being oppressed by her stepbrother.

This was was the start of her. Just her.

Just Aurora.