"I-I've never t a prince before, wow." Aurora stamred, like a high school girl finally gathering the courage to talk to her crush.
Henry dismissively waved his hand, downplaying the myths and legends about the Kingdom's royal Prince, "Oh, don't sweat it. Princes aren't all that special. The history and fairy tale books just exaggerate things about them. The truth is, we're just your average dudes who were born with a golden spoon shoved into our mouths."
He's not actually lying. There were indeed so books out there, either sung by bards or written by paid scholars, flattering the royal families. Basically, they're the early main characters of dia manipulation that would one day be used by governnts in the future.
Aurora shook her head and replied with a still cherry tone, "But still, I haven't t anyone around here aside from my Fairy Godmother, so it's been years since I t soone else…"
"Are you serious? Am I like, the first guy you've t?"
Aurora nodded her head, "Well, if you consider Pretty Bird as a man, then you're the second guy I've t."
Henry ntally snorted.
Eventually, Aurora offered to invite him to her cottage, much to Henry's relief. He had been racking his brain on how to get Aurora to invite him to her ho. Not like he had any other intention aside from getting close to her.
If Henry didn't know about Maleficent's capability, and his certainty that she can observe almost anything that is happening inside and outside the borders of the Moors Forest, Henry wouldn't have bothered talking to Aurora like this as he could just lie to Maleficent and tell her that he's doing his job properly.
Still, even without all that, there are so perks to getting close to Aurora. Considering her status as the future Queen of Ironre, Henry could absorb the small Kingdom in the Federation through his friendship with her.
As for going beyond friends with her? Henry doesn't see it happening. Sure, Aurora is cute and all that but there are several reasons Henry would avoid complicating himself with her.
First of all, she's two years younger than him. Unlike Elsa who is the sa age as him, along with Ariel and Rapunzel having only one year in their age gaps compared to Henry.
Second, Maleficent wouldn't tolerate him having another woman besides Aurora. If she ever caught a glimpse of his other relationships, she wouldn't hesitate to burn him to a crisp. Having Poseidon's trident hovering above his head is already enough as a headache because of Ariel, he would be an idiot to add another powerhouse to strangle his neck.
Last but not least, Henry is not a womanizer!
He may look like one and even act like one, but never in his entire lifeti, did he ever dream of chasing more than one woman. At first, he was prepared to settle in with Elsa as his wife but like Bob Ross once quoted, 'We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.'
It was purely accidental that Ariel and Rapunzel fell head over heels for him. And he couldn't find it within the deepest, furthest corner of his heart to reject them.
He would rather hurt himself than beco the reason behind their first heartbreaks.
That's why Henry would absolutely do his best to avoid making notable ladies fall for his looks. As much as possible, he would suppress his charm when near won.
In Aurora's case, Henry would just strike a friendship with her and in case another 'happy little accident' happens again, he would be prepared to abandon the ship before it could fully sink.
By the ti he was done ntally assuring himself, he found himself blinking in surprise as he was already in front of Aurora's cottage.
And there, on the recently opened front door were the three fairies in their human form. On the left side was an old woman with curled brown hair, with a blue tinge at the tips. She was smiling sweetly towards Aurora.
In the middle was another old woman with Auburn hair, the shortest of the three. She was frowning at Henry's presence while protectively pulling Aurora behind her.
Lastly, the one on the right was quite the opposite compared to the first two fairies. She was blond, younger, and her hair was extrely showy, being thick and curly. Her expression was filled with curiosity towards Henry.
Seeing as the atmosphere was silent, Henry took this as a cue and waved his hand at them. "Good morning. My na is Henry Charming. I got lost in the forest and—" He wasn't even able to finish his words when the bossy type of the three fairies interrupted him with a strict tone that is expected from her.
She pointed at the southeast behind Henry, "Go that way, walk for 5 minutes straight, and you will find a road that leads to a nearby village settlent, it's under the rule of Ironre Kingdom, has tall wooden fences and all that, it's hard to miss. Goodbye."
Before Henry could say sothing, Aurora quickly stepped out of her way, "Wait! Can't we at least…let him in? You know, let him have so rest and a drink? I-I'm sure he's very tired of his journey and all that. Right?" She swiftly turned her head to him and gave him a strained smile, as if asking him to help her out.
And help her out he did.
Henry rubbed his stomach, feigning hunger, and chid in, "Actually, she's right. I'm also feeling quite hungry. So I hope it's not much to ask for bread and a cup of water. I can pay, if I need to."
Obviously, he's lying of course. With the Sun constantly nourishing him with everything his body needs to survive, Henry could go without food or water for the rest of his life if he wanted. Though he refrained from doing so, it's quite a bit hard to resist the temptation of delicious dishes.
The strict fairy, who is also known as Knotgrass, contemplated his words. Unlike Flittle and Thistlewit who both lack survival instincts, Knotgrass is the opposite. There's a reason why she acts bossy around them and even sees herself as the appointed leader among the three. That's because of her cautious nature. She's not the sa as the other two who let their curiosity overwhelm their actions. She on the other hand, thinks before she acts.
"Aunt, pleaseeee…" Aurora stepped in front of her and clasped her hands together. As she begged her, she gave her the infamous puppy-dog eyes.
Knotgrass, unable to resist her cuteness, not to ntion, her birthday is just four days away and her ti to go back to the castle all by herself is nearing.
Finally, she relented with a defeated sigh, much to the surprise of Thistlewit and Flittle, "Alright, fine. But he stays no more than 10 minutes, I don't think drinking and eating requires any more than that." Of course, she had to stomp her foot down and set up a rule.
Which in both Aurora and Henry's cases, they don't mind. The forr because she'd get to know Henry better and perhaps learn more about the outside world through him, as for the latter, he not only gets close to Aurora as planned but he'll also be able to probe the three fairies.
He's curious about them obviously, such as their strengths, weaknesses, what makes them tick, and all that. In short terms, he's just generally more curious about a non-human race.
As soon as they got in, or more specifically, Henry. Knotgrass was quick to pull the other two fairies and surrounded Henry. Placing a clear boundary between him and Aurora who was on the front and oblivious to what was happening behind her.
Henry got himself a piece of bread—the hard one that you could brick soone's head with, and a wooden cup of water. A few seconds later, the wooden floorboards and chairs suddenly ca to life upon a flick of Knotgrass's wrist, forming a long wooden bench that they all sat on.
'What the hell is exactly going on here?' Henry's lips twitched several tis, his legs were extrely pinned against each other, and he could almost feel his balls being crushed. In the anti, Knotgrass and Thistlewit sat on his left and right side respectively. Aurora sits on the far end of the wooden bench.
She was pouting at her Aunts. They thought she wouldn't notice what they were doing, attempting to alienate Henry for her sake. Sure, she appreciates the thought behind their actions but how would she be able to talk to Henry properly with them acting like this?
"Aunts…" Her sweet voice trailed.
In an instant, the three fairies turned their heads to her and said in unison, ""Yes, Briar dear?""
"I saw a few squirrels scurrying around the gardens outside earlier. I think they're back for revenge." As soon as she finished her words, the three fairies stood up in unison, there was panic and anger in their faces.
"Flittle! Grab the broom, Thistlewit, with ! We're teaching those squirrels a good lesson not to ss with our garden this ti!" And just like that, the three fairies have quickly forgotten about Henry and rushed outside with determine-filled faces.
While Henry sighed in relief, Aurora quickly sat close to him, leaning her head slightly towards him as she asked, "Have you been traveling around for years now?"
"Yeah, I'm quite a bit of an adventurer myself. Wanna hear so stories?" As if reading her mind, Henry knew exactly what she was trying to do when she asked that question.
Her eyes twinkled, lips curving into a huge smile, and an excited bob of her head, "Yes please!"
"Alright, once upon a ti, there was a girl living in poverty and rags…"
Unbeknownst to them, they failed to notice the three fairies from earlier watching them through the window behind them. Unlike Knotgrass's grumpy face, the other two's expressions indicate that they're happy for Aurora.
"Look at her, finally making friends on her own. She has finally grown up, hasn't she?" Thistlewit comnted while wiping off a short tear from her eye.
Flittle couldn't agree more with her words, "How about you, Knotgrass? If you're so adamant on having Bria—Aurora find her happiness, why don't you just barge inside and kick the boy out?"
The bossy fairy rolled her eyes at Flittle's words, "I do want Aurora to be happy, but at the sa ti, I don't want her to get hurt…"
Thistlewit and Flittle tilted their heads in confusion, "If that's the case, why do you look like you don't want her to get close to the boy?"
Knotgrass resisted the urge to literally knock so sense into the two dumbheads, "Don't the two of you understand? Her sixteenth birthday is just four days away, soon she'll be taken back to her castle by her father, no more contact with anyone outside, if she made a friend right now and grew attached to him, it would bring her the greatest pain of being pulled away from her only friend…"
"Oh." The realization struck them both at the sa ti.
However, Thistlewit's eyes soon turned bright, "But the curse stated that the curse could be lifted if she receives a true love's kiss!" As soon as Flittle heard her words, she bead up and clapped her hands in tiny movents.
Knotgrass rolled her eyes, "As if Maleficent would make it that easy to lift her curse. And besides, true love doesn't just bloom in a week, not to ntion, in four days. It's too late for that now, so we can only hope for the best."
After putting her foot down, the other two fairies finally went silent; they could only turn their heads to the giggling Aurora beyond the window, and, unlike before, they no longer bore any smiles on their faces.
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