ᴡᴇ ᴘɪʟʟᴀɢᴇ, ᴡᴇ (plunder) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-05-14 18:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, aurora [disney], killian jones (captain hook) |
Who: Killian Jones & Aurora
What: Revealing what else he found out about Aurora's parents
When: Sometime this weekend
Where: One of the OC's botanical gardens
Rating/Warnings: Nada!
Status: Complete
When Killian said he had more information, the calm that she’d accumulated over the days seemed to disappear and the nerves crept up again. This time, however, she’d chosen the place. She’d told him to meet her at one of the local botanical gardens. She’d chosen one where there wasn’t an entrance fee, but she still brought money to donate to it. She also got a map so they would be able to find all the various gardens. There was also a small museum, but she wanted to stay outside. She hoped that this conversation would be a good one. Or...at least that she wouldn’t find out that her parents didn’t want her. Instead, it was something different. Paranoia had kept them away. Too many kidnapping attempts as a child had startled them and now they couldn’t help but see threats everywhere. Except that Aurora was kept safe at a distance with her aunties. No one knew where she was. “Did you talk to them?” Her voice was quiet and it had taken a few minutes of walking before she could bring herself to speak. Killian did, in fact, have positive news for Aurora. He was very good at what he did and unless there were extreme circumstances involved (like with Bo’s case, where her grandfather ran in the same circles as the Captain here and had gone to the ends of the Earth to essentially ensure she had no trace of information about her trainwreck of a biological family) he didn’t need to actually speak with the people in question. What could he say, he was a pirate - they were a sneaky and crafty sort. They knew there were multiple ways to skin a cat. And sometimes they literally skinned the cat too. Being desperate for meat while away at sea and all. Ah, memories. “Didn’t need to,” he assured, walking alongside the wee lass. He wore an actual t-shirt (black, admittedly - there was no getting him out of that shade), yet lacked a leather jacket for once, with jeans and broken-in boots. Good clothes for wandering a botanical garden, where the heat seeped in. Aurora had picked the place and this seemed very her. Flowers were very nice, a whole myriad of vibrant colours - the air felt heavy, it was aromatic and perfumed with the scent of life. “I pieced the puzzle together otherwise though. Figured I’d leave the talking to them to you, if that’s what you want. But I assure you, they didn’t give you up for the reason of not wanting you.” Aurora herself was wearing a light blue dress that flowed around her as she walked. This was paired with black ballet flats. She nodded at his words. Somehow they made her even more nervous. She wanted to talk to her parents, but she was terrified to talk to them. So many things could have happened. Her eyes were focused on the flowers around her. There was a garden with just succulent plants around, things split up in sections. But for now, she was surrounded by flowers. Quite a lot of them. She could identify almost all of them. She was still learning, so she didn’t know all of them. One day. One day, she would. “How did you find out?” When she spoke to him this time, her eyes left the surrounding beauty to look at Killian. “What did you find out?” Because that was the important part. What was the reason? Why did everyone lie to her? Why had she been given up when she was little? She felt the nerves flare up and she played with her hair. “Well, now, I can’t reveal all of my trade secrets,” Killian winked good-naturedly. “I’ve a lot of contacts, love. And access to a lot of databases.” Some legally, because he held his PI licence, and some rites of passage that weren’t so legal - but in this situation, he hadn’t needed to fall too far down the rabbit hole. Figuring out why Aurora’s parents gave her up wasn’t difficult at all. “The first time you were kidnapped, you were just a baby - of course you don’t remember it now. But there were multiple attempts after that,” he began to explain. He had a map of the grounds as well, and he pulled it from his back pocket to unfold and see what was what, while he kept talking. A garden with just succulents? How intriguing. There was also a monthly garden share - you could swap seedlings and trimmings and fresh fruit from trees with other avid gardeners. It wasn’t today, but for next time, he thought Aurora might like that. “Your parents have got quite a bit of money, you see,” he continued. “They felt you weren’t safe with them so they sent you off with your aunties.” Who were well-meaning, but obviously a little...bumbling. At least they never tried to feed her whole carrots when she was a baby, or so Killian assumed. “However, perhaps now that you’re older - “ He shrugged casually. “They would be delighted to see you, when you’re ready. I’m sure of it.” She was a little curious, but perhaps being a private investigator was like being a magician in that right. Neither revealed what made the things they did happen. At least not specifically. His next words made her freeze in place. Kidnapped? Who would kidnap a baby? She'd had an innate trust that people were good and that they didn't really do bad things because they were bad. Just troubled. “So they sent me away here.” She looked around again. Maybe that's what happened in her dreams too. She felt better, relieved in a way. She'd spent so much time wondering what she'd done to make them give her away that it was nice to learn that she hadn't played a part in it. Not really. Being kidnapped and having people try to kidnap her wasn't her fault. She was too little to stop it or be able to do anything about it. A small smile started to form. “Do you think they would?” She guessed she could always use the information he'd given her to find out. She could call and say she knew and that she wanted to see them. Maybe she already knew them without knowing. “Thank you, Killian.” She reached out for his hand so she could squeeze it lightly. “Hopefully I'll be able to fend off kidnappers if they try again.” She wasn't sure about it, but she also hoped no one would try again. Unfortunately, loads of shitty people were the type to kidnap a baby. People did just about anything for money, if they lacked morals. And the baby of a well-off family would certainly garner a pretty penny, for a safe return. But it definitely wasn’t Aurora’s fault - in this case, Killian would entirely blame the fuckers who had done the kidnapping. It sounded like some severe Rumpelstiltskin shite. “Of course they would, they love you,” he assured, giving Aurora’s hand a squeeze in return, lifting it to kiss the back of it as well in a gentlemanly fashion. “It must have killed them to have to let you go but they were trying to keep you safe. You’re older and perhaps you don’t need as much protecting, but still. You could always learn more self-defence tricks?” He started walking again, stuffing the map back into his pocket once more. “I could teach you to swordfight also.” Sometimes he gave lessons, when others asked - he taught Henry regularly, when the lad wasn’t shooting arrows a la Hawkeye. And surprisingly, Killian was a good teacher - he had skill with a sword, which came from centuries of practise in another life. Aurora’s smile grew a little at Killian’s words. “I'm glad that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I didn't want them to have not wanted me.” It still didn't explain the lies, but perhaps that had been to keep her from looking before she was able to protect herself. It probably would have been difficult to get out of the lie once the years passed by. She couldn't imagine it. “Would you really?” Her expression brightened. “I don't have a sword, though. I don't think I have any weapons in my dreams.” She'd just had The Horned Lady. One day, she was sure she'd discover her name. She'd never used a weapon here either. “But if that's not a problem, it could be fun to learn. I might take some self defense classes, too. Just so I have a solid base.” She wondered idly if some of her new friends could show her some things. It could be fun. Self-defence classes were in abundance, and Killian was all for the lass learning to throw a punch. It was a skill that came in handy for him more than once (but then again, he doubted Aurora was going to go out there and find herself in the midst of a bar fight just for the fun of it). “‘Course I would,” he nodded. “I can find you a sword too, that’s no trouble. They’re designed specially for each person - based on arm length and such - and I think a friend of mine may have one that would be fitting for you.” He’d have to ask Neal if he received his cutlass from when he was a lad, and from when Killian taught him once upon a time aboard the Jolly Roger. But Baelfire (now Neal) had only been about fourteen when he first learned to wield a sword. The weapon would no doubt be a good fit for Aurora too. He’d let her handle any other self-defence skill she wanted to learn. Martial arts or just good old-fashioned street brawling. At the very least, once she knew hot spots on a person to focus on (eyes, throat, groin) and how hard to hit then that was something. Aurora had a little added bounce in her step as she walked now. “I’ve never done any sort of fighting before.” It was probably fairly obvious, however. She was much more of a peaceful creature, but if people might try to kidnap her, she supposed she would have to find some way of putting them off. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to sword fights or any other sort of violence, but if it had to, then at least she’d be ready for it. “I hope I can manage a sword, but I might not be very good.” There was a pause before she said, “I didn’t know that they made them special, though. It makes sense now that I think about it. You can’t have a sword that’s too big.” She wasn’t sure if a sword that was too little threw things of as much as one that was too big. There was probably a lot of things she had to learn still. She turned to look up at Killian again. “All this learning is probably going to hurt, isn’t it? That’s one thing I can say for flowers. The only hurt some of the time and only if you’re not being careful.” Cacti were actually the worst culprits with that. Sometimes roses, but that’s why she had gloves that she wore when she had to deal with them. “Anyone can learn to swordfight, love - it’s very elegant, almost like a dance,” Killian said, and he was confident that Aurora would do well. She seemed very quick and spry. Much like the Princess Aurora he dreamed of, though the differences - when he considered them - were quite interesting. He wondered if that Aurora was out there somewhere, or if they were all just recycled and reborn again, different versions of themselves. But at any rate, swordfighting was a workout too. “Your arms and shoulders will burn,” he grinned. “However, it’s good for you. We can certainly work that out though.” He stopped by the succulents, the garden entrance nearby - talk about a hardy plant. These were the ones that he identified with most strongly (you know, difficult to kill and all). “When do you think you might get in touch with your mum and dad? You’ll tell your aunts first, I presume?” Dancing Aurora could do. She’d learned how to dance some when she was younger, but most of it was on her own or with her Aunties’ help. There was also some stuff in gym class, but nothing really informative. She’d taken a few classes, too. Nothing recently, though. “Then I think I should be able to manage. If anyone can learn.” She wondered if her dream self knew anything about it in the future. It was hard to say given she was only fifteen. Her attention shifted for a moment to the succulents, studying them quietly. There were a few of them in her greenhouse along with all the other plants and flowers. Turning her attention back to Killian, she gave him a small smile. “I don’t know. Soon. I just have to work up the courage to call. I’ll talk to my aunties first,” she agreed. They should know. “Good,” he nodded, since keeping it a secret from her aunts would likely just lead to more trouble down the road. And Killian didn’t want to cause problems for Aurora and her family. “It’ll all work out, love. There’s no reason to keep the wool over your eyes any longer - and if you need someone to blame, you can always blame me too,” the Captain grinned. Well, he’d done the work with Aurora’s permission (and he wasn’t planning to charge her anything - sometimes he did favours for people, using his skills, but those were in extremely rare circumstances) but he didn’t mind taking any heat for it. Though he didn’t think those three old spinsters would truly be upset, honestly. Bless them. “It's hard to keep it over my eyes when I already know it's not true.” She knew her parents were alive now and she knew that there really was no reason to sneak around. Plus, she was upset with her aunties for lying to her, so she couldn’t go and lie to them. “My parents can’t exactly pretend they aren’t my parents when I know they are. And well...I don’t know what else might happen.” She was happy at that moment, so she thought that just maybe things might work out okay. “Thank you again. For helping. If there’s anything you need, I’ll do my best to help you.” “Don’t be too hard on them, love - both your parents and your aunts. They obviously had your best interests at heart, but mistakes were made and, well. I can tell you from experience that parents do make mistakes,” Killian sighed. Granted, he’d never send Meara off (if anyone tried to kidnap her, he’d literally kill them and would not be merciful) but he’d seen this exact sort of thing in his own dreams. Belle did it recently, with her own son - getting him away from the influence of his twat of a father was what she felt she had to do (of course, that may have backfired). The Charming’s as well, for example - they did what they had to do, in order to give Swan her best chance while a curse ravaged the land. It wasn’t a great option, wasn’t even a good one, but occasionally you were just faced with choices where there wasn’t really a stellar selection to make at all. Anyway, Killian wouldn’t continue to lecture or wax poetic about that. For now. “You’re sweet, darling, and I’ll certainly keep that in mind,” he promised. “But alright, how about you show me your favourites here? I suppose I could use more inspiration, in case I ever want to add to my sad little garden.” Aurora nodded. “I’ll try to be as gentle as I can be.” Which wasn’t really difficult for her. She felt that she wasn’t really too awful. She’d been very upset at first. Now she just wanted to understand what happened. If she got answers, everything would be fine. She was just nervous about them, about finding out their feelings regarding her. She knew it was silly after all the assurances that it would be fine, but she felt it. “It comes naturally.” But the question as to her favorites. Or, rather, the request that she show him some of her favorites. She pointed to a succulent with long strands of fleshy leaves. “Burro’s Tail,” she said after a moment. “Sedum morganianum. As long as you protect it from extreme cold temperatures. It likes a lot of sun and warmth. Perfect for your ship. But try not to touch the leaves. They don’t like to be touched and they can fall off very easily. Sometimes flowers bloom at the ends, but not always.” She looked more, pointing to two similar plants. “They call both of these Hens-and-chicks because they sprout off smaller versions of themselves, but they are two different plants. This one,” she pointed at the one with thinner, rosette looking leaves that spread out a little flatter than the other one. “Is sempervivum tectorum...and this one,” she pointed to one with a thicker rosette-shaped one that curved up a little more toward the sky. “Is echeveria elegans. During the winter they shouldn’t be watered very often.” She was quiet for a moment. “The sempervium tectorum forms pink, star-like flowers. They die off after flowering. The echeveria elegans has more bell-shaped blooms.” She liked almost all of the succulents, though. “Aloe plants are pretty easy to take care of also. And helpful. Especially if you burn yourself.” Aurora was very knowledgeable about green things, wasn’t she? It was impressive. “You know, the Aurora I dream of was Princess in a kingdom called The Sands,” Killian shared. “Hot winds and the smell of smoky-sweet sandalwood was always in the air too. There were mosaics, everything glittered - but needless to say, you wouldn’t find many lush plants.” Of course, the kingdom was also lost to the Dark Curse. Aurora herself had remained asleep for those twenty-eight years, caught in the protective bubble cast by Cora that kept parts of the Enchanted Forest from being affected. “Point is, she was a Princess,” he added. “Food for thought, perhaps.” He doubted Aurora had made such a discovery yet in her dreams - but that seemed to be one of the main attributes. Through his research, he knew her father shared the same name - Stefan - though in the Enchanted Forest, her mother was Briar Rose. But back to the plants. “I ought to get some aloe soon, I think. Especially since sunburn is quite common amongst us sailors,” the Captain grinned. Aurora studied Killian for a moment as she listened to him talk about the Aurora she knew. She was a princess. Aurora didn’t think they were the same person. As far as she knew, she was just a girl that lived in the woods. She guessed she hadn’t imagined she came from money here, though...and she had. But how could she possibly be a princess? “She sounds like an interesting person. Perhaps there were some, but I suppose a place called The Sands wouldn’t have a lot of plant life.” Too many anyway. Succulents and cacti perhaps. If it was a desert setting. She assumed it was something similar. “I will think about this Princess stuff.” But she didn’t think it would come to anything. “That could have something to do with the being in the sun very often.” She smiled at him. “We’ll find you an aloe plant or twenty to make sure you’ll be covered.” “I knew I could count on you, love,” Killian pantomimed wiping off his brow, as if relieved he wouldn’t have to die of sunburn pain any longer. And really, he’d experienced some painful sunburn in his day - the worst part was the Hell’s Itch, however, the thing that came about sometimes after you were already scorched. He’d seen it bring even the most hardened of swashbucklers to their knees. And rolling on the ground in pain. Aurora didn’t believe she was a Princess yet, but maybe someday. The puzzle pieces had to all fall into place and click together, and he’d be there if she needed him during all that. |