Part 2: Once Upon a Dream

Aurora enters the Undertow.

Part 1 / Part 3

Before You Continue…

The second half of this post references the Sleeping Beauty ballet. In it, Aurora is celebrating her 16th birthday and she dances with four princes as her suitors. This all takes place just before she is cursed into a deep sleep.

To give the readers full context, here is a video of the ballet performed by the Royal Ballet. (Side note: Marianela Nuñez is one of the best ballerinas, in my opinion!)

Now, let us join Aurora Duran in the Undertow…

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Aurora found herself in a hotel lobby adorned in black and gold Art Deco. Marbled black and gold flooring swirled around her feet. A large chandelier with oblong crystals cascaded above her.

Music gently entered the space, as if coming from a gramophone outside of the room. Listening carefully, she recognized the Rose Adage from the Sleeping Beauty ballet. 

“Ha, ha,” She taunted. 

Her father named her after the princess. Esteban was a member of the Miami City Ballet, and Sleeping Beauty was his favorite ballet to perform. As a child, they would reenact the Rose Adage every night for an audience of stuffed animals. Esteban played the four princes, letting go of her hand only to catch her again as she remained balanced on arabesque. 

Something appeared in her peripheral, calling her back to the lobby. A suit of armor faced her, standing in attention across from her. It held no weapon, and its helmet was enclosed. 

She approached the knight in waiting, surveying his suit. His torso was wider than she expected. While simple, the suit carried gold details that matched the clean, sharp lines of the hotel lobby.

Just as she turned her attention to his helmet, the suit jerked his head downward.

Aurora let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. She hurried away from the armor, following a hallway that suddenly appeared to her right.

Like the lobby, the hallways matched the black and gold aesthetic. Jagged light fixtures bloomed out of the walls. The ceilings were adorned in golden floral stencil. The marble floor illuminated her path towards an elevator. The Elysium eye-con was etched onto the door.

Suddenly whispers surrounded her, lulling her thoughts. A young, male voice stood out from the rest:

We’ve met before…

Aurora was enchanted to touch the elevator button.

Once upon a dream…

The button pricked her finger.

Photo by William Krause on Unsplash

Aurora stood in the middle of an expansive ballroom. Crystal chandeliers illuminated the room, with velvet curtain accentuating the walls. A live orchestra was playing a standard waltz.

The guests glided around her, completely focused on their partner. The women’s gowns were so richly color, it was as if gemstones were sewn into the fabrics. The men wore unassuming tuxedos, yet each wore a bow tie to match their partner’s sweeping dresses.

Aurora looked down and realized she had an outfit change. Long, opaque sleeves covered her palms, gradually changing between pink and blue. In fact, her whole dress alternated between the two colors. She touched the top of her head, discovering a crown secured to her hair.

“Am I in that Disney movie?”

Though no one paid attention to her, vocalizing her thoughts eased her nerves.

The orchestra transitioned to the Rose Adage when a young prince approached her. He wore a velvet rounded hat with a gold top, invoking the golden domes of a Russian Orthodox church. 

He extended his hand out, waiting for her acceptance. His cool, blue eyes, and warm smile compelled her to take it. She proudly executed the arabesque. Her skirt was large enough to accommodate her choreography.

But when she fixed her eyes on the Russian prince, his charming countenance was replaced with a disapproving glare of her professor. It was as if someone erased his youthful expression and replaced it with her professor. The Rose Adage tumbled off-key.

“You are a month overdue on your essay, Ms. Duran. This does not bode well for your applications.” The deep and tense voice did not match the genteel posture. 

Then again, neither was the aging, cutting glare.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Shokhina.”

Aurora wobbled on her pointe shoe. The Russian prince pulled his hand away from her, leaving greatly offended. She wavered, but was determined to stay on arabesque.

Another hand caught hers, and the music returned to the dreamy adage. A Spanish prince gleamed under the chandeliers. His gold, matador lapels complimented his black suit. His onyx hair was perfectly gelled back. 

Aurora sighed in relief, then paused before letting go to hold a port de bras.

His cheery face twisted into an assertive scowl. The music, once again, slid off pitch.

“You are twenty minutes late for your shift. Where the fuck have you been?”

His authoritative voice called to mind her hot headed cafe manager. Then his face shifted from aggressive to lewd, taking on the chiseled features of a frat boy. He scanned her top to bottom, confirming her suspicions about his character. 

The Spanish prince slowly caressed her face, tracing down to her neck. She raised her shoulders and stared him down.

“Fuck off, John.”

Aurora punctured his fragile ego. The manager-prince huffed away while tossing out insults. She stood tall on pointe.

She faltered again, until a third prince caught her hand. Given his features, she assumed he was British. His curled wig beneath a feathered hat reminded her of fairy tales, most of which were from England. 

Nevertheless, she graciously accepted his hand and proudly held her arabesque. Once again, when she held her port de bras, his face had transformed to disappointment from her high school friend.

“You haven’t answered my Snapchat for over a week. Did you forget me?” He asked with entitlement.

The music went off kilter as she remembered Alan. He was determined to stay in touch after high school, and his constant Snapchats got under her skin.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy-”

Before she finished her response, the English Prince tossed aside her hand in annoyance. The music faltered with her. The fear of falling out of her arabesque bubbled up her core. 

In fact, she felt some fluid building up within her. It crept up her esophagus as she struggled to hold her pose.

A fourth hand caught her.

“May I have this dance, Aurora?” Phil Elric kindly requested. 

Whatever was inside her now stilled. Unlike the princes, he wore a formal suit. His bowtie matched her dress, changing colors at the same time as hers. 

“Thank God you can’t actually see my dreams,” She replied with a smile. 

Aurora gracefully came down from her arabesque, and bowed to her partner. Despite her embarrassment dreaming about a stranger, she was safe with Phil. 

He swept her into his arms and led her across the ballroom. The Sleeping Beauty Waltz played once again, and now they were the focus of the party. They glided across every inch of the floor.

As the music faded, their dancing slowed. Lost in his golden eyes, she gravitated closer to him. He slowly followed.

They were inches apart when someone from a distance caught her attention. Esteban, dressed in royal garbs, had his back to the ballroom. He disappeared into a corridor, illuminated with a green glow. 

Aurora picked up her skirt and rushed to meet her father. As she climbed the stairs, the fluid flushed up from her stomach. She grew desperate to reach him as it pushed to escape her body. Nevertheless, she fought back the surge.

Phil called her name from a distance, but she ran straight into the flickering corridor.