Aurora woke in a soft bed, feeling rested and safe. She shifted to the side, vaguely wondering if it was time for her tutoring yet. Then she shivered, why was it so cold?

She opened her bleary eyes and immediately let out a piercing scream.

The princess scrambled back, wide-eyed, looking at the man in her bed.

The man's eyes sprung open and he sat up, looking around, "What?!" his eyes fixed on Aurora after seeing no sign of a threat, and he held out a hand to her, "Are you okay?"

Aurora screamed again, falling backward off the side of the bed, and landing in a heap on the floor.

"Ror!" the man called, jumping up to look over the side of the bed at the frightened princess, "Are you alright? What's wrong?" he hurriedly asked, looking around again.

Her brown eyes met his green and she fought deja vu as she cried out, "Who are you?!"

The man paused, looking down at her before slowly sliding off the bed to join her on the floor.

Aurora fought the urge to scramble back when she saw the worry in his eyes.

He cautiously reached out, and her stomach tensed as he gently touched her forehead with the back of his hand.

"Well, you don't have a fever…" he mumbled to himself before leaning back slightly.

Aurora released the breath she was holding as her eyes looked into his. She quietly repeated, "Who are you?"

The man paused again, studying her, "Normally, I might think you're joking, but you were never one for jokes…"

The princess scooted back again, distrusting this stranger. She swallowed, getting ready to run. Aurora attempted a more threatening tone this time, "I'll ask one more time: who are you?"

The man looked a bit bewildered as he sat back, "I'm… Orion," he paused, searching her expression for recognition, "I'm your husband."

And finally, Aurora did what she should've done from the beginning, "GUARDS!"

After she let out her cry for help, men rushed in, looking for danger. Upon seeing none, one asked hesitantly, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Aurora gaped at them, gesturing silently at the man on the floor with her.

The guard looked to Orion, "Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

Aurora stared perplexed, stunned at the title that the guard used for the man.

Orion glanced at the princess before turning back to the guard, offering an apologetic smile, "I apologize, it seems she had a nightmare. Please return to your posts."

The guard nodded silently and the group followed him out of the room.

Aurora felt curious eyes on her before the door shut and she was alone with the man again.

The room was tensely quiet for a moment before Orion broke it hesitantly, "Ror…" he spoke hesitantly, "Are you okay now? Should I call a doctor?"

He moved forward again, but the princess held up a panicked hand, "Don't move…" she paused, "Please, stay right there. I need a moment to think."

Aurora stared at the ground while Orion silently obeyed, sitting back cautiously.

The princess tried pinching herself, cursed at the sting, then tried again. This certainly didn’t feel like any dream she’d had before. She was usually very good at waking up when she wanted to.

The only other conclusion she could come to was that she had been kidnapped. Maybe he was the king of a neighboring country and wanted her hand the only way he could get it. Or, more likely, he was a man posing as royalty to trick her into believing something that wasn’t true…

That must be it.

She fixed an accusatory gaze on the man, "Why am I here?"

The man remained silently staring at her in disbelief.

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"Did you capture me to get the throne?" her tone was biting and she watched with satisfaction as the man flinched.

The man opened his mouth, slowly reaching out to Aurora before she cried out, "NO," she shakily gestured, "Stay- stay right there," when he silently obeyed again, she continued, "Now, tell me why I am here- why you are here…” she paused again, “Who are you?"

Orion sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "Aurora, I don't know what this is about, but I didn't lie when I said I am your husband… we've been married for 7 years,” the princess stared blankly, “Darling, we have a 5-year-old son," he looked into her unfocused eyes, "his name is Killian."

For the first time, the princess's mind sparked with familiarity. She knew Killian but… she didn't know how. The name triggered warmth, yet she had no idea who it was.

She shook her head, "You're lying," her thoughts raced as she tried to process what he said, "My mother would never let me marry someone so much older than me. She's not that old-fashioned. Even if we somehow married while I was asleep, there's no way I could have a 5-year-old child. That's… impossible."

Orion looked at her, aghast.

He opened his mouth hesitantly, "Asleep?" then he leaned forward suddenly, an alarmed look appearing in his eyes as he gripped her shoulders urgently, "What is the last thing you remember before waking up?"

Aurora leaned back again, apprehensive from the look in his eyes, "I don't know… it was my birthday party. I was outside then I must've fallen asleep."

Orion looked horrified, releasing her shoulders as he slumped back, "Oh no…" he paused for a moment before he softly asked another question, "Which birthday?"

“What do you mean?” Aurora was still unsure of what the hell was happening, much less able to process what he was asking.

He spoke slowly, desperation clouding his tone, “Aurora, on which birthday did you fall asleep at your party?”

Aurora was confused by the question. The answer was obvious, "My 16th… of course."

Then it was her turn to be horrified because Orion was bursting into tears.

The princess watched the man with curiosity and trepidation. She felt the odd need to comfort him. Ignoring the small voice that screamed to run, she unconsciously scooted forward, daring to ask, "Hey… what's- what's wrong?"

Orion shook his head as he struggled to get his breathing under control. He mumbled nonsensical apologies under his breath.

Aurora was genuinely starting to worry about him.

Her hand hesitantly reached out, fingers hovering for a moment before resting on his arm comfortingly

She let out a squeak when he immediately gripped her hand in his, squeezing it while he continued to sob in a ball on the floor.

He cried for another few minutes, just clinging to her hand before Aurora felt he could answer when she repeated, "What's wrong?"

The man looked at her and she felt a strange sadness at the sight of how swollen his beautiful eyes were, "Darling… you have the gift to borrow other's powers. All you need is physical touch and eye contact."

The princess nodded. She was, in fact, aware of her own gift. She had always thought it was a little lackluster and uninspiring. Copying someone else’s power wasn’t useful very often- they could just use it themselves to complete the task. Aurora remembered being jealous of her mother's gift to create ice, but the queen had regularly assured her that Aurora was her only perfect creation.

Orion squeezed his eyes shut, "The night of your 16th birthday…" He took a shaky breath, "Do you remember… the boy you bumped on your way out to the garden?"

Aurora hesitantly nodded, that must've been just a few hours earlier. How did he know about it? Did he see it happen?

Orion continued unsteadily, "That boy… was me," the princess pulled her hand away and she watched the man's expression fall in anguish, "Darling… that was 10 years ago."

Aurora let out a scoffing laugh.

Then she saw that he was still looking at her with despair.

"Y-You're serious?" he must be crazy.

Orion didn't need to speak for the princess to know he wasn't joking.

Aurora fought an eye roll as she stated the obvious, "That's ridiculous," she scoffed again, "What, are you implying that I was in a coma for 10 years?"

Orion shook his head, eyes trained on the floor, "Not exactly," he ran a hand through his hair, "Let's start with my gift," the princess silently listened, "I can skip as much as a day in time," he stood suddenly, startling Aurora as he rushed to a desk and grabbed a paper and pencil, "It's just… it’s easier if I draw it," he hurriedly explained, placing the paper in front of the princess, "When I jump a day in time, time continues to flow normally, and so my body remains," he drew a line on the paper, "But my consciousness… or as some call it: my soul, skips to the desired time," he drew 2 dots a few inches apart and labeled the line 'one day', "Again, though, I can only travel about a day."

Aurora remained silent, unsure of what he was implying.

"You have royal blood, though. You naturally are more powerful," he stopped, looking expectantly at the bewildered princess.

"Okay…?" Aurora was a bit lost. She fought a headache as she tried to process what he was implying.

"Ror…" Orion cleared his throat when his voice cracked, "You borrowed my power and somehow traveled 10 years into the future."

Aurora recoiled, "What?"