[Bonus chapter] Findings (3)

"Did Minnie really kill grandfather?" Regina sobbed as she had always loved her grandfather. She found it hard to imagine that he was thinking about all of this but each time she saw him, he wore a big smile on his face. "Why would she do that? Why?"

"He said she didn't need him anymore. She must've only married him for something she needed." Aurora had a brief thought that maybe Minnie had killed their grandfather but she pushed it away as a silly thought. To have his diary confirm it made her extremely uneasy. She thought about Minnie wanting to put her to rest and concluded she might end up no different from her grandfather.

"What have I done for Minnie to want to hurt me? Why did she bring me here and what did they do to me that he has to apologize? Haven't I always remained obedient as they asked me to?" Aurora muttered, annoyed at what her fate might be in this home. She wasn't even sure if she could call it home.

Aurora abruptly stood up, threw her grandfather's diary to the side, and left the attic.

"Aurora!" Regina called out, rubbing the tears from her eyes. She was upset about the truth of her grandfather's death but she had to focus on Aurora. She was just as curious as Aurora about what he was apologizing for. What had they done to Aurora? "Aurora please wait," she hurried after her sister.

Aurora kept her focus on just getting as far away as possible from the attic. If she could, she would like to run far away from this place she called home. Aurora angrily stomped her way back to her room with Regina still calling out to her.

"Aurora please stop!" Regina called out to her sister again. Aurora had not taken notice that she was making all of the flowers placed in the hall start to do weird things. Some started to grow and others started to turn black. It was clear Aurora was not in the right state of mind and she had every right to be. Regina just did not want anyone to come into the hall now and see what Aurora did to the flowers. "Look at what you're doing Aurora!"

Aurora halted quickly, turning around with teary eyes to see what Regina meant. She now noticed the flowers that had changed because of her. She had been walking with her hand clenched and her emotions must've triggered the flowers to react. She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed. She had to fix this but her mind was elsewhere. Her emotions had finally gotten the best of her.

"I'm sorry." She raised her hand trying to fix the mess she created but the flowers just continued to burn and turn black while others grew. She found it increasingly hard to breathe no matter how hard she tried. She tried again and again but it wouldn't work.

"Calm down Aurora. Do it just like me. In and out," Regina repeated over and again until her sister was fine. "I am so sorry that did not help you and just fueled your fears. I can't believe grandfather is gone and a woman I looked up to in life and trusted was the one who did it."

Aurora pulled her sister close for a hug knowing how shaken up she must be. Aurora had a lot of emotions building up but she still needed to comfort her younger sister after what they just found out. Aurora was not necessarily close to the man as Regina was but in her eyes, he had always been a fun person to be around. He had the odd ways that he embraced and she used to think it was amazing how he continued to be himself when others frowned.

Whatever it was he had done to her must not have been good based on what he said. However, Aurora believed he did not deserve to die because of Minnie and her secrets. She felt like she had something to do with his death more than Minnie just killing me because he was useless but she did not know the reason as usual.

Aurora continued to pat her sister's back letting the tears flow out onto her dress. Aurora was conflicted and started to regret getting Regina involved in this. She did not need to learn this information about her grandfather and could have kept on thinking he died from a sickness. At the same time, Aurora believed it was better to know than to be left in the dark. She just hated seeing her sister break down from knowing the truth.

"I am so sorry you had to find out like this Regina," she apologized.

Regina huffed, stepping away from Aurora feeling like a big baby. She was supposed to be calming down Aurora but instead, Aurora was comforting her. "No, I'm sorry. This is not the time for us to be worrying about anything other than what they want with you. I need to hurry before anyone sees how ugly I cry," she chuckled.

Aurora smiled at Regina's ability to laugh things off and said, "It's not all about me Regina. You can grieve the loss of grandfather and I won't be upset. I am thankful for you always putting me first and trying to help but at a time like this, it's okay for you to cry. I'm your older sister. Allow me to comfort you every once in a while. I don't like feeling like it is always me depending on you."

Because Aurora was always obedient and never retaliated to anything said about her, Regina had taken it upon herself to be Aurora's voice and Aurora always felt guilty about it.

"I am your older sister and with everything happening right now, I need to be able to speak and defend myself just like you have been. I won't ever let you feel like you have to be the one protecting me. I am going to change," Aurora promised. Being obedient and quiet was useless.