*~Aurora's POV~*
Finally, I managed to find somewhere to crash the carriage after we had been moving for what felt like hours. I climbed down, my hands shaking and sore from gripping the reins for so long. Gabrielle got down beside me, and I immediately reached for her.
She took a long, steadying breath and then turned to me.
"I'm sorry, Aurora… but I have to leave now."
"What?" My voice cracked. "You can't leave. Not now. I shouldn't be here alone."
"I shouldn't be here either," she said gently, "but we will meet again. Trust me. And when we do… it will be at the moment you need me the most."
"But I need you now," I whispered. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to survive this."
"You will survive," she said firmly. "Trust me. You are carrying a baby—a prophecy. And that prophecy will be fulfilled. You will survive."
"But how are you going to escape?" I asked desperately.
"Do not worry about me," she said. "Worry about keeping the prophecy alive."
