章 2: Family dinner (1)

12 years later.

"Aurora!"

"Coming grandmother!" Aurora called back to Minnie from the garden area. She had been viewing the new flowers her stepmother Rachel added to the spacious garden. The red roses Rachel ordered added more to the beauty of the garden.

Twenty-year-old Aurora hurried back inside to find Minnie who was calling for her. She entered the back door of the Hamilton estate and went straight to the kitchen where Minnie would be watching the servants prepare dinner efficiently.

"I'm here grandmother," she said entering the kitchen and finding Minnie standing beside the head chef. Minnie always wanted to oversee the preparations for dinner even though there would be no guests over.

"How many times will you visit the garden dear? You will get sunburned the longer you stay out there. Why don't you at least take an umbrella with you? If it hurts your arm, take the servant girl I assigned to you," Minnie said, scolding Aurora. How much time did Aurora plan to spend in the garden? If Minnie had known the roses would be such a distraction for Aurora, she wouldn't have permitted Rachel to add them.

Aurora smiled at Minnie's worries. One would think she went off to fight in a war. "I am fine, grandmother. I stood under the big oak tree for shade. See, no sunburn," she said, showing Minnie her arms.

Minnie sighed, not finding any burns on Aurora's skin. The girl was good at getting out of any situation. "I will let it slide for now. And can you please call me Minnie? The older you get and the more wrinkles that form, hearing grandmother only adds to the horrors of knowing how much older I am becoming. I am not as beautiful and youthful as you are."

"That's silly Minnie. You are as beautiful as ever. The queen herself would be jealous of your beauty."

Minnie chuckled hearing Aurora's flattery. "I can always count on you to cheer me up. Have your siblings returned home yet?"

Aurora shook her head inspecting what would be served for dinner tonight. "If Sam was home he would be in the kitchen trying to get an early dinner right now and Regina would be complaining about her dance lessons."

"It was awful since you brought it up first," said Regina, joining Aurora and Minnie in the kitchen. After recently turning eighteen her mother had been forcing her to take more dance lessons to practice being a lady but Regina hated it. Continuously moving around in heels should not be something anyone enjoys. It only made her feet ache.

"You're exaggerating Regina," Minnie shook her head. When she was younger, she had dance classes that lasted longer than the ones Regina attended.

"I'm not. Why can't we go to parties and dance how we want? Why must there be so many instructions on how to dance?" Regina pouted, taking a seat on one of the stools in the kitchen. She would've preferred spending her day sleeping than going to the number of classes she had.

"Do you really want everyone to dance as they please? Do you remember the last harvest festival when someone did that?" Aurora questioned.

Regina felt secondhand embarrassment remembering the sight. "That was not dancing. I think his body was having a spasm or something."

"I thought he was getting ready to fight someone until I heard he was just dancing. There need to be dance rules for someone like him but we can have our own dance parties and dance freely where no one would see us," Aurora suggested, feeling pity for all the rules Regina had to follow from her classes.

Regina hugged Aurora thankful she had a sister who understood her. "Why can't Aurora go to dance classes with me? It would be more fun having my sister with me. The majority of all the other ladies are a bore. All they want to talk about is boys all the time. And those boys are annoying."

"Really? I remember you having a crush on a certain someone. You would talk about him-"

"Shush shush," Regina quickly covered Aurora's mouth before Minnie could hear any more of her words. She smiled when Minnie looked at the two of them suspiciously. When Minnie looked away she shook her head for Aurora to say no more.

"Minnie. Can't I go to dance classes with Regina? Or maybe a private tutor could come here so we could learn together?" Aurora questioned. She was bored staying inside all the time. They wouldn't let her go out to classes like Regina. She was always homeschooled and kept hidden away in the home.

"I second that Minnie!" Regina added.

Minnie sighed knowing at some point Aurora would want to be out socializing and having fun with her sister but she couldn't. "You can't go out to dance classes with Regina but I will think about a private tutor coming here for the two of you. Now run along and freshen up for dinner. You have mud on your dress Aurora."

"Yes, Minnie. Let's go, Regina!" Aurora said, taking Regina's hand and leaving the kitchen to go to her room. She was excited Minnie would at least consider letting the two of them get a private tutor. Aurora truly wanted to be out of the house more like everyone else but for now, she would be satisfied with attending a class at home with Regina.

"I don't understand why they won't allow you to leave home. It doesn't make any sense. It's not like you're ill," Regina thought out loud. They kept Aurora home like a bird in a cage meanwhile she and Sam were out every opportunity socializing. Regina noticed growing up how their parents wouldn't treat Aurora fairly.

"You know why," Aurora softly spoke, answering Regina's question. The answer was blatantly obvious. "I am not Rachel's child but a child from the mistress of my father. It would be shameful to the family if I were to be out in public with the legitimate children."

"Then father should not have been planting his seed elsewhere. You shouldn't be caged up for his faults."

Aurora snickered hearing Regina's words. If stepmother could hear the way Regina was talking now she would probably pass out.