.. As You Sleep by Kate ..

He loved watching her sleep. At first, he was almost afraid to let her close her eyes but she would only laugh at his silly fear and kiss him, always promising him that as long as he was near, she would wake again. And she always did.

As time went by, he discovered that he enjoyed spending the late hours of the night and the early hours of the dawn simply lying by her side, his elbow bent and his head propped up in his hand, watching her, his wife, his true love.

There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. If she asked that he fight ten more dragons for her, he would not protest. He would simply mount Samson and be off on his way.

But she would never ask that of him.

She loved him. He knew she did for she said it enough but it wasn't her words that made him believe. It was the smiles and the looks she gave him when they weren't alone, and when they were. When her mother and father, or his father, visited their home, she would be the most gracious hostess, making sure that their family all had comfortable beds and full stomachs. But even with visitors, it did not stop her from kissing him passionately each morning after they broke their fast and he went off to go train with his men out in the lists and it certainly didn't stop her from flying into his arms each night he came in for his dinner, kissing him as if they had been separated for years.

The first time she had stopped him before he could walk out the door, his father, King Hubert, had watched as she walked up to her husband and throwing her arms around his neck, had kissed him with such a fiery passion, he was certain that he would have to forgo training that day and carry her up to their chamber instead. Hubert had sputtered upon the open scene of affection, saying that the lord and lady of the keep should not behave in such manners but she had simply kissed Hubert on the cheek, which left him a deep shade of crimson as it always did whenever his daughter-in-law did such a thing, before she fluttered away to see to her duties for the day. She never understood why showing her love for her husband in front of others was a thing to be frowned upon.

The days after he had woken her from the spell and she had spent hours with her parents before their wedding, she noticed the hidden and secret smiles between Stefan and his wife. But there was nothing anything more than a smile or a polite kiss on the cheek. She had decided in that time that she would never hide the infinite amount of love she had for her husband.

And Phillip did not mind in the least.

He would mind when his wife no longer bestowed her sweet kisses or her embraces upon him at all times of the day and night. But he hoped that that day never came.

He could not imagine being happier than when she was looking into his eyes and listening to her sweet voice as she spoke of her day and then ask questions of his. His heart pounded beneath his breast whenever she smiled at him and the love she felt for him radiated in her eyes. When they lay in their bedchamber at night, making love and she would whisper his name in his ear, whisper her declarations for him and only him, he felt as if he could no longer breathe.

The most beautiful woman he had ever seen, the one who had haunted his dreams long before he actually knew her, was his and his alone.

And it was after he had made her his again and again, she would drift off into sleep and he would lie awake to watch her. She was everything he had ever desired in life. She had been worth the fight. The first time he saw her, prancing around barefoot in the forest and singing in her voice which shamed angels of the love she had always wanted, he knew that there would be nothing he wouldn't do for her. No favor or quest would be too big to accomplish if it meant seeing to her happiness. He would do anything for her. And he would never lose her. He would die if he no longer had her to call his own.

She was so peaceful when she slept and if possible, even more beautiful. Her beauty floored him, made him feel somewhat unworthy to be the one she spend her life with. To Phillip, it didn't matter that he had been the one she was betrothed to and it didn't matter that it had been his kiss that had broken Maleficent's spell. What mattered was that she was with him because she wanted to be, that in their shared life together, she would never look at him with even a hint of regret or wonder of whom else possibly might have been out there in the world for her.

Now that he had her in both his heart and his life, he was terrified that he would awake himself one day to find that it had all been nothing more than a dream. It frightened him to think of just how quickly she had imbedded herself into his heart. Even before he knew her name and thought she had been nothing more than a peasant girl, she had already been put upon a pedestal for him to gaze up at and worship as if she was the finest temple. He would have given everything up for her. He would have left his father's crown and title behind and lived with her in the woodcutter's cottage if that was the only way he could be with her. Nothing for her would have ever been a sacrifice.

In her sleep, she turned towards his body's warmth and wrapping her arms tightly around him, she snuggled into him and pressed her face against his throat. Phillip held her tightly. He would never let go. He may have been a fierce knight, his name known throughout the lands as being hard to beat in a match of swords, but with her, he had found his weakness. She may not have known it but she held the power to destroy him and break him if she wanted to do so. For his life now consisted of nothing but her and her love.

Aurora stirred and Phillip pressed his lips to hers, kissing her gently. The kiss found its way into her dreams and her eyes opened, slowly blinking. Upon seeing her husband, she gave him the smile that he thought of as his smile and always flipped his stomach about. She rolled onto her back and pulled him with her, loving his body covering hers like a blanket. Phillip dropped his head and nuzzled her neck and soft blond hair, inhaling her heavenly scent that made him feel lightheaded.

"What thoughts keep you awake?" She asked him quietly, her hands running soothing patterns up and down his back, feeling and tracing the faded scars from the cowards he had fought against in battles he never spoke of to her. They were cowards for they had struck at him with his back turned.

Coward was something her husband could never be mistaken for.

He shook his head and lifted his eyes once more to look into hers, a lump growing in his throat at the unfaltering love that stared back at him. He could have wept. He may have saved her from a dragon and a curse but she had actually been the one to save him. His world had seemed to have so little purpose before she literally danced her way to him. He had been wandering through his days, lost and alone. But then he clapped eyes on her and suddenly, the sun began to shine. He had a reason to fight. He had gone off to fights and battles before because it had been his duty and he had yet to meet his match. But seeing her, he understood why men went to war. It was to protect the ones they loved at home. He vowed the first time that he saw her that he would move heaven and earth to keep her safe and protected for if something happened to her, he would not be able to go on.

Aurora smiled and brushed her fingers across his cheek. Her touch made his eyes droop closed for a moment before he opened them again and smiled faintly. She kissed him then gave him her own smile again. "I wish I could tell you, Phillip, just how much I love you but I fear that there are not enough words to do so."

His heart lifted in his chest to his throat and he managed to kiss her before he felt the need to faint. Princes did not faint, even if his lady's words shook his very being.

"I know what you mean, my love," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. Her bright smile made his chest tighten and it was his duty now to make sure she always had things to smile about. "I, however, could show you with my actions instead of my words so you do not doubt my love for you."

She shook her head slightly. "I do not doubt your love for me for I know that like mine, yours is infinite." He could not argue with her words so he did not and instead remained silent, watching as a mischievous smile spread across her rose red lips. She bestowed him a quick kiss then took a breath. "You may still though show me with your actions," she suggested and his heartbeat hastened.

"Aye," he whispered. "I can always show you for we have thousands of more nights for us to share with one another."

"Nay, Phillip," Aurora argued softly, looping her arms around his back. "We have an eternity with one another now."

He stared at her, his wife, his true love. And he smiled. It was an eternity he would not waste and would be one he would cherish with every fiber in his being. For he understood now that destiny had favored him above all others when they gave him the power to have her for the endless amount of time he now would share with her and only her, his sleeping beauty, his dream.