Aurora

Aurora, alias Briar Rose, is a princess and one of the Princesses of Heart from the Kingdom Hearts series. Her appearance is taken directly from Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty". Although her original voice actress, Mary Costa, was alive at the time of Kingdom Hearts development (and is still alive today), Aurora spoke in dialogue boxes for her appearance.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Sleeping Beauty (1959)

''A princess who was cursed at birth by Maleficent. To keep her safe, three good fairies hid her in the forest and gave her a new name: Briar Rose.''

On her sixteenth birthday, she learned her origins and returned to the castle, but true to Maleficent's curse, she fell into an eternal slumber.

When brought together, seven hearts of pure light like Aurora's are the key to ruling all worlds.

Kingdom Hearts
''A young woman with a lovely voice. She is loved by three good fairies and cursed by Maleficent. The sorceress captured Aurora to help open the final Keyhole.''

She had her first encounter with Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Aurora is the child of King Stefan and Queen Leah, born into a kingdom called Enchanted Dominion. At infancy, the evil witch Maleficent laid a curse on the infant, proclaiming that, on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The three good fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather), softened Aurora's curse with Merryweather's gift. Rather than dying, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep, one which she could only be awoken from by "true love's kiss". Flora and Fauna bestowed the princess the gifts of beauty and singing voice. To keep her safe, she was renamed "Briar Rose" and relocated to the forest of her world with the three fairies caring for her. On a chance meeting, Aurora encountered Prince Phillip, to whom she was betrothed (unbeknownst to her) and had several dreams of. When the fairies took her back to her kingdom on her sixteenth birthday, the witch put her under a spell to prick her finger on a spindle and placed her in the tallest tower of the castle where she slumbered. At the same time, Prince Phillip was captured and taken to Maleficent's castle to keep the princess from ever awakening.

By the time Terra arrives at the Enchanted Dominion, Aurora has already been placed in a deep slumber under the influence of the curse laid by Maleficent. When Terra reaches the tower and meets Maleficent, she uses the darkness in his heart to temporarily take control of his body and forces him to take Aurora's heart. Her heart was kept in Maleficent's castle until Ventus comes to retrieve it with the three fairies. Although her heart returned, the curse is not broken. Prince Phillip eventually escapes with Aqua's aid and reaches the tower where he kisses Aurora and breaks the spell.

During the ending credits, she and Prince Phillip are seen dancing in the audience chamber of the castle. Feeling disapproved by their respective colors, the two fairies; Flora and Merryweather, relentlessly change the color on her dress with magic.

Kingdom Hearts
Sometime after the events of Birth by Sleep, Aurora was captured once more and her world was devoured by the darkness. It is unknown at what point of the original story Aurora was taken to Hollow Bastion by Maleficent (as there is a ten year gap between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts).

Aurora's likeness first appeared in Kingdom Hearts on a red-tinted pillar in the Awakening world. She was depicted in a state of sleep, suggesting that she had already been captured and imprisoned by Maleficent at this point.

She is first seen in Hollow Bastion when Maleficent attempts to open the Final Keyhole. Maleficent had placed Aurora in a standing glass case in the wall, alongside the other Princesses of Heart. Her heart leaves her when the Keyhole is partly opened, but is returned to her when Sora sacrifices his own heart to save her and the other Princesses, particularly Kairi. Upon awaking, Aurora stays in Hollow Bastion with the other five Princesses to keep the darkness from consuming the world. She also reveals Maleficent's origins to Sora. After Sora sealed the Keyhole, she and the other princesses remain in Hollow Bastion to protect it, along with the Beast, Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith.

When Sora finally sealed Kingdom Hearts, Aurora is returned to the Enchanted Dominion.

Kingdom Hearts II
While Aurora does not make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II, her name is found to be part of the password to access the DTD in Tron's world. In addition, many characters from her world appeared in the game, including Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather; and Maleficent with her pet raven, Diablo.

Appearance
Aurora is a fair-skinned woman with blue eyes, waist-length, curly, blonde hair. She wears a long-sleeved, strapless dress with a light blue collar. The dress itself is blue and sports a number of pleats in it. She also wears a gold necklace and a gold tiara created by the three fairies to denote royalty. As Briar Rose, Aurora wears a short-sleeved, grey dress with a folded, white collar and a black corset. She also wears a black headband.

In the original Kingdom Hearts, Aurora's dress was sky blue, her hair was bright blonde, her eyes were grey, and her collar was white. In her Awakening Emblem, the lower half of her dress and its arms are violet, while the middle of it is purple and her collar is white. Her necklace is also black.

Powers as a Princess of Heart
Because Aurora is a Princess of Heart, her heart holds part of the essential power to open the Final Keyhole that leads to Kingdom Hearts, which can only be opened when she is gathered with the other six princesses.
 * She also has the power to hold back darkness using the light stored within her heart, a power which she and the other princesses can utilize alone (the exact way she fights off darkness is currently unclear).
 * In addition, her heart (along with that of the other princesses) can be used to create the Keyblade of People's Hearts, which allows the bearer to unlock anyone's heart.
 * Aurora (along with the other princesses) can also upgrade other people's powers, as revealed when they upgraded Sora's Fire spell to Firaga.
 * She additionally has the ability to sense darkness, as shown when the Princesses tell Sora of a great darkness nearby.

Origin
Aurora is the only child of King Stefan and Queen Leah, and originally resided in a kingdom. At infancy, Maleficent laid a curse on her, proclaiming that, on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Thanks to the aid of the three good fairies (Flora, Fauna and Merryweather), Aurora's curse was softened. Rather than die, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep, one which she could only be awoken from by "true love's kiss". To keep her safe, she was renamed Briar Rose and relocated to the forest of her world with the three fairies caring for her. On a chance meeting, Aurora encountered Prince Phillip, to whom she was betrothed (unbeknownst to her). Also she was put under a spell to prick her finger and put in the tallest tower. After a battle she was kissed and the curse was broken. In the end she's seen dancing with Prince Phillip.

Trivia

 * One might expect Aurora to have appeared somewhat aged in Kingdom Hearts, as the game takes place ten years after Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, which (as evidenced thus far) seems to retell Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty. This could be due to the fact that Maleficent's spell does not age its victim, as mentioned in the original 1959 film, Sleeping Beauty.
 * Also in Sleeping Beauty, Aurora's age was revealed to be 16 when Maleficent's curse fell upon her, yet in the original Kingdom Hearts, she appears to be the same age, even though ten years have passed. It is possible her state in suspended animation slowed her aging.
 * In Kingdom Hearts, Aurora is seen in her blue version of her dress instead of the pink version that Disney uses in their merchandise (both of which are featured in the original movie). However, her pink/purple dress is seen in the second last Awakening station. And in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep her dress is more of a darker blue.

Gallery
Aurore