#themagnificenthatter

Letting out a half moaned laugh, Regina pulled the covers up closer to herself, desperately not wanting to get up for the day just yet. Turning a faint smirk on her husband she nodded toward the baby monitor. “Your child is awake.”

There was something so tender in the way his hands brushed against her, and how his lips claimed her own. As if they hadn’t done so countless times over, or that they had not been reunited on this very same night countless years ago, only to fall prey to a toxic hatred for one another, fueled by hurt and need. Yet somehow they’d come far enough to be here. Secure. Safe. Full of love for one another; it was honestly something she had once believed would never be a possibility for them. She enjoyed the privacy of their union. The raw intimacy that was only them. Rather than force themselves into a crowded bar or diner, surrounded by people neither of them could stand, they did as they always did; stayed home. Hidden away from the tortuous reminders of what might have been, had either of them been stronger, or better -- instead simply accepting what was. They had one another and it was all that was needed. Music played soft and aimless in the background of their home, something she couldn’t even remember turning on, and the wine they’d shared warmed her through, making her mind drift far away from any other trouble that plagued her otherwise. For just this one moment she didn’t need to worry about making the town trust her, or her son love her. She didn’t need to prove anything -- she simply stood, held fastly in the strong arms of a man who had long since stolen her heart, and chosen to love her despite all she had ever done to hurt him in return for a treachery long since perpetrated. Pulling closer to him, fingers threading through his hair, she smiled against the kiss, which had lasted much longer than the countdown itself had, leaving her breathless and dizzied. Happiness what not something she had come to believe she deserved in recent years, a far reaching leap from when she had believed it something she was being denied --- but with Jefferson it was different. He was every bit of happiness she had thought herself incapable of ever earning, and perhaps the most devastatingly beautiful part of it all, was that he gave his love so freely and so completely. Never would she be able to doubt him, to fear his love was a lie or only for a fleeting moment. Despite the ring fitted securely around her finger, she knew. It was clear in the way he looked at her most of all, like she was something worth believing in. And she couldn’t wait to spend one more year being his.

oh gosh, thanks so much !!!  i would like 2 thank halsey for being lana’s ultimate sound aesthetic tbh ♥ ♥ ♥

                     Meaning not one of the offered selections met her                            personal standard. Not that she was likely to admit                            if they did.

He was so — foolish. She found it impossible to fathom sometimes how it was he could believe his choices wise. When he stormed out on her only to return with bruises or cuts, it was all she could do not to scold him. Yet, despite his temper and his refusal to believe he needed any help, she’d convinced him to sit and let her tend to the cuts at least. She might not be an expert, but she knew enough that letting them be would only result in him falling victim to a fever, and her magic simply wasn’t reliable enough at all to be counted upon for this.The air between them was thick; Ripe with tension and words left unsaid. It had been her who had caused him to leave, some words misspoken that were taken as terribly as they could have been, and out he went. It wasn’t that unusual for them, they often struggled to get along entirely, but there was something more that kept them tethered. More than obligation or agreement. At least, she hoped he felt ti too, as it was often all that she felt. And why when he walked out of the thin door of their rented room in the crowded inn, she was left alone to cry.Watching him closely, she tried not to let the way he wouldn’t look at her hurt any more than his cuts might, but never had she been much of a master of her heart. Unwilling to allow herself to be more undone by this entire situation than she already was, Regina resolved to simply try and not care. As if she were capable of such indifference at all, let alone with him. Even as she tried to feign her callousness, her heart ached within her chest,  constricting with conviction and concern.Stubbornly frowning down at her work before her eyes could have the chance to cry, she continued to gently clean away the blood and dirt, trying to force her magic into some sort of obedience to her so that she could heal him completely. Yet, all she succeeded in doing was looking as if she were stricken with some terrible headache. Giving up in her benevolent pursuits, she then began wrapping the wounds delicately with what supplies they had at their disposal. She was struck quite suddenly with how similar this situation was, in its own way. Similar to another they had shared shortly after they’d made their escape into his hat, but then it had been her who had needed his help. Swallowing back a painful lump at the thought of this somehow being the last time he’d forgive her for her wrong doings, Regina ripped the towel and tied it neatly around his arm. As a final touch she gently pressed her lips against the largest of the cuts in silent apology for anyway in which they might be her fault. 

Her hand ached. Pain throbbed more violently now than it had when she’d cut it to begin, or even when he’d tended to it. Tears sat welling just at the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t want to let them fall. She’d done enough to make him think little of her already, and worse yet, likely rethink their entire arrangement all together. If there was anything she knew for certain, it was that she wouldn’t survive very long without his help. A fact which she was beginning to believe he too had realized. Rocinante had been freed rather easily with the aid of his knife, something she found entirely discomforting to know had been kept in such close proximity to her all this time, but she supposed a queen that chose to abandon the luxury and so-called safety of her palace would simply have to endure the consequences of her choice; including near and relative danger.  Their footsteps fell quietly as they moved back towards the camp; she’d insisted the stallion needed more time to calm, but the hatter insisted they needed to be back at camp by nightfall, lest any more wolves find them enticing, and her magic not be quite so cooperative. Begrudgingly, Regina had agreed. She couldn’t quite find it within her to regret the choice to flee, nor to instill her trust in this thief; however... she was questioning the decision regardless of lacking regret. She had thought him more likable, for one. And though he had shown her some kindness, he had also proven to be quite callous and immature, she thought. And though it was obvious he had the advantage of a handful of years against her, he acted more a child than she arguably still was.  She let Rocinante walk behind her unridden, not wanting to further stress him, or risk him being hurt in ways that were not obvious to the eye; though that meant her feet were aching, being unused to such use and strain. Prior to being queen, she had ridden anywhere she was able, and after the farce of a marriage had been complete, she’d not been allowed anywhere beyond the palace’s walls, negating the need for any manner of physical endurance. With her hand clenched tightly around bandages that slowly were turning a deep shade of red, the young queen failed to manage concealing her other burdensome bothers. A grunt and a groan left her with nearly every uneven step upon the rocky ground, and an exasperated sigh filtered out between tightly pressed lips when a branch swung back into her way.  It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for his help, or even the shelter and warmth he’d provided her (though she did think some of them due her, runaway or not she was still a QUEEN as well as a lady,) yet, something about him was infuriatingly careless. Her gaze narrowed upon him not ten paces ahead, a hundred different thoughts and assumptions filing away about him.  “Isn’t our camp that way?” She finally asked, breaking the silence as she stopped in her tracks, the stallion slowing to a halt just behind her. Squinting at the dimming trees, she tried to ignore the unease in her gut. “Just how qualified are you to be tracking and leading?” She asked on, not intending there to be such a doubting edge to the words, as they had been spoken in nothing more than concern; however the implication was ever present all the same.

Low ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ High