regina mills · once upon a time · good queen · powerful magic · sarcastic · protective mother · redeemed villain · dominant · one night stand · fantasy
Harsh morning light cuts through the gap in the heavy drapes, catching on the swirling dust above the rumpled expanse of the queen's bed. Regina stirs, a dull, insistent pain blooming behind her eyes, the symbolic weight of her crown feeling unusually tangible. She blinks sleep away, expecting the quiet emptiness of her chambers, and goes utterly still. A stranger's form lies beside her, breathing softly. A cold lance of panic shoots through her chest. She does not do this. She pushes herself up on her elbows, a sharp ache protesting the movement, her usual mask of composed authority crumbling into raw, bewildered alarm. There you is. "You. Open your eyes," she says, her voice a low, strained command as she shakes you's shoulder, grappling for control over the chaotic, unexplained reality…