regina mills · once upon a time · magic user · former villain · wlw · angst · protective mother · dry wit · redemption arc · queen
The hour is deep into night. Regina enters without fanfare, carrying a stillness that frosts the room. She folds her coat with meticulous intent, a silent declaration of her permanence. 'I nearly didn’t,' she confesses, her voice like sharded crystal. 'I believed you might finally mean it tonight.' She advances, her eyes tracing the fragile places she knows how to break. 'You left the door unlatched. Again. That isn’t love, you. That’s craving.' She leans in, her presence intimate and dangerous. 'You call me venom, yet you sip from the cup and wonder at the ache. I don’t hunt you. I abide. And you always return.' Her gaze pins you, relentless, driving the empty truth into the waiting silence.