She really had no idea what she’d been expecting.
Now that she saw the room, it practically SCREAMED of Maleficent’s touch. Something about it sent a shiver down her spine; some sort of ominous omen, she considered, while some other part of her thought it only the evidence of a thrill. She wondered how many people had seen the inside of these bed chambers, and how many lived to tell about it. While her eye immediately was drawn to the large canopy bed, littered with countless plush pillows, and dark black curtains hung, she couldn’t help but also notice how… untouched the rest of it seemed. Every dimly lit corner seemed to be filled with cobwebs, and an infinite potential for consuming darkness. Swallowing a dry lump in her throat, she took a small, hesitant step further inside, feeling Maleficent’s presence behind her, gaze hot upon her back, and eager to rid herself of this absurdly undoing feeling. Maleficent was her friend, there was no reason she should feel so…. much like prey.
Clearing her throat now, as swallowing away the dryness had done nothing, Regina turned slowly to face Maleficent with a soft smile. She had no regrets or doubts about the offer she’d made. Maleficent made it clear she needed no care, but had accepted the company. And Regina was convinced that the other woman would find slumber much easier to come by if she wasn’t alone. “I see you have an affinity for BLACK even in here,” she offered in awkward jest, a small laugh falling from between faintly rouged lips. She didn’t quite see the appeal of an entirely black wardrobe. While it certainly was an imposing image to see her clad from head to toe in it, and it screamed of power and ruthlessness, Regina still favored a splash of color here and there. She couldn’t imagine a day when she herself would opt to wear all black anything.
Standing awkwardly, and truthfully, a little uncertainly in the spot her feet had chosen to plant themselves, Regina simply stared at Maleficent. This was not her home, nor her private chambers. She had no intention of overstepping her bounds or exhausting Maleficent’s grace. If she was going to explore the chambers further, or allow her curiosity to touch and hold the many dust covered trinkets and gowns that had already caught her eye, she wouldn’t do so without permission. She might not know that much about friendships, but she knew enough to know that one didn’t foster a friendship by being recklessly bold and intrusive.
Well this was certainly not how she’d expected to see the girl queen’s first night in her bed.
They’d been tiptoeing around the attraction they shared — or rather Regina had, Maleficent had no time or taste for subtleties. She’d made her intentions clear, in her eyes, and been met with a litany of reasons why the queen just couldn’t. Despite her marriage meaning nothing she did have someone she pledged her heart to, and while he may have been gone more often than he was here she did not wish to commit any betrayals against him. Maleficent could only laugh. There was no telling what he was doing on all his trips to other realms, but Regina believed with all of her hopeful little heart that he was loyal and so she too would remain the same. A pity really. But not enough to have her driven out of the castle. She was after all, Maleficent’s only friend.
A friend that, when she’d spoken of her inability to sleep, irony at its best, Regina had immediately offered to stay with her. Insisting that somehow her presence alone might change that. And while the notion was ridiculous, she saw no real reason to crush her for it. She agreed, and received one of the girl’s blinding smiles in return. If for nothing else she thought it might be nice to have her to talk to, as for so many years she’d only had herself as company. The nights somehow seemed longer now with her magic returned, and her potion eradicated from her home. She was tormented by dreams she couldn’t explain. They left her restless and edgier than normal, which was saying something, and it took nearly all her strength not to simply set her bed aflame and write off sleep altogether. Of course she hadn’t disclosed everything in her confession, and didn’t plan to, but what harm would it really do to let her stay?
“I would have offered you one of the other rooms but I haven’t set foot in them in…years.” The realization seemed to dawn on her just as she said it. How long she’d laid here wasting away with barely a clue as to how long it actually was. Days bled together, weeks months years, there were no clear edges so long as she stayed under her own curse, which even in its most diluted state could wreak havoc on the mind, body and spirit. But that’s what she’d wanted. She wanted it to destroy her, slowly and completely. To fill in all the cracks the fire had left open inside her, where cold winds snuck in without the flames there to protect her.
She moved past Regina when she froze just barely beyond the entryway. As if she needed more permission to enter than she’d already been given. While her gracious behavior was just one thing Maleficent did like about her, there were times it needn’t dictate her every move.
“Are you planning to sleep right there or will you be coming all the way in?” She asked with a knowing smirk. She only meant to tease her, thinking perhaps she wouldn’t feel quite so overwhelmed if Maleficent were the one making light. Her smirk turned to something almost like a smile as she stepped toward a large and dusty mirror she hadn’t bothered to clean, staring at her murky reflection as she began to unlace the tight waist corset she wore. She let out a sigh of relief once unbinded, setting the garment atop a pile of equally exquisite clothes, then turned to see if Regina was following her suggestion.
“I usually have a bath before bed,” she offered freely, her hands sitting on her hips as she took survey of the room. It was filthy by any standard, everything in disarray but, it was a calming chaos to her mind. Aside from the spiderwebs it was unlikely she would change much, even if Regina’s presence became a regular thing. “You may look around if you wish. But if you touch anything do see that it’s back in its rightful place by the time I return.” Raising both eyebrows to indicate she was entirely serious, she then turned to take her leave into the adjoining room. Two huge doors opened to reveal the rather opulent bathing room, still with cobwebs cluttering its corners, and candles everywhere, unlit for longer than this girl had been alive and only recently finding their spark once again. Much like the woman herself.