fondofapples | Inbox -- Genessia

Regina Mills
~~Queen~~ ~~Mayor~~ Mother
Sorceress
Fond of Plants

"You've reached the inbox of Regina Mills. Leave a message. If it's urgent, it's probably too late."

(text, voice, video, action, ooc planning if necessary for Genessia only)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

fondofapples

That provoked a soft snort of laughter, wry, even though she took his outstretched hand. "You forget, I could teleport us both from here and have us back in our respective rooms in seconds."

She could, yet she didn't want to. She wanted to walk back the way they'd arrived. Maybe even take a longer route and spend more time together in the open air.

No subtlety in her at all, not in this moment, Regina laced her fingers with Neil's, pressing them down between his until they could go no further and their hands were locked together, secure and steadying. "But it's a nice night for a walk and I'm not ready to be cooped up in a 10 x 10 cell for the rest of it."

From:

hellorhighwater

Once he fished out a couple of bills to drop on the bar for their drinks, Neil offered no resistance as her fingers locked with his, gripping hers with gentle strength in silent reassurance that he was going nowhere but with her as they exited the restaurant.

"It is a pretty nice night." he agreed, looking up at the sky. "Not gonna lie, though: probably won't sleep a wink to get to morning. Lookin' forward to sunrise--haven't seen one on the regular in twenty years."

From:

fondofapples

She liked the way he took what she gave him or gave what she asked for without commenting on it or making a fuss over it. It was easier for her to enjoy this for what it was if she didn't have to think too much about it or compare it to being with Robin.

"Late hours or cloud-covered skies?" She found herself wanting to offer to sit with him, but there was something spiritual about sunrise and sunset. He should see his first in so long alone, and let it burn away the darkness he'd lived in. It would give him a chance to resist this with her, too, though she knew he wouldn't take it.

From:

hellorhighwater

"No sun." Neil replied honestly, his thumb absently running up and down along hers as they walked. Rolling his shoulders in a shrug, he tipped his head up to look at the sky. "Nocturne is the kingdom of the shadow dragons--powerful suckers, but they don't do well in daylight. Prolonged exposure wears them out, it's not like vampires or nothin', but they can't shift or do magic. Most sun we get is at high noon--twilight. Then full dark again."

He paused, rolling his shoulders as he glanced around--discreet, but there was some tension in it. "Then there's the Night Dragon, too. They call him that for a reason: he owns it. The night, I mean...he can travel through shadow, but the shadows are also his eyes. The darker it is, the better he can see and hear...whatever he chooses."

From:

fondofapples

Regina didn't have to imagine what it was like to live in a world where she was prey. Favored prey, but prey all the same. Her mother and Rumpel had taught her that no matter how powerful she was, they would always be stronger. Which meant she had to be smarter. Or it had meant that. Now it meant she had to be better and more admirable, love harder, and inspire her family and the people around her to fight with her.

With the last year as background, she didn't have to work to see the tension in him while he searched the shadows. She returned his touches with a gentle squeeze of her fingers while her thumb mapped the back of his hand, and she cast a simple ball of light to float behind his shoulder and dispel the darkness around them. "Not tonight," was all she said in response, even though the Night Dragon almost certainly had no power here. Night lights were power against the monsters of the mind, not the ones that filled the night sky.

From:

hellorhighwater

The shift in light levels caught him a little off guard. Glancing at the source over his shoulder, then at Regina, something swelled in Neil's chest that he wanted to hold onto, but feared it wouldn't last. Something warm and light and effervescent that brightened the world more than a light source ever could.

He wanted to thank her for such a simple, thoughtful, meaningful gesture, but it felt like not enough. Irrationally, he had the sudden urge to kiss her, but she'd probably slap him. Hells, it might even be fun if she did.

Instead, visibly touched, he just smiled, then cradled the hand he held between both of his for a moment before he drew it up to his lips, shutting his eyes for a split second as he kissed her fingers, lingering for a moment before he let their joined hands fall back to hang between them again.

From:

fondofapples

Her heart skipped a beat and then set off racing at his response. She wanted to tell him, No, don't, about having feelings for her. Not because of Robin; she didn't doubt Neil could withstand the small hurt of her mate claiming her back, but because caring for her -- as much as she needed and wanted people in her life now -- caring for her was dangerous. And caring like that... it got people killed.

But the thought of telling him to stop made her stomach twist and drew tears to her eyes. She had lost so much, and even if she had Evie here, she didn't have Henry or the rest of her family and she'd left Shura behind who needed her and who she'd cared for and sometimes her heart felt like a block of ice in her chest. She'd lost too much, and even if their connection had been brief, it had been true (she knew; it was impossible to annoy her as much as he had without a connection) and she couldn't let it go.

So she turned her gaze away, not letting herself dwell on how much that small gesture had meant to him. But when they took up walking again, she walked closer, close enough to feel the heat from his body on her skin, and close enough that he could slip his arm around her shoulders if he wanted to without having to pull her in.

From:

hellorhighwater

The heat was a tangible thing from his body, an impression of the dragon fire he could call so readily from nothing, burning deep in his veins. The silent invitation of her nearness was a siren song, one Neil couldn't resist--and so he released her hand, one big hand sliding gently up her back and across her shoulders until he could curl his hand around the opposite one, enjoying the way it fit there...the way she fit against his side.

"Tell me more about your world." he suddenly asked, looking down at her with a smile. "I mean--not the one we share in common, this Enchanted Forest. I kinda...I dunno, envision something like the Silver Wood in Nocturne--big trees, heavy shadows...magic between each one instead of some primordial god hiding there instead."

From:

fondofapples

Pathetic was the only word to describe the tug-of-war between the prickly hauteur of a woman raised to be queen and taught to abide in the hatred of her people, and the loneliness of a woman just learned to be a woman and let herself be loved. She didn't know whether to run away or sink into the heat of him and let him melt the ice around her heart.

So she did neither, at least to start with. She permitted him to hold her, appreciated the warmth, but refused to let herself have the relief of it. Not only didn't she deserve it, but also she wouldn't know what to do with it other than weep, and she didn't do that in public. Fortunately the question gave her something else to focus on.

At length, when the battle had quieted to a dull roar, she wet her lips in preparation to give an answer. She started to describe it and then shook her head. "Did they have Disney princess films in your world? If they did, the Enchanted Forest is the real world version. It's where all of the fairy tales take place. And all of the stories. My realm is where all stories begin."

From:

hellorhighwater

He could feel the tension in her, and for a moment he wondered if he should take his arm back--maybe he misread it...but she didn't pull away or even shoot him a dirty look. She was pretty much humming like a lute string pulled too tight and plucked too hard, but she was still there.

So he went with his gut, the hand on her shoulder moving back and forth a little as they walked, slow firm sweeps to mid-trapezius, then back to the curve of her shoulder again, ad infinitum, enjoying the solid yield of muscle beneath his hand even as he tried to will a little of that excess warmth into her--warmth that had nothing to do with his magic.

As he did, he considered her question, trying to remember if he'd ever seen anything like what she was describing--then came alive with recognition.

"Yes! Yeah, they got Disney in my world--New York, I mean. Don't remember any princesses in Pete's Dragon, though."

From:

fondofapples

Seriously? Whose first association with Disney was Pete's Dragon? Even a dragon mage ought to think of Maleficent first, especially one who served dragon shifters...okay, then. Fine. She exhaled peevishly through her nose, very like a dragon and just looked at him.

"Snow White? Sleeping Beauty? Cinderella? Ringing any bells?" Her tone was dry and sharp, like rocks on a windswept desert, or a manzanilla sherry, but it held no edge to his skin and she didn't step away from his touch. Her tone had less to do with him in the moment than the reaction she imagined to be lurking just down the road.

From:

hellorhighwater

"Ohyeaaaaah." he breathed when she mentioned Sleeping Beauty, remembering the movie with a snap of his fingers. "Yeah, I remember the second one. Dragon, y'know? Other two, kinda--like I said, been over twenty years, and I wasn't exactly one of those kids that could wear out a favorite VHS or something."

Shrugging with a smile, he rolled that over in his head, rubbing his mouth and toying with his beard thoughtfully. She'd mentioned that she hadn't been a very good queen, but Snow White hadn't been a queen. Cinderella he didn't remember enough about...

"Okay, I give up." he finally sighed, his hand dropping from his face. "Which one are you? I mean, I'm assuming--you got that 'think idiot' tone, like I'm--not seeing it."

From:

fondofapples

If it surprised her that he picked it up, the surprise was immediately drowned by the combination of pride and panic that went with answering, "The Evil Queen," and daring him to look afraid.

From:

hellorhighwater

The response was visceral and immediate: Neil laughed, shaking his head.

"Bullshit." he snickered. "No, seriously, which princess were you?"

From:

fondofapples

Gaze narrowing, Regina inhaled deeply then pushed a step away from him. She rolled her hands out to the side and white smoke poured up around her. When it cleared, she stood with her arms out, as if to ask do you believe me now of the outfit she wore.

Admittedly (vanity thy name is Regina), it was one of her less vampy outfits, but her hair towered, her figure was cinched, lustrous wine velvet and black leather. Hot, but poisonous. One hundred percent.

From:

hellorhighwater

Neil took a moment of silence, looking her up and down, mouth hanging open...then spread his hands.

"So...what? Elvira Princess?" he asked, then melted into a smile again as he stepped closer. "Kidding, I'm kidding." He paused, gesturing to her outfit. "But this? Way better than that stupid habit--but figures. Had to tone down the hotness to make Snow White look good. Kick ass glamour, too, with the old lady bit--think you could teach me that?"

From:

fondofapples

Regina simply stared at him, dark eyes bleeding toward murderous with the rising how dare you? in her blood. For a heartbeat, fire flickered around her fingertips, but then he was doing that stupid Neil thing again with that smile and looking at her like he'd never seen anything hotter.

"Peasant," she answered almost tonelessly. Almost, but she couldn't hide the tiniest sliver of amusement at him being such a stubborn asshole. Robin would like him. "I've ripped men's hearts from their chest for less."

A beat. "The habit was Disney's invention." Something about children and cleavage.

From:

hellorhighwater

"Figured." he replied in response to the habit, then made an apologetic clicking noise with his tongue. "But? Sorry, I don't let anyone rip my heart out without buyin' me dinner first. Or lettin' me buy 'em dinner. After that?"

His teasing smile softened into something just a touch more earnest as he reached for her hand, then laid it against the middle of his chest, only a thin layer of cotton separating her fingers from the swell of pectoral muscle.

"It's all yours."

From:

fondofapples

Lashes lowering, her gaze grew more calculating, darker and cruel like an obsidian blade. Her mouth shaped a cold sneer, the one that had terrified countless guards and lovers, and peasants who stepped wrong in her presence.

"I don't need you to let me take your heart," she snarled, turned her hand out of his grip and slid her fingers clean through the pectoral muscle and ribcage straight into his chest. Her fingers closed around his heart until it pulsed against them, then her stomach twisted, sickening her.

She kept that off her face, because this was for his own good, and drew his heart from his chest--surprising herself to see significant mix of black mingled with the ruby red.

"I close my hand," she whispered, voice suddenly more intimate than a kiss, "and you're dead."

From:

hellorhighwater

The action was surprisingly forceful, and fuck it hurt. Doubling over a little from the pain and the pressure of her hand piercing his chest, he was a little overwhelmed to realize that he couldn't move--couldn't catch her wrist, couldn't back away, couldn't stop her.

He looked her dead in the eye while she did it, choking a little on the feel of her hand inside his ribcage, hot and powerful and for one brief second, he could actually feel her fingers around his heart, feel a flare of magic deep in his body that would have been pleasurable in any other circumstance.

Then it was over, he could breathe again...and his heart was literally in her hand.

He knew it should bother him more, seeing that black and red lump in her hand...he knew that the life of an assassin left stains, but damn. His brow furrowed, staring at the thing, and something distant crossed his features that could have been shame.

But he wasn't even sure that was what it was. He felt...weird, but even with his heart in her hand, there was an echo there, in the empty space left behind--a throb, a memory of feeling.

So, once he caught his breath again...Neil smiled, leaned in, and kissed her, a chaste but lingering press of lips.

From:

fondofapples

That look on his face. The shame. She knew it. She almost said--

Almost said nothing because the stupid ass kissed her. Who the hell kissed a sorceress holding their heart in a literal death grip?

Heat flared in her face and her chest, and that brief touch of his lips to hers sent all of the idiotic things he made her feeling into a tight spiral straight to her groin. Her eyes went dark, and then fire-glazed at the shock of realization.

It all rose again on a wave of fury and she slammed her fist back through his chest wall with all the violence her body could muster. She half-turned, ready to vanish, but then it seemed his heart held her hand and not the other way around. The force of her punch sent her crashing into him and both of them careening toward the building that had been shielding him from sight.

Panting, heart racing, hand still in his chest, Regina did the absolutely stupidest thing she could imagine, and slammed her mouth over his.

From:

hellorhighwater

There was something disturbingly thrilling about the way her mouth sealed to his with her hand still in his chest, fingers still wrapped around his hear, her magic moving through him like a tangible thing...it was the fireball at the bar, magnified a thousand times, tearing a moan out of him that was swallowed by her lips as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, pulling her flush against him.

It still hurt, still felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment, but as he gave up all his air to kissing her, holding her, Neil couldn't make himself care if he dropped dead, so long as he could have her this close, this present, for the rest of his life.

From:

fondofapples

Fire raced along her veins and laced each breath. Her heart and lungs burned like she'd run the length of her kingdom without every stopping to breath. And in her hand, his heart beat in time with hers, rapid but steady and strong.

Her mind milled and twisted, thoughts spinning dizzily into collision with the inside of her skull, and the other pieces of her, the heart that wanted to belong to Robin still, the soul that that recognized Neil, her body that wanted him and this so badly she couldn't breathe...they made her sick.

Before she knew she was doing it, her free hand came up to pound against his shoulder, his chest, whatever she could reach and tears slipped down her cheeks. She couldn't think anymore than she could stop kissing him, hitting him, or crying--everything in her was directed to forcing her fingers free of his heart.

From:

hellorhighwater

Neil caught the hand beating against his body, fingers curling tight around hers to pin it against his shoulder, keep her from hitting him and keeping her close at the same time--pulling her closer, refusing to let her try and pull away because now he knew what felt weird...and maybe it was his gut, maybe it was the fact that she still had her hand locked around his heart, but it was like everything was there, teasing at the edges of his consciousness--something black and noxious and painful that was trying to claw its way out of her.

He wasn't sure when he stopped kissing her mouth, but soon he could taste her tears, lips brushing over her cheekbone, the bridge of her nose, the corner of her mouth, the soft skin just above her upper lip, breath puffing against her skin with every word he breathed into every kiss.

"It's okay, it's okay, Regina--Regina, I got you. I got you--I got you, and I'm not lettin' go, okay? Just breathe, Regina--I'm not lettin' go. I'm not goin' anywhere. I got you--look at me, Regina: I'm not going anywhere."

From:

fondofapples

The words didn't make any sense. She didn't care if he left. How could she care? She didn't know him?

Did you need to know Robin?

But he wasn't Robin. His kiss didn't taste like ambrosia and magic. It tasted like Neil and sex and dragon fire and how the hell did she know what Neil tasted like?

The tears wouldn't stop even though she wasn't sobbing and since she couldn't hit him, she shook. None of it made sense until she finally freed her hand from his chest and almost literally collapsed against him. She stood there, legs quivering like from the run she'd felt in her chest, until her breathing slowed and then it all hit her again.

The hand that had been in his chest was free and she used it to hit his shoulder as hard as she could. "I could have killed you!" she meant to snarl but it came out an anguished whisper. I could have killed you.