paisley stood at the end of the railing, her fingers delicately tracing the curves of the rubies in her silver tiara.
a sense of longing gurgled up from the back of her throat, making her nauseous. below, the water rumbled, turbulent beneath her feet and reminiscent of everything that led up to this moment.
"i am queen," she reminded herself. "i am your queen. i am everyone's queen."
"queen," she said again, her voice sounding hoarse to her own ears.
she swallowed. her throat was dry.
she should go back inside.
"fallon?" paisley heard her before she saw her.
there she was, the winged girl, cowering behind the balcony furniture.
"i-"
"it's okay, come on." paisley turned back to the water, sighing. "it's a nice night out."
the winged girl made her way to the railing, shivering with cold. "it's cold out," she said.
"it is," paisley agreed. she pulled her gowns tighter, glancing at her. fallon was wearing nothing but a blouse with flimsy sleeves and some leggings.
pitiful, paisley thought. i hope she doesn't expect me to give her one of my coats.
fallon's eyes glittered with an unreadable emotion. paisley couldn't and didn't care to interpret it. she was about ready for fallon to leave anyway. if only there were some way to banish her from the castle, and then it would be hers again. hers and rook's and luca's. no more winged girl stealing her pride.
at the thought of it, her insides boiled. but she pushed it down. always pushed it down-
"the piano is nice," fallon said, rather awkwardly. "i, uh, wanted to thank you. thank you for, uh, letting me use it."
a breath in. her corset pinched her sides. "of course. it's what it's here for, after all."
"but it's yours. i was scared to break it or something."
"you can't break a piano."
fallon hesitated. "i'm...pretty sure you can."
a breath out.
"not here," paisley responded. "not in this world. mama bear fixes everything for you."
this piqued fallon's curiosity. "what do you mean? she can just reach down in here and grab it?"
she didn't truly know. none of them truly understood what the physics and the magics were in this world. all she knew that she was trapped forever ago in wonderland. it was all she'd ever known. it's all she ever would know. and unless she did something about it soon, it's all fallon would ever know either.
"yes, i suppose, in a way," paisley lied. "mama bear controls all here."
fallon was quiet for a moment. she seemed to be lost in the rolling waves out in the distance, the milky black sky consuming even her for a moment. "why did she do it?" she asked at last. "why did she trap us here? what did she want from us?"
"i don't know," paisley answered, "i...i suppose to save us."
"but what did you have to be saved from? what was so awful in your life that you needed this as a sanctuary?"
paisley gripped the tiara even tighter. "i wasn't this way as a human. i wasn't supposed to be like this. it wasn't my birthright."
"supposed to be like what?"
a ruby threatened to pry its way out of its sheath. "perfect."
"you're not perfect."
"of course i am."
her eyes met with the angel and it struck her at that moment how brightly blue they were. a baby blue, perfectly complimenting the baby pink of her angel wings.
fallon was childish was what it was. paisley liked childish. perhaps she should keep her around a little while longer.
"you-"
"what, are you going to tell me i'm human?" paisley chided, "i'm not human, and you're not either. let's stop pretending that's anything of worth to begin with."
beside her, she saw fallon tuck her wings subtly behind her back.
"i never liked being human. here i can be something else. i can be anything else."
"what was it like?" fallon asked. "before...?"
"before i was queen?" she laughed, "it was sad was what it was. i was poor, lonely, stupid." she waved a hand over the ocean before them. "now i can be anything that i want. everything that i want."
"...and what of the rest of us?"
paisley scrunched her nose. "you fall in line behind me."
she heard fallon breath out a puff of air. "did she put you in charge? mama bear?"
"i woke up here with the tiara on my head and the robes on my body," paisley swallowed down all the memories that threatened to surface. all the memories of the past life. "so, yes, the position was mine."
fallon made a strange face. "how can you consider yourself a queen? there's only four people in this castle."
paisley tensed. she opened her mouth to speak, then shut it before she could begin her retort. inhale, exhale. the ice dripped from her voice as she responded:
"i will be a queen no matter how many individuals serve me. whether they want to serve me or not. i am still queen. this is my castle."
and without waiting for a response, paisley tore away, her gowns whipping in the winter wind. her crown felt even colder between her fingertips.
that was the moment she decided, she didn't quite like the winged girl.
