breathoflight | ♕ 013 spam/letter/text/video; and she lived happily ever after.

spam - alex.

[There is one person she must see before anything or anyone else. She doesn't send a message ahead of time. She simply goes to Alex's cabin. She comes close to hesitating, to not knocking, but she makes herself do it how ever softly it might be. This is the difficult part, she thinks. It's the part that made her deny her feelings for so long.]

[Nervously, she grips the cloth in her hands tightly, holding it to her chest.]

letter - morgana.

Lady Morgana,

I write to inform you of my departure from this Barge. I know that you and I have not always seen eye-to-eye, but I believe we have forged a sort of friendship all the same, one that has been dear to me. When I look upon you, I do not see an evil or wicked woman. I do not see someone who has been corrupted by magic either. I see a woman of noble birth and intentions who has been inexplicably wounded.

I see a woman who will one day - though she may bear scars - heal and find peace. It is my hope that you one day see this for yourself.

I wish you all the best, my lady. Know that you are always welcome and a friend to Tabor.

Yours,
Snow White
Queen of Tabor

text - separate messages to peter, chris, & ben.

I want you to know that I am returning home to Tabor.

video - public.

[Snow is smiling, but it is a bittersweet smile.]

It appears my time here has come to an end. I will be returning to Tabor upon the morrow. In some ways, I wish this were not so, but I have a duty to my kingdom, to my people, to the banner of my father.

I do not know if we shall ever see one another again, but I shall hold my memories of each of you close to my heart and I shall never forget the lessons you have taught me. You are my brothers and my sisters, now and forevermore.

And I thank you. For everything.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Snow lets him pull her into his arms. She doesn't hug him back, instead burying her face into his shoulder and staying as close as possible to him.]

[She wants to tell him to leave with her. But she knows she can't. He still has business to take care of on the Barge and his place is not necessarily with her.]

I love you, Alex. [She pulls away from him some to place a hand on his cheek. She wishes so much that he would ask her to stay, but she knows that he won't. He can't.] I love you so much.

[He kisses her. It's not the type of kiss that necessarily says this is the last time I'll ever kiss you, so I should make it count. He always kisses her like that, so it would be impossible to tell, really. This is a Monday kiss, or an afternoon kiss, or a hey-I-didn't-realize-you'd-be-on-this-level kiss, an I-missed-you-since-this-morning kiss, a you're-beautiful kiss.]

[He always kisses her like this.]

I love you, too. You know that, right?

[He leans his forehead against hers, lets his eyes fall shut.]

You're so amazing. God. God.

I don't - what next? What do you do next?

[She loves his kisses. Never in her life had she ever felt quite so special, so loved as she does when Alex kisses her. He steals her breath away, causes her heart to flutter in her chest.]

[Her thumb rubs at his cheek idly.]

I do not know what state I will find my kingdom in. [A small pause.] I may no longer be queen.

[It's a somewhat terrifying thought to her, that her father may yet live now that Ravenna's suffering has been taken away. She doesn't know what to expect, what he will think of her. She knows in her heart that he will love her as he always did, but it's one thing to know and another to know.]

[She wonders if she might have ever met Eric or the dwarves. If she might have ever seen the Sanctuary. There are so many questions it's overwhelming and almost dizzying. But Alex has a hold of her and for that, she is steady. It's the only place she wants to be right now.]

[He grins, crooked and exhausted from his own strength of feeling. Leans his forehead against hers, feeling her warmth while he still can.]

Please. You're always gonna be queen, with or without the crown. That's why you were able to do what you did - there and here. It's part of you.

[He kisses the pad of her thumb.]

I'll be okay. [His voice cracks, and he clears his throat, almost angry with his voice for betraying him.] I will. I know this is what you have to do. So don't worry about me.

[The first few tears manage to slip down Snow's cheeks without her notice. Her smile is gentle and warm, but it is not without its sorrow.]

I will always worry about you, Alex. I happen to be quite good at that, [she says with a small lilt of laughter to her voice.]

[Snow kisses Alex gently and speaks just barely above a whisper,] We will see each other again.

[She cannot promise that, but she speaks of it with certainty because it's what she needs to believe. Snow has felt the memory of her mother begin to fade and that of her father. Time and years have a way of wearing down the sights and sounds of a person, the way their touch felt. She doesn't want to lose that of Alex. She wants to believe she won't have time for it to even begin to leave her before she sees him again.]

I know. I know we will.

[He believes it. Because one way or another, he feels it's only right that they find each other again. That this is the truth because it has to be the truth; that anything else would go against the way things are destined to be.]

[Which is all a little grandiose. So he reframes it in his head:]

[He believes it, because he has faith. In her, in God, in himself.]

[Snow smiles. It's weak, but it's warm and it's for him.]

[She pulls away from him though not far. Just enough that she might unfold the cloth she's brought with her. It is a banner with an oak tree embroidered upon it.]

I want you to have this. It is my father's banner. The banner of Tabor.

[For a moment it looks as though he might not take it. This is only so he can muster the breath to do so. It's an honor and even though he doesn't understand the intricacies of her life as well as he might, he knows this is as great a compliment as she could give him. The greatest emblem of her belief in him.]

Does that make me a warrior of Tabor?

[He grins crookedly. But of course he is. He is her fighter, through and through.]

[Snow smiles wide.]

I believe it makes you my knight in shining armor. That is the modern cliché, isn't it?

[Though the last word she would ever use to describe Alex, to describe what she has with him, is cliché.]

[He doesn't think he's anyone's knight in shining armor. Snow always could save herself. What he does think now is that he's capable of standing beside her. That he's worthy of it.]

[He presses the cloth to his chest and kisses her again, gently.]

Don't be stupid. You're your own knight in shining armor.