Once Bitten, Twice Shy

7

The credits rolled and Kat jolted awake. Anne chuckled at her and took her hand, leading her up the stairs to her room. Anna soon followed, and Cathy after that. Only Jane and Aragon were hesitant to say goodnight. They both had something on their minds, and were both thinking the exact same thing at that moment.

"What do you think changed?" Jane started. "with Anne" she pushed herself up slightly, so she was level with Aragon's gaze.

"I don't know. But I'm definitely not gonna complain." Aragon smiled. "I haven't seen so much life in her since she stole my husband." She chuckled and Jane followed.

"D- Do you think its Cathy?" She was thinking out loud at this point. "I mean, she's been here three days, and already Anne's laughed in front of us, and stayed for a movie. Not to mention she actually greeted Her. She gave her a nickname for god sake."

"profanity." Aragon warned. Jane threw her hands up in defence, earning a grin from the other queen "But yeah.. I get what you mean." She thought for a moment. "whatever she's doing I just hope she carries on. We could use a bit more of the old Anne around here. Wow I never thought I'd be saying that" They both laughed and Jane leant her head gently on Catherine's shoulder.

"Do you think she'll ever be back to normal?" Her question was barely a whisper, and it held so much meaning that Aragon thought she heard her voice crack. She brought an arm around Jane's shoulder, tracing a pattern on her forearm.

"I hope so." They were all rooting for Anne, and every time her confidence grew, it sparked a little hope in their hearts.

The two stayed there for a while, before Jane broke the silence, wishing Aragon a good night and making her way up to bed. Aragon stayed a little longer, lost deep in her thoughts of the girl for which she had so much hope.

---

"Annie, its midnight, why are you watching Bambi?" Kat chuckled at her cousin. As she poked her head through the doorway. The girl popped up from the cocoon of blankets to identify the intruder, before settling back down and motioning for Kat to join her.

"I relate to him on a spiritual level."

"...." Kat stared at her cousin under the mountain of blankets, eating stray popcorn from her lap. "Hey me too!"

Anne laughed and lifted an arm, making space for her to squeeze under. They huddled under the blankets as Anne started to sniffle.

"what is it with you and orphaned animals?" Kat giggled and Anne gave her a glare.

"Don't even get me started on Nemo" It was an unhealthy obsession, that Kat had discovered while walking in to see Anne watching the film for fifteenth time.

"But Nemo's not an orphan"

"No but Dory is!" Anne face crumpled at the thought of it and Kitty couldn't help but laugh. She found her cousin's love for Disney movies endearing and would happily join her in binging them for hours on end. (I am aware that Dory is in fact not actually an orphan but oh well)

"Why are you up anyway?" Anne turned to her, already suspecting the answer.

"The usual." she shrugged. They both suffered from nightmares almost every night. It was just a fact of their lives, and so resulted in the cousins spending most nights curled up together in front of a happy movie, or vine compilation in an effort to keep all negativity away. Granted, they weren't quite as horrific as they once had been, but it was still comforting to have each other on nights like these when one couldn't sleep. "Don't wanna talk about it." She yawned and settled back against the pillows.

Anne nodded and turned back to the movie, not really paying much attention as she let her mind relax and her eyes close. It was a rare occurrence for her to feel at peace, but this was one of those moments; and it filled her heart with a fuzzy warmth as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.