Chapter Text
It’s only ten minutes until they need to leave. Brettany is finally allowed to have bubble tea again, and they are going out to celebrate. The very last thing Edwina wants is to be late. Again.
She looks at herself in the mirror with satisfaction. There is a wide, black strip on top of her head. It feels right, a manifestation of the last few months.
It’s been years since Edwina has seen her real hair color. Even when she could not use her hands during those dark times at the con, Brettany had painstakingly done her roots every week.
It had been a ridiculous thing to do, on top of all the other things, but it had kept Edwina going. And Brettany had laughed her rare laugh while she did it, saying:
“All in the service of Queen Edwina”
Edwina smiles at the thought of the nickname Brettany had bestowed on her after she had died her hair blond. Queen Edwina.
Edwina is grateful for the Queen. She is strong and tough, with endless determination. And she is selfish. She let Edwina follow her heart and become a musician, despite the wishes of her mum, despite the other, sensible options she’d had.
Secretly, often thought that she was more of a prince charming than a queen. A second son, rich and pretty and free to do as he pleases, moving out into the world to have adventures, not a care in the world about the country and the family at home. Strong and tough, and selfish.
If anything, Brettany was a Queen. An elven Queen, wise, beautiful and serene, with satin skin glittering in the pale moonlight. Not a girl with a ton of make-up to cover her endlessly blooming akne.
A mythical creature the prince would encounter when he was alone and cold, and lost in the dark forest in the deep of the night.
One day, she thinks, she will tell this story to Brettany. And Brettany will make her deadpan face, telling Edwina to stop with this nonsense. But maybe not. Maybe, in the end, she will laugh, her eyes crinkling. It will be good to see her laugh again after all these months.
But sometimes, it is still hard to guess what Brettany will do, even after they spend more than half their life together.
Edwina sighs, and reaches into her make-up bag, one her few possessions Brettany has not sneakily “borrowed” over the years. She draws out a velvet blue box and opens it. What would Brettany say about this?
There are two rings inside, white gold with a black pattern, exactly the same apart from their size. The problem is, not even Edwina knows what to say. They are not wedding rings, really. It’s not like that between them.
But they are also nothing like the friendship rings that were exchanged between teenagers during their highschool days, lost or forgotten after a few weeks. They were made to last.
Edwina closes the box with a snap. It will wait for another day. Today is to celebrate Brettany’s health. And anyway, she’ll have to wait. Even the small ring is too large for Brettany right now.
She hears a key turning in the entrance door, and quickly puts the box back into its hiding place.
“You ready to go?” Brettany calls from the hall. “Our appointment is in half an hour!”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming!”
Brettany is smiling at her.
“I still can not believe you want to cut your hair short and go back to your natural color. It will take some getting used to.”
“It’s time for a change, I guess,” Edwina smirks. “And I will only believe that you will color your hair red once I see it.”
Brettany laughs, and her eyes crinkle. “It’s time for a change, I guess.”
In the end, Edwina can’t find her phone. Or her purse. And so both of them end up being late. Some things never change.