Keep your head high and a gentle smile on your face. Keep your posture poised, your steps light and elegant. These are your people now, and you are their Queen. You mustn't show any weakness.

The words hung in Regina's mind like a mantra of complete and utter perfection, clawing at her weary mind. Her mother's words had prepared her for how she would have to behave, but never for how it would truly feel.

The wedding was... difficult, put lightly. Everywhere she looked, there was eyes looking back. Watching her. Studying her. Judging her. Sizing up their new Queen, as if approving whether she was worth their King's hand in marriage. Regina wished they had decided she wasn't, and thrown her out of the castle. But of course, that never happened. Instead, she had to spit her vows and her "I do", while her grieving heart screamed the exact opposite.

The afterparty wasn't any easier: filled with fake smiles and forced laughs while she talked to people who were even less genuine than her good mood. A drink in her hand that was too strong for her liking, Regina longed for the night to end - her heart still heavy with grief from the loss of Daniel and her freedom in such quick succession, she yearned for the solace of solitude within her chambers. The thought kept her going.

When it was finally over, Regina returned to her chambers, her mood sour, and her mind tinted with the faint buzz of alcohol - she hadn't drank much, yet her body wasn't accustomed to the consumption of such beverages. Upon entering, she was greeted by a maid who was preparing an outfit for her to wear to bed. Letting out a small sigh, Regina crossed her chambers to sit down on the edge of her bed, part of her façade fading away. Not fully, but she allowed some of her weariness to show, her hand raising to tug her hair down out of its fancy updo.