I have a reason for not posting anything for my in-progress stories! Haha, I finally found a legitimate excuse!

One, I've got a bad case of writer's block for A Tongue's Slip

Two, my computer deleted the most recent chapter of A Raven and a Writing Desk

And Three, I've been extremely busy with school. I've got 2 book reports to hand in, a rollercoaster experiment for science, pages and pages of homework for geometry, and a standardized test coming up for the next two weeks :P

So, forgive me, and enjoy this one shot :D

Mirana POV

Walking down the halls with my Ladies shadowing me, I felt…odd. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but I felt so out of place- like I didn't belong here. Like I wasn't supposed to be in the overly fancy dress or like I wasn't supposed to be adorned in all these unnecessary jewels. I felt as if I should be outside, working in the garden near the Flowers or tending to the trees (because I knew Ella didn't do it correctly- she rarely did). I felt like I should be in my room, writing poems about lord-knows-what instead of being so bloody perfect all the time.

For heaven's sake, I couldn't show any emotion without being questioned! If I was happy, I had to calm myself and the same when I was angry or a little too annoyed. I had to cover my frown when all I wanted to do was go and sob into my pillow like I was a little girl again. I had to stay quiet when I wanted to laugh at some of the people who came to court me because they were too…perfect. And, unfortunately for them, they expected me to be the same.

On normal circumstances, I'd comply, and have dinner with whoever had decided to pay a visit. But there were certain days- much like today- that I just wanted, needed, to see my friends and be, well, imperfect. Because, certainly, I was nowhere near perfect at all. If anything, I was rather strange. Tarrant had told me, as had McTwisp and even Alice, who was normally so quiet around me. The three of them seemed to be scheming all the time, usually trying to get me to do something that, in their eyes, was funny. Unfortunately for me, I was the butt of their jokes; the reason behind their giggles. This fact was unfortunate as well- I enjoyed it. I knew I was the odd one out; the one Queen who wasn't quite as dignified as the rest; the Queen who acted child-like and relaxed in front of her friends.

The one that nobody truly understood.

"Excuse me, Ladies, but I must be departing from your presence. I'm ever so sorry, but this is an important matter," I added softly, smiling at them. They curtsied and left me to my own devices, which, sadly, weren't as creative as I had once thought. I dropped my hands to my sides, picking up my skirts, and running silently to the Hatter's workroom. When I found that no one was there, I walked a little further down the hall to Alice's office. When I neared, I heard the laughter and the talking and that's when I knew. They were doing it again.

"Did- did you see when she got that letter? The one from the Prince of god-knows-where?" asked the Hatter, his laughter chopping up his sentence. But I heard a different note under that laughter, one of jealousy; bitterness; anger, as he said, "The boy was merely 17 years old."

"She looked about ready to fall apart at the seams! I was waiting for her to scream 'How many more letters will I get before they realize I won't court them?' I was surprised when she didn't," giggled Alice. I had to admit, Alice was very perceptive. That was exactly what I had wanted to say. Yet I couldn't help the anger that started to boil in my blood.

"Exactly! And then she almost started crying, I swear!" he shouted. I bit my lip as the anger transformed into hurt. Was the Hatter really talking about me like that? I thought…well, I had actually thought I liked him, which was why I hated all those letters. For a while, I even thought that he liked me too, but I guess not. If he was willing to make fun of me, then he really wasn't worth it. Was he?

"But still, I have to admit- I felt bad for her. She kept glancing around the room, looking for someone to help her out. I just wanted to give a big hug," whispered Alice. I smiled softly- this was why I kept them around. They knew how to make me feel just right even at the worst times. Sometimes, feeling stupid and victimized made someone feel beautiful and loved at just the right moments.

"Yeah, me too," added the Hatter, but, again, it seemed as if he wasn't quite saying all that he wanted to; like he was keeping something in. But who was I to judge him? After all these years, I barely knew the man. He kept everything bottled up inside of him- all except his madness, of course. I leaned closer to the door, holding my breath, as they continued talking. I heard them sit in some chair, Alice's skirts ruffling and Tarrant's hat being placed on a table.

I straightened and walked, dignified, down to the kitchen. No one dared to bother me in there, my room of sanity. As I entered, everyone emptied out and left me alone. I do wish they wouldn't do that. Either way, I could still concentrate on my potions and pastes and cakes and general concoctions. I started by making a batch of pishalver and Upelkuchen, since there was a strange shortage of it lately. It was that I realized that I hadn't been in the kitchen in weeks. I smiled quietly to myself and tried out a new recipe, one I'd always wanted to try. About an hour past when I started dancing around the table, suddenly happy. I was getting the recipe right this time, finally. It was a very delicate one- one mistake and you've screwed it up.

"Hello, hello…my, my, my- what have we here?" I blushed a dark red and glanced up at the intruder, grinning effortlessly, though I was almost certain it was a fake grin. I couldn't really tell the difference anymore.

"Hello," I said, quietly, still a little upset about him speaking about me. "What brings you here, Mr. Hightopp?" At my use of his formal name, his composure slipped a bit; his hopes crushed…whatever he had been hoping for.

I wondered, sadly, if I'd had any affect on his emotions. It was too obvious, but it was noticeable. What was he planning on doing? Why was he here in the first place? But, as I pondered over it, I realized something that near killed my almost happy mood.

I'd gone and burned my damn Caramel Spotlocks.

Tarrant POV

I walked out of Alice's office with a huge smile on my face. We always knew just the right ways to make each other laugh. The only problem was that Mirana wasn't there…that alone downed our mood a lot. Alice and I may start the laughs, but Mirana kept them going. I had spent, maybe, a total of 10 minutes with Alice today because we quickly ran out of things to say. So I decided to track down Mirana myself, seeing as Alice had to get back to work.

I figured she'd be in the throne room, sitting, staring, generally bored as always, but no one was in there. Well, she could've been in her receiving room, but nope. Wasn't there. I checked the library, the balconies- because she loved those. I checked the towers and gardens and finally, I came to my senses.

She's in the kitchen, you idiot! I shouted at myself. I just spent well over an hour searching for her, and she had to be in the kitchen! I walked silently through the door, my surge of anger done with. She was dancing about, picking a few ingredients, the putting some of them down without even using them. She'd stop, occasionally, to check a giant book that was left precariously perched on the edge of the table, next to her left elbow.

"Hello, hello…my, my, my- what have we here?" I said softly, so as to not startle her. She stopped her dancing and blushed, looking up to grin at me. I smiled slowly, wondering what she was thinking. Certainly her thoughts weren't about me, but how I wish they were!

"Hello there, Mr. Hightopp. What brings you here?" she asked, going back to her work. I blinked once and my mouth fell open without my thinking. I shook my head the tiniest bit and I could swear she didn't notice. What if she denied me? I'd worked up all this courage to ask her to have dinner with me and out of the blue she starts acting so formal? I noticed as she grew frustrated, slamming her spoon into the pan she was looking at.

"Wha's wit this Mister Hightopp?" I sneered the words, "Here ye are, telling me to call ye Mirana or Mira and no' the Queen ahnd yet ye have the nerve to call me Mister Hightopp?" I screamed. I walked around the table, towering over her, staring down at her. She backed up slowly, her face barely portraying a look of fear. She wasn't one to show emotion and I shouldn't have been scaring her like this.

"What is wrong with you, Hatter?" she shouted back, taking advantage of my pause. "Why are you yelling at me? I should be yelling at you, if anything! After what you said about me earlier, I should have you put out of my life!" My mouth fell open, again, and I was completely shocked. Had she heard what Alice and I spoke about? No wonder she was so angry! But…had she heard the end of it? Certainly she wouldn't be mad if she had heard that…Maybe, I could use this in my defense.

"What part are you talking about?" I asked, my voice louder than it was before. "Are you talking about the part where we complimented on how you looked today? And yesterday, as well? Or are you talking about the part where Alice said she was worried about you? What about the part where I said I loved you?" She was a mere two feet away from me, and the wall was right behind her. Without thinking, I moved her backwards so that she was against the wall, held her arms next to her head so that she was pinned in place, and I kissed her. I only held her arms up because I knew she would try and fight me, and yet I was surprised when she didn't. I pulled away, only to be disappointed. She was staring at me with her mouth hanging open, completely shocked. I dropped her arms and ducked my head in shame. Still, I was a bit happy that I did that. I might have never gotten a chance like that again.

"You…love me?" she whispered, still thinking.

"Loved you once, love you still, always have, always will. That's what my parents used to say and, Mirana, it couldn't be truer." As a smile began to form on her lips, I felt better. She walked closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her head on my shoulder. My arms snaked around her body, pulling her towards me.

"I'm sorry we talked about you. I'm sorry we laughed at you. I'm sorry we made fun of you. I'm sorry-"

"Stop," she whispered, "Just…kiss me again." She looked up at me and I leaned down, smirking, as I kissed her once more. The only other thing on my mind, besides her, was the smell of burned Caramel Spotlocks.