Charlotte thanked Briar and took the mug, holding it tightly with both hands but not drinking it just yet. It was still far too hot for that. Instead, she just let it warm her hands — they felt oddly cold all of a sudden — and glanced at Briar, unable to keep from staring. It was just so strange. She was meeting a fellow Fable for the first time; before, she hadn't dared hope that any others would show up apart from Bigby, and, well... the way things were going, it was starting to look like she'd never meet him. Not until she figured her own self out, at least.
Speaking of which, she sighed and looked down for a moment. Now that she was here, she almost at a loss for words. "Oh, I... I hardly know where to begin." She laughed breathlessly and glanced back up at Briar, not a little sheepish. "I've had a hell of a year. I got Snow just after my 18th birthday and joined Camelot because my brother — well, half-brother — is... was its leader, and I didn't want to... Well, that doesn't matter. I didn't join the boards until a few months ago, and then when I did, I found Bigby, and as decent a man as he is, he's - well, he's your age, except he looks twice my age, and I just couldn't..." She trailed off and looked away again, her throat starting to get tight. She couldn't stop now, though. That was barely the half of it. "Then my brother died, and we supposedly won the war, though it certainly didn't feel like it. And then I... got stupid. I met Prince Charming — not Snow's Prince Charming, just a Prince Charming, though he might as well have been mine, he was just as much of a cad, and even more heartless to boot... Well, I slept with him, and I had a bit of a breakdown, and I have talked to Jeremiah since, and I just... I don't know what to do anymore."
Finally, she cut herself off, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She was on the verge of tears, but she didn't want to cry, not now. "I'm sorry. I know that's a lot to take in all at once, but I really don't have anyone else to talk to. Bit pathetic, I know." She rolled her eyes at herself and finally took a sip of her tea. Still hot. Ah, well. At least it was soothing.