This was the way it should be.
Flynn (freaking) Rider twirling her around the dance floor while multi-colored lights engulfed them. Wearing her pinkest, flounciest dress, dancing the night away with her prince charming. When she looked into the dreamy brown eyes of her date, Rapunzel had expected to see…well, something. Fireworks of love, giant hearts, the works, you know? Instead he was just sort of…vacant. He had on a bright charming smile, sure, but there was something hollow in his eyes. Before Rapunzel could ask him if anything was wrong, Ms. Stick-Up-Her-Butt (aka Madame Gothel) tapped reluctantly on her shoulder.
"Miss Rapunzel," she began. She didn't have the respect or decency to use her last name when addressing her. "I have something for you." She pulled a long thin piece of wood from her sleeve.
The perky blonde gasped in awe. "A training wand," she took the slender wood between her fingers and examined it. It was beautiful – elegantly carved with cherry wood with a balmy finishing. "Oh, how can I ever express my gratitution?"
Madame Gothel smiled cordially. "Don't thank me. This was your roommate's idea, not mine."
"What? Elsa?" Rapunzel thought of the green-skinned, bookish, awful girl who shared her room with her. That couldn't be. From day one, Rapunzel and Elsa absolutely hated each other. No, Elsa would never do something so kind.
She nodded, smiling fondly at the mentioning of Elsa's name. Of course. Elsa was her favorite student, without question. Rapunzel had been trying to get into Madame Gothel's sorcery class since the first day of school, how could Elsa have..? "Miss Elsa insisted that I include you in Sorcery Class. She insisted that I tell you this very night, or she would quite the seminar." Her already buggish eyes widened at the thought of her star pupil leaving her class. "Although why…I have no idea. My personal opinion is you do not have what it takes." She said earnestly. "I hope you will prove me wrong." She began to walk away from Rapunzel, turning over her shoulder to look at her. "I doubt you will."
And with that, Madame Gothel disappeared into the crowd, leaving Rapunzel with a wand, a guaranteed spot in Sorcery Class, and about a million questions about Elsa. The most important one being – why did she do something so nice for her? Rapunzel certainly hadn't done anything kind in return…
As if on cue, Elsa emerged at the top of the steps, causing the music to halt. She was an eyesore. Green skin, muddy brown hair tied back in a frumpy braid, plain black frock…
And she was wearing the hat.
Earlier that afternoon, Rapunzel's aunt sent her another one of her famous gifts – a hideous black hat. Solid black, pointed at the tip, flat brim. Rapunzel could not think of a more unattractive piece of clothing. Her friends had convinced her that there was only one person in the school who's looks matched that of her aunt's "present" – her own roommate. She hadn't really given the hat to her, so to speak, she more sort of flung the thing at her and flashed one of her winning smiles, insisting Elsa that black was the new pink.
The room was silent as Elsa descended the staircase. Not the awed silence they gave Rapunzel when she entered a room, but an uncomfortable silence, filled with tension and glares. You shouldn't be here, their eyes seemed to say. You're a freak, you shouldn't be here. Rapunzel could tell Elsa saw this too by the quivering of her lip.
As though catching herself in a moment of weakness, Elsa straightened her back and tightened her jaw, almost reflexively. Her hands flew to the hat, removing it self-consciously. By now she was in the middle of the ballroom, and the silence continued to stretch on. A sudden look of self-determination set in her eyes, and she placed the hat firmly back on her head. And she began to dance; first moving just her hands, in slow awkward movements, until gradually her entire body swayed with the nonexistent music.
"Well, I'll say this much for her," Flynn whispered to Rapunzel from the crowd. "She doesn't give a twig what anyone else thinks." There was in interesting mix of disgust and awe in his voice.
A few sniggers fell from the crowd, but Elsa kept her eyes fixated on a single spot on the wall. "Of course she does," Rapunzel finally replied, her voice breaking ever so slightly. "She just pretends not to." It became clear to her – all this time Elsa had done her best to appear strong, but that didn't necessarily mean that she really was. Maybe Rapunzel had gone one step too far with her.
Elsa continued to dance, arms flailing wildly and slowly. More people in the crowd burst out laughing. Rapunzel heard a few whispers, most of which were horrible, cruel insults towards her. "I feel awful." She admitted quietly.
"It's not like it's your fault." Flynn put a careless arm around her.
But it was.
"Excuse me." Rapunzel handed Flynn her new wand and walked up to Elsa. Her chest felt heavy and tight. She had to make this right again.
She tapped on Elsa's bare green shoulder. "May I cut in?" she asked timidly.
Rapunzel began to recreate the movements Elsa had been making. There was a stunned silence surrounding them. She stopped, looking over at the green girl. Elsa nodded in encouragement, gesturing for her to continue. With a heavy swallow, she lifted her arms, making small circular movements. She arced her arms gracefully over her head, pirouetted to the side. Slowly and softly, the music began again. Out of the corner of her eye, Rapunzel saw other couples mimic her movements. She turned to face Elsa and gave her a soft smile. And for the first time, Rapunzel saw Elsa give a real, honest smile in return. Together, they finished the dance until the music picked up carried the rest of the dancers off into the rest of the evening.
Maybe Rapunzel had been wrong about Elsa.