A Disney Princess Pool Party
It was a beautiful day at Cheryl and Sonja's house. The sun was shining, and it was a gorgeous day with a few clouds in the azure blue sky. In fact, it was a perfect day for a swim with friends. "So Sonja, what do you want to do today?" asked Cheryl as she put away the breakfast dishes. "It's too hot to do anything really Cheryl, it feels like Hawaii in the summer with 90-degree humidity." groaned Sonja as she flopped down on the recliner in the air conditioned living room. "And this darn air conditioning isn't really helping much." added Cheryl as she fanned herself with a hard cover book. Cheryl then began checking the tide tables for the area. "Bummer, tide won't be right for two weeks yet." she said with a sigh as she put down her Ipod Touch Sixth Gen. "Plus, it hasn't rained for a whole week." groaned Sonja as she pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes. Then, the girls got an idea. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Sonja to Cheryl, now getting excited. "Yeah, let's invite the Disney Princesses over here for a pool party!" they both cry in excited unison. "Let's make a day out of it and have a BBQ too." said Cheryl with a grin forming itself on her face. They then got diligently to work on the party invitations. Soon afterwards, they decided to put the invitations into each princess's mailbox. There was an invitation for Snow White, one for Cinderella, one for Aurora, one for Jasmine, One for Ariel and Melody, one for Belle, one for Pocahontas, one for Mulan, one for Tiana, one for Rapunzel, one for Merida and one for Elsa and Anna. Also, the princesses were instructed to bring a food to barbecue. They were going to have a potluck style BBQ at Cheryl and Sonja's house. Snow White meanwhile, was bored, since her seven little dwarf friends had gone to work in the mine as usual and she had finished making the beds and mending their clothes. Just then, she decided to go and get the mail. When she opened the mail, she was delighted to see that it was addressed to her. She quickly tore it open and saw that it was from Cheryl and Sonja. "I'm so going to this party and I'm going to bring a large potato salad." She said with a large grin. She then set to work making the grandest potato salad ever. Cinderella at the moment, was sitting on her patio, dreamily staring into space at the flowers that she had planted. She had just watered them and now, they were looking very happy, quite the opposite from when she had woken up this morning, to find wilted flowers everywhere. Bruno, her dog was lying in the shade to try and cool down from the extreme heat. "Yes Bruno I know, I'm hot too." said Cinderella as she stretched sleepily on her porch swing. Just then, Jack and Gus approached Cinderella, struggling to make it up the patio steps with the enormous envelope that they were holding in their tiny paws. "Guess who's got mail." said Gus grinning as he lay the envelope at Cinderella's feet. "It's you Cinderellie." Said Jack also grinning hugely. "Why, thank you Jack." said Cinderella, as she picked up the envelope from the brick patio. As she read the invitation a few seconds later, she grinned. "I'm going to a pool party today. Guess I'll make some hot fudge sundaes, everyone loves those." she said with a smile. "We'll help you, Cinderellie." said Gus as he scampered inside the house, followed by Bruno and Jack. Aurora meanwhile, was going on a leisurely stroll in the woods, picking blueberries straight off of the bush. She so enjoyed these early morning strolls, due to the fact that it nourished both her body and mind as she was at one with the nature around her. Also, she loved the feeling of the soft earth between her toes. When she returned from her lovely walk, she saw that the flag on her mailbox was up. "I guess I have mail." she said to herself as she opened the mailbox. As soon as she went inside, she opened up the envelope and saw that Cheryl and Sonja had invited her over for a pool party. "Great, I'm bringing over some hotdogs to barbecue." she said with a grin, as she went to defrost some hotdogs and get some buns made from scratch. Cheryl and Sonja as well, had foods that they were preparing for the barbecue. Cheryl was hard at work with a delectable macaroni salad, while Sonja was working on defrosting sausages and making sure that they were getting boiled to remove any fat content from them. She also had some buns defrosting on the counter. They also had some corn on the cob boiling on the stove. "This is going to be one great party." said Sonja grinning as she flipped over the sausages. "Yeah I know, I'm really excited about it." said Cheryl as she chopped up some celery to add to the macaroni salad that she was concocting. Jasmine meanwhile, was grooming her pet tiger, Rajah. He badly needed his fur cut and his nails trimmed. It seemed that Jasmine had the magic touch, when it came to grooming her pet tiger since nobody else could do it without getting the tiger upset at them. "Almost finished Rajah, just need to do your back left foot." said Jasmine as she went diligently to work with the nail clippers. Rajah sighed, but let the young princess do her work on him. Moments before, she had trimmed Iago's wings and gave him a bath and he had been incooperative throughout the whole thing, including getting Jasmine's hair soaked to the root. She had also fed Abu some bananas and he had eaten them all in one big mighty chomp. For Rajah, it felt grand to have all that excess fur cut off, since it was a hot day outside today. Soon after, Abu and Iago came into Jasmine's room, carrying a piece of mail. "Ya got mail Princess." snorted Iago as he handed her the envelope. Jasmine smiled at the parrot fondly. "Well, what ya staring at? Aren't ya gonna open it or something?" complained Iago as he watched Jasmine's every move. She then opened the mail, then she read it aloud. She then had a large grin on her face. I'm going to go make some kabobs for the BBQ." she announced as she made her way towards her kitchen. "Girls, what are they gonna plan next." scoffed Iago as he watched Jasmine walk off happily towards the kitchen. Luckily, she had a big amount of pork and beef left over from last week's banquet. Belle of course, was reading a novel on her porch, when her horse Phillippe came up to her with an envelope in his mouth. "What's that Phillippe? Is that for me?" she asked curiously. Phillippe nodded and let the envelope fall into Belle's lap. Sure enough, it was in invitation to Cheryl and Sonja's pool party. "I'll go and start boiling the ribs then." said Belle as she got up from her bench. Phillippe then returned to his barn where a nice big bucket of oats and hay awaited him. Ariel and Melody were happily reading side by side while sitting on some rocks by the seaside. Both their hair was flying in the early morning breeze as they relaxed companionably on the rocks. Just then, Sebastian appeared, carrying two invitations in his claws and scuttling excitedly towards the two princesses. "Ariel, Melody, I found des in de mail, why don't you open dem and see what day are." said Sebastian grinning a toothy grin. Ariel took the envelopes from Sebastian and handed one to Melody, who excitedly opened it. She loved getting mail from her friends. They discovered that Cheryl and Sonja had invited them to a pool party. "I hope day have de music dare." said Sebastian with a jaunty wink at the princesses. "I'm sure that they'll have some entertainment for us." Reassured Melody as she patted Sebastian fondly on his head. Soon after, Ariel and Melody went inside to work on their whole chicken to prepare it for the BBQ. In fact, they decided to slather it with BBQ sauce to give it some hearty flavor. Mulan meanwhile was having some iced green tea when her dog, Little Brother came up to her with an envelope in his mouth. Mushu was also there, grinning as usual. "You got mail Mulan." said Mushu as he took the envelope from Little Brother and handed it to Mulan. She excitedly tore it open and gasped with excitement when she saw what it was. "A pool party is a great idea, I'll go prepare the steak for the BBQ." she said getting up from the table. "Yep, we got a big sirloin steak in the deep freeze, got it last week." Said Mushu grinning hugely. "I'll have to defrost it then. I'm also going to make a side dish of chicken fried rice." said Mulan as she washed her hands preparatory to making her food for the party. "Rice goes with just about anything." said Mushu with wholehearted approval. She was also going to make some egg rolls for everybody, since everybody loved them a whole bunch. Pocahontas meanwhile, was doing some bird watching at her house. The birds were eating from the bird feeder that she had set up and her little humming bird friend Flitt, was sucking the sap from the humming bird feeder on the window sill. Meeko as usual, was looking for some edibles that Pocahontas kept in her cupboards. This time, he managed to get at some crackers that she had left opened a few days ago. Then, Flitt returned to Pocahontas with an envelope in her beak. "For me Flitt?" she asked excitedly, as she took the envelope from the humming bird. Flitt flapped her wings rapidly, indicating a humming sound. Pocahontas opened it and gasped excitedly. She loved pool parties, especially with her friends. "Bring something for us to barbecue and we'll all eat it together." she read at the bottom of the invitation. "I'll make some strawberry punch for everyone to drink." Said Pocahontas as she went to pick some luscious strawberries from her patch that grew by her house. As she picked some of the berries, Meeko caught some in his mouth, causing Pocahontas to laugh delightedly as she watched him. Tiana meanwhile, was keeping her house tidied up when she heard the flag of her mailbox go up. Probably her friend Charlotte was playing tricks on her again. "Maybe I should go see what it is." said Tiana as she put her broom aside. While she had been cleaning, her radio was tuned to a New Orleans jazz station. But Charlotte was nowhere in sight. All Tiana saw was her own mailbox with an alligator on it with the flag up. All that was inside of course, was a single envelope. "I wonder who that could be for." said Tiana as she thoughtfully tapped her chin in deep thought. Turned out, it was for Tiana. She quickly tore it open and let out a yell of delight. "Big Mama, I'm so going to be there!" she said excitedly. She decided to bring some giant shrimp to put on the BBQ. "There's nothin quite like Louisiana jumbo shrimp with a butter garlic sauce on the BBQ , it's the bee's knees." Said Tiana as she began concocting the sauce for her shrimp. Rapunzel on the other hand, was relaxing in the sunshine, staring up at the clouds in a daydream, when her pet chameleon Pascal came over to her with something in his mouth. Rapunzel smiled at him and took the envelope from him. "What's going on Pascal?" she asked sweetly as she patted him fondly. Pascal handed Rapunzel the envelope. After she read it, she gave an excited cry of delight. "BEST DAY EVER!" she cried as she jumped up and down with childish delight. In fact, she was looking forward to a pool party and she loved having fun with her friends. So, she got to work putting together some appetizers. One of which was some devilled eggs and some cheese and crackers. Everybody loved appetizers, especially when Rapunzel put them together. At Elsa and Anna's house, they were both watching TV and feeling extremely bored. "So, what can we do today Sis?" asked Elsa to Anna as they flipped through the channels. "I don't know Elsa, I'm bored." groaned Anna as she flopped wearily onto the couch. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "I'd better go see who that is." said Elsa as she tiredly got up from the recliner where she had been sitting. Sure enough, it was Olaph, carrying the mail in his hands. "Hi Elsa, Anna you got mail." he said cheerily as he gave them each a warm hug. "For a snowman, you give pretty good hugs." smiled Elsa as she returned the hug warmly. "I hope I cooled you girls down, it's a scorcher out there." said Olaph with a smile. His personal flurry was still trailing along behind him, keeping him cool and alive. "Well, sort of." said Elsa grinning. After she shut the door, she turned to her little sister delightedly. "We have mail Anna, I wonder who it's from." she said grinning. "Let's open it and see." said Anna as she took her envelope from Elsa. When they opened up their envelopes, they saw that it was invitations to Cheryl and Sonja's pool party. Both were very excited, since they had bought brand-new bathing suits the previous day. They also decided to get to work on some cheesy potatoes and hamburgers that everyone loved. Meanwhile, at Merida's, she was battling a severe case of hiccups that hadn't gone away since breakfast. Even if she held her breath, it didn't work. Every five seconds, another hiccup onset came on. Maybe if she did some target practice, it would help those nasty hiccups. But, five minutes into target practice, the hiccups were nowhere near cured. Inside her house, Merida's little sister Bonnie was getting her diaper changed and getting dressed by her dad. Elinor of course, was making the bed in the master bedroom after having folded the blanket in Bonnie's crib. After having a clean diaper and being dressed into a pink sundress, Bonnie smiled sweetly at her dad and closed her eyes momentarily. "Oh Bonnie, your daddy's little angel." cooed Fergus as he put her down in her playpen so that she could play happily for awhile. The triplets had gone to get the mail this morning and they handed their father the morning paper. "There's something for Merida in the mail Dad." squealed Harris excitedly as he handed an envelope to Fergus. Back in her room, Merida was lying on her bed, her arms crossed over her bosom staring at the ceiling, wondering if her hiccups would ever go away. She then decided to stare at the map of Scotland that hung on her bedroom wall by her bed. There was nothing better to do, just hope that those nasty hiccups would quiet down and go away by themselves. Just then, her bedroom door burst open and in came Fergus, holding an envelope in his hand. "That didn't work Dad, they're still there." moaned Merida between bouts of hiccups. "That's what ya get from eating the Reese's Puffs too fast." said Fergus in a sing-song voice to Merida, as he tickled her under her chin fondly as he gave her a kiss on her forehead. Then, Merida sat up and let her dad sit next to her on her double sized bed. "Why don't ya open it and see what's inside." said Fergus as he watched Merida's face turn from miserable to delightful happiness. When she read what was written, there was a gleeful smile on her face. "Are ya going Lassie?" asked Fergus with a smile in his voice. "I'm going Dad." said Merida with a smile as she hugged her dad joyfully. "Why don't ya take Bonnie with ya? She'll have a great time." said Fergus. Merida grinned. Of course, the pool party would be all day long and it would only end at sunset. Merida would have to pack a few items for Bonnie, including diapers and an extra change of clothes and a few toys. For the potluck, Merida decided to make a pizza to barbecue. In fact, everybody loved pizza and it was something to BBQ. Especially with all of the toppings on it. Merida put the works on her pizza and piled it high with cheese. She even had her three brothers help her make it. When it was all done, it looked delicious. Then, she placed it in a pizza pan with foil over top of it. Back at Cheryl and Sonja's house, both girls had the pool area decorated with water balloons and had bottles of bubble blowing liquid and Sonja had her waterproof boom box all set up with Cheryl's large sound system. "Well, are they coming?" asked Sonja curiously. "I got a text from all fourteen of them, they're all coming." said Cheryl as she set up a picnic table on the patio. What they didn't know was, that Merida had invited two surprise guests. One, she was bringing along with her and the other would show up a few minutes after the party would start. The first princess to arrive was Tiana, carrying her shrimp in a large croc pot. "Hi girls, I'm here for the party." she said excitedly. "Hi Tiana, you're a bit early, why don't you put that pot over here and we'll put it in the kitchen for later." said Cheryl with a grin. Sonja lifted the lid and inspected the inside of the pot. "Louisiana jumbo shrimp." Said Sonja with interest. "It's the bee's knees once you've got it on the BBQ." said Tiana with a grin. "I love seafood." grinned Sonja to Tiana as she gave her a big hug. "Well, you're the kind of girl who loves to try new foods." said Tiana to Sonja as she patted her on her shoulder fondly. In fact, Tiana volunteered to help Cheryl and Sonja finish setting up for the party, she was so early. Next to arrive was Belle, carrying a large pot. "I'm here for the party." she said smiling. "That's awesome." said Sonja with a grin. "Ooh, pork back ribs." said Cheryl, lifting the pot to inspect the contents. Aurora and Cinderella arrived together at the same time, both carrying heavy dishes in their arms. "Those hotdogs and ice-cream sundaes look scrumptious girls." said Cheryl with a wide grin. "Thanks, Jack and Gus helped me make them." said Cinderella, also grinning. Aurora also smiled sweetly glad to know that the girls loved the looks of her hotdogs and buns. Snow White and Jasmine came soon after, also carrying dishes in their arms. "Can you girls manage those?" asked Sonja concerned. "I can, but I don't think Snow White can manage that heavy glass bowl of hers." said Jasmine as she set down her tray full of kabobs. "It's full of potato salad, no wonder it's heavy." said Cheryl as she took the bowl from Snow White and set it down onto the table on the patio. Anna, Elsa, Ariel and Melody arrived in a big group, also carrying dishes. "Looks like we have a real potluck happening here Sonja, hamburgers with cheesy potatoes, barbecued chicken in a BBQ sauce and the stuff that the other princesses brought here already." exclaimed Cheryl excitedly. "I know, I can hardly wait to taste everything." said Sonja excitedly. Mulan and Pocahontas arrived at the same time, also carrying their dishes. "Looks like we have our drink Sonja, strawberry punch." said Cheryl, when she glanced into the pitcher. "It smells great." said Sonja as she took a long whiff of the beverage. "And we have our steak here too." said Sonja with a grin. "And it looks divinely beautiful." added Cheryl as she took a glance at the steak that Mulan had prepared. "It's not the only thing I prepared for us, I also have some chicken fried rice and egg rolls." said Mulan with a large grin on her flawless face. "Yum, they'll be gone faster than hot cakes." said Tiana as she too, admired the food that Mulan had prepared. Everybody then began to laugh at Tiana's joke. "I made some cupcakes for the occasion." said Melody, as she presented some luscious chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and chocolate candy and sprinkles. "Those look great Melody." said Sonja as she gave the princess a hug. "Thanks. I put a sea theme, since it's a pool party." smiled Melody as she returned the hug warmly. Rapunzel arrived a few minutes after, carrying a lot of things in her arms. "I brought the appetizers." she said with a wide grin. She had her hair done up into a bun so that it would stay out of the way. "Those look lovely Rapunzel." exclaimed Cinderella, as she took the tray of appetizers from her. "Thanks. I wanted to make things that would appeal to everybody's tastes." said Rapunzel with a large grin. "So? Where's Merida?" asked Rapunzel after having hugged everybody. "Oh, she'll be here soon." reassured Sonja with a grin. "Merida's always the one to come in with a bang." giggled Cheryl as she thought of her favorite red-headed lass. Five minutes later, Merida arrived in her Toyota Tundra truck with Bonnie in the back seat in her car seat. "Here…I…am…ready…to…party!" said Merida, through bouts of wild hiccups. "Uh-oh." said Sonja through fits of wild giggles. "Yeah, we'll have to cure Merida's hiccups somehow." said Cheryl as she came back from putting the dishes in the kitchen. Merida's large pizza was the last thing to put into the fridge for later. In fact, they were saving the big potluck for supper that evening. Snow White had taken care of the dwarves' supper that evening by leaving them money for Subway. They could order whatever six-inch sub combo they wanted. For lunch, there were tuna fish sandwiches with double-stuffed Oreo cookies for dessert and of course, some nice clear drinkable water. But for Merida, even with drinking all of her glassful of water, her hiccups weren't cured. They had gone away for a little while, but within a few minutes of gobbling down her tuna fish sandwich with mayonnaise and onions, the violent hiccupping came back with full on force. What she really needed was a super good scare. Soon after lunch, the girls decided that it was time to get into the pool. But before they could, Merida stopped them. There was something already in the water. Suddenly, a pair of flippers poked out and a face was seen. All of the princesses except for Merida recoiled with fear. Cheryl and Sonja on the other hand, exchanged looks of astonishment. "Nessie? How on Earth did you get here without your skin drying out?" asked Cheryl with great surprise. "Simple Lassie, I followed the loch to your house and then I clumsily made it across the lawn to the pool area." said Nessie with a smug grin on her face. Merida grinned when she saw her close friend. "Nessie…won't…bite…she…only…eats…bad…people." explained Merida through hiccups. Then, the other princesses felt relieved. They knew that none of them would become Lochness monster chow. Even Little Bonnie recognized who Nessie was. "Hi Bonnie." she cooed sweetly as she watched Merida change her into a waterproof diaper and a bathing suit. Bonnie babbled delightedly at Nessie as she watched her do flips and dives in the pool's clear blue water. After Bonnie was changed into her pink and yellow bathing suit, Nessie took her into her fins and began slowly floating around the pool with her. As she floated, Bonnie babbled and cooed contentedly at Nessie, letting her know that she loved this relaxing kind of exercise. While Nessie kept an eye on Bonnie, Cheryl, Sonja and the princesses all got changed into their bathing suits. They even put up their hair so that it wouldn't get into their eyes. Rapunzel on the other hand, already had her hair done up into a bun. Merida on the other hand, didn't bother putting up her hair, since it was already looking fabulous, according to her standards. But, before she had left, she had carefully brushed out Bonnie's brown locks and put a pink bow in her hair to make her look pretty. In fact, Bonnie was the cutest of the Dunbroch clan. Merida also, still had a bad case of hiccups. She was starting to get worried about them never going away. But once everybody was in their bathing suits, they were all looking very pretty. Cheryl had on a pink skirtini with her hair done up in two braids held up with pink hair ribbons, Sonja had a periwinkle blue bathing suit and her hair was pulled up into a bun which was held by a single barrette, Snow White had on a red bathing suit with her hair up in a blue headband, Cinderella had on a bright blue bikini with her hair done up in a ponytail, Aurora had on a pink bathing suit with her hair done up in pigtails crossed with a hair ribbon, Belle had on a yellow bathing suit with a long ruffle at her waist and her hair was done up in a braid, Jasmine had a purple bikini with her hair held up by bobby pins, Ariel had on a green bathing suit and her hair was held up into a ponytail as was her daughter Melody's hair. Melody on the other hand, had on a light orange bathing suit. Mulan had on a violet bathing suit and her hair was held up with a matching elastic. Pocahontas had on an aqua marine bathing suit with her long hair done up into a very pretty native American braid, Tiana had on a white bathing suit with black polka dots on it and her hair was pulled back into a hairdo that had all of her hair swept on top of her head, Rapunzel had a dark blue bathing suit with her hair done up in a bun, Merida had her gorgeous sea green bikini that perfectly matched her red curls and both Elsa and Anna wore matching royal blue skirtinis with their hair done up into side braids. Everybody also had matching towels to dry off on once they would get out of the pool, soaking ringing wet. The first one to enter the pool was Sonja, who climbed up the ladder to the water slide. She then slid down the water slide and entered the pool with a small splash. After checking the depth of the water, Ariel dove in off the side of the pool closest to the water slide. Melody did the same. Cheryl as well, slid down the water slide, but she slid down head first on her back through the spiralling twists and turns of the water slide. She then let herself drop beneath the waters of the pool, resurfacing moments later. Rapunzel jumped off the shallow side of the pool and she landed with a huge splash in the water. Jasmine dove off the pool as if she were an Olympic style swimmer who was about to perform the butterfly. Cinderella and Snow White cautiously entered the pool by the steps that led into the shallow end of the pool. Thanks to Cheryl and Sonja, there were various water toys and floatation devices at pool side, so that none of the girls would have to get out of the pool to go and get them. Elsa and Anna slid down the water slide as well, but they slid down the safe way. Anna stepped on after Elsa did and she stuck right behind her sister. Both reached the bottom of the slide at the same time and speed. Tiana went onto the diving board, doing a flip in mid-air before entering the water with a huge Louisiana style splash. Aurora just let herself fall into the pool onto her back like an Olympic style back stroke swimmer. Pocahontas and Mulan went onto the diving board and did a synchronized diving session for the fun of it all. Belle of course, eased herself down the ladder nearest to the water slide off of the deep end. Then, Cheryl picked up Bonnie and put her into a baby-sized floaty chair and she also had a lifejacket on, just in case the floaty chair deflated. Now, only Merida was left standing on the pool deck, trying her hardest to stop her hiccups. "We girls know how to get rid of hiccups." said Sonja with a big grin on her face. "How?" asked Merida curiously. No one uttered a word. Cheryl and Sonja grabbed Merida by the waist and on the count of three, they dumped her backwards and headfirst into the pool water, where Nessie caught her by her hair. When Merida resurfaced a moment later, she found that her hiccups were cured for good! "Hey, thanks girls, my hiccups are gone, let's party!" said Merida excitedly. "Yahoo!" exclaimed the girls with excitement. Just then, Sonja turned on the music and the pool party was in full swing. Everyone even took a turn on Cheryl's favorite pink floaty chair. Even Nessie had a turn. But she was so big, that she took up the whole chair and she was spilling over the sides of it. Everybody laughed when they saw this. When Merida had her turn, she cradled Bonnie on her lap while she had a ride around the whole pool while the chair drifted with the current. Next, the whole gang played bubble archery, where a bubble wand was fashioned like a bow, but bubbles came out of the quiver rather than arrows and when the bubbles popped, that's when the girls got points. Merida of course, being an expert with archery, got the most points out of anyone else. A few bubbles even got on Bonnie's head, but she giggled with pleasure and splashed everybody with delight. She even splashed Merida happily when she showed her how to master the weapon. In fact, when Merida demonstrated how to pull back onto the bow, a bubble got onto Bonnie's nose and perfectly balanced itself there, then popped a few seconds later. Bonnie laughed with glee and splashed Merida with strong kicks and thrashes. "You little trickster." Laughed Merida as she splashed Bonnie back after tickling her fondly. "Splash fight!" shouted Tiana as she started splashing Sonja, who then started splashing everyone in her path. Cheryl did a flip in mid air before coming back down into the water with a big splash that got everyone soaked to the skin. When she resurfaced, Ariel was amazed and gave her a big clap. "It's what I call my mermaid dive trick." she said with a smile on her face. Even Nessie was surprised. Meanwhile, back at Merida's house, it was eerily quiet. Fergus had taken the boys to the park, where there was a huge municipal pool to swim in and he had also taken the dogs with him. Merida and Bonnie were away at Cheryl's house. Only Queen Elinor remained. She wondered where everyone had gone. She then glanced at the invitation that Merida had gotten in the mail that morning. A look of frustration and anger suddenly shrouded her face. Merida had gone over to Cheryl's house behind her back without permission. Elinor would have to go over there and tell Merida what a grave mistake that she had done. While she was at it, she might as well try and bring Merida home. Back at Cheryl and Sonja's house, everybody was having a fantastic time. Even Elsa and Anna were participating in a game of water polo. Cheryl and Merida were having a race down the water slide, seeing who could reach the bottom first. Turned out, it was a tie. They even had a bubble blowing contest, to see who could make the most bubbles. Between Cheryl, Merida and Ariel, it was a three-way tie. Sonja was in second place for this one and the threesome had first place. Afterwards, the girls decided to go ahead and pop all of the water balloons that were decorated around the large pool area. "I call dibs for the pink balloon." shouted Cheryl as she took a hold of a large pink water balloon. "Green for me please." said Sonja as she took a green balloon. All the other girls grabbed a water balloon and started running around with them. Even Bonnie was holding a big water balloon and she ended up floating in the sky. Luckily, the girls kept an eye on her to make sure that she didn't wander off too far. Nessie on the other hand, had the biggest water balloon of them all. It was a bright blue balloon with a green star on it and she held on tightly to it. On the count of three, everyone burst their water balloons and water sprayed everywhere and got the lawn soaked as well, watering the flowers. When Bonnie's balloon popped, Merida caught her in her arms and she was unharmed. Then, everyone jumped back into the pool, all victorious that their balloons had made a splash hit. "Oh the joys of being in the open air." sighed Sonja as she climbed into her green floaty chair. "I know Lassie, there's nothing better than being in the great outdoors, it makes me feel free." agreed Merida as she floated alongside the other girls on her back, staring up at the lazily rolling clouds up above them all. "I couldn't agree more, I love the sounds of the birds." added Aurora as she gave her friends a sweet smile. "I love it too." said Pocahontas with a contented sigh. "The grass feels so good between my toes." chimed in Rapunzel from where she was relaxing in the shallows. Ariel and Melody had to agree as well, for there was nothing better than listening to the sounds of the ocean lapping against the shore on a clear calm day. Later, a blue Buick was seen approaching Cheryl and Sonja's house. Elinor was set on getting Merida back home, since she had no right to be there without the Queen's permission. But according to Merida, her mom had no say in what she could and couldn't do. A few minutes later, Elinor parked her car beside Jasmine's Toyota Camry XLE. Elinor rolled her eyes disapprovingly at the other vehicles in the driveway as if it were American Band Stand on the fourth of July weekend. There, next to Cheryl's red Toyota Tundra truck, was Merida's green truck with the windows down to let the air inside of it. On the other side of Merida's truck, was Sonja's green Honda Civic with its cool-looking sun roof and Air Conditioning. "That's odd, I hear a car coming into our driveway." said Cheryl to herself as she resurfaced from a leisurely underwater swim with Melody and Ariel. "Oh no, not Mum." groaned Merida, when she realized who had come. Merida somehow knew that she was in big, big trouble with her mum for not asking her permission before leaving the house that morning. Sure enough, there came Elinor, a look of anger on her face and her hands on her hips. Bonnie on the other hand, was happy to see her mom there. She actually gave her a smile and she waved happily to her as she floated by the side of the pool where her mom was standing. Elinor softened when she saw Bonnie having a fabulous time in the water. After all, it was her very first outing since she had been born. Then, she saw Merida calmly doing the breast stroke across the pool, with her friends cheering her on and there was a timer going to see how fast she could do it across the pool and back. She took no notice of her mom standing there, watching her like a hawk on the hunt. "Five minutes and nine seconds." declared Rapunzel from the shallow end by the steps. "She's a lot faster than I am at this." said Pocahontas as she took a breath after having her face submerged in the water. When Merida looked up, she froze in fear. There staring at her with angry brown eyes, was her mum. Merida's blue eyes showed fear back at her mum, for she was afraid for what would come next. "Well Merida, am I ever disappointed in you. A princess should always ask permission from the Queen if she can go to a party that she's been invited to." began Elinor. "I was going to ask you Mum, but you were obviously busy." said Merida now getting frustrated. "A princess is never supposed to go behind her mother's back to a pool party." said Elinor gravely. "Don't be telling Merida what she can and can't do, she's a grown woman for crying out loud!" said Cheryl now clearly annoyed at Elinor for getting her best buddy upset. Cheryl then did her mermaid trick dive, resulting in getting Elinor soaked, which she did not appreciate, especially from a brunette who thought she ruled the roost around her property with her best friend at her side. "Merida is a princess and until she moves out of the house and or joins another clan, she must abide by my rules at all times." declared Elinor in a fit of rage. "I think it's high time that Merida was allowed to do what she wants, despite what the Queen states." piped up Sonja from her green floaty chair that was coming into view of where Queen Elinor was standing with her face red with anger and her hands tightly plastered onto her hips. "Don't you dare talk back to the Queen of Dunbroch or you'll never be allowed to see Merida again." thundered Elinor as she pointed a finger squarely into Sonja's frightened face. Cheryl as well, was scared for what would happen next. Bonnie as well, was afraid. She loved Cheryl and Sonja because of how gentle they were with her. Nessie was about to protect Merida from her enraged mother since she knew how angry Queen Elinor could get. "Don't worry Nessie, I've got this." said Merida frustrated as she grabbed her mother by the waist and dumped her into the pool without prior warning. Now, Elinor's green dress was all wet and so was her hair. It was even dripping off of the ends. Everybody started to laugh, since they thought that it was hysterically funny. Everybody that is, except for Merida and Elinor. Merida of course, had a large smile on her face, since she had sought revenge on her mum for telling her what and what not to do so many times before. Then, Merida looked at her mom's face to see what she would say next. "I know, a princess doesn't dump her mum into the pool." said Merida with an exasperated sigh. But what happened next was a big surprise to everybody, including Merida. Elinor grabbed Merida and held her underwater for a joke with Nessie wrapping herself around both of them. When they resurfaced, Elinor's expression had now softened. "Oh Merida I'm so sorry, love, I had a lot on my plate lately, what with not getting enough sleep because of Bonnie and doing the work around the house." said Elinor as she gave Merida a big wet hug. "So, you don't mind if I hang out with my friends?" asked Merida surprised. "Of course." said Elinor with a grin on her face. In fact, Elinor was going to go back home, get her bathing suit and hang out with the girls, since there was nothing better to do. She was back in five minutes straight and she had her hair done up in a ponytail held back by a comfortable hair ribbon. When Cheryl saw this, she had a big smile on her face. "Come on in Elinor, I bet you can make the biggest splash ever!" she said encouragingly. Elinor winked at Cheryl and then got onto the diving board. "Come on Mum, you can do it." said Merida cheering her mother on. Elinor took a deep breath and jumped off of the diving board, resulting in a colossal splash. Everybody including Nessie gave her a round of applause. Even Elinor was proud of herself. Even little Bonnie clapped. For the rest of the afternoon, everybody swam and had a blast. Even Elinor seemed to be enjoying herself. She also enjoyed floating around with Bonnie holding onto her. So far, Bonnie was doing so well with swimming lessons. Around four thirty, the girls decided that it was time to get out of the pool and start up the good old propane BBQ. Cheryl changed Bonnie's diaper and put her into a pair of blue shorts and a pink sleeveless shirt. She looked very pretty. "Okay girls, I think that we should start off with the appetizers." said Sonja as she put out the appetizers that Rapunzel had made onto a tray. "Let's get the strawberry punch out and start enjoying it." suggested Cheryl as she got out some glasses. Everyone agreed and each poured themselves a drink of punch. Even Queen Elinor was enjoying herself. She found the appetizers and punch exquisitely delicious. Before they knew it, it was past five o'clock and nobody had started up the BBQ. Since Merida was the bravest of all of the girls, she went over to the appliance and lit the flame alight. "Well, let's get on with it, we don't want anybody to be starving forever." said Anna as she brought out the hamburgers and cheesy potatoes that she and her sister had worked so hard on. "We have a big BBQ, just plop your food on the grill, it won't take too long." said Sonja, seeing what Anna was doing. "Yeah, it won't take too long, this appliance is quite powerful when it comes to cooking. Sonja and I cooked a big ham on it once and it took 20 minutes to cook thoroughly." said Cheryl as she turned the BBQ to full power. "Are you sure that we won't get bits of metal in our food?" asked Queen Elinor as she stared at the cleaning utensils that Cheryl and Sonja used to clean the BBQ with after each and every time that they used it. "We use special sponges not that wire brush stuff that some lazy people use." said Sonja as she showed Queen Elinor a squeegee that she used to clean the BBQ with. "So that's why the BBQ is so shiny." noted Cinderella as she stared at the shiny chrome finish on the BBQ which made it a highly valued appliance. "That's exactly why." said Cheryl with a huge grin. While the food cooked, the girls chatted among themselves and they made each other laugh. Cheryl fed Bonnie her bottle prior to setting the table on the patio for supper. In fact, Merida would have done it, but Cheryl beat her to it since she had the bottle warmed up and she had velcroed Bonnie's bib around her neck and when Merida had come back from going to the bathroom, Cheryl was feeding Bonnie and Queen Elinor was video taping this moment on her phone. Even Nessie was watching this and she had a huge smile on her face. When Bonnie finished her bottle, Belle took Bonnie from Cheryl's arms and got her burped. Afterwards, Bonnie rested her head onto Belle's shoulder and went to sleep. Belle put Bonnie into her carrier where she had a nap for the moment. Queen Elinor stroked Bonnie's cheek as she drifted off to sleep knowing that her mother was nearby. Thirty minutes later, the BBQ beeped, indicating that the food was ready. "Oh boy, suppertime." said Merida, rubbing her tummy hungrily. "You said it Girlfriend, I'm starving too." said Sonja, licking her lips hungrily. "Let's put it onto the counter buffet style, so that way, we can grab whatever we want." said Elsa, as she watched Cheryl and Sonja take the steaming hot food off of the grill. "That's the way it's done at my restaurant when we have huge gatherings." said Tiana beaming sweetly at her friends. "It's a really great way to organize things and people can just help themselves to whatever they're hungry for." chimed in Mulan with a grin. "Great idea girls, that's how we're going to do it and well, if you want more you can always come back for seconds or thirds." said Sonja with a sweet grin. Queen Elinor liked this idea, for it would allow people to choose what they wanted to eat, rather than fighting over the food. Of course, Merida couldn't wait to indulge in potato salad, ribs, corn on the cob with butter and salt and of course, possibly even a hotdog or two. Luckily, the girls had remembered to set out the condiments and the cheese and other such toppings for the burgers and hotdogs. The buns had been warmly toasted and they were a lovely golden brown color. "Okay gang, dig in." said Sonja, with a huge grin on her face. Everyone grabbed a plateful of food and piled it high with delicious food. Queen Elinor chose mostly salads, a hotdog and a chicken leg and a corn on the cob. Merida on the other hand, went crazy and got herself a huge plateful of food. "Hungry tonight Merida?" asked Cheryl curiously. "Yes, very hungry. All that swimming worked up a big appetite." said Merida with a big grin on her face. "Nothing wrong with that. Here, grab a sausage and some honey mustard and smack that right into your mouth." said Sonja with a giggle. Merida laughed as well and took a sausage off of the buffet table. Even Cheryl had a big plateful of food. "Hope you guys save room for dessert though, cupcakes and ice-cream sundaes." said Melody with a grin on her face. "No worries Melody, we'll save some room. Merida will more than likely." said Rapunzel with a chuckle. Queen Elinor watched with mortification as Merida took a big bite of a hamburger with all of the trimmings and smacked her lips loudly. "Don't mind her Elinor, she's eating." said Cheryl, trying to lighten the mood. "A princess doesn't stuff her gob like that, you know that." said Elinor with a scowl of disapproval on her face. Merida didn't pay any attention, she ate everything on her plate and gulped down her entire glassful of punch. Next, she ran all the way to the buffet table and loaded up her plate again with more food. "I was right, she is hungry tonight." said Cheryl, as she watched Merida load up her plate again. Everybody else also had their plates loaded with food. Even Snow White, who normally ate like a bird, had a big plate full of food. Even Sonja and Cheryl had themselves a big plate of food. In fact, Sonja had eaten the most of Tiana's shrimp the potluck had been such a great hit. In fact, the potluck was a big success. After everyone had eaten their fill, it was time for dessert. Ice-cream sundaes and cupcakes. They were very scrumptious. After supper was over, Cinderella and Queen Elinor offered to clean up the dishes. "Really girls, there's nothing much to clean. Paper plates and cups can go straight into the recycling and the cutlery can go straight into the sink. Cobs can go into the organic waste bin." said Cheryl as she gathered up the cobs that were now depleted of the corn. "There's also the dishes that we Princesses brought over." said Snow White as she rose from the table. "We'll take care of that Snowy, don't worry." reassured Queen Elinor as she gave Snow White a pat on her shoulder. "Thanks Queen Elinor, we really appreciate it." said Sonja with a big smile on her face. It eventually took Queen Elinor, Cinderella, Mulan and Rapunzel to do the dishes in the kitchen that evening. Outside, the other girls jumped back into the pool for a good swim. Even Merida was in there, on a full stomach of supper and dessert. Cheryl and Sonja as well, were in the water, doing laps back and forth. Nessie on the other hand, was floating lazily in the water with Bonnie on her hip and Merida on the other, smiling a huge smile as she rode on Nessie. Even Elsa and Anna had snagged a ride on Nessie and they were having fun. At one point, Bonnie was placed on the top step of the pool while Anna watched over her and Both Merida and Elsa rode on Nessie. Both were coaxing her to go faster and faster. At one point, Elsa got off and Cheryl got on. "Giddy up Nessie, c'mon, be a big seahorse." cried Merida with delight as she tapped her on the shoulder. For a joke, Nessie whinnied like Angus and went off swimming at full speed around the pool. At one point, she even dove underwater with both Cheryl and Merida on her back. Both girls held their breath and let Nessie propel them through the water like a hurricane. When Queen Elinor came back outside, she noticed Bonnie lying on the top step of the pool in her bathing suit smiling happily while Anna kept her entertained with bubbles and peek-a-boo smiley faces. "What's going on here?" asked Elinor with a grin. "Playing with Bonnie." said Anna with a huge grin. "Well, I have to get home so that I can tuck the boys into bed." said Elinor as she winked at Merida who was riding on Nessie with Cheryl. "You gotta go? Awww, thanks for coming." said Cheryl now saddened that Queen Elinor had to leave. "Thank you for such a great time." said Queen Elinor with a large smile. "How would you girls like to have Merida sleep over tonight?" asked Queen Elinor after a few minutes of silent thinking. "That would be awesome!" said Sonja with a huge grin. Merida leapt off of Nessie and went over to give her mum a dripping wet hug. "Thanks Mum, I love you." said Merida kissing her mum delightedly. "Just be sure to bring Bonnie home later and I'll have your bag packed." said Elinor as she returned Merida's hugs and kisses. "Okay Mum." said Merida as she hugged her mom even tighter. Soon, all of the other princesses had to leave. Melody had to leave for home as well, since she had some reading to finish. Before everyone left, Cheryl and Sonja decided to take a group photo so that they could remember the great time that they all had. Even Queen Elinor was in the picture. It went straight onto Facebook and got lots of comments. Ariel on the other hand, went home as well, but not before promising the girls that she'd be back for the sleepover. "Okay. Four girls having a sleepover, this will be fun!" said Sonja with a delighted grin. "I'll get the popcorn ready." said Cheryl as she made a mad dash into the house to get the popcorn out of the pantry. Even though she was still wearing her pink skirtini, she still went ahead and set out four bags of popcorn for herself and the girls. Since the sun was starting to set, Nessie decided that it was time for her to leave as well. "Thanks for coming Nessie, we always look forward to seeing you." said Merida as she watched Nessie struggle across the lawn. "I'll be back soon dear, promise." called back Nessie as she waddled over to the lake before hauling herself into the water. "Well girls, we probably should go into the house and get Bonnie bathed and into her pyjamas before you get her home." said Cheryl to Merida as they climbed out of the pool. "You're right Cheryl, let's get Bonnie into a nice warm bath and cozied into her jammies before I get her home into bed." agreed Merida as she got Bonnie undressed preparatory to her bath. "I could use a bath too Merida, why don't I give her bath while you and Sonja watch a wee bit of TV." said Cheryl as she took Bonnie from Merida. "Well, I'll have a bath too if I have to get this chlorine off of me." said Merida. "Then, let's all do this and get cleaned up together." said Cheryl with a grin. Sonja had gone into the other bathroom to take a shower and both Cheryl and Merida went into the upstairs bathroom to have their bath with Bonnie. It wasn't long before Cheryl had the warm bath all set up and both she and Merida got into the tub with Bonnie sitting on her sister's lap. There was also plenty of water toys to play with. In fact, there was plenty of bubble blowing liquid left over from that day's party. Bonnie reached for Cheryl's favorite rubber duck and began playing with it happily. "Go ahead and play with the duckie sweetie, I don't mind." cooed Cheryl at the little girl. Luckily, Merida had thought of bringing Bonnie's own water toys and Bonnie grinned when she saw her favorite pink ball and duckie. "Want to play bubble archery again?" asked Merida grinning as she took out the bubble wand. "Yeah, that's a fun tub time activity." said Cheryl with a grin. As they took turns launching bubbles at Bonnie, she caught the bubbles and laughed whenever they popped. When it came time to wash Bonnie, both Cheryl and Merida did the bathing. Cheryl washed Bonnie's hair, while Merida scrubbed her gently from the neck down. While they got themselves cleaned up, Bonnie played with all of the fun toys in the water. Soon after, all three girls got dried off and into their cosy pyjamas. Bonnie by this time, was sound asleep in Merida's arms and she was sucking her thumb happily. "Sweet dreams little Bonnie." said Cheryl as she stroked Bonnie's soft hair fondly. Bonnie sighed contentedly and slept a little sounder. "Well, I'm going to take her home and put her into bed." said Merida as she put on her boots. "Okay, see you in a few minutes." said Cheryl grinning. When Merida arrived at her house, as promised, Elinor had Merida's bag all packed. Even her bathing suit had been washed and dried and Merida was happy that Elinor had included it. "In case you girls want to do more swimming tomorrow." said Elinor with a wink. "Thanks Mum, we might do that after we get up for the day." said Merida with a grin as she gave her mom a kiss. Merida then changed into her pyjamas before returning to Cheryl and Sonja's house. Bonnie meanwhile, had fallen asleep as soon as her little downy head hit the satin pillow in her crib. When Merida got back to Cheryl and Sonja's house, they had the movies set up and the popcorn was popping away in the microwave. Ariel as well, was there wearing her pink nightgown and she was laughing delightedly to a joke that Sonja had just told her. "Oh hi Merida, you're just in time to watch a Disney movie marathon with us." said Cheryl as she came out with a bag of popcorn in her hands. "What movies are we watching?" asked Merida. "Well, definitely "Brave." And "The Little Mermaid." said Sonja with a smirk. "Even "Frozen." And "The Princess and the Frog." added Cheryl as she turned on the DVD player so that they could start their movie night. "Well, let's get to it and watch some movies." said Merida as she sat in Cheryl's favorite armchair by the TV. It was past eleven thirty when they had finished watching their movies. Everyone was tired but happy. "Well, we ought to go to bed." said Cheryl stretching sleepily. "Yeah, after a full day of having our pool party, I'm tired too." said Sonja with a large yawn. It was then settled that Sonja and Merida would sleep in Sonja's room and Cheryl and Ariel would sleep in Cheryl's room. After having slept over at Cheryl and Sonja's house once, the light pink color of Cheryl's bedroom walls had made Merida sick just to look at them. So, that's exactly why she was happy to be bunking with Sonja. The girls then brushed their teeth together and then they went into the bedrooms and turned off the lights. A few minutes later, everyone was sound asleep. Even Merida was fast asleep, snoring loudly and cuddling her stuffed horse that Cheryl had kindly mended. None the less, everyone had sweet dreams that night. The next morning, Sonja opened her eyes sleepily. She searched the room and spotted Merida's empty mattress. In Cheryl's room, Ariel was sitting up in bed reading a book. Cheryl on the other hand, was cuddling her favorite doll in one arm and she was holding open a book in the other hand. Downstairs meanwhile, Merida was flipping pancakes in a frying pan and she had the oven heated with pancakes already baking inside of it. She also had some scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns along with a fruit salad going on for breakfast. She had the radio on and she was whistling happily to the Gaelic tunes that were playing. Upstairs meanwhile, Cheryl and Sonja were meeting in the hallway. "When I woke up this morning there was zero sign of Merida." said Sonja a worried edge to her voice. "Hmm, well she wasn't in my room." said Cheryl shrugging her shoulders suspiciously. Ariel hadn't seen Merida either. "Wait a second, I smell something cooking." said Cheryl as she sniffed the air. "It must be coming from downstairs then, let's go see what's going on." suggested Ariel as she approached the stairs and put her hand onto the railing. Both Cheryl and Sonja followed Ariel close behind and they went downstairs. When they got into the kitchen, a big surprise met their eyes. There, plain as day, was Merida herself, wearing an apron over her pyjamas as she was pouring pancake batter into the frying pan. "Merida? You're making breakfast?" asked Sonja surprised. "Well, I wanted to make breakfast for you as a thank you for letting Ariel and me stay here overnight." said Merida as she flipped over the pancakes. "Aw, you're welcome." Said Cheryl with a big grin. She then gave Merida a big hug since she was happy that her favorite princess had offered to make breakfast, even if she rarely cooked at home. Soon, the meal was ready and Sonja set the table for breakfast. "All right girls, let's dig in." said Ariel as she placed the food onto the table so that they could get more food if they wanted some more. In fact, Merida had made more pancakes than she intended. So, she decided to put them into a paper container and send them home for her family. She had three giant pancakes each for her brothers, mother and father. Not only were they pancakes, they were blueberry pancakes that were lovingly made from scratch by Merida herself. "Mm, these pancakes are delicious." exclaimed Cheryl to Merida as she took a bite. "They are good, aren't they?" said Merida with her mouth full of egg. All three girls smiled sweetly at Merida in acknowledgement. After breakfast, Merida did the dishes. All Cheryl, Sonja and Ariel had to do was put on their bathing suits in preparation for a morning swim. Soon after, Merida as well got her bathing suit on and ran over to the pool area. The entire morning, the foursome swam and played in the water and had a blast. Merida even rode on Cheryl's back while she swam for a few minutes. By the time lunchtime rolled around, the girls were hungry. They then decided to drive over to the nearest McDonalds restaurant and grab a quick bite to eat. Merida got a huge tray filled with food and the girls sat in a booth while they enjoyed their food immensely. Sonja had a fillet of fish and some fries, while Merida had a quarter pounder with cheese, chicken nuggets and a large pile of fries and a large orange juice, plus a huge ice-cream sundae. Cheryl had a Big Mac with fries and Ariel had two grilled chicken wraps with a side Caesar salad. Also, Ariel, Cheryl and Sonja had some ice-cream for dessert. Sonja had some water, Cheryl had some iced tea and Ariel had some apple juice. After lunch, Ariel went home and Merida and Cheryl along with Sonja, hung out on the patio. "Mum called earlier and she's invited you two over for supper tonight." said Merida with a jaunty wink. "We'll be looking forward to it." said Sonja happily. "Can we ride in your truck?" asked Cheryl excitedly. "How are you going to get back?" asked Merida. "I'll bring my car for later." said Sonja with a jaunty wink. Later that afternoon, Merida and Cheryl rode in Merida's truck while Sonja drove her car over to Merida's. When they arrived, Fergus met them at the door. "There's me wee lass, did you have fun yesterday?" he asked as he gave Merida a big hug. "I had a blast Dad." said Merida as she returned the hug. Fergus then gave Cheryl and Sonja a big hug. Inside, Elinor was standing over a huge pot of spaghetti with meatballs. "It smells great in here." said Cheryl delightedly. "Spaghetti and meatballs, it's almost ready." said Elinor sweetly as she gave all three girls a big hug. Elinor and Fergus were also very surprised when they discovered that Merida had saved them some pancakes from this morning. In fact, there had been 15 pancakes saved for Merida's family. That evening, everybody enjoyed their supper very much and both Cheryl and Sonja agreed that they should have another big pool party very soon.