Author's Note:

Before you decide to read ahead at the stories I have posted, a warning: I am a very self-indulgent, self-insert author. In fact, 99.9% of my fics include my self-insert and I'm proud of it. So, if you feel like you can endure it, please proceed!

But please remember: this and every other story that I have written was produced out of pure boredom/fun/crack or just because I felt like it. Therefore, it is NOT perfect. I am not a professional. I cannot guarantee that the grammar is spot on or that you'll enjoy it. But if you decide to stick around for the ride? I appreciate it. But I am, (repeat I am) an amateur writer.

I do hope however; I can entertain you for a couple of hours and maybe get a laugh or two outta ya? I really appreciate all the support you all have given me over the years and I'll continue to try and update when I can.

So, thanks! Thanks a bundle!

ALSO: I do not own any part of Elena of Avalor. Just the characters, Heather and Rye Matthews.

Much Love.

"I'm wishing for something more, getting ahead of myself, thinking of a happy ending. What am I hoping for? Your wish shall be my command, my dearest."-Sugar Guitar (translated), Police Piccadilly.

Sugar-Coated Music Notes

Navidad. Sure, it wasn't her most favorite holiday but it had to hold a third-place ribbon when it came to blows with Day of the Dead and Giving Thanks Day. But hey it was a great time to sit around and eat the best foods that Avalor had to offer! Sweets galore!

Although this Navidad did prove different than all the rest before it. Being a part of the royal family's holiday celebration was more than a delight; it was a down right honor. Not to mention she happen to be in the presence of thee best looking man in Avalor! Now that had to be the real of realest honors!

While she could sit and admire him for hours on end, the idea of looking crazed by just staring at his every move left her favoring the idea of averting her eyes every so often. But when he wasn't happening to look in her direction, she could always sneak a peek at him! Oh lord, he was handsome!

It also didn't help that he seemed so unobtainable too; it just added to his appeal. And that wasn't factoring in the hair, his skin and that oh-so delicious voice of his! Aw, there was so much to drool over when it came to chancellor Esteban.

But the sudden reality of her being a simple maid slash sometime baker and friend to princess Elena sunk in deep. She was no one when it came to him. Right?

But then why was it that they were together now? On Navidad night, after all the festivities, at some early hour of the morning, there they sat in the family meeting room. With the beautiful creature that was the chancellor of Avalor sitting what felt like a million feet away, Heather looked on from the smaller loveseat with her elbows resting on her kneecaps and chin in her palms.

He remained silent as ever, book in hand and (gorgeous) eyes scanning every letter and word that laid out before him. Every other odd minute, he'd turn the page and every so often before doing so, bring his thumb to his (also very gorgeous) lips and wetting the pad of his finger. With his dampened thumb and new found grip, he'd flip the page and continue on with his read.

How did they even end up alone together like this? Sure, she was ordered (by princess Elena herself) to tend of Esteban's needs, only and mostly because the princess knew how she felt about the chancellor. So, whenever the older male needed something, she was there in under a minute. Sure, she wasn't as close to him as she'd like but just tending and cleaning up after him was enough…for now.

Dammit Higgins, you got the good job around here.

Either way, it was late. Why was she still stuck here like this, saying nothing to the guy she was crushing on harder on than anyone else. She could at least say something! Damn, it wasn't like this chance would come along like this any other time. Small talk, while it was a sad attempt at something that would never lead to anything, was at least polite.

Heather's cocoa-colored eyes moved from the man of her dreams' face down to the cover of the book he seemed so invested in. 'Historical Music of Avalor'; huh, really? Hm. Odd that he'd be reading something like that given that for the longest time there wasn't any music allowed in Avalor. There had to be a huge chunk of history missing from that book. Although and of course that book had to be at least forty-one years old. Before the reign of Shuriki.

Did music mean something to him? And did the absence of music in the last four decades have an effect on him? Surely music was in his blood! It was a part of his family! Hell, he even had a guitar (it sat several feet away in the corner of the room as it just so happened.), that had to mean something.

Maybe it'd be better to leave the chit-chat about music buried for now. No need to dig up any repressed feelings about it. She wanted to get in his good graces, not piss him off! Besides it was a holiday and there was the most basic of questions to ask on such an occasion.

"Did you enjoy Navidad?" Heather spoke out for the first time in what felt like centuries. "I know it wasn't what you were expecting but I hope you had a nice time."

For a moment his eyes came to a close, almost as if he needed time to think of a reply to her question. He hummed to himself, his rumbling voice just doing barrel rolls through his throat. Ugh, why did something that simple have to be sexy too?! He was the essence of perfection…

Just as the sound of him humming stopped, Heather fought the urge to shiver. Even when his every octave made her skin erupt in a terrible case of goosepimples. Coming back to a reality she watched as the man of royal status remained collected and cool.

Like she'd just said, the holiday hadn't gone the way he wanted it to; in fact, the whole day started off as a mess of confusion, lies, and unnecessary competitions between the people that meant the most to the crown princess. While the only thing that Esteban had wanted was to spend a quiet, traditional night together in the castle with only family members. But then the night had turned into a beautiful mix of music, soft lights and an all-over feeling of togetherness. It wasn't exactly what he wanted but he didn't seem displeased by night's end.

"It was entertaining to say the least."

Was that a good thing or bad one? Just that statement could mean anything.

"You seemed okay with it." She blurted out, hardly taking a moment to think about she was saying.

"I've had worse nights." He said, eyes fluttering open and only returning to his book.

Okay, that had to be a front. After all, she did see the face that he made when Elena and the rest of the village came to the castle doorstep singing with cheer. It wasn't just the glow of the candles that lit up his features. He seemed legit happy about the way things went down. And in the end, she did happen to catch him singing and smiling.

But why beat a dead horse? He obviously was not going to admit that he had a good time even though it was plain to see that he did. Perhaps it had something to do with his pride that he couldn't admit that he had a decent night. Ah well, he was a man and he needed his pride more than anything else.

Silence once again filled the smaller room.

But she had to wonder, what had brought on the sudden urge to read such a book? Maybe it was the music-filled night they had shared with the villagers? Although, there was a chance that he had dug out that old tome some time ago; after all it probably took a hot minute to find the book! It had been buried along with the others banned items with Shuriki around, no doubt.

There was of course the idea of bringing up why he'd been reading that particular read, although he'd probably give her a generic answer like: 'I happened to find it while in the library'. Or he might even tell her off completely with an answer like: 'I wish you'd mind your own business and let me read in peace'.

Why not say something he wouldn't be expecting?! Like the first thing that crossed her hollow head?

Here goes nothing…

"Do you know how to dance?"

Her fingertips instantly tingled with the urge to slap her hands over her lips. Ugh! Why had she said something so stupid?! It had to be a combination of the idea of music, reading and possibly always wanting to dance with the man!

Esteban paused in almost what seemed to be mid-thought and looked up from his book. His right eyebrow lifted high above his left and his lip curled almost like he was disgusted with what she had asked of him. He even went so far as to lower the hardcover item into his lap, leaving the open pages exposed to her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

Oh great, he asked her to repeat herself! Was there anything that happened to rhyme with 'dance'? Shit! She broke into a small sweat and found herself sitting upright on the loveseat, fingers now clenching to her maid uniform.

"You know, dance?" Heather managed to speak through the nerves that shocked her system. "Do you know how to?"

He stared at her. Pointblank, right into her own eyes, he watched her ever move as he she somehow offended him with her sudden question. Had she prodded her way into his business and personal life?! Was that with that sudden odd stare? Like she slapped him in the perfect face or something!

Before he could reply, she spat out another jumble of words that just happened to make a sentence, "Because you know, I just learned the Sambarossa from Mateo and I know that for a really long time that music and dancing were outlawed by Shuriki so—"

This time around she couldn't resist or contain the urge to slap her hands over her face. Why did she have to mention the 'S'-word?! Geez, what was she thinking? She knew she wasn't the sharpest pencil in the bunch but that didn't mean she had to be so frackin' stupid when it came to that particular subject. There was hardly any doubt in her mind that he still harbored some kind of feeling for the last forty-one years. Then like an idiot she HAD to bring it up.

"I know how to dance."

Heather allowed her hands to fall away from her face. With eyes directed back in Esteban's direction, she watched as he folded both covers of his book back together, shutting it close. The silent thud of the pages becoming one again sent a feeling of relief wafting throughout her body. With every nerve and muscle now relaxed, she allowed herself to give a quiet sigh.

He isn't offended?

"And I can assure you, there is more to dancing than just the Sambarossa." He continued on, taking a short moment to place his book on the small table beside him.

"Oh?"

"Yes," He nodded a single time. "As a part of the royal family I was taught from a very early age how to slow dance. It is customary."

"I guess you would have to." Heather found her voice, the ease of falling into a conversation making things easier than before, when she was doing all the talking. "For ceremonies and galas, right? Wow, I couldn't imagine trying to learn how to dance now let alone when I was really small."

"I wouldn't have assumed you knew how to dance slow-style." He said, eyes coming to a close. "So, I can't say I'm surprised to learn that you don't."

Well, that much was true—Wait, what?! What in all the worlds and dimensions was that supposed to mean?! Was he just trying to be mean or just brutally honest? Hard to tell, seeing as he had a tendency of being both.

"Don't know why you'd just assume that." Feeling a sudden fire under her butt to reply, Heather fought back best she could whilst being polite.

"You are from a poorer village in Avalor aren't you?" His eyelids lifted once again, his stunning dark eyes landing on her. "And just by saying that you recently learned the Sambarossa tells me that you didn't have much time for such things let alone the culture of slow dancing."

Her jaw dropped. Did this guy just say that she had no idea what 'real' culture was? Or that she was just a peasant that knew nothing but how to do hard work? Work that he knew nothing about let alone how to do it! Up when he was in the castle, being a spoiled nephew to the king and queen! Not having to worry about money or where he'd have to live and having his teeth brushed for him and getting dressed by some desperate servant!

"Well, I'm sorry I was so busy being a servant beneath Shuriki's rule that I had no other choice to work hard for what I had!" Throwing all ideas of being polite or ladylike out the window, she bit back with a bit more force than she'd heard from herself in some time. "While it's been easy for you, up in your castle enjoying the finer things in life, we ordinary folk had real things to do!"

Things hadn't always been that easy for her, let alone everyone else in Avalor while Shuriki was around! Things were tough! And not only for her or her family but for everyone in Avalor, everyone!

…But did everyone include him?

Wait. What am I doing? What am I saying?!

How could she say such things to the chancellor, let alone raise her voice! Not only was extremely disrespectful but to say or even think that things had been easy for him during Shuriki's rule was just wrong. He'd lost everything. His aunt, uncle, cousins and most importantly his grandparents. The people who he had to love more than life itself. And who the hell was she to come in and accuse him of having it easy?

Unclenching her hands and once again moving them over her lips, she felt the sudden urge to cry. Her brown eyes flickered away from him and slowly looked down toward the ground. Too ashamed to look her superior in the eyes, she sunk into her seat.

What had she done?

Here he was, the guy she was gaga for and she outright disrespected him and no doubly hurt his feelings in a single rant. For something that was not his fault. Just because she had a sore and sensitive spot for what she'd grown up without did NOT mean she had taken her frustrations out on him. He, Esteban, of all people needed her respect, no, deserved it. He'd lived out her worst nightmare, (something that if she'd gone through; there was little luck that she would have lived through) losing his loved ones. He'd already lost his father and mother before Shuriki then to lose his extended family as well?

And here she was rubbing it in his face that he had a great life. Sure, he didn't share in the same troubles she faced as a child, having plenty to eat/drink and no need to worry about money but she had something he didn't.

Love. Family.

That went without mentioning that life living beside and at Shuriki's will couldn't have been anything pleasant. Shit, even music was taken from him. Heather felt her straining eyes move over to the lone guitar that sat in the corner of the room. He'd kept it even through the evil queen's rule. How? Had he hidden it away? He had to treasure it something special.

"Are you finished?"

Her eyes came to a close. Fighting back the urge to sob now growing too hard to resist. Just the sound of his voice, that chilling, soothing voice that now sounded more disappointed with her than anything, was enough to start the flow of tears that she was sure (in that moment) would never end.

He hated her now. That was a given.

"I am so, so sorry." She inhaled via her nostrils, the sound of the walls inside her nose swelling making her voice come across stuffed. "I have no right to talk to you that way, at all."

"No, you don't." Still refusing to look his way, she could feel his cold and angry eyes on her every movement.

"Everyone had it rough when she was around." She squeaked, her eyes opening but her vision only catching the blurred image of his feet on the carpeted floor. "Everyone includes you too."

She was selfish. And although everyone was selfish to a certain degree, she broke the self-centered mold. How could she say such a thing to the one person who suffered the most?

"You lost everything." Her fingernails dug deep into the apron that she once wore with pride. "Not just your family, if that wasn't bad enough but you lost hope, freedom, your voice and even music. You were held captive from everything that was normal for you and that is so much worse than anything I have dealt with during childhood."

He remained silent and still.

On the other hand, she could not. Removing herself from the seat she'd taken in his presence, she stood straight and proceeded to bow her head. Rigid as she could be, she exhaled and relaxed herself long enough to stop the tears. With her dry eyes still glued to the floor, she spoke.

"Chancellor Esteban, I formally apologize for my hurtful and disrespectful comments. You and your family have showed me nothing but kindness and I have not showed you the proper respect. I do not deserve your forgiveness. I am sincerely sorry. I also have to thank you for the opportunity to serve you."

"Your gratitude is not necessary."

She felt herself wince.

"But the apology on the other hand, is accepted." The sound of the royal man standing out of his seat, forced her eyes to finally meet his face. He properly adjusted himself, straightening out any wrinkles or flaws in his vest before placing his left arm behind his back. "Elena and her friends seem to like you enough to keep you around so it would be unlikely that I could replace you."

Her heart slammed in her chest. Did that mean that he was only keeping her around for his cousin's sake?

"I really hope I didn't ruin whatever's left of Navidad." Heather bit down on her lower lip shortly after speaking, the stinging pain of wanting to cry returning sooner than she'd hoped.

Esteban cleared his throat, "Try not to worry about that. No real harm done. Although…"

Although? "Yes sir?" She asked, the burning ache in her eyes fading.

"There is something that is troubling. You don't know how to dance." He straightened himself out as much as humanly possible and with his free right hand, he extended it in her direction. "Would you like a lesson?"

A hot rush of blood hit her cheeks faster than she could predict. After all the horrid things she'd said? He wanted to…? No way, what was up with that?!

"W-wh—" She stammered the thought of her hand with his, bodies inches away and eyes staring into one another making her entire body stiff with shock.

A single dark brow lifted on his flawless face, "You have to learn some time, we can't have you only knowing the Sambarossa can we?"

"But when would I ever…use it? It's not like I get invited to the kingdom's galas or anything." She gulped hard.

"You never know."

She couldn't exactly refuse his offer, could she? If he was in a good enough mood to extend a hand in her direction and help her out with something (even if it was useless) why not? Not to mention it would be incredibly rude and or disrespectful to say no now! Not after all the stupid stuff she'd spouted tonight! It an excuse to touch him anyway!

Still as stiff as a board, Heather moved forward and moved her right-hand outward. Her middle finger tapped against his skin first, the feeling of his heat almost radiating off his gorgeous body. The moment they made contact, she hesitated and as if she'd been stung by a bee she retracted her palm.

"Sorry," She muttered in a tone just loud enough for him to hear, "I'm nervous."

"Understandable." He gave a single nod of his head. "But you'll be fine. If Mateo can teach you something, I'm sure I can do a better job." He paused for a moment, eyes darting off elsewhere. "Although slow dancing can be a bit more intense. Try not to step on my foot too many times, yes?"

"That's reassuring." She pouted.

A slight chuckle reverberated through the warm room, the mere sound of it making the maid weak in her knees. UGH! Why did he have to be so sexy at a time like this? And to laugh at what she'd said? Man…

She inhaled and held the breath before once again making a move in his direction. The air in her lungs grew stale as her hand inched closer and closer to his until the same heat she'd felt from him seconds before sent goosebumps up her arms. Fighting back every urge to turn back and politely pass on the opportunity to become closer to the man of her dreams, she reached onward until the tips of her fingers glided over his exposed palm.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he turned her hand upward until the inside of their palms came together. He slipped his fingers between the spaces of hers. He folded his digits down until the back of her hand lit up with his touch.

He gave a tug until she took a step or two forward and once within distance he moved his left arm out from behind his back and wrapped it around her waist. Precise on schedule, her face lit up with the blood that rushed from her heart to her cheeks. He was touching not only her hand but her hip as well?!

Oh geez, I just might faint.

Heather jerked her free arm up until she touched the older man's shoulder. That was the right move, wasn't it? How was she supposed to know what to do anyway? There was a right way to do this, wasn't there?! She had often heard of someone having to lead the dance but that wasn't her job, was it? The 'man' was in charge of that!

I think…

"Left foot," And with that, the expert lifted said boot and took a step forward.

They were starting already?! Almost as if she'd been poked with a hot spike, her left foot jerked backward.

"Right foot." He concluded, moving on to the next step fast than she would have liked.

As he began to move his right shoe alongside his left, she (like a lovesick idiot) jerked her right foot forward. Without having enough time to correct her grave mistake, she felt her foot come straight down on the chancellor's shiny black boot.

Her chin jerked up, eyes finding her partner's face full of pain. She winced then grimaced, feeling her body shrink about three times small. "I'm so sorry!"

"You can remove your foot now," He grunted.

"R-right!" She squeaked in a tone she wasn't sure she'd ever heard from herself before.

Heather bit her bottom lip before she pulled her offending foot away from Esteban. Did he not, just seconds ago, tell her not to step on him? Ugh! This was a terrible idea.

"Let's try that one more time?"

Sheepishly, the maid gazed up at the man of royalty through a set of thick eyelashes. "Are you sure you're willing to give this another go? You don't have to do this."

The pained expression that had ruined his outlandishly good features faded the moment she parted her lips. A warm and real smile spread across his face, the look itself making her heart still for a moment. Why did he look at her as if she meant something to him? Even after all she'd put him through tonight.

"Try again. Right foot."

Brain scrambling from the beautiful look on his perfect face and soothing sound of his voice, she panicked. Her eyes shifted left, right, up to him, back to her feet and then once again back to him. And in the meantime, her left foot launched forward for whatever reason and came crashing down on him once again.

Okay sure, she once in a while mistook left for right and vice versa but did that oh-so-silly trait have to appear right-freakin'-now?!

"Oh man, I—" Heather grunted, quickly pulling her foot away from him once again. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Esteban grimaced twice as hard this time around, his hand that supported hers clenching her palm a tad tightly. For a short second he shut both eyes and inhaled via his chiseled nose. "One more go," He said, no doubt trying to keep his cool.

Did it take this many times to teach Naomi to dance? Or even 'float' for that matter? Man, it looked so effortless when the younger blonde girl danced at her birthday bash not too long ago.

"Take as much time as you need, Heather. Now, right foot, backward please."

Why, oh, why did he have to use her name instead of the usual 'Ms. Matthews'? Like they were more than just servant and superior? Almost like they were on the verge of being…friends? Just the sound of her name on his tongue seemed so sweet!

Okay, take my time. I can do this. This isn't a big deal. Take. Your. Time.

With an obvious gulp, she inhaled before lifting her right (the proper right!) foot and with time on her side she slid it backward until her heel hit the floor.

"Good." He gave her a single nod. "Now bring your feet together."

Easy enough. With her eyes still glued to her boots, she glided her left foot until it came meet with her right. The chancellor repeated the step a millisecond after she completed her move.

"And bring your left foot forward," He instructed.

Okay, easy-peasy. She took a step toward him and in the same instance, he took his left foot and moved it backward. Alright! Now they were getting somewhere! There was a little bit of motion to this actually! Nowhere near as energetic as the Sambarossa but if she could master all of those steps, then this should be a piece of cake.

"Right foot forward."

She gave another 'flawless' step and following his exact orders, she watched as he did the same with his boot. Taking the hint from the last set of instructions, she slid her feet together before he could say anything further.

"Good, very good." He did the same.

Her heart fluttered. A compliment?! Oh lord this would never happen ever again, might as well bask in this glory while she had the chance.

"Now, look at me." He said, her reaction almost instant. "We can't have you staring at your feet the whole time."

Try not to drool! Don't drool!

"And it starts all over," Esteban stared right into her eyes and smirked. "This is where you should repeat, 'one, two, three' in your head."

"Right."

Heather felt her heart slow for the first time since their evening began together. She breathed in through her nose before waiting for him to begin the process all over again, only moving across the floor several inches.

One, two, three…

Okay, this was doable. Although it was a bit easier on her love-soaked brain if she was able to see her feet moving! Before even giving herself a moment to realize it, her eyes were back on the floor.

One…two…

"Eyes on me."

The fluidity of his voice entered her ear and instead of bouncing off her eardrum, it almost melted against it. The urge to tell herself not to swoon was definitely there, but the concentration to watch her steps were not.

"Ack!"

Oh geez, not again. Third time was going to be it, she just knew it. After all, how much abuse could this man's feet take?!

Heather tore her focus away from the handsome chancellor only to look below and witness the foot-harassment she had inflicted on the man who had been nothing but forgiving and kind to her. She, of course, leapt away from him, breaking the connection from their hands.

"I-I-I'm sorry. It's been a long day and I'm…" She backed away from him, her arms crossing over her torso. "…tired I guess."

"It has been a tiring holiday. For everyone." The pain expression faded and for a split second, he seemed a bit saddened.

"What now?" Her heart asked before her brain had any time to stop her.

He hummed a deep and concentrated rumble that seemed to come from the bottom of his throat. His eyes darted off to the left and his right hand came up to his upper lip. Seemingly stuck on the thought and question for a moment, he paused. What could he be thinking about?

Dare she apologize again? For what this time, she wasn't sure. Maybe for wasting his time, maybe for hurting him both physically as well as mentally…maybe for just being the only person he had to talk to for the night. Ugh! When did she become such a downer?!

Probably the minute you told him off, you idiot.

A snap of his fingers brought her back to reality. She gave her head a tiny shake and refocused on her superior to see him removing his hand from chin-level and walking to the right. Moving to the corner of the room, he only stopped when he came to the spot just behind the couch he had started the night's conversation on.

"Sit," He said, bending down and removing his beloved guitar from the floor.

Without a verbal reply, Heather turned and approached the couch on the opposite side of the warm room. She did as ordered and took her seat, awaiting further instruction. Esteban then returned to his side of the room and his seat with his instrument in hand.

"I found a very interesting sheet of music in this book," He smiled as he spoke, bringing his fingers to the strings of the guitar. "Fitting too, seeing as though it is Navidad themed."

"I'd like to hear that." Her heart swelled.

He wanted to show her something? And just like that, for the first time that night all of the fear, anxiety, self-doubt, anger and embarrassment fled from her body. She wasn't sure what emotion could be left for her to feel when he was around but what she did know whatever that was remaining had to be a good one.

He glanced up once from his instrument to look at her before sending her a wink. "So, would I."

With no energy left in her overstimulated heart to blush, Heather instead leaned back into the comfortable leather couch and gave him a smile. She nodded once to let him know she was ready for listening, when he turned his sights back to his guitar. He took a short moment to tune the wooden music-maker before allowing his fingers to gently graze over the strings.

As the wonderful strumming started, the once maid 'slash' baker of Enchancia felt her back sink into the comfort of her seat and her eyes shut close. Maybe she'd fall asleep to the music, maybe she'd stick around to walk Esteban to his room afterward, maybe (if she were lucky) he'd walk her back to her room and wish her a good night.

But either way, however things played out, things were just perfect right now. And while she wasn't sure if the future held anything for them, she could live and enjoy this moment. It would end up being a great Navidad memory, that was sure. As long as she could try to understand him and he gave her a chance, things just might work out.

Although this wasn't the first time she'd felt this way about someone, she was sure that like those times before, this memory would be one of the memories that she would treasure no matter what became of the two of them.

Love, crush, friendship, infatuation, something in between or all of the above, she'd be just fine if nights like this continued.

And they would. Without a second thought.

End.

"I'm still harboring some hope, even if everything will take a completely unexpected turn. It will be more of a blessing than the account of some compassionate person. What good does it do now to let it get me down? I hope my feelings… will reach your heart."- Sugar Guitar (translated), Police Piccadilly.