A Flower For Someone Who's Special
By Laura Schiller
Based on: Elena of Avalor
Copyright: Disney
/
Elena grabbed Flo by the tail just in time to stop her from trotting after Armando and Marlena. The alpacamundi gave her creator a reproachful look, but Elena only smiled and shook her head.
"Better not," she said. "When people are in love, they need some time to be alone together. It's not polite to watch them, even for friends like us."
"Why not?" Flo whined, flicking her tail out of Elena's grip.
"Because … " She couldn't help but think of Mateo's golden eyes catching hers while Armando had sung his love song and the spell finally broke, the relief and joy they'd needed no words to express. She never would have thought that the breaking of a spell would feel so much like magic. "Because some things are too special to share."
"Like chocolate?" asked Flo.
"Something like that." Elena scooped the pink and orange fur ball up into her arms and headed back toward the palace.
Flo sighed as they lost sight of the new couple. "I just wanted to know what sweethearts are like on a first date. Aren't they cute?"
"Oh, sure." Truth be told, Elena thought they looked a bit funny - Marlena tall and slim, Armando short and chubby - but she would draw the Sceptre of Light on anyone who would dare to laugh at them. The many battles Armando had fought against his own self-doubt over the years made him as brave as any soldier of Avalor. She didn't know Marlena that well, but the musician had a dignity about her that inspired respect. Elena was happy for them.
Truth be told, she also envied them … but that was a train of thought she didn't want to follow, especially today.
"You know an awful lot about this stuff, don't you?" asked Flo, blinking up at her in wide-eyed awe.
"I guess."
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Wh-what? I mean … uh … "
It was an innocent question, but it stopped Elena in her tracks. Her mind raced in circles, trying to come up with an answer that would save face without being a lie. As much as she loved Flo, she could not handle her creation's relentless honesty on a subject like this. On the other hand, it was Flo's very honesty that made it so impossible to lie to her.
Elena's long pause, her stammering, and most of all the hot blush on her face, must have been enough of an answer. Flo let out an ear-piercing squeal and looked up at her with big blue eyes that positively glittered with curiosity. Her long striped tail whipped from side to side like an excited puppy's.
"You have!" she squeaked. "You are! Oh, Elena, this is so exciting! Who is it? Do they feel the same way? I wanna know everything!"
Elena capitulated with a sigh and a ruffle of Flo's forelock. This was what happened with you magically infused something with your spirit; it picked up all your most annoying character traits, such as stubbornness. There would be no living with her pet until she had the full story, so Elena might as well tell it.
"Okay, okay … but you have to promise not to tell anyone."
"Cross my papier-mâché heart."
Elena settled herself and Flo on one of the stone benches that stood at intervals along the path. Tree branches spread above them, filtering the sunlight into shifting patches of gold. The afternoon was getting hot, and she was grateful for the shade. Thankfully, this part of the garden was quiet today; the only sounds she could hear were rustling leaves, singing birds and buzzing insects. Good. The last thing she needed right now was eavesdroppers.
"So, to answer your questions, well … it's Mateo."
"Yes!" Flo did a triumphant little dance, rather like a tap number on four legs.
"And I think he does like me a little … at least he used to. I'm not sure."
She remembered the way Mateo and Gabe used to compete for her attention, until she'd dropped several anvil-sized hints for them to stop. By the time she'd realized she actually wanted to pay attention to Mateo, he'd been falling for Carla instead. Then Shuriki had come back and it had been one crisis after another, with barely enough time to sleep, let alone date.
Sometimes, like today, one look at him was enough to make the air shimmer, but how much of that was simply wishful thinking on her part?
"I knew it!" Flo chirped. "At least I would've known it if I'd known there was anyone, you know? Mateo's magic is so cool, and he never pets me the wrong way."
Elena had to smile at Flo's odd criteria, but she knew what the alpacamundi was trying to say. It was exactly that combination of power and gentleness in Mateo that she loved.
"So what have you got planned for Sweetheart's Day?" Flo asked eagerly. "Whatever it is, you'd better get crackin'. It's almost lunchtime."
"Oh, no!" Elena blurted out. "I - I couldn't … "
"You are gonna tell him how you feel, right?"
Elena clenched her jaw. This was the part of the story that the childlike creature was never going to understand, and the resulting argument would be nothing but painful and awkward for everyone concerned. Why couldn't she just have been quicker to deny that she had feelings for anyone at all?
"I won't!" Her voice was sharper than she had intended. Flo actually scampered back a few steps, her long ears folding downward with alarm. "I don't want him to know, okay? I don't want anyone to know!"
"But … why?"
"Because … " Elena had many reasons, but they all boiled down to one. "Because I'm scared."
Scared of ruining their friendship; scared of exposing him to vicious court gossip; but most of all, scared of breaking his heart. Quita Moz had foretold that if she failed her test, whatever it was, she would never become queen, and she couldn't help but wonder if that meant her failure would be her death. She hated the idea of leaving Mateo behind to mourn for her.
Flo nuzzled her creator's hand and looked up at her with boundless compassion. What she said next was something Elena would never forget.
"But what if you never tell him?" she asked. "Doesn't that scare you too?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, it does."
"I always thought love was something nice," said Flo wistfully. "Before today, I had no idea it could be so scary."
"Oh, it's both." Elena smiled wryly at the paradox. "Believe it or not."
"What does it feel like?"
What did it feel like? Mateo's magic reaching out to release her from the Amulet, a shower of hot, bright sparks where she had felt nothing for so long. Mateo's hands on hers, light but strong, as he helped her cast Farsight. Mateo as a jaquin, his scent as unique as the markings on his fur, and the terrifying delight of learning to fly together. Mateo shaking in her arms, his tears on her face, as they mourned for Alacazar.
"I … I don't know how to describe it." She held up her hands and let out a self-deprecating little laugh. "I've always been better at dealing with other people's feelings than my own."
"I think I'm getting a pretty good idea," said Flo.
The note of irony in that tiny voice - when had Flo learned to use irony? - startled Elena out of her thoughts. She looked around at the gardens, then down at herself.
Her magic was acting up again.
Her dress was pink, but not the same light pink it turned when she sang her mother's lullaby. This was a lush, fierce, vivid pink, just on the edge of purple, like love in defiance of fear. It was exactly the same colour as the Sweetheart's Day orchids growing in a luminous trail along the path she had been walking, which ended almost at her feet.
The same colour as the orchid Mateo held in one hand, unmistakable against his red robe, as he rounded the corner and saw her.
"Elena?"
His eyes widened as they took in every part of her, from her blushing face to her glowing dress to the flowers at her feet. He knew as much about her emotion magic as she did, including the symbolism. He must know what this meant.
Self-consciousness extinguished the glow, made the flowers vanish, and turned the dress back to red in the blink of an eye. She ducked her head, looking down at her folded hands. "Hi, Mateo."
"Is everything okay?" He sounded short of breath, as if he'd been running. "I just … I saw the flowers, and they led me here, and I … I thought … "
"Not an emergency, I promise," she hurried to reassure him. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I was just … thinking about you."
"About me?" His voice had a crackling edge to it, like autumn leaves or a fire in the hearth, especially when he felt strongly about something. "Really? … Because I've been thinking about you too."
Red flickered at the edge of her vision. When she looked up, he was sitting on the bench beside her, holding out a single orchid, his golden eyes bright with hope.
"I thought I made them all disappear."
"No, this one's real." He smiled wryly, a familiar look even at such an unprecedented time. "I bought it from Marlena. For my … " He paused for a long moment. "For my sweetheart."
"Is that what we are?"
"If you'd like to be." He was nervous too, she could see that, and it gave the flower even more significance. "I was gonna say 'more than friends', but your friendship already means the world to me, so … can we try something different? Something new?"
"Yes," she breathed, leaning forward. "Oh yes."
He lifted the orchid. "May I … ?"
"Please."
He tucked it behind her ear with delicate precision, his breath warm on her face. She shifted to get closer, and so did he; it only took a slight tilt of the head until their lips met.
Warmth flooded her, lighting her up from the inside out. It was like coming back to life after being inside the Amulet, the shocking awareness of her own body with its strong limbs and soft skin and beating heart, its power and vulnerability. Their bodies, his and hers, a silent conversation of yes and there and is this okay? and I need more.
When they had to stop for air (which was rather sooner than she would have liked), her dress was orchid pink again, but this time, she wasn't self-conscious in the least.
"Elena?"
"Hmm?"
"Where's Flo?"
"Oh my gosh!" She jumped to her feet and looked around. The alpacamundi was nowhere to be seen. "She was just here, where could she - oh, hang on." She drew the Sceptre and aimed it at the clearest patch of sky above their heads. "Farsight!"
The Sceptre showed Flo safe and sound, strolling down a hallway in the palace. Her head was high, her tail waved gracefully with every step; she looked considerably pleased with herself. As soon as Elena realized why, she burst out laughing, resolving at the same time to give Flo a cuddle the next time they saw each other.
When people are in love, they need some time to be alone together … Some things are too special to share.
"That darling girl," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "I was trying to explain privacy to her earlier. For once in her life, I think she actually listened."