The princess woke with a smile on her face. She did not need to check her phone to know it was late in the afternoon. She had not got to bed until late that morning.
As the princess bestirred herself, she saw that one of her windows was wide open with its curtains drawn, flooding the corner of her room in light. She could see the beautiful French Riviera, as well as hear all the noise from the beachfront.
As she looked closer, she made out the muscular figure of the beautiful girl who had kept her up so late. The famous actress was sitting provocatively on the window sill, wearing nothing but her underwear. Her pale skin and long golden hair was bathed in sunlight. Smiling to herself, the princess smirked:
"Enjoying the view?" The woman turned to look at her, gave a pleasant smile and said:
"I love it. I must thank you for your hospitality!" The princess laughed:
"I think I should be thanking you. Last night was fun, even if we didn't win." The actress raised her eyebrow.
"Oh, I don't know about that. Monaco came third. That was pretty impressive. And I definitely won when you invited me back to the palace. Again." As the actress winked charmingly, the princess could not help but ogle her defined abs and powerful biceps (made even more irresistible in the sunlight).
Feeling in the mood to continue what they had been doing only a few hours ago, the princess got out of bed and made her way over to the actress. Covering herself with a blanket, she smiled, leaned over and kissed the blonde woman. The kiss was happily reciprocated.
The two women kissed each other passionately in front of the open window, not caring who would see them.
The actress then picked up the princess with the intention of carrying her back to the bed. As she did so, the princess saw something she was certain she had not noticed before. Without hesitation, she asked:
"What's that tattoo on your shoulder? I didn't see it last night." The actress did not respond immediately. First she gently lay the princess down on her bed and climbed in next to her.
"It's She-Ra's sword. She-Ra was the first acting role I ever got." The princess smiled:
"I remember when the first film came out. It was a while ago now. I knew I'd seen you in something other than Star Wars!" The actress laughed:
"Well, call me crazy, but I preferred the sword to the lightsabre they gave me." The princess smirked:
"You're crazy. What else have you been in? Remind me!" The actress sighed as she struggled to remember. She had done a lot in the last decade:
"I was the new Captain Marvel. That was fun." The actress rolled her eyes:
"I don't watch superhero movies. My boyfriend does though. He'd be thrilled to meet you." The actress went pale.
"You have a boyfriend?" Realizing what she had said, the princess began to laugh uncontrollably:
"Boy-friend. Two words. Sorry - it's just what I call him. We've been friends forever but we aren't dating." The actress smiled once more, leaned over the princess and kissed her again. Just as things were heating up, the princess whispered:
"What was She-Ra's real name? I've forgotten." The actress smiled and cooed:
"Adora. Her name's Adora."
"And what about that purple princess? I really liked her…"
"Glimmer. She looks just like you."
A couple of hours had passed. The two women had had their fun and were now enjoying a very late breakfast on one of the many balconies of the palace.
The palace itself was a few hundred years old but had been recently renovated. The balcony faced the sea with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean. The sun was starting to set, painting the water in a gorgeous shade of red.
After quietly taking in her surroundings, the princess decided to resume their conversation from earlier and, after reaching for another croissant, she asked:
"I thought Adora was supposed to be with Catra? What are you doing with Glimmer?" The actress knew the princess was teasing her, but this was a sensitive subject – more sensitive than the princess would ever know.
"Adora's waiting for Catra to come around. Literally. We start shooting the final She-Ra film this summer." [Glimmer] laughed again, and [Adora] shut her up with another kiss.
[Adora] had to admit that she had really hit the jackpot with this woman. She was gorgeous.
The first thing [Adora] had noticed after meeting her a week ago was that she was short and well-built, with a cocky grin and beautiful eyes, and hair dyed light purple – just enough to make an impression, but not enough to distract from the rest of her.
Glimmer had been the first name she had thought of when she saw her.
It had been a week earlier at the opening ceremony of the Eurovision song contest. Everyone who was anyone had been there. As [Adora] was the main hostess (a job she had accepted on a whim), everyone was practically lining up to meet her. When it was [Glimmer's] turn, she had walked right up to [Adora] and held out her hand for her to take. Being the flirt she was, [Adora] had kissed it, and thus began a week-long romance.
It had taken [Adora] an embarrassingly long time to realize [Glimmer] was the literal princess of Monaco, as well as the honoured guest at Eurovision. [Adora] had honestly thought [Glimmer] was one of the performers – her pink and purple outfit had been so flamboyant that it rivalled many of the actual costumes.
[Adora] was so thankful [Glimmer] spoke English. She had picked up some French from when she had done the James Bond reboot, but it was definitely not enough to impress anyone. [Glimmer] had explained that she had gone to boarding school in Switzerland, where she was taught almost exclusively in English. [Adora] had blushed in awe, considering her humble beginnings on a farm in the state of Georgia.
[Adora] was woken from her thoughts by the sudden arrival of a dark-skinned man with a big goofy smile, wearing a white crop top. [Glimmer] pulled back from kissing her and immediately rushed over to him:
"Bo!" [Adora] had to stop herself from laughing. Bo? Was the universe trying to send her a message? The guy could not look more like Bow if he tried.
As the princess hugged the man (who looked roughly her age), she began talking to him in French. [Adora] struggled to understand. Bo then turned towards her and made an adorable high pitched squeal:
"[Adora]! I'm such a huge fan!" His French accent was a lot stronger than [Glimmer's], but [Adora] understood him. She gave him one of her signature winning smiles:
"It's nice to meet you." [Glimmer] then introduced her friend:
"This is Bo – short for Beauregard. We went to school together." Bo went bright red, clearly embarrassed by his name. The princess laughed affectionately and continued:
"He's the boy-friend I was telling you about." [Adora] raised her eyebrow in interest:
"Oh right! [Glimmer] said you like superhero movies?" Bo began jumping up and down in boyish excitement:
"Yes, yes, yes, yes! And you are She-Ra! I can't believe it!" [Adora] could not help but laugh at that.
"Anyone ever tell you that you look just like Bow? From She-Ra?" The man suddenly froze and turned pale. [Adora] panicked, thinking she had said the wrong thing. Before she could apologize, however, Bo suddenly said:
"J'adore Bow (I love Bow)! I mean, I love Bow so much. When I saw him in the first film, I found I had, how you say, dysphorie de genre (gender dysphoria). I finished my transition two years ago." It took [Adora] a minute but, once she figured out what he had said, she gasped in awe:
"Oh my gosh! I never would've guessed! You look amazing! Can I tell the real Bow about this? He'll be so thrilled!" Bo's eyes lit up and a smile covered his face. He then asked:
"Est-ce qu'on peut- (Can we-) I mean, could I talk to him?" [Adora] gave another smile:
"Bien sûr (Of course)."
The club adjoining the Monte Carlo casino was very impressive given its size and exclusivity. It was filled to the brim with celebrities that [Adora] recognized but could not name, as well as a large variety of insanely attractive human beings.
As the lights flashed and the music blared, [Glimmer] and [Bow] (who were both on their third round of shots) began to get extra cuddly on the sofa next to the princess's reserved table.
This was [Adora's] first time out with both of them, as well as her first time clubbing in a while. Being a country girl, it had taken her a while to get used to places like this, and she still was not entirely comfortable in them. She was dressed in yet another one of her signature white suits and had not had more than a couple of drinks. She knew she should be taking full advantage of the fact she was not paying, but all these reminders of She-Ra were starting to bum her out.
Yes, she loved the franchise more than anything. However, what no one knew was that the actress who played Catra had gotten into a huge fight with her at the end of shooting the second film. [Catra] had refused to work with her afterwards, meaning that they had not shot a single scene together in the third film. This had fortunately worked out for everyone (the first film had been a dramatization of season 1, while the second film had been seasons 2 and 3, and the third film had been season 4). Adora and Catra, as characters, had only interacted once in the fourth season anyway. However, it had raised serious concerns for the final film: the dramatization of season 5.
As [Adora] had said, they were due to start filming the final instalment of the franchise in a few months' time and, as far as she knew, [Catra] had still not confirmed she would do be a part of it. Technically she was contractually obligated to be, but she was also filthy rich and could easily buy her way out if she wanted to.
[Adora] had been on the phone with the director a couple of weeks ago, being asked to get in touch with her and try to make amends. [Adora] had made a couple of half-hearted phone calls, but it had been no use.
If [Catra] could not be located, the studio would either have to delay production, or find someone else to take her place. In [Adora's] opinion, the latter simply was not an option.
[Catra] was absolutely perfect in her role. She had even been nominated for it. Not that she had needed the Oscar – she already had two. The actress in question had definitely been the most impressive name on the movie posters when the first film was released. [Adora] still remembered her name and picture being much smaller compared to [Catra's]. She had not cared though. It had been enough just to share a poster with her.
Unlike [Adora], [Catra] had been a child actress and had received fame and fortune at a much younger age. She had received her first Oscar when [Adora] graduated High School, breaking records for the Academy.
Five years later, when [Adora] completed active duty with the U.S. Marines, [Catra] had won her second Oscar. That was the first time [Adora] had ever seen her on television, and she had fallen in love with her instantly.
[Catra] was an elegant dark-skinned woman with beautiful long hair and heterochromia: one eye was yellow while the other was blue. It was what had made her stand out when she was younger, while there was never anything remotely special about [Adora]. Or so she thought.
[Adora] was a huge fan of She-Ra. That show had helped her to realize she was a lesbian, and had given her the courage to come out to her family. They had taken it well, but the very isolated and conservative farming community they lived in had been quick to judge her for it. Nothing particularly horrible happened, but there were certainly way less people coming up to the farm to ask for help or offer assistance around harvest time. This was what had driven [Adora] to be the first member of her family to leave the farm and join the U.S. Marines.
Once her active duty ended, [Adora] had moved in with her then-girlfriend Lonnie in Sacramento. Soon after, the auditions opened, and [Adora] effectively bribed Lonnie to drive her to Los Angeles so she could try her luck. [Adora] had no acting experience, but she would have been happy to play a background character on screen for less than 30 seconds if it meant getting to be a part of the film.
Once the audition was over, [Adora] was surprised to receive a lot of encouragement from the casting director. She asked her to come back the following week. When the following week came, she was asked to read She-Ra's lines. This had confused [Adora], leading the casting director to calmly explain that they were just looking for body doubles. After another week, [Adora] received a call telling her she got the part. [Adora] had been overjoyed, calling up her whole family to tell them.
When the day to start filming had finally arrived, [Adora] showed up ready to do whatever she was told. She could not have looked more like a rookie if she tried. That was when she had literally bumped into [Catra]. [Adora] smiled at the memory, only to be brought back to the present when a girl recognized her from the dance floor, and began screaming her name.
[Adora] scanned the crowd looking for her. It was impressive that she could hear her yelling over the music.
Failing to see where she was, [Adora] turned to her two companions. She blinked when she realized they were kissing and not paying attention to [Adora] at all.
[Adora] should probably have been hurt or offended that the girl she had been hooking up with for the past week was now getting together with someone else right in front of her, but she could not help but be happy for them. She liked them both and had never seen her relationship with [Glimmer] as anything more than a fling.
Leaving them alone, [Adora] stood up and leaned over the railing. She spotted the girl. She was wearing a dark red dress with matching high heels. Her shoulders were exposed and her hair was cut short. She looked cute.
When the two of them established eye contact, the girl stopped yelling and stared directly into [Adora's] eyes. That was when [Adora] realized something. One eye was yellow while the other was blue.
Without hesitation, [Adora] practically leapt off the platform and began pushing her way through the crowd. She simply had to get to [Catra]. Unfortunately, she did not reach her in time. [Adora] just made out security grabbing [Catra], ushering her out of the building.
Doing her best to keep up with them, [Adora] eventually found herself outside the club. It was not the entrance – that had been inside the casino. This was literally the back door – a service entrance with a lonely drive way and not a soul in sight. It was strange suddenly being so alone, particularly when you were as famous as [Adora]. [Adora] was certain she had seen [Catra] get pushed out here a few minutes before, and was now beginning to think she must have had a car waiting for her.
It was odd that security was nowhere to be seen and no one was coming outside to get her. Then [Adora] heard the door automatically lock behind her. [Adora] began to panic. She had to get back inside the club. It was dark and she was alone and unarmed in what was essentially a back alley in a foreign country. It was unlikely anyone she met would speak English and she had stupidly left her phone on the table.
Before she could get overwhelmed, [Adora] then took a deep breath and calmly assessed the situation.
She could see that the drive way led to the main road which should lead back round to the front of the hotel. It would be a walk but she could manage it.
As [Adora] began walking, she soon heard the familiar sound of someone throwing up. Walking towards the noise, she soon found [Catra] concealed behind some bins, bent over a drain.
[Adora] rushed over to her and gently put her hands on [Catra's] shoulders.
"Hey, you okay?" [Catra], clearly very drunk and in no mood to speak coherently, simply laughed before throwing up again. [Adora] sighed and decided to do what she had not done all those years ago. She stayed with [Catra].
The sun was rising and [Adora] was in her hotel room. [Catra] was lying on [Adora's] bed, completely passed out. [Adora] looked at [Catra] with a reverence and love she had never shown anyone else. The fact that [Catra's] hair was a mess, with her dress completely ruined, only further convinced [Adora] of how little her feelings had changed.
Right after bumping into her the first time, [Adora] had apologized profusely, offering to help her back up. [Catra] had not accepted her help, however. She had stood up on her own and not said a word.
After watching her stomp off, [Adora] had been quite upset. She idolized [Catra] and blamed herself for getting in her way. Then the casting director had found her and practically dragged her to where the actual director was sitting.
The director was famous enough that [Adora] recognized her on sight. Words failed her as the director hurriedly explained that the lead actress had actually quit a while ago for undisclosed personal reasons, and that a replacement had yet to be found. However, seeing as how they were on such a tight schedule and under a lot of pressure from the studio, it had been decided that [Adora] would play She-Ra's role until someone else was found. Despite recognizing how legally dubious this was, [Adora] was ecstatic. [Catra] was not.
"I'm not working with her! Part of the deal was that I would get to act alongside the original actress! You're breaking the terms of my contract!" [Catra's] agent had then stepped forward:
"You already messed up big not telling us before she got here. If this doesn't get sorted in the next 24 hours, [Catra's] not doing the film. We'll also expect to be reimbursed for the plane ride from New York, as well as all our additional expenses!" The director looked pale. The casting director even more so.
[Adora] felt stupid. She was already in her costume while [Catra] was still in her gorgeous black suit. Thinking this was partly her fault for making such a bad impression, [Adora], struggling to walk with giant shoulder pads, stepped forward and awkwardly said:
"Um, Miss [Catra]? I'm sorry, I know it's not my place to say anything, but I'd be happy to quit if it meant you stayed. You're literally the best person to play Catra – no one else comes close. I agree I have no experience and no reason to act alongside someone as great as you…even if it was just to fill in for someone else…Also, I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier…it won't happen again." Everyone was stunned into silence. Then [Catra] said the last thing anyone expected:
"Are you from Tennessee?" [Adora] smiled awkwardly:
"No – Georgia." For the first time, [Catra] smiled:
"You've got a bit of an accent. I like it."
"[Adora]?" The actress was woken from her reverie by [Catra]. She had woken up and managed to recognize the girl sitting in the chair next to the bed. [Adora] quickly put on another of her winning smiles and made her way over.
[Catra] said nothing and simply stared as [Adora] came closer. She would never admit it but [Adora] looked ridiculously hot. Her white suit was tight enough to show off her muscles, while her long blonde hair radiated in the morning sunshine. It was not often that she had it down.
Once [Adora] was close enough, she sat down on the bed next to [Catra]. She expected [Catra] to tell her to go away, or yell at her for what had happened all those years ago. Instead, she sat up and gave [Adora] a hug. Safe to say that [Adora] was confused. She was even more confused when [Catra] started crying into her shoulder. [Adora] awkwardly hugged her back, repeating:
"Okay…it's okay…" After nearly five minutes, [Catra] finally stopped, pulled back and said:
"[Adora], I'm sorry…for everything." [Adora] gasped. Out of all the things she had expected [Catra] to say, an apology was not one of them.
"This wig looks ridiculous!" [Catra] exclaimed while fumbling with Catra's mane. Even though the lighting in the dressing room was not that good, [Adora] could not have disagreed more with her co-star:
"What? No! It looks great! It goes so well with the suit!" [Adora] was trying hard not to get distracted by how attractive [Catra] looked in the suit. Plus she was feeling very out of place in Adora's red dress. Why did they have to film Princess Prom first?
[Catra] finally stopped looking in the mirror, turning back to stare at [Adora]. [Adora] was speechless at how hot [Catra] was. [Catra] then gave her a cheeky smile, saying:
"Are you a furry, [Adora]? Because you're acting like one." [Adora] coughed:
"Um…no? Not that I'd judge someone if they were…" [Catra] laughed:
"I'm kidding! It's just nice to know I've still got it - even while wearing fangs and a mane with giant ears." She then stopped laughing and her expression became serious:
"You know, I really wanted this role. She-Ra's a really important show for me too. It got me through a lot. I would have accepted any role, really. It was just by luck they gave me this one." She then looked up at [Adora] with a genuine smile:
"I'm sorry I was so short with you back there. I didn't mean it. You seem really nice and, honestly, I think you'd make a great She-Ra if no one else stepped up." [Adora] could not believe this girl was her age. She blushed and said:
"Thanks! I can't wait to dance with you out there…" [Catra] raised her eyebrow provocatively.
"If I recall correctly, I'm the one who asks first." [Catra] winked and [Adora] blushed. Little did she know that her life would never be the same again.
Author's Note: I can confirm that Monaco (located in the south of France for those of you who don't know) is a principality with a real live princess. It will also be returning to the Eurovision song contest. Also, Monte Carlo is beautiful - especially the palace and the casino.
I hope you don't mind me making Bow and Glimmer French, or the fact I didn't give them all actual names. I thought about it but decided not to. As far as we're concerned, they're Catra and Adora. That's all there is to it - no need to make it more complicated! ;)
This fic is something I've wanted to write for a while and I'm very excited to share it with you! I hope you enjoy!