Disclaimer: blah. You no the drill. No OCs in this ficlet. *sigh* nevermind, a nerd.

Note: jus sumpin' I'm messin around with, so its quite short. Oh, and this ficcy doesn't have nething to do with my other stories.

Kelaal: lol, thanx! Hope u'll enjoy the plot twist at the end

Tampered Feelings

Chapter 1: Cinderella's Fairy Godmother

Holly seethed at herself inwardly.

She really should start getting ready . . . the reception was in a few hours.

But . . . Just a few more minutes . . . Only a few . . .

But before Captain Short knew it, she was dozing on her futon, lying, still in her sweaty jumpsuit, helmet in the crook of her arm, on top of the un-made bedclothes. And what was designated to be but a few moments flew quickly to hours.

Holly walked through the giant double doors of the ballroom and noticed as she passed a gallant, somehow familiar looking, man, that she was still in her LEP uniform.

No matter, she didn't have time to head back to her apartment now. She crossed the specially waxed dance floor to a pallid wall.

Holly shifted her weight to her left leg. She felt singled out somehow, she thought as she watched couples twirl . . . Every one was in tuxedoes and ball gowns. Funny, no one told her it was a costume party.

And the floor was so shiny . . . Holly could see herself in it, it glowed so.

A clock chimed twelve times somewhere in the halls.

But . . . something was different. Besides the odd costumes and Holly's lack of them.

Holly's hair was brunette and long. Her face seemed to grow wider, though her cheekbones grew more apparent.Full lips thinned slowly. Her nose stretched downward, and Holly felt something lying on the bridge of it.

She pulled the spectacles off of her nose and attempted to shove them in her pocket, only to find that she didn't have one on the dress that folded itself around her.

The glasses fell with a crash of broken glass to the mirror-like floor.

The sound was amplified, and echoed around the ballroom.

Everyone turned, some even with collective gasps, clutching their dance partners close to them.

Holly didn't understand. What had she done?

She turned, but slipped on the broken glass that littered the floor, and one of her old-fashioned slippers slid off.

Someone caught her in mid-fall.

It was a round-faced, shorter elf. He held out his hand for her support.

It was amazing how he made his face just like the wall behind him . . . blank. So blank, in fact that Holly couldn't make out any facial features.

She clapped her gloved hand to her mouth . . . she couldn't breathe . . . and she was falling . . . falling to the floor . . . but the mirrored dance floor gave way, and began to swallow her whole.

The elf supporting her pulled her from the great new abyss in the dance floor

Another amplified sound echoed around the giant hall.

Knocking . . . twelve sharp raps at the giant oak doors.

They gave way to reveal a striking blonde elf. Her face was also blank, though Holly could tell from the high dimples that she was grinning slyly as she swept her thick hair from her shoulder with a wave of her hand.

It was so cold . . . What seemed like an Arctic wind wafted through the room, chilling Holly to the bone.

How she wished the one who saved her would pull her closer . . .

"Holly, Holly, what's wrong?" The blonde elf demanded, running closer, shoving a blank-faced elf who wore a shining golden crown from her way.

Holly's slipper floated away, and everything else, including her brace, followed the same fashion.

"Holly, Holly, Holly, Holly-"

"Holly, Holly wake up!" Some one shouted, arousing Captain Short by shaking her.

Holly opened one of her eyes to . . . Lili Frond? She groaned slightly.

"Holly, Are you all right? You were twitching and drooling all over the bed . . . Were you having a nightmare?"Lili said, sounding half concerned, although a familiar sly grin was pushing her dimples over her cheekbones.

Holly sat up abruptly, and Lili stepped back.

A cold sweat droplet was winding its way over Holly's furrowed brow.

"The door was open, so I just-"Lili began.

"You!" Holly gasped.

* * * * click the lilac button below and tell me what you think. And, yes, of course, the dream gets explained in later chapters.

~Hanna*