They appeared in the courtyard of Castle Evernight and it took Glimmer a minute to reorient to the feeling of being solid again. She appreciated the convenience of teleporting but it felt like you were being turned into a bubble bath and back again. Which wasn't exactly unpleasant but didn't feel normal, no matter how many times you did it.
"Whoa!" Beside her, Adora was gaping at the winter wonderland around them. "This place is huge! And it's even fancier than Bright Moon!"
"No way! It's just ice!" Glimmer shot back. "Everyone has some in their kitchen right now!"
OK, there was a certain appeal to the intricate patterns sketched across the courtyard walls, sheets of ice as clear as glass. And maybe the path of inlaid jewels that lead up to the massive pillars that marked the entrance of the castle were sort of impressive, but she was feeling very protective of Bright Moon at the moment. After all, it was their home!
Adora didn't reply, just smirked and gave her a look. Before she could ask her friend exactly what the hell her problem was, Bow gestured towards the main entrance.
"Come on. They'll be a greeting line. We'll get that over with then we can explore." He tugged at her hand, which he was apparently still holding, even though he'd let go of Adora's as soon as they'd appeared in the Kingdom of Snows. Which was fine with her because there were A Lot of people here and all of them they were fancy and powerful and intimidating and at least Bow's hand was warm and familiar. She moved a little closer to his side, glad that she had Adora on the other.
"Lot of people here. Too many variables." Adora mumbled under her breath. She kept shaking her head, like she didn't approve of any of this. Which, considering how hard they'd had to work to even get her to come with them, probably wasn't far from the truth.
At least Adora looked great, even though she'd somehow convinced the Bright Moon tailors to basically make her the slightly more formal version of what she wore every day. It was a simple red and gold suit with white pants, but she wore it well. And even though Glimmer had fought pretty hard for a full make-over, she had to admit Bow was right and their friend was way more comfortable this way than she would have been in a dress. Though she was kind of ruining the look by hugging She-Ra's sword to her chest like a murderous teddy bear.
As they crossed into the massive crowded foyer, Glimmer wondered if maybe she would have been more comfortable in pants too. This place was freezing! And it felt like everyone was staring at her.
It didn't help that Bow seemed to know everyone. They couldn't walk three feet without someone waving to him or stopping him to exchange pleasantries. Did Adora feel as painfully awkward as she did every time it happened? It wasn't only that it was this constant reminder that this was his world and she had no place being here. It was also impossible not to notice that he was charming and friendly and freaking EVERYBODY liked him, would probably like him even if he wasn't some important prince. And she wondered, like she always did when it wasn't just the two of them, why he even bothered to hang out with her when he could clearly have his pick of a million higher class friends.
"How does Bow know all these people?" Adora whispered. She narrowed her eyes as Bow finally escaped the older couple he'd been politely nodding at for the last minute, only to be stopped half a step later by two girls with stars on their crowns that looked like they could have been sisters. "How can we be sure they aren't a threat?"
"Adora, you have got to relax. They're just people attending a peaceful event, exactly like us. And he only knows them because his mom's been dragging him to all sorts of important balls and whatevers since he was a kid. And you know Bow, he'll make friends with anyone." Glimmer watched someone vaguely reptilian and draped all over with furs slide up and ooze charm all over her best friend. There was probably a perfectly good reason it was irritating her so much, she just couldn't think of what it was. "He's been trying to get me to come to stuff like this since we were kids. If I had, I'd probably know them too!"
"So why didn't you?"
Glimmer gestured to everything around them. "Because, look at all this! I don't belong here."
"Aw, totally you should have gone with him. You two might have had fun!" Adora elbowed her in the side and Glimmer glared. It was amazing how they technically had the same face but She-Ra was so capital H HOT but Adora was like the goofy little sister she'd never had. Even though Adora was older than her. And she already had a bunch of sisters. "Little Bow and Glimmer in a whole parade of matching outfits, come on! That would have been adorable!"
Glimmer punched her friend in the bicep, which only made her laugh harder. At least Adora was finally having some fun, even if it was only because she enjoyed giving Glimmer crap. Thing was, not that she'd admit it, but she kinda liked the matching outfits thing. In principle, anyway. And the way Bow described it, it sounded fun enough. The two of them dancing together, goofing around, and then coming home and having ice cream. A whole thing that was just theirs.
Maybe he was right, and it would have been like that. But more than likely, it would have just been like this. Him being a ray of sunshine as usual while she felt awkward and out of place.
And she didn't want to drag him down like that.
"…and then I was like, 'At least, that's the buzz, honey!'" Sweet Bee finished with a flourish and Bow laughed politely even though she'd been making that same joke at every event he'd seen her at for the last ten years. His eyes trailed back to where Glimmer was shaking her head and trying to reason with Adora while she argued with the woman at the weapons check. The sword was on the counter, but Adora was still gripping it tight and refusing to hand it over.
"Well, it's been nice catching up with you but I—" He began but Sweet Bee just kept talking.
Bow exhaled and tried to seem interested in the same old royal gossip. Glimmer was always telling him he was too nice, and he usually countered that there was no such thing but, moments like now, maybe she was right. Not for the first time tonight, he wished she was next to him making all this tedious conversation a little more bearable, but he didn't want to ruin her evening. All he wanted tonight was for her to have a good time, and then maybe she wouldn't be so weird about coming to events like this with him in the future. Just because he could do it alone, didn't mean it wouldn't be better with his best friend by his side.
"…so I was like 'Well, it stung!' and so of course Peekablue was all, 'Ugh, I knew you were going to say that!' and I was like, 'Ugh, babe, give it a rest! We alllll get it, you've got far-sight!' And everyone else laughed, but he got all pissy and made some comment about how my puns are annoying. Like, what? I am hilarious! And then he stormed off and embarrassed me in front of EVERYONE who is anyone and I'm just, so done, you know?"
"Mmmhmm." Bow tried to catch Glimmer's eye to see if she needed help with the sword situation, but she was in a tug of war with Adora over the hilt and didn't look this way.
"Maybe I should just end it tonight, you know? Trade him in for a little upgrade. I mean…" Sweet Bee leaned against Bow's arm. One hand twirled one of the bright yellow curls that had escaped her elaborate beehive up-do. The jumble of braids and curls surrounded the jeweled antenna sticking up from her tiara and looked so heavy he didn't understand how she could even keep her head up. She fluttered her wings flirtatiously and wrapped her arm around his. "Queen Bee does have a nice ring to it. You're here alone as usual, right?"
Bow took his chance to take a step away from her when a large group needed to get by. He cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at the princess. At these kind of events, sometimes it was hard to tell if people were actually flirting with him or just flirting with the idea of being King or Queen of Bright Moon and he hated it. Not that he was ever actually going to be King since his mom was immortal, but that didn't seem to deter anyone.
He sighed, flushing. He enjoyed making friends. He even liked small talk. Being outgoing came naturally to him. He just wanted people to like him for himself and not because of magic or because his mom was Queen of the princesses.
"Uh, no. I'm here with Glimmer." He glanced over to the weapons check where Adora had surrendered her sword finally but was still shouting instructions at the attendant like it was her firstborn. He couldn't help but grin a little at the sight of Glimmer trying to bodily drag their friend away.
"Glimmer? Who's that? Some sorceress?"
"No. It's… Glimmer." He could probably have tacked on her titles, really talked her up as a Master Archer and Tech Master for the Rebellion or whatever but he'd already told Sweet Bee about his best friend a hundred times over the years and shouldn't have to explain who she was or what made her special. Just Glimmer was impressive enough on her own. "Come on, I'll introduce you!"
"Oh, you know… Maybe later. I think I saw Corporal Romeo before and I better go say hello. You know how he gets!" Sweet Bee leaned over and kissed Bow's cheek, smelling sickly sweet. He resisted the urge to wipe it off until she turned away. "It wasp-erfectly wonderful catching up with you, Bow! You look very handsome tonight."
"Thanks. You look nice too." He said mechanically, though he couldn't really look at the pattern of stripes on her yellow and black gown without getting dizzy. "Or, I guess I should say, uh, bee-utiful?"
"Oh, you!" Sweet Bee laughed loud enough that several people turned their way, definitely louder than such a pathetic pun warranted. Then she swatted a hand at him playfully and buzzed herself up above the crowd and out of the room in a flash.
"Bow, please explain to Adora that everything is going to be fine!" Glimmer appeared at his side, looking exasperated. The light reflected off everything in here, and the little pins glistened against her dark hair.
Adora's brows were knit, and she was gesturing so wildly she almost hit someone. "I don't like it! It's just… too many unknowns! No sight lines, poorly marked exits, an entire palace full of strangers, and now we're completely unarmed! If the Horde—"
"Adora, Glimmer's right. No one is going to try anything tonight." Bow said quickly when the mention of the Horde sent whispers and stares their direction. "Besides…" He summoned a little ball of pink light in his palm for a moment before snuffing it out. "We're not completely unarmed. Now, come on! We're going to rock this ball!"
With a final glance back at her sword, Adora slumped and joined the line of people filing into the ballroom. Bow followed but Glimmer tugged on his arm. He leaned down so she could whisper in his ear. "Was that Princess Sweet Bee? She seemed… we didn't interrupt anything, did we?"
"Not at all." Bow grinned and then added. "You got me out of a sticky situation. I was hoping she would buzz off."
"Oh gods, I walked right into that, didn't I?" Glimmer shook her head, but Bow saw the sides of her mouth twitch upwards.
"Yeah, you know, she's sweet, but she really can't mind her own beeswax, you know. She'll just wing it and keep droning on and on and—"
"You absolute dork. I can't believe I hang out with you." Glimmer rolled her eyes and pushed his face away from her. Completely unimpressed or the least bit interested in impressing. He laughed, all the tension from before gone in an instant.
"You don't like my puns? Wow, Glimmer, truly, that stings!" He said dramatically, and she shoved his chest hard enough to nearly knock him off balance before jogging to catch up with Adora. He followed, feeling perfectly light and happy for the first time all evening.