Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men
Courtly doesn't know what has come over her. She constantly feels alone even when she's not. She lies in bed, slowly allowing her eyes to close. This isn't who she is. She used to be bold, proud, confident. Now she's tired, sad, and most of all, afraid. She doesn't know if she's alright. Neither does Jackie, her girlfriend.
"Come on, Courtly," Jackie says, sounding uncomfortable.
She isn't used to dealing with emotions, Courtly knows. Neither is Courtly.
"You need to do some schoolwork," Jackie says. "I know you can do well if you study."
"I don't trust myself," Courtly whispers, her eyes stinging. "I'll fail whether I try or not."
Jackie sighs. She sits on the bed by Courtly and takes her hand.
"I hate seeing you this way. Your mind is playing tricks on you."
"Maybe," Courtly mutters. "I can't stop it, though. I can't."
Pompeii by Bastille
The walls of ice tumble down, crumbling to the floor. Fire is everywhere, enveloping the rooms.
"Go, Jackie!" Crystal yells. "I'll be fine! Just save yourself!"
Jackie looks at Crystal, her eyes stinging.
"No, you're coming with me!"
The servants are uprising. The king and queen have mind controlled them for years. Courtly knew this, but she never had the heart to tell Crystal.
Jackie cries as she escapes, running out of the blazing castle, leaving Crystal behind.
"I love you!" she screams as the ice castle melts. "I love you, Crystal!"
She can't stomach Ever After. She finds Wonderland and meets a girl, wild as ever but with a charm and spunk that Jackie can't resist. They fall for each other fast, Jackie changed by the tragedy and thirsty for affection.
"Sounds like the king and queen were evil," Courtly says. "I know all about evil."
She sits across the table from Jackie, sipping a cup of tea.
"They sure were," Jackie says, "and so was I. It's weird. With you, it almost feels like-nothing has changed at all."
"You're an optimist, Jackie," Courtly says. "I like that."
Say Something by A Great Big World
"Well, say something!" Courtly screams, her vision washed red as Jackie just stares blankly ahead. "Fucking say something!"
Jackie won't answer her, is too frightened to even move. She followed Courtly around like a lost puppy, and this is where it got her.
"I'll do anything for you," Jackie had said.
Courtly had smirked saucily, a hard glint in her eyes.
"I know you will," she had breathed before capturing Jackie's lips in a sweltering kiss.
"I'm giving up on you, Jackie!" Courtly roars. "I'm fucking giving up on your sorry ass!"
"I'm sorry," Jackie whispers, her heart pounding.
She doesn't know why she's saying it. Courtly is abusing her. She sees it now. It was over her head. She'd always seen herself as strong and confident, but apparently all it took was one powerful, manipulative woman to take her down. She'd never loved somebody before this, and now she knows she never will again.
Cups by Anna Kendrick
Jackie has a train ticket, and she's going to use it. She needs to get out of here. This small town is suffocating her.
"I could use some company," she tells Courtly. "I'm leaving tomorrow. What do you say?"
"I don't know," Courtly stutters. "I just don't know if I…" she shakes her head, "no, I can't."
"You'll miss me," Jackie says, her voice fierce. She glares. "You'll miss everything about me. I promise you that."
She sweeps past Courtly and leaves the room, not looking back.
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
Jackie realized that there was a side to Courtly that she never knew. That cold, hard glint in her eyes...Jackie always knew there was something dark brewing under the surface of her cool, casual manner.
Courtly's kisses had saved Jackie, made her feel like love was possible for her.
As Courtly screams Jackie's name, her eyes like flames in the candlelight, Jackie runs out the door.
She dashes across the slippery pavement, the rain hitting her like bricks as she gets as far as she possibly can from the cold, dark mansion. She doesn't know how long it's been when she finally collapses, dropping to the ground. She squeezes her eyes shut, sobs racking her spindly frame. All she can see is flames dancing sinisterly before her closed eyes, as the rain soaks her to her bones.
Starlight by Muse
"You never cared about me!" Jackie yells.
"Of course I did, Jackie!" Crystal voice cracks.
"Save your breath."
Jackie boards a ship and soon she's sailing away over the churning, gray sea. She's on her way to a faraway island she forgot the name of, away from the people who care if she lives or dies. Courtly is also a passenger. She is strangely dressed, loud and rude, and is usually blasting music from her room. Jackie falls for her instantly. Theirs is a relationship of raw physicality and steamy attraction.
They go up to the top deck for fresh air one crisp night. Starlight shines down on the rolling waves. The wooden deck seems to glow with golden light. They lie down, arms wrapped around each other.
"Don't ever let me go," Jackie whispers.
Courtly doesn't answer, just holds her tight and lightly runs her nails over Jackie's scalp.
Speed of Sound by Coldplay
Jackie doesn't know how long it will be before she finds love. Her soul is as cold as ice. She knows this. She feels like she's constantly climbing a mountain, the terrain growing rougher every day.
She winds up in Wonderland one day, the result of a strange portal that had opened in the front yard of Crystal's palace. Courtly is who she finds, a strange woman who Jackie is instantly intrigued by.
"I'll take you to the city," Courtly says. "It will be a few days' trip."
Courtly climbs a tree that night when darkness has fallen and they've set up camp.
"Look at the sky," she says when Jackie reaches the top.
Jackie doesn't like to ever show that she has feelings, but her eyes widen and her mouth drops when she sees the blazing stars.
"So many planets out tonight," Courtly notes.
She points them out to Jackie. Jackie looks at Courtly, suddenly wanting to kiss her as the starlight shines on her face.
They talk, laugh, and argue as they walk through forests and meadows. The days roll by. They sleep in each other's arms for warmth at night.
Four days later, Jackie can feel and smell how dirty she is.
"Easy," Courtly says. "We'll go bathe in the creek over there."
Jackie quizzically looks at Courtly as they reach the rocky bank and the jester starts to undress.
"What are you doing?" Jackie asks incredulously. "I thought we were going to take turns!"
"What's the point in that?"
Courtly clearly can't understand the logic in that.
Jackie blushes as she turns away and undresses. She forces herself not to look as they walk into the brisk water together.
"I'll look away while you wash up," Jackie says.
She turns around, staring at the oak trees on the opposite bank.
"You're really that oblivious?" Courtly asks, her voice calm but calculating.
Jackie spins around, forgetting to close her eyes and getting a full view of Courtly's, well, fabulous body.
"What do you mean?" she demands. "I'm not oblivious!"
"I want you to see me naked!" Courtly exclaims.
Jackie gasps.
"What in the world?" she stutters.
Courtly walks slowly toward her.
"I love sleeping in your arms at night! I wish we could do more than just lie side by side!"
Jackie's face burns. She doesn't even realize Courtly is next to her until calloused fingers slide under her chin and tilt her head up. She gazes into Courtly's magenta eyes, only getting a glimpse before soft lips touch hers.
Castle by Halsey
Jackie wants to be Queen. This was revealed after all, when she tried to overthrow the Snow King and Queen four years ago.
When Crystal suddenly dies one night, crushed by a snowflake that was made too large by the amateur factory workers, Jackie pretends that her heart isn't shattered and focuses only on her opportunity. She will be the next Queen of Winter! It's a no-brainer now!
The day after the funeral, she goes to the dining room to see if the former King and Queen are there and not mourning in their room anymore. She finds them sitting at the long ice table in heavy silence.
"Jackie, no matter how much you have changed these past four years," the Snow King says, "you still probably shouldn't be so mean. You can't be queen unless you have a heart as pure as my sweet Crystal's." His voice breaks.
Jackie scowls. She puts up a fight, but they soon ignore her. She retires to her room and plots, and if she sheds a few tears over her Crystal, well, nobody will ever know.
One snowy night, she sees a figure outside the castle gate. She lights a lantern, walking through the swirling snowflakes. When she approaches the silver gate, she squints, looking at the person. It is a woman, tall and skinny, layered in shawls.
"Who are you?" she asks, unafraid.
"The name is Courtly Jester," the woman says. "I pose no threat, to you at least."
Jackie doesn't know why, but she opens the gate and lets her in.
"What are you here for?" she asks.
"I've been trying to take over a kingdom for a while," Courtly explains. "Wonderland was a fail. I heard about the young Queen of Winter's passing, though, and I thought maybe I have another change."
She laughs under her breath, looking at Jackie with a hungry gleam in her eyes.
"I know you want it, too," she says. "We can do it together. Co-queens?"
She holds her hand out, and with a shrug and a nod, Jackie finds herself making a strange but most likely rewarding deal. Jackie's gut has never let her down; and it's telling her that Courtly is her best chance.
A Whole New World (from Aladdin) by Lea Salonga and Brad Kane
"Have you really never seen anything but this pathetic little snow world?" Courtly asks, her eyes wide.
Jackie sheepishly smiles.
"Oh my God, Jackie!" Courtly exclaims. "This calls for desperate measures! Here, I have Maddie's hat with me! I stole it!"
She pulls out the purple hat and begins to pull various objects out of it.
After multiple attempts, a midnight blue carpet with gold fringe flies out. It levitates a few inches off the ground. Jackie has lived among magic long enough to not be surprised.
"This will be perfect!" Courtly cheers.
She takes Jackie's hand and, together, they step on to it. As soon as they sit, the carpet takes off, flying out of the open window. Jackie screams. The air is bitter cold. Snowflakes swirl around them. She soon forgets the freezing temperature, though, as she sees the bright, glistening stars, so much bigger and brighter when she's in the sky among them.
The carpet descends, leaving the winter world. They fly through Ever After, looking down at the glittering castles, quaint towns, ancient forests, sandy beaches. Blue sky and fluffy white clouds surround them. Jackie gazes in amazement, unable to speak. She can only feel Courtly's arms around her waist.
The carpet dives down a well, and they appear in a world that Jackie immediately knows is Wonderland.
"Welcome to my home," Courtly says happily.
The world is as strange as Courtly. Nature here seems to be on steroids, inventing wonders that Jackie could never dream of. With her girlfriend beside her, though, seeing the place where she grew up, she feels more connected to her than she ever has.
If It's Love by Train
"I can't believe it's already six in the morning!" Courtly exclaims as she and Jackie collapse into the queen bed.
"Time goes by so fast when we're talking," Jackie says, unable to stop smiling.
Courtly grins, scooting closer to Jackie, and gently taking her face in her hands, she kisses her with all the passion in her heart. Jackie pulls away a moment later, her eyes wide. Courtly feels suddenly panicked. Did she do something wrong?
"What?" she insists.
"This is love right?" Jackie asks slowly, gazing at Courtly with eyes gentler than the quilts heaped over them.
"It definitely is love for me," Courtly says, not a trace of uncertainty in her voice. "I love you more than anything in all the worlds."
Jackie smiles, pecking Courtly on the lips before whispering, "So do I."