The Windflower Chronicles is being written as part of Elenaomi Week! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology. While some can be considered in the same continuity, they're not strictly connected or even sequential.
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Day 3 - Lazing Around The Castle - "Tequila Sunset"
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One of the things that Elena had expected upon becoming queen was that her life would be getting significantly busier. Even as crown princess, her schedule was packed. She had people to meet, papers to sign, and adventures nearly every week. The Grand Council helped, and she had plenty of advisers and attendants, but even with all the help she'd gotten, she barely had any time to kick back and relax.
Now that she was queen, things were even busier. She still had advisers, she still had help, but now she had to make most of the kingdom's important decisions entirely on her own... and there were lots of decisions to make. There were still people to meet, and events to oversee, and there were still adventures... though not as many as before.
Thankfully, Elena had the help of her best friend, her chancellor, and now, her girlfriend, Naomi. Naomi was her most trusted adviser, and took care of much of the castle's business so that Elena could focus on drafting important laws and meeting with important people. She was also the highest ranking diplomat in the kingdom, and often went on royal excursions to meet with representatives from other realms to negotiate on Avalor's behalf.
Naomi was also busy, incredibly so, just as busy as Elena was. Fortunately, the fact that she was Elena's chancellor allowed them to spend lots of time together, though most of the talking they did was about the business of the kingdom and not the fun things they enjoyed talking about, like adventures and sailing and books, things they both enjoyed, things they both liked to do together when they had the time.
It was rare when the two could just get away from it all together... and sometimes, they didn't even have to leave the palace to do it. Avalor's main palace was huge, filled with big rooms and long hallways, and even secret chambers that few people knew about. Elena knew about most of them, but as she and Naomi wandered the basement on this particular day, she was about to learn of one that no one in the castle had seen for nearly a century.
"So, the representative from Zumeria kept talking about his pet dragon, and here I am just wanting to make a trade agreement, so-"
"Naomi, no trade agreements! We're trying to get away from work, remember?"
"Sorry, Elena, sometimes it's hard to tell work and fun apart..." said Naomi, her voice slightly exhausted even after spending the entire day with Elena not working at all. "When's the last time we got to take a whole day off?"
"Three weeks ago," said Elena, rubbing the back of her neck and sighing. "I knew being queen would be a lot of work, but I didn't think it'd be so much work that I wouldn't even get to take one day a week off."
"Yeah, but look at it this way, the people of Avalor have never been happier! And we still get to be together, even if it's mostly for work..."
Elena loved to see a smile on Naomi's face and the sparkle in her eyes, and she leaned into her slightly, placing her head against Naomi's shoulder. Naomi moaned softly, turning and kissing the side of Elena's head before taking her hand and holding it close to her chest.
"We need to arrange more days like this... I don't know how we'll make it work, but we have to, before it drives us crazy..." said Naomi, tenderly caressing the top of Elena's hand.
"Agreed," replied Elena. "At least one day a week... it's really annoying when we're so exhausted that we can't even snuggle at night without falling asleep..."
"Mmm, and by snuggle, I take it you mean-" Naomi began before she let out a gasp... Elena was leaning a bit too heavily into her, and she suddenly fell toward the wall. Both girls shrieked, and fell into the stone wall nearby. "Unnngh!"
They collapsed into it, falling together and sliding against the wall with pained groans, holding each other tightly as they fell. The fall wasn't too bad, but they'd both have bruised arms for the next week, and Naomi had sustained a mild scrape to her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Naomi, I didn't even realize I was falling down!"
"I should've been more careful too, I think I might've tripped..."
"Only because I leaned into you so hard... I was kind of lost in your eyes, you know?"
"Mm, I've been told I have that effect on people," replied Naomi with a smirk. "Okay, okay, only by you."
When the two finally picked themselves up, they checked themselves for injuries. Naomi groaned upon seeing her scuffed shoulder and a slight tear to her outfit, but was glad she and Elena were okay. As the two continued to check themselves and each other, Elena noticed that the wall behind Naomi had shifted slightly.
"Hey, what's that?" she asked, walking over to the wall. Naomi turned and looked at it, and raised her eyebrow.
"The wall moved? Are we really getting that heavy? I've got to get out more, sweat it off down at the harbor..."
"No, I don't think it was our weight, I think that's a secret door..." said Elena. She grabbed the section of wall that had moved and slid it to the right, pushing it open and revealing a secret entrance. "There's a room behind this wall!"
"Wonder what's back there? Hidden treasure?"
"Not sure... wanna find out?" asked Elena, smiling and taking Naomi's hand. Naomi nodded in agreement, and the two stepped into the secret chamber. The space was dark, but near the door, there were two torches. "Let's shed some light on this place... blaze!"
Elena took out her scepter and lit up the torches, illuminating the room. The room was full of old furniture... tables, stools, chairs... indeed, it looked like there was an entire restaurant, with several tables against the wall for people to sit down, and toward the back of the room, a large table surrounded by stools, facing several shelves on which glasses and goblets were stacked.
"Whoa..." exclaimed Naomi, slowly walking around the dimly lit space. "Elena, I think this is a secret bar...!"
Avalor City didn't have too many bars, pubs, or taverns, and most of the ones it did have were concentrated around the port area. When she was crown princess, she and her friends never really visited any bars... Avalor didn't have a drinking age, or even the concept of a drinking age, but Elena just didn't like to visit them, and neither did Gabe or Mateo... though Naomi visited them with her parents from time to time, and her mother Scarlett could drink about any man in Avalor under the table.
"I wonder when it was built, or who even built it?" asked Elena.
"Maybe the servants? They work so hard, it might've been nice for them to have a place to get away," said Naomi. She took one of the lit torches and began using it to light up the other torches in the room, until the whole bar area was brightly lit. Meanwhile, Elena closed the secret door behind her, leaving herself and Naomi alone.
"I can't imagine the king and queen let them build it right under their noses," said Elena, who started to look around at the various items of furniture.
"Well, whoever built it, it's pretty dusty," replied Naomi. "We should probably clean it, but-"
"No, no work on our day off!" said Elena.
"That's exactly what I was thinking... but how are we-"
"Sparkle!" said Elena, raising her scepter again. The spell lifted all the dust and cobwebs from every object in the room, making the bar as clean and shiny as it had been the last time someone was inside. Naomi smiled as Elena lowered her wand, always impressed by her friend's magical skills.
"That never fails to impress me."
"I could teach you magic sometime," said Elena, walking over to Naomi.
"No thanks, I'm busy enough as it is... besides, all the magic I need is right here with me..."
Naomi leaned in and kissed Elena softly on the lips, and Elena returned the kiss eagerly, even deepening it and pulling her girlfriend in close. The two kissed for a few more moments before parting, and then Naomi walked over behind the bar to see if there was anything good left.
"...whoa! Elena, this is a treasure trove!"
"What, you mean like gold?" asked Elena, walking over to join her friend.
"Better," said Naomi, smirking as she pulled out a large green bottle and set it down on the bar. "Let's see here..."
The sound of clinking glass could be heard as Naomi rummaged through several bottles, picking up a few more of the best ones and placing them down on the table. Elena started to inspect them. Some were unlabeled and simply filled with liquid, others had labels such as "Cazador" and "Agave del Flor". Naomi only selected the full bottles, leaving the rest in place, and by the time she was done, there were more than a dozen sitting on the bar, bottles of various colors and sizes, filled with various alcoholic beverages.
"Are these old liquor bottles?"
"Uh, yeah, the good stuff too! We're talking 110-year old tequila here!"
"Naomi, it sounds like you get around to bars a lot, are you partying without me?"
"No way, a party's not a party without you! But my mom's had a lot of these... of course, the labels look a bit different now, but I recognize some of them... we should try some, I bet it tastes great!"
Naomi took a large blue bottle and used a knife to cut the wax from the top. Then, she took two shot glasses and set them down on the bar, while Elena sat down on one of the stools.
"This one's unlabeled, but this is really high quality glass, so you know it tastes good," said Naomi, pouring one glass for Elena and one for herself. The liquid inside was clear, and the faint smell of alcohol could be detected in the air around the glasses. Elena picked up her glass and looked at it, swishing the liquid back and forth as if she were inspecting it.
"This is 110 years old?" asked Elena. "How can you tell?"
"The year is on the bottle," replied Naomi, pointing to the raised lettering on the glass.
"Are you sure it's good?"
"Elena, you know tequila doesn't go bad unless you open the bottle."
"Well, I know, but..." Elena sighed, looking at the liquid again. "I've just... never drank before."
"Yeah, it's gonna burn going down, let me warn you. Also, it doesn't taste sweet at all. It'll taste weird, for sure."
"Then why do people... oh, right, to get drunk."
Naomi laughed, and Elena giggled with her. She was still unsure about drinking the strange liquid in the glass, and Naomi placed a comforting hand on hers.
"Hey, if you don't wanna drink it, it's okay. I'm a little nervous myself, it is pretty old after all."
Elena sighed again... then smiled, shaking her head.
"You know what? This is something I've never done before, so I'm just gonna do it!"
"That's the spirit! Bottoms up!"
Elena and Naomi tipped back their glasses, drinking every drop. Elena immediately began to cough, lurching forward and holding her stomach, while Naomi let out a loud whoop and slammed her glass down on the table.
"Wow, that was really good!" she shouted loudly, looking across the bar at Elena, who was still coughing. "You okay?"
"Yeah... yeah, that was... wow... it does burn... wow."
"Didn't like it?"
"No, no, it was... it was interesting tasting."
Naomi laughed, snorting slightly as she did, and poured herself another shot.
"This stuff tastes amazing, it's aged perfectly... and now that we've opened it, we've gotta drink the whole bottle."
"Right now?" asked Elena.
"No, of course not, we'd probably die," said Naomi. "I mean, you know, eventually."
Naomi took another shot, while Elena pushed her glass to the side and began inspecting the other bottles sitting on top of the bar. While Elena was doing that, Naomi corked the blue bottle and set it back down under the bar, separating it from the other already opened bottles so that she'd know this one was safe to drink from. Then she joined Elena in inspecting the bottles sitting on the bar, looking for one that looked appealing, while Elena was mostly reading the labels.
"I think this one was bottled right here in the palace," said Elena, pointing out the writing on a small, round bottle of charanda. "Says it was bottled by a Mrs. Andrea Vesca."
"Oh, that's interesting... did the palace used to have a distillery?" asked Naomi. "I wonder if it's nearby?"
"Well, this drink looks pretty good," said Elena, pouring herself a shot and taking a swig. "...! It's sweeter than the other one!"
"That's because it's made from sugarcane, so it should be..."
"I mean, it still burns a little and tastes weird, but it's yummy!"
"Well, don't drink too much," said Naomi, before taking her third shot of tequila, this one from the bottle marked Cazador. "...oh, that's got a kick to it..."
Elena took another shot of charanda, then set the bottle aside and started inspecting another one. Naomi took a fourth shot of tequila, though by this point, she was beginning to feel its effects, and closed up the Cazador bottle before starting to put a few of the others back as well.
"There's enough room for like, fifty people in here, at least," said Naomi, looking around at the tables and furniture. There were even a couple of dartboards against the wall, and a small round hoop, sort of like the olaball ring, but connected to a contraption that kept score, sort of like a primitive Avaloran arcade machine.
"Fifty people would've been the majority of the servants in the palace, right?" asked Elena.
"Yeah... I can only imagine the parties they must've had in here."
"Not much room to dance though," said Elena, prompting Naomi to come around from the bar and take her gently by the hand. "Oh?"
"Enough room for the two of us, wouldn't you say?" she asked, leaning in. Elena smiled at her, and leaned in as well.
"If I didn't know any better, Naomi, I'd say you were starting to get drunk," Elena replied affectionately. Naomi snickered.
"Well if I'm getting drunk, so are you..." Naomi said, before swinging Elena around a couple of times. Elena laughed and twirled around some more before playfully falling back into Naomi's arms. "If mom were here, she'd definitely call us lightweights."
"I think my mom liked to drink a little... just wine though, and only when she was super busy from her queen work..." said Elena, wistfully remembering her parents, the memory bringing another smile to her face. "I think I could get used to this..."
Naomi giggled again, before going back to the bar and looking at all the assembled glasses. She picked one that had a nice red color to it and poured a few more shots for Elena and herself, then sat down on a table and invited Elena to sit down across from her. Elena did so, and from the straight steps she took, she and Naomi could both tell that while the two might be feeling a slight buzz, they were nowhere near inebriated, and could stand to take at least a couple more shots each as they sat together and relaxed. Naomi propped her legs up on the table, and Elena did so as well. Elena kicked off her fancy shoes, which landed on the bench next to Naomi, one of them sliding off to the floor. Naomi kicked off her boots, baring her black stockings and sending one of her boots flying across the room onto a neighboring table.
"Feels so good to just relaaaaaax..." Naomi said, leaning back into the seat and looking up at the room's stone ceiling. "You have no idea how exhausting it is to be chancellor... oh wait, yeah you do, you're the queen."
Elena giggled and picked up one of the shot glasses, pausing before she took a drink.
"You enjoy it though, right?"
"Oh yeah, of course I do," said Naomi, looking back at Elena. "It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done... it's just exhausting, you know?"
"I think we're maybe pushing ourselves too hard..." said Elena, finally taking a swig from the glass and setting it down. "I remember you and the others had to practically kidnap me to get me to take a day off."
"Yeah, but that was when Ash was on the loose, I get why you were working so hard," Naomi replied, taking another shot from her own glass. "And we didn't kidnap you... trust me, you'd know if I kidnapped you."
Elena snickered, then blushed slightly.
That's an idea... thought Elena, biting her lip. Naomi took a second shot, then leaned over the table.
"Think we should tell anyone else about this place? Maybe just Mateo and Gabe?"
Elena thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. She felt a bit guilty... not just about concealing the hidden bar from her friends, but also from the palace servants and workers, who she knew deserved a place like this to relax and enjoy themselves as well... but she also wanted to have a secret spot she could go to relax with just Naomi. She was having such a good time, and they hadn't even been here very long... but she already imagined the fun times they might have together, dancing, and drinking, and talking with no one around to hear...
"Not them, or anyone... not right now, anyway," said Elena. "Maybe we could build another bar down here in the basement, for all the servants! We'd keep this one a secret, but we'd build them a nice new one, bigger and better... we could have Isabel help us build some fun games, and maybe even an automatic serving machine... she can build one of those, right?"
"She can build lots of things, probably..." Naomi replied. "That's why it kind of worries me to see her dating James from Enchancia... he likes cannons, what if he has her build like... a really powerful one that could blow up the whole palace?"
"I think that's just the tequila talking," replied Elena, placing a hand on Naomi's and giggling.
"Maybe," replied Naomi with a laugh of her own.
"But anyway, we've been pushing ourselves way too hard lately. We deserve this," said Elena, looking deeply into Naomi's eyes. "Especially you."
Naomi blushed, looking slightly away from Elena. Even after all these months, she couldn't believe she was dating a queen... especially one as beautiful as Elena. Even in the stale light inside the bar, she could appreciate how lovely her girlfriend was... her pretty brown eyes, her perfect hair, her soft hands... Elena was gorgeous, and that wasn't the tequila talking. Elena kissed Naomi on the cheek, then took another shot of tequila before leaning back in her seat, letting out a relaxed sigh. Naomi sat back as well, continuing to admire her beautiful girlfriend, not wanting this moment to end.
"You've never looked more beautiful than you do right now," said Naomi wistfully.
"Really? Not even in my coronation dress?" asked Elena, surprised to hear Naomi complimenting her in her current casual state.
"Nah," said Naomi. "Just seeing you so relaxed... no worries, just totally calm, leaning back with your feet up on the table and not trying to be all formal or anything. It's... really nice to see you like this. I wish I got to see it more often."
Elena blushed again, thinking back to everything she'd been through since she and Naomi had met. Worrying about Shuriki, then Ash... the kingdom facing destruction, worried about learning to rule... she hadn't known too many moments of peace in the last four years. Then, even before that, 41 years trapped inside that amulet... she hadn't been awake for most of it, thankfully, but it was a lonely, sad existence, and after being freed, she desperately needed a friend. Naomi was there, Naomi listened, Naomi fought for her... none of this would've been possible without her.
"The only reason I can even take a break like this is thanks to you, Naomi," said Elena gratefully. "You've always been there for me, you've given me everything... a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on... I know it sounds silly, but you've done so much and I can't ever thank you enough."
Naomi smiled back at Elena and continued to take it all in... her friend's warm expression, her loving gaze, her tender lips... she almost wanted to jump across that table and start making out with her, but she was a bit too tired for that, at least at the moment. She just sighed and kept leaning back against the seat, enjoying the moment and basking in her friend's presence.
"I'm just happy to be your friend, Elena... whether you're the queen or not, I'm so glad I met you... I want to spend the rest of my life with you..."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," said Elena, playfully brushing her leg up against Naomi's. "You're stuck with me forever."
Naomi smirked and looked back over at the bar, seeing the bottle of red liquor still sitting there. She got up, walked over, and poured out two more shots before bringing them back and setting them on the table, one for Elena and one for herself. Her legs were wobbling just a bit as she sat down, and she was sure that Elena was just as tipsy as she was, but considering that the two of them had nowhere to be, she knew one more drink would be just fine.
"We have to do this more often," said Naomi, her words only slightly slurred. "I'm gonna go crazy if we don't."
"You mean drinking?" asked Elena with a snicker.
"More like just taking a break from Avalor stuff," replied Naomi. "Like... we have to do this once a week, at least. I know we're super busy with everything, but if we don't start taking more breaks, I think it's gonna start affecting our... our work, you know?"
"Agreed," said Elena. "Once a week, we'll come down here and hang out. Just you and me and nobody else. We need this. We'll figure out how... we'll do it together."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" said Naomi. She and Elena both picked up their glasses, and raised them in a toast. "To being lazy and taking breaks."
"To getting away from it all, even for a day," replied Elena. The two then clinked their glasses together and downed one more shot, then set the glasses down and smiled at each other. They weren't exactly falldown drunk, but they were definitely under the influence by this point... not that they needed to be to see how much they loved each other. "Naomi, I love you so much..."
Naomi smiled, and the warmth in her chest wasn't just from the tequila. She reached across the table and took Elena's hand in hers, looking into her eyes and basking in her lover's affection.
"I love you too, Elena... and I always will."
The two then leaned in and kissed passionately, not minding the scent of the liquor on each other's breath. To Elena, Naomi's lips were even sweeter than the sugarcane used to make that bottle of charanda, and to Naomi, Elena's lips tasted as good as the finest Avaloran chocolate. They might have been in a bit of a haze, but their feelings were clear, and their love was true, and as they continued to lean across that table and kiss, they knew that while there would never be enough time for them to relax as much as they wanted, there would always be enough time for them to be together as much as they needed.