Elsa flopped onto her bed, sighing a little. She felt like her feet would never hold her weight again, and every muscle everywhere else hurt. She had stood in the cobbled port for almost four hours with her friends, her head never once relenting from the pain of her hangover. And then there was that Princess. Carmen was undoubtedly beautiful, and what Elsa had felt when they had touched felt better than chocolate tasted. The young queen debated internally whether there was time to sleep before the ball, but she didn't even finish the thought before fatigue clouded her eyes.
~~~~~
When Elsa awoke, she still ached. A groan echoed around the room and the queen pulled a hand down her face. She glanced at the grandfather clock sat in the corner and blanched. Quarter past six. The dinner began at eight, and Elsa needed to get ready and greet her guests. She shouldn't have slept, she frowned at herself as she pulled a comb through her hair forcefully, and Anna should not have allowed her to sleep that long. The dress she and her sister had picked hung on the door, knee length for the dancing but gorgeous. It was a turquoise blue, strapless, and matched Elsa's eyes perfectly. She pulled her corset tight, wincing a little. After all these years she had learned to tie the wretched thing herself, and she slipped the dress on with moments to spare. Grabbing a beautiful snowflake shaped slide from her dresser, Elsa pinned back the front section of her blonde hair and checked herself in the mirror. The dress was comfortable despite the lack of breathing space, and the young queen nodded once. There came a knock - Tap, tap, ta-tap tap - on her door, and Elsa smiled.
"Come in, Anna." she called quietly. The door swung open, revealing Anna perched on Kristoff's arm in a pretty yellow number. Both of them gasped a little.
"Elsa, you look gorgeous!" Anna squealed, kissing her sister on both cheeks. "Eirik is waiting for you in the hall. I'll see you soon!" Kristoff smiled at Elsa and the couple left. The young queen sighed, smearing a dash of red onto her lips and shutting the door behind her. Eirik, as Anna had promised, was waiting for her and he bowed before kissing her hand.
"My queen, you look wonderful." he whispered and she laced her arm through his gracefully. A smile flashed across her face.
"Thank you, my lord." they walked in synchronization to the large oak doors, behind which was the ballroom. The footmen pushed them open with a slight grunt, and Elsa and Eirik swanned through. The party of guests stood, dressed in blues and pinks and yellows.
Elsa caught Carmen's eye.
The young princess looked even prettier than she had when Elsa saw her first, wearing a deep red dress that looked as if someone had draped a silk curtain over Carmen's body in the most beautiful way possible. Her long burgundy hair rested in two knots at the base of her skull, and despite the princess' face being the work of the gods, the dress was so low cut Elsa had a hard time keeping her eyes up. Her tongue went dry.
Do you realise that my eyes
Are trained on you, and you alone?
Do you understand the beauty you posses,
In those eyes like burning leaves, darling,
Claim me, Carmen, take me as your own.
Elsa and Eirik reached the square dance floor, the orchestra starting to play a sweet, slow melody. Elsa's husband-to-be took control, shifting Elsa's stiff feet with his gently. When the queen spun, her gloved fingers held between Eirik's softly, the bright colours of the guests blurred in front of her eyes. The music ended and the guests clapped politely as Eirik bowed. Elsa curtseyed, and the guests stepped onto the floor as well, dancing and laughing with each other. The young queen spotted the Princess from the Eastern Isles, leant against a pillar in the corner.
"My lord, if you would excuse me." Elsa muttered, stepping away from Eirik and walking to the corner. She grabbed two flutes of champagne off a tray on her way.
"Drink?" she offered Carmen a little nervously, smiling. Carmen had let her hair loose defiantly and it hung it hung down her back her in a curtain, long and wavy. Carmen nodded, and Elsa passed it to her, purposefully brushing her fingers against Carmen's. Nothing happened. The soft fabric of the gloves they were both wearing met, but that was it. No tingling, no buzzing, no euphoria. Both girls blinked.
"The gloves." Carmen whispered, her voice trickling through Elsa like syrup. "Try without the gloves."
"You felt it too?" Elsa asked quietly, her heart thumping, trying to mask their conversation with a sip of champagne.
"Earlier? Yes, I did." Carmen muttered back, sliding one dark red glove off. Elsa removed one of her own, and they both inhaled, then laughed. The princess hesitantly held up her palm, and the queen matched it with her own.
It happened.
Both girls bit their lips, a shudder passing through Elsa's body as the complete contrast of hot and cold washed over them. Carmen's eyes slid closed. A moan vibrated through Elsa's chest, and then their hands, still pressed together, and Carmen gasped a little.
This is new, like really really new,
I've never felt this good with anyone -
And this is just our hands
Carmen, come away with me and we will touch,
Take me to oblivion.
Princess, you're the day to my night,
The death to my life,
The peace to my war,
The fire to my ice.
"Dance?" Carmen asked, smiling a little, sliding the red glove back on. Elsa blinked.
"W - with you? Me?" the young queen stuttered, and Carmen laughed, - a heavenly sound in Elsa's ears - nodding. The two young women danced together, a fast, lively song and then a slow piece and then another slow one and a fast one and a somewhere in the middle one and
Elsa danced with Carmen until she couldn't dance anymore.
~~~~~
Tap tap ta-tap tap.
Anna rapped on the door, calling her sister's name twice. Elsa was almost always up before she was, taking a walk or a shower or eating breakfast.
"Elsa!" Anna shouted again, huffing and pushing the door open. Elsa was, as her sister had expected, asleep in bed. Elsa was also, which Anna did not expect, wrapped around a caramel skinned girl. Both of them were stark naked and fast asleep, Elsa's back tucked into who Anna realised to be Princess Carmen's front. Elsa's lips were kiss bruised and there was a red mark which looked like a bite on her collarbone.
"Well." Anna muttered. "This changes things."
