Cast (in order of appearance):
Richard Stark/Prince Robb: Richard Madden
Rachel Leslie/Jaime Locksley: Lily James
Aline Morrison/Ariana Pendragon: Dianna Agron
agrifoglio Dobrev/Elsa: Nina Dobrev
Albie Collins/Anna: Lily Collins
Colin Jones/Killian Jones: Colin O'Donoghue
Paul Salvatore/Prince Stefan: Paul Wesley
Ian Salvatore: Ian Somerhalder
Rana Mitchell: Shay Mitchell
Atie Reed: Crystal Reed
Celine Portman/Princess Aurora: Natalie Portman
Nicolas Grace/Peter Pan: Topher Grace
Irene Thorne/the Evil Queen: Eva Green
Nadia Watson: Emma Watson
Stiles Stilinski: Dylan O'Brien
Theo Eaton: Theo James
Fatemeh Tonkin/Persephone: Phoebe Tonkin
Logan Jackson/Percy: Logan Lerman
Amber Brie: Alison Brie
Tyler Hale: Tyler Hoechlin
James Ford: Josh Holloway
Ines Clarke: Emilia Clarke
Sam Odair: Sam Claflin
Chapter 8: I could have danced all night
The ball had been Celine's idea originally. She'd thought that to celebrate Richard's victory it'd be nice to do something special, and what better way than to throw an expensive social event? She'd told her idea to Maria, who'd told it to Nic, who'd told it to Paul, who'd told it to Sam, who'd told it to Richard. He hadn't been sure about the idea at first, but when Sam suggested that they could ask for everyone to pay a few pounds as entry fee, they could raise money for a good cause - which was something Irene had never done, Richard had agreed.
But when he'd dialed Rachel's number to tell her, she had not been as pleased.
"Well, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to miss it."
"Rachel, come on, it's a good chance to raise money."
"I'll pay te the damn two pounds now if that's what it's about", Rachel snapped.
"No-"
Rachel didn't notice Aline grab the phone from her. "When is the ball?"
"Tomorrow night."
"She'll be there. And te know where to find her if te want to ask her.... ahem... something", with that Aline hung up.
"What the hell was that?" Rachel shouted.
"That was me helping te out. You're gonna thank me when he asks te to go with him to this thing."
"He won't. All te did was embarrass me", Rachel muttered, staring at the desk, her cheeks going red. At that moment Aline realized that Rachel really did have feelings for Richard.
"Hey, I'm sure he'll ask you-"
"Don't te have some work to do?" Rachel snapped. "That's why we did this, that's why I met that stupid man in the first place! To get us to keep our jobs! So how about te go and do it?"
Aline stared at her in shock for a moment. She realized she'd hit a soft spot. "Sorry. Yeah, I think Tyler needs me downstairs...", with that Aline walked off.
Rachel sighed, burying her head in her hands.
It had been a while since agrifoglio had been at the school full-time. She was mostly a substitute teacher, teaching the classes where the teacher was absent. Today she was with Amber Brie's class, apparently the teacher had gotten some urgent matter she had to attend to.
While the kids were drawing and agrifoglio was Leggere a magazine in boredom, there was a knock on the class door, and when she raised her gaze, she saw Albie looking at her.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, I thought this was Amber's class."
"It is. She has some personal matter to attend to", agrifoglio shrugged.
Albie nodded, walking over to her with a smile on her face. "Sorry about the election."
"Oh, yeah? Did te vote for Irene?"
Albie blushed a little. "No."
"And so I figured. What do te want?"
"I was just gonna come and talk to Amber, but.... ciao are te going to the ball?"
"What ball?" agrifoglio asked.
Albie grabbed the flier from her back pocket. "It was nailed to the school door this morning. To celebrate Richard's... victory."
agrifoglio snorted. "That sounds like something they'd do. I might go just to spite them. Thanks", she gave Albie a small smile before turning back to her magazine, indicating that it was time for the girl to go, which she did.
"I'm sorry", Rachel found Aline outside, standing with a cup of coffee in hand. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just don't want to talk about... him."
"I get it", Aline didn't really know if she actually understood, but Rachel was one to deny everything until she knew for sure. So it was better to leave her alone. "I'm going to go anyway. Do te want to come dress shopping with me?"
"Sure", Rachel smiled. "But I'm not going."
"Whatever te say", Aline smirked.
Somehow the girls both ended up buying dresses. Aline's was long, grey and sleeveless dress, and Rachel's was long, white and had some pizzo on the upper part of the dress.
"I don't like this", Rachel muttered after they'd already paid.
"Then te shouldn't have wasted so much money on it. Look, we can go to this thing, even without dates. No one will think less of us."
"Colin will ask you", Rachel smiled a little. "And then I'll be the pathetic girl at the end of the hall, sitting alone, watching him dance with someone else." Aline knew very well who she meant da him. However, before she had any time to protest, she saw Colin walking over to them.
"I'll see te later", with that Rachel walked off.
"Hello", Colin smiled as he reached Aline.
"Hey", she smiled back.
"What is this I hear about a ball? Are te going?"
"Just bought my dress", Aline smirked.
"So, is this the part where I ask te to go with me? Why, yes, I believe it is. And you're going to say no, aren't you?" Colin smiled.
Aline laughed. "Not necessarily. Ask me."
The man nodded. "Aline, would te like to go to the ball with me?"
"How about this", Aline walked a bit closer with a smile on her face. "I'll see te there. I'll even save te a dance."
"Oh, I'm counting on it", Colin nodded, and once again found himself watching as Aline walked off.
Paul and Ian were at the diner, and Paul kept looking over to where Celine was working.
"Just let it go, man. If she doesn't want you, there's nothing te can do about it", Ian shrugged.
"I really care about her. That's probably something te wouldn't understand."
"Maybe, but at least I know how to ask a girl out."
"Oh, yeah?" Paul snorted.
"Yeah", with that Ian stood up, walking over to Atie who was sitting successivo to Rana at the counter. "Hello", he smiled.
"Hey", Atie turned to look at him in amusement. "What do te want?"
"I would like to ask te to tomorrow's ball with me", Ian detto with such a smug smile on his face that Atie almost slapped him for it.
"No thank you. But thanks for offering."
Ian went a bit pale at this. "What?"
"I detto no. Have te ever heard that word before?" Atie smiled. "Bye, Ian Salvatore."
Ian walked back to the tavolo in astonishment. What was it about this girl that he found so intriguing, and why didn't she like him back? It was a curious feeling, getting rejected.
Paul smirked. "Wow."
"Shut up."
"No, really, that was incredible."
"Why did te say no? He's hot", Rana asked.
"He's just so smug all the time, and I hear he's slept with like every girl in town", Atie said.
"Hasn't slept with me. But then again I have no social life", Celine detto as she poured them più coffee.
"Yeah, same with me. Well, he did ask te before he asked anyone else."
"To prove a point to his brother."
At that Celine's eyes moved over to lock with Paul's, but as soon as she saw him looking back at her, she turned away.
Nic was on his way to work when he almost ran into Irene. She had an angry look on her face, but Nic didn't let that bother him.
"Mayor, how may I help you? No, wait, I guess that's Ex-Mayor now", he chuckled. "Funny, the things life brings."
"This isn't life and te know it", Irene snapped. "If te ever want to go back there-"
"I thought the curse destroyed the land", Nic said. "Or were te lying about that, too?"
"I want that man and his little whore away from my office da the end of the week", Irene snapped.
"Or what?" Nic smiled. "What do te suppose te can do about it?"
"You know what I'm capable of. And I think te should remember I still have your dear Wendy. te wouldn't want anything to happen to her, now would you?"
"Look", Nic tensed up. "I can't get them out. And even if I could, what would that help? No one wants te for Mayor. Just let it go."
Irene was about to say something when Nic continued: "And I will have Wendy back. Trust me, I will. I know what you're capable of, but te have no idea what I'm capable of. I'm mad, remember? Unstable."
Irene glared at him in anger, but stayed silent.
"And did te know that it's extremely easy to wake someone from the curse? Very sloppy work, I'd say. And how do te think Rachel - no, Jaime-"
"That's not her real name."
"I know. How would te feel about Jaime getting her memories back and remembering what te did to her father? She's got a temper almost as bad as mine. And together, well... I wouldn't want to be you."
"It's not easy to bring memories back, you're lying."
"Three words, as mushy as they sound: True love's kiss", Nic said. "It was very careless of te to put all of us in the same world. It's almost as if te wanted the curse to be broken." He walked a bit closer to her. "If te touch Wendy, I'll make sure te won't live to see successivo week." With that he walked off.
Nadia was putting away some libri when she heard someone coming in the library. Turning around, she was surprised to see Stiles waving at her.
They had had a great time during their first data but after that she hadn't heard of him so she thought he didn't like her all that much. But now, here he was, grinning like an idiot and Nadia was confused. Was she supposed to go up to him and act like nothing happen o confront him about the fact he has not spoke to her in weeks? Sighing she walked towards him.
"Hi. How can I help you?" She had decided to behave like nothing was wrong.
"Hey. I was wondering if te would like to come to the ball with me."
Nadia couldn't believe it. Was he serious?
"You're kidding me right?"
Stiles seemed confused "Huh- what? No, I'm serious. I'd like to go to the ball with you."
"You didn't call me o even talked to me in days and now te just mostra up and ask me to the ball? What is that?"
"I'm sorry." Stiles detto while scratching his neck "I'm not use to these kind of stuff. Dates and all..."
Nadia felt bad for going off on him like that. "Just- call me the successivo time. Even if it's to say that you're still alive."
"I'll definitely let te know that I'm still alive." Stiles said, smiling at her
"Good." she smiled back "And yes."
"Yes?"
"I'll go to the ball with you."
"I'll pick te up then. Around eight sounds good?"
"Sounds perfect."
Rana exited Celine's diner. She had so many places to go next. The library, the Town Hall, the school, even the police station to put up all these posters for the upcoming ball. Everyone was very much excited about this event. With Irene as mayor, nothing of the sort had occurred and now things were starting to change around here. Weirdly, Rana did not remember a time where she had been so busy with the newspapers o helping Nic with some plan now that she was thinking about it. The thought confused her so much that she didn't notice the man walking towards her. When both of them collided, all of the posters Rana had in her hands scattered all over the floor.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was heading."
"It's alright. There's no harm at all."
Rana looked up to see Theo Eaton. She started blushing. The truth was that she found him really hot. And now she had made a fool of herself. Damn.
Trying to pulling herself together, she grabbed the last posters and stood up.
"Again, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Theo detto while smiling at her. "What are these?"
"Posters for the charity ball. I've got to put them everywhere. I suppose I can't really put them in the hospital though."
"You can. But I doubt people in there would attend." Theo smirked.
Rana would have noticed the humor behind his words if she had not been so embarrassed "Yeah. Right. You're going then? Since it's for a good cause and all..."
"Indeed, I am."
It was time to put an end of her awkwardness. "Cool. See te there then." And at that she walked away.
Still she heard him say "Yes, te will."
Richard had been waiting in front of the police station for half an ora now. One domanda seem to turn non-stop in his head. He knew she was in the building and yet something made him hesitate. Actually he knew why he was still waiting in his car and not in the station. She had detto she didn't want to go to the ball and made pretty clear the fact they were friends. Just friends. Inviting her to the ball didn't seem to fall in the friend zone. However Aline's allusion had lead him to the police station. She was her friend, Rachel may had told her something. But would he risk it? Somehow he knew that if he had a slight chance with her, he had to try. As he was about to got out of his car, his phone rang.
It was a call from Sam.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Richard, it's me."
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"Something came up. It's about the ball."
"What happened?"
"Something about the food. te should come right over."
Richard looked at the station and sighed "Fine. I'll be there in fifteen." and he started the car.
agrifoglio could not concentrate on her task. She could not forget this gut feeling about Albie. Like she had met her back in their land but she could not have, she would remember it. And yet, this feeling was there, telling her otherwise.
Groaning, she put aside Irene's spell book. There was no way they were going to bring magic back anyway.
Fatemeh raised her head from another spell book she was consulting to look at agrifoglio quizzically
"You okay?"
"It's a waste of time."
"I know, but look at those books, full of unknown spells."
"What's the use? There's no magic here."
"Yeah. But if she does succeed on bringing it back, maybe they can be useful... te know later."
"Whatever. Are te doing something tonight?"
"No. Why?"
"There's this... ball. The charity thing." It was the perfect opportunity to watch Albie and see if it triggered her memory. When Albie had first mentioned it, agrifoglio never considered going but she was thinking now that it was worth a shot. Especially if it would ease her mind.
"You mean the ball to celebrate the new mayor?"
"Yeah. I wanted to go."
"Why? There's nothing for us there. We are in the losing side, remember?"
"Like I don't know that. I just wanted to go, have some fun, spy on the enemy. te know, the usual stuff." agrifoglio did not want to share her feeling about Albie. If she was wrong about it, she did not want to create a fuss.
"And te want me to go because?"
"Because I don't want to face them alone. Plus are te really turning down an opportunity to mostra them how flawless te are?" agrifoglio detto with a smirk, she knew that when it comes to fashion, Fatemeh is always in.
"Alright. If we go shopping right now. We must look our best." Fatemeh said, getting up and grabbing her purse.
"And we will." agrifoglio added while following Fatemeh outside.
Elsa looked out the window. It was snowing again. With a sigh, she walked back to her letto and lay down. How could she have let things get out of control? Her life was so different a few months ago. Conceal, don't feel, control your power. These were the words that she had detto all her life, over and over again and yet in just one moment, she had Lost it all. Her crown, her kingdom, her home, her sister. Her poor little sister. She must be heartbroken. And it was all her fault.
When she had been a child and her parents were still alive, Elsa never had any trouble controlling her powers but as she got older, they got stronger. She struggled to control them but her parents always helped her overcome her might. After they passed away, grief and fear got the best of her. The giorno it happened, Anna and Percy were building snowmen and Elsa decided to unisciti them. She thought she was strong enough to control her powers but somehow, she ended up striking him. Her powers struck him right in the heart. successivo think she knew, Percy lay down on the ground, dead. Her parents had always warned her about Frozen hearts. There was no coming back from that. So seeing Anna kneeling beside Percy and crying, Elsa ran.
She ran as fast as she could, the thought of keeping of sister sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza pushing her farther and farther away from Arendelle, leaving behind her a trail of ice.
She wandered for many days but she ended up here. In the Evil Queen's castello where she will learn how to control her powers. And she would never hurt anyone else ever again.
The successivo day, the main topic was the ball. People were looking inoltrare, avanti to their dates, o were just going with Friends but complessivamente, generale were thrilled da the idea of having a good time and that finally something exciting was happening in Rosedell. Soon, the ball was starting and everyone was all dressed-up.
Celine was nervous. She had came with Maria, Atie and Rana but she was anxious of meeting Paul there. Focusing her attention back to her friends, she marveled at how beautiful they looked. Maria was wearing a white sleeveless dress that made her look like a princess. Rana was also wearing a white sleeveless dress with golden ornaments that was stopping at her feet whereas Maria's dress stopped at her knee. Atie was wearing a long strapless dress with gray pentagono patterns. Somehow, the design reminded Celine of a stone tower. They were lovely. Celine was not bad herself. She was wearing a strapless rosa dress which contrasted with her friend's gowns.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Nic appeared with Albie and Amber at his side.
"Ladies." he detto while bowing. He was wearing a simple black tux that made him really handsome.
Albie laughed a bit and greeted the girls "You guys look amazing."
"You both do too." Rana detto while pointing at both Albie and Amber.
Indeed Albie was wearing a smooth, long black dress that had a big white bow, on the back. Amber wore a short strapless dress that was baby blue.
"I'm lucky to be surrounded da so many beautiful ladies." Nic detto with a smile. "Now let get this party started and find te all a Prince Charming."
Aline entered the room with Rachel on her side. A lot of people was already gathered in the room but so far, Aline couldn't recognize anyone.
"See, it's not so bad. And te know, te even may have fun tonight." Aline detto with a smirk.
"Ha-ha very funny. But I don't feel comfortable in that dress." Rachel said, shaking her shoulders a bit.
"Stop moving. te look amazing." she smiled to her friend.
Rachel did not respond to the compliment but Aline knew she was pleased.
"So, do te see someone we know?"
"Not really" Aline detto while looking around. "But we can go to the buffet and see what's there"
"Sounds like the perfect plan."
When they reached the buffet, they saw that Tyler was already there.
"Hope te didn't eat everything." Rachel detto while grabbing a canapé.
"You look fancy." Aline said, looking at the suit.
"The posters detto dress and tie." Tyler sighed.
"You look great. Like a grumpy James Bond." Aline detto with a smile.
Tyler did not have time to reply that Aline was pulled away da Rachel.
"What's the matter?"
"Sorry I thought I saw Richard."
"And your first instinct was to... hide?"
"I guess so."
"Rach-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright. But we can at least enjoy ourselves while we're here. Dance a bit, eat, talk to people."
Rachel groaned.
"Come on, I'm sure Tyler will dance with each of us if we ask him to." Aline added with a smile.
"What about Colin?"
"What about him?"
"Well isn't he going to get jealous if he sees te dancing with another?" Rachel said, successfully adverting Richard's topic.
"Jealous of Tyler?" Aline chuckled. "I don't see Tyler that way, te know that. He's like a brother."
"I know that." Rachel said, rolling her eyes "but does Colin know that?"
"That's ridiculous." Aline detto shaking her head "And don't think I haven't noticed that te were trying to change the topic."
At that, Rachel made a face.
"I know that te don't want to talk about it but te are going to see him here eventually." Aline added.
Rachel knew she was right but did not want to have to face him. Scanning the room, she wondered where he was though and suddenly she met his blue eyes. Shit, Rachel thought. He looks even hotter in a suit.
She was just about to turn around to talk to Aline, but she was already dancing with Tyler, who looked utterly uncomfortable.
"You look nice", Rachel turned around to see Paul Salvatore there.
"Hey", she said.
"I guess he didn't ask te after all", Ian detto as he walked over to them, drinking a glass of champagne with a smug smile on his face.
Rachel turned back to look at Richard, but he wasn't there anymore. "I doubt he was ever going to ask me."
Ian was about to speak when Paul shut him up. "Hey, Ian, there's Atie. Go and say hello."
"Are te okay?" Rachel asked once Ian was gone. She and Paul weren't friends, but he was looking rather upset.
"I just...", he was looking over to where Celine was standing. "I just think that if you're lucky enough to have someone who actually wants you, te shouldn't push them away", Paul said, his eyes still on Celine.
"I'm not pushing anyone away", Rachel protested.
"You are. And speaking from experience, it's not a nice feeling", Paul detto darkly. "He was going to ask you", with that he walked all the way through the hall to where Celine was standing, and he didn't even give her a moment to say hello before he pulled her close and kissed her, right there in front of everyone.
Celine took a moment to get over the shock, but then when she did, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
From across the room Nic was smiling in satisfaction. He knew the true love's baciare would probably not solve everything, but it was a start. And a good one.
"She won't like that", Fatemeh said. She and agrifoglio had just entered the party and they were staring at the two kissing.
"She doesn't like anything", agrifoglio said. She scanned the room to get her eyes on Albie, but what she saw instead was Tyler - the guy who'd been flirting with her for the past week - dancing with the deputy, and for a moment she felt a rush of jealousy and she didn't really even understand why.
What Elsa had done had not killed Percy. Not literally. He was still alive, but he was not the same. His cuore had turned to ice, and with that his kind nature and his Amore for Anna had been destroyed. He no longer smiled, laughed o looked at her the way he had once. And now with Elsa gone, Anna was completely alone.
Percy and Elsa had always been the most important people in her life, ever since their parents death. Elsa and Anna had done everything together until her powers became just too powerful to ignore.
And Percy had been a servant's child, living in the castello with the girls. He had played with them ever since they were kids, and slowly he and Anna had fallen in love. At first it had been innocent, only friendship, but on Anna's 15th birthday Percy had kissed her when they had been outside, playing in the snow. Anna could still remember how her cheeks had turned red and how she'd pushed him to the snow to break the tension, both of their laughter filling the open air. Ever since that moment the two had been inseparable, until this moment. Percy had not paid attention to her ever since this new incident, barely even noticing her. It was as if their Amore had been erased. And perhaps it had. So as Anna entered the balcony connected to her bedchambers, mourning over the loss of her Amore and her sister, she felt tears roll down her cheeks. They almost froze, even. It was still winter, mostly thanks to Elsa's powers. In her panic she had created a winter that wouldn't go away. Anna was certain it never would, unless Elsa would come back. But she had no idea where to find her, o how to find the strength to start looking.
She buried her head in her hands and cried, cradling up into a little ball amongst the snow on the balcony. She was completely alone and she had no idea where to go from there. As she was crying, she started hearing strange sounds in the wind. It almost sounded like words. After raising her head and listening for a moment, she realized that it indeed was words. She heard "true love", "frozen" and "cure". o at least she imagined hearing so. And then she remembered something her father had told her when she had been a little girl. "True Amore can cure anything in the world. Even a broken heart."
"What about a Frozen heart?" Anna thought to herself. With that new idea in her head, she rushed out of the balcony and back inside the castello and searched for Percy. She finally found him in his chambers, Leggere a book. He didn't even raise his glance when Anna entered, but when she took his face in her hands and kissed him, Anna knew it worked. It was as if he was coming back from under a spell. She felt his arms avvolgere around her, and when they finally broke apart, he had a smile on his face.
"I Amore you", Anna chocked out, trying to hold back tears.
"I Amore you, too", Percy whispered, baciare her again.
agrifoglio was walking through the party until she finally found Albie. She didn't even know why she found her so curious, but it was as if she knew her. But she remembered everything about her past in her homeland.... Didn't she? Could the Queen have been lying?
"You came", Albie smiled. "Are te having fun?"
"Not in particular", she glared at Albie in confusion. "Why are te being nice to me? Aren't we on different sides?"
"There are sides?" Albie chuckled. "Look, I voted for Richard, te voted for Irene. Richard won. It doesn't mean we can't get along."
"Says the winner", agrifoglio pointed out.
Albie nodded. "Sorry."
"No. I found that I really don't care anymore", agrifoglio turned back to where Tyler was. He was alone at that point. "Is he dating anyone?"
"Tyler?" Albie asked. "I don't know. I don't think so."
"I saw him dancing with that deputy."
"I'm pretty sure people can dance without dating", Albie smirked. "Besides, isn't that Aline right there?" she pointed to the entrance of the room, where Aline was, talking to Colin.
agrifoglio would never admit to being relieved of such a thing, so she merely nodded. She was about to say something when someone cleared their throat, and as the two turned around, they saw Logan looking at Albie.
"Hey, sorry to bother you", Logan said. "Would te like to dance?"
"I...", Albie turned to look at Holly. "Do te mind?"
"No", agrifoglio said. "Go ahead", she watched as the two walked over to the dance floor. She had a feeling she'd seen Logan before, too. What was going on? Maybe she should have a talk with Irene after the ball.
"You look amazing", she turned around to find Tyler looking at her.
"And te look like you're uncomfortable", agrifoglio smirked. "I didn't figure to find te here."
"I could say the same for you."
"I guess we're both full of surprises", agrifoglio shrugged.
"Do te want to... dance with me?" Tyler offered.
agrifoglio smiled. "I didn't take te for a dancer."
"I'm not one, but I figured I could make an exception", he offered his hand.
"Alright", agrifoglio agreed.
"Do te think there will ever come a time when we actually do something normal?" Colin asked. He and Aline were sitting outside the hall, eating the snacks they'd collected together from the table. "We've had picnics in the middle of the night and we've chased a lunatic through the woods."
"That just makes us special", Aline smirked, leaning against the stone bacheca behind her. "I don't really know why I came here. The idea was to be here for Rachel. I really thought Richard would ask her."
"Sometimes men are a bit intimidated da women like her", Colin said. "Women like you, too."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Aline raised her eyebrows.
"Strong, beautiful, smart. Women who have access to guns", Colin laughed a little.
Aline nodded. "Good point. But hey, maybe women like Rachel - and me, can get a bit intimidated when suddenly a gorgeous guy, who likes you, comes along into your life. What's a girl to do?"
"Say yes when he asks te to the ball?" Colin offered.
"I was talking about Rachel. You're not gorgeous", Aline joked.
Colin laughed. "You wound me, woman."
"That's the plan." They sat there for a moment though. "I'm glad I came, though."
"Yeah?" Colin turned to look at her, in her eyes.
"Yeah", Aline nodded, smiling a little.
The spell was broken when the doors to the ballroom opened and Celine and Paul walked out, hand in hand.
"Oh, hey, guys", Celine smirked, but before Aline o Colin had any time to respond, they were already out of the whole building.
"I do wonder where they're going", Colin joked.
"I think it's nice. They seem good together", Aline said.
Celine kissed Paul one più time as he walked her all the way to her apartment. This night had been one of the best in her life, and it was all because of him. She had no idea why she'd ever had any doubts.
Paul, on the other hand, had had this strange feeling ever since baciare Celine, like he'd met her before. Like he'd done all this before with her. But it couldn't be the case. He blamed it all on anxiety and the fact that he was finally with her. This was finally happening.
"Do te want to come in?" Celine asked when they broke apart. Paul stared at her in confusion.
"You mean...?"
"We can just talk if te want to", Celine said. She didn't just want to talk, but if it was what he wanted...
Paul smirked, baciare her again. "Do te want to talk?"
"I don't have much to talk about right now", Celine giggled as she moved away long enough to open the door to the apartment, and after that neither of them had much to say.
Elsa had made much progress under the Evil Queen's leadership, but she had to admit that it was getting a bit dull. All she ever had to do was help her, do as she said. She claimed that Elsa making her own decisions at this point was not a good idea. And maybe it was true. But she had gotten so much better at controlling her powers. She had become più powerful in the process, too, and the Queen had taught her all sorts of other spells as well. She often called Elsa her "apprentice", and maybe that was what she was. But sometimes, when she was alone, she missed her sister. And her home. But she knew she could never go back there, not after what she'd done.
"You're awfully quiet today", the Queen detto as she interrupted Elsa from her thoughts.
"I'm just thinking about home, about my sister", Elsa said.
The Queen frowned. "It's not a good idea to dwell on the past. It never brings te anything but trouble."
"But what if-"
"No", The Queen said. "Do te want to be able to control your powers? To be più powerful?"
"I already am powerful", Elsa snapped. "In some ways più powerful than you."
The Queen stared at her in anger. "In some ways, yes. But te still have one thing te need to let go of, if te wish to become as powerful as I am."
"And what is that?"
"Your compassion. Your love. te won't need those things, and once te rid yourself of them, te will be unstoppable", the Queen said.
"And how do I do that?" Elsa asked uncertainly.
"You find something te love", the Queen detto simply. "And then te kill it."
Elsa felt a jolt of fear in her heart, and not for the first time she wondered if coming here was such a good idea after all. But she found herself nodding. "That shouldn't be too difficult."
Atie didn't really even know why she disliked Ian. It could perhaps be because of how ridiculously arrogant he was. o it could also be because of how ridiculously handsome he was.... Atie didn't understand why he paid attention to her, and she took care of that confusion da paying no attention to him. But più than once had she caught him looking at her at the party. And più than once had Atie thought about walking over to him and asking him to dance. But then she would remember all the stories she'd heard about him, all his women, all his one-night stands, and she'd feel sick in her stomach. She didn't want to be just another number. She deserved more. Everyone did.
Nadia was looking at Stiles with amusement. They were dancing o at least he was trying to. But dancing was definitely not his strong suit.
"Sorry." he groaned after tripping for the fifth time on the end of her dress.
"That's okay. I shouldn't have picked that dress anyway. It's too long." She was wearing a long black and white dress that emphasized her classy style.
"No, no. te look...just... wow. I mean- really amazing." Stiles stammered.
Nadia blushed a bit and nodded "Thanks. te look really handsome too."
Stiles was about to say something but he tripped on her dress again.
"You know, I have this familiar feeling that we did this before." Nadia detto smiling.
"Embarrassing myself in front of you? Every time we talked I'd say."
"No" Nadia chuckled "Dancing with you."
Stiles remembered the feeling of familiarity he had when she told him the story about a princess and a beast. "I know what te mean."
"But it can't be. We are just comfortable around each other I guess."
"If it was the case, I think I would dance better. te make me nervous."
"I don't want te to be. Nervous I mean." she detto with a little smile and they kept on dancing for the rest of the night.
Rachel was getting bored and pissed. Everywhere, she was looking at happy people dancing and chatting. The worst part was she didn't even want to go home. Somewhat she was holding on into the hope that he would come talk to her. And yet, here she was, sitting all da herself and overhearing despite herself a conversation happening not that far away from her. It was between this girl, Rana and the Town's doctor.
"I actually don't. I spend practically all my time at the hospital."
"Until recently I did too. Well at the newspaper for me, but still I get what te mean. Work was everything."
"I'm starting to think it doesn't have to be."
"Don't te have the feeling that things are starting to change? Not only for yourself but the town?"
"Yeah. With the election of a new mayor, it's like the town is waking up."
"Exactly, like we have to choice to be whoever we want, with whoever we want..."
They fell quiet for a while until Theo stood up and extended his hand
"I feel like dancing. Do te want to?"
Rachel groaned when she saw them heading towards the dance floor. In truth, she was glad for them but she felt so frustrated. She seemed to be the only one that nobody liked. That he didn't like.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Richard sat down beside her.
"Having fun?"
"Not really."
'Yeah. It's not my kind of crowd either. But people seem to enjoy themselves, so that's great."
"Yeah, great."
Richard was confused da Rachel's attitude. Somewhat she seemed to be pissed at him. "Are te okay?"
"Couldn't be better." Rachel detto with an harsh tone. She didn't want to be mean to him but her frustration got the best of her.
"Okay." Richard was not sure what to say next. Should he tell her that he wanted to ask her to the ball? He knew it was not a good idea. He acted like a coward and now he knew da her tone that he blew it. "You look really beautiful da the way."
"Thanks." Rachel snorted and Richard knew she didn't believe him.
"Are te mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad?" Rachel was going to deny being affected da him but her voice betrayed her feelings.
"Look. I was about to ask te to the ball yesterday. But te didn't seem to want to go and things came up..." She didn't say a word o even looked at him, instead she was looking at the couples dancing. So he kept on talking "I don't know why I acted so cowardly but I have no excuse. I'm sorry."
"I don't know what you're talking about. te didn't have to ask me." Rachel detto with indifference. Yet, she was smiling but he couldn't see that. "We are just-"
"Friends. Right."Richard sighed. "Can I at least have this dance? As a friend."
"I can't dance." Rachel detto shaking her head.
"I'll mostra you." he detto with a smile and she nodded.
There, on the dancefloor, they danced for what it seemed like forever without either one of them saying a word. Still they didn't need to talk, as their eyes were saying everything they would never voice. Not yet anyway. But Richard couldn't be fooled. They weren't just Friends and he was going to mostra her.
"See, we are doing great." he detto while spinning her around.
"Yeah. It's not so bad." Rachel detto while trying to fight the smile that was creeping up on her face.
Not so bad. Richard smiled. It was all the encouragement he needed.
Amber was walking home from the ball. She was exhausted but pleased, she had a great time with her friends. Reaching her home, she saw James waiting for her in her porch.
"Hey. What are te doing here?"
"I just wanted to say thank you. For the groceries."
"Oh it's okay, te don't have to."
"No I do. I was rude to te and I'm sorry. I'm just not used to people being kind to me."
"You're welcome." Amber detto smiling softly and James smiled back. It was a weird feeling for him. He was not used to be kind to people, let alone smile at them.
"Hum- te look great." he detto pointing at her dress.
"Oh thanks. There was this charity ball thing."
"Yeah, heard about that. Not really my style."
"I figured... Do te want to go inside, I can make some tè if te like."
"No it's okay. I don't want to bother you. Just came da to say thank you." James said, already down the stairs.
"Anytime James." she detto smiling and realized how much she cared about him.
Suddenly she heard a howl and headed inside.
Fatemeh didn't even know why she'd showed up at the ball. It's not like she had anything to do. Sure, she'd danced with a few guys, but it hadn't meant anything. She was just about to leave when she noticed that guy Sam from the votings talking to Ines. She remembered him telling her they were best friends.
"So, did te find anyone good?" Sam asked. Ines rolled her eyes.
"Not everyone is here to meet guys."
"No, you're right. Some are here for the excellent food", he smirked. "No one is here to meet guys. We're here to have fun, I just figured... I haven't seen te with anyone in a while."
"Maybe I need a break from drama", Ines said. "Ever thought of that?"
Sam was about to answer when Fatemeh walked over to them with a smile on her face. "Hey."
"Hey", Sam's face lit up. "Hey, Ines, te know Fatemeh, right?"
"Yes, I do", Ines smiled. "You look great."
"Yes, te do", Sam said, looking at her as well.
Fatemeh smirked. "Thanks. te both look great as well."
"If te don't mind me asking, won't your boss mind te coming... well, there?" Ines asked.
"She isn't my boss anymore. She never was, not really", Fatemeh said.
"I'm gonna leave te two alone", Ines smiled at them before walking off. It was time to get home. She heard the howling of Lupi as she walked, and stopped in her tracks for a moment. She didn't remember there being any Lupi in the area. After a moment, she continued to be on her way.
"So, would te like to dance?" Sam asked Fatemeh after a moment of silence.
"I would Amore to", she smiled. And so she ended up having a lot of fun, which she had not expected.
"As I recall, te promised me a dance", Colin detto as he and Aline were walking home.
"What do te want me to do? We already left the party", Aline chuckled. "And I'm not inviting te inside. Not yet, anyway."
"Fair enough", Colin grabbed Aline's hand in his and spun her around. "Music is overrated anyway."
Aline laughed as they danced on the empty strada, via for a few minutes. It was absolutely ridiculous, but they both loved every moment of it anyway.
"I'll... see te tomorrow", Aline detto as they finally broke apart, both a little breathless from the dancing.
"Yeah, count on it", Colin smiled. "I gotta tell you, this was the best data I've been on in a while."
"It's the only data you've been on in a while", Aline laughed.
"No, you're forgetting our first date", Colin pointed out.
"Oh, so that wasn't a good one?"
"Go to sleep", Colin smirked, and Aline nodded, smiling a little as she turned the key in the lock and got inside, closing the door after her. It had been a great night, there was no denying that.
Richard Stark/Prince Robb: Richard Madden
Rachel Leslie/Jaime Locksley: Lily James
Aline Morrison/Ariana Pendragon: Dianna Agron
agrifoglio Dobrev/Elsa: Nina Dobrev
Albie Collins/Anna: Lily Collins
Colin Jones/Killian Jones: Colin O'Donoghue
Paul Salvatore/Prince Stefan: Paul Wesley
Ian Salvatore: Ian Somerhalder
Rana Mitchell: Shay Mitchell
Atie Reed: Crystal Reed
Celine Portman/Princess Aurora: Natalie Portman
Nicolas Grace/Peter Pan: Topher Grace
Irene Thorne/the Evil Queen: Eva Green
Nadia Watson: Emma Watson
Stiles Stilinski: Dylan O'Brien
Theo Eaton: Theo James
Fatemeh Tonkin/Persephone: Phoebe Tonkin
Logan Jackson/Percy: Logan Lerman
Amber Brie: Alison Brie
Tyler Hale: Tyler Hoechlin
James Ford: Josh Holloway
Ines Clarke: Emilia Clarke
Sam Odair: Sam Claflin
Chapter 8: I could have danced all night
The ball had been Celine's idea originally. She'd thought that to celebrate Richard's victory it'd be nice to do something special, and what better way than to throw an expensive social event? She'd told her idea to Maria, who'd told it to Nic, who'd told it to Paul, who'd told it to Sam, who'd told it to Richard. He hadn't been sure about the idea at first, but when Sam suggested that they could ask for everyone to pay a few pounds as entry fee, they could raise money for a good cause - which was something Irene had never done, Richard had agreed.
But when he'd dialed Rachel's number to tell her, she had not been as pleased.
"Well, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to miss it."
"Rachel, come on, it's a good chance to raise money."
"I'll pay te the damn two pounds now if that's what it's about", Rachel snapped.
"No-"
Rachel didn't notice Aline grab the phone from her. "When is the ball?"
"Tomorrow night."
"She'll be there. And te know where to find her if te want to ask her.... ahem... something", with that Aline hung up.
"What the hell was that?" Rachel shouted.
"That was me helping te out. You're gonna thank me when he asks te to go with him to this thing."
"He won't. All te did was embarrass me", Rachel muttered, staring at the desk, her cheeks going red. At that moment Aline realized that Rachel really did have feelings for Richard.
"Hey, I'm sure he'll ask you-"
"Don't te have some work to do?" Rachel snapped. "That's why we did this, that's why I met that stupid man in the first place! To get us to keep our jobs! So how about te go and do it?"
Aline stared at her in shock for a moment. She realized she'd hit a soft spot. "Sorry. Yeah, I think Tyler needs me downstairs...", with that Aline walked off.
Rachel sighed, burying her head in her hands.
It had been a while since agrifoglio had been at the school full-time. She was mostly a substitute teacher, teaching the classes where the teacher was absent. Today she was with Amber Brie's class, apparently the teacher had gotten some urgent matter she had to attend to.
While the kids were drawing and agrifoglio was Leggere a magazine in boredom, there was a knock on the class door, and when she raised her gaze, she saw Albie looking at her.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, I thought this was Amber's class."
"It is. She has some personal matter to attend to", agrifoglio shrugged.
Albie nodded, walking over to her with a smile on her face. "Sorry about the election."
"Oh, yeah? Did te vote for Irene?"
Albie blushed a little. "No."
"And so I figured. What do te want?"
"I was just gonna come and talk to Amber, but.... ciao are te going to the ball?"
"What ball?" agrifoglio asked.
Albie grabbed the flier from her back pocket. "It was nailed to the school door this morning. To celebrate Richard's... victory."
agrifoglio snorted. "That sounds like something they'd do. I might go just to spite them. Thanks", she gave Albie a small smile before turning back to her magazine, indicating that it was time for the girl to go, which she did.
"I'm sorry", Rachel found Aline outside, standing with a cup of coffee in hand. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just don't want to talk about... him."
"I get it", Aline didn't really know if she actually understood, but Rachel was one to deny everything until she knew for sure. So it was better to leave her alone. "I'm going to go anyway. Do te want to come dress shopping with me?"
"Sure", Rachel smiled. "But I'm not going."
"Whatever te say", Aline smirked.
Somehow the girls both ended up buying dresses. Aline's was long, grey and sleeveless dress, and Rachel's was long, white and had some pizzo on the upper part of the dress.
"I don't like this", Rachel muttered after they'd already paid.
"Then te shouldn't have wasted so much money on it. Look, we can go to this thing, even without dates. No one will think less of us."
"Colin will ask you", Rachel smiled a little. "And then I'll be the pathetic girl at the end of the hall, sitting alone, watching him dance with someone else." Aline knew very well who she meant da him. However, before she had any time to protest, she saw Colin walking over to them.
"I'll see te later", with that Rachel walked off.
"Hello", Colin smiled as he reached Aline.
"Hey", she smiled back.
"What is this I hear about a ball? Are te going?"
"Just bought my dress", Aline smirked.
"So, is this the part where I ask te to go with me? Why, yes, I believe it is. And you're going to say no, aren't you?" Colin smiled.
Aline laughed. "Not necessarily. Ask me."
The man nodded. "Aline, would te like to go to the ball with me?"
"How about this", Aline walked a bit closer with a smile on her face. "I'll see te there. I'll even save te a dance."
"Oh, I'm counting on it", Colin nodded, and once again found himself watching as Aline walked off.
Paul and Ian were at the diner, and Paul kept looking over to where Celine was working.
"Just let it go, man. If she doesn't want you, there's nothing te can do about it", Ian shrugged.
"I really care about her. That's probably something te wouldn't understand."
"Maybe, but at least I know how to ask a girl out."
"Oh, yeah?" Paul snorted.
"Yeah", with that Ian stood up, walking over to Atie who was sitting successivo to Rana at the counter. "Hello", he smiled.
"Hey", Atie turned to look at him in amusement. "What do te want?"
"I would like to ask te to tomorrow's ball with me", Ian detto with such a smug smile on his face that Atie almost slapped him for it.
"No thank you. But thanks for offering."
Ian went a bit pale at this. "What?"
"I detto no. Have te ever heard that word before?" Atie smiled. "Bye, Ian Salvatore."
Ian walked back to the tavolo in astonishment. What was it about this girl that he found so intriguing, and why didn't she like him back? It was a curious feeling, getting rejected.
Paul smirked. "Wow."
"Shut up."
"No, really, that was incredible."
"Why did te say no? He's hot", Rana asked.
"He's just so smug all the time, and I hear he's slept with like every girl in town", Atie said.
"Hasn't slept with me. But then again I have no social life", Celine detto as she poured them più coffee.
"Yeah, same with me. Well, he did ask te before he asked anyone else."
"To prove a point to his brother."
At that Celine's eyes moved over to lock with Paul's, but as soon as she saw him looking back at her, she turned away.
Nic was on his way to work when he almost ran into Irene. She had an angry look on her face, but Nic didn't let that bother him.
"Mayor, how may I help you? No, wait, I guess that's Ex-Mayor now", he chuckled. "Funny, the things life brings."
"This isn't life and te know it", Irene snapped. "If te ever want to go back there-"
"I thought the curse destroyed the land", Nic said. "Or were te lying about that, too?"
"I want that man and his little whore away from my office da the end of the week", Irene snapped.
"Or what?" Nic smiled. "What do te suppose te can do about it?"
"You know what I'm capable of. And I think te should remember I still have your dear Wendy. te wouldn't want anything to happen to her, now would you?"
"Look", Nic tensed up. "I can't get them out. And even if I could, what would that help? No one wants te for Mayor. Just let it go."
Irene was about to say something when Nic continued: "And I will have Wendy back. Trust me, I will. I know what you're capable of, but te have no idea what I'm capable of. I'm mad, remember? Unstable."
Irene glared at him in anger, but stayed silent.
"And did te know that it's extremely easy to wake someone from the curse? Very sloppy work, I'd say. And how do te think Rachel - no, Jaime-"
"That's not her real name."
"I know. How would te feel about Jaime getting her memories back and remembering what te did to her father? She's got a temper almost as bad as mine. And together, well... I wouldn't want to be you."
"It's not easy to bring memories back, you're lying."
"Three words, as mushy as they sound: True love's kiss", Nic said. "It was very careless of te to put all of us in the same world. It's almost as if te wanted the curse to be broken." He walked a bit closer to her. "If te touch Wendy, I'll make sure te won't live to see successivo week." With that he walked off.
Nadia was putting away some libri when she heard someone coming in the library. Turning around, she was surprised to see Stiles waving at her.
They had had a great time during their first data but after that she hadn't heard of him so she thought he didn't like her all that much. But now, here he was, grinning like an idiot and Nadia was confused. Was she supposed to go up to him and act like nothing happen o confront him about the fact he has not spoke to her in weeks? Sighing she walked towards him.
"Hi. How can I help you?" She had decided to behave like nothing was wrong.
"Hey. I was wondering if te would like to come to the ball with me."
Nadia couldn't believe it. Was he serious?
"You're kidding me right?"
Stiles seemed confused "Huh- what? No, I'm serious. I'd like to go to the ball with you."
"You didn't call me o even talked to me in days and now te just mostra up and ask me to the ball? What is that?"
"I'm sorry." Stiles detto while scratching his neck "I'm not use to these kind of stuff. Dates and all..."
Nadia felt bad for going off on him like that. "Just- call me the successivo time. Even if it's to say that you're still alive."
"I'll definitely let te know that I'm still alive." Stiles said, smiling at her
"Good." she smiled back "And yes."
"Yes?"
"I'll go to the ball with you."
"I'll pick te up then. Around eight sounds good?"
"Sounds perfect."
Rana exited Celine's diner. She had so many places to go next. The library, the Town Hall, the school, even the police station to put up all these posters for the upcoming ball. Everyone was very much excited about this event. With Irene as mayor, nothing of the sort had occurred and now things were starting to change around here. Weirdly, Rana did not remember a time where she had been so busy with the newspapers o helping Nic with some plan now that she was thinking about it. The thought confused her so much that she didn't notice the man walking towards her. When both of them collided, all of the posters Rana had in her hands scattered all over the floor.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was heading."
"It's alright. There's no harm at all."
Rana looked up to see Theo Eaton. She started blushing. The truth was that she found him really hot. And now she had made a fool of herself. Damn.
Trying to pulling herself together, she grabbed the last posters and stood up.
"Again, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Theo detto while smiling at her. "What are these?"
"Posters for the charity ball. I've got to put them everywhere. I suppose I can't really put them in the hospital though."
"You can. But I doubt people in there would attend." Theo smirked.
Rana would have noticed the humor behind his words if she had not been so embarrassed "Yeah. Right. You're going then? Since it's for a good cause and all..."
"Indeed, I am."
It was time to put an end of her awkwardness. "Cool. See te there then." And at that she walked away.
Still she heard him say "Yes, te will."
Richard had been waiting in front of the police station for half an ora now. One domanda seem to turn non-stop in his head. He knew she was in the building and yet something made him hesitate. Actually he knew why he was still waiting in his car and not in the station. She had detto she didn't want to go to the ball and made pretty clear the fact they were friends. Just friends. Inviting her to the ball didn't seem to fall in the friend zone. However Aline's allusion had lead him to the police station. She was her friend, Rachel may had told her something. But would he risk it? Somehow he knew that if he had a slight chance with her, he had to try. As he was about to got out of his car, his phone rang.
It was a call from Sam.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Richard, it's me."
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"Something came up. It's about the ball."
"What happened?"
"Something about the food. te should come right over."
Richard looked at the station and sighed "Fine. I'll be there in fifteen." and he started the car.
agrifoglio could not concentrate on her task. She could not forget this gut feeling about Albie. Like she had met her back in their land but she could not have, she would remember it. And yet, this feeling was there, telling her otherwise.
Groaning, she put aside Irene's spell book. There was no way they were going to bring magic back anyway.
Fatemeh raised her head from another spell book she was consulting to look at agrifoglio quizzically
"You okay?"
"It's a waste of time."
"I know, but look at those books, full of unknown spells."
"What's the use? There's no magic here."
"Yeah. But if she does succeed on bringing it back, maybe they can be useful... te know later."
"Whatever. Are te doing something tonight?"
"No. Why?"
"There's this... ball. The charity thing." It was the perfect opportunity to watch Albie and see if it triggered her memory. When Albie had first mentioned it, agrifoglio never considered going but she was thinking now that it was worth a shot. Especially if it would ease her mind.
"You mean the ball to celebrate the new mayor?"
"Yeah. I wanted to go."
"Why? There's nothing for us there. We are in the losing side, remember?"
"Like I don't know that. I just wanted to go, have some fun, spy on the enemy. te know, the usual stuff." agrifoglio did not want to share her feeling about Albie. If she was wrong about it, she did not want to create a fuss.
"And te want me to go because?"
"Because I don't want to face them alone. Plus are te really turning down an opportunity to mostra them how flawless te are?" agrifoglio detto with a smirk, she knew that when it comes to fashion, Fatemeh is always in.
"Alright. If we go shopping right now. We must look our best." Fatemeh said, getting up and grabbing her purse.
"And we will." agrifoglio added while following Fatemeh outside.
Elsa looked out the window. It was snowing again. With a sigh, she walked back to her letto and lay down. How could she have let things get out of control? Her life was so different a few months ago. Conceal, don't feel, control your power. These were the words that she had detto all her life, over and over again and yet in just one moment, she had Lost it all. Her crown, her kingdom, her home, her sister. Her poor little sister. She must be heartbroken. And it was all her fault.
When she had been a child and her parents were still alive, Elsa never had any trouble controlling her powers but as she got older, they got stronger. She struggled to control them but her parents always helped her overcome her might. After they passed away, grief and fear got the best of her. The giorno it happened, Anna and Percy were building snowmen and Elsa decided to unisciti them. She thought she was strong enough to control her powers but somehow, she ended up striking him. Her powers struck him right in the heart. successivo think she knew, Percy lay down on the ground, dead. Her parents had always warned her about Frozen hearts. There was no coming back from that. So seeing Anna kneeling beside Percy and crying, Elsa ran.
She ran as fast as she could, the thought of keeping of sister sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza pushing her farther and farther away from Arendelle, leaving behind her a trail of ice.
She wandered for many days but she ended up here. In the Evil Queen's castello where she will learn how to control her powers. And she would never hurt anyone else ever again.
The successivo day, the main topic was the ball. People were looking inoltrare, avanti to their dates, o were just going with Friends but complessivamente, generale were thrilled da the idea of having a good time and that finally something exciting was happening in Rosedell. Soon, the ball was starting and everyone was all dressed-up.
Celine was nervous. She had came with Maria, Atie and Rana but she was anxious of meeting Paul there. Focusing her attention back to her friends, she marveled at how beautiful they looked. Maria was wearing a white sleeveless dress that made her look like a princess. Rana was also wearing a white sleeveless dress with golden ornaments that was stopping at her feet whereas Maria's dress stopped at her knee. Atie was wearing a long strapless dress with gray pentagono patterns. Somehow, the design reminded Celine of a stone tower. They were lovely. Celine was not bad herself. She was wearing a strapless rosa dress which contrasted with her friend's gowns.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Nic appeared with Albie and Amber at his side.
"Ladies." he detto while bowing. He was wearing a simple black tux that made him really handsome.
Albie laughed a bit and greeted the girls "You guys look amazing."
"You both do too." Rana detto while pointing at both Albie and Amber.
Indeed Albie was wearing a smooth, long black dress that had a big white bow, on the back. Amber wore a short strapless dress that was baby blue.
"I'm lucky to be surrounded da so many beautiful ladies." Nic detto with a smile. "Now let get this party started and find te all a Prince Charming."
Aline entered the room with Rachel on her side. A lot of people was already gathered in the room but so far, Aline couldn't recognize anyone.
"See, it's not so bad. And te know, te even may have fun tonight." Aline detto with a smirk.
"Ha-ha very funny. But I don't feel comfortable in that dress." Rachel said, shaking her shoulders a bit.
"Stop moving. te look amazing." she smiled to her friend.
Rachel did not respond to the compliment but Aline knew she was pleased.
"So, do te see someone we know?"
"Not really" Aline detto while looking around. "But we can go to the buffet and see what's there"
"Sounds like the perfect plan."
When they reached the buffet, they saw that Tyler was already there.
"Hope te didn't eat everything." Rachel detto while grabbing a canapé.
"You look fancy." Aline said, looking at the suit.
"The posters detto dress and tie." Tyler sighed.
"You look great. Like a grumpy James Bond." Aline detto with a smile.
Tyler did not have time to reply that Aline was pulled away da Rachel.
"What's the matter?"
"Sorry I thought I saw Richard."
"And your first instinct was to... hide?"
"I guess so."
"Rach-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright. But we can at least enjoy ourselves while we're here. Dance a bit, eat, talk to people."
Rachel groaned.
"Come on, I'm sure Tyler will dance with each of us if we ask him to." Aline added with a smile.
"What about Colin?"
"What about him?"
"Well isn't he going to get jealous if he sees te dancing with another?" Rachel said, successfully adverting Richard's topic.
"Jealous of Tyler?" Aline chuckled. "I don't see Tyler that way, te know that. He's like a brother."
"I know that." Rachel said, rolling her eyes "but does Colin know that?"
"That's ridiculous." Aline detto shaking her head "And don't think I haven't noticed that te were trying to change the topic."
At that, Rachel made a face.
"I know that te don't want to talk about it but te are going to see him here eventually." Aline added.
Rachel knew she was right but did not want to have to face him. Scanning the room, she wondered where he was though and suddenly she met his blue eyes. Shit, Rachel thought. He looks even hotter in a suit.
She was just about to turn around to talk to Aline, but she was already dancing with Tyler, who looked utterly uncomfortable.
"You look nice", Rachel turned around to see Paul Salvatore there.
"Hey", she said.
"I guess he didn't ask te after all", Ian detto as he walked over to them, drinking a glass of champagne with a smug smile on his face.
Rachel turned back to look at Richard, but he wasn't there anymore. "I doubt he was ever going to ask me."
Ian was about to speak when Paul shut him up. "Hey, Ian, there's Atie. Go and say hello."
"Are te okay?" Rachel asked once Ian was gone. She and Paul weren't friends, but he was looking rather upset.
"I just...", he was looking over to where Celine was standing. "I just think that if you're lucky enough to have someone who actually wants you, te shouldn't push them away", Paul said, his eyes still on Celine.
"I'm not pushing anyone away", Rachel protested.
"You are. And speaking from experience, it's not a nice feeling", Paul detto darkly. "He was going to ask you", with that he walked all the way through the hall to where Celine was standing, and he didn't even give her a moment to say hello before he pulled her close and kissed her, right there in front of everyone.
Celine took a moment to get over the shock, but then when she did, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
From across the room Nic was smiling in satisfaction. He knew the true love's baciare would probably not solve everything, but it was a start. And a good one.
"She won't like that", Fatemeh said. She and agrifoglio had just entered the party and they were staring at the two kissing.
"She doesn't like anything", agrifoglio said. She scanned the room to get her eyes on Albie, but what she saw instead was Tyler - the guy who'd been flirting with her for the past week - dancing with the deputy, and for a moment she felt a rush of jealousy and she didn't really even understand why.
What Elsa had done had not killed Percy. Not literally. He was still alive, but he was not the same. His cuore had turned to ice, and with that his kind nature and his Amore for Anna had been destroyed. He no longer smiled, laughed o looked at her the way he had once. And now with Elsa gone, Anna was completely alone.
Percy and Elsa had always been the most important people in her life, ever since their parents death. Elsa and Anna had done everything together until her powers became just too powerful to ignore.
And Percy had been a servant's child, living in the castello with the girls. He had played with them ever since they were kids, and slowly he and Anna had fallen in love. At first it had been innocent, only friendship, but on Anna's 15th birthday Percy had kissed her when they had been outside, playing in the snow. Anna could still remember how her cheeks had turned red and how she'd pushed him to the snow to break the tension, both of their laughter filling the open air. Ever since that moment the two had been inseparable, until this moment. Percy had not paid attention to her ever since this new incident, barely even noticing her. It was as if their Amore had been erased. And perhaps it had. So as Anna entered the balcony connected to her bedchambers, mourning over the loss of her Amore and her sister, she felt tears roll down her cheeks. They almost froze, even. It was still winter, mostly thanks to Elsa's powers. In her panic she had created a winter that wouldn't go away. Anna was certain it never would, unless Elsa would come back. But she had no idea where to find her, o how to find the strength to start looking.
She buried her head in her hands and cried, cradling up into a little ball amongst the snow on the balcony. She was completely alone and she had no idea where to go from there. As she was crying, she started hearing strange sounds in the wind. It almost sounded like words. After raising her head and listening for a moment, she realized that it indeed was words. She heard "true love", "frozen" and "cure". o at least she imagined hearing so. And then she remembered something her father had told her when she had been a little girl. "True Amore can cure anything in the world. Even a broken heart."
"What about a Frozen heart?" Anna thought to herself. With that new idea in her head, she rushed out of the balcony and back inside the castello and searched for Percy. She finally found him in his chambers, Leggere a book. He didn't even raise his glance when Anna entered, but when she took his face in her hands and kissed him, Anna knew it worked. It was as if he was coming back from under a spell. She felt his arms avvolgere around her, and when they finally broke apart, he had a smile on his face.
"I Amore you", Anna chocked out, trying to hold back tears.
"I Amore you, too", Percy whispered, baciare her again.
agrifoglio was walking through the party until she finally found Albie. She didn't even know why she found her so curious, but it was as if she knew her. But she remembered everything about her past in her homeland.... Didn't she? Could the Queen have been lying?
"You came", Albie smiled. "Are te having fun?"
"Not in particular", she glared at Albie in confusion. "Why are te being nice to me? Aren't we on different sides?"
"There are sides?" Albie chuckled. "Look, I voted for Richard, te voted for Irene. Richard won. It doesn't mean we can't get along."
"Says the winner", agrifoglio pointed out.
Albie nodded. "Sorry."
"No. I found that I really don't care anymore", agrifoglio turned back to where Tyler was. He was alone at that point. "Is he dating anyone?"
"Tyler?" Albie asked. "I don't know. I don't think so."
"I saw him dancing with that deputy."
"I'm pretty sure people can dance without dating", Albie smirked. "Besides, isn't that Aline right there?" she pointed to the entrance of the room, where Aline was, talking to Colin.
agrifoglio would never admit to being relieved of such a thing, so she merely nodded. She was about to say something when someone cleared their throat, and as the two turned around, they saw Logan looking at Albie.
"Hey, sorry to bother you", Logan said. "Would te like to dance?"
"I...", Albie turned to look at Holly. "Do te mind?"
"No", agrifoglio said. "Go ahead", she watched as the two walked over to the dance floor. She had a feeling she'd seen Logan before, too. What was going on? Maybe she should have a talk with Irene after the ball.
"You look amazing", she turned around to find Tyler looking at her.
"And te look like you're uncomfortable", agrifoglio smirked. "I didn't figure to find te here."
"I could say the same for you."
"I guess we're both full of surprises", agrifoglio shrugged.
"Do te want to... dance with me?" Tyler offered.
agrifoglio smiled. "I didn't take te for a dancer."
"I'm not one, but I figured I could make an exception", he offered his hand.
"Alright", agrifoglio agreed.
"Do te think there will ever come a time when we actually do something normal?" Colin asked. He and Aline were sitting outside the hall, eating the snacks they'd collected together from the table. "We've had picnics in the middle of the night and we've chased a lunatic through the woods."
"That just makes us special", Aline smirked, leaning against the stone bacheca behind her. "I don't really know why I came here. The idea was to be here for Rachel. I really thought Richard would ask her."
"Sometimes men are a bit intimidated da women like her", Colin said. "Women like you, too."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Aline raised her eyebrows.
"Strong, beautiful, smart. Women who have access to guns", Colin laughed a little.
Aline nodded. "Good point. But hey, maybe women like Rachel - and me, can get a bit intimidated when suddenly a gorgeous guy, who likes you, comes along into your life. What's a girl to do?"
"Say yes when he asks te to the ball?" Colin offered.
"I was talking about Rachel. You're not gorgeous", Aline joked.
Colin laughed. "You wound me, woman."
"That's the plan." They sat there for a moment though. "I'm glad I came, though."
"Yeah?" Colin turned to look at her, in her eyes.
"Yeah", Aline nodded, smiling a little.
The spell was broken when the doors to the ballroom opened and Celine and Paul walked out, hand in hand.
"Oh, hey, guys", Celine smirked, but before Aline o Colin had any time to respond, they were already out of the whole building.
"I do wonder where they're going", Colin joked.
"I think it's nice. They seem good together", Aline said.
Celine kissed Paul one più time as he walked her all the way to her apartment. This night had been one of the best in her life, and it was all because of him. She had no idea why she'd ever had any doubts.
Paul, on the other hand, had had this strange feeling ever since baciare Celine, like he'd met her before. Like he'd done all this before with her. But it couldn't be the case. He blamed it all on anxiety and the fact that he was finally with her. This was finally happening.
"Do te want to come in?" Celine asked when they broke apart. Paul stared at her in confusion.
"You mean...?"
"We can just talk if te want to", Celine said. She didn't just want to talk, but if it was what he wanted...
Paul smirked, baciare her again. "Do te want to talk?"
"I don't have much to talk about right now", Celine giggled as she moved away long enough to open the door to the apartment, and after that neither of them had much to say.
Elsa had made much progress under the Evil Queen's leadership, but she had to admit that it was getting a bit dull. All she ever had to do was help her, do as she said. She claimed that Elsa making her own decisions at this point was not a good idea. And maybe it was true. But she had gotten so much better at controlling her powers. She had become più powerful in the process, too, and the Queen had taught her all sorts of other spells as well. She often called Elsa her "apprentice", and maybe that was what she was. But sometimes, when she was alone, she missed her sister. And her home. But she knew she could never go back there, not after what she'd done.
"You're awfully quiet today", the Queen detto as she interrupted Elsa from her thoughts.
"I'm just thinking about home, about my sister", Elsa said.
The Queen frowned. "It's not a good idea to dwell on the past. It never brings te anything but trouble."
"But what if-"
"No", The Queen said. "Do te want to be able to control your powers? To be più powerful?"
"I already am powerful", Elsa snapped. "In some ways più powerful than you."
The Queen stared at her in anger. "In some ways, yes. But te still have one thing te need to let go of, if te wish to become as powerful as I am."
"And what is that?"
"Your compassion. Your love. te won't need those things, and once te rid yourself of them, te will be unstoppable", the Queen said.
"And how do I do that?" Elsa asked uncertainly.
"You find something te love", the Queen detto simply. "And then te kill it."
Elsa felt a jolt of fear in her heart, and not for the first time she wondered if coming here was such a good idea after all. But she found herself nodding. "That shouldn't be too difficult."
Atie didn't really even know why she disliked Ian. It could perhaps be because of how ridiculously arrogant he was. o it could also be because of how ridiculously handsome he was.... Atie didn't understand why he paid attention to her, and she took care of that confusion da paying no attention to him. But più than once had she caught him looking at her at the party. And più than once had Atie thought about walking over to him and asking him to dance. But then she would remember all the stories she'd heard about him, all his women, all his one-night stands, and she'd feel sick in her stomach. She didn't want to be just another number. She deserved more. Everyone did.
Nadia was looking at Stiles with amusement. They were dancing o at least he was trying to. But dancing was definitely not his strong suit.
"Sorry." he groaned after tripping for the fifth time on the end of her dress.
"That's okay. I shouldn't have picked that dress anyway. It's too long." She was wearing a long black and white dress that emphasized her classy style.
"No, no. te look...just... wow. I mean- really amazing." Stiles stammered.
Nadia blushed a bit and nodded "Thanks. te look really handsome too."
Stiles was about to say something but he tripped on her dress again.
"You know, I have this familiar feeling that we did this before." Nadia detto smiling.
"Embarrassing myself in front of you? Every time we talked I'd say."
"No" Nadia chuckled "Dancing with you."
Stiles remembered the feeling of familiarity he had when she told him the story about a princess and a beast. "I know what te mean."
"But it can't be. We are just comfortable around each other I guess."
"If it was the case, I think I would dance better. te make me nervous."
"I don't want te to be. Nervous I mean." she detto with a little smile and they kept on dancing for the rest of the night.
Rachel was getting bored and pissed. Everywhere, she was looking at happy people dancing and chatting. The worst part was she didn't even want to go home. Somewhat she was holding on into the hope that he would come talk to her. And yet, here she was, sitting all da herself and overhearing despite herself a conversation happening not that far away from her. It was between this girl, Rana and the Town's doctor.
"I actually don't. I spend practically all my time at the hospital."
"Until recently I did too. Well at the newspaper for me, but still I get what te mean. Work was everything."
"I'm starting to think it doesn't have to be."
"Don't te have the feeling that things are starting to change? Not only for yourself but the town?"
"Yeah. With the election of a new mayor, it's like the town is waking up."
"Exactly, like we have to choice to be whoever we want, with whoever we want..."
They fell quiet for a while until Theo stood up and extended his hand
"I feel like dancing. Do te want to?"
Rachel groaned when she saw them heading towards the dance floor. In truth, she was glad for them but she felt so frustrated. She seemed to be the only one that nobody liked. That he didn't like.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Richard sat down beside her.
"Having fun?"
"Not really."
'Yeah. It's not my kind of crowd either. But people seem to enjoy themselves, so that's great."
"Yeah, great."
Richard was confused da Rachel's attitude. Somewhat she seemed to be pissed at him. "Are te okay?"
"Couldn't be better." Rachel detto with an harsh tone. She didn't want to be mean to him but her frustration got the best of her.
"Okay." Richard was not sure what to say next. Should he tell her that he wanted to ask her to the ball? He knew it was not a good idea. He acted like a coward and now he knew da her tone that he blew it. "You look really beautiful da the way."
"Thanks." Rachel snorted and Richard knew she didn't believe him.
"Are te mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad?" Rachel was going to deny being affected da him but her voice betrayed her feelings.
"Look. I was about to ask te to the ball yesterday. But te didn't seem to want to go and things came up..." She didn't say a word o even looked at him, instead she was looking at the couples dancing. So he kept on talking "I don't know why I acted so cowardly but I have no excuse. I'm sorry."
"I don't know what you're talking about. te didn't have to ask me." Rachel detto with indifference. Yet, she was smiling but he couldn't see that. "We are just-"
"Friends. Right."Richard sighed. "Can I at least have this dance? As a friend."
"I can't dance." Rachel detto shaking her head.
"I'll mostra you." he detto with a smile and she nodded.
There, on the dancefloor, they danced for what it seemed like forever without either one of them saying a word. Still they didn't need to talk, as their eyes were saying everything they would never voice. Not yet anyway. But Richard couldn't be fooled. They weren't just Friends and he was going to mostra her.
"See, we are doing great." he detto while spinning her around.
"Yeah. It's not so bad." Rachel detto while trying to fight the smile that was creeping up on her face.
Not so bad. Richard smiled. It was all the encouragement he needed.
Amber was walking home from the ball. She was exhausted but pleased, she had a great time with her friends. Reaching her home, she saw James waiting for her in her porch.
"Hey. What are te doing here?"
"I just wanted to say thank you. For the groceries."
"Oh it's okay, te don't have to."
"No I do. I was rude to te and I'm sorry. I'm just not used to people being kind to me."
"You're welcome." Amber detto smiling softly and James smiled back. It was a weird feeling for him. He was not used to be kind to people, let alone smile at them.
"Hum- te look great." he detto pointing at her dress.
"Oh thanks. There was this charity ball thing."
"Yeah, heard about that. Not really my style."
"I figured... Do te want to go inside, I can make some tè if te like."
"No it's okay. I don't want to bother you. Just came da to say thank you." James said, already down the stairs.
"Anytime James." she detto smiling and realized how much she cared about him.
Suddenly she heard a howl and headed inside.
Fatemeh didn't even know why she'd showed up at the ball. It's not like she had anything to do. Sure, she'd danced with a few guys, but it hadn't meant anything. She was just about to leave when she noticed that guy Sam from the votings talking to Ines. She remembered him telling her they were best friends.
"So, did te find anyone good?" Sam asked. Ines rolled her eyes.
"Not everyone is here to meet guys."
"No, you're right. Some are here for the excellent food", he smirked. "No one is here to meet guys. We're here to have fun, I just figured... I haven't seen te with anyone in a while."
"Maybe I need a break from drama", Ines said. "Ever thought of that?"
Sam was about to answer when Fatemeh walked over to them with a smile on her face. "Hey."
"Hey", Sam's face lit up. "Hey, Ines, te know Fatemeh, right?"
"Yes, I do", Ines smiled. "You look great."
"Yes, te do", Sam said, looking at her as well.
Fatemeh smirked. "Thanks. te both look great as well."
"If te don't mind me asking, won't your boss mind te coming... well, there?" Ines asked.
"She isn't my boss anymore. She never was, not really", Fatemeh said.
"I'm gonna leave te two alone", Ines smiled at them before walking off. It was time to get home. She heard the howling of Lupi as she walked, and stopped in her tracks for a moment. She didn't remember there being any Lupi in the area. After a moment, she continued to be on her way.
"So, would te like to dance?" Sam asked Fatemeh after a moment of silence.
"I would Amore to", she smiled. And so she ended up having a lot of fun, which she had not expected.
"As I recall, te promised me a dance", Colin detto as he and Aline were walking home.
"What do te want me to do? We already left the party", Aline chuckled. "And I'm not inviting te inside. Not yet, anyway."
"Fair enough", Colin grabbed Aline's hand in his and spun her around. "Music is overrated anyway."
Aline laughed as they danced on the empty strada, via for a few minutes. It was absolutely ridiculous, but they both loved every moment of it anyway.
"I'll... see te tomorrow", Aline detto as they finally broke apart, both a little breathless from the dancing.
"Yeah, count on it", Colin smiled. "I gotta tell you, this was the best data I've been on in a while."
"It's the only data you've been on in a while", Aline laughed.
"No, you're forgetting our first date", Colin pointed out.
"Oh, so that wasn't a good one?"
"Go to sleep", Colin smirked, and Aline nodded, smiling a little as she turned the key in the lock and got inside, closing the door after her. It had been a great night, there was no denying that.