Dinner Confessions

I lay back on the big, soft bed in relief. Anna had taken us to a set of rooms to rest and freshen up before dinner, then run off to get herself ready, leaving us in blessed silence. The bed was quite large enough that Rose and Cass could lie to one side of me while Kat and Mal were on the other, though we were cuddled up close to do so.

The silence was eventually interrupted by two alerts from my device in quick succession. Well, I'd wanted to check on the Princess's timers anyways.

As I was pulling my device out of my pocket, not helped by the giggling cat girl on that side, it chirped a third time, now really piquing my curiosity. Let's see. Princess Arista captured, 1 credit. Princess Alana captured, 1 credit. Princess Quest Overachiever x2 10 credits.

Who? And how? A quick scan of the Catalog told me nothing, as neither of them were in it. Checking my retinue cleared things up though, as both turned out to be mermaids. "Looks like Ariel just convinced two of her sisters to sign contracts." No telling what the terms were, I'd probably hear from her sooner or later, though. Odd that none of her sisters were in the catalog, but at least I still got credit, even if it was only one point each. Also overachiever? I was getting credits for taking more Princesses past the five needed it looked like. Five credits a pop was certainly nothing to sneer at, even if I wasn't getting anything else.

That brought me over to Anna and Elsa, also Princesses, and their timers. Three days for Anna, no shock there, but only just under five days for Elsa. Huh. More open than I had expected for sure. She must really have believed me about wanting the trade deal, and perhaps was more open than she had seemed. Well, five days should give Hilde more than enough time to track down the bottle.

If I was getting extra credit for Princesses that made Jasmine even more tempting though, and gave me a good excuse for a side trip into the highlands. Not that another good-looking redhead needed much of an excuse. Speaking of redheads, what did Arista and Alana even look like? Was Ariel going to try and sign all of her sisters up? I couldn't remember exactly how many she had, but I thought it was a big family. Not the kind of loot I expected her to grab, but I wasn't complaining.

If the apartment got too crowded I could always sell some people off to make room, but I'd worry about that later.

.

After a short nap we were all ready for a fancy dinner, and of course Anna herself showed up to take us there. After her initial shock, Kat seemed quite taken with the strawberry blonde Princess, and they were already chatting like old friends. Cass and Ruby, of course, stuck together so that left me with Maleficent by my side. The dragon woman was still somewhat tired by the flight so she was quiet, but I didn't mind.

The dining room Anna took us to was more cozy than I expected, the table was only large enough to seat about a dozen, with a nice big fireplace. Understandable as it apparently got quite cold here. The one in the bedroom had been big enough to walk into, had I wanted.

The room was empty when we got there, but Elsa wasn't long behind us.

"Good evening, Princess." I greeted the nearly white haired woman and gave her a slight bow.

She laughed, looking much more at ease now, though she still kept her distance and had her gloves on. "Please just call me Elsa, there is no need for such formalities."

"Very well, then I must insist you call me Guy as well." Anna looked ecstatic at the interactions, clearly dying for some socializing. "And I hope you will as well?" I asked the bouncing blondish woman.

"Of course! And call me Anna, Guy." She said with a blush. Only a few hours on, and apparently the bracelet was already having a strong effect. Anna seemed the kind of person to dive in feet first though. I might have to be careful she didn't throw herself at me around Elsa, that probably would not end well before the ice princess was captured.

Several maids entered and served the dinner then, an assortment of fish dishes, including a magnificent chowder served in bread bowls. The Princesses didn't seem to have any problems sitting at the same table with my girls, and I didn't think Normalcy had anything to do with it. Good on them.

"Cassandra you've already met Elsa, but now that the others have caught up with me, this is Ruby my warden and Cass's girlfriend." I gestured to the dark-haired woman, who gave a wolvish grin to our host. "My scout, Kat." The Cheshire gave the platinum-haired Princess a grin that was more of a leer as she eyed her up and down, causing Elsa to blush. "And Maleficent, my right hand." Neither Princess reacted to the raven-haired beauty's name, which was interesting. I'd have thought her reputation would have reached even here. Their lack of reaction to the presence of a cat girl and a horned woman with wings was probably due to Normalcy.

Elsa nodded as each was introduced. "Greetings to you all, and please enjoy the hospitality of the castle until the festivities." She turned to me with a raised brow. "Tell me Guy, is your retinue all women?"

"Why, I do believe it is. Funny that."

That didn't seem to bother her, quite the opposite in fact, as she gave me a bright smile. "You don't consider women weak then?" She asked like a challenge.

I scoffed. "Of course not. Anyone who thinks a woman is weak just because of her sex is a fool. I'd stake Cassandra against any guardsman you have in a contest of swords." Cass beamed at my praise, her hair glowing even brighter than normal. I wasn't even bluffing, between the four of them, my girls could probably take on this kingdom's army without much effort.

"And she truly rides a great wolf?"

I gave Ruby a wink. "Indeed, it's quite a sight. We could introduce you to her." I could probably think of something to distract the Princesses while Ruby changed...

"Oh yes, you have to see her! She's so big and fluffy!"

Elsa glanced over at Anna and gripped her gloves tightly. "Maybe another time." She said quietly, withdrawing into herself again.

This seemed as good a time as any, and even if it went poorly the bracelets were already on. "If you don't mind my saying, it looks like your gloves are starting to fade. Or perhaps you're just outgrowing them."

"I'm sorry, what?!" Elsa sat up, looking at me wide-eyed in near panic. Anna just looked confused.

I tried to stay looking calm. "I'm sorry if I'm revealing secrets, but I couldn't help but notice your power is growing beyond what your gloves can contain.

"You know about that? How?"

I gave her a friendly chuckle. "Come now, Elsa, you didn't think you were the only one with gifts, did you?" I gestured at Kat, and with a grin she faded away, causing the Princesses to gasp.

"That is so cool!" Anna yelled, her confusion forgotten.

Elsa stared at the now-empty chair in shock, then looked back at me. "You too?" She asked in a hushed voice.

I nodded. "I know things, I know you are growing stronger, and I know you're worried about losing control. That's why I gave you that bracelet, it will do for you what those gloves cannot once it's attuned to you."

Elsa fingered the silver band on her arm as she watched Anna try to hunt for Kat around the table, with the catgirl occasionally popping in to tickle the strawberry blonde before disappearing again. She made a fine distraction. "You didn't think to tell me this when you offered your gift?" She didn't sound mad, but then she didn't sound particularly happy either. I'd only keyed the bracelets to stop attacks since I didn't want to mess with her already shaky emotions.

"I'm telling you now, if you don't like what you hear I'll take it back, no problem. But I'd leave Anna's on if you want her affliction healed."

"What?" Elsa was on the edge of her seat.

I gestured over at the woman now crawling under the table. "The wound to her heart that caused the streak in her hair, in three days' time her bracelet will have it healed."

The white blonde woman sank back into her chair, deflated. She looked over at her sister with guilt and fear clear on her face. "You can help her? You promise?"

"I can help both of you. And am, so long as you keep those bracelets on. In less than a week, you'll see, both of you will be better than ever."

She sighed. "I've been so worried about the coronation, about losing control in front of everyone, about hurting Anna again..."

I reached over and took her hands. She tried to jerk away, startled, but was too slow. "I swear to you that will not happen."

Her gloves were cold as ice, but thanks to Wild Defense, I had no problem holding them as I held her gaze until she smiled back and the cold started to fade.