Author's Note: A huge merci/dankeschön to our translation assistants, a-kiirii-on-board, darkdraconis, and pascaldragon. Thank you so much!

La Guerre de l'Art - Un Portrait de Deux Lesbiennes Amoureuses

[The War of Art - A Portrait of Two Lesbians in Love]

CHAPTER 9

The Art of Exasperation

Three months had gone by in a flash, with the two still very much in love… perhaps, also still very much in lust. Not a day had passed without them having hands reaching for the other lover's body, groping on places where it was deemed inappropriate. Well, while many of the days and nights were just them together, it seemed quite appropriate.

And perhaps, when one of them was found naked by one of the servants, the excuse would always be "for painting"… although, they wouldn't find much evidence of it in Elsa or Anna's room. The servants seemed even more busy these days, having to clean up after their mess—which mostly consisted of clothes on the ground, undergarments that had been ripped… magically. Elsa and Anna wouldn't dare to say anything truthful when they questioned why was it that every week, something had to be missing or ripped into pieces.

Of course, time had passed quite fast, and the two had gone from gentle to excitable to… taking every chance they had while together to kiss, touch, sometimes even trying to make one another so overcome with pleasure that they desperately needed the time to relieve themselves.

The promise to not truly make love to one another was miraculously still intact. But they had some close calls, and luckily, Elsa was always there to stop this from happening... as desperately as she wanted to make love to her amoureuse.

The day was peaceful, and rain was beginning to pour, thunder roaring through the sky. It was tea time for them, and they sat in Elsa's room, admiring the rain outside the window and the paintings that were scattered against the walls and the ground. Anna sat by the couch and Elsa, humming a tune, flicking her paintbrush against the canvas. She was painting her lover, who stared in fascination out the window. It was quite a beautiful sight to see. But today was yet to be one of those days where their urges took over. Today was filled with a more quiet love.

"Don't move."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "I'm drinking tea, I need to move."

"Well, move carefully, then."

"Incorrigible." She took a sip, then straightened. "Ooh, by the way—

"ANNA!"

Ducking her head ashamedly, she tried to rearrange herself back into the pose she'd been holding before. "Sorry. I was just so excited to tell you—I heard from my cousin Rapunzel yesterday. She will be coming to visit from Arras within the week."

"Really?" Elsa said, voice pleasant but also clearly displaying that she was mainly focused on her work. "Perhaps I shall come for a supper with the both of you."

"Perhaps? Of course you will, why should you not? You are my…" They both paused to look at each other, and Anna giggled. "Well, you are my close friend and confidant, as far as the outside world knows. And that's good enough, isn't it?!"

In the face of her adorable indignance, Elsa couldn't help but chuckle warmly. "Very well, I'll make it two dinners. Est-ce satisfaisant?"

Anna hummed to herself for a moment, pretending to think over Elsa's response, before she answered. "Je suppose que ce sera, ma bien-aimée."

Elsa smirked at her. "Effronté petite diable."

"Diable? Moi?" Anna gasped, raising her hand to her chest as she feigned indignance.

"Yes, but you are my little devil," Elsa began with a grin. "However, my dearest… you have moved, yet again."

Anna once again attempted to return to her original pose for Elsa's painting. "Désolé, ma amour."

Elsa dabbed her brush once again in the forest green paint upon her palette, returning to her work as she laid quick long strokes of the instrument against canvas. "I'm near done with your dress, then I can do the detail work on your face."

"But… my freckles?"

"Of course, your freckles. It would not be you without them." She smiled warmly, lips tugging tightly against her cheeks as her eyes twinkled.

At length, the painting was completed, and Anna skipped over to view her handiwork. Cooing in delight, she wriggled in next to her love to gaze at it with her.

"Vanity, thou art Roxanna."

"Arret, you boor," she laughed. "You know I'm gazing at your talent, not my face. Which you have made a lot less silly than my actual face." Her head came to rest on Elsa's shoulder. "Ohhh, I am so glad… glad to have you all to myself, to be your muse."

An artful hand raised, this time to brush a hair out of Anna's eyes instead of bristles on canvas. "You are so much more. To me, and to the world."

"Oh, all of the world, eh?"

"All of it. Every…" Her lips touched Anna's forehead. "Last…" Nose. "Corner." The side of her mouth, which elicited a giggle due to the word choice.

The week passed quite quickly as the women spent most of it painting, talking, and generally enjoying each other's company. Such was how Kai found them mid-afternoon in the parlour of the de Neuvillette château, sitting immediately across from each other drinking wine and chatting idly.

"Madame, a visitor has arrived for you; a young brunette woman. She said her name was—"

As he was introducing her, said woman made her way into the room, revealing herself from behind Kai. She was the same height as Anna, wore a long purple dress with three quarter length sleeves, and had her hair cut short at the back and sides though it was slightly longer on the top.

With a wide grin, Anna jumped up from her chair and exclaimed, "Rapunzel!"

"Anna!" Rapunzel cried out, and rushed over to envelop Anna in a hug.

Elsa stood, coming to stand slightly behind and to the right of Anna.

"Oh, and who's this?"

"Pardon, Cousin—this is my good friend and painting mentor, Elsa Maurer." Elsa bowed, which was a male custom that she had adopted because curtsying simply felt so unnatural to her. In a lower tone, she added, "Elle est de l'Allemagne."

Both of Rapunzel's eyebrows shot up, and she curtsied to Elsa and said in a strangely forced accent, "Ich spreche kein Deutsch. Es tut uns leid."

The blonde only cackled and clapped, throwing back her head slightly in her mirth. "Keine Sorge, es ist in Ordnung! You're fine."

"Okay," Rapunzel giggled, cheeks pinkening from being laughed at, even if it was not cruelly done. "Your French is much better than my German, by the way; if you didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes, I'd have thought you were native!"

"Thank you. I've had a few years to learn the eccentricities of the language—the master of this house was my patron for several years prior to having gained my independence of him." Elsa furtively glanced at Anna, ever cautious in both words and actions. "Though I am deeply grateful for my time here, else I would not have rencontré votre chère cousine. I value her friendship greatly."

Anna's cheeks had alit with a soft blush, and she stammered out, "A-And I yours."

Rapunzel interjected, "So, Elsa… you are your own woman? What is that like?"

"Oui. I was fortunate to be granted my own estate nearby a few months ago. As to what it's like… Je me sens tellement plus ... libre pour être moi-même. I'm able to find work on my own, or freely choose my own inspiration for my next painting. Il est très libérateur, to no longer be beholden to another." Elsa's smile unwittingly twisted ever so slightly into a near indiscernible frown. Anna…

"Not that married life is much different for me," Anna supplied hastily, before the frown took deeper root. "With my husband in Italy now. So, how is life back east?"

At that, Rapunzel sighed and rolled her eyes, pacing further into the room toward the liquor, plucking a very rare bottle of whiskey that Hans had procured at great cost and pouring herself a very small sip. When Elsa raised an eyebrow at Anna, she merely shrugged; her cousin always had a taste for the stronger spirits.

"Terrible. Mother nearly blew her top when she found out I was planning to visit Paris; you know how she gets. Paranoid and jealous and controlling. It's a wonder I ever step foot outside."

"So you compromised and came to Neuvillette?" Elsa inquired, in good humour.

Lowering her glass after having taken a belt, she smirked over at the blonde. "This is a stopover. I'll still be continuing down in a few days, then coming back to visit again in about a month before I return home." Then she looked more hopefully at Anna. "That is… if that's alright, Cousin?"

Anna boisterously responded, "Oh, of course, Rapunzel! It has been so long since the last time, it will be good to see you again that soon."

Rapunzel grinned widely. "Thank you. It feels so good to be out in the world on my own, even if it is only briefly."

Anna, reminded that Rapunzel had just arrived from several days travel, apologetically queried, "Oh, where are my manners? You've been travelling a while, I'm sure you'd like to come sit?"

"That would be nice, yes," she chuckled. They made their way over to the chairs across the room, Elsa and Anna returning to their previous seats as Rapunzel unawarely made to take Elsa's seat from earlier—the other chairs being farther off to the side.

When they nearly bumped into each other, Elsa's cheeks flushed rose as she tittered nervously. "Sorry… I—"

Rapunzel looked down to see the wine glasses resting upon the nearby table. "No, it's alright! I didn't realize this was your seat. Please, I can just bring another chair closer."

Anna giggled at the interaction, happy to see her cousin and Elsa getting along—not that she had expected otherwise, but… she had been afraid of what might transpire if they had not.

"For a moment, I thought you wanted to share a chair," Elsa laughed as Rapunzel fetched her own seat. "Something I'd expect you to do with your cousin, if anything."

"Goodness! We haven't done anything like that since we were children!" And the two cousins did laugh, Elsa joining in as she was already of the mood. While settling in, the visitor persisted, "Would you really have minded so much if I shared your chair?"

Picking up her glass, she swirled it as she responded. "Jamais. Unless you stink of heavy travel." After they laughed, she sipped and then added, "But you smell of roses, so not a worry."

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow, then looked over at Anna as she said, "Ooooh, elle est du genre coquette!" Then she glanced down to Elsa's distinctly unfeminine garb. "Or… du genre coureur de jupons?"

"Excusez-moi!" Her affront was feigned, including the hand at her chest. "What I said was entirely fact, not flattery; you smell divine." However, the way the two cousins were giggling over her made it awfully hard to resist, so she added in an exaggeratedly wolfish tone, "Good enough to eat."

While Anna was certain she had nothing to fear from the teasing between the two women, she still felt a pang of jealousy coil within her stomach. She tersely interjected, "Ça suffit!"

Elsa stopped immediately, feeling her heart rise up into her throat. She softly inquired, "Anna, êtes-vous d'accord?"

Anna took a deep breath before she replied. "Je suis… Je suis d'accord, ma chère Elsa."

Elsa's brow furrowed, clearly not believing her dismissal, but Rapunzel cut in before she could say anything further. "So you paint?"

"Yes… I do." She glanced over to Anna one last time, and her eyebrows crossed in concern as she noticed the pout forming from her lips, and the teal eyes that rolled rudely. She didn't know what was making her turn from excited to such a displeased mood. They were only having a conversation, so why…

Then Elsa raised her eyebrows in understanding. Ah, so that's what's happening here. Unconsciously, she grinned, and the thought of wanting to tease Anna more seemed quite tempting.

"What do you paint?" Rapunzel asked, with complete interest in Elsa's life. It was quite uncommon to see a woman who paints, in such a rich residence, dressed in beautiful clothes. If anything, she would've thought that it was Anna's kind nature and Hans' willingness to provide her something after she had done a favor for them.

Turning back to Anna's cousin, Elsa replied, "Well, I paint a lot of things… but mostly, people and landscapes that are set as their background."

"Ooh, have you painted Anna? She's a gorgeous girl."

"I have, actually." Anna's petulance melted and softened, and Elsa relaxed from the release of tension. "I've… painted her au nu, a few times."

Rapunzel's face flushed and she gasped. She didn't sound horrified but… to Elsa's surprise, she was quite fascinated, with her hands up against her chest. "Ooh la la… well, I'm sure someone would paint you like that, too, since you are just as gorgeous."

She had to giggle at that. "Oh, there was a special someone who did…" She glanced over at Anna, who did, in fact, blush lightly at the memory.

"Oh, how I wish someone would paint me…" she sighed, dreaming for someone to look at her with adoration, and stroke their brush along the canvas to make her feel beautiful, to worship the body that she had.

Elsa chuckled and she eyed Anna carefully from the corner of her blue orbs. "Well… I can always do that for you."

"Really?" Her eyes widened, shining in hope and eagerness. "But I don't… well, don't want to be such a bother."

"You are quite beautiful, after all; I don't want my empty canvas to be waiting long."

At that, the woman's cheeks flared red, and her hands ended up laid on her thighs. But Anna's red cheeks seemed to have a very different meaning.

"W-Well, I mean…"

"You are Anna's cousin, I don't mind. If you'd like… I'd gladly paint you nu."

She gasped once more, eyes shining with excitement. "Really?!"

"Ç'est assez!" The chair scraped against the floor loudly as it slid back and Anna was on her feet. Her cheeks were bright red, and her eyes narrowed. "Elsa, I want to have a talk with you."

"We are talking," Elsa teased. But when Anna merely flared her nostrils dangerously, she nodded and set down her wine glass. "A moment, if you don't mind, meine Göttin." Both girls blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar term, but Elsa didn't bother to elaborate as she rose and stepped out into the nearby hallway.

Not long after, laughing over her shoulder, Anna rounded the corner—and her expression shifted so quickly from bemused to angry that Elsa flinched in shock. "Are you loufoque?! My cousin?!"

"I'm teasing, you silly goose. Both of you, by the look of your reaction."

"Then tease me some other way! You can't see my cousin au nu, I forbid it!"

That shifted Elsa's attitude very slightly. Before, she had been entirely casual, ready to apologise for going a bit too far with her needling. But the single word "forbid" had changed everything.

"Oh? You presume to tell not only me, but Rapunzel, what we are allowed to do?" Her hand raised and moved to cup Anna's cheek, but she brushed the gesture aside. Elsa set her jaw and followed up, "I was joking before, but now I think I might truly wish to paint her. After all, she will make a fantastic subject; surely you can see that much, non?"

Sighing, Anna forced herself to breathe, letting most of her ire fade. "Oh…. very well, you're right, she would be. Admittedly, I don't see this as you 'pursuing' her, not truly. But that doesn't mean I want your… vos yeux assoiffés pointing at her naked body! Can't you just paint her in a bathing costume or something?!"

Elsa chuckled at that, reaching up in an attempt to cup her cheek once more. This time, Anna allowed it, huffing irritably once a thumb brushed against her skin.

"If you were worried I will stray, I should think you know me better by now," Elsa murmured, lips quirking slightly. "Although, this jealousy of yours is oddly...inflaming. Is that how it was for you?" She could feel the heat rising to her face, and the blonde laughed again, leaning forward to lightly bump their foreheads together. "How about a compromise, ma chére? We can both paint her."

"What makes you think I want to paint my own cousin that way, either?!"

"Darling, it's only art. The greatest and most worthy of pursuits, yes, but I am nothing if not professional—as I expect from you, as well." Anna's pout made her chuckle, so she kissed her lips again. "We'll paint her from the back, perhaps?"

"No, we won't. I know you all too well, Madame Maurer, and you will want to paint every dimple and bump on her breasts, you, you…"

"Consummate professional?" Elsa insisted.

"UGH!" Throwing both hands into the air, she stomped back into the parlour, where Rapunzel had risen to look around at the few paintings of landscapes and flowers, old generals, that dotted the walls. When she heard them coming, she turned and brightened.

"Well, I hope I didn't make trouble for you! I… assume that was why you had to step away, right? My wish to be painted inconvenienced you…"

Anna rolled her eyes towards Elsa's mirthful little grin, her hands balled into fists on her hips. "You know what, Rapunzel—"

"Everything's fine," Elsa cut in as she sat back down. Rapunzel tilted her head, looking back and forth at the two. "We were just discussing… what time we should arrange so that we could paint you. Tea?"

Half-convinced, she nodded. Her eyes still laid on her grumbling cousin as she sat back down next to Elsa. "Yes, please. Oh, talking of painting, I was looking around while you were away… did you paint all of these?" She gestured the whole room as Elsa poured her a cup of tea and provided sugar along with it.

Anna grumbled lowly, "I want a cup, too…"

Mignonne, Elsa thought privately. The blonde poured all of them a cup, but she couldn't help but blush when Anna whispered a "thank you" and a "je t'aime". She laid a hand on Anna's and squeezed as she answered, "Well… Most of them, yes. A few here are some of the works of a few well known artists."

"Hmm…" Rapunzel rocked herself back and forth with a cup of tea in her hand. Her eyes roamed around the room. She pointed at the painting where there was a woman with quite an enigmatic expression and her hands folded. "This one's familiar. Leo… Leone… what's his name?"

"Leonardo da Vinci, yes. Mona Lisa is quite famous, actually."

"Unfortunately, it is only a copy," Anna filled in for her, warming to the topic that did not involve teasing her or painting family members without clothing. "The original is at Fontainebleau, safe and sound. Though I'm sure my Hans would have tried to buy it if he thought he'd get anywhere..."

"Not to say your paintings aren't breathtaking!" Rapunzel told Elsa in a rush, smiling at her over her teacup. "You're so gifted… oh, I wish I could paint like that. But I can't even paint a fence!"

As she laughed at herself, Anna and Elsa exchanged a pitying glance, abandoning their brief little back-and-forth. They felt she deserved at least the chance to test herself; their feelings were reflected in each other's gazes as being identical.

"Perhaps," Elsa began hesitantly, still watching Anna despite addressing her cousin, "after we're finished painting you, we could give you a lesson?"

"Really?!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she set down her teacup, green eyes bright with excitement. "Oh, how kind of you!"

"Ah, it is nothing for someone with such a clearly gifted eye for art as yourself," Elsa told her. "We start tomorrow, after breakfast, yes?"

As Rapunzel was literally bouncing up and down with joy, Anna shot the blonde a shrewd glance. Even after their discussion about the flirtation, still she persisted. So that was the way it was to be, was it? Well… time would only tell who made a fool of whom.

The next morning, the trio ate a light breakfast once Elsa had arrived—preserving the illusion of their being nothing more than friends, of course. Then they immediately retired to the now-aptly-named "drawing room" in order to paint.

"You're… sure you won't laugh at my figure?" Rapunzel asked, clutching the loose robe they had provided her more tightly about her shoulders. Already, she was blushing down at her bare feet, mocking her with the reminder that they weren't the only part of her that was without covering.

"I won't laugh, I promise," Elsa said from her spot behind her easel, getting her paints in order, "I can't say the same for Anna, however…"

"Hey!" Anna pouted from behind her own easel, proudly garbed in the smock Elsa had gifted to her for Christmas. It had since seen many uses since then but still remained just as comfortable as ever. And with painting her cousin nude, it would probably be best to be as comfortable as possible… "I'm not going to laugh at her, either! She won't visit again otherwise…"

The banter seemed to have eased Rapunzel, for she laughed, relaxing her shoulders. The flush on her cheeks still remained, but she walked over to the stool prepared with a small bounce to her step.

"Ready when you are," Elsa promised her.

"Oh… well then, here I go!" With a weak chuckle that almost turned into a whimper toward the end, Rapunzel discarded her robe and seated herself.

And Elsa did not react. Not outwardly, at any rate; as she had told Anna, she was nothing if not professional. But as she began to trace the brush across her canvas, a little at a time… privately, she could definitely appreciate the pretty young thing seated so nervously in front of her. Aesthetically, she had similar qualities to those that drew her to Anna in the first place. Not identical, and Anna was more appealing to her palate. Still…

Staving off those thoughts as best she could, she glanced over at Anna to mark her progress. The portrait was just beginning to take shape, and she was doing quite well for herself. The thought of Anna having honed her craft so much since they met brought a more earnest pleased expression to her face, and helped her turn and focus on her own task.

"Ooh…" When they leaned in to look at her, Rapunzel squirmed but tried not to move too much, hoping she hadn't ruined their work. "N-nothing. Just that… when Elsa's eyes are on me, I feel like she is… looking through me somehow. Isn't that silly?"

Anna smiled, ducking her head a little as her cheeks warmed slightly. "No...no, it's not. I feel that way too. Sometimes."

She can get so...intense. It's at once terrifying and exhilarating.

"Oh?" Elsa's voice dripped with amusement, almost a purr. "I must understand my subject, non? And for that, I must focus—confer the utmost respect as my hands immortalize the image for years to come."

"Intense," the cousins said in unison, matter-of-factly. Elsa feigned insult, turning her head away with her nose in the air, and giggles soon filled the room.

Eventually the giggles subsided as Elsa kept her focus trained on the task at hand for the next while, taking only the briefest required glimpses at their model for the day. For while she appreciated the female form, and Rapunzel's was very similar to Anna's—she was not trying to make Anna jealous even though that is plainly what had occurred the day prior.

Another half hour passed and Elsa reached a natural break point, having mostly completed the torso of the brunette on her canvas. She set her brush down, and quietly walked around to stand just behind Anna using the easel and canvas to block Rapunzel from her view and vice versa. With a mere whisper, she queried of the woman as she still painted, "Ma bien-aimée, êtes-vous d'accord?" As she continued, a melancholy tone seeped into her voice. "I'm sorry for making you jealous, it was jamais mon intention de la faire—I only sought to tease the girl. I… actually did not expect her to go through with this—in my experience, very few women feel comfortable enough to do so. S'il vous plaît, pardonnez-moi?"

Anna halted upon finishing the stroke of brush to canvas to give Elsa a sidelong glance. What she saw surprised her greatly, for the woman she loved stood behind her looking almost frail with her hands clenched tightly to her chest and eyes glistening as though tears were ready to stream from them without even a moment's notice. "Oh, ma chérie…" she whispered in return, "I suppose I cannot lay all the blame on you, even though I guess I have been." Her lips twisted slightly as she frowned. "And yes, the idea of your eyes roaming so freely over the figure of another au nu makes me exceedingly jealous. But… I never should have let that conversation get to the point where her being painted in this fashion even came up—she is my cousin, and I know how strong-willed she can be." She hesitated a moment before her voice took on a slight lilt of humour, "Much like somebody else I know, and love."

That seemed to break Elsa from her somber mood, as she wiped the faint traces of moisture from her eyes—eyes which alit anew with a twinkle.

"I am glad," Elsa murmured as her lips curved into a small smile that matched Anna's. She straightened back up, smoothing out any creases on her smock before returning to her easel. Her steps felt lighter from the exchange.

"Je t'aime," Anna whispered, much too low for Rapunzel to hear but just enough to catch Elsa's attention. Her voice dripped with mischief; the endearment more teasing than anything else, and the blonde shot a brief look over her shoulder. The warmth in her cheeks belied any steel her warning gaze held, and that warmth merely grew when Anna's shoulders shook from her barely-suppressed laughter.

"Is everything alright?" she heard Rapunzel ask.

"Everything's fine!" Anna called when Elsa failed to respond, waving a paint-smeared hand at her cousin.

Anna glanced over at Elsa, only to see her deeply focused on her canvas once more—having begun to paint Rapunzel's face. Anna was certain that once she finished the face, she would go back over the entire work as she always did to do small touch-up work, but from what she saw she was deeply impressed—although she was always impressed with the blonde's paintings, the woman was a true artiste.

She returned to focus again on her own canvas—she had the entire body outline in place, and had mostly finished the brunette's head and face already. Re-taking her brush into hand, Anna went back to finishing the face before moving onto the torso.

Rapunzel did her best to remain still, as she fought to keep the blush from her cheeks whenever one of the artistes looked her way.

"It's alright," Elsa reassured her during one of the moments she wasn't even looking at her. "I have painted more than just you and Anna in this fashion. Though I'm sure it will be of little comfort…"

"A-ah," Rapunzel tittered, blushing yet deeper at her blush having been noticed. "Well, I am glad that I'm not forcing you to do something that's… unusual."

"Forcing? It is a pleasure to have such a fine model." She saw Anna's eyebrow lift out of the corner of her vision, and grinned to keep herself from laughing. "A perfect specimen, molded from the gods themselves!" she began to exaggerate. "A paragon of—

"Oh, stop teasing her," Anna cut across her, even though what she likely meant was "stop teasing me."

Again, a laugh from the visitor, but one more robust and full of humour. "Oh, you two are so funny together; just like an old married couple!"

They both froze.

Thankfully, Rapunzel was too swept up in her mirth to notice the two painters stiffen at how closely her words had danced to their relationship. Elsa cleared her throat, managing an amused "Why, thank you," while Anna continued to grasp for words in her head.

"Y-Yeah, we try our best to entertain," the girl finally said, hiding behind her canvas. "Pretty convincing, non?"

"Oh, it's not such a bad thing," Rapunzel mused as she shifted back into her original position on the stool. "It simply means you two are very close. A wonderful friendship!"

"Suppose that's true," Elsa chuckled, adding a few more touches. Even despite their interruption, she had not mussed her work; so used to interruptions from Hans had she grown that almost nothing could make her do such a horrible thing. Her instinct was now to jerk her hand away from the canvas when surprised, and then worry about what was going on second.

Rapunzel nodded very briefly, returning her head to more or less the same position as before. "But you needn't pretend I am so beautiful just to tease each other."

"Who says I was pretending? Why, if you were a free woman, and I a free man…" They all chuckled, although Anna's was very slightly forced. "Anyway, chiding aside, you have nothing to feel ashamed about. Surely there is a beau waiting for you back in Arras?"

"Well…"

"Well?" Anna prodded, distinctly interested now as she looked around the easel. Again, that caused Rapunzel to blush and look away, but her red-haired cousin was too focused on this potential gossip. "There is a suitor?"

One of the girl's delicate hands came up to wave her away. "A silly boy who comes around to call up at me from the street, nothing more. Mother won't let him actually court me, she says he isn't 'of high enough breeding', but it hasn't dissuaded him yet."

"Oh? Persistent, is he? It's an admirable quality so long as it doesn't veer into excess," Anna mused, sharing a look with Elsa that her cousin couldn't see, what with her gaze still averted. She winked, and Elsa chuckled, shaking her head in mock dismay.

"Hmmm…" Elsa hummed out, as if thinking over the matter before continuing, "perhaps that is so, however who are we to judge what veers into excess?" She fired her own wink back at Anna in challenge as she finished her thought. "Sometimes a great deal of persistence is required when the target of one's affections is utterly oblivious to them."

Anna gasped at Elsa's boldness—she would have paid it no mind if the statement was uttered privately between the two of them, but with her cousin mere feet away from them…

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm utterly oblivious…I understand what it is he's trying to do," they heard Rapunzel say, and Elsa flashed a brief, parting smirk at Anna before returning her attention to their blushing subject. "Oh...what should I do?" the brunette asked, wringing her hands, and Elsa suppressed her flinch at seeing the woman out of position again. "I'm...curious to see where it could lead, and he invited me to the festival with him, but…"

Elsa chuckled. "Well, if you truly are interested, then I would suggest you meet with the gentleman and spend some time getting to know him. Perhaps he's not as roguish as he seems? And even if he is… there may not be anything wrong with that, either."

Anna interjected, "The festival sounds like a great time for that. Lots of people, easygoing atmosphere."

Both painters were looking around their easels to watch their subject at this point. Rapunzel sighed airily, eyes glossing over. She breathed out, "Yeah."

Anna and Elsa shared a knowing sidelong glance.

"You...should pursue him," Elsa said quietly, averting her gaze from Anna's to settle on the painting she was still working on. "After all...'tis better to have tried for something rather than not trying at all. You don't...want to regret something you had control over."

Rapunzel looked to Anna questioningly. "Anna, do you think the same?"

Anna sighed deeply, then took a deep breath. Her reply came out with a morose undertone. "I do. You must be true to your heart first and foremost. Your mind may be trying to tell you there's another path, but if it leads you away from that of your heart…" she trailed off softly.

Rapunzel stared at her cousin with a frown and a furrowed brow. The young woman was newly married, and yet the way she answered sounded like she'd been so deeply wounded in love already.

Elsa, gaze still focused deeply on her painting with the easel shrouding her from their subject's view, felt tears well up in her eyes once again—though she fought them back as regret coiled her stomach. However, she knew she had to change the topic, else there would be a very uncomfortable conversation.

With a forced cheery tone, she inquired, "Rapunzel, you mentioned you were headed to Paris when you depart dear Anna's company in a few days. Are there any particular sights you were hoping to take in while you visit?"

Thankfully the brunette didn't shift too much in her position, though the twitch in her shoulders spoke of how she wished to straighten up and probably clap her hands together with how her eyes immediately brightened at the question.

"Oh, Notre Dame de Paris, of course!" Rapunzel enthusiastically answered, "And Montmartre, and Sainte-Chapelle, and—"

I've forgotten how many churches exist in Paris… "Are there any other places you had in mind aside from those?" Elsa cut in, clearing her throat. While those churches were certainly beautiful and artistic in their own right, the subject of religion was a rather...sore one.

"Well, I heard about this new site—la Fontaine des Nymphes. It was built by the chief architect of the Palais du Louvre."

Elsa's mood brightened upon hearing that. "Oh, yes. Yes, I heard about that—the new public fountains along the wall of Cimetière des Saints-Innocents. And the sculpture work by Jean Goujon is supposed to be magnifique."

"Oh, that sounds amazing!" Anna exclaimed boisterously. "And the vineyards of Montmartre are quite splendid as well," she began before her voice again began to trail off ever so mildly, "or at least, such has been extolled to me at great length." Thankfully Rapunzel didn't react to the way her voice waned this time.

As their conversation progressed, so did their art. Both paintings were nearing completion.

Elsa, naturally, was the first to finish. It was almost time for dinner when the blonde finally set her brush down and stretched her arms over her head to work out the stiffness in her limbs and upper back. She smiled at her work, feeling rather satisfied at how it had turned out. Of course, there were a few imperfections here and there—details that she wished she could've done differently—but for an attempt to paint her lover's cousin au nu, it was...up to par with her usual works.

I wonder how Anna is faring?

But of course, Anna's was equally perfect. She really had come such a long way; the bright glimmer of diamond had been polished until all the rough fell away, and she shone all on her own merits. The perspective was very slightly different, but there were certain subtleties and contours that presented themselves more strongly in her work. It wasn't quite that Anna's was "better" or "worse" in those areas—merely that she had another view, another artistic vision. One that Elsa adored.

"We'll have to strip your cousin more often," Elsa said in an even, but bemused, tone.

"Wh-what?!" Anna burst out in shock, and a glance at Rapunzel told her the girl was turning red as a fine wine, probably as confused about why she was embarrassed as she was embarrassed in the first place.

"Your painting is magnificent. Apparently, having a subject as lovely as she really brought out your passion." When Anna still looked murderous, her lips twitched as she added, "Artistically."

"I think I'm done here," the redhead grumbled, setting her brush down beside her paints. Elsa laughed at that as she stood up to stretch her legs, walking over to her pouting protégée. As she walked, she gestured for Rapunzel to go clothe herself, which the brunette did with much relief.

"I really do mean what I said," Elsa whispered once her feet came to a stop, leaning her face closer under the pretense of scrutinizing Anna's painting. "It truly is magnificent. You've come a long way since the first time you tried painting a nude subject, ma chére."

Anna giggled at her words, reaching a hand up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It seems like forever since that first time," she said in a voice as equally soft, shyly ducking her head. "And it changed so much."

"It did." Elsa's smile turned distinctly insidious, and Anna suppressed a shiver. "And my painting of you… changed everything all the more. For the better, in my studied opinion."

Glancing over at Rapunzel, where she was just struggling into her chemise, Anna replied in a low voice, "Oh? And did those studies include my cousin? I do wonder what kind of research you did back in your motherland. How many, um… fräulein did you find yourself with?"

"Damen," Elsa corrected very gently, though she silently approved of Anna's every attempt to speak her native language. So few could in France that it was always a bittersweet joy to hear. "And not very many; it's as taboo there as it is here. Although… there were one or two I shared a stolen kiss with, a moment in a cupboard. Nothing so deep as our affection."

"I see," Anna said, unable to suppress her pleased smile completely.

"Though I am a bit surprised you've never asked until this moment. Weren't you curious where my hands have been, before they found their way to your…" Here, Elsa paused to waggle an eyebrow up and down far more than was strictly necessary. "Croissant?"

Anna couldn't help it—she snorted out a wholly unrefined laugh.

"Hey! Are you laughing at me?" Rapunzel whined from where she was slipping on the rest of her dress. "Anna, you promised!"

The girl snorted again, nearly slapping a hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter before realizing how her hands were still covered in paint. "It's not you, I promise!" she managed to call back. "Just...Just a funny joke Elsa told me." Her cheeks nearly hurt from the force of her smile.

"Really? What's the joke?" her cousin asked, striding over to them with a smile, now fully-clothed.

Chuckling, Elsa saw her fidgeting behind her back and leapt with the sudden realisation that she was trying to do up the back, rushing around behind her to assist. For her part, Anna fetched her shoes from near the door. "Nothing that would make much sense to you, I'm afraid," the blonde assured her as she pulled the strings tight of her corset tight first. "You know how old friends begin to share memories, and amusements based on those that no one else would find amusing."

"Ohhh, do try, do try!" Rapunzel whinged as she jumped up and down slightly, making it difficult for Elsa to accomplish her goal. "Even if I don't laugh, that's alright."

"Very well, you starrkopf." Luckily, the girl didn't seem to know that bit of German. Should she or shouldn't she tell her what they had been laughing about? In the end, she decided that as long as she wasn't specific… it might be amusing to tease the girl yet further. "We were just saying that, to, well… une femme qui aime les femmes, a woman's organes génitaux must be like a buttered croissant."

The short-haired brunette nearly leapt forward with a tiny squeak, so surprised was she by this turn in the conversation—an action that backfired drastically. As Elsa was still grasping onto her corset strings as tightly as she was, suddenly all of the poor girl's air supply was cut off by the tightly-clenched whalebone, and she began to scrabble at her throat with her hands.

"Zut alors!" Anna gasped as she ran forward to help her cousin regain breath. However, Rapunzel was startled by the movement further, the poor, flighty thing, and fell backward against Elsa, knocking them both to the carpet with a dull thump!

By the time they disentangled their limbs and tried to sit up, it was clear that Elsa had done her level best to catch their modèle du jour to cushion her fall. Unfortunately, this meant her hands ending up in two very unfortunate locations.

Rapunzel's corset strings may have been loosened in the process and given her air to breathe, but that did not erase the fierce blush spreading across her cheeks at the involuntary squeeze Elsa's hands gave to her breasts.

Immediately, the two yelped and scrambled to put distance between each other.

"Y-you… are you du genre coureur de jupons after all?!" Rapunzel accused, clutching the front of her dress as she backed into the wall, heels still digging at the edge of the area rug.

"Pardonnez-moi, plus sincères excuses!" Elsa told her desperately, completely shocked out of her playful mood by this turn of events. "I w-was just making a jest, I did not intend to startle you so! Are you alright?!"

At first, Anna had been standing with a scandalised look on her face, flipping between angry with her lover and concerned for her cousin. But now all she could do was laugh. So ridiculous did her harried Elsa look, beginning to crawl toward a scurrying little brunette who seemed more mouse than mademoiselle, that she could not contain her bemusement, and doubled over in gales.

She was aware of two different glares burning into her, but she didn't care. This was simply too amusing! "Mon dieu, I haven't laughed like that in a while!" Anna exclaimed, clutching at her sides, which were beginning to hurt. "Elsa, you should see your face!"

"Halt dein mund! Das ist schlimmer, Anna!" the blonde hissed; that very face turning as red as the brunette's opposite of her. Then, to the brunette in question, "I am so, so sorry about that, Rapunzel! I was only trying to catch you!"

"OH! Oh, you 'caught' me, alright, you, you… femme-amant!" But when Anna only continued to laugh at her, she buried her face in her hands and wailed, "Oh, I shall never be married! My body has been sullied—and by a woman painter, of all people!"

Finally, Elsa seemed to lose her patience with both of them and struggled to her feet, face a healthy puce. "Oh, to Hell with both of you over-emotional nuisances! I'm going to make some tea while you collect yourselves!" Anna was still laughing when she stomped from the room back to the parlour, rolling her eyes toward the heavens despite her atheistic leanings.

By dinnertime, the incident had become little more than a joke, earning a chuckle or two from Elsa at Anna and Rapunzel's exaggerated retellings at the table—much to the amusement of everyone there, including Kai and a few other servants as the food made its way around. In Hans' absence, Anna had insisted they join them at the table—to hell with the intricacies of servitude! It certainly made the manor feel cozier with more people around that weren't smug nobles.

"I'm sure you'll still find someone to marry you, mademoiselle," Kai reassured the brunette dramatically clutching at her heart, earning another round of laughter.

"Non, I will never," she said, raising a dramatic hand to her forehead, palm out. "I shall die an old maid, never having known a man's touch!"

"Only a woman's," Anna giggled, unable to help herself. Even Elsa chuckled at it now, though hers held a tinge more guilt than her ginger cohort's.

"Oh, stop teasing her, Anna. She's had enough excitement for one day, between posing au nu and having her breasts fondled."

There was a theatrical gasp from Rapunzel, and she actually picked up a pea on her spoon and used it as a catapult to fling the tiny green sphere at Elsa's head. "Don't speak so crassly, you womanizer! If you wanted a grope, you could have at least asked!"

Catching her own words, she gasped and giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, and the entire rest of the table lost their ability to squelch their own mirth for nearly ten minutes. And so it went for the rest of the evening.

Rapunzel, of course, would be staying the night before her departure in the morning—most likely sharing a room with Anna and catching up further until they burned the midnight oil. As such, Elsa and Anna only had a few minutes of privacy to spare, exchanging quick kisses and fleeting touches away from curious eyes. Pressing a final kiss to Anna's cheek, Elsa whispered a farewell for the night to her lover, promising a day of passion after their visitor left.

But for now…

"Sweet dreams," Anna softly called, waving after the blonde. Elsa gave a wave of her own before continuing down the hallway to her old room, as it was too late to brave the streets of Paris at this time...nor did she want to be too far from Anna tonight, either.

After all, a head start was always welcome…

They gathered out front of the de Neuvillette château to bid the dear relation farewell as Kai helped load her bags into the coach. Anna wiped at her eyes as she drew back from their third or fourth hug, saddened to see her only distant relation with whom she spoke go and lamenting that she would be gone so long.

Then Rapunzel came to Elsa. Her arms widened for a hug, but then she drew them back in and held up a finger. "Watch your hands," she warned with a slight smirk.

"Bien sûr," she laughed, giving her a chaste hug and a few pats on the back, the usual cheek-kisses. "I promise no more funny business, even by accident. I've learned my lesson."

"Oh? What a pity, I was beginning to get used to your roaming fingers!"

"Tu marrante," Elsa chuckled weakly, more than weary of the ribbing by now but putting up with it one last time because Rapunzel was being such a good sport about the unfortunate event. "Truly a hilarious branch of Anna's family tree."

"Who says I'm joking?"

As the brunette returned to the carriage, blowing a kiss to Anna, she waved to both of them with her handkerchief, an "Au revoir!" on her lips while she began to pull away from her cousin's home. But her eyes remained on Elsa, who began to feel an odd chill creeping up her spine. Perhaps she was just teasing on an entirely new level… perhaps not. Just how powerful was her apparent magnetism?

Elsa nearly flinched at the feeling of an arm looping around her own, familiar fingers threading with hers. "Oh, relax," Anna quietly chided, too low for Kai to hear, "It's just a bit of fun."

"I seem to recall you didn't find it so funny at one point," Elsa chuckled, giving her lover's hand a squeeze before taking a step to the side and letting go when Kai turned to look at them.

"Sprightly, isn't she?" he remarked with a smile, turning to head back into the château. "Shall I prepare the usual mid-morning snack for you two in the painting room?"

Elsa resisted the urge to smirk in Anna's direction—not when the servant's eyes were still on them as he glanced over his shoulder. Instead, she cleared her throat, answering in as casual a voice as she could muster, "Actually, could you bring it to the private gallery instead? Anna thought it would be nice to look over the collection and see how it could be...improved."

"Ah...of course," Kai said, bobbing his head in a nod before disappearing through the doors.

Anna immediately whirled on her, mouthing "Improved?" as she arched a russet brow in confusion. Elsa merely chuckled again, moving to follow Kai's lead in returning inside. She glanced over her shoulder, lips curling into a smirk that left no doubt as to what she had in mind.

"I'd say we need a couple nude figures to liven the collection, don't you agree?"

...And liven it, they did.

Our contributors: iamrottingunman/iamrottingbitch, forkanna/Jessica-X, Cyrianu, The Wandering Quill