Chapter Text

In an instant the room was filled with laughter, shouts, gasps, and applause, and then by the driving bass beat coming from the stereo stashed in Anna's satchel. Anna danced, carefree in her nudity, teasingly close to Punzy (who was flustered, covering her face with her hands but peeking through her fingers) and Megara (who pretended to be above it all, but was clearly and unexpectedly out of her element). Anna was sexy but never vulgar, and the partygoers gradually joined in the dancing as if one of their number was not a stark-naked redhead with a dusting of freckles on her creamy and exposed skin.

Well, most of the partygoers. Elsa still stood, holding her jacket to her chest. She drifted back to her armchair and perched on one of the arms. The song ended, Anna bowed to her admirers, bowing particularly long and deeply as she was facing away from Elsa.

Elsa stared for a moment, then quickly looked away. She fumbled with the remote on the side table and turned on her party mix playlist, keeping up the momentum of the dancing. And hoping that Anna would keep going? No, of course not. That would be…inappropriate. Anna was an employee. Anna was…

walking over to sit on the other arm of Elsa's armchair, smiling casually. “Oh, sorry. You don't mind? A naked and slightly sweaty girl sitting on the furniture?”

“It's Scotchgarded,” blurted Elsa, and wished she could vanish into the cushions of the chair like that cat in the video Snow had forwarded to her the other day.

“Yeah, I saw that video,” said Anna. “It was cute.”

“Oh, that was out loud. Sorry,” said Elsa. “Would you like to…?” She offered Anna her jacket.

“Do you want me to cover up?” Anna gestured at her own naked body. Elsa looked up and down at Anna, seriously considering the question. Do I want to keep looking at her? She's so beautiful. Oh fuck, I'm staring like a pervert. Because I am a pervert. Oh god it's been so long since I've been with anyone. But she's okay with this. It's her job. And she's not uncomfortable. Yet. I hired her, I can stare if I want to, right? Jesus fuck, that's creepy. But am I judging her for her job? Oh goddamn fucking fuckity fuck on a fuck cracker. That shaved heart. It's so pretty. And tidy. I love attention to detail. And it looks so soft. It would feel so soft. I wish I could stroke her gently, letting the hair graze against the backs of my fingers, not actually touching her. Not at first. Jeez, now I'm staring at her crotch! Maybe if I give her a big tip she won't tell anyone. Stay cool. Don't let it show. What is wrong with me? I mean, besides not getting laid since…oh fuck don't even think about it.

Anna waited patiently for Elsa to form a sentence, then gently took the jacket and slipped it on. “There. Now we can have a conversation.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Hey, no biggie.” The casual smile faded as Anna leaned towards Elsa and lowered her voice. “Listen. I get it. You've never hired a…someone like me, and here I am in your home, and you don't know what to do. It's okay. It's awkward. I'm used to being awkward.”

“You?”

“This thing I do. It's an act. I mean literally. It's all scripted. In the real world, without my props and my storyline, I'm actually kind of a dork.”

“It's all scripted? Even that last part?” Elsa facepalmed. “Of course. You shaved your… I mean, you were prepared. You had to have done that ahead of time.” Anna nodded, smiling proudly. “But it seemed so real.”

“Thank you.” Anna bowed in recognition. Carefully, since she was perched on the arm of a leather armchair.

“I mean, you were blushing with embarrassment.”

“You must've been watching very closely.” Anna smirked. “Actually, I didn't realize I was blushing. But it wasn't with embarrassment.” She read Elsa's baffled expression. “I was thinking of all the things that might happen if I actually was, as I said, 'totally naked and totally yours.' “

“Totally Meg's and Punzy's, you mean. Right?”

“No, not necessarily.” Anna's smirk turned into a genuine smile. “I want to thank you for being ready to jump to my defence. It was very sweet and brave of you. It was an act for me, but it wasn't for you, and I want you to know I take that seriously. You're a good person.”

Elsa was unnerved by Anna's direct gaze. She cleared her throat. “So, how did you get into being a…um…”

“Magician? Or stripper?”

“Uh, magician,” said Elsa, a little too loud and too sudden.

Anna shifted on her perch, sliding back so she could lean on the chair back, her legs curled up, her bare feet on the chair's cushion. “Ooh, warm. You get surprisingly cold getting naked. Thanks for warming it up for me.” She wiggled her toes on the soft leather. “Anyway. I was a little girl and my parents took me to a magic show. 'The Unbelievable Weseltoni and Susan.' It was a real throwback. Guy in a tux, female assistant in a gold lamé one-piece and fishnet stockings. In retrospect it was kind of cheesy, but I was just fascinated. I wanted to be up on that stage, doing what that guy was doing. So I studied and practised, and I got pretty good. Then I discovered a couple of things.”

“What?” said Elsa.

“First, if you're not famous or gimmicky you can't make a living as a stage magician. Second, back when I was a little girl, dreaming of being on that stage? What I really wanted all along was for a beautiful assistant in gold lamé and fishnets to do whatever I asked. I wasn't a magician, I was just gay.” They chuckled, Elsa lowering her eyes and hiding her smile behind her hand. Anna continued, “If you don't mind my asking, and it's none of my business, but…are you?”

“A magician? Me?”

“No, the other thing. I mean, the happy couple obviously are, and I'm guessing your guests are. Those two for sure,” said Anna, nodding at Ariel and Jane, who were making out on the couch next to a dozing Aurora. “But you, there's a distance, and I don't know if you're not interested, or… Hey. Like I said, it's none of my business.”

“No, no, it's just—“

Elsa didn't get a chance to explain what it just was as Snow popped up, her eyes shining, her breath smelling of vodka and Calvados. “Listen. Magnificent Anna. I just gotta know. Your magic. I know a lot of it was, you know, pestergitation and stuff. But you couldn't have done all that with…that. So tell me. Do you have real magic?”

The warm smile that Anna had been shining on Elsa was now shining on Snow. “Do you mean, like psychic powers?”

Snow's eyes grew wide. “You do, don't you. That is so amazing. I knew it. It is real, isn't it?”

Elsa folded her arms around herself.

“I have a good feeling about you,” Anna said to Snow. She took Snow's hand and closed her eyes in thought. “I think you may have psychic abilities, too. I wouldn't be surprised if you were just as psychic as I am.” Snow gazed adoringly at Anna. “Do you want to find out?”

Snow didn't let go of Anna's hand. “Yes. Please. I would love to do the thing with you.”

“Okay then.” Anna stood. She looked at Elsa, still seated. “You, too. Tell me, Elsa.” She fixed Elsa with her gaze. “Do you believe in magic?”

Elsa had been feeling that distance Anna had talked about. But there was something challenging in those teal eyes, something both teasing and inviting. It felt to Elsa like there was something hidden in that question. She wasn't sure what Anna's game was, but she wanted to find out. And she suspected Anna wanted her to find out, as well. “Do I believe in magic?” She grinned a defiant challenge back at Anna. “Define 'magic'.”

Anna smiled back and seated them both at a small table, fetching a deck of cards and sitting between them. She riffled the deck and divided it into two piles, setting one face down in front of each of them. She turned to Elsa. “Paying attention?”

“You bet.”

Anna turned to Snow. She took Snow's hand and placed it on the top of the stack of cards, her own hand remaining on top of Snow's. “I want you to trust your feelings. Listen to them. Believe in them, like I believe in you.” Snow nodded, slack-jawed with admiration. “I want you to take these cards and discard them, one at a time. But if you feel like it's a black card, flip it over. Now, don't worry. I don't expect you to find all the black cards in the deck. Don't force yourself. But if you get that feeling, if it feels right to you, flip the card over and we'll see if it's really black or not. Okay?” Snow nodded.

Anna turned to Elsa. “I want you to do the same thing, but with red cards. If it feels like it's red, turn it over. Otherwise, discard.” She sat back. “Snow, you go first.”

Snow and Elsa alternated, both discarding the first couple of cards. Snow hesitated, tensed, then flipped a card.

Ten of clubs. Snow relaxed, letting out the breath she was holding.

“There! You see?” said Anna.

Elsa tried to “feel” if her cards were red. She felt awkward and a little silly, especially since she believed it was impossible. More out of experimentation than confidence, she turned a card.

Three of diamonds.

“Good work, Elsa!” said Anna.

“Cool!” said Snow.

Elsa glared accusingly at the card, as if it were up to something. One in two odds. No big deal.

They both proceeded. To Snow's mounting excitement and Elsa's growing unease, every single time Snow flipped a card it was black, and every time Elsa chose to flip a card it was red. Elsa kept a running tally of the odds of it happening by chance. She was up to 4,096 to 1.

Snow was bouncing in her chair. Elsa sat back and looked at Anna, confused and unsettled. Could it be real?

“Well, Elsa?” said Anna. “Do you believe in magic?” Anna seemed to be trying to convince Elsa that she had psychic powers, but there was something else in Anna's expression. Challenging Elsa, but at the same time cheering her on. Which was odd, considering how much attention she was paying to Snow, and how much Snow was paying to her.

Elsa stared at the deck as Anna focused all her attention on the smitten Snow. A thought tickled Elsa's brain but wouldn't quite condense into words. She flipped a card. Two of hearts. She flipped the next card. Ace of diamonds. She flipped card after card, without discarding. Seven of diamonds. Five of diamonds. Jack of hearts. Eight of diamonds. Four of hearts. Red. Red. Red. Red. Red. “Anna?” she said, her blue eyes gazing levelly into Anna's teal ones, not even looking at the cards as she kept flipping them over.

She got it. Anna had riffled the cards but not shuffled them, then she had given all the black ones to Snow and the red ones to Elsa.

Anna turned her back on Snow and her proud grin for Elsa went from ear to ear. Elsa's stern expression crumbled into a conspiratorial grin.

“Clever girl,” said Anna.

“Back at you. Tease.” Elsa spread out her cards and pulled out the Queen of Hearts. “So. Is…this your card?”

“Yes it is,” said Anna. She delicately removed the card she had tucked into Elsa's pocket before, when she was handing out cheesecake photos of herself, to reveal that this one alone had Anna's phone number on it. “And this is yours.”