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7.33pm

Cindie: I'm in a taxi, can someone order me a Cosmopolitan please? I'll be there in 10.

~

"Do you think she does it on purpose?" 

"Who?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, a gesture that looked out of place on such an otherwise kind and innocent face. "Cindie, obviously. She's always last to arrive. I think she just doesn't like getting the first round in."

The group broke into laughter at this, and Rapunzel chuckled as she slid her iphone back into her clutch bag and signalled to the bartender. "I mean, if I can get here on time after abseiling down the side of a tower using my own bloody hair... well, she has no excuse," she continued, tucking an imaginary stray lock into place, a teasing glint in her eye.

The bartender arrived, a little irked to have been beckoned over like some sort of pet dog, and looked expectantly at the girls seated around the circular oak table in the corner of the crowded bar. "Can I help you, ladies?" 

"We'd like to order some drinks," Elsa announced, looking up from the cocktail menu and flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Oh - you need to order and pay at the bar," he replied uncomfortably, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as Elsa surveyed him severely. 

"Or... you could take our orders here, accept my cash and keep the change," she smiled sweetly, and he seemed to shiver under her cool stare.

"Well, I suppose I could make an exception," he muttered, fumbling for a pad and pencil in the front pocket of his apron. He had learned from past experience that rich, beautiful women were better to appease than to argue with, particularly when there was a large tip at stake.

"I rather thought you might," Elsa smiled, with a satisfied nod. "I'll have a frozen strawberry daiquiri, and a vodka sour."

"A vodka sour?" Belle repeated, looking over the top of her own menu in surprise. "Are we doing shots?"

Elsa gave a wry smile. "I am. I can't speak for anyone else." She lowered her voice and leaned in towards the centre of the table, casting a surreptitious glance over her shoulder to make sure they were not overheard. "It's my coronation next month, so who knows when I'll next be able to escape Arendelle? Security will be much tighter once I'm queen, and everyone will know my face."

"But you'll still be able to come on our girls' nights, won't you?!" Snow White demanded, while Belle flashed the bartender a flirty smile as she placed her order. He smiled back at her, his eyes returning to hers repeatedly as he went around the table taking the remaining orders, and winking as he tucked his pad back in his apron pocket before disappearing in the direction of the bar. He had always been a sucker for a pretty smile.

Elsa shrugged, picking at an imaginary spot on the tabletop with a perfectly manicured nail. "I don't know. Everyone thinks I've been confined to the castle like a perfect little princess all these years. I can't have my good-girl image shattered by a reporter and a long-range camera."

The girls exchanged dismayed glances around the table. They all knew of Elsa's impending coronation, but none of them had expected it to impact their regular arrangement. 

"But Elsa," Aurora protested from beside Belle, "we're all in the same boat! If any of us got caught here tonight it would be the scandal of the century! It would do nothing for our pure, untainted reputations. And I know we're all dreaming of a handsome prince galloping in on a noble steed -"

Belle snorted impatiently. "Speak for yourself! Seriously - you need to get your head out of the clouds, Aurora. Life isn't one long fairytale."

Before Aurora could respond, the bartender reappeared with a tray of drinks, and beamed at Belle again as he began handing them out. The girls' conversation halted temporarily, until he threw one last flirtatious look in Belle's direction before strutting away with his chest puffed out.

"I think you've pulled, Belle," Rapunzel teased.

"Yuck," Belle huffed, wrinkling her nose. "Are you joking? He's a beast. He has hairy hands."

"Don't be so superficial," Aurora chuckled, wagging her finger in mock admonishment. "One of these days you're going to meet someone and fall head over heels for them, and it will probably be the person you least expect."

"Well, it won't be a beast," Belle retorted, as the others laughed. "I'm not in the habit of roughing it up."

"I wouldn't mind a bit of rough," Snow White mused.

"Is this your way of telling us you've done the dirty with one of your seven men?" Elsa asked wickedly, and Snow White squealed in indignation.

"No I have not! Get your mind out of the gutter! Those guys are my friends!"

"Pretty cosy arrangement if you ask me, Snow White," Elsa remarked.

"Well no one was asking you!" Snow White flustered, a deep pink flooding her porcelain complexion, and she fanned herself dramatically with the wine list.

"More like Snow Red, judging by the colour of your cheeks right now," Rapunzel put in, making Snow White flap some more. "Don't forget we've seen you swinging round a lamppost at three a.m. after a few too many piña coladas - the demure act doesn't wash with us."

"Sorry I'm late, sorry I'm late!"

The princesses all looked up as Cinderella bustled up to the table looking harrassed, and took the last empty chair at the table between Aurora and Elsa. 

"Speaking of the demure act," Elsa smirked, inclining her head towards Cinderella. "How are you, Cindie? And how are the ugly sisters?"

"Still ugly," Cinderella declared flatly, bending down to tuck her bag under her chair. "And downright rude. They've been unbearable since these bloody invitations arrived for the royal ball. They're both desperate to be noticed by this bachelor prince. Personally, I think the whole thing is a bit weird. If he's that eager to find himself a wife, why doesn't he just get on Tinder like everyone else?"

"Ha! Imagine!" Rapunzel grinned. "Prince - twenty two, Next In Line To The Throne, one mile from here. Likes castles and fine wine. Dislikes dating and small talk. Seeking meek little woman to obey his every command, wear ballgowns and glam it up at royal engagements."

"Meek little woman? Well that rules out the ugly sisters. Not mention all of us," Cinderella snorted.

"Not in the eyes of our kingdoms," Belle reminded them, looking round the table as the princesses exchanged knowing smirks. "If our loyal subjects could see what we get up to when we're all together..."

"Exactly the reason why I'm going to need to keep a low profile for a while," Elsa sighed, twirling the stem of her glass between her long, slender fingers.

"Well in that case, if this could be our last hurrah for a while we need to make it a good one!" Aurora beamed. "Where's the barman gone? Let's order shots for everyone."

"No," Cinderella groaned. "You know I can't handle my alcohol. Last time you bought me shots was on my birthday, and we all know how that ended up."

Cinderella had been so drunk that she had only just made it back home before sunrise, and had left one of her shoes in the taxi. A panic had arisen to retrieve said shoe before her formal birthday dinner took place the following evening, without anyone finding out it had even been missing in the first place; much less that Cinderella had been outside the palace grounds unsupervised, gyrating against a dark and handsome stranger in a sweaty club well into the small hours. It was enough to make her feel faint at the memory.

"I'll make sure you get home safely, Cindie," Rapunzel grinned. "We can share a cab. I promise to have you home before daylight."

"Yes, but in what state?" Cinderella asked, darkly. 

"With both your shoes this time, and without your dress tucked into your knickers," Elsa snickered.

"Good job she's wearing jeans," Aurora grinned as the bartender appeared at the table again, looking weary. "A round of tequila slammers please," she ordered. "And one for yourself, while you're at it."

This seemed to perk him up, and he caught Belle's eye again. "Coming right up," he nodded, and he scurried away hastily, returning a few minutes later with a tray of shots, several slices of lemon and a couple of salt shakers.

Much laughter ensued as the princesses fought over the salt shakers, and lined up their lemons and their shooters in front of them.

"Ready?" Snow White asked, lifting hers in the air. The others followed suit, giggling.

"To the future queen of Arendelle!"

"Shhh!" Elsa hissed, as the girls downed their drinks, banged the empty glasses on the table and sucked frantically on the lemons, twisting their beautiful faces into expressions of disgust and laughing hysterically at each other.

Although their conversation thankfully could not be overheard, their excitement and high spirits had attracted the attention of two young men sitting nearby, and after a couple of minutes' deliberation one of them got to his feet, drink in hand, and approached the princesses' table.

"Good evening ladies," he began, making eye contact with Aurora who smiled sweetly.

"At what point did we stop being girls and become 'ladies'?" Rapunzel demanded, ignoring the intruder and looking at the others for clarification. "That's twice already tonight. I for one don't feel old enough to be called 'lady'. Is it this outfit? Does it age me?"

She gestured to her delicate lilac top and cutoff shorts, her creased brow forcing worry lines to her forehead that would certainly disappear with her disapproval. 

"Maybe it's the grey hairs," Elsa suggested slyly, watching Rapunzel's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

"I do not have grey hairs!" Rapunzel huffed. 

"You have a couple," Elsa insisted. "It's all that stress of sneaking out of your tower all the time - not to mention sneaking your fancy man up there at every opportunity."

"The exercise does me good," Rapunzel winked, as the princesses all whistled and laughed.

"I apologise if I offended you," the young man smiled nervously, directing his words to Aurora and speaking a little louder to be heard over the squeals. "My name is Arthur, and I was wondering if my friend and I might join you all?"

"Depends," Belle smirked before Aurora could answer, leaning forward on the table and eyeing Arthur with a challenging expression. "Are you a prince?"

"Maybe," he countered, smirking back and now turning his attention to Belle. "And would you be a princess?"

"For my day job," Belle retorted, as Elsa choked on her drink. "We all are. We sneak out from our kingdoms every few weeks for a drunken night out. Which is why we can't talk to commoners - only royalty." 

"Is that so?" Arthur grinned, his gaze flitting back to Aurora again. "You're all princesses, huh? I mean, what are the chances?"

"You couldn't make it up, could you?" Rapunzel chimed in, joining in Belle's banter.

"You really couldn't," Arthur chuckled, tapping his finger against his chin, playfully. "I wonder why I don't recognise any of you..?"

Belle rolled her eyes, rather enjoying this exchange and the inside joke at the stranger's expense. "Well obviously because we're not wearing our crowns."

"Right!" Arthur laughed, rocking back on his heels and pointing at Belle with a flick of his wrist. "That must be it. You're incognito."

"Exactly!" Belle exclaimed, triumphantly. "See, now you're getting it."

"So what do you do?" Aurora asked. "When you're not busy being a prince, obviously."

"Ah, well it sounds boring, but I am a financial adviser," Arthur answered, and the princesses let out a collective groan.

"I thought this was supposed to be a girls' night?" Snow White interrupted, directing a meaningful glance at Aurora. "We're meant to be drinking cocktails and dancing on tables, not chatting up strange men."

"I'm only being friendly," Aurora protested. 

"And I'm not strange," Arthur added incidentally.

"Sorry," Elsa apologised to Arthur, cutting across Aurora. "She's right. Tonight is girls only." 

He held his hands up and gave a nod of concession. "Say no more. I wouldn't want to intrude. Enjoy your evening ladies - I mean girls."

"Princesses," Belle corrected to his retreating back, and Elsa kicked her under the table.

He threw one last smile over his shoulder as he returned to his friend, and Rapunzel nudged Aurora. "I think you've pulled, too."

"Oh stop, he was just being nice," she argued.

"Yeah, because he fancied you," Cinderella grinned. She loved exploiting Aurora's innocence. "He was desperate to tell you about his fascinating job as a financial adviser."

"Don't," Aurora groaned. "It's enough to put me to sleep for a hundred years."

"So you didn't fancy him back?" Snow White asked.

"No! I was just being polite!"

"Come on girls," Elsa interrupted. "I thought we came for cocktails and dancing. I say we order another round of shots and get this party started."

"Hear hear!" the others chorused, and for the next two hours the bartender dutifully brought trays of tequila slammers, cocktails and champagne while the princesses slowly got rowdier and rowdier, kicked off their shoes and eventually got up on the tables to bop to Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

It was almost midnight when a rather tipsy Cinderella flopped down heavily on a chair, her usually immaculate hair in disarray and her cheeks flushed from dancing. "What time is it? I need to be back by twelve, before anyone notices I'm gone."

"This self-imposed midnight curfew will be your downfall one of these days," Snow White teased, stumbling slightly as she aimed her bottom at the chair next to Cinderella, but missed and landed on the arm instead. "It's five to, now."

"What?!" Cinderella yelped, grabbing Snow White's wrist and attempting to focus. "Rapunzel, dammit, you said you would keep me in check!"

"I said I would see you home safely before daylight," Rapunzel pointed out. "I never committed to a precise time."

"I have to go, I have to go," Cinderella panicked, and began pulling her shoes on without fastening them properly, and fished her bag out from under her seat. "The watchmen begin their rounds at midnight. They'll catch me sneaking in!"

"Come on then," Rapunzel grinned, amused by Cinderella's agitation. "I'll call it a night as well. Last time I climbed back up the tower this drunk I got my dress hooked on a window catch and hung there for about twenty minutes trying to free myself. It was most undignified."

"Yes, because you're all about the dignity aren't you," Elsa chuckled, as Snow White let out a discreet burp, and Belle gave a bark-like laugh. "And you're worried about our little gatherings being discovered? No one in their right mind would think we're royalty. Look at us! We're like ladettes on tour!"

"Prince-lesses on tour!" Aurora giggled.

"And what happens on tour stays on tour!" Rapunzel hiccoughed.

"Exactly," Snow White slurred, reaching for her phone and knocking over a couple of empty glasses in the process. They fell to the floor with a delicate tinkle, and she threw an apologetic look at the barman who swept up the mess with a dustpan and brush and a jaded expression.

They began to round up their possessions and followed Cinderella and Rapunzel outside to the taxi rank where the wind cooled their pink cheeks, they said their goodbyes, finished off conversations (and started new ones) and promised to be in touch via the group chat to arrange the next night out after Elsa's coronation. One by one they stumbled into waiting cabs and headed off in the directions of their kingdoms; tired and drunk, but elated at having pulled off yet another wild night under everyone's noses. 

One day the futures of these young princesses would be filled with royal obligations that would undoubtedly prevent them from hiding in plain sight and indulging in clandestine drinking sessions to alleviate the pressures of growing up within the monarchy. But for now, they had each other, and each was quietly determined to continue to rebel against their constitution, if for no other reason than the sake of their sanity.

~

1 new group message.

12.10am

Cindie: I left my fucking shoe in the taxi again 😒