“I don’t know…” Holly frowned as the pixie continued the deep tissue massage. Her friendship with Caballine had softened her tomboy ways, and Holly had actually found herself enjoying trips to the spa or the mall, as long as the quirky centaur was there to keep her company.

She still wasn’t about to be caught dead in a dress.

“Come on,” insisted Caballine. “It’ll be fun. After all, the LEP’s 5000th anniversary ball only comes, well, every 5000 years.”

Holly rolled her eyes. Leave it to Caballine to say something redundant like that. “I don’t have a date, Caballine. Would you really put me through that sort of embarrasment? Holly hoped her feigned distress would discourage her. In truth, she knew exactly who she would have liked to go with, but that was a distinct impossibility. Especially after everything that had happened in their latest fiasco…

Her train of thought was cut off, however, when Caballine winced. “Well…”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. Foaly, on the other hand…”

“Caballine, so help me, if you don’t tell me what the two of you did, I will force you into a tunnel behind Mulch.”

The centaur paled at that image- she liked the kleptomaniac dwarf no more than her husband- and told the truth. “We kind of already asked Trouble for you.”

Holly was enraged. “Trouble? No, Caballne. I can’t go to the 5000th ball with my own commander. It’s…”

“Never been done before? That’s because there’s never been a woman on the force before. Please, Holly? It’ll be no fun without you.”

Holly sighed. It was no use arguing with Caballine when she was in one of these moods. “I’m not wearing a dress,” Holly promised.

Caballine grinned. She’d get Holly in a ballgown yet. She just hoped things were going as well for Foaly and Trouble.

Some other stories by Marie Svenson:

• Corona
• Thank You