Watercolor Daydreams
By: Shironami
Clover watched Sofia from his spot on her settee as she searched her closet, "What should I bring, Clover? I want to look nice, but Grand Mum said she wanted to go hiking around Avalor and see if we could find anything ah-mazing. So, should I go with style or comfort? If Amber were here she'd say style without question! But...I really don't want to get blisters or have the bottom of one of my best gowns get filthy," she pushed gowns that hung on delicate hangers back and forth.
"I don't know, Kid. Not like bunnies wear clothes, our fur is all year-round, all occasions!" He pushed her luggage off to the right, allowing more room for him to stretch out, "Just bring what you always wear," the gray bunny said while munching on a carrot.
Sofia walked up and down her closet, "I think I should bring trousers, or maybe adventuring clothes like Aunt Tilly gave me! Something easy to walk in..." she trailed off as she started placing things neatly into the suitcase that lay next to Clover on the settee in the middle of the room.
"I think that's good enough!" She exclaimed as she put the last garment into her suitcase and latched it closed, "I can't wait to see Elena again."
They walked out of her closet together and Sofia sat her suitcase down on her bed, "Are you sure you don't want to come with us? It'll be a lot of fu~n!" She said to him in a sing-song voice.
"Naw, thanks Princess; but I think I'll stay here. That's a long way for a bunny to travel. I'll stay home and catch up on my napping. Or maybe some eating. Maybe, I'll catch up on my eating and then napping! Yeah, I like that plan!"
Sofia laughed, "If you insist. You're more than welcome to stay here in my room instead of your burrow, if you want," she said while gesturing to her bed.
"You're the nicest princess I've ever met!" Clover jumped up onto the covers and made himself comfortable.
"You're very welcome," said responded in her best "Baileywick" voice.
"Ha! That's great! Now do Cedric!" Clover said laughing.
Sofia cleared her throat and in her best imitation of the sour sorcerer said in a slight whine, "Merlin's mushrooms!"
Clover doubled over with laughter, "That was pretty close!"
Sofia giggled, "Yeah, it's pretty funny. Mom would probably say it's not very nice, though," the girl said with a frown on her face.
"Aw, grownups, what can you do about em?" Clover said while fluffing a pillow to sleep on.
"You have a nice time while I'm gone and stay out of trouble!" Sofia said while picking up Clover to give him a strong good-bye cuddle.
He reluctantly gave into the hug, "You too, Kid."
She gently set him down on her bed and picked up her suitcase, "I'll see you when we get back!" She lugged her suitcase to the door of her room then turned around to give her best bunny friend a final wave at the door.
She hurried down corridors, through giant doors and immense staircases; trying to navigate the huge castle and not drop her luggage. She was already running late. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Baileywick was not a fan of tardy princesses.
Sofia finally made it to the Grand Entrance to meet up with the rest of her family, "There you are! I was about to send Baileywick to go get you," Queen Miranda said while pulling her youngest child into her side for a small hug.
Baileywick quietly walked behind Sofia and took her suitcase from her, "Now that we're all here, shall we depart?"
Baileywick handed Sofia's suitcase to Cedric, "Put this in the carriage, would you please?"
Cedric glowered and muttered under his breath, "I'm not one if your castle servants!" However, he stowed the light purple suitcase anyway, muttering to himself all the while.
Sofia noticed Cedric stuffing her suitcase none too gently into the back of the carriage. She let go of her mother and ran over to him, giving him a tight hug around the waist, "I'll keep practicing the new spell you taught me and I'll bring you back a souvenir from Avalor! I bet Mateo knows all sorts of neat, magical Avalorian things, I'll have to ask him to help me find something perfect," Cedric pushed the child away from him.
"Yes, you do that," he said with a slight frown. She still annoyed him to no end, but so did everyone else. All in all, he supposed she wasn't all bad. He affectionately patted her on the head and started to make his way back to his lonely tower, Wormwood gliding midair alongside him. Sofia gave him an enthusiastic wave good-bye that he returned half-heartedly.
Grand Mum nearly skipped up to Sofia, flanked on either side by James and Amber, "Hello, my darling!"
Sofia smiled and gave the Dowager Queen a tight hug, "Are we ready for an adventure, Grand Mum?" She asked as James silently moved away from them and towards King Roland who stood behind his mother.
"Oh yes, Sofia my dear! Such grand adventures we shall have!" She giggled girlishly and ignored the exasperated sigh that escaped her grown son, "I'm quite excited to see a jaquin. I've heard they let people ride them; that is, if they like you well enough," she finished, a smile still on her face.
"Brilliant!" James said with excitement.
"Mother," Roland said with trepidation, "let's not go giving the children more ideas than they already have."
Grand Mum laughed and responded to the voice coming from behind her, "Roland, my love; I wasn't talking about the children! I would very much like to ride a jaquin myself! Although, the children are welcome to join me, if they wish," turning to address the suddenly deflated looking James, who perked up immediately.
Roland looked slightly aghast; it had been awhile since his discovery of his mother's more adventurous side. However, it still was new and strange to him, "Ehh, let's worry about this when we actually get to Avalor. Besides, I'm not so sure the jaquins are safe to be riding anyway."
Miranda rolled her eyes, "Oh, Rolly… Sofia has already ridden them. Besides, the children ride flying horses all the time. So does your mother. Don't worry so much."
"Flying horse are completely different than jaquins!" Roland said turning to his wife, his voice raising just a touch.
"Oh, pish tosh!" Grand Mum said while dismissively waving her hand at her son, "You worry far too much, it's sweet but totally unnecessary."
King Roland sighed, but resigned to his mother's will, sometimes it was best to just not challenge her. He ushered his family into the flying coach, "It's going to be a long trip, make sure you all have what you need. Once we're gone, we're not coming back because someone forgot something," he put his arm out to stop his son, "James, I don't want to hear in 20 minutes that you need to use the bathroom."
"Dad!" James whined, "I'm not five! I don't do that anymore!"
Amber scoffed, "You did it last weekend on our way to Tangu," she sat next to her grandmother and straightened her dress, "Daddy, just be glad he doesn't wet the bed anymore."
"Amber! That's not fair, and you're the one who was afraid of the dark until we were eight! How many times did you ask to sleep in my room cause you were scared?" James huffed, he crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
Amber whipped out her fan and hid the bottom half of her face and answered in a quiet voice, "It wasn't that many times," she snapped her fan shut and in a challenging voice snipped, "Besides, it was you who-"
"Children, that's enough," Miranda said in a voice they knew meant the quarrel was over, "James, please," she said in a loving but stern voice, "are you sure you don't need to use the restroom?"
"Mom! No, I really don't!" He thought for a split second, "actually, I'll be right back."
Amber rolled her eyes as she pulled an astronomy book from her bag, "Figures."
Roland watched his son run back to the front entrance of the castle, turning he said, "Well, hopefully this will be the last delay," he looked around, "we're starting to really lose time."
Baileywick checked his pocket watch, "I'm afraid you're right, Your Majesty. However, we should still make it on time," he glanced back at the castle, "that is, if we leave soon."
Grand Mum laughed, "This is why I always planned to actually leave an hour after I told everyone we were leaving!"
"Wait," Roland's eyes narrowed, "you did what?"
Miranda laughed, "Now that is brilliant."
"There's always some last minute debacle. You children would forget something, or need to use the bathroom at the last minute, sometimes a suitcase would be left behind, or your father would be so busy he'd lose track of time. If I said we would leave at 8am, it gave us an extra hour to make sure we left at the time I had really planned: 9am," Grand mum shrugged, "It was just easier that way."
Roland looked at his mother with a small frown on his face, "As annoyed as I am that you lied to us… I'm not quite as annoyed as I would have been 10 years ago."
Amber looked up from her book, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Roland gave his daughter a sheepish look, "I'm sure you'll understand when you have kids of your own," he stopped to think for a second, "which isn't allowed until you're forty!"
Baileywick checked his watch again, "I wonder what's taking Prince James so long?" Always worried about the comfort of the royal family, the steward's gaze swept around the carriage, searching out any tension or distress. Beside him, reading quietly was Princess Amber, she seemed content, that was good. The Dowager Queen was beside the young princess, waiting with a tranquil patience that only comes with age. On the bench across from his was Queen Miranda and Princess Sofia, they were chatting in hushed tones about what they wanted to do when they got to Avalor; they were always the easiest for him to placate, they didn't really ever need much and were quite self-sufficient. King Roland was sitting next to his wife and was looking flustered and annoyed. He clearly just wanted to go. That simply wouldn't do! Deciding to fetch James, Bailywick took to his feet.
"I'm back!" James said loudly, interrupting the steward's train of thought. Baileywick, already at the door, helped the prince into the coach, "Now let's get the Hel-"
"James," warned his parents in unison.
"Hehe, right. Let's just go," he pointed back at the castle, "I threw a ball for Rex, we should go before he comes back with it. You know how sad he gets when he sees me leave and he's not allowed to come along."
"James," Sofia said, "that's really mean! He's going to think you're playing with him and then you'll be gone. That's going to make him even more sad than if you just told him he has to stay here," she was giving him a look that made him visibly shrink under her scrutiny.
Amber sighed and not looking up from her book said, "Oh, Sofia. Rex isn't that smart. He'll get over in two seconds when he sees a squirrel or something shiny."
James agreed, even though it looked like it pained him to do so, "She's kinda right, Sof. I wouldn't worry too much about Rex."
Roland waved his hands a little, "Okay, the dog is fine. Let's go now, please?"
Baileywick couldn't have agreed more, he turned to the coachman, "We're ready to depart now, if you please!"
With a flick of the reins the horses spread their wings and ran with all their might. As the carriage began to speed up, it took flight. They were finally on their way to Avalor.