Oh, what were the words? Ah…. No, that wasn't it. "Ah!" Sofia's eyes lit as she recalled the spell she was seeking. "Leonitus Stellara Unicornnus!"

In a flash, a towering unicorn appeared. A far cry from dainty Lyra, it more closely resembled a knight's warhorse in build, and it had to it an ethereal quality. It moved and behaved like a true creature, but was not entirely solid, and its eyes glowed like stars.

"Sofia! It's beautiful!" Amber exclaimed.

More smirk than smile crossed the younger princess's lips. "That's not a-a-all~" she sang. "Doppler Duplicato!"

Had Sofia been told a few years ago she would ever dare to use the spell again, she would not have believed it. Had she been told she would not only grow comfortable with it, but master its fine nuances, she would have laughed.

Yet here she was, and with the subtlest changes to her tone and gestures, the starlight equine split not in two, but into a fully glory of unicorns, all lined up in perfect form.

"That's amazing! They're perfect, Sofia."

Sofia smiled and clasped her hands behind her back, still clutching her wand, as she shrugged off the compliment. "You only turn eighteen once. It's the least I could do~" But inside, she really was proud of herself.

"Brilliant!" Prince James eagerly approached a nearby unicorn, reaching forth to take the reins. It was all his younger sister could do to mask her amusement when his hand passed through. "Aww."

"Sorry, James. I'm afraid they're only decorations."

He couldn't resist another swipe or two to be sure, but then shrugged it off. "Not a problem, Sof. They're still really neat."

"I agree," added Amber. "And some of us-" she offered a brief but pointed glance at her twin- "recall that you don't conjure real animals."

Sofia simply gave a sheepish half-laugh in response as James insisted he definitely remembered that. It was something of a rule of hers, though they didn't understand why. While some wizards had reservations about creating life for various reasons, Sofia's came primarily from the level of sentience she perceived in them and the fleetingness of those conjured lives. To allow a rock or a teacup to think and feel and speak for only minutes or hours or days-at-most, only to return to its inanimate state- let alone to conjure new life out of thin air only to disappear into nothingness again…

The mere thought made Sofia feel nauseous. Certainly with enough care and attention, a false life could be prolonged and enriched, but Sofia knew of only one outstanding case of that. So she simply preferred to avoid the need altogether.

"But really. Great job, Sof. On all the decorations, really!"

Amber clapped her hands together. "Indeed! This is going to be the greatest birthday ever. And it's all thanks to you."

"You've gotten so good at magic," added James.

"You really think so?" Her cheeks, not quite so ever-rosy as in her youth, more resembled her younger self now. "I mean.. I still have a lot to learn. And Mr. Cedric lent me some spellbooks that helped a lot."

"Oh, give yourself some credit. You and I both know how easy it is to mess up a spell just reading straight from the book." Amber had a point, and Sofia shielded a grin at the memories of all the shenanigans they'd gotten into over the years. "No, Sofia. You have a real gift, and you deserve to be proud of that." The blonde nodded firmly.

"If you say-" She caught herself about to downplay again. At least one could certainly never accuse her of bragging; that was a trap she'd fallen into exactly once, and never again. She found in time that she may have overcompensated, here and there, however. "I mean.. You're-.. right. Thank you. Both of you."

The three of them went on to check and decorate the rest of the courtyard in preparation for the following day's celebration. Eventually, James was called away by Sir Finnegan; it was his last day as his squire, after all. Tomorrow, they'd say their farewells, and soon enough James would be off to prove himself solo and earn his full knighthood.

As Amber and Sofia finally headed inside, Amber piped up, "I've been meaning to ask you, Sofia. Have you given any thought to what you'll be doing after graduation? Or switching studies before then?"

Sofia smirked and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Amber, I'm not going to take the kingdom from you."

"What?" Another beat passed before the elder princess regained her composure. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I know you're not interested in ruling the kingdom."

She sort of was. She'd certainly given it thought, at any rate. But Amber was older, and a true blood heir rather than married-in, and it would still be a long time yet before Roland and Miranda stepped down, goddesses willing. So Sofia feigned disinterest to keep the peace between them.

"What I meant was, have you thought about what you do want to do?"

"Oh…"

A brief silence fell, and when it became apparent Sofia didn't have an answer, Amber went on. "Have you considered, perhaps… looking more into magic?"

"...Maybe," answered the sixteen-year-old. "I've still got time to figure it out, though, right?"

"I suppose. ...But you know. Cedric is…" She searched for a word that wouldn't offend her sister. "Improving," she offered weakly. "But when I'm queen someday, I could use a reliable sorcerer. Or perhaps a sorceress~?" She offered her best flatter-eyes, which caused her sister to smile.

"It would be really fun learning new spells all the time. And it would let me help a lot of people…"

"Oh, it would~!"

"I'll.. give it some thought."

Amber squealed with delight.

"What do you think, Clover?" Sofia asked that night.

Her beloved bunny, overweight and well-on in years, lay curled up on the pillow next to her. A small movement served as a lazy equivalent of a shrug. "I don't see what the problem is. You love magic, don'tcha?"

"Yes…?"

"And you love learning, right?"

"Yes…"

"And you like bein' able to fix people's problems. So what's the question? Was there somethin' else you were thinkin' of doin' instead?"

Sofia thought hard on this, but truthfully, she could think of nothing more appealing. "... It's just…"

"What's up, Princess? You can talk to me."

Sofia smirked. "Yes, I think we've established that by now. Magic amulet, talk to animals. Kinda my thing~"

Clover rolled his eyes affectionately. "Oh hardee har har. You know what I mean, kid. What's on your mind?"

She took a deep breath. "It's just… Everyone lately has been going on and on about what a great sorceress I've become…"

"Yeah? And?"

"No matter how much I try to share the credit, no one seems to understand how much of that I owe to Mr. Cedric. If I keep getting better, and people keep noticing me…"

"Ahhhh, I gotcha. You're worried about putting ol' Cedric out of a job, huh? Look, Sof, I know you like him and all, but if you do end up being better then fair is fair, right?"

Sofia didn't really hear the end of that. "You…" Her voice was scarcely a squeak. "You know?"

"Huh? Know what?" He mentally went over his words again. "Know you're worried?"

"No. That I-..."

"...Like Cedric? I mean, sure. You've been pretty good pals for almost as long as I can remember." He broke into a mutter. "Least about as much as a guy like that has pals, anyway."

"Oh." She forced a laugh and instantly regretted it, realizing even as it left her throat how suspicious it sounded. "Yeah. That sounds.. about right!" Sofia, quit digging it deepe-e-er, she chided herself.

Clover was already sitting up to leer her way. "Soooooof…."

"What is it?" she chimed back, words a bit too quick, smile a bit too innocent.

"Sofiiiaaaaaa?"

"Dooon't know whaaatcher taaaalking abou-ou-out~"

"I think ya do-o-o." His was significantly less singing and more mocking.

She let out a small frustrated yell before rolling over in a flop. "Okay fiiiine. So I maaay have entertained certain… ideas about a certain castle sorcerer. It's not like it matters, right? I'm too young for him, and it's not like I'm gonna let a little crush be a deciding factor in figuring out my future career, right?"

Clover wasn't entirely convinced, but his wheels were turning either way, and he gave a little hop. "Sofia, don'tcha get it? This is perfect!"

"Huh?" She sat up again, deeply intrigued.

"Look. You wanna study magic, right? But you want him to get credit for helping you, too. Annnnd, I'd be willin' to bet you wouldn't mind spending some more time with him, riiiight?"

Sofia's eyes brightened as it all clicked. "No one acknowledges when he's just my advisor…"

"But if you were his apprentice..."

"Then people would have to know where I learned it all! Great idea, Clover! You're the best." She could barely resist hugging him.

Clover just lay back again, hands behind his head, signature smugness setting in. "I know it, Princess. And you're very welcome."

Sofia giggled. "We should get some sleep, though. We've got a big day tomorrow~"

The bunny yawned in response. "I hear ya. Night, Sofia."

"Good night, Clover."