The Buddy Situation
Summary: After becoming friends, Sofia is excited to finally have Rebecca over for a sleepover and to understand blindness a lot more than what she experienced while wearing the blindfold. But she's scared that Buddy might bite Rebecca again and isn't sure what to do for her oldest and newest friend she's made since the accident.
Chapter One
"What are you do Sof?" James grinned, seeing Sofia race around her room. "You got an excited gleam in your eye."
"Mother and Daddy decided to let her have a sleepover this morning," Amber answered, putting up some of her sister's Braille books. "We had to explain that Rebecca was friendly now."
"They got a little uncomfortable with me inviting her," Sofia added, hearing Buddy sniff around. "But they know about what Buddy did."
"I can't really say that I blame them, Sof," James admitted, "We've all told Mom and Dad about what Rebecca's done in the past, and now you want to have her here for a sleepover? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's being nice to you now, but are you sure it's a good idea to have her in the same place as Buddy? What did they say about them being together?"
"Buddy's going to be outside with Rex," Sofia replied. "If Rebecca wants to see them, we need to go with her, just to make sure Buddy doesn't do something he shouldn't."
"That's a good idea," James admitted, "But what do you plan to do when she's here?"
"I haven't thought of it. I've been trying to think of how to discipline Buddy," Sofia admitted.
Buddy whimpered softly, licking Sofia's hand. He didn't want to be reminded as a bad puppy.
Well, I heard that Mother and Daddy got together with the fairies after they agreed to let you have your sleepover with Rebecca," Amber spoke up, "They said that if Buddy behaved himself, he'd be allowed to come back on the last week of school."
"That's good," Sofia smiled.
"But," Amber continued, "If he acts up, he won't be able to come back to Royal Prep, and he won't be allowed to come with you to Ever Realm Academy."
"I understand," Sofia nodded.
"I'll be good, Sofia! I promise!" Buddy whimpered, letting out a mournful howl.
"I know you will Buddy," Sofia whispered. "But you can't bite Rebecca."
"I know. She's a friend now," Buddy barked, not wanting Sofia upset with him again.
"I think Buddy understands too," James smirked, petting Buddy behind the ears.
"But you know that it's just a safety precaution that he stays outside," Amber agreed. "We'll make sure he has all his favorite toys with him, including the second Sofia doll James made."
Sofia smiled. She had heard that James made a second Sofia doll for Buddy, as a friend for the one he made when she had a long lesson with Cedric. Buddy had decided that he'd use the first one as an inside doll, and the new one as an outside doll, so no matter where he was, he'd always have his friend with him.
"Thanks for making another new friend for Buddy, James," she said as she felt the new doll, and listened as Amber told her that the doll was wearing another of her old doll dresses. The original one wore purple, but the new one wore red. Not that it mattered; Buddy couldn't see colors, but he still liked having a second doll.
And it was better than him having to get the first doll dirty. Amber didn't like it when he would get it dirty.
Buddy gently dragged the first Sofia doll by the hair before placing her by Sofia's feet.
"Buddy is this a way of saying you're sorry?" Sofia mussed, feeling for the doll.
"I promise I'll never do anything like that again," Buddy promised.
"I believe you, Buddy," Sofia murmured. "But for now, you and your new friend will be fine outside. You can even let Rex play with her."
"Okay," Buddy smiled. He always liked letting Rex play with his toys, even though Rex told him that the Sofia doll was his alone.
A little later, Sofia, James, and Amber were leading Rebecca to Sofia's room.
"Is Buddy around?" Rebecca asked, looking around.
"No, as per our agreement, he's outside," Amber assured her, "We'll keep an eye on him if you want to visit him."
"Okay," Rebecca agreed. "Sofia, once again, I'm so sorry I did that. I didn't mean to be so rough when I tried to play with him."
"Don't worry about it, Rebecca," Sofia smiled, "We all forgave you, and Buddy knows what he did was wrong."
"He thought I was going to be mean didn't he?" Rebecca frowned.
"Well when you've been mean to our sister since the accident, people or dogs won't exactly accept you right away," Amber admitted.
"But we like you," James assured with a smile. "And you'll be with Sof tonight. She's sometimes prone to nightmares."
"And wetting the bed if it's a bad one," Amber added.
"Amber! James!" Sofia groaned, feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment.
"It's all right, Sofia; I've heard you talk about your nightmares at school," Rebecca assured her. "And I've heard about the bedwetting too."
"Great," Sofia muttered, hiding her face in her hands.
"Rebecca, what do you say we forget about all the bad stuff and focus on having fun?" Amber suggested, pulling Sofia into a hug.
"I'd like that," Rebecca smiled. "It'll be easier for me to get used to..."
"Having friends?" Sofia guessed.
"Yes. Sofia, why don't you suggest what we do first?" Rebecca offered, looking around the room. "Like those books."
"My Braille books?" Sofia asked, feeling one of the books Rebecca offered her. "I'll be happy to show you how I read them."
"I've actually watched you read those on the playground sometimes," Rebecca admitted. "I'm sorry I always made fun of you for not knowing how to read."
"It's okay, Rebecca," Sofia smiled. "I always had trouble with Braille, but Mister Cedric says I get better after each lesson."
"And do Amber and James know Braille too?" Rebecca asked.
"We're getting the hang of it," James smiled. "Cedric sometimes lets the family sit in on Sofia's lessons, and we learn what she learns."
"It would be nice to read it outside. Everything looks oh um feels nice there," Rebecca grinned sheepishly.
"Rebecca, it's okay," Amber said, squeezing her hand. "Sofia doesn't mind."
"I just don't want to upset her," Rebecca sighed. "The old me already done enough of that."
"I'm getting used to saying things like look and see again," Sofia smiled. "Amber and James always told me that I never had to be embarrassed about saying those words, but I didn't listen until recently."
"You can say those words as much as you want," Amber smiled. "We can even teach Rebecca some of the things we learn."
"What sort of things do you learn while Sofia learns Braille?" Rebecca asked.
"How to organize her food like a clock," James grinned as he helped Sofia out of her room.
"And make sure she has things she can feel," Amber added.
"I don't get it. What do you mean?" Rebecca frowned.
"Normally when you put food on your plate, you just put it anywhere," James tried to explain, "But for Sofia, or any blind person, they can't tell where the food is. Amber and I read that setting up the person's food like a clock face is a way for the person to be able to find it."
"Why don't we show her, rather than try to explain?" Amber suggested. "I brought some things out for a picnic for later, but maybe we should demonstrate what we mean."
"Okay," James agreed. He gave Rebecca an empty plate, and set out some food. "Now Rebecca, imagine that the plate is a clock face, and make up a plate of food."
"Okay," Rebecca nodded, "So...these chips would go at...three o'clock, and the carrot sticks would go at...ten o'clock, and the sandwich goes at...seven o'clock? And the juice goes at...one forty-five?"
"Good job! You just made your first plate for Sofia!" Amber smiled. "When we first started doing this, we had to borrow Baileywick's pocketwatch so we'd know how to do that."
"So that's the nice old guy that let me in! I like him," Rebecca grinned.
"Baileywick usually is a bit protective of Sofia since the accident," Amber explained with a grin.
"But not as much as Dad was," James recalled with a frown.
"Wait what accident? And what do you mean your dad was protective?" Rebecca asked in confusion. "And why isn't Sofia with us anymore? Does she wonder off a lot?"
"I think I know where she went," James looked around for a minute, "Amber, why don't you tell Rebecca about what happened, and I'll go find Sofia."
"Okay, or maybe I'll wait until you two are back," Amber agreed.
"Maybe we should wait. I wouldn't want Sofia upset with either of us," Rebecca suggested.
"That's not a bad idea," James grinned.
"But where does Sofia hide? And how can she walk when she can't see?" Rebecca asked in worry. "I don't want her hurt."
"She remembers where the stables are," Amber replied, seeing James go off in the direction of the stables, "She sometimes visits her flying horse, and tells him her secrets."
A few minutes later, Sofia and James came back. It turned out that Sofia had wanted to check on Buddy, and James thought he and Sofia might like to take a walk with him and Rex. They took the dogs for a quick walk, then Sofia had asked if they could bring them over to where Rebecca and Amber were.
"If you're sure, Sof," James had repeated what he'd said.
"I'm sure," Sofia replied.
"Nice dogs. F-Friendly won't-bite-me dogs," Rebecca whimpered as Amber squeezed her hand.
Buddy sniffed her, hearing Rex growl before barking at him for scaring Rebecca.
"She's a friend now," Buddy yipped, pulling Rex away from a frightened Rebecca. "We don't scare her!"
"Okay, but I've heard about what she's done too," Rex muttered. "I'm just being nice because I see James with her."
"Do you want to play with my Sofia doll?" Buddy asked, nosing the doll toward him.
"That does help," Rex smiled as he started gnawing on it.
"It's nice of Buddy to share his toys with Rex," James smiled.
At the same time, Buddy dropped his second doll at Rebecca's feet and did his bowing trick for her.
"T-Thank you," Rebecca smiled, taking the doll in her arms.
"See? I'm nice!" Buddy barked, licking her hand happily.
"Buddy, she can't understand you!" Sofia whispered with a giggle.
"Shall we play with your dolls, Buddy?" Amber smiled, taking up Buddy's second Sofia doll.
"Can we?" Rebecca asked.
Buddy responded by dropping one of the dolls into her lap and nudging her shoulder with his nose.
"You are a good dog, Buddy," Rebecca smiled, holding out her hand and letting Buddy sniff it.
"Maybe Buddy can join us for our picnic," Sofia suggested with a smile.
"And I want to know about the accident," Rebecca added, seeing Buddy nuzzle against her.
"Will you be all right with us telling Rebecca about this, Sofia?" Amber murmured, knowing that Sofia had always hated hearing about how she lost her sight.
"I'll be fine," Sofia nodded, but she kept a firm hold of Buddy. She knew he was behaving around Rebecca, but she wanted him to be there for comfort.
James was also telling Rebecca about the accident, but he was keeping a firm hold of Rex to comfort himself. He knew how he'd reacted, and how he'd wanted to go after Cedric.
Amber watched the two siblings with their respective dogs who nuzzled their owners before giving them sloppy kisses.
The accident had been the hardest for her sister but Rebecca wanted to know. Especially with her now being nicer.
By the time James and Sofia had told Rebecca the story, Rebecca was crying almost as hard as the three of them when the accident had first happened. "I'm so sorry that happened," she said when she was able to talk again.
"We all were," Amber said as she hugged Buddy. "That was the worst day of our lives."
"I've always been protective of Sofia, but I hated that I couldn't protect her from that," James added, burying his face in Rex's fur, but he smiled as Rex licked him.
Buddy wiggled out of Amber's arms, leaving her to hug Rex's other side. He went over to Rebecca and curled up on her lap.
"I see Buddy likes you now," Miranda grinned, seeing the display of affection.
"Your majesty!" Rebecca blushed, looking up from Buddy's cuddling. "I'm sorry about before."
"You seem to have learned your lesson, and Buddy's being very well behaved around you," Miranda smiled, hugging Sofia and Amber.
"We'll tell the fairies about this, and if they agree, Buddy will be welcomed back to Royal Prep," Roland added, pulling James into a hug.
"You hear that, Buddy? You can come to school with Sofia again," Rebecca smiled, gently scratching Buddy's ears.
"And maybe to Ever Realm Academy?" Sofia asked.
"If the fairies say yes, then yes," Miranda smiled.
Buddy yelped happily, putting his paws on Rebecca's dress.
"Hey! This is brand new!" Rebecca pouted playfully. "I picked it out because it's soft enough for Sofia to feel!"
"You did?" Sofia asked in surprise.
"I had my royal dressmaker remake my old dresses," Rebecca admitted softly. "I just wanted someway to say that I'm sorry about what I did. Including the food incident."
"Oh yes, the food incident," Amber muttered. She recalled how Rebecca had made Sofia trip with her jump rope, making her spill food all over herself. "That was before Sofia got Buddy. I remember that it took Violet a while to clean the food off of Sofia's dress, and she was really proud of herself for dressing herself without any problems that day."
"I promise I'll never do anything like that again," Rebecca murmured. "I remember that James was writing down everything I did that day."
"And I still have it," James grimaced. "Especially if you ever tease Sofia again."
"I won't be doing that again!" Rebecca snapped, frightening Buddy.
"James, please don't bring it up again," Sofia frowned, gently petting Buddy. "Buddy's just getting used to Rebecca being a friend."
"You're right," James agreed. "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I didn't mean to make you upset. I just get so protective of Sofia when someone's mean to her."
"That's what big brothers do," Sofia smiled.
"And Buddy, I'm sorry I mentioned that," James added, turning to Buddy. "You've been really good around Rebecca and I didn't mean to rile anybody up like that."
"It's okay, James; if I can be protective of Sofia, so can you!" Buddy smiled, jumping on James and licking him.
Rebecca giggled, watching the interaction as she tried to explain to Sofia what she was seeing.
"I got tongue tied the first time I tried to," Miranda smiled sympathetically. "It's not easy."
"Especially at a ball," Amber smiled. "Remember our last one?"
"Oh yes," Miranda smiled. "There was so much activity going on that it was hard to describe everything at once."
"You did a great job, Mom," Sofia smiled.
"And you did a wonderful job when you, Amber, and James were dancing," Roland added.
"Buddy's a good dancer too!" Rebecca smiled. "I've seen him turning around in circles in dance class, and Sofia has to whisper to him where to turn!"
"It's not Buddy's fault he has four left feet!" James grinned.
"Or maybe he just likes to chase his tail," Rebecca joked with a smile. "All dogs do it!"
"Not all of them know how to bow or get Sofia her dress each morning," Amber grinned.
"Or sneak themselves dog treats when Sof isn't looking," James added with a smirk.
"What's that about treats?" Sofia smirked.
"I love you?" Buddy asked innocently, offering her one of his dolls.
"Butter her up with toys. That might work for now," Rex barked, nuzzling Buddy. "But not when you're a big dog."
Buddy whined in confusion, sniffling around before he spotted the picnic basket.
"Don't worry, Buddy; we brought dog and puppy treats too," Amber smiled as she took them out of the basket.
Rebecca picked one of the puppy treats up, and she smiled as Buddy licked it out of her hand. "Good boy, Buddy! I'm glad you and I are friends now," she said as she gently scratched him behind the ears. She smiled as Rex sniffed her hand, and she offered him a dog treat. "And you too, Rex."