At First Sight

Summary: When a young blind girl transfers to Royal Prep, many people go out of their way to make her feel "comfortable" and welcomed. However, all she really wants is to be treated the same as they do, and to fulfill her dream of being in the Flying Derby. Can everyone's favorite princess see to it that she gets her wish? *Challenge winner theblindwriter95 requested this story.*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any characters associated with the show. :)

A/N: So! This is the story requested by theblindwriter95, who also has asked me to issue a challenge to you all. The girl mentioned in here is named Penny. Respond in the reviews to theblindwriter95 if you can answer this question: What Disney film is Penny's name from (hint: any movie before the late 2000s such as 2006-2009)? Again, this is not my challenge. Lol. I'm not doing any more challenges-for-story-requests for a while, because I have about ten other stories in the works that I really need to focus on. So this can be a challenge for fun. Good luck!

~*~Chapter One: New Arrival~*~

Everyone could pretty much tell that spring was right around the corner. The trees were starting to gain a few green leaves again, and the skies weren't as dark and leery as they had been. The birds would even leave their nests more often to explore the skies or to search for a delicious snack on the earth.

Sofia hummed as she planted a brand new plant in the garden: an orchid. An epidendrum orchid, to be more specific. Her particular choice was a mixture of red and purple, something she'd come to appreciate after spending so much time with the latter color. Giggling about this fact, she dusted off her hands and stood from the grass, gathering her watering can to give the new blossom a drink.

"There you are," she cooed gently to her flower, setting the watering can aside and caressing the petals softly as she smiled. "Soon, you'll be much taller than this. It just takes some time. You'll see." She continued her humming as she skipped inside the castle once more.

"I heard we're supposed to get a new student tomorrow," Amber informed her siblings that afternoon as they were playing a game together. "Hildegard said she's a girl from a kingdom no one's even heard of."

"What's the kingdom's name?" James asked absently as he attempted to peak at Sofia's cards, but grinned when she yelped and shoved him away.

Amber offered her brother a bored stare. "James…if no one has ever heard of it, how am I supposed to know the name?"

He laughed as he looked back at his own cards. "Because, sis, you know almost everything. Well, if it's gossip, you know almost everything. If it's trigonometry, you're in trouble."

The blonde girl huffed. "You're so vexing."

"I don't know what that means, but if it means 'awesome,' then thanks. I agree." He beamed happily.

Sofia smiled and rolled her eyes at the twins' argument. "James…" She grinned as he cast her a goofy smile. "Do you have any kings?"

The smile immediately dropped from his face as he handed over his cards. "We need to play a game that I can actually win for once."

An hour later found the youngest royal in Cedric's workshop. She had told him about her new orchid and inquired as to useful properties it may have.

"That's quite astute for a nine-year-old," Cedric complimented, smiling as he pulled a book from his study. "Indeed, the orchid may very well be used in some spells. It's especially good for love potions, actually." He paused as he looked toward his apprentice curiously. "Um, Sofia? Is there anything you need to tell me about?"

The girl blinked before blushing brightly. "N-No, Mr. Cedric! I was just curious if—"

He laughed. "Calm down, dear girl. I was just joking."

"O-Oh…" She smiled uneasily. "Sorry, Mr. Cedric. Jokes go over my head sometimes."

"It's quite all right. Now, other properties include enhancement of elegance and beauty." He smirked. "So basically, it's a very girly flower."

She grinned. "Which I noticed you had upstairs near the window." She gestured upward, smirking as he gaped at her.

"My mother gave that to me on Valentine's Day," he defended with his arms folded. "I couldn't very well say, 'Oh, thank you, Mummy, but I can't accept this flower. It's too feminine.' She'd never bake me another Fly Cake again."

Sofia giggled. "You're so silly sometimes, Mr. Cedric." She smiled as she gazed out the window absently, watching the clouds drift by as night began to set in.

Cedric watched her for a few moments before shaking his head. The princess was rather spacy during the latter parts of the day, and now was no exception. Realizing it would be nearly impossible to hold her attention if she kept getting distracted, he placed a hand on her shoulder, watching as she snapped out of her dreamlike state. "If you're tired, we can always put this off until later."

She laughed softly. "I'm not exactly tired. I'm thinking… The stars never really go away during the daytime, right? They're just hiding?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Right…"

Sofia blinked and shook her head with a yawn. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric. I don't know what that even has to do with anything." She smiled sleepily up at him, garnering a chuckle from her friend.

"And maybe that's a sign that you should go to bed, Princess Sofia…" Seeing her about to protest, he held his hands up to her to silence her actions. "Uh-bup-bup. Both the lesson and I will be here tomorrow. Right now, you need your rest. Go on."

The princess sighed in resignation before grinning.

"Oh, I know that look—whoa!" Cedric barely had time to register the girl jumping toward him before he caught her, effectively hugging her—which was obviously what she wanted. "You have got to stop doing that," he chided lightly, chuckling in spite of everything.

"Never going to happen," she replied happily as she felt him lower her to the ground and release her. "Thanks for catching me, Mr. Cedric, and not letting me fall." She smiled and waved as she left the room.

The sorcerer smiled thoughtfully. "Consider it returning the favor, Princess," he muttered quietly after she'd left before he began putting things away for the night.

The following day, the kids from Enchancia arrived at school a bit earlier than usual. James and Amber headed inside to their classroom while Sofia waited outside for Vivian to arrive.

The auburn-haired princess put her head in her hand as she waited…and waited…and waited. She sighed, realizing Vivian was probably not going to show up that day. Maybe she was sick. She'd have to check on her.

Yawning, the Sofia turned to head inside before running straight into someone. She gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She knelt down to the girl she'd run into, and she attempted to help her pick up the books that had scattered on the ground. Eventually, they'd managed to get everything into her backpack again.

"It's all right," the other girl responded with a smile before laughing. "No harm done."

Sofia looked at the girl before blinking. She saw that the girl had golden brown hair tied into long braids, a red and purple gown with a red pendant fastened around her neck, and grayish-blue eyes. It hit her instantly that this girl was unable to see. Regardless, she smiled, helping the other princess to her feet. "My name is Sofia."

The new princess giggled. "I'm Penny. I'm new here." She felt around for something and sighed. "Oh, not again…"

Sofia observed her actions and then noticed a purple cane lying on the ground. She picked it up and placed it into the other girl's hand. "Is this yours?"

Penny brightened. "Yes! Thank you so much, Sofia." She laughed lightly and gestured toward her eyes. "Kind of hard to find it when I don't watch what I'm doing, right?"

The auburn-haired princess giggled at this girl's sense of humor. She admired that in people. "Yeah, I guess so. Are you going to class?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure exactly where I'm supposed to be." She shrugged as she pulled out a piece of parchment and felt the raised bumps on the fabric. "I'm supposed to be in…Ms. Fauna's classroom?"

Sofia smiled and linked arms with the girl, making her new acquaintance brighten. "I'll take you there. That's where I'm heading too."

"Awesome! So what's this class all about anyway?"

"Sorcery," she returned happily. "My favorite. What's your favorite subject?"

Penny sighed with a shy grin. "It's not exactly a subject…but I love the whole idea of the flying derby. I'd love to actually be in one someday."

Sofia blinked in surprise before smiling. She believed that anyone could do anything if his or her heart was settled on it. "Maybe one day, you'll get your wish."

"Thanks, Sofia." She chatted on with her new friend as they made their way to the first class of the day.

"What took you so long, Sofia?" Amber asked her sister with a slightly irritated voice before she saw that the younger princess was not alone. She blinked. "O-Oh, sorry!" She gasped when she realized the new girl's apparent dilemma, seeing as Sofia was aiding her in some way. "Oh, you are the new princess, right? Oh, my, you poor dear girl. Do you need some help?" She stood up, pushing James from his seat in the process.

"Ow!" the other blonde complained as he hit the floor unceremoniously. "Amber!"

"James, not now." She reached forward and took the books from Penny, who seemed rather confused. "Here, just hold onto me and I'll get you to your seat."

Sofia raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "Um, Amber? What are you doing?"

"I'm helping our new student, of course. What does it look like I'm doing?" She froze, realizing the verb she'd used and hoping she hadn't offended the other student. "I'm sorry. I mean, uh…"

Penny sighed and let it fade into a humored laugh. "I'm fine, really. I've kind of been blind my whole life, so I'm used to managing my way around pretty well."

"Well, if you're sure. But if you need my help, my name is Amber. Just follow the sound of my beautiful voice." She giggled.

James rolled his eyes as he stood up. "And I'm James, her twin she just shoved onto the ground for no apparent reason."

Penny laughed. "I'm Penny. I just transferred here." She held out her hands toward Amber's direction. "My books?"

"Oh, right, here." She handed the books back to Penny and smiled happily. "If I can be of any help…"

Sofia shook her head. "She'll let you know, Amber… Penny, you can sit with me today. Vivian is apparently out sick or something."

"Thank you, Sofia," she responded gratefully, sliding into her seat far more gracefully than even Amber could have managed. She smiled as she felt the other girl sit down next to her. "Were those your siblings?" she asked quietly enough amongst the student chatter so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Don't hold it against me," Sofia returned with a small laugh, making Penny giggle in response. "Yeah, they are. And Amber means well… She's just a little…pushy." She grimaced, remembering several instances where her sister had inserted herself into many situations that were none of her concern in the past. "Actually, she's very pushy. She doesn't take 'no' for an answer a lot of times."

"I noticed. She'll come to find that I'm very independent and am perfectly capable of handling things myself." She smiled lightly and opened one of her books, tracing the pages with the Braille print.

Sofia tilted her head as she watched the other girl curiously. This new student would be a very nice addition to Royal Prep, and she could possibly teach the other students a thing or two about competence.

Fauna floated into the room, greeted her students, and began their lessons for the day.

To be continued…

A/N: Okay! So I want to make this story as content-oriented as I can, but I don't want it to be one huge chapter like last time. Since I want to focus on detailing, I'm going to separate this story into chapters. I think maybe two more chapters could possibly complete this story, but we'll see. I have a lot of content to cover. ;) Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying it. I'm going to work on chapter two soon. ~AquaTurquoise