Kingly
Summary: When James finds out that Amber is in danger, he steps up and proves that he does indeed understand what it means for him to be "kingly."
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or as far as I know "bad guys." Lol
A/N: This is going to be a bit different from my normal stories (though not as off basis as "Momentary"). It'll focus on the familial friendship between the twins, and it will show that they do care for each other and would go to great lengths to keep each other safe. Personally, I think it's been shown before for Amber for certain; now it's James's turn. ;)
"Oh, James!" Amber called sweetly to her brother as they strolled through a bazaar together.
The bazaar was located about a mile outside of their castle, and the twins were observing the villagers' items for sale at the urge of their younger sister. She'd insisted that everything was handmade and would last much longer because of it. Really, they just wanted to see what the big deal was, since Sofia had talked it up all week. The only thing that the twins hadn't done is taken any form of guardians with them to the bazaar, and they'd probably have to answer not to their parents but to Baileywick later. Ah, well, it was worth it to just enjoy some free time, right?
"Huh?" James turned to his sister and gasped when he felt a cold substance smack him directly in the face before slowly streaking down his skin, dampening his coat. "Amber!"
She smiled innocently and hid a second snowball behind her back. "What?"
"Mm-hmm." He scooped up some snow from the ground and playfully shoved it against her neck right under her hair, making her shriek as he ran from her threatening yells.
"James! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to—oof!" She fell backwards onto the ground after having run directly into a rather rugged-looking man. She looked up at him with a gaze of fear, noticing his sneering features and the narrowed gray eyes staring back at her.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped, walking by her while mumbling under his breath.
Angry, the blonde girl shot to her feet. "That's no way to treat a princess! Get back here and apologize."
The man turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious…"
"You were rude!"
"You were the one who ran into me," he returned with a smirk. "Next time, you might want to watch your surroundings, princess. You're not in the castle out here." Grumbling, he turned and left.
James jogged back to his sister and panted as he leaned over, placing his hands on his knees. "What happened to you?"
Amber gestured in a frustrated motion toward the man who had left. "That person knocked me down and didn't even apologize. He has no respect for royalty. Remind me to tell Baileywick so he can hold a seminar on proper protocol with royal presences."
The younger twin smiled and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Amber. Come on." He grabbed her hand and tugged her along. "I want to show you something brilliant!"
She laughed softly. "What isn't brilliant to you?" As they approached a booth with lots of jewelry and even daggers and swords, the kids looked over each in interest. Of course, Amber was immediately drawn to a beautiful, large ruby necklace. "Oh, wow…"
A tall man with neatly styled hair, about a shade or two darker than the royal twins', smiled down at her. "I take it you fancy this, Princess Amber?" he asked kindly, noting her interest.
"It's breathtaking… May I try it on?" She looked up at the taller man hopefully.
The vendor simply nodded with a small smile. "Be my guest, princess."
Squealing in excitement, Amber picked up the necklace and unlatched it before reaching around and clasping it together again, letting the heavy jewel settle around her neck. She beamed toward her brother. "How do I look, James?"
"Like you're going to fall over," he joked before grinning as she pouted. "I'm just kidding. You look nice as always."
She smiled happily and looked toward the seller. "How much is this, sir?"
"For you, princess, gratis. It's free."
Despite her initial feeling of elation, Amber faltered a bit and nearly collapsed, but James caught her.
"Amber?" he asked in concern. He noticed that her eyes were dazed as she stared unseeingly ahead. "Amber! Snap out of it."
"James," she whispered in confusion.
"I'm right here." He looked up at the vendor. "Sir, can you get some help? My sister isn't feeling well."
He nodded. "Quite so. I'll return with a doctor." He moved quickly from his station.
James glared down at the heavy necklace, which seemed to have taken a shine to it. He blinked and touched it curiously, yelping and yanking his hand back when it shot a small jolt of electricity at him. He gasped. "Amber, take off the necklace, now!"
"But it's so pretty," she giggled absentmindedly as her eyes finally trained on the new jewel, her fingers caressing the ruby. "Now I can match Sofia!"
"Amber!"
She grinned up at her brother and patted his cheek. "Don't worry, James. We'll get you a blue one so you won't be left out. But shh." She put a finger to his lips. "It's a surprise, and you can't tell anyone, okay?"
Confused, James looked up as the man from before returned with a man who appeared to be a doctor. The newcomer held in his hand a small rag. "Are you here to help my sister?" he asked seriously, despite the girl's frequent giggling and babbling.
"I'm here to see to her, yes," the man corrected with a firm nod. "If you'll just hand her over to me, I'll see what is wrong with her, young prince."
As he was about to do so, something in the back of his mind insisted that it wasn't a good idea. What would Sofia say about this situation? …Things aren't always what they appear, and you can't judge a book by its cover. Not that it mattered to him, because all books had similar covers, but that was beside the point. "I'd rather get her back to the castle."
"That won't be necessary," the vendor insisted as he jerked the rag from the doctor and moved toward Amber, who knew no different.
James gasped and pulled Amber to her feet, dragging her away as they ran.
"After them!" The two men took off after the royal kids, tripping over some items that James knocked over as they ran but recovering soon enough to keep moving along.
"Amber, lose the necklace, now!" James reached up to grab the necklace again but winced in pain as it zapped him once more.
"What is going on?" she asked, panting, as she seemed to be fading in and out of her senses.
"We're being chased by bad guys!" He stopped briefly and ordered her, "Climb on my back."
"What…?"
"Just do it, Amber. Quit asking so many questions!" Seeing her hesitate no more and quickly wrap her arms and legs around him, he sighed in relief and took off again. "Good grief, you're heavy…"
"I heard that!" She thumped him on the head as they moved along, James shifting from his original trail into the woods to get off the main road. "Where are we going?"
"Shh." Pushing his sister behind a bush and following suit, the prince of Enchancia watched carefully and quietly as the two men from earlier scoured the areas they'd already been before gruffly huffing and calling it quits after several minutes.
"It's fine," the doctor assured his companion. "As long as she has that necklace on, it's going to just keep draining her energy until there's practically nothing left of her. Then, when the king demands an antidote, he'll have to pay substantially." He chuckled and led his friend along. "Don't even worry about it."
James gaped at the men. They were using Amber for money? He'd always heard about things like this happening, but he was so used to evil fairies and job-stealing stewards by now that he'd somehow overlooked this type of scenario, as expected as it may have been for others. He looked toward Amber again after they'd left and saw her swaying in and out of consciousness. "Come on." He gathered her onto his back carefully again and began the trek back to the castle.
"What happened?" Sofia gasped upon seeing her siblings arrive through the doors, guards following them for safety.
"Some well-dressed guy gave Amber this necklace for free, and it's started sucking the life out of her." He placed the blonde girl onto the floor and leaned her against the wall as she stayed in a sleeping state. "Where are Mom and Dad?"
"Not here… They left a few minutes ago." She frowned and knelt next to Amber, touching her hand and feeling how cold it was. "Amber…"
"Do you think Cedric can fix this?" James asked desperately. He noted the stillness in his other sister's posture.
"…He's not here either, James… He's at Mystic Meadows with his mom and dad."
"Well, get him back! Amber could be… She c-could be…" He stopped, not wanting to finish his words as he clenched his fists. "There has to be someone who can help us."
Sofia smiled gently, taking his hand. "Maybe there is. Wait right here." She stood up and hurried down the hallway and out the castle doors.
James sulked and leaned against the wall, pulling his twin sister into his arms. "I'm sorry I annoy you so much," he told her softly. "I'm sorry I bug you when I sing our twin song. I'm sorry for shoving snow down your dress… I'll never do anything mean to you again; just please wake up."
The next fifteen minutes were like sheer torture for the young prince as he cradled his sister, the guards standing near them to keep them safe while Sofia was searching for her idea of "help." He sighed in relief as Sofia pushed the doors open, leading in someone rather familiar. He blinked in surprise. "Ms. Flora?"
She smiled. "Hello, Prince James," she greeted gently as she knelt next to her students. "I was in Enchancia today luckily. Had some business to attend to here." She glanced at Amber and frowned. "The Ruby of Renalda…"
"What's that?" Sofia asked with a curious look as she stood next to her teacher.
"Legend has it that Queen Renalda of a kingdom so terrible that no one even remembers its name owned this very necklace. Her mother, who was jealous of her, cursed the necklace so it would drain her of her energy, her youth, and her life. Luckily, there's a counter spell for this…" She wielded her wand and pointed it at the necklace. "Reddere industria. Debellandum rubinus."
The necklace around Amber's neck vanished, and her energy began to return to her. Her breathing leveled out, and her skin grew warmer. She blinked her eyes open and stared up at her brother. "James?" she asked uncertainly. "What happened?"
He decided to cover up the truth. She'd been through enough anyway. "You passed out." Well, it wasn't a total lie…
Catching on to his intent, Sofia simply smiled and nodded in agreement. "And James carried you back from the bazaar by himself. You would be proud, Amber."
Flora smiled at them all as Amber stared at her brother in shock. "Well, you three be safe. I'm off to finish my prior activity. If you should need me, though, Sofia—you know where I am."
She nodded. "Yes, Ms. Flora."
Amber eyed her twin carefully. "You…you really did all that for me?"
"Of course I did. You're my sister." He smiled and laughed when she sat up to hug him. "Well, here's a first."
"Hush. Enjoy it while it lasts." She laughed quietly as her brother returned the hug. "Thank you, James."
"No problem."
A few minutes passed and Amber went back to her routine as usual. James pulled Sofia aside and told her about the two men from the bazaar, and he asked for her opinion.
"Easy." She shrugged with a smile. "When Mr. Cedric gets home, I'll send him after them."
"What are you, the 'Cedric whisperer' or something?" Seeing her smile and roll her eyes, James laughed nervously before continuing, "We want them punished, Sofia, not blasted to infinity…even if it would probably be an accident on his part. I guess I'll tell Dad when he gets back and let him handle it from there." He sighed. "I just wish I'd told Amber the truth…"
"Hey." Sofia grinned and placed her hands on his shoulders, his attention fully on her now. "You did a good thing for her, James. And you'll make a great king someday. Because being a king isn't about what you do for yourself, but what you do for others." She nodded proudly. "And you did that without a doubt today. You were, as you'd say, brilliant."
He grinned at her words. "Thanks, Sof. I needed that." He wrapped an arm around his younger sister as he led her down the hallway. "So I was thinking about creating a snowball fort when Zandar comes over tomorrow, but I needed more snowballs. Want to help me practice?"
"Sure!"
And with that, things went back to normal…or as normal as things could be in Enchancia.
The end!
A/N: Hmm… There may be a follow up to this story…down the road. Not sure yet. There are some loose ends I think need to be tied up, so we'll see. :) In other news, I was taken to the circus today. May I say, I encountered lots of interesting people. The best part for me? Cotton candy and Cracker Jacks…and the tiny poodle disguised as a miniature elephant. Lol. I'm not really a circus person, but since my ticket was paid for, I went anyway. Haha. I just wanted to tell you all THANK YOU so much for the birthday wishes! :D You made me feel so good and happy. It was a great day. Creepy-Pasta! I'm going to use that "awsadorable" word now. :P
CedricAmber: You almost made me cry with that poem! Lol. I did smile a lot though. You're very sweet! Also, my sister and I used to do that sleeping bag thing. Lol. She's three years younger than I am, and when I was almost four, she tied me up inside one and wouldn't let me out. …Pretty strong for a near-one-year-old, huh? Haha. And I love long reviews, so don't even worry about it. :D
Thanks again, everyone! ~AquaTurquoise