Forget Me Not
Summary: When Amber and James get into an argument, Roland decides to send them on a small quest to have them work together to build up their friendship and in addition discover something that's been hidden from them for years.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show. :D
A/N: I'm going to base this on a little bit of reality. When we were growing up, my sister and I were so different that we got into arguments all the time. And of course, we couldn't do anything until we "made up." So we'd be in our rooms, and we would send letters back and forth under the door until we finally reconciled. Lol. Nineties kids… Granted no one ever sent us on a quest like Amber and James, but it's not a bad idea. It promotes "team work" I guess! Haha. Well, anyway, here we go.
"James! I can't believe you! How could you?!"
"It's just a shoe, Amber! When's the last time you even wore it?"
"That's not the point! Ugh, you're so…so…infuriating!"
"Well, you're infumigating too!"
"The word is 'infuriating,' genius!"
Roland sighed and rubbed his forehead as he and Miranda stood outside Amber's door, behind which his children were clearly in the middle of a heated argument. "They've been at it for ten minutes now," he informed his wife in dismay.
Miranda smiled warmly, patting his shoulder. "Siblings fight. Some more than others, obviously…"
"Yes, but it's never been this bad. I wonder what set Amber off so much…" He reached out and grasped the handle.
"It must have been something important. Despite her temper, she doesn't just start yelling for no reason these days…" She clasped her hands in front of her. "I'll let you handle this, dear. I'll go check on Sofia."
"Oh, sure, thanks." He smiled playfully as she kissed his cheek and left down the hallway. He inhaled once before pushing the door open. "Amber, James?"
The twins froze in the middle of their argument and looked toward the door. They turned and gave their father guilty looks.
"Hi, Dad," James greeted in a more optimistic tone than he should have, considering what Roland had just heard.
"Hi, Daddy," Amber echoed, though her arms were folded and her eyes had shifted toward James. She was now glaring at her brother.
"Well, I'm glad you two are civilized enough to greet me, but mind telling me why you were yelling at each other? We could hear you all the way at the other end of the castle, you know."
"I'd be glad to explain!" the blonde princess quipped as she jumped in front of James before he could speak. "Daddy, James destroyed my shoe!"
Roland blinked before raising an eyebrow at his son. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a cannon, would it?"
James grinned at the accusation before shrugging. "Well… I needed a target, and Amber never wears those shoes, so…"
"And just when did you get it in your head that it was a good idea to one, steal my shoe, and two, blow it up?!"
"Amber," Roland snapped, getting her attention. "Can we please discuss without yelling?"
"I'm sorry, Daddy… It's just that…that shoe meant a lot to me." She held up its mate: an olive flat with a gold bow on the end. "These were the first shoes that…" She sighed and frowned, folding her arms again. "The point is, James shouldn't have destroyed something of mine."
James sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. But what about my monkey drawing you ripped up?"
"It's called payback, brother."
The boy frowned and folded his arms, mirroring her image. "I worked hard on that though."
Roland shook his head. "Well, it seems like both of you have done something to the other. James, you shouldn't have blown up your sister's shoe. By the way, your cannon usage is getting restricted for two months."
"Two months?! Aw, Dad!"
"No. It's only fair. And Amber… I want you to create a new painting for James."
She looked up at him in surprise. "You want me to make a painting for James? My talents are reserved for real pictures, Daddy."
"Enough." He walked forward and grasped each twin by an arm and led them to Amber's bed, gesturing for them to sit. As they sat side by side, arms folded and glances forced away from each other, the king smiled as an idea came to him. "I've got a mission for you two. And it requires working together."
"Uh, Dad," James began with a raised eyebrow, "we'll probably hurt each other if you sent us on a 'mission' together. Can't I work with someone else?"
"No one else is in trouble, so no." He put his hands behind his back. "Here's your mission: working together with a letter I'll present to you in a few minutes, you two need to follow the directions listed. When you complete everything, you'll find a surprise at the end—something you'll both appreciate."
Amber blinked. "What is it?"
Roland chuckled. "That's what you'll have to find out. Now, wait right here, and I'll be back soon." He gave them both a stern look. "And no more arguing, or I'll ground you both instead." He then left.
While grounding in a castle may not sound that bad, Baileywick was usually in charge of groundings…and since both twins had experienced it before, they knew better than to argue.
"…Sorry about your shoe," James apologized half-heartedly minutes later as he picked at Amber's comforter.
"Hmph."
He turned to his sister and frowned. "Aren't you sorry about ripping up my picture?"
Amber turned to him with a pointed look. "I wouldn't have ripped it up if you hadn't destroyed my shoe—oh, after stealing it of course…"
"But…you never use them! And you've got like a hundred pairs of shoes. What's one pair?"
She frowned. "You don't even know why I'm mad, do you? Besides stealing and destroying it. You don't know why these shoes are…" She sighed. "Never mind. You just wouldn't understand."
Before James could respond, Roland entered again and handed a folded letter to Amber. "You have an hour. The sun will be setting after that and it will be impossible to complete this task. I can send someone with you."
"No, Dad," James answered with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it. Everyone's busy, and this is our fault, so they shouldn't be punished with having to keep up with us."
Amber glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Amber, he didn't mean anything by it. Nothing is too far from the castle gates anyway, so I'll allow you to go alone. Just don't forget to bring back the surprise at the end. I promise it will be worth it, and it may give you two a better perspective on things." He then left them behind.
The princess sighed and glanced at the letter in her hands. On the front in beautiful cursive, it read 'James & Amber.' "Hm." She opened the letter and glanced over it.
Dear James & Amber,
Here you begin your journey. Follow the clues you find to make a truly meaningful discovery. Work together to achieve your goal.
Love, Dad
Clue 1: Seek out someone who sounds like a flower, who works really hard hour by hour.
"What?" James asked as he read over it and looked to his sister.
"Someone who sounds like a flower…and is a hard worker." The blonde girl pondered the clue for a few moments before looking at him. "Maybe Violet?"
"Yeah!" He then cleared his throat and shrugged. "I mean, yeah… Maybe. Let's go see."
It took a few minutes to find the hard-working woman, but the twins finally managed to do so in the kitchen. She was busy sorting through various utensils and getting rid of old or unusable ones.
"Violet," Amber called, getting her attention.
"Oh, Your Highnesses," she greeted with a smile as she stood to her feet. "Your father said you'd be looking for me. I've got something for you." She reached under the utensil box and fished out another folded letter, which she handed to James.
"Thanks, Violet." He opened it and held it out for both Amber and him to read.
Clue 2: If you like to read, this is the best place; you'll find lots of books—hurry. No time to waste.
"The library," the twins spoke together as they took off quickly.
Once they arrived in their library, quite a glorious space, the two blondes frowned in concern. Now just where would their father have placed the next clue? The place was huge!
"Oh, no," Amber lamented as she looked around. "We'll be here all night…"
"Hi, you two," Sofia greeted with a smile as she walked over to them. "Looking for something?"
James groaned. "Well, we were, but it's going to be impossible in here…" He sighed. "Maybe we should just give up, Amber."
"Oh, Dad asked me to give this to you." She held up a book to Amber, who took it wordlessly. "He said something about giving a clue or something." She giggled. "I'll see you later! I'm going to help Mom make some gift baskets." She waved and left.
"Huh," Amber finally spoke as she glanced toward James. "Thank goodness for Sofia."
He grinned. "No kidding." He gestured to the book. "What does the next clue say?"
She looked down at the book and read over the cover. "The Secluded Garden." She blinked and opened the front cover, behind which rested another folded letter. She offered it to James, who opened it.
Clue 3: If the title isn't enough, then here's your next task: venture to a "hidden" place where flowers like to bask.
"Sofia's garden," Amber informed her brother as she took his hand and dragged him out of the room.
"Whoa! Amber, slow down!"
In the corner of the room, Roland lowered his book and chuckled at the twins' antics. "Right on time." He stood and stretched before heading out himself.
"Amber!" James yelled after her as he panted and attempted to keep up with her. "I don't think I've ever seen you run this fast!"
"We don't have much time," she answered as they slowed and approached the door to the garden. "The sun is already starting to set." She nodded toward the sky, where sure enough the sun was fading.
"All right, let's see what kind of clue was left in here I guess," James suggested as he pushed the door open, leading her inside. "Whoa."
The usual array of plants and trees bespattered the garden, but what caught their eyes was a large pot placed directly in the center with violet-colored flowers growing from it. Lying against the pot was another note.
Amber reached down and opened the note, skimming its content.
Clue 4: Before you is a plant deeply rooted in a pot. Appropriately named, this is a "Forget Me Not." It was your mother's favorite flower, and I gave her some one day. They also were in our wedding and used for her bouquet.
"Oh, wow," James breathed as he read.
Amber wiped a tear from her eye as she kept reading.
Clue 4: Now the surprise is not just this plant but what lies beneath. A mother's treasures are always the ones that seem the hardest to reach.
"We need a shovel," the blonde girl declared as she set the note aside.
"No, we don't." James reached forward and sifted through the soil that held the plant firmly in place. He knelt beside it to get better leverage and was surprised when Amber knelt next to him to help.
Within moments, they'd reached the center of the soil and pulled out two small packages wrapped in golden cloth.
Amber sat back on the grass and opened her package carefully. She held one hand to her mouth as she extracted an amber jewel on a silver chain. "I… I recognize this." She glanced to James. "She wore this when we were little to a party one time. I told her it was pretty…and I hoped to have one just like it someday."
James smiled at her and took her hand, squeezing it gently. He then looked to his own cloth-wrapped treasure and opened it. He gasped.
In the middle of the cloth lay two rings: one amber and one garnet. "I… I think these are their engagement rings, Amber."
"But why would…?" Amber stood and faced her brother, who'd risen next to her. "He wanted us to find these things…to remind us that…"
He smiled. "There are more important things in life than a shoe and a drawing…I guess." Seeing her downcast look, James frowned. "Why are you still so sad, Amber?"
"I never did tell you why I got so mad about the shoe."
*Flashback*
"Mommy!" Amber, only three years old, called as she rushed up to her mother, who scooped her up. "I get to go shopping with you today!"
"Yes, my darling," the Queen agreed with a bright smile. "And we're going to get you some 'lady' shoes."
"With pretty bows, right?" the young girl squealed.
"Of course! What are proper 'lady' shoes without bows?" She laughed.
*Current time*
James blinked with wide eyes. "Mom got those shoes for you?"
"Yeah…" She tugged at her dress sleeve and sighed. "But it's fine, James. Like you said: there are more important things in life…" She smiled gently.
"I'm so sorry… I promise I won't do anything like that again." He tucked the rings into his right hand and used his left to grab her free hand. "We should probably get back before it gets dark."
Amber nodded before releasing his hand momentarily to put the necklace around her neck. "How do I look?"
"Brilliant," the boy responded with a grin. "Just a sec." He picked a few of the forget me not flowers and handed them to her, smiling when she accepted them before hugging him.
"I'm sorry," Amber whispered.
"Me too."
A few minutes later, Roland glanced up as the twins walked into the dining room hand in hand. He smiled gently as they approached him. "Made up, I see."
"Daddy," Amber began quietly with a sincere look, "we're very sorry."
"Yeah, Dad," James echoed.
"It's all right. We all argue sometimes. But just don't lose sight of the big picture. And I see you found your surprises."
"How did you set that up so fast?" the prince asked in confusion as he opened his palm and looked at the rings.
"Baileywick," the king responded with a grin. "The man is a genius."
Amber rushed forward and hugged her father. "Thank you, Daddy."
Roland smiled as James joined them in the hug. "You're welcome. Now." He released his children and grinned. "Go get cleaned up. Supper will be ready soon."
"Okay!" The twins took off with their new treasures and their small flower bouquets.
Roland chuckled fondly before moving on his merry way. "Forget me not… I could never, and neither will they."
The end