A Visionary
Summary: When Penny (OC of theblindwriter95) has a moment of doubt, Sofia comes to her aid to give her the confidence boost she needs. *References to "At First Sight" (2015)*
Disclaimer: I don't own the show; the character of Penny belongs to theblindwriter95.
A/N: A while ago, theblindwriter95 asked me if I could write a new story with Penny, so I figured this would be sweet. 😊 Hope you all enjoy!
Note: If you're unfamiliar with this character, Penny first appeared in my story "At First Sight."
*Story*
It was an unusually calm afternoon at Royal Prep. Though the winter weather had long since subsided even though spring had yet to arrive, those calm sunny days with gentle breezes were somewhat unexpected but very much appreciated. Then again, that's what Penny loved most about the weather: she was able to feel the effects of the sun and the wind…and even the rain. She didn't need to see the result of such occurrences. In a way, she felt privileged to be in on her own little secret; too bad the sighted world would never truly appreciate these types of days.
The Princess of Brillancia brushed her golden-brown twin braids behind her shoulders as she leaned against a tree outside, her fingers tracing down a line of Braille in one of her books. School had ended about an hour ago, and she'd yet to go home. Instead, she was currently studying the history of rulers in her own kingdom, which fascinated her to no end. She'd discovered that her great-great grandfather, who was once king, had been born with perpetually bad eyesight himself. However, it hadn't stopped him from ruling as fairly and strongly as he could. In fact, he was one of the most beloved rulers her kingdom had ever known.
"Wish I could be like that…" She sighed as she clutched her cane, the fragrance of the attached orange blossom (freshly picked this morning) pleasantly invading her senses. "At least Grandpa Johan had sight at one point… Hard to rule and make effective decisions when you can't even see what you're doing." She heard a twig snap to her right and became defensive. "Who is it?"
"Relax," Sofia soothed as she giggled and sat next to the other princess. "It's just me."
"Sofia…"
"You weren't at Flying Derby practice after school." She tilted her head curiously.
A curious smile spread across Penny's face. "And yet I can't help noticing that you have shown up less and less. Other obligations?"
Sofia absently brushed her left hand over her Enchantlet and laughed weakly. "Eh, something like that… I've talked to Sir Gillium about it, and he's surprisingly willing to work with my schedule, if you can call it that." She giggled before shrugging. "But never mind me. Are you okay?"
Penny leaned back against the tree. "Never better."
"Penny…"
"It's just…" She sat up and sighed. "Sofia, out of you and your siblings, one of you will likely end up ruling Enchancia one day, right?"
"Yeah, probably Amber," she confirmed with a nod. "She's the oldest, after all, and would be a decent queen. She's changed a lot for the better over the years I've known her."
"Right—oh, yeah, I forgot you guys were step-siblings."
Sofia grinned. "It's fine. I forget all the time myself. It's like they've always been there, and it's kind of hard to imagine life without them at this point." She then frowned as she realized what was going on. "Penny, you're avoiding the conversation."
"Oh, fine." She distractedly traced her fingers over her cane before saying, "Between me and Reina, I'm almost sure my parents are going to have me ascend to the throne when I'm the right age. I just don't know if I'll be able to rule effectively."
"Why not?" the Enchancian princess wondered.
"Hello? A blind queen?" She shook her head. "I'll literally never be able to see a threat coming or witness royal events or whatever else they might throw my way."
"Maybe it isn't my place to say so," Sofia began with a sigh, "but when you really think about it, none of that is anything to really worry about. You're a good judge of character, Penny, so maybe the best thing you can do is work around your situation. My friend Princess Elena has a Grand Council that guides her in helping to make the best decisions for her kingdom. Maybe if you become queen, you could create one for yourself. They can be your eyes, in a way. Believe it or not, you could be a visionary in a whole new way!"
"Hmm…" She smiled at the other girl's play on words. "Would you like to be on it?"
Sofia laughed. "I'd love to, but I'm sure I'll be on my own adventures by then." She grinned as she gestured emphatically, though she knew the other girl couldn't see it. "I kind of want to be like my Aunt Tilly and travel a lot. And I also want to keep studying magic with Mr. Cedric. And I want to—"
"You sure have a lot of energy and plans," Penny laughed. "I admire that about you, Sofia. You never let anything get you down or hold you back."
"Hmm. Don't be fooled, Penny. I've had my own moments of weakness many times before, but I've learned from experience that bad things are going to happen. Hard times will happen. It's all in how we respond."
"Yeah… Yeah, I can see that." She grinned. "Figuratively speaking, of course." She giggled as Sofia snickered. "If I do become the Brillancian queen, maybe Reina wouldn't mind serving on my Grand Council."
"From what I know about your sister, she'd probably try to take over." Sofia smiled. "She's not exactly shy, is she?"
"Hmm. Not in the slightest." Using the cane, she pushed herself to her feet as she heard Sofia doing the same. "I think I should probably head home. Can you tell Sir Gillium I'll start attending practice again next week? I'm kind of really into researching my family history right now."
"Sure!" She looked up as the wind began rustling through the trees. "I think I need to head on home too. It's been nice and sunny today, but right now it looks like—"
"—It's going to rain soon," Penny finished for her with a pleased smile as she heard the princess laugh in surprise. "Rain sort of has a distinct scent," she explained. "Thanks for everything, Sofia."
"I'm always here if you need me, Penny." She hugged her friend before hurrying along to her flying coach.
Penny tilted her head slightly as she felt a raindrop hit her forehead. Rain didn't bother her. She realized that sometimes it was necessary to go through the trials of the storms in order to get to the sunny side. "Kind of like life, I guess…" Content with her realization, she smiled.
The end
