Entrancing

Summary: When Sofia, Amber, and Calista all appear to be under the spell of an enchanting guitarist, Cedric, Desmond, and Angel team up to break the musical enchantment. However, things aren't always what they seem.

Disclaimer: I only own Angel. Any other OC that appears in this story belongs to MarionetteJ2X.

A/N: So, this whole thing all began when MarionetteJ2X and I had a conversation about the movie The Book of Life and a sort of twist on one of the characters and his favored pastime. Of course, that whole what-if scenario became a story before long, and here you have it. 😉 Thanks, MJ2X, for the beautiful cover photo and outline!

Chapter 1: Entranced

"Have you heard about the strange reports around Enchancia?" one man at the bazaar near the edge of the kingdom asked as he set up his booth.

"No," another replied, shaking his head as he helped the first man set up. "What is the word?"

"Evidently, there has been talk of women going missing around the kingdom." Hearing the second man's small gasp of concern, he sighed. "According to rumors, women began going missing when a musician—a guitarist—came to the kingdom of Enchancia. No one knows who he is or where he came from. However, if he happened to play his guitar and sing while in the presence of women, they would become entranced and completely at his mercy."

"Huh… Well, that's one way to get a date." The second man laughed. "Not exactly how I met my wife, but to each his own."

"I wouldn't joke if I were you," the first man warned. "Those missing women didn't just go missing. It's like they vanished into thin air. What if that happened to your wife? Or your daughters?" He frowned as he finished setting up his booth. "I don't like the sound of it at all."

"I guess we'll just have to see what happens and keep an eye on the women close to us." He sighed. "What is the world coming to?"

"A question none of us can answer, my friend."

"What do you think of this dress?" Amber asked as she twirled around with a long seafoam-colored gown that had gathered fabric fastened in place with little magenta roses. A pale satin fabric peeked out beneath the top layer.

Sofia, who was seated on Amber's bed in front of Calista (who was currently attempting to brush her thick hair into a ponytail), just smiled at her sister. "It's pretty, Amber, but… It just doesn't seem like you, you know?"

The blonde raised her eyebrows at her sister before setting the dress aside and placing her hands on her hips. "And exactly what is like me, dear sister?"

"You always told me that 'bigger is better' when we were younger. You're picking a dress for your engagement portrait. For once, I agree with you: go all out on this one. You deserve it, and it's a meaningful way of honoring the love and commitment you and Desmond share."

The older royal smiled, folding her arms. "Always the voice of reason, Sofia… Fine." She disappeared into her huge closet before reemerging with a floor-length gold dress. The skirt portion was smooth with hints of glitter shimmering throughout the fabric. The top had intricate designs sewn into the material, with the small sleeves arranged for an off-the-shoulder wear. The cinched waist had two matching pieces of fabric that could be tied in the back into a bow once the dress was on.

"Wow," Calista gasped as she wrapped a thick band around the princess's ponytail to hold it in place and looked around Sofia at the new dress. "I quite like that one!"

"I've never even seen that one before," Sofia admitted. "Where did it come from?"

Amber smiled thoughtfully. "Dad said it was my mom's. She'd worn it on their first official date during their own courtship. I…kind of forgot I had it. I'm honestly surprised he let me have it though."

"It's beautiful," the youngest in the room gushed. "If you ask me, I doubt Prince Desmond will be able to take his eyes off of you during your Royal Engagement Portrait painting, Amber."

The future queen laughed, feeling a little bashful all of a sudden. "That's a good thing! I'd prefer his eyes on me than anyone else anyway." She winked at them before gently easing the gold dress onto a mannequin form. Satisfied, she then turned to the younger girls. "All right! I think it's time we get out of this castle. It's been raining nonstop all week, and we finally get a weekend that's sunny."

"I don't know, Amber," Sofia sighed. "I promised Mr. Cedric I'd—"

"Sofia, you two are together literally almost all the time." Amber placed her hands on her bed, leaning forward and smirking as Sofia blinked and moved back, nearly knocking into Calista. "It won't kill you to spend some time with your sister for a change. And Calista too, for that matter! The poor thing has worked herself into a study frenzy and has nearly forgotten what real people look like."

Calista laughed uncertainly. "I'm not sure if I should be appreciative of that remark, or annoyed."

The older princess smiled and rolled her eyes before tugging Sofia off the bed. "Cedric can manage without you for one day. Today, let's just have a little girl bonding time. You, me, and Calista. The bazaar is in town, so we can go shopping!"

The youngest present smiled sarcastically. "Yes, well, some of us aren't royal and have no allowance."

"You can't just magically make your own money?" Amber wondered, appearing to be quite serious.

The sorceress shrugged. "I think that's illegal…"

Sofia smiled and placed a hand on Calista's shoulder. "If you see anything you want, let me know. I rarely buy anything anyway, so I'll let you share my credit."

"Are you sure?"

"Calista, you're practically my younger sister anyway." She grinned. "I'm sure."

Calista smiled happily and hugged Sofia. "Oh, this is why you're my second favorite person ever! Right after Uncle Ceddy." She then laughed as she let the princess go. "But don't tell my mum. I don't know how she'd feel being my fourth favorite."

Amber counted on her fingers before laughing in realization. "Angel must be number three." Seeing the younger girl flush a soft pink, she smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She then turned and whispered dramatically to Sofia (loud enough for Calista to still hear), "And pretty soon, he'll be 'number one.'"

"Amber!" Calista whined and placed her hands to her cheeks as the sisters giggled. "He's just my friend, you guys. My best friend, but still…"

Sofia smiled, deciding to placate the younger girl. "We totally understand that, Calista. Amber was just being facetious."

Amber grinned. "Big word from such a short princess," she teased, laughing as Sofia's expression changed to a sour one. "Still bitter about that, I see."

"You're so funny, Amber." Sofia rolled her eyes, letting her sister's playful remarks roll off her shoulders. "Let's go to the bazaar now before the rain decides to come back."

The trio traveled to the bazaar via a normal coach for once. As it was only just outside the village of Dunwiddie, flying wasn't necessary this time. Upon arrival, they began to preview the items for sale or on display.

"I've only been to one of these maybe once before," Calista admitted as she followed her friends. "Now that I'm looking around, it's really quite fascinating what sorts of things they have here."

Sofia nodded. "One year, Miss Nettle and Princess Ivy were selling some of their plants here." She laughed. "That's actually when Ivy met Mr. Greylock, and the rest is history."

"So you're saying this place is magical," Amber gushed dramatically, swiping a fan from a booth and fluttering it in front of her face before grinning at the other laughing girls. "Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if you did say that." She snapped the fan shut, playfully tapping her sister on the shoulder with it. "Everything is magical with you two." She then turned, replacing the fan, and then moved on to the next booth.

Calista turned when she heard a peculiar yet beautiful sound. Scanning the area, she noticed a young man sitting against a tree just outside the bazaar. As she walked a bit closer to him, she noticed that the guy was wearing simple black slacks with a top consisting of variations of red, blue, and green. His hair was a thick chocolate brown color, windswept yet still somewhat presentable. In his hands, he held a guitar, his fingers gently plucking the strings as he hummed along to the music. "Whoa…" Almost instantly, she felt a strange sensation overwhelm her, and her eyes became somewhat dilated and even glassy. It was like she was…

"Calista?" Amber asked, walking up behind the younger teen and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She turned to see what she appeared to be staring at, and her arm fell to her side as the same look overcame her. "Wow…"

"You guys, what are you doing?" Sofia inquired a few minutes later after she located them, mild annoyance lacing her voice as she marched over to them. "We're supposed to be shopping, aren't we? We don't have all day, you know. What are you two staring at?" Curious, she turned to the young man and watched his fingers deftly strumming the strings, the music still wafting out bar by bar. He didn't even seem to take notice of them. "Oh…" Just like the other two, she felt herself losing her senses, and she stared at the musician in awe. "Ah-mazing…"

"Where is she?" Cedric asked in utter dismay as he paced the floor in his tower. "She was supposed to be here two hours ago!"

"And it is not like Calista to be out this late either," Angel admitted, frowning as he leaned against Cedric's table. He'd come to visit his best friend about an hour ago, only to find Cedric practically panicking because his partner hadn't been to work with him all day—and they'd had plans, according to the sorcerer, so even the Native boy was growing somewhat concerned. "I really thought she had asked me to come by today. I could be mistaken, of course."

"I thought Amber and I were going to work on some wedding plans and prepare for our official portrait," Desmond mentioned, sighing and folding his arms as he stood near Cedric's door. "I love Amber so much, but she can be a little bit absentminded sometimes." He then flushed as he realized he'd said that out loud. "Uh, please don't tell her I said that…"

Cedric rolled his eyes, stopping his pacing and running his hands through his hair. "All three are gone… All three had plans." He gasped, fear suddenly evident on his face. "They must have been captured by some evil force!"

"I think you may be jumping to conclusions a bit, Mr. Cedric," Angel told him, trying to calm him down. "It is possible that they simply forgot about meeting with us today. People forget things."

"Sofia never forgets me." He frowned, folding his arms. "Or…rather, she never forgets when we are supposed to work together. It's part of our partnership, after all. It's what we do—what we've done the last few years. I can't see how she could just forget."

"I've found that some girls are able to get lost in thought or overwhelmed with something and overlook even the obvious things." The prince rubbed the back of his neck as Cedric looked toward him. "Again, it's just what I've heard…"

"That doesn't sound like Sofia though."

"Or Calista," Angel admitted, shaking his head. "She is very level-headed and down to ground."

"That's 'down to earth,'" Cedric corrected before groaning. "Oh, but that doesn't matter. Here are the facts: my partner, my niece, and my future queen are all missing with no word to anyone else where they might have gone. We all have enemies of some degree. While it might not be the most ideal 'conclusion' to jump to, I can't see how this could be anything other than…" He groaned in dismay. "Someone must have captured them. We must get them back." He grabbed his wand from his table. "My wand is connected to Sofia's GuardoRing. If she's in danger, it will alert me."

Desmond stared at the wand for a few moments before blinking at Cedric. "It's not doing anything."

"All right…" The sorcerer scratched his head. "Maybe she's not in danger…" He then gasped in fright. "Maybe it's someone she knows or trusts… And they're taking advantage of her kind nature! And Calista's and Princess Amber's as well… Oh, Merlin…"

"Mr. Cedric, please calm down," Desmond pleaded. "I know Sofia is your best friend and your partner, but freaking out like this isn't going to do us any good. We need to go look for the girls now. If they're in danger, we'll save them. If they're not in danger and they did just forget about us…" He then wrinkled his nose in disappointment. "Well, first of all, that's just mean. But at least it won't be as bad as it could be."

"Desmond is correct," Angel added. "Let us go and find them."

Before they could act on their plan, a knock fell upon the door to the workshop.

Cedric, in a fit of frenzy, rushed to the door and pulled it open. Seeing Sofia standing in front of Amber and Calista, he sighed in relief and grabbed the younger princess, pulling her into his arms. "Sofia, you're all right!" He tightened his grip on her, burying his face into her hair. "I thought the worst! I thought you were hurt or captured or…!" He then realized that she wasn't reciprocating the hug like she normally would, so he frowned in confusion and pulled back. "Sofia…?" Staring into her familiar blue eyes, he saw that they seemed to be slightly unfocused and hazy. "W-What's wrong with you?"

Angel and Desmond stood beside each other as Amber and Calista stepped up next to Sofia, each with dreamy looks on their faces.

"Mr. Cedric," Sofia cooed, smiling dopily as she clasped her hands next to her face. "We heard the most beautiful music from the most beautiful musician ever… He's so dreamy and handsome…"

"Dreamy? Handsome?" Cedric shut the door behind the girls, clasping his hands over his niece's shoulders. "Calista?"

The youngest girl turned her dazed look to Cedric, grinning just as goofily as Sofia. "Yes, Uncle Ceddy? Did you see the dreamy guitarist too?"

"He'll sweep you away with the melody of his songs," Amber added, sighing in a lovesick manner.

"I'm starting to agree with you," Desmond muttered to Cedric, frowning. "I don't like this at all."

Cedric deadpanned at the prince. "I'm glad to see you're finally seeing things my way, Your Highness…" He looked toward his partner, who only sighed happily. "Somehow, I almost wish it had been an abduction. That I've handled before. This is a ruddy nightmare."

"What is wrong with them?" the Native boy wondered, walking toward Calista and taking her hands, feeling no response from her. He turned as he saw Desmond do the same with Amber.

"That's what we must find out." Cedric frowned heavily as he waved his hand in front of Sofia's face, receiving no response except the distant, dreamy smile. "We have our work cut out for us, I'm afraid…"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Amber's Dilemma