"Open your eyes." The voice was masked too well with coldness for her to recognize it. But it was a female voice, a voice that sent shivers down her spine and made her freeze up entirely, from her shoulders to each of the small hairs on her skin.
No. She was going to cling to whatever final burst of spirit she had left, and she was not going to open her eyes. She had to. It was the last thing she could do to Nothing in the world was going to make her-
Her blue eyes, glazed and dull, flew open with shock as her knees barked in pain, a deft kick from cold, hard shoes.
First, her gaze fixed on the dark clothing that swirled around her captor's ankles. A plain black dress that hugged her captor's slender form, from her shoulders to her feet. Her skin was pale, paler than she had ever seen, and her dark hair fell down her back in waves. She slowly traveled her gaze upward, burning with a sudden curiosity and desire to see her captor's face for herself.
Tears blurred her eyes before they could make out the distinctively high cheekbones and pale lips, or fully recognize the wreath of black roses around her hair. As everything around the woman faded, their eyes met - one fearful and soft, one cold and merciless.
Then everything around her grew darker and blurred together in unrecognizable whorls, and she was staring at what was left to be seen - the ice blue in the woman's eyes - before she disappeared altogether.
'No!' she wanted to call, but some force kept her jaws frozen still. 'Don't leave me in here!'
"Get me out!" Sofia shrieked, writhing as the ropes binding her limbs disintegrated and vanished, as if they had never been there. The cold darkness was suddenly replaced with a burst of warm sunlight, and the stone ground beneath her morphed into something soft and springy.
She was lying in her bed, thrashing around wildly, as four anxious faces gazed down at her.
"Yo, you okay, Princess?" Clover leaned in, sniffing closely as if to tell whether or not she was sick. "Gosh, that was some yellin'. That woke me up from my nap the first yell. I mean, well, I actually got up 'cuz I thought something was wrong."
"What happened, Sofia?" Robin lifted off gracefully from where she sat on Sofia's quilts and landed on the shoulder of her blue nightgown.
Sofia shuddered, the dream all too vivid in her mind. It was the sixth time in the past two weeks that she'd had this nightmare; it was always the same, every time, yet it never ceased to stop her from screaming out loud as she bolted upright each morning.
A tingle went up Sofia's spine, and she managed a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess I'm fine."
Clover rolled his eyes and reached out a paw in front of him. "Huh. Nice try, Princess. Now, what's really wrong?"
Sofia giggled, reaching out a hand to rub Clover behind the ears. "You know me too well, Clover. Well... the thing is... I had a nightmare... and there was this lady there - I didn't get to see her face, though - and I was tied up in a prison somewhere. It wasn't in this castle, though - I know that much."
"Hmm." Clover swiped his paw across his whiskers. "Ya know, Princess, I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. I mean, everyone gets bad dreams once in a while, but eventually, you gotta forget about them and just move on."
"But that's just it, Clover. It's not the first time I'm having this dream. I've had it like five other times."
"The exact same one?" Mia chirped, fluttering her wings as she spoke. Whatnaught chattered through his teeth, clearly agreeing with Mia as his eyes grew big and round, staring at Sofia.
"The exact same one."
Clover frowned for a few moments, while Sofia looked at him earnestly. His amber eyes lit up, and Clover broke into a broad grin, throwing his hands up eagerly. "I got it, Sof. You know what the answer to all problems is?"
Sofia raised an eyebrow, her hand pausing in petting his neck fur.
"Food. So let's have a picnic, Princess!" Clover pumped a fist in the air, grinning, as both Robin and Mia groaned. Even Whatnaught slapped a hand to his face. Clover shrugged, turning to the birds. "Aww, come on, guys! What's wrong about having a picnic?"
"Don't get me started," Robin stated, shaking her head slowly.
Sofia sighed and yawned, trying to visualize the dream in her mind, again. She could only grasp parts of it, now, like the casual swish of black clothing against pale ankles, and the icy coldness of those blue eyes. She could still feel the slight ache where her knee had been kicked.
There was still the haunting touch of freezing fingers gripping her chin, a memory which sent shivers down throughout her body. Her fingers went to her wrists, which held no sign of being chafed by the chains other than a slight tingling sensation when her fingers brushed it.
"Sofia?"
Sofia shrieked in surprise at the sound of Clover's voice and winced slightly as the cold air brushed the spot on her wrist that she had been subconsciously holding all this time. "S-sorry. What?"
Clover sighed and hopped closer to sit on her lap. Sofia gently ruffled the gray fur at the top of his head as he spoke. "Okay, Sof. Tell you what. Just go to school today, and let it distract you for a bit. Then, you come home, and if it's still bothering you, talk to us. We're always here."
Whatnaught chattered his agreement. Robin shrugged. "That's at least better than your picnic idea."
"Thanks, guys." Sofia gently eased Clover off her lap and onto the bed, simultaneously getting to the ground, shivering as the cold hardwood touched her bare feet.
She yawned again, and shuffled over into her closet to pick out her usual clothing - a deep purple gown with dropped shoulders and a silky skirt-part that fell to the ground in smoke-like waves that wreathed around her ankles.
As she slid the gown over her head, Sofia looked up at the sound of a knock on the door.
"Breakfast is ready, Princess Sofia!" Baileywick called to her from outside her room, his voice just as strictly matter-of-fact as it had been for all of the four years that Sofia had known him. "And then, you're off to school."
"Oh! Thanks, Baileywick!" Sofia slid the gown over her body, then emerged from the closet, touching a hand to her chest as she did every morning to make sure that her amulet was still around her neck. She smiled, pushing the dream to the back of her mind, as Robin and Mia dropped her tiara into her hair and Clover slid her feet into shoes.
"Bye, Sof!" Clover called as she darted out the door of her room. Mia and Robin chirped their farewell, and Sofia paused in her tracks to turn and wave goodbye before she shut the door and raced down the flight of stairs into the main hallway.
She'd spent a few minutes too long in her room today, pondering over her dream, so she took the shortest path - sliding down the stairway railing - and jumped off at the very end, racing down the hallway. Sofia flung open the doors to the castle kitchen - it was shorter to get to the dining hall through here - and sharply tried to dodge as many chefs as she could.
Sofia winced as she stumbled straight into one of the maids, sending a platter of pastries crashing to the ground.
The entire kitchen went into silence, as everyone glared at the trembling maid beside her. Sofia sighed. "Sorry about that." Stooping down, she grabbed the nearest broom and swept the shattered glass into a small pile at her feet.
"Thank you, Your Highness," the maid murmured. "You are too kind."
Sofia grinned at the maid for a split second before brushing past her and practically throwing the doors to the dining room open. The four people already seated at the table looked up in surprise, then relaxed as they recognized a panting Sofia.
"There you are, Sofia," Baileywick stated, walking up beside the table. "You only have a few minutes left before you, Amber, and James get into the coach and leave for school. I suggest you hurry up with your breakfast."
Sofia giggled. "Thanks, Baileywick."
"I heard Miss Flora telling Miss Merriweather that they were going to have a very important announcement today," Amber commented, twirling a strand of golden hair around a finger. "I wonder what it's going to be."
"Maybe they're bringing a school pet dragon!" James suggested eagerly, around a mouthful of food.
"Mind your manners, James," Baileywick chided mildly.
James grinned sheepishly, swallowing. "Sorry!" He turned back to Amber. "I hope they are. Or maybe they'll bring a school cannon. No, wait. Even better. A dragon-shaped cannon! That would just be awesome."
"James!" Amber huffed, crossing her arms. "I highly doubt that they're going to bring a dragon-shaped cannon into the school. Hopefully - probably - it's something even better, even grander, like... new tiaras for everyone!" She clapped her hands once, her eyes shining.
"Nah." James shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "That's dumb. A cannon sounds better."
Amber raised an eyebrow. "No way! Seriously? A cannon is the best you can come up with?"
"It's the best anyone can come up with!"
"I can do better."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Of course I can!"
"No way!"
"How about," Sofia interjected quickly, reaching her arms out between Amber and James, who stopped and looked up at her, "we just wait for them to make whatever this announcement is, and then we'll see how great - or... well... not great - it is? Okay?"
"Sofia is right." King Roland stated decisively. "Just wait and see. Without arguing, James, Amber."
"Time for school!"
Baileywick quickly walked over to the table and waved a hand, ushering them out of their seats. Sofia sheepishly grinned and shoved a pancake into her mouth as she grabbed her backpack from where it sat beside Amber's, in the corner.
Sofia followed Amber out the door, turning back to wave goodbye to her mother as she went out to the coach.
Amber stopped in her tracks. "Oh, dear," she stated, placing a hand dramatically to her forehead and turning around. "I've forgotten my fan."
"Amber," James stated in annoyance, "couldn't you do without it for one day?"
"Nonsense!" Amber waved a hand. "How could I? Fan fluttering is a very important part - and I mean, very important part - of being a princess, you know. And so is being fully prepared." Sofia suppressed a giggle as Amber went back inside.
James rolled his eyes. "And so is being on time, you know," he grumbled after Amber, though she couldn't hear him.
Sofia clambered into the coach, smiling brightly as she took her usual place facing the back of the coach. James sat across from her, in the center, stretching his arms out to both sides to rest on the walls of the coach.
"Found it!" Amber called, waving her dark purple fan eagerly in the air and rushing over to the coach to take her seat beside Sofia. "Coachman, we're ready!"
"Yah!" the coachman yelled, jerking the reins in a familiar motion that Sofia always enjoyed.
The same flick of the reins that she always saw in the flying coaches, the same flick of the reins that she gave Minimus to start off a derby race. It just gave her a sort of comfort, to be airborne - best when she was the one flying and directing the horse. But it just made her feel... well, free.
"Class, we have a very important announcement today," Miss Flora announced, fluttering in with Miss Fauna and Miss Merriweather just behind her.
Sofia shook her head, giggling softly, as she saw Amber whispering to Hildegard. James and Zandar were whispering, too, until Amber caught a word of what James had said and muttered something back to him, crossing her arms.
"What do think they're gonna tell us?" Vivian asked from beside Sofia, nudging her gently as she spoke.
Sofia shrugged. "I guess we won't know until they tell us."
"Is everybody listening?" Miss Flora continued, her hands clasped together in excitement. "Make sure you all are, because this is going to be perfectly wonderful for you all to hear. This doesn't happen very often at all, so it's a wonderful opportunity. Class, we will be holding-"
"-the Kingdom Trials Competition!" Miss Merriweather cut in, pushing Miss Flora out of the way.
"What's that?" Sofia asked, curiously.
Miss Flora huffed, shoving her back. "Yes, yes. It only happens-"
"-once every five years!" Miss Merriweather finished.
"That means that I hadn't become a princess the last time it happened," Sofia whispered excitedly to Vivian. "This is only my fourth year at the castle. It sounds really exciting, doesn't it? I hope I do well in it... the competition, I mean."
Miss Flora glared, until Miss Fauna burst between the two other fairies and adjusted her glasses on her nose before producing a scroll and studying the words for a few moments. "Only one competitor from each kingdom can compete. The rules are simple. Each of the competitors will be given a scim and a jewel nothing more and left in a different part of the competition territory.
"The goal is to successfully get through each of the different parts - there seven, one per kingdom - as well as accumulating as many jewels as possible. So if you encounter someone else, you're free to fight with your scims - nothing violent, these are only training scims that don't do damage - and the person who wins gets the other person's jewel.
"Once everyone has passed through all of the parts of the territory, the competition will end, and the person with the most jewels wins. If there's a tie, the tiebreaker will be a match between the tied competitors to determine who wins."
"Miss Flora?" Clio raised her arm curiously. "There are only six kingdoms that we have studied. What's the seventh one?"
Miss Flora smiled. "The kingdom of Hakalo."
"Lani - I mean, Princess Lei-Lani - will be there!" Sofia burst out, grinning. "I haven't seen her in so long!"
Miss Fauna looked confused, exchanging glances with the other two fairies. "Princess Sofia, are you acquainted with Princess Lei-Lani of Hakalo?"
"I sure am!" Sofia exclaimed. "She's one of my friends."
"How... interesting," Miss Flora concluded. "But anyway, class, these were the rules. There will be seven kingdoms competing, as you know. Scims and jewels. This is going to be a wonderful competition, this year. I truly can't wait!"
"Wow," Sofia murmured. "That sounds... cool."
"Brilliant!" James exclaimed, from his seat, high-fiving Zandar.
Amber crossed her arms and turned to Sofia. "Well, Sofia, it's going to be either you or James, because I'm not even going to try."
"I am so doing this," Hugo stated, puffing out his chest and grinning broadly.
"No way." Hildegard crossed her arms and turned the other way.
Clio shrugged. "It might actually be a little fun."
"Children!" Miss Flora cut in. "We're not done yet. The night after the Kingdom Trials Competition is over, there will be a ball at Royal Prep. I hope that those of you who are not participating will be helping in decorating the ballroom."
"Oh!" Hildegard stated, fluttering her fan. "My specialty."
"Okay. There's no way." Zandar scoffed and slammed a palm on his desk. "Whatever happens, I am not decorating a ballroom."
"Think about it tonight, everyone. And take home these forms to your parents." Miss Flora's wand flicked in a reddish glow of light, sending a slip of paper to each student. "You only need to bring them back if you're the one participating."
"Sounds fun!" Sofia said, grinning. "What do you think, Vivian?"
Vivian frowned a little. "I don't know. It sounds a bit... well... intense, don't you think?"
"Oh, come on, Vivian," Sofia teased gently. "It won't be real weapons, just training scims. And it's just like a game between all of the kingdoms. It'll be fun!"
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
Sofia snatched up the invitation envelope and stuffed it in her backpack before racing after her fellow princes and princesses out into the drop-off area. The Enchancian flying horse coach was already waiting, early as usual.
"Come on, Amber!" Sofia exclaimed, grabbing Amber's arm and practically tugging her down the steps of the main building. "I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad the good news about the Kingdom Trials Competition!"
"Hmph!" Amber stumbled a little as Sofia pulled her towards the coach, but steadied herself and shrugged. "I was hoping that the announcement would be something more... well... grand."
James ran a hand through his hair, pushing it from his eyes as he jogged beside them. "I think it's awesome. The last time I participated - well, five years ago - Hugo won. I mean, this year, we officially, absolutely, positively have got to beat him."
Sofia felt herself smiling at the mention of Hugo. Over the past few years, they had slowly warmed up to each other, despite their initial hatred the first time they met. Of course Hugo had won that time. He was probably won of the most talented princes in the area.
"Yes, well, good luck with that," Amber stated, fluttering her fan before her face. "I still wish it had been something better, though."
Sofia grinned, nudging Amber with an elbow as she clambered into the flying coach beside her sister. "Aww, come on, Amber. At least you get to do some ball-decorating. And you get to try out a bunch of new gowns. You love that."
"I guess," Amber said, shrugging and simultaneously signaling to the coachman that they were ready.
"You know," Sofia said, as they soared over the villages in Enchancia, "I think it actually sounds like fun. I've never done anything like that before."
"You bet!" James said, high-fiving her eagerly.
Amber tossed her hair back. "Not exactly my type of thing, though. I'm an indoor princess. I stay in the observatory, my room, or in Madame Collette's room. That's basically all. Not... well... sword-fighting or all that... ugh." She shuddered, wrinkling her nose.
Sofia giggled. "It's not real swords, Amber. It's just training scims. Nothing will happen."
"I wouldn't try it if I were you. There's always a first time for every accident." Amber crossed her arms. "Which is exactly why I'm not going to try it."
"Oh, Amber."
James grinned. "No, but seriously, whatever happens, I have got to beat Hugo this year. He is so not winning again."
"You know, James," Sofia said quietly, "I'd like to try doing the competition this year. I mean, I know you were probably looking forward to it, but, well, I've never done it before. I kinda just want to try it and see what it's like, this year."
James shrugged, then shook his head. "But I never really got a chance. I mean, the last time, I was just a kid."
"I know... but at least you've tried it, kid or not," Sofia replied, her hand self-consciously clutching her amulet.
"But that doesn't count as an actual proper chance, Sofia," James retorted, frowning slightly. "You know what... let's just look and see what Mom and Dad say. They can choose who participates this year, at dinner today. Okay?"
"Okay." Sofia shrugged as the coach landed outside the Enchancian castle.
"Actually..." James said, grinning mischievously at her. "Why wait? Race you to Dad's room!"
"You're on!" Sofia called back at him, as the two of them jumped down the steps even before the coach stopped.
Amber waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, James."
Sofia threw open the doors to the castle, barely a yard ahead of James as she swerved to avoid Baileywick, who stared at them in slight confusion. The two of them raced up the steps together. James nearly tripped as Whatnaught scampered down the steps toward him, but caught himself.
The siblings ran down the hallway, legs pumping, as Sofia hitched up her gown so as to not trip over it.
"These... shoes..." Sofia panted, "were... not... made for... running!"
James tossed her a teasing smirk as the two of them reached the king's room, slamming their palms against the door in unison. King Roland opened the door moments later, looking a little surprised to see two of his children panting, eyes shining in excitement.
Sofia grinned. "Look, Dad! We got forms for-"
"-the Kingdom Trials Competition!" James finished, his expression mirroring hers.
"The Kingdom Trials Competition!" King Roland clapped his hands once. "Great! It's come around again so soon! Let me go and tell your mother." Sofia folded her hands in front as she watched her father disappear deep into his room. Their rooms were linked, meaning that they were separate, but could be reached through a single door.
Moments later, they emerged, King Roland practically dragging Queen Miranda to the door.
"Sofia!" Queen Miranda smiled. "What's this about a Kingdom Trials Competition?"
"You... don't know?" King Roland turned to her in surprise. "Oh, well, I suppose no one ever told you about it before. Never happened since you moved to the palace. So it's a competition that happens every five years at Royal Prep, and-"
"Can I explain, Dad?" James broke in.
"Sure, go ahead, James."
Sofia watched her mother closely as James briefly explained the rules and concepts of the Kingdom Trials Competition. She couldn't stop the dismay from showing on her face as she saw her mother's expression go from interested, to skeptical, to unsure, to negative.
"But only one of us can go," James finished.
"I don't know, Rolly," Queen Miranda stated flatly. "This sounds quite dangerous, too dangerous for either of them, in fact."
"Nonsense!" King Roland exclaimed, taking her elbow. "James has done it before, and nothing happened."
Queen Miranda frowned, and Sofia watched, dismayed, as her mother's gaze grew darker. "All the same, if James is comfortable with it, I guess he can. Though I usually encourage trying something new, for Sofia, I just don't think that she should do it this time. I just don't think it's her type of thing."
"But Mom," Sofia broke in, "you told me that a while ago that anything can be a princess thing. But why is this so different?"
"She's done the flying slingshot and mastered it on her first try," King Roland added. "How different can this be?"
"I don't know, a lot?" Queen Miranda shrugged. "Please, I know that this may seem interesting, but I don't think I want to risk either of their lives. But if James is absolutely sure about this... I guess it's not in my place to refuse. Just... please, Sofia. James has done it before, he'll be fine. But you haven't."
King Roland crossed his arms again. "All right, Miranda. James it is."
Sofia's heart sank.