Disclaimer: I do not own 'Sofia The First'. Or 'Tales From The Book of Virtues'
A/N: So here is chapter two, of my requested Story. And I apologize, I had really wanted to get this entire story finished by this time. But unfortunately, things got way more hectic during this month than I had anticipated. So, I was only able to have this second chapter ready, which as promised I'm posting the day after Christmas :). I hope you enjoy it.
—
The next morning Hildegarde awoke with a luxurious stretch within her soft canopy bed. Specially heated with a magic spell, courtesy of Friezenburg's Royal Sorcerer of course, to help stave off the cold native to the snowy kingdom.
Putting on her slippers, the brunette made her way to her vanity and began brushing the tangles out of her long hair. Admiring her reflection as she did so. When something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Sitting a top of the vanity was a small glass ball with a string attached to it. There was only a brief moment of confusion, before the memory of last nights party in Enchancia and the fairy god mother returned to her.
Her mind now free of the secretive rush of last night, she picked it up and examined it more closely. It certainly was a curious little device. And she still didn't have any idea just exactly how it was supposed to work.
Curious, she gave a quick tug on the string coming out of it. In what seemed to be the blink of a eye, she was suddenly sitting within her Royal coach. Which had just landed down in front of the palace.
"Welcome home, your majesty " a servant greeted, as he opened the door for her.
Hildegarde, now dressed in her normal attire with the addition of a heavy coat. Stepped out of the carriage a look of utter confusion on her face.
"Excuse me?..." She said quietly. Though she didn't have a chance to respond further before her father greeted her.
"Hildy!" He gushed enthusiastically. "How was your first day at the 'School For Royal Fashions'?" Though King Henrik had made a concentrated effort not to spoil his youngest daughter as much after the pelicant incident at the enchanted animal park. He still tended to be an overly devoted father.
"First day of school?" Hildegarde blinked in confusion, before chuckling nervously. "Ha! That's funny Daddy, But I haven't even gone to school yet."
King Henrik cocked his head slightyly, a look of utter perplexity etched onto his features. "What are you talking about? You've been gone all day."
"I have? But... it feels like I just woke up" Hildegarde insisted, a mild feeling of panic beginning to sweep over her. What was going on?
"Are you feeling alright sweetums?" Henrik asked with concern.
Hildegarde brought a hand to her temple, her mind swimming with confusion. "I...I think I need to rest for a bit..." she said, before entering the castle and swiftly retiring to her room. Her mind desperately trying to make sense of the situation. Was she dreaming? "Ow!" A quick painful pinch to the arm confirmed that she wasn't. Then what was happening?
—-
Back in Enchancia, the Royal siblings had each returned from their first day at their new schools. When, inside her room, something caught Amber's attention. An intricate light blue fan decorated with painted Nettledrops.
"Oh no..." she sighed picking it up.
"What's wrong?" Sofia asked, having heard her sister's sigh of dismay as she was passing by her room.
Amber turned to face her. "I think Hildegarde left this here." she explained showing her sibling the fan. Both girls recalling that the Friezenburg princess had briefly visited the eldest Enchancian sister's room during the party last night.
"Oh! Well maybe I could bring it back to her." Sofia offered. She grimaced though, when her Enchantlet suddenly began signaling her. Indicating that she would soon be needed for another Protector mission.
Amber smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry Sofia. I can return it to her." she said, placing a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder. Who smiled shyly in response.
—
The eldest Enchancian princess selected a warm yet fashionable coat, and after informing her parents where she was going, called for a coach to take her to Friezenburg. Arriving in the frozen land, and explaining her reason for being there, she was soon escorted to the other princess' room.
Hearing a knock on her door, Hildegarde opened it to see her friend. "Amber?"
"Hey Hildy. I brought your fan back." The Enchancian smiled, holding up the said accessory.
"Oh! Thank goodness!" Hildegarde said, suddenly pulling her inside.
Amber cocked an eyebrow, as she was unceremoniously dragged into the other girl's room. "Wow! You must have really been worried about it." She would have laughed. But, knowing her own dramatic tendencies when losing a tiara, figured that such a reaction would be more than a little bit hypocritical.
"That's not it..." Hildegarde said.
The Enchancian frowned, noticing her friends anxious demeanor. "What is it?..."
"Something weird is going on..." Hildegarde said cryptically, before staring intently into the girl's eyes "Do you remember anything that happened today?"
"Of course... why?" Amber asked. Feeling more than a little concerned by her friend's strange behavior.
"Oh, Amber... This is going to sound crazy... But I swear I just woke up!"
"You look pretty fashionable for someone who just got out of bed..." Amber quipped with a sly grin.
"That's not what I mean!" The other princess huffed, cleary offended that she wasn't being taken seriously "Amber. Listen to me. I woke up, I was over here brushing my hair" she indicated her vanity. "And then the next thing I know. I'm standing outside the castle. And everyone's asking me how my first day of school was! But I don't remember anything!"
Amber's expression softened a bit as she considered her friends words. On paper, it all seemed a little farfetched. But the Enchancian princess herself wasn't a stranger to mysterious memory lapses. Though usually magic was involved. As in the case of the Princess Ivy incident, which Sofia had related to her. However her sister had also informed her, that the exiled princess had recanted of her wicked ways. Plus, the lack of monochrome decor clearly indicated that the infamous black and white princess and her dragonflies were not responsible for Hildegarde's predicament.
"Okay Hildy... Calm down..."
"I'm not making it up Amber!"
"I know! I believe you!" she assured, placing a hand on the brunettes shoulder "I just want to help you figure out what's happening. Do you remember anything weird when you got up this morning? Anything out of the ordinary?"
"No, I woke up. Went to brush my hair like I always do... wait..." suddenly she remembered the mysterious ball. It was no longer sitting a top her vanity. A previously unnoticed weight in her dress caught her attention. Reaching into her pocket she pulled the ball out. "...there was this."
"What's that?"
"I'm not sure. But I do remember that when I got up this morning. I pulled the string, and then that's when everything became a blur." she pointed at the thread coming out of it, though restrained herself from pulling it this time. Lest the incident be repeated.
"Where did you get that?..." Amber asked, eyeing the device warily.
"My fairy god mother gave it to me." Hildegarde said casually.
Amber frowned "Since when do you have a fairy god mother?"
"Since last night at the party. But she didn't really explain to me what this was."
"Well, why don't you ask her?"
"Oh that's a good idea!" the Friezenburg princess lit up "But how? She just kind of disappeared last night.."
"Here, I know how to summon her." the blonde assured. "What's her name?"
"How do you know how to summon fairy godmothers?" Hildegarde asked, clearly distracted by this, previously unknown to her, knowledge.
"Sofia told me..."
"Sofia has a fairy godmother too?!"
"No..Her friend Ruby does." Amber explained quickly, shaking her head. "But we're getting off topic... All you have to do is say your fairy godmother's name, and she should appear."
"Really?" Hildegarde sighed seeming relieved, "Alright then..." suddenly she stopped eyes wide, when she realized she couldnt recall the fairy's name. "um..."
"Did you forget it Hildy?..." Amber sighed.
"Of course not!" the other princess lied defensively, "I know it! It was something like... Ditzy?...uh Doozy...um Dippy?..."
The girls collectively flinched as a poof of green smoke suddenly appeared. After it dissipated, standing in it's place was the aforementioned fairy godmother. Facing the wrong way once more.
"Oh?..." Dippy corrected her mistake and turned to face the two girls. "There you are! Who's your friend?"
"Hello, I am Princess Amber" the blonde, introduced herself with a regal curtsy. "Tell me, Dippy was it?" seeing the magical creature nod in confirmation. "What exactly is this thing you gave my friend?" she pointed to the ball.
"Oh That? That's um..uh..It's uh.." she tapped her wand to her head in thought. The Enchancian frowned, growing rather impatient.
"Oh! Now I remember!" she recalled. "That's a magical time skipping device!"
"A time skipping device?" both princesses echoed.
"Mm hm!" she confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "All you have to do, is give that string a little tug. Then you can instantly skip over any part of your life!"
"Really?" Hildegarde asked, intrigued.
Amber however grimaced, "Excuse me. But why would you give something like that to Hildegarde?"
"To help her achieve her dream!" Dippy said matter-of-factly
"Uh huh..." Amber drawled, before turning to her friend. "Hildy? What is she talking about?"
"Well.." Friezenburg thought back. "When we met last night. I made a wish that I could spend more time with Clio." she explained.
"I see. Um, excuse me Miss Dippy." Amber smiled, trying to be cordial. "But, how exactly is a time skipping device supposed to help with that?"
"Oh! Well, she said she wanted to spend more time with her friend. And that controls time. So...I figured it would help..." Dippy explained, though she seemed a little unsure herself.
Amber grimaced in confusion. Was it her? Or did this fairy seem a little... air headed...
The Enchancian cleared her throat. "Well Dippy, though I believe you meant well. I'm not exactly sure that's what Hildegarde needs." she explained with an understanding frown.
"Oh?"
"I think it'll be best if she were to return it to you."
"Wait! What!?" Hildegarde gaped. Eyes widened, as though she'd just been asked to give away her prized doll collection.
Amber raised and eyebrow, regarding her friend's sudden change in demeanor with confusion. "Or...perhaps we could exchange it for a more useful magical item in that regard?"
Before they could discuss it further, there was a knock on the door, and Dippy vanished once more. "
"Come in!" Hildegarde answered in response to the knock
The door opened to reveal a maid, who quickly bowed "Beg your pardon, your majesty. But Princess Clio of Corinthia has come to pay you a visit."
"Really?" Hildegarde's gasped. Her eyes traveling back to the ball still in her hand, lighting up as an idea struck her mind.
"Tell her I'll be right there!" she ordered, pocketing the ball. "I just need to get myself fixed up first."
The maid nodded, and left. Amber looking on in confusion as Hildegarde preened herself in the mirror for a bit, before making a beeline for her door.
"Wait!" Amber exclaimed, grabbing the other girl's arm, halting her progress. "What about the ball?!"
"Don't worry, Amber" she assured, freeing herself from the other girl's grasp. "I know just what to do with this now." she smiled confidently, patting the space in her pocket where the ball now resided. Ignoring the other princess' perplexed expression.
After thanking Amber for returning her fan, the Friezenburg princess quickly departed to meet up with her best friend.
—
Hildegarde found the Corinthian princess waiting for her in the castle foyer. "Clio!" she called.
Clio turned and smiled as she saw the blue clad princess approaching. "Hey, Hildy!" she greeted, "How was your first day of school?"
"It was...interesting..." Hildegarde said honestly. Still a tiny bit shell shocked from her sudden time lapse.
"Oh..." Clio frowned. "Well, then would it be better if I came over some other time? I know it was a bit unexpected..."
"Oh no!" Hildegarde assured quickly "I'm fine! What brings you here?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to spend sometime together tonight?"
"Really?" Hildegarde blinked,
"Yeah... I felt kind of bad we werent able to spend our last day of summer vacation together. So I thought maybe we could do something this evening. Just the two of us." Clio explained.
"Oh? Of course." the Friezenburg smiled with delight "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought we could go to that dress shop here that you like so much."
That certainly would be exquisitely nice in the Friezenburg's opinion. However, she found a different thought striking her instead, as she recalled the magic thread nestled safely in her pocket.
"Actually, why don't we go see a play?" Hildegarde suggested.
Clio blinked in surprise, "But... you don't like plays..."
"Yes... But I know how much you like them Clio. And I thought perhaps it would be nice to do something you like for a change. Even if I don't care for it too much." she smiled sweetly.
"Oh... really?" Clio asked, seeing a nod of approval from her friend.
"Okay...um...let's see..." the pink clad princess began searching her memory to see if she knew of any plays going on. She did have a habit of keeping tabs on those sorts of things after all.
"I think their actually playing 'The Princess and I' back in Corinthia tonight. If we hurry, we should be able to make it before the show starts."
"Sounds Perfect!" Hildegarde gushed, as they both climbed into the other girls coach.
—-
They arrived just in time, pleased to see there were just enough seats left for them to buy a couple of tickets. The two girls sat down in the audience, just as the lights started to dim and the curtains began to open.
Clio reached over and gave Hildegarde's hand a squeeze. "Thanks Hildy. I've actually really been wanting to see this." she whispered quietly, so as not to disturb anyone else.
"No problem..." Hildegarde assured softly, "You just enjoy yourself." Reaching discreetly into her pocket, when the other girl had turned away. Pulling out the ball, she gave a gentle tug on the string, and everything became a blur...
—
The next moment, the two princesses were stepping outside the theatre. Clio smiling in contentment.
"Did you have a good time?" Hildegarde asked.
Clio nodded, "I did! Thanks Hildy, I'm glad you came too. Even though you didn't care for it very much."
"Oh, That's alright! Honestly, it all just kind of 'flew by'" she waved, with a secretive smile.
"Still... I appreciate you being here with me." Clio repeated, genuinely touched by her friend's 'selfless' act.
"Of course!" Hildegarde said, grabbing both her friend's hands earnestly. "I'd do anything for you Clio, I am your best friend after all." 'not, Vivian.' she added with a hint of bitterness. Though only in her head.
Clio smiled, "Thanks Hildy."
—-
A/N: Thanks for reading!