(Rachel's POV)
It starts in the Castle where Me Makayla and Holly were helping the maids in the castle.
"They look like Princess Amanda and Princess Juila," A new maid named Tracy says as me and Holly passed her
"I don't think so," Sofia whispers back as she watches us pass. "Julia and Amanda aren't supposed to be here for another day or so."
"Maybe they came here early," Tracy shrugs. "In any case, your friend Princess Sandra and her sister Princess Zoe will be here in a little while."
"That's great," Sofia smiles. "I can't wait for them to meet Makayla, Holly, Julia, and Amanda."
"Who are Princess Amanda and Princess Julia?" Makayla asks as she keeps sweeping the floor.
"And why did you say Holly and I look like them?" I frown at Tracy and I can't help but cross my arms.
"Princess Julia and Princess Amanda are the princesses of Allegan. It's a southern kingdom," Sofia explains. "They started Royal Prep a few weeks ago, and they're coming here for a few days. And Rachel, don't be too hard on Tracy; she just started working here a month ago, and she's still learning everyone's names and how we know them."
"Well, all right," Rachel agrees at last.
"I hear their family is very rich," Holly smiles a little. "We should take a break," she continues as she stops sweeping. "My feet are starting to hurt."
When we stop to take a break was when we saw a coach appear.
"Who's that?" Makayla wonders as she sees the coach.
Sofia smiles as she leads us out. "These are my friends, Princess Sandra, and Princess Zoe. They're from the kingdom of Orillia," she introduces us as the coach door opens.
"Actually, Sofia, Zoe couldn't make it today," Sofia's friend Sandra says as she comes out. "She's on a playdate-slash-slumber party with some of her friends."
"That's okay," Sofia smiles. "Sandra, these are my friends Holly, Makayla, and Rachel."
"We met at the Wassalia party," Sandra smiles as she shakes hands with us. "Rachel, you and James sounded incredible with that song."
"Thanks," Rachel smiles.
"Hey, Sandra, do you know Princess Amanda and Princess Julia?" Holly asks. "They're supposed to be here in a day or two."
"I know of them, but we never ran into each other," Sandra admits. "But I've heard that they're really nice."
"That's good to know," Holly smiles.
"Should we go inside?" Rachel asks.
"Princess Sandra, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Tracy says as she shakes her hand.
"It's nice to meet you too," Sandra smiles. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Sandra likes helping people," Sofia whispers to us. "She also loves helping in the castle kitchen."
"Well," Tracy thinks. "I was going to make a cake for when Amanda and Julia come."
"Do you need some help?" Sandra offers.
Tracy smiles. "I'd like that. Thank you!"
"We can help you too," Sofia offers.
"That would be wonderful!" Tracy smiles as we all go to the kitchen.
"They will love the cake!" Makayla says. "My aunt is a good baker, because my mom showed her when she was younger."
A few days later, I see Makayla dancing around me. "Amanda and Julia are coming today!" she shouts as she takes my hands and dances around the room with me.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" I ask, spinning her around "Let's go meet them!"
Julia and Amanda are just as nice as we imagine them. Julia loves music as much as James, and Amanda loves animals. She's eager to meet Sofia's horse Minimus, so we all go out to the stables.
"Wow, look at all the horses," Amanda smiles as Julia nods in agreement
We all spend a few minutes with the horses, and Sofia offers to take us all riding the next day.
"Do Princess Amber and Prince James have horses too?" Julia asks.
"Yes, Saffron and Echo," Sofia smiles. "If you want, we could ask them if they want to go riding with us."
"That sounds like fun!" Amanda smiles.
"Let's go!" Julia agrees.
Makayla grabs my arm. "Come on, Rachel!"
"I'm coming," I say as we go to find Amber and James
We find Amber and James, and we invite them to go riding with us. They agree, and we all go off to the stables together.
As soon as we enter the stable, it's clear that Amanda is in horsie heaven. She introduces herself to all the horses, and gives each of them a few lumps of sugar.
"She likes animals as much as Sofia," Amber smiles.
"You have no idea," Julia smirks. "If she had her way, she'd spend all day in the stable back home!"
As she looks around the stable, Makayla sees a baby horse by herself. "Hey, Amber, who is that?" Makayla asks as she points to the baby horse.
"Does she have a mom or dad?" I ask as I pet the baby horse.
"Sofia found her a month ago," Amber explains. "She said she was just wandering around by herself. James and I went around the village asking if anyone had lost a horse, and they all said no. Daddy said that we'd wait a month for someone to claim her, but if nobody did, then we could keep her. The deadline ended yesterday, and nobody came to the castle."
"But who's going to take care of her?" I ask.
Amber smiles as the baby horse nuzzles up next to her winged horse. "Saffron took her under her wing, if you'll pardon the expression. She didn't seem to respond to anyone else in the stable."
"She's so cute," Makayla smiles at the horse. "I think I'll call you Samantha."
"What about Natalie? That's a good name," I pipe up.
"Okay, I'll name you after my late mother," Makayla said as Natalie nuzzled her cheek.
"We'll take good care of Natalie," Amber smiles. "You can visit her any time you want."
"We'll teach you everything: Riding, grooming, and as an added bonus, pronunciation!" James grins.
"James! You've made me the happiest girl who ever lived!" Makayla giggles in a fake English accent.
Natalie lets out a whinny of agreement.
"See, Natalie agrees," I say with a laugh
"What do you say we take her around the training field?" Sofia suggests, "I know she's still a little young for you to ride her, but that doesn't mean that we can't start training her now."
"That's a good idea," I agree.
"Let's go now!" Makayla cheers
"You mind if we join you?" we hear another voice behind us. We all turn, and see Julia and Amanda. They're both in riding outfits, and Amanda also offers to teach Makayla how to ride Natalie.
"That would be great!" Makayla smiles.
We all laugh as Natalie whinnies in agreement.
"This gonna be fun," Makayla says as she hugs Natalie.
We spend some time getting Natalie familiar with the commands to start, stop, and turn. We also agree that when Natalie's a little older, we'll teach Makayla how to ride. But for now, we watch as she joins James on his horse.
Sofia and Amber join us in the air on their horses, Minimus and Saffron. They give her all the tips they learned when they were learning to ride.
We even see Julia and Amanda join us on two of the horses. Amanda is having a ball on the horse she's riding.
"Wow, it looks like Amanda is having fun," I smile as I see everyone on the horses.
"Indeed," Tracy agrees. "I just came out here to see who wanted a snack."
"I do!" my friends and I call out.
We find snacks on the table when we come in. "These look wonderful," Amanda smiles as she helps herself to some tea and cookies.
"And we made a cake for you and Amanda to enjoy," Holly smiles as she brings out a cake. "Sorry if I wasn't with you guys; I just had to help Marcy and Violet with dinner."
"So that's where you were the whole time," I smile as I take a bite of a cookie.
"Yes, Sandra and I were helping," Holly smiles.
"She loves helping in the kitchen," Amber smiles. "We sometimes let her copy recipes she likes, or she gives us one of her favorites."
"We'll have to see which ones she gave you so I can take them home," Makayla smiles. "Aunt Gretchen loves cooking too."
"I remember she used to make us cookies for sleepovers," Holly smiles. "Your Uncle Theo always tried to sneak one from the plate, but she always caught him, and she'd tell him she'd put a few cookies on a separate plate for him!"
"Can I have a copy too, so I can make something for my brother Noah? His birthday is coming soon," I smile. I always loved making sweets for my little brother.
"Of course," Tracy smiles.
We find Sandra working alongside the chefs in the kitchen. Like Amanda and her love of horses, we find Sandra is in her element in the kitchen. She's pouring cake batter into a pan, and invites us to try some.
"This is incredible!" Makayla grins as she tastes it. "Would it be possible to get this recipe? Uncle Theo loves chocolate cake!"
"Of course, and chocolate is a major food group," Tracy grins as she copies the recipe for her. "And there's no need to frost it; this cake is so thick and moist that it doesn't need anything else."
"I know," Sandra smiles as she puts the cake in the oven, "My mom says the same thing, and everyone goes wild over it when we bring it to a party or some other event. They ask for the recipe too!"
"In the words of my Grandma, make a lot of cakes for the right reasons," I remember the words so perfectly.
"Any reason to make a cake is the right reason!" Makayla smiles.