T.

"You want me to heal that?" Lucinda asked with her mouth full, not really looking up from the cooked ear of corn in her hand, because she was trying to keep butter from dripping onto her gloves, which were already soaked, and she sucked on her fingers before using them to push one of her braids back and behind her ear. They pushed past another swell in the crowd, and Sofia was still looking darkly ahead, her injured hand down at her side, wrapped and hidden by the rather heavy cloak she was wearing. The Rose Festival of Ramblingham was fairly new, exactly established this year, to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of Lady Joy, a celebration that Lord Gilbert had actually been planning for some time.

All over the Dukedom red roses had been painted and arranged and planted, and Lord Gilbert had arranged a high end tournament and dance, and there were hundreds of stalls selling meat and fruits, and sweet desserts, and even the ground was covered in thousands of little rose petals. And as Sofia crunched over them in her boots she realized that most of them had been conjured by magic, and she groaned darkly, earning another impatient eye roll from the witch beside her.

"Are you going to be like this all day? Because I'll just hand you off to Ruby and Jade and go hex him."

Sofia shot her an incredulous look, quietly thankful that her spite was shared by someone else.

"No. Don't do that. You're supposed to be a good witch now." She said, not meaning it, but knowing that if she wasn't still upset, that's what she would have said.

"Pfft, and Princesses are supposed to be chaste."

"Don't push me."

"There's my little cloud of darkness." Lucinda baby talked, tossing her gnawed corn over her shoulder, and as they broke through the crowd, they came around to the ornate stables where the knights were getting ready to perform. There was a motley of mounts and people getting ready, most of them catered to by attendants next to colorful tents sporting their Dukedom's crests or insignia. Sofia noticed that there were a good handful of different creatures that were to be ridden, and at the very last spot stood Jade, securing a lance rest over her right breast with one hand, while Ruby stood behind her, tightening a strap to something else, no tent in sight, just a stack of bags and one or two spare armor pieces.

Jade had spent as much time as she could training to become a knight of Enchancia, having been inspired after taking down a bull that had gotten loose in the village two summers ago. No one had stepped forward to claim her as a squire, however, so she'd entered the tournament to earn just that- favor and enough acclaim to be offered a place under someone's crest.

She'd always been more rough and tumble than her friends, and she now stood a foot taller than both Sofia and Ruby, her hair cut short, smoothed back to fit better beneath her helmet.

Ruby on the other hand was wearing tight breeches and an orange vest, an odd looking gold spectacle balanced over one eye, her black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and she was bent over, staring at an opening in Jade's armor, which thankfully was supposed to be there.

"Hey girls." She said, not looking up, her fingers rubbing her chin before she straightened and gave the back of Jade's knee a swift kick. The woman didn't even flinch, and Ruby clapped her gloved hands together in victory.

"Perfect! You should be good to go. I rigged it so that it'll take a pretty hard hit to knock you from your saddle."

"Isn't that cheating?" Lucinda asked, eyeing the inventor.

Ruby shrugged. "Only if it springs her back up." She then blushed and bent to remove a small spring and some gear from the ankle of Jade's boot.

Jade turned slowly in her armor, rolling her shoulders and grinning.

"You ready to watch all these other knights eat dirt?" She went to flex and Lucinda managed to keep from rolling her eyes, and it was Sofia who wanted to shrug and tell her not to be so cocky, but instead she nodded, and smiled, and tried to ignore the throbbing in her hand.

"You alright, Sofia?" Ruby asked, taking off her gloves and wiping a bit of black gunk off her elbow and on to her knee, only smudging the stuff further up her arm.

"I'm fine. Please. Don't ask again." She groaned, looking around as several trumpets went off, the sound meaning that it was time for the knights to take up their mounts. Jade went to put her fingers to her lips to whistle and groaned when she realized she was already wearing her gauntlets.

"Damn. Would someone...?"

"I got you." Lucinda said, licking more butter from her fingers before whistling, and the sound lured out Bart, a massive boar, who came snorting and snarling from his stand. He hit Jade full force, and she cooed at the beast, her arms around his massive head.

"Heyyyyy." She said, grabbing his tusks and giving them a harsh shake, and he seemed to enjoy it and gave a shake back, kicking up dust that her friends just fanned away.

"We're going to rock this." She looked up at Sofia, and after taking a look around to make sure no one was listening in on the four of them, she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Can you tell him he's going to be great today?"

And Sofia instantly went rigid, because she didn't have her amulet, so there was no way to talk to the big beast, let alone understand him. Her amulet was sitting on a sorcerer's desk, probably either forgotten, or thrown across the room, or who knows? Maybe he was wearing it and pouting, cause, oh poor Cedric.

"No." She spit.

"Thanks Sofia, I- Huh? Why no?" Jade asked, her brow furrowing in irritation. "It's not cheating to wish him luck."

Sofia stood, and clenched her unharmed hand, and she tried to ignore Lucinda and Ruby's worried look, and she tried not to get riled by Jade's accusatory one.

"I just can't. You'll be fine, Jade."

"Are you serious right now?" Jade asked, lifting herself, but Bart was still snorting against her legs, and the trumpets were going off, and suddenly Ruby and Lucinda were between them, Lucinda holding up her wand, saying something to Jade about getting Bart a damn good looking set of tusk armor, and Ruby was tucking her gloves in her back pocket and throwing an arm around Sofia, who shrugged it off with a scowl.

"Come on girl, talk to me." She looked down at Sofia's hand and frowned. "What happened?"

But Sofia was tired of explaining.

She'd lied about her room to Baileywick. And lied about everything to her parents. And she'd stayed in her wrecked room for two days, constantly disturbed by people checking in on her, before taking a coach out to Ramblingham and she'd lied to her parents saying she'd only be a couple days, but she'd paid the room for the next two weeks, and she'd lied to her friends saying she'd only be there for the tournament. And she wanted to curl around her broken hand and just be left alone. She didn't really know what was wrong. She knew from past experiences that a few good words could fix almost any situation, and maybe there was a part of her that didn't want to fix things. Damn him.

He'd been distracting her from so many things in her life. She wasn't ready to settle down, some Sorcerer's wife in some dark tower, constantly catering to his fragile ego and trying to build him up. She didn't want to be on some pedestal for the rest of her life, only to have to face his disappointment when her own weaknesses came up.

Maybe Hugo wasn't the answer. But maybe Cedric wasn't either.

"Sofia, your hand looks bad. Why don't you heal it?" Ruby tried again, softer, letting her friend come to a stop next to a tree that didn't have too many people beneath it. The whole town was full of festival goers, so a private place was just going to be an impossible luxury at this point.

"Because I want to feel it." Sofia admitted, shrugging. "All of it. I just want to sit down, Ruby."

And her friend nodded because what else could she do? Sofia was stubborn, and whatever end she was working towards, she had to get there on her own.

"Alright, I got you." Ruby said, following behind her.

There was something exciting about sitting in the bleachers at a tournament, watching as an array of men and women arrange a massive field with dirt and poles, and weapons and flags, and other markers that represented the numerous different areas within the kingdom of Enchancia. The entire arena shifted and moved as people sat and stamped their feet, and she watched as the knights all made their way onto the stage amidst the thunder of the crowd, trying to name off the different crests on the different tabards, impressed to see a woman on top of a fierce looking griffin, enchanted by the pale blonde knight riding the unicorn who scowled in distaste, and despite the exchange from earlier, she did cheer the loudest for Jade, who looked feral on top of Bart, and Sofia would proudly say of all the competitors, Jade looked the most likely to shred the other knights in half.

When her and Ruby had come to find their seats, they'd been intercepted by several of Lady Joy's handmaidens, who had brought her up to sit next to the lady of honor. Joy had grown up to be stunning over the last couple years.

She'd kept her round figure, though now it was round in the form of large breasts and shapely hips, and she was wearing an elaborately embroidered gown, the sleeves white and puffy, cinched tight at her waist with a brown leather belt, and the skirt was a dark blue, covered in beautifully designed roses with long stems and leaves. Her hair had grown much longer, and while it seemed like it was normally pinned up, today it was down and curling around her hips, adorned with a crown made of roses and her pink cheeks were full of happiness and warmth as she drew Sofia near.

She'd flinched when Joy had grabbed her hand, but had kissed her cheek regardless, happy to see her old friend. As Joy took in her black gown and cloak, there was a lingering question, but Sofia managed to avoid it by introducing Ruby, and then Lucinda once she joined them in their high seats.

Lord Gilbert had stood, and after making sure they all knew their, 'Favorite Duke', was so happy to host such an amazing event to celebrate his darling rose, Joy, he announced that the knights should receive their favors now, and that the winner of the tournament would be given one wish, to be granted by Lord Gilbert himself, within reason, he'd winked. And Sofia assumed he was throwing out the hand of his daughter as the prize, but didn't say ask Joy who was bouncing in her seat with excitement.

As the knights took their laps, Sofia watched as Joy stood, a red rose woven onto a ring in her hand, a simple, dainty pink cloth tied to it as well, and she was searching the knights, and as they made their lap she hurried down, and the crowd instantly parted, 'Ooohing' because the whole point of the tournament was for this young woman's pleasure, and she was about to bestow her favor.

And Sofia heard Lucinda snort in disbelief before a hush fell over the crowd, because Joy had withheld her favor from the pale blonde knight, who had lingered the longest before her with his dark frown, until the last armored knight approached. The knight sitting atop the great huffing boar, who was drooling through his armor.

Jade drew off her helmet, trying to show Lady Joy that she wasn't a man, and she had to pull Bart to a stop with a jerk to his reins, because Lady Joy was still standing on tip toe, her hand in the air, waving her rose for Jade to take. Jade quickly placed her helmet back on, lifting the visor so that she could safely point the lance next to Joy, her eyes nervously rising to Lord Gilbert, and from their chairs Sofia and Ruby and Lucinda were trying desperately not to laugh at their friends discomfort as Lady Joy wiggled her fingers flirtatiously, and slowly slid the ring onto the end of Jade's lance.

And then suddenly the trumpets were playing again, and Jade was bowing to Lady Joy as she rode off, and Sofia could see from here that she gently removed the favor from the lance and tucked it inside of her breast plate, which raised another array of questions that Sofia just didn't feel the need to rush into. Because Lady Joy spent the remainder of the tournament sighing dreamily, joking and applauding through the different events, and her father didn't seem to mind too terribly much that his daughter had given her favor to a woman.

Jade had placed third, and while it wasn't too bad, for someone who was covered in dents, and a little bit of blood from the knight she'd roared at before taking out, she'd held her own. But third wasn't a win, and she was given a smattering of gold and a pat on the back for her success. And even though Lady Joy had stood there and congratulated the winner, the pale blonde knight, with a chaste forehead kiss and a rose made of beautiful crystal, she seemed antsy to depart, her eye turning towards the third place podium, and Sofia was surprised to see that Jade was looking just as eagerly at her, and while it was all beautiful and sweet, to see something blossoming, no stupid rose puns intended, it was blah, blah, love and whatever.

Sofia curled back into her seat, trying to fight the temptation to sink into her cloak to roast in silence in the damn sun, and Ruby was talking excitedly to Lucinda, because it really had been a great show and all, and Lucinda was dying to get down to the field to check out the blood splatter, and they were laughing because the witch was telling Ruby she could conjure the perfect man for her if she wanted from it.

Sofia got up in a huff, tired of love and men, and didn't say anything as she stormed off, heading down to the stables where the knights had gotten prepared, because she was going to apologize to her friend, then take her leave and return to her room until she was tired of this town and returned home. The knights must have just come off the field, because there was the pale knight, surrounded by servants and he was... yelling. Swearing and cursing, and as one of his fellow pale attendants bent to remove his gauntlet, he smacked her across the face.

"Hey!" Sofia yelled, holding her arm, which had begun to pulse, as she came forward, and she thought her weary features must have looked worse than she'd thought, because they all seemed to draw back from her. "As a knight of Enchancia you hold yourself to a higher code of ethics." She snarled, reciting straight from an old school text book. Which was ironic because hadn't she just smacked Cedric not three days ago?

The knight sneered at her and rolled his eyes.

"Bugger off, witch. I have no patience for your nagging and I am no knight of Enchancia."

Sofia pulled herself up tall, her uninjured hand sweeping her hood back, because she hated having these moments, but they were appropriate in moderation.

"You are speaking to Princess Sofia of Enchancia, daughter of King Roland II and Queen Miranda." She lowered her eyes, looking over him like he was dirt, something she'd learned from watching Amber. "You will watch what you say to me, in MY kingdom."

And while the knight didn't seem completely contrite, he lowered his green eyes with a smirk. "Oh, my apologies Princess. I didn't recognize you in your... state." Then he looked up again, that smirk still there. "I promise to conduct myself properly." He clucked his tongue, now coming towards her, and she realized he towered over her by a good two feet.

"You see, my mood has soured. I was promised one wish for winning. And as you can see, I won. And where is my wish? My prize? Oh, gallivanting with some... woman. So I've come all this way from my castle for nothing. It's very aggravating."

Sofia held her head up, giving him a rather condescending grin as she propped her good hand on her hip, now channeling Hildegard, and realizing some of her friends were the snobbiest references she had.

"How terribly bothersome it must have been for you. There's always next year." She covered her mouth, her blue eyes widening, feigning surprise. "Oh, goodness me. There's only one Lady Joy. Guess there won't be a next year. Maybe next time don't wish for someone like she's a piece of property."

And she almost felt a tingle around her neck, because surely the amulet wouldn't have approved of being so nasty. She was supposed to be good and kind, but her optimism was in short supply, and this knight gave her the creeps, from the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes. And now the way he was looking at her, she felt like she could be a steak or piece of veal, like he was ready to eat her up, and Sofia wasn't new, she'd felt hungry eyes on her before, but never hungry in a literal sense.

"You're right, Princess. There is only one Lady Joy." Like she'd inspired a thought. And he turned on his heel, leaving Sofia standing there as he motioned aggressively for his attendants to follow him away from the area.

She didn't have much time to speculate about him, because suddenly there was Jade and she was coming off the field, and she gave Sofia a great hug, surrounding Sofia in the feel of metal and smell of sweat, and Sofia returned it, feeling happier than she thought she would that their fight seemed to be water under the bridge for now.

"Jade! Congrats! You did so well!" She said, tired, pulling back and smiling, and she suddenly noticed that Lady Joy was with her, beaming.

"Thanks Sofia!" She said, bending to pick up her helmet that had plopped down into the dirt, pushing her hair back as best she could with her gauntlets still on when she straightened, Joy watching her with an enthralled look in her eyes. Soon Ruby and Lucinda had joined them, and there was talk of food and drink, and on the spot Sofia couldn't say no, so she allowed them all to sweep her off, and the day turned quickly into evening, and the whole town was lit with beautiful lanterns and lights, and their group was seated with Lord Gilbert and several other nobles under a pergola that was covered in roses and pieces of silk, on comfy cushions and Sofia could honestly say Jade had stolen the evening. Her and Joy talked and laughed about so many things, and Joy was obsessed with all the scars Jade had gotten, and Jade wanted to know everything that Joy loved to eat and do, and since she'd had time to wind down, Sofia was so glad to have gotten this time with her friends.

Perhaps things weren't perfect in her world, but this just went to show that not everything revolved around her.

Lucinda had dazzled them with a beautiful display of fireworks towards the end of the night, and Ruby was in the process of explaining a tricky piece of her newest invention that could paint your portrait in mere minutes, when the ground began to quake, and glass tinkled as it shattered, and the crowd around them cried out in fear and surprise before everything became deathly quiet.

"What was that?" Sofia asked, getting to her feet, those around her rising as well. A ways from the town, past the shining red roof tiles and beautiful white stone towers, there was something dark and massive in the distance, something that was rolling beneath the hills and uprooting trees and tossing aside animals and buildings. When the screams began to start that's when Sofia drew her wand, wincing and crying out in pain as people surged past her, running in the opposite direction of the destruction as Sofia pressed on towards it. The roar from the approaching force was growing, and she saw Lucinda beside her as they both raised their wands, crying out, "Protectus!" at the same time.

From Sofia's wand a great shimmering wall of purple light rose, and from Lucinda's a blue one, and they melded together, catching the force as it rolled beneath the canals, and sent people and stones and water flying in all directions. Sofia couldn't stifle her cry, because whatever the shadow was that rose out of the ground, it easily crashed through their barriers on the second strike, the cracking of their magic sending the girls in opposite directions, the air booming like thunder.

Sofia was the second on her feet, Lucinda already running, whistling for her broom and catching its handle to swing onto it as the creature dove for the pergola, its claws ripping it apart, searching for something. Lucinda was shooting numerous hexes at once, her hands twisting and arching gracefully through the air, causing stone and water and wood and anything around them to rise up and wrap around the creature, and Sofia ran past, calling out spell after spell, lifting rubble from on top of people, lightening their bodies with feather spells so that others could carry them with ease, blasting through stone and putting out small fires, and with her magic she was able to move the crowd, her throat raw as she yelled over and over for people to head for the forest.

The knights were assembling fast, some still in their normal clothes, some having thrown on breast plates and swords, and they charged, a few being taken out by the swing of the shadow creatures tail as it roared into the sky. Time seemed to freeze as it caught the side of Lucinda's broom, and she flew through the air, slamming through a glass window at the top of a building, and with her gone the magic around it fell, and the knights were forced to draw back again, holding their shields up and ducking as stones and pieces of glass slid off the creature's back to the ground below.

This time Sofia let the knights pass her before pointing her wand at the ground, panicking because she didn't know any other spells to stop it. Lucinda knew how to bind and use the elements, Sofia knew how to create shields, and light cauldrons-

"Ignitus!" She screamed without thinking, and fire sprang from the tip of her wand, creating a wall in front of her, consuming everything as she led it in a path up to the shadow, and she felt like she was going to take out the whole city this way, so she stopped the spell, having to hold her wand with her teeth when she lingered too close to the fire and her cloak caught the flames and she needed to strip it away. Her injured hand hung limp behind her, and the creature diminished in size, shrinking down until it was her height, stalking, big and bulky through the flames like they were nothing, and she continued to back up, losing ground, coming to the edge of the city where a great wall separated the town from the forest, and she knew there were hundreds of terrified people behind her, trapped, and she could do nothing but back away and pant heavily through the smoky air.

"Protectus!" She rasped, throwing the barrier behind her, separating herself and the creature from the terrified people behind her. And the creature was chuckling, taking shape, and she said a foul curse under her breath, and before she could finish it, he'd grabbed her wand hand, snapping it back and causing her to scream in pain before he grabbed the other hand, the already injured one, and she choked out a ragged sob as she fell to her knees, crying hysterically as the inky dark knight looked down on her. Her barrier was gone, her wand on the ground somewhere, and he looked briefly over her head, at someone in particular.

"Lady Joy, won't you come join me. I do believe you owe me a kiss." He said, looking terrifying with his sneer, his blonde hair whipping around his pale face, before he turned his cruel frown back down to Sofia.

"Guess I won't have to wait until next year after all." He whispered, and he allowed her to finally drop, both of her arms crossing against her stomach, her face pressing into the ground as her vision began to blur. She heard Jade scream in protest, and watched as a shadow enveloped Joy, who was reaching out to her father, and then there was a great cry and a flash of green light, and everything went dark.

Note: Spring Break is here, so won't update for a couple days. Hope everyone has a nice week! :D