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Sunlight was streaming through the window, when Rolland woke up. He rolled over to find the other side was unoccupied. He sighed, it seemed as of late it was common for him to sleep alone. His family has only spoken to him if necessary, and even then the conversation was one-sided. The servants have been glaring at him. Not that he could blame them.
He has been disappointing the entire kingdom.
He sat up, resting his head on his knees. He needed to fix this, no; he is going to fix this. That's why he was going to meet the others this afternoon.
Once the servants dressed him, he asked Baileywick to set up breakfast in the gardens. He was going to talk to his family.
Everyone had arrived to breakfast. The air was tense and they all looked ready to run.
He fidgeted, before he decided to test the waters. "I-I exploded. I was bottling up all of my feelings. The feeble control I did have broke at that moment." He looked up to meet their gazes. "I miss Sofia just as much as the rest of you, but I let the old ways influence my decisions. My father taught me that politics came first. I finally can say I disagree with him whole-heartedly. My family should come first, but I need to think of politics as well.
What I'm trying to say is... I didn't mean to seem heartless. I didn't want to go barging in demanding answers. As much as I would've liked to. As king, I need to set an example for everyone else. Would barging in there like a tyrant, demanding answers?"
At their mumbled no's, he continued. "I realize now that Sofia is a really big part of our family. I-...There is just no new information! I'd love to send big search parties but there is a chance of a war coming."
"A war? What do you mean Rolly?"
He ran a hand through his hair. He looked around, seeing their worried faces he began to try his best to explain. "I think the kingdom of Sempermalum is trying to conquer the other kingdoms. I have this nagging suspicion that Enchancia is his first target.
Tonight, the kingdom's allies will meet in order to discuss the plan of action."
The rest of them were shocked. They never thought something like this could happen in this lifetime.
"But Daddy...What about Sofia? We can't just abandon hope!" She looked around frantically, hoping someone would agree.
"Cedric is out looking for her." Miranda piped in.
Amber scoffed. "Cedric is not the most competent person."
"I trust him." Her gaze softened as she looked at Amber. "Sofia trusted him. Whenever Sofia was around, Cedric was able. I'm sure he'll come through."
Amber sighed. "I guess he's the only one who can. But what we'll we do without our royal sorcerer?"
"We'll have to make do."
"Why did someone kidnap Sof?" James spoke up.
"I don't know, James." Rolland sighed.
"Was it because she was a princess? Was it because she foiled their evil plan?"
Rolland chuckled, "What do you mean 'foiled their evil plan'? Sofia doesn't do things like that."
"But she does." They all turned to look at Amber. "She stopped . It wouldn't surprise me if she defeated villains every now and again. She is always up to something! Whether she's helping out the villagers or talking to her pets."
"I talk to Rex all the time; I'm not up to anything."
"You've never heard her speak to them! It's like they were having an actual conversation!"
"Stop you two, arguing doesn't help anyone!" Miranda scolded.
"Sorry Mom." The twins replied.
Rolland butted in, "It doesn't matter why they kidnapped Sofia. What matters is that we move on-"He raised a hand at their protests. "We need to worry about the potential of war. As much as I liked to think about Sofia, I have an entire kingdom to look out for.
Now the important question is; can we get through this, together, as a family? Even if it means making sacrifices?"
They all looked hesitant, none of them wanted to leave Sofia behind.
"I'll stand by your side Daddy, but that doesn't mean I am happy about how you dealt with Sofia's kidnapping." She retorted.
"You can count on me Dad." James smiled.
They turned to look at Miranda. She had tears in her eyes. She exhaled shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm with you Rolly, but I don't think I'll ever forget about Sofia."
Rolland took her hand in his. "I don't expect you to."
He hugged his wife. Then they motioned for the twins to join, which they happily accepted.
As Rolland held his family, all but one, he thought of the missing piece to their puzzle. As much as he wanted to focus on Sofia, he had a kingdom to run.
His kingdom was like a clock; it needed upkeep after awhile. Maybe this was one of those times.
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Ruby and Jade were walking home from dazzle ball practice. They still practiced even when Sofia disappeared. After Sofia missed practice they thought she was just really caught up in princess things. They understood, being a princess is tough work. She would come to the village the day after and apologize like usual. But after awhile they realized something was wrong.
When the rumours started Ruby and Jade tried to ignore them. Then their parents started talking about the rumours. Of course all of them were far-fetched.
'Princess Sofia was killed.'
'The royal family locked her in the dungeon.'
'She was kidnapped.'
Sofia's disappearance was the talk of the town.
They were passing the town pub, when they overheard a conversation.
"I heard from a servant that Princess Sofia was King Rolland's 'play toy' if you know what I mean!" The drunken men laughed while the young man continued, "Eventually she was too broken so the King threw away!"
Jade couldn't take it anymore. "Hey! Stop saying those things about Sofia! If you keep speaking that trash the whole street will be covered-"
The man grabbed Jade by the front of her jersey.
"You have quite the mouth there!" He reached into his pocket pulling out a knife. "Maybe I should teach you some manners!"
Ruby placed her hand on the man's wrist. "I'm sorry my friend troubled you, she's a little...Ah...Ya know." She made a twirling notion next to her head. "Don't take to heart anything she says. Now if you'll let us go we can get her home quicker."
The man let Jade go, letting her fall into Ruby's arms. Laughing he exclaimed, "Hurry up, now! Don't let me catch you two around here again, hear me?"
"Yes sir, thank you so much." Ruby butted in before Jade could retort.
Once they were well away from the pub, Ruby smacked Jade's arm. "What were you thinking?! Never mind, I don't want to know. Don't you interrupt me!" Jade snapped her mouth shut. "I don't care what he was saying, you know that dangerous people frequent that place! You could've been killed! Or worse!"
"What's worse than death?" Jade muttered.
Quicker than a quick, there was a finger in Jade's face. "Don't you sass me!"
Ruby sighed. "Sorry, I was worried that I would lose a great friend there."
"But Sofia does dangerous stuff all the time and you never scold her!"
"She doesn't need scolding! She knows what she's doing!"
Jade groaned.
Ruby placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Look, you just have to be more careful."
"But that's just it! Why should be careful? This is Dunwitty!"
"Dunwitty has changed since Sofia left." Ruby sighed.
"But the village is still the same! When Sofia left to go be a princess, the village didn't change." Jade pointed out.
"Sofia still came to the village to help out. Now that Sofia is gone, the villagers are worried that no one will upkeep the village."
"Princess Amber could-"
"I don't think she will."
"Prince James-"
Ruby shook her head. "Face it Jade, Sofia was a big part of this kingdom. You could almost say she was the heart. Remove that..."
Jade opened her eyes, and really looked at Dunwitty. It was a mess.
The streets were covered in shards of glass, banana peels, you name it. Most of the shops were looking worse for wear. In fact, most of the shops closed for good. They boarded up the windows and moved on. After Sofia left, everyone had changed. And if you asked Jade, it was for worse.
"But why...Sofia never would've wanted this!"
They were almost at Ruby's door when Ruby spoke. "I miss Sofia too, but you can't defend her left and right. You'll end up getting hurt, or hurting someone else."
"I don't pick battles I can't win!" She snorted.
Ruby grabbed the handle, turning back to look at Jade. "C'mon! Were supposed to be having a sleep over! That means having fun!"
"Aren't you worried about Sofia?"
"Of course I am! But I don't fret over things I can't help. You'll end up working yourself in a tizzy."
Seeing Jade's expression, she playfully nudged her shoulder. "Hey, my mom is making steak and potatoes."
Jade sniffed the air finding a savoury aroma. She immediately brightened at the prospect of food. "What are we standing around here for? Let's go!"
She dragged Ruby inside, setting aside all of her worries.
She could fret later.
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Sofia wiped the rain off the gun, as she filled the barrel with the gun power. She fired the gun towards the opposing enemy.
Their ship was being boarded by pirates. Fantastic.
The clashing of swords and the booming of gun fire was heard.
As much as Sofia wanted to run, she couldn't. Her body was on auto-pilot. She fired upon the enemy lines. She had knocked quite a few pirates down, when she heard the click-click of the gun. She was out of ammo.
She panicked. A man started to run over to her, sword in hand. He raised his sword, bringing it down.
Sofia moved out of the way as quickly as she could, but the cold steel grazed her shoulder. She hissed, covering her shoulder with her hand. She lifted her hand to find it covered in blood.
The man cackled, stepping closer and closer to her, raising his sword...
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Cliff hanger! I've realized that I have a love-hate relationship with those. As a reader, I'm usually like "UGH! YES! NO! GOOD! DON"T WANT TO WAIT!" But as an author, it's like "Yessss. Keep them hanging. I feel so evil. Muhahaha!"
But maybe it's just me.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Sorry it's so late and it's short! Bad author!
Next one will be longer! Promise!
-addison7413