Chapter 11: The Queen's Coronation

The entire Care Bear Family and Sophie's friends were gathered outside the Hall of Hearts that pleasant late June afternoon.

They were sitting in rows of fold up chairs. A rainbow carpet ran down the middle of the isle, and in front was a little stage, enough for ten people to be comfortable on. True Heart was just arriving at the podium. Sophie wasn't present at the moment, but since this was her Coronation, she would be after she made an entrance.

"Attention please every bear, please give a warm welcome to Nolan, April, Tanya, Vera, and Emily."

Facing opposite from her and at the end of the rainbow carpet was a beautiful and well-decorated archway.

Through the archway, Nolan, April, Tanya, Vera, and Emily walked through. In a single file, they walked down the isle. April, Tanya, Vera, and Emily were wearing fun and ruffled dresses that were summery and went down to their knees. April wore light pink, Tanya wore green, Vera wore purple, and Emily wore sparkly silver. Nolan was wearing a nice yellow dress shirt with a black bow tie and a vest, and his hair was sleek and combed back. They all looked lovely.

The Care Bear family clapped for them. They took to the stage and bowed to everyone. The Care Bears all cheered and whistled, hooted, and roared together happily. The excitement was building.

"I would first like to begin by congratulating these caring children, for they have done a great act of caring for Care-a-lot. There is always of course more for them to learn about caring, but so is there for everyone. They have shown that even though you might have been hurt, you can still show others that you care, and you care a lot."

Everyone chuckled and True Heart smiled.

"Now without further ado, I shall give each of these protectors of caring their own reward."

True Heart had a bunch of medals hanging from her arm, even a few caring necklaces.

"Nolan." she said, and she put a gold heart-shaped medal around his neck.

"Thank you, True Heart."

"You're welcome, Nolan." she said.

Nolan hugged her, which played well with the audience. Then he let her move on.

"April."

She gave April a rose-gold heart-shaped necklace.

"Thank you, True Heart." April said and hugged her too, following Nolan's lead.

"Tanya. Your heart has changed. I am so proud of you." she said, "That is why I am giving you your own caring necklace. Because you have so much caring inside of you."

True Heart put a lollipop-shaped necklace around Tanya's neck. Tanya hugged her.

"And you too, Vera."

True Heart put a flower shaped necklace around Vera. Vera hesitated a moment but then hugged True Heart.

"And Emily. You have changed so much on this journey. The Care Bears will be here to help you continue to grow and keep your heart kind and filled with caring." True Heart said.

She put a double heart shaped necklace around Emily's neck.

"Thank you, True Heart Bear." Emily hugged True Heart, and True Heart hugged her in return.

True Heart turned and faced the crowd with a huge smile on her face.

"Now every bear. For the moment you have all been waiting for. Give a heart-filled round of applause for the new Queen of Care-a-lot! You know her name, she is Sophie Summers!"

Sophie made her entrance. She stepped through the archway and the Care Bear family went wild and cheered so much it felt like Sophie was the main singer at a concert. She blushed and waved to everyone as she leisurely walked down the isle.

Sophie was wearing a gorgeous rainbow gown with lots of ruffles and sparkles and stars. Her hair was done in two fancy braids, and there were sparkles in her hair too.

She felt exactly like a princess out of a fairy tale. Walking down the isle with her friends cheering for her brought such a happy smile to her face that she actually cried a few tears.

"You look lovely, Sophie!" Love-a-lot cried out, gushing over her dress.

"You rock, Sophie!" Grumpy shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Wish Bear said, "See, I told you that dress would look good on you."

As she passed Wish Bear who was sitting on the end of a row, she held her paw for a moment, and then continued.

Everyone was still cheering as she stepped up to the stage. She stood in front of the podium, which True Heart moved out of the way.

"Could everyone give me their full attention please? I have something to say." True Heart said, getting everyone's attention and keeping it.

Everyone quieted down instantly. True Heart cleared her throat.

"There aren't enough words to describe how proud I am to see how much Sophie has grown in her heart. Sophie has made an enemy into a best friend. She showed just how much she cared. The power of her and Emily's friendship is what restored Care-a-lot. Even though both of them were hurt, they healed each other. And now they are on the path to a new and shining friendship…" she said.

Everyone clapped.

"Due to her acts of caring, it is time to pass down the crown and title of Queen of Care-a-lot to Sophie. This title proves that Sophie is caring and that as long as she lives, there will always be caring in the world."

True Heart then went behind the podium and got out Sophie's crown. It was resting on a golden plush pillow with red fringes. She picked it up off the pillow, and Sophie knelt.

True Heart put the crown on Sophie's head.

With a grand voice, True Heart said, "You may now rise, Sophie, Queen of Care-a-lot!"

She moved out of the way to let the audience see Sophie. Sophie was crying and she wiped her tears away but it was pointless. She was just so happy.

Someone in the crowd was about to say something, but Sophie knew she had to tell the Care Bears just how much they all meant to her.

"Wait! Before everyone starts cheering and going crazy, I would like to say something. I… am so happy that you are all my friends. You all helped me become the person I am right now. I've changed a lot, and have been through so much with everyone. As your Queen, however… I want to be treated as if I were your friend. I will be your protector, and ensure you that Care-a-lot will live on forever, even when I grow up." she said, smiling, "I still have a lot to learn about sharing and caring, but I will be as caring as I can be, every moment of every day."

Sophie wasn't sure what else to say.

"Um, can we clap now?" asked Baby Hugs.

"Yes." Sophie said kindly.

"Queen Sophie! Queen Sophie! Queen Sophie!" everyone cheered as loud as they could. They all clapped and went completely over the top in their round of applause. Sophie laughed watching everyone as they stood up on their chairs and a few bears were even jumping.

Then Emily came over to Sophie and gave her an unexpected hug. Then her other friends did too, and so did the Care Bears. It was an incredibly sweet moment. Sophie had never felt the love of so many friends in one single instant. She looked up to the sky and the sun bathed her in golden light.

I am the Queen of Care-a-lot… she thought.

"Now let's get a party started!" Birthday Bear shouted.

No one argued with Birthday Bear.

Within a few moments, the chairs were cleared and a dance floor was created with the help of Wish Bear. Nolan came up to Sophie. No one else was dancing yet, and Sophie didn't know why. A few Bears were in charge of the music, and were getting ready.

He bowed and gave her his hand.

"May I ask the Queen for her first dance?" he asked politely.

Sophie blushed. Every bear was watching her happily. She bit her lip – but then realized there was nothing to be nervous about. She was surrounded by friends who cared about her.

"Yes, you may." she placed her hand on his.

They made their way to the center floor and Nolan held both of her hands. The Care Bears played some lovely music for them to dance to — La Vie En Rose. While they danced, Sophie studied Nolan's handsome gray eyes.

The music was loud enough for them to talk without being heard.

"So, did… um… when you talked with Love-a-lot, did she tell you how I felt?"

Sophie blushed.

"Yeah…" she said, nervous for what he was going to say next.

"Well she was right. I have a really big crush on you."

Sophie couldn't stop the feelings of happiness from overwhelming her. And there was a little fuzzy feeling in her heart, too.

"Is it okay if I say how I feel?"

Nolan nodded.

"I have a little crush on you." she said, which was true, "It's still a crush, right?"

"Right." Nolan agreed.

When the song ended, they hugged each other warmly.

Then the celebration went into full blast. The Care Bears played lively music and everyone wanted a dance with Sophie, even Emily, Tanya, and Vera.

The celebration lasted an entire week. Sophie was glad that she didn't have to wear the dress the whole time, even if it was beautiful. And she didn't have to wear the crown the whole time, either.

She got a few moments alone with Nolan, but they only got so far as to holding each other's hands. Sophie told him they'd have to take it slow, since this was a first for her. Nolan had plenty of crushes before, but since Tenderheart had taught him about manners, he would respect Sophie's choices… not just because she was the Queen of Care-a-lot, but because he was her friend.

Sophie spent time getting to know Tanya and Vera. She also rekindled her friendship with Emily.

For the whole week there was nothing but parties, music, laughter, games, sweet treats, movies, and time with friends. The Care Bear Cousins, and True Heart and Noble Heart stayed to enjoy the excitement.

The Care Bears all gave her presents, which were Care Bear themed. She could take them all home with her and put them in her room to make it more like Care-a-lot.

After everyone gave her presents, the Cousins decided to go back to the Forest of Feelings. True Heart and Noble Heart stayed. The Caring Meter stayed up at 12 points the whole time. Sophie hoped that it wouldn't go down anytime soon.

Sophie was snacking on a bowl of chips as she looked at all her presents on the couch. Her friends joined her.

Then the dinner bell rang.

"Come and eat!" Grams announced.

Everyone came to the heart-shaped table and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

After a dinner of pizza, they popped in some funny movies and enjoyed them. Nolan and Sophie cuddled during each of the movies. Nolan gently stroked Sophie's hair. She was starting to like Nolan more and more.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he held her hand, letting her know that he cared about her.