Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story
Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and can a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?
Chapter 25: Dreams and Memories
Sofia
Sofia didn't know where she was….
All she can remember was how comforting the snow was as she laid under the bright winter sky. But the next thing she knew, she woke up standing in some unfamiliar place in a simple and plain white sundress, bare foot and alone.
All that surrounded her was nothing but black. Space and depth was gone, it was as if she was just hovering in a blackened place of nothingness. The blackness could either go one for miles and miles or it could surround her like a small box, she didn't know. But at the same time, it didn't feel as if she wasn't hovering in a black abyss. Her bare feet felt like they were touching something solid, but her eyes couldn't decipher what it was. And if she was to fully extend her arms out, nothing would touch her.
It was as if she was completely and utterly in nothingness.
The other odd thing was that she didn't feel scared. No mind-crippling fear clutched at her stomach or her heart. She felt completely at ease. And lost.
She was lost but unafraid.
It was an odd sensation to feel, to know that she is lost but not. She felt at home in the blackness despite not knowing where she was.
What's going on? Sofia thought. She wasn't frightened but she didn't want to start moving around this unusual place. What if she started to walk and search the area around her and she got lost? What if the black space swallowed her whole and she could never find her way back?
Back to the castle….
Back to her friends and family….
Back to James….
"You won't get lost, Sofia," laughed a familiar voice.
Queen Anne! Sofia whirled around, straining her eyes to see in the darkness around her. She stared and searched but she couldn't find Queen Anne. She was nowhere to be seen in the dimensionless space around her.
"Sofia, dear, we're in your mind."
"My mind?" Sofia spoke aloud. Her voice sounded as lost as she felt. It was as if her voice was outside of her throat, somewhere far away.
"Yes, dear," Queen Anne said again. She sounded as if she was so close to Sofia, but she still couldn't find her.
"Where are you?" Sofia shouted into the void in front of her. "How come I can't see you?"
Sofia heard her gentle, airy laugh echo around her. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm very weak right now and it might take me a moment to appear in front of you. Just give me a second here."
As she said that, a white mist began to gather at the base of Sofia's feet. But to Sofia's astonishment, the mist wasn't cold. It wasn't even warm. She couldn't feel anything but a sense of moisture circling at her feet.
But suddenly, she could feel the fog grow denser and heaver on the tops of her feet as it thickens right before her eyes. The haze soon became so condensed that the blackened floor became fully white. It was still hard to see in the blackness but the white vapor gave Sofia a good sense of how endless her surroundings was.
Then the white mist began to gather in its center, swirling around and around.
What the….
Small specks of yellow sparks began to shoot out from the center of the whirling pool of white mist like fireworks. Its core was now turning into a bright yellow orb, burning and shining blinding light like some exploding sun.
And as the whirlpool of yellow fireworks spun and clustered together, Sofia noticed that the mist and fog around her was quickly disappearing. She could see her feet again and the blackness beneath it. The yellow and white orb was absorbing the mist, vacuuming it up like some discolored black hole.
But the moment the blinding orb gathered all of the mist into itself, it burst.
And out formed Queen Anne from all of the sparkling dust and debris.
"Well, that's some entrance," Sofia coughed as she made her way towards the glittering queen.
"I know," Queen Anne giggled. "I do love a grand entrance."
"You really are just like Amber," Sofia laughed, ruefully shaking her head.
"Correction, Amber is just like me." Queen Anne said as she dusted herself of the yellow rubble. She wasn't in her usual royal yellow gown. Instead, she was dressed in a long casual and flowing light blue muslin dress with matching blue slippers.
"Your feet! I can see your feet!" Sofia exclaimed, astonished that Queen Anne's feet were actually visible this time. Normally, Sofia could only see Queen Anne's floating ghostly form, never her feet.
If it made any sense at all, seeing Queen Anne's feet didn't seem real to her. It was as if she was dreaming and everything was just a figment of her imagination.
"Yes, dear," giggled Queen Anne, "you can."
"Bu-but how? You're a ghost. I usually can't see your feet."
Wait, why am I so mesmerized by her feet? It's just her legs?
"Like I said, we're in your mind. This is your subconscious, your dreams."
"My what?"
"Your subconscious, the place in your mind where you dream. You control everything that happens in here." Queen Anne smiled knowingly at Sofia as she gestured around them as if it was a magnificent meadow overflowing with flowers instead of a blank, black void of nothingness. "You can change what we're seeing right now with just a thought, you know?"
Sofia didn't know how to respond to what Queen Anne was saying. Either her brain was too shocked to comprehend or it was just refusing to understand her words.
"We're what?" Sofia narrowed her eyes at Queen Anne, confused and a bit suspicious. She stared at her long and hard. Sofia was certain that the longer she stared at Queen Anne, the sooner she'll just laugh and say it was all a joke.
"We're in your dreams." Queen Anne smiled, amused by Sofia's reaction.
"Right now?"
"Yup."
"You're joking."
"Nope."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"You're not lying?"
"Negative."
"Really? Are –"
"Sofia," Queen Anne stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, laughing at her denial. "We're in your dreams. If you don't believe me, test it out for yourself. Think of any place you want to be at right now and watch your surroundings carefully."
Despite being someone who has a magical amulet and studied magic at a magical academy and had her own royal magic sorcerer, Sofia didn't understand how something like this was hard for her to fully grasp.
I don't get it. How is it possible that we're in my head? In my dreams?
"What?" Sofia asked again, shaking her head in hopes to clear the fog.
"Sofia, just give it a go," Queen Anne smiled down at her encouragingly. "Think of any place you want to be right now, anywhere in the world."
Well, I have nothing to lose here, Sofia shrugged. Might as well just try it out. Maybe after this, she'll explain it all to me.
Sofia closed her eyes, letting her mind wander and imagination take over. Images of all the places she's been to in her young life filtered through her mind. The sun setting over the rolling desert hills of Tangu…. The towering, ever growing leaves and stalks of the bamboo forests of Wei-Ling…. The sound of the ocean waves crashing over the dark sandy beaches of Enchancia….
Then her imagination began to get lost in itself.
The sounds of the air rushing all around her as she floated with the clouds, staring up at the blue sky above her and the warm sun washing down on her. The cooling waters of the sea moving and rolling her as she laid sprawled on the ocean floor with the tiny sea creatures beside her. The quiet serenity of the evergreen forests, the cool breeze gently brush against her skin as the tall grass entangled itself in her hair.
But then her heart took over, overwhelming her mind with images of where she truly wanted to be.
Lying in James's bed, their limbs twisted in each other as his cool bedsheets laid on top of them. James's warm and gentle arms, one tightly wrapped around her waist as the other played with her hair. The play of his lips as they nipped and teased on her ear and neck.
The look of his eyes as he gazed down at her….The way his eyes could be so intense but so soft at the same time. That the darker green flakes in his eyes looked so excited and hungry but the lighter green flakes could be so tender and loving.
It thrilled her to see that kind of change in his eyes whenever he looked at her, as if she was the biggest and brightest star in the night sky, hanging higher than the moon itself. How his eyes shone with amazement and awe as if she was the whole universe and he was the luckiest man in the world to be able to hold her in his arms.
James…. Just thinking about his name alone made her heart beat too loudly and too fast, sending a slight thrill run through her. Sofia gently clutched her heart, feeling how rapidly her heart was beating as his name softly repeated itself through her head.
James….
James….
Then certain memories returned to her in such a rush it felt as something rammed an icy rock into her stomach. She remembered how the blackness took her just after the dragon made her fall off her horse and crash down, sending her into a haze of pain and ice.
"James!" Sofia gasps loudly as she tore her eyes open. "The dragon!"
"Sofia?" Queen Anne asked, looking around worriedly as cracks began to appear in their black surroundings.
Sofia could hear a vague sound of glass chipping and breaking, but she didn't pay it any attention as she wanted nothing more than to return to James. "We have to get out of here!" she sped, leaving no room to breathe in between her gasps. "I need to be with James! The dragon, it attacked me! It's going to go after James too, I'm sure of it!"
"Sofia, calm down," Queen Anne urged her as the ground beneath them began to shake.
"I need to be with James!" Sofia yelled hysterically as the panic began to settle in her stomach, making the fear rise in her heart. "I need to be with everyone else! The dragon! It's going to hurt them! It's going to kill them!"
"Sofia," Queen Anne tried again. She placed a hand on Sofia's shoulder, trying to calm her down but Sofia only violently shook her off.
"No! James – he's going to get hurt! The dragon –" Sofia tried to choke back the tears but it was useless.
Her emotions felt too overwhelming for her to even try to control. It was as if they were controlling her, not the other way around. It was as if she wasn't herself despite feeling like she is. She couldn't understand it. But Sofia didn't want try to understand it, all that ran through her mind was James and the fear that he might be lying dead somewhere because of the dragon.
Stabs of fear ran through her, crushing her lungs and making it hard for her to even take a single breath of air.
She was drowning in fear, in terror, in horror, and in everything that laid in between. Her body felt too tense, her heart was beating too fast, and her eyes was burning with tears.
The guilt soon followed as she tried to push back the images of James bleeding to death in the cold snow. Alone.
"I need to save him! I need to save him! I need to save him!" Sofia felt like she was going to break. Her heart and head hurt so badly. She was sure that they were going to simultaneously explode at any moment now.
"Sofia!" Queen Anne screamed at her, shaking Sofia with a fierce grip on her shoulders. "Calm down!"
Sofia's screams stopped, tears from her wide eyes rolling down her cheeks.
"Sofia…." Queen Anne said more kindly, speaking in softer tones. "You're only like this because of where we are. Your emotions are going crazy right now because we're in your subconscious."
"Where… we are?" She asked, looking around and noticing the broken pieces that were falling from the large cracks in the black space. It all looked like a sky of shattered glass. Behind the broken and falling pieces were even darker shades of black, if that was even possible The gaping holes looked like dark, dark places of pure black.
Queen Anne nodded slowly, as if the slightest quick movement from her would frightened and startle Sofia even more. "Your subconscious is a powerful and unpredictable place since it's connected to your dreams."
"My dreams…." Sofia breathed.
"Yes. Nothing can control a person's dreams except for their subconscious, that's why it's a powerful place because dreams are what makes a person. The subconscious is the deepest and the purest place in the mind. Do you understand?" Queen Anne nodded slowly again, waiting for Sofia to nod in return before continuing on. "But because of your fall, your mental condition is a bit jumbled and hurt right now. Just like how your physical body can get hurt, your mind can get injured too and that can affect the subconscious. And just like how your subconscious is connected to your dreams, it is also connected to your emotions and that's why everything you are feeling right now is being magnified tenfold."
When Queen Anne stopped, Sofia saw her eyes move as they watched her slowly, waiting for a reaction out of Sofia.
"Do you understand, Sofia?" she asked again. Her voice became even more gentle and soft. Sofia could even hear the familiar tenderness in her voice that she would recognize in James. But unlike how it usually is in James's voice, hers was a tenderness only a mother can produce.
And Sofia latched onto it, needing to hear a mix of James and her mother.
"Just take a deep breath, Sofia," Queen Anne softly coaxed as she took a deep breath, "in," and then released it, "and out." She did it again when Sofia didn't follow her actions. "Come on, Sofia. Follow me."
Sofia did as she was told. Breathing in once then releasing it as she continued to say, "in and out. In and out," in a slow and calming tone.
Sofia repeated the action a few more times until her breaths weren't so shaky any more.
"Feeling better?" Queen Anne asked as she carefully watched Sofia with concerned eyes.
Sofia nodded to response, still not able to talk just yet. Despite the soothing exercise, she could still feel the lump in the back of her throat because the thought of everyone in danger still lingered in the back of her mind.
"It's okay. James and the others are all fine," Queen Anne said as if reading her mind. "Amber and Sir Edwards was able to get themselves and your body to the safety of the castle, and James and Hugo were able to fight the dragon off with the reinforcements Sir Edwards brought back with him. There's nothing to worry about."
"They're fine?" Sofia's weak voice squeaked. "They're all okay? Amber? James?"
"Yes, dear," she nodded with a smile. "They're all alive and besides the occasional bruises the men received from the dragon, they're in perfect condition."
Sofia let out a big sigh of relief, her nerves finally returning to normal. "He's okay," she choked out as she covered her burning eyes with her shaking hands.
"Sofia, just breathe." She felt Queen Anne removed her hands from her eyes and looked her sympathetically in the eyes. Then she took her hands and began to lead her down a crumbling path of broken shards of black. "Just breathe."
"Where are we going?" Sofia said in between her deep breathing exercises.
Despite being barefoot, she didn't feel any pain as she stepped on the shattered remains of the black glass. It almost felt as if it dissolved under her feet as she continued to walk.
Sofia was shocked by how demolished everything was. Above her, the black space remained fractured and smashed while the ruins on the ground continued to lay on the floor. Everything was so destroyed.
"Is everything just going to stay like this?" Sofia asked once she stopped her breathing exercise and she started to feel normal again. More wreckage and cracked shards dissolved under her feet as she looked around.
She was a bit worried at what it could mean if her mind stayed like this. Does this mean she or her mind was going to remain broken forever?
"Dear, don't worry about what happened earlier," Queen Anne said, looking back at her with a gentle smile. "We're in your dreams, remember? Your dreams can play off of your emotions sometimes and can reflect your current emotional state in unpredictable ways."
"But is all of this a normal thing?" she asked, gesturing to the fallen shards.
"There is nothing normal about dreams, Sofia," Queen Anne chuckled. She suddenly stopped and then began to look around as if she was searching for something. Queen Anne began to hum to herself as she started to turn over some of the larger shards of black glass-like things.
On the other side of the black shards, Sofia was shocked to see colorful crystals. Some were sharp and jagged like natural growing quartz while others were round, lumpy crystals. Each were all colored like the rainbow, glittering and sparkling as if there was an unknown light shining down on it from somewhere.
"Wh-what are you looking for?" Sofia asked as she helped Queen Anne turn over the shards in their area. She couldn't help but grunt as she lifted one moderately sized shard. The shards were a lot heavier than she expected.
Queen Anne turned them over as if they weighed nothing more than a feather. She didn't look like she was even bothered by the heaviness of the black things.
"A certain crystal," she hummed.
"What crystal?"
"Mmm…" was all she received in response. Queen Anne turned away from her and it looked like Sofia wasn't going to get a full answer until she heard, "ah! There you are!" and a distinct snap of a crystal.
Queen Anne turned back to Sofia with a big, triumphant smile and held up a shiny little blue diamond that matched her eye color. Then she walked back towards Sofia and dropped the small diamond at Sofia's feet.
What?
"Step on it," Queen Anne instructed with a knowing and mischievous smile that almost matched James's and Amber's.
"Excuse me?" Sofia was taken aback.
Did Queen Anne not notice that she was barefoot and not in any protective footwear? She didn't even have on socks for crying out loud! How could she step on a crystal with her bare feet?
"Sofia remember, we're in your dreams. Your mind. Nothing can hurt you here," Queen Anne smiled encouragingly. "Haven't you noticed that you could step on these shards barefoot and not get cut at all? While I'm wearing slippers? Now, trust me and just step on this diamond."
Well, she never steered me wrong before…. Sofia thought as she took another deep breath, closed her eyes, and stomped on the diamond. She was surprised to hear it crunch and break under her feet before dissolving like sand, all without a single ounce of pain.
What? Sofia thought warily as she opened her eyes and waited for the whole plan to backfire somehow.
But the only thing she saw was a glittering blue smoke began to appear under her toes and rise quicker than anything she's ever seen. It surrounded her and Queen Anne in a twirling, massive tornado of sparkling blue diamond smoke before expanding and spreading all around them. Despite looking and feeling like smoke, it didn't move anything like how smoke should. It moved around as if it was a lot denser and faster than how air should be.
It was almost as if it was… alive….
The glittering blue smoke moved up and up until it covered every inch of the black space around them within seconds. In one blink of an eye, nothing of the black void remained.
Every speck of black, even the purest black from the gaping holes, was rendered and colored into a glimmering blue. Before she knew it, she and Queen Anne was now standing in a dimensionless, glistening blue space.
Then it all melted away and became the large field between the palace and Dunwitty Village.
She could see the familiar worn dirt road by the forest that separated the palace grounds from the large field. Sofia knew this area well because it was one that she and her mother would always walk by when they were commoners.
And she would know that forest like the back of her hand, better than even the best environmentalist Enchancia had. The forest was something she explored a lot back when she was younger, well before she became a princess and was monitored all day and night. It was her own magical playground when she and her mother had nearly nothing.
"This place…." Sofia said as she gazed around and took in the wonders of the place that stood in between her two homes, the palace and the village.
Her commoner roots and her royal upbringing.
The place that symbolized her…. A girl from the village but grew up to be a princess.
"Yup," Queen Anne smiled gently.
"Why did you bring me here?" Sofia asked as the feeling of nostalgia slowly filled her.
"I didn't," she said.
"Yes you did," Sofia said quietly as she bent down and picked a small white flower. They were standing in one of the flower patches that grew randomly in the large field.
"No, dear," Queen Anne continued to smile kindly. She could feel her eyes watching her again as Sofia twirled the stem of the flower in her hand. "I simply picked out the place that you really wanted to go to."
"Huh?" Sofia asked confused.
"After that little fiasco earlier, I realized that maybe asking you to think up a place to go to wasn't the best idea. Especially since you had that little fall and was kind of scattered brained because of it."
"I was not scattered brained," Sofia said defensively.
Queen Anne gave Sofia sympathetic but knowing look. "Dear, you couldn't even comprehend that we're in your dreams. That took you a longer than usual to understand."
Sofia opened her mouth to defend herself again, but she knew that Queen Anne was right. So she just closed her mouth with an offended pout.
"Anyway," Queen Anne chuckled, obviously happy about her little win, "I then remembered that the crystals on the black shards could be of some help and just picked out the one that was glowing the brightest."
"How do they even work? What are they?" Sofia asked.
"They're your memories," she said. "That black place we were just in was another one of your dreams, Sofia, and on the other side of your dreams are your memories. Memories and dreams lay close together because sometimes they can be the same thing. Like when a dream was really good or so scary that you remember it for a really long time and then it just becomes a memory."
"But why was it in the form of a crystal?"
"Now, that's because we're in your mind, Sofia. It's what your subconscious chose. I think it's because you have some sort of affinity for gems and crystals," Queen Anne chuckled some more as she gently picked up Sofia's amulet and let the sunlight dance around it. "I was just lucky enough to remember that dreams and memories are always next to one another in the subconscious."
"How did you know to tell me to step on it?"
"Lucky guess?" Queen Anne mockingly shrugged. When Sofia just gave her a humorless look, Queen Anne raised her hands in surrender and laughed. "Okay, okay. It's because memories can act as keys to where we want to go or be. I chose that blue diamond because it was glowing the brightest, it was telling me where you wanted to be even when you couldn't think clearly. Memories…. They can tell us the truth despite everything."
And at those words, Sofia saw a sudden shift in Queen Anne's demeanor. It became too serious and there was a distinct hurting sadness in her eyes.
"Sofia," Queen Anne said, stopping Sofia before she even got the chance to open her mouth and say something. "That evil was the one who sent that dragon after you."
"What –" Sofia gasped, horrified and angry.
But Queen Anne stopped her again with a raised hand.
Without a word, she just sat down onto the grass and flowers. She smoothed down her blue dress and then just patted the spot across from her with a calm and quiet expression, silently waiting for Sofia to sit down beside her.
When Sofia did, she continued on. "He conjured that dragon because he wanted to take your amulet, Sofia."
"What –" But again, she was stopped quickly.
She shook her head with calm queenly authority, wanting to be uninterrupted as she talked. "You know that your amulet is a powerful, powerful gem, and used in the wrong hands, it could bring nothing but total destruction. If he gets your amulet, Sofia, it's going to mean the end for everyone we love. We can't have that happen." She stopped, looking at Sofia like she was letting everything she just said settle in before she resumed. "That dragon was just an example of his power. He originally planned on taking your amulet the moment you crashed down into the snow by using the dragon to kill you and bring the amulet to him. His plans failed when I managed to distract him long enough so that Amber and everyone could get you to safety."
A momentary sense of relief filled Sofia but it didn't last long when the look in Queen Anne's eyes became hard and almost… scared. The look of terror and anxiety in her green eyes was enough to send a blizzard of cold, horrified shivers to Sofia's heart. Sofia involuntarily hugged her knees to herself, as if it might stop the chills she was feeling right now.
"But what happened to the dragon? Is it still out there wreaking havoc? Is it still alive? And how did The Evil even manage to summon that enormous dragon from within the castle? Isn't someone bound to notice that kind of magic?" Sofia asked in one breath.
"Okay, okay. Give me a moment here," Queen Anne said with an amused smile. "The dragon was slain by James, Prince Hugo, Sir Edwards, and the castle guards. Everyone is fine and the dragon is dead. No worries there. But as for how he managed to summon such an enormous dragon on castle grounds…. I can't tell you because I don't know myself. For years he has been practicing his dark magic in secret and he knows ways to use it so that no one can trace it back to him. All I know is that what he conjured was a magically created black dragon, Sofia. The most demonic and chaotic kind of dragon that can only be summoned by using dark, dark magic and the sacrifice of innocent blood."
What? Sofia's blood ran cold as Queen Anne's words swam around in her head. That man killed another innocent person just to send that dragon on me?
"James and the others were very lucky that they managed to leave with only minor injuries after their battle with that thing. Granted they all might smell horridly for quite some time, but they are lucky nonetheless."
Sofia let out a small, courteous laugh to Queen Anne's attempt to relieve some of the heavy tension but Sofia felt too cold to even bother to make it sound real.
"But the slain dragon isn't going to stop this man entirely," she heard Queen Anne say. "Because of what I did, I made him angrier and now he's more determined than ever to get your amulet so he can control the kingdom. He wants to kill you, James, and everyone who might stand in his way. Sofia, you need to destroy that man's hold on James's heart and find the other source, quickly."
"I am trying," Sofia said. "James and I both are, honest. James and I were just in the attic this afternoon trying to search for the painting, but my amulet wasn't working. I was sure that my amulet would help me find the painting that was the source, but it didn't. Is it broken or something?"
Queen Anne shook her head. "No, it's not. Sofia, what did the fairies explain to you about your amulet?"
"Um…." Sofia said as she tried to remember everything they told her. With everything that has happened in the last forty-eight hours, that night almost felt like ages ago. "Aside from what I already knew about it and my basic understanding of what I read in the Book of Hyproti, all the fairies told me was that the amulet chose me."
"Exactly," she smiled. "The Amulet of Avalor chose you. It's a powerful, living thing, Sofia. And it knows what it is doing."
"What do you mean?"
"Think of your amulet as if it's alive, Sofia. Its magic is ancient and immensely powerful, making the amulet far wiser than you or me," she explained, gently taking Sofia's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "I believe that the amulet didn't show you where the source is because it's waiting for you to realize something. The amulet isn't going to give you all of the answers to your problems, Sofia. It needs you to figure somethings out on your own, it's just here to help guide you along the way."
"But am I supposed to realize?" Sofia asked.
"That's for you to find out."
Sofia let out a loud and long groan as she fell backwards into the short, soft grass. "Great. First, I have to realize something that this amulet thinks is important before I can find this source. Meanwhile, I have to get James to pour his heart out to me so I can release the hold this evil guy has on him... Just great..."
She was tired and just didn't want to deal with this inconvenience.
Why must there be a whole other aspect to finding where this painting was? Why couldn't her amulet just tell her so she could defeat the evil menace and save everyone faster?
It didn't mean she was ready to give up. Never would that thought cross her mind. She would never, ever, ever give up. Not on the kingdom. And not on James.
Sofia just hated how many hoops she had to jump through just to find out where this source was! It was as if she was being tested to see if she really had it in her to save the kingdoms or something!
As she laid there on the grass, she could hear Queen Anne let out an amused laugh. But it quietly died and her tone nearly broke Sofia's heart. "I know…. All of this isn't easy, Sofia. There's a lot of trials and tribulations that come along with all of this, but it's for the greater good. For the kingdoms, our friends, for Amber… For James…."
"I know…." Sofia said quietly as she stared up at the blue sky, amazed at how real it looked above her. She lifted her arm, spreading her hand out wide as if her palm could encompass the big white cloud that was floating passed. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do to save everyone…."
The sun above warmed her, she could feel its heat spreading from her arms to her cheeks to her feet before settling in her heart.
And it made her yearn for James.
Everything about the sun reminded her of James. The bright yellow color…. It's heat…. The way it shined down on her….
In a way, it was like the sun was James.
Or maybe James was just like the sun…. The brightest and warmest thing in her life.
"And I'd go through hell a million times before I let anything happen to James," Sofia said fiercely as she watched the sunlight glimmer through her fingertips. "There's no way I am going to let that man hurt him."
She could feel Queen Anne smile proudly at her. "I know…."
Sofia sat up, looking back at Queen Anne with a renewed smile and a stronger sense of determination surging through her veins. "So how do I realize whatever it is my amulet needs me to realize?"
"Again, that's for you to figure out," she said with a sympathetic shake of her head.
"Seriously? Can't you give me a hint?"
"Sofia," she began. This time, the shake of her head wasn't sympathetic. It was sad and more troubled than anything else, "I am still cursed. Even in your mind, I'm still unable to tell you everything."
"No…" Sofia breathed dejectedly.
Queen Anne managed to smile back at her, but the lingering sadness and bitterness was still there. "I can still tell you some of my past, though. I think that can help you out with trying to break the spell on James's heart."
"About that…." Sofia said, remembering Queen Anne's words from earlier this morning. She was still confused about how exactly her past was connected to James and The Evil. "I was going to ask you later, but now is a good of a time as any. How is your past going to help break the spell on James?"
"I think that if you know of my past and what exactly happened, then you'll be able to understand James when he finally spills his guts to you and allow himself to feel everything that he's been suppressing since he took the throne. So…. " She sighed as she fell back and laid in the grass. Sofia crawled up next to her and laid down with her. "Where to begin…."
"Start at the beginning," Sofia said as they both started up at the blue sky together.
She heard Queen Anne let out an amused laugh along with another sigh. "Roland and I knew this man because we all grew up together."
Sofia wanted to gasp in shock but held it back when it sounded like Queen Anne was deep in her thoughts, lost in the memories of her past. She didn't want to interrupt her.
"Roland and I have known each other since we were born and we were betrothed to one another well before we were even born. Our marriage was arranged to benefit both of our families and the kingdom. We grew up knowing that we would have to get married one day, and that there was nothing we could do about it. It was just our duties to our families and Enchancia. We were just lucky that we grew up as good friends - best friends almost - and not the other way around. Roland and I had a mutual respect for one another. We bickered like brother and sister, and made up like idiots."
There was a smile in her voice as she talked about Sofia's father, it sounded like she truly loved Roland as if he was her own brother. It was warm and sweet to hear the platonic love in her voice.
Queen Anne let out a wistful laugh. "Did you that when Roland was twelve or so, he let the entire herd of royal flying horses free from their stables during one of the springtime festivals held at the castle? His father was so upset with him that he grounded Roland for an entire month and made him help the staff gather up the horses. It took about two days for him and the royal staff to gather all of the horses back. And you want to know what his explanation was? He said that it was a dare from one of his friends from Royal Prep and as the future king, he couldn't back down from a dare."
Sofia laughed with her, letting her laugh echo with Queen Anne's and float up to the clouds and sky.
"Oh… all of the trouble he got into growing up…." Queen Anne laughed, letting it fade into a sad chuckle. "I don't think there is enough time in the world to tell you of every mess he got himself into…. James really is just like him…."
There was a small smile in her voice, in to how she talked about Roland. As if despite everything that has happened between her and Roland, she couldn't help but still care for him because of what they went through together. He was someone that was etched deeply in her heart.
"Roland and I didn't meet our other friend until we were three. This man… he was one of my best friend. He and I just clicked. He was sweet and kind and loyal, the best friend anyone could ask for. He and I were inseparable, we were almost like two peas in a pod. If you knew him, you never would have thought of him capable of hurting even a fly. He was the best thing in my life…. He knew everything about me… my likes, dislikes, my hobbies… everything. And I thought I knew everything there was to know about him."
The nostalgic tone in her voice quickly faded, she sounded hard and angry and bitter. Sofia could hear the guilt and hurt and betrayal in her voice as she laid there beside her.
"But I was wrong." She sounded like she was on the verge of angrily crying out every feeling she's ever had for this man.
But Sofia heard her clear her voice and take a shaking breath instead.
Sofia didn't try to question it. She knew that Queen Anne was only trying to regain her composure and not lose it in front of someone – nonetheless Sofia. Sofia understood that she was just trying to be strong for herself. That Queen Anne wanted to keep a sense of dignity and self-control for herself.
Then after a moment, she heard her continue on. "Of course, as we all got older, Roland's handsomeness and charisma helped him become the most popular guy at Royal Prep while I became one of the smartest student there. Of course, I was also the most beautiful girl at school too, but that's not important right now." There was the familiar pride and conceit in her tone that was just like Amber's. Sofia didn't even have to be looking at her to know that she even did Amber's signature hair flip while lying down on the grass. "Our friend didn't go to Royal Prep with us but, I like to think that we were still so close either way. Almost like the three of us were a cooler version of the three musketeers."
"Why do you say that?" Sofia asked, turning her head and watching for a reaction from Queen Anne. She was still staring up at the blue sky, her green eyes carefully neutral and cool. "Why do you say that you like to think that the three of you were still close?"
Queen Anne didn't reply for a short while, deep in her thoughts. "…Because things between Roland and him weren't the best as we got older. Things just didn't stay the same for the three of us. Our friend... he was different than the other kids. He wasn't handsome and he was kind of socially awkward, but there was a uniqueness in him that no one else had. The other kids didn't see that though and he got bullied for it. I wanted to protect him from them, but he wouldn't let me. He wanted to keep me out of it all. Eventually, the bulling stopped but things between him and Roland got worse as we got older."
"Did dad do something to him?"
"No. He blamed everyone for what happened," she said. "In our last year at Royal Prep, both of our families pressed the issue of our engagement further and further onto us. Their urging and pressing became so insistent that we reached our breaking point. Roland and I thought it would just be best for everyone that we played into the roles our families wanted and that didn't go over too well with our friend. Our official engagement caused a disturbing change in him. He became too possessive of me, always wanting to be by my side and refusing to share me with anyone else. He even became violent and volatile towards anyone who he believed would take me away from him. We began to argue a lot more and they would never end well for either of us."
"Did he ever hurt you?" Sofia asked before she realized what she said.
Stupid, of course he hurt her! He's the one who killed her! Why did you asked that? Stupid!
"Sorry, I –" Sofia began, embarrassed of her lack of filter.
"It's okay, Sofia," Queen Anne said, finally turning her head and looking over at Sofia. "I know what you mean."
There was so much sadness in her green eyes… Sofia could feel her heart literally go out to her, it wanted to rip out of her chest and just hug Queen Anne until the sadness left her eyes.
"Before my death, he never put his hands on me. He would never do anything to hurt me. But our arguments would get so heated that I felt like it might become violent," she said. "He was so desperate to stop our engagement, claiming that he loved me and that we were destined for each other because we were soulmates. When I rejected him and his confession of love to me, I thought that he had accepted that I couldn't love him in that kind of way. That my duties to the kingdom and my family came first. He didn't pursue me after I married Roland and he even got a job at the castle just to remain close to me."
"If he stopped pursuing you, what made him want to kill you?"
"He claims that he killed me on accident. His original plan was to make Roland pay for cheating on me, but his magic redirected and targeted me instead."
Sofia could see how drained Queen Anne looked, as if talking about her past and all of the betrayal she's experienced in her life was physically exhausting her.
Queen Anne returned to staring at the sky as she further explained. "Roland and I weren't true loves. We were never destined for each other, but we did love each other in a special kind of way. We even promised each other that while we didn't love each other romantically, we would still honor our marital vows. But when I learned that he broke them and had an affair, I felt so betrayed. I've known him for my entire life, he was the one person in my life that understood what I was going through with the forced engagement because he was going through it with me. And I believed that in spite of our arranged marriage, we could still remain faithful towards one another and raise a happy family. His affair felt like a knife went through my back and straight in my heart, and I just grew depressed as the days went on. Our friend was there when I learned the truth and saw the devastation it caused on me."
A single tear fell down Queen Anne's cheeks as she continued to talk. Sofia could feel her own eyes burn from listening to Queen Anne's heartbreaking story.
Queen Anne...
She's gone through so much...
Hurt and betrayed, and used by her own family for political reasons...
She thought she was loved but...
It was hard for her to hear her father's betrayal against Queen Anne, a woman who loved him unconditionally and believed in a hope for a happy future for them.
Why did he cheat on her? Why did he hurt her in that way? How could he even do that? Didn't he love her enough to remain faithful? As each question ran through her mind, Sofia could feel her good opinion of her father dwindle and shrink just a bit.
"I'm not saying these to badmouth your father, Sofia. Please don't think badly of him," she said as if able to read her mind. "I just want you to understand what happened. Your father did love me, just like I loved him. He said that it was all in a moment of weakness and anger. He was just tired of always putting our families and kingdom first before his own needs. Roland just wanted to be selfish and greedy and a regular man for once in his life. He told me that he regretted it the moment it happened because he realized that it wasn't fair to me to do such a thing. He hated himself for what he's done and the guilt continued to sink deeper into him every day after that."
"But that doesn't excuse –"
"I know, I know, Sofia," Queen Anne said. "I heard him and understood where he was coming from. I'm no better, Sofia, because I've had the same thoughts just like him. I didn't go through with it, but I've thought of what it might be like if I just gave up and not care anymore. So please don't hate your father. He is a good man. I've watched him dedicate his life to making up for his past mistakes and how the guilt of my death ate at him every day of his life."
Sofia knew that she was right.
When she first learned of Roland's affair from James, Sofia didn't believe him at first… she didn't want to believe him because, in her eyes, her father was the greatest man in the world. He could do no wrong. He was righteous and was a man of his word. She held him on the highest pedestal in her heart because he was the perfect father in her world.
It hurt her to even think that her father was capable of such a thing. She wanted to believe that he couldn't do that. He would never do that.
But her idealism of him was shrewd. Deep down, Sofia knew that if she allowed herself to think that her father could do such a thing, then she would risk his place on her pedestal. That he wasn't her invincible, perfect, wonderful dad.
And she didn't know who Queen Anne was at first. Sofia only heard stories of her, and knew only vague facts of what a wonderful woman she was until she lost her mind. She didn't know Queen Anne like she knew her now.
So who was she to believe at the time? A woman she knew only from stories or a man who was literally the perfect king?
But now? Now things are different.
Queen Anne became a second mother to her and her father is still her father. His image is cracked and he no longer sits on a pedestal, but he was still her father nonetheless.
"The Evil wanted to use Roland's guilt as his downfall, to make him go insane and kill himself," Queen Anne continued on. "But that didn't go as planned because his magic was accidentally aimed at me and made me go insane with depression. I killed myself after the twin's fourth birthday. And my death only made the man go crazier. For the past eleven years, he had planned various ways to kill Roland and the one that worked best was to use my son as his weapon of choice. He purposefully led James to find those notes and took advantage of his anger so that he could control James to kill Roland because he blames Roland and The Fates and everyone but himself for my death."
"Why The Fates?" Sofia asked confused.
"He claims that he knows it in his heart that we were destined to be soulmates, but The Fates decided to cheat him out of love and that's why we aren't together. He wants to get revenge on them by conquering this world and then waging war with them. And when he wins, he's going to create a new world order."
"That's his plan? To take the kingdom and cause a magical war?"
"Yes, a part of it," Queen Anne said solemnly. "The only way for his plans to succeed is if he gets enough power, which he plans on doing by stealing your amulet. Originally, after James managed to exile you and Amber and Miranda for your own safety, he manipulated Miss Nettle for her magic so he could start his plans, but her power wasn't enough. For a while after that, he tried to make substances and potions to create an artificial source of power, but that only made him more insane. Now, he's bent on obtaining your amulet since it's so powerful."
"How do I keep him from taking it?"
"The best method is to never take it off and never have it leave your sight. If you do take it off, then that leaves you vulnerable and invites The Evil to take it. Another way is to go talk to Lucinda, she can help you because she has more extensive knowledge of the amulet than I do. Just explain to her that I told you to go to her. She'll take care of the rest."
Sofia sat up, running her hands through her hair and leaning her face towards the sun, needing its warmth. She heard Queen Anne sit up beside her, feeling her eyes watch her just as carefully as she watched Queen Anne.
A loud, frustrated and angry cry escaped Sofia's mouth as she rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. She didn't care that Queen Anne could see how overwhelmed she was at the moment. Sofia just needed this moment to react, to just let out her frustration.
It seems like things just keep piling up, one after another. It was all ready to drown her, to suffocate her.
When was she ever going to get a break?
Granted, she knew that she can't right now, but she needed one. To just have a moment and gather herself back up or just to recharge. She needed just one small moment to figure things out and understand where to go from there.
"Sofia, there's another thing though." Queen Anne placed a warm hand on Sofia's shoulder, hearing a terrified seriousness in her voice. Sofia peaked through one eye and looked at her, waiting. "He wants to also use your amulet to bring me back from the dead."
What? Sofia was shocked. How – What?
"How is that possible?" Sofia gasped, wide eyed and speechless. Cold fear ran down her spine, raising goosebumps on her arms. "Is that even possible?"
Queen Anne turned and looked Sofia squarely in the eyes, letting her see the fear and deadly warning that swam in her eyes. "It is, but it goes against the laws of magic. If someone raises the dead, that person's soul becomes twisted and corrupt. They never come back the same because to raise the dead, a life must be taken and blood must be spilled. He wants to bring me back because he believes that he can somehow work around the consequences of raising the dead and make me his queen after he creates his new world order. That's why it's crucial that you don't ever take off your amulet, do you understand? I can't be resurrected. I don't want to come back as something evil and horrifying."
"I-I understand," Sofia whispered, the fear in her voice mimicked the fear in Queen Anne's eyes.
She didn't like how scared they both are, of this man who felt entitled to Queen Anne's love despite being unworthy of even her compassion.
And she let herself get angry. Angry that they were scared. Angry at the man who betrayed Queen Anne. Angry that he sent at dragon to attack her.
Just angry. Angry. Angry. Angry. Angry.
"I'm not going to let him get to you, I promise." Sofia said, letting her voice regain its strength and power.
And without a word, Queen Anne hugged Sofia tightly. Sofia let out a surprised yelp but immediately relaxed into the warm embrace. They both needed this hug to remind them that they had one another. That no matter what happens, they were going to save the kingdom and save everyone.
But for the moment, they just needed the hug because they were just two young ladies that were scared and fearless of what was to come. It was their way of sharing their fears and strengths, of solidifying their comradeship.
After a moment, Queen Anne released Sofia and smiled proudly and warmly at her. "Thank you, Sofia."
"Your welcome," Sofia smiled back, understanding what she was thanking her for.
It was her thank you as a queen to her champion, for serving the kingdom and saving it. It was her thank you as a mother, for saving and protecting her children when she couldn't. And it was her thank you as a friend and comrade, for everything that has happened and will happen to them in the battlefield.
"By the way..." Sofia said when their moment was over. "How do I get out of here?"
"Oh," Queen Anne chuckled with a knowing smile. "You leave the way you entered."
Chapter twenty-five! Woo!
I know, I know. I said that I would upload this to you guys last week, but there was a lot that still needed to be written and edited in this chapter because it's a heavy chapter this time. I am sorry, but I didn't want to give you guys a crappy chapter. Quality over quantity, always.
Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Sofia's not dead, so stop yelling at me to not kill Sofia. Oh, and someone who wanted to remain anonymous asked me if Sofia really did burn James's mattress like she promised in chapter 17. All I can say is yes, she did. I fixed up chapter 20 if you guys are interested in reading what Sofia did.
But of course, that little PM gave me an idea of what to do for a chapter extra. It's set after chapter 17 and it's nothing but fluffy and steamy JamesFia moments. I felt like you all needed it after these last few chapters. If you guys are interested in reading how Sofia really burned James's mattress with more detail, do the challenge.
Challenge: I am going to need more than 15 reviews of what you all think will happen when Sofia wakes up and what you want to happen. Got that? Both. You need to tell me what you think will happen and what you want to happen if you want me to release a chapter 17 extra. Get creative. :)
Read, review, etc.
Thanks. :)