Chapter Sixteen: Sirenas (part one)

"Nueva Vista! It's so pretty! And pink."

Sofía sighed happily as she walked down the dock with Elena by her side who smiled softly.

"I thought you would like it," she said teasingly. "Just what you needed after everything that's happened these last few weeks."

"As long as we don't run into another sirena, we'll be fine," Naomi grumbled.

Sofía wanted to frown but smiled a little as she spotted Elena's other cousin come into view.

"Elena! So glad you could make it!" Duke Cristóbal laughed, narrowing his eyes. "Who's this?"

"Primo, that's Princess Sofía of Enchancia. The one who I told you about in my letter," Elena smiled.

"Ah yes. The runaway you took in."

"Runaway?" Sofía frowned. "Excuse me, sir, that's not what happened. You see—"

"Your pitiful story will have to wait," Duke Cristóbal whispered, nudging her to be quiet before leading the way.

Elena glared at him, trying to keep a smile on her face.

Sofia needed this break. She didn't need to be judged for not being family.

"You aren't the boss of me! I'm Princess Sofia of Enchancia to you sir!" Sofia yelled.

"Sofia!" Elena scolded, grabbing her by the arm.

"But he started it!"

"Sofia's right. He did start it," Naomi said, nodding her head.

"Alright. I believe you both."

"Thank you Elena," Sofiasmiled.

Cristóbal rolled his eyes in response.

"Princess Sofia, you're being childish," he scoffed. "That's not exactly what Elena told me about you."

"Oh really?"

"Sofia enough!" Elena yelled, grabbing her by the arm. "I'm sorry primo. She's been through a lot lately."

Sofia frowned, struggling to escape from Elena's grasp.

She didn't like her other cousin.

She wouldn't admit it but she had felt a little tired on the way over, only waking up to shouts of sirenas.

And her moods had been off and on as Elena had let go of her hand once they were inside.

But Sofia thought of it as the stress of what happened previously and the loss of her family.

"Elena can I talk to you please?" Isabel asked, seeing Sofia look off into the distance.

"After I talk to Cristóbal," Elena promised.

"But it's about Sofia."

"Isa... She's just going through more than you know right now."

"How do you know?" Isabel wondered softly. "She could be sick or—"

"If Sofia's not feeling well, I'll check on her later," Elena promised.

She had left Isabel after giving her a reassuring hug before walking into Cristóbal's study.

Sofia did have a right to get furious with him considering how she felt about being part of the family in the first place.

"Primo, what you said out there really got to Sofia. She's trying to cope with what happened with her family to the best of her ability," Elena said, facing her other cousin.

"This is true," Estéban agreed, handing Cristóbal a document. "Princess Sofia's going through a sensitive time in her life right now."

The duke of Nueva Vista nodded a bit sympathetically. "I wouldn't blame the girl in the slightest." He frowned slightly. "But she's not apart of this family."

"Neither are Gabe, Mateo, and Naomi but you welcomed them with opened arms!" Elena yelled. "How is Sofia any different?"

"She's an orphan, a commoner destined into royalty because her late mother married her late stepfather. Elena do you really think anyone cares for her? You took her in because of pity."

"I took her in because she was scared from seeing her family die! In front of her and taken advantage of afterwards! That's a lot for a child Sofia's age to go through Cristóbal!"

"Elena, Sofia isn't apart of this family. I'm sorry," Cristóbal apologized. "While I sympathize with her losing her family, she's not apart of ours. She doesn't even look like us."

"That doesn't matter!" Estéban yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "It's only been a few weeks but she's family to the rest of us."

"In what way Estéban?"

The chancellor rolled his eyes before nudging Elena to leave.

She nodded softly, seeing Sofia still standing where she had left her.

"Everything alright?" Elena asked softly, kneeling beside her.

"I guess I'm not feeling like myself," Sofia admitted. "Then there's everyone not trusting sirenas which is like the mermaids all over again and then there's your rude, insufferable cousin..."

"Feeling not like yourself?"

"Yes. Is something wrong with me?"

Elena bit her lip, gently squeezing Sofia's hand. "No. Of course not," she assured.

"Feeling tired and my moods are just normal?" Sofia hoped.

"How long have you been feeling tired and moody?"

"Yesterday. I thought it was just from stress."

"Well as long as it's that you're fine," Elena sighed.

"Did you talk to your cousin?" Sofia frowned.

"Yes I did. Why do you ask?"

"I don't think he likes me very much."

Elena smiled, brushing her bangs back. " Sofia listen to me. Nevermind what Cristóbal says because to me, you're already part of this familia."

Tears of joy went down Sofia's cheeks as she buried her head in Elena's dress, straining it.

Elena gently stroked her hair, humming softly.

…

"Why are you up?"

Elena yawned, rubbing her eyes as she spotted Sofia holding Amber's unicorn in her arms.

"I...I couldn't sleep," The younger princess confessed. "Elena, don't you think it's a little weird we're getting a parade to celebrate our defeat of Shuriki? When she and P-P-Paulownia are on the run?"

"Now that you mentioned it, it is strange," Elena muttered. She patted the bed gently. "Come on. I don't think you want to stand there all night."

With a creak from the bed, Sofia was by Elena's side in seconds as she played with the tail of Amber's unicorn.

The crown princess of Avalor could sense the distress on the innocent child's face.

It was the same face that had laughed childishly while taking a spin in Isabel's Presto Changer the day before after packing what she needed for the trip.

"And then there's everyone hating the sirenas! It's like Oona and her family all over again!" Sofia stressed.

"Oona? Your mermaid friend?"

"Yeah. I promised her we would visit next summer but with what happened, I don't know if..."

"She'll understand. And I know you Sofia if you can bring humans together with trolls, witches, and mermaids then I'm sure you can bring the humans and sirenas together too," Elena smiled.

"You will too," Sofia smiled a little. "But the parade's still makes me feel uneasy, like I wanna throw up."

"I'll be beside you the entire time so you don't need to worry."

With those words, Sofia had fallen asleep.

...

Who knew a so called parade could be a disaster?

Sofia tried not think about it as she swam after a sinking Elena.

She had wished to be a mermaid before Paulownia and Shuriki could finish what they started with Elena.

A few tears went down her face as she noticed that Elena was no longer in her sight.

Swimming downward, she hoped it wasn't the worst before a hand came to her face.

"Easy little sirena. What's your hurry?"

Sofia stopped and looked at the sirena. He looked young, almost to Elena's age.

"I'm Princess Sofia of Enchancia. I'm looking for Princess Elena of Avalor. She was knocked unconscious," Sofia introduced with a weak smile.

"I am Prince Marzel of Coronado," Marzel smiled a little. "My sister just saved the life of the princess you're looking for."

"I'll tell her thank you when I see her."

"So tell me: how'd you get down here Sofia?"

"My amulet lets me transform into a mermaid!" Sofia giggled a bit nervously. "I heard about your problem with humans and I've been through it before."

"Oh really?" Marzel questioned. "I don't think it'll take just you to help us out."

"Why not? Do sirenas have a history with humans or something?"

"You can say that."

Sofia mumbled under her breath before seeing Elena and swam into her arms.

"There you are!" Elena breathed. "I thought something happened to you up there."

"No I just changed into a mermaid," Sofia smiled. She looked confused, seeing kelp around her chest. "Where did you get that?"

"Magic kelp. Marisa gave some to me to help me breathe."

"Marisa? Marzel's sister?"

"The one and only," Marisa smiled. "Though when Elena was worried for a princess, I wasn't expecting a sirena."

"Mermaid exactly. But I am a princess," Sofia smiled. "Marisa, Marzel, I've been through the hatred of humans and mermaids before. Not all humans are bad."

"Then why don't you try to convince our father that?" Marzel grumbled.

"Maybe I will."

"Sofia, gracias, but you've done enough. You've been through enough," Elena reasoned. "Go back to the surface and I'll take it from here."

"Why would you give me the power to be a sirena, excuse me, mermaid if you can't let me help?" Sofia asked.

"You're too young and aren't a fast swimmer. I don't want you hurt."

"You never do."

With a sigh, Sofia swam back up to the surface. Upon reaching the dock, she transformed back into a human and hugged her knees.

At a time like this, she wished she had her family near her.

James would find a way to make her laugh and Amber in a proper, queenly manner would call off the one who made her blue.

Sofia's hair dripped drops of ocean water down her dress and to the dock as she heard Cristóbal's footsteps.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"My family," Sofia muttered, her eye contact not on him.

"Must've been hard to witness them die while you were cowardly hiding behind a curtain."

"My brother James told me to hide to keep me safe."

"In the line of enemy fire?" Cristóbal scoffed.

"We were in our throne room when it happened. What else was James supposed to do?" Sofia asked, keeping her tears at bay.

"He was pathetic."

"James did what he could! You—"

Before she could say anything else, Sofia spotted Elena and Marisa and smiled softly.

"Elena! There you are!" Cristóbal chuckled. His smile faded. "I see you brought up a sirena. I told you they were dangerous."

"You're just misunderstanding them," Sofia grumbled. "I know they attacked your father's ship but that was years ago. They didn't attack our ship yesterday so that shows they changed!"

"Why should I listen to a coward? A sirena is always a sirena! Besides Shuriki promised me gold if I got rid of Elena."

"Why would you betray family for money? You should be lucky to have one."

Cristóbal rolled his eyes. "Princess Sofia what's with you? You're not even apart of this family. Elena took pity on you and took you in."

"Primo, ni siquiera comiences eso ahora. Tenemos una situación más grave a la mano," Elena muttered, crossing her arms.

Cristóbal glared at her but smiled reassuringly before taking his attention to Sofia.

"Furthermore, what kind of family would appreciate and love you if they were to know that you hid cowardly because of your brother's suggestion?" He continued, ignoring Sofia's fallen face. "His attempt to keep you safe got himself killed."

"James did what he could," Sofia muttered softly, hugging herself. "He loved me, he wanted me taken care of. Just like he promised Dad when I first became a princess."

"James did what he could? Because he loved you? Don't make me laugh Princess Sofia! How could anyone love a coward?"

"Elena does. She knows that what happened wasn't my fault!"

"She took you in because she felt sorry for you. Out of pity, she allowed you to come live in Avalor until you're twenty one!" Cristóbal scoffed. "Twenty one! If I was her, I would've sent you back to your kingdom the moment you arrived. You're putting another responsibility on Elena's shoulder, having her worry over you night and day. Why? Maybe it's because you're the reason your family is dead! Paulownia wasn't coming after them, oh no, he was supposed to come after you and only you!"

Sofia's bottom lip quivered as she tried to keep her composure. "You're lying!" She croaked, keeping her tears at bay. "That's not the truth!"

Amber, James, her parents...

They weren't supposed to die and it was all her fault.

Tears went down Sofia's cheeks as she sprinted down the end of the dock.

"Sofia? Sofia!" Elena shouted after her in the hopes she'd turn around. Seeing her not returning, she turned to Cristóbal. "I can't believe you. It's one thing to prejudge the sirenas but to have prejudice against a little girl and then tell her that her family wasn't supposed to be slaughtered?! You have no idea what Sofia has gone through! And betraying familia for gold? That's low Cristóbal. That's nothing but pure scum!"

Before she could slap him, Marisa had Elena turn around before a shine from the sun shimmered on a familiar object.

The amulet of Avalor, lacking its blue eyed, auburn haired owner.

...

"Good. You awake."

Sofia's vision was burry as she tried to move, feeling a shackle around one of her ankles.

"What's going on? Where am I?" She wondered, feeling her tear stained cheeks before putting her hands at her side.

"Well it's not where I slaughtered your family now is it?" Paulownia chuckled, kneeling down towards her. "But it's where you belong for being a bad little girl."

"A dungeon? But I hadn't done anything wrong!"

"If you had just surrendered yourself to me the day I invaded Enchancia then Mommy, Daddy, Amber, and your strong willed brother James wouldn't be in the spirit world now would they?"

That got her as Sofia bit her lip. The shackle was burying itself in her ankle as she tried to move, having her try not to cry.

She couldn't be the girl that hid behind a curtain under her brother's instructions again.

She had to be strong even in her traumatized and fragile state.

So in an improper behavior that'd make Amber faint, Sofia spat in her tormenter's face before whispering a thank you to James for teaching her to spit.

"You're lucky I can't do anything seriously injuring to you without my wand!" Paulownia growled, wiping the spit off his face. He frowned, noticing her smile. "Where's the girl that was afraid of me?"

"Oh she's still there, just a little stronger. Just because you traumatized me and made me fragile doesn't mean you'll win," Sofia assured, lifting up her free leg.

With it, she kicked him in the place that had taken advantage of her on the day her family died once her vision was clear again. As Paulownia groaned in pain, Sofia prayed he'd stay that way.