While Sofia was talking with her parents about her not wanting to be protector anymore, Hugo decided to have a talk with Desmond.
"Desmond, I know we hate each other but I want to talk to you." Hugo said.
"What do you want to talk about?" Desmond asked. He wasn't sure what Hugo wanted to talk about, but he thought it was better than him or James starting any fights with him.
"Sofia." He said.
"Oh..." Desmond looked down at the floor.
"Why do you like her?" Hugo asked him.
"Do I really make it that obvious that I like her?" Desmond said to him with his arms crossed.
"Frankly speaking, yes. I see the way you look at her, Desmond. You like her." Hugo said.
Desmond took a deep breath. "Fine... I do like her. I liked her ever since she, James and I stayed after school one day for the gardening club. We didn't expect to meet an evil and mean fairy, Miss Nettle, who was the fairies' apprentice. She came to look for the fairies' spell book. Sofia came running into the greenhouse, telling James and I that she saw her trapping the fairies in a bubble. We had to help rescue them, since we were the only ones in the school. Sofia helped me with getting over my fear of heights and bubbles that day. And once we freed the fairies, we all thought that Miss Nettle was gone. But she flew into the greenhouse and was about to do something to Sofia, since she had the spell book. I had confidence in myself and I stood in front of Sofia, protecting her. Then I jumped, tackled, and took the Miss Nettle's wand when she trapped me in a bubble. I remember Sofia smiling and said I was brave. She's so special to me... she's the only person who helped me conquer most of my fears... and I see more that just her beauty... she's different than any other princess I've met. And I know you like her too, Hugo." He said.
"I don't make it obvious that I like her." Hugo said.
"You kind of do, actually. Since when did you start to like Sofia?" Desmond asked him.
"When we had that Ice Dancing class, back at Royal Prep. I remembered that the Ice Dancing class had to share the rink with my class, which was Ice Hockey. The flips that Miss Flora was teaching the princesses looked fun to me. When Sir Henley told our class that we were going on a run, I stayed back to look at the next flips Miss Flora showed. When Sofia almost fell, I acted fast and held her steady. She asked why I wasn't with my class, I admitted to her that her class seemed fun. I didn't want to join the class at first because I thought the other princes would make fun of me for being the only boy in the class. Sofia convinced me to join. I couldn't say no to her. She never gave up on me when I told her that my dad would never approve of me ice dancing. I never gave up on her either, when she couldn't do some of our moves for our routine. When the Ice Dancing Recital finally came, I told my dad that I love Ice Dancing and that I was going to the recital with Sofia. We performed and everyone loved our routine. Sofia's always been there for me and... I'm always going to be there for her, too. She's definitely different from any other princess I've met. I agree with you on that." Hugo said.
"And I know James feels that way with Sofia, too." Desmond said.
"What do you mean?" Hugo said.
"Isn't it obvious that the reason he's not friends with either of us anymore is because he likes Sofia? Why do you think he's not as overprotective of Amber as he is with her?" Desmond said.
Hugo thought about what Desmond just said. Then it clicked in his head. "Oh... I understand what you're saying, Desmond. You really think James likes her more than a sister?" Hugo asked.
"I'm positive on that, Hugo. James and I were really good friends when we were at Royal Prep. But as we got older, he didn't want to hang out much. He didn't want me near Sofia." Desmond said.
"I get what you're saying, Desmond. James and I were once good friends, too. We had a lot in common when we were younger. He started to distance himself from me as we got older. If I wanted to hang out with him, he'd ignore me. He would also get mad if I was near Sofia, too." Hugo said.
"I always wonder if Sofia likes him the same way he likes her. You know, more than a brother." Desmond said.
"Now that you mentioned it, I can see why you think that. They're really close. But I don't think she likes him that way, though. She doesn't show any signs of liking him more than a brother." Hugo said.
"James makes it obvious, though. I'm surprised Amber hasn't noticed it. Or I don't think she's noticed it. I just hope I have a chance courting Sofia." Desmond said.
"You mean if you have a chance courting her. Don't forget I like her, too." Hugo crossed his arms. "To be honest, I thought you'd end up liking Vivian. You two are much alike." He said.
"Many of our classmates from Royal Prep thought that. But you guys are all wrong. I know Vivian and I have a few things in common, but I only see her as a friend. And she wrote to me recently. She's courting Khalid." Desmond said.
"Whoa, seriously?! How did I not know that? Khalid better have a good explanation when I see him at Sofia's ball." Hugo said.
"Actually, I sort of saw it coming." Desmond said.
"How?" Hugo asked.
"When we were still at Royal Prep, we were in Enchanted Science. The fairies paired us up in groups of two for the Enchanted Science Fair. I don't think you were in our class. I was paired with Amber, Vivian was paired with Khalid, and James was paired with Sofia. We went here to Enchancia, to work on our projects because Sofia, James, and Amber invited us. I saw how close Khalid and Vivian were getting. I knew from that point that they'd be interested in each other. Vivian confirmed that to me when I asked her if that's when she started to like him. Amber and I grew close from there as well. It might be possible that Sofia and James grew closer than they already were, too." Desmond explained.
"I wasn't in your class. I would've remembered all that. But wow..." Hugo said.
"You know Hugo, I thought you'd end up courting Amber or Clio as we got older. I would say the same for Hildegard, but I'm pretty sure she and Zandar like each other." Desmond said.
"I'll admit, I always wanted to court Amber when I got older. I loved it when she, Hildegard, and Clio fawned over me for my looks. But that was before I met Sofia. After meeting her, everything changed from there. I became a better person because of her." Hugo said.
"From what I can tell, James sees something in Sofia, too. I wonder why he likes her. I've been wanting to talk with him about it, but of course he doesn't want to talk with me. I don't even think he knows that I know that he likes her." Desmond said.
"Do you think he's brave enough to tell her his feelings towards her? I'm pretty sure that's what Sofia would want." Hugo said.
"He might tell her. I'm not sure when, but he'll have to tell her some time before her ball because I already talked with- oops!" Desmond said. He was about to tell Hugo that he talked with King Roland about him and Sofia's possible courtship.
"What were you going to say, Desmond?" Hugo had his arms crossed.
Desmond just looked at the floor.
"Desmond?" Hugo asked in an angry tone.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Don't tell Sofia or anyone else. And if James finds out, he'll kill me." Desmond said.
"Alright, alright. What were you going to say?" Hugo was becoming impatient.
Desmond took a deep breath. "Do you remember when I said that I have a surprise for Sofia?" He started.
"Yeah?" Hugo said.
"On the night of her ball, King Roland will announce to Sofia that I've requested for her to visit my kingdom for two weeks for a possible courtship if all goes well." Desmond smirked at Hugo, waiting for his reaction.
"You what?! When did you ask King Roland?" Hugo exclaimed.
"Before I went to see Amber. I asked Baileywick if I could talk with her father and he said yes. Why are you mad?" Desmond asked. He knew why Hugo was mad, but he wanted him to say it anyways.
"You know exactly why, Desmond! I was about to ask King Roland the same thing you did right after Sofia finished talking with her parents." Hugo said angrily.
Desmond just smirked. "Why do you think I asked him earlier? I didn't want to risk going after anyone else. King Roland said I was the first person to ask this request to Sofia. He said anyone else who wants to have a chance for a possible courtship with her, will have to wait after my two weeks with her are up." He said.
"I'll make sure Sofia has a better time with me than she'll have with you. And we have that ice dancing class that we're going to take. I'll be spending more time with her than you." Hugo smirked.
"Yeah right, Hugo. We'll see who Sofia chooses as her suitor." Desmond said.
"You're on." Hugo said.
Just then, the door to King Roland's study opened. Sofia came out with her mother walking behind her.
"Prince Hugo, Prince Desmond." Miranda smiled and curtsied to them.
"Queen Miranda." They both said and bowed. She then left the three young royals alone.
"My parents said that they're okay with me not being a protector anymore." Sofia smiled.
"Sofia, your dad isn't busy now is he?" Hugo asked.
"No, why? Do you need to talk with him?" Sofia asked.
"Nothing for my part, mainly for my dad." Hugo said. He hated lying to her but he didn't want to tell her what he really wanted to talk to her father about.
"Okay, you can go in. I'm not sure if you'll still be here when we get back. If not, I'll see you later Hugo." Sofia said to him and hugged him goodbye.
Hugo did his best not to blush, but he felt his cheeks slightly burning. "I'll see you later, Sofia. If your not back when I leave, I'll see you at your ball. I can't wait to see you until then." He smiled at her.
Sofia smiled back at him and nodded. She then turned to Desmond. "Let's go, Des. I need to summon Skye to get down here." She said.
Desmond nodded. They left Hugo alone. He was nervous as he knocked on King Roland's door.
"Come in." Roland said. Hugo opened the door and walked in.
Roland looked up and smiled. "Prince Hugo, it's nice to see you. Please, sit." He said.
"Thank you, your majesty." Hugo said.
"I assume you came to talk about starting a courtship with either Amber or Sofia?" Roland said.
"Yes, your majesty. I'd like Sofia to visit my kingdom for two weeks and see if we'd be able to court from there." Hugo said.
"I'm happy that you also want to start a courtship with Sofia, Hugo. But I'm afraid you'll need to wait until she's finished visiting Prince Desmond's kingdom for two weeks." Roland said.
"No worries, your majesty. I can wait as long as I need to." Hugo said.
"I'll most likely send you a letter when your turn comes. Do you want to surprise Sofia when your turn comes or do you want me to tell her when she turns 18?" Roland asked.
"I'd like to surprise her, your majesty. I hear that she loves surprises." Hugo smiled.
"It's settled then. Thank you for talking with me over the matter, Hugo." Roland smiled
"Your welcome, your majesty. I must be going back to my kingdom, now. If you'll excuse me?" Hugo asked politely.
"Certainly. You may be excused, Hugo." Roland said.
Hugo bowed respectfully and left. He went to the castle entrance and saw his coach waiting for him. He stepped in and sat down. 'Oh... only if Sofia were here... at least I'll get to see her on her birthday. Now I just need to write to Hildegard and find the perfect gift for Sofia...' Hugo thought on the coach ride home.
When Sofia and Desmond left Hugo...
They made their way to the castle entrance.
"Let's go somewhere near the garden, Des. There should be enough space for Skye to land. I'll summon him from there." Sofia said. Desmond nodded.
When they arrived just outside the garden, Sofia had her hands on her amulet. "I wish Skye was here. I need him." She said.
"Do you summon Skye through your amulet?" Desmond asked.
"Yes. I didn't know that I could do that until we graduated from Royal Prep. When you, Vivian, Lucinda, Ruby, and Jade helped distract Vor and her army of Robot minions, I ran as fast as I could to the castle to warn dad about her. I remembered on the way, I said out loud: 'If only Minimus were here.' My amulet sparkled but I didn't know why. I wasn't fast enough and Vor caught up to me. I couldn't escape because she was in front of me and her minions were behind me. I thought I could fight her off using my enchantlet, but I fell over the bridge to the castle when she tried to zap me. Minimus flew to my rescue and told me, 'I heard you calling me Sofia. I came as fast as I could.' That's when I knew that I could summon my animal friends if I need them." Sofia explained.
"I still can't believe that happened on our graduation day. I never knew you could talk to animals before then, but I'm glad Minimus saved you... I can't imagine not having you here, Sofia." Desmond said as he held her hand.
Sofia blushed. "Oh Desmond, it wouldn't be that different without me." She said.
"It would, Sofia. If we never met, I would still have most of my fears and I would never have confidence in myself. Hugo would still be rude and selfish, Vivian would still have a hard time talking to people, Clio wouldn't do what she'd want to do because she did whatever Hildegard told her, and Amber would still be just as snobbish as Hildegard." Desmond said.
"I didn't realize that I helped most of you out." Sofia smiled.
"You did." Desmond smiled back at her.
Sofia looked at the sky and noticed Skye in the distance. "Oh, look! I see Skye!" She exclaimed.
Skye flew closer and closer until he landed in front of Sofia and Desmond.
"Hello, my princess! Who's this?" Skye asked.
"Hi Skye, thank you for coming! And this is one of my closest friends, Prince Desmond from the Kingdom of Knoxland. I think you saw him when Vor attacked Enchancia. He'll be joining us." Sofia explained.
"I believe I did my princess." Skye said. He then turned to Desmond. "Nice to meet you my prince! I'm Skye the unicorn, Princess Sofia's steed for the Mystic Isles." Skye said to him.
"Good morrow, Skye." Desmond smiled and bowed.
"Where do you need to go, my young royals?" Skye asked.
"Can you take us to the other protectors, Skye? I... I need to talk with them." Sofia said.
"Of course, my princess! Climb aboard." Skye said kindly.
Desmond climbed on Skye first. He held out his hand for Sofia to take and helped her up.
"Thanks, Des." Sofia smiled at him.
"You're welcome, Sofia. Make sure to hold on to me, okay?" Desmond said, smiling back at her.
"Okay." Sofia nodded. She put her arms around Desmond's waist so she won't fall while riding Skye.
"We're ready to go, Skye." She said.
Skye nodded and started to fly to the Mystic Isles.