Dinner went by as usual, just with Desmond as a guest. When James and Sofia arrived, Desmond got up from his place next to Amber and pulled out Sofia's chair for her.
"Thanks." Sofia smiled.
James was furious and tried to control his anger, since his parents were right there.
"You're such a gentleman, Desmond." Miranda smiled.
"Yes, indeed." Roland nodded.
"Thank you, your majesties." Desmond smiled.
Roland and Miranda left dinner early to finish their royal duties. Sofia, James, Amber, and Desmond all remained at the dinner table, finishing their dinner. Just then, Baileywick came into the dining hall.
"Princess Sofia, Madame Colette needs to see you after you finish your dinner. It's regarding about your gown." Baileywick said.
"Great! Thank you, Baileywick." Sofia said.
"You're welcome, Princess Sofia." He bowed and left.
"Oh, Sofia! You're going to love Desmond's suit that I'm designing for him." Amber squealed.
"I'm sure I will, Amber. But don't tell me, I want to be surprised the day of my ball." Sofia then turned to James. "Don't tell me what your suit will look like either, James. I want to be surprised. I'll make sure to write to Hugo about that, too." She said.
"Who's going to make Hugo's suit?" Amber asked.
"He told me he was going to write to Hildegard and ask her if she could make him one." Sofia explained.
"How nice." Amber said. 'The suit I'm making for Desmond will be better than Hildy's and Khalid's for sure. I wonder if Sofia's going to actually invite Hildy... I know they're not exactly good friends... I'll need to ask her.' She thought to herself.
"Sofia... do you plan on inviting Hildy to your... birthday ball?" Amber asked.
'Oh, should I invite her? We were close that one time when we did that enchanted painting. But... she did hurt my feelings in some ways... as we got older...' Sofia thought to herself.
"Sofia?" Amber said.
With that, Sofia snapped out of her thoughts.
"What's wrong, Sof?" James asked.
"I... I'm not sure if I should invite her. I mean, I want to because we were good friends at one point but then... everything went downhill as we got older. I don't want her to be the only one from Royal Prep to not get invited. And if I don't invite her... Zandar might not go either, if they're courting. Amber, what do you think I should do?" Sofia asked.
Amber thought for a moment. "I wouldn't want to invite her either, Sofia. But I do have a feeling that everyone's going to ask you why you didn't invite her and she'd confront you as to why you didn't invite her, too. I think you should invite her, just this one time." She said.
"And you'll have us and your parents to come to if something happens." Desmond assured her.
Sofia took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll invite her." She smiled.
After they ate their dinner, James went to his room, while Sofia and Amber walked with Desmond to his coach that was outside the castle.
"Let me know the progress of my suit, Amber." Desmond smiled.
"I will." Amber nodded. "I'll see you later, Desmond." Amber curtsied.
"Bye, Amber." Desmond bowed.
He and Sofia waited until Amber went back into the castle.
"Thanks for visiting me, Des." Sofia smiled.
"Anytime, Sofia. So, I guess I'll see you at... your ball?" Desmond said.
"I... guess so. Goodnight, Des." Sofia said as she hugged him.
"Goodnight, Sofia. I'll see you soon." Desmond said, returning her hug.
They both held each other, smiled, and looked into each other's eyes. James interrupted their moment.
"Sof, Madame Colette needs to see you remember?" James said from the top of the steps.
Sofia and Desmond were both annoyed at him but knew he was right. They looked at each other sadly.
"Bye, Des." Sofia said sadly.
"Goodbye, Sofia." Desmond said as he got into his coach.
Sofia waited until Desmond's coach was out of sight before she went back into the castle. James was still at the top of the steps, waiting for her with his arms crossed.
"I thought you were in your room." Sofia annoyingly said.
"I was going to my room until I remembered what Baileywick said about Madame Colette needing to see you. And good thing I went out just in time." James also said in an annoyed tone.
"James, I know you care about me but you don't need to protect me as much as you do. You ruined mine and Des' moment. I... I'd never do that to you." Sofia said.
James now felt a little bad. "Look Sof, I have something to tell y-" He was cut off by Sofia.
"We'll talk later, James. I need to see Madame Colette." Sofia said as she dashed off.
'Ugh... how am I going to tell her about my feelings towards her?! Think James, think... oh I got it! I can tell her whenever we go to her secret garden. The question is... when?' James thought
Sofia arrived at Madame Colette's sewing room. Sofia walked in as her door was open.
"Madame Colette? You wanted to see me?" Sofia said.
Madame Colette was at her desk, writing something on a sheet of paper She looked up and smiled at Sofia.
"Princess Sofia, I want to take your measurements to start working on your gown. It'll look fantastic!" She said in her French accent.
"Great!" Sofia smiled.
"You chose a beautiful color, princess. Very different from lavender, yes?" Madame Colette said while measuring her.
"It is. I wanted to wear something different because there will be some lavender and dark violet decorations in the ballroom. I definitely want to stand out." Sofia said with her hands raised at her sides.
Madame Colette finished the measurements and showed Sofia the fabric that best matches what she wants.
"I love this fabric, Madame Colette! It's definitely the color I want. It's chiffon, right?" Sofia asked.
"Yes, princess. I'll put a champagne-gold sparkly tulle over it to give you your ideal gown." Madame Colette said. She went to the back to grab a piece of the sparkly tulle fabric for Sofia to see what it'll look like on top of the satin material.
Sofia couldn't help but smile brightly. "It looks A-mazing, Madame Colette! I can't wait to see the whole gown once it's complete." She said.
"I'll see you again for your gown fitting when the dress is ready, Princess Sofia." Madame Colette said.
"Perfect! Thank you, Madame Colette! Have a good night." Sofia said.
"You're very welcome, Princess Sofia. Good night." Madame Colette said.
Sofia left Madame Colette's room and proceeded towards her own room. 'I guess I'll have to write to Hugo tomorrow. I can't wait for my ball...' She thought as she made it to her room.
Clover was on his pillow, munching on a carrot. "What up, Princess!" He said.
"Hi, Clover!" Sofia said.
"So, how'd your day go?" Clover asked.
"You have no idea, Clover. It'll be a long story to tell." Sofia said.
"I'm all ears." Clover said.
Sofia explained everything that happened from when Hugo and Desmond arrived to her getting measurements from Madame Colette.
"Wow, you've had a very... different day today, Sofia." Clover said.
"I definitely did, Clover. I still can't believe Hugo and Desmond visited me today." Sofia said.
"I can't believe James didn't start a fight with either of them." Clover said.
"Well... I told him not to. Actually, I told all three of them. I'm just happy they kept their word." Sofia said. Just then, she noticed Skye flying in front of the window where her window seat is. Sofia went over to where he was and opened her window.
"Skye! Are you leaving?" She asked.
"Yes, my princess. I flew up here to say goodbye." Skye said.
Sofia nodded. "I'll see you later, Skye. Fly safe." She said.
"Will do, my princess." Skye smiled and flew away.
Sofia went back to where Clover was and found that he fell asleep. She decided to call it a night. Sofia did her night routine, changed into her night gown and quickly fell asleep in her bed. The next morning, Sofia got ready for the day and heard a knock on her door.
"Come in." She said.
"Sofia! Guess who came to see us?" Amber squealed.
"Who?" Sofia asked.
Before Amber could answer, Ruby and Jade answered instead. "Sofia!" They said as they hugged her.
"Ruby! Jade!" Sofia exclaimed happily, hugging them back.
Ruby and Jade haven't changed much. They're the same height as Sofia and they still wear their favorite colors. Ruby wears an orange short sleeve shirt with a red skirt, hitting above her ankles. It's similar to the one she wore when she was younger. Jade wears a light blue dress, without white sleeves, that hits a bit above her knees, a bit shorter than her light blue dress she wore when she was younger. Ruby still has her short curly hair, just not with the two bows in them. And Jade's hair isn't short anymore, as it grew a little bit past her shoulders.
"It's so good to see you again, Sofia!" Ruby said.
"It's good to see you guys, too! What are you two doing here? Are you going to stay for breakfast?" Sofia asked, hoping they would.
"We came to tell you that the Hootenanny is in two weeks. We can't wait!" Jade exclaimed.
"And yeah, we'll stay for breakfast." Ruby added.
"I love when the Hootenanny comes!" Amber exclaimed happily.
"So do I! Oh Amber, should I ask Hugo to go with me? Or should I ask Desmond?" Sofia asked.
"Hmmm... if I were you, I'd choose Hugo. Since he's such a good ice dancer, I bet he would be a great dance partner for the Hootenanny." Amber said.
"You're right. I'll make sure to write to him after breakfast and see if he'd want to go. If not, then I'll ask Desmond." Sofia said.
"Let's just hope that if one of them says yes, that James doesn't pound on them." Amber said.
"I hope so, too." Sofia said.
"Hey Sofia, who's Hugo?" Ruby asked with Jade nodding her head.
"Oh, he's one of the Princes from the Kingdom of Oxford and he's one of my good friends." Sofia explained.
"We can't wait to meet him." Jade said with Ruby nodding her head.
"Amber, are you going to ask anyone to go with you to the Hootenanny?" Sofia asked.
"Not yet... well not now. I think I might just dance with James, after what happened between me and Axel." Amber said.
Ruby and Jade were sad that Amber was going to dance with James because they wanted to dance with him. They both still have crushes on him, after all those years. Sofia never bothered telling them that she likes James, too. She's afraid of what they'd think.
"Amber... you're not with Prince Axel anymore?" Jade asked.
"No, not anymore... it's a long story. But I'll tell you guys about it eventually." Amber promised.
Jade and Ruby nodded. Then they all heard a knock on Sofia's door.
"Sof, it's James. Can I come in?" James asked.
Sofia looked at Amber, Ruby, and Jade. They nodded.
"Come in, James." Sofia said.
"Sof, I need to talk t-" James stopped talking when he noticed Amber, Ruby, and Jade with Sofia.
"Hey girls, mind if I talk to Sofia alone?" He asked them.
"James, don't be rude! Ruby and Jade are here." Amber scolded.
"Amber, I really need to talk to Sof alone." James said.
Amber looked at Sofia.
"Amber it's okay. I need to talk to James, too." Sofia then turned to Ruby and Jade. "Can you guys wait with Amber for me at the dining table? I'll be right down." Sofia said.
"Sure, Sofia." Ruby said. Jade and Amber followed her to Sofia's door and closed it.
"Sof, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I just... I didn't want Desmond near you." James said.
"James, I know you meant well. I know you care for me... but I'm not 7 years old. I can protect myself if something happens. Don't worry too much about me, okay?" Sofia said looking into James' dark green eyes.
"I'll try my best, Sof. It won't be easy." James said starring back at Sofia's blue eyes. 'Sofia's eyes are so beautiful.' He thought.
"I know it won't be, James. It'll take time." Sofia said.
James nodded.
"Oh I forgot to mention this. Ruby and Jade said the Hootenanny is in 2 weeks." Sofia said happily.
"Really? It is?! I can't wait! We're going to have a great time dancing together, right Sof?" James said.
"W-well..." Sofia looked down at the floor.
"What?" James asked.
"I... I plan on asking Hugo to go with me..." Sofia said.
"Why?!" James asked with his arms crossed.
"James, you know why. And Amber does have a point about him being a good dancer. But if he doesn't want to go I'll ask Desmond and don't ask why because you already know." Sofia said
"Sof, I'm just a good a dancer as Hugo is." James tried to protest.
"You do realize that Amber isn't going to ask anyone right? She said that she was going to dance with you." Sofia said.
"She did?" James asked.
"Yes. She's not ready to ask anyone, James. She's still healing." Sofia said.
Baileywick entered Sofia's room. "Princess Sofia, Prince James, breakfast is ready." He said.
"We'll be right down. Thank you, Baileywick." James said.
He bowed and left them alone.
"Come on James, let's go. Dad will be upset if we're late." Sofia said.
James nodded and let her go in front of him. They made it to the dining table and ate their breakfast. Afterwards, Sofia walked with Ruby and Jade to their coach.
"Sofia, what's Prince Hugo like?" Ruby asked.
"Well, he's very kind and helpful, he really likes Flying Derby, Ice Hockey, and Enchanted Ice Dancing, and he's Axel's younger brother." Sofia said.
"I didn't know that Prince Axel had any siblings." Jade said.
"He does. Only Hugo though." Sofia said.
"Does he look anything like Prince Axel?" Ruby asked.
"Not really. Hugo has dark brown hair that's parted on his right side and it's not curly like Axel's. Their eye colors are also different. Axel's is dark grey and Hugo's is dark green. And I think that's about it..." Sofia said. She never told them about her crush on Hugo but plans to tell them at the Hootenanny if Hugo goes with her.
"Well we better get going. We can't wait to meet Prince Hugo if he goes with you, Sofia. We'll see you at the Hootenanny!" Jade exclaimed happily as she got into the coach with Ruby following behind her. They both waved Sofia goodbye.
"Okay! I'll see you guys then!" Sofia smiled and waved back at them as they left.
'I should get started on writing to Hugo.' Sofia thought as she walked to her room.