Sofia arrived at her room. She went to her desk and grabbed a sheet of paper, as well as a quill. She sat on her chair and started to write to Hugo.
Dear Hugo,
I wanted to thank you for visiting me yesterday. I know we didn't see each other when I came back from the Mystic Isles, but I wanted to say that it was nice seeing you and I had a great time talking with you! So, I have a few things that I want to ask you. First, the village is going to have their annual Hootenanny and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me. If not, it's okay. I'll ask Desmond. Secondly, if Hildegard agrees to make your suit, promise me to NOT tell me what it'll look like because I want to be surprised. I told the same thing to James and Des, too. For now, that's all I wanted to write about. I'll write to you again soon.
-Princess Sofia of Enchancia
"Perfect!" Sofia said as she finished writing her letter. 'Now I have to let the ink dry.' She thought.
Baileywick came into her room. He brought Sofia's invitations for her to see. "Princess Sofia, your birthday invitations are complete. I've brought them for you to see." He said as he showed her.
Sofia smiled. "They're beautiful, Baileywick! And they're exactly how I want them to be, too. When can we send them out?" She asked.
"We can send them out next week." Baileywick said.
"Great!" Sofia said. She then turned to where her letter was and grabbed it. "Baileywick, can you send this letter out to the Kingdom of Oxford please? It's for Hugo." She asked.
"Of course, Princess Sofia. Anything else?" Baileywick asked.
"No, that's all Baileywick. Thank you." Sofia smiled, handing him her letter.
"Anytime, Princess Sofia." Baileywick took her letter, bowed, and left.
Sofia decided to go to the Secret Library to think for awhile. She grabbed the book with the key her Aunt Tilly gave her and stood in front the hole where Clover always goes through to get to her room. She held her hands up to her amulet. "I wish to be small." She said.
Sofia shrunk to the size of a Wee Sprite. She went through the hole and held onto her amulet again. "I wish to be big again." She said.
She walked down the steps and waited for the tiara shaped boat to arrive. Once it did, Sofia got on. When the ride was over, she walked up to the door and put the key through the key hole. As the door opened, she walked inside. Sofia sat on the red bench and thought about what happened the past few days. She thought about James, Desmond, and Hugo. She thought about her parents and Amber. Suddenly, Sofia heard some noise behind her. She turned around and saw Amber standing behind her.
"How'd you know I'd be here, Amber?" Sofia asked.
"You weren't in your room and you weren't outside. I figured you'd be here." Amber said, sitting next to Sofia.
Sofia smiled and nodded.
"You came here because..." Amber said. She knew Sofia wasn't Story Keeper anymore and wondered why she even came in the first place.
"I usually come here to think. I don't know... I feel at peace when I'm here or at my Secret Garden. But since I haven't been here in awhile, I decided to come." Sofia explained.
"That explains things." Amber smiled. She then turned serious. "Sofia, I wanted to talk to you about something." She said.
"What do you want to talk about, Amber?" Sofia asked.
"I want to talk about James." Amber said.
"Um... what about him?" Sofia said, trying to hide her blush.
"I've noticed him acting different... around you. Don't you notice it?" Amber asked.
"I don't see any change in him. What makes you say that, Amber?" Sofia asked.
"Well... I've noticed that he looks at you differently than with anyone else he talks with, he always wants to talk to you alone, he hugs you much more frequently... I could go on and on. And I think I know why he's acting that way..." Amber said.
Sofia found it hard to keep her blush down but pulled through it. "W-what do you mean?" She asked.
"Sofia, I think James likes you more than a sister. It all makes sense by the way he's been acting towards you. I'll talk to him about it later, but I have an important question to ask you." Amber said.
"What's that?" Sofia asked nervously. She had an idea on what Amber was going to ask her.
"Do you like James? You know... do you see him more than a brother?" Amber asked.
Sofia was contemplated on telling Amber about her liking him. She stayed silent.
"Sofia, you can tell me. If you do, I promise I won't tell anyone unless you say it's okay. And I'll support you and James, too." Amber said truthfully.
Sofia took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay... I do like James." She said.
Amber smiled. "Since when did you start liking him?" She asked.
"About... a few months ago. I'm still a little confused on my feelings towards him though. My feelings towards him feel different but also the same on how I feel towards Hugo and Desmond." Sofia said.
"Aww Sofia, It's okay. I'm sure James feels the same way, too." Amber said.
"I... hope so. But I wonder what'll happen if we tell each other our feelings. I really want to court Desmond or Hugo first..." Sofia said.
"What if you two spend time together for two weeks? Just the two of you. That way, you can see if you still like him afterwards." Amber suggested.
"That's a good idea, Amber. But I'm not sure if Desmond or Hugo will ask me for a possible courtship when I turn 18. Because if either of them are, then James and I would have to wait a while." Sofia said.
"Why don't you guys spend time together before your ball? It'll give you guys a chance to see how you feel afterwards." Amber said.
Sofia thought for a moment and nodded. "It sounds like a plan." She smiled.
"I'll talk to James and I'll tell him about the plan, too. I'm sure he'll be happy and excited." Amber smiled.
"I hope so. And you'll be dancing with him at the Hootenanny right?" Sofia asked.
"I am. Why?" Amber asked.
"Because I already sent out my letter to Hugo about the Hootenanny. If he says yes, who knows what James will do if he sees him." Sofia said worriedly.
"I'll make sure James doesn't do anything to him, Sofia." Amber said.
"Thanks, Amber." Sofia smiled.
"Now, come on. Let's get some lunch. I'm famished." Amber said as she got up from the bench.
"Okay." Sofia nodded.
They left the Secret Library and went to the dining hall where the rest of the Royal Family was. Amber and Sofia took their seats. Everyone happily ate their lunch. After it, Amber decided to talk with James about Sofia. King Roland and Queen Miranda went to the village to help villagers in need and Sofia went to see Minimus.
Amber went to James' room and knocked on his door.
"Come in." James said, looking outside. He was looking out his window because it has a good view of the stables, where Sofia was. He didn't notice that Amber was the one who knocked.
"So, you're spying on Sofia?" Amber said.
James quickly turned around and blushed hard. "N-no I'm not. W-why would you t-think that, Amber?" He stuttered.
"Oh, James. You can't fool me." Amber said as she walked towards him.
"W-what are you talking about?" He asked nervously.
"I know you like Sofia, more than a sister." Amber said, putting her hands to her waist.
James knew that there was no way in hiding it anymore. He sighed. "How'd you know?" He asked.
"James, you make it so obvious." Amber said.
"No I don't." He said.
"Yes you do. You hate when there's other princes near her, you always try to be with her alone, and you're very overprotective of her. I see the way you look at her. You see something special in her." Amber said.
James sighed. "You're right, Amber. But... I don't think Sofia likes me the same way, though. I'm nervous to tell her my true feelings for her. I just... I don't want to ruin our bond that we have now. And I don't want her to be the one that got away." He said.
"Well, what if I told you that I talked with Sofia..." She said.
James gasped. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't!" He said worriedly.
"I did. I told her I already suspected you liking her." Amber smiled.
"Why?! Why would you tell her that?" James exclaimed. He then sighed. "She... she hates me, right?" He asked sadly.
"James, you do realize that Sofia told me some things that'll make you both surprised and happy." Amber said.
"Yeah, right. Like what?" James said, looking glum.
"Well, let's just say that she also has feelings for a certain prince who's very close to her. And she's afraid of telling him because she's afraid of what he'll think." Amber said.
It took a moment for James to realize that Sofia likes him, too. His eyes lit up. "She likes me back? Like, like like me?" He asked excitedly.
Amber smiled and nodded. "She does."
"Brilliant!" He exclaimed happily.
"Sofia did make a point though." Amber said.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"She said that when she turns 18, there might already be princes that talked with daddy about starting a courtship with her." Amber explained.
James felt sad again. "She's right. Desmond and Hugo probably already asked dad for permission to court her." He said.
"That's why I made a suggestion." Amber smiled.
"Huh?" James was confused.
"I told Sofia that you two should spend time together before her ball, that way you two can figure out your feelings for each other." Amber explained.
"Did Sofia agree with the idea?" James asked.
Amber smiled and nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't she?" She said.
"Brilliant! I agree to it, too." James smiled brightly. Just then, he remembered what Sofia told him earlier. "But wait, Sof told me she was going to write to Hugo about the Hootenanny. Is she still going with him?" He asked.
"It looks like she is because she told me she already sent out her letter to him. But we need to wait on Hugo's response, though. If he accepts, you're going to need to keep your distance." Amber said
"I just wish I could dance with her. I hope Hugo says no." James said
Amber smacked his arm, hard.
"Ow! Amber!" James said angrily.
"I doubt Hugo will say no to her. He likes her, too. And if you get out of control seeing them together, we're going to leave the Hootenanny early." Amber said in a serious tone.
"Fine. But he better not get to close to her or else I wi-" Amber cut James off.
"Oh, shut it James." Amber said with an annoyed look on her face.
James was angered and had his arms crossed.
"By the way, I told Sofia that I will support you two if you guys actually do end up together. And since Sofia knows you like her, you should talk with her later tonight. You guys can plan on what you want to do for the next few days." Amber said.
"I will." James smiled.
After their talk, Amber left James' room. James decided to take a nap before dinner. 'I can't wait to talk to Sofia... I wonder what we're going to do...' James thought as he fell asleep.
A few hours later, Baileywick knocked on James' door. When he didn't hear a reply, he peeked in. He noticed James asleep and decided to wake him up.
"Wake up, Prince James. It's almost time for supper." He said.
"In a minute, Baileywick." James said sleepily.
"The king will be upset if you're late again." Baileywick said sternly.
"Okay, okay. I'm up." James sat up and rubbed his eyes. He then got up, heading towards the door.
"Prince James, I want to talk to you." Baileywick said.
"Wouldn't I be late if we talked?" James said.
"I'll walk down with you to the dining hall." Baileywick said, walking towards James.
"What do you want to talk about, Baileywick?" James asked.
"I don't know if anyone else has noticed this Prince James, but I see that you show affection towards Princess Sofia. And not in a brotherly way." He said.
"Well... you're not the only one who's noticed..." James said.
"Who else knows?" Baileywick asked.
"Amber. She's the only one that I'm aware of that knows. And now you know too, Baileywick." James said.
"Does Princess Sofia know?" He asked.
"Well, Amber already told her that I like her but I plan on telling her myself later tonight. Also, Amber mentioned that she'll support us if we're together in the future." James said.
"You two will have my support as well." Baileywick smiled.
"Really, Baileywick?" James asked.
"Yes, Prince James. And if you two decide to court each other, I'll be more than happy to talk with your parents about it." Baileywick said.
"Thanks, Baileywick. For now, can we keep our conversation between us? I'm nervous that even more people will know." James asked.
"Of course, Prince James. You have my word. Now head to the dining hall or you'll be late for supper." Baileywick said, looking at his pocket watch.
"Yes, Baileywick. I'll see you later." James said as he walked away.
Later that night after dinner, Sofia was in her room reading a book that Desmond gave to her as a gift. She was happily reading it until she heard a knock on her door. She put her book down and walked towards the door to see who it was. Sofia opened the door and saw James. She couldn't help but blush bright crimson. James was really nervous in telling her his feelings, even though Sofia already knows that he likes her.
"J-James, what are you doing here?" Sofia asked, not looking at him.
"We need to talk..." James said.