"Happy birthday, Honeydew." He said while blowing out the red candle she'd given him years ago. "I hope you'll get this message."

Roland had thought about her a lot for the past thirty years, whether he liked to or not. Had it really been thirty years since he'd seen her? It didn't feel like it had been that long- it only felt like yesterday. Roland wondered if she'd ever found a lover- something she was very vocal about wanting, or if she ever managed to have children. Most of all, he wondered if the signs of age chipped away at her face. Probably not, her family had a reputation for staying very youthful.

His gaze turned to the year. She would've- or would be, forty-five years old.

When she first disappeared he didn't think much of it, she did it often. But she would often come back or write a letter, apologizing. But after six months of silence on her side, he wrote to her. His letters were always returned with no reply, but they were at least opened, which gave him hope that she was still alive. He'd told her everything from pre-wedding day jitters to Lorelai, to the birth of Amber and James, his marriage to Miranda and gaining of Sofia as a daughter, and Sofia's subsequent rise to the position of Protector. She never gave him anything in return.

"Oh Serena," He whispered. "If only there was a way to reach you…"

"Rollie?" The sound of his wife's velvety voice broke his thoughts.

"Miranda." He turned to face her. "I didn't see you coming."

Concern filled her bright blue eyes. He would usually hear her soft footsteps coming. Miranda bit back a sigh as he walked into his office and leaned against his desk. "Something's on your mind. She took one look into his hazel eyes. He hated how well she knew him.

"Every year we've been married, this has happened." His wife chastised lightly. "Every month of May."

"A lot happens in May, Miranda. The Spring Festival, the Tri-Kingdom Picnic-"

"Yes, those do happen. But those aren't the things that are bothering you. Come on," She leaned into him. "You can tell me."

"Well…" He sighed. "It's about an old friend."

"And who is this old friend?" He opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted.

"Your Majesties," Baileywick poked his head through the door. "Dinner is going to be served."

"Thank you Baileywick." The king replied. He quickly stood up and hastily left the room.

Miranda watched him with suspicion. Never in their marriage had she seen him leave a room so quickly; he'd always excused himself before leaving a room. She turned to Bailywick, and they shared a look.

"Do you-"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"What's up with him?"

"I'm afraid that I do not know, Your Majesty. I've never seen him act like this; not in all my years…" He sighed.

"Well thank you for at least trying."

"Of course. Now please come, dinner is getting cold and there is a surprise waiting for you."

A surprise? She thought. Maybe it's Sofia… oh how we've missed her! The queen followed Baileywick out of her husband's office. It's probably an economic issue on his mind. She began slowly treading towards the dining room, dreading the dead-silent meal in their future. Things hadn't been the same since Sofia had left to solve a problem in Merroway Cove and Amber had decided to join her, and James was off tending to dragons. James had returned two weeks prior, and Amber followed shortly after. The twins were often busy and rarely had time to spend with their parents, not like they wanted to. Sofia hadn't been home for months, and Miranda was starting to worry about her. She just guessed that that is what happened when was the Protector of the Ever Realm…

When Miranda approached the dining room doors, they were hastily opened by a pair of guards. She hadn't put one foot through the door before she was wrapped in a warm embrace. Miranda looked down, and noticed that it was Sofia.

"Surprise." Amber smiled. "She got home a little while ago, but she wanted to surprise you two."

"And what a surprise it is. It is wonderful to have you home, Sofia. I've missed you." Miranda buried her nose in daughter's auburn hair and noticed that she'd grown an inch-and-a-half.

"I've missed you too, Mom. You too, Dad."

"I'm just glad to have you home, Sof." James entered the room, his clothing covered in dirt stains.

"James." Amber and Miranda raised their eyebrows in unison, looking at the state of his clothes.

"Baileywick said that I needed to be here as soon as possible. Training got a little… rambunctious."

"I can tell."

"There's no time for him to change." Baileywick hastily came into the dining room and brought loads of chefs carrying full dishes with him.

Sofia, Miranda, and James quickly took their seats as their dinner of roast duck was served and carved by a chef. Sofia immediately took notice of her father's silence and somber look.

"Dad?" She asked after swallowing some of the meat.

"I'm fine, Sofia. Today was just… a stressful day." She nodded, but Miranda could tell that she didn't buy it.

"How was your mission in… where was your last mission?" Amber asked.

"The previous one was in Freezenburg, a pixie was causing mayhem. No big deal. The Merroway one went extremely well." Sofia smiled at Amber.

"Pixies do that." Miranda added and sighed.


The rest of the dinner was spent in silence- a very rare occurrence for the family of Enchancia. The dinner was also strangely short- another rare occurrence. Usually their dinners were loud, boisterous, and long- lasting an hour-and-a-half. But this one was quiet and short.

As soon as Roland finished his meal, he managed to hastily excuse himself and escape. Once the door shut, his wife and children immediately began speculating on what was causing his unnatural silence. Amber and Miranda said economic problems while James thought it was something he did, and Sofia suggested that it was something deeper. She was right.

Roland took extra precaution in order to not be caught by a rogue servant. He reached his destination within minutes, a place he hadn't been in a long time. He wrapped his knuckles on the wooden door.

"Your Majesty!" Cedric exclaimed very loudly as he opened the door.

"Hush." The king let himself in and closed the door swiftly. "Where is it?" Roland quickly began searching for a book.

"Your Majesty," Cedric lowered his voice. "What are you here for? What do you need?"

"I can't explain… You wouldn't understand."

"Is it about her?" The sorcerer inquired as he stepped out of the king's way.

"How did you-"

"If I may say this, your Majesty." The sorcerer began pacing. "Around this time of year, you always become so silent."

"Is it that noticeable?" He winced.

"It is, your Majesty. I think that the queen has caught onto your behaviors over the years. She often raises her eyebrow whenever she catches your eyes wandering through a crowd, searching for her."

"It's just… Everytime I see a woman with her complexion and hair, I always think it's her." He confessed. "But whenever the girl turns around, it's never her."

"I understand why you still have hope, your Majesty. But remember; she's a queen now. She's probably busy dealing with the same things you're dealing with on a daily basis."

"Probably, but couldn't she at least write a letter?"

"She's not very good at communicating…" Cedric chuckled. "But remember, she was always busy. She could never be held down in one spot for too long."

"That's true. She was like a stallion." The two men bowed their heads in silence.

"Have you talked to her recently? I mean- she was interested in sorcery and witchcraft, and sorcerers are better when it comes to communicating."

"I'm afraid to say that the last time I talked to her was ten years ago. She had just been resurrected from death."

"Death?!"

"Don't worry, her death was painless." Roland gave him a look. "But she was quickly resurrected!"

"And that's a-"

"It's an astonishing feat, Your Majesty! Very few sorcerers and sorceresses have been considered as 'important' enough to be resurrected from death- so that is quite a feat."

"I wonder what she could have done to earn that accomplishment."

"She must have been really powerful. But we never saw her practice magic, did we?" Cedric asked.

"We never did." The king confirmed. "That reminds me; today is her forty-fifth birthday."

"Really? She always seemed a lot older than that- more mature."

"I have to agree with you on that one. Tilly and I were talking a few years back, and she agrees with you as well." The two men stood in silence.

"Cedric, may I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"Could you… try and contact her for me? Please?"

"I could try, Your Majesty. But it will be hard- remember that Lelenara is a heavily guarded realm."

"Just give it your best efforts, and I'll try to contact her if you can't." The sorcerer nodded as the king exited his tower.


"Hey," Sofia and James entered the palace library. Amber sat in the astronomy section. "Are you still up?"

"Yes," Her older sister was reclining on a velvet loveseat. "I couldn't sleep."

"We couldn't either." James addressed his twin and sat on the floor next to her. "We were too busy thinking about Dad."

"You noticed that too?"

"Of course! What's on his mind?"

"Trade was definitely not on Daddy's mind, that's all I'll say."

"Well then what was?"

"I don't know."

"Doesn't that amulet grant you powers?"

"Well yes, but not telepathic ones!"

"What about- get this; a mind-reading potion!"

"James, that isn't going to work!" Amber scoffed.

"It could," Sofia told her. "I've been practicing with Mr. Cedric!"

"Well whip one up tomorrow, and we'll get to the bottom of it!"

"That's not how magic works, Amber." Sofia rolled her blue eyes.

Amber sighed. She really wanted to help her father, but she couldn't with James and Sofia shooting down every suggestion that she made. But the three of them knew that there wasn't anything else that they could do.

"Maybe Mom will try and talk to him?"

"Possibly…" Amber went back to reading.

"Do you know what could it be?" James asked.

"It's nothing that has to do with the kingdom- that's for sure. Yes, he always gets a little stressed out around this time of year, but it isn't because of those things." A silence fell upon the siblings.

"Do you think it could have something to do with the past?" Sofia asked.

"That could be it, but I wouldn't want to assume..."

The other two siblings sighed and looked at each other and eventually fell asleep.


"Rollie?" Miranda called out into the darkness for her husband. She squinted to read the clock to the right of her; 11:35 PM.

"Yes, my Darling?" The king entered, dressed in old clothes.

"Where have you been?" She sat up, wrapping the cream silk sheets around her body for warmth.

"Just finishing up some late-night paperwork, don't worry." He lay on the pillows next to her.

"You really need to stop doing that." Miranda moved her head onto his chest.

"Why?"

"Because I love and miss you." She murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

"And I love you, my queen." He kissed a chocolate strand of hair and quickly fell asleep.

Thirty minutes prior…

Roland sat at his chair and fiddled with his pen. He had so much to tell her, but didn't know how to. So many questions filled his head. This will probably be a long letter… He thought as he picked up the pen and started to write.

My Dearest Serena…