Four weeks after Hugo re-entered the world Sofia had yet to join him. She lay in her bed slipping further and further away. The royal family tried to remain hopeful. She wasn't dead, yet. Still it was heart-breaking knowing Hugo's family had gotten the prince back, but they hadn't gotten the princess.

Since Hugo had woken up he was slowly getting better, he could now walk, albeit with some assistance and for only short periods of time. Still progress was progress. His scars had began healing and he could eat liquid foods such as soup or custard. Still he couldn't talk properly, his speech was slightly better, but it was still broken. The only good thing was that his hearing was getting back to normal meaning he could have a conversation.

Whilst he progressed physically he was still scarred emotionally. He would jump at loud noises and would cry if it were dark. He also refused to leave Sofia; he would barely let anyone touch her. If a nurse came in Hugo would panic but James or Amber always managed to calm him down. They had tried getting information out of him, but he would shut down. James decided that he couldn't wait any longer to investigate so he left his room and tracked down a guard. The guard that had found Hugo and Sofia.

James found the guard in the break room, upon entering all the guards stood to attention. He smiled lightly
"Aedes, no need for that" he commanded. They relaxed uneasily and James walked past them to the young guard he needed.

"What's your name?" he asked. The soldier blinked
"My name is Samson Sire" he told James politely. James nodded
"I need your help Samson, I need to know what you saw when you found them" Samson paled, his eyes turned dark.
"I have already told the king and the captain everything I know your majesty"

"I know but I don't want you to just tell me, I want you to show me Samson" the older man frowned. He wasn't sure that was good idea and when he said so James merely used his title to get what he wanted. So begrudgingly Samson took James to where he found them.

When they arrived, James jumped off his horse, landing in a pool of mud. Samson smiled wryly
"Are you okay Prince James?" he asked. James nodded and shook off the mud before walking forward. It was kind of creepy, he didn't know what he expected when he was told they were going to the forest. It certainly wasn't dead trees in the middle of spring. He looked to samson.

"How did you find them?" James asked. Samson hung his head.
"It was an accident; I was out hunting with my father. We were about to go home when a rabbit ran up to us. He seemed scared but we thought that he was scared of being killed by us. Following him were two birds who kept chirping. The rabbit started tugging on my pants which was weird, since when can rabbits do that?. So, I went to swat it away when the bird started chirping louder and flew away. I followed them to see what had gotten them so irritated. That's when I found them. Animals were stood around them, it looked as if they were guarding the prince and princess."
James frowned, that was very weird. The bodies should've been the animals next meal, he had never heard of wild animals protecting humans before.
"Were they conscious?" he asked. Samson nodded and James frowned, why had the animals protected them? That wasn't normal. He tried remembering what the doctor had told him and suddenly he had an idea. He turned to samson

"Is there a river or ocean near here?" he asked. Samson pointed North

"Yeah! It connects us to the nearest kingdom"

"Which is?" he replied. Samson hung his head

"I do not know off the top of my head your majesty" James nodded.

"That's okay Sam, get some knights together and search the ocean for a boat or dingy, I think we may find some answers there but for now I think we better get back." The knight nodded and together they road back. When they got to the castle however it seemed empty. As James ventured into the castle he realised that it wasn't empty, instead his family had congregated outside Sofia's room. His heart dropped; he ran forward to find Sofia's room in disarray. A plate was on the floor, smashed. Sofia's covers were upturned, and Hugo wasn't in his bed. Upon further inspection he found Sofia in Hugo's arms on the floor. She was shaking and sobbing, anyone that tried to go near them was stopped as Hugo growled at them. James glared at a doctor trying to sneak up behind them. He turned to Amber
"What happened?" he asked.

She turned to him, tears in her eyes.
"She woke up and freaked out, screaming, and throwing things. Hugo wasn't in his bed and she was screaming for him. We got him from therapy, and she threw herself in his lap and they've been there ever since" James gulped. He had hoped when Sofia woke up she would feel safe, turns out that wasn't the case.

Cedric appeared out of the corner of James's eye and he saw Roland give him a nod. Slowly Cedric walked towards the children. He stopped a foot before them and sat down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Sofia's amulet then threw it to her. Sofia looked up from Hugo's chest and stared at the amulet in front of her. Then she looked up at the others in the room then back to Hugo. Hugo nodded, so Sofia leaned forward and crawled towards the amulet and then quickly crawled back to Hugo.

"Sofia" Cedric said softly, much softer than James had ever heard him speak before. Sofia looked up, fear in her eyes.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked, Sofia stared at him, recognition flittering across her face. She nodded but made no move to go to Cedric.
"You know we aren't going to hurt you don't you Sofia?" he asked. Sofia flinched slightly and moved further into Hugo.
"I promise you, you are safe" Sofia looked down, in despair. Cedric then pointed to the queen
"Do you know who that is?" he asked. Sofia nodded
"M-m-muh"
"Don't talk just nod or shake your head." She nodded and Cedric visibly relaxed.
"Is it okay if she come over to you, she just wants to make sure you're okay" Hugo then moved for the first time. He stared at Cedric, a fire in his eyes.
"No urse" he stated. Cedric nodded sadly.
"No nurse, just the queen." Hugo nodded and whispered something to Sofia.
"Mmm-m-u" she tried to say, and the queen took that an invitation to go to her child. So slowly she walked forward and when she reached her destination she knelt down beside the children and gathered them in her arms. Then all three of them started sobbing as Miranda whispered hushed I love you's.

James watched the scene in shock, Sofia was the bravest girl he knew. Seeing her so broken ignited a fire in his belly. He would find who had hurt them and would make them hurt.