Finally! The next chapter! Sorry it took me so long! I was in school, then for a while, my internet browser wasn't letting me update my story, so I finally got it all figured out. I have more chapters written then I have published and I'm hoping to finish this story by the end of this month, which may be a little ambitious, but I'll do my best to keep updating. Thank you all for favoriting and following! You guys are the reason I am still able to write this story! Please leave a review whether you liked it or didn't like it, I want to hear your thoughts! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Union

When Sofia got breakfast, neither of her parents was there.

"Hey Amber, where are Mom and Dad?" she asked as she sat next to her sister who was at the table, patiently waiting. James was sitting across from her already eating his breakfast.

"I don't know. It's not like them to be late for breakfast." Amber replied.

Just then, Baileywick came up beside the two princesses. "The King and Queen will not be at breakfast today. They requested you eat without them and said they would see you all at lunch." The steward explained.

Amber and Sofia shared a suspicious glance, then looked back at Baileywick. "Did they say anything else?" Sofia asked. "It's not like them to miss a family meal."

"I'm sorry Princess, but I am not at liberty to say." He replied walking away. The girls looked at one another with growing concern. "What do you think they could be doing that they couldn't tell us about?" asked Amber, her voice tainted with panic.

"I don't know." Shrugged Sofia. "But I'm sure everything will be just fine." She said, trying to calm her sister.

"I don't know Sofia, I have a bad feeling. Something isn't right."

"Relax, Amber." Said James with his mouth full of pancakes. "Mom and Dad are probably just taking care of some royal business that we don't need to worry about."

Sofia nodded in agreement with her brother even though she, too, was concerned. She scrunched her face, wondering what could possibly be going on that their parents weren't able to tell them. Mom did say something earlier about Birk coming soon, but why would they keep it so secret, unless they hadn't told Amber and James yet and they were just waiting? Sofia did her best to shake off the funny feeling and turned to Amber.

"Don't worry Amber. They'll tell us sooner or later. Everything is fine, I'm sure." Said Sofia with a smile.

Amber didn't seem convinced. She eyed Sofia curiously for a second, and then sighed. "You're probably right. They did say they'd see us at lunch, so let's just eat and try not to worry about it."

"That's the spirit, Amber!" said James, taking another bite. The sisters just smirked at each other and proceeded to eat their breakfast in comfortable silence.

After breakfast, Sofia changed into her riding clothes and then went to the kitchen to pick up some carrots for Minimus. She hadn't talked to him since the day before yesterday and figured she could use another friend's opinion on what was going on.

As she brushed his coat, she told the purple pony all that had happened, including how her parents skipped breakfast that morning. He didn't provide much advice at first, but it was comforting just to have someone listen to her as she voiced her feelings and concerns.

"I'm just not sure what to do." Sofia said facing her equine friend. "I mean, I really want to meet my dad, my real dad, but it seems to make Mom really uncomfortable and I don't want to disappoint her." Sofia sat down on an upside down bucket and propped her chin in her hands.

"Well, didn't your mom say that she didn't want you worrying about what happened with him before?" Minimus asked.

Sofia looked down and scrunched her face in uncertainty, "Well, yeah, but…"

"Then I wouldn't worry about it so much, and that's saying a lot coming from me. If there were a real problem, she would tell you not to meet him. Besides, isn't he coming soon anyway?"

Sofia looked up at him, "I guess so." She said quietly.

"I don't see the harm in at least meeting him. I mean, everyone deserves a chance, right?"

Sofia sighed, the previous conversation with her mother was finally starting to sing in. If her mom said not to worry, then she shouldn't worry. It was just like the trolls, and Lucinda; everyone else was so afraid of them, but they didn't mean any harm and just needed a chance to redeem themselves. "You're right, Minimus." She got up and stroked his nose. "I think I'm ready to meet him, now." She said with resolve.

"Princess Sofia?" came Baileywick's voice in the distance.

"Oh, I've got to go Minimus. I'll see you later, and thank you." Said Sofia, patting her pony's head one last time.

"Any time, Princess." Said Minimus, smiling.

Sofia rushed over to Baileywick, who was just outside the stables.

"There you are Princess, it's lunch time and everyone is waiting for you in the dining hall." The steward said matter-of-factly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Baileywick. I guess I lost track of time." Sofia replied.

"It's quite all right, Princess. Now let's get to the dining room." He said as he put a hand on her back, ushering her toward the castle.

James was eager to get to lunch. After breakfast, he walked Rex, practiced fencing, and then went to work for Sir Finnegan. He polished every piece of armour, sharpened every sword, including the new one he had to pick up, groomed Sir Finnegan's two horses, and carried all of the gear while the knight engaged in a friendly duel with Sir Bartleby.

Despite his aching muscles, James lightly jogged to the castle. All of the long hours he put into training himself in so many different princely pursuits were paying off. He could feel his muscles getting stronger; the armor that he could hardly lift a few months ago was easy to move and he was noticing that his clothes were fitting just a little tighter around his arms and legs, but a little looser around his waist. James smirked to himself as he continued jogging until he came into the dining room. Before long, he'd have to get a whole new wardrobe to fit his changing body.

James was surprised and disappointed that he was the first one to arrive in the dining hall. That meant he had to wait until the whole family was there to eat. James' stomach growled loudly in protest. He frowned and put a hand on it, "I know, it's not fair." He said. Wasn't there some saying about whoever got to the food first got to eat? What was it? Oh yeah, 'the early bird gets the worm.' "Tsk, so much for being early." James plopped down at his chair and rested his head in his hand. At least he was able to sit down and rest.

James hadn't even realized he dozed off when the sound of the dining hall door opening jolted him awake. Amber entered followed closely by their mom and dad.

"Thank goodness!" James exclaimed. "Now we can eat!"

"Not so fast, James. We still have to wait for Sofia." His father replied sternly.

"Awe man!" James huffed and plopped his head back on his hands. "I'm starving." He mumbled.

Miranda chuckled lightly as she sat down next to her son, "Now James, I'm sure you could stand to wait one more minute for Sofia." She said gently. Just then, James' stomach roared in hunger.

Miranda looked at him with slight surprise and sympathy. "Then again, Rollie, what's the harm in letting him have one bread roll before Sofia gets here?"

James' eyes lit up as he looked pleadingly from his mother to his father. Roland stern face melted as he sighed lightly. "I guess one couldn't hurt. But only one."

"Thanks Dad!" James exclaimed. He snatched up one of the puffy, white rolls and took a bite, savoring the sweet buttery flavor. Dad and Amber chatted; James assumed she was probably complaining because he was eating when their whole family wasn't present. He didn't care, he was just glad to finally have some food in his stomach.

James was swallowing his last bite of bread when Sofia arrived wearing her riding outfit.

"Sorry I kept you all waiting." She said apologetically.

"It's alright, sweetheart," said Miranda. "We're just glad you're here; and I'm sure James's stomach is too." She chuckled.

James grinned up at his mom, "it sure is!"

The family chatted idly about the day. James talked excitedly about all he had done for Sir Finnegan and how he could feel his clothes getting tighter. His mom smiled and said they would probably have to get James new clothes every month at the rate he was growing.

Just as everyone was finishing their meals, James noticed a change in his mom's countenance. Her face darkened and she let out a heavy sigh. James tensed. The way she looked reminded him of yesterday when he saw her in the corridor. She had been crying. James had never seen her so upset.

"Sofia, Amber, James, there's something your father and I have been meaning to tell you." She said seriously. The siblings shared an apprehensive glance.

"Is this about what upset you yesterday, Mom?" James asked.

"Well, yes, James. But I want you all to know that everything is ok and there is no reason to be concerned."

James nodded, diffidently. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of his mom's most recent behavior. Miranda sighed as if preparing herself, "Yesterday, Sofia's birth father came to the castle and asked us if he could meet her and get to know her." She breathed deeply again. "Sofia has already said that she wants to meet him and I want you two to know that everything is going to be fine. It might be a little difficult to get used to at first, but Sofia has a right to know her father and we shouldn't try to stop her." Miranda looked at Amber, who looked down at the table.

James was slightly confused as a plethora of questions invaded his mind. Sofia's birth father? He was alive? James always assumed he had died just like his mother had, and never really thought to ask about it. Why hadn't they heard of him until now? And why didn't Sofia and Amber seemed just as surprised at this news like he was? Did they already know about him? Why was he the last to know? And would they try and stop Sofia from seeing him? If James suddenly found out his mother returned, he wouldn't want anyone telling him he couldn't see her. The questions clouded James's mind, making it impossible to make sense of the situation.

There was a brief pause and James took the opportunity ask the latest question that popped into his mind. "Wait, I'm confused. Why would we try and stop Sofia from meeting her dad?" He asked.

Miranda looked at him and smiled weakly. "There is no reason to, James. I just need some time to get used to the idea."

James furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I just haven't seen or heard from him in a long, long time and it... surprised me is all."

James wasn't convinced, and felt slightly indignant. Neither of his sisters was questioning this. That must mean they must know more than he did. "That doesn't make sense. Why would you say we shouldn't try and stop her, unless there's a reason we should?"

"James!" Amber scolded. James shot her a scowl.

"It's alright, Amber. I didn't have a chance to talk to James yet. He was asleep when I went to tuck him in last night. He's just concerned." Said Miranda gently, and then continued.

"Sofia's father, Birk, and I didn't have as good a relationship like your father and I do; he... he did something that made me unable to trust him, so before Sofia was born, I left him and moved to Enchancia." Miranda sighed, "I never thought I'd see, or hear from him again, so when he came here yesterday it... it scared me. But we have no reason to be afraid now. He's—a good man, and he's changed a lot from when I knew him." There was slight hesitation in her voice, it seemed almost as if she was trying to convince herself of the words, rather than the three siblings.

The family sat for a moment in silence. James pondered as he let the news sink in. "So, are we going to be able to meet him?" he asked.

"Of course." Roland replied. "In fact, he's already here."

Amber and Sofia responded almost at the same time, "What!" Amber shrieked, "really?" Sofia asked excitedly.

"Yes." Said Roland matter-of-factly, "Actually, he's probably in the throne room already, waiting to meet us."

"But Daddy, we can't trust him! He hurt Mother!" Amber protested.

"Amber, please, calm down." Miranda said gesturing to her. "Your father and I met with him this morning and he believes Birk poses no danger to our family, and that he's a changed man. He wants another chance, and we should give it to him." James couldn't help but notice that she said that Dad believed he wasn't dangerous, that didn't necessarily mean she believed it.

Amber scowled at her lap. Sofia glanced at her and then turned back to their parents. "So that's where you were at breakfast. Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.

James was curious too, and paid close attention to his parents. "We didn't want to tell you all until we knew for sure that we could trust Birk." Said Miranda.

Sofia furrowed her eyebrows obviously upset about something, but James couldn't figure out exactly what. "Sofia, I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, we just had to be sure."

Sofia's scowl remained, "So what, you just weren't going to let me see him if you didn't trust him?"

Miranda's brows furrowed sadly, "Sofia, if we didn't think he was trustworthy, we would continue to try and get to know him until we could be sure he wouldn't hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want to get your hopes up before we knew."

Sofia scrunched her face and folded her arms. She was silent for a long time, thinking. James glanced back and forth from his sister, to his mom who looked tense, barely even breathing. Sofia then relaxed her expression and released her arms. "Ok." She said slowly. "I guess I should thank you for that since now I get to see him for sure." She managed a small smile.

Miranda sighed in relief and smiled.

James scanned each family member. It was odd; the family seemed so divided on the subject. Mom was clearly still apprehensive about Birk, although she wasn't vehemently against the idea of trusting him like Amber was. That wasn't that unbelievable though, Amber hated the idea of trusting most new people, especially new family members. Dad didn't seem concerned at all, when he had said that Birk was already in the throne room, it seemed like he was talking about an old friend; and Sofia was upset at Mom, but was still excited to meet her real dad. James didn't blame her, of course. In fact, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. He was conflicted. Part of him was with his mom, unsure of whether or not to trust this new guy; a small part wanted to side with Amber and could see how anyone who hurt their mom or any other member of their family shouldn't be trusted so easily. Then there was the last part of him that was genuinely happy for Sofia. He thought it was great that she was able to meet her dad. James's and Amber's mother died when they were still very young, and even though James didn't really know her, he still loved her and would leap at the chance to see her again.

"So," said Roland, breaking James out of his thought. "Are you all ready to go and meet him?"

Sofia nodded excitedly; Amber pulled out her fan and covered her mouth expressing her disdain with a contemptuous look.

James just half-smiled and shrugged slightly, "We have to give him a chance, right?"

Roland beamed at his son, "Exactly. Let's go to the throne room." He said victoriously.

The family walked to the throne room, seemingly, in order of approval of this new man, Birk. Roland was walking quickly, with Sofia almost skipping to keep pace with him. James and Miranda were in the middle, walking calmly while Amber was slowly bringing up the rear, fan in hand and wearing her signature smug look.

When they got there, there was a man wearing a tan trench coat walking up to the thrones. He looked startled when he saw the whole royal family walk out.

Roland walked up to him reaching out to shake his hand. "Birk, nice to see you again. Meet the rest of the family."

Sofia had been running to greet him, but then suddenly stopped before she reached Roland. She played with her hands as she slowly approached the stranger.

Birk crouched so he could be eye-level with her, tears forming at his eyes. "Hello Princess." He said with a broad grin.

Sofia couldn't help but smile shyly. "You're my dad. You can call me Sofia." She continued walking toward him until they stood face to face.

"Sofia." He said slowly, shakily, as his eyes swelled with tears. "You're so beautiful!" he choked.

Sofia took a step closer to him and touched his rough check with her small hand.

There was a brief pause between the two before they took each other in a warm embrace.

A tear fell from Miranda's eye as she watched.

Amber had dropped her fan and now gazed at her sister and this stranger in their wholehearted embrace. It was as if they had known each other before, and were being reunited.

The two parted, and gazed at each other before Sofia sniffed and wiped her own tears. "So, what do I call you?" She asked timidly.

Birk looked at her hesitantly. "Well, I was hoping, Dad?"

Sofia sniffed again, "Well, I already call Roland, Dad." She put her hand on her chin and was quiet for a moment. "How about Papa." She said grinning.

Birk heaved a sob. "Yeah." He choked. "I'd like that."

Sofia laughed quietly, and the two joined and held each other for a brief moment.

James smiled as tears threatened to form in his eyes as well. Sofia then turned around and motioned for him to come over.

"Papa, this is my brother, James." She said gesturing to him. Birk held out a hand to him and James grasped it firmly.

"James. A very kingly name." Said Birk. James grinned at him.

Amber was watching skeptically when Sofia turned and waved at her. She approached slowly holding her fan with both hands in front of her.

"And this is my sister, Amber." Said Sofia holding out a hand.

Birk bowed his head as the dubious girl approached. She curtsied in response.

"Princess Amber. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said with a smile.

Amber raised an eyebrow, "And you as well." She replied curtly.

Finally, Miranda approached Birk and regarded him politely. He rose, and then bowed to her. "Queen Miranda. You are ever so graceful to grant my request. Thank you so much."

"Birk, you may drop the formalities. I believe you have earned that privilege." She took one step closer to him, and sighed. "You may have been a good liar before, but there's no way you could have faked what I just saw. You proved me wrong, and if you and Sofia want to spend time together, I won't stand in your way." She smiled and looked down at Sofia whose eyes were bright with excitement.

Sofia grabbed her mom's hand jumping up and down, "Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom!"

Miranda laughed as he daughter twirled her around in circles. When they stopped, Roland smiled and stepped forward. "Sofia, would you like to show your father around the castle grounds?"

Sofia's eyes brightened even more and she nodded vigorously. "Come on, Papa!" She exclaimed grabbing his hand and dragging him with her. She then stopped and turned around to face her siblings. "James, Amber, do you want to come?" she called.

"Sure!" James laughed as he ran to catch up with them.

Amber smiled defeated; her smug look wiped away by her sister's joy. "Yes, I'm coming." She said as she followed after them.

Miranda watched as the quartet exited the throne room, Sofia and Birk laughing as they did. She smiled and leaned against Roland's shoulder. "This is going to work out much better than I thought it would." She sighed.

Roland chuckled as he put his arm around her. "Yes, my love. I believe you are right."