Hello again lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! This one's a little longer than normal, so hopefully you'll forgive me for not updating in forever (since before chapter 13 anyway). Read and enjoy, and type a little review if you are so inclined, they are always appreciated!
Chapter 14: Three: Amberina Major
The sun peeked right up above the horizon and cast golden rays into Amber's bedroom. She squeezed her eyes shut and then pulled her blankets tightly over her head, trying to block out the one intrusive ray that had decided to shine right on her face through the part in the tapestries. As she breathed into her blankets, the sheets warmed slowly, and she tried to relax enough to go back to sleep. However, the comforting warmth quickly turned into an oppressive heat, and the lack of air became more oppressive the longer Amber kept her head covered. Unable to bear it anymore, the princess jerked her body onto her left side, facing away from the intrusive light. She let the blanket go just enough to make a domelike cave that shielded her eyes from the sun, but left her mouth uncovered so she could breathe fresh air. Amber breathed deeply, relishing the feeling of the fresh, cool morning air as it filled her lungs. She relaxed a little bit, though not enough to put her back to sleep. Her nightmare had kept her up most of the night, even after her father had comforted her. She had told him she didn't remember the dream, but it was a lie. In fact, she remembered the dream very vividly. Flashes of it still clung to her mind as she fought to go back to sleep. She knit her brows together trying to will her body to go back to sleep.
It did not work. Angrily, she let out an exasperated moan. Tired of fighting for sleep, Amber threw her covers off her body and stared at the folds of fabric on the ceiling of her canopy bed. She lay there for only a short moment, as the flashes of her dream the night before came flooding back into her mind.
A splash of red, a swirl of black, and a grotesque, winged creature with a devilish grin appeared in Amber's window. The creature spoke in a low rumbling voice, "Come, fly with me Sofia."
"Sofia, no! You can't!" Amber reached out for her sister's hand and Sofia reached back with a frightened look in her eye. Amber's feet were suddenly glued to the floor and she found herself unable to stretch any farther to grab Sofia. The creature unfurled its massive wings and narrowed its beady red eyes at Sofia. The younger girl froze in her tracks, looking like a porcelain doll, unable to move with the creatures gaze upon her.
"Sofia!" Amber yelled as loud as she could to try and get her attention, but her sister's gaze was fixated on the creature. "Let her go!" Amber demanded. The creature slowly turned its head towards her, its red eyes glinting like gemstones in the dim light. Amber suddenly felt paralyzed. Her legs grew numb, her arms felt like limp noodles at her sides, and she had no power to pry her eyes away from the terrifying creature. Helplessness began to set in, it was pointless to struggle, but Amber also knew she couldn't leave her sister alone with the monster. Amber tried to flail her arms, stomp her feet, turn her head, anything to get out of the creature's stare, but to no avail. She was trapped.
The monster kept its flashing eyes on Amber and lifted up a clawed foot and grabbed Sofia, causing her to flop over like a rag doll. Amber tried to scream, but was too frightened to force any sound out of her mouth. Amber fought desperately against the paralysis, but her body wouldn't obey. The creature turned its attention away from Amber for a split second, preparing to take flight. Feeling the sudden freedom to move, Amber jumped and tried to grab Sofia; but just as her hand grazed against the scaly claw, the creature gave one mighty flap of its wings and flew off with her. Amber was left screaming for help to come. She didn't care who it was, just that they could get her sister back.
Amber shook her head. It's just a dream. It's always just a dream.
The princess swung her legs off her bed and made her way towards her vanity. "Ugh." She scoffed upon seeing her completely frazzled appearance. The normal waves in her hair were mangled and crinkled in a most hideous manner. A bump protruded from the back of her head where she had slept on it most of the night, and the dark circles under her eyes had become even more apparent over the last two weeks due to her recurring nightmare. Amber ran her fingers through her hair and let out a heavy sigh. Some water on her hairbrush should do the trick to calm this crazy mess; hopefully some powder would take care of those uncomely circles. Since the sun was still barely peeking over the horizon, Amber figured it wouldn't hurt to wash herself with the rag and small washbasin that she kept by her vanity. She'd have to make sure to leave it by her door so that Violet would replace it.
After Amber finished washing herself, taming her wild morning hair, and dabbing a bit of makeup under her eyes, there was still ample time before breakfast, so she decided to head up to the observatory to check out the giant star chart Sofia and James found. Amber chuckled and repressed a blush, recalling that the last time she had been at the observatory, she was with Sofia and they got carried away with notions about sealians. However, Amber's smile faded as quickly as it came; only a few weeks had passed since then, but so much had changed, that it seemed like a lifetime ago. She and Sofia used to spend much of their free time together, but ever since Sofia's "Papa" came around, the only time she got to see her sister was at school and meal times. And even then, he's all Sofia could talk about.
It's not fair! Who does that man think he is anyway? Coming back after who knows how long and stealing Sofia away from us? Sure he's her birth father, but what about us! He could have come at any time, so why now? With what he did to Mother, I don't think he even deserves to see Sofia!
The more Amber ranted silently to herself, the angrier and more perturbed she became. In her troubled rage, she passed right by the observatory door, only to bump into one of the many vases that were dispersed throughout the castle. "Oops!" Amber exclaimed, lunging forward just in time to catch the teetering vase.
"Who put this vase outside the observatory anyway?" She grumbled in agitation, but then let out a sigh. Who am I kidding? It's always been there. Feeling somewhat foolish and defeated, Amber slowly walked the few steps back to the observatory and opened the large doors.
The giant star chart was rolled up and propped up against the wall, having since been moved from its trap door storage compartment. Amber thought it odd to store such a valuable research tool in the floor. Why put it there and then cover it up with a desk for so long? Could there have been some reason it had been stored there? Amber puzzled for a moment, but shrugged, and then pushed the large chart onto the floor. It was already leaning slightly to one side, so Amber didn't notice the weight of the chart until a loud 'thud' echoed throughout the observatory and dust puffed up in little clouds. Amber cringed, not expecting the map to be quite so heavy. She assumed it would have been made of parchment, but it instead it was more of a soft, dense tapestry.
She placed both hands on the tapestry and pushed hard, expecting it to be very heavy, especially for her. To her pleasant surprise, the chart unrolled so easily she almost fell over because there was hardly any resistance when she pushed. Seems I don't know my own strength anymore. Perhaps those riding lessons and other outdoorsy things are helping more than I originally anticipated! The princess mused.
Amber admired the star map as it lay splayed out on the floor, and couldn't help but let out a small giddy squeal. "Oh! Wow! This really is fantastic!"
The map was a large circle made mostly out of thick, dark blue fabric for the background, and the stars, a pearl white fabric that seemed to shine and twinkle in the sunlight. Amber gasped in awe and bent down to touch one of the stars. It was silky to the touch and seemed to brighten in the shadow of her fingers. "Hmm…"
Amber cupped her hands around her eye and bent down to look closely at the gleaming fabric. It shone and sparkled faintly much like a real star in the darkness. Amber sat bolt upright and gasped in excitement. She hurried to the observatory door and made sure to close the doors completely. There was a crank mechanism to the left of the door, the controlled the large dome over the observatory. Amber had never had the need to use it, as they mainly left it open, even when it was not in use, but she had to see if the whole map glowed like the single star she just saw. She pushed hard on the lever. It wriggled in place but didn't move at first. Amber braced herself on it and pushed as hard as she could, leaning all her weight on the lever. After a loud click, the lever gave way and Amber was able to push the rusty crank into motion, closing the observatory dome.
"Oh! I should probably light a lamp before I close this all the way." Amber stopped cranking and jogged over to one of the desks, and began rustling in the drawer looking for a match. "I know there must be one in here somewhere." Amber leaned down to look in the far corner of the drawer and rummaged around some more. "Ah ha! There you are!" She exclaimed, pulling out a matchbox before looking inside. "Good. There's plenty in here."
Amber pulled out a match and had to strike it against the side of the box a few times before it actually lit. She put the matchbox down right next to the lamp, then holding the match in one hand, she used her other to take the glass casing off the lamp and carefully lit the wick before blowing out the match. "There. That should do the trick." She said as she placed the glass back on the lamp.
She left her lamp on the desk and went back to cranking. After only a few more seconds, the dome closed with a reverberating clang of metal mechanisms merging together once again. Amber pushed hard on the crank one last time until she heard a loud click, signaling the dome had latched itself shut. She carefully walked back to the light of her lamp and gazed at the star map in the dim light. The fabric of the stars shimmered as the light bounced off them and gave the room a little more light. Amber put a hand on her chin and let out a small hum. She then went to the lamp, and turned the wick all the way down, until it went out.
The stars glowed a soft white, glinting in the darkness. Amber marveled at the twinkling stars and got down on her knees to get a better look. She whispered in amazement at how real they looked. Suddenly a bright light flashed from the northern side of the map. Amber squinted and raised her arm to block the dazzling light. The light faded quickly and was replaced by soft blue light that seemed to come from every direction. Amber opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head as her jaw slackened.
All the stars on the map shone all around the observatory dome, floating all around her. Some were brilliant white, some blazing blue; others burned red, or had a crowing yellow halo around them. Amber stood and breathed a whisper of amazement. She had seen a night sky full of stars. She had seen them through her telescope, but never anything like this. She slowly made her way around the observatory in complete awe of the breathtaking sight. Faint white lines made a graph-like sphere around the whole dome, and spread out on to the floor making Amber feel like she was walking among the stars.
As she meandered around the observatory, she began recognizing stars and constellations. "Oh, there's Pegasus Major." She said, pointing up to a curved part of the ceiling. Alright. Now, where's Draconicus? Amber turned in circles, trying to get a solid frame of reference. "Oh! There's Orionis! And… there's the Hunter!" Amber nodded proudly, quite pleased with herself finding her way in the stars. Normally, it wouldn't have taken her that long to orient herself, but she was used to seeing the stars from so much farther away. It was somewhat difficult to spot the exact constellations when she was walking among them.
After a good while of admiring the stars all around, Amber spotted a particular, golden star that had a green corona shining around its edges. Amber furrowed her eyebrows, and then looked around at the other stars around it. Sure enough, everything was in its place and her suspicions were confirmed.
"Amberina Major?" She gasped. None of the star maps she had looked at before ever had her star on them. How could this one? It was easily older than her father and mother, possibly even older than her grandmother. How could it have a newly discovered star on it? Amber then raised an eyebrow, somewhat embarrassed for own ignorance. Of course, it's a magic star map. That's one thing you could always count on in Enchancia, if it doesn't make sense: Magic.
Amber chuckled to herself before puzzling over the star again. Of course, even magic is made by something, be it human, beast, or natural phenomena; so in order for this star to be here, there must be something behind its power.
Amber stepped toward her star so that the light from it shown brightly on her face. She brought her hand up so that the star floated a few centimeters above it. Amber giggled. "It's like I'm holding it!" She gently caressed the green aurora surrounding the star, and was surprised when she felt the tiniest semblance of a shock. Amber withdrew her hand and examined it for a moment before, rubbing her thumb against her fingers. She looked back at Amberina Major. The green corona flickered, expanding and shrinking around the star ever so slightly. Amber thought it looked oddly like it was shivering. She brought her hand up to it again, this time extending her pointer finger. She stopped and held her hand still when she felt the same buzzing sensation as before. It was strange; it was as if the star itself were vibrating so fast, that the air around it was becoming electrically charged. As Amber dared to push her finger closer to the ball of light, it grew brighter and the buzzing, more intense. She squinted at the brightness, still pressing closer to the star as the vibration increased. Just as Amber got mere centimeters away from the stellar light, she felt a jolt just strong enough to make her jerk her hand back. "Ow." She whispered, more out of reflex than actual pain.
A red beam of light them shot out from the star and arched all the way to the top of the other side of the observatory. Amber followed the line with her eyes until it landed on a brilliantly blue star near the ceiling. For a split second, Amber thought she could see a design in the surrounding stars and dust particles. She adjusted her position slightly so that she kneeled right blow Amberina Major and scrutinized the cluster of stars. The blue star was much brighter than the surrounding stars, and it had a strange red aurora surrounding it. So far that Amber could tell, there were two smaller, green stars making a large, obtuse triangle below the head star. She assumed there were probably more stars to the unfamiliar constellation, but she could not see them. There was definitely something more there though; she just had to find the right angle to see it. She leaned to the left and tilted her head forward just a smidge, and that's when she saw it. The stars were connected with thin, white lines and the dust particles floating around them seemed to display a contorted image of an old man with a long beard.
The dust particles swirled around and morphed the image so that it looked like hands formed around the two lower stars. Amber shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She had to be seeing things. However, when she opened her eyes, the image of the old man was still there, and had changed again, albeit slightly. It now looked as if he was admiring his hands. Before Amber had time to fully process what she had just seen, the sound of the observatory door opening made the princess jump. Light spilled into the room and the magnificent scene before her completely vanished.
"Princess Amber?" Baileywick called out.
Amber tried to calm her breathing, both because of the shock from what she had just seen, as well as the scare she experienced from the steward entering so suddenly. After a few seconds, she heard Baileywick's footsteps coming farther into the observatory. "Yes Baileywick, I'm here!" Amber answered.
The steward approached her in the dim light. "What are you doing here in the dark?" he asked.
"Oh, I was looking at that old star map." She said breathlessly.
"In the dark?" Baileywick raised an eyebrow.
He probably doesn't know what it can do, then. Does anyone know that it's magic? Why was it hidden away? What exactly did I see in the stars? Perhaps it's better if I keep this a secret for now, I'd like to investigate it more.
"Oh, yes! I uh, like the feeling of studying the stars at night, so I closed the dome." Amber lied quickly, attempting to hide her nervous laugh.
Baileywick raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded slowly in apprehension. "Alright. Well, it's time for breakfast."
"Alright. Let me just put the star chart away and I'll be right down."
"Why don't I help you? That old thing can get very heavy."
"Oh, thank you Baileywick." Amber smiled. The two walked over to where the massive star chart was laying on the floor. Almost immediately, Amber noticed that the glinting stars had gone dim and not longer shown with the shimmering luster they had previously. Maybe it used up a lot of its magic.
Baileywick rolled up the rug-like chart quickly and then the two stood on opposite ends to lift it up. It was much lighter than Amber had anticipated and she had absolutely no trouble picking up her end, while it seemed like Baileywick was putting in a considerable amount of effort. Amber puzzled for a moment. No, he's probably just lifting the majority of the weight.
They made their way to the wall where Amber found it. She set down her side of the chart, while Baileywick hoisted his side up and propped it against the wall. "There we go. Now, it's time we get you out of the dark and down to breakfast." Baileywick said with his normal air of calm authority. Amber smiled, and nodded as she let the steward escort her down to breakfast.
I think I'll look in the library to see if I can find anything about this first. If I can't I'll go and see what Cedric knows about this magical star chart.
Down at the breakfast table, her mother and two siblings were already sitting down. Amber was slightly disappointed when she didn't see her father.
"Finally! Took you long enough! Now we can finally eat!" James blurted out. Amber's sadness instantly transformed into defensive irritation. It always irked her when her brother gave her grief for putting time and effort into her appearance, but it always bothered her most when he made fun of her for it, and it wasn't even the reason for her tardiness.
"You know James, I think that every time you fill your stomach, something goes wrong, and your brain gets more empty." She spat gracefully as she took her seat next to Sofia.
"Hey!" James complained.
"Amber, that's no way to speak to your brother." Said Miranda in her stern mom voice.
"Ugh, but he started it!" the princess retorted hotly.
"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything!" James protested.
"I don't care who started it, we're finishing it! Now, both of you apologize." Miranda eyed her children with her signature mom face that never failed to quiet down even the most riotous of arguments. The twins turned away from each other begrudgingly.
"Sorry Amber." James said after looking up at his sister from under his furrowed eyebrows.
Amber sat quietly for a moment, reluctant to apologize when she was only defending herself.
"Amber. Apologize to James." There it was again, that threatening maternal voice that reduced the most swollen of egos to dust.
"Sorry, James." Said Amber finally, but not before rolling her eyes.
Amber saw her mother's look of disapproval, but did her best to avoid it by keeping her head down as she stabbed a piece of potato. Sofia glanced at her sister with concern in here eyes. Amber refused to look at her and instead stuffed the potato into her mouth, ramming her teeth down on the soft, salty spud.
The family ate in silence for a few moments while the tension in the room dissipated. When it seemed like everyone's feelings had normalized a little bit, Sofia decided to open up some friendly conversation again. "Today, papa and I are going to the Enchanted Animal Park. I thought it would be nice to have our own kind of Dads and Daughters day!"
"That sounds like a great idea Sofia." Miranda smiled.
Amber dropped her fork and gasped in shock. "But Sofia! You said that you'd have tea with Hildegard, Clio and me today!"
"Oh no! I forgot! I'm sorry, Amber. But we do it some other time, right?" Sofia asked.
"Sofia! We've rescheduled twice already!" Amber whined.
"I know, Amber, and I'm really sorry! But I want to spend as much time with my papa as I can. Why don't we do it on Monday after school? I promise I won't reschedule again!"
"That's what you said last time." Amber muttered under her breath, subjecting one of the last potatoes to her wrath.
"What'd you say, Amber?"
"Nothing, Sofia. Have fun with your papa." Amber tried to sound nice, but she couldn't help but sneer at the word, 'papa' though she did her best to hide it. "Mother, may I be excused?"
Miranda eyed Amber's plate. She had eaten about half of her breakfast, which was pretty good considering the stress she was under. "Sure, Amber." The queen answered, with a knowing glance.
Amber got up from her seat and walked away as quickly as she could. She knew that if she stayed any longer, she'd end up saying something she'd regret to her dear sister. How could she explain her thoughts and reservations about Birk when Sofia was obviously so happy with him? Not all that long ago, Amber would have easily spoken her mind without considering how her words would affect Sofia. But now she realized that if she let her emotions get the better of her, she'd just end up hurting her sister's feelings, or worse, betraying her trust, and that was something she never wanted to do.
"Mom, may I be excused too?" asked Sofia, keeping her gaze on Amber who sped out of the dining room.
"Of course, sweetheart. James, you can go too if you're done." Miranda replied.
With a considerable amount of food in his mouth, James swallowed laboriously and then let out a small burp. "Whoops, 'scuse me." He said as a slight blush came across his cheeks.
Sofia and Miranda shared a mirthful glance and giggled lightly. James smiled too as he leapt from his chair and started jogging away. "Well, I'm off to see Sir Finnegan! Bye, Mom. Later, Sof!"
Sofia hopped down from her chair, smiling at her brother's antics. "I'll see you later, Mom."
Miranda nodded and gave her daughter a warm smile as she watched her leave the breakfast table.
Sofia walked quickly about the castle, searching for her sister. She had just finished checking Amber's room and was about to head to the observatory, when she heard the soft, rhythmic plodding of little paws behind her. "Hey Sof, what'cha up to?" asked her bunny friend.
"Oh, hi Clover. I'm looking for Amber. I think she's really upset with me."
"Really? Why?" he questioned, bouncing along beside her.
"Well, I had to reschedule our tea date with Hildegard and Clio again… it's the third time." Sofia replied sheepishly.
"Oohhh, yikes. How come you keep rescheduling?"
"Well, since I met my papa, I've just wanted to spend as much time with him as I can before he leaves. He's only going to be here for one more week before he goes back to Ledstrana, and after that who knows when I'll get to see him again?" Sofia sighed and folded her hands in front of her, slowing her pace.
"Hmm. Well, if you've been spending most of your time with your papa, Amber probably just feels left out. Have you talked to her about it?"
Sofia chewed the inside of her cheek. "Well, not exactly. Honestly, I haven't been able to talk to her alone for a while, now since I've been spending so much time with Papa."
Clover hummed as he thought for a moment. "Well, maybe you should tell her why you've been spending so much time with your pop. I'm sure she'll understand, even if she is upset with you. You guys are sisters, and there's nothing that can change that."
Sofia looked down and smiled softly her best bunny friend. "Thanks, Clover… I just hope she's ok." The pair continued walking and made their way to the observatory. When they got there, Sofia looked down at Clover, who gave her a smile and a thumbs up. Sofia took a deep breath and pushed the large door open.
The observatory was pitch black; Sofia could hardly see anything that was lit by the dim light the door allowed into the room. "Amber?" She called. Silence answered her, so dark and ominous, it sent a strange chill up her spine. Sofia instinctively grabbed her amulet, and closed the door hastily. Still clasping her necklace, Sofia's heart rate began to normalize, and she thought about where else her sister might be. "That's weird. Normally when Amber's not in her room, she's in here." Sofia crossed her arms and put one hand on her chin, thinking.
"Maybe she went to the jewel room? She does love jewels." Clover suggested.
"…I guess it's worth a try?"
"Why don't you head on over there, Sof. I'll check around the rest of the castle."
"Ok. Thanks, Clover." Sofia nodded and then headed in the opposite direction of her bunny friend, toward the jewel room. Sofia doubted she was there. Even though Amber was quite fond of tiaras and jewelry, she didn't find solace in them like she used to. Now, more often than not, Amber would be reading a book (mostly about stars), or she'd take an occasional fly with Saffron. Sofia had even heard her playing the harp again in recent days. Although, Amber still did love to revel in the decadent dresses and jewelry occasionally, so the jewel room might be a good place to look afterall.
Sofia was just about to turn the corner when Cedric came trudging around and almost ran into the princess. "Wahh! Princess Sofia!" exclaimed the sorcerer, fumbling awkwardly for a moment before righting himself.
"Mr. Cedric! What are you doing?" Sofia asked, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Oh, I was just on my way to my to my lab." Cedric then frowned and eyed Sofia from behind his nose. "Why… What do you want?"
"I'm just looking for Amber. You haven't seen her, have you?" Sofia asked as she folded her hands hopefully.
"Oh, she's in the library. I just saw her there." Cedric pointed in the direction he just came from.
"Oh! Thank you Mr. Cedric!" Sofia grabbed his hand to show her gratitude.
Cedric smiled awkwardly. "Hmm, yes, of course. Now, run along. I've much work to do." He said, patting the princess's head with only the very tips of his fingers and then shooed her away with a swish of his hands.
Sofia smiled at the wizard's attempt at affection, and then rushed off down the hall to talk to her sister.
When Sofia got to the library, she paused at the doors. Taking a deep breath once again, she opened the door and walked into the huge open space. With the enormous walls all lined with books, it was easy to spot Amber upstairs on one of the tall ladders browsing the massive collection. As Sofia climbed the stairs, she watched her sister take one book at a time, flip through its pages, and then put it back where she found it.
"Amber?" Sofia called when she reached the top.
"Oh, Sofia. Hello." Amber glanced briefly down at Sofia but then resumed her task.
"Um, what are you looking for?" Sofia twiddled her fingers nervously.
"I'm looking for information about a constellation I saw this morning."
"This morning?" Sofia raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"On the giant star chart. I saw one that I hadn't seen before and I want to know what it is." Amber replied with a grunt as she hefted a particularly large book back onto the shelf.
"Oh, Really? What did it look like?" Sofia's interest piqued. Ever since Amber had discovered her star, she had studied the constellations and stars intensely; it was hard for the young girl to believe that there was one her sister didn't know about.
"It…" Amber had grabbed another book and flipped through the pages, then paused. She looked closer at the page she stopped on, then hastily shut the book on her pointer finger and climbed down the ladder. "It looked like this." She said holding up the book and pointing to an image on the page.
"An old man?"Sofia puzzled. She was fully expecting to see an elaborated representation of a constellation, but instead, she saw a portrait of an old, rather frighteningly thin man with a long scraggly beard. It seemed the only thing covering the bones in his face was the thin layer of wrinkled skin that drooped down so much, it pulled at the bottom of his eyelids. Despite his haggard appearance, his eyes, even in the drawing, shone with an uncanny darkness that made Sofia more uncomfortable the longer she examined the picture.
"It is strange isn't it?" Amber nodded before taking the book back and returning her gaze to the pages. She quietly thumbed through the book and scanned other pages before coming to a page that apparently caught her interest. Amber struggled to balance the book in one hand while she walked to a desk and set the book down with a loud thud. She then took her seat without removing her eyes from it, even once.
Sofia took two steps toward her sister and tried to peer over her shoulder, half trying to read what Amber was so engrossed in, and half trying to get her attention. After a few moments of being continuously ignored, Sofia came to a realization. This is how Amber must be feeling since I've been spending most of my time with Papa! Oh no. I feel awful. Sofia scooted closer to her sister and ever so lightly touched her shoulder.
Amber flinched and let out a tiny gasp turning to face her sister. "Yes, Sofia. What is it?" she asked, returning to her book. Although Amber's voice had been low and rather calm, it was tinged with the unmistakable presence of annoyance.
"Oh, um… N—nothing…I guess." Sofia wrung her hands together as her words came out somewhat broken.
Seeing her sister's distress, Amber sighed. She took a spare piece of paper and placed it inside the book. Finally, she turned around and faced Sofia trying to keep her expression neutral. "Obviously it isn't nothing. What's the matter, Sofia?"
"I…I wanted to apologize for this morning. I know you were really looking forward to spending some time together." Sofia said finally. Amber stayed quiet and looked at the floor. Seeing that the older girl wasn't going to respond right away, Sofia continued after a moment of silence.
"I also wanted to say I'm sorry for hardly spending any time together since my papa got here. I remember when I felt left out, like I didn't belong during Dads and Daughters day. I felt like, because I wasn't really related to you that I didn't really belong as part of your family… But then you and Dad reminded me that it doesn't matter if we're blood related or not, we're a family and there's nothing that can change that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, even though I've been spending a lot of time with my papa lately, that doesn't make you any less of my sister, and I'm sorry if I made you feel left out, or like you didn't belong in my life. I never meant to do that, and I'll never, ever think of you as any less of my sister, no matter what happens."
Amber sighed heavily before looking up at her sister. "Sofia, I never thought you were any less than my sister either. I'm not even really mad at you for spending time with your real father… I just…" Amber paused and stared silently at the ground for a long moment, thinking about her next words carefully. Sofia waited patiently through the mildly torturous silence, and then Amber finally looked back up at her sister with a bittersweet, but lighthearted smile. "Just, don't reschedule our tea time again." She said simply.
Sofia sighed in relief and gave a small smile, "I won't, Amber, I promise."
Amber stood and the two shared a brief embrace. Then, Amber smiled at her sister. "When are you leaving for the Enchanted Animal Park?" she asked.
"Pretty soon. I should probably get going." Sofia said, somewhat sad to have to leave so soon after her heartfelt apology.
"Well, have fun then. Say hi to the pelicants for me." Amber smirked.
Sofia giggled. "Right, I will."
Amber waved at her younger sister as she scuttled out of the library and then turned her attention back to the book she had been reading. There was only a small paragraph about the pictured man that continued onto the next page, but when Amber turned the page, she realized there were two whole pages missing from the book. She fanned the pages of book, looking for loose pages that might have been stuck elsewhere, but to no avail. Amber furrowed her eyebrows and slumped back into her chair.
"Kashchey the Undying, huh? Who are you…?" Amber marked her page with a piece of paper and picked up the book. I must go see Cedric about this tomorrow. She thought to herself before going back to her room to prepare for her date with Clio and Hildegard.
