Hello readers! Sorry it has taken me so long, but here's another chapter! I realize I haven't really been doing this, but I don't own Sofia the First or any of the characters associated with it. I do own Vasilia, Zeleny, Vlad, and Birk's family. Drop a review if you like the story! Or if you don't like it, please feel free to tell me what I could make better.
Enjoy!

Chapter 17: Mobilization

In the coolness of sleepless nights, Birk had grown a habit of strolling around town to ease his mind. He typically went back earlier than this, but he'd come to realize that the more reasonable hour he returned to bed, the harder it was for him to get to sleep. As the last of the lights in people's houses were going out, Birk looked up at the stars and noticed a pitch-black figure plummeting through the sky. At first he thought it was a flying horse, but he soon realized that it was moving far too fast. Birk squinted at the shape as it hurtled toward the outskirts of town. It disappeared behind the horizon of the town and then shot up into the sky. Headed straight for the castle, it soared high overhead. Though the shape was small due to its distance from the ground, Birk knew what, or more accurately, who that creature was. He then remembered the chilling voice that spoke to him from that accursed locket just a couple days ago. "If you are not back by sundown on the third day, I will take matters into my own hands."

"Damn it! How could I have been so stupid?" Birk took off running toward the castle, trying to follow the dark bird, though it was now so high in the sky he could barely see it. "I've got to try and get there before he finds Sofia! Damn that witch! I'm such a fool! I got so caught up with spending time with Sofia…" Birk slowed to a jog and then gradually to a disparaged walk, as his legs grew heavy with regret. "Had I so easily forgotten about them? My wife, my children? What kind of father forgets so easily?" Tears formed in the man's eyes as he stopped in the middle of the road and buried his face in the sleeve of his coat. "Damn it! I'm a failure of a husband and father, twice now! Serves me right! I never deserved to have a family in the first place!" He fell to his knees and wept in the street. His quiet lament echoing off the darkened houses, as only a few streetlights illuminated his sobbing form.

"Mr. Balthazar?" A voice sounded behind him. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't place exactly who it was.

"Mr. Balthazar, what's wrong?" said the voice, a small pale hand gently touching his shoulder. Birk flinched away from the touch and began wiping his face. He heard a sad sigh escape from the person. "I ken it may not be my business, but I just cannae sit by and watch someone cry alone in the street."

That accent. Birk wiped his eyes and glanced to his side. Tight, curly blonde locks cascaded down near his shoulder and he looked up to see a familiar, young, round face with rosy cheeks. "Marjorie?" he asked incredulously.

"Aye." She smiled, revealing the small dimple on her right cheek.

"What are you doing here?" He sniffed.

"I was on my way back to the inn from visiting a friend o' mine. What are yeh doin' out here in the street all by your lonesome?" She asked, offering him a hand to stand up.

Birk accepted her hand, but gave her a stern look in response to her question. The girl returned a stern look of her own. "Begging yer pardon, but yeh cannae very well expect someone not to ask what's wrong when they find yeh cryin' in the street."

Birk's expression softened sadly as he looked back up at the sky. The massive bird was now circling the castle in a wide radius. "I just… It's useless. I came here to try and patch things up with family from my past, and ended up putting my present family in danger."

"Sounds like yeh've got yerself mixed up in some mighty complicated spy business if you ask me."

Birk just looked at her and scoffed a smile. "Something like that."

"Beggin' yer pardon, but I couldn't help but overhear. Yeh said yeh failed them?"

"Yeah." He said, his voice showing more frustration now than sadness.

Marjorie looked at him sadly, raising an eyebrow. "Is there really nothing else you can do?"

"There's no way I'd make it in time." He scoffed.

"So what I'm hearin' is that there is still time." She said, looking at him with a glimmer of hope in her eye.

Birk furrowed his brow and looked at her with pain in his eyes. "That's a nice sentiment, Marjorie, but there's nothing I can do now. Everything is ruined." He said shoving his hands into his coat pockets.

"Well, of course it's aff to be with that kind o' what yeh think!" Marjorie said with a scowl on her face.

"What would you know about it?" Birk snapped.

"I ken that yeh have to fight for family no matter what! Even when everything is fallin' apart, yeh do yer best to make it work, and yeh dinnae give up on them!"

Birk relaxed his shoulders and thought silently about the statement for a moment. He then looked back up at the sky. The avian blob was still circling the castle. After another few seconds, he took his hands out of his pockets and turned his gaze back to the girl, his eyes now filled with determination and resolve. "You're right, Marjorie. There may not be a lot of time, but I've got to do something." He smiled at her and gave her a two-finger salute on his forehead as he started jogging away. He had only taken a few steps before he turned around. "Oh, Marjorie? Thank you. For Everything." He said.

Marjorie nodded in pleasant surprise and gave him another big smile as she waved. Then watched him as he ran off in the direction of the castle.

Cries of panic and anguish emanated from the castle. Miranda furiously paced back and forth, Rowland was too distraught and confused to move, Amber cried hysterically, and James stood in shock when he discovered the reason for his sister's horrific scream. The rest of the castle guards and servants chatted amongst themselves, hypothesizing about rumors that began to spread among them about just how the Princess was kidnapped.

It did not take long before the queen ordered a search party to be sent out. While the King was still trying to comprehend exactly what happened, Miranda suited up to join the search party. James pleaded to go with her, and once Amber had gotten a hold of herself, she too wanted to help. "No. Sofia was just taken, and you two expect me to let you risk your own lives? No. Not a chance. You stay here where it's safe." Was the answer she gave. The twins shared a glance before giving their mother one last hard look and then ran off in the direction of their rooms.

Miranda narrowed her eyes as she watched the twins disappear behind a corner. She knew that look; she never really liked that look. "Roland, would you please keep an eye on them? I have a feeling they're going to want to come after us whether we like it or not." She said gravely.

"I believe you're right." Roland said, giving his wife a nod and then went after the twins.

Miranda planned to send out at least five small search teams, one at a time, each composed of 12 men. With time being of the essence, these smaller groups would cover more ground and did not take as long to organize. The first team was sent out less than 20 minutes after they heard Sofia was missing while the rest of the teams gathered in front of the castle to receive their orders from the Queen herself.

"Attention! Section Two, your job is to find Birk Balthazar! He is staying at Graham's Grantham in town. You are to retrieve him and bring him straight here! On this sheet of paper is the address." Miranda was about to hand a piece of paper to the Corporal of the Section, when a young guard with a passenger on horseback came riding up through the formation of soldiers.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Balthazar has just arrived. He said he had urgent business with you, so I brought him as quickly as I could." Announced the boy.

Miranda jerked her head around just in time to see her former husband dismount the horse. Though bewildered and enraged, she thanked the private and sent him on his way before turning her fury on the man. "Birk! What is going on! How did you know to come so soon? I was just about to send for you! Why did a giant bird take Sofia away? Is your family really in danger? Tell me now!" She shouted, stomping over to him, her face burning red.

Birk automatically put his hands up as a reflex. "Okay! I will! I need to answer one question at a time though!"

"You better have a damn good explanation for this." She growled as she stepped right up to his face.

"I'm not sure how good it's going to be, but I can explain." He said sinking his head into the collar of his coat.

"Start talking!" Miranda yelled, restraining herself from raising her fist. Birk flinched in anticipation of her wrath, but composed himself and began explaining shakily.

"My family is in danger, yes. They are in Ledstrana, being held captive by a witch named Vasilia. That bird is her right hand. She wants Sofia's amulet. I don't know what for, but she sent me to get it. She took my family for ransom so I would get the amulet, but I couldn't deliver it to her because I couldn't bring myself to take it from Sofia. I know it's awful, but I swear that I really did want to get to know Sofia, I tried to put off getting the amulet as long as possible, that's why I asked you if Sofia could come with me to Ledstrana. The amulet won't work unless the owner gives it freely to the one who wishes to use it. It was the only way I could think to do it without having to trick Sofia, but I guess that doesn't really matter now." Birk breathed deeply as he finished his explanation and looked at Miranda with expectant fear. All through his explanation, she had watched him with seething hatred, like a fire burning behind her dilated pupils.

"I should have known there was another reason behind you coming back." She growled.

"I swear, Miranda, I was forced! Vasilia has my wife, Anya, and my two children captive! The only way for her to let them go was for me to get Sofia's amulet! I'm sorry!"

Miranda clenched her jaw and blinked hard as she exhaled heavily. "Damn it, Birk! Why couldn't you have just said so in the first place!?" the intensity in her voice escalated as tears formed in her eyes.

"I would have if I could, but Vasilia was watching me. This was supposed to be a covert operation. All I needed to do was come here, get the amulet, and leave. But I wanted to try and reconcile with you, and with Sofia, and it took me too long. That's why Vasilia has taken matters into her own hands. It's my fault, so I'm sorry. I've failed you yet again." Birk said, lowering his head in shame. Miranda stood in brooding silence for a moment, and then turned her attention back to Birk.

"Do you know where Sofia is being taken?" Miranda asked, her voice low and trembling.

"Yes. She will be taken to Vasilia's castle in Ledstrana. The Castle of the Three Sisters. My wife and children are in the lower dungeon, my guess is that she'll take Sofia there."

Though she was still enraged at the entire situation, instead of seething at Birk, Miranda's anger was now directed at the witch who caused this entire mess. "Listen to me, Birk. I get why you did what you did, and though I'm furious, I'm also glad to see that you would go so far to try and save your family. You did what you had to, it's not your fault. Whoever this Vasilia woman is, it's her fault. Now, you need to help me find my daughter, and we need to free your family. Sure you may have done some pretty terrible things in the past, but that doesn't matter now. What matters is finding Sofia, and you are the only one who can help us do that." She finished. Birk looked up at her and nodded with a stern smile, then Miranda turned around and walked up the steps of the castle to address the platoon of soldiers gathered in the courtyard.

"Change of plan men! Mr. Balthazar here is our intelligence for this rescue mission. We are going to the Castle of the Three Sisters in Ledstrana. Lieutenant, send your fastest flying horseman to the section ahead and tell them the exact location and new plans."

"Tell them to wait on the east side of the castle about three kilometers out. This team should go to the south." Birk interjected. Miranda looked at him questioningly. "Vasilia has few armed forces, but she is a very powerful sorceress. If we can take her by surprise on all sides, we might be able to cause a distraction and sneak in another team to retrieve Sofia and my family."

Miranda raised her eyebrows in surprise, but nodded once and turned back to the platoon. "Here is our strategy! The next three sections that are to be sent out are to meet at each corner of the castle. Section One will take East, Section Two-South, Three-West, and Four-North. Section Five will come from the south and rendezvous with Section Two. Once Section Five is in place, Section two will set off a flare to signal the attack. Section Five will then infiltrate the castle and retrieve Sofia, as well as two other children and a woman from the dungeon! Did you get all of that, Lieutenant?"

"Yes ma'am! Private Taylor!" The man at the front of the company saluted, then immediately after, another voice from the group of soldiers rang out.

"Aye sir!" He was a young man with a slender build and not even an inkling of facial hair. Miranda had seen him in derby races before though. He was one of the best flyers in the army, and the only one who could tame Volo, their fastest, most stubborn pegasus.

"Relay the new plans to Section One!" The Lieutenant yelled. Private Taylor saluted, broke rank and then took off on the chocolate brown horse with the utmost of speed.

Miranda turned back to the troops and continued her instructions. "As Mr. Balthazar said, this section will go south of the Castle of the Three Sisters. You will stay there and rendezvous with Section Five. Once we get there, give the signal to start the attack. We'll then be able to infiltrate the castle and save Sofia and Mr. Balthazar's wife and children. While this witch Vasilia does not have many armed forces, keep in mind she will have very powerful magic, so be prepared to face whatever spells she may throw our way. If things get messy, remember that your job is only to distract her so we can retrieve the hostages, then retreat. I trust that you all will carry out this mission to the best of your capabilities. Goodwyn the Great and Winnifred the Wise have offered their aid and have been working with Cedric to provide us with remedies. They have been sending down vials in supply baskets as fast as they can, so make sure to take some in your packs if you haven't already. They may be vital in the battle we can expect to break out. Stay vigilant, stay away from the witch, and don't get killed. Godspeed, men." Miranda finished her speech by standing at attention and saluting the men. A massive synchronized shout rang out among the troops as they returned the gesture. Immediately, Section Two readied for takeoff, as the rest of the sections were still preparing weapons, and packing supplies into their large packs.

Birk turned to Miranda and looked at her in with a crooked, dumbfounded grin.

"What?" she sneered.

"Oh, it's nothing. You're just commanding an army is all." He shrugged, the corners of his lips turning down in an awkward effort not to smile.

Miranda's eyes narrowed as she faced him. "Now is not the time for your witty remarks, Mr. Balthazar." She said, her voice dripping with venom at the mention of his name.

Birk cleared his throat and bobbed his head once. "Uh, right. Sorry." He looked down and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was just making an observation." He mumbled to himself, pawing the ground with his shoe.

"What?" Miranda snapped at him with a derisive glare.

"Oh, nothing!" Birk said, putting his hands up in surrender.

Miranda breathed deeply through her nose, clenching her jaw before taking a threatening step toward him. "I may understand that you did what you had to do, but that doesn't take away from the fact that you put my family at risk."

Birk jerked his head back at the sudden hostility. Granted, he could pull back on the witty comments, but this was just uncalled for.

"Hang on, I put your family at risk? I'm sorry, did you forget about the part where there's an insane witch out to destroy both of our families? Didn't you just say that it wasn't my fault? I was trying to keep this form happening. Oh and, need I remind you, Your Majesty, that my family has been locked up in a dungeon, probably starving to death for the last month because of that maniac, and I was completely powerless to stop it unless I came here! So yeah, I'm the one who you should be mad at right now. Definitely not the insane witch who's the one who took your daughter, and my family in the first place!" Birk threw his hand up in the air and grunted in aggravation as he continued with his heated verbal defense.

"I also want to remind you that Sofia is my daughter too! I know how much you hate it, but that's how it is! Miranda, you think I wanted this to happen? You think I wanted to be blackmailed into stealing something from Sofia? You think I wanted to come here and stir up trouble in your new royal life? I didn't. I wanted to make amends yes, but I wouldn't have come in the first place if the fate of my family didn't depend upon it. Just a second ago, you said that Vasilia was the one to blame. I took that to mean we are on the same side. I know you still hate me, and that's fine. But right now we've got a bigger problem on our hands! The lives of our loved ones are at stake, and if we don't start working together as a team they will more than likely die." He finished gazing sternly into his ex-wife's eyes.

Miranda clenched her jaw and held his gaze firmly. She told herself she wouldn't cry in front of him. She told herself that she'd never show him weakness again. But the silent tears threatening to drip from her eyes betrayed her. She swallowed hard to pull herself together, but couldn't find any words to say to him anymore. Instead she just stared at him, saying nothing.

The two stayed there in a silent standoff before one of the guards interrupted. "Your Majesty, Section Two has just taken off. Sections Three and Four are ready to depart."

"Thank you, Corporal. Send them off." She said glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He saluted her, and then hurried back to his section, leaving the two still locked in a cold war.

Miranda knew he was right. She knew she had spoken hastily. Even as every fiber of her being wanted to reach out and strangle him, she knew she couldn't heap blame on his shoulders. However, she found herself unable to apologize to him with sincerity. She squared her shoulders and looked at him firmly. "You provide the intel, I provide the man power. Section Five is on the west side of the courtyard. I suggest you go over there and ask one of the soldiers to help you prepare." She said, then turned on her heel and walked swiftly into the castle.

As Roland walked through the halls towards the twins' rooms, he felt somewhat odd. He was not used to Miranda taking such a prominent roll in many affairs, especially ones concerning the military. He also felt strange because in the face of the current situation, he had almost completely frozen. When he heard Amber scream, and when she told them through broken sobs what had happened, his mind went completely blank. He felt powerless. Numb. How had he allowed something like this to happen, and in his own home nonetheless? The weight of inadequacy had crushed him, but after Miranda's first explosive reaction, she immediately called for a search team; and once Amber had calmed down just enough to tell them what she saw and what Sofia had said, Miranda called for four more search teams so they could cover more ground in the vast country of Ledstrana.

He came to Amber's room first and knocked courteously on the door before peeking his head in. He saw his eldest daughter quickly stuff an article of clothing into a small bag on her bed before she whipped herself around and tried to conceal the bag behind her.

"Oh, hi Daddy." She said quickly.

Roland eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned down into a disapproving frown as he stepped into her room. "Amber, you know you can't come with us, it's not safe."

Amber returned his look, though hers was tinted with an indignant pout. "Safe? With all due respect, Daddy, Sofia was just kidnapped in our own castle. Who's to say it couldn't happen again to James or me?"

He had to admit she did have a point, but that didn't change his view on the subject. "We are posting more guards at all around the castle. Your mother and I and the army will find Sofia and bring her back, and it will be better for you to stay here where you're well guarded."

Amber couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes. "Daddy, guards surround the castle day and night and Sofia still got captured! What makes you think it would end up any different?"

"Amber, I see where you're coming from, I do. But how were our guards supposed to know to look for a bird? Now that we know what—"

"Trust me. If any one of the guards caught a glimpse of that creature, even from the sky, they would have known it was evil." Amber said, folding her arms.

Roland sighed, furrowing his brow deeper at his daughter. "And maybe you're right. But that doesn't change our answer."

"Ugh! I can't believe you just expect me to sit here! What if you're too late, what if something worse happens to her? What if this is the last time I'll see her?"

"Amber, it's not going to come to that. I promise."

"How can you promise something that's not in your control?" Amber protested.

Roland sighed again and looked down at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're right. I can't know how it's going to end. But if I know anything about Sofia, it's that she's going to stay strong and do whatever she can to make sure she comes back to us."

Amber's upper lip twitched into a snarl and slapped his hand away. "How can you say that? How can you have so much confidence that something terrible isn't going to happen?" she exclaimed.

"Because I believe in Sofia."

"Right, because if we just believe in her, everything will work out just fine and nothing bad will ever happen!" She said rolling her eyes.

"Do not use that tone of voice with me!" Roland scolded, pointing a finger in her face.

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" Amber exclaimed, thrusting her hand away from her body in shameless defiance.

Roland's anger flared. "You may be willing to put yourself at risk, but I am not! You are staying here in this castle, and that's final!"

"No! I will not sit around idly while Sofia is in danger! She would do the same if it were me!"

Roland clenched his jaw. Getting in a yelling match with Amber never went over well. He had to find a way to deescalate the situation before she tried to escape the castle out of pure spite. "Tell me then, what would you do if we did allow you to come? How would you help?" he said, speaking lowly with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sure I'd find something useful to do. I'm not just a little kid anymore, father!" she spat scornfully.

"Your age is not the issue here, Amber! It's a matter of your safety. Your mother and I will not lose two children in one day." His tone was dark and commanding; his gaze, piercing.

Amber stared up at him and clenched her jaw as her lip twitched and her nostrils flared, threatening to reveal the sneer on her face. Silence hung in the air for a moment like a thick fog as Amber chose her next words carefully. "Fine. You won't lose another child." She said, her expression unwavering.

Roland let his shoulders relax slightly as he regarded his daughter. "So you're staying at the castle?" He stated for clarification.

"That is what you said, Father." Amber said, her gaze fixated on him.

The king held her gaze and took her hands in his. "Promise me you'll stay here, where it's safe."

"I promise to stay where it's safe." The princess replied, not allowing her eyes to move from his.

Roland nodded at his daughter and then brought her into a hug. "Good."

Amber lifted her arms and weakly put them around her father's waist, not truly returning the hug. Just as Roland released her, a soldier jogged past the door before circling back.

"King Roland." The man saluted. It was the Captain of the Royal Guard.

Roland turned and faced the man. "Yes?"

"Permission to speak, sir?"

Roland took one last hesitant look at his daughter, who still regarded him with the same, solemn stare. He turned his attention back to the man and began walking over to him. "Let us speak in the hall.

"Of course, Sire."

When they entered the hall, Roland closed Amber's door behind him and walked a few paces away from the rooms before addressing the soldier again. "Please, proceed."

"The Queen and Mr. Balthazar have ordered a new plan for retrieving the Princess. Nearly all the troops have departed.

"Mr. Balthazar?" Roland asked.

"Yes sir. It appears his family is being held captive by the same person who kidnapped Princess Sofia. He said she'd be taken to the Castle of the Three Sisters in Ledstrana."

"My word." Roland breathed.

"Indeed, it is shocking. Most of the platoon has departed, your Highness, and many of my men were instructed to join the search party. I understand finding her is of the utmost importance, but we cannot leave the castle unguarded."

"Agreed. I shall send out a carrier pigeon to our Lords requesting more men at once."

"Thank you, Sire." Said the Captain with a small bow of his head.

Roland departed from the Captain and walked briskly to his office to write up the request. He had no time to waste if he wanted more guards to arrive by the time he and Miranda would depart with the rest of the soldiers. He needed the men to both guard the castle from any intruders sneaking in as much as he needed to prevent his two other children from sneaking out.