Disclaimer: Sofia the First belong to Craig Gerber.

The sound of the wind lightly lifting the remaining leaves off the branches was flowing through the garden's air, as in filling into the role of the unknown missing melody. It was a bit unexpected to rest on a bed made of these plants. Desmond stifled a chuckle as he remembered how adamant his classmate could be with whatever passionate her the most. He could've corrected her about her statements of the proper care of a tree, but he analyzed it a bit deeply. Should he ruin her fun? It was supposed to be a get–together. And if Amber was interested in this topic, she could join the after–school gardening club anyway. Her siblings were part of it. It was a matter of time.

I could become a gardener, thought Desmond. He supposed he was fine with being disowned, even if he didn't know what career he'd choose. He could become a professor of gardening. I'm the second best in Enchanted Gardening.

He tightly pressed onto his navy–blue scarf. Now he was used to be considered the second most accomplished student. Kari overshadowed him. If they both were strongly academic oriented, why was she easily welcomed by the other students? His grades were outstanding. He helped everyone else with their homework, even if it meant doing their homework for them. But he was utterly rejected by his peers anyway. He soon came to realize how blessed he was. If James hadn't welcomed him, he would've been bothered in this school too. "You," said James. His calm tone was strangely comforting, "can join us anytime." Desmond had a friend. Well, he considered James to be his first friend.

He was kind of their honorary companion.

That close–knit group of friends. The most popular students, and the reason did vary. It was mostly composed for the Enchancian Royal Sisters and their friends. Both commoners and royals alike. They were the talk of the school. The recent topic was the former shy princess. Vivian was thriving. She was a great musician. She hadn't overcome all her reservations yet, but she was more eager to speak to others. She was part of the school band, albeit still staying in the last row. She had already performed for an audience, and she was confident in her skills. She didn't dress up for the contest.

One step at the time.

"I'm bored," said Hildegard, bluntly. He looked at his left. Her eyes were vaguely fixated on a random cloud passing by and she had a lot of leaves tangled up in her messy hair. It was a drawback of James' scavenger hunt, but Hildegard didn't care because she won. Lulu mimicked her owner's bored expression as she was resting on Hildegard's new pirate–theme treasure box. Whatever contained it remain a mystery. She sat up and stared at Sofia. "What's your activity?"

His mind wandered off. He wished Ruby and Jade hadn't spiced things up at all. He hoped that Jade didn't mean all she said to Sofia. Such wonderful friendship shouldn't be torn up over a trivial matter. He still remembered that fateful meeting. He was bombarded with a bunch of questions about his kingdom being blurted out in such lively tone. It was odd. Any other commoner would've behaved awkwardly, as if not knowing what to do in the presence of a royal. Any other commoner wouldn't have dared to even risk the possibility of accidentally pushing a royal out of the way either. Or to greet a royal by setting up a pie–in–the–face prank.

Meg and Peg seemed to be calmer.

He hadn't met them yet.

What was the opinion of the rest of her former team? Did they think of Sofia in that manner? Would they defend her, or would they condemn her? For what he understood, Sofia joined the Dazzleball team. She wasn't as skilled as Jade was, but it was still a sore spot for Sofia's best friends. Especially Jade. No one commented anything about it. No one could imagine what they could say that might lighted up Sofia's day. Now she was deeply troubled over this. How'd this affected her performance in the upcoming race? He could see that the entire school was counting on them. They were about to win the Flying Crown.

Desmond wanted to remind Sofia that she didn't score the winning point in that match. It was her. It was always Kari. But the Royal Redhawks defeated the Dunwiddie Ducks, and Sofia was a key player in the Royal Redhawks' teamplay.

The Dunwiddie Ducks were the runner–up twice in a row.

In Jade's opinion, it was Sofia's fault.

Then he looked at his right. Sofia was clingily holding her necklace with her hand and her eyes were a bit redder due to her earlier outburst. Jade's careless words were taunting her, and she was wary of speaking out her mind. That unilateral brawl. Even if Ruby didn't contribute to it verbally, her passive–aggressive reactions were the sole indicator of how she truly felt.

And the worse of it was that Sofia didn't deserve it. She was kind and brave. She could prove that Flying Derby was a princess thing last year, and she became one of the two greatest racers to ever date in the academy. James, who rose from the worst racer to one of the best in a year, and Sofia, who had natural talent for this sport, finally brought Royal Prep to the interschool championships. In less than a year. They practically pressured everyone else to catch up to them.

The semifinal race would happen tomorrow. It was going to be between Royal Prep and Weslock. Whoever won would race against the Junior Knights, the current champion.

"Dancing," replied Sofia. She was truly calm by this point. Whatever the twins whispered to her worked out. It was like she had decided that she was going to help her best friends to see this outcome in a new light. Like she was a about to teach them the importance of not being a sore loser. Sofia would never cease to amaze him. She was magnificent. "We can choose a partner."

"Thanks," said Vivian. "I'll pass."

"Well, let's see." Hildegard opened her fan and analyzed her companions. Zandar was already charmingly smiling at her and offering his hand. Desmond couldn't fathom how their relationship played off. She briefly put her fan in front of her face. She hid her mouth, but her eyes were full of teasingly malice. Even Desmond could imagine her arrogant smirk. "I guess you can be my partner."

"You'll be impressed by my dancing moves," said Zandar.

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Hildegard. She moved Zandar's hand away with her fan and walked off to the nearest bench. Zandar's eyes widened in disbelief. "I've seen you dancing before. At your palace, remember? You're out of my league."

"She's out of your league," repeated Clio, amusingly. She was smiling brightly. Zandar crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. A fiery resolve could be perceived from them. James put his hand on Zandar's shoulder. There was a small hint of confusion in his reassuring smile. Clio stared at James. "Shall we?"

James shrugged.

"And you're dancing with me!"

Desmond was stunned. He stared blankly at the ground while he was attempting to comprehended how did he go from standing all alone, far away from them, to waltz with Amber in a matter of seconds. He concluded Amber must had dragged him along at some point.

She's intimidating. Zandar's frustrated look flashed through Desmond's mind. It was followed by Hildegard's determination onto not becoming Amber's little helper for the dream castle art project. But she's remarkable.

With ease, Amber fulfilled her assignments. Everyone admired her, thus no one ditched her. Sans James, of course. And she loved to be the center of everyone's attention. She could be a bit infuriating with all her bragging, but they couldn't say that she made up a story. If any princess wanted to know how to organize any party, they could count on her. It was her area of expertise. An entire hallway was decorated with the portraits of Amber's tea parties and balls. She was so graceful and proper all the time. This far, she had only admired one prince and it changed after that Flying Derby tryout.

At this rate, she was going to be on Majestic Hall in the following school year.

She could even discover her namesake star someday.

"In case you're wondering, James was a sudden sore loser in the last Tri-Kingdom Picnic," said Amber. "Sofia and James did their best on the games, but I didn't care enough about it. I have a small problem with outdoor activities most of the time. Well, I hardly care about this stuff. I usually jeopardize our chance to win. I thought James never cared about it. We're hardly into sports. That was the second time he berated me over something. We lost again. But Leena helped us. I guess I can be a great queen someday. Oh, and you're my friend. No one's changing it."

A small weight was lifted, but Desmond was still struggling His extensive knowledge of gardening and herbology did not extend to any activity suitable for a prince. His parents were still fine with him because he was still able to maintain such close relationships with the House of Winslow. They expected Desmond would blow it someday. He'd never be a proper prince. "A decent prince doesn't get frightened at the mere possibility of owning a puzzle with one missing piece," said Aunt Nadine. Her condescending tone often deterred him of pursuing his interests. And his older brother's disdain saddened him. Desmond never imagined that he'd ever missed his attitude of superiority.

If only he could be braver.

If only he could stand up for himself.

"Thanks, Amber."

"Anytime."

Craig Gerber revealed that King Roland's surname is Winslow. Twitter: /CraigGerber_/status/845650916669702145