It was official; my mother was insane. The carriage ride home was quiet except for my sister's gushing about the tea party with Princess Amber. They were insane too.

The stuffed animal analogy James had made had been scarily accurate.

I stared at my mother, her raven hair flared around her shoulders, and she still had a fire in her deep blue eyes as she gazed out the window.

Why wasn't she saying anything? Why wasn't I?

I crossed my arms, wincing at the pain of my arm; I couldn't even pout without hurting myself.

The footmen helped us out, and we all went inside.

The silence was maddening.

I followed my mother into the parlor, straightening my posture and glaring into the back of her head.

"Say something! You can't just drop a bombshell like that and then ignore me!" I yelled, causing my father, who had been reading in the corner, to jump.

"Sofia, you made your choice; you're here, aren't you? Now be a good girl and pack your belongings. We're leaving in the morning," she waved her hand towards me and turned to my perplexed father.

"The king bought the estate? That's wonderful!" he whooped, bounding from his chair.

My icy glare stopped him in his tracks.

"Papa, please tell mother-" I began, but mama cut me off.

"Sofia, this conversation is over. We are going home, be happy, girl!" mother snapped, pushing me towards the door.

"Just because you don't want to talk anymore does not mean that the conversation is over; I'm not going back!" I cried, pushing against her arms.

My father's panic-stricken face looked at each of us before he tried to intervene.

"What is happening? Miranda, what did you-"

"Not now, Patrick!" she screeched, "Sofia, to your room now! You will pack your bags this evening and come home willingly, or so help me I will tie you to the ship!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be packed, but not to leave with you. Hannah, Laura, and I are staying! We aren't going to continue living with liars!" I stomped out of the parlor towards my room

"Sister? Are you okay? We heard yelling," Laura peeked around her doorway.

I nodded. "Girls, why don't you go play outside for a while," I spoke softly, trying not to let them see my anger.

"Look at you, already playing mother to them. You have got some nerve!" my mother's face was blood red.

"Stop it, mother! Just stop!" I slammed my door in her face and locked it quickly.

I wasn't used to this level of hostility from her or me. We had gotten into spats before, but this was the next level.

I listened for sounds of her stalking outside my door like a cougar, waiting to attack at the slightest noise.

I had come back, but it wasn't to go back to Hacilith. I had to make sure that my sisters came with me. We would run away if we had to.

I didn't care that mother kept the fact that we were technically princesses from us. I was upset that she was so incapable of trusting James.

I loved him, why couldn't she understand that?

I packed my bags quickly since I hadn't brought much, to begin with, and opened my door slowly. I looked each way down the hall and saw that the coast was clear.

I hid as the front door opened, holding my breath like a fugitive.

"Miranda? Sofia?" my father whispered, "I don't hear anything; maybe they've cooled off,"

I peeked around the corner and saw him standing in the foyer with James.

I felt my heart leap in my chest as I jumped into his arms.

"James! Why are you here? We were supposed to meet at the docks tomorrow," I asked, confused but happy.

"I know, but I had to talk to your parents. Where is lady Miranda?" he asked softly, pulling away, eyeing the bags on my shoulder questioningly.

"I don't know; I lost her. I was trying to sneak outside when you came in," I admitted, looking behind me to make sure she wasn't standing there.

"Let's go find her. We have things to discuss," my father smiled at both of us slightly.

"She's probably attacking some poor, defenseless dough in the kitchen," I replied, leading the way.

Sure enough, we found her frantically rummaging through cabinets, slamming them as she retrieved various ingredients.

"Miranda, stop, please, my dear," my father touched her arm, and she snapped away when she saw James standing between us.

"What are you doing here? Sofia left. She doesn't want to be with you; go away!" she fumed.

"That's not true, mother. I told you I came back to pack and to get my sisters. If you are going to disown me for wanting to be happy, I refuse to allow Laura and Hannah to endure the same possibility. We all deserve better treatment than this!" I cried, holding James's arm confidently.

"Disowned? Miranda, what did you tell her?" my father asked, bewildered.

"I gave her a choice, Patrick, James, or us. She got in the carriage; therefore, she chose us, just like I chose you!"

"No one asked you to choose, Miranda!"

"They told me I couldn't marry you; it's the same thing!"

"You are making Sofia choose between happiness and your pride. You and I weren't in love when you ran away; I accepted that I was a show of rebellion long ago. She and James are in love, and I refuse to allow you to stand in their way any longer," my father looked at us approvingly.

"So you are willing to leave our daughters here and never see them again just because he is tricking you all?" she scoffed.

"I'm not planning on returning to Hacilith. I will attempt to get a fisherman job here to stay close to my daughters, son-in-law, and grandbabies. You and your parents should have resolved this conflict years ago, and it's partially my fault for not forcing you to return before we even left the harbor. Your parents loved you, Miranda; I knew they did. The only reason they were so against us getting married was that they knew we weren't happy together; you were supposed to marry Prince Silas!"

My mother sighed. "But we learned to be happy with our simple lives. That's all I want for our girls. Simplicity and genuine love,"

"You can't tell me you don't see genuine love when you look at Sofia and James, she was willing to risk everything to be with him, and he came here to propose!"

My eyes widened in shock as I looked at James, and he chuckled nervously. My father mouthed 'sorry' in his direction before turning his attention back to my mother.