The Ninth Star

Summary: An evil enigmatic being known as The Ninth Star was once in a group known as the Nefarious Nine, all of whom were destroyed. The sole survivor of the attack, The Ninth Star takes up residence in a new host, and has now been tracked down to Valestrai, where there are nine powerful magic wielders under investigation. Sofia and company are called in to help question the suspects, but nothing could have prepared them for the outcome when the mystery begins to unravel. *Takes place two years after The Tainted Ten*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. The following characters belong to me: Jastin Butterford, Muscles, Malango the Magnanimous (mentioned), Corban, Charlie, Serena, Angel, Shikoba, Alo, the Ninth Star (and other Stars), and several others not mentioned in the other lists. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana, Tanya, and Terra. Mr. Shortman92 owns Christopher Crowley and Amaya. NerdsinaTree owns Captain Nereus. Royal Detective owns Gabriel Sebastian. Allyrwhitney owns Feya. Jettmanas owns Davidius. Creepy-Pasta owns Neoma. Pinkscarlet08 owns Amerie. Theblackraven2.0 owns Malcom "Mac" Woodruff. Also, the "Nefarious Nine" title belongs to NerdsinaTree, as the title was originally supposed to be used in "The Tainted Ten" until we added a tenth character.


Chapter 10: Amerie


"Come on in, young one," Shikoba told the smaller teen as she entered, shutting the door behind her. She gestured toward the chair. "Have a seat."

Amerie, despite having wings like the other fairy Feya, opted to simply walk over to the chair, sitting down with her feet tucked under the chair and her hands in her lap. She was sixteen years old with two long dirty blonde braids hanging on either side of her head, a single strand loose from each braid. Her curious green eyes looked at the people in front of her, her natural dimples a bit hard to see as she kept a straight face. She wore a simple pink skirt that covered her knees and a single-sleeve creamy white top. Her feet were wrapped in silver sandals, and some matching vines and flowers were wound around her legs, almost hugging her. Her wings were nearly transparent, save for a few sparkles that glimmered under the light from the room, and they were much less flashy in comparison with Feya's.

"You can relax," Vega informed her, chuckling as the girl sighed heavily, smiling sheepishly at the woman. "We are just here to ask you some questions."

"Yeah, sorry," Amerie apologized, playing with one of her braids. "I'm usually a bit more outgoing, but I get nervous around people I don't know…" She gestured with her free hand. "Especially in a situation like this…"

"Understandable," Orion acknowledged. "Let's begin with something simple. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"

Amerie shifted a bit, her hands finding their way to her lap again. "Well, I'm Amerie. I'm sixteen. I'm from the Kingdom of Razum and live with my family there."

"Is everyone in your family also a fairy or sparrow man too?" Sofia wondered, leaning forward on the table.

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her question. "Sparrow man?"

Amerie giggled. "That's a male fairy. And no, no… It's actually an interesting story." She leaned back in her chair. "My parents are part of the Goldenwing Circus, and I grew up in it. We travel around a lot, so we don't exactly have a 'home' because of that. I've actually never been in one place long enough to make friends, so I can come across as shy or timid to some people."

"Reminds me a bit of you when we were younger, Cedric," Greylock teased. "It was like pulling teeth to get you to say two words to me!"

"And you see the result of finally talking to you. Years of verbal torment and taunting." Cedric folded his arms.

The other sorcerer scoffed. "It's something friends do, you dunderhead."

"Not sure 'dunderhead' is a friendly term, Greylock," Vega laughed.

Sofia rolled her eyes good-naturedly before looking back at the girl. "Ignore them. Go on, Amerie."

She nodded. "Well, let's see… Oh, when I was twelve, I found a book in one of the circus wagons. It was meant for the leader of the circus, so I picked it up to take it back to him. Being a curious kid, I decided to look in it, and I found out after sifting through a few pages that it was a spell book."

"And you tried it out," Shikoba assumed, smiling softly as the girl smiled guiltily. "We all have a bit of curiosity in us. What spell did you attempt?"

"The fairy spell, obviously," Amerie laughed, gesturing toward her wings. "I didn't think it would actually work. My mom flipped out, and my dad grounded me for a month. The leader didn't seem too bothered by my reading it, but he did tell me I needed to conceal my mistake."

"They couldn't undo the spell?" Cedric asked.

She shook her head. "No. I was clearly inexperienced, and no one had the counter spell. Since that book is bound by the rules of autonomy, until I can secure the reverse spell myself, I'm stuck with them. So, I have to keep them hidden in my clothing unless I need them for some reason."

"Interesting how different spell books have different rules and regulations," Orion spoke, looking toward the sorcerers. "Have you both found that to be true?"

"Admittedly, yes," Greylock told him. "Magic is strange like that."

"I'm also able to transform myself and others into magical creatures," Amerie added, almost as an afterthought. She smiled as the others turned their attention back to her. "I tried it on my little brother one time, and he ended up being a lizard for a week."

Cedric rubbed his forehead, sighing as Sofia patted his shoulder. "I can empathize with the boy. Except in my case, I was a salamander because of a blasted fliegel."

"Grotta eventually apologized," Sofia laughed. "Besides, that's definitely not the worst thing you've been through, Cedric…"

"Well, I think it's time to do the magic test," Orion told her, standing and gesturing for the teen to follow him. He nodded toward the wall, where she stood calmly. "This will only take a moment." He pressed his hand to her head, waiting for a few moments, and then lowered his hand. "Thank you, Amerie. You're free to go, and please send in Malcolm next."

Amerie left quietly, closing the door behind her as she did.

"She's young," Vega told the others. "Surely…"

"She has a lot of unresolved anxiety, I'm afraid," Orion sighed, looking at his hand. "I could feel it radiating off her before I even began the test…"

"Poor kid," Greylock mumbled before stretching a bit, sighing. "How many more do we have?"

"Three," Shikoba answered. "Malcolm, Gabriel, and Captain Nereus."

A rather tall man pushed the door open next, entering the room, and shutting the door behind him. He moved into the chair, removing his farmer hat and placing it in his lap. He ran a hand through his short black hair and asked, "You wanted to see me?"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Malcolm