Sophia's Story

A Disney crossover by talking2myself

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable Disney characters. All original characters are my own creations.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone! This story is a… prequel? sequel? midquel? Eh let's go with "companion piece" to my original series, The Great Disney Adventure. This story will not make a lot of sense unless you read The Great Disney Adventure trilogy. If you're interested in reading this story, please go read them and then come back here and give this one a try. 😊

CHAPTER 1: So Ya Wanna Be A Godmother?

Bernard the Elf, formerly of the North Pole and retired Number One Elf of Santa's Workshop was not normally a person who was easily impressed. But then again, it wasn't every day that he found himself in the presence of a living legend, and so far Sophia Godmother had not disappointed.

Stories about Sophia and her adventures with the one and only Kelsey Hatter and her family were widespread. They had even managed to make it all the way to the North Pole and the workshop. Bernard hadn't known what to expect after hearing stories of the feisty fairy taking on dragons and transforming enemies into pink frosted cupcakes topped with sprinkles. Now that he was here, he found himself gaping at the woman before him.

Sophia wasn't particularly tall. She was a petite woman with delicate features, but that didn't stop her from wearing elaborately frilly gowns. Today, she wore a glittery pale pink cloud of a dress with layers of flounces and a white sash knotted into a bow. In fact, she looked more like a princess than a godmother. It had been over a decade since the events that had made her famous, but she still appeared youthful with porcelain skin and head full of bouncing copper curls. Her red hair had been carefully arranged into an elaborate updo topped with a twinkling silver crown. She glanced up over a small pair of golden glasses with unique hexagon shaped lenses. She looked over them at her and said very matter-of-factly. "So… you wanna be a godmother?"

Her casual tone shattered his reverence. Bernard closed his mouth. "Well… godfather but yes…" After their initial meeting where Bernard had presented himself as a candidate for Sophia's prestigious fairy godparent program, she had almost immediately steered him into a small, but comfortable office in one of the towers. Now Sophia sat behind the desk, her perfectly manicured hands folded in front of her.

Sophia winced and groaned. "Godfather," she agreed. "Right. Sorry about that. It's kind of a woman-dominated field. It will be nice to have another guy around."

"Are there no other godfathers?" Bernard asked anxiously.

"One," Sophia said with a shrug. "A retired genie was assigned to Princess Aliyah of Agrabah. Family connection."

"Oh," Bernard said shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Anyway," Sophia said meeting his eyes severely. "Why do you want to be a godfather?" Bernard was startled by the intensity of her gaze and slightly taken aback. "It's important," Sophia added gently.

Bernard shrugged helplessly. "Well…" he said awkwardly. "I've spent most of my career mentoring the younger elves and designing toys for children. I seem to very good at nurturing kids." Bernard scoffed. "Heck, I was so good at it I "nurtured" myself right out of a job." Bernard's apprentice, Curtis, had recently been promoted to Number One elf. Bernard couldn't be prouder, but he also felt particularly useless around the workshop. This had driven him to make the long journey from the North Pole to England. Thankfully, Sophia had decided to speak with him. Bernard really had no backup plan if she had decided to turn him down. "And… I think I could do some real good if I'm given the chance." Bernard finished lamely. Sophia was still staring at him intently, searching his face. After a long moment, she nodded and spoke at last.

"Okay," she said simply. "Next question. Do you have any measurable magical abilities?"

"Any what?" Bernard asked in confusion.

"Magic," Sophia repeated. "Are you a sorcerer?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Bernard said. "I have a touch of Christmas magic. Mostly used for toy making or gadgetry…."

"Hmmm," Sophia said unimpressed. She shook her head. "That alone isn't going to cut it."

"What?" Bernard cried. "Why not?"

Sophia looked over her hexagon lenses again. "Will your toy magic stop a rampaging dragon from destroying an entire kingdom, yourself, and your godchild?"

"Well, no," Bernard admitted. "But… how often does that really come up?"

Sophia was quiet for a moment before she said. "You would be surprised." Bernard blanched. "Relax," Sophia said calmly. "It's not a dealbreaker. I just need to take you to the Enchanted forest to get your Gift." Sophia rose to her feet and smoothed her skirts before making her way around her desk. "Right this way."

"Dealbreaker? Enchanted Forest? Gift?" Bernard babbled. "Dragons?!"

Sophia froze and looked at him sternly. "Here's the reality of the situation," she said calmly, steepling her fingers in front of her. "Mentoring is certainly part of the career, but godparents are typically assigned to charges who live extraordinary lives. They're the ones that are going to need the most help. That means that you could find yourself in danger on a fairly regular basis." She met his eyes gently. "Do you still want to do this."

Bernard thought for a moment. His previous career had never been particularly dangerous. There had been a few stressful moments, but overall his life was never really in danger. Then he thought to himself for a moment. He had enjoyed spending time with Curtis and watching him grow more than anything. It was all that he really wanted to do, and if that meant that his life was going to get a bit more chaotic, so be it."

"Yes," he said solemnly. "Yes I do."

Sophia seemed to weigh the truth of his words. "I hope so. She'll know if you're lying."

"She?" Bernard asked. Sophia didn't answer she was already halfway out of her office.

"Yes, yes, come a long," she said distractedly. "We've got a bit of way to go and I don't like to be gone from the castle for long given how close Jackie is to her due date," Sophia said. "Odds are her child will be your charge." She paused thoughtfully. "Although Prince Thaddeus doesn't have one yet, but perhaps the mother Crystal does a decent enough job of keeping him out of trouble…" Sophia trailed off before waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, come along."

Sophia opened the door of her office and swept into the parlor. Two women were lounging on a sofa, one of them was heavily pregnant and sat with her slippers propped up on foot stool. It was unusual to see her so round when she was normally as thin as a matchstick. Her dark hair was bound into a dark braid and she wore a golden crown and diamond shaped spectacles. The other woman was a tall sim woman with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a top hat and golden rod jacket. A tea service sat on the small table besides them and the two of them were munching on petit fours. Bernard had been briefly introduced to them when he first arrived at the castle. Bernard couldn't help but get the impression that the two women had been mildly amused by his arrival.

"Jackie," Sophia said. "I'm heading out with the new recruit to get his Gift. Do me a favor and refrain from going into labor until I get back."

Queen Jacqueline of England looked down at her protruding belly before meeting Sophia's eyes again. "I d-d-don't think that I'll have m-m-much say in the matter, but I'll d-d-do my best."

"She'll be fine, Sophia," Alice, the Hatter of Wonderland, said gently. She clasped Jackie's hand gently. "I'll keep an eye on her. Plus, Arthur has been waiting on her hand and foot lately."

"Ugh," Jackie groaned. "Yes, he w-w-won't let me so much as lift a t-t-teacup lately."

"Good," Sophia said. "Keep it that way until we get back. Shouldn't be too long."

"Of course," Jackie said, gently rubbing her belly. "Happy trails."

Sophia smiled and turned to Bernard. "Come along Bernie. We're burning daylight."

Bernard trailed Sophia as she led him down the hallways and out into the main courtyard of the castle. Sophia lifted her skirts as she briskly strolled across the cobblestones, nodding or waving hello to the knights as she passed. Bernard followed her to the stables. Bernard frowned. He had never ridden a horse before, but perhaps they weren't too different from reindeer.

"This way," Sophia said. She walked past all of the horses to the very last stall. There was no horse in this stall, instead there something large hidden beneath a tarp. Sophia pulled off the tarp to reveal a strange sort of vehicle. It vaguely looked like a fish with lamplike head light eyes, a sleek body and strange fins.

Bernard cocked his head to one side. "What on earth is that?"

"It's an Atlantean flying vehicle," Sophia said. "It's pre-owned, but the mileage is still relatively good given what it's been through." Sophia reached into the pocket of her gown and pulled out a strange glowing crystal in turquoise blue. As she pressed the crystal into a slot, the crystal illuminated the writing on the hood of the vehicle, The Spirit of Atlantis.

"Hold on!" Bernard cried. "This is The Spirit? Kelsey's spirit?"

"Yeah," Sophia said as turned the crystal and the headlights flared to life with blue light. "Though it's hard to say who it belongs to now. Will had it for a while, but I guess there was an incident. One of his sons tried to fly it and crashed it into the Black Pearl's mizzenmast. Will was worried about his son. Jack was worried about his ship. They decided it might be better if I kept it for a while." Sophia settled herself onto the driver's seat. "Well get on…"

Bernard was staring in shock at the legendary vehicle. The vehicle had Kelsey had flown into battle during the final fight against the Thirteen. He was looking at a piece of history while listening to Sophia casually mention heroes like Will Turner or Jack Sparrow. It was almost too much. "I can't ride Kelsey's vehicle."

Sophia shrugged in irritation. "Well, it's a long way to walk where we're going. Get on."

Bernard gingerly climbed aboard with a reverence that seemed to irritate Sophia. She rolled her eyes and pressed her hand to the inscription pad. The Spirit surged forwards out of the stables and into the sky. Bernard had flown before, but this strange vehicle had much more speed than Santa's sleigh or a reindeer. He couldn't help but be a little impressed. He inched closer to Sophia as he stared down at the keep as it vanished beneath him.

"So…" Bernard said at last. "What is this Gift that I'm getting?"

"The Gift," Sophia said. She turned to Bernard, her curls whipping by her face. "There are two types of godparents. Those who are born with their powers and those who receive The Gift."

"Oh," Bernard said. "So… you were born with yours?"

"Hardly," Sophia said. "I received The Gift just like you."

"Really?" Bernard said in surprise. Bernard thought for a moment. "So… you were just a regular person at one point?"

"Yup," Sophia shrugged. Bernard found himself rolling over the stories that he had heard about Sophia and tried to remember the earliest stories that he had heard about her. When she met Kelsey while she was working as a maid for Snow White? No, before that. When she had accidentally been transformed into a broom while training under Rosamund, the absent-minded enchantress who had accidentally magicked her into an object along with the rest of the Beast's castle. Before that? Bernard wracked his brains, but he couldn't remember hearing a single thing about Sophia's life before that point. Nothing about her childhood. Nothing about her life before she became a godmother. Nothing about her before Kelsey had crashed into her life.

Bernard turned to her. "So… can I ask you a question?" Sophia shrugged. "Why did you want to be a godmother?"

Sophia drew a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. "It's a long story." Bernard opened his mouth, but Sophia instantly whirled on him. "Don't you dare say "it's a long trip" or "I have time" or "What else are we gonna talk about" or any other variation of that phrase."

Bernard closed his mouth tightly. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Bernard spoke again. "But… it's true." Sophia groaned. Bernard held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Don't tell me. You don't have to. But if you're going to be training me, I thought it might be better if I knew a little bit about you."

Sophia snorted. "You know all sorts of things about me."

Bernard shrugged. "I guess. I know all the stories that everyone else knows. You met Kelsey. She helped you become a full-fledged godmother. You helped out Jackie. You tried to help Aaron." Sophia winced when he brought up Sophia's other godchild. "You reformed the Circle." Bernard smiled. "It's impressive really, but I don't know anything about you before all that. While you were training… and if I'm going to be going though the same training methods.." Bernard trailed off.

Sophia sighed. "What exactly do you want to know?"

Bernard brightened. "Everything," he said cheerfully. Sophia gave him a look. "Okay maybe not everything," Bernard said. "Nothing creepy or anything." Sophia rolled her eyes and Bernard cleared his throat. "Okay, how about something simple. Where exactly were you born? France? Near the Dark Forest?"

"No," Sophia said. "I moved there with Rosamund after she took me on. I was born in Andalasia."

"Andalasia?" Bernard asked,

"Small kingdom," Sophia said. "Just beyond the Meadows of Joy and the Valley on Contentment."

"Ah," Bernard said. Somehow it didn't seem possible that someone as prickly as Sophia could come from a place as whimsical as Andalasia. "So that's where you grew up?"

"Yeah," Sophia said. "I had a pretty typical Disney childhood. I was raised by my grandmother in a little house in the forest."

"Okay," Bernard said. "Just you and her against the world?"

"Sort of," Sophia said, a faraway look in her eyes, "It was just me and her." She paused for a moment before she added.

"…and my younger sister…"