Sophia's Story
A Disney crossover by talking2myself
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable Disney characters. All original characters are my own creations.
CHAPTER 2: A Childhood in Andalasia
ANDALASIA
(25 Years Earlier)
"And then, Prince charming put the slipper onto her foot and…" Granny paused for effect. She had to stifle a laughter as she caught sight of the two wide eyed little girls staring up at her, hanging on her every word. Even though Sophia was three years older they looked enough alike to be twins with big blue eyes and wild red curls. If it weren't for Sophia's glasses they would be a perfect match. Granny chuckled to herself before finally putting their minds at ease. "…and it was a perfect fit," Granny concluded. The girls burst into grins as they both let out a sigh of relief. "And then the Prince whisked Cinderella off to his palace and they lived happily ever after. The end."
"Yay!" Giselle cried clapping her hands as she flopped back onto her bed. "So romantic!"
"Can you tell us another story, Granny?" Sophia wheedled.
"I've already told you three, Sophia," Granny said with a small smile. "Now it's time for bed." The girls groaned in unison. "Now, now," Granny smiled as she rose to her feet. "It's late." She was a tall statuesque woman with a tiny set of half-moon glasses perched on the edge of her nose. Her hair was silver now and piled on top of her head in a neat bun, but there had been a time when she had the same coppery curls as her two granddaughters. "It's time for bed."
The girls groaned comically as they laid back on the little bed they shared. Granny smiled at them and drew the patchwork quilt up over the girls as they clutched their rag dolls and settled down for bed, gently removing Sophia's glasses from her face and setting them on the nightstand besides the table.
"When I grow up, I want to be a princess just like Cinderella," Giselle mumbled sleepily.
Sophia rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Why?" Sophia sat up in bed, disrupting the covers that Granny had just smoothed. "Cinderella didn't do anything. It was the fairy godmother who did all the work. Granny sighed heavily as Giselle instantly bolted upright in bed besides her sister.
"She went to the ball," she insisted.
"Only because the godmother got her dress and carriage and everything," Sophia said scornfully.
Granny groaned at the sharp response. Here they go again. The girls might look like twins, but they couldn't be any more different, dreamy romantic Giselle and sharp, practical Sophia. They had been that way ever since Granny had taken them in after their parents had died. Granny often wondered if it was because Sophia had been old enough to remember the accident. The poor girl still had nightmares about it, thought thankfully not as often as before. Granny had been minding the girls at the time. Her parents had taken the carriage into town and were run off the road by an angry troll. Giselle, on the other hand, had only been a baby at the time. She barely remembered her parents and spent most of her life growing up in the forest, surrounded by the friendly forest creatures.
"Sophia…" Granny admonished gently.
"Well, it's true," Sophia insisted.
"The prince didn't fall in love with her godmother," her sister retorted.
"That's quite enough girls," Granny said putting an end to the matter. She tucked the girls in once again.
"I still want to be a princess someday," Giselle pouted, determined to get the last word.
"If you want to be a princess then you certainly can someday," Granny said gently. Giselle beamed at her Granny before she turned towards her sister and gave Sophia a smug smile. Sophia rolled her eyes. "Now it's time to go to sleep," Granny said. She leaned forwards and gave each girl a gentle kiss on their forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little ones," Granny said gently.
"Good night Granny," the girls chimed in unison.
Granny blew out the candle that sat on the nightstand and slowly made her way out the door.
Sophia had closed her eyes, clutching her rag doll as she nodded off. "Hey Sophia," she heard her sister whisper in the darkness.
"Yeah?" Sophia whispered.
"When I marry a handsome prince and become a princess, you can be my fairy godmother," she whispered. "And we'll all go live in a magical castle."
Sophia smiled, "Sure, whatever you say." Her sister grinned and snuggled closer to her.
"Good night Sophia," she whispered.
Sophia sighed and slung her little arm around her sister, cuddling her close. "Good night Giselle."
-888-
20 Years Later
Sophia froze as she stepped into the parlor and stared in shock at the sight before her. Her sister was scurrying around the parlor, barefoot and singing songs about love as usual, creating what appeared to be an elaborate statue of a person. On top of that, half of the creatures of the forest were currently sitting in her parlor scrutinizing the statue as Giselle placed a caterpillar where the lips of the figure would have gone. Giselle turned and grinned at her. "Good morning, Sophia!"
"Giselle, what am I looking at here?" Sophia demanded staring at the sculpture.
"We're making a handsome prince," Giselle said with a smile as she swept across the room. "Isn't he handsome?!" Her sister's pink skirts swished around her legs and her strawberry blonde hair was strewn with pink flower petals.
Sophia shook her head as she stared at the sculpture. "I'm concerned on a number of levels," Sophia said, pinching her forehead with her thumb and forefinger.
Giselle wrapped her arms tightly around her sister. "Happy birthday!" she chirped merrily.
Sophia smiled in spite of herself. "Thanks Giselle. It's very nice… is that my water pitcher?!" Sophia demanded catching sight of the prince's "Head".
"Time to open your present," Giselle insisted, diverting Sophia's attention as quickly as possible. She shooed away a few birds that were perched on a nearby chair and urged Sophia to sit before she vanished into their bedroom.
While she sat there, a chipmunk scrambled onto Sophia's lap. "Good morning Sophia baby," he grinned. "Happy birthday!"
Sophia smiled at the little chipmunk. "Thank you Pip," she said. Somehow, all of the animals that lived in the enchanted forests of Andalasia were able to speak to humans with no difficulty. Sophia looked over at he statue. "You let this happen?" she said raising an eyebrow.
Pip's shoulders slumped and held up his paws helplessly. "What was I supposed to do? You know how she is when she gets an idea in her head."
"I do," Sophia sighed. She looked over the sculpture. "We really need to get out of the forest a bit more often."
"Here it is," Giselle crowed triumphantly. She emerged from the bedroom holding an elaborate parcel, wrapped up in a pink bow. "Happy Birthday," she said as she passed the present to her sister. "Open it!" she cried happily.
"Okay, okay," Sophia laughed as she unwrapped the package and removed the lid from the box. Sophia removed a beautiful dress from the box. Sophia held up the dress and gazed at it in wonder. Sophia wasn't surprised by the dress. Her sister made her one every year, always in vibrant shades of pink. Giselle was a very talented dressmaker and the two sisters supported themselves by making dresses and selling them in town. Giselle would design and sew the pieces while Sophia would handle the business end, driving to town to buy fabric and sell her dresses once they were complete and seeking out the berries in the forest that were used for fabric dyes. Everything Giselle made was elaborately feminine and elegant with frills and lace and chiffon everywhere and Sophia loved every dress her sister made which was why Sophia had an entire wardrobe full of pink gowns. The business wasn't enough to make the sisters rich, but it was enough to support them. The two girls lived a quiet life in the little house that they had inherited from Granny.
Sophia gazed at Giselle's latest dress. "Giselle," she breathed, "You've really outdone yourself!"
The dress was a ballgown with layers of pink tulle and the bodice was embroidered with elegant pearls and chiffon off-the-shoulder sleeves. Giselle's whole face lit up with pleasure. "You like it?"
"I love it," she said holding the gown to her chest and letting the skirts tumble to the floor. "It's beautiful."
"Oh I'm so glad," Giselle squealed. "Now what do you think would work best for lips?"
"Lips?" Sophia asked, stifling a groan as her sister returned her attention to her sculpture. "Oh Giselle.."
"Perhaps some of the buttons from my sewing kit?" Giselle mused to herself.
Sophia sighed and she gently returned the dress to the box. "I'm sorry Giselle, but I actually need to get some work done this morning."
Giselle's face fell, "Work?"
"We're out of berries," Sophia said. She reached for her cloak which hung from a peg by the door. She pulled it on over her shoulders. "We need to dye a few more dresses before winter if we expect to have enough supplies," she said.
"But it's your birthday," Sophia insisted.
"I won't be gone long," Sophia said, pulling her hood up over her head.
"Okay, I suppose," Giselle sighed.
Sophia stood there with her hand on the doorknob staring at her sister. "Look," she said gently. "I was thinking. When I get back, maybe we could head into town? I've got a few dresses to sell, but after that maybe we could go see a play? Or stop by that bakery you like and get some cupcakes? See some people who are… you know…." She glanced at the prince sculpture. "Alive?"
Giselle's face lit up again. "That would be lovely!"
Sophia smiled. "Great. We'll head out as soon as I get home."
Giselle nodded eagerly. "Hurry back." She turned to examine the statue.
Sophia was about to leave when she gave the sculpture one final look. "Hey Giselle?"
"Yes Sophia?"
Sophia paused before she finally added. "Do you have any red thread in your sewing kit? Maybe you could use that."
"That's brilliant!" Giselle cried. She raced into their bedroom and returned with her sewing kit and began rummaging through her sewing supplies.
Sophia smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be back soon, Giselle."
"Uh huh," Giselle said not looking up. "Hurry back. Love you, Sophia."
"Love you too, Giselle," Sophia called over her shoulder as she stepped out into the forest.
Looking back, Sophia would regret many things about that day. She would regret leaving her sister alone in the forest. She would regret spending time working instead of simply enjoying her birthday with her sister. She would regret giving Giselle such a hard time about her silly prince statue. The one thing she didn't regret was telling Giselle that she loved her before she headed out. Those were the last words that Sophia would say to her sister for a very long time.