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 11. A Small Transformation
The next couple of days were pretty quiet. Most of the time Sophia didn't say much to Rosamund, writing couplets in her mind and intensely gazing at any water source they passed, hoping that she would catch a glimpse of Giselle staring back at her. She was getting better at it, snatching glimpses of images in the water only for them to vanish after a few seconds, but every time she was able to produce an image it was the same Unreal woman. Sophia tried to shove aside her concerns about the image and try twice as hard. Rosamund didn't offer any advice. In fact, things were so quiet that Rosamund seemed to periodically forget Sophia's presence.
After several hours of this, Sophia had given herself a headache and needed a distraction. "Can you show me something else now?" she asked. Rosamund jumped in alarm and whirled around.
"Oh it's you, Serena," Rosamund said. "You scared me."
Sophia grumbled but didn't bother correcting her. It hadn't done any good so far. "So… is there something else you can teach me?"
Rosamund shrugged. "What's to teach? Magic water is a fun trick, but everything else is pretty self-explanatory."
"It is?" Sophia asked in bewilderment.
"Sure," Rosamund said. "Focus, will it to happen. Boom."
"That's it?" Sophia asked. "If I focus hard enough I can do anything?"
"Well, not anything," Rosamund said. "Your magic isn't that strong."
"What?" Sophia demanded, freezing in place. "Hold on. Will it get stronger if I practice?"
Rosamund stopped, rolled her eyes and drawled out her signature, "Honey…" Sophia knew that it was going to be bad news. "Yes, it will get a bit stronger as you practice of course, but your magic is a gift from the sprite. You can only use it to help your godchild," Rosamund explained. "Plus, a few minor perks, I suppose."
"So… I can't do anything for myself?" Sophia asked.
"Not anything," Rosamund retorted. "You're allowed a few benefits for being willing to take on a godchild, but the whole point of having powers is to help your godchild."
"Can I transform things? Throw lightning bolts? Fly?" Sophia rattled off all the things that she had seen Narissa do.
"Fly?" Rosamund scoffed. "Do you know how much focus that would take? Why waste all that effort when you can teleport?"
"You can teleport?" Sophia cried.
"Of course," Rosamund shrugged.
"Wait," Sophia said, holding up a hand. "If you can teleport, then what are we doing stumbling through this GODFORSAKEN FOREST?!" The volume of Sophia's voice flared as she spoke the last two words.
Now it was time for Rosamund to halt. "Yeeeeah….about that," Rosamund said. "I'm not exactly in a real hurry to meet my future godchild."
"Really?" Sophia asked in confusion. "Don't you want a godchild?"
"A godchild yes," Rosamund said. "Just not this particular child."
"Why not?"
Rosamund turned and gave her a searching look. "What do you know about Prince Adam?"
"Nothing," Sophia shrugged. "Never heard of him."
"I forget you're so sheltered," Rosamund said with a certain amount of amusement in her voice that Sophia did not appreciate. "Well, the word around France is that he is a spoiled brat," Rosamund said. "That's probably why I got him. Entitled little princes are kinda my specialty."
"You've had more than one godchild?" Sophia asked. "Is that usual?"
"It's pretty uncommon," Rosamund said.
"What happened to your last godchild?" Sophia asked nervously. "Did he die?"
"Not exactly," Rosamund said nonchalantly. That made Sophia even more nervous. "It's a long story, but he got turned into a bear and never quite learned the right lessons to change back."
"What?!" Sophia exclaimed.
"So I guess you could say that I'm being reassigned," Rosamund said. "I haven't seen Mor'Du in a few decades but I'm sure he's fine."
"Decades?" Sophia stared at Rosamund shrewdly. "How old are you?"
Rosamund turned on her. "Well, aren't you the forward one?" she sniffed. "I'm a couple of centuries old. I forget."
"CENTURIES?!"
Rosamund stopped and turned around, massaging her forehead in exasperation. "It's like this," she said. "I am an enchantress. I offered my services to the sprite, but I had magic way before that. Unlike you, I was born with my powers. Because of that I don't have the same limitations. The sprite only started offering magic to mortals because not very many Magics were called to the godmother voc
Sophia realized that she was staring slack-jawed at Rosamund. She realized that these were all questions she should have asked earlier. And she realized that saving Giselle was going to be more complicated than previously thought. Sophia clamped her mouth shut and shoved more worry aside.
"So there's nothing you can show me?" she asked.
Rosamund rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "I suppose you could try to transform something."
"Transform?" Sophia cried.
"Good grief is there an echo in this forest?" Rosamund grumbled. "Yes, transform."
Rosamund knelt and picked up a rock from the forest floor. She plopped it into Sophia's hands unceremoniously. "Turn this into something."
"Just like that?" Sophia asked.
Rosamund shrugged. "Pretty much. No incantations for this one. You don't have to suck up to nature. Just focus."
"What should I change it into?" she asked.
"Whatever you want," Rosamund said dismissively.
"Okay, fine," Sophia said, drawing a deep breath. She stared at the rock and closed her eyes, focusing all her thoughts on the rock, struggling to will it into something else. Sophia thought that she was going to give herself a migraine when the rock suddenly twitched in her hands. Sophia felt a spike of hope, but the rock stilled and didn't move. Sophia frowned.
"Keep trying," Rosamund said, "But keep walking, we have to get to France. Just because I'm not thrilled about going there means that I want to spend all my time wandering around this forest."
Sophia couldn't help but wonder if Rosamund had given her this task simply to shut her up, but she accepted it and continued to follow Rosamund. For the first hour, Sophia's focus was latched onto the rock, and she often found herself tripping over tree roots and rocks because she was so fixated on the rock in her hands. After that, Sophia's mind began to wander. She found herself thinking about Giselle again. She wondered where she was and if she was safe. She wondered who this mysterious Unreal woman was, but she also found herself daydreaming about their time spent together safe in their little tree cottage in the forest. She thought of Giselle humming to herself as she sewed. She thought of chatting with the animals as they did their chores. She thought of the ridiculous prince sculpture that Giselle had created in the middle of their parlor. She thought of the way that Giselle's face would light up on backing days when Sophia would take her delicious cupcakes out of the oven.
POP!
Sophia almost fell backwards in alarm when she felt the rock in her hands shift. Sophia gasped at the sight. Where the rock had been previously, sat a perfectly crafted cupcake with a delicate strawberry pink color, silky white frosting. It was even topped with sugary pink sprinkles. Sophia lifted the cupcake to her lips and licked the frosting quicky. It tasted just like her homemade buttercream frosting recipe. She smiled at her success, but it faded quickly as a wave of homesickness swept over her.
Rosamund turned at the sound of Sophia's gasp "Well, it looks like it worked." Rosamund raised an eyebrow. "Is that a cupcake?"
"It's the first thing that came to mind," Sophia said defensively. She grinned and brought the cupcake to her lips again.
"I wouldn't do that," Rosamund advised. "These spells tend to be short-lived, especially for inexperienced…"
Pop! Sophia found herself licking a rock once again as the cupcake changed back. "UGH!" she cried, dropping the rock.
"There you go," Rosamund shrugged, nodding in approval. "Two magical things you can do. Now try to keep up."
Sophia groaned and trailed after the statuesque woman. "I wouldn't have to keep up if you would just transport us."
Rosamund shot her a glare. "You know I'm pretty good at transformation spells. Mine work on humans and they tend to last… ask Mor'Du."
Sophia laughed nervously. "Then again… it's a lovely day for a walk."
"That's what I thought," Rosamund sniffed and continued walking ahead. Sophia clamped her mouth shut and followed the mysterious woman, questioning more than ever wheat she had gotten herself into.