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 20. The Hatter
By the end of the day, Sophia was exhausted. She lay flopped across the dwarf's sofa before the fire like a falling tree. Happy had kindly offered the dwarves' beds (all seven of them) to sleep, but Sophia refused. Sophia was short enough that she could fit on the sofa and she had just finished making the dwarves beds. Plus, Sophia wasn't sure if she could summon up the strength to walk up the steps to the dwarves' bedroom.
Sophia had spent years as a broom, but cleaning the dwarves' little cottage was more work than cleaning the entire palace that she had reluctantly called home. Her morning was spent scrubbing every surface in the kitchen. She was halfway through mopping the floor was she discovered a squirrel sitting on the top of a stack of dishes. Sophia let out a cry of alarm and nearly knocked her bucket of soapy water over, until she realized that the squirrel was helping her. He had a dish clasped in his paws and was using a rag to scrub it. Sophia stared at the little creature dumbly for a moment or two before deciding not to look a gift horse, or in this case squirrel, in the mouth. She turned around to see that the squirrel was not alone, she was surrounded by the woodland creatures that she had seen earlier. Squirrels were using their tails to dust, a deer was using his antlers to scoop up dirty clothes off the floor and a turtle was being used to transport dirty dishes.
The animals were not the only one ones who offered to help, the dwarves were also willing to lend a hand, with the exception of Grumpy, but Sleepy nodded off into the sink only to wake up once he hit the water and knock aside a stack of clean dishes, Sneezy tried to help dusting only to get a lungful of dust and sneeze nearly all the furniture across the room, and Dopey somehow, Sophia was never able to determine how, managed to swallow an entire bar of soap and spent the rest of the afternoon hiccupping bubbles.
This was the final straw. Sophia had banished the dwarves outdoors to work in the mines until she managed to clean the house. She whipped up a rather quick and uninspired tomato soup for dinner and finally allowed the dwarves back inside the home for dinner. After dinner and the dishes were cleaned up, Sophia had finally stopped moving for the first time all day. Sophia wrapped herself up in a quilt and fell fast asleep.
The sun was streaming in through the window by the time she awoke. Sophia realized that today was the day that Snow White was supposed to visit. "Morning Sophia," Happy said brightly. "Don't worry about breakfast, we took care of it." He passed Sophia a bowl of porridge. Sophia looked up at the kitchen and nearly wept at the sight of the dirty dishes stacked in the sink.
"Thanks," she murmured dully. "Do you know when Snow White should be here?"
"Should be any time," Doc said brightly.
"Don't worry, she's going to love you!" Happy added.
Sophia wolfed down her dishes at record speed and recleaned the kitchen before finally attempting to make herself somewhat presentable. She frowned when examined her gown. She had been wearing the gown that Giselle had made her for her birthday. She frowned as she examined a stain on the pink fabric. It was the last thing that Giselle had made for her and one of the few possessions that Sophia still had. She had worn it through so many tribulations, the swamps, the beast's castle, and her journeys with Flewddur, but now it was torn and dirty despite her best attempts to keep it somewhat clean. Sophia attempted to smooth out the wrinkles and used a rag to polish the tiara that Edward had given her. She managed to wrestle her red curls into an updo before giving her a reflection a quick glance in the mirror. She looked scruffy and a bit more patched that she would like, nowhere near polished enough to meet a princess, but it was the most professional she had looked in years. It would have to do.
"She's here!" Sophia heard Bashful cry before turning as red as a beet and ducking behind Doc, embarrassed that he had cried out. There was a patter of feet as the dwarves hurried out onto the front lawn. Sophia awkwardly smoothed her hair one last time before following the dwarves outside, unsure of how to introduce herself to a princess.
The dwarves were waving wildly at a figure in the distance. Sophia could see a white horse carrying two people riding towards them. One figure was waving back at them. It was an elegant woman with porcelain skin and jet black hair. It could only be Snow White.
The man behind her, a tall, classically handsome man with a charming smile and dimples, leapt down from the horse and lifted her down. The dwarves immediately raced forwards like a little of eager puppies. Snow White knelt and kissed each of them on their forehead as Sophia stood awkwardly off to the side.
Finally, Doc seemed to realized that she was there. Taking Snow White's hand, he led her over to Sophia. "Princess, this is Sophia. The Good Fairies sent her here to help us."
"Oh, how nice to meet you, Sophia," Snow White smiled at her warmly and offered her hand. Snow White's gentle smile and stylish gown made Sophia feel even more shabby. She smiled and accepted her hand.
"I'm very pleased to meet you as well," Sophia said. "I was hoping to offer you my services as a maid."
"Is that right?" Snow White asked.
"She's very good, Princess," Happy interjected.
"Meh," Grumpy said dismissively Sophia had to struggle to keep her smile in place without glaring at him.
"She kindly cleaned up our entire home," Doc said, please come and see. He led Snow White inside as Happy took Sophia's hand and pulled her inside as well. The prince and the rest of the dwarves trailed after them.
"Oh my goodness!" Snow White cried. She stood in the main entryway and gazed at the clean cottage in amazement. "It looks so lovely." She turned towards Sophia. "You've done wonderful work."
"I know," Sophia said dully. Happy elbowed her sharply. Sophia winced, "I mean thank you. You're too kind." Sophia dug into her apron pocket and handed Snow White the letter from the good fairies. "I have references. The good fairies speak very highly of my work as well."
Snow White accepted the letter and read it over. The prince moved to her side and appeared to do the same, reading over her shoulder. "She does seem to have quite a talent for cleaning," Snow White whispered to her prince who nodded eagerly in agreement. Sophia winced. Talent wasn't the word that she would have used. At this point, it was more like a compulsion.
"I believe we do have a position for you," Snow White said at last.
"Really?" Sophia asked, her face lit up with relief before she cleared her throat and said. "That would be very good."
"We're hoping to hire a cleaning maid for the palace," Snow White said. "One that could take time to care for my friends here." She gestured to the dwarves. "You sound like the perfect woman for the job. You're a perfect maid and the dwarves clearly think very highly of you." The dwarves nodded, with the exception of Grumpy who rolled his eyes. "In return, we'll offer you room and board, clothing and a generous pay for your services." She smiled at Sophia. "Does that sound agreeable to you?"
"Yes, yes it does," Sophia said eagerly. "Thank you."
"Splendid," Snow White said with a smile. "You'll head with us back to the palace when we return."
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The rest of the day was spent with Snow White catching up with the dwarves. Sophia had to hand it to her, she was quite kind to her dwarf friends. She spent time with each one, taking time to hear all of their rather mundane stories of the mine and the forest. Her prince stood besides her, chiming in every now and again.
Around sunset, they prepared to make their way back to the palace. Snow White once again kissed her dwarf friends on the forehead before the prince lifted her onto the horse. The prince turned and kindly offered her his hand and lifted her up onto the horse as well. The dwarves, minus Grumpy of course, waved goodbye as they rode into the woods towards Snow White's golden palace.
-888-
True to her word, Sophia received a room of her own in the golden palace, complete with a new wardrobe of neat black dresses trimmed with lace and clean white nightgowns. They were well-made and comfortable if a bit unimaginative. Sophia gently removed her gown from Giselle and tucked it into the back of her wardrobe. It would stay there for years.
Sophia settled into her new role. She met a series of servants who were kind but largely disinterested in her, cleaned the different rooms of the palace, and spent her days off quietly sewing in her room. Her most important job was taking the gooseberry pie that Snow White made for her dwarf friends through the forest to the dwarves. She would usually spend her visit cleaning up the dwarves' home before returning back to the palace.
And for days, that was Sophia's life. It was quiet and completely uneventful and Sophia was perfectly fine with that. She didn't think about Giselle or Rosamund or even Narissa. For once, she wasn't being pursued by anyone, her physical needs were met, and she had a comfortable life, even if wasn't the life that would have chosen for herself.
All that changed during Sophia's usual visit to the dwarves.
-888-
Sophia was running late. Or perhaps she was simply dragging her feet? While it was nice to get out of the golden palace every now and again, her usual delivery to the dwarves was rapidly turning into the least favorite aspect of her job. The dwarves were kind enough with the exception of Grumpy who had never truly warmed up to her, but they were like a bumbling bunch of children. Every time she arrived, she would find their home as unruly and messy as it had been when she first arrived. Despite the promises that they would keep it clean, Sophia always knew that she had a long day ahead of her.
Besides, Sophia's mind was fixed on her latest project. Snow White was throwing a ball. The princess was a kind employer and Sophia was invited. Sophia had spent weeks working on a very special gown with help from the three good fairies. The fairies had a bit more time on their hands now that Aurora was reasonably settled after the nasty business with Maleficent. Sophia wasn't entirely sure what had transpired. She only received snippets of gossip about the spinner kingdom and the fairies seemed unwilling to talk about it. They were supposed to arrive soon to help with the finishing touches and Sophia's main goal was to get through today as quickly as possible.
Clutching her basket, Sophia scurried across the bridge the led to the dwarves' cottage and into their yard. "Okay, I'm sorry I'm late," she said fussily dusting dirt off her shiny black shoes. It was at this moment, she realized that the dwarves weren't alone.
A teenage girl stood besides the dwarf. She was taller than Sophia which meant that she nearly towered over the dwarves. Her blonde hair was cut bluntly around her face in a bob and her blue eyes seemed to be taking in Sophia with fascination. She was wearing a very strange outfit. It looked like a pair of pants that must be made of denim, a strange new fabric that Sophia had heard about but never seen and curious red and white shoes. Over all this, she wore a men's waistcoat under a goldenrod jacket as well as a set of square plain glasses. Most curious of all, was the green top hat she wore with the sales tag still tucked into the brim. "Who is this?" Sophia demanded. "Does Snow White know she's here."
Doc stepped forwards.
"This is Kelsey," Doc said cordially," Kelsey, this is Sophia."
Sophia didn't know it, but she had just met the woman who would alter the course of her life forever.