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: In my infinite wisdom, I managed to upload this chapter to the wrong story. One of my lovely readers very kindly pointed this out and I have since corrected this. I apologize for the confusion. I was clearly driving the struggle bus this evening. And now onto the chapter...!

CHAPTER 28. Lost in Central Park

Sunlight streamed through the trees and pressed against Sophia's eyelids insistently. Sophia groaned and struggled to sit up. Her whole body was achy and damp with the morning dew. She shivered and rubbed her eyes before shaking Mirror awake. "Come on Mirror," she murmured. "it's morning. We gotta keep moving."

Mirror made a snuffled sound as his snoring was interrupted and he bolted upright. "Truly?" he mumbled. "It's morning? Already? So soon? I could sworn we were just walking beneath the light of the moon?"

"You're telling me," Sophia muttered, shaking out her skirts and cracking her back. She looked around at their surroundings, more clear in the broad daylight.

Sophia and Mirror had spent hours wandering the city in the dark. Neither of them knew where they were going or anything about this mysterious city that they have stumbled into and clearly it was late enough that most normal people were fast asleep so there was no one they could ask for help.

They had wandered about blindly in the dark for several hours before the streets and skyscrapers had shifted into a massive green expanse full of trees and walking paths. It seemed wholly out of place in such an urban area, but by then the two of them were so exhausted they welcomed the change of scenery. With no leads and no assistance, Sophia and Mirror had opted to stop and settle for the night. The two of them had each claimed one half of a park bench and fallen into exhausted slumber.

Sophia shivered. She was cold and damp, but grateful that the weather was at least warm enough that her and Mirror hadn't frozen to death over the night. She ran her fingers through her red curls and struggled to shake dew off her skirts. Mirror appeared to be stretching, far too chipper for so early in the morning as usual.

"Well, it's the start of a brand new day," he said cheerily, shaking out the sleeves of his robes. "Where are we off too? Which patch? Which way?"

"Let's just see if we can find someone who can help us," Sophia said. "This way…" Sophia picked a walkway at random and headed off at a quick pace. Mirror struggled to keep up with her, his sleeves flapping in the morning breeze.

Sophia didn't see very many people, but a few joggers or people walking their dogs did walk by. When they did interact with people, they stared at her and Mirror in shock and confusion. Mirror seemed somewhat self-conscious about their stares, but Sophia wasn't surprised. From what she could tell, most of the people who lived here dressed like Kelsey did without her borrowed Mad Hatter jacket. Her stubborn friend had many admirable traits, but Sophia had never understood her sense of style. However, if appeared that ball gowns and robes and masks were not the norm here. Sophia didn't care. She had gone through far worse things than a couple of weird looks.

"Whoa! The ren fair must be in town," she heard a street vendor mutter as the two of them passed.

"Sophia forgive me. I'm not fully aware But what exactly is a ren fair?" Mirror whispered.

"I have no idea," Sophia shrugged. "Ignore them, Mirror."

The pair kept walking through the park, Central Park apparently. Sophia paused and asked a few people if they had seen a young woman who looked like Giselle. Some of them just kept walking faster, trying to avoid them. A few kinder people did at least stop and answer her questions, but no one had seen anyone who looked like Giselle.

By noon, Sophia found herself once again sitting on a park bench besides Mirror. Mirror was happily munching on a hotdog. "This thing is magnificent! The best you can buy!" Mirror cried. "Come, Sophia! Won't you give it a try?"

"Where did you get that?" Sophia demanded. Mirror's mouth was full, but he gestured at a nearby hotdog stand with his free hand. "And where did you get the money?"

Mirror swallowed. "I was given some money by a few of the people that we happened to meet." Mirror shrugged. "It would appear that they think I am some sort of performer of the street."

Sophia shook her head. She was about to suggest that they keep moving when she heard a voice.

"Do you need help ma'am?"

Sophia turned around and saw two police officers riding forwards on horses. They wore navy uniforms and stared at her through mirrored glasses.

Sophia rose to her feet. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for my sister. Perhaps you can help me?"

The police seemed somewhat surprised. They had clearly been expecting her to be some sort of raving lunatic. "Of course," the police officer said, removing a notepad from his pocket. "What is her name?"

"Giselle," Sophia answered.

"Giselle…?" the police officer prompted. When Sophia stared at her blankly, he added, "What is her last name?"

"Oh, we don't have last names," Sophia said dismissively. "There's no need for them where I come from. The kingdom is so small?"

"Kingdom?" the police officer repeated.

"Where exactly are you from?" his companion asked.

"Andalasia," Sophia replied. The officers exchanged glances.

"And where is that?" the second police officer asked.

"About three miles beyond the Meadows of Joy, just past the valley of contentment," Sophia said. The police stared at her in disbelief. "I know it's flowery," Sophia insisted.

"Did you have to go through the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops before you went through the Lincoln Tunnel?" the second police officer snickered.

Sophia was taken aback. Somehow she sensed that she was being mocked. "And if you won't help me, then I will bid you gentlemen adieu." Sophia curtsied. "Come on, Mirror."

"Hold on, hold on," the first officer insisted. "I'm sorry about that, ma'am. Please we'll try and help you find your sister. Now, when is the last time you've seen her?"

Sophia froze and had to mentally try and calculate how long it had actually been since she had seen her sister. "I don't know," she admitted at last. She swiped away tears. "She's been gone for years."

The officer stopped writing and looked up. "Is your sister a missing person?"

"She's been missing from Andalasia for years," Sophia said. "But I've been told that she's been seen in the city and I'm trying to find her."

"Hold on," the second police officer said. "Did you say that you were from Andalasia?"

"Yes," Sophia said cautiously, slightly surprised that he seemed to recognize the name. Sophia was beginning to wonder if they were aware of anything beyond the outskirts of New York City. The second police officer turned towards the first. "Isn't the name of that dress shop on third street?"

"Dress shop?" Sophia asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah," the police officer agreed. "Andalasia Fashions."

"My sister is seamstress," Sophia said eagerly. "That could be her."

"Hold on, I'll find you the address," the second police officer pulled out his phone. A few moments later, she had the address. "Thank you so much!" Sophia cried. "Come on Mirror!"

Mirror started to follow Sophia, but he halted and turned towards the police officers. He offered them a low bow. "My thanks to you most noble men," he said. "It is my hope that we might meet again."

"MIRROR!" Sophia cried.

Mirror let out a cry of alarm before chasing after Sophia. The second police officer shook his head and turned towards the first officer. "I swear, this city is getting weirder and weirder by the day."

The first police rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it."

-888-

By the end of the afternoon, Sophia and Mirror had approached the shop. Sophia was looking obsessively at the notepad with the officer's directions written on it. Finally, she approached an elegant shop window. When Sophia bothered to lift her head enough to see anything other than the instructions, Sophia ground to a halt and stared at the shop window in shock. Mirror who had been following close behind her crashed into her back. "Goodness! Sophia! You gave me a fright!" He gently touched her arm. "Sophia… are you alright?"

Sophia was staring at the elegant dresses in the window. Although she could not say why, Sophia knew instantly that her sister had created them. They were beautiful, soft and feminine with pearls and lace perfectly sewn into every sleeve and skirt. "She has to be here," Sophia whispered. "She has to be!"

Mirror squeezed her arm encouragingly and Sophia could have sworn that he was smiling at her behind the expressionless mask. Sophia pushed the door open and rushed inside. A small bell rang as she entered.

Sophia stared around at the shop's interior. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind the counter. "Coming! Coming!" a cheerful voice cried. Sophia's breath caught in her throat.

A curtained doorway behind the counter swept open and a young woman appeared in the room. As soon as Sophia saw her, everything clicked in her mind. It was the same woman that Sophia had seen every time that she had tried to scry for her sister. She was tall and slim with big blue eyes and coppery red colors. The woman froze and stared at her in shock before she whispered.

"Sophia?"

For a moment, Sophia couldn't find her voice. She couldn't find anything to say until the words tumbled out of Sophia's mouth. "Hello Giselle."