*Sofia's POV*
It was my first royal sleepover and the entire castle had been overhauled. Amber was telling me all these things but I didn't really care. I had redone my room to look more like my small home out in the woods. It still had all the princessy stuff but now it had an extension that's all.
I headed down to the kitchen to prepare my stew. The one that mom liked that first time I made it. I started small and shared with Ruby and Jade and before long, the entire village enjoyed my food. The chef tried to shoo me away as he wanted to make it but I told him that I would be making it my way. He sighed but let me at it. So the stew was done and just in the pot warming.
Amber had invited Princess Hildegard and Cleo, I invited Ruby and Jade. Amber made a fuss about it but I didn't care. They were my best friends. They stuck up for me with the other children. Ruby's mom was the one to patch me up after a particularly bad beating from the other children. It stopped after I turned seven and I filled out with muscle and fought back a bit. Their parents loved me so I didn't worry.
"Sofia, this is a royal slumber party. Emphasis on royal. Not to mention that it's your first slumber party as a princess. You do want to make a good impression don't you?" Amber said.
"Amber, you'll love them. Besides I don't have any princess friends like you do. They were my only friends I had back in the village. The only ones I trusted completely other than my mother." I said.
Amber's face fell, "Wait, only friends? Didn't you have more?"
I shook my head, "You've seen glimpses of them haven't you? Ruby and Jade were the ones who found me and took me to the village doctor."
"Oh. Well. fine." Amber said.
"Thank you." I said.
As the afternoon faded into evening, the carriages carrying the guests arrived. Mom and dad went out to greet them. I went with to greet them. I didn't really pay much attention to Hildegard and Cleo. I was waiting for my friends and here they come in a rickety old wagon that needed maintenance but still worked.
"Ruby! Jade!" I said as I ditched all princess stuff.
Ruby and Jade nearly fell out of the wagon as we hugged.
*Amber's POV*
I watched as the three girls hugged. I could see that Sofia was relaxed enough. She was actually smiling too. Sofia had asked politely if Ruby and Jade's things could be brought to her room instead of the observatory. Once they had it, Sofia dragged the two girls into the castle, completely ignoring everyone with a giant smile on her face. I sighed.
"Amber, what was that?" Hildegard asked.
I sighed, "What do you know of Sofia?" I asked.
"She's sweet and kind. I kinda liked their enthusiasm. Kinda fun." Cleo said.
I watched as Ruby, Jade, and Sofia ran past the front door. Cleo had looked down at her shoes and what she was wearing before shrugging and taking off after the three. I was surprised as Cleo and Sofia actually played. I saw the grins on both of their faces and I just sighed. It seemed fun actually. I held my breath as Ruby and Jade tackled Sofia. James had gotten sucker punched when he did that. Sofia seemed to just roll with it and Cleo joined in. They took off again.
"Amber, did you just see what I saw?" Hildegard asked.
"Yeah, Cleo was actually smiling. I haven't seen her smile since her mother showed her true colors." I said.
"Well, to answer your question. There's rumors that go around about Sofia. That she's strong and can keep up with the boys. She has a wolf that follows her everywhere. She's polite but always seems guarded to those who do know her. Zander, Jin and Khalid like her though. She's tall. Doesn't really follow the princess route in dresses." Hildegard said.
"Well, she had to grow up too quickly. She's our age yet she already knows more than us." I said. "When she first came to us, she was really guarded. I decided to go with a different approach and I actually got to know her. She's amazing but she only had those two girls as her friends in the village. She was wary of James, still is. James had tried to tackle her but she turned and punched him. I could see the fear in her eyes when he did and so later that night, she told me what happened and why she's so wary of James. He reminds her of the bullies in the village. When he tried to tackle her, she panicked and thought he was one of the bullies trying to hurt her."
"Oh." Hildegard said.
I watched as the girls ran by the front door again and I decided why the heck not and ran after them. Hildegard joined in not long after. I had fun. I could see that Cleo was enjoying it. Her eyes were wild with excitement. We stopped for dinner and a stew was brought out. It smelled delicious.
Ruby and Jade gasped.
"Sofia. Is this…." they started.
"Yep. Dig in girls. They've got fancier spices here so it's got even more flavor." Sofia said.
"Yes! We missed this!" the two said.
I watched as they dug into the stew. I looked at Sofia.
"You made this didn't you?" I asked with amusement.
"Yes." Sofia said.
"Smells really good." Cleo said.
Then she did something, she had glanced at Ruby and Jade before picking a spoon and dug into the stew. She put the spoon in her mouth to try it and soon was eating away.
"Hildegard. You have to try this. This is amazing." Cleo said as she filled another bowl.
Sofia giggled as she had her own bowl and was digging away. I said screw it and grabbed a spoon and stuck some of the stew in my mouth. I couldn't get enough of it, it's delicious! After two bowls I was content.
"Sofia, you made this?" Cleo said.
"Yeah. It's something I made. Mom had come home late and I had cooked a stew for us. It had to be a hardy stew because we didn't have much. Mom liked it so I decided to start making it for some in the village and eventually the entire village liked it." Sofia said.
"You've got to make this for dinner some day." I said as I really did enjoy it.
"Well its dark enough, why don't we head up to the observatory?" Sofia said.
Everyone agreed and we headed up. I saw a whole contraption when we got up. Sofia grinned.
"Ruby, Jade. What do you say we throw on a show for the princesses?" Sofia said.
"You got it!" they said.
"Show?" I asked.
"Yeah, you'll see. Cleo would like it." Sofia said.
And so it began. We watched as Ruby and Jade did their act before Sofia came dropping in. When it was done, the three ended it with a series of flips.
"Wow. That was cool." Cleo said.
Sofia pulled out some jerky and I grabbed some as did Ruby and Jade.
"Man I really wish you would teach us how to make these. " Jade said.
"Go ask the butcher. He knows how." Sofia said.
"The butcher? But he's mean." Ruby said.
"Just tell him I sent ya. You'll be fine." Sofia said.
Cleo shrugged and grabbed a piece before enjoying it.
"I like this." Cleo said.
Sofia tossed her a bag, "Take them. I can make more."
Cleo looked a little panicked, "No no. I can't. Mom-mother…"
Sofia looked at her and took her somewhere private. I caught the bag and pulled another piece out. I handed a smaller one to Hildegard to try.
"What is it?" Hildegard asked as I munched away on my piece.
"Sofia calls it jerky." I said.
She tried it and she liked it. Cleo and Sofia came back with grins. As the night grew to a close, we retired to our sleeping quarters. Sofia, Ruby and Jade all went to Sofia's room. With all the fun we were having I didn't realize that we didn't do anything how a royal slumber party should go. I brought it up but Cleo looked sad.
"No. That was the most fun i have ever had at a sleepover." she said before leaving the room.
I sighed as I knew where she was going and gave up. Hildegard and I followed and arrived at Sofia's room. We went in after knocking to see the girls stretching.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Stretching. After all that running and playing, we don't want to be sore in the morning." Sofia said.
I joined in and surprisingly, it was nice. I was also petting Luna, Sofia's wolf. It was interesting that I didn't really care much about status. Sofia was right, Ruby and Jade were really fun.
AN: James and Amber are both OOC. James is going to be a bit of a bully at the start. Amber is going to be the same except for around Sofia, but shows that she adores her new sister.
Also, some episodes may be squished together/shortened and some may be skipped.