*Amber's POV*

It was fun just spending time with my siblings. James and I were kicking a ball and Sofia was in the grass reading a book. James almost knocked my tiara off with a kick and I told him off for it in jest. I kicked the ball a little too hard and sent it soaring by Sofia.

"Sofia head's up!" James called out.

Oh, that was another thing. After Sofia explained to James why she was so nervous around him, he calmed down with his taunts with her. They grew closer ever since. Sofia ducked instinctively.

"Nice kick Amber." she said idly.

"Thanks." I said.

"Yeah, it sent our ball all the way down the hill." James said looking over the edge.

Sofia looked and I did too. I spotted the ball sitting at the bottom by a rocky outcropping that sat just a little ways from the river.

"It didn't fall into the cave. I can go down and get it." Sofia said as she closed her book and stood up.

I grabbed her before she could leave.

"Wait Sofia. You want to go down there? Alone?" I asked.

"Yes." Sofia said, "Why? Is it dangerous?"

"She doesn't know about the trolls Amber. No need to scare her." James said.

"Trolls?" Sofia said.

"Yeah. There's an entire clan of trolls that live in the caves under the castle. They've lived there for generations." I said.

"No one's really been down there, at least no human has ever been near the cave." James said. "I can go with you if you want."

"It's alright James. I got it." Sofia said and ran down the hill.

*Sofia's POV*

I smiled as I ran down the hill. I hoped I was convincing enough. I knew one of the trolls that are in the cave down there. One of their tunnels led to the village and I had run into a little one who was lost. Her name was Teeny and she told me that trolls can't be out in the sunlight so I brought her to my little cabin in the woods to wait till dark. Mom had been away for work and wouldn't be back for a couple days. When it was dark, I picked Teeny up and took her back to her cave where I met the rest of the trolls. They thanked me for bringing her back by showing me around the caves. They also showed me shortcuts through the forest and made hunting really easy.

I made my way down the path and looked around to see a dirt path leading to a small opening at the bottom that was barely large enough for an adult to go through. I looked around to find the ball but couldn't find it. I hummed as I looked back at the crack where the ball was last seen. I walked up to it and looked inside. Right then and there, a green eye showed in the hole.

"Whoa!" I said as I moved back a little. "Hello."

"Sofia?" the voice said.

I recognized that voice, "Gnarly?"

"Yeah." he said.

"It's great to hear you. Did you happen to find the ball?" I asked.

"Here." he said as the ball came out.

"Thanks. I'll come back to visit. I didn't know there was a tunnel here." I said.

"It's here and not going anywhere. You know where we are." he said.

I grabbed the ball and headed back to the castle. I smiled as I brought it back. I can spar with them again. Yay. I also have a couple star stones to spare so I'll bring those with me. That evening, at dinner, everyone was talking about their day.

"Now that dinner's finished, who's ready for some jiggly wiggly pudding?" mom asked.

"I am!" James said.

I had gotten more comfortable with him but I still preferred Amber.

"Me too! I mean," dad cleared his throat and spoke calmly, "Me too."

As desert was being served, I had to ask, "Dad, what do you know about trolls?"

"Trolls?" Dad asked as he looked at me strangely, "What do you mean?"

"Well I was reading about them and wanted to see what you knew about them." I said.

"Hmm. Well I suppose I can tell you about the story about King Gideon and the trolls." dad said.

Mom and I were confused, well mom was, I had heard the story from the trolls before.

"We have trolls?" Mom asked.

"Not in the castle, under the castle in the tunnels that run from here into the forest. They've lived there for generations. Everyone knows that, don't tell me you two don't know the story." dad said.

"I've only moved to Enchancia a few months before Sofia was born. I don't really know all the old stories that well. Balthazar had brought home stories though." mom said.

I growled a little at the mention of my father. Mom sighed a little.

"Sofia, I've been meaning to tell you. A couple days before we left for the castle, a man came up to me. You were off doing what you do best and he told me that Balthazar had been killed in a sea storm. There were no survivors as the ship sank quickly. He left something for you though. Said you'd know what to do with it. I've placed it on your bed." mom said.

"Okay." I said controlling my voice.

See, dad-no Balthazar- had left us. He had just upped and left with no goodbye to me. I had heard mom yelling at him and had peaked to see Balthazar with all his things. He had a cold look in his eyes as he huffed and left.

"Can I tell the story of the trolls dad?" James asked.

"Sure." dad said.

James went into the story but Amber cut him off and carried on. Dad picked up on the end.

"Huh." I muttered.

I asked to be excused and headed up to my room. Luna was waiting for me, as was Mia and Robin, two bird friends of mine that followed me to the castle. I slept on the window seat as I had kinda made my bed into something else. I woke up to see Luna curled up by my head and her tail tickling my nose.

"Luna." I chuckled fondly.

Luna had been my best friend since I was little. I found her when she was just a pup and hurt. Her parents had left her behind so I took her in. I pet her head before going to get dressed. I chose to wear my regular tunic and pants because I wanted to. Plus I was going to go visit Gnarly and Teeny. I got up and headed down to the kitchen to get food. I had eggs and some meat with rice and it was good. I cleaned up and I was off to the trolls.

I entered the cave and started walking. There was a bridge and I was going to cross when I was pulled back. I looked up to see Gnarly.

"Gnarly!" I said.

"Hey Sofia." he said, "Careful, that bridge is really rickety and unstable cause of old age and no one uses it anymore."

"Ah." I said as I followed him to the village.

As I got there, I was tackled by a blur.

"Sofia!" they said.

I looked down and saw Teeny.

"Hi Teeny. Look at you. You're much bigger than when I last saw you." I said as I picked her up.

She giggled.

"Are you here to spar again? It's so much fun watching you." she said.

"Yeah, and to catch up. I'm surprised we're under the castle though." I said.

I pulled out the star stone I brought as a gift for her.

"Here you go Teeny. Little something for ya." I said as I handed it to her.

"Ooooh. Pretty." she said as she held it in her tiny hands.

Gnarly smiled and chuckled, "Sofia, come on. I told the elders that you were coming soon and they want to see you again."

I followed and said hi to everyone. I then spent the next couple hours sparing with the best of their warriors and just having fun. I had to go for lunch and so I said my goodbyes and headed back to the castle. Though before I did so, I cleaned up in the nearby river. I made sure that my clothes were clean and headed up the hill. I tried to get dad to see that the trolls weren't dangerous by bringing a few up to the castle but dad thought they were attacking. I stopped the guards by telling dad that they were merely performing. They were happy and when they were happy, they made noise. Dad made a proclamation that the trolls were allowed to come outside to see the stars.

"Sofia, how do you know the trolls?" Amber asked when we were in her room.

"Well, I met them a long time ago. Teeny, the small one who was clinging to dad's head, had been lost and I stumbled across her. I was out in the forest and she bumped into me. I picked her up, brought her into my cabin to wait til dark since trolls can't be out in the daylight. So when it was dark, I helped her find her way back to her family and as thanks, they showed me their village. So whenever I could, I would go spend some time with them." I said.

"Wow." she said.

Tomorrow was a school day and I was kinda shocked that all of that happened over the weekend, but we were going to start sorcery so I was excited. I dabbled in a little magic since the trolls had taught me the basics, or at least their wizard did. Fauna was teaching the class and we learned the spell to change a rock into a ruby, a lime into an emerald, and a shoe into crystal. I was having a small bit of trouble but I had to practice later as class ended and it was time for my next class.

To be honest, there were only a couple classes that I was having fun in, Sorcery because I actually had to ask and the royal history. The others I had tested out of back in the village, actually, I had been able to 'graduate' early from the school since I was so smart. It was great because it allowed me to help mom out more with the shop and time to learn skills of a trade. Blacksmithing, woodworking, and the like were fun because I was able to keep the store looking nice. Hunting and butchering was a good one to learn because I provided the meat for mom and I. Acrobatics was a way for me to stay active and was just fun. House work was fun too cause I got to cook something new and sewing was good because it allowed me to help mom out. Medical tasks were also great because it meant less trips to the doctors for minor things. Botany was for finding edible plants, plants that were decorative, and plants that were poisonous. I had the most badges in our Buttercup troop because of what I have to do.

Mia suggested that I get help from Cedric, the royal sorcerer. I took that suggestion and headed up to his tower. It was a mess and I decided to trade cleaning his shop for magic lessons. He agreed and told me that we started tomorrow. I agreed and headed back to my room. And so begins my apprenticeship. I sweep the floor as Mr. Cedric worked on a potion, which exploded into confetti. He apparently decides to try again later and began my lesson. He's a great teacher and an even better sorcerer. I don't know why everyone says he isn't. He gets pulled away by Baileywick saying that dad needed Cedric. When Cedric came back, he looked sad and told me about his father Goodwyn the Great, the greatest Royal Sorcerer ever. Somehow, I managed to knock over a potion that spilled on me and turned me into a lizard. I was surprised but Cedric was quick to turn me back so I praised him and asked why he couldn't get the spell he used on the statue right. He mumbles but I eventually get it out of him that he gets nervous around dad. I told him that I would get my dad to see that he really is a great sorcerer because he's my friend and he seems touched.

At dinner, King Magnus brags about his royal sorcerer, but I stood up to him.

"Mr. Cedric is a great sorcerer too. He'll perform." I said.

Dad seemed unsettled but I could care less. I wasn't going to let someone bully someone else when they clearly don't need any more criticism, and certainly not a king. I headed to Cedric's tower to tell him the good news and that we could help each other out as my test was on the same day as his performance. He agrees and so I worked on something for him right under his nose. I had lined the rocks up in a heart shape so that when I turned them into rubies, they would turn the heart red. It became time to leave, but I spotted a smudge on Cedric's spell book so I cleaned it and revealed two ingredients that he was missing. Now the invisibility potion would work.

Then the day of the test came. All of that practice really paid off. I could do it without saying the words now and I got a gold star for passing the test. I got home and showed mom the star before taking off to go help Cedric. Once the show started though, Cedric was nervous and so I decided to do the one thing that I knew he could do no matter how nervous he really was and so, spilled the lizard potion on myself. He reacted quickly and turned me back, which earned him a hug from dad. Cedric then used his invisibility potion on Luna. I gave him the gold star that I got from school which made him smile.