AN: Hi all. I ain't dead, just busy as all get out finishing up my first year of college. We are in the last three weeks before finals so I've been more focused on homework. Does that mean I am working on homework like I should, not really. Either way, apparently, I skipped over this chapter and included events from this chapter in a much later one. Ooops. It's here now, so enjoy while I continue to balance this writing and school. ~Immortalshark.
*Amber's POV*
Today was the day that the person to host the Royal Prep Tea Party. I couldn't participate because I've hosted it before, but there's a chance Sofia might get it. Sofia was good in social situations but I'm not sure about parties. She's not one for parties.
"Sofia, have you ever been to a tea party?" Cleo asked.
We stopped and looked at Cleo. Sofia looked to be thinking about it.
"I think so. I'm not sure." Sofia said.
"You've never been?" Hildegard said, "Then how are you going to host the Royal Prep Tea Party if you get chosen."
"I'll think of something. You'd like it. I may or may not have gone to one or hosted one, but I know how to plan a party." Sofia said. "Amber, what's the Royal Prep Tea Party?"
"Well Sofia, the whole class goes including the Fairies." I said.
"Huh. Interesting." Sofia said.
She wasn't wearing a dress today, she was wearing a pair of pants and a comfortable looking shirt with a jacket. The pants were a burgundy red and her shirt was a lavender color with her jacket being a deep royal purple. When the voting came around, I really wanted to see what Sofia would come up with. Lo and behold, she was picked. So when we got home, Sofia was planning. James was grumbling.
"So Sofia, what are you planning on doing?" I asked.
"It's a secret." Sofia said with a smirk and left.
I huffed in jest because it's the first time I've seen her smirk when James was around, though I think she may have forgotten that he was here in the first place.
*Sofia's POV*
Okay, so I've got this thing to plan. I already know what I can do. I had found two secrets about the castle. There's underground tunnels that lead to an underground water source. I decided to swim in it because one it was beautiful and two, there were different scenes down there. As I was swimming I saw different scenes and after a couple, I realized that they were the princesses stories. I came across a platform on the other side and went exploring. There was a door that wouldn't open for me, but that was because there was a weirdly shaped key. I shrugged before swimming back to the other side.
The other one I was much willing to share with the class. It was a secret garden. It had a view of the mountain range and you could see for miles. I was also planning on having Mr. Cedric do some magic, or at the very least give me a spell that would create sparkles in the air and the sky would look like it was closer to sunset. I went to his tower and knocked.
"Mr. Ceedric!" I said.
He opened the door, "What is it?" he asked, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I was wondering if you have a spell or a couple spells that can do this. If you don't want to do it, then I'll do it." I said.
He looked at what I had and thought about it, "And what is it for?"
"I'm hosting my school's Tea Party this Friday." I said.
"Ah." he said. "Well, I'm busy on Friday. I have to run an errand that takes me to a far part of the kingdom."
"Okay. Do you have a spell then?" I said.
"No. Sorry Princess." he said.
"That's okay. Thanks anyway." I said and left.
Hmm, so I've got a back up plan. Lucinda. So I headed down to the village to her house. When I got there though, she had come running out of the house and crashed into me.
"Oof." I said as I didn't expect it.
"Oh Sofia?! What are you doing here?" Lucinda asked.
"Well, I was here to ask you for a bit of magical help. But now I'm curious as to what's going on here." I said.
"Oh, mom wanted some renovations done and the man who is offering doesn't want to lower the price because he believes he's the best at it." Lucinda said.
"Hmm, you know, your mom could help me too." I thought out loud.
I walked up to the door and knocked.
"Sofia. What are you doing?" Lucinda asked.
"I'm going to ask your mom for help too." I said.
"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea right now. Mom's not in the mood." Lucinda said.
With that, a man came running out of the house with a kid about my age running with him. The kid looked really familiar as did the man, but I didn't have anytime to think about it because Lucinda's mom came out yelling.
"And STAY OUT!" she said.
She saw me and Lucinda, "Oh, hello dear."
"Hi. I'm Sofia." I said.
"I'm Marla, Lucinda's mother." she said. "I've heard so much about you from Lucinda. Now what brings you here?"
I smiled, "Well, I have to host a Tea Party for my class, and I was wanting to add a magical aspect to it."
"Well, come in, come in. I've got plenty of spells, what do you need?" her mom asked.
I looked around and saw the mess.
"Oh don't mind the mess. I was doing something different and decided to redecorate without magic. I had hired a man who claimed to be the best at it and he just ruined everything." Marla said.
I looked at it, "What were you trying to do?"
She told me that she had wanted two wooden protectors. The ones that are said to ward off evil spirits but welcome the kind spirits as well as a new floor and all around renovated shop.
"If you help me out, I'll renovate it for you." I said.
"Really? You can do it?" Marla asked.
"Mom, she's the one who fixed her shop. You know the empty one but no one has ever set foot in because it's still owned?" Lucinda said.
Marla looked impressed, "You've got a deal princess. Now what do you need us to do?"
I told them what I wanted to do and Marla smiled.
"Well, that's certainly fun." she said.
I brought them to the castle to bring them to the garden where they were going to work. Marla was the one who made the sky look like a sunset and Lucinda made the hanging ice crystals, the ones from Queen Elsa and Princess Anna's story. The light from the setting sun made the crystals refract the light and make it look like sparkles were in the air.
"Whoa. This looks amazing!" Lucinda said.
"Thanks. I couldn't have done it with out you though." I said. "I'll be over sometime this weekend to help you fix up your shop."
"Thank you dear, now, we'd better go now. It was nice meeting you." Marla said.
"You too!" I said as they flew off.
I ran back to the castle to check on the food and tea. They were working well. I had given my recipe to the chef and he looked at it with a grin and got to it.
"Sofia." I heard Amber call.
"Yes Amber?" I asked as she came up to me.
"What are you going to do for the Tea Party? James is pushing for something else." Amber said.
"Well he's not planning it, I am." I said.
"Yes I know, but James has been complaining that it would be boring." Amber said.
"Well tell him to give it a shot. If he can't, well just tell him to stay in his room while everyone else enjoys it." I said.
Amber smiled at me, "So what are you going to do."
"You'll have to wait and see just like everyone else." I said.
She pouted a little before running off. I chuckled. Friday came and I got everything ready. I set ribbons up for them to follow and Baileywick was the final one as he was going to be bringing the tea pot and food.
*Flora's POV*
We arrived at the Enchancian Castle and were waiting on the students to arrive. Amber and James were waiting outside the castle. Once all the students arrived, we didn't move. I was curious as to see what was going on.
"Amber, which way to the party?" Hildegarde asked.
"I don't know. Sofia asked us to wait out here." Amber said.
I was really intrigued now. Just then a blue bird came by and dropped a piece of paper into Amber's hand.
"It says that Sofia has set tea cups everywhere. Its up to us to use the clues to find them. Then once we've found them all, then the next set of instructions will come." Amber said.
"Oooh a scavenger hunt. Fun." Cleo said.
We looked at all the clues. Cleo found one first, then Hildegarde. Even us fairies had to find them. Sofia actually put them in a hard to reach place which meant we had to fly to get them. Oh this is the most fun I've had. James found the very last one near his canon. Once he picked it up, there was a little noise. This time a robin came and dropped a piece of paper into his hands.
"Now Sofia wants us to follow the ribbons. Where the ribbons are, I don't know." James said.
Amber took it, "The ribbons are outside, in the garden."
We headed for the garden where we spotted the yellow ribbons. We followed them to a door, where the castle stewart was waiting.
"Right this way." he said.
He opened the door and we headed inside. It was absolutely breathtaking. The sky looked as if it was in the middle of a great sunset and the crystals were reflecting the light in a way that made it look like lights were flying around. There was a blanket set out on the grass to sit on.
"Baileywick, can you please send in the food and drinks?" Sofia said politely.
"Of course." he said and he went off.
In a few minutes there was a stew that smelled really good. I watched as both Cleo and Hildegarde smile and were the first few to the food. Us fairies waited till everyone had a bowl before going to get some ourselves.
"Sofia, you really outdid yourself this time. This stew is really tasty." Cleo said as she ate.
"Sofia, you made this?" Merryweather asked.
"Yes." Sofia said.
"Brilliant. This is really good Sofia." Zandar said.
I smiled as the stew was really good. We toasted and the party was really nice.
*Marla's POV*
It was a Saturday and Sofia was coming down to play. So I told Lucinda to clean her room before Sofia came. It was eight in the morning when I heard the knock. I went to go get the door and opened it to reveal Sofia standing there in a pair of work pants and a shirt.
"Good morning Sofia." I said as I let her in.
"Morning Ms. Marla. Now can you show me what you would like done? I'd like to get started early." She said.
"Of course." I said and told her exactly what I wanted.
She thought about it and grinned at me. She got right to work. I provided her with water and just watched her work. It was a little saddening that she was so young and was able to do this. She was almost done by dinner and would finish by nightfall.
"Sofia dear." I said.
"Yes?" she asked as she continued working.
"I feel like I should tell you who the man was." I said.
She hummed as she put the last bit of the floor in.
"He said his name was Balthazar. I told him that he needed the job to take care of his son. I gave him the job but he didn't do it the right way. You heard me yelling at him." I said.
The tile she was putting in shattered from her swinging a little too hard.
"What?" she asked with a harsh tone.
"His name was Balthazar and that he was looking for his long lost daughter." I said.
She growled a little. She took a deep breath and calmed down. She got back to work.
"You said he had a son?" she asked as she put a new tile in.
"Yes, about a couple months younger than you really." I said. "Quite charming too. The kid looked just like his father."
"Done." Sofia said.
She was tense as she stood up and admired her work. She left early in the morning to go back to the castle but took Lucinda with her.
*Miranda's POV*
Sofia had sent a note home saying that she was staying the night where she was in the village. I shrugged and let her. Both of us have been able to relax a little when we arrived. Sofia moreso because she finally has friends. When she came home in the morning, she was holding tension in her shoulders.
"Mom." she said.
Her voice held a tone that I've used before and I wondered what she needed.
"Can I see the letter that told you that Balthazar was gone?" she asked.
I was surprised.
"Why?" I asked.
"Oh, I just want to see it." she said.
So I gave it to her. She took it with her to her room.
*Lucinda's POV*
Sofia had woken me up early in the morning and asked my mom if I could go with her to the castle. Mom said yes and I went with Sofia. Sofia told me what she wanted me to do and I was willing to do it, especially after she told me why. The man with the kid was going under her father's name.
She told me to wait in her room until she got back. I sat in her room and it was more like a cabin inside a castle than a room. It was actually pretty cozy. Then Sofia came back with the letter in hand.
"Okay Luc. Can you cast a spell that can tell whether or not this is fake?" she said.
"Yep." I said as I did so.
It glowed red, meaning the content was fake. I told Sofia that it was fake. She growled low in her throat, almost like a wolf growl. I looked at Luna to see that her tail was tucked as she approached Sofia. She brushed her paw against Sofia's feet to grab her attention. Sofia sighed and pet Luna's head.
"I need you to keep a lookout on this." she said as she gave Luna a piece of fabric.
Luna barked and took a sniff.
"Good girl." Sofia said.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Well Balthazar is my birth father. He left me and mom when I was three. Said he took a job that didn't need us. I guess he left us for another family, one who bore him a son." Sofia growled, "Now that I'm a princess, because that news was blasted across all the known kingdoms, he must have heard. He now wants to come back."
"Oooh." I winced.
Sofia chuckled slightly, "I haven't thought of that man as my father for years. Someone else took that spot, well two people really."
I smiled and silently vowed to keep an eye out for him. When I went home, I told my mom about it and she set up a spell so that if he entered the village or if he was already in the village, she would know.
*Sofia's POV*
Once Lucinda left, I headed for constable Myles to tell him. I knocked on his door and heard him grant permission to enter.
"Oh. Princess Sofia. How may I help you today?" he asked in his rich baritone voice.
He was working on something and he put down his quill.
"Sorry for bothering you sir, but I heard news of someone. I do not want him anywhere near the castle. If he wishes to see the king, I want at least two guards with him and another two within sight." I said.
He looked a little alarmed, "Who?"
"My birth father. Balthazar Fraser." I said.
"Ah. What about the king? He would wonder why there would be an increase in guards." he asked.
"Just tell him that there is someone I do not want around the castle, for now." I said.
"As you wish Princess." he said.
"Thank you Constable." I said with a slight curtsy to him.
"Off you go now. I will let you know if the man had been spotted." he said.
"Oh, he also has a kid with him that looks just like him. His son." I said.
"Aye. I'll keep an eye out for the kid too." he said.
"Thank you." I said and left.