Chapter Six: A Discussed Proposal
That night, Sofia was dressed in an icy blue gown with golden sparkly swirls on the skirt, Amalgamate's traditional colors. Ruby and Robin flew around her head and twisted it into braids as she sat in front of her mirror. Crystal held a file in her mouth and filed Sofia's nails. Clover sat in a corner with Whatnaught, munching on carrots.
"You look so pretty," Cashew said as she sat on Sofia's makeup stand.
"I do too!" Pistashio cried as she put on of Sofia's ring on her head. Whatnaught laughed at his daughter.
Suddenly, Sofia's bedroom door was thrown open and Amber stormed in. She was a force to be reckon with in a rich purple gown with gold lace on the neckline, hem, and cuffs with a golden sash hanging on her torso and the crest of Enchancia embroidered at the top of the sash. A gold tiara, filled with purple gems, sat atop her blond curls. She looked like a walking Enchancia flag.
"There you are!" Amber cried and plopped onto a small chair next to Sofia. "Where have you been all day?"
"I was out riding with Mercy. It helps clear my head," Sofia answered as the animals scurried to hide. Amber held out a small black jewelry box to her sister.
"Oh, well, Violet told me to give this to you," she sighed. Sofia took the small box and looked at it. It was a ring box. She knew instantly who had sent it. And it wasn't who she wished it was. "Open it!"
"Okay, don't be so pushy," Sofia laughed and flipped open the top. Inside, resting on white silk, was a golden band with two ice blue stones resting on top. In between them was an enormous diamond. It was an engagement ring.
"Wow," Amber sighed as she leaned in for a closer look. "That's gorgeous! You're so lucky. Axel's such a catch!"
"Yeah," Sofia sighed and slipped the ring onto her fourth left finger. It felt weird, like it was burning her finger. She shouldn't be wearing this ring. She didn't want to be wearing this ring.
"What's wrong?" Amber demanded suddenly. Sofia jumped.
"What do you mean?" Sofia laughed nervously, focusing intently on her hairbrush.
"Come on. I'm you're sister. I can tell when something's bothering you," Amber protested and nudged closer. "Spill."
"Well," Sofia started and glanced up at her sister. "You know that this marriage was arranged. I didn't choose this. And I'm starting to wish I didn't have to marry him."
"Sofia," Amber said in her I'm-your-older-sister-and-I-know-more-than-you tone. "You're going to be a queen. And Axel is incredibly rich. You'll have everything you've ever wanted. And, besides, no one was courting you. You never even showed interest in any other guy. I mean, who would you have married? Desmond?"
"No. Desmond's courting Vivian, remember?" Sofia sighed and glanced away. Amber would never understand. And Sofia couldn't tell anyone. Her reputation would be ruined and, with it, her kingdom's.
"Oh right. I forgot. And, Sofia, Amalgamate's a really pretty kingdom. The palace is simply divine," Amber insisted.
"I know. I've been there before," Sofia replied, biting her lip as she remembered all the times she had practiced ice dancing with Hugo on his lake, laughing and enjoying the sensation of his touch as they jumped and flipped through the air. Sofia bit her lip harder with guilt.
"Well, then, I don't see why your complaining," Amber huffed and began pawing through Sofia's makeup stash.
"So who do you want to court you?" Sofia asked, changing the subject to Amber's favorite one. Amber.
"Oh, I don't know," Amber giggled and tossed her head. That's when Sofia noticed something interesting.
"When did you get those earrings?" Sofia inquired and reached up to touch the amethysts dangling from her sister's earlobes.
"There a gift from one of my many, many, many suitors," Amber explained, a smirk creeping up onto her face. "Oh! You'll never believe what I heard today!"
"What?" Sofia asked, smiling at her sister's dramatic voice.
"I heard James talking to Daddy and he said he was debating if he was ready to propose to a girl!" Amber cried, eyes wide.
"Who?" Sofia gasped.
"I don't know!"
"You didn't ask him?"
"I was waiting for backup."
"Well, let's go then!" Sofia cried. Both girls leapt up and raced towards James' room. Before she shut the door, Sofia gave a thankful wave to her animal friends. Then she followed her sister and her billowing purple gown.
They turned left and threw open a set of dark wooden doors. Inside was James' room. Wooden beams were exposed and a bookcase was set against a wall. Enchancia banners hung on the walls and an oak bed sat in the middle of the room. James sat at his desk, writing something down on a piece of paper
"James!" Amber shouted and grabbed his shoulders. He gave a shout of surprise and hurriedly flipped his paper over.
"Amber! Sofia! What are you doing here?" James demanded as he stood up, obviously flustered.
"I overheard you and Daddy talking about something very interesting this morning," Amber drawled, flopping onto James' bed. Red crept into his cheeks and Sofia watched with interest. "What was he saying, Sofia? I can't remember."
"You told me he was debating if he was ready to propose to someone," Sofia reminded her sister as she walked further into the room. Amber suddenly sat up excitedly.
"Oh right!" Amber cried. "But we didn't know who he wanted to propose to!"
"That is why we came here, Amber," Sofia laughed at her sister's dramatic antics.
"Ah, yes. So if you could just be a dear and let us know…"Amber drifted off, staring hopefully at her twin who was staring at the ceiling in annoyance.
"No, Amber, I'm not telling you who I'm proposing too," he groaned, blushing red as a tomato.
"Why not?" she whined.
"Because I don't know if she'll say yes!" James yelled. "And I want to tell the whole family at the same time."
"When?"
"Tomorrow. I'm proposing tomorrow. I'll tell everyone at dinner," James explained and stomped out of the room. But before he left he paused next to Sofia. "I need to talk to you. I'll be in your room," he whispered in her ear. Sofia nodded once and he left. Amber, meanwhile was drawing doodles with his spare ink and paper.
"Uh, I have to, um, go finish getting ready for the coronation. I'll see you later," Sofia told her. She waved halfheartedly and Sofia took that as 'goodbye.' So she ran back to her room and flung open her doors. Crystal the artic fox ran up too her, full of concern.
"Sofia! James is here and he keeps disturbing my things!" she cried. Sofia laughed and petted her head.
"Don't worry. I'll tell him to put them back," she promised. Crystal rubbed against her leg in gratitude and pranced to a sunny spot on the floor. James was watching Whatnaught's children run up and down a branchy structure in the back of Sofia's room while he fiddled with Crystal's toys.
"James, what's up?" Sofia asked him as she came in. He looked up quickly and dropped a squeaky toy on the floor. Crystal glared at him. "You better put that back. Crystal hates it when people mess with her things."
"Oh, sorry," James mumbled and he tossed it back in its appropriate basket. Then he turned back to his little sister, face red enough to match his jacket.
"Is there something you wanted?" Sofia wondered, walking closer.
"Uh, yeah. I was wondering…ah, do you, um," James stuttered and ran his hand through his tussled blond hair with embarrassment. "Can you tell me what kind of gem Ruby likes? I want to, um, get her a necklace."
"She likes rubies. Is that all?" Sofia inquired, smirking slightly.
"Does she ever, like, talk about me? At all?"
"Why?"
"Just wondering."
"Oh," Sofia said simply. James looked like he was going to explode.
"So does she?"
"A bit."
"What does that mean?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because I want to know if she'll say yes!" James yelled. Silence filled the room for a moment, then James slumped into Sofia's window seat. "I want to know if she'll say yes."
"You're proposing to her?" Sofia asked, barely able to contain her joy.
"Yeah. I'm taking her on a boat ride to this little island. There'll be a picnic and it'll just be us, no titles or money. I already got the ring," James admitted, blushing furiously. He pulled out a small box and popped the lid. Inside was a golden band with two ruby hearts next to a glorious diamond that looked to be of much better quality than the one on Sofia's finger.
"She'll love it," Sofia told him as she sat next to her worrying brother.
"So you think she'll say yes?" James asked, smiling, clearly hoping.
"I do," Sofia admitted. James jumped up and punched the air, victorious. Sofia laughed.
"Promise you won't tell anyone. I only told Dad, but, you know, he's my dad," James said.
"I promise," Sofia said. James hugged her in thanks.
"See you in a bit," he called over his shoulder as he ran out of her room. Sofia smiled. Even though her romance with Hugo could never become a reality at least one fairytale ending would come true.
