Tales from the Castle - a Sofia the First fanfic
Chapter 5: A New Face
Notes: retro mania suggested I do a story inspired by Princess Mombi's Hall of Heads from "Return To Oz". This chapter takes place during the time Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo are children.
A new arrival
It was morning at Royal Prep, and the Royal Prep students had just started classes for the day. In the Formal Letter Writing class, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo, along with other students, were busy practicing how to do invitation letters when Miss Flora came into class with a new student.
"Class, we have a new student" Flora announced. "This is Princess Bridget from the Kingdom of Lavia".
Bridget stepped forward. She was a girl with brown hair, who wore a long flowing beige skirt, and a white short sleeve blouse.
"Class, how do we greet her?" Flora continued.
"Good morning" Sofia smiled.
"Good morning" Amber smiled.
"Good morning" Hildegard smiled.
"Good morning" Cleo smiled.
The rest of the class following in wishing Bridget a good morning. The class then continued.
Lunch
It was now time for lunch at Royal Prep. Bridget walked into the Royal Prep dining room, and got her lunch. As she looked around for a place to sit, she heard a girl's voice call out.
"Princess Bridget".
Bridget looked to where the voice had come from, and noticed Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo sitting at a table. Sofia motioned Bridget to come over.
"Hello, Princess Bridget" Sofia smiled. "Please, sit down".
Bridget sat down at the table.
"I'm Sofia, and this is my sister, Amber" Sofia started. "These are our friends, Hildegard and Cleo".
"A pleasure to meet you, Bridget" Amber smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Bridget" Hildegard smiled.
"Welcome to Royal Prep, Bridget" Cleo smiled.
"Thank you" Bridget smiled.
Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo then ate lunch while having a pleasant conversation with each other. As they ate lunch, Miss Flora, Miss Fauna, and Miss Merryweather looked on from a distance.
"I hope Bridget will be able to fit in at Royal Prep" Miss Fauna said hopefully.
"After all, it must be hard living with a curse" Miss Merryweather commented.
"I'm sure Bridget will be able to fit in here" Miss Flora started. "We'll just have to keep an eye on the situation".
Miss Fauna and Miss Merryweather nodded in agreement.
As lunch continued, Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo got to know each other, and started becoming friends.
"We'll have to schedule a play date, Bridget" Amber smiled. "How about tomorrow afternoon at Enchancia Castle?".
"My parents like me to stick around our castle most times" Bridget quietly said.
"We could always come over to your castle" Sofia suggested to Bridget.
"Well" Bridget started, "I'll have to ask my parents first".
After school at Lavia Castle
School had ended for the day, and Bridget arrived home for the day. Waiting for her was King Duncan and Queen Lizette.
"Did you have a good day at Royal Prep, Bridget?" Lizette asked.
"Yes, ma'am" Bridget smiled.
"That's good, Bridget" Duncan smiled.
"I made friends with four princesses today" Bridget started. "I was wondering if it would be possible to have them over for a play date?".
Duncan and Lizette looked concerned.
"I know your lonely, Bridget" Lizette gently said. "That's why we let you attend school at Royal Prep. But if any of the children found out about your curse ...".
"I'll be careful, ma'am" Bridget pleaded. "I just want to play the part of a normal child, if even for just a little bit".
"Very well" Duncan said. "Just be very careful".
"Yes, sir" Bridget acknowledged.
As Bridget walked into the castle, Duncan and Lizette talked to each other.
"If the other children find out about Bridget's curse, they'll never want to have anything to do with her" Lizette said, worried.
"We'll have to take a chance" Duncan commented. "Bridget deserves a chance to live some kind of a normal life".
"Your right, of course" Lizette quietly said.
"We'll arrange a play date for this Saturday" Duncan said. "We'll take it one step at a time".
Saturday
It was now Saturday morning at Lavia Castle, and Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo had just arrived for their play date with Bridget.
"Good morning, Bridget" Sofia smiled.
"Good morning" Bridget smiled back.
Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo then started their play date. As the morning wore on, the five decided to have a tea party where they had a very good time.
At noon, King Duncan and Queen Lizette hosted a lunch for Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo. Everybody had a fine time eating, and talking among themselves.
After lunch, it was time for the girls to freshen up. Afterward, Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo started to walk back outside. Hildegard, however, stopped to admire a piece of artwork, and soon became separated from the other girls. Since Hildegard was unfamiliar with Lavia Castle, she soon got lost.
As Hildegard walked down a hallway, she came across a door. Thinking it might be a way out, Hildegard opened the door and went into a room. In the back of the room, there was a curtain. Hildegard pulled back the curtain, and discovered another room.
Hildegard walked into the other room. In the room were a series of wooden display cases with glass doors. As Hildegard looked at the display cases, she noticed six of them had what she thought were female mannequin heads, with each of the six cases containing one head. As Hildegard looked closer at one of the heads, it suddenly opened it's eyes and looked straight at Hildegard. Hildegard then let out a loud scream. In a few moments, everybody ran into the room.
"What kind of house of horrors is this?" Hildegard exclaimed, frightened.
Sofia, Amber, and Cleo looked in horror at the six female heads, which were now all staring at everybody in the room.
"I was afraid of something like this happening" Queen Lizette said, shaken.
Bridget started sobbing. "This damned curse! I never asked for this! All I wanted was a normal life! Was that so much to ask for?!". Bridget then dropped to her knees, crying.
Sofia's heart went out to Bridget. Sofia rushed over, knelt down, and threw her arms around around Bridget.
"It's alright" Sofia gently said to Bridget. "Please don't cry. I'm right here".
Bridget looked up at Sofia. "Your not ... scared?".
"At first I was" Sofia started, "but not anymore".
Sofia helped Bridget to her feet.
"What is going on here, Bridget?" Sofia gently asked.
"Now that you've seen what's here, you do have a right to know" Bridget replied. "A long time ago, an evil sorceress had a falling out with my family. As revenge, she put a curse on me - to live forever. As part of that curse, I would live a normal lifespan, die, then come back immediately as a child in a different body. And, to remind me of my past lives, every time I die, the head I had from my previous life would appear in one of these display cases. The truth is that I've lived for over six lifetimes. I'm now on my seventh lifetime".
"To live forever must be interesting" Cleo commented. "The history you've seen ..."
"It might seem so ... at first" Bridget replied. "But it soon becomes something that is very hard to live with. Sooner or later, those you love die of old age, while you live on. It can be very lonely at times".
Everybody in the room looked at Bridget - their hearts went out to her.
"King Duncan and Queen Lizette are not my parents, but are the latest members of the Lavian royal family to look after me" Bridget started. "The two of them have been very kind to me, and I love them very much".
Duncan and Lizette smiled.
"So, now you know what I am" Bridget said to Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo. "Where do we go from here?".
Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo thought for a few moments.
"I don't see why this changes our friendship" Sofia commented. "I, for one, still want to be friends with you".
"Now that I know what is going on, I can live with it" Amber started. "I'd like to continue to be friends with you".
"As would I" Cleo smiled.
Hildegard then walked up to Bridget. "I'm sorry I screamed" Hildegard started. "I was scared. But know it wasn't a judgment. I can accept who you are. Friends?".
"Friends" Bridget smiled as she and Hildegard hugged.
Sofia, Amber, and Cleo then came over and joined in the hug. Suddenly, Sofia's amulet started to glow brightly. Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, Cleo, and Bridget were then surrounded by a bright blue glow. At that same time, the heads in the display cases disappeared. The bright blue glow then disappeared, and Sofia's amulet stopped glowing.
"What just happened?" Bridget asked, taken off guard.
"My amulet is magical" Sofia started. "It must have lifted your curse".
"Your amulet ... is magical?" Hildegard asked Sofia.
"Yes, Hildi" Amber answered for Sofia. "But, it's suppose to be a secret. If everybody knew about it, somebody might try to take it from Sofia. Her amulet's powers must remain a secret between the seven of us in this room".
Hildegard, Cleo, Bridget, Duncan, and Lizette nodded in agreement.
"But how does it work?" Bridget started, "if you don't mind me asking".
"For each deed performed, for better or worse, a power is granted, a blessing or curse" Sofia answered. "When I comforted you, Bridget, my amulet must have given me the power to lift your curse".
Sofia and Bridget then hugged.
"Thank you, Sofia" Bridget said with tears of happiness running down her face. "Thank you".
"Your welcome, Bridget" Sofia smiled.
Monday at Royal Prep
It was now Monday morning, and a new school week was starting. In the office of Miss Flora, Miss Fauna, and Miss Merryweather, the three headmistresses heard a knock at their door.
"Come in" Miss Flora invited.
The door opened, and Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo came in.
"Miss Flora" Bridget started, "King Duncan and Queen Lizette wanted me to give you this". Bridget then handed Flora a note. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather read the note, then looked at the five girls and smiled.
"We so happy for you, Bridget" Flora smiled. "Your curse is lifted".
Bridget smiled back as Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo stood next to Bridget.
"But how was the curse lifted?" Merryweather asked.
"I'm sorry, but we can't disclose that" Hildegard answered. "We made a promise to keep that a secret. The important thing is that Bridget is back to normal".
"I understand" Flora said.
"It's been decided that nobody else ever needs to know about Bridget's past" Amber started. "Bridget is back to normal, and now gets to live a normal life. Let her live that life with a clean slate".
"Agreed" Flora smiled. "As far as anybody else is concerned, Bridget is a normal princess. The secret of her past shall remain a secret".
Bridget smiled.
"By the way" Bridget started, "King Duncan, Queen Lizette, and I had a discussion over the weekend. Since my curse has been lifted, and I can now live a normal life, they want me to officially think of them as parents".
"How wonderful" Fauna smiled.
"Well, the five of you had better be off to class" Miss Flora said.
"Yes, ma'am" Bridget smiled.
As Bridget, Sofia, Amber, Hildegard, and Cleo walked out of the office, the five princesses happily talked to each other. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather smiled at the scene. Bridget was back to normal, and she had friends - it was a wonderful thing to behold.