Tales from the Castle - a Sofia the First fanfic
Chapter 17: Doppler Duplicato (Part 2)
Note: this is the second part of a two part story. For the first part of this story, see Chapter 16 of "Tales from the Castle".
The trouble continues
Back at the Hootenanny, bad Sofia was still causing trouble, and good Sofia found herself apologizing for bad Sofia's behavior.
"Sorry for what I just did!" good Sofia told a woman, before turning to a man. "Excuse me, so sorry!" Sofia said to the man.
Good Sofia then spotted bad Sofia knocking a man's hat off.
"Hey!" The man yelled.
As bad Sofia laughed, good Sofia took the opportunity to drag bad Sofia behind a barn.
"What do you think you're doing?" bad Sofia asked.
"I have to go back to the castle before Dad finds out no one's playing with Joy" good Sofia declared. "And you have to stay out of trouble until I get back".
"I don't want to do that at all" bad Sofia declared. "I love causing trouble".
"I figured" good Sofia noted. "That's why I'm putting you in here".
"No your not!" bad Sofia screamed. Bad Sofia then tried to push good Sofia out of the way, but was stopped by a magical beam of energy that came out of nowhere, freezing bad Sofia in place. Good Sofia turned around to see Lucinda standing there.
"Let me guess?" Lucinda started. "An evil twin?".
Sofia then explained to Lucinda what had happened.
"Your twin wearing a pink gown, and acting evil" Lucinda noted. "I thought it looked like a duplication spell went wrong. I'd reverse it myself, but that's advanced magic I haven't studied yet".
"I've got to get back to the castle and fix things with Joy" good Sofia declared.
"We've better lock up your evil twin ... just to be safe" Lucinda suggested. Good Sofia, and Lucinda, dragged bad Sofia into the barn, shut the door, and locked the door just as Lucinda's freeze spell on bad Sofia was wearing off.
"You two let me out of here!" bad Sofia demanded.
"Not until I've fixed everything" good Sofia declared. "Oh! What have I done?".
"You go back to the castle and do what you can" Lucinda suggested. "Meanwhile, I'll find my mom and see if she knows how to reverse a duplication spell".
"Okay" good Sofia acknowledged. "Thank you".
"Anytime, Sofia" Lucinda smiled. "That's what friends are for".
Bridge building
Back at the castle, Joy marched over to the room her father and Roland were in. She knocked on the door, and a servant answered.
"Yes, Lady Joy?" the servant asked.
"I'd like to talk to my daddy, please" Joy requested.
"Oh, he's very busy right now, dear" the servant explained. "But they'll be breaking for tea in just a few minutes".
"Humph, fine" Joy said as she sat down, prepared to wait.
Inside of the room, the royal architect unveiled his model of Ramblingham's new bridge.
"May I present your new bridge, my lord" the royal architect declared.
"It's a little plain, isn't it?" Lord Gilbert frowned.
"I think what the Duke is trying to say is we were expecting something ... oh, grander!" Roland proclaimed.
"Exactly!" Lord Gilbert smiled. "This is a great jumping off point, but how about adding an arch over here?". Gilbert then added a model arch to the bridge, and then another. "And here?".
"Oh ..." The royal architect cringed.
"And here!" Lord Gilbert added.
"And maybe some towers here?" Roland joined in. "And here, and here!".
"Sire, please" The royal architect pleaded. "The model is extremely fragile!".
"And while we're at it, I'll just add some curvy pieces, too!" Lord Gilbert declared. "Add a decorative element!".
"Please, be careful" The royal architect tried to direct them. "I wouldn't put that there ... oh, now that's just upside down".
Running amuck
Back at the Hootenanny, bad Sofia was trying to get out of the barn.
"I can't believe they locked me up!" bad Sofia snarled, as she climbed up a pile of hay bales. "Nobody puts me in a barn! I'll make miss goody goody princess pay for that!".
Bad Sofia opened a window, and climbed out of the window, landing on a pile of leaves.
Back at the castle, as Joy was still waiting, Cedric sauntered over to her.
"Hello there, little one" Cedric smiled widely. "Tell me, do you like bunnies?". He then pulled out Clover, and patted him on the head. "Of course you do!".
"He's so cute!" Joy cooed.
"Yes, cute" Cedric bounced Clover in his hands. "He's pre-owned, but still in fine condition".
"I love him!" Joy smiled.
"Well then, what would you say if I said you could have him?" Cedric offered.
Joy squealed, and reached for Clover. Cedric then moved Clover out of her grasp.
"For the low, low price of that purple amulet you are wearing?" Cedric suggested.
"It's a deal!" Joy declared.
Cedric chuckled maniacally.
At the same time, good Sofia had returned to the castle via a coach.
"Oh, I hope I'm not too late!" Sofia fretted.
Just as good Sofia went inside the castle, another coach arrived in the castle courtyard, and bad Sofia came out of it. Bad Sofia then found an oil can on a nearby barrel. "Ooh, oil!" bad Sofia smirked. "I don't think these castle floors are slippery enough. But they will be!".
Meanwhile, good Sofia arrived in time to interrupt Cedric and Joy's exchange.
"Sofia?" Joy gasped.
"Princess!" Clover cheered.
"Sofia?!" Cedric groaned.
"Joy, I'm so sorry I left you alone" good Sofia apologized "I won't do it again, I promise. Thank you so much, Mr. Cedric, for looking after her. And oh, you found Clover!".
As good Sofia reached for Clover, Cedric realized she was wearing her amulet.
"Wait, why are there two amulets here?" Cedric gasped.
Suddenly, they heard Baileywick slip and fall outside.
"Baileywick, are you alright?" good Sofia asked.
Baileywick was leaning against an upturned trolley, with broken crockery around him.
"Not at all" Baileywick declared. "Who oiled the floors?".
As the group looked at the oil on the floor, they followed it to bad Sofia who was cackling wickedly.
"I'm back!" bad Sofia laughed, as she started running.
"We've got to stop her!" good Sofia declared, as she gave chase. Joy ran after them.
"Wait, wait!" Cedric ran after Joy. "I can still offer you a cupcake in exchange for that amulet!" He slipped on some oil and fell on his back. "Either amulet!".
Bad Sofia entered the kitchen.
"It is way too neat in here!" bad Sofia declared, knocking over all the pots and pans. "That's better!". Bad Sofia then went over to a cook about to taste his dish. "How's the stew?" bad Sofia asked as she knocked the spoon out of the cook's hand.
"Hey!" The cook yelped.
"Sorry!" good Sofia apologized, picking up the spoon. "Here's your spoon!".
Clover and Sofia ran past, followed by Joy.
"Excuse me!" Joy called.
"That's alright" The cook waved, as Cedric ran in.
"I ..." Cedric started as he was interrupted mid-sentence, as the cook accidentally hit Cedric in the face with a spoon. Cedric fell down as a result.
Meanwhile, bad Sofia ran down a hall filled with suits of armor, knocking them over as she passed them.
"No!" good Sofia yelled. "Don't!".
"Crash! Boom! Bang!" bad Sofia smirked as the suits of armor fell. "Oh, my knights in falling armor!".
Good Sofia, Joy, and Clover managed to run past as the suits slowly toppled. Cedric tried to slip underneath them, but they all toppled onto him. He emerged with a helmet on his head. "I can't see!" Cedric said, muffled. "I can't see!". Cedric then walked into a wall.
Meanwhile, Lord Gilbert was still adding to the model bridge.
"And take one of these ..." Gilbert said as he placed a golden winged elephant figurine on an arch. "Bring out the highlights with this, slap that on the back ...". He added two gold wings to the center, before picking up a column. "Whimsy is always good ... oh, and we can't forget this piece, right here!". Gilbert then stepped back to admire the finished product. "I don't know what it is, but I like it!".
"Ohhh ..." The royal architect groaned.
Outside, bad Sofia hid from good Sofia, then followed the servant with the tea.
"Tea is served, my lords" the servant announced.
"Great!" Roland smiled. "Because we're done".
"But I'm not!" bad Sofia declared, knocking the tea tray out of the servant's hands. "Ooh, nice bridge". Bad Sofia then knocked over all the arches on the model of the bridge. "Oops, oops, oops, oops!". The whole model then collapsed. "Oh, excuse me!" bad Sofia grinned.
"Sofia!" Roland frowned.
"Dad!" good Sofia exclaimed as she entered. She then helped the servant with his tea cups.
"Sofia?" Roland asked. "But you're already here! How can there be two of you?".
"Well ..." good Sofia gulped.
"There are two of you?" Joy gasped, dropping the amulet she was holding.
"Ohhhh!" Cedric exclaimed as he slipped down the corridor and crashed into the door, the impact knocking off the helmet. Landing on the floor, he spotted the amulet that Joy had been holding. "The amulet? It's mine! All mine!" He then noticed the copy. "What?!"
"What is going on here, Sofia?" Roland asked.
"She made me!" bad Sofia pointed at good Sofia.
Roland frowned as Sofia sighed.
"I used Mr. Cedric's copying spell to make a copy of myself" good Sofia confessed.
"So this isn't the real amulet?" Cedric asked as his face fell. "It's just a ... fake?".
"Why would you do that?" Roland asked.
"I wanted to go to the Hootenanny, but I promised you I'd play with Joy" good Sofia sighed. "So I thought if there were a copy of me, we could do both things. Instead, I wound up making a mess of everything".
"Wasn't it a-mazing?" bad Sofia smirked.
"Mr. Cedric?" good Sofia asked. "Can you reverse the spell?".
"Of course I can" Cedric growled.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted" bad Sofia declared. "Buh-bye!".
"Doppler dominikin!" Cedric said as he pointed his wand at bad Sofia..
Bad Sofia melted and vanished in a puff of purple dust, laughing all the while, as Lucinda and her mother raced into the room. Cedric looked at his hand as the copy of the amulet faded as well.
"Well, it looks like his wand actually works after all" Lucinda's mother whispered to Lucinda in a joking manner about Cedric.
Lucinda chuckled at her mother's remark.
"Excuse us, King Roland" Lucinda's mother apologized. "We heard what happened, and we came to help. But, we see your capable sorcerer has already dealt with the crisis".
Cedric looked at Lucinda's mother with a drop dead look, knowing full well it was a private joke on her part.
"Since the crisis is over, it is now time for Dorrie's afternoon lesson" Lucinda's mother announced as she and Lucinda turned to leave.
"Very well" Roland acknowledged as the two witches left.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to retreat to my workshop to cry" Cedric sadly announced.
As Cedric walked down the hallway, he passed Lucinda, and Lucinda's mother.
"Not your day, is it?" Lucinda's mother snickered at Cedric.
"Oh be quiet, witch!" Cedric shot back.
"From you, I'll take that as a complement" Lucinda's mother acknowledged with a grin as Cedric walked away in defeat.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Roland was taking to Sofia.
"Sofia, if you make a promise, you should always keep it" Roland declared.
"I know" Sofia sighed. "I'm sorry, Dad".
"I appreciate that" Roland smiled. "But I don't think I'm the one you owe an apology to, hmm?"
"You're right" Sofia nodded, as she turned to Joy. "Joy, I'm so sorry I went to the dance instead of staying here with you. But I'm going to make it up to you. We'll start with a tour of the castle. And then, we can do anything we want".
"Well ... I do love dancing" Joy smiled.
"Really?" Sofia smiled. "You wanna go to the Hootenanny?".
"I've never been to a Hootenanny, but I'm sure I'll love it!" Joy beamed.
"Excellent" Lord Gilbert smiled. "You girls go do that, while we figure out our bridge!".
"How about this, sires?" The royal architect suggested as he offered a rebuilt version of the original.
"I love it!" Lord Gilbert chuckled.
"Me too!" Roland agreed.
"Why didn't you show us this to begin with?" Gilbert asked.
"I did" The royal architect groaned, "before you changed it all. But I'm so glad you like it".
"Thank you, my King" Gilbert smiled.
"You're quite welcome" Roland declared.
Back at the Hootenanny, Amber was getting some punch when Sofia and Joy approached.
"Stay back!" Amber recoiled, holding the ladle like a weapon.
"It's okay, Amber" Sofia declared. "Everything's fine, now".
"What is going on with you today, Sofia?" Amber asked, puzzled.
"I'll tell you everything later" Sofia promised. "But right now, it's time to dance. Come on, Joy".
"Wait!" Amber called. "You have to at least tell me how you keep changing so quickly?!".
Sofia and Joy started dancing.
"I'm so glad I got to spend the day with you" Joy smiled. "The real you ... this are the real you, right?"
"Yes" Sofia nodded. "It's the real me".
Later, in Miranda's study
Later that afternoon, Queen Miranda was sitting in her study when she heard a knock at the door.
"Come in" Miranda invited.
The door opened, and in walked Dorrie.
"You sent for me, Queen Miranda?" Dorrie asked.
"Yes, Dorrie" Miranda smiled. "Please, sit down".
"Thank you, ma'am" Dorrie smiled back as she sat in a chair.
"I was quite taken with the kindness you showed Lady Joy today" Miranda acknowledged. "And that got me to thinking about young royals who occasionally visit the castle. Lady Joy quickly accepted your help because you were her age. And I think that young royals who visit here would much rather deal with somebody their age. Therefore, when young royals visit here, I would like you to be in charge of seeing to their needs".
"Me, Queen Miranda?" Dorrie asked, taken off guard.
"Yes" Miranda answered with a reassuring smile. "During those times, you would act as an intermediary between the visiting young royals and the staff. Please tell me you'll accept the job?"
"Then, yes" Dorrie beamed. "I'll accept".
"Good" Miranda said, very pleased. "By the way, I'm giving you tomorrow off ... with pay".
"I do have duties tomorrow, ma'am" Dorrie politely pointed out.
"Don't you worry about that" Miranda reassured Dorrie. "Somebody will take care of your duties tomorrow. You just enjoy your day off tomorrow. Have fun".
"Thank you" Dorrie responded, pleased.
At that moment, a knock came at the door.
"Come in" Miranda invited.
The door opened, and Sofia walked in.
"That will be all, Dorrie" Miranda started. "I need to have a conversation with my daughter".
"Yes, Queen Miranda" Dorrie acknowledged as she left Miranda's study, and closed the door behind her.
"Sofia" Miranda started. "I need to have a talk with you about using a copying spell to make a copy of yourself".
"I'm very sorry about that, Mom" Sofia quietly apologized. "It was wrong of me, and I regret it very much".
"I realize that Lord Gilbert arrived a day ahead of schedule, and put your plans off" Miranda started. "However, how you handled the situation was questionable. You could have easily kept your promise to Lady Joy to show her around the castle, and then you could have taken her to the dance as your special guest".
"I didn't think of that" Sofia admitted.
"Perhaps you will in the future" Miranda suggested. "This is the second time that you've, shall we say, done something that is troubling. The first time was on Mother's Day when you had Lucinda and her mother use magic so it would be just the two of us, instead of the two of us plus Amber and James".
"I'm sorry for that as well" Sofia apologized.
"Sofia" Miranda said, "you do realize that I can't just let these two things pass?".
"Yes, Mom" Sofia quietly acknowledged.
"Therefore, you will be spending tomorrow doing the duties that were originally planned for Dorrie" Miranda announced. "As you are working tomorrow, please reflect on your past actions, and figure out if there could have been better ways you could have handled the situations".
"Yes, Mom" Sofia acknowledged in a quiet tone.
"I'm not doing this to be mean" Miranda pointed out. "It's just that ... I don't want you turning down the same path I once did. I want better for you".
"What path was that, Mom, if you don't mind me asking?" Sofia asked, curious.
"Let's just say that as a teenager, I was a bit out of control" Miranda answered. "However, that's a story for when you are older".
"Yes, Mom" Sofia acknowledged.
"You do Dorrie's duties tomorrow, think about what you could have done differently, and we'll consider the matter closed" Miranda promised.
The next day
Sofia got up early so she could start Dorrie's duties. As Sofia walked to the janitorial supply room after getting her schedule from Baileywick, she saw Dorrie leaving the supply room. Dorrie was wearing a simple dress, and not her maid uniform.
"Oh, Sofia" Dorrie said, taken off guard. "I was hoping to be done before you arrived. I know that your being punished, and I didn't want to rub your nose in it. I just wanted to make sure that the janitorial supplies were fully stocked".
"I had this punishment coming" Sofia admitted.
"I do have some good news for you" Dorrie announced. "If you need some tips, Clover can provide them. He's taken to following me around on my duties, and has quickly picked up on my routine".
"Reporting for duty, Sof!" Clover acknowledged as he hopped up.
Sofia smiled at the sight of her rabbit friend.
"I've better be going" Dorrie said. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to go through this".
"Don't be" Sofia reassured Dorrie. "I messed up, and it's time to pay the price".
With that, Dorrie left as Sofia studied the schedule she had received from Baileywick. On the schedule was a list of supplies that Sofia would need. Sofia put the supplies on a cart, and went to her first listed duty - cleaning up the castle kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Sofia cleaned off the table tops, swept the floor, then mopped the floor.
"Well, that wasn't so bad" Sofia remarked to Clover.
"Not really" Clover acknowledged. "But remember, the day is just starting".
After eating breakfast, Sofia continued her duties. Next on the list was cleaning the mats on the walls of the castle gymnasium. Sofia started to put a sponge into a bucket of soapy water when Clover stopped her.
"There is an easier way, Sof" Clover pointed out. "Dip the brush with the long handle into the soapy water instead, and use the brush to clean the mats. You'll be able to do more of an area that way".
"Thank you, Clover" Sofia said in appreciation.
After Sofia finished cleaning the mats, she went around doing other duties. There were a few beds to be made, followed by some window cleaning, some dusting, and cleaning some table tops. Sofia finished by the time lunch came around.
Sofia ate lunch, then continued with her duties. There was a few bathrooms that needed to be cleaned up, which took up most of the afternoon. As Sofia was finishing up, Queen Miranda walked up.
"You've done a fine job, Sofia" Miranda smiled. "You've done Dorrie proud".
"Thank you, Mom" Sofia smiled back.
"When you've finished up with this bathroom, you'll be done for the day" Miranda announced. "I hope your experience today has taught you something?".
"It has" Sofia admitted. "I never realized until now how much the castle staff do to keep the castle clean. I will try not to make any messes myself from this point forward - I don't want to add to their busy schedule".
Miranda smiled at what Sofia had learned.
"Mom" Sofia started, "I'm sorry about Mother's Day, and for yesterday. I'll try not to disappoint you again".
"I accept your apology" Miranda smiled. "I was wondering if you had a chance to think about what you could have done differently on Mother's Day, and yesterday?".
"Yes" Sofia acknowledged. "On Mother's Day, I could have thought about Amber and James instead of just thinking about myself. And yesterday, knowing that Joy was looking forward to visiting the castle, I could have put her first, instead of thinking about myself".
"I see you've really thought about this" Miranda smiled. "I'm very proud of you. As far as I'm concerned, you've learned your lesson, and we'll consider the matter to be closed".
"Would you mind if I went to my room for a little bit after I'm done here?" Sofia asked. "I'm feeling a bit tired".
"Of course, Sofia" Miranda agreed. "See you at supper".
After finishing up, Sofia took the cart and the supplies back to the janitorial supply room. Before leaving the room, Sofia took a bottle of cleaning liquid and some rags with her.
In a few minutes, Sofia returned to her bedroom. As Sofia laid down on her bed, she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in" Sofia invited.
The door opened, and in walked Amber.
"I wanted to see how you were doing after your duties today" Amber said, concerned for Sofia.
"I'm alright" Sofia acknowledged. "A bit tired, but alright".
"I know what you mean" Amber admitted. "I was the same way when Daddy assigned me to the same duties as a punishment for having the wishing well turn you into a cat".
"I did discover something today, Amber" Sofia started. "I discovered that the staff do a lot to keep the castle clean. It's really a big responsibility".
"I came to appreciate that myself" Amber confided. "The staff does so much for us, every day of the week".
"Amber" Sofia started, "I want to apologize for what I did on Mother's Day, and for what I did yesterday. I was wrong for doing those things".
"Apology accepted" Amber smiled. "And I apologize to you for having the wishing well turn you into a cat. I was wrong for doing that".
"Apology accepted" Sofia smiled back.
Sofia and Amber then hugged, grateful to have each other.
The next morning
After everybody had eaten breakfast, Dorrie started her duties for the day. Dorrie entered Sofia's bedroom so she could clean Sofia's bathroom. As Dorrie entered Sofia's bathroom, Dorrie noticed that the bathroom was clean from top to bottom. Dorrie then noticed an envelope siting on Sofia's sink addressed to Dorrie. Dorrie opened the envelope, and took out a letter which Dorrie read:
Dear Dorrie:
I have cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom. I wanted to show my appreciation for what you and the other staff do here at the castle, and I wanted to give you one less thing to do.
I shall keep my bedroom and bathroom clean to the best of my ability, so you'll have one less thing to do during the day.
Your friend, Sofia.
"Why thank you, Sofia" Dorrie thought to herself out loud, appreciative of what Sofia had done. A lot of people didn't think one way or another about what Dorrie and the rest of the castle staff did on a daily basis, and it was nice to be shown appreciation for one's efforts.
Dorrie carefully folded the note, and put the note in her pocket. Dorrie then went on to her other duties, pleased with what Sofia had done. It was going to be a wonderful day.
Author's notes
"I'm not doing this to be mean" Miranda pointed out. "It's just that ... I don't want you turning down the same path I once did. I want better for you" - this is a reference to Miranda's teen years at Saint Trinian's (see my story "A Night at Saint Trinian's", as well as Chapter 1 of my story "Witch Tales", and Chapter 1 of my story "Enchancia Castle").
Intermediary: a negotiator who acts as a link between parties.