Chapter 2: Liberation

Sofia raced toward Cedric's tower. Forget magical practice for the tournament, this was her father, her REAL father's life at stake. She needed reinforcements to break him out of prison. Ascending the steps to Cedric's tower in record time she flung her fists at the door, "Mr. Cedric, Mr. Cedric this is IMPORTANT. I NEED you. Please let me in."

Wormwood flew into the entranceway from the open window. "You're wasting your energy Princess, Cedric has gone to Rudistan with your father and mother. King Magnus invited them to a sorcery show put on by Greylock. Cedric DID look for you, as did your parents, but you were nowhere to be found. You should really keep to the castle more often."

Sofia tried to wait for her sorcerer, she really did. Every passing minute brought agony to Sofia's mind. Her father was in some prison in Maldonia, perhaps starving or injured. It was too much to bear. Sofia grabbed her wand and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't strike an intimidating figure. The years had only accentuated her short stature as compared to her royal siblings. She had also rounded a bit from the bevy of royal feasts and developed much faster than her peers had. If she was going to fight an army of guards she needed to look more like a sorceress, much more. Sofia rummaged through her wardrobe, frilly dresses abounded but there was nothing suitable for fighting her way into a prison. Sofia turned to Cedric's spell books sprawled across the table. Tossing them around she finally found the answer. One was titled, "Magical transformations Level III." Within it there were hundreds of spells for altering objects. She found one suitable for her dress and POOF! Her frilly purple ensemble was changed into a dark green dress; shorter in length, completely lacking plush, and allowed flexibility of movement.

Clover struggled up onto the bed using the little stairs Sofia had made for him a couple years ago, "Sofia, you're not really thinking about going alone to save your Dad are you?… I mean your Father… or is it Birk? What are we calling him anyway?"

"Yes Clover, I'm going to go save him. I can't wait for Cedric anymore. Sometimes King Magus keeps them overnight, and he can't wait anymore. He's been waiting long enough."

Sofia ran over to her dresser and scrawled a note "Early to sleep, big day tomorrow, do NOT disturb." After affixing it to her door, Sofia ran back over to her bed, pausing near Clover. "I'm going to call him Papa, like I used to."

"I'm coming with you Sofia." Clover stood proudly on the end of the bed, raising his front legs up in a heroic posture and pounding on his little bunny chest. He promptly fell over.

"Oh Clover." Sofia walked over and helped her furry friend upright. Over the years the bounce had gone from his step. He'd lived an exceptionally long time for a rabbit after all. "Thank you friend but I need you to stay safe, okay."

"You're worrying about me again Sofia. I told you I'm fine, YOU'RE the one running off into what might be a battle."

Sofia paused for a minute sitting on the comforter. If she simply blasted her way into the prison she may save her papa, but there were other prisoners as well, probably her uncle among them. They too needed to be saved. Perhaps stealth was the better option. "Good idea Clover."

The bunny puffed up in pride, then deflated and shot her a sideways glance, "Wait, what idea?"

"I'm going to use stealth." Sofia shot up off the bed, "So don't worry Clover, no one will even know I was there."

"I still think you shouldn't go alone. Maybe you could bring someone other than Cedric?"

"Like who?"

Clover flopped his ears back and forth a bit, then seemed to hit on an idea, "What about your friend Lucinda? She's back from traveling with her mother, isn't she?"

"Oh YEAH! You're the best Clover; I'll go grab Lucinda on my way. We haven't been on an adventure together in such a long time, and she's a skilled witch!"

Sofia started to head out the door when Clover called out to her one last time, "Good. Oh! Sofia take your cloak, the one with a hood. It's cold out there."

"Oh right, thanks Clover!"

She snuck through the castle and down to the flying horse stables. They were empty except for the last stall. "Minimus."

"Why hello Princess Sofia! Would you like a carrot, they're fresh today!"

"Sure. Anyway…"

"Oh No Sofia, we're not going on another adventure again are we? Wait, where's Cedric?"

"He's not coming this time Minimus, but we need to go. Someone I love is in desperate need of my help."

"But Sofia we can't go flying off to help without Cedric, you might get—"

"Don't worry Minimus, we're going to grab Lucinda on the way."

"You know I ALWAYS worry Sofia, even if you're bringing magical back-up."

Sofia rubbed the muzzle of her trusty steed. "Please friend, we need to go save Papa."

"Who?" The horse was desperately confused. "Oh you mean your father, King Rolland. Why? Did something happen to him? Oh Sofia isn't that what knights are for?"

"No Minimus, it's not King Rolland who's in trouble, it's my father. My real father. He isn't dead after all."

The horse let out a huge whinny, and shook his mane, "What are you talking about Sofia, how is that even possible?"

"He was taken Minimus, as a prisoner of war. We have to set him free, I have to set him free. It's my job to finish the stories, and he has to be saved." She leaned in closer to the troubled horse and stroked his muzzle. "Please friend. Remember when we saved your brother? This is practically the same thing." She produced the largest smile, and the horse relented.

Off into the distance they flew. Dunwitty always shut down around dusk, and today was no exception. Lucinda's family cottage was just outside of town. Sofia angled Minimus up to her friend's window with some difficulty. Her horse had never really gotten comfortable with hovering in place. The view into the witch's room was obscured by intentionally placed thick curtains. Unable to see what was happening inside, Sofia tapped the glass gently. A minute of waiting produced no reaction from the room, so she repeated the rapping, a little louder this time. Suddenly she heard a crash come from within and the sound of heavy footfalls. A disheveled witch with black hair tossed about in not but a nightshirt flung open the window. "By the name of Merlin I'll hex you good Lucas!"

A gigantic smile and series of giggles escaped Sofia to see her friend behave thusly. "And I thought you were a good little witch now!"

Lucinda wiped the sleep from her eyes, "Oh it's you Sofia. I thought it was that guy down the lane who's been leaving flowers at the door. I was gonna turn him into a flower. Good witches do that, don't they?"

Sofia shook her head gently. "Not often friend."

"Rats. Anyway, what's up Sofia? You know I go to bed early." Sofia looked at her friend with a dead serious expression. Lucinda knew instantly this was important. You don't stay good friends with someone your whole life to not know that look. Lucinda sighed, "So where are we rushing off to, and why is it so important it can't wait until morning?"

Sofia smiled, "Maldonia. I'll explain on the way."

"Great, I'll grab my broom and maybe a robe, it seems a bit cold to fly over kingdoms half naked."

Sofia let out more laughs. "Oh Lucinda."

Along the way Sofia explained the situation to her dear friend. The war between Maldonia and Friezenburg had ended years ago. Sofia had read about the war as a child trying to understand what happened to her Papa. It had been about resources, as most wars were. The countries were separated by a sea; with Friezenburg to the north and Maldonia to the south. The climate of Maldonia was temperate and the country sparsely populated, similar to Enchancia, however Friezenburg was cold, harsh and uncompromising for much of the year. The main export was fish from the sea, a fact her father exploited to make a living. Many peoples lived in the interior, eeking out a living off the harsh land. There was nothing hidden in her recollections of the war to indicate why her father and possibly many others had been captured and never released.

Finally the duo approached the prison from the story. It was set upon an island about a mile from the mainland, surrounded by frigid waters. Sofia initiated an analysis of the situation. "We need to get the prisoners off the island, but we can't bring them to the Maldonian mainland, they'll just get captured and sent back here."

Lucinda nodded. "Sounds about right, so we're going to free them and… bring them where exactly?"

Sofia looked off across the sea toward the barren wasteland that was Friezenburg. It was over a hundred miles to cross the watery span. "We need to get everyone on to a boat and sail across the sea. Once they're home they can't be recaptured."

There were no boats visible, but there was a stately elm tree clinging to life along the northern facing rocks lining the islands shore. Lucinda locked in on it.

"Okay got it. One boat coming up." Lucinda landed near the elm tree and began to enchant it, using the bark to form the base of a sturdy boat.

"Perfect." Sofia landed Minimus near the witch and turned her attentions to the prison wall.

Minimus was not exactly happy about any of it. "Wait, what's perfect? Nothing is perfect about this Sofia. You're not really going to let loose a bunch of criminals."

"They're not criminals Minimus, they're prisoners of war and my papa is one of them. Everyone thinks they're dead and so no one else is going to save them. It's up to us."

Minimus took several deep breaths, psyching himself up for the impending chaos. Lucinda walked over to where Sofia stood with her horse. "Well, boat's made. Looks kinda suspicious sitting there, though."

"You're right." Sofia raised her wand and conjured a massive rock façade to cover the boat.

"Yep, that oughta do it."

The girls smiled at each other, and set off toward the outer wall of the prison compound, leaving Minimus to wait along the shore. He wasn't exactly handy if a fight broke out.

Sofia and Lucinda crept up the embankment and waited for the perimeter patrol to pass by.

"Two guards." Her nodding black-haired companion agreed with the assessment.

Once they passed Lucinda wanted to jump forward but Sofia restrained her. "Wait, there may be more than one patrol."

"Oh yeah. Good call."

They waited. It took twenty minutes for the same 2 guards to pass by again.

"Guess there's just two of them."

Lucinda was clawing at her eye sockets. "Can we go NOW…. I'm gonna fall asleep if we don't get this going."

Once the guards were out of sight the girls went up to the perimeter. There were small windows studded along the wall. Peering inside Sofia saw a work yard with an enormous pit at its center. Stairs had been carved into the pit on the far side, along with a railing and a row of pick axes chained together. A solitary guard stood in the courtyard.

Sofia turned back to her friend. "They're being forced to mine something."

Lucinda looked confused. "What in the world could they be mining?"

"Dunno. Let's just keep looking."

She scanned the prison yard, there seemed to be barracks on the right side of the compound.

"There."

The girls took off hastily around the perimeter, making sure they didn't catch up to the guards who were lapping the place slowly. Lucinda started peering into the tiny holes while Sofia stood guard.

The black-haired witch suddenly let out a little squeal. "Oooh, this one's a looker, if a little bit too old."

"Lucinda, sssshhhh! Now's not the time to be checking out boys." a single finger to Sofia's lips was met with a sarcastic glare from her friend.

"They're called 'men' Sofia, and there's always time to inspect the goods." They moved on to the next set of tiny barred portals. "Trust me Sofia, someday you're going to notice how cute they are."

"If you say so Lucinda. Did you see any guards?"

The witch shook her head, and they continued onward. Sofia decided to take the initative in scanning the rest of the jail cells, lest Lucinda's roving eye reveal their presence. Looking out past the sleeping prisoners Sofia noted a set of bars on the other side, but no door.

"Good. I can make the bars disappear." But before busting anyone out they needed to know where the remaining guards were. There simply must be more than two on patrol and one in the yard. Creeping along and peering into each window, Sofia spotted at least three-dozen more prisoners as Lucinda kept watch. Finally Sofia laid eyes on more guards. There were three playing cards around a table at the end of the barrack. She turned to her friend and held up three fingers.

Lucinda started shaking her wand and whispered at her friend. "Come on already. Let's just stun them and get on with it."

Sofia shook her head at the tired witch and pulled her away from the wall. "Nope. This could get ugly, we've got to find the rest."

"Wait. I hear something." Lucinda grabbed Sofia and tossed her into a nearby bush, then used her broom to float up into the nearest tree. The footsteps weren't rushed, and she looked out to see the same two guards walk by, engaged in a lighthearted conversation. They continued onward, unaware a small princess was crouched in a bush not four feet from them and there was a witch hiding up a tree just above their heads. The bush served the princess well, as being small for her age was finally paying off for Sofia. She decided to follow these guards around and crept out of the brambles. Surely they must have a checkpoint. She grabbed Lucinda and they stalked the unsuspecting guards around the perimeter in silence. The patrolmen finally passed by a giant drawbridge and interacted with a few more on watch. Above them was a tower with windows. Firelight was dancing on top of the spire.

"Most of the guards must be up the tower. Best to keep them up there." Lucinda was smirking. She had a plan. Suddenly the witch was ascending the wall on her broomstick. Sofia watched as Lucinda peered over the edge of the wall and pointed her wand at something.

A quiet spell was launched, and the witch floated back down. "There's about a dozen guards up there, drinking and living it up. Looks fun, if we weren't busy busting their prisoners out of the joint."

"What spell did you cast?"

"I may have enchanted their spirits. They'll wake up when the sun comes out, until then it's one giant trip up mushroom mountain."

Sofia couldn't help but giggle. "Well at least they're not going to be after us. Let's go!"

The girls ran back to their hiding spots in the bush and the tree.

"Now to take out those two patrolmen."

Sofia waited in the bush again and Lucinda up the tree, and finally the guards returned. Sofia stepped out behind them and quickly flicked her wand, "Dormintato" They stopped talking mid-sentence and crumpled to the ground in a sound slumber. She levitated them and set them down about twenty yards away in a ditch to sleep it off. Over to the prison wall she bounded and "Dissaparito!" The wall disappeared silently. She was standing there about ten feet from the table where the three guards were playing cards. They didn't even notice the wall was missing. "Dormintato" and the three guards were slumped over on the table snoozing. Lucinda came up behind her and levitated the sleeping watchmen off into the ditch.

The prisoner in this particular cell began to rouse and looked up at Sofia from the cold dirt floor. He was a young man with deep green eyes and dirty skin browned from a life of outdoor labor. Desperate confusion was all he could muster at the sight of a silken green young maiden standing in his prison cell. "What are you? Who are you? Where did you come from? What's going on?"

Sofia flung up her hand to halt his inquisition. "I ask the questions. Now, is everyone here a prisoner of war with Friezenburg or are there real criminals too?"

The young man stared back at her. "Yes Ma'am. We are all from Friezenburg, and we were taken away."

"We're going to set you all free, so be quiet okay." Realization suddenly passed over the man's face. He sprung up to his feet, "My Dad and Uncle are here too and we have to get them."

"The plan is to get everybody out." Sofia pointed her wand at the steel gate that served as his prison door and "Dissaparito!" The gate disappeared.

His wide eyes were illuminated by the moonlight now streaming in from outside and his jaw dropped open. "You're a sorceress!"

"Shhh… be quiet. At that instant Lucinda came running back. There was an exchange of glances that served better than any introduction, and Lucinda took charge, making large circular arm motions toward the man. "Follow me to the boat. We're going to get you out of here."

Sofia nodded, "Great, I'll keep freeing them and sending them your way."

The princess ran into the hall that connected the cells, hushing prisoners as she progressed onward while simultaneously making the bars disappear. A steady stream of captives filed out the hole at the end of the barracks and toward the boat in the distance. At last she approached the final cell. The bars disappeared as silently as all the others, and before her stood the last trapped prisoner.

It wasn't her father.

The man wore an expression of hope and gratitude, but Sofia had to stop him before he fled down the corridor. "Wait, where is my… are there more prisoners somewhere?"

"Oh yes ma'am" the man whispered. "There is another set of barracks below this one. The higher profile prisoners are down there." The man pointed to a set of stairs leading down that Sofia didn't see earlier.

"More guards too?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Usually a dozen Ma'am."

Oh Merlin. Sofia let the man go and he fled after the others.

Sofia redoubled her resolve. "I've got to try. Here we go." There were no windows, and no warnings. She was walking straight into the unknown, but her father was down there and she was going to save him.

She made the door vanish and saw several guards looking straight back at her, their faces illuminated by strange glowing crystals mounted upon the walls between cells. No more stealth mode.

BOOM. She shot a magical blast of air straight at the nearest guard, knocking him backward into several others. That gave her an idea. Other guards started to run toward her, drawing swords. She made a giant arch with her wand and a massive wind tunnel blew through the corridor, knocking everything straight back into the wall at the end. It created horrible loud noises, but succeeded in knocking out the guards, who now lay in a heap at the end of the hallway. Several sets of hands stuck out from behind the bars of cells, and Sofia went around making the gates disappear.

"Everyone run upstairs and out the hole in the wall. There is a boat waiting on the far end of the island behind a giant pile of rocks to take you all back to Friezenburg. Your comrades are waiting for you. Go!"

Men started rushing past her, and Sofia was scanning them desperately. "Birk, BIRK! Has anyone seen Birk?"

An older man stepped forward as prisoners ran past him toward the stairs. Another older fellow grabbed onto the taller man's arm. "Come on brother, we've got to go." The man stood there, looking down at Sofia with the same deep blue eyes and brown hair she had, although his locks were freckled with gray patches.

It was him.