DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from Sofia the First. They belong to their respective creators. I'm just borrowing them. I do however own anyone you don't recognize.
Enjoy!
A/N: I hope everyone likes this next chapter! Sorry for the wait.
"True Sisters"
Chapter 14
"Sofia! Wait!" Hildegard ran after her friend. She knew this couldn't end well.
Sofia, meanwhile, was far ahead of the older girl. Taking a running leap, she jumped onto the nearest horse. Breathing through the pain, she held on tightly.
"Hi, princess! Thanks for setting us free!" The horse sped up as he talked.
"I didn't…mean to…do that," Sofia gasped as more pain surged. "You need to go back! Please!"
"No way!" The horse shook its head.
"Can you slow down at least, please?" Sofia pleaded. She swallowed as her stomach churned.
"Sure thing, "with that, the horse came to a stop a few feet away from a food vendor.
"Thanks," Sofia slid off gingerly. The minute her feet hit the ground, she almost doubled over. Straightening up, she suddenly heard someone calling her name.
"Sofia! Sofia, there you are!"
Whirling around, Sofia saw Hildegard running towards her. She tried to smile reassuringly, but it was hard.
"We have to get the horses to go back through the gate," Sofia informed her friend.
"After they're back, we need to get you out of here," Hildegard stated.
"Hildy, I'm okay," Sofia tried. Her attempt at normalcy was foiled when her stomach chose that moment to sear.
"I'm getting you out of here," Hildegard declared.
Sofia nodded. She blinked hard against tears.
"You helped me. Now it's my turn to help you," Hildegard gently insisted.
"Thanks, " Sofia whispered. "But we still have to get the horses back into their paddock."
"Leave that to me," Hildegard proceeded to drop pieces of popcorn on the ground.
"Ooh! Food!" The horse began to follow it. It wasn't long before his buddies joined the game.
"Great thinking, Hildy!" Sofia praised with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. As they neared the holding pen, the man who had greeted them sighed with relief.
"Thank goodness you girls got the horses back. Thank you."
"It's my fault they escaped in the first place," Sofia frowned. "I'm sorry, sir."
"It was an accident, my dear. There's no reason to apologize," the man assured her.
Sofia sighed. She let Hildegard lead her towards the exit. They were mere feet from it when a puppy ran up to them. The puppy looked very familiar to both girls.
"Hey there, boy. We can't play right now, " Sofia told him. She scratched his head anyway.
The puppy barked before snatching Sofia's paintbrush out of her hand!
"Oh no! Come back! We need…that!" she gasped through more pain. She ran after him, Hildegard running after her. Crossing a field, Sofia suddenly dropped to her knees. Swallowing hard, she prayed she didn't throw up here. She didn't want to ruin the painting.
"Don't worry about the brush," Hildegard advised, "I still have mine. Besides, the fairies always have extras."
"A-are you sure?" Sofia shakily asked.
"Yes," Hildegard confidently replied. With that, she helped Sofia up and took her hand. Leading her back to the exit, she pointed her paintbrush straight ahead. "Paintavo out-" her spell was interrupted by a net being dropped on both of them!
"What's going on! Hey! Let us go!" Sofia demanded as strongly as she could.
An evil cackle met their ears.
"Not a chance! My mistress wishes to see you," a low voice answered. With that, the figure started dragging the net behind him. Picking it up, he tossed both girls into a carriage.
"What do we do now?" Hildegard whispered.
Sofia shrugged. Letting out a whimper, she shook her head.
"I don't know," she truthfully said.
"Me neither," Hildegard realized. She couldn't believe that had actually come out of her mouth.
They rode in silence for the next five minutes. The only sounds were the animals around them and the whimpers that issued from Sofia's mouth every few minutes.
"Shh, you'll be okay," Hildegard comforted. She wrapped an arm around her friend.
"I…I don't feel so…good!" Sofia revealed.
Hildegard got an idea. Spotting a scrap of paper a few feet away, she managed to grab it. Taking her paintbrush, she drew a fruit bowl. Touching the picture with her brush, she muttered something Sofia couldn't hear. A minute later, the older girl's creation was in her hands.
"How…did you do…" Sofia started to ask, but suddenly heaved instead. Tears streamed down her face as she lost what little she had eaten that morning.
"It's okay, Sofia, you'll feel better soon, " Hildegard comforted. "Can I move it?"
"No," Sofia whimpered right before throwing up again.
"Hey! What's going on back there!" the man demanded.
Sofia buried her face in Hildegard's shoulder as the nausea started to go away. She just wished the pain would stop too.
"Nothing, " Hildegard answered.
"You can move it now," Sofia informed her softly.
"Are you sure?" Hildegard asked.
Sofia nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the pain.
A few minutes later, the carriage stopped.
"Let me do most of the talking, " Hildegard whispered in Sofia's left ear.
Sofia nodded. She braced herself as the net was lifted up. She swallowed hard as the man let the net fall to the ground.
"Now, if you promise not to try and run, I'll set you free," he bargained.
"We promise, sir," Hildegard replied.
The man cut the net.
Once the girls were free, Hildegard helped Sofia up.
"What's wrong with you?" he glared at Sofia.
"She's sick," Hildegard replied.
"Where are you taking us?" Sofia demanded, leaning on Hildegard for support.
"I told you, my mistress wants to see you. She has a bone to pick with you."
"We didn't do anything!" Hildegard protested.
"Hildy…calm down," Sofia hissed in her ear.
Hildegard took a deep breath.
"Sir, I really need to get my friend home. She needs help."
"You two aren't going anywhere until you help my mistress," the man laughed. With that, he lead them into a castle. Stepping through a huge door at the end of the hall, he bowed. "The two princesses you requested, You're Majesty."
"Thank you, Dregger. Leave them to me. I'll see that they are taken care of."
"As you wish, ma'am," Dregger left.
"What do you want with us!" Hildegard glared up at the queen, hands planted on her hips.
Sofia groaned inwardly. She wished she could take over, but she was feeling too bad.
"Well aren't you the smart mouth. Maybe some time in the dungeon will teach you to watch your tongue…"
"No, please, You're Majesty, my friend's just scared. She means no disrespect…" Sofia tried to bow, but couldn't do it.
The queen raised her eyebrows.
"Well ,at least one of you girls has manners. What's your name, child?"
"Sofia," she replied.
"Well, Sofia, I've summoned you and your friend here because I have a little request. Once you've fulfilled it, you will be free to go."
"What's the request?" Sofia asked as her stomach clenched again.
"My puppy, Sparky, ran away. I've had all of my servants look for him, but they didn't succeed. One of them said they saw you girls rescue him from danger."
Sofia and Hildegard exchanged looks. This woman couldn't be serious. The puppy they had rescued had a new home. It couldn't be the same one, could it?
"What does he look like?" Sofia asked.
"He's brown and white with a diamond above his left eye," the queen replied.
Sofia gasped in shock rather than pain this time.
"We know where he is," she revealed.
"That's wonderful! You wouldn't mind bringing him back to me, would you? I miss him so much."
"We would, but you see, uh, he has another owner. We didn't know he was yours and…" Sofia's voice trailed off as she hissed in pain.
"You gave my Sparky to someone else?" the queen glared at the nine-year-old.
Sofia nodded.
"I'm really sorry," she insisted.
"We both are," Hildegard chimed in.
"GUARDS!" the queen yelled.
Two men with muscles and serious expressions entered the room.
"You called, You're Majesty?" one of them said.
"Throw these girls in the dungeon! They will stay there until further notice."
The first guard glanced at the girls standing there. He frowned.
"What could two little girls have done to warrant that severe of a punishment?"
"They gave my Sparky away!" the woman exclaimed.
"It was an accident!" Sofia protested. She doubled over in pain, almost throwing up again.
"Are you sure you want to throw them in the dungeon? This girl looks in need of care," the first guard frowned in worry.
"Put her in a room on the second floor, but make sure she's watched at all times."
Sofia sighed with relief.
"What about her?" the second guard pointed to Hildegard.
"Throw her in the dungeon. Maybe that will teach her to mind her elders."
"Hey! Let me go!" Hildegard shouted. In her struggle, she dropped the bowl.
The queen's shrieks of disgust as its contents spilled on the floor rang in both girls' ears as they were removed from her presence.
"After I get you settled, I'll send for our royal physician to look at you," the first guard assured Sofia.
"What about my friend?" Sofia asked.
"Moose will take care of her. He's good with kids," he replied. "By the way, my name is Rowen."
Sofia nodded.
"It's nice to meet you, Rowen. My name's Sofia. My friend's name is Hildegard."
Rowen winked at her.
"We'll get this whole mess straightened out in no time. You and your friend will be back home before you know it."
"I hope so," Sofia tried to get comfortable on the small cot Rowen laid her down on.
"I'll be back with our physician. She's really nice," with that, Rowen was gone.
Closing her eyes, Sofia let a few tears fall. All she wanted was for the pain to go away. More than that, she just wanted to go home. As she fell asleep, she prayed Hildegard wasn't giving Moose too much trouble…