Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and can a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

Chapter 21: A Little Progress

James

James slowly brought Sofia down from his shoulder and tucked her tightly into his side as they stood there and watched the hellish snow storm above the forest. The snow and winds weren't as ferocious when they had first arrived back at Royal Prep, but when it was time for them to leave, the snow storm became something crazed and hellish.

Their only way back to their castle was through or over that forest, but with a magical blizzard looking like it was ready to rip and tear the forest in half, he knew that it would be nearly impossible to get back on time and not get killed in the process. By the looks of it, he knew that their horses wouldn't be able to handle flying through the storm. They don't even have the option to run on foot because of how much snow has built on the forest's floor. The amount of snow that has built onto the floor nearly reached up to their knees.

Crap, this is bad. How are we going to get home on time?

"What do you mean 'that bitch created a snow storm'?" James asked Lucinda as he wrapped a protective arm around Sofia's shoulder.

"That bitch Glacia the Ice Witch!" Lucinda yelled angrily. Her hands looked like they were ready to rip and claw at someone into oblivion. "She's doing this just because she's having another temper tantrum!"

"She's having a temper tantrum?" Sofia said incredulously as she put the book Fauna returned back to her into her messenger bag along with the green gem necklace for Amber.

"Yeah!" Lucinda screamed, growing angrier by the minute.

"Lucinda, dear," Flora soothed her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulling her off to the side before she could do anything reckless. "Calm down."

"Glacia didn't take being locked away in here very well, she was upset that she wouldn't be able to receive any of her gift from her worshipers," Fauna explained to them as Merryweather floated over to the other two. "So, every now and then, she would create a spontaneous snow storm over the nearby forests."

"So, how can we stop it?" Sofia whispered under her breath, probably thinking out loud to herself. James felt her shiver under his arm.

And when he looked down at her, he saw that her scarf was gone and her hood was off. Her lips were turning blue and her nose was a rosy red from the winter cold.

"Sofia, put your scarf and hood on," he said whispered to her, ignoring whatever it was that Lucinda and the other two fairies were saying. He looked around as if her scarf would magically reappear. Well, considering that they are at Royal Prep, the new magical prison for all magical beings, he wouldn't be all that surprised if it did. He kind of expects it to magically appear in his hands actually. "Where is your scarf anyway?"

Off to the side, he heard Lucinda and the fairies talking and trying to come up with a new plan to stop Glacia's blizzard. Lucinda's voice was beginning to let louder and angrier as she continued to discuss with – or rather, yell at – the other fairies.

"I left it with Lilac and Lightning," Sofia replied bluntly, not looking at him. Her attention was focused on Lucinda and The Good Fairies. More exactly, it was on Fauna who was the only one still by their side and waiting patiently for the others to return back over to them. "I wanted to keep them warm."

"When did you do that?" He doesn't remember her ever taking off her scarf and wrapping it around their two flying horses.

"When you helped me off of Lilac." She sounded so frank, like it was a normal thing to give a horse a scarf.

Well, it probably was a normal thing for her, James thought. That's kind of adorable actually...

"Here," he sighed at her as he took off his own thick scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "Keep this on for me and stay warm? And try not to give it to one of the horses?"

He felt her gaze up at him as he wrapped the scarf tightly around her, tucking in her ponytail and pulling her cloak's hood around her head. When he pulled back and looked at her, he was immediately caught in the mesmerizing spell of her eyes. He was locked in her eyes, enchanted, and he never wanted this spell to break.

With the white snow around them and the dark hood around her face, her eyes looked even bluer than it did just moments ago. He was caught in her eyes, wanting to just drown in the ever deep blue flakes of her icy eyes.

So blue...

He saw her eyes lower and fall onto his lips. And he couldn't help but do the same; he brought his gaze down and the only thought that ran through his mind was to just kiss her.

Right there.

Right now.

So red...

Her full, plump red lips drew him in even more than her eyes. They were parted ever so slightly, letting out hot puffs of air as she breathed with the cold winter breeze around them. He let his thumb rub against her cheek as he brushed stray strands of her hair away, savoring how warm and soft her skin was.

A deep and familiar feeling began to run through him, warming and rippling through his entire body. His heart began to race as he continued to stare into her eyes and gaze down at her lips. His hands slowly reached up and cupped her cheeks, letting her warmth spread through his thick gloves.

I want you... So badly...

They were having a moment. A sweet, sweet moment that he wanted to capture in any way that he can. And the only way he knew how to catch and savor this fleeting moment was to kiss her until his lungs ached and he could hear her gasp and moan against his lips.

He knew that she was feeling this moment between them too when she started to lean into him, slowly closing her eyes as she began to rise onto the tops of her toes, ready to meet his lips. His eyes fell closed as he felt her hands rest on top of his chest, clinging and pulling on him until the centimeter distance between them was closing.

He could feel her lips less than a centimeter away from his own. His skin prickled and his heart began to race faster and faster in anticipation of her lips.

They were so close to one another…. Just a little closer and they would –

"Quit it, you two!" Lucinda's angry voice broke through their moment. James felt Sofia jolt under his hands. "Enough with the kissing and get your butts over here! We have something important going on right now!"

Damn.

James opened his eyes and threw an irritated looked over at Lucinda and the other fairies.

Well, more at Lucinda. She was the one who did interrupt their badly timed but perfect moment between him and Sofia.

Lucinda was staring angrily at the two of them, she had her hands crossed and her cheeks were red with frustrated rage. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather were trying to not look at them and kept staring at the snow storm as if they weren't guilty of watching them or anything.

"Well this is important too!" James shot back at her. He was mad and annoyed that they didn't get a chance to kiss. All he wanted was to have a small moment to just themselves.

In this hectic night, they deserved at least a moment together! No matter how small of a moment it was, they deserved at least one moment.

"Not as important as getting you two back to the castle, you idiot!" she shouted back, angrier than before.

He felt Sofia push at him, trying to take a step back. His hands instinctively slipped around her waist, bringing her back to him.

But she reached around and pulled his hands away, shaking her head at him.

"She's right, James." Her voice sounded breathless despite the fact that he didn't even get a chance to make her sound like that. James saw that her eyes were still closed while her hands began to smooth over his shirt.

Then she opened her eyes and looked up at him, biting her lips. She looked like she was just as devastated as he was that they didn't get to kiss, except that she wasn't as visibly as upset like he was.

"We can finish this when we get home," she whispered. He was shocked at how promising her voice sounded, sending a rush of giddy excitement run through his entire body.

Smiling mischievously at her, he reached down and took her hand. He brought it up to his lips and lightly kissed her knuckles instead, "should I take that as a promise?"

But before she could respond, Lucinda's voice screeched at them again.

"Cut it with the lovey-dovey crap and get over here!" Letting out an irritated growl, James glared over at the annoying witch. Lucinda just stared coolly at him and yelled again, "glare at me all you want, that's not going to get you home any faster, James!"

"Oh, for crap's sake," he growled lowly.

"Come on," Sofia laughed low enough so only he could hear. She squeezed his hand and began to walk over to the others.

"Alright," James huffed at Lucinda when they finally reached them, "what had you in such a twist that you just had to stop me from kissing Sofia? Hmm?"

"James," Sofia chided through a blush. She tightened her hand on his, gripping it like her hands were made of iron and crushing it until he let out a strangled cry.

What the hell? Did she always have this kind of grip? James thought as he sorely yanked his hand out.

"Well," Flora said with a slight grimace, "we managed to convince Glacia to come out and stop her snow storm."

"Really?" Sofia said. "That's wonderful."

"But only on one condition," Lucinda hotly grumbled. "She said that she would only stop her snow storm if we can give her something that will convince her to stop it. It's one of her stupid old rules back when she was still in her ice castle in the Icicle Forest. Stupid bitch."

"Well," a voice behind them echoed around the snow, "is that any way to speak to your superior?"

Turning around, James saw a slender woman with light, icy blue skin and puffy dark blue hair. She had bright cyan eyes and an angry arch to her brows. There was an air of arrogant confidence around her as she walked slowly towards them. It was as if she expected everything to be perfect and pristine just for her. There was a haughty and smug sneer as she stared at the group.

"You are not my superior," Lucinda seethed.

"Well, I am your elder," the woman waved a hand at her comment, as if dismissing it like a flying bug.

"You sure are my elder, alright," Lucinda sneered at the woman. "How old are you, Glacia? Eight hundred years? A thousand?"

"Watch it child," Glacia hissed. She was wearing a metallic blue and white colored robe wrapped tightly around her, there was white fur at the ends of her sleeve and robe.

"No you –" Lucinda nearly lunged at the blue woman, but Fauna and Merryweather managed to hold her back.

"So, where is my sacrificial gift?" Glacia turned to Flora, dismissing Lucinda with another wave of her hand. She started to turn around the group, looking at each and every one of them. "Do you not want me –" The tall, imposing woman stopped the moment she looked at James, stopping right where she was and staring at him with wide eyes. "You!"

Glacia rushed towards James, her hands reached out and gripped both of his shoulders. He could feel her nails dig into his skin even through the layers of his thick cloak and clothes.

"Glacia!" he heard the fairies yell.

She didn't say anything to him as her grip on him tightened, she just stared at him with wide, wide eyes. They looked like they were bigger than the larges porcelain plate back at the castle. Her nails dug in deeper and deeper into his shoulder, it felt as if her icy nails reached all the way to his bones. The pain was so excruciating that he fell onto his knees in the snow and yelled in pain.

"James!" The pain was so bad that it even muffled Sofia's scream to his ears.

"Enough! Stop it!" It was Flora who screamed at the woman towering over him.

"You're hurting him!" Fauna shouted. Or was it Merryweather? He couldn't really tell, all that ran through his mind was how agonizing her nails felt.

The pain intensified even more as she looked down at him, her cyan eyes boring into his skull. His entire body was beginning to feel like it was growing cold. He was sure that his blood was freezing over in his body. It was like ice was seeping from her nails and sunk into his skin and his bloodstreams.

James was beginning to see spots, his vision swimming around and around. He didn't know how long Glacia held onto him like that. It felt like it was long and short at the same time, as if it lasted for a second and for a century all at once.

James was about ready to pass out from the pain when he felt her grip on him finally lessened.

"It's in you, boy," Glacia hissed at him with a shove, letting him fall over.

Before he could land on the cold, snow-filled ground, he felt a pair of familiar arms catch him and wrap themselves around him protectively.

Through his pain-induced hazy vision, he saw Sofia's concern filled eyes look down at him and immediate relief filled him when he looked at her. He laid his head against her shoulder, taking in deep and long breaths of cold air. James tried to just focus on the familiar smell of Sofia's coconut perfume.

Around him, he could hear angry, loud shouting coming from Lucinda and the fairies. Above him, he saw Glacia standing over him with the same wide-eyed expression, ignoring the shouting being thrown at her.

And he couldn't do anything but stare back at her, trying to understand her expression. He couldn't help but feel like her expression was trying to convey some type of message, like she was… helping in some sort of twisted way.

"What the hell was that about?!" Lucinda roughly pulled her away from James, glaring hard daggers at the mad woman.

"Can you stand?" Sofia whispered into his ear, rubbing his back up and down in a soothing pattern. And with a nod to her question, she helped him up while carefully looking over at Glacia as if to see if she'll make another move against James. As his vision cleared, he saw that the three fairies were around them in a protective circle.

"It's in him!" Glacia shouted at Lucinda, looking crazed and unhinged. Glacia shoved Lucinda's hand away from her, walking back towards James and Sofia.

"What's in him?" Sofia asked Glacia while standing in front of James, blocking Glacia from him.

"That thing! That thing!" she repeated, pointing at James with a shaking blue finger. "That thing is in him! It has marked him!" Glacia looked over at the fairies, her eyes growing bigger than before. "Can't you feel it? Can't you sense it?"

"Feel what? Sense what?" Flora asked gently. All of the fairies now had their wands out, readily pointing it at Glacia.

"That evil thing has marked the boy," Glacia said. "The evil that is responsible for all of this chaos!"

"What do you mean marked him?" Lucinda asked.

"Wait, how does she know about the evil?" James heard Sofia whisper to Merryweather.

"Everyone here knows about the evil," Merryweather replied. "We're all magical beings, we have been able to sense it for the past five years now."

"Lucinda, can't you feel it?" Glacia whipped around and looked frantically at Lucinda. "You should be powerful enough to sense it!"

"Glacia, calm down," Fauna said, her hands up as if she was coaxing down a frightened animal. "You're not making any sense right now."

"That thing that locked all of us in here," Glacia said slowly, looking each and every one of them. "It has marked that boy's heart, feeding off of his anger, guilt, and fear. This boy's heart is where that evil is gaining a lot of its magic!"

What?

No one said a single word. They all just stood there silently, staring at the blue witch. They were all too stunned by what Glacia just revealed.

I thought that this evil thing was in my head, not my heart….

"Lucinda," Glacia said, her voice calmer now. "If you concentrate hard, you can sense what I am sensing right now. I know you can feel it, you are powerful enough to feel it."

James and Sofia looked over at Lucinda, confused. And she just looked back at them, like she was just as confused as they were and unsure of what to do. With a silent look over at the fairies, who just nodded back at her, she looked back at James and then closed her eyes, concentrating on who knows what.

"I don't –" she began, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Just focus on his heart!" Glacia urged.

"But I –" Lucinda tried, but stopped quickly with a gasp. "Oh my gosh."

"What?" Sofia asked, sounding frightened. James saw her reached behind her, searching for him. He immediately grabbed onto her hands, squeezing reassuringly for both of their sakes. "Lucinda, what is it?"

Lucinda ignored Sofia's question and turned to Glacia with serious eyes. "What does this mean, Glacia? Explain. Right now."

"I sensed that evil in the boy's heart the moment I looked at him," Glacia explained. James didn't like how hard and serious her voice had become, it only scared him even more. "I know that whatever this evil thing inside of him, it is the thing responsible for locking us all in here. I could feel how powerful it has become over the years, and it's this boy's raw and angry emotions that is the source to a great deal of this evil's power."

"Source?" James said, his throat felt thick and tight. "Lucinda, what does she mean by source?"

"Your heart is one of this evil's sources, boy," Glacia said icily to him.

"One of the sources?" Sofia said incredulously. "There is more than one? I thought that there is only one! Not two!"

"Child, I know what I am sensing." Glacia stepped up to Sofia and looked down at her. "And I sense that there are two of them. This boy's heart and a painting inside of your castle. Those are the two sources to this evil's power. The boy's heart is the most powerful source that evil has right now and if you destroy it right now, this evil can essentially become weak enough for you to defeat it –"

"Destroy my heart?!" James exclaimed at the old witch.

"Glacia," Sofia said carefully, stepping closer to Glacia. She sounded challenging to the powerful witch, glaring her right in the eyes. Each word sounded hard and controlled, like she was growing furious at Glacia. "There is no way I am going to destroy James's heart."

There was a hard tension between the two, Sofia looking imposingly at Glacia and Glacia looking down at Sofia with steely eyes. Neither of the two were ready to step down and walk away. The air between them became hard and colder than the winter air around them.

"Glacia," Merryweather intervened between them. Fauna floated to Sofia and gently pulled her back to James as Merryweather tried to ease the tension. "James and Sofia both came here trying to find a way to discover this evil's source within their palace –"

"And I just told them that it is his heart and a painting within their castle," Glacia interrupted, annoyed. "Now, all they have to do is destroy both of them."

"No!" Sofia shouted at her, looking angry and ready to jump at Glacia. James was startled to see and hear her so angry. "I am not going to kill James!"

Sofia was so riled up and enraged that he had to hold her back before she would start fighting Glacia. James wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, firmly trying to keep her in place and from going after Glacia. He felt her hands painfully clutch at his forearms, luckily her thick gloves made it so that her nails and fingers couldn't dig into him.

"Shh," James tried to soothe her. He was surprised and amused to that it was Sofia this time who ready to start a fight – and it was with an all-powerful witch too. This time, it was James who was trying to prevent her from going berserk. "Let them sort this out."

"But James –" Sofia looked up at him with worried, furious eyes.

"I know, I know," he stopped her with a hand over her mouth. James then looked over at the five magical women and nodded towards them. "It's all good over here. Please, continue."

"Glacia," Flora said, "We already know that in order to be able to defeat The Evil, we must destroy its sources. The Book of Hyproti has informed Sofia of this. It told her that in order to remove this evil's hold on James is to find its source and destroy it." Glacia opened her mouth like she was going to say something but Flora held up her hand and stopped her. "You said that there are two sources to this evil's power, but you cannot honestly be suggesting that we destroy James's heart."

"No, what I am –" Glacia said. He could hear an exasperated tone in her voice, like no one was listening to what she was trying to say.

"Sofia and James are destined for one another, they are soulmates," Fauna interrupted with a worried voice. "We cannot destroy his heart."

"No! Listen to me!" Glacia screamed. "I am not suggesting that you kill the boy, I am saying that you must find a way for him to move on from whatever guilt, anger, and fear he is always feeling. It are those emotions exactly that feeds this evil's power. Whatever spell this thing placed on him amplifies his emotions so it can manipulate them for its power."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lucinda nod and approach Glacia. "I think I get what you're trying to say…."

"You do?" James asked, confused as to what the crazy blue witch is saying. Beneath his hand, he heard Sofia echo the same question.

"Yeah," Lucinda looked at him and Sofia. "James, this thing has been feeding off of your guilt and anger and fear. It's your raw and hurt emotions that gives it its power. If you can just find a way to move on from your guilt and learn to just forgive and let it all go, then you might be able to destroy its most important source of power." Lucinda turned back to Glacia with a hard and serious expression. "But will it really free him from this thing's hold?"

"Child, if this boy can learn to forgive and forget," Glacia said with a tilt of her head, sounding condescending and amused at the same time, "then it can no longer control him because he would be of no use to it. Any way –"

James felt Sofia reach her hand up and remove his hand from her mouth. "But what if he does manage to move on and this thing is still clinging on to him?"

"It can't." Glacia looked over at Sofia now. "It is impossible for The Evil to be able to remain attached to the boy. Like your book has said, in order to remove a curse is for you to destroy its source, this same rule applies to spells as well. Whoever is behind all of this was able to latch itself onto your boy because it put a spell on him. I can sense that this spell is centered on his emotions, magnifying it so that this thing can grow in power. The boy needs to learn to just not feel guilty and move on, removing the spell's central source and thus freeing him from The Evil."

Sofia turned around and looked hopefully up at him, smiling. "Okay so –"

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the front of the school. The doors slammed opened, hitting against the wall with a harsh sound and ricocheting in a violent motion.

Standing in the center of the doorway was a short, lanky woman, her arms were stretched out as she stood there in some over-sized yellow nightgown. Her puffy strawberry-blonde hair was wild and billowing in the cold air. From where they stood in the center of the courtyard, he saw that there were large dark circles under her green-blue eyes and she was staring straight at Sofia. She stood there, chest heaving as she started to quickly storm towards them. There was something nasty and cruel about the way she looked at Sofia, it twisted and bent her face into a dangerous and sick expression.

"Miss Nettle…." Sofia's voice whispered. James could hear the slight fear in Sofia's voice as she stared right at the crazed looking woman, his arms instinctively tightening around Sofia as he watched the woman stalk right towards her.

Miss Nettle?

"So, it's true," her hostile, bitter voice sang. Miss Nettle's eyes never left Sofia's as she made her way to them. Her hands were clenched into tight fists, her knuckles turning white. She bared her teeth at Sofia in a mocking and ugly sneer. "The bratty little princess came back."

"Miss Nettle, what are you doing here?" Lucinda stepped in front of James and Sofia. In her hand was a silvery wooden wand, pointed right at the unstable looking fairy.

But Lucinda's question only made her storm faster towards them, her face contorting into a mask of pure rage.

James saw how extremely thin Miss Nettle was, her cheeks sunk so deeply into her face that her cheekbones looked like sharp, pointed triangles on her. Her arms were nothing more than a pair of bone and skin. James was even able to see how hollow and weak her body was as the light winds blew her nightgown against her.

And yet, despite how flimsy her body appeared, she managed to reach them all in a matter of seconds. She pushed Lucinda aside with an ease that shouldn't be possible for a body as weak looking as hers. And in an instant, she stood in front of Sofia with a horridly angry expression. Her lips were up in a snarl, her white teeth bared like they were fangs, and her eyes were so wide that they nearly took up most of her face.

"You!" she hissed into Sofia's face. No one had enough time to react as Miss Nettle reached out and pulled Sofia out of his arms by her hair. Sofia screamed, her hands up in her hair as she tried to free herself from the crazy fairy. "This is all your fault!"

"Sofia!" James heard everyone shout.

"Sofia!" James yelled, louder than anyone else. Every one of his instincts reacted to the sound of Sofia's scream, sending a rush of angry adrenaline all throughout his body. "Get your hands off of her!"

He charged at Miss Nettle, ready to slam his entire body against her just to free Sofia from her.

"You did this! You and your damn amulet did this!" Miss Nettle shrieked at Sofia.

Sofia screamed again when the fairy started to shake Sofia's head by her hair and making her fall over onto the snow. But Miss Nettle was still holding on tightly to Sofia's hair, pulling her head back as she leaned in close and hissed at her. "I could have been with him! I could have helped him rule this empire! I could have been his queen!"

With as much force as he could muster, James ripped Miss Nettle's hand away from Sofia and bent it backwards until her fingers nearly touched the back of her arm. He heard a ferocious scream come from her as she released Sofia. Then he grabbed her by the collar of her nightgown and shoved her to the ground.

But the fairy was swift. She was back on her feet in a flash, her eyes still targeted at Sofia.

Then she lunged after her like a hungry predator ready to devour its weak prey. She let out an angry and beastly cry as she charged for Sofia, her eyes seething with rage.

But before she even made it close enough to reach her hands out, a large block of ice formed all around the yellow fairy's body and locked her immobile. Only her head remained free of the icy prison. She bellowed out an unearthly cry as she tried to free herself from the ice.

James stood there as he watched the insane fairy thrash her head against the ice that encased her body, snarling and spitting at everyone. A large circle of blood formed on her forehead from where she banged her head on the ice.

He looked over at Glacia, her hands were up from summoning her magical ice. Her eyes were focused on Miss Nettle, looking like she was trying to subdue the insane fairy into unconsciousness. But it didn't look like it was working.

Behind him, he heard Sofia cough and all of his thoughts filled with only her. James rushed over to her, sliding onto the ground beside her as his eyes began to search for any signs of injury on her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She reassured him, gently patting his forearm. She looked over at Glacia, who was still focused on Miss Nettle. "Thank you."

The ice witch nodded at Sofia, a small hint of a smile playing on her lips. Her hands went back to her side as she knelt down to Sofia. "I remember you, child. You were that persistent little princess who wanted to help her faun friend be free of my gift."

"Sofia, dear," Merryweather said as she floated down beside the two of them. She reached out her hand and tentatively touched Sofia's head, "let me see if you have any injuries."

With a respectful nod to the little blue fairy, Sofia turned back to Glacia. "You remember me…."

"Of course, you and your faun friend gave me a really nice gift." Glacia's eyes and voice seemed to have softened towards her.

James was confused by what was going on between the two of them. He didn't know that Sofia and she knew each other, he honestly thought that she was just another random witch he – or rather, The Evil – had locked away.

Sofia looked embarrassingly down at her hands, which were held tightly by James's own hands as Merryweather was magically healing any wounds Sofia might have received from Miss Nettle's attack on her. "I-I'm sorry abo –"

"Sorry, Sofia, but I'm going to have to cut your apology short." Lucinda said, standing over them as she looked over at the still trashing Miss Nettle. "What are we going to do about Miss Nettle? The bitch has finally lost it."

"Has she always been like this?" James asked, glaring over at the deranged fairy. He could feel himself growing angry again, wanting to hurt her for attacking Sofia. "I mean, I knew that she was a bit unhinged back when we were kids, but this is a little more than unhinged. She's full on psychotic."

"Well, she got this way because she lost her powers," Lucinda explained as Merryweather finished healing Sofia. James helped her back up while Merryweather floated over to Flora and Fauna, who were each standing at a corner around Miss Nettle with their wants pointed right at her.

"She lost her powers?" James asked as he brought Sofia close to him and wrapped his arms around her, needing to feel her safe and sound in his arms. "How?"

"No one knows," Lucinda said. They both turned and looked at Miss Nettle. "It just happened one day. It was her wilted and shriveled up wings that told everyone that she lost her magic."

"She lost her wings too?" He heard Sofia gasp against him.

"Yeah. When a fairy loses all of her magic, her wings wilt and just dry out like a plant without water." Lucinda looked grimly at the yellow fairy, she looked sympathetically at the pathetic fairy who was still thrashing her head. "And with the loss of her magic and wings, she starts to lose her mind too."

"I lost my wings because of her!" Miss Nettle spat angrily at Sofia, making James hold Sofia tighter towards him. "If you just gave up your amulet, I could be with him right now! I would have ruled this empire with him! This is all your fault! This never would have happened to me if you just gave up your amulet!"

"I didn't do anything to you," Sofia defensively replied.

"He promised me. He promised me," Miss Nettle cried, tears began to well in her eyes now. She looked far off into distance, either ignoring them or just forgetting that they were there. "He said that he would come back for me…. He said he would make me his queen…." She closed her eyes as tears freely fell down her cheeks and small whimpering cries escaped her unconsciously. "He said he loved me…."

James didn't know what to say…. He felt like he was intruding on something private and sad, like he shouldn't be seeing this.

She looks so heartbroken….

"You gave the person behind all of this your powers…" Flora gasped, her tone hard and low.

Miss Nettle slowly glared up at the red fairy and let out a mocking, bitter scoff. "You just realized that?"

"That's why you lost your wings?" Merryweather asked, sounding as shocked as James felt. "How could you give this thing your powers? How could you have help him do all of this to us? To James? To the kingdom?"

"Because he said he loved me!" she shouted back, eyes flaring wildly. "He promised me that after he killed off the brats, the kingdom would be ours and I would rule by his side!"

She knows who he is!

She knows! She knows! She knows!

"Who is he?!" James released Sofia and stormed right at Miss Nettle, barely inches away from her as he seethed at her face. "You know who this person is! Tell us!"

But she didn't even blink an eye at him, ridiculing him with a harsh laugh. "You think I will tell you?"

"I'll make you!" he started to shout at her. Her only response was to laugh even harder at him, mocking. And the sound of her insulting laugh only made him grow angrier. "Tell me who he is right now!"

"James." He felt Sofia grabbed is wrist and tugged him away from the immobile fairy. The action managed to calm him just a bit, but he was still angry.

He knew that she could sense that he was still upset when she slide her grip down and laced her fingers through his. James was still so worked up and tense that he had to tightly grip her back just to keep himself from doing anything stupid.

"When did you give him your power?" Glacia asked.

"If I am not going to tell him, do you think I'll tell you anything?" Miss Nettle scoffed at her with another hard laugh. Her laugh started to grow ugly and loud, almost hysterical and crazed.

"You're locked in a large piece of ice, Nettle," Lucinda warned. "I don't think you have any choice but to tell us."

"Ha!" she laughed harder, more bitter than before. "Now you're the crazy one."

"You bitch –" It was Lucinda's turn to get angry now. She had her wand up, pointed an inch away from Miss Nettle's face.

But that didn't scare her. It only made her laugh even harder.

Her face was twisted into a horridly crazy laughing expression. Her eyes were wide, there were even tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. Her sharp hollow cheeks made her expression even worse.

"You want to know?! You really want to know the entire story?!" She asked hysterically, some of her spit flew as she shook her head at them. "We've planned on taking over the kingdom for years! And we almost had it all! We were inside your head and all we needed to take over this kingdom was the amulet! That's all! But since you exiled that bitchy princess, we had to come up with another plan." Her eyes never left James and Sofia, her sneer grew even larger and became almost like a maniac's grin. "We were about to kick off the new plan until you decided to lock everyone in here! So he just told me to transfer my powers to him so he could start our plan and come back to get me out. But it's been five years since that promise! And I am still here! Wingless! Powerless!"

"What did he do with your power?" James seethed, his grip on Sofia's tightened even more.

"What do you think, fool," she spat at him with an exaggerated eye roll. "He used it to manipulate and control you. I don't know what happened after that. I've been stuck in here for five years, stupid."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the fairies, Lucinda, and Glacia all roll their eyes at Miss Nettle's insult.

You're not very popular here, are you?

"No, no, you must know what he's up to." Sofia sounded frantic, like she wanted to get as much information as possible from this crazy fairy. "What else is he planning to do? What –"

"Not going to tell you, princess," Miss Nettle mockingly sang at her, showing too much of her teeth in her taunt. "There's nothing else I will tell you."

"No, no, no!" Sofia rushed up to the fairy, who was now laughing tauntingly at her with a cruel expression. "You –"

"I am not going to tell you anything!" she snarled at Sofia. Her head lunged forward, ready to bite at Sofia. Sofia leaned away just in time, but Miss Nettle continued to snap her jaw at the air.

Lucinda grabbed at Sofia by her arm and pulled her back as Glacia made the ice grow further up, freezing Miss Nettle entirely. Her face froze in the same cruel, twisted expression, her eyes wide while her sharp cheekbones poke out with her teeth-filled snarl.

"Sofia, there's no point in trying to get her to tell us anything," Lucinda said, her hands placed on Sofia's shoulder as she looked at her in the eyes. "The only thing we can do is get you two home so we can figure a way to help James move on from whatever crap he's feeling. After that, find the painting that holds this guy's power and destroy it."

"But –"

"No, Sofia," Lucinda cut her short with a shake of her head, "we need to get you two home. Then we'll figure it all out later. Okay?" With a quiet nod from Sofia, Lucinda turned to Glacia, "Can you stop the storm now? We're kind of short on time here."

"Alright, alright," Glacia sighed. "Free of charge this time, child. So no need to be so snippy with me."

And with a wave of her hand, the storm on the other side of the gates vanished within a flash. The night sky cleared and bright winter stars emerged from the night clouds. The snow ceased and the trees returned back to their tall, straight positions.

"And you can be a mega bitch," Lucinda dryly countered. Then she pointed at the large ice cube with the crazy fairy. "Will you guys be able to handle her?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Lucinda," Merryweather said. "I have half a mind to just leave her in her room and let her melt off on her own."

"I like that idea," James smiled at her joke as they made their way towards the gates.

But before they even made a single step towards the gate, Glacia reached out and held Sofia back. "I need to have a word with you." James stopped with her, looking back and forth between the ice witch and Sofia. "Alone," she added with a firm stare at James.

He then looked at Sofia for any sort of indication as to what she wants. She just gave him a nod and motioned for him to stand by the gates with Lucinda. James didn't want to leave her side, but by the look on Sofia's face, all he could do was tersely nod and walk to Lucinda.

"What do you think they're talking about?" James asked when he made it to Lucinda. He crossed his arms and stared at the two, wondering just what on earth could they be discussing.

Why can't I be there? What is so important that I can't know about?

Glacia had on a serious expression, her lips were in a tight line as she talked with very animated hand gestures. Sofia just stood there with wide eyes. Glacia must have told her something shocking because Sofia's hand went up and covered her mouth like she just gasped or something.

Jeez, first Hugo and now this. Why am I always kept out of the loop around here?

Sofia better tell me everything when we get home.

"I don't know," Lucinda said as she waved her hand in some random motion and a large brown and gold broom magically appeared in her hands. "But I can take that she kicked you out of their little conversation, huh pretty boy."

"Shut it," James lamely replied.

Great, now I can't even come up with a good comeback.

"Don't worry, lover boy," she laughed at him. "I can bet you that Sofia will tell you everything when you two are alone."

Ooo, being alone with her sounds really good right now…. Lying In bed with her….

"So just calm down and wait," Lucinda said, bring James back from his dirty thoughts.

And soon after Lucinda said that, Sofia was running back to them with her amulet in her hands.

"Sorry about that," Sofia huffed as she placed the amulet on the magical barrier.

The lights reappeared, shimmering in a beautiful spectacle as a rainbow of colors fell down brightly. And with a final wave back to the fairies and Glacia, the three of them were up in the air in a matter of moments. They all rushed back as fast as their horses and Lucinda's broom could take them, which felt like they were flying at the speed of light.

There was no snow or ice flying at them, but the cold winter air was still harsh against his cheeks since he didn't have his scarf around him.

But he didn't really care because he found the image of Sofia with his scarf around her neck and nose really adorable. His scarf was large and masculine, and it nearly engulfed Sofia's neck and face when it was wrapped around her.

I should give her more of my stuff to wear…. She looks really adorable in them….

No one talked the entire way back to the castle, they were all focused on getting back as quickly as possible. The cold air whipped and brushed against his face as Lightening continued to fly faster and faster towards the castle. Sofia's ponytail flew behind her in a long strand of lush brunette hair. Lucinda had on a hard expression of concentration as she flew beside them on her broom.

By the time they reached the horse stables, the horses landed with a tired and exhausted grunt. He couldn't really blame the horses for being so tired, it was well past two o'clock right now and they had to fly here at such top speeds.

But Lucinda didn't land down. She crashed down.

"Lucinda!" Sofia exclaimed, rushing to her side.

"It's that evil thing. It's him. He's doing this," Lucinda struggled to say. There was sweat creasing her forehead despite how cold it was outside and that she was laying down in the snow. "He's trying to keep me from entering the castle."

"What? He's doing this?" James said. "Why?"

"Yes," she looked angrily at the castle, as if she could see where exactly this evil man was standing, watching them from one of the many windows that decorated the exterior of the castle. Sofia helped her back up, but Lucinda had to use her broom as a cane to keep herself standing. "He knows that I am here and he doesn't want me to enter the castle. I don't think he knows why I'm here, but he doesn't care. He just wants to keep me out and away."

"Then, how are you going to help us locate the first source?" James asked. Behind him, he could hear the horses neighing to themselves in the cold night.

"I can't get in there James, this guy's power is really strong. He's using a very powerful spell to keep me away." Lucinda looked like she was in a lot of pain; her face was red and more sweat coated her entire face now. "I feel like if I stay any longer, my head might just explode. I don't think I can handle being on the castle grounds any longer."

No! Is she giving up on us?

"But Lucinda –" Sofia tried to say, sounding just as panicked as he was feeling.

"That doesn't mean I am going to run like a coward," Lucinda held up her hand to stop her. The other was holding on so tightly on her broom that her knuckles were as white as the snow. "I'm just going to have to poof you two inside the nearest room I can sense and go hide out in the forest near here."

"But –" Sofia tried again.

"Don't worry about me. We'll figure this out tomorrow. Your amulet will help you find me later." Lucinda sounded so short of breath, as if each word was costing her a lot more effort than normal.

Sofia shook her head at her, refusing to let Lucinda just go off on her own. "Where are you going to sleep for the night? How are –"

"Once I am away from the castle, I think my energy will return and I can just conjure up a cabin for myself," Lucinda breathlessly said. Her eyes are beginning to look unfocused and she began to sway back and forth. "Look, I can't stay for long. I can just feel this creep trying to kill me right now."

"Lucinda –" James began to say, but she cut him off.

"No. Find me tomorrow." And without another word, she waved her hand at them.

Sparkly black and white smoke began to circle around them, blackening out Lucinda and the rest of the winter night. All he could see were glittery, twinkling lights that mixed in with black and white smoke. Nothing moved within this little tornado of magic, his cloak didn't billow or move with the swirling air nor did his hair. Everything was still and calm….

But in a blink of an eye, he found himself back in his darkened room and standing at the foot of his bed. He was staring at his empty bed.

What the….

Then Sofia magically appeared hovering above his bed for a second before landing down on top of his big bed with a distinct "oof."

Sofia!

James rushed to her side as she sat up and looked around his room, her eyes registering that they were both back in his bedroom.

"Hey," he said as he slowed down and crawled up beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…." She rubbed her head for a second before falling back against his bed, her head landing on one of his pillows, and covered her eyes with her arms. "Ugh."

Chuckling at her, James did the same and laid down next to her just staring up at his ceiling. "I know the feeling."

"This night has just been crazy," she whispered tiredly. She sounded like she said that more to herself than to him, but he replied back to her anyway.

"I can't agree with you more," he smiled.

"We have so much to do…. Get Amber her necklace, find that painting, figure out what's going on with you and your heart, figure out what to do after we destroy the two surces… but I am too tired to even move right now."

"Same here," he whispered back. James turned his head and looked at her with her arms still over her eyes. He saw a faint pink bruising just below her hairline; reaching out, he gently stroked it, hoping that it could somehow soothe whatever pain she was feeling. "Does your head still hurt?"

"No," she said, peaking her eyes through her arms. "Merryweather healed me perfectly."

"Tha –"

Suddenly, a small, dense glowing blue light appeared above them. It began to shimmer for a second before landing right on top of James's face. The thing felt soft like cotton and it was lighter than what the blue light made it seem like.

"What the hell?" James said as he sat up and pulled away the soft object from his face. The bed shifted as Sofia sat up with him.

"It's my scarf and there's a note on it," she said as she took the note and read it out loud:

"Hey, you two forgot to return your two horses back into their stables. I put them away and rehung their saddles too. You're welcome, Lucinda. Ps, here is the scarf one of you two left on one of the horses. Why was it even on one of the horses to begin with?"

He heard Sofia let out a small, amused chuckle as she untied the ribbon in her hair, letting her ponytail fall freely down her shoulders and fell back down onto his bed.

"What's so funny?" he asked as he laid down onto his side, leaning on one of his elbows. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile at her amused and tired smile. It was just a natural reaction for him to smile whenever she was smiling.

"The note," she chuckled again. "I've missed how dry and sarcastic she could be sometimes. It sounds just like her."

"Yeah," James softly smiled down at her, brushing a random strand away from her face. "Don't tell her this, but I've missed her sarcasm and our witty banter too."

Sofia just looked up at him, her smile growing gentle and softer as her chuckle faded. And, on reflex, his hand slid down to her cheeks. His thumb brushing back and forth along her cheeks, savoring the wonderful feelings that ran through his fingertips every time he touched her.

It felt like magic. But a different type than what he has encountered earlier this night.

It was the kind of magic that someone can't bottle and reproduce in the physical sense. A kind of magic that was unique to him and Sofia only. And no one but Sofia could produce this wonderful, wonderful feeling of pure magic for him.

It was an amazing sense of magic and no words could describe how incredible it felt.

And then things got better.

Her hand reached up and gently touched his own cheek for a small moment before crawling around to the back of his neck. He saw her briefly bite her bottom lip as her gaze fell down to his own lips.

They were having another moment again. The only difference was that no one was here to stop them this time.

"Sofia," he whispered teasingly as he felt her gently tug him down, guiding his lips towards hers. "Are we going to finish what we started earlier?"

Her only response was a quiet, "mm-hmm."

James just laughed back to her and let out a small, happy sigh.

It were these small moments within their moments that he enjoyed the most, when she could only look at him with hungry eyes and perfectly ready lips…. These were what he liked seeing. When she looked with naked desire and such carnal eyes, it only sent a rush of desire and happy adrenaline through his bloodstreams.

And that made him grow just as ravenous for her.

"It's more of a restart, James," she said against his lips. "We're going to start but I don't think we're going to finish any time soon."

Then she crashed her lips to his.

Her lips were light at first, soft and supple as they barely brushed the surface of his lips. But the moment he kissed her back, she grew hungrier and kissed him as if she just couldn't get enough of him. Her hand flew around his neck and ran her gloved fingers through his hair in a teasing pattern. She pulled and pulled on him until he found himself directly on top of her.

Then, in the same exact moment, her lips found his neck and her hands found the clasp that held his cloak. While kissing his neck, he felt her fiddle with the clasp. And in no time, she immediately freed him of his cloak and halfheartedly threw it to the floor.

She wasted no time after his cloak was discarded to start feathering his jaw, throat, and neck with more kisses. He heard himself let out a groan as he felt her nibble on his freed neck, lightly biting and teasing him.

And in this cold, winter night with no fire lit in his room, he felt hot.

Too hot.

Soon, an itch began to grow in his fingers as his body grew hotter and hotter. He needed to feel her, to touch her soft, soft skin. His body twitched with the need to feel her skin against his, but there was too many layers of clothes between them.

James sat back up and removed his gloves as she did the same. She threw her satchel, cloak, and gloves off to where his own items might lay.

But she wasn't done.

He felt her fingers claw at his jacket. She quickly unbuttoned them in a single second before tossing them with the others. Then she started to pull on both his riding and thermal shirt, pulling them free from his pants and tugging them up and off of his body. And soon James was left shirtless, straddling her lap.

For a moment, he watched her just lying there. He could literally feel her eyes skim over his bare torso like it was a soft caress. Her fingers ran up and brushed against the elastic waistband of his pants, then she slowly ran her hands up so gently that it was as almost if she was memorizing every inch of him.

Beneath her gaze and hands, he's never felt more naked than he was right now despite only being shirtless. Having her perfectly blue eyes look him over was like she was seeing into his very core. Her eyes seemed like they could see into him, right down to his heart and soul….

Then she sat up.

And started to remove her jacket.

But he stopped her.

"Sofia, wait," he stopped her hands from undoing another button on her jacket.

Despite how much his heart was beating at the aspect of seeing and touching all of Sofia, it just didn't feel right to him. Not right now. Not like this.

He knew that she just wasn't ready.

"You're not – I – it's not like –" James tried to speak, but it was hard. There was so much he wanted to say, but it was like every word in the dictionary was trying to push its way out of his mouth all at the same time. "Sofia –"

"It's okay, it's okay," she said, patting his hand. She resumed to unbutton her jacket and throwing it off to the ground. "I don't want that just yet. I was just thinking that I wanted to stay the night and –"

"Wait, you want to stay the night?"

James was surprised. Usually he was the one that would sneak into her room at night and hope that she wouldn't kick him out. He would always ask – beg was more like it – her to let him sleep in her bed with her.

Never the other way around.

Well, she wouldn't have to ask if she ever sneaked into his room. He would let her stay in less than a heartbeat.

But still….

She wants to stay the night with me?!

"You want to stay the night?" he repeated, still shocked by what she just said. "As in sleep with me? In my bed? Really?"

He's always wanted this, but it just came as a complete shock for him that he didn't know whether to believe it or not.

"Yeah," she blushed at him, suddenly embarrassed. "I mean, if you don't want me to –"

"No, I do. I really do. It's just that it's so unlike you to ask to sleep with me for the night."

She wants to stay with me tonight!

She looked down at her hands as if they were suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world. Her cheeks were almost cheery red now. "Well… um… I don't know, I just… just really wanted to stay with you tonight. After everything that happened over at Royal Prep, I… I just wanted to. That's all."

After he got over his shock, he started to chuckle at how adorably cute she looked. She embarrassingly fiddled with her fingers in her lap as her cheeks continued to burn. It was the cutest thing he's ever seen her do.

And he was going to take advantage of her embarrassed state.

"You don't have to explain," he said as he tilted her head up with finger under her chin. "All you had to do was ask. There is more than enough room on my bed for you to sleep here for the night. My room is always open for you, day or night."

Apparently she didn't like his teasing tone as she blushed even more and smacked his bare chest.

"Not funny, James," she narrowed her eyes and pushed him off of her. She got off of the bed and started to pick up all of the clothes she ripped off of him and herself.

Oh, crap.

"Sofia, wait. You're not leaving are you?" James got up and followed her as she started to place his clothes on a nearby chair by the fireplace. "I'm sorry, it was just a joke."

"No, I'm not leaving. I just need to get my nightgown because I can't sleep my rider's outfit and corset."

Oh.

Then an idea popped into his head.

Impulsively acting on his idea, he quickly ran over to his closet and randomly pulled one of his pajama shirts off of their hanger. He rushed back to a confused looking Sofia and handed her his shirt.

"You don't have to. Here, wear one of my pajamas for the night," he smiled at her as she hesitantly took it.

"What? Wear your shirt?" She placed down her bag and other belongings. Then she held it up and looked over at him as if he might have lost his mind. "James, I don't have a chemise on under this. I can't wear this."

She tried to hand it back to him, but he just shook his head and crossed his arms.

James knew that he was being a little foolish and stubborn, but he really wanted to see her dressed in one of his shirts. He had a feeling that he was going to enjoy it if he did get to see her in only his shirt.

This is going to be incredibly sexy to see….

"No, wear it. It's big enough to be one of your nightgowns, Sofia," he tried to convince her. "You can go change in the bathroom while I go change in my closet."

He didn't even give her a chance to say anything as he turned and walked to his closet.

Now he felt like he was being more than foolish.

He was being full on stupid right now.

Behind him, he didn't hear a sound or word from Sofia as he entered his closet and closed the door.

But once he was behind the safe regions of his dimly lit closet, reality set in for him. James leaned his hot forehead on the cold wood of the door, rubbing the rim of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His heart was beating so fast right now, he could feel his blood rushing up and down his entire body.

Crap. What am I doing? James thought, welcoming in the cool, cold feeling of the door on his forehead. He hoped that the cold feeling would calm his body back down. I should have just let her go back to her room. Things might get bad if she stays here. I know that things will get bad.

Because she was in my shirt.

In only my shirt.

Then he heard her sigh on the other side of his door and the distinct click of his bathroom doors shutting close.

Is she actually going to change into my shirt?

James looked over at the section of his closet that held all of his pajamas, and saw the matching pajama pants still hanging there on its hanger.

Crap, she's going to be pantless! Why didn't I realize that when I gave her my shirt?!

And, not even caring that his body was still up and hyper, James changed into his pajamas as quickly as he could and rushed back out into his room with the pajama bottoms in his hands. He didn't even bother to button his sleeping shirt and lamely let his bottoms hang low on his hips.

"Sofia –"

But every word that was about to leave his mouth was stopped short when he saw Sofia emerge from his bathroom in only his shirt.

And the only thought that could enter his mind was a simple, damn…

In the dying moonlight, he saw Sofia standing there like – like…. Damn, he didn't know what to compare her to. She was just too beautiful, too incredible, too… too everything to even describe in any sequence of words.

Sofia's eyes crossed over to him and she stopped right where she was standing, frozen just like him.

She held her folded clothes in one of her arms, and he saw her hand tighten around them and clutched them closer to her. In the pile of clothes in her arms, he couldn't help but notice the corset that laid on top, open from the busk fastening in the front.

Oh, stars….

James didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was openly looking at her. He saw a blush grow on her cheeks, but from the way she was looking back at him, he could tell that she wasn't blushing because he was looking at her. She was blushing because she was enjoying what she was seeing.

His eyes started to roam over her entire form, running up and down from her long, lean legs to the very top of her head. Her long brown hair framed her face in loose and messy tresses. Sofia was already so small and petite, but his shirt just engulfed her and made her look even tinier than she already was.

James was right when he said that his shirt was going to be big enough to be a nightgown on her, but he didn't know that it was more wide than long.

Since all of his shirts were always fitted to accommodate his broad shoulders and frame, one side nearly hung off of her shoulder and the sleeves of his shirt was longer than the length of her arms. The sleeves fell past her fingertips and hung loosely as she held onto her clothes. Her other hand was holding the collars of his shirt tightly together, and he was certain that it was because the neckline of his shirt was too low for her liking.

And while the sleeves were too long for her, the bottom hem of the shirt was too short. The shirt wasn't even long enough to cover half of her thighs. It was so short on her that the lace ends of her short undergarments peaked through at the bottom of the shirt.

He honestly didn't anticipate this….

He knew that she was going to look sexy in his shirt, but this was beyond sexy now. It was... it was... just beautiful on a whole new level.

"James?" Sofia dropped off her clothes on the chair nearest her.

So much of her was exposed and covered at the same time.

"Yeah?" he meekly squeaked. He couldn't take his eyes away from her….

"You said my name…." she whispered. Her voice sounded so different, there was no hint of her usual playfulness or seriousness.

The pitter-patter of her bare feet on the cold, hard marble floors of his room echoed between them as she silently made her way to him. Her legs moved in a motion that was so captivating. They looked… so… perfect… and kissable.

He wanted to pick her up and put her on his bed.

He wanted to press his weight onto her and feel her warm body against his.

He wanted to run his hands up and down her long curves.

He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss every inch of her body.

He wanted to –

"James?" Sofia's voice broke through his thoughts. But she didn't sound worried.

She was standing right in front of him now, looking up at him like she was having the same thoughts as he was.

But her eyes were focused on something on his body.

"I-I…" James struggled to say, "the pants – I forgot – you – give you pants."

He tried to hand them over to her, but she didn't take them. Sofia ignored the pants and reached out to his bare chest. She brushed aside his pajama shirt and touched the fading kiss mark she left on him earlier today.

"It's so faint now…" she whispered. She was so close to him, making his heart beat rapidly as she continued to lightly touch his chest.

His breath caught in his throat as he felt her brushing her fingers back and forth over the kiss mark. Over his heart. He was having such a hard time to breathe, it was like Sofia was blocking all of the oxygen to his lungs. Or his lungs just forgot their natural purpose in his body because of her.

He wasn't breathing correctly and he was certain that she could feel his heart beating fast beneath her fingertips. He could feel himself breaking into a thousand pieces under her touch….

Every moment he has with her, they were all so unique and different. No moment was ever the same….

James looked down at her, his body feeling hotter than ever before, every inch of him was hyper-aware of her. He saw her let go of the pajama shirt, exposing so much more of her chest. She touch the center of her bust, where he left his own kiss mark on her, and bit her bottom lip.

Then she looked up at him, her eyes filled with so much desire and wanting. "I don't want them to fade…." She sounded as if she was having the same breathing problems as him.

And then everything happened so fast after that.

James dropped the pajama bottoms and forgot about everything else except for Sofia.

He grabbed her, lifting her up into his arms and kissed her like he had nothing to eat for days and the only thing that would satisfy that starving feeling was her and her lips. He felt her bare legs wrapped around his waist and her arms circled his neck. She clung him to, pressing herself towards him in a maddening way.

James wasn't gentle when he kissed her – in fact, he was just plain rough when he kissed her – and she was anything but shy. Her lips opened immediately and met him just as eagerly.

Sofia devoured him. Consumed him. Destroyed him.

And the longer they stood there, the more confident and impatient she became for him. She didn't waste any time to start trailing down to his neck, kissing him vigorously. She was marking him. Scarring him.

His heart was exploding.

His lungs were collapsing.

His mind was breaking.

Because of Sofia.

And he regrets nothing.

He would do it anything and everything if he could just have another moment like this again. With her.

James could feel Sofia's tongue lick and taste him as she continued to leave hot trails on his neck. And while her lips were busy with his neck, her hands started to work fast on his shirt. They weren't even buttoned, but her hands nearly ripped his shirt off of him as if they were.

She even let out a frustrated cry when she broke away from his neck and saw that it wouldn't go any lower than his elbows since he was holding her up in his arms.

But that didn't deter her because then his pants were down on the floor beside the pajama bottoms she was supposed to be wearing.

He didn't know how she did it while up in his arms but he was sure that her feet was responsible for their fall.

James started to make his way towards his bed in only his underwear and undone shirt while her lips began to crawl to the back of his neck. He nearly lost his mind and forgot how to walk because of her mouth and tongue on his neck.

When he finally made it to the bed, he gently laid her down and they were back in the same position they were in just moments earlier. He was straddling her hips in his underwear as she just watched him with her classic lip-biting smile. He kissed her once before he took off his shirt in a mad and swift motion. His eyes locked with Sofia's as she watched him with a hungry and encouraged glint in her eyes as he tore off his shirt. She didn't even give him a chance to throw it onto the floor before grabbing at him and pulling him back down to her for more kisses.

She kissed him like she couldn't get enough, like she was the starved one.

She kissed him like she needed his breath just to survive and breathe correctly.

She kissed him like she had a surplus of kisses and wanted to give them all to him.

She kissed him like she believed he was worthy of even touching her lips.

She kissed him like she loved – because she loved him.

They broke for air, but his lips weren't done with her and started to move along her jawline to her neck. Her head fell back to give him more access to her neck. And soon, it was her collarbones and shoulders that he was now kissing. James felt her legs wrap back around his hips, pulling him closer than before. Her shirt was now scrunched up past her hips, revealing her short, white lace underwear.

And without meaning to, his hands began to crawl underneath her shirt, pulling them up even more so he could taste how sweet her bare stomach might be.

But when he heard a small whimper escape her mouth, he stopped and looked at her. Sofia's eyes were closed and her arms were over her head, her swollen red lips were parted and open, inviting him in for more kisses.

"Sofia?" his hoarse voice asked her. There was more to his question and he knew that she heard it.

Sofia opened her eyes and looked down at him, and the look in her eyes nearly knocked the air out of his lungs just like her kisses did seconds ago.

She looked at him like there was nothing about this moment she would change.

She looked at him like her heart was overflowing for him.

She looked at him like she wanted all of him, every single inch.

She looked at him and showed him nothing but love.

"It's okay," she whispered back just as hoarsely as him. Just like his question, there were more to her words than just that. And he heard it all.

She didn't want it. She still wasn't ready, but….

Before he could roll off of her, she locked her legs and didn't let him up.

Instead, Sofia just sat up and started to unbutton the shirt.

And he froze like a statue.

"I'm not ready for that," she said while looking him in the eyes and removed each and every button. He could see her hands shake and fumble as she took off the shirt and toss it onto the floor. "But this is fine with me. Can we just stay like this and take it slow?"

James couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She was just too beautiful. In nothing but her underwear, she has never looked more beautiful to him than she did right now. She was everything he could ever want and so much more all at the same time.

She was perfect and beautiful and human. So very human….

He could see all of the raw and real emotions swim in her eyes as she looked at him with so much… trust…. He's never seen her so vulnerable before, like she felt just as exposed as she looked. She was always regarded as this superhuman princess that could fix anything, but here she was, looking so human and open in front of him….

There was so much she was trying to tell him in her blue, blue eyes and he tried to take them all in at once. Her eyes said everything and nothing all at the same time. Words like "okay," and "slow" were pushed at him while phrases like "I trust you" were swimming around his eyes.

But the one that popped out the most for him was, "I love you"….

A year ago, if someone was to tell him that he would be able to have Sofia in his arms like this, he would have cruelly laugh in their face because he always believed that he was too much of a monster to deserve anyone nonetheless Sofia of all people. But now?

Now, things are different. He was different. Because of her.

And everything is so real for him…. She was real. Right here in his arms, he's managed to finally have his soulmate. The one person who understands him better than he understands himself.

Sofia's chest heaved heavily and her skin was flushed with so much heat, but everything about her was perfect…. So utterly perfect.

She kept looking into his eyes, her eyes were burning as her body was bare and gorgeous.

James's mind and body didn't know how to react, they were confused and at war with one another.

He wanted so badly to touch her, to reach out and feel her soft skin but he was so afraid to do so. She looked so fragile and delicate that he wasn't sure if she might break under his hands. She's too precious for him to do anything stupid against her.

He felt like one wrong move and she might run away from him, gone forever. She would disappear and he would be left naked and alone.

I can't – she…. She'll break…. I-I-I….

And as if sensing his hesitation, Sofia pressed further into his lap. She took his hands and wrapped them around her waist as she cupped his cheeks and pulled him close enough so their foreheads would touch together.

"James," she whispered, her eyes unwavering as she looked at him. "It's okay."

Her eyes looked heavy with everything she was feeling. She held his face like he was something gentle and strong all together. Like he was her treasure and not the other way around.

She looked at him like she was his world….

When in reality, she was his universe.

She has always been his universe.

As kids, she was his everything. And as they grew, she slowly became his world. Now, She was his entire universe; she was the only thing that made absolute sense and no sense all at once.

She was his earth, his sky, his star, and his sun…. She was the air he breathed and the light in his world.

He felt her press even further to him, her hot skin against his own, and the only words that he could manage to say was her name, "Sofia…." Even that came out thick and hard.

"It's okay," she repeated.

She pulled away just a bit to kiss his forehead, his temple, his cheeks, and lastly his lips. All the while, still saying "it's okay, it's okay" in between her kisses.

Her kisses were light and gentle on him, as if it might erase all future nightmares that might capture him. And it made him ache for more.

He ran his fingers up the length of her back, touching each and every part of her spine as she scooted even closer towards him in his lap. She was so hot and warm and cold in his arms, and so very soft... Her skin felt like the finest satin and silk and cotton on this earth.

She kissed him one more time before pulling him down with her, lowering his head and resting it above her naked heart. Her arms held onto him tightly as she soothingly stroked his hair. Then he felt the warm lightness of his blanket fall across his back as she cradled him closer to her.

He tried to resist at first, afraid that he might crush her underneath his own heavy weight. But the moment she held him in her arms and set his head down on her bust, tiredness caught up to him immediately. He relaxed on top of her and listened to her repeat, "it's okay, it's okay..."

And they just laid there, naked skin against naked skin.

With his head above her heart, James listened to the sound of her heart beat slowly and calmly like it was his own personal lullaby.

A sweet, comforting silence drifted between them as he continued to listen to her breath and heartbeat.

Being in her arms, James has never felt so safe in his entire life. There was a certain security in the way she held onto him tightly, as if she was the one protecting him.

He liked it.

He liked that he felt nothing but secure and safe in her arms. This is where he always want to be, held gently in her arms like she was his home.

This is home to me…. Where ever she is, she is my home….

Their bodies molded so well together, like she was made for him and he was made for her. Her body was so soft and plushy under him, warm and squishy almost like the perfect pillow made for him.

She's my life…. The thought drifted through his mind as sleep began to creep closer towards him. She's my everything….

One of her hand continued to stroke his hair while another rubbed up and down his back. He didn't bother to even try and fight a shudder as he felt her soothingly coax him into a gentle sleep. Close to sleep, a lazy smile grew on him as he snuggled closer to her like he was a small child. A small sigh escaped him as he gave her a small squeeze.

He felt her body shake a little when she chuckled at him, making it rumble through her body.

"I love you, Sofia," he sighed through the drowsiness that was trying to capture him.

"I love you too, James," she chuckled even more as she pressed a light kiss on his temple.

Someday… if she wants it… she'll be my queen….


Chapter 21! Woo!

Sorry about the really late release, my laptop broke. I was freaking out because all of the chapters I was working on for SPJ was on there and I was afraid that I lost everything, including my homework and whatnot. It took about a week for all of the saved stuff I had in my laptop to be transferred to my new one. So I was about a week behind on this chapter. I am soo sorry.

Anyway, I was hoping that this long, steamy chapter might make it up to you all. So, how did you all like it? Good? Steamy? HOT? What about the big reveal? The other source is a painting!

Challenge: What do you all think the painting might look like and where it might be? Guess and if more than five of you all guess correctly, I will reveal something major about The Evil's past.

Challenge hint: it's of one person and placed on the very top floor of the castle.

Read, review, etc.

Thanks :)

PS. Sorry something went wrong and I had to reload this chapter again.