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 22: Playful Moments and Morning Truths

Sofia

Too hot… Sofia groggily thought as she slowly opened her eyes. She was staring up at a dark navy blue ceiling, not the usual soft pink canopy top of her bed.

Sofia looked around, confused at the colors of the pillows and blankets around her. They were a deep blue and soft white, nothing like the light purple colors of her own blankets and pillows.

Why is it so hot? Sofia thought. Her entire body was smothered under something so warm and hot that she could feel herself sweat despite the fact that it was the dead of winter and she saw no evidence of a fire burning in the room she was in. It was an uncomfortable heat and she wanted to just crawl over to the cooler side of the bed.

Sofia tried to move her legs and kick at whatever that was suffocating her in heat, but something big was between her legs. Its weight was pinning her down and sunk her deeply into the mattress, making it impossible for her even budge an inch away from the oversized mass of heat.

What the –

Sofia looked down and saw the messy mop of short blonde hair on top of her chest. She instantly recognized the dirty blonde color and the familiar sound of his soft snoring.

In the two short months since James had decided to sneak into her room a few nights a week, she has become used to the sound of his gentle snoring. It's the first thing she hears in the morning and the last thing she hears at night. And while his snoring sounded lighter and fainter than the flap of a bird's wings, it was still there, relaxed and easy.

Sofia calmed just a bit as the sound of his low breathing barely echoed through the quiet and dark room. The winter morning barely had any sunlight break through the closed curtains of his room, casting his room in soft, dim lighting from the sun that was just breaking through the horizon.

He stayed like this the entire night? Sofia thought as last night's memories slowly returned back to her that followed with a blush that quickly crept up to her cheeks.

She remembered everything that happened less than two hours ago. Their sneak out. The new developments to their plans. Amber's protection necklace. Lucinda and the Good Fairies. Glacia and Miss Nettle. New weapons. New Magic.

The kiss. Their lack of clothes. Their current position.

They were still in the same position as they were earlier that night. James was lying right on top of her, his head resting on her bare chest. With his long, muscled arms sprawled out next to both sides of her body, James was kind of lying in a random T-position. But what really occupied her mind was how distinctly aware she was of the intimate way he was lying in between her legs.

She gazed down at him as she stroked her fingers through his hair, brushing them away from his closed eyelids. A smile broke on her lips when she saw how completely at peace James looked. His cheeks appeared large and soft as they were squished against her bare chest. There was even a rosiness to his big cheeks as he slept, giving him a youthful and almost innocent appearance.

There was a perfect serenity in his sleeping expression. His eyelids were closed and his lips were parted just a tiny bit; she could feel his warm breath brush against her as he snored on. The blanket that covered them earlier that night was now down by his waist, and she could see his back rise and fall in rhythm with his snoring.

His entire body was so relaxed against hers, there wasn't any signs of worry or stress present in his sleeping expression. It was only when he was asleep is she ever able to really see how soft and squishy his body was. During the day, he is always so alert and tense. She could always feel how hard and solid his body was whenever he held her in his arms. And while it was a good thing to feel, it alarmed her at how tight and rigid he could be. She sometimes worries that he might be under too much pressure and stress from everything that was happening around them.

But like this, with him completely comfortable and at ease, he was nothing more than her soft and squishy James.

This was what she always loved to see in the morning. A peacefully sleeping James.

My James.

And after everything they learned last night, it was good to see him so relaxed and at ease.

His sleeping expression was her favorite thing about him. And sometimes, when she finds herself awake before him, she would just lay there beside him and continue to memorize every detail of his sleeping face. She would always start from how messily his hair would cover his eyes, then down to the way his long dark blonde lashes fluttered just a bit while he dreamt. She would continue until her eyes fell past his perfectly straight nose and his full bottom lip, stopping just at his chiseled chin.

But she'll never tell him that she tries to memorize him while he slept, it'll only make his ego grow larger than it already is. And who know what he'll do if he ever finds out about her secret habit.

Sofia could already feel a wave of embarrassed dread start to come just at the thought of what James might do if he finds out about this.

I am certain that he'll only use it to – Sofia stops in the middle of her thoughts when she felt him snuggle closer to her, rubbing his cheek against her chest and sleepily muttering something incoherent. Sofia stifled a laugh, not wanting James to wake up to the sound of her giggling at him. He sounded so young and childish, it was almost impossible to believe that the guy sprawled out on top of her was a twenty year old young man. And a king, no less.

She tried not to laugh again when James started to absently scratch at his cheek. There was something so cute in it all. It was just endearing to watch this sleepy version of James.

But the sweetness and adorable charm didn't last for long when his hand fell down and grabbed at her left breast. A part of her mind thought he probably did this unconsciously since he is asleep and everything, but that idea was violently thrown out of the window when she felt his hand give her a small but very distinct squeeze.

Just what does he think he is holding onto?! Sofia blushed furiously. She tried to give him a second chance and see if his hand would move off of her, but it didn't.

It stayed right where it was.

Happily clutching her like an infant trying to grab hungrily at a toy that was hanging in the air above it.

Was that another squeeze?! Sofia angrily glared down at him when she felt his hand lightly tighten on her again. She watched, angry and mortified at the small and sleepy smile that was growing on his lips. Is he smiling right now?!

Sofia tried to wiggle out from under James, but James was so big and heavy that she couldn't even manage to even budge an inch away from him.

For the love of – this boy is massive!

She continued to shimmy her body back and forth, thrashing her arms and pinned legs like a caught bug. Her legs couldn't kick, but her arms were still free and mobile. While her head as uselessly thrashing back and forth, her hands tried to push James off of her, but nothing worked on the heavy sleeper. Her attempts to free herself out from under James was getting more violet by the second. When the slaps to his cheeks didn't work, Sofia tried to punch his shoulder to see if it would wake him up, but James remained happily asleep on top of her.

I can't believe that he's still asleep during all of this! Sofia thought, plopping her head back down in defeat when the slaps to the face and punches to his shoulder did nothing for Sofia. She threw him another glare, even though he wasn't even aware that she was giving him one. And his hand is still on me!

But to her somewhat embarrassed pride, a really immature idea popped into her head.

Sofia began to pry his hand off of her with one finger at a time. When his hand as fully off, she stuck his index and middle fingers into his nose.

And waited.

In no time, she heard a breathless gasp and loud snort as James jerked awake. His head quickly bobbed up and whipped around in confusion. She watched him with a cool expression as he looked around his room with wide and confused eyes. The best part of it all was that his fingers was still in his nose as his head turned right and left.

"What?" James nasally said.

"Morning," Sofia replied tersely. She could still feel his heavy, hot weight on top of her as he looked up at her surprised.

"Sofia?" James said with his fingers still in his nose. At the sound of his nasally voice, James finally noticed that his nose was plugged up with his fingers and pulled them out with a popping sound. She watch him with a neutral expression as he looked at his fingers in confusion.

But when he looked back at her, the confusion lasted for only a second before something flashed in his eyes. Something dangerous and exciting that threatened to erase her angry resolve.

"I put them there," Sofia said when she couldn't take the silence between them and the intense way he was staring at her. She tried to sound just as strong and curt as she was seconds ago, but it was hard to do with James looking down at her with those emerald green eyes of his. They were always a bright, bright green in the morning, and she was having a hard time trying to keep herself from getting lost in them.

James didn't reply back to her. He just remained there, staring at her with a gaze that made her heartstrings thump and throb in a delicious way.

The desire and wanting swirled in his eyes, mixing around until the emerald green colors turned dark and intense.

With his eyes on her, Sofia became aware of just how revealed she really was. Except for her underwear, she was completely bare and naked underneath him. And she tried to fight the blush that threatened at the back of her neck when she watched his eyes fully register her and her undressed state.

Self-consciously, Sofia crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to cover as much as she could with her arms. But they suddenly felt too thin and scrawny, barely thick enough to decently cover herself. So, instead of just crossing her arms, Sofia hugged herself tightly just to hide herself from James's eyes.

She watched his eyes as they followed her arms before falling down to her hidden chest. She tried to not feel as exposed as she really was, but with James's eyes growing hungrier and hungrier with every passing moment, it was hard not to feel it.

"Why?" he breathed. His voice was thick and hard, like he was using every ounce of his might just to restrain himself for her sake. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard. His eyes didn't look dazed in the slightest way despite just waking up. His gaze fell down from her eyes and landed right on her lips.

"Because you wouldn't wake up." To her amazement, her voice didn't waver as James continued to look at her in a way that would surely have made her lungs stop working all together. It didn't help that his chest was starting to rise and fall so fast that it was almost like he was having a hard time just keeping the air in his lungs.

By the way his gaze kept switching back and forth from her eyes to her lips, she could tell that he wanted to kiss her.

"Why?" he repeated absently, slowly drawing back down to her. He didn't look like he was aware of what he was doing, like his body was moving all on its own.

Her entire body became electrified by the feel of his bare skin brushing against her own as he closed whatever gap that was between them. It didn't look like it took in a lot of effort for him to be hovering above her. His elbows were propped on the sides of her head, his lips were mere inches away from hers now. She could still feel his body heat radiating off of him, warming and exciting her in new ways.

But she continued to fight it.

To bite back the gasp that wanted to escape her throat because of the feeling of his bare stomach running over hers.

To not relish in how good it felt to be crushed underneath his weight.

To ignore the goose bumps that came from the dangerous way he looked down at her.

"Because you had grabby hands, James," Sofia firmly said, masking her embarrassment and excitement behind a neutral and slightly irritated expression.

"I had what?"

While his eyes were clear and focused, his mind apparently wasn't. It seems that the only thing that was running through his mind right now was kissing since after his mindless question, he immediately tried to kiss her. She head to turn her head just to keep his lips from crashing onto hers. James didn't seem too disappointed that she dodged his kiss because he started to playfully kiss her neck instead.

Sofia wanted to resist the wonderful feeling of his lips on her skin, to fight it and not get lost in the bliss that wanted to wash over her.

And to her luck, Sofia's eyes spotted the clock on his nightstand.

Four twenty-six.

I literally don't have time for this, Sofia thought as the gravity of their mission returned to her.

Sofia pushed James off of her with a hard shove, making him fall to the side in a hazy daze. With her lack of time, she didn't have time to feel bad about how hard she pushed him. She quickly crawled off of the bed before he could pin her onto her back again and started to search around in the dim early morning light for the shirt she discarded less than two hours ago.

During her search, she made a mental list of just what she needed to get done.

There was Amber's protective necklace that she needed to give to her quickly so that she could be safe from The Evil. Then, she and James needed to sneak back out later today and find Lucinda so she could help them find ways to fight The Evil. And in the middle of all of that, Sofia needed to figure out how work on James's heart so that it's no longer a source for The Evil.

But those aren't the only things on her plate.

Besides dealing with Hugo, Sofia still needed to figure out a plan on what to do after they locate the other source. How are they going to destroy it? Is it through magic? Will The Evil know if they do find it?

Sofia already knew where it was because Glacia told her privately.

"The source is a painting of that boy's mother. It's in the attic," Glacia's words drifted through her mind.

While she was amazed that Glacia knew what the source was and where it was located, she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy that the first source was a painting of Queen Anne.

Why, out of every painting in the entire castle, was it of Queen Anne?

Did Queen Anne know about this?

Sofia knew that Queen Anne wasn't able to tell her directly because of the evil spell she was under... but if she did know about the first source, couldn't she have just directed her to it? That would have save her a lot of time and help James be free of this thing faster.

After I give Amber her necklace, I need to go talk to Queen Anne, Sofia thought as she finally found the shirt and put it on. But how do I find her? Do I just call out her name?

Sofia was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear James get off of the bed and walk over to her. She didn't get a chance to fully button up her shirt as she felt a familiar of arms wrap around her waist from behind. One particular hand – the same one that groped her breast – pulled down the right sleeve of the shirt and then she felt an even more familiar pair of lips land down on her bare shoulder.

Seriously? The first thing he wants to do after he wakes up is kiss me?

"Stop it, James." Sofia tried to shake him off and scramble over to her other clothes, but his arms remained tight around her. He started to make his way behind her ear and it took everything in her to not tremble in his arms. "I need to get back to my room."

Her voice was barely above a whisper, she was having hard time trying to fight off James's lips and hands.

"I can't help it," he mumbled in between the kisses. She felt his hands cover hers, which were still in the middle of fastening a button. His hands are always so big and warm, no matter how cold the day was. They would always engulf her hands in a gentle and overwhelming heat….

But while her mind was distracted, she didn't realize that his fingers had started to undo the very buttons her hands had stopped fastening.

"James, what are you doing?" she said, smacking his hands.

But that didn't stop him.

"I want to kiss every part of you," he huskily whispered into her ear as he managed to get every button undone. "And while you look incredible in my shirt, Sofia, I think you look even better without it. This," he tugged at the shirt, opening it and pulling it down her shoulders, "needs to be on the floor again."

"James," Sofia's breath caught as she felt him kiss a trail from her neck down to her spin, making her shiver at the touch of his lips. His hands were flat on her stomach now and one of his thumbs began to trace tiny circles on her skin, sending a second wave of shivers down her spin.

This needs to stop, Sofia thought, fighting against James's kisses. Or else I won't be able to sneak back into my room.

"Hmm?" he said, sounding like he was lost in the act of leaving fiery kisses on her skin.

"Stop." She was surprised that she sounded more vicious and threatening than she felt despite the warm tingles that were running up and down her body right now.

Sofia felt him jolt behind her and his kisses stopped immediately. The feel of his lips on her spin disappeared as he pulled away, leaving her back feeling oddly cold and relieved at the same time.

"Sorry," he breathed, sounding like he was snapping out of it somewhat. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I got carried away."

He quickly pulled her shirt back up before she turned around so she could face him. To her surprise, James was looking down at the floor, and she could see a small blush creep on his cheeks in the low light the morning offered her.

"I'm sorry, Sofia," he repeated. He rubbed the back of his neck as he took a step back from her. "I didn't mean to – it's just that – I got – you looked – I'm sorry –"

There was something adorable in the way he couldn't look at her. What was even cuter was how embarrassed and flustered he sounded. But at the same time, he sounded like he was beating himself up about getting too caught up in the kissing.

"James," Sofia stopped him, holding her shirt closed. "You didn't do anything bad, I just had to stop you because I needed to get back to my room before anyone sees me. Okay?"

She took a step towards him, and it seems that he thought if it as an invitation to reach out to her. He held her hand and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing her knuckles. His face was now a mix of shame and contentment, like he wanted to just recreate their happy moment two hours ago, but he was holding himself back on her part. "I'm sorry."

But he sounded like he was so ashamed of himself, it kind of sent a pang of guilt through her for making James feel so bad. James was holding her hand so tentatively that she was surprised her hand didn't slip out easily, it was like the slightest touch from her would make him lose all control of himself.

Sofia smiled gently at him as she took his hand and brought it up to her cheek. "Don't be. It's not like I hated it or that I'm mad at you, James. I liked it a lot and if we had more time, I would have gladly let you continue."

"You would've?" He was so surprised by her words that she could literally feel the happy shock radiate off of him.

"Yes," she said with a small kiss to the inside of his wrist. "But we don't right now. And I need to get back."

He smiled back at her, letting his thumb rub against her cheek. James looked like he was going to say something back to her, but a voice outside in the halls stopped him and they looked at his door.

"Why do you have all of those books?" It was the same, young voice they both heard in the flying horse stalls last night.

"It's for Sofia," said a very recognizable voice.

Hugo.

Behind her, Sofia thought she had heard James furiously growl his name.

"I helping her with some research she's doing for the secret organization," Hugo continued to say. Panic quickly set into her as their voices were getting closer to James's door.

Oh stars! He just said secret organization!

"What secret organization, Sofia?" James whispered to her. She wasn't even looking at him, but she could literally feel him staring hard into the back of her skull. If she turned around right now, she knew that she would be looking at a pair of mad, blaring green eyes.

I was hoping to have a little more time before I would have to say anything….

"Oh, good for you, man. She asked you for your help," said the younger voice.

"Not quite," Hugo's laugh echoed down the hallway. "I just took it upon myself to gather all of these books for her. I'm not going to waste the second chance she gave me on just being nice to James. I am going to be as helpful to her as I possibly can. You know, do whatever she says and junk. That way, her mission to help James can speed along and she can leave with me as quickly as possible."

"Second chance, Sofia?" She definitely heard how carefully he was trying to control himself right now, and not because he wanted to kiss her again. The frustration and anger in his voice was telling her that he was trying to keep himself from breaking down his door and start another fight with Hugo.

The young man's voice had said something else as their voices passed James's room, drifting down the hallway and safely away from James.

"I'll explain later," Sofia said. She couldn't look at James as she went to go pick up her rider's outfit and messenger bad. She knew that her expression had nothing but "guilty" written all over it.

"You promised me that last night," he said as he followed closely behind her. "And if I'm not wrong, it is later. So explain. Now."

Her embarrassment and guilt soon mixed with a slight annoyance towards James. She didn't take lightly to how he was demanding her to explain everything to him right now. James has always known that she never liked being told what to do, especially with tones like his right now.

Sofia quickly whipped around and gave him a warning look. If he doesn't watch himself, things might turn ugly between them.

Clearly seeing her slight anger, James's frustrated expression quickly crumpled with a sigh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to tell you what to do. But you do have a lot to explain here. What did Hugo mean about that second chance crap? What was that all about the secret organization? And you need to tell me what Glacia told you back at Royal Prep."

Crap, that's a lot to explain to him, Sofia thought, letting her annoyance at James die. She did promise to explain everything to him and it was only fair to him that she tell him everything.

But how?

How can she just blurt out everything that she has been trying to keep secret from him for months now?

I know that I said there can't be any secrets between us, but these aren't my secrets to tell…. But James wouldn't let this go if I don't tell him everything. It'll only have him bug me until I give in and spill.

"James…" Sofia sighed.

"Yes?" he said as he took a step closer to her.

But that was a bad move on his part because she saw how his defined and toned muscles rippled as he walked to her. Her hands started to twitch with a need to touch every part of his exposed body while her eyes tried to drink in how amazingly his body looked.

Dammit. I don't have time to be distracted by this!

"James, will you please put some clothes on?"

"Not until you tell me everything."

And in one dramatic and fluid motion, he sat down on the floor with his arms crossed. He looked like some defiant child waiting to get what he wants.

Sofia rubbed her temples in irritation, loudly groaning so James could hear. Looking over at the clock, she saw that she had only about twenty to thirty minutes to explain to James. Less if she tries to fight James about putting some clothes on.

"Fine, stay in your underwear," Sofia sighed with frustration as she sat on the floor across from James. "Hugo thinks I am giving him a second chance but I'm not. It's my plan to get us back to being friends again so he would finally realize that we're better off as friends, and it's a way for me to keep him busy so he doesn't cling to me."

"He 'clings' to you?" James narrowed his eyes at her, but she knew that it was aimed more towards Hugo than at her.

"Not necessarily," she said with a grimace.

Hugo believed that she was giving him another chance, so that might mean that he was only going to try harder to win her heart. She wasn't sure if that might cause him to be everywhere and try to follow her around. But if it does, it would be kind of problematic if she had to sneak out just to talk to Lucinda and Hugo might see her leave and ask questions. And Hugo's new clinginess could only mean James would stick to her like glue.

That would be hell.

"James," she tried again, "this is just in case he gets clingy. I'm just trying to prevent all possible outcomes of my relationship with Hugo."

"Okay," he said warily, obviously not liking her choice of words.

"And the secret organization…" Sofia said hesitantly. "That's more of… you see, I can't…. This is…."

She didn't like that she had to tell him this, it felt like she was betraying Baileywick's and Cedric's trust in her. While they never really told her that she couldn't tell James about their secret organization, it was always an unspoken rule that they shouldn't.

But then, they didn't really know that he was being influenced by some evil person. So everything they believed James to be is kind of false. Does that make it okay okay for James to know about the secret organization?

"James," Sofia took a deep breath, hoping that she doesn't regret telling him everything. "The secret organization was created because many wanted you off of the throne and me or Amber on it."

"What?" James's face has been drained of all color and he looked like he might throw up any time soon.

"But," she quickly added, hating that she made him feel like this, "it has changed a little since I've arrived. It became this organization that is dedicated in protecting me and Amber from you, and trying to find a way to save you."

"Save me?"

"They don't know anything about the voice or whatever is going on with you, but they do believe that there is still some good in you. I haven't told them anything else except that you can be saved and they believe me."

"Who else is part of this organization?"

"I can't tell you that," Sofia shook her head at him.

"But, you and Hugo are a part of it? And I take it that Amber is too?"

Sofia didn't know what to say, she was just too ashamed and guilt-ridden to even reply to him. She just gazed down at her hands in her lap as she nodded back to him.

"Is this what you meant when you said that Hugo tells you stuff sometimes?" he asked carefully.

"Yes. Hugo was assigned as my guard because the secret organization wanted him to protect me. He also informs about any new details within the organization."

James was silent as he stared at her with deep, searching eyes. He didn't look upset or mad, but she still couldn't decipher what he was thinking.

Then he let out a long, exhausted breath, "are they still trying to dethrone me?"

"No, ever since I told them that you're still good, they stopped trying to get you off the throne. But it's still their back-up plan if things get bad."

"I see…."

He sounded so defeated that she couldn't help but feel like complete crap. His gaze was down and he was picking at his fingertips like they were the most interesting thing he's ever seen. But she knew that it was because he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"James," Sofia rushed, wanting to stop the heaviness that circled around them now. "I know that you're still a good person, you've proved it numerous times to me. And it's only a matter of time before they can see it too. But for now, these people in the secret organization can only believe that there is still some good in you. We just need them to see the good in you."

When James looked back at her, she saw a small hint of light return back to his eyes. And his smile was small, but it was there.

"So there's people that believe in me? They don't think I'm a complete monster?"

"You never were a monster, but yes, there is a good number of people out there that think you can change."

That made James smile a little wider, it was almost infectious to see how happy he was to hear her say that. And Sofia couldn't help but smile back at him too.

And never able to keep his hands to himself, he reached for her and pulled her into his lap. Sofia was a bit annoyed with herself when she didn't put up much of a fight when he tucked her comfortably in his arms, but it felt like a cruel rejection to him if she tried to pull away right now. Any way, it was too hard for her to resist his warm body. His arms wrapped tightly around her, cradling her against his chest and her body immediately melted in his arms. Her hands involuntarily released her shirt and fell in between their laps, leaving her shirt open and her skin vulnerable against James's hot skin. Their skins touched again and she could feel how his warm chest heated her own bare chest.

"So you convinced them all that I'm not some monster?" he asked after planting a kiss on the side of her head.

"Not all of them, there are still some who believe that you're still bad." Her head comfortably rested on his shoulder and his spicy scent filled her nose. It was a nice mix of some masculine cologne and James. "But they can't know that you know about them, James."

"Why?"

"They're already afraid of you, if they know that you're aware of this organization, things aren't going to go well for either of us. I don't want them to be even more afraid of you. I want them to look at you and see what I see, which is a great, kind, and loving king."

Apparently James liked what he heard and she felt him give her a tight squeeze as his chest shook when he chuckled. "Alright, so I just play dumb?"

"Not dumb, just turn a blind eye to it."

"Okay…. And what did Glacia say to you?" he asked, bring her mind back to another part of their conversation. His embrace turned into hard iron and held her tighter against his chest.

"She told me where I could find the first source," Sofia said as she pulled back to look up at him. She wanted to see what his reaction might be once she finished what she had to say. "She said that it was some painting of your mom in the attic."

"My mom?" James's eyes widened, shocked and scared at the same time.

"Yeah. Do you might know what this painting is? Or how it might look like?"

"No because there are about a hundred paintings of my mom in the attic."

"A hundred?" Sofia said incredulously, trying to take in that she just might be in over her head. "A hundred…."

How would I know which painting might be the source? Will my amulet tell me?

And for the love of, why does Queen Anne have so many paintings? I don't even have that many paintings of myself!

"Is it really of my mom?" James's question interrupting Sofia's thoughts.

"That's what Glacia told me," Sofia shrugged.

"But how do you know she's telling the truth?"

"She's the only thing we have that comes close to a clue about what this other source is, James," Sofia shrugged again.

And I trust her….

Sofia couldn't say it, but there was a small part of her that trusts Glacia's words. She doesn't understand how or why she does, but she knows that Glacia is a good witch and would try everything in her power to do the right thing.

"Okay, so what's the plan now?" he asked.

"I haven't thought up much of a plan, I was actually just going to go give the necklace to Amber and then head off to the attic to start looking –"

"By yourself?"

Sofia was a bit surprised by his sudden change in tone. He sounded like he didn't like the idea of her searching for the painting all on her own.

"Well yeah, I mean –"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Sofia said, taken aback by how absolute he sounded. She would have been mad at how he sounded like he was going to order her around again, but from his grimace, she let it slide this one time.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said earnestly. "I meant that you can't do it on your own. I'm going to help you."

"But you have paperwork to do, so –" she tried to protest.

Sofia actually didn't want James's help. She had a feeling that he would only distract her while she tried to search for the painting.

But he looked like he wasn't going to let her refuse him.

"Not today. Don't you remember that I already finished all of my work for today?" he smiled confidently at her. "I'm going to help you whether you like it or not. We're a team now, remember?"

Damn. He's not going to take 'no' for an answer.

"Fine," she huffed, giving in to him like always.

Sofia stood up and James didn't try to stop her from getting out of his arms. She started to pick up all of her things off of the chair by the fireplace. Then she headed towards the door while James remained on the floor. Before she opened the door to check if anyone was nearby, she turned one last time and looked back to see that he smiling smugly at her.

And despite herself, she liked how he looked right now. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor in nothing but his underwear, the vision of a young and handsome king. Yet, while he looked like the grown and perfect king, she liked how he looked so childish and adorable as he sat there on the floor. He had on an endearingly lopsided smile that made her heart skip a beat when it grew bigger and showed his perfectly straight teeth.

But it was the way that he was looking at her that made her heart stop completely. The light in his eyes shined so brightly and she knew that it was because of her. He was looking at her with so many emotions that thrilled her beyond anything she's ever felt before. And she felt so loved and cherished.

The look in his eyes exhilarated her right down to the bones, and made her body move without her permission.

Before she even realized that her legs were moving on their own, she found herself standing in front of him. Then her body bent down and kissed him so quickly that she wasn't sure if she felt the kiss or not.

James must have thought the same thing because his hand found the back of her neck and kept her from pulling away. His other hand soon dug their fingers through her messy hair as he reclaimed her lips like he was trying to really feel her lips on his. He was savoring her, tenderly kissing her while being urgent and hungry about it at the same time.

His lips were so soft and rough on her at the same time, and they were so hungry…. The only thing she could taste on his lips, on his tongue, in his mouth was just James. Nothing more and nothing less.

Just James.

And it took everything in her to break their kiss. James started to growl in protest beneath her lips when she started to break for air.

"I have to get back to my room, James," she whispered against his lips. Her mind was dizzy and reeling from their heavenly kiss as she spoke. "During our afternoon tea, we'll go to the attic and start our search."

"Okay," he said softly, smiling up at her.

With another small peck on his lips, Sofia rushed back to her room as quickly as she could. She didn't want anyone to see her leaving James's room in nothing but his shirt. And to her luck, no one was around to even hear her bare feet patter across the cold marble floors of the hallway.

Once she made it back to her room unseen, a loud and relieved breath she didn't even know she was holding escaped her when she sagged against her door. Exhaustion soon caught up to her, Sofia didn't think she even had enough energy to crawl over to the bed that was calling to her.

But she managed to find just enough somewhere in her to go to her bed. Leaving her clothes where they were, she made it all the way towards her bed while on her hands and knees. Pulling herself up, Sofia let out another relieved sigh once her head met her pillow.

More than exhaustion now swept over her and she was nearly half-asleep again when Sofia looked over at her clock on her night stand. The hands read that it was ten minutes passed five.

I think I have enough time to just snooze a little before going over to Amber's room and giving her the necklace, Sofia tiredly thought into the comforting silence of her room.

But Sofia didn't even get a chance to close her eyes before a voice called out to her in the silence.

"Sofia," Queen Anne's voice broke through her brief moment of contented peace.

"Queen Anne," Sofia said, sitting up. She tried to not sound so grumpy and annoyed. She ran a hand through her hair and brushed away some that fell in front of her eyes. "You're here. Funny, I was going to try and find a way to call for you later today."

"You were going to call for me because of the source, huh?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Spirit powers, remember?" Queen Anne shrugged lightly, but the look on her expression quickly changed into something mischievous and teasing. It almost matched that of James's own playful expression. "Is that James's shirt?"

Sofia's cheeks began to burn hotter than she's ever felt it. "Yes?" she squeaked, embarrassed that the mother of her soulmate was seeing her in nothing but her underwear and her son's shirt. Luckily, her shirt was buttoned all the way, so she wasn't too revealed in front of Queen Anne.

Queen Anne giggles like a young schoolgirl at Sofia's embarrassment. "Well, you two sure do move fast."

"You can blame your son for that," Sofia muttered. She was sure her cheeks were as red as ripe cherries now. "He wouldn't let me go get my nightgown and just handed me this shirt. He told me to wear it for the night."

"Does that also explain the marks on your neck?" Queen Anne giggled some more. She floated over to Sofia and sat down on her bed. Despite being a ghost, Sofia saw the bed sink down where Queen Anne sat.

Burning even more, Sofia buried her gaze down in her lap and let her hair fall over her face to hide her red cheeks.

"You can blame that on James too," Sofia mumbled into her lap.

"It's alright, Sofia," Queen Anne patted her knee. Sofia could hear the amusement in her voice. "James is just too playful sometimes, but you need to keep him in line. Don't let him have the upper hand when it comes to –"

"Okaaaay," Sofia blushed furiously, mortified that Queen Anne was talking to her about this kind of stuff. "I get it. I get it. No need to get into detail about this kind of stuff." Queen Anne just laughed some more at Sofia's embarrassed state. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?"

Without missing a beat, her tone quickly changed and turned serious and heavy. Along with it came an even heavier atmosphere. "Sofia, do you know about the sources now? Have you located it?"

"Yes," Sofia was taken aback by the grim look in her eyes. "I learned that one of them is a painting of you somewhere in the attic and the other is James's heart. Did you know about this?"

Queen Anne nodded gravely, her lips tightly held together.

"But you couldn't tell me about it, huh? It's because of that curse on you."

She nodded again at Sofia, a look of pure defeat weighed her shoulders down and made her slouch forward.

"Sofia," she said, looking like she was near tears. "I wanted to tell you so badly. I want to be of some help to you so I can protect you, Amber, and James. But I am helpless against this thing."

"No, you're not," Sofia protested. "You protected us from the evil."

"Not entirely. The longer I used my powers to keep you three safe, the weaker I become. I was nearly powerless until you and James realized your feelings for each other and your amulet finally started to protect you both. Then I was able to focus all of my energy in keeping Amber safe."

"So you're the friend the three fairies were talking about..."

"Yes," she said solemnly. "Besides you, the fairies and Lucinda are the only others that know about me. They know that I've been growing weaker every day because I've been trying to keep Amber safe. My powers have been dying and I didn't think they would last another week, nonetheless a day. So I called out to them to help and that green necklace was their solution."

"How do they know about you?" Sofia asked, confused and overwhelmed by this new set of information.

Queen Anne smiled motherly at Sofia, as if she could tell that all of this new information was overcoming Sofia. "I was once their student back at Royal Prep and they attended my wedding to Roland. They also were at my debut after my birth. And I take it that they told Lucinda about me because she is their prodigy."

"Okay, okay," Sofia rubbed her temples. She felt a headache coming on now.

All of this was becoming too much for her. Sofia's head felt like it was going to explode with everything she's learned in the past twenty-four hours.

And Queen Anne's second change in tone didn't help with her headache.

"Sofia, we don't have much time. My powers are at their limit and you need to give the necklace to Amber." Queen Anne magically lifted Sofia's messenger bag up and brought it over to the bed. Then she pulled out the shiny green necklace and handed it to Sofia. "I want to tell you everything before I have to go."

"Tell me what?"

"Sofia, the way to break the spell on James's heart is for him to talk about his guilt. You have to make him openly talk to you about my death, Roland's affair, all of the lives he took. He needs to feel each and every emotion he's been suppressing since he's taken the throne. If he manages to move on from this, the spell will be broken. But it'll break if you're the one he tells it all too."

Queen Anne sped so fast that Sofia was unsure if she heard everything she just said. She looked frantic, like she had to be somewhere or else she'll be in trouble if she was spotted gone.

Sofia wished she could somehow help Queen Anne like how she was helping Sofia, but she didn't know how. Sofia wanted to keep Queen Anne as safe as she was trying to keep James and Amber safe. She wanted to save her as much as she was saving James. She just needed to know how to do that...

"Now go, Sofia," Queen Anne said. She was beginning to fade into thin air. "Go give that necklace to Amber."

"Wait! There is still so much I have to ask you! Like, how would I know if the spell is broken on James? And what about the painting? How can I find it if there is like a hundred paintings of you up in the attic?"

"Your amulet and intuition will tell you," Queen Anne smiled. "Next time we meet, I'll tell you more about my past. There is a lot of stuff you can use in it to help save James."

"Wait!" Sofia tried to stop her but it was no use, Queen Anne had disappeared with an encouraging smile and Sofia was left alone with her unanswered questions.

What does she mean there is stuff in her past that I can use to help James? Sofia felt more confused than she had to begin with. Is there something in her past that effects James personally? How is he connect to her past?

The complicated perplexity of it all was too much for Sofia, so she just flopped back onto her bed and held the green gem up in the air above her. She stared at it as if it might give her the answers to her questions that Queen Anne couldn't tell her at the moment.

But the lifeless, magical object didn't do anything.

And again she was left with nothing but her many questions.

Her arm fell back down and Sofia didn't know how long she laid there, staring up at the pink canopy top of her bed. She tried to find something, anything that could answer her questions.

After a while of just lying there, Sofia gave up on trying to find any sort of answers and decided that it was best to take on one thing at a time. So she got back up and started to make her way towards her door with the necklace in her hands.

There's no point in worrying about all of my questions for Queen Anne if she's not here to answer them for me. I'll just work my way up to my questions for Queen Anne and wait until she comes again to talk to me about them….

So, first thing on my list: give the necklace to Amber. I need to make her promise me that she'll never take it off. If she always keeps it on, then I'll sleep better at night knowing that she's safe and sound from The Evil.

The book did say that it protects her true love too…. I wonder if that could be Sir Edwards…. Sofia gushed to herself.

As she opened her door, she was surprised to find James standing there with his hand up like he was just about to knock on her door before she opened it.

Sofia saw that he was cleaned up and bathed, his hair was brushed back and he didn't have any stubble on his cheeks and jaw. He was wearing a pair of fresh clothes and she got a nice waft of his warm and spicy cologne. While she, on the other hand, was looking like a complete mess. Her hair was knotted and ratty, she was sure that she probably didn't smell all that nice, and she was still wearing James's wrinkled pajama shirt.

"James," she said a bit too breathlessly, hating that her heart was speeding rapidly in her chest all because James standing in front of her looking too handsome for his own good. "What are you doing here?"

James clearly heard her gasping tone and chuckled softly at her. "It's seven o'clock, Sofia. We usually have breakfast at eight, you know."

"Wait, what?"

Sofia didn't believe him.

How was it seven o'clock already? It was about five o'clock when she got back to her room, how was it possible that two hours flew by that fast?

Turning around, she went over to her night stand and quickly grabbed the small clock. It read seven-ten!

"I've been in here for two hours?!" Sofia turned to him, looking at him like he might have the answer to the new questions that now swam through her mind. "What the heck?"

James chuckled some more as he entered her room and closed the door behind him.

She didn't like that he was finding this entire situation laughable. If he didn't stop laughing at her right at this moment, this clock might find itself flying at James's head. "This isn't funny, James," Sofia warned.

He just ignored her warning and stepped closely to her. "You're still wearing my shirt," he smiled down at her, giving the hem of the shirt a small tug.

It seemed that he didn't care that she was having small meltdown over the fact that two hours have past and she didn't even realize it. Or he was just too preoccupied with the fact that she was still somewhat naked in his shirt. Either way, he was looking at her in the shiver-inducing way and clearly had kisses on his mind again.

Oh no you don't, Sofia thought, irritated that he always had that kind of effect on her. I can't have more marks on me, today. It was bad enough that your mother saw them, James, I don't need everyone else to see them too!

She swatted away his hand and made a mad beeline for the safety of her bathroom.

"Sofia, what are you doing?" she heard him call to her as she locked the bathroom door so he couldn't get in.

"What does it look like?" she dryly said back to him through the doors. "I am changing."

"But you're in the bathroom."

"Then I am cleaning up," she sassed him back as she washed her face and brushed her teeth in a hurry.

I can't believe that I wasted two hours! I could have given Amber her necklace hours ago and use the extra time to go search for the painting!

The very painting that Queen Anne forgot to tell me how it looks like! James said that there are about a hundred of them in the attic, how in hell's name am I going to find it in the hoard of others?

After tying her hair into a neat ponytail, she stripped off James's shirt and quickly wrapped her thick bathrobe around her and stepped out of her bathroom. James was now sitting in one of the chairs by her fireplace, patiently waiting for her with a cheeky smile.

What is he up to? Sofia narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Hi there," he smiled at her with a playful and mischievous glint in his eyes. In a flash, James stood up and made it to her in less than a second. And the next thing she knew, she was back in his arms as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

Dammit.

You are just made of teenage hormones aren't you, James?

Sofia gave him a firm shove, stepping back and handing him back his shirt. "Here's your shirt back. Sorry I didn't have it washed before giving it back to you."

James looked down at the shirt in his hands and then back at her for a moment. Then he shook his head at her and gave it back to her.

"No, keep it," he smiled devilishly at her and her heart started to beat ten times faster. "You can wear it as your pajamas whenever I come into your room at night." He started to stalk towards her, making Sofia back up until she felt her back hit her closet's doorknob. "Which, by the way, I'm going to do tonight. And the night after that. And the night after that."

To save herself from James, Sofia ducked into her closet and locked it. Then a loud, rounding laughter erupted on the other side of the door.

"I was just teasing you, Sofia," James laughed. He sounded like he was crippled over in laughter. "You don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

He was teasing me! Sofia thought angrily.

While most of his teases are cute and playful, sometimes he just didn't know when to control his it. James never understood when and where his teasing habit was appropriate to come out. Like right now, when she had to hurry back out and give Amber her necklace. That was important and she needed to be focused.

But thanks to James's teasing, Sofia's mind was filled with only getting payback on him.

And she knew the perfect way to get him back….

On the other side of the door, Sofia heard James's footsteps retreat back to the other side of her room and the familiar creaking of one of her chairs. He must have gone back to sitting by her fireplace again.

Good, Sofia thought. Now's my chance to get him back.

James knew that he had an effect on her, he was all too aware of it. But sometimes she thinks that he kind of forgets her little effects on him.

She knew – and loved – just how much she could affect him. It was a power that she loved to use on him. A dangerous and powerful ability that James was just too weak to resist.

Before she could lose her courage, Sofia stepped out of the closest in her bathrobe and started to saunter over to James. She swayed her hips lightly with each step towards him, exaggerating herself with long strides that showed off more of her legs and thighs.

James froze in his seat and she saw him gulp as his eyes widened when he looked at her. To tease him even further, she bit her lips as she tried to smile dangerously at him.

And without missing a single beat, she crawled onto his lap and straddled him. She pressed into him and let her lips hover his by a centimeter. Her knees rested at both sides of his hips as she smoothly flattened her front towards him. James tried to grab onto her waist, but she firmly took his hands and held them tightly onto the chair's armrests. She saw his fingers dig into the fabric of the chair, liking that he was itching to touch her.

"Sofia," he groaned, looking desperately up at her.

Sofia didn't say anything to him, she just smiled and tilted her head at him like she was considering his pleading tone.

But she wanted to see him squirm underneath her.

So she started to leave a light trail of feathery kisses on him. Sofia started from his left temple and floated across his forehead to his right temple. Then down to his cheekbones so she could kiss across the bridge of his nose. She wasn't done just yet though. Sofia reached his jawline and began to kiss under his chin, next her lips went further down and started to taste his neck.

All the while, James continued to moan her name. His breathing was fast and heavy and his eyes were dazed as they stared up at her.

Sofia didn't want to stop. She was having fun with the power she had over James. Too much fun, actually. There was a thrill that Sofia wanted to relish in and savor, enjoying the pure pleasure of seeing James unravel beneath her touch and lips.

Sofia had nearly kissed every inch of his face, leaving his lips for last.

When she started to kiss the right corner of his mouth, James turned his head suddenly and tried to claim her lips. But Sofia was fast enough to pull back and smiled sardonically at him.

"You don't like being teased do you, James?" Sofia coated her voice in honey.

James was restless now, fidgeting and twitching beneath her. She took her teasing a step further and ran her tongue over his bottom lip. His eyes fluttered closed when she took it between her teeth and lightly pulled it.

"No," he said when she released his lip.

"Then," she said, enjoying the sound of how hoarse and thick his voice was. Sofia pressed harder into James just to see how positively he would react to the feel of her against him. A small but almost violet shudder ripped through him. "Don't tease me like that next time, James."

But Sofia made the mistake of letting his hands go when she wanted to cup his cheeks.

And before she even knew it, the tables had turned on her.

James quickly held her cheeks and began to kiss her hungrily, urgently, and crazily.

This kiss was his payback to her.

He was stealing the air from her lungs, capturing her lips and holding them prisoner. The kiss was making her mind go blank, erasing every thought she's ever had and replacing it with nothing but James and all the wonderful things he can do with just a pair of lips.

"James," she tried to pull away for a chance to breathe.

But he didn't let her go.

He held her face firmly in place and kissed her stronger this time.

His tongue started to win dominance in her mouth while his hands slide down from her shoulders and the length of her arms, until they reached their destination.

The knot that held her robe together.

Sofia was on the brink of pure bliss, her head was full of clouds and colors that she didn't try to fight him when he started to undo with her robe. Her hands were limp around his neck, to weak from the searing, epic kiss to even stop him. She almost encouraged him to tear it apart.

With what seemed like little effort, the knot was undone and her robe was immediately discarded. And she was bare again, left in nothing but her underwear.

"James," she said again when his lips started to descend lower.

His hands held her waist tightly as he left a trail of hot, hot, hot kisses down her jawline.

Passed her neck.

Across her collarbone.

And down the center of her chest.

Her head felt like it was too heavy for her to even keep up. Sofia's head fell back when she felt his lips dance all over her chest, kissing and marking places that was once untouched by his lips. Now he was marking each and every part of her torso that she knew would be unseen by everyone in the castle. Her body was starting to feel like it was on fire and James just continued to kindle it, feeding it more and more with his lips.

For a moment, when her hazed eyes cleared for a small moment, her eyes saw that her door was locked all this time.

So he planned this, Sofia realized. He locked it the moment he came in and knew that this would happen if he teased me hard enough.

The sly jerk.

Sofia didn't know whether to be mad or not. Her mind said that she should be, but his lips on her body was saying something else.

Then she saw the clock that hung on her wall, its hands reading seven fifty-three.

This is what I get when I let his teasing get to me….

"James," Sofia tried to whisper but it only came out as a low croak. Her heart was ready to explode and she didn't know how to speak correctly. "What about breakfast?"

"Forget breakfast," he spoke into her chest. His hot breath blowing against her skin, raising goose bumps down her stomach.

His lips came back up, eagerly melting to the form of her lips.

And she almost forgot about everything else in the world. She actually wanted to agree with him and just continue as they are.

Her mind wanted to think about nothing but the way he tasted like nothing she's ever known before, how his eyes blazed intensely as they looked at her, and how much her body ached just from the feel of his hands on her. His fingers started to knead into her skin and she was about ready to fall over the brink of insanity.

But reality isn't something easily forgotten in an instant.

"No," Sofia broke her lips away. "We can't, James."

"Don't worry about it, Sofia," he said, holding her chin and bringing her lips back down. But Sofia turned her head and he started to kiss her neck instead, sending a rush of electrical shivers down her spin. "I can just ask them to bring your breakfast to your room."

"No, James," she pushed in back firmly. "I mean that we need to be out there so people don't think otherwise."

"Let them think whatever they want," he mumbled, his eyes heavy again as he tried to lean in so he could nibble on her ear.

"No," she said, pulling out of his arms and hoping off of him.

"Sofia," he whined as she bent to pick up her robe.

"We can 'let them think whatever they want' after we saved the kingdoms from this evil thing, James," she said back to him as she headed for her closet. "Right now, we just need to pretend that we're nothing more than brother and sister."

"But I don't want that," his voice called to her as she tried to change as fast as she could in her closet.

After her chemise was on, Sofia quickly put on a new and clean corset by their busk fastenings. She silently thanked the stars that busk fastenings were invented and gave her a new way to put on her corset fast and efficiently.

Then she started to look for a dress that was easy to put on but had enough to cover all of the marks James had left on her in the last few hours now. In the end, a dark blue turtle-neck dress that had no buttons in the back was the only one that offered her enough covering.

"Well, that's what we're going to have to deal with for now, James," she replied back to him as she reemerged from her closet. Sofia finished tying the lighter blue ribbon on her waist as she stepped towards James. "When this is all over, I promise that you can announce our relationship to the world, okay?"

"But right now, we have to keep it a secret, I know," he finished for her with a big pout.

"Yup," she said with a poke to his bottom lip.

"Fine," James rolled his eyes at her as he offered her his arm. "I don't like it, but I'll deal with it."

"Good."

Sofia smiled at him and looped her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder as they made their way out her door and to the dining hall.


Chapter 22! Woo!

Sorry this took so long for me to release. Blame writer's block. That crap is so mean! I couldn't think of single thing to write after I released chapter twenty-one. I felt bad about the long wait, so I decided to just make this chapter as steam-filled as I possibly can. What did you all think? Good? What about the painting?! It's of Queen Anne!

Speaking of Queen Anne, she's going to spill about her past! Whaaat?!

Anyway, regarding last chapter's challenge, I am sorry to say that no one had guessed correctly. I know that I kind of made it hard, and I am sorry about that too. But don't worry, this challenge is going to be easy!

You guys actually have two challenge options here:

Challenge one: Simply tell me what you all think might happen in the next chapter. Top three reviewers will get a shout-out.

OR

Challenge two: If six or more chooses to answer these questions (they don't have to be right), I will reveal a big secret about the next chapter.

What will happen to Sofia and James while they're in the attic?

What will Queen Anne confess about?

Are they going to be able to make it to Lucinda?

Is Hugo planning anything to try to win Sofia's heart?

What will Amber think about the necklace?

Read, review, etc. Thanks :)