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 a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

Chapter 30: The Truth Among the Trees

Sofia

Sofia's heart raced as they plummeted down into the dark center of the forest, rising to the back of her throat and ringing in her ears. The horses were fast but steady as they dived downward; their strong, wide wings extended back and held close to their bodies. Sofia held on tightly to her horse's reins with a grip tighter and stronger than iron. Her fingers were beginning to ache from the sheer force of her hold and she was sure that her palms were going to have more than nail marks from her fingernails digging into her skin.

It was sort of like falling down the pitch black hole back in her subconscious again. Nothing could be seen around her, not even the nearby trees or the leaves on the branches. Even with the combined glows and lights of the stars and moon above, everything was just pitch black. And nothing but the sound of the branches and leaves rustling with the night breeze could be heard. Without her sense of sight, the sounds of the winds were disembodied and eerie to her. It seemed as though the center of the dark forest was earth's own black hole that devoured all light and sound. It was like she had pinched her eyes shut and stuffed her ears even when she hadn't.

But, the only difference between falling into a hole in her mind and the descent into the dark center of the forest was that the fall was in her subconscious. There, at least she knew she was somewhat safe from the dangers of the unknown. Real or not. But out here, in the forbidden forest that her father explicitly warned everyone to way away from, the dangers of the outside world was real and evident and unpredictable.

Beside her, it sounded as if James was shouting, "shit, shit, shit!"

But she wasn't' too sure because of the rushing air that gusted in her ears. It grew louder and louder the deeper they dove into the abyss, drowning out whatever screams James were shouting.

Sofia wasn't even sure what she was screaming either. Or if she was screaming at all since the pounding heart in the back of her throat made her throat feel tight and constricted, as if she couldn't scream even if she tried. Not even a thought could enter her mind.

The moonlight and starlight was quickly fading behind them and Sofia just felt too cold and too warm. Her cheeks felt warm while her hands felt cold. Her chest was pounding, aching even, and going into overdrive while some parts of her she couldn't even feel any more, dulled and numbed as it was her body's natural instincts to do something to stop the petrified fear running through her veins. It was her body's way of readying itself for what might happen once they land down.

Or if they ever land down.

It has felt like a century and a second had pasted at the same time while they did nothing but dive down into the unknown. Her sense of time was long gone, like it ran away with her ability to know if she was screaming or not.

It seemed that the Great Fates above may have taken pity on them because their fall had finally ended. They were on the ground.

For a few moments after their plunge downward has ceased, Sofia couldn't move nor wanted to. She couldn't look anywhere else but at the reins in her hands and the white color of her knuckles. Sofia was breathless and delirious from the plummet. Her head was spinning and her eyes felt raw as if she had been crying but dry at the same time, as if nothing but hot air had been blowing directly into her eyes. The same thing could be said about her throat; it was parched but overwhelmingly sore as if she had been screaming with a choked throat for hours on end. So, it can be said that she had been screaming after all if her throat hurts this must from just a dive down into some magical and mysterious abyss in the middle of a forbidden forest. Whether she remembers it or not.

When Sofia finally regained the ability and motive to move again, she looked up and waited for her eyes to adjust to her darkened surroundings. And when it finally did, Sofia was stunned at the beauty around her.

The forest… the trees is… is-is glowing… she thought, unable to even utter a word of her thoughts.

From the clearing that they were standing in, she saw that there was light in the dark, dark forest and it wasn't coming from the moon or stars. The trees were so high and the branches were so thick and full of leaves that there was no way the light from the night sky – or even the sun for that matter – could pass through. It was as if the trees were acting as some sort of barrier or shield from the sky above, like it was trying to protect something inside the forest from the outside world. The light couldn't even reach the bottom of the clearing Sofia and James were standing in.

The light… was coming from the trees itself….

From the little glowing leaves on the lowest branches that hung on each tree….

Each low branch was delicate looking, as if it could break at the slightest touch despite being so thick and large. They were all curved and twisted in an almost whimsical way, like it was purposefully shaped into something out of a storybook. All along the twisted branch were a scattering of glowing leaves. The glowing leaves couldn't have been not no bigger than the size of her thumb. And from where she sat frozen on her flying horse, the leaves made the entire forest look like it was alive with a million magical fireflies. If she didn't know better, she would have said that the branches were just magical lampposts.

While Sofia marveled at the magical view, enchanted and mesmerized at the secret world, she felt something tug inside of her, ringing and pulling at her. It almost felt like a connection… to the forest.

There was something in the forest… she can feel it. It was like magic, but a little different. It was something special…. Something pure….

There was something in her that resonated with the forest, and the forest to her. It was like the forest was recognizing one of its own, a long-lost member of its… family? Sofia wasn't too sure, but to her it felt almost like a sense of familiarity, like she was returning home from a long trip.

This is all so beautiful… and so magicalSofia thought to herself. And to think… dad wanted to keep this from everyone. Did-did dad know about this world? Is this what he tried to hide us from –

"Oh shit, we're at the one place dad always told us to never to into." The sound of James's panicked voice brought Sofia out of her thoughts. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit."

James looked like he was hyperventilating, and it worried Sofia. She's never seen him like this before. He was panting like his body was struggling to breathe on its own and the sound of it was loud enough to echo through the forest. Sofia couldn't see the look of his eyes because he was staring down at his hands, but she could see that his hands were trembling violently while he gripped his reigns with the whitest knuckles she's ever seen. And while she couldn't see his eyes, she was certain that they must be wide and shaken. It was as if the plummet rattled him beyond his bones.

"James!" Sofia rushed over to him. "James, are you okay?"

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice and she saw that her guess was right. James looked utterly shaken. His eyes were wide, the whites of his eyes outweighed the emerald green color. Under the magical lights of the glowing leaves, Sofia could see that there was even beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Sofia!" His voice trembled, sounding close to a choking cry for help. "We're in the forest! The forest! The same forest that dad –"

"Shh…. I know," Sofia tried to calm him. She guided Lilac close enough to James and Lightning that she could reach over and place a hand over his own trembling hands. "Shhh…." She made sure that her voice was soft and gentle, smooth and soothing like she was talking to frightened animal she didn't want to scare away.

He started to look around with wide, scared eyes, as if he was searching the dark for any monsters and demons. He started to hyperventilate again the longer he stared out at the dark forest. The way his eyes moved about in a frantic and panicked manner that it didn't seem like he could see the glowing leaves on the branches, like his fear blinded him from the forest's magical beauty.

I wonder if he can even see the lights… Sofia thought.

James was almost behaving like he was experiencing a nightmare he can't escape from, like there was something in the forest that was made of nothing but his fears….

"James," she whispered his name as she held either sides of his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Calm down. Breathe."

But James refused to.

His eyes was still searching the dark. Still blind to the magic.

"James, look at me." She gently pulled his face close to hers until it was inches away, taking up his entire field of vision and forcing him to look at nothing but her eyes. "Focus on only me."

If it was the forest that was making him have a panic attack, then she'll just make him look at nothing but her. Her little plan must have worked because the moment he looked into her eyes, he breathing slowed and his frightened eyes calmed. The fear in his eyes didn't die away, but his eyes did soften when he looked at her.

"Good. Now breathe. Slowly," she gently encouraged just like Queen Anne did for her. She took a few of her own so that he would follow. It took him a while to copy her action, but when he eventually did, she saw how quickly he calmed down.

Sofia quietly watched him as he continued to slowly breathe in and out, not saying anything until she knew for certain that he was completely calmed. After a few more breaths, Sofia broke the silence between them. "Are you better now?"

"Yeah," he whispered. His voice still trembled, though.

"Can you make it until we find Lucinda?" Sofia searched his eyes for any warning signs that he might have another panic attack.

"Yeah," he repeated.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm better now, Sofia." Sofia was glad to hear that his voice didn't shake this time, but the weak smile he gave her didn't fully reassure her. "I'm fine. I'm fine," he said, probably noticing her frown.

"James –"

"I swear, I'm fine." He nudged her nose with his own as if that playful gesture was enough to relieve the tension and Sofia's worry. When that obviously didn't work by her remaining concerned frown, he seemed to decide to try and change the subject. "So this is where Lucinda is hiding?"

Sofia could tell that he didn't want to talk about it right now, so she compromised and went along with the subject change. Yet, even so, she decided to keep a close eye on James just in case. This entire mission was about James and the sources, after all.

Her plan for tonight was to go find Lucinda, burn the first source, ask her some questions about her amulet and Queen Anne, tell James about his mother, then finally work on James and his curse. Done. Simple as that.

Nothing was going to go awry tonight, she was sure of it.

"Yeah," Sofia nodded.

"So how do we find –" James began, but he was cut off by a bright and blinding flash of light from her amulet. It rose and propelled her forward with a force great enough that it nearly yanked her off of her horse.

"Whoa!" Sofia had to hold onto Lilac's neck just to keep herself from falling off. Lilac was so startled by Sofia's sudden grip around her neck that she started to move and trot around. She was lucky enough that Lilac seemed to understand that she needed to follow the glowing stone above her.

"Wait!" she heard James call after her.

Sofia didn't realize just how far away from the clearing the stone was leading them until she looked back and saw James racing after her and how tiny the clearing was becoming. They were fast approaching the glowing leaves of light on the nearby trees.

And Sofia found that the closer they got to the lights, the more and more connected she felt to the forest.

Soon, it wasn't the amulet that was propelling her forward now. It was the familiar pull she felt from earlier. It was tugging at something in her that made her want to run and explore the entire forest like she did when she was little.

Yet, at the same time, the tugging and pulling in her was giving her this feeling that the forest wanted to show Sofia something, like there was something important in these woods that she needed to find.

Then the amulet brought Sofia to a halt in front of the nearest glowing tree.

And Sofia saw that it wasn't the leaves itself that were the source of the light. It were the little orbs of light floating under the curved leaves.

Being this close to the orbs, Sofia felt a warming sensation grow on her cheeks. It was as if the balls of light were more than that, they were of warmth and sunlight and magic. They even sparkled like they were emitting pixie or fairy dust along with the light and warmth.

Beautiful… Sofia wanted to reach out and touch one, to see what it would be like to hold something that warm in her hands.

As if reading her mind, she watched her amulet rise and touch the closest orb.

And the instant her amulet touch it, the orbs changed its yellowish, neutral color into a shade that matched her amulet. Then, one by one, the other balls of light around them began to change color as well. It was a show of wondrous purple lights and magic.

"Incredible…" she heard James say as he came up beside her, the awe and amazement evident in his voice.

"I know…. Wait, you can see the lights?" Sofia said before she could stop herself.

"Um, yeah?" he said in a confused tone. In the purple lights, she could see him looking at her with a questioning expression like he was asking her if he shouldn't be able to see them at all. "Why?"

"I don't know – it's just that, earlier you were having such a meltdown and from the way you were looking around at the forest, it almost seemed like you couldn't see the lights," Sofia said, embarrassed at her lack of filter.

"Well, to be honest, I couldn't. Not at first. It was just hard to look passed all of that pitch black darkness. But after calming down and after your amulet started to glow, I started to notice all of those orbs," he shrugged like it was no big deal.

But by the tone of his voice, she could hear him smile at her and she knew that he could see the embarrassment written all over her face.

"Oh." That was all Sofia could find herself saying.

"Now then," James smirked at her mortified state, "if you're done, why don't we follow that trail of light before it might disappear? And aren't we on a time crunch here?"

She felt her cheeks burn, still mortified at her brain's blunder and James's not so subtle cheekiness. "Shut up, James," she said, grabbing James's hand and began to pull him down the lighted path. She nudged Lilac to race down the trail so that they wouldn't waste any more time.

But, little by little, Sofia felt her embarrassment fade the further into the forest they got. It was the purple lights above her that helped her forget her humiliation and she couldn't help but just gaze in awe at them instead.

The lights were twinkling and shimmering with an otherworldly rhythm that made Sofia want to reach out and touch each and every one of them.

Sofia released James's hand and reached out to the lights, wanting to feel the air and pixie dust rush between her fingers. She could see little specks of glitter and gold in the air, as if the air in the forest was another kind of magic itself. It made the entire place feel so alive, as if even the air was vibrating with a life of its own.

Feeling the cold air rush across her face, cooling her blushing face, along with watching the lights dance above her was a magnificent and wondrous experience. Off in the distance, she could hear little early spring crickets crick and frogs croak and owls hoot against the rush of the air. And if she were to listen carefully, she could hear little far-off laughter that almost sounded like children playing. But Sofia was certain that those were not the sounds of children, they were the sounds of fairies and sprites and pixies and elfin creatures.

And to think, there was this whole other world just beyond the field of her own castle. A magical and beautiful world.

The way the color of the lights and sounds of the night and the mysteriousness of the magical forest mixed together was a spectacular show.

And Sofia has never felt so safe and so connected to one place before.

It was as if all of her worries and the pressures of royal life had disappeared all at once. From the way the forest called out to her, she felt as if she had indeed returned to a place that could have been her home.

If she had any say in the matter, she would have chosen to just stay in the forest with James forever because she had a feeling that the forest would be able to keep him safe and they could just stay together forever with nothing to bother them.

It would just be the two of them in the beauty of the forest and with the magic that coursed through the land.

Eventually, the lights brought Sofia and James to a large and gargantuan tree, larger than the giant sequoia. The thing was most likely the largest tree in the entire forest. Or world for that matter.

Its bark was thick and heavily aged. In lights of the trees, she could see multiple layers underneath the outer bark of the tree. Its trunk was thicker and wider than anything she has ever seen before. The base and diameter of the trunk must have been longer than even the largest pond in Enchancia.

But it was the tree's height that stunned Sofia into silence and awe. If she thought the trees she first seen when she landed into the forest was tall, then this tree was a giant among giants. It looked like it was more than a hundred or thousand feet taller than the rest of the trees in the forest. It must have been the tallest tree in the entire forest or even the world.

Standing at the base of the tree, Sofia felt like the tiniest thing in the world. Even on her hoarse, she felt like she was smaller than an ant. She wanted to take Lilac and make a round about the tree, but she knew that it would take them far longer to do than they had time for.

Its branches looked like it could do more than reach the stars above, it looked like it was one of the stars. Like the tree and its leaves were a member of its exclusive club.

"Whoa," James said as he craned his head back to look up at the impossibly tall tree.

"I know," Sofia replied as she reached a hand out to touch the tree.

But just when her hand was mere inches away from the tree's bark, a sudden hand appeared out of the tree and grabbed her hand.

Sofia let out a horrified scream. A bloody and fear-filled scream that was loud enough to wake the spirits of the dead.

The hand wasn't connected to anything else but the tree. And in the purple lighting, it looked almost ghostly white and pale. She could feel its nails dig into her skin.

She tried to rip her hand out from the disembodied hand's grip, but that only made it yank harder at Sofia. Its hold was like iron crushing the bones in her wrist.

"J-James!" Sofia screamed as she clawed at the hand with petrified desperation.

"Shit!" She heard James let out a scream of his own.

He wrapped both arms around her waist and tried to lift her off of Lilac and pull her away from the tree, but the hand was strong and it didn't let Sofia budge even an inch away from it. James's arms tightened around her waist even further as he tried to wrench her free.

Even the horses tried to do something to help release Sofia. She heard Lilac's hooves dig into the dirt with a hard thud, trying to create some traction so that she can push backwards and give James some leverage at trying to free Sofia's hand.

But neither seem to work in releasing her from the hand's hold.

Both Sofia and James let out curses and cries of their own as they tried to fight against the hand. Sofia's fear soon turned into a scared type of anger the longer it held onto her and the less successful she was at freeing herself. She scratched and even bit at the hand to let her go, but even those didn't seem to work.

The hand tugged again with a force powerful enough that it yanked both Sofia and James off of their horses and sent them hurling towards the tree.

Sofia closed her eyes as she braced herself and let out another blood-curling scream that burned her throat. She already knew that she's going to hit her head against the ancient looking tree and didn't want to have her eyes open for when she's going to get a concussion.

But she didn't feel the expected pain.

Instead, they fell onto a hard wooden floor. She actually felt warm and cozy; she even heard the crackling of a fire and the loud whistling of a teakettle.

What? Sofia opened her eyes and found herself staring up at an impatient looking Lucinda.

She looked around, confused as to where they were and how they ended up in… a cottage?

"About damn time you two got here," she irritably said. She released Sofia's hand and tentatively rubbed at the hand that had held hers.

"Lucinda?" she heard James gasp. James still had his arms wrapped tightly around Sofia's waist.

"Uh, yeah?" she said sarcastically as she made her way over to the table and grabbed a napkin. She started to gently dab at her hand. "Sofia, can you please not try to mangle my hand the next time you two come here? I really do like my right hand, you know?"

She felt James's grip on her lessen but not release at Lucinda's snarky remarks. She could even feel a slight tremble in his arms just like from earlier and Sofia feared that he might have another meltdown, but to her amazement and surprise, he managed to keep it together.

"Where is here, exactly," Sofia said, ignoring Lucinda's comment and looking around at where they were. She and James didn't move from where they now sat on the floor.

Sofia was surprised at where they ended up after being pulled into the tree. There was a large and comfortable-looking sitting area with small plush couches around a warm and big fireplace. In the far corner, there was a little kitchenette and round table filled with some teacups and a tray of simple snacks. The walls were smooth, aged wood, just like the kinds anyone would find in a cottage. There were some paintings of landscapes and sceneries from far-off lands and exotic places.

The entire place looked like any normal cottage she's seen – there was even three windows in the cottage that showed the dark and glowing forest she was just in and their horses. Yet she doesn't remember seeing any windows on the outside….

But, oddest thing about it all was that there was only two doors, the one behind Sofia and the one unusually placed right next to the fireplace.

"I'll tell you about that in a bit. Just take a seat over by the fire," Lucinda said, pointing at the couch while she tossed her napkin into the sink.

Sofia and James obeyed without any complaint. She watched as Lucinda prepared some tea and placed the tray of snacks down onto the low wooden coffee table. When Lucinda was done, she just sat down onto the single loveseat and handed each of them a cup of hot tea without a word.

A silent moment passed between the three of them. No one said a word and nothing but the sound of Lucinda sipping her tea could be heard.

Neither she or James took a sip of their tea, obviously still too confused as to what was going on and by Lucinda's odd behavior. Sofia was unsure of what to say or do because, for as long as she's known Lucinda, Lucinda was never the kind to calmly sit idly and sip tea like this. She was usually the rowdy and lively one, always up for any kind of adventure and action.

"Okay," Lucinda said after she took a sip of her tea, "so I can guess that you're both confused as to where we are and why I pulled you into this tree."

"Uh, duh," James said, shocking Sofia at the impatience in his tone. "Why are you just sitting there and calmly drinking tea when we're sort of short on time here?"

"One, the tea is helping with the pain and scratches Sofia made on my hand. And two, the tea calms me. A trick I learned from The Fairies. Do you really want me agitated and upset while trying to help you burn that source?" Lucinda replied, her old cynical and wry tone returning. She raised a brow at James, challenging him to test her temper.

James just looked away, too proud to admit that she was right but smart enough to know not to push her too far. That was a recurring theme between them, neither was ever able to admit when one was wrong and when the other was right. To do so was almost like surrendering in a long fought war.

Lucinda just rolled her eyes at him and turned to Sofia. "Seriously, was it necessary for you to bite me, Sofia?"

"I'm sorry, Lucinda, but what would you have done if a hand suddenly popped out of nowhere and grabbed you like that?" Sofia guiltily said, ashamed that she bit her friend. "Why didn't you just walk out of the tree and told us to come in?"

"Oh… yeah, maybe I should've done that instead, huh? Didn't think that one through." Lucinda just took another sip of her tea.

James just groaned and rolled his eyes at her as he picked a cookie off of the tray. "Anyway, where are we?" he said as he chewed, crumbs falling off of the corners of his mouth. "Why did you pull us into a freaking tree for Star's sake? And how – wait a minute. How did you know that we were coming to you to burn the first source?"

"Whoa, one question at a time," Lucinda replied. "First off, we're in the First Tree, the original source of all magic."

"Excuse me, what?" Sofia gapped. She heard James choke on his cookie and go into a coughing fit, but she was too stunned at what she just heard to help him.

"The First Tree. The original source of all magic," Lucinda said as if it was something as obvious as the sun in the sky. "To answer your second question, James, I created this cottage with the remaining magic I had left after that night you two returned back to Royal Prep. You see –"

"I'm sorry, can you just back it up a little," James said after his coughing died down. "Did you just say 'original source of all magic'?"

"Yeah. Oh, I guess that wouldn't be known to you two since you're both human, but Sofia should have been able to feel something when you both arrived. You see – "

Me? James looked over at her expectantly, as if she should have the answers to whatever riddle Lucinda just said.

"Lucinda, can you just rewind a bit here. You're not making any sense," Sofia said. "Just start from the beginning. It'll help at keeping all of the facts in order."

"Alright, but it's a bit of a long story."

"Shorten it," James said as he went for another cookie.

Lucinda sighed. "Okay, I'll try my best, but you know you can read more of this stuff in the Book of Hyproti, Sofia. So, basically, this forest is land to the purest magic in the world because the tree – the one we're in right now – is the original source of all magic. Think of it like the heart of all magic and its roots is what feed the land with untapped magic and sends it out to the world like veins. Legend has it that the tree created this forest as a sanctuary for all magical beings who needs a place to call home. And to protect those who live in its forest and itself, the tree created the world's largest trees to act as a protective barrier and to shield all outsiders from the forest's secrets."

"What do you mean 'secrets'?" Sofia asked.

"This land is pulsing with magic, Sofia. A lot of it are, like I said, untapped and still undiscovered by many. The First Tree has been alive since the very beginning of magic, it has knowledge of magic like no one has ever known. So, that means a lot of people like The Evil is going to want to try and search for ways to tap into that pure magic and knowledge to gain more power or even harm the tree itself if they believe that it would give them what they desire. To keep that and itself safe and not to be used by evil people, the First Tree made this magical tree force field. The trees act as guardians of the forest and only allows those they deem worthy in, but it is only those the tree deems pure that can feel a connection to the forest."

"So when you said that Sofia…" James began.

"Yup," Lucinda nodded. "Did you feel something, Sofia? Like a pull or tug or some sensation you couldn't explain?"

"Yeah, I guess…." Sofia said, unsure of what it could all mean. She thought that she was just feeling what she was feeling.

Sure she felt a connection or something back there – it was great sense of home, like she was lost for some time and found her way back to where she belonged – but what could it all mean?

"Then Sofia is –" James said.

"Your girl there is pure, so that makes her connected to the forest," Lucinda said.

"But what does it mean for me to be connected to it?" Sofia asked.

"It means that you are able to tap into its magic and use it," she said.

Use it? How? I don't have a single knowledge of magic or how to freaking use it!

Her time at Royal Prep only gave Sofia a limited knowledge of how to utilize the magic around her and that was only with a school authorized wand and with monitored magic from The Fairies. How in hell's name can she use pure magic from the world's original source of all magic?!

"The tree tests and examines a person's heart to know if it is pure enough to use its pure magic," Lucinda continued. "Not many humans – or magical beings for that matter – whose hearts the tree examines passes its test. You know, not many humans even know the story and legend of the forest. They only think it is some creepy enchanted forest that has things that go bump in the night. Only magical beings know the truth. Your dad was one of the few humans that knew, though."

"Dad?" James stopped mid-chew and dropped his third or fourth cookie.

Dad knew… I was right then. There was some connection to the forest and him. But –

"If he knew, then why did he try to keep everyone away from the forest," Sofia said.

"Because this forest isn't kind to humans. This place was made for magical beings, a place where those of magic can secretly live in peace away from humans. Many humans have tried to entire this forest, not knowing what they were getting themselves into, but very few have succeeded and not many were able to walk away alive. Like I said, only those worthy can entire this forest."

"Was our dad one of the humans that were able to enter?" Sofia asked.

"According to my sources," from the way Lucinda stresses the word, she knew just who that source was, "no. He wasn't. He wasn't worthy, but he learned a lot about this forest from someone who was."

"And who was that?" James asked.

For a brief moment, Lucinda looked over at Sofia with a look of hesitation.

And from her expression, Sofia understood enough. That person was Queen Anne.

But her look told Sofia more.

It was a look that told Sofia that she didn't want to overstep her place and tell him something that she had no right of saying. It seemed that Lucinda believed it was Sofia that should be the one to tell him, not her. But – and if she was reading Lucinda correctly – it looked like she was going to help Sofia and be beside her when she tells James the truth.

Sofia nodded back at Lucinda, hoping that she'll receive the message and know that Sofia understood what she was trying to say.

"That is something only Sofia can tell you, James," Lucinda said. "It's not my place to tell you."

"What does she mean?" James looked at Sofia. She could see his eyes searching her own, trying to find answers to his unspoken questions.

Sofia opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no sound came out.

She was so sure of this moment before coming to the forest. She was ready to tell him everything, but now… she wasn't so certain. Sofia didn't know where to begin or even how to start.

"Sofia," Lucinda said her name like James wasn't here. As if it was a private moment between them and their secrets. "She told me you two were coming and that you have the first source along with the Book of Hyproti."

"Yeah," Sofia said, welcoming the distraction. She made a show of searching through her messenger's bag for the Book of Hyproti and the sketch, using the time to formulate just how she was going to tell James the truth.

But she could search through her nearly empty bag for only so long.

"Uh, here it is." She handed over the sketch to Lucinda while eyeing James nervously.

"Okay... Well, I'll just leave you two alone to work out this," Lucinda said, gesturing to the both of them," emotional confession thing."

"What?" Sofia exclaimed. Apparently, she read Lucinda wrong. She was going to leave Sofia alone to tell James! "I thought you were going to help me tell him?"

"What? Where did you get that idea? I can't tell him that stuff. You have to."

"I'm right here, you know?" James said, annoyed because they were talking about him as if he wasn't. But Sofia and Lucinda just went on ignoring him.

"Lucinda –"

"Look, Sofia," Lucinda said as she got up and tucked the sketch into her black witch's robe, "that mushy stuff isn't my forte, it's yours. If you need me, I am going to be in the basement, trying to create the magical stuff needed to burn this piece of shit."

"But –" Sofia tried to stop her again. She didn't even try to hide the desperation in her tone.

"Sofia, are you or are you not his soulmate? Don't worry, it'll be fine. She said so herself," Lucinda made her way over to the door by the fireplace and magically unlocked the door with a wave of her hand. "This door will be unlocked, by the way. So when you two are done with the tears and the crying and hugging, come down and bring the book with you."

And with that, she was gone.

Lucinda left her on her own to do one of the hardest things she's ever done so far.

Tell the truth.

Oh, sweet Fates…. Sofia let out an exasperated groan and hide her face in her hands.

"So…." James broke the silence. "Are you going to tell me what all of that –"

Suddenly, Lucinda popped her head back in. "Oh, by the way, she said that you had some questions for me, Sofia. So, when we're done destroying this thing, ask me them. Okay? Okay." Then she disappeared behind the door again.

"For the love of all stars…." Sofia groaned again, fear rising to the back of throat.

"So…." James said again as he scooted closer to her on the couch. "Who was the person?" James just went at it, not wasting any time.

But Sofia needed the time to work it all out in her head because... Sofia was scared.

More scared than when Lucinda's disembodied hand popped out of the tree.

More scared than when they plunged into the dark abyss of the forest.

More scared than when the dragon attacked her and sent her falling off of her horse.

More scared than anything she's ever experienced so far.

To tell the truth and to be completely honest after this long of hiding her secrets was more than just hard. It was a frightening, paralyzing thing to do.

Sure, it wasn't Sofia's choice to hide and lie and not be completely honest with James, but she still did it. And to do that for so long, it almost becomes second nature to her to not want to tell the truth because she was still at fault for the lies and the hurt that might come with it.

"…That person was your mom," Sofia said, her face still buried in her hands.

"My mom…." James sounded odd, like he already knew that was coming even before he was told. "I should've known…."

"What do you mean?" Sofia looked up at him, worried at how he was taking it even though she barely got started with the truth.

Besides her own fear for herself, she was still so scared for James because this affects him more than it affects her. This was about his own mother after all, the woman who he lost when he was only four.

"Well, I mean, everything I've learned in the past month now is that my mom is always connected it all somehow. And I have a feeling that I know you know why is that," he said. His voice was controlled and composed, like he was preparing himself for the worst.

James's expression was… it was something she couldn't really place. It didn't look like he was breaking like she feared, but it didn't look upset or angry either. He looked like he was standing on a crumbling edge but wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, it was more like he wanted to be on that edge not because he was pushed there, but because he walked there himself and he was ready to jump if needed.

He's not scared at all, not like Sofia. She was utterly terrified beyond all thought.

Because… to have been lying for this long, her lies and secrets became her second skin – no armor? Box?

But why would she need that for? Why would she want to continue to lie like this and to James of all people?

"James…" Sofia's voice wobbled, she had to clear her throat to keep the sob back.

Why am I crying? I already knew that I had to tell him, so why am I crying?

"Are you afraid to tell me?" James asked her, she could hear some of his familiar gentleness returned to his voice.

Yes. Yes I am because…. If Sofia was being completely honest with herself, she needed her armor of secrets because it protects her. Not James.

She has said before that her lies protected those she loved, that it would only endanger those who knew the truth. And it was true, she would never risk the lives of those she loved, but it was more than that.

Sofia had said that she didn't choose to lie but even that was a lie of its own because she has been lying far longer than that. She has been lying and keeping the truth from everyone since she became a princess because, in some obscure and odd way, her secrets and lies protected her and shields what she always tries to hide on the inside.

Her fear.

Her insecurities.

The ugly parts of herself that she hated.

All of it. All of the secrets she's held. All of the lies she's told.

They were her armor that helped her hide it all. It boxed in everything she didn't want to be. It was what helped her be what everyone expected of her, the perfectly brave princess that they wanted and needed. It was her own Pandora's Box of fears and ugliness.

Sofia nodded back at James as another sob escaped her throat.

Is this why she was crying? Because once the last of her secrets and truths were set free, she was left with something broken? Because she would be stripped of her mask and the only thing remaining would be her fears and insecurities?

Can she handle that? To be nothing but a husk of what no one needs? Of only fears and insecurities and anxieties and uncertainty?

What will become of her after when she doesn't have any more secrets to hide behind?

That's what she has been so good at throughout the years. Hiding her secrets.

For years, no one knew of her amulet. No one knew of the adventures she's been or of the magic she possessed. And when she came back after her exile, more secrets. More adventures. More lies.

To hide them all was her only option because how could she save the kingdoms if she was scared and insecure? She needed to hide them because it wasn't about her, it was about saving the millions of innocent lives and James. No one wants or needs a scared warrior who is always questioning her decisions. She had everyone's faiths and trusts on her shoulders, so she had no choice but to put herself last and everyone else first.

Telling lies to keep them all hidden. Stretching the truth so that she can have some kind of excuse to not tell. It was her second nature.

But when they are gone, what happens?

"James," she whimpered again. "I know I owe you the truth… but I am so, so, so scared to tell you. I am afraid of how you'll take it and what might happen to me if I do."

"What do you mean 'what might happen to you'?" James asked, alarmed by her choice of words. "Is it some kind of curse or magic –"

"No, no," Sofia weakly laughed. It was a pitiful laugh, really. "It has nothing to do with magic. It's more of – you see – it's telling the truth, James. It's scary."

"Just tell me, Sofia," James whispered encouragingly, taking both of her hands into his own. "I'll be alright. Nothing will change between us, I promise."

She looks into his eyes, wanting nothing more than to believe his words. She wants to know for certain that nothing will change or happen and – as self-obsessed and selfish as it may be – she wants to know that she'll still be the same after the truth is told. That she'll still have her armor and be strong for everyone. That she'll just put them all back into her box and put it away like it was something to be placed into storage and forgotten about.

But she can't focus on that right now because she needs to tell James everything in order to cure him of his curse. It's all for saving him and the kingdoms.

"James. I've been talking to your mother…" Sofia began, powering through her fear.

She told him of how she met Queen Anne and how long she's been talking to her. That even The Fairies and Lucinda knows of his mother. That Queen Anne was actually her "special friend" who helped Sofia realize she was in love with James. That it was his mother that told her that they were soulmates, not her amulet. That everything she has learned and knew of The Evil was because of his mother.

Everything….

She told him everything. That The Evil was once his mother's old childhood friend. That the monster was the reason she killed herself. That The Evil was a man obsessed with his mother and wanted to resurrect her from the dead once he claimed Sofia's amulet and conquered the throne. That his mother's spirit was trapped in the castle and was cursed by the monster. That she's been trying to protect them all from this monster for years now.

And to her surprise, while her fear and dread still hung in the back of her throat, telling James the truth was very… freeing. Like all of the pressures she felt carrying everyone's expectations and faith was washing away with every bit of truth she tells James.

Her heart felt lighter but still so scared because, bit by bit, she knew that eventually her true self would be bared to James.

Her true self…. That one person who she has tried to fix and make better so that she wouldn't disappoint anyone.

Someone she has always been so afraid of embracing because it isn't someone anyone wants….

The entire time she talked and mentally fretted over her fears, James listened carefully. He was shocked, of course, but he was a good listener. He responded accordingly and at the right times.

He didn't seem to freak out like she worried, but it was hard to tell because when she was done and all that needed to be said was said, he just sat there completely still with a shocked expression. He looked like his entire mind and brain and everything he thought was true was blown away.

"James?" Sofia delicately because anything could happen in the next few moments.

Would he freak out? Would he get angry? Would he shut down completely and not talk to her ever again?

She didn't know.

"James?" She said again. "James, are you alright?"

"I'm-I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look shocked. Do you need a moment?"

"No, no," he insisted. "It's just that... this entire time I always figured that they got married because they loved each other. Not because they were forced to marry for political reasons."

"They did. They did loved each other, just not in the way you and I love each other. Queen Anne and Dad loved each other like they were brother and sister. She loved him tremendously. If she didn't, his affair wouldn't have affect her in the way it did," Sofia explained. She looked at him, wanting to be sure that he was okay. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He looked over at Sofia with an expression that mirrored her own. He was searching her own eyes to see that she was okay. "What about you? Are you alright?"

For some reason, it took Sofia a moment to understand what he just asked her. Out of everything he just learned, he was asking me if I'm alright?

"You said earlier that by telling me the truth something might happen to you," he said after Sofia didn't respond for several minutes. "Are you okay?"

Sofia looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say exactly. She was staring at her hands as if her fingertips, the lines on her palms, and the bones and skin that held it all together could tell her want to say. That it could give her the right words to tell him what she was feeling at the moment because she didn't know herself.

Honestly, Sofia felt free and scared and so exposed at the same time. Without her armor of secrets, she feel so vulnerable. With her box open, she feels as if every pair of eyes in the world was watching her every move to criticize and judge.

But, while she doesn't feel strong, she didn't feel weak either.

Neutral was the best word to describe what she was feeling. Like she just had a good cry and just needed to sit there not doing anything because she didn't know what to do with herself now.

"Come on, Sofia," James gently urged, he lifted her chin so that she looked at him. "Talk to me. Say something so I know that you're alright."

She looked into his evergreen eyes and saw how much hope they held at the moment. The most she's ever seen in his eyes.

It was almost like they switched places. James was being the optimistic one, the strong one who was holding them together and afloat, while Sofia was being the opposite. She was the one who needed to be held. The selfish one. The helpless one.

But the hope in his eyes… it held her there and told her so much. It wanted to help her like she wanted to be the one to help James.

Can she just tell him about it? About how she used the secrets and lied to his face for so long because she was afraid of being vulnerable and exposed and so open with him? With anyone for that matter? Because the idea of not being herself terrified her beyond her bones?

Might as well if I'm already spilling my guts to him, Sofia shrugged.

"The-the secrets…. They hid all of my flaws for me," she said.

"What?" James just sounded confused. Not judgmental or shocked. Just honestly confused. And a little encouraging, like he wanted her to continue and talk.

Sofia took a deep breath. Even though she said she would tell him anyway, it was still hard to form the words on her lips so she can say it to him.

"All of the pressures and expectations I've faced throughout the years, they made me so insecure and so afraid of who I am really and who I can't measure up to be. So, for some odd reason, my mind decided that the best way to cope with it all and to make myself what everyone wanted was used the secrets and lies as something to hide all of my fears and insecurities," she said, every word feeling like little pieces of her hard stone mask being chipped away. "...I don't know, my brain just latched onto the secrets like they were a life-preserver."

Her heart rang in her ears, pulsing and vibrating like the little pieces that were chipping away was making it run faster and faster. It was like her mask was its cage and her heart was just waiting to break free.

"I don't know if this is making any sense," her eyes were stinging like she was on the verge of tears again, "but with all of my ugliness and fears and anxiety boxed away, it just felt so good to keep them hidden and it felt even better when I became everyone's perfect definition of a princess. It just worked."

"The secrets made you feel better…" James quietly whispered. Not once did he move away from her; instead he just wrapped his arms around her and held her closely like she was just seconds away from breaking down and might need him to hold her together.

"Yeah," she said, her voice broke and a single tear fell down her cheek. "As warped as that sounds, the secrets just helped me. It just made all of the pressures and the expectations easier to handle."

"Oh, Sofia..." was all James said. He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly like he was afraid she might disappear.

"I know what everyone says about me, James. I hear it all of the time. A girl from the village who grew up to be this ideal princess," Sofia said the word with heavy disdain because those words were what made her like this. Those words and the shallow expectations of court was what caused her be so untrue to herself. "In the beginning, it was easy to live up to that. It wasn't that hard because it was fun to play princess for a while, but those words became something I had to be twenty-four/seven. And eventually, those words were like a mask I was force to wear and I couldn't take it off or else I would disappoint so many people. It was suffocating me a-and –"

Sofia couldn't finish her sentence because the sobs and tears prevented her. It broke out of her, escaping like her heart. She cried and cried and cried until her throat burned with her sobs and tears and everything in between.

And all the while, James just held her tightly while soothingly whispered gentle sentiments into her ear. Telling her that it was okay and that she was okay and that everything was okay.

She didn't know when her tears stopped or how long they stayed like that, with her sniffling and sobbing into his chest as he held onto her. All she knew that she was just being crushed in James's arms as her Pandora's Box broke open. Whether if it was her choice to open it or not, she didn't know.

Eventually, when she was able to regain herself and her tears have faded, she just stayed in his lap and in his arms, too emotionally drained to even move. But it didn't feel like James was going to let her out of his arms anyway.

"Do you hate me?" Sofia croaked into his chest. Her throat was too raw after crying so hard.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because I've been lying to you for so many years," she said, her voice was so low that even she didn't hear it. With her throat so raw, it was practically numb and she wasn't even sure if she said anything at all. "…And because I'm not that perfect princess you fell in love with. That I have this weird, crazy side and I might as well be –"

"Sofia," James chuckled. She felt his chest rumble against her, "I didn't fall in love with you because you were prefect. I fell in love with you because you were you and I fall even more in love with you every time I learn something new about you, quirks and all. Hell, it's your weird quirks and your temper and your need to take care of everyone that I love the most. So, don't go thinking that it's your reputation as a perfect princess that got me to love you because it wasn't. Knowing the real you was."

Her heart felt like it was being split right open – as open as her Pandora's Box – and James was the reason why. He was filling it with everything that wasn't in her box.

He was filling it with sunshine. With smiles. With laughs and giggles. With love.

"You're human, Sofia," he lifted her chin again with his thumb and wiped away at whatever tears remained on her cheeks, "and it's your imperfections that makes you as human as the rest of us. And you know, you're weirdness makes you even with me."

"Even with you?" Sofia chuckled. He gave her a squeeze when she finally laughed for the first time since arriving in Lucinda's magical tree cottage.

"Yeah, even with me. You're weird. I'm weird. We're weird together and it works. It's meant to be." She could hear his smile as he said it all. She was sure his eyes must be gleaming with pure happiness right now. "And don't you think that this quirk of yours makes you broken or something because you're not. You were never broken and will never be."

"What if I start to think that anyway?" she teased. Sofia couldn't help herself, she wanted to see what he would do if she said it.

"If you're broken, then I'm broken too and we'll be broken together. We'll be two mixed up broken puzzles and our pieces will fit together and we'll be one massive puzzle. It'll work."

"Two puzzles can't work like that."

"It'll work," he said seriously.

Sofia just laughed at him and rested her tired head on his shoulder. It was hard to argue with that kind of logic.

"And we were bound to fall in love with each other anyway. You to me and me to you. That means I will always love you regardless..." His voice was low and soothing, like they were back in her room and he was reading her a story. "I will always love you, faults and all."

Love. So much love was filling her heart. It was making her broken Pandora's Box disappear like it was replacing it, telling her that she never needed it in the first place.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked, smiling tenderly at her. He seemed happy now that she was laughing and teasing him.

Against her own expectations, she didn't feel empty or anything like she feared.

She felt liberated from it all, actually. Like all those years of holding onto those secrets and latching onto them like they were her only source of salvation just evaporated into the air. It was almost like those secrets took her wings from her all those years ago, but now that she told them to someone, she had them back. She was still too weak to fly, but with James by her side, she knew that she'll learn how to do it again soon.

It was an odd sensation to feel so free after this many years, but it was a good kind of odd.

All her years of secrets and pressures were still there, but she was sharing them with James now. He was baring those burdens with her. And there was still a sense of vulnerably and bared exposure to her, but not something she hated. She kind of liked that she was open to James and he could see and touch and talk to the real Sofia. She didn't need to hide anymore.

No more lies.

No more masks and armors and boxes.

Nothing but what was real and honest.

Was she ready to stop running from herself? Yes. Was she ready to embrace herself for who she really was? She didn't know yet, but she was willing to try.

"Not yet," she said, looking at the face that held her together through it all. Her prince. Her James.

James frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but before even one sound could leave his mouth, she kissed him.

Tenderly, gently, gratefully.

Her version of a "thank-you" to him. And she knew that he understood her silent thank-you because he kissed her just the same.

"Now I am," she said against his lips.

He just grinned widely at her and cupped her cheeks, pulling her down until she was leaning her forehead against his.

"Sorry I made this entire thing about me. It was supposed to be you spilling your guts so we can break that curse on your heart, but it ended up being me."

"We can do that when we're back in my room," he wiggled his brow suggestively which only made Sofia blush and smack his chest in response. That just made James laugh. "I was only kidding. I liked that I got to be there for you, Sofia. You're usually the one doing the saving and picking up the pieces after I break down, but for once I got to do it. Need me more often, Sofia."

Sofia laughed and blushed and kissed him again all at once. "Okay."

She would have loved nothing more than to say in his arms and kiss all night long, but reality set back into her head. They needed to burn the first source.

"I don't think Lucinda would appreciate that we're just sitting here on the couch kissing while she's probably working hard on a way to destroy the source." She hopped out of his arms and hauled him up. "Come on, we need to get down into the basement with Lucinda. Time to burn the source."

James was reluctant to do so, but with a hard tug at his arm, he obeyed. Holding hands, they made their way down into the long, wooden staircase than led directly downstairs to a large room filled with nearly every concoction, potion, leather-bound book of spells and incantations, and magical item she's ever seen.

The entire room looked nothing like the cottage upstairs. The walls were twisted and interconnected with vines and glowing crystal leaves and flowers, the only things lighting the dark room. The entire room smelled like an herb store; crisp, earthy scents filled the air despite the weird bottles of even weirder preserved unidentifiable items. There was a table full of crushed ingredients and a marble bowl of some green slimy, boiling liquid. In the center of the room was a large cauldron of sparkling orange mixture. Underneath the cauldron was a bright blue fire.

"Lucinda?" Sofia called out when they made it to the bottom of the stairs.

Lucinda was standing over the cauldron, stirring it with a long wooden spoon. Her head popped up at the sound of Sofia's voice. "Oh, good, you two are finally done. Damn, that took forever."

"Not our fault," James snipped at her.

"Yeah, it kind of is," Lucinda snipped back. "Sofia, come over here with that book of yours and ask it to flip to the page about destroying cursed items. Read to me what it says."

Sofia did as she was told. "It says that to destroy a cursed item, one must either destroy the creator of the item or use a dragon's flame. And –"

Lucinda handed her wooden spoon over to James and ordered him to continue to stir while she walked over to the table and picked up the bowl of some slimy liquid. "I know that part, go to the part about working with a dragon's flame."

"Why don't you just read the book?" James said. "I mean, she can just hold it for you while you work."

"I can't," Lucinda said as she poured the green potion into the orange mixture, turning the entire concoction a bright red. She looked like she was in a hurry to get every ingredient into the cauldron. Maybe the mixture was time sensitive or something…. "The book only reveals its words to its owner, meaning only Sofia can read the book. Sofia, continue."

Sofia scanned for where Lucinda told her to read. "Okay, um…. It says that to ensure the destruction of both the item and whatever magic that resides inside, you need to create a potion to soak the item first before using a dragon's flame on the cursed object. Then it gives the recipe for the potion."

"I already have that. The Fairies gave me a copy of the potion before we left Royal Prep, knowing that we would need it. How long does it says that we need to soak the source?"

"Two minutes."

"Alright then," Lucinda said, taking the sketch from where she must have left it on the table and dropping it into the cauldron.

There was an immediate reaction the moment the paper touched the mixture. It was a volatile and chaotic reaction.

"Shit," James cursed, dropping the wooden spoon as if it was on fire and stepping away from the cauldron.

It began to bubble and boil so violently that the entire cauldron shook and rumbled. Yet, not single drop of whatever potion Lucinda was mixing spilled off of the edges. It just stayed in the cauldron, swirling around by itself like the shaking was stirring the potion for Lucinda.

Then a silvery metallic smoke rose and filled the basement in a single flash, clouding Sofia's vision. There was no smell or odor to the smoke, it was like the smoke was just for show. But knowing magic, it probably wasn't.

She couldn't see anything beyond the smoke and only heard the fierce and crazy boiling. Not even the glowing crystal leaves and flowers could be seen past the smoke.

But, as quickly as it appeared, the smoke was suddenly sucked back into the cauldron and disappeared as if it was never there.

"The hell?" Lucinda walked over to the cauldron and looked inside and Sofia and James just followed.

Inside, the sparkling orange/red potion from earlier was gone and replaced with a brown, gunky residue. And floating on top was the sketch in the same condition as before Lucinda put it into the potion. Nothing looked changed to the sketch.

"Alright, I think our two minutes are done. The sketch must have absorbed the magic potion and left this nasty goo behind," Lucinda said as she grabbed a pair of metal tongs to pick the sketch out of the brown mixture. "Time to burn this shit."

"Absorbed it? Why does the sketch need to absorb that potion?" James asked.

"Weren't you listening to your girl earlier? It ensures that the magic inside this thing is completely destroyed. The potion clears the way for the fire," Lucinda explained as she handed the sketch and tongs over to James to hold while she rummaged through her other bottles of weird oddities and grabbed a clear sphere of green fire. At the end of the glass ball, there was a pointed end that jutted out with a cork inside. "The sketch had a protective barrier over it to prevent anyone from trying to destroy it. The potion breaks that down so that the dragon's fire can burn the magic inside into smithereens."

"But I thought that a dragon's flame was –" Sofia began.

"It is. Dragon's fire is very powerful and can break every spell it encounters and it's the only thing in this world that can destroy magic," Lucinda explained as she walked back over to the table and cleared it of everything. Then she walked over to her shelf of tools and pulled a Bunsen burner down. "But just to ensure that the source is completely destroyed, we need to break the protective spell on it."

She dropped the Bunsen burner down onto the table and connected the rubber tube to the sphere that held what Sofia understood as the dragon's flame. Then the fire was vacuumed into the tube and the Bunsen burner came to life.

"Now, James," Lucinda told him, "hold the paper over the fire and let's watch it burn."

James did as instructed and they watched as the first source to the evil man behind this burned into black ash. Darker than black smoke rose as it burned, and Sofia was sure she heard a sinister hiss come from the smoke as the paper burned. It sent a frightened chill down Sofia's spin as the hiss grew louder and louder and as the smoke collected up at the ceiling.

It seemed that even Lucinda heard it too as Sofia caught her glaring up at the smoke just as she was. The smoke didn't disperse like normal smoke, it collected and even condensed together like it was building itself into something.

If Sofia stared hard enough, she was sure that there was a face in the smoke.

When the last of the paper was burned and became nothing but black ash on the wooden work table, the smoke began to swirl and spin like it was the eye of a storm. In the center of it all, Sofia was sure she was seeing two brown lights.

Eyes…. They're eyes. Two brown eyes.

The eyes were dark and menacing, like the weight of all evil was carried in just those two eyes alone…. They stared directly at Sofia, glaring down at her as if it was trying to intimidate her. It wanted to threaten her, to scare her and make her run for the hills.

But Sofia didn't take it. She glared back just as threateningly as it was, like she was daring it to make the first move. Sofia and the eyes stayed like that for some time, in a silent glaring match, waiting to see who would speak or move or even blink first.

This man was underestimating her power, her strength, her will to protect. And her temper.

After everything she's been through, she is not nor will she ever run like a coward. Sofia didn't experience all of her hardships and shed all those tears just so she would run. She been through hell and go through it again and again before she runs away from this man.

She is going to protect James at all costs and save the kingdoms.

The eyes looked like it was laughing at her, like it found her glare amusing. As if she was some kind of fun entertainment it was playing with to pass the time before it conquered the kingdoms.

And that only made her madder.

This man didn't know that her Pandora's Box was open and the beasts and monsters inside of her were free to roam now. He was only poking the sleeping beast inside of Sofia, angering it beyond any redemption.

"I will stop you!" she shouted. "I am going to stop you and make you pay for everything you've done! You're going to rue the day you tested my power!"

But Sofia's shouts only made its eyes crinkle like it was laughing harder at her.

"I will! Just you watch!" Sofia shouted even louder, but the smoke just vanished in a flash. "No! Get back here! I'm not done with you!" she angrily cried after it.

James and Lucinda both had to hold her back. "Sofia, it's alright. It's gone," James said as if that might make calm down.

"No! It was taunting me! It was laughing and –" She never felt so angry before. It was like after she opened her Pandora's Box, all of her temper and the ugliness that she tried so hard to hide away was unleashed now.

But it's not something she's ashamed of right now because it was the thing that was fueling her need to stop this man and defeat him.

Anger and ugliness and selfishness, she realized, has two sides to it. A good side. And a bad side.

The bad side is what everyone attributes it all to, and hardly ever see the good in anger and rage and selfishness and conceit and the ugliness in people. The good in them all is that it is fuel and drive and motivation.

When one is angry enough and selfish enough and use the ugly within them wisely, it will lead them to achieve what they want. To reach far beyond what their hands can touch. The beasts and monsters within can be tamed and do their bidding accordingly.

That is the good that she has been hiding, but no more.

"I know. I know, but just calm down a bit. You're just too emotional right now after –" James soothed. Or tried to, it wasn't really helping because she was still too riled up.

"Sorry, to cut you off, pretty boy, but you two do realize that it's four o'clock right?" Lucinda said, staring at the clock in the basement. In a flash, she magically cleaned up the mess they created with just a swipe of her hand.

Sofia's heart plummeted and landed at the bottom of her stomach. "No!"

"Yeah," Lucinda said as she threw the Book of Hyproti into Sofia's bag and herded Sofia and James up the stairs and out the doors. "So, I can't answer your questions today."

"I don't care about that right now, Lucinda!" Sofia panicked, screaming at a pitch. "There's no way James and I can make it back on time without drawing attention to ourselves! I can't even think up a good enough excuse to explain why we were out at four in the morning!"

Lucinda pushed them out of her tree cottage as she grabbed her witch's broom. "Well think fast because I can't magically poof you two back to your castle like last time because I have this feeling that The Evil is going to try and make it hard as hell for me to do now that he knows we burned his first source."

"Shit! What are we going to do?!" Sofia exclaimed, not even paying attention as James lifted her up onto Lilac. She didn't even hear the horses neigh happily when they stepped out of the tree, she was just too lost in her distressed state.

"We fly as fast as these horses can take us and hope to the Fates that we make it back before anyone sees us," James said as he hopped up onto Lightning.

"What?" Sofia looked at him like he lost it. "We can't just 'hope' that we make it back on time. The others, James. The others will catch us and I can't take having another confession session with Amber. I am not emotionally stable enough for that today. And what about you? I don't think Amber will be all too happy to learn that you and I are together and –"

Lucinda smacked Lilac's butt and they launched into the air. They flew through the forest at light speed and made it to the clearing they arrived to in no time. "I'll spell the horses to fly as fast as possible, but there is still no guarantee that you two will make it before the others are awake."

"No," Sofia hopelessly groaned. "Can't you do anything? Anything at all?"

Lucinda just gave Sofia a small, sympathetic smile. "James is right, Sofia," Lucinda said, surprising the both of them at agreeing with James. She patted Sofia's hand reassuringly. "Just hope to the stars and the Fates that you make it back on time."

"That's not funny," Sofia said, thinking that she was joking at the worst possible time.

"I wasn't trying to be."

And without another word, pink magic dust coated them and the horses and they flew up and up and up.

Her hair was blown back as they rushed upward and the familiar knots formed in her stomach like before. She had to close her eyes and gripped her reins with white knuckles as she waited until they made it out of the forest's abyss.

With less time than the last, they were out and above the forest once more. The sun was already rising in the horizon as they rushed back home. And while the soft pinks and oranges and light lavenders of the sunrise was a nice companion as Sofia and James tried to make it home, Sofia was too focused on making it back him on time to admire the beautiful sunrise.

She urged Lilac to go as fast as she can, but no matter how hard she pushed her horse, it didn't feel fast enough.

"Is having Amber and the others find out about us that bad for you, Sofia?" James said as he flew closer beside her. "Are you ashamed to have people know about us or something?"

"What?" Sofia snapped her head at him, shocked to learn that he thinks that. "No! Of course not. I am not ashamed of you or our relationship, James. Why would you think that?"

"It's just that you're always so opposed at people knowing about us…" James returned his gaze ahead of him. The corners of his jaw was set and hard. And, from what she can tell, so were his eyes. "It just makes me feel like you're ashamed of our relationship. Of me."

Why on earth would he ever think that?

Sofia was never ashamed of their relationship. She was never ashamed of James. Never in her lifetime or the next will she ever be ashamed of what they have or of James.

He was what made her life so amazing and great. And the love they shared was better than anything she can ask for or be blessed with.

How can he even think that?

It's like he said, Sofia, her mind reminded her. You're always fighting with him to never tell another soul of what you two have.

This entire time, her idea that by keeping their relationship a secret, she thought that she was doing them both a favor. If no one knew, then she had one less thing to worry about and it could even protect James.

But who was she kidding?

She was lying to herself. She was lying to James and everyone and it was all for a stupid, selfish reason.

She didn't want anyone to know because she was scared of the possibility of what it could mean for their relationship. Was she just scared of the next level of their relationship once everyone knows of it?

Is she even ready for everyone to know? To open up her relationship with James for the scrutiny and judgment of the every kingdom? Can she even handle seeing the judgement and criticism and the possible hate in their eyes because of their relationship?

In the back of her head, she knows that if she had James beside her through it all, she can handle it.

But…. It's all on the matter of her mind.

Of course she can handle it with James, but it's hard to say what all of the scrutiny will do to her now fragile mind because no one has ever known her like that.

For years, everyone knew her as the princess that couldn't even bother with love and relationships. They all just knew her for her good deeds and the perfect reputation she had. No one ever lumped love and romantic ideologies with her.

They lumped it with Amber. She was the princess all of the boys wanted. She was the romantic, the one who knew love and understood it a lot better than her. Hell, she was even Aphrodite for Halloween once.

Sofia was the innocent one. The princess too sweet and maidenly for that. That's how everyone saw her.

And that's what she made herself live up to.

It's the box all over again… Sofia realized. I'm making myself live up to everyone's misconception of me and look at what it's doing to James….

This entire time, I wasn't being fair to him. I made him promise to not tell anyone - Hell, I even threatened him to not tell - while I was... I-I-I... I was never paying attention to the fact that he didn't want to keep us a secret. I made him promise to do something he hated.

I was being nothing but selfish and horrible to him. Oh, stars...

She thought that she broke the last of her lies, but she was wrong. There was one more she needed to release in order for her to truly be free.

For James and for herself.

No. Screw it. Screw the time. This is more important.

Sofia brought Lilac to a halt.

James looked back at her like she lost the last of her marbles. Maybe she has, but she didn't care because she needed to set some things straight with him and he was more important right now. Anyway, he was the one making her act crazy so he was to blame.

"Sofia, what are –" he began to say as he flew back to her, but she never let him finish his sentence because she sealed his lips shut with a kiss.

Sofia reach out to him from across their horses, slipped her hand around the back of his neck and kissed him while they were up in the air with the rising sun and its wondrous colors dancing around them. Her lips met him hard and fully and she filled the nonexistent space between their lips with everything she had in her. She made sure that she stole his breath and gave him hers in return.

This time, it wasn't a "thank-you" kind of kiss. It was the kind that was to say "I'm sorry."

Sorry that she ever made him think that she was ashamed of him. Sorry that he ever felt like she was hiding their relationship because of him. Sorry that she prevented him from shouting that he loved her at the tops of his lungs. And sorry that she never shouted it back just as loudly.

But it was with the same tenderness and gentleness and compassion and love as before.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pull him close, wanting him to know and taste and feel every ounce of her apology.

"I have never nor will I ever be ashamed of you or our relationship," she said when it was over. They were both slightly panting.

"Then why do you always seem so horrified at the idea of everyone knowing about us?" he said. While his voice was raspy and rough from the kiss, she still could hear the hurt edge at his tone.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed and leaning into James for more than just support. "I was never horrified about you or anything like that. I was scared of everyone else and their expectations."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I said that I boxed away all of the ugliness in me because of everyone's expectations? Well, this is sort of the same thing. And I'm sorry that my issues and I made you feel like that."

"You kept me hidden because I was one of your uglies?"

She snapped open her eyes and looked up at him, appalled that he even thought that. "What – No! You – No! No! I just did it because people never saw me as one to get caught up in love and romantic stuff and so I just didn't bother with that just to fit their idea of me and –"

"I'm kidding, Sofia. I get what you're saying," he laughed. She didn't realize he was teasing her. "I don't understand completely, but I get it."

And to hear that he somewhat got it was enough for her. It made her feel... good. Great. Understood. Validated.

She didn't know what to say to that, so she just kissed him because word can sometime never fully express what actions can.

It just felt right. To have him all to herself in the air during the sunrise, it just felt so right. And perfect. Nothing, probably not even a storm, could tear them apart in this most perfect moment between them.

"By the way," he said with a nudge to her nose, "I think it would be best and safer for you if you got back onto your horse."

"What?" When Sofia woke from their kiss, she realized that she was sitting in James's lap again with her legs wrapped around his hips. James must have pulled her to him sometime between the first and last kiss.

Sofia just blushed like a crimson rose and hopped back onto Lilac with James's help and the echoes of his laughter flying into the wind.

"So, are we okay?" she asked as they resumed to flying back to their castle.

"We're okay, Sofia," he said.

And her heart soared with them. She has never felt so happy before.

Stronger. Braver. Freer.

Like she passed through the rain and lightning and thunder and winds. She passed the storm and was clean and better. Sofia can finally see the rainbows and the blue sky. The dark clouds were gone in her head and her heart, and the sun can finally shine down on her.

As they neared towards the castle, Sofia can still feel a sense of her long time secret friends, fear and anxiety, but also something new.

Excitement.

Anticipation.

Possibilities.

She knew the moment that she stopped Lilac that they were never going to make it back on time, but she was okay with that. She was prepared for what was to come because she had James and the truth ready on her tongue.

Sofia grew a lot in just one night. She was ready to tell the truth. She was ready to face the unexpected with her true love. She was strong and imperfect and wiser for it all.

So, when they landed down in the courtyard of the castle, she wasn't too surprised to find Hugo and the others there waiting for them nor was she as afraid to face Amber's angry stare.


Chapter thirty! Woo!

Hey! Sorry about the late release, I have no excuse except that I got the summer lazy bug. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. It has become one of my favorites to write because of the moments between Sofia and James. I made it so that while James learned the truths, Sofia grew and matured with him.

But, the ending! *gasp* CAUGHT! Lol.

Anyway, about the challenge. I am soo sorry. I realize that I made it too hard. Sorry about that. Just forget it and enjoy this chapter. No challenge this chapter because I want to take a moment and answer back to some reviews and questions that caught my eye.

Guest user who asked about James's eye color: Sorry I sort of just wanted his eyes to be green. About Queen Miranda's invite to the ball, Sofia and Amber didn't invite her because they wanted to keep her safely away from the castle. I realized that I forgot to put that snippet of info in, sorry. Thank you for pointing that out to me! I'll fix that right up. For your question about Hugo, read the ending of this chapter Lol. As for the story's rating, no I am sorry to say that I am not going to change it. In my opinion, while this story is not made for young readers, it is not going to reach that level for mature readers. It's made for older teen. I am sorry, but I will put up more warnings beforehand if I ever write in scenes that go a bit too far.

Guest user, Sharon: The part where Sofia will become a mermaid will not happen until a few more chapters, I think maybe chapter 32 or so? Patience, my friend.

Read, review, etc.

Thanks :)

Ps, I promise to make up for that crappy challenge I posted last chapter next time. Sorry again.